chapter 3 Railway View Inn

Severus pushed open the dark and gloomy hotel door.

"Boss, one room. It's better to have hot water, near the window—"

He touched his shriveled stomach, thought for a while and added.

"Two servings of toast, potatoes, and tea."

"Go, go, don't be here..."

Looking at Snape, who was dressed in shabby clothes and was young and thin, the porter waved his hand impatiently.

The porter behind the bar stood up when Severus drew his wand and moved forward a little.

"Confused."

The balding, middle-aged man hiccups hilariously.

After a few seconds, he nodded dully, took out a bunch of keys from the wall and handed them out.

"Tea, potatoes and bread, I'll heat them up and bring them to you later."

"come over--"

Snape ignored the man and grabbed Hermione by the arm.

Before Hermione could react, she was pushed and pulled into a room on the second floor of the hotel.

The room was small, with two beds against the wall. The damp sheets gave off a musty smell, and there was a dirty lantern on the bedside table.

Snape flicked his wand, and the kerosene lantern on the bedside table glowed dimly.

"sit--"

Hermione sat bewildered on the bed opposite Snape.

"Professor, shouldn't we..."

"Sorry, I don't have time to answer your childish questions right now."

Severus said, stood up and walked to the window, his eyes flicked out of the window.

boom.

The windows are closed.

"Unless you have a way to find Dumbledore now, you'd better listen to me quietly first."

He glanced at Hermione who had calmed down, raised his hand and threw her a hotel card he just got from downstairs.

"First, the location - Cokeworth, Railway View Inn."

"And then it's time..."

Severus pointed to the newspaper beside the bed.

"1971, around July 14th. Newspapers may have been before, but not for much longer."

"Judging from the current situation, there is a high probability that I have returned to the time before I went to Hogwarts to study."

"As for you, Miss Granger..."

While talking, he took out the distorted and damaged time-turner from his arms, and gently placed it on the newspaper.

"In 1993, Sirius Black escaped from prison. In the same year, Professor McGonagall applied for a time converter for you to use in class."

"I looked at your schoolbag before going out, "Picking Through the Fog to See the Future", "Magic Potion and Potion"..."

Severus tapped his fingers lightly on the distorted golden hourglass.

"You happen to be in third grade 'now', right?"

"Yes, I just finished my Divination class, and Professor Trelawney saw death in Harry's tea."

Hermione explained in a panic, she only remembered that she flicked the time converter at a corner where no one was around.

Before she could walk out of the gravel of time, she was pulled by a force and fell out.

"Death? Hey—"

Severus underestimated with a complicated expression.

Immediately, he looked up at the flustered girl opposite, and said calmly.

"So, welcome to twenty-two years ago, Miss Granger - it looks like we're in trouble."

"22 years ago?! But I clearly remember that I only turned around three times..."

Hermione's eyes wandered between the newspaper and Snape, and until now she hadn't fully accepted what had happened.

Professor McGonagall mentioned a lot of precautions and dangerous situations when he gave her the time-turner.

However, not a single case mentions such an accident of going back decades!

"Quiet--"

Severus frowned, fingering his wand.

"First of all, we're going back to the wizarding world, the Muggle world can't handle—"

"Owl messenger!" Hermione answered quickly.

"We can write to Professor Dumbledore, Professor Dumbledore must have a solution!"

"It's the second time, Miss Granger. It's the second time you've interrupted me."

Severus said displeased, looking at the noisy little witch coldly.

Under Snape's gaze, Hermione shut her mouth in embarrassment, and shrank back behind the bed with some fear.

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore is omnipotent... Let's just assume that."

Severus smiled teasingly, staring at Hermione indifferently, his voice soft.

"Then what are you going to write in your letter?"

"Oh, dear Mr. Headmaster, I am a Hogwarts student from more than twenty years later."

"I want you to write a reply or better appear in front of me directly and help me solve this unbelievable thing?"

"What do you think the headmaster of Hogwarts is? A Santa Claus who responds to every request?"

Severus stood up slowly, looking down at Hermione condescendingly.

The kerosene lantern cast a huge, looming shadow on the wall behind him.

Hermione bit her lip and shook her head in a panic, as if she was about to cry in the next second.

Although the "young version" of Professor Snape was very thin, his viper-like aura was even stronger.

"Don't cry! Hold back your tears—"

Severus glanced at Hermione, frowned, and scolded impatiently.

This kind of little wizard in his teens is the most troublesome, innocent in thinking, and will cry when he speaks a few words.

If it is at Hogwarts, just deduct points directly.

But now...

"Of course, a letter to Dumbledore must be written."

Severus' voice slowed down, at least he thought he was softening up a little.

He glanced irritably at Hermione's robes, his eyes lingering for a few seconds on the Gryffindor crest.

The Time-Turner, Hogwarts, his own death, that eerie light and shadow...

Even without any logic, any magical literature can deduce some disturbing guesses based on the basic chain of clues.

For example...

Hermione Granger was drawn into this weird journey by him - he clearly remembered what he had caught.

Compared with the simple-minded students, Snape thought of further things after grabbing the wand.

"Listen, Miss Granger - we have one fundamental difference."

"You shouldn't be here, understand?"

Severus rubbed between his brows, glanced at the girl who nodded cautiously, and said distractedly.

"You have no family, no friends, no past...you are a living ghost."

"Your name will not appear on the Hogwarts register for more than ten years, even if you have a wand and wear Gryffindor robes now."

Hermione nodded in confusion and fear, and looked at the thin, sallow "young Professor Snape" uneasily.

Traveling through time and space, the fear of coming to a strange place inexplicably is covering her up little by little.

But before she was seized by fear again, Snape's voice continued.

"so--"

Severus paused for a moment, then said in an uncompromising tone.

"If you still want to return to your own time and space, or, at least, return to Hogwarts without incident."

"From now on, I want you to follow my instructions completely and not to act on your own—oh, by the way."

His eyes swept across the newspaper, just in time to see a piece of news on the front page:

Eleven killed in third gas explosion this month in Yorkshire

"This is 1971, the most active period of the Dark Lord."

"V-" Hermione's eyes widened.

However, before a sound escaped from her throat, Severus put his hand over her mouth roughly.

"Shut up! You silly girl, do you want to recruit the Dark Lord and Death Eaters?"

"Now let me engrave a piece of knowledge into your little head that lacks common sense." Severus let go of his hand, looked at Hermione and said in a deep voice, "The name of the Dark Lord is enchanted, and he can perceive every A wizard position that mentions his name. Maybe he won't choose to do it himself, but the Death Eaters won't mind taking this opportunity to show off."

Tuk, tuk -

There was a rhythmic knock on the door.

"Hush."

Severus hushed his lips with his fingers, drew his wand and looked towards the door.

"Guests, you want toast, sausage and tea."

"Put it at the door."

"However, here is another letter addressed to Room 17. I don't know if it is for you."

The voice of the hotel clerk was a little confused, "The addressee here is Mr. Severus Snape."

…………

Severus picked up the letter from the floor by the door.

The familiar canary yellow envelope.

No stamps affixed, emerald green ink outlines the writing on the parchment:

cokeworth

Railway View Inn

room 17

Mr Severus Snape

And on the back of the envelope, there is a brown wax seal and a shield crest.

A lion, an eagle, a badger and a snake surround the capital "H".