Chapter Text
“This is all your fault!”, someone yelled.
“No! Its your fault it was your plan to do this!!”, the other replied whose eyes were fixed to the floor, while one an old man was sitting down in one of the chairs watching without blinking.
“Can we not focus on one thing please!”, The girl yelled throwing her hands up to shut the two younger boys up, and they did....suprisingly.
“may i ask...what is your names children?”, The old man spoke.
“you first..”
“okay, my name is dumbledore now whats yours?”, the three childrens eyes widen at the name, “D-dumbledore?! Like as in professor Dumbledore?!”, The girl yelled while pointing.
“yes?...”, He replied, “Oh Bloody hell mate! Were in the past!”, The one with glasses yelled, “No! It cant be ive checked millions of time before we did the spell, it was supposed to sentus a few hours past before the test how-”, before the short headed boy finished his sentence Dumbledore waved his hand and shut them up before turning to the girl. “Now you young girl, you look the oldest and the mature one out of the three”,The girl scoffed in response and dumbledore continued, “Who are you, what are your names, where are your parents and what spell did you use?”.
“My name is Lyra Black-snape, the oldest and a ravenclaw, the one with glasses is harrison potter-snape, harry for short, hes the middle child and is a griffindor, lastly is Rowan Lupin-snape, the youngest, and is a hufflepuff.”, Lyra stated, “The spell we used was from one of fathers library but we didnt recall what the spell was used for until it was too late..”, she noted, hand in her hair looking stressed. “And your parents?”, Dumbledore said looking calm on purpose, “Well you should know by our last names but its, James Potter, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black and Severus snape. We call severus mom as he did gave birth to us, cause he a male carrier and you know....”, her voice carried a tone of hesitence.
“What year is it for you kids?”, the old man asked, “1994 sir..”, she said lowering her head. Dumbledore nodded, his hand went up to his beard and started stroking it, seemingly like he was thinking, “For now we will just introduce you as transfer kids as to not cause any speculations. One more question...”.
“Yes?’
“How old are you, so we can set you in your respective year..”
“Im 15 yrs old, harry and rowan are twins, both are 14 yrs old but rowan is 10 minutes younger than Harry.”, Lyra said, her hands fidgeting, the professor nodded and the two boys who were quiet through the conversation nodded in sync as well, “I’ll introduced you kids in the great halls in lunch so be prepared okay?”, professor said looking down, he waved his hand and dismissed the three kids. When they walked out professor McGonagall was waiting out side, “Oh are you the kids the professor told me to take care of?”, the old lady said eyeing the kids, the three nodded and professor McGonagall hummed in response, then she turned around and started walking off, the kids followed her four steps behind.
“Sooo....what are we going to do?”, Harry whispered leaning towards the other two.
“Uh well theres like 20 minutes until lunch so we wait i guess?..”, Rowan said looking at his watch.
“Its a good thing that we had out bags with us”, Lyra stated rummaging through her bag and then pulled out a journal her father(Remus) gifted her on her birthday.
“Whats that?”, Rowan questioned, “Its a journal..”, Lyra said opening the journal flipping the pages, “mmkay..”, Harry said looking to the side.
20 MINUTES LATER The grand hall was buzzing with conversations left and right, Dumbledore stood up from the high table and clapped tor the attention of the students, “Children! Children I have something to announce!”, he yelled and the once chattering quietened down, “Today we have students from another wizarding school transferring here! We’ve already done their sorting so i hope you all will be kind to them!”, after he said that the doors opened and professor walked in with the three behind her. “Gosh nothing really changed huh?”,Harry remarked quietly, the students stared at the trio walking, Proffessor walked towards the high table so Lyra turned to the boys and said, “Okay now this is where we seperate, we must meet at the room of requirement and please do not cause any trouble unless its about mama okay?”, the two boys nodded and the three fist bumped, they went to their respective house tables and sat down, Dumbledore sat back down to his seat and smiled.
“Hey! Whats your name kid?” someone next to harry said, “Oh! Its Harry!” he said turning to who asked him, “Well my name is Sirius, thats james and his girl lily, Remus, peter, mary, marlene!”, Harry tried to act calm on the outside but he was paniking on the inside, “Its a good thing that you werent sorted with the slytherins”, mary said, harry rasied an eyebrow, “Slytherins are full of evil death eatersyou do NOT want to be friends with either of them”, James said while wrapping his hands around lilys waist, “My mom was a slytherin and he-she is the kindest person alive!”, Harry said back which suprised the others, “Oh really?”, remus said.
“Y-yeah ofcourse! My dad said they had some rough patches cause of the house rivalries since he was in griffindor while he-she was in slytherin but they made it work!”, Harry bubbled.
“Well your father must be under a love potion cause who want to date an evil git?!”, Sirius chuckled shaking his head.
Harry was starting to get pissed of by how idiotic his fathers were acting so before the griffindors said anymore bad stuff he got up and walked over to rowan, aka the hufflepuff table.
“Harry? What are you doing?”, Rowan asked shifting his focus to from his friend to his brother, “The griffindors were pissing me off...they were taking shit about the slytherins being evil,” Harry muttered but loud enough to hear, “But they’re right tho?”, one of the hufflepuffs said, “No their not! Why are they acting slytherins is all about deatheaters! Like hello what is going on with their brains!”, harry yelled shoving mashed potatos in his mouth, “Isn’t it tho?”, another hufflepuff said, “Well no...Slytherin values ambition, cunning, resourcefulness, leadership, and shrewdness, its not all about death eaters ya know? And there are some nice slytherins I know like my uncle and mom...”, Rowan noted, the other hufflepuffs near nodded.
“Yeah, and why do they think they have the fucking right to bully the first years based on the fucking house! Like bitch who asked for your non exsitinct opinion!!”, Harry yelled still stuffing food in his mouth.
“Okay brother calm down, no swearing and slowing down with your food please?”, Rowan said reaching a handout and patted Harry's shoulder.
“You guys arre siblings?”, the one person who sat infront of the two asked.
“Yeah! The girl with us is our older sister, shes in her 5th year i think?”, Rowan said, “Is she single?”, One of the hufflepuffs chatted.
“No!”, the twins shouted, “Okay, okay...Names Ted, ted tonks! The girl next to harry in amelia bones”, Ted said. Students from other tables started to pour out from the grand hall, it seemed like lunch ended, “Oh look rowan its ma!”, Harry whispered to Rowans ear, “we should go after him...our fathers are glaring at him, you know they told us about the bulling?”,Rowan whispered back, and with that they hurriedly got up and catched up with severus.
“Hey snivellus!”, Sirius yelled, students near them parted and maade way for the marauders, severus stopped looked back and then kept walking, ignoring them, “Hey now! Dont go ignore us! Lily here wants to talk with you!”, James yelled and severus stopped and turned around, “Oh of course you wouldve turned around!”, Mary snickered, the students around also chuckled and whispered, Snape face started to get flustered, heat flushing his face in a shade of red from embarrassement and anger, lily was also laughing at his stupidity.
“Titillando!”, sirius yelled, the hex cause severus to fall off from his feet and hit the floor, books and parchement in his bag scattered everywhere.
“GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!!”, as sirius was about to turn around and see who screamed he suddenly got kicked in the back and dropped to the ground. Lyra, who kicked him,ran to Severus to help him up, “HEY! Who and what are you doing? This is our business!”, shouted James, “Oh your business? Well, you should’ve picked someplace else that werent so crowded with people you damn C*NT!”, Lyra hollered who left sverus to face the group, “LYRA LANGUAGE!”, Rowan Screamed who ran towards them. The students nearby stood in shock as well with the teachers behind who were about to interfere but stopped.
“7 against 1 isnt fair so let us join in the fun!!”, Harry hollered behind Lyra, Peter who was in shock, snapped out of it, “G-guys maybe we should lead-”, “No! They kicked Sirius; they should pay! And you Harry, why?! Why are you protecting a dman slytherin!”, James said in obvious irritation, and with remus holding him back, lily still holding onto james arm.
“If we're going to fight well at least, do it Physically! If you can't then your just weak who only relies on magic!” Lyra howled putting her hands in a boxing position, “Well it's a good thing our parents put us into combat traning just in case!”, Harry cheered rolling up his sleeves.
“Can we stop!? Fighting is usless!”, Rowan Yelped, severus standing beside him stared with widened eyes, “The hufflepuff is right! James, we should stop!” Remus stated.
“But!”
“Okay, kids! calm down!”, Professor dumbledore walked between the two groups with wand in hand and the other hand in beard. “10 Point de-”, “NO!”, Lyre wailed, “No points detucted!”
Dumbledore turned towards her, “Well? We can't expell him...what do you think we should do?”
“Let them wash the dishes as a punishment! Then let them clean the toilets BARE HANDED....”, she said.
“Huh...Okay!”, Professor dumbledore spoke, “WHAT but-”, “No buts sirius...you hexed him, lyra only defended him, she didnt really mean to fight you”, Dumbledore interrupted, “But professor!”, “No lily! I said NO buts”, Professor dumbledore stated again. Lily looked at the four people behind dumbledore in annoyance; the three siblings smirked in response to her glare.
“Lyra, Harry, and Rowan go and drop out severus to the infirmary to check if he has any injuries..then come and see me immediatly at my office,” Professor voiced.
-----------------------------
“Oh! What happened now?”, madam pomfrey said, “What have those boys done now..”, The lady chattered frowning.
“We’re just here to drop Sev off, Professor dumbledore told us to bring him here to see if he has any injuries, but dont worry the boys only pulled tripping hex on him so im pretty sure hes fine”, Rowan remarked. Madam Pomfrey nodded in response, the three said their good byes and started to walk to Dumbledores office.
As they entered the old hag was already sitting down in his chair, head down and papers infront. “What is it you want to talk about?”, Lyra said with uneasyness filling her nerves.
TIMESKIP 15 MINUTES LATER Lyra and dumbledore was aruging about the incident that happened after lunch, of course dumbledore was being biased in the argument but lyra was definetatly yelling some sense into him as his frown seemed to lose some tension. “Well... heres a contract”, dumbledore said, “Contract?”, Lyra said startled by dumbledores words. The professor hand her the contract paper which she started to read
/–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––\
Magical Agreement of Residence and Student Protection;
This agreement is entered into by Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and the three students, hereafter referred to as "the Students."
The purpose of this agreement is to ensure the Students' safety, privacy, and fair treatment during their stay at Hogwarts.
Article I – Confidentiality
- The Students agree to reveal their true identities only to Severus Snape.
- Severus Snape shall be permitted to know the Students' identities and the circumstances of their arrival.
- No other member of staff or student shall be informed without the express consent of the Students unless immediate disclosure is required to preserve life.
Article II – Residence
- The Students shall be granted three private bedrooms and shared living quarters located on the Seventh Floor of Hogwarts Castle.
- These rooms shall remain under the protection of Hogwarts' wards and shall not be entered without the permission of the occupants, except in cases of genuine emergency.
- Severus Snape shall have the unrestricted right to reside within these quarters alongside the Students should he choose to do so.
- The Students and Severu Snape shall have full access to the quarters at all times without interference.
Article III – Fair Discipline
- The Headmaster agrees to remain impartial in all disciplinary matters involving Hogwarts students.
- No House shall receive preferential treatment over another.
- Any student found guilty of bullying, harassment, intimidation, or assault against another student, including students of Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or Hufflepuff, shall receive fair and equal punishment based solely upon the facts of the incident.
- Disciplinary decisions shall not be influenced by House affiliation, personal relationships, or reputation.
Article IV – Protection of the Students
- The Headmaster shall make every reasonable effort to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of the Students.
- No action concerning the Students' welfare or future shall be taken without informing the Students beforehand whenever circumstances permit.
- Severus Snape may act as the Students' primary guardian and advocate within Hogwarts while they remain enrolled until they get back into their own time.
Article V – Magical Binding
- This agreement is magically binding upon all signatories.
- Any deliberate breach of this agreement shall be considered a violation of magical contract law and shall carry consequences as determined by the magic enforcing this contract.
- This agreement shall remain in force until the Students voluntarily dissolve it or have safely returned to their proper time.
Signed:
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Student One: Lyra Black-Snape
Student Two: Harrision Potter-Snape
Student Three: Rowan Lupin-Snape
Date: 27-5-1976
\––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––/
“Huh....”, Lyra muttered under her breath as she was thet last one to sign the contract, “Severu snape has his last class at the dualling classroom so you should meet him there, theres 30 minutes till class ends so you must make haste now..”. The gargoyle slid back into place with a heavy thud as Harry, Lyra and Rowan stepped out of the Headmaster's office.
For a long moment, none of them spoke. They simply stood in the quiet corridor, each processing everything that had just happened.
Harry was the first to break the silence.
"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "that went better than I expected."
"It almost didn't," Rowan replied. "I thought he was going to refuse the contract altogether."
Lyra smiled to herself.
"But he didn't. We got everything we asked for."
Harry nodded.
"No surnames."
"Our own rooms on the seventh floor," Rowan added.
"And Mum gets to stay with us," Lyra finished with a grin.
Harry couldn't help smiling back.
"I think that was the clause Dumbledore was least happy about."
"He'll survive," Rowan said dryly.
They started walking through the castle, following the directions Professor McGonagall had given them earlier that afternoon. Students hurried past in both directions, eager to reach their final lesson before dinner.
"I still can't believe we're actually here," Lyra murmured.
Harry glanced around the ancient corridors.
"Hogwarts."
"In the seventies," Rowan added.
"And trying not to destroy the timeline."
Before either of his siblings could answer, raised voices echoed from around the corner.
"...Pathetic, Snivellus."
The three froze.
Harry sighed.
"I know that voice."
"So do I," Rowan muttered. They rounded the corner. Just as they'd feared, four Gryffindor boys had Severus Snape cornered against the wall. James Potter stood in front of him, wand loosely twirling between his fingers. Sirius Black leaned casually beside him, wearing an amused grin, while Peter Pettigrew watched eagerly from behind. Remus Lupin lingered a few steps back, looking uncomfortable but making no move to intervene.
James took another step forward, "Lost your tongue?", Severus's jaw tightened, but he remained silent. Harry felt Lyra tense beside him. Without another word, the three siblings walked straight towards them. James looked up. His expression immediately darkened.
"You three."
Harry folded his arms, "Funny. We were about to say the same thing.", Sirius let out a humourless laugh.
"This doesn't concern you."
"It does now," Rowan replied evenly.
Lyra looked past them to Severus, "You alright?", Severus blinked, No one had ever asked him that before.
"...I'm fine."
Harry raised an eyebrow, "You don't look fine."
James scoffed.
"We're only having a conversation."
"A conversation?" Lyra repeated. "Four against one?"
Remus looked away.
Harry's eyes settled on James.
"If he doesn't want to talk to you, leave him alone."
"And if we don't?"
Harry's expression remained calm.
"Then you'll be late for Defence Against the Dark Arts."
For a second, no one spoke.
Finally, Rowan stepped aside, creating a clear path down the corridor.
"You should go," he told Severus quietly.
Severus hesitated.
His dark eyes lingered on the three strangers.
None of this made sense.
Why would they help him?
Still, he wasn't about to question his good fortune.
He gave the slightest nod before slipping past them and disappearing into the crowd.
James watched him leave before glaring at the siblings.
"This isn't over."
Harry smiled politely.
"I'd rather it was."
Sirius clicked his tongue.
"I don't like you."
"The feeling's mutual," Lyra replied.
Remus sighed.
"We're going to be late."
James shot the siblings one last glare before turning away.
"Come on."
The Marauders disappeared down the corridor without another word.
Harry waited until they were out of earshot before exhaling.
"Well..."
"I'd say that went well," Lyra said.
Rowan looked at her.
"We've been here less than a day."
"And we've already made enemies."
Lyra shrugged.
"I don't regret it."
Harry smiled faintly.
"Neither do I."
Together, the three siblings continued towards the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, completely unaware that, behind them, Severus Snape had stopped at the end of the corridor.
He watched them disappear around the corner.
Whoever they were...
They were unlike anyone he'd ever met.
Professor Hawthorne stepped into the centre of the classroom, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. His gaze swept over the fifth-years until the room fell silent. "Today," he began, "we'll be putting your defensive theory into practice. A duel is won through control, not power."
A ripple of excitement spread through the classroom. James sat up straighter while Sirius grinned, already anticipating the lesson. Across the room, Harry exchanged a wary look with Lyra. It was only their first day, and they had no desire to become the centre of attention.
"I require two volunteers," Professor Hawthorne announced.
The room remained silent.
Lyra let out a quiet sigh before raising her hand. Harry stared at her in disbelief.
"Really?"
"You'll thank me later," she whispered.
"I highly doubt that."
Professor Hawthorne noticed the exchange and gave a faint smile. "Harry. Lyra. If you would."
The pair stood and made their way to the raised duelling platform. As they passed, James folded his arms across his chest.
"Perfect," he muttered. "Maybe they'll finally get knocked down a peg."
"They've had it coming since they interfered this morning," Sirius agreed.
Remus didn't answer. Instead, he watched the siblings carefully. There was something strangely familiar about the way they carried themselves—calm, alert, and entirely unbothered by the attention.
Professor Hawthorne waited until they stood opposite one another. "Remember, this is a demonstration. No unnecessary force."
Harry nodded before looking at Lyra. "Don't make me look stupid."
She smirked. "That depends entirely on you."
A few students chuckled as they raised their wands.
"Begin."
Harry moved first, casting a measured Disarming Charm. Lyra's shield sprang to life almost instantly, deflecting the spell before she stepped lightly to the side. Rather than rushing to attack, she circled him, forcing Harry to mirror her movements.
Professor Hawthorne nodded approvingly. "Good. Neither of them is rushing."
Harry fired a second spell, followed quickly by a third. Lyra avoided the first with a sidestep, blocked the second, then answered with a simple Knockback Jinx. Harry twisted out of the way, his robes fluttering as the spell flew harmlessly past.
"They're quick," Lily murmured.
"No," Remus replied quietly. "They're used to each other."
Soon the platform became a blur of shields and carefully aimed spells. Neither sibling tried to overpower the other. Every attack was met with an equally controlled defence, each anticipating the other's next move almost before it happened.
Even James had stopped smirking.
Harry suddenly feinted left before snapping his wand to the right. It was a trick Lyra had seen countless times before. She ignored the feint entirely, blocked the real spell, and answered with a perfectly timed Disarming Charm.
Harry laughed as he caught his own wand before it hit the floor.
"Showing off again?"
"You started it."
Professor Hawthorne lifted a hand, bringing the demonstration to an end. "Excellent." He looked around the classroom before continuing. "What you've just witnessed wasn't exceptional spellwork. It was trust, discipline, and practice. Those qualities will win more duels than raw power ever will."
As the bell rang, students began gathering their bags. James watched the three newcomers leave together, his irritation only growing. "I still don't trust them." Neither did Severus. But unlike the Marauders, his curiosity had begun to outweigh his suspicion.
“Hey! Severus!’, Harry yelled out, “Is it okay if i call you that? Anyways”, Harry stopped infront if Snape, “No, and what do you want?”, severus asked the griffindor, “ookay well Sev iguess”, Severus rolled his eyes and Harry continued on, “Why dont you let us sit with you? AND umm we lowkey need to tell you something...”.
“Which is?”
“Uhh...we’ll tell you when we get to the tables kay!”, Harry replied giving severus a thumbs up, Lyra shooked her haed and took Severus hands into her own, “Come on! I’m starving!”,She bellowed walking towards the grandhall, pulling Severus with her, Harry smirked and followed behind with Rowan walking beside him.
---------------------------
The Great Hall buzzed with conversation as dinner drew to a close. Despite belonging to other Houses, Harry, Lyra and Rowan had decided to sit beside Severus at the Slytherin table, much to the confusion of the students around them. Several curious glances had been sent their way throughout the meal, while whispers travelled freely between the four House tables. Across the hall, James Potter had spent most of dinner glaring in their direction, with Sirius looking equally unimpressed.
Severus noticed the looks just as much as they did, though he chose to ignore them. It was strange enough having three complete strangers willingly sit beside him, stranger still that they carried on casual conversations as though they had known him for years. They asked about his classes, complained about the mountain of homework already assigned, and even managed to make him laugh once, though only briefly. It was a sound he hoped no one else had heard.
As students began rising from their seats, the noise in the Great Hall steadily grew louder. Benches scraped against the stone floor while prefects called for younger students to make their way back to their common rooms. Harry waited until the crowd had begun to thin before looking towards Severus. "Would you come with us?" he asked quietly. "There's something we still need to explain."
Severus studied the three siblings carefully. Ever since they'd interrupted James and Sirius earlier that day, he'd been trying to understand their motives. Nothing they did made any sense. They defended him without expecting anything in return, treated him with kindness he wasn't accustomed to, and spoke to him with an odd familiarity that left him more confused than suspicious. Against his better judgement, he gave a small nod.
The four of them slipped out of the Great Hall together, blending into the stream of students filling the corridors. Harry led the way in silence, taking several winding staircases until they reached the seventh floor. Severus frowned as they stopped before an entirely blank stretch of stone wall. "There's nothing here," he said, glancing between the siblings.
"There wasn't," Lyra replied with a small smile. Harry paced back and forth in front of the wall three times, concentrating on a single thought. As Severus watched, the bare stone rippled like water before an elegant wooden door slowly emerged from the wall itself. His eyes widened despite himself. He had explored Hogwarts for years, yet he had never seen anything like it.
Harry pushed the door open, revealing a spacious sitting room warmed by a roaring fireplace. Comfortable sofas surrounded a low table, while shelves overflowing with books covered one wall. Three doors branched off into separate bedrooms, and a small kitchenette occupied the far corner of the room. It felt less like a school dormitory and more like a home.
"Dumbledore agreed to let us stay here," Rowan explained as Severus stepped inside. Harry quietly shut the door behind them, cutting off the distant sounds of the castle. For the first time since they'd arrived at Hogwarts, they were completely alone. Lyra motioned towards one of the sofas with a gentle smile. "Now," she said softly, "we can finally tell you the rest."
After going inside Severus remained standing, his dark eyes travelling slowly around the room. Everything about it felt impossibly comfortable, as though it had been lived in for months rather than prepared only that morning. His gaze lingered on the overflowing bookshelves before finally settling on the three siblings. "You said you had something to explain."
Harry nodded, though the confidence he'd shown throughout the day had all but disappeared. He took a seat opposite Severus, resting his forearms on his knees, while Lyra and Rowan settled beside him. For several long moments, none of them spoke. It wasn't that they didn't know what to say it was deciding where to begin that proved difficult.
"You've probably noticed," Harry said at last, "that we seem to know more than we should." Severus gave a short nod. "You knew where I'd be this morning. You knew Potter and Black would corner me, and you stepped in before they could do anything." His eyes narrowed. "You also looked around the castle as though you'd been here before."
"We have," Lyra answered quietly. "Just... not this Hogwarts."
A frown crossed Severus's face.
"What does that mean?"
Harry drew a slow breath.
"It means we're from the future."
The room fell silent.
Severus stared at him, waiting for someone to laugh or admit it was some elaborate joke. None of them did. Lyra simply watched him with a mixture of sympathy and apprehension, while Rowan remained quietly composed beside her.
"I'm serious," Harry continued. "We're from a time many years ahead of this one. We attended Hogwarts ourselves, just... decades after you."
Severus leaned back in his chair, folding his arms tightly across his chest. "Time travel exists," he admitted. "I've read about Time-Turners. They can only travel back a few hours."
"Normally," Rowan agreed. "But what happened to us wasn't normal."
"We were doing a spell..a spell that would let us travel 4 hours back before our test so we could study more but," Lyra explained. "Something went wrong with the spell, and before we could stop it..." She glanced briefly at her brothers before finishing. "...we woke up here."
"There wasn't any warning," Harry said. "One moment we were in our own time. The next, we were standing outside Hogwarts in the middle of 1976."
Severus searched each of their faces for any sign of deception. He found only exhaustion. It was the sort of weariness he recognised well—the look of people carrying burdens they wished they could put down. "If that's true," he said slowly, "why tell me?"
Harry looked into the fire for a moment before meeting his gaze again.
"Because we needed someone we could trust."
"And because," Lyra added softly, "you deserve the truth."
Severus gave a humourless laugh.
"You hardly know me."
The siblings exchanged a brief glance.
It was Rowan who answered.
"That's where you're wrong."
A heavy silence settled over the room.
Harry rubbed the back of his neck, choosing his next words carefully.
"There are things we know about your future. Things that haven't happened yet and things we can't tell you without risking changing history. Dumbledore knows we're from the future, but even he doesn't know everything."
"We've already made enough changes just by being here," Lyra admitted. "Stopping Potter and Black today wasn't part of history. Neither was sitting with you at dinner."
"Every choice we make could change something," Rowan continued. "So we're trying to be careful."
Severus looked from one sibling to the next, his mind racing with questions. They spoke with the certainty of people who had lived through another lifetime, yet there was sadness in each of their voices whenever they mentioned the future.
Finally, he asked the question that had been bothering him all day.
"Why me?"
Harry's expression softened.
"Because out of everyone in this castle..."
"...you're the person we couldn't bear to leave alone."
None of them realised just how much those words meant to Severus.
For perhaps the first time in his life, someone had chosen him, not because they wanted something from him, but simply because they cared.
Severus held Harry's gaze, waiting for him to continue. The room had become so quiet that the crackling fire seemed deafening. Whatever they were still hiding, it was clearly the hardest part of the conversation. He had noticed the way they exchanged nervous glances all evening, as though silently deciding who should speak first.
Harry let out a slow breath. "There's also one more reason we came to you first." His fingers tightened around the edge of the armchair. "It's also the reason we've been trying so hard to protect you." Beside him, Lyra reached over and gently squeezed his hand, while Rowan stared into the fire, unable to meet Severus's eyes.
"You said you trusted me," Severus said quietly. "Then tell me."
Lyra swallowed. "Please don't interrupt until we've finished." She waited until Severus gave a reluctant nod before continuing. "In our time... you're more than someone we know." Her voice trembled despite her efforts to keep it steady. "You're our family."
Severus frowned in confusion.
"My... family?"
Harry gave a single nod. "uh-huh."
Another silence settled over the room before Harry forced himself to say the words they had rehearsed countless times.
"Severus... you're our mother."
For several seconds, Severus simply stared at them. The words refused to make sense. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. Every thought seemed to vanish at once, leaving only stunned silence.
"...Your what?"
"Our mother," Rowan repeated softly. "The one who raised us. The one who taught us, protected us, and gave us a home." A small smile touched his lips. "You may not believe it now, but you're the best parent we could have asked for.", Severus rose from the sofa so abruptly that it scraped across the floor. He turned away from them, one hand pressed against his forehead as he struggled to process what he'd just heard. "That's impossible," he whispered. "I'm... I'm a wizard."
"We know," Lyra replied gently. "You found out your were a male carrier when you first found you were with children, which is me. You don't have to understand how it happened." She paused before adding, "We barely do ourselves." Severus slowly turned back to face them. His dark eyes searched each of their faces, looking for any hint that this was a cruel joke. He found none. Instead, he saw hope, fear, and an unmistakable affection that could not have been faked.
"If..." he began hoarsely, "if what you're saying is true..." His voice caught. "Who are your fathers?"
The three siblings looked at one another.
Harry answered first.
"James Potter."
Rowan spoke next.
"Remus Lupin."
Finally, Lyra took a shaky breath.
"Sirius Black."
The words hit Severus harder than anything else that evening.
He stared at them in complete disbelief.
"Potter?" he repeated faintly. "Black... and Lupin?"
Harry nodded once.
"Peter Pettigrew isn't our father," he said. "Only James, Sirius, and Remus."
A bitter laugh escaped Severus before he could stop it.
"So you're telling me..." He shook his head in utter disbelief. "The three people who have spent years making my life miserable... somehow become the fathers of my children?"
None of the siblings answered immediately.
"We know how impossible it sounds," Rowan said at last. "When we were old enough to understand your history with them, we could hardly believe it either."
"It doesn't happen overnight," Lyra added quietly. "It takes years. There are mistakes, arguments, forgiveness... and a great deal of growing up. The people you know now aren't the people they become."
Harry stood and walked over to Severus.
"We're not asking you to believe that today. We're only asking you to believe us."
Severus looked at the three teenagers standing before him.
Three strangers.
Three impossible strangers who somehow knew him better than anyone ever had. If they were lying, it was the most elaborate lie imaginable. If they were telling the truth...then everything he thought he knew about his future had just been turned upside down.