ROAD NOT TAKEN: FIC: Mirrors Title: Mirrors Author:rose_de_noire Other pairings/threesome: Draco/Hermione/Ron Rating: PG-13 Word count: 2600 Content/Warning(s): No warnings necessary Summary: Snape falls through a mirror. A/N: This is my second Snarry. If you can call the first one one at all. And yes, it is full of clichés. But, that was the plan. Have fun!
Mirrors
He stumbled a bit, frowning at the room he had ended up in.
He remembered staring into the Mirror of Erised and that then the world had vanished in a maelstrom of wild magic.
Now that his senses had cleared up a bit, he looked around, taking in his surroundings. It looked a lot like a storage room, a storage room full of the most powerful magical artefacts he had ever seen in one place. Had he ended up in the Ministry? He hoped not.
He wondered how he had not yet triggered any alerts, as there were wards all around the place, heavy wards. He could feel the magic prickling on his skin.
He slowly and warily walked up the few steps to the door and pressed on the handle, wand ready in his hand. The door opened without any fuss and he stood in a brightly lit corridor which reminded him instantly of Grimmauld Place number twelve, except for the dark green and silvery wallpaper.
He decided that forward was the only way to go. He had just entered what decidedly looked like the living room of Grimmauld Place number twelve, but much less horrible than he remembered it to be. Had Potter sold the place after all?
This was the moment the fireplace roared to life and someone stepped through – Was that Potter?
He found himself snatched up and smothered in a bone-crushing hug. It had happened so fast and had taken him too much off guard to even allow him time to lift his wand. Thank Merlin!
“You're home already Severus?! I thought you were working late! Is everything okay at Hogwarts?”
Snape had tensed up in the arms of, undoubtedly, Harry Potter.
The intimate closeness didn't last long, as Potter pushed him away several inches and looked him up and down, green eyes without glasses looking Severus over intently, then the man's – how old was Potter? – hands fell from his upper arms where he'd gripped him. “You're not my Severus.” It hadn't been a question.
“Potter,” he snarled, “what is going on here? If this is one of your misguided...”
Potter slapped a hand to his own forehead and dragged it down. “I really would prefer if you were my Severus. We got past this about fifteen years ago!”
Snape blinked. Had Potter just interrupted him? His face must have given away that thought, as Potter promptly spoke up again.
“Yes, I did interrupt you. I don't care about your ego. You look like Severus did right after the war, with some silver strands of hair and some laugh lines missing. Also, your magical signature is slightly different. So I guess that in your reality, the war has only just ended, hasn't it?”
Snape nodded, for once stunned into silence. Snape deduced that Potter and the Snape from this place must be rather intimately acquainted if the prat was able to tell a difference in his magical signature, not to mention they were obviously on first name terms.
This was the moment they heard the front door open and suddenly Potter got in Snape's face and hissed, “Behave. Hurt her in any way and you will wish Voldy back!”
There was a series of small and light footsteps and then a child ran into the room, launching herself at Potter, who'd knelt down to catch her. “Daddy, Daddy, can I have a pet?”
Potter laughed and shook his head. “How about 'Hello, Papa, hello Daddy!' Lily Eileen Potter-Snape?”
Snape froze up, staring wide-eyed at the little, dark haired girl. He had only just seen her from the back, but suddenly she swirled around and looked up at him, black eyes sparkling. “Papa, you're here!” She flung her arms around his legs and he was taken so off guard, that he noticed the nudge of Legilimency way too late. “Pick her up, hug her!” Potter's voice rang in his head, loud and clear. At least the little sod did not snoop around in his mind.
Snape did as he was told, hugging the little girl, and the magic wave from Potter was enough to cause the hairs on the back of his neck to bristle.
Snape smiled for a moment as the girl hugged him back. This, this right here, had been everything he ever wanted. But, this was not his. “Papa loves you...” he cooed so softly he could be sure Potter would not hear him. Lily's smile was blinding.
The child ran off as soon he had placed her on her own feet again, telling them she needed to pack for her weekend at her grandparents' home.
Potter looked at Snape and gave him a soft smile. “Thank you. And, my apologies for using Legilimency on you, Professor!”
He didn't really know how to answer that, so he kept silent and just inclined his head a fraction.
Potter nodded. “Tea? We're gonna solve your mystery once Lils is at the Burrow. You know, you're not the first one.”
Snape arched a brow at that. Not the first one? Not the first one who did what? He wondered to himself as he followed Potter into the kitchen and watched him prepare tea.
Almost an hour later, Lily had been flooed off towards the Burrow, Snape had gotten another hug, and Potter was answering his unspoken question.
“There have been others who have fallen through the mirrors. You should've seen the room in the Ministry. It hadn't been opened in years, and there weren't any wards in place to alert anyone if someone wanted to get out, instead of trying to get in...” Potter fell silent and shuddered.
Snape spoke up. “There were bones, I fathom.”
“You fathom right. I wanted those artefacts under close supervision. Severus agreed and thus these are here now.”
Snape nodded. That was all very reasonable.
“Through which of the mirrors did you stumble, Snape?”
He didn't want to answer this question at all, so instead Snape asked. “How in Salazar's name did you get the Minister to agree to this?”
Potter's brows shot up into his hairline. “I was just lucky, I guess!”
They had made their way down into the room where Snape had first arrived and Potter glanced around, pointing his wand at the line of mirrors present, then he groaned as he realized which mirror Snape had come through. “Really now? I have no fucking clue how to get you back through that mirror, Snape! I need to get help!”
“We could try to figure it out ourselves?” Snape offered.
Potter instantly shook his head. “No, I need Severus back; I think you may have switched places with him. I am very sorry, you have to go back to where you came from and we can't do it without help!” Then he turned to a fireplace and threw some Floo powder in. “Hermione,” he called, head in the green fire. “You there?”
“Yes, in fact, we all are. It's the kiddy-free weekend, why are you not buggering Severus into next Wednesday, Minister?” The woman, way older than Snape remembered, gave Potter a meaningful look.
Potter blushed furiously, not only at the naked state of his friend, but also at her words, then shook his head and continued in a matter-of-fact tone, “Look, Unspeakable Granger-Malfoy-Weasley, this is an urgent matter concerning the wizarding world as a whole.” His voice took on a friendly tone as he continued. “So please come through the flames and bring your companions along!”
Granger-Malfoy-Weasley? Snape thought, staring at the fireplace, unable to yet be seen by the woman.
“Yes, as you wish, Minister!” The Granger girl answered instantly.
“Can't we get dressed first, Potter?” Draco Malfoy spoke up with his distinctive and snooty voice, only for his words to be followed by a yelp and Ron Weasley's reprimand. “Shut your trap, brat, and pack your pretty arse into your robes! Harry seems to need the cavalry!”
Hermione shrugged. “We'll be there in an instant, Harry!”
Potter nodded, closed the Floo connection and finally looked back at him. “My apologies again. I guess this was a bit too much TMI for one day!”
He stared at Potter for a long moment, then asked. “Minister?”
Potter bowed. “Minister of Magic, Harry Potter-Snape, at your service!”
Snape stared and then blurted out. “You married the version of me from here?”
Harry nodded. “Yes. We got married and adopted a child. I'm sorry if you're not having the same luck as we. But, you see it's all the more important to me to get my Severus back.”
Snape nodded. “How did you end up together, if I may ask?”
There was a cheeky grin on Potter's face as he sat down on the stairs leading out of the room, pointed his wand at a crate which was beside the steps and transformed it into a chair. “Have a seat. As much as they say they will hurry up, they will take the time they need. They're aware it's not a 'real emergency'.” Potter drew the quotation marks in the air with his hands. Literally. They hung there for a moment, sparkling, before they dissolved into a mist of glitter.
Snape took the seat and tilted his head a fraction to the right, brow arched a millimetre.
Potter shrugged, raked a hand through his unruly hair with grey about the temples, then tucked his wand behind an ear, and began to talk.
“I guess you survived with a bezoar and some bottled up phoenix tears?”
Snape nodded.
Potter nodded too. “Well, then let's start in the shack, Snape.”
Snape leaned back in his chair, stared intently at the Minister of Magic, arched his brow again and wordlessly urged him to speak on.
Potter let out a soft laugh and continued. “Well, Hermione forced a bezoar down Severus's throat, I quite literally drenched his neck with bottled phoenix-tears, while Herm washed down the bezoar with blood replenisher.” He made a short pause. “And yes, my stupid hero-complex saved Severus' life. And Herm's genius to know which, of all of those potions I tugged out of his robes at that moment, were the right ones to shove down and dump over his throat.”
Potter took a deep breath and Snape nodded. That would explain how he, too, had survived the shack.
“Severus and I didn't see each other for a few weeks,” Potter continued. “He was in the hospital and I tried to help keep the world turning. Then one day he just knocked on my door, all brooding menace, first thanking me for saving his life then apologizing for treating me like dirt in school, then he sat in a chair and started to cry over Dumbledore. Well, needless to say, I, with my hero complex, had to forgive him. After a few weeks of arguing we became friends and then ended up dating around Christmas.” Potter shrugged. “That was about twenty years ago.”
Snape was about to pose a question just as the Floo flared to life again. Hermione Granger, dressed in official Ministry robes with the insignia of the Department of Mysteries around her neck, stepped out, followed closely by a much older looking – than Snape remembered – Draco Malfoy and Ronald Weasley. Malfoy was dressed in a dark teacher's robe and had the Potions master's emblem pinned to his lapel, while Weasley wore the official robe of the DMLE and the insignia which identified him as the head of said department.
Had Potter and his friends taken over the Magical World of Britain entirely?
Potter leaned against Snape's back and whispered, as if he'd read his thoughts. “Remember who my husband is, in this reality.”
Snape refrained from answering and looked at the newcomers.
Hermione looked him up and down, but before one of them was able to speak, Potter suddenly stood in front of Snape. “That's Snape, not Severus.”
Weasley needed no further explanation to understand. “Mirror?” The wizard asked and Potter nodded, pointing towards the one he'd figured out was the culprit earlier.
“Well,” Draco stepped closer, taking in Snape's appearance. “Why am I not surprised?”
“We have to get them switched back,” the witch concluded.
Potter chuckled. “Yeah, preferably.”
Snape watched, a bit fascinated he had to admit, how the three of them got to work while Potter sat back down on the stairs, motioning for him to take his seat back, too.
“Let them work and bicker first. They're the best at what they do.” Potter grinned. “But since they got bonded it's best not to get between them. It's dangerous.” He then gave Snape an encouraging look. “Anything else you would like to know?”
There was nothing else he could do at the moment, so he asked. “If Draco is the Potions master at Hogwarts, what is Severus doing there?” It felt strange to use his own name as if it belonged to someone else.
Potter's lips curved into a small smile. “He's the headmaster, but we've a special arrangement with the board. He's allowed to spend a lot of time with Lily and I, either here at home or with the two of us at Hogwarts.”
Snape nodded and then watched the three magicians work, wondering how they had ended up in a three-way bond. He almost laughed as Ronald Weasley hissed at Draco, “Get off my foot, ferret!” And the blond immediately shot back, “Shut up, weasel!” Hermione turned her gaze towards Potter and him and shrugged. “You must forgive my pets!”
Potter snorted, amused, and Snape lifted the corner of his mouth.
Ten minutes later, the three magicians approached Snape and Potter, and Hermione began to speak. “We can send him back, but I'm sad I can't answer how the professor ended up here.” Hermione swallowed. “Also, we don't know if we will be able to bring your Severus back.”
As Potter's eyes fell shut and and his shoulders sagged, Snape spoke up. “Just teach me. I swear an oath, Potter, to do my utmost to send your Severus back to you!”
Potter's eyes flew open and he looked so thankful, Snape would never forget the expression as long he lived.
“Well, then.” Granger beckoned Snape over and pointed at the mirror in question, then launched into a complicated explanation.
After the greater part of an hour had passed, Snape solemnly nodded and stepped back up to Potter, placing a hand on the man's shoulder. “Thank you,” was all he said, but in that “Thank you” he meant, “Thank you for what you told me, for the trust you've placed in me to send your Severus back, thank you for giving me hope.” But, he couldn't bring himself to speak all those words out loud.
Potter tilted his head to the side and arched his brow a little, much as Snape had done earlier, and nodded. “You're welcome, Severus.”
All four magicians watched in tense silence as Professor Snape stepped up to the mirror, placed his hands on the shimmering surface and began to chant his incantation.
Snape pushed forward, the mirror taking on a liquid consistency and – found himself back where he had knelt a few hours ago. Gracelessly stumbling away from the mirror of Erised, he turned around.
Snape stared right back at the scene he had just left. Potter was sitting on the steps again. Granger, Weasley and Draco were bickering pointlessly looking from Snape to Potter and back again. And on his own hip, Snape balanced a little girl with dark hair and black eyes.
“Lily...” he breathed out, brushing his fingertips against the glass.
Snape's dark robes billowed around him as he swished around and hurried out of the room. He was man on a mission.
Harry's head flew up as the door to his office was pushed open so hard it slammed against the wall. His inkwell tumbled over as he jumped to his feet, staring in shock at Professor Severus Snape.
He hadn't seen the man since he'd brought him to the hospital and then Snape had refused to see him.
“Thank you for saving my life!” Severus Snape blurted out, staring at Harry.