Fate

Chapter 23 - Interlude 2: Back-up Plan

St. Mungo's had never been a particularly pleasant place for Ginny. The unnaturally white walls and ceiling seemed to blind her as she followed McGonagall's swift pace through the bustling corridors.

The older woman finally stopped in front of a door, wasting no time as she opened it, stepping inside and looking frantically around the room.

Ginny spotted him first and gave a little gasp, covering her mouth with her hand and her eyes going wide. McGonagall seemed to follow her eyes and though she did not cry out, she walked swiftly over to the headmaster's bed.

He was lying on his back, thankfully breathing but looking a sickly white color and covered with numerous bruises and cuts. Ginny saw that both his legs were bandaged and splinted and she ideally wondered why St. Mungo's would need to splint a broken leg. Wouldn't they be able to heal it instantly?

McGonagall stared at Dumbledore for a moment before going around the bed and grabbing the small stack of parchment that lay on his bedside table, riffling through it.

"Minerva!"

Ginny actually jumped at the voice and the sound of the door crashing open. McGonagall's head snapped up and she looked rather pale from looking through the parchment, though the visitor did not seem to calm her fears any more.

Greasy-haired as ever, Snape walked into Ginny's view, looking heartily upset and annoyed at the same time as he walked straight over to McGonagall who, without a word, handed over the parchment to him.

Careful to not be too obvious, Ginny studied Snape's face as he skimmed through the notes. She felt herself becoming more and more upset as Snape's scowl seemed to leave his face, his skin getting whiter and whiter and his eyes going white.

"Dear Merlin!" He hissed out. "How is he even alive?" He glanced sharply up at McGonagall. "Why didn't they come to us sooner?"

"Fudge," McGonagall answered shortly.

"Bloody Bureaucrats," Snape spat out, going over to the table and looking at the assortment of potions that were set out on it, some of them empty but others partially or totally full.

Ginny's eyes traveled over to her unconscious headmaster and she suddenly felt rather scared as she looked at his all too still form. What had Snape meant by that? How is he even alive? Just how bad was it? She grimaced, realizing that she was probably going to be the last person to get any of that information. She was sure that the only reason she was still here was because McGonagall didn't want to take the time to return her to the school.

"Miss Weasley!"

Ginny's head snapped up and she looked fearfully up at Snape who had resumed his sneering facial expression, reserved for Weasleys, Potters and Longbottoms.

"Y-yes sir?"

"Great scott, Severus, you're not in your classroom anymore," McGonagall scolded. "Let the poor child be."

Snape turned to McGonagall quickly and Ginny's eyes followed him. "Why is she even here? No doubt you pulled her from my class so that she wouldn't loose your house any more points, Minerva."

McGonagall's nostril's flared and she glared at the potions master. "For once do you think you can lay aside your petty temper and try to focus on the problem at hand?"

"Which is?"

Pointing to the unconscious Dumbledore, McGonagall practically shouted. "Well, Albus for one thing! I don't suppose you had any idea about what he and Sirius and Remus have been working on for the past week?"

Snape sneered again. "I hardly think that anything involving Black and Lupin would ever be brought to my attention, at least if either of them had any foresight to realize that I wouldn't give a care."

"The veil, professor!" Ginny butt in, unexpected to everyone, including herself, and she colored slightly as both the professors turned to her.

"What?" Snape snapped back.

"I seems Miss Weasley knows more about this than anyone else," McGonagall explained to the thoroughly confused Professor. "She claims that Sirius, Remus and Harry went through the veil in the Department of Mysteries."

Ginny was surprised to see Snape frown rather than sneer at the audacity of it. "Is this about the body they found? Please tell me that Black, Lupin and now Potter tried to commit suicide or some other such nonsense."

"Only you would hope," McGonagall huffed. "They had something more substantial in mind I expect. Traveling through time."

This statement didn't seem to faze Snape as much as it had McGonagall. His eyes did get a little wider but kept his calm considerably well.

"And they meant to accomplish this through the veil?" Snape said shortly, his eyes flickering over to the small bedside table again.

"Yes, but the details on it are a little hazy-"

McGonagall stopped talking as Snape's hand reached down, going through a small pile of materials that Ginny just now noticed were on the table. A few scraps of parchment, an ornate looking pocket watch and a wand. Snape, hand hesitated before picking up the scraps of parchment, but then, as if acting of it's own free will, his hand snatched them up quickly and he smoothed them out, glancing over them.

His eyes, if possible, went even wider.

"Weasley! Hogwarts! Now!" He snapped without looking at her.

Ginny frowned, opening her mouth to argue, but was cut off by McGonagall.

"You may use the floo, Miss Weasley." Her transfiguration Professor looked at her keenly. "Please return to the school and tell no one of what we have discussed. I will inform you of any changes in the Headmaster's condition."

Ginny knew better than to argue with her professor and, sending a pained look at Dumbledore, walked slowly out of the room.

As she threw the floo powder into the flames, she scowled, wondering how she was going to get through this, especially since she knew that McGonagall had no intention of telling her anything else.

----

As soon as Weasley stepped out of the door, Severus whirled on Minerva.

"How come neither of us knew about this?" he hissed at her, fuming from what he had just read on the parchment.

"Obviously Albus wanted as few people to know about it as possible," Minerva reasoned.

"Well, obviously he did have second thoughts about it," Severus replied, shoving the pieces of paper in her hand and reading them again over her shoulder as she read it for the first time.

Potion: Mix of "Greatest Wish" with "Time Redo"

Merlin's Time spells: "Travilias" and/or "Priorit Travent"

"Dimensions of Reality" by Elias Whitheim

It ended there and though Severus could tell that Minerva was confused, but he knew exactly what Albus was talking about.

"What time did Weasley say they went through?" he questioned.

Minerva shrugged. "She didn't know much about their exact plans, only how they were planning on doing it." She went over and sat on a chair next to Albus' bed. "She didn't even know what date they were planning on going to."

Feeling suddenly lightheaded from the thousands of thoughts that were zooming through his mind, Severus took a seat as well. "Did she even know what they were going to change?"

"Yes. Harry told her that they were trying to save his parents."

Severus was taken aback by that statement. "But surely if they had accomplished it, this reality would have been changed the instant they went through the veil."

Minerva sighed. "I hate to assume that it went wrong, but that is the only theory I can work with right now. Albus kept most of his information about the veil hidden from even me."

Severus frowned in thought as he went over Albus' words on the parchment again.

"There's something there....that potion," Severus mused to himself.

"You know it?" Minerva questioned him.

"I know of both of them," he said with a slight sneer, having mixed memories of both complicated potions. "The potions are old and highly unstable. No sane wizard uses them anymore as the consequences are better left unsaid..." he lifted the parchment up again, studying the words. "This word...'Mix'...it sounds like he's telling me to add the two potions together....but that is more suicidal than going through the veil and trying to travel through time..."

"Perhaps not," Minerva cut in, coming up behind his chair and pointing at some of the words. "I don't know those spells myself, but it seems to me as if he's saying those two combined does the same thing as one of Merlin's ancient time travel spells."

As much as Severus wanted to bite back at her, he found himself agreeing with her.

"Alright. Let's just pretend that I am able to make these potions and combine them. What then? Why did he leave this for us to find?"

"For us to find? No Severus, I have no affinity for these potions. This message was for you."

"For me?" Severus spared a glance over at Albus who was still lying perfectly still on the hospital bed. "Why me?"

"Albus is a careful man..." Severus looked back around and saw Minerva going to sit back in her chair, her obvious exhaustion showing now and she sighed before looking back at him. "He always has a back up plan."

"Yes?" Severus curled his upper lip. Merlin, he did not want to hear this.

"And I'm guessing that you were his back-up plan."

----

"I wish to tell you once more that this is insane."

Minerva merely raised an eyebrow at him as she opened the door, letting him go through first and then following him in. They both walked swiftly down the halls of Hogwarts, students passing by and talking with one another, probably off to get into trouble with the hour lunch break that most of them were on.

Severus growled low in his throat, unconsciously running through his list of supplies again as he tried to figure out a better way of getting out of this.

"You're certain you made both of them right?" Minerva questioned as they both stopped and she turned to him, for the first time showing a bit of hesitation in her voice.

"Of course!" Severus snapped back, feeling the two potions in his side pocket as they both swayed dangerously in their air tight containers, reminding him of the idiotic task he was about to attempt. The loose bag that he had strung on his shoulder with supplies also swayed and for the fiftieth time he tried in vain to remember why he was even considering this.

Neither of them spoke as they finally reached the headmaster's office and Minerva said the password. As they went up the revolving staircase, Severus tried once more.

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to wait until Albus woke up? Surely he could give us a better explanation than that ruddy book did."

They entered the Headmaster's office, both of them remembering that it had been nearly a week since Albus had set foot in this room. The Healers at St. Mungo's were still scratching their heads in confusion as they could not understand why he had not yet died.

Severus blamed Fate, but then, he blamed a lot on that retched word.

Minerva had been doing her best to take over Albus' duties, but there was only so much that woman could do.

Severus knew that neither of them would be able to wait for Albus to wake up very much longer.

"Just do it now, Severus," she answered, a slight tremor in her voice.

Grimacing, Severus pulled out the two vials of potion that he had carefully brewed over the past week and set them on the headmaster's desk, pulling out a third beaker which was larger and empty.

"You have everything? And you brought the date?"

"Don't nag," Severus sneered at the older women, becoming increasingly more annoyed with her nervousness, as she wasn't even really a part of what was happening. In response to her question though, he pulled out a small piece of paper and laid it next to the empty beaker, taking a deep breath.

Once more, he looked over at her, serious as ever and still frowning.

"You are aware that I am the last person that Black is going to listen to. And make no doubt that if I run into Potter I will not hesitate to curse him on sight."

The transfiguration cracked a smile. "Which one?"

Severus curled his upper lip. "Either." With a swish of his cloak he turned back to the vials and picked up both of the smaller ones and uncorking them.

"You'd best get out of this room unless you want to risk traveling back in time as well," he said after a moment. "I am not yet sure whether I have to drink it or merely add them together and then drop the date in."

Minerva seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then nodded to him once before walking swiftly for the door.

"Severus."

He turned to her.

"Remember why you are doing this."

Huffing once, Severus glared at her. "Does this entail James Potter or Sirius Black, Minerva? Because if it does I would advise you to stay silent."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Well, maybe while you're back there you can try to give yourself a better chance."

Severus sneered and turned his back to her, picking up the potions again.

"I've already switched sides by this point," he said darkly.

"Oh?"

"Yes, but just barely."

"But you didn't take the teaching job until September."

He paused. "Let's just say that it wasn't exactly the easiest thing to go behind the Dark Lord's back and betray him."

"But you said you had already switch sides?"

He turned to her one last time, trying to control his temper at her impudence. "Just because I hadn't officially started spying for the Order does not mean that my allegiance laid with the Dark Lord."

Silence hung and he turned his back to the desk, standing still until he finally heard the door close and her descending steps.

Taking a deep breath, Severus began pouring both of the potions into the larger vial.

As they first came into contact, a large hiss escaped them and immediately dark purple smoke began filling up the room.

It would help if I knew if that was a good thing or not...

He almost panicked, but managed to keep a cool head as he finished pouring both vials. Hands shaking slightly, he picked up the small bit of parchment and doubled checked it one more time.

August 16, 1981

Merlin, he hoped that was somewhere along the lines of when the others went back.

Satisfied, he dropped it quickly into the potion, watching with fascination and reservation as he saw it slowly dissolve within the potion. The smoke all around him instantly changed to pitch black and he gripped tightly to the desk, his hand lingering near the bottle as he waited.

He couldn't see anything around him now as the smoke seemed to get thicker and thicker all around him.

Just as he was deciding to pick up the potion and drink it, the smoke suddenly zoomed right back into the vial, leaving him once again standing in the middle of the headmaster's office.

He blinked in confusion and surprise as he took in his familiar surroundings. The office was the same as it had been moments before. The noon day sun was still shining cheerfully through the windows and the bookshelves were all organized and neat, with the paintings lightly dozing in their frames or sitting lazily, looking bored.

Had it not worked? Had he dome something wrong?

Glancing down into the barely smoking potion, he saw that all that was left were a few fumes in the bottle. All the liquid was completely gone.

Severus hesitantly let go of the desk, letting out a large sigh and squeezing his eyes shut, fighting off a headache that he knew was coming.

It hadn't worked.