Chapter Text
Severus Snape threw up an automatic shield charm as a blinding light exploded in his classroom. What the fuck had one of the little sods done now? As his eyes adjusted he saw several people he did not recognise standing in front of him. All of them in Hogwarts robes. Odd, he mused for one disorientated minute, surely he’d recognise students? His brain kicked into gear a moment later, sending a jolt of panic coursing through him.
“Oh bloody buggering fuck!” one of them, a boy with slightly wild curly hair in a Gryffindor robe muttered only to be hit by the girl next to him in the same robes, with similar hair. Twins he mused as she hissed “Alexander!”
“Phee! Look at where we are!” The boy gestured around the classroom as he grasped his sister by the shoulders and spun her slowly in a circle allowing her to see the room's inhabitants, a distinct note of panic in his voice. “Mum's going to fucking murder us!”
His companions, a dark skinned boy in Slytherin robes, a boy that could only be a Malfoy, also in Slytherin robes and a messy red haired child that looked like Potter would have if his mother had been a Weasley all looked stunned.
Severus slowly came to the realisation that he should probably figure out what was going on, wrestling with his uncooperative brain that did not want to admit this was happening. His class was gaping at them, which meant their arrival would be all over the school within the hour. The implications of that were terrifying.
“Class dismissed.” he barked, futilely adding, “Do not breathe a word of this to anyone!” before turning to the newcomers. “Sit down.”
All of them looked slightly nervous at that, perching on the vacated seats as his class ran for the door, most of them looking at the new students suspiciously.
“Explain.” he barked, as he slammed the door shut. There was an immediate cacophony of noise that he struggled to decipher. He caught, “It was all Granger's fault” from the Draco look alike, “Malfoy did it!” from the curly haired boy, “Bloody Gryffindors!” from the dark skinned boy, the red headed Potter and the girl said nothing so he decided to start with them.
“Silence!” All of them immediately shut up, looking at him with wide eyes. “You.” he said pointing at the girl, “You explain.”
She took a shuddering breath. “Sir….what year is it?”
He frowned at that, “1997.”
“Oh. Oh, fucking hell.” she moaned, surprising him as she began to hyperventilate. “Mum really is going to murder us!”
“Your mum?” The Potter lookalike asked, “What about my dad!”
“Our mum is a damn sight scarier than Uncle Harry, Jamie!”
The boy seemed to consider that for a moment before he shrugged, “Fair point. Although….what about my mum?”
Three of the children paled. Whoever his mum was, apparently she was able to strike fear into all of them. Severus rolled his eyes.
“Other than the likelihood of parental murderers, will you please explain what is going on? Who are you?”
“I’m not sure how much we should tell you, Sir. Bad things happen to wizards who mess with time.”
Severus paled, his suspicions confirmed. He immediately sent a Patronus for Albus, praying to whatever deity was listening that he’d know what to do with this mess... Bloody buggering fuck indeed.
Albus surveyed them over the rim of his glasses. “Now, I gather you’ve had a small mishap with time?” he asked, clearly amused.
“Yes, Sir.” the girl answered.
“Ah. Now, while you are indeed correct about messing with the timeline, I do not think it would be too out of the question to tell us your names.”
“Ophelia, Sir. Ophelia Granger.
“Ah, related to the esteemable Miss Hermione Granger?” Albus asked with a twinkle.
“Our mother, Sir. Alexander is my twin.”
“I see. And you?”
“James Potter, Sir.” Severus hid his wince. The world did not need another James Potter in his opinion.
“Harry Potter?”
“Is my dad, Ginny Weasley's my mum.”
“I see, you, my boy look like a Malfoy.”
“Scorpius.” the boy sneered.
“Your parents?”
“Draco and Astoria Malfoy.”
“Ah…the current Miss Greengrass, no?”
The boy inclined his head minutely, clearly, there was no love lost there.
“And you?”
“Cassius Zabini.”
“And your parents?”
“Blaise and Daphne.”
“The other current Miss Greengrass I presume?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Well, I imagine we’ll have to figure out how to keep you away from your parents until we’ve worked out how to send you back, any interactions could be catastrophic.” Albus said thoughtfully.
“Shouldn't be too hard for you,” Scorpius sneered in the direction of the twins, “your dad couldn't get away fast enough.”
“That is quite enough.” Albus barked, sounding far more like Severus than himself as the twins stiffened.
The girl, Ophelia, forcibly made her body relax, shrugging, “Don't worry about it Sir, we’re used to it. The entire bloody world knows the story of how our sperm donor left. It's fine. We have Mum and she’s better than that arsehole will ever be.”
Severus flinched slightly at the uncompromising tone of the girl's voice. She could only have been a third or fourth year at most. Whoever her father was he had clearly hurt them very badly.
“Might I inquire as to who your father is? In the interests of keeping you separate” He had a sneaking suspicion, he’d seen those eyes before.
“Our sperm donor is Theodore Nott.” the boy spat. “Don't worry about keeping us away, Sir. We’ve no urge to see him.”
Ah, Severus thought, his suspicions were correct then. That was unfortunate, he actually liked the boy. He wondered what had happened in the intervening years to make him abandon his children. Of all his snakes, Theo was the last one he’d thought would have. The girl rolled her eyes, clearly reading the curiosity on his face.
“Mum and the sperm donor were together for years but nobody knew. He apparently convinced her to keep it a secret because of his family's views on blood purity. I’m surprised she went along with it for so long, to be honest, she's usually thought to be intelligent. We don't know exactly what happened, she won't tell us but from what Uncle Harry says, as soon as someone found out he fucked off quicker than a niffler who’s spotted gold. He knows we exist, he demanded a paternity test and then informed her that she’d always be beneath him and accused her of being after his gold. As far as I’m aware she’s never asked for a bloody knut, it's just been mum and us since day one.”
Severus blinked, it didn't sound like the Theo Nott he knew. Perhaps he really had changed that much in the years between timelines but he couldn't help but feel there was more to it.
“I’m sorry to hear that Miss Granger,” Albus said softly. “Let's get you all settled for the night and then we’ll figure out what to do in the morning.”
The girl tried to laugh but it came out more like a sob. “Perhaps we should just tell mum. We can warn her off that arsehole and her life would be a lot easier.”
“Miss Granger, I’m sure your mother would never want that. You run the risk that you would cease to exist.”
“No? Professor, do you know what the magical world says about unmarried mothers? Especially unmarried muggleborn mothers who have the audacity to fall in love with a member of the oh so precious Sacred 28? My mother loves us, she tells us we will never be something she regrets but let's not pretend that not having us wouldn't have made her life ten times easier. She’s wasted in a dead-end job because no one will promote a woman with such loose morals, we’ll ignore the fact that the sperm doner proposed before he fucked off, that she thought he was her forever, and that he’s worked his way through most of the witches in Europe since then, when I’m not even sure my mother has had time for a date since we were born. She's talked about in the street, even now, and every now and then, some bitch called Skeeter writes an article on the Scions of the Sacred 28 and drags my mother into it so it’s never allowed to be forgotten. So forgive me Sir if I think warning Hermione Granger to stay the fuck away from that arsehole might just be the best thing we could do.”
Albus looked at the girl with genuine sympathy while Severus fought the urge to hex Theodore Nott. He had no real love for Hermione Granger but even he couldn't deny her brilliance, that she was stuck and vilified because she’d kept her children didn't sit right with him, especially with the double standards her daughter had exposed.
“I think it has been an emotionally taxing evening, let us get you settled and hopefully tomorrow will feel brighter,” Albus said gently. Severus couldn't help but think he was overly optimistic. It appeared the girl agreed as she rolled her eyes.
“Sure, Sir. It’s not like it can get any fucking worse.”
Severus wondered if the Hermione Granger of the future had any idea her children's language was so deplorable. Somehow he doubted it.