Albus Potter and the Journey Through Time

The Difficult Task of Comprehending Time

Be prepared for some...interesting developments in this chapter! Also, I made up a history on Time-Turners which is mostly canon-compliant (due to the fact that there is a lack of history). Hope you enjoy!

Severus ran a hand through his hair. The spawns were much, much better than their father in Potions, thankfully, as their ability was proved with the younger one's absolutely perfect Fire Protection Potion and the older one's relatively good Pepperup Potion. He had said to them that he had a class in fifteen minutes, but it was actually a lie.

He stood up and exited his office, intent on going to the seventh floor corridor. The spy knew that he would have no possible way of finding any books on Time-Turners in the regular library; the Room of Requirement was, honestly, a literal blessing placed upon this school.

The note he read last night was quite touching, actually. It was nice that someone remembered his birthday. It was also nice that the boy didn't go overboard with recognizing his date of birth. Severus had actually forgotten that it was his birthday the previous day, so it was also nice that someone was there to help him remember. He nearly chuckled to himself at the thought at one of Harry Potter's children having Potions as their favorite subject. It was ironic, really, with his father currently having such a deplorable record. Another thing the spawn mentioned was that the spy was widely respected and admired throughout the Wizarding World in his time period. What had Severus done that made people respect and admire him? He already figured that he was most probably dead, for why else would the boy be named Albus Severus Potter? Nobody named their children after people who were alive. At least, not normally.

As he was running up to the fifth floor corridor, he ran into someone he had hoped to all the wizarding gods that he wouldn't have to deal with that day.

Dolores bloody Umbridge, the insufferable toad, was standing in front of him in all her disgustingly pink glory. Severus had, somehow, completely forgotten about her existence due to the shock of finding Potter's spawns the previous day.

"Hello, Severus. Where are you running off to? Do you not have a class soon?" Her smile was sickeningly sweet.

"No, Dolores," Severus replied coolly.

"Well then, would you mind telling me exactly where you are going? As High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, I must keep tabs on all staff members at all times," she asked, clearly wanting to get some dirt on him.

Severus started to panic a little. He couldn't tell this toad where he was really going. If he were below the third floor, he could've easily lied and said he was going to the library. The fifth floor just had prefect bathrooms. Severus cursed himself. He should've used the Disillusionment Charm! He came up with the best excuse he could.

"The headmaster has asked to see me, so I am heading to the seventh floor to speak with him," Severus replied nonchalantly.

"And how do I know you are not lying?" she asked, dangerously sweet.

"Because I never have, and never will. Simple." He scoffed inwardly at the irony. Lying was literally his job. Severus took a deep breath and hoped Dumbledore would cover for him for what he was about to say next. He knew the powerful wizard wasn't dumb and could take cues. He closed his eyes, breathed in again, and exhaled. "You can confirm it with Dumbledore yourself once I'm done." With that, Severus moved around her and resumed his trip to the Room of Requirement. He sighed, hoping he could at least prevent the spawns from ever meeting her. No one deserved to meet this sorry excuse for a human. Severus trudged up the stairs with a pit in his stomach, though. He knew that he hadn't seen the last of her.