1613 by Whitetail
Summary: The Potioneer’s Society - a name that conjures images of prestige, brilliance, and fame. But beneath its shining complexion lies something sinister. Evelyn, having fled from the witch hunters to London, has uncovered what very few within the Potioneer’s Society even know: Being brewed in secret within its hallowed halls is a potion that will spell disaster for the Wizarding race should it ever fall into the wrong hands. Unfortunately, the wrong hands are the ones brewing it. With nobody to turn to, she calls Severus Snape and Harry Potter back in time once more, to the year 1613. A daring plan arises immediately, but with only fourteen days to accomplish the break-in of the 17th century, they soon realize that the enemy has everything to gain, and they have everything to lose.
Categories: Snape Equal Status to Harry > Comrades Snape and Harry Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Original Character
Snape Flavour: Snape is Kind
Genres: Action/Adventure
Media Type: None
Tags: Time Travel
Takes Place: 1st Year
Warnings: Character Death, Romance/Het, Violence
Prompts: Sequel Challenge
Challenges: Sequel Challenge
Series: 1612
Chapters: 20 Completed: Yes Word count: 78979 Read: 51857 Published: 01 Sep 2012 Updated: 02 Jan 2013
Across the Ages by Whitetail

"Sir, are we going to go back in time?" Harry asked hesitantly despite the fact that he was quite sure of the answer. They had brushed the dust off of themselves, but the damage was done. It had touched them. Harry was suddenly very glad he had brought his wand down to the dungeons with him.

"I cannot see any other end to this situation," Snape said grimly after taking a deep breath. "I do not think there is any way to stop it. So, we might as well be prepared. Let's see ... what do we need to take with us?"

"Er, a little bit of food, perhaps?" Harry said, though his Professor's question had sounded slightly rhetorical. "We don't know where we'll wind up."

"A good suggestion..." Snape said absentmindedly as he rattled around in a cupboard for potion phials. Harry was surprised by the praise. Snape grabbed a number of phials and stuffed them in his pockets. "I have some of the antidote to that poison. We were lucky last time, but this time, Merlin knows what could happen."

Harry was relieved to hear this. Snape's unease however, did not seem to lift at the knowledge of them having the antidote on hand, as he was pinching the bridge of his nose and grimacing.

"Molly is going to kill me for this ... when we get back," he muttered.

Both of them knew that Snape had been about to say if, instead of when. Harry swallowed.

"I'm sorry sir," Harry said quietly.

"No. I should not have been tampering with that box while you were here."

"You don't suppose McTavish is still alive?" Harry asked anxiously, unable to leave the thought unvoiced. "I mean, I know Evelyn hit him with that knife but ..."

"I would not put it past him to have survived," Snape replied grudgingly. "Now, come with me. I do not know how much time we have so we had best get some supplies now, and I would rather us stick together, if we are to be time travelling again."

Snape strode over to a bookcase and pulled out a few of the books in order. The bookcase swung open, revealing a door. Snape opened it, standing on the threshold as he waited for Harry to follow him.

"This door leads to my quarters. Do not touch anything unless I tell you. Bring that history book with you when you come in. For all we know it might be useful to us, if James McTavish is indeed related to the other one; I have a feeling he's connected to this. On another note, if you tell anyone where the entrance to my quarters is, or what they are like, I will use you as potion ingredients."

"Yes sir," Harry said, taking the threat in stride.

Harry followed Snape through the entrance, and the bookcase shut with a snap behind him. The door had opened to a comfortable sitting room. The carpet was thick, and intricately woven with blues and greens. A sofa sat in front of the fire, which was crackling in the grate. The walls were lined with bookcases and a simple photograph of wild tiger lilies blooming in a field adorned the mantelpiece.

Snape grabbed a travelling cloak off of a hook by the door and threw it on. Harry followed him over to a little kitchen area, where Snape had started opening cupboards and grabbing things. He put the phials of potions in a special case he had extracted from a drawer and put it at the bottom of a rucksack he had summoned to himself. He then wrapped a loaf of bread in a tea towel and put that in as well. He grabbed a small, rather light looking pot off of a hook on the wall and put it in, along with a small bag of tea and two old, chipped mugs.

"Give me the book Potter," Snape said, holding out his hand. Harry passed the book over, and Snape slid the thin volume into the bag.

"Potter, go back into my office and look in the drawer of my desk. There is a bottle labelled Essence of Dittany. Bring it here, and be quick about it."

"Yes sir," Harry said, hurrying into the office. When he had retrieved the bottle Snape stowed it safely in with the other phials.

Harry shivered suddenly. That strange feverish sensation was beginning to set in.

"You feel it too?" Snape asked. Harry nodded. "It is progressing faster than last time."

The strange feeling seemed to confirm their worst fears.

"You are going to need a cloak too. I do not know if you will have time to go back for one. Stay here."

Snape disappeared into what Harry thought was a bedroom. Shuffling sounds came from the room, and after a few moments he returned with a smaller travelling cloak over his arm,

"This one might fit you. I was planning on cutting this old thing up for rags to clean cauldrons with. You are lucky I have it still. It was mine when I was in school. It is quite warm despite the patches."

Harry threw it on. It was still quite big, but Snape shrunk it a little to make it fit.

"Thanks sir," Harry said.

"It never hurts to be prepared," was all Snape said as he double checked what they had in the rucksack. "Well, that is that."

"Now what?"

"Now we wait. But first, I have to talk to Albus, and make sure he tells the Weasleys what has happened."

Cold and shivery, Harry sat down on Snape's sofa while Dumbledore and Snape talked in the small kitchen. The tones were worried and anxious, and after a while Dumbledore tried a number of spells to see if he could get the strange shivery feeling to retreat. But he could not, and Dumbledore needed to prepare for a meeting with the Minister for Magic the next day. In addition to this he had to go inform Molly and Arthur of the situation. So Harry and Snape were left to wait it out and hope that the powder did nothing more than give them chills. Poppy was sent to check on them. As they awaited what seemed inevitable, Harry tried to ask Snape why he had suddenly stopped ignoring him, but he couldn't get the words out.

"S-Sir," Harry said suddenly, hot and cold all over and his teeth chattering. "My h-hands are disappearing."

"Mine too."

They looked at each other in worry as little pieces of them started to disappear, the fabric of their cloaks becoming invisible as well. It was every bit like the last time, except the rate at which things were progressing was quite alarming in comparison to the amount of time it had taken previously.

By nine-thirty they could barely see each other, and the world started to grow dark to Harry's eyes.

"Sir! I think it's happening," Harry cried anxiously.

"Yes," Snape said, and the two stood up shakily as the room around them started to fade away into blackness. Snape gripped Harry's shoulder tightly, and Harry hung onto the fabric of Snape's cloak. Light flashed before Harry's eyes and then they were plunged into darkness as the ground vanished beneath them. The wind screamed in his ears, howling eerily as waves of freezing cold and blistering heat washed over him.

Harry stumbled slightly as his feet slammed into hard stone. Snape had caught him under the elbow to keep him from falling. It was very dark at the place they had arrived, which appeared to be some sort of cobbled side street. It was much later in the night where they were; somewhere, a clock tower struck midnight, its echoing clangs ringing through the empty streets as the dark shapes of houses loomed over them. It was muggy and the air still held traces of warmth. Harry thought it felt like a damp towel was pressing in on his face.

"Where do you think we are?" asked Harry.

Snape squinted around, and did not come up with an answer. There was no moon to light their surroundings, for dark, thick clouds had rolled in overhead. Quite suddenly a streak of lightening, white hot, zigzagged across the sky. It lit rooftops before Harry's eyes, and illuminated the rain, which was descending in a shimmering wall that was sweeping slowly over thatched roofs toward them. The first drops were beginning to fall upon Harry's head.

"We had better find shelter," Snape said after the rumble of thunder had died away. "Perhaps there is an inn around here somewhere."

The walked out from the side street, drawing their cloaks tightly around themselves. Soon the rain fell in sheets, drenching Harry to the bone. The wind rattled shutters and the lightning and thunder crashed through the sky. The blazing flashes of lightning made the streets shine, and the puddles pooled on the cobblestones, slick and black. They ran on, but there was no inn in sight. There was however, a number of small street signs, all painted in an elegant script.

"Do you recognize any of the names?" Harry asked anxiously.

"No," Snape said, water dripping off the end of his nose. They turned the corner and onto another little road, which a sign professed to be Tower Street. Tower Street was velvety black all the way along, except for a window at the very end. A golden pool of light was leaking out from the cracks in the shutters, and shimmering in the rainy night.

"Should we go ask for directions?" Harry inquired.

Snape looked around, and then over the roar of thunder replied, "I guess we might as well. It is too stormy a night to stay out like this, and we had best figure out where we are fast."

Snape started to walk again, this time much quicker. Harry had paused for a moment, eyes entranced by the dark swirling clouds above. He started when light erupted across the sky, and another loud crack of thunder shattered the air. Harry scampered off through the puddles in pursuit of Snape. When he had caught up he remained by his Professor's side. The wind battered them as they stumbled over the cobblestones in the dark.

Shutters slammed open and shut nearby, making Harry jump, but it was just the wind. Trying to keep his mind from the frightening power of the storm, Harry stared at the bits of light only about twenty paces away. It felt as though they would never get there, for the wind refused to let up. Harry had to hang onto his cloak tightly to keep it wrapped around himself, and Snape did the same as another powerful gust of wind made them stumble. Crashing thunder sounded overhead, followed by the bang of more shutters being blown open by the storm.

Light suddenly streamed down the street, reflecting from the running streams and making Harry and Snape blink. They were only a few paces from the home with the lit candles, and a person strode over to the window. It was a woman, and she reached out to pull the shutters closed again, but she paused to look up. Her eyes widened in shock, and then filled with joyful relief.

Harry knew that face, though he could not believe his eyes. It was Evelyn.

"Severus! Harry! Thank goodness ... you're alright, you're alive! Thank God you're here," she croaked.

The door was thrown open, and shocked, the two were led into the house. It was rather cramped inside, and the walls were bare except for a few shelves. A fire was crackling in the grate and a little jar filled with flames threw bright, flickering light onto the table's surface, which was strewn with parchment. A straw tick lay in the corner, with a quilt hastily thrown on top.

"E-Evelyn?" Snape said, dazed and delighted at the same time. Harry was filled with wonder and amazement at the sight of her.

"Is it really you?" she asked, reaching out a finger to touch Snape's cloak, as though she feared she were dreaming. "I - I didn't know what happened to you, I thought ... I thought ..."

"It's us," Harry said, breaking out in a grin.

Both Snape and Harry looked at each other in bewilderment, wondering what they could possibly have done when Evelyn sunk down against the wall and started to sob with gusto. Not even when the entire magical community of Evelyn's village had been captured and sent to be executed for witchcraft had they seen her break down like she did now. Harry was shocked, and Snape looked torn between comforting her and diving out of the window.

"Er ... we can go," Snape said awkwardly at last, taking a step toward the door.

"NO!" she cried suddenly, terrified. She wiped away the tears forcefully, looking angry with herself. "It's just ... you d-don't understand how glad I am to see you. I was ... I was afraid you two didn't make it when you left last time, and couldn't get the antidote in time for H-Harry. And I thought it didn't work - the invention I mean - I thought it had failed to bring you back!"

Snape continued to look a little unnerved at Evelyn's display of emotion, and Harry was at a loss for words.

She got up from the floor shakily, hiccupping and wiping her eyes.

"I'm sorry about that," she said nervously. "I - I suppose I should explain myself. E-Ellery helped me make another one of his summoning devices. The box ... it was my last hope because," she choked slightly, "he d-died last week, and without him I really don't think I could make another. You see, I went to wake him one morning ... and I guess something finally g-gave during the night, I didn't expect him to go so soon."

Angrily she wiped more tears from her eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Snape said, looking grim.

Harry blinked hard, trying not to think of Ellery lest he begin to cry and make a fool of himself in front of Snape.

"Silly me, you must be freezing, where are my manners," Evelyn said, berating herself as she put another log on the fire and put two chairs there. Snape waved his wand over himself and Harry, drying their robes instantly. They both took a chair by the fire.

"So, what did you bring us back for?" Snape asked, sounding as though he almost did not want to know the answer.

"Well, I only meant to bring you Severus," said Evelyn, biting her lip. "I am so glad to see you as well Harry, I just, I didn't expect you to come. I didn't even know if you survived, I feared ... well, you see, this is going to be dangerous and I didn't want to put someone your age into something that has the possibility to go so badly wrong."

"I had not intended for Potter to come along either," Snape said, rolling his eyes, "but he has a tendency to get himself into scrapes."

"You were the one meddling with the box," Harry muttered under his breath rather crossly.

"Quiet Potter. Do continue."

Evelyn continued, looking ill at the thought of what she was about to explain.

"Ellery actually didn't make the box that brought you back. I did. He told me how to do the magic, and I made it with his help."

"Why couldn't he do it?" Harry asked curiously.

"His magic was taken from him," she explained, swallowing. Snape's eyes widened at this. "I don't quite understand how, but that's why I brought you back as help. The Potioneer's Society -"

"Told you it was important," Harry said to Snape under his breath.

"Indeed, now shut up."

"Yes sir," muttered Harry before Evelyn continued.

"- has been developing a potion. They needed a test subject, and one of the members of the Society happens to be Blaine McTavish's brother. He had travelled down into Scotland for his brother's burial, and on the way back to London he stopped in Bridgewater. He went into a pub, and Ellery and I were there too. It wasn't too long after you two left, and so Ellery and I had stopped in Bridgewater too as we fled the area. We wanted to see if you two had reached the Potions Master who made the antidote for McTavish's poison, which you hadn't. We didn't know what to think."

"We returned to our own time before we could get there, luckily enough," Snape added. "We had an antidote on hand in the castle."

"And thank goodness for that. We were so worried." Evelyn brushed her hair out of her eyes and continued. "Anyway, Ellery, myself and the maker of the antidote, whom we had met up with, were talking in the pub and Ellery was telling him what had happened before we fled. He was in the midst of talking about the battle between me and McTavish in the square when we were overheard. Then, James McTavish came over - he looks so much like Blaine, it's scary. At first we weren't really sure if we had been overheard, because he came over to retrieve a coin he had dropped, which had rolled over by our table. I picked it up, gave it to him, and that was that. We got out of there as soon as possible though, thinking we had been lucky, and that he hadn't heard us. It was dark outside, and when we came out someone grabbed Ellery. I think they initially wanted to grab me, but missed. Then he was dragged into an alley and pushed into a big black coach, and that was the last I saw of him for a long time. I tried to follow the coach by air, flying in my animagus form, but then a storm blew up and I had to take refuge in an abandoned barn until it passed. But I had a pretty good idea of where it was going.

"So I came here to London. I figured this must be where he was heading, because Blaine was originally from London. Everyone who knew Blaine before he went on that witch hunting rampage knew that he had family out here, and that he had only moved to Scotland to be with his wife, whom he had fallen in love with while she was living briefly with an Aunt. They moved to her hometown on her request, had their daughter, and you know the rest."

"What did they want with Ellery?" Snape asked.

"That's what I am so worried about," Evelyn said shakily, eyes widening and standing out starkly on her pale face. "I ran across James McTavish not too long ago a few streets over. He is filthy rich, and lives on the West side of London, along with all of his wealthy friends in the Potioneer's Society. He only inherited the family estate because Blaine gave it up, as his wife wanted to raise their children in her home town." Her tone became unmistakably bitter as she continued. "I wondered what James was doing, rubbing shoulders with the peasants, and so I followed him.

"I overheard him and a few others talking about testing a potion that the Society didn't know about, and so I continued to wait around White Cross Street, and tailed him a few times. From what I heard, they were planning on making a potion that would help them become even more powerful and superior. They were careful never to say what the potion did, but the person who did the memory charm on Ellery did it badly, because they only obliviated him of some things, so he remembered how to do magic. Except, he couldn't. The potion took away his magical power, though I don't know how.

"James McTavish met me when he gave Ellery back, so he knows who I am, and what I know. I think he let me find out, hoping I'll get killed trying stop him. He knows that I was the one who killed his brother, and he's seen me. Which is why I need outside help. I can disguise myself, but he'll always be looking for me, and I can only use my animagus form so much. In addition to that, even in my animagus form I still can't get into the building because of the wards. I've managed to get this house, and it was the closest place I could get to the Potioneer's Society. It's been easier to spy on them what with me not having to apparate across the city and risk getting caught by muggles. But still, I've only been able to do a bit of listening with magic near perimeter of the building itself, as I can't get in the wards. On top of it all, I know next to nothing about the Potioneer's Society, or potions in general, which was why I needed you."

The few lines on Snape's face became more prominent as he digested this information.

"It certainly is a tricky situation," he said both gravely and thoughtfully. "That potion could have the potential to do irreparable damage to the wizarding world. I can't imagine how much someone of high status would be willing pay for a potion that held that kind of power. To simply sterilize someone of their magic ... it is the ultimate threat. What do you propose we do to prevent this from being distributed? Unless it already has been?"

"Each batch takes two months to brew. They used up the small test batch on Ellery. Shortly after I found out what the potion did, and before they got too suspicious of me, I was spying at the Potioneer's Society building in my animagus form. I heard McTavish say that it would take at least that long until a larger batch would be ready."

"So what you're saying," Snape began, starting to see the scope of things, and clearly not liking the image he was seeing, "is that we have to infiltrate the Potioneer's Society - a building with some of the most advanced magical security of this century, might I add - then destroy the recipe and all traces of the potion, including - at the very least - altering the memories of those involved."

"Yes. But there's one more thing I haven't told you."

"What?"

"We have fourteen days to do it."

Snape cussed colourfully, and Harry felt his stomach sinking.

Evelyn sunk down by the hearth, resting her chin on her knees.

"It's too late to get any further tonight. It will be better if we figure it out tomorrow, once we've had some rest."

The three stared into the fire, eyes filled with worry.

"It's good to see you Evelyn," said Snape in a low voice after a while.

"It's good to see you too," she replied, the ghost of a smile emerging on her weary features.

***

 

It was a restless night for everyone, and for Harry and Snape this had little to do with the hard floor they were trying to sleep on. Evelyn had two spare blankets to give them, and because both Harry and Snape insisted, she slept on the straw tick rather than let one of them have it. The firelight had glowed softly for much of the night as the thunder and lightning raged above the house. There were times when all three of them were woken with a start, when a wild crash shook the floor. It must have been close to three in the morning when Evelyn finally gave up trying to sleep. When she got up, she cast a little flame into a glass jar. Harry watched it flickering on the tabletop from where he was lying by the dying fire. Evelyn took a roll of parchment, and a quill and ink pot from a small shelf nearby. The dim light from the trapped fire washed over the parchment as Evelyn spread it out, the dancing flames reflecting in her eyes. Unable to sleep any longer with the storm hammering the thin wooden walls of the house, Harry too pushed aside the quilt he was wrapped up in, and took a seat at the table.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes slightly before putting his glasses back into place. Evelyn looked up from the parchment.

With a tired smile she said, "I'm trying to make a rough map of London to make it easier to plan an attempt at getting into the Potioneer's Society. I'm afraid I haven't had the good fortune to have lived here all my life, unlike many of those at the Potioneer's Society."

Harry frowned, "How are you managing that? London's really big."

"With a lot of wandering around," said Evelyn. "I'm not making much progress though. It would be easier if I could find a way to fly undetected on a broomstick, above the city. But I don't have a broomstick, and unfortunately people don't take kindly to ravens circling above their houses. Children like to throw rocks at them. I almost broke my wing the last time."

"Maybe you won't have to do that," Harry said, an idea dawning on him. "Hold on."

Tiptoeing past the slumbering Snape, Harry went over to retrieve the rucksack Snape had brought with them. He carried it over to the table and unbuckled it. From it he slid the history book they had brought, and flipped through the pages. It was slightly damp from the rain, as the water had soaked through the rucksack. 

Evelyn looked extremely interested.

"It's a history book about the Potioneer's Society," said Harry. "We brought it along when we realized we might be travelling back in time again, because it mentioned James McTavish, and we thought he might be connected somehow. I think it's got a map in here."

Harry did some more flipping while Evelyn tried not to look too hopeful.

"Here it is," Harry said, delighted. "Look, there are two comparing the city before the Great Fire of London, and after. The second shows where the new Potioneer's Society was built. But we'll only need the older map."

"The Great Fire of London?" Evelyn asked, looking puzzled. "When was that?"

"Er," Harry said, biting his lip. "Never mind about that. It's not for a long time."

"Alright then," said Evelyn, looking down at the earlier map, her expression changing from one of confusion to one of joy. "This is perfect."

"And look, it even has the Potioneer's Society labelled, as well as the street names."

"Harry, this is so helpful, thank you."

"No problem. Um Evelyn, one question," Harry said. "I never did ask, what's the time?"

"I don't have a clock."

"Sorry, I mean, the date and year."

Evelyn chuckled slightly. "I guess you wouldn't know, would you? The year is 1613, and it is the 11th of June."

"Weird," Harry said. "It's only May back home."

"I suppose that would be a little bit strange," she said, peering down at the page with the map on it. "Time travel isn't meant to match up exactly anyway, I don't think."

As Evelyn was studying the map, which was a little small, she began to sketch out a brand new version on parchment. She explained to Harry as she did so that she needed to do some drawings overtop the map, and the extra space would be helpful. Harry watched her work in silence, and put his chin on his hands, which rested upon the table. Rain washed over the walls of the little house, the sound filling Harry's ears, along with the occasional scratch of Evelyn's quill. The soft tinkling of droplets of water falling into the many pots and buckets around the room was rather relaxing to Harry.

"Could you pass me the red ink?" Evelyn asked, indicating to the little pot sitting next to Harry's elbow.

Harry pushed it over to her, and she took the cap off, dipped the quill in and bent over her parchment once more. She brushed her auburn hair aside, as it was in danger of getting in the way of the not yet dry ink, which gleamed in the dim light, shimmering slightly as she continued to draw and label. Harry tore his gaze from the parchment as the map took shape before his eyes, and instead looked upon Snape. His Professor did not look like he was sleeping peacefully. His brows were furrowed, and he was frowning. He shifted in his sleep, onto his side, curled up under the quilt. A soft moan escaped his lips, and he curled up further.

"Sometimes I wonder what it is that haunts him at night," said Evelyn softly after a moment or two of this. Harry jumped, not realizing she had looked up from her paper.

"Huh?" Harry asked.

"When you two were here last year he barely slept, and the few times I did see him sleeping he looked like that," Evelyn continued, looking troubled. "It's like he can't wait to wake up to escape from his own head."

"Well, I don't think he has a very pleasant past," Harry muttered vaguely, thinking how Snape had confessed to him that he had unknowingly passed the piece of information to Voldemort that led to Harry's parents' deaths. While Harry had forgiven him, he thought that Snape still felt guilty. Often Harry wondered if there wasn't more to the picture. He did know that his mother had once been Snape's friend, and so he thought that perhaps that was the greatest cause of his professor's apparent guilt. Harry felt sick just thinking about what he would do if ever played a part in the death of one of his friends, unknowingly or not. "We talked a bit about it when McTavish had us locked up in jail. I don't think he'd want me to tell you. You'll have to ask him."

"No, I would rather hear it from Severus," said Evelyn. "From what I can tell, he doesn't trust people much already, so it wouldn't do for you to discuss such things with me behind his back."

"He's kind of bitter sometimes," Harry confessed suddenly, letting out a sigh and thinking of the way Snape had been treating him before they came here. "Well, really bitter. I sort of wonder what made him that way. It's weird, because he was actually pretty nice to me when we came back in time last time, but when I got out of the hospital wing back at school, it was like it never happened."

"Why, how was he different?"

"He has this way of looking right through you, I guess," Harry muttered. "But it wasn't like before we went back in time. Before he always insulted me in class. He was awful to me for the first few months of my first year at Hogwarts, but I think that's because he and my dad didn't get along, and he thought I was like him. I don't think he minded me all that much when he really got to know me, and I think he almost started to like me a tiny bit... or at least I thought so, because, after we got back home he started to act like I wasn't there. He wouldn't see me in the hallways if I tried to catch him to ask a question, or even comment on my potions in class. Then as soon as I showed him the book on the Potioneer's Society and we started talking about what happened, it was like he was a whole different person again. But it was funny; he was acting a bit like he couldn't make up his mind whether or not to talk to me. He's strange, sometimes."

Harry sighed and shook his head, resting his chin on his fists.

"What do you think brought that on?"

"I dunno. I just can't figure him out, or decide what to think of him for that matter. I mean, one moment I'm not there, and the next he's talking almost cheerfully and answering all my questions. It's like he can't decide whether to like me or not. I sort of feel the same way, what with the way he changes so much."

"He definitely is complicated," said Evelyn, glancing to where Snape was tossing and turning in his sleep. "He's a bit stubborn, but you know, oddly enough I've actually missed Severus quite a lot."

"Me too," Harry muttered. "The one that listens, at least."

Evelyn nodded slightly, looking pensive.

Snape moaned in his sleep, his foot kicking out, the quilt tangled around him.

Both Harry and Evelyn started, and turned their eyes on Snape for a moment or two. Thunder crashed overhead, but Snape did not wake up.

Garbled speech tumbled from Snape's mouth, coming thick and fast. Harry couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Do you think I should wake him?" Evelyn asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," said Harry, nodding gravely. He knew all too well what it was like to be trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up.

Harry laid his head on the table and watched out of the corner of his eye as Evelyn got up and went over to where Snape was sleeping. She knelt down, holding a hand out above his shoulder. She hesitated slightly, but as Snape's face became pinched with fear she shook him gently. The rain was coming down harder now, so Harry could just barely hear her speaking. Harry knew he should pay no attention, but it was difficult not to watch.

"Severus," she called loudly, though he did not respond for a little while.

Quite suddenly, Snape let out a gasp and bolted upright, one of his hands clenching the fabric of the quilt, his knuckles white. He looked around wildly for a moment, and then recognition poured over his face, and his hand released the fabric. Harry could not hear what Evelyn said over the storm, for she was speaking in a low voice. She still knelt by Snape's side. He remained sitting up, panting. He nodded to whatever it was she said to him, and he muttered something back. Snape looked ill, even in the warm light from the fire. Evelyn spoke a few more words, and Snape shook his head. He looked up for a second, and caught Harry staring. Harry looked away for a moment, and when he looked back Snape was lying on his side, his back to them. Evelyn stood up and went back to the table.

"You should try to get some sleep Harry," she said.

"Okay," Harry said. Evelyn seemed like she needed peace and solitude to work, so he got out of the chair and crawled under his own quilt. Evelyn looked lost in thought as she stared at the map before her.

Lying still and letting the warmth of the fire fight off the dampness of the room, Harry stared over at Snape's form, lying not far from him. For a second, Harry thought he saw Snape's back give a shudder, but the motion had stopped so quickly Harry decided he must have imagined it.

The End.
End Notes:
Well, hope you guys enjoyed that one. I had a lot of fun with the time traveling sequence and the arrival in London. I hope it showed.


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