Chapter 9

Last Chapter! :o They go back on this one! Hope you enjoy! Please comment and tell me what you thought of it! Much love!

Bex

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{RECAP:

"Drop the act Sev, please. I know you're upset over something, please tell me what is bothering you." He looked hesitant but saw the look I was giving him and gave up.

"Lily, I don't want you to hate me when I tell you." I raised an eyebrow and he finally gave up. "Fine. Lily...I love you."}

CHAPTER 9

Third Person

Lily froze on the spot.

"You...you love me?" She choked out. She couldn't believe that she didn't notice. After all of those years of knowing him she just thought that he was being a good friend. James had been right.

"Yes." Snape said awkwardly and he looked down at the floor. This was the most emotional she had seen him since her journey here. "Since I first met you, but it was always going to be Potter for you. There;s nothing I can do Lily. I have lived hiding away my emotions because I always thought that your death was my fault. I should have protected you, been more demanding with Voldemort, anything." Lily moved towards him and wrapped her arms around his middle.

"Don't blame yourself Sev, you will always be in my heart. Just because I married James, it doesn't mean I ever forgot about you." She felt him hug back then she moved away and gladly saw that he was happier.

"Thank you Lily."

"Just promise me something before I go." She asked.

"Anything Lily, anything." He promised.

"Don't be so harsh on Harry anymore. From what I've seen, he's in no way as bad as James, in fact he hates his fame. I know that James would take advantage of it but Harry hates it. Just remember that, and remember that he's MY son too. Take care of yourself Sev. You'll be in my heart 'til the end of my life. My best friend." Lily left, silent tears rolling down her face. It wasn't like her to get emotional but saying those words hurt. She knew that she didn't have long to live. She wouldn't even live for another 5 years. She quickly reached the common room and was bombarded by Hermione and Ginny as soon as she walked in, who hugged her and wiped her tears for her. Ginny had obviously been told who she was.

"I can't believe that after tomorrow we'll never see you again. It's so upsetting! You've been such a great friend to us Lils." Lily smiled greatfully at them.

"Will someone please explain why they have different names now please?" They heard an irish sounding voice, obviously from Seamus. Harry got everyone to sit down and they told the story to the other fifth year students. How they had eaten the sweets that had taken them 18 years into the future, how they had to change their names and pretend to be different people and who they really where. The whole of the common room was silent throughout the entire story but when it was over, they all jumped up eagerly and hugged the lot of them. They all spoke excitedly about how they were so glad to finally met the famous Harry Potter's parents. James, of course, loved every minute of it, but Lily was overwhellmed by the amount of people wanting to know her. She had never been so popular in her life.

"Ok everyone, I think we should all go to bed now, it's already midnight! McGonagall won't be happy if we are too tired for the feast in the morning." Lily smiled greatfully at her as the others all shuffled off, muttering that she was a party pooper, and she nodded back. Soon quiet fell through the room.

"Will you remember us?" Hermione asked them quietly. Lily was shocked that she even had to ask that.

"Of course! Hermione you've been such a great friend to us, you all have. We'll never forget you. This is not an experience that most people forget." The boys agreed, causing them to all grin, then they trudged up to the dormatories before falling asleep minutes later.

James' POV

I was woken roughly the next morning by Ron, who was grinning like an idiot.

"Come downstairs mate, we've got a surprise for you." He then left, leaving me and Sirius sat there sleepily .

"What the hell?" Sirius asked, sounding how I felt. "What's the time?" I checked the time quickly.

"It's 7:47am, not too bad." I heard Sirius groan and roll over, so I got up and jumped on him playfully, causing him to splutter and fall on the floor. "Time to get up Padfoot." I joked, running out before he could murder me.

"I'll kill you Prongs!" I heard him growl as I reached the common room and he bolted down after me, ramming into me and pulling us both to the floor. Lily and Remus snickered from where they were standing with everyone else.

"What's all this about?" I asked as Lily helped us up from the floor and she slipped an arm around my waist, copying my actions from last night in Dumbledore's office.

"No idea." She responded before Harry stepped forward.

"Well, we decided that we wanted you guys to remember your time here, no matter what. So we all brought our photos together and put them in a book." Ginny brought a book forwards and I took it in my hands, opening it carefully. There were lots and lots of pictures of all of them together in Dumbledore's Army, outside, in the common room, in the great hall. I closed it and smiled greatfullly at the younger generation.

"Thank you so much, is there any way that we can thank you?"

"Just make sure Harry gets here." Ron blurted out without thinking and Hermione hit him around the back of the head. "Sorry..." Sirius laughed loudly, coughing and spluttering as he struggled for breath from laughing too much.

"Should we all just go down to the Great Hall before Ron ends up destroying Harry before he's even born." Hermione suggested and we all gladly accepted, Ron left to think about what she had just said.

I started to get slightly nervous as we entered the hall and sat down. Sure, I loved attention, but how would they react to having four people from the past, two of which were dead celebrities, sat in the same room as them? I watched Dumbledore stand up and move to his podium to make a speech, nooding in our direction and smiling happily, his blue eyes twinkling excitedly as the hall quietened down.

"Now I have very important news to tell everyone here today. As most of you probably know, we took on five new fifth-year students half way through this year and they were James Matthews, Daniel Martin, Lizzie Brook, Ben Johnson and Zach Blackburn. I can in fact tell you that these are not their real names." Sounds of shock erupted from the neighbouring years whereas the rest of them looked shocked at the grinning Gryffindors. "Their real names are James Potter, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, and they're from the past." Gasps were heard all over the room and everyone turned to face us. I saw the Slytherins looking all gobsmacked and it was hilarious. "Ask them questions if you must AFTER you've eaten but we are having this feast in their memory. May you have a safe journey home later." I nodded at the old man thankfully as he sat back down and everyone turned to their meals, talking amongst each other frantically. I ate more than I'd probably ever eaten in the school, piling on the roast potatos and chicken. I actually felt sorry for Wormtail who was in the Room of Requirement at the moment because, despite the fact that he hadn't done anything yet, he betrayed me and Lily, condemned Sirius to 12 years in Azkaban and worked for the Dark Lord in this time, so we made sure that no one murdered him before we got back to our own time. We would get him when we got back, there was no way that he'd get away with any of that. After a few minutes, there were people swarming us, asking questions, asking for autographs. I simply grinned and went along with it, signing as many things as I could and answering as many questions as I could at the same time. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lily struggling with the amount of people crowding around her, looking overwelmed that so many people wanted to talk to her, so I wandered over and hugged her comfortingly, earning a chorus of Ahhhs from the crowd. After this, we managed to escape from the great hall and we made our way to Dumbeldore's office, knowing that when he arrived we would have to leave.

"Thank you...again. You've saved me so many times since we've been here." Lily said in her beautiful, soft voice, her green eyes sparkling.

"It was only...twice, I think. It's nothing. I'll do anything to keep you safe." I was suddenly shocked by the words that left my mouth. Had I really just said that? Had I really just pushed away a chance to be in the limelight again? It was clear that Lily was thinking the same.

"Did James Potter really just say that? James Potter who loves being worshipped by everyone, just said that it was nothing??" She faked looking horififed before we both laughed. I wrapped my arms around her carefully and brought her close, whispering into her ear.

"I'll do anything for you Lily. I love you." I pulled away to see her gorgeous smile. The smile that could get rid of a million tears.

"I love you too James." This time it was my turn to be surprised, was she joking? I checked her face for any sort of joking, but there was nothing. Unfortunately I didn't get any time to ask her about it as the door banged open and Wormtail was pushed in by Sirius, Remus following. Dumbledore came in next followed by Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George. Wormtail was wimpering and sidled into the corner and Dumbeldore turned to face us.

"This is it. You have to return to your own time or you will be trapped here forever." He said gravely as he placed  jar of clear liquid on his desk. Then Sirius decided to be an idiot.

"Do we HAVE to go back, I mean, we're famous here, and Lily and James can see their son." Remus wacked him round the back of the head as the rest of us sighed in exasperation.

"Because if we stay here, then Harry will never have existed, Sirius." Lily explained, giggling slightly at his stupidity. Sirius' mouth turned into an O shape as he understood before looking at the floor, laughing unbelievably at what he'd just said.

"You must say your last goodbyes. This will be the last time you see each other for a long time. You have 10 minutes." Dumbledore stood back and immediately Harry hugged me tightly. I hugged him back before I pulled away to see tears in his eyes.

"I'll miss you dad. It was nice to be able to meet the man that I apparently looked a lot like." I grinned at him.

"I couldn't have asked for a better son. You've grown up to a much better man than I ever was. Standing up to you-know-who like that is something that I could never do." I hugged him again before Fred and George approached.

"I'm glad that you two got hold of the map then gave it to Harry."

"We'd do anything--"

"--for fellow pranksters." Both boys grinned before going to talk to Remus.

Lily's POV

I said my goodbyes to everyone, along with the Marauders, minus Wormtail who was kept in the corner. The last person I talked to was Harry, who hugged me so tightly that I could barely breathe.

"I always heard about you from Remus and Sirius, but meeting you was the best thing ever. You are the best mum that I could ever have." I blushed, not quite believeing it.

"Oh Harry, I couldn't have had a better son. You're brave and clever, not arrogant unlike your father." They both laughed. "You're a true Gryffindor and I'm glad to call you my little baby boy." Harry blushed slightly at my words before hugging me again. 

"I love you mum."

"I love you too Harry. Oh, and when it comes to girls I know just the girl for you." He looked curiously at me before I smile knowingly. "I was talking to Ginny Weasley and she seems to have quite a crush on you, and not because of your fame." He looked over at Ginny who smiled and blushed at his gaze before he turned back to me. "Just think about it, yeah?" He nodded and I kissed him on the forehead, knowing that I would be giving birth to him shortly after graduating from Hogwarts and marrying James. The four of us and Wormtail - who was being dragged by Sirius - walked up to Dumbeldore's desk and drunk a bit of the clear liquid before facing the younger generation. "Don't forget us." I whispered as the room started to fade. I closed my eyes tightly as I heard a whooshing sound. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I was thrown to the floor roughly. Opening my eyes, I gasped. We were all back in the common room where we'd started. James ran over to me and lifted me up slowly as a stinging pain ran through my arm, causing me to wince slightly.

"You ok Lil?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just hurt my arm a bit. What day is it here? When did we arrive in the past?" I asked, feeling slightly dizzy from the pain in my arm, but determined to ignore it.

"It's the day before the end of the school year and it's 3:50pm." Remus informed us. "We need to go and talk to Dumbledore." We all agreed and set off for Dumbledore's office. I struggled to keep up as the pain in my arm grew. I knew that I had probably broken it from falling on it, but I was determined not to make a fuss about it.

"Lily!" I turned my head towards the sound, and I saw a bluury black shape run up to me. "Lily...are you ok?" Severus. His voice was becoming faint as I felt dizziness wash over me. "Lily...Lily..." I fell to the floor as the others ran towards me and I blacked out.

Third Person

James rushed towards Lily as she collapsed and lifted her up slightly, ignoring the strange looks from Severus. They took her quickly up to the hospital wing and explained to Madam Pomfrey that she just collapsed.

"It's nothing too serious, just a broken arm. She passed out with the pain. Do you know how she got it?" Remus managed to butt in with a cover story.

"She tripped over and hurt herself, but she didn't say how bad it was." Madam Pomfrey frowned at him, but believed it nonetheless. Severus on the other hand scowled at them.

"Where have you been for half the year?" Then Sirius remembered what Bellatrix had said in the department of mysteries.

"St Mungos. We all got ill from some sweets that you left us Severus." Severus looked taken aback by the fact that they called him by his normal name but didnt say anything.

Severus' POV

I know that Black was lying, but I didn't say anything. I wondered why they would lie to protect Lily, when all they did was flirt with her all of the time, well...Potter did. And the fact that Potter ws so close to her. Where had they been that could have brought them so close? It was like they knew something.  Something that caused Lily to change her mind about Potter.

"We need to talk to Dumbledore before anyone finds us, and quickly. He said that we came to talk to him soon after we arrived back." Potter said. What the hell was he on about? The others agreed and left whilst I stayed with Lily. After 25 minutes, Madam Pomfrey got annoyed and told me to leave, kicking me out of the hospital wing. I decided to go up to Dumbeldore's office. I wanted to know where they'd disappeared to all of this time. It was the story of the century. The disappearence of 5 Hogwarts students. I ran up there and found them talking to Dumbledore, and they immediately stopped when they saw me.

"Ah, Mr Snape. Is there anything I could do for you?"

"Where have they been all year? They just disappeared, then reappeared as if by..." I stopped suddenly, realising what I'd said.

"Magic? It might have escaped your notice Severus but we're in a whole land of magic." Black retorted, earning an elbow from Potter, much to my surprise.

"They had to be taken to St Mungos. They recieved a very strange illness after eating some very strange sweets..." The headmaster trailed off, looking at me intently as if to say 'I know it was you'. I looked down, but my head shot up again as the door was pushed open. Lily.

"Lily..." Potter breathed and I growled, knowing that there was no way that she would ever respond to him.

"James." She ran towards him and, much to my horror, flung her arms around him before pulling away and smiling at him. "I'm sorry, I should have told you about my arm. I just didn't want you to fuss."

"I will always make a fuss about you, my beautiful angel. I just wish you'd told me." I felt as if my heart had been ripped out of my chest. Lily and Potter. No, anything but that. I felt like cursing Potter into oblivion, tearing him away from my love. But she loved him back. The one thing in the world that hurt more than the torture curse, or death. Heartbreak. I couldn't take it, I walked over and punched Potter squarely in the face, only to recieve a slap from Lily.

"Severus! Don't punch James like that, he hasn't done anything to you." I simply turned and left, not wanting to see either of them. I felt like my life was over.

Third Person

"We are glad to have you four back, but where is Peter?" Dumbledore asked them.

"We left him in the common room."

"Very well, I am glad to have you five back," Dumbledore stopped quickly when he saw the looks on all of their faces. "What? What did you find out?"

"Peter betrays us; me and Lily, in the future. Sirius gets blamed and sent to Azkaban for 12 years." Dumbledore frowned at James' words and they all knew what he was going to say.

"you cannot use this foreknowledge to change the future--"

"Oh we have no intention of changing the future," Lily spoke up and looked at James, know nodded in agreement. "We have a beautiful son who has amazing friends and although we are dead, he is surrounded by people who love him. We couldn't ask for anything more."

"But...you'll die." Remus said sadly.

"We know. And we're willing to make that sacrifice for our son. For Harry." The Marauders and Lily all nodded to each other. They had made their choice and nothing was going to change their mind. Things were going to stay as they were. For Harry. For the younger generation.