Brave New World

A feeling of complete disorientation washed over Severus when he regained consciousness. Through a pounding headache, he blearily realized he wasn’t in the Slytherin Common Room any more. In fact, he wasn’t exactly sure where he was. He must have made some noise, for Madame Pomfrey hurried toward him. Pomfrey! Well, perhaps she’d put him in a different part of the infirmary. Memory returned, and with it the thought that he really couldn’t afford to lose any more study time.

“Well, I see you’re awake now. How do you feel?” She laid a gentle, cool hand on his forehead. “Your fever is gone. Good.”

“I’ve got a headache is all. I don’t need to stay here.” He tried to sit up and winced at the hammering in his skull. It felt like a few dozen goblins were in there trying to dig their way out.

“That is for the Headmaster to decide.”

“But Madame Pomfrey! I’ve got to study for my OWLs! I can talk to the Headmaster after exams, can’t I?”

She fixed him with a glare. “You’ll stay here until you’ve spoken with the Headmaster, and he decides what to do with you.”

“What to do with me?” He was struck by a horrifying thought. “How badly did I knock myself out? Did I miss the OWLs?”

“No more questions. Now drink this. The Headmaster will be here shortly.” She gave him a potion that he identified as a poorly brewed analgesic. He drank it, shuddering at the taste. He could brew better than that in his sleep.

Severus’ analysis of the potion’s quality was distressingly accurate. It didn’t cure the headache, but it did reduce it to a more bearable level after a few minutes. Now there were only a few goblins hammering inside his head. He was impatiently sitting up in bed when the door opened and a pair of boys about his own age slipped in. He eyed them nervously, not recognizing them even though they wore the Slytherin crest on their robes.

“You’re awake,” one of them said. He was a husky one, and Severus mentally marked him as one to be wary of. “I’m Greg.”

“I’m Vince,” volunteered the other. He was almost as big as his companion. “We found you in the Common Room and brought you to the infirmary.” His voice was both friendly and concerned. “You were burning up.”

That jolted another memory. “Did you tell Malfoy?”

“Yeah. He said he’d tell the Headmaster.”

“The Headmaster?” That wasn’t like Lucius! And that thought brought with it the realization that Malfoy’s medallion was no longer hanging around his neck. Hopefully Madame Pomfrey had simply removed it for safekeeping. Otherwise… to say that Malfoy would not be pleased would be an understatement.

Vince nodded. “We sort of aren’t s’posed to be here.”

“We wanted to see if you were all right.” Greg added.

“Boys!” the mediwitch bustled over looking annoyed. “That will be quite enough! Be off with you before the Headmaster arrives.”

The two shrugged. “See you,” Greg said as they left. A moment later, the door swung open again, and a man he’d never seen before came in.

Severus sized him up quickly. This was an older man, clean-shaven, with raven-dark hair now going grey at the temples. While not handsome in any sense of the word, he was strong-featured. His robes were a medley of blue, green, red, and black that somehow managed to look dashing instead of garish. But the most noticeable thing about him was the unmistakable air of confidence. Severus immediately decided that this wizard would not be one to cross.

The wizard greeted Madame Pomfrey cheerfully enough, then drew up a chair and sat down beside Severus’ bed. “Well, young man, suppose you tell me who you are.”

He’s probably from the Ministry… Dumbledore must’ve found the Time-turner. Oh Merlin! This is not going to be good. “My name is Severus.” The man seemed to be waiting for more, so he added, “Snape. Severus Snape.”

“An unusual name. Perhaps handed down through the family?”

Oh no. I am not going to involve the family in this. Father will kill me if I do. “I truly don’t know, sir. I haven’t delved into the family lineage.”

“Related to the Snapes of Northumberland, perhaps?”

“Distantly, from what father says.” Well, that was true enough.

“A fine old family, though not much given to collecting antiques.” The wizard looked down at his long thin hands. “How old are you, Severus?”

“Fourteen, sir. Almost fifteen.”

“Rather young to be playing with magical artifacts, aren’t you?”

“Sir?”

The man reached into a pocket and pulled out Malfoy’s Time-turner. “This was found next to you. It’s a rather powerful item, and I wouldn’t expect to see a student with one.”

“It isn’t mine.” At the raised eyebrow, he continued, “I borrowed it from someone.”

“Oh?” There was a wealth of overtone behind the syllable, and Severus felt compelled to explain a little.

“I was behind in my homework, and one of my Housemates offered to lend it to me in exchange for help with Potions next term.”

The wizard’s dark eyes flicked toward the Slytherin crest on his robes. “I would expect that from Gryffindor or Hufflepuff, but not Slytherin.” He caressed the gold chain with gentle fingers. “How did you come to be so far behind in homework?”

“I was in the infirmary for two weeks. I got caught by the Whomping Willow.” Without knowing what Dumbledore had said, he decided to stick with the cover story. “And we Slytherins know how to work together, which is more than the other Houses do.”

“Ambition tempered with Wisdom – that is the Slytherin way, is it not?”

That was the first time Severus had heard it phrased in that way. He was more used to hearing his House described as “Get ahead at any cost”. He decided he liked this wizard’s description better. “Sir, were you a Slytherin?”

“I was indeed. Now, Severus, you present me with an interesting set of problems. You appeared from nowhere in the middle of the Slytherin Common Room, startling Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle quite thoroughly. You had a Time-turner with you – a highly restricted artifact. Your robes are definitely those of House Slytherin, and you claim to be a student here. You know at least one of my staff,” he nodded toward Madame Pomfrey, “but no one here knows you. So what are we to think?”

Severus’ jaw dropped and his mind spun. “Your staff? But… but… Professor Dumbledore is Headmaster of Hogwarts!”

The older wizard laughed. “You’ll have to do better than that! Professor Dumbledore was teaching Transfiguration when I was a student here myself. He left several years ago to take a job with the Ministry of Muggle Studies. I assure you that I am the Headmaster here, and have been so for ten years.”

“You’re the Headmaster?” Severus’ voice spiraled up in shock.

The Headmaster looked at him for a moment, then stood up and extracted his wand from one sleeve. Holding it on his open palms, he spoke in a deeper voice than he had used thus far. “I swear to you, on my wand, my magic, and my name that what I have told you is so.”

The Wizard’s Oath. He’s not lying. You can’t lie when bound by the Oath. So… what does that mean? He scrabbled for his own wand, and climbed out of bed to repeat the Oath in turn.

The wizard regarded him thoughtfully. “Most interesting. I believe we will need to discuss this with all the staff. If we put our heads together, we should be able to determine what has happened here.”

“Sir, excuse me, but might I know your name?”

“Oh certainly. I’m Headmaster Riddle.”