Chapter 22: Snape's Worst Memory

March 17th, 1976

"Whoever invented the saying Pecunia Non Olet obviously never did anything like this..." Harry groaned as he reapplied a bubble head charm on himself and continued cutting.

The silver knife penetrated the thick hide by a mere fraction of an inch, so Harry applied even more pressure until he finally broke through. The stench grew even stronger, making Harry almost throw up in his mouth, despite the charm. He continued cutting more carefully when the texture changed, and the parting hide revealed the organ he had been looking for.

Apart from its eyes, the venom glands, and fangs, the liver was one of the most valuable organs one could harvest from a Basilisk. Somewhere within this bloody and horribly smelling organ Harry currently cut around, was the secret to how Basilisks survived their own venom leaking inside their body... As interesting as the topic might be, only the prospect of shining and sparkling Galleons kept Harry from abandoning his current mission.

Harry continued cutting away on the tissue until he was able to carefully extract the undamaged liver. With a flick of his wand, Harry levitated the organ over to the side of the chamber where he had started storing the already harvested parts of the Basilisk.

"Time to clean up and finish the letter..." Harry muttered before casting a few spells on himself that made for a rather poor substitute for the warm shower he would undoubtedly enjoy later.

A few months after slaying the beast, Harry had finally decided that it was time to turn Slytherin's Monster into something more useful. For the last few days, he had therefore spent several hours each night harvesting anything valuable the serpent's corpse might offer. Certainly, a huge task, not just due to the sheer size of the snake...

It was a curse and a blessing that pretty much every single part of a Basilisk was valuable and could be turned into gold. Harry had only delayed harvesting them since he had pondered over how to sell them. First of all, there was no way he could sell them in Britain. Voldemort could not learn that a presumably secret weapon, he had left in the school, was incapacitated.

Second of all, Harry did not have the time to travel to the continent and sell the Basilisk, piece for piece, to hundreds of smaller buyers. He wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible, so he needed a potential buyer with substantial capital. Said buyer had to be found without creating any unwanted attention... A task seemingly impossible

However, roughly a week ago, Harry had finally gotten an idea after Slughorn expressed his disappointment that alchemy was no longer offered in the Hogwarts curriculum.

Harry knew of a certain alchemist, who thanks to his brilliant invention, would also have the capital required.

Dear Mr. Flamel,

I hope this letter finds you well and in good health. Allow me to quickly introduce myself. My name is Harry Ignotus Peverell, heir to the Peverell Clan and current student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I have a business proposal for you, which will undoubtedly capture your curiosity. Only recently, I came into possession of some incredibly rare magical ingredients. Due to the old age of the source and their extreme potency, I am certain they will make an exceptional addition to the potions inventory of an accomplished alchemist such as yourself.

It is of utmost importance that certain people do not learn that I am in possession of these rare ingredients. I, therefore, ask for this offer to be handled confidentially and for you not to share the contents of this letter with anyone, with the exception of your lovely wife. There is also no need for a certain long-bearded headmaster to find out about it.

I eagerly await your reply and will share further information in future correspondence, should I have successfully captured your interest.

Yours sincerely,

Harry Ignotus Peverell

Heir to the House Peverell

Harry's eyes darted over the latter one more time until he nodded in satisfaction. His name might be enough to capture the alchemist's interest already. After all, the Flamels were the last living people on this earth who might have met a Peverell before.

Of course, there was the chance that he would instantly contact his old friend, Dumbledore. However, nothing in Harry's letter gave a clue to what the actual ingredients were. This was simply a risk he would have to take... With a bit of luck, the return would be worth it.

March 25th, 1976

Today was once more a day where Harry could heavily influence how future events would unfold in this timeline. Perhaps that was a bit exaggerated... It would hardly influence the war or even magical Britain as a society. However, Harry was given the chance to rewrite his parents' story.

Harry was sitting in the middle of the Great Hall, but the four House tables were gone. Instead, there were more than a hundred smaller tables, all facing the same way, at each of which sat a student, head bent low, scribbling on a roll of parchment. The only sound was the scratching of quills and the occasional rustle as somebody adjusted their parchment.

It was exam time...

Harry and the other fifth years had been sitting their OWLs for the last few days. Today was the one OWL that caused him the most headaches. Not because of its difficulty, but because of what else was destined to happen on this very day. Having sat the same exam already and being the top student in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Harry had finished roughly ten minutes ago already and glanced around for certain characters he would keep an eye on during the time after the exam.

Sunshine was streaming through the high windows onto the bent heads. A few rows in front of him, two heads shone copper and gold in the bright light. Lily Evans and Marlene McKinnon sat at tables right next to one another at the front of the Great Hall. Both girls' heads were bent low over the parchments, obviously still deep in the writing process.

How might Lily behave today if things went exactly as foretold?

If he had to guess, his presence in this timeline had already led to his parents getting along much better. Sure, James still annoyed Lily with his pranks and reckless behavior, but they did occasionally spend time together as a group since Harry was friends with both of them. In addition, he could swear that Lily had joined in on the laughter during the occasional joke or prank. Perhaps things would be different this time even without his direct involvement in what might be about to happen?

Harry glanced over his shoulder carefully. There he was... The one character would play the perhaps biggest role. A few tables behind Harry, he spotted Severus Snape. If Harry was not mistaken, Snape-the-teenager looked even worse than what he remembered from the memory.

He had a stringy, pallid look about him, like a plant kept in the dark. His hair was lank and greasy and was flopping onto the table, his hooked nose barely half an inch from the surface of the parchment as he scribbled. His hand was flying across the parchment. Undoubtedly, he had written at least a foot more than his closest neighbors, and yet his writing was minuscule and cramped.

"Five more minutes!"

Harry looked to the front. Professor Flitwick's head moved between the desks a short distance away. He watched as the charms master walked past the next character in this little play... A boy with untidy black hair... very untidy black hair...

It was rather amusing how the timing was pretty much the exact same as during the memory he had watched. James was straightening up now, putting down his quill, pulling his roll of parchment toward him so as to reread what he had written...

He yawned hugely and Harry rolled his eyes when he rumpled up his hair, making it even messier than it had been. Harry knew exactly what would happen next... With a glance toward Professor Flitwick, James turned in his seat and grinned at a boy sitting four seats behind him.

Naturally, Sirius gave James the thumbs-up. The way he was lounging in his chair at his ease, tilting it back on two legs, tempted Harry to cast a quick tripping jinx. The grinning fool certainly deserved it. Some Hufflepuff girl sitting behind him was eyeing him hopefully, though Sirius didn't seem to have noticed.

Two seats along from this girl was Remus Lupin. Of course, he looked rather pale and peaky. The full moon was approaching in three days' time. Unfortunately, Harry won't be ready yet to join the Marauders yet. His respect for James, Sirius, and grudgingly Peter had grown over the last few weeks. Studying advanced transfigurations, especially the Animagi transformations, was a very challenging subject. It required patience and finesse, yet, Harry was certain that he would get the hang of it soon enough.

He did not bother looking for Wormtail and instead looked back to James. By now he should be scribbling a certain set of initials down on the edge of his parchment. Harry grinned when he noticed that indeed, his father did so...

"Quills down, please!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. Harry got ready for what would happen next and ducked his head: "That means you too, Stebbins! Please remain seated while I collect your parchment! Accio!"

More than a hundred rolls of parchment zoomed into the air and into Professor Flitwick's outstretched arms, knocking him backward off his feet. Several people laughed, including Harry and the Marauders. His mother and a few Hufflepuffs at the front desks got up, took hold of Professor Flitwick beneath the elbows, and lifted him onto his feet again.

"Thank you… thank you," panted Professor Flitwick. "Very well, everybody, you're free to go!"

There was no time to waste, so Harry jumped to his feet, stuffed his quill and the exam question paper into his bag, which he slung over his back, and stalked over to the Marauders... Unfortunately, a certain breathtaking Ravenclaw seemed to have different plans for him.

"Hey, handsome!" Marlene beamed up at him as she blocked his path and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek: "How did it go for you?"

His eyes flickered over her blonde locks to where the Marauders exited the Great Hall: "Hey, gorgeous. It was pretty alright... What about you?" He looked down and shot her a teasing grin.

"Pretty alright..." Marlene pouted adorably but a smirk tugged the corner of her lips: "First you push me from the first spot in DADA and now you even mock me. That's not how a boyfriend should behave, Mr. Peverell..."

"And how should a boyfriend behave, Ms. McKinnon?" Harry inquired curiously as he held her hand and led her out of the Great Hall toward the doors into the entrance hall. His eyes scanned the crowd. There was Snape, still absorbed in his own examination paper. Round-shouldered yet angular, he walked in a twitchy manner that recalled a spider, his oily hair swinging about his face.

A mischievous sparkle appeared in Marlene's ice-blue eyes: "He should be caring and supportive. In fact, how about we study a bit more for transfigurations tonight together?"

"And by studying you imply...?" Harry teased and pulled her closer by the waist to place a kiss on her forehead. Ever since that certain day in the Room of Requirements, Harry and his girlfriend had met up there frequently, be it to study together or finish homework. Yet after a few hours of concentration, it usually always ended the same... With the room shifting into Marlene's bedroom and the couple laying in her bed in various stages of undress. Still, they had not gone any further yet... They had time after all...

"I imply nothing of that sort." Marlene flared her nostrils: "I could simply use the additional practice."

"In Transfigurations I mean!" She added with a faint blush and tugged on his hand when her boyfriend buckled in laughter. Harry made sure to keep an eye on Snape and the Marauders, so he led Marlene past the gang of chattering girls, just as he had done in the memory. Undoubtedly, the Marauders were discussing the different questions right now and teasing Remus with the ones about Werewolves.

The students from all houses merged into a crowd thronging around the front doors eager to get out into the sunlit grounds. The Marauders were laughing and joking when James suddenly turned around, obviously looking for something or someone. "Harry!" James called when his hazel eyes spotted him in the crowd of students: "If you and McKinnon can keep your hands off of each other for a few minutes, you should join us at the lake."

That was actually a good proposition. He could keep an eye on them without making it suspicious... Harry looked down at Marlene with a questioning look.

"Why not?" She shrugged and flicked a few curls back over her shoulder: "If your weird boy band is good for one thing, it's distracting me from the stress of exams."

"First of all." Harry chuckled as he guided her over to the Marauders: "I take offense to that. We are not a weird boy band, but an ordinary group of brilliant friends. Second of all... As if you are stressed about exams. You and Lily are among the best students in our year, especially in the theoretical aspects."

"Fair enough." Marlene huffed: "Still, I'd like to do my best."

"As you should," Harry nodded. By now they have finally reached the Marauders.

"You guys are the best in Defense by a longshot." Remus rolled his eyes after he must have overheard part of their conversation: "As if either of you two actually had to worry."

The group chatted and talked about some of the exam questions while

James led them down the lawn toward the lake. Harry glanced over his shoulder and caught Snape following them, still poring over the paper and apparently with no fixed idea of where he was going. They sat down in the grass next to a tree and Marlene intentionally took a seat in between Harry's legs and leaned back against his chest.

"Don't even give us that look, Padfoot." Harry laughed: "Perhaps if the entire female population of the castle did not already know you were such a manwhore, you might actually have a chance at a healthy relationship yourself."

The boy growled like a threatened dog and glared from Harry to Marlene.

"He is going to remember that when you come running back to him for some advice on certain topics, mate." James grinned. Sirius barked in laughter and the other Marauders joined him.

"Believe me, Harry is the last boy that would need advice when it comes to that..." Marlene giggled as she blushed slightly. The boys shut up immediately and stared at Harry, who grinned triumphantly, wide-eyed: "Have you guys... You know..." Peter gulped.

"Perhaps..." Harry smirked. He was rather proud at receiving such a compliment from his girlfriend, but their sex life was still nobody else's business: "Who knows..." At the boys' incredulous looks, he decided to switch the topic: "What kind of grades are you guys shooting for?"

They chatted about what each of them believed their scores to be like until his father grew visibly bored. "Whatever, it's just school...," said James. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a familiar-looking, struggling Golden Snitch. Knowing the answer to his own question already, Harry smirked: "Isn't that the one I caught against the Slytherins? Where'd you get it from?"

"Nicked it," said James casually. He started playing with the Snitch, allowing it to fly as much as a foot away and seizing it again; his reflexes were excellent. Just as Harry remembered, Wormtail watched him in awe. The sunlight was dazzling on the smooth surface of the lake, on the bank of which the group of laughing girls who had just left the Great Hall were sitting with shoes and socks off, cooling their feet in the water.

Lupin had pulled out a book and was reading. Sirius stared around at the students milling over the grass, looking rather haughty and bored. Harry and Marlene were snuggled up against the tree, exchanging silent gestures of affection and enjoying the beautiful day at the lake.

James was still playing with the Snitch, letting it zoom farther and farther away, almost escaping but always grabbed at the last second. Wormtail was watching him with his mouth open, every time James made a particularly difficult catch. Harry knew that James was searching for Lily as he kept looking over at the girls by the water's edge. Since it might take Sirius a few more minutes before finally telling Harry's father to stop, Harry decided to do something himself: "Want to see a cool trick I have been working on?" He whispered into Marlene's ear.

She turned around and regarded him with a curious expression on her lovely face: "Sure, anything that distracts me from Potter's bragging will do..."

"Then you will enjoy this one." Harry winked at her. He untangled his fingers from Marlene's and placed his hand on her knee with the open palm facing James. Then, he started spinning his finger in a circular motion, gradually increasing the speed while closing his eyes and concentrating. He started pushing more magic into it until small swells of air shimmered above his fingers. The tiny whirl storm grew in strength until it managed to flutter the hem of Marlene's skirt.

"Incredible!" Marlene whispered at the display of wandless magic: "When did you learn this?"

"Now comes the fun part," Harry smirked and snapped his fingers. the small storm surged forth from his hand through the air and pushed the Snitch out of its orbit.

"What the?!" James' fingers caught nothing but empty air as the Snitch was thrown through the space until it landed with a soft thud in the grass a few meters away. Sirius roared with laughter and even Remus, Peter and Marlene joined in at seeing James' baffled expression.

"Perhaps you should stick to playing Chaser?" Marlene teased him with a bright grin: "The Snitch does not seem to like you.

James huffed and shot Harry an annoyed glare. Naturally, he knew who had been responsible for his slip up. "Really, Harry?" James groaned when he noticed where the Snitch had been pretty much passed to. Harry looked up in confusion:

This was not good...

Snape was on his feet again and was stowing the O.W.L. paper in his bag. As he emerged from the shadows of the bushes and set off across the grass. His shoe connected with the golden orb and he kicked it a few feet ahead of him. The Slytherin's small black eyes glanced over the grass and caught the Snitch before picking it up. Harry watched as he quickly perked up and spotted their group sitting close by. An evil smirk played on the corner of Snape's lips while his fingers twitched inside his robes.

Harry's hand wandered to Marlene's waist, and he carefully lifted her off of him. "Please don't get involved." He whispered into her ear as she shot him a confused look. There was pretty much nothing he could do to avoid the confrontation at this point.

"All right, Snivellus?" said James loudly as he and Sirius stood up. Remus and Peter remained sitting just as they had in the memory.

Remus was still staring down at his book, though his eyes were not moving and a faint frown line had appeared between his eyebrows. Wormtail was looking from Sirius and James to Snape with a look of avid anticipation on his face.

"How'd the exam go, Snivellus?" said James.

Students all around had turned to watch. Some of them had gotten to their feet and were edging nearer to watch. Some looked apprehensive, others entertained.

"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment," said Sirius viciously. "There'll be great grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word." Several people watching laughed.

There was no question when it came to the popularity of anyone involved in this conflict. Harry was still conflicted. The confrontation between his father, Sirius, and Snape was inevitable and would happen one way or another. On the one hand, he wanted to save James and Lily some trouble and heartache and perhaps get them together earlier. On the other hand, James might actually need this opportunity to grow up as a person and become mature enough for Lily. In any case, it was good to see that his father did not directly try to hex Snape. Perhaps Harry's influence was already showing?

"Hand over the Snitch, Snivellus." Sirius said threateningly.

"I don't think I will, Black." The Slytherin smirked: "Why would I allow Potter to keep boasting with it when I could simply keep this one?" He placed the snitch into his open palm.

James glanced over his shoulder at the girls at the water's edge as he took a few steps closer. Wormtail was on his feet now, watching hungrily, edging around Lupin to get a clearer view.

"Accio Snitch!" James called, but Snape was quicker and protected the golden orb in his palm with a simple, yet effective shield charm.

"Expelliarmus!" Sirius yelled, but the Slytherin was ready and blocked this one as well: "Expulso!" Snape shouted and Harry watched as a bright red banishing charm missed his father's face by an inch.

"That's enough!" Harry interfered and stepped in between them. The Elder Wand hummed in his palm, eager to be used once more. He had been patient with Snape over the last few months. Harry even ignored the fact that he had been amongst the occasional group of Slytherins that did their best to make his lie at the castle more difficult.

"Hand it back, Snape." Harry glared over to him: "I am only going to say it once."

"Piss off Peverell." Snape sneered with a mock grin. He adjusted his stance. Undoubtedly, a few darker curses were right at the tip of his lips: "I am not scared of you!"

"You should be," Harry replied neutrally and flicked his wand twice with incredible speed. His first charm, a shield breaker, connected with Snape's silent cast protego and shattered it upon impact. The silent summoning charm that followed within a split second, tore the Snitch out of Snape's tight grip and made it surge towards Harry, who caught it easily in mid-air. Wormtail sniggered shrilly.

"Nice one, Harry!" James congratulated him while Sirius cheered.

"So much wasted potential..." Harry shook his head in disappointment at the Slytherin and threw the Snitch back over to James. Then, he turned his back on Snape, fully knowing the coward might use it as an opportunity to attack him.

"HARRY!" Marlene's shrill scream echoed over the grounds of the castle. She was not the only one who tried to warn him, yet all of them were unnecessary. Harry had felt the magic surge towards him as soon as it had left the tip of Snape's wand. He rolled to the side and felt the curse fizzle above him as the soft grass cushioned his dodging maneuver. Harry spun around and faced his opponent; he felt his magic hum threateningly, calling for retribution.

The man who tormented and emotionally abused him for his six years at school just tried to curse him in the back. Rage burned inside of Harry; wrath spread like fire through his every vein. A fight between him and an adult Snape might have been interesting and not as one-sided, but the skinny boy in front of him was far from the Death Eater and Master Occlumens he would one day become.

Harry flicked his wand and watched as a ripple of magic surged through the air and leaped Snape off of his feet. The Slytherin landed heavily on his back and slowly got back up, coughing. "Stay down already!" Harry warned him: "Where is your Slytherin self-preservation? You are hopelessly outmatched!"

Snape's face was a white mask of pure hatred. He slashed his wand downward in a wide, vertical motion while aiming at Harry: "Sectumsempra!"

Harry's eyes narrowed as he watched the deadly cutting curse approach him at rapid speed. Just before it might have connected with him, the Elder Wand zipped at Snape, not just blocking, but redirecting the curse completely.

Snape was so perplexed that he was too slow to dodge or shield himself otherwise. The spell connected with the Slytherin's cheek, leaving a deep gash that instantly quilled with dark blood. He yelled in pain; his left hand instantly went for his cheek to stop the blood flow. His right hand, however, remained where it was, with his wand pointed at Harry.

"Stop it, Sev, PLEASE!"

Harry turned around, this time he was not surprised in the least as to who the voice belonged to. Lily stepped in front of Snape; her eyes narrowed in anger.

"Get out of my way, Lily!" The boy roared and tried to level his wand above her shoulder.

"Stop this madness already, Sev!" She pleaded: "Harry is only defending himself. Just leave, please!"

"He attacked me!" The Slytherin spat, his black eyes narrowed in hatred.

"He only took back the stupid Snitch!" Lily seemed to finally lose her temper: "You were wrong to attack him, and you cannot beat him in a duel!"

"You should listen to her, Snivellus." Sirius chimed in, with his wand trained at the Slytherin: "If I was Harry, I'd do way worse to you after the kind of spells you've used so far."

"You're lucky Evans is here, Snivellus —" James added.

Harry frowned knowing what might come next. Fate, once again, showed that she was a crude mistress...

"I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Snape's words echoed over the grounds, almost as if they had been magically amplified.

Time stood still... Then...

Lily's hand surged upwards:

SMACK!

Snape almost dropped from how hard she had slapped him. He staggered a few feet backward. The mask of rage remained on his pale face, however, now his black eyes narrowed on Lily instead of Harry. His wand moved, yet before Harry reacted, someone else yelled close behind him.

"Expelliarmus!"

The hand that had caught the tiny golden Snitch a few minutes ago snatched Snape's wand out of thin air and held it securely: "How dare you raise your wand against Evans!" James roared and stomped over to Snape.

Lily completely ignored the boy. Her emerald green eyes were fixed on Snape while a series of emotions rolled over her freckled face. Harry spotted confusion, disappointment, hurt, anger... pretty much in that exact order: "How could you..." She croaked.

"NO!" Snape roared: "How could you take their side in this. How could you betray me like that?!"

"I never want to talk to you again," Lily whispered quietly, doing her best to suppress the tears quilling up in her green eyes. Only Snape was meant to hear it, but with Harry standing rather close to them, he caught onto it as well. The red-haired girl turned on the spot and dashed away as quickly as her legs carried her.

"Evans!" James called out and attempted to follow her: "Lily!"

"Give some time." Harry interfered, his eyes still trained on the fuming form of Severus Snape. The Elder Wand flicked into his palm once more and he silently summoned Snape's wand out of James' grip, all the while walking towards the Slytherin. A conversation between the two was long overdue...

"Muffliato!" Harry whispered barely loud enough for Snape to hear it and enjoyed the baffled expression on the boy's pale face. All around them, the students will now have an undefinable buzzing in their ear, allowing Harry to exchange a few words in privacy.

"No! Impossible..." Snape shook his head in shock. Harry had no idea at what point in time the Slytherin had invented the spell, but the entire scene must seem very mind-blowing to him.

"You have no idea what's possible, Snape." Harry hissed, now only a few meters away from him: "Today will be my last warning for you, Snape. If I catch a whiff of you casting a spell like that ever again... If I find out you use your talent in the mind arts for immoral purposes or if you decide to take up the Dark Mark..." The boy's eyes widened. "Then I will not hesitate for a second to kill you."

The boy gulped heavily and crumpled under Harry's gaze.

"You have provoked my ire too many times, Snivellus." Harry took the boy's wand and pressed it against the Slytherin's chest with so much force that he almost stumbled backward: "Leave Lily alone... Stay away from your Death Eater friends and keep in line."

By now Harry's magic flared and he knew that his eyes must beam a bright green. It was time for one last show of power: "Otherwise you will meet your end, Half-blood Prince."