Chapter Text
Chapter One: Surprises
July 28th, 1995
Severus Snape was not terribly fond of surprises. More to the point, he absolutely despised them. Most of the surprises in his life had in fact turned out to be poorly disguised catastrophes. Indeed, he even found the concept of a surprise party tactless. One should be informed in advance if well wishers were to jump out from behind a wall shouting, “Happy Birthday,” or some such nonsense.
Not that Severus had ever collected enough well-wishers for such a ridiculous affair. Merlin forbid.
He avoided mystery novels on principle, he could do without a riveting plot twist, thanks ever so. Those of higher intellect preferred to have a complete understanding of what should happen next at any given time. Severus maintained that it was merely this intellectual superiority that moved him to inform his Mother that wrapping his Christmas present would only provide a potentially unnecessary shock.
It was therefore to his great disdain that he found himself in a complete state of surprise several times in the course of a single day. The first shock, in hindsight, turned out to be the least surprising thing to occur that day.
It happened as he was standing in the basement of his home, stirring a steaming cauldron in his potions laboratory. Bright purple steam poured off the cauldron and Severus sighed in a state of contentment that only a well brewed potion could afford him. Severus tended to view his lab as something of a sacred space. It was his sanctuary away from the pressures of the Dark Lord, annoying headmasters, and worst of all…teenagers. The only types of surprise he was accustomed to in this space were of the potion related variety. Mild explosions, ruined brews, and frankly, genius innovations were to be expected.
Severus never allowed anyone into his lab, he barely allowed anyone into his house as it was. The wards on his home were extensive, to the point of paranoia if Minerva was to be believed. He was therefore immediately placed on guard when he spotted the shadow of someone moving steadily down the small corridor that led into his lab.
His years of spying for the Dark Lord were appreciated at times like this as he carefully and silently followed the stranger who was now approaching the staircase leading to his kitchen. When Severus finally caught up the mysterious individual, he was quick to react.
“Identify yourself!” Severus demanded, drawing his wand and pointing it at the back of a tall figure dressed in pitch black robes.
“Calm yourself, you know, stress will spoil your lovely complexion.” drawled the intruder in a strangely familiar tone.
Undeterred, Severus growled, “I said, identify yourself!” Severus was beginning to feel unsettled by his inability to gain control of the situation. Feeling trapped in his own home was an entirely unwelcome sensation he hadn't felt since childhood.
The interloper had the audacity to sigh dramatically, before saying cooly, “When you were 5 years old, you fell out of the apple tree in old Jenkins yard, you still have a small scar on your knee, shaped like a crescent moon.”
“I...what...?” Severus had never spoken of that day, not even to Lily. His father had received a phone call from Mr. Jenkins, citing injury to his tree, resulting in one of the most severe punishments Severus had ever received.
The figure slowly turned around and Severus was confronted with the disarming reality of his own reflection. He thought for a delirious moment that he had stumbled into a mirror, before his general senses caught up with him.
“Who told you that, who exactly are you?” Severus was proud of the cool demanding tone he was able to produce, it is after all, not every day that one is confronted by a stranger wearing their own face.
He had hoped to convey and air of intimidation, However, his mirror image simply sighed once again. “You’re awfully slow. I suppose I was dropped on my head as an infant in this universe?” He said snidely.
Severus, not lowering his wand, changed tact, “Explain, quickly.” He would not allow this strange man to control the conversation.
Another sigh. Self conscious offense clawed in Severus’s chest. “Obviously, I’m you, or a version of you I suppose. I recently discovered a Vilagre. I was sorely tempted by the thought of...” The man broke off this thought shaking his head. “Well, at any rate, I must admit, in a fit of foolishness I put it on, it has clearly not placed me where I had hoped and instead in your...hmm, how shall I put this, charming universe.” The sneer that accompanied this statement was hardly needed to emphasize just how charming his counterpart found the welcome reception.
Severus meanwhile, found himself quite affronted by the severity of this surprise. The Vilagre was considered to be a dark artifact, capable of transporting an individual into a closely related universe, and was widely thought to have been eradicated in the early 19th century. Many Wizards had fallen prey to the allure of it, traveling between universes, attempting to find one that better suited them. Some searched for a lost loved one, others for riches, fame, or success. Such jumping resulted in a weakening and occasional loss of the magical core, and thus the ministry had outlawed them, claiming dark influences were at play. Severus could think of only one thing that would have caused him to attempt such a foolish thing, one someone to be precise.
Severus scoffed, but recovered quickly, not enjoying feeling wrong-footed by this other version of himself. “Well I'd have put the kettle on if I’d known you’d be making this sudden appearance." He sneered sarcastically. Then he pinched the bridge of his nose, frustrated that the situation would require intervention. "I imagine you’ll be wanting to speak with Albus presently?” Involving the Headmaster seemed the wise course of action, despite making Severus feel vaguely childish.
The man eyed him closely, as if he could see through Severus's insecurity. “Yes, that would be ideal. It may be beneficial to exchange some pertinent information." He said pompously. "I'm assuming the Dark Lord has also returned in this universe?” The other Severus looked annoyingly unruffled by the entire affair.
“Unfortunately, yes he has. Albus is at Headquarters, are you planning to question him on every minute difference in this world?" Severus sneered. "I know you’ve come looking for her, so I'll save you the trouble, she's as gone here as she is surely in your world.” He spat harshly. The man was a fool if he thought he could absolve his sins by finding Lily in another universe.
The man didn’t even manage a sigh this time, looking at Severus as if he possessed less intellect than a flobberworm. “It’s not as though I was attempting to find her for myself.” He snarled.
Severus barely had time to process what his alternate self could have possibly meant by that when he continued on. “Regardless, we must find out what exactly differs in your world, even a dunderheaded Hufflepuff would realize that even small differences could create a ripple effect. Such differences could even change the course of this war.”
He lectured in such a way that Severus pondered if he also sounded quite so pompous when he spoke to his students. He quickly dismissed this notion, deciding that it must simply be a nasty quirk of his counterpart.
Severus, while he was still somewhat unsure of the validity of this strange creature, strived at all times to be the bigger person. Relenting to the whims of his alternate self rankled, however, especially since this version maintained a sense of self-assuredness and calm that Severus currently envied. “Very well, let's see, Cornelius Fudge is denying the Dark Lords return.” Severus intoned.
“Ah yes well, seems his idiocy can not be contained to a singular universe.”
Severus reluctantly felt the corners of his lip turn upward. “Indeed, I assume the Order has reconvened in Black’s home?”
“Obviously.”
“Alright, hmm, were you born in Cokeworth?”
Alternate Severus rolled his eyes, gesturing at their surroundings, muttering “Nevermind, this is asinine.”
“It was your idea!” Severus nearly threw his hands up in exasperation, an action that would have been entirely unlike him. Clearly he had even less control over the situation than he had thought. They glared silently at one another before deciding equally as silently to give up on the line of questioning.
The odd pair moved simultaneously toward the stairs, intending to owl the Headmaster, mutually preferring to pass this dilemma off on Albus rather than enduring further time in each other's dubious company.
As they walked, Severus was again drawn to comparison of his other universe self. What could be so different in his world that caused him to look so, well…different? They weren't large differences, perhaps slightly less shadows beneath his eyes, fuller in the face, cleaner hair. What was far more disquieting was that this man looked happy, a state of being Severus could not recall experiencing in at least two decades.
Severus was shaken from his silent contemplation when his counterpart nonchalantly delivered the second shockingly unpleasant surprise of the day.
“So, is Harry home?"
Harry Potter was not terribly fond of surprises. When he was small, huddled and cold in his cupboard, a surprise usually meant a bang on his door, a rough hand dragging him out. Such an occurrence usually ended in a smack, a belt, and no meals for days at a time. These incidents typically followed a bout of extremely strange activity.
He had once appeared on the roof of his primary school, having been chased by Dudley's gang one moment, and thirty feet above ground the next. When Aunt Petunia had sheared off his hair leaving only his fringe, he'd been so humiliated, only to find it grown back the next morning. Then of course, there was Dudley's 11th birthday in which the other boy had become trapped in the Brazilian Boa’s enclosure. Despite the consequences of this event, Harry still thought on this occasion with some humour. He often wondered what became of the wanderlust filled snake he’d freed.
These events had left a lasting impression on Harry, the impression that he was different, dangerous, a freakish waste of space. It wasn't until Hogwarts that Harry learned that the odd things he could do weren't a result of freakishly bad behaviour, but in fact accidental magic. It hardly mattered now, as it turned out, he was a different, dangerous, waste of space.
“Just take the cup Cedric. On the count of three…Kill the spare.”
Harry just brought death and misery wherever he went. He couldn't even manage to be normal in a world where unicorns were real and you could fly on broomsticks. He had started out his freakish campaign with getting his parents killed before he was out of nappies. Now, Cedric was dead, and once again it was his fault. Why should Harry be alive while someone like Cedric was not? Someone with parents who loved him, who didn't bring everyone down into darkness with him.
To prove the point, tonight has been no exception to the “surprises are horrid and destruction follows Harry” rule. The last thing Harry had expected while arguing with his cousin on Magnolia Crescent was to encounter a dementor, but it was undeniably something he should have anticipated by this point. After dragging Dudley through the front door, narrowly avoiding having vomit painted on his shoes, Harry found that he himself was the one being dragged.
He desperately implored his uncle as he was pushed roughly to the floor, uncaring of how pathetic his pleading sounded. “Please Uncle Vernon.. I swear, I swear, I didn't do anything to Dudley, it was dementors...they are these horrible creatures, they...they guard the magical prison”
“Do NOT say that word in my house” Vernon thundered. His face was rapidly turning the shade of puce that usually indicated that Harry was about to be in a world of pain.
It should be noted that this would have been a very good time to feel surprised, by Harry's accounting. It would have been a quite pleasant surprise if his uncle would have acted out of character, sat him down for a cup of tea and talked through the issue calmly.
Harry’s life, he had long since learned, was never full of pleasant surprises. As it happened, the familiar swishing sound as his uncle removed his belt was unsurprising, he could easily predict the path of the leather sailing through the air towards him, he felt the sting of it against his skin before it ever struck. What was slightly surprising, was that long after Harry had lost the ability to count the strikes of the belt, he was once again dragged along the floor.
However, it was not towards the stairs leading up to his room, but rather to the cupboard under the stairs into which he was unceremoniously shoved. Harry barely made out what was said before the door slammed shut.
“You should have never been born, freak.”
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“So, is Harry home?"
The words echoed strangely in Severus’s mind. He could define each word individually, however the particular combination and implications simply did not register. Harry? Surely this man did not mean-
“..Potter? He’s at home with his relatives of course.”
His counterpart suddenly lost the aloof manner Severus had been admiring just moments before. His face was rapidly draining of colour, and he looked stricken.
“What on earth is he still doing with those wretched beasts?” He growled in a low dangerous tone, his eyes flickering madly around the stairwell, as if he would locate the missing boy within the peeling walls.
“He and his muggle cousin were attacked by a dementor last night, the Order has a party heading out tonight to retrieve him and bring him to headquarters.” Severus personally felt that the full Order escort was a bit much, but only the best for the spoiled prince Potter of course.
His counterparts faced paled even further. “Unacceptable, I shall retrieve him immediately.” With this he fled up the stairs faster than Severus was aware his body could be capable of, and was gone. Presumably the man had left in this desperate fit to retrieve the Potter brat. For whatever reason this had turned him from a collected sneering menace into a man possessed. What urgent business could he possibly have with the boy that couldn't wait until the evening?
Severus continued to ponder the strange reaction of his counterpart as he started up the stairs at a more reasonable pace, seeking Albus’s guidance more acutely than before. He had barely made it to the top of the stairs before he was nearly toppled over by his third unwelcome surprise of the day. Severus grabbed hold of whatever had tumbled blindly into him and found himself with an armful of black haired, bespeckled teenager. Glancing down he was confronted with familiar bright emerald eyes, blinking owlishly up at him in obvious relief. The boy was breathing in small gasps as if he had run a great distance.
“Severus! … Sweet Merlin…I was.. so worried..”
Clearly this day was not about to get any better.