Mirror images.
~present-past~
Severus Snape seldom got bothered with dreams. After years as a death eater for Voldemort and secret spy for Dumbledore he'd experienced enough to make any normal man go insane. Two years had passed since the Great War in which Voldemort finally died a painful death. Severus hid his betrayal well, but when his master gave him the order to kill Harry Potter he'd flinched, for just a second, but that was enough. With a rage beyond anything Severus had ever witnessed, the betrayed launched him self at him with one thing in mind, killing him. And Severus would have died. Beyond any doubt a most excruciating death, worse than any crucatius curse. From nowhere his savior appeared, a tiny second before Severus' heart would stop beating and he would stop drawing breath. The Avada Kedavra claimed the war's last victim, the life of the dark lord Voldemort himself. Blinded by pain Severus couldn't see who it was that had saved him at first, but he could recognize the voice any day.
"Are you alright, professor Snape?" So it was that he once again would be saved by one in the Potter-line of heroes, damn them and their courage!
Yes, Severus seldom dreamt at night. But that didn't mean his rest was peaceful and blessed. His old days as a death eater came back to haunt him in his sleep, denying him to forget all the lives he'd ruined, all the pain he'd caused and all the pain caused to him.. There was a dark scar on his soul and it burned every night denying him to let go of the past. He was a cursed man, cursed by his past and his memories. No wonder he behaved the way he did, he knew no other way. But on this peculiar night his mind escaped the old nightmares. He'd never had any clairvoyant experiences in his life, the only skills he had when it came to guessing the future was reading the stars on the night sky. But this had nothing to do with the future, this was a call from the past. His resting mind was approached by a witch from the past, and how odd this felt he instantly knew it to be true. It was a pitiful creature, lurking in the shadows, and she had an offer to make.
The next day he went to the headmaster's office, feeling pretty excited for a change. Finally he would have the chance to do something good and decent! He'd seen the strain Albus was under for the time being and knew of the Demon Mage, Voltimore, terrorizing the Sherwood Forrest. He knew the headmaster had been searching for the owner of a certain artifact the last couple of days with no effect. It seemed the object had got lost somewhere along time.. And now this perfect opportunity had presented it self for him to go back in time to fetch the thing. Sure, he was a suspicious man, and the opportunity of which he'd received the offer was almost to well timed, but the witch had claimed she had a feeling he was in great need of this very object and mentioned nothing about Voltimore. Besides, it was an offer he couldn't allow himself to be too suspicious to. He wanted to remove the anxiety causing the headmaster's worries and this was the way to do it. Voltimore would be hard enough to fight without the stone, but with it he would be damn near invulnerable and immortal. Little did Severus know Voltimore wasn't the cause of Albus' worries, there was something else...
*-*
Albus Dumbledore hadn't slept for 48 hours. He didn't dare to fall asleep for the time being, afraid the omens might haunt him again. He had played with the idea of denying Severus to do this, but he knew now he no longer had any choice but to let the Potions Master do what he in ten minutes time would be bursting through the door to tell that he was doing. And he knew that if he told Severus what he knew- he probably wouldn't go. But that couldn't be. No matter how Albus turned and twisted the facts- he knew he had to let Severus go. If Albus stepped in and interfered with Severus' faith things that should happen wouldn't, and the world might very well face doom.
Severus arrived at time, his pale face lightened with eagerness one seldom saw on this man. He had the look of a child that have a secret he knows will bring great joy when it tells its father.
"Severus, child! I'm so glad to see you! Come, sit down." Despite his worries Albus still had the ability to smile, although not as brightly as usual. Severus whooshed over to the nearest chair and sat down.
"I have great news, Headmaster! The artifact, I know where to get it!" He actually smiled! Albus' heart bled within.
"Really?" he answered and tried to looked amazed: "How, where?" Severus was a man known for his patience and his calmness, but now he seemed to have trouble sitting still.
"Last night, I had a dream from the past. A witch offered it to me in exchange for some favors. I've been thinking it through, of course, and I really think I shouldn't let this chance go by me."
"But what if it is some sort of set-up?" Albus argued, he couldn't let Severus off to easy, he would smell it if he tried to hide something from him too openly.
"I've checked the witch' story out and it seems believable enough. She did own the artifact till her death, in fact she's the last known owner of it. And if I should stumble into some devious trap I'm grown enough to take care of my self!" The headmaster looked at him with big sorrowful eyes:
"Are you really sure you want to do this?" Severus was dead calm, there were no trace of worry or anxiety in his features as he answered:
"Yes."
"Very well then. I trust you to bring the artifact and your self back in one piece, while I go to Sherwood and try to keep nasty old Voltimore occupied." Albus hesitated a moment before he continued:
"When will you leave and how long will you be away?"
"For one month," Severus answered as he got to his feet: "And I'll be leaving tonight, it's a full moon and the perfect opportunity to cast a time-portal. Albus rose to his feet and pulled the younger closer to a harsh hug.
"Good luck, child," he said, while fighting the tears threatening to betray his calm features: "And please remember, you're always in my thoughts!"
"Albus, I'll only be gone for a month. It's not like I'm going off to die or anything!" Severus answered a tad agitated. He had never grown used with the comfort an embrace can give, quite frankly he found them rather scaring, especially when it was Albus that was handing them out.
"I know, I'm sorry! I'm acting like such a wuss!" the headmaster said and smiled. He showed Severus his way out and thereby returned to his desk, graver than ever.
his mind repeated over and over again.
*-*
Severus had a lot of things to prepare for the upcoming night. He had to pack, and on the top of his head he knew he would be needing a traveling chemistry kit and the most useful ingredients for making good, working potions with all the finesse an old witch from the dark ages could desire. He also needed some spare robes and cloaks, clothes and a good astronomy kit. Last but not least he would need a good pile of parchments and drafts, and maybe a small cauldron to be on the safe side. He was so lost in his thoughts as he strolled down the hallway he didn't notice Harry Potter before he bumped into him.
"Potter! Would you mind walking in the way of somebody else?! I do not have the time to stumble over boys which minds are too preoccupied to pay attention to where they are going! Sometimes I really wonder whom you and all Potters are descending from!" he spat out and continued down the hall with billowing robes before Harry even had the chance to reply.
The night came and Severus was ready. He had packed all the belongings he needed in a small magical purse, which could contain the same as a big muggle-trunk. A small chill went down his back as the moon appeared from black and blue clouds, it was time. He had to cast a particularly hard and mind-draining spell to open a gate through time, and he needed the person on the other side's awareness of his coming. He closed his eyes as he uttered the spell, using all his energy and power, while he made a circle movement with his wand. A bright shining light made him open his eyes again and there he saw the portal. It was shaped like a big hole covered with a mass resembling the shining surface of a soap-bubble. He had never traveled through time before and he was curious how the experience would affect his body. He'd read somewhere that all you would feel stepping through a time-portal was a tingling sensation down your back, and sometimes from under your feet. If that was all there would be nothing to it!
He held his breath and entered the portal. A small whoosh went by his ears, and a sudden weakness struck his body as he went through the barrier. He felt the presence of something, and this something seemed to strip his mind of his natural abilities. Severus felt weak and vulnerable as he stumbled into the dimly lit courtyard. He didn't need magic to know that he was being watched, it was not a pleasant feeling. And as he stood there, struggling with a strange kind of queasiness he reached out for his wand and discovered it was missing. That was a detail he hadn't expected... Pulling back the cowl he wore, he shouted out:
"Show yourself!" and the witch did.
*-*
To find yourself staring into the beardless face of your only living son, even for a witch can be a shock. Only this wasn't her son, this was her blood but not her son. In fact the man standing in front of her was everything her son wasn't, she could feel the magic surrounding him ... like the blood running through his veins... rich and deep like a fine wine. She knew that the demon had made sure of him passing through the gate without his wand and that it had dampened his natural abilities so that he would be easier to handle the following months. And there, within him her son's future son had just been created by a single curse from her dark friend.
In those few terrible seconds of silence that seemed to last and last, she felt a terrible urge to devour and tear the flesh of the being standing in front of her. She wanted to bite into that pale neck and suck the blood, drink it bathe in it.. and suddenly just as quickly the urge passed.
*-*
Severus felt it, the ripple as it went over him and the old witch, he'd been cursed as he stepped through the void. In front of him this old witch stared at him like she was seeing a ghost, and Severus didn't like it one bit. She was a miserable old thing, foul looking and withered.
"What are you hiding from me, old woman!" he said and wrapped his arms around his chest. The witch twitched for a moment and then tried to lure him off with a false and teeth-lacking smile.
"What do you mean, noble Sire? I have nothing to hide from you." Severus could tell a lie when he spotted one, but he knew better than to blurt out with information that would be best kept hidden. Something was not right here, and in his current state he was in no shape of defending himself if anything should occur. He decided to bide his time and pretend he didn't suspect a thing. And spite the witch' efforts to throw it off, it was still there, Severus could feel it. He would have to be careful, before he could remove anything he would have to know what it was, and he had to be strong enough... This curse, what ever it was, was something he had to live with for the time being, and in the mean while he would try to figure out who put it there in the first place.
*-*
He was shown to his room in one of the towers, above the vest wing. This was where he would be instructing the witch in potions and tell her about the future, and this would also serve as his living- quarters. As soon as the old woman had left he crashed to bed, feeling a weakness he'd never experienced before in his life. It felt like something had attached it self to him now draining his energy like a leach. Severus was believing this would be a very long month. But he'd had his first glimpse of the stone though, hanging round the witch' neck. At the end of this month she would give the artifact to him and he could, hopefully, return to the present, that if he had regained his strength and managed to do the spell without his wand. There were an awfully lot of ifs, and Severus decided not to worry about his return, yet. First he had to figure out what was making him so weak and vulnerable.
He awoke the next morning to one of the greatest shocks of his life. As he opened his eyes he noticed that a man was sitting next to him, but that wasn't what stirred him the least. The stranger leaned closer so that Severus could see him more plainly and a gasp of surprise bribed its way up his throat. It was unbelievable! Dark, shoulder long hair, black eyes, a crooked nose and thin lips with a curl on them, he was staring into the face of a man that could have been his identical twin! His twin had a beard, though, and his hair was differently arranged, but other from that...
The other man broke into a great smile as he presented himself:
"Good morning, lord Snape! I'm the Sheriff of Nottingham, and the owner of this humble castle. I beg your forgiveness, I just had to see... My mother has told me so much about you and your striking resemblance of , well... me- by the breakfast-table that I just had to see for my self!" So that's why that old witch had looked so amazed when she'd approached him. But how could this be? How come he had stepped centuries back in time and ended up staying with someone that looked exactly like him? He tried to sit up and felt the weakness hadn't let go. So it was staying for the time being then.
Severus soon understood that the Sheriff was a dangerous man. There was something ..strange.. about him, the way he behaved, who would have sat down by the bed of a total stranger to see how he looked- for crying out loud, and the way he looked at him. Sure, Severus understood that the man would be curious how it could be they looked so alike, he knew he was, but there was something more... When he started his lessons with him in statesmanship he had no rest from his eyes. They followed him everywhere, watched his every step, his every gesture. He often behaved like a spoiled child if there was something he didn't understand and Severus had to bite his tongue several times not to spit out harsh remarks. If this had been back at Hogwarts the dear Sheriff would get a treatment he would never forget. But Severus didn't dare show to much of his natural temper around here. He still had this weird cloud of uneasiness hanging over him and he still hadn't figured out what sort of trap he'd walked into. But he had a strong sensation he shouldn't turn his back on this man.
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