11Chapter 2: A Future In the Past
Eve felt a presence standing over her before she actually saw it. She felt someone brush the hair away from her face but her eyelids were too heavy to open. Voices were light buzzes in her ear before they finally started to clear.
"Padfoot, get away from her!" someone hissed. "You'll scare her!"
"What are you talking about? It would be a blessing to wake up to my beautiful face," a playfully indignant voice claimed. Eve could feel the hand in her hair.
'Don't touch me,' Eve tried to say. But her tongue felt thick as cotton.
"Should we call Dumbledore?" a timid voice asked. Through her foggy conscience, Eve recognized the voice though she couldn't conjure a face to go with it.
"NO! If we call Dumbledore he'll know we were out of bed after hours!"
"So what do you suggest, we just leave them here?"
"Shut up," Eve snapped, her tongue finally unraveling. Their bickering made her already throbbing head pound. She pried her eyelids apart and stared hard at the four boys hovering over her with anxious eyes.
"Are you all right?" A boy with sandy brown hair asked offering his hand.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Eve muttered, ignoring his outstretched hand and pulling herself to her feet.
The boy lowered his hand uncertainly and glanced at the others. No one was quite sure what to make of the mystery girl.
Eve paid them no mind. Looking around, she saw that they had landed in front of the double doors of the Great Hall.
'How anticlimactic,' she thought wryly. What a waste of an adventure.
The boys watched her silently.
"Umm…excuse me, what's your name and what are you doing here?" a boy with messy black hair and glasses asked curiously. "I'm pretty sure I've never seen you here before."
Eve cast him an equally curious look. For a moment she had thought he was Harry, Granger's good friend. But on second glance, she realized his eyes were a light hazel instead of vibrant green. Still, the resemblance was uncanny.
"I know I've never seen you before; I would have remembered a pretty face like that," Eve whirled her eerie eyes to a tall handsome boy, black hair brushing his shoulder. He grinned at her shamelessly. His friends sighed and rolled their eyes at him.
"For Merlin's sake, Sirius," one muttered.
Sirius. The name sparked a memory in her. Something her father had told her. She thought hard but nothing came. She vowed to think about it later. At that moment she had this loser to deal with. She snorted at him and eyed him distastefully before returning her attention to the messy haired boy. "My name is Eve."
Usually when Eve introduced herself, a spark of fear ignited in people. Everyone knew who she was. Everyone was afraid of her. But when she looked at these boys, she was met with a blank look. For the first time, Eve began to think that the door might have done something after all. There was only one way to find out.
"And you are?" She pressed. The boys looked highly insulted as if she had just slapped them. "Why, we are the famous Marauders! This here, is James Potter, quidditch extraordinare. That's Remus Lupin, box clever he is. And this is Peter Pettigrew, timid as a mouse. And I, fair lady, am Sirius Black, the woman charmer. You must be new to have never heard of our wondrous exploits," Sirius claimed looking at her as if she were mad for asking.
The Marauders…
"They were the most despicable boys at Hogwarts in my time."
"I don't want you near them under any circumstances."
"Give them no reason to harm you though I expect they'll find reason enough in you being my daughter."
Now Eve knew where she had heard that name. Her father had warned her against the lot of them, even when only two of them remained. This was impossible. How could they be standing right in front of her looking not a day over seventeen when two of them were dead and the others were well in their thirties? Eve stared hard at Pettigrew. The voice she had recognized belonged to him. She had heard his voice more times than she wished to count.
"I need to see Dumbledore," she said quietly. If anyone would have answers it would be him.
"Me too," a voice behind Eve said.
Whirling around, Eve came face to face with a tired looking Hermione. It was only until she saw her that Eve remembered Hermione existed at all.
"Now who are you?" Remus exclaimed, exasperated.
"Hermione Granger," Hermione replied, smiling. "We need to get to Dumbledore's office," she repeated. Then, she cast a venomous look at Eve. "Were you really going to go to Dumbledore's office without looking for me?" she asked sharply with her hands on her hips.
Eve just shrugged. "I knew you'd catch up."
Hermione tried and failed miserably to contain her composure. She broke out in a grim smile. "You forgot about me, didn't you?"
"Completely."
"Thanks a lot."
Eve grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her towards Dumbledore's office. "Well, thanks for sticking around, boys. We'll be off now," she said hurriedly when she saw Hermione giving James a shocked look as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"But you don't know where it is!" Remus yelled at their retreating backs.
Feeling thoroughly annoyed, Eve yelled back, "We'll manage. Can't have Dumbledore knowing you were up and about after hours now can we?" There was no answer. Knowing she had them there, she sped up dragging Hermione along.
"Snape, what's going on? Who were those boys? And why does that boy look exactly like Harry?" Hermione seemed anxious now.
Eve took a deep breath and slowed her pace. "You're never going to believe this Granger…"
"Are you telling me that the door we went through led us back in time and that boy who looks like Harry is his father?" Hermione hissed.
"Unless this is a cruel joke, I think that's exactly what's happened," Eve shot back.
They were standing in front of Dumbledore's office. They had been for ten minutes. Neither had the courage to knock on the door and ask for answers. Answers were exactly what they were afraid of.
After a few more minutes of hushed arguing, Hermione took a deep breath and knocked on the door. "Well, let's find out if you're right."
"Welcome, ladies," Dumbledore greeted jovially when he opened the door. "What brings you to my office at this time of night? Lemon drop?"
Eve declined politely but Hermione popped one in her mouth. The searing burst of sour flavor assured her she wasn't sleeping.
"Now what's this all about? Perhaps it's old age but I don't recall ever seeing you two before. If you would be so kind as to give me your names and what you're doing here, we can sort this whole thing out," he said calmly, settling his thin frame behind his desk. Hermione sent Eve a sidelong glance before answering, "Hermione Granger."
Whatever cheerfulness in Dumbledore's face vanished. He looked gravely serious as he asked Eve, "And your name?"
Looking apprehensive and cautious she answered hesitantly, "Eve—Snape."
Seeing her discomfort, Hermione jumped in before Dumbledore began questioning Eve. "We're—that is we think—we were sent back in time. We're from the future."
Professor Dumbledore sat back in his chair and gazed at them as if he didn't believe they were standing in front of his desk.
Anxiety bubbled in Eve. Hermione looked as if she would puke from her nervousness.
When Dumbledore finally decided to speak, it wasn't quite what they expected. "I've been expecting you."
Hermione's mouth dropped. Eve blinked, which was her way of showing astonishment.
"Oh yes," Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling again. "You see, it's a very odd story. About a week ago I received a note telling me to expect two students that would be coming into the school in a couple of days. It was signed from myself. Honestly I thought it was some kind of prank at first. But something told me to keep it." With a flourish of his wand, a letter in Dumbledore's unmistakable script floated down to his desk. "And here you are."
Heart pounding in her ears, Eve whispered, "So we did go back in time."
"Yes, it seems so."
"Can you send us back?" Hermione asked anxiously.
Dumbledore shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. As I don't know the nature of your arrival, I can't draw up any conclusions on your departure. But first things first—you'll be staying here until I can find a way to send you back. Now, what year are you in?"
None of this seemed real to Eve. She felt as if she was trapped in a nightmare. Nevertheless, Eve was never one to lose her cool when trouble surfaced so when she answered Dumbledore, her voice was calmly firm. "We had just begun our sixth year."
"I'll put you in all the classes you had previously and you'll both participate with the sixth year students. But, just for my own piece of mind, I'd like to sort you again. This journey may have changed you more than you know." Eve and Hermione exchanged glances but did not protest. "Excellent," he said clapping his hands. "If you'll excuse me a minute, I have to retrieve the Sorting Hat from its cupboard," he said bowing out, leaving Eve and Hermione is a heavy silence.
"This is unreal," Eve muttered.
Silence. Then:
"Look, Eve," Hermione began, sighing, "this is a difficult situation for both of us. We're going to need to stick together if we're going to get through this. This childish bickering between us needs to stop. No matter what house we're in. Truce?"
Eve glanced down at Hermione's outstretched hand. When she made no move to accept, Hermione said softly, "As much as you hate to admit it, Eve, I'm the only friend you have at this point and you're mine as well."
She was right. She was the only one who could understand Eve now. Even more correct, Eve did hate to admit it.
"Truce," she said, quietly shaking the girl's hand. Hermione smiled broadly and shook Eve's hand with a bit more vigor than necessary.
"Now, who's first?" Dumbledore asked sweeping into the room in a flourish of bright purple robes.
"I'll go," Hermione said immediately. Eve knew why. Hermione was more than confident she'd be put back into Gryffindor.
And sure enough, the Hat just grazed her head when it shouted out, "Gryffindor!"
"Excellent," Dumbledore proclaimed to the beaming Hermione. Eve resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she sat down on the rickety stool with her arms folded over her chest. Unlike Hermione, Eve wasn't sure what house she'd get in. She had been automatically put into Slytherin at home because her father was the House head.
The hat settled on her head but said nothing.
"My this is difficult," the hat finally muttered. "Your personality is twisted so that you fit in every house in some shape or form. Except Hufflepuff—you're much too unruly for Hufflepuff." Eve smiled humorously. That was true. "You are exceptionally bright when it comes to street smarts as well as academics and it's enough to get you into Ravenclaw. But then again, Ravenclaws are known for their academic achievement and while your grades are high, your heart does not lie in schoolbooks. My, my, where to put you…"
Eve sighed. Ok, well that only left Slytherin and Gryffindor. Did she want to go back to Slytherins? Should she take advantage of the situation and try something new?
'I cannot decide,' the hat finally admitted, its voice strong in her mind. 'I will leave the decision to you. Where do you want to be put?'
'I don't know,' Eve thought honestly. She pictured her father in the Slytherin common room quiet and alone. She could make friends with him. She could protect him from his tormentors.
No. She couldn't change the course of time. It was forbidden. There were too many unknown consequences…
But if she could change it…make his life just a little bit easier…if anyone had deserved a second chance, hadn't he?
'Put me where I belong,' she thought knowing the hat had heard her musings. 'Put me in Slytherin.'
"An interesting if selfish decision," the hat said clearly amused. "Slytherin it is!"
Dumbledore clapped his hands and Eve could see a glimmer of curiosity in his eyes.
"Well there you have it. Now if that's all, I'll send for the Heads of your houses to escort you to your dorm rooms. Tomorrow is Friday—a perfect day to give you your supplies for your classes. Your schedules will also be given to you tomorrow so that you may begin classes on Monday. Have I left anything out?"
"No, Professor," Hermione murmured through a yawn.
"Yes," Eve said at the same time. Feeling a bit uncomfortable under their scrutiny she explained hurriedly, "I can't walk around with the surname Snape."
"A fair point," Dumbledore agreed. "What do you suggest?"
Eve shifted uncomfortably. "I could take my mother's surname, Winterbourne. Her family lives in America so it's not likely anyone will make the connection."
"Good," he said smiling. "Well then, Ms. Winterbourne, Ms. Granger, good night to you both."
Sometime later, Eve lay in her bed fully clothed, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't fair. Somehow, it seemed Eve always had the short side of the stick in life. She had gotten such a short time with her father. Right when she was settling into her life, she was always thrown into a completely new and different situation. It was a never-ending cycle, it seemed.
A girl muttered senseless ramblings into her pillow while shifting in her sleep. Eve then realized she was exhausted. Carefully, so as not to wake the others, she changed into the soft cotton pajamas a house elf had undoubtedly left for her at the foot of her bed.
Eve curled up in the warmth of the comforter, never feeling more confused or alone.
Sorry for the long wait! School's a biotch. Read and Review pleaseee!
To LK-HoGwArTs-hEaDgIrL: Thanks for being the first reviewer! I hope you continue to read on! :)