Sarah Trelawney-Dumbledore glided over to the table, smiling and seating herself at Helga's invitation. The blonde witch introduced Harry and Snape and Sarah nodded to them.

"Hello, then, and welcome. I'm sure you're feeling a bit shell-shocked and no wonder, of course. But we do need your help and I hope you'll find it in your hearts to come to our aid. Oh, thank you, Rowena," she added as Rowena poured her a cup of tea and handed her a plate with a pastry.

After watching Sarah for a few minutes, Harry could see some striking differences between this Trelawney Seer and the scatter-brained professor he had known in the future. While Sibyll Trelawney favoured gauzy spangled clothes and often spoke in a faraway misty voice (except on the rare occasions when she actually had a true vision), Sarah was dressed in a simple blue gown without adornments and seemed much more brisk and clear-minded.

Snape spoke with a touch of asperity in his voice. "So you're telling us that you have called Potter and myself nearly a thousand years through time because your Divination professor"-his lips curled over the words-"dreamed that we might somehow mend the rift between Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor? And how, pray tell, do you believe we're going to do that?"

"Well, we thought perhaps you could speak with them," Helga began.

"And what are we to say?" Snape demanded.

"The right words will come to you," Sarah said calmly.

Snape closed his eyes for a minute and Harry thought he looked as if he were silently counting to ten. Finally he opened his eyes and asked, "And if we refuse or if we try and fail? Will you allow us to return to our own time or do you intend to keep us here?"

"Of course we will send you back to your own time," Rowena replied. "You're not our prisoners."

"But we do ask for your help," Helga said softly. "Won't you please at least meet with Sal and Godric before you go? It could mean everything."

Harry couldn't help but want to reassure her; she looked at them so pleadingly, but he had to admit that he did feel rather out of his depth and that perhaps it might be better to let Snape make the decision.

The Potions Master was silent for a long time. He looked so cross and glowered so that Harry was sure he would refuse and he was surprised when Snape finally gave a curt nod. "Very well. How do you propose we go about it?"

"We have a portkey that will take you to Sal's house...well, not actually to his house. Salazar is paranoid about unwanted guests and has all kinds of wards around his property, but the portkey will transport you close by," Rowena said.

"Well, suppose you fetch the portkey and we'll be off," Snape stood from the table, pushing his untouched plate of food away.

"Wouldn't you like to rest a while first?" Helga offered.

"The sooner we finish this fool's mission, the sooner we can return to our own time," Snape answered shortly.

Sarah Trelawney-Dumbledore held out a small leather bag. "This pouch is the portkey. Inside is a magical compass that will lead you directly to Salazar Slytherin's home. Once you've spoken to him, come back here and we'll go to visit Godric."

"And then you will return Potter and myself to our own time," Snape said firmly.

The witches nodded. "Of course."

For the first time, Snape looked over at Harry. "I suppose we should ask your opinion of the situation," he grudgingly admitted.

Harry hesitated, but finally nodded. "I'm willing to help."

Sarah laid the leather bag on the table and waved her wand over it. It glowed with a soft blue light which faded after a few seconds. "The portkey is activated now."

"Right then. Potter, touch it on the count of three," Snape ordered. "One, two, three."

Harry and Snape reached for the bag and then there was the great lurch as if an invisible hook were yanking them through space and everything swirled together.

***

They landed in a small clearing surrounded by tall trees. Harry's feet slammed into the ground with such force that he fell to his knees. Snape scowled down at him.

"Merlin, Potter, do you always land like an ungainly elephant?"

Harry glared but bit back a sharp retort that would have only caused trouble as he climbed to his feet.

Snape rummaged through the bag and pulled out a small silver instrument. He studied it for a moment, then scowled some more. He turned the compass over in his hand as if looking for something on the back and then waved his wand over it. Then, in a rare loss of temper, he flung it to the ground and began to swear in a low furious voice.

Harry watched him uncertainly and a bit nervously. It wasn't like Snape to lose control and Harry decided it might be best for him to just stay quiet for the time being. After a few minutes Snape fell silent. He glared at the compass and then around at the trees, finally settling his gaze on Harry.

Harry tensed, fully expecting the weight of Snape's fury to fall on him, but instead the professor spoke in a terse, but restrained tone. "The compass is not working. Its needle is spinning wildly in circles rather than pointing us in a particular direction. Either it was somehow broken by the portkey travel or those idiot witches didn't set it right to begin with."

"Should we go back to Hogwarts?" Harry asked tentatively. "Can we even...?" His voice trailed off at the fearful thought of being stuck somewhere in an unknown place a thousand years in the past with Snape for his only companion.

Snape waved his hand dismissively. "I can apparate us back to the school, or at least to a point close by, since I don't know whether the anti-Apparition wards have been set up in this time. But I am not sure that that is the wisest course of action."

He paused before saying more slowly. "There is another possibility, Potter. There is a chance that we are pawns in some scheme we do not yet understand, and I am not sure that our hostesses are completely trust-worthy."

"You think they've set us up?" Harry asked him.

"I do not know," Snape answered grimly. "But in any case, I need to think the matter over and I do not want to simply sit here like bait in a trap. Let's move, Potter, and keep your wand at the ready."

Harry nodded, drew his wand, and silently slipped after Snape as the professor cautiously led the way out of the clearing and into the forest beyond.