Time Loop

Sirius Black had always been a difficult child, who was reluctant to behave like the young heir of the 'Ancient and Noble House of Black'.
His parents had hoped that going to Hogwarts would bring about an improvement in their eldest son's rambunctious behaviour.
Their minimal hopes that he would improve had been shattered when they heard about his Sorting.
To be sorted into Gryffindor of all houses!
But that disgrace wasn't enough it seemed. Sirius Black had started fraternizing with filth, associating with mudbloods.

Sirius had been told exactly what he was lacking rather harshly. He didn't care what his family thought of him. Not anymore.

But he still cared about Regulus. That idiotic little brother who had always followed him around, chatting incessantly.
For a while everything had been okay. But it didn't last.
Things started to change when Regulus was sorted into Slytherin, as per tradition.
His conduct was perfect. He was praised by the professors.
Sirius was now constantly being compared to his younger brother and was told how Regulus would make a better heir.
He had always been the favorite, the obedient son.

But life had gone on... Regulus, even though they didn't talk as much, still did care for him.

That is, until now it seemed.
Regulus was getting more and more distant lately, and Sirius had to admit that he hadn't really been very brotherly to Regulus. They rarely spoke since Sirius' fifth year started. If they did, it was almost always an argument.

That, he could live with, even if it hurt.
But, Regulus had started getting more and more friendly with Snivellus of all people since the last few weeks.

His brother would sit beside Snape during meals and would also join him in the library at times. It was almost as if Regulus had found a replacement brother. One who wasn't the disgrace of the family. One with whom he seemingly got along.

It was unacceptable! Snivellus would corrupt his little brother even more with his dark ways. Their parents and cousins had caused enough damage already by teaching Regulus of the importance of 'blood purity'.

Something had to be done.
He would give old Snape a little scare and then warn him to stay away from Regulus.

(And the thought that if Snape had been in his place, Walburga Black would have loved him more than her first son only made Sirius more determined to teach that snake a lesson).

________

Sirius didn't understand why James had been alarmed when he explained what he said to Snivellus.

He didn't understand why James had dashed off to the whomping willow to check on that slimy git.

He didn't understand why even Peter was avoiding him.

On full moon nights, they usually went to Moony sometime after midnight. That way, there were fewer teachers patrolling around and it was easier to avoid them.

This time, however, James had rushed off much earlier.

After fidgeting about and pacing for fifteen minutes, Sirius dashed off to the whomping willow, unable to wait any longer.

-----

Sirius had transformed into a dog as soon as he got down to the grounds through the side door near the greenhouses.
Which was why he immediately caught the smell of blood in the air.

His heart skipped a beat as he bounded towards the tree. The scent of blood was stronger than ever. Dread pooled in his gut. He ducked under the sweeping branches and pressed the knot near the roots and dashed inside the passage.

There was a trail of blood leading out of the passage.
It was Snape's blood. So much of it.
He felt nauseous, and cold, even though the night was warm.

The trail of blood led outside, and no one was there in the shack. No one, except Remus, that is. Remus - no, the werewolf - had injured Snape badly, by the looks of it.
Snape, who had to have been bitten. Snape, who may die. Whose blood was on the floor of the shack, leading a trail out of the tunnel and into the castle.

James had probably taken him to the hospital wing. (Where Snape may be lying, either lifeless or infected with a heavy burden).

Sirius couldn't stay there. Not with Moony. Not when he may have tainted his friend's hands with blood. So he went back up the castle, his feet carrying him to the hospital wing with a feeling of increasing dread.

When he went in, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were already there along with Madam Pomfrey. All three of them were standing around a bed, the pristine white sheets stained red.

James was standing a few feet away, staring at the ground. There was blood on his sleeves, his hands.

And Sirius took it all in, unable to move.

-----

This time, Severus woke up rather abruptly after hearing a thud followed by crying.

He sat up slowly, wincing as bright afternoon sunlight pierced his eyes. His head ached.

Blinking owlishly, he saw that the source of the noise was a little first year girl who had fallen out of bed while asleep.

Whatever was going on, he wondered. There was a suspicious lack of pain on his neck, and an even more suspicious wound on his chest - which, if he remembered correctly, was caused by a werewolf.
And he had been rescued by James Potter, who was supposed to be dead.
And now, he was in the hospital wing that didn't look like the one he was familiar with.
Plus his hands and feet were smaller. Moreover, the first year across his bed wasn't even vaguely familiar. That itself was odd, because he was pretty sure he knew atleast the faces of all the students, if not their names.

All of this painted a Very Alarming picture mainly because it was so strange.
Severus certainly wasn't dead. He was breathing, he could feel pain, he could see, hear, touch. (Had he finally gone mad?)

His line of thought was interrupted by Poppy coming in the Hospital Wing and attending to the first year girl. She had apparently fallen on her sprained leg, further exacerbating the injury.

The moment the girl calmed down, Poppy walked up to him seeing that he was awake and started checking his wound.

Now that he didn't feel like he was about to faint at any moment, he got a closer look at the mediwitch's face. There was no hostility there. No disgust.

But one thing was even stanger than that.
Poppy Pomfrey, Severus realized with a start, looked really young.
His mind wandered again as the she started performing diagnostic spells. They took a couple of minutes to give results.

The werewolf, a young James Potter, Minerva and Poppy looking at him without any sign of the hatred that had been there since he had killed Dumbledore, the hospital wing that looked like it used to when he was a teenager, his smaller body, the first year student he should recognize but did not......

What in the name of Salazar's slithering snakes was going on?
But Severus knew what was going on, didn't he? Or atleast what it seemed to be going on.
There was only one conclusion to this :
Firstly, he was somehow in the past.
Secondly, he was Screwed.

Well, there were other conclusions, but he didn't think he was either hallucinating or that he had gone mad.

He had managed to stay (mostly) sane throughout the last hellish year of his life while locked up in the office of the man he killed, with only portraits to talk to, after all.

Besides, time travel was possible. But traveling to the past inside the body of your younger self was unheard of. And Severus was in the body of his fifteen year old self.

He decided to think about that later. Now he just had to act...normal.
What does a fifteen year old act like? A sudden image of Potter and his two knuckleheaded friends causing havoc popped into his mind. He shuddered.
Severus had certainly not been that bad as a teen. But all those years of teaching hadn't improved his opinion on teenagers. And now he was one of them! Merlin and Morgana, he was one of them now --

The time treveler jumped a little when Poppy spoke, interrupting his internal struggle.

"Do you remember what happened?" She asked gently.

"I - yes. The Whomping Willow. Tunnel to Shrieking Shack. The - werewolf."
Severus pauses, coughing.

Poppy's face softens.
"You were not bitten, but got a nasty scratch on your chest. It will be best if you take bed rest for the next few days. And even after that, you should not exert yourself much."

Severus stares at her, startled. Surely that was a bit excessive..

"The wound...." Here she hesitates, but continues on. "It has not healed yet. The bleeding has almost stopped, but the wound will continue to ooze blood. This is not a normal wound. It's - it can't be healed with just a spell and takes a longer time to recover from, as it's a cursed wound caused by a werewolf."

Severus nodded.
He knew this, of course. But he had invented the Vulnera Sanentur spell exactly for this purpose. Where normal spells wouldn't work, his would. He could just cast it now and get it over with. But he didn't have the energy, nor did he want to reveal it to others. He had invented this spell in sixth year, and it wouldn't do to draw unnecessary attention right now. He hadn't done that the last time either.

"What about Black?" Asked Severus, suddenly curious to know. Last time he had walked scott free with little to no consequences. But this time, he was injured. He wanted to know what would happen to Black.

Poppy - Madam Pomfrey, she was Madam Pomfrey to him now - suddenly went from looking reassuring to thunderous in the time span of a second.

And just as she opened her mouth, looking furious, the doors of the hospital wing opened and Dumbledore entered with Minerva and Lupin right behind.