Author's Note: This is a sequel to Past Imperfect, in which Hermione's time travel creates an entirely new AU where people who are dead in canon are alive, people who are married to one person in canon are married to another, and children who were didn't exist in canon do here. If you haven't read Past Imperfect, this story will not make sense, so I suggest you read that first. If you have read it, but it's been a while and you've forgotten some of the details and you don't want to go back and re-read the whole story, I'm putting a brief summary of what's different in this AU in an author's note at the end of this this chapter.

For this story, I am blessed with not one but two brilliant beta readers, turtlewexler and Fragilereality, both of whom asked had I read Cursed Child, since apparently the premise is similar. I have not, and don't plan to until after I've finished this story, so as not to be influenced. Everything in here – except the original characters, who belong only to J.K. Rowling – came from my own twisted mind.

Chapter 1: Hoping

"Ready for your big day, Piglet?"

"You mustn't call me that anymore, Daddy," Becky says. "Dad," she corrects.

Severus heaves an exaggerated sigh. "My little Hufflepuff is growing up."

"Not that either!" She only just manages to stop herself from stamping her foot in frustration. "I'm going to Sort into Slytherin, like you."

"Like Longbottom, you mean," Severus smirks.

"Daddy!" Becky hopes she isn't blushing. Slytherin ladies do not blush. Aunt Pansy says so.

"What if Gus is Sorted into Gryffindor?" Hermione asks from the doorway.

Then to Gryffindor I shall go, Becky thinks grimly. She doesn't think she's cut out for Mum's House, though Gus may be. The whole of Hogwarts is taking bets on where the new Headmaster's son will land. Neville and Hermione, newly appointed Head of Gryffindor when Neville was made Headmaster, have been saying publicly and emphatically – but not entirely convincingly – that it matters not a whit where Gus and Becky are Sorted. Privately, they both realize that their Slytherin spouses will gloat endlessly if at least one of their children doesn't end up a Lion.

If it weren't for Gus, being in Hufflepuff wouldn't be terrible. All the Diggory children are there, and a couple of the Weasleys. She knows she won't be in Ravenclaw like her brother Lucius. She's good at her lessons, but they don't consume her the way they do her brother. Mum tells her all the Houses have their strong points and to let the Hat put her where it thinks best. Becky is having none of that. Mum didn't do that, after all. Daddy told her that Mum asked for Gryffindor when the Hat wanted to put her in Ravenclaw.

Becky stands and picks up her bag. "See you at the Sorting," she says.

"You're wearing your hair like that?" Hermione asks.

"I told you, Mum, Aunt Pansy's going to help me get ready."

"No red lipstick. No high heels. No padded brassiere."

"Mum!" Becky rolls her eyes. She's not sure when Mummy became Mum, but the transition happened without her even noticing it. Remembering to call her father Dad is proving much harder.

She walks up the stairs and through the Gothic arch that leads to the private entrance to the Headmaster's quarters. To almost everyone, the arch appears to cover an alcove, not the entrance to a hallway. But because Neville and Pansy are her godparents, the wards have been set to recognize her and she can see the entrance.

"Good morning, Headmaster," she says. The title feels strange on her tongue. She hopes she won't slip and call him Uncle Neville in front of the other students.

"Good morning, Miss Snape," he replies, matching her formality. "Won't you come in?"

Uncle Neville is kind and clever and almost as good at potions as Daddy. But not quite. He is handsomer than Daddy though. Mum says he's not but Becky thinks it is a near thing but Uncle Neville has it by a nose – especially after Daddy showed her what his teeth used to look like before he fixed them. Gus Longbottom already has perfect teeth. Becky sighs. Gus has perfect everything.

Gus is nowhere to be seen but Aunt Pansy is lounging on the sofa, drinking coffee. Setting the cup down, she stands and crosses the room with the grace of a cat and kisses Becky. Her crimson lipstick is charmed not to smudge, and leaves not a trace of color on Becky's cheek.

"Hi, Aunt Pansy. Where's Gus?"

"Out on the pitch with about a thousand Weasleys. He'd only get in the way here. We're going to be doing some serious Charms work."

"With this rats' nest, I need it," Becky said, pushing the riot of black curls out of her face.

"Your hair is lovely, pet. You just have to know how to manage it."

Becky loves it that Aunt Pansy calls her by the same endearment Daddy calls Mum. It makes her feel grown up and cherished all at the same time. Pansy Longbottom is sophisticated and fashionable and ever so slightly scandalous, and for some reason she's chosen Becky with her mad hair and horrid teeth to be the daughter she never had. Uncle Neville wanted more children, but Aunt Pansy said he'd got his heir and did he think she was going to ruin her figure popping out babies like a bloody Weasley? When Uncle Neville asked wouldn't she like a little girl to dress up and fuss over, Aunt Pansy said she has Becky to dress up and fuss over. And she does. Mum isn't much for all that, and is happy to let Aunt Pansy take over that aspect of things. Mum is wonderful to talk to though, about absolutely everything. She's the smartest person Becky knows, except Daddy, and Becky's long since given up trying to decide which of them is smarter and called it a draw.

Mum may be brilliant, but Aunt Pansy is glamorous. With her smoky eyes and long red nails and heels that she shouldn't be able to walk in but somehow can, she's the epitome of everything Becky wants to be. Uncle Neville looks at her like she's the last bit of pudding left on the table and he's starving. Mum says Aunt Pansy has him wrapped around her little finger, but Becky thinks they might have each other wrapped up, since sometimes Aunt Pansy looks at Uncle Neville like he's the last bit of pudding. She's seen her parents look at each other that way a couple of times, but not often, either because they're just naturally more discreet, or because Lucius broke them of the habit, covering his eyes and shouting, "You're scarring me for life!" whenever they looked like they might get romantic.

"Oh!" Becky breathes as she feels the magic wash over her. Aunt Pansy's fingers comb through her hair, taming it into smooth, shining waves. When she touches it, it's soft and silky, and with the curls loosened, it hangs down to the middle of her back. She can't stop staring in the mirror.

"Lovely," Pansy says.

"It is."

"You're lovely."

"My hair is the way you've done it, but I'm not," Becky says. "My teeth are still a fright." She can't wait till she can fix them but Mum says not till her jaw is finished growing. She supposes awful teeth were to be expected, given what both of her parents started out with. Aunt Pansy showed her the memory of when she hexed Mum's teeth, and in it Daddy's teeth were even worse than Becky's. He fixed them just before they got married. Becky asked whether Mum told him she wouldn't marry him otherwise, but she said of course not, that she didn't care about his teeth. Becky wonders whether she could look past teeth like that if Gus had them. Mum says you don't love someone because they have nice teeth or are handsome. If that were so she'd have married Draco Malfoy. Becky has heard these stories but still can't quite believe it. Mum and Uncle Draco….just, no. Aunt Pansy also used to date Uncle Draco, who was apparently quite the man about town.

"Look at me, pet," Pansy says. "Am I beautiful?"

"You're the most glamorous witch I know!"

"You bet your sweet arse I am. But I'm not actually beautiful. My nose is a bit too turned up, my lips rather too thin, and my face isn't quite symmetrical. Take away the make-up and the clothes and the perfectly styled hair, and I'm actually rather average. But the whole package? I turn more heads than that swotty mother of yours ever dreamed of, or Astoria, or even Cissy, now that she's getting a bit long in the tooth. Because I have style. And I can teach it to you when you're a little older."

"Why not now?"

"It doesn't work that way, pet."

The door opens and Gus comes charging in, bits of grass in his hair and his clothes covered in mud. "Give us a kiss, Mum," he says, making for Pansy.

"Touch me with all that mud and I'll hex you into next week," Pansy says, casting a Scourgify on him. "Now go and have a shower."

"Why? You just cleaned me up."

Pansy looks at Becky. "Men. Honestly."

Gus notices Becky's hair. "You look nice."

Becky smiles, remembering not to show her teeth.

"Shower. Now," Pansy says. "If you want to take the train with the rest of the first years we need to leave for London in half an hour."

Author's Note: In the AU created by the events of Past Imperfect, the Dark Lord never rose at the end of Harry and company's fourth year since time-traveling Hermione and Snape destroyed all the Horcruxes earlier that year. Therefore Cedric Diggory never died and his children are at Hogwarts with Becky and Gus. The final battle never took place so Snape, Lupin, Tonks, Fred Weasley and all the other casualties of that cataclysm are alive and well in this world. The Hogwarts Board of Governors forced Dumbledore into retirement and Minerva has served as Headmistress until retiring herself and passing the baton to Neville just before Present Imperfect opens.

Neville is married to Pansy Parkinson (who is the one who hexed Hermione's teeth in this timeline, not Draco), Hermione is married to Severus, Harry to Ginny, Ron to Lavender, and Draco to Astoria Greengrass. All the Malfoys have left their blood prejudice behind them. Hermione and Severus are godparents to Draco's son Scorpius. Draco and Astoria are godparents to Severus and Hermione's son Lucius (yes, Hermione actually named her son after Lucius Malfoy, which you will understand if you've read Past Imperfect). Hermione is also godmother to Harry's son James, whose godfather is Ron Weasley.

I think that just about explains the lay of the AU landscape. Feel free to PM me with anything else that seems confusing and I'll explain in another author's note.

If you haven't had the pleasure already, please do check out the marvelous stories by both of my very talented beta readers, turtlewexler and Fragilereality. I really can't say enough wonderful things about these two ladies' clever and well-written stories.