Severus climbed the steps to the Owlery, wondering at his sanity.
Just that morning, he (and nearly everyone else in the Great Hall) got to witness an event that would surely be a prime point of amusement for many days to come. Apparently, after yet another altercation between Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy in just the first week of classes, the former boy's owl used the usual breakfast mail delivery as an excuse to cross the hall and deliver her excrement to the latter's head. Malfoy, of course, howled about the matter, attracting all attention possible and inviting a great deal of sniggering. Severus himself had been hard-pressed not to smirk at the twelve year old's misfortune.
That bit of vindictive humor, though, went out the window when he witnessed young Malfoy rush towards the Gryffindor table, eager to threaten his enemy with the snowy owl's life. Rather than rise with expected anger, however, Potter grew pale and stiff. His momentary silence was opportunity enough for the other Lions to close ranks around their housemate, chasing Malfoy off with threats and taunts of their own.
Try as he might throughout the day's classes, though, Severus could not remove from his mind the brief flicker of terror that had overtaken the Potter brat's expression.
Which led to his taking the time to climb up to the Owlery in order to ensure none of the boy's enemies would be able to hurt the ruddy bird. Potter himself might be able to fight back, but an innocent animal shouldn't have to suffer because of its owner's stupidity.
Reaching the top of the stairs and the door that led into his destination, Severus took a moment to cast a Disillusionment charm over himself, not particularly eager to let any students see his actions. The dour Potions Master did have a reputation to uphold, after all.
Stepping inside, though, it was at once clear that there was only a single student present. And it was the one Severus least wished to encounter.
"...can't do it again, Hedwig," Potter murmured to his owl, sitting against the far wall and stroking her feathers. "I mean, it's really nice that you want to defend me, but you can't put yourself in danger for my sake. Hurting you is the one thing Malfoy might actually be able to do, and it would be my fault!"
The owl hooted softly as she nibbled the boy's ear, and Severus took a perplexed step closer.
"You're the first real friend I've ever had, girl," Potter continued. "I can't lose you. Please." He sounded near tears while tucking the bird against his chest. Surprisingly, the owl went along with the gesture, allowing her owner whatever comfort he could glean from the close contact.
After a few moments, however, she hopped free of Potter's grasp and took flight - only to land on Severus' shoulder. He flinched in surprise, while the second year sitting on the floor gasped. Reluctantly, Severus ended his Disillusionment, revealing himself to the very startled boy.
"P-professor!" Potter scrambled to his feet, torn between fear and anger it would seem. The fear won out when Severus reached up to touch his wand to the snowy owl's breast feathers. "No! Professor, please-!"
"Mister Potter," the Potions Master cut him off. "Do you really think that a Hogwarts teacher is allowed to harm the familiar of one of their students?"
In the boy's shocked silence, Severus went ahead and murmured an incantation, tapping the owl twice. As soon as the spell was complete, she jumped from his shoulder and flew back to Potter.
"Wh-what did you do?" The boy asked, hesitantly stroking his owl again and scanning her visually for any signs of discomfort.
"A simple protection charm, Mister Potter, designed to give the chosen animal a shield should anyone with ill intent attempt to catch, cast upon or otherwise do harm to them." Severus kept his tone even, but still felt smug satisfaction upon the absolutely floored look that Potter sent his way.
"...Thank you, sir." Then it was the man's turn to be taken aback, by the genuine warmth and gratitude in Potter's voice. They were enough to allow him to give voice to his curiosity.
"What did you mean when you told your familiar she was you 'first real friend'?"
Instantly, the boy's posture stiffened up, and his face went almost as pale as it had that morning at breakfast. "Nothing, sir."
"Do not lie to me, Potter." Even with the stern rebuke, it took him several moments of internal debate to reluctant explain to his professor.
"It's just- well- Dudley, my cousin, always chased off anyone who looked like they might have wanted to make friends with me in primary school. Hedwig's the first one he hasn't been able to get rid off, even if Uncle Vernon tried."
Severus blinked. That had most definitely not been the answer he was expecting.
"Tried, Potter?"
"When they put the bars over my window this summer," the boy murmured, staring resolutely at his owl as the words came out. "Hedwig couldn't get back in, but that didn't stop her from visiting me."
"I... see." Truthfully, Severus was more confused than anything else, but he wasn't about to let the Potter brat know that. Instead, he reminded the twelve year old about the impending curfew, prompting him to bid goodnight to his owl and depart.
Allowing Potter a minute's lead before he too left the Owlery, Severus pondered over the new insights he'd gained from their brief, and surprisingly civil, interaction. The fact that the boy had immediately panicked over his familiar's well-being when Severus raised his wand did not sit well with the man, along with the notion that this muggle uncle had once attempted to chase the bird off.
Caught up in these musings, it took him a few moments longer than usual to pick up on the sound of an altercation up ahead.
At the bottom of the stairs, Potter crouched on the floor, paused in the process of getting up from where he'd been tripped. Around him stood Misters Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, all of whom were smirking with their wands drawn.
Members of his House regardless, Severus would not stand for this.
"And what, may I ask, is going on here?" He growled, sweeping down to the group of startled boys.
"Professor!" Malfoy yelped. "We were- ah- I was on my way to send a letter to my father."
"Indeed," Severus replied. "And do Misters Crabbe and Goyle also have letters to send?"
"No sir," Crabbe said without thinking, as Goyle nodded too.
"Then may I suggest you both return to our common room, while Mister Malfoy takes care of his business and I deal with Mister Potter." Sending the Gryffindor a quick smirk, the blonde Slytherin hurried up the stairs while his sycophants went in the other direction.
Potter started to stand shakily, staring after Malfoy in concern. Severus had to catch him by the arm before the boy went after his rival. "Your bird will be quite safe, Potter."
"R-right. Um. Thank you." Shaking his head, he immediately began scanning the floor.
"Whatever is the matter now, boy?" Even as he asked, however, Severus realized that Potter was squinting, and missing his usual eyewear.
"My glasses came off when I fell, sir," the replied automatically. "I think Malfoy might have kicked them, but I can't tell in what direction..."
Sighing in exasperation, the Potions Master held out his wand. "Accio Potter's glasses." Instantly, the rather worse-for-wear item flew to his hand, and Severus took a moment to study the bent frame and scratched lenses. "Reparo."
The simple repairing charm, which should have fixed the glasses in an moment, instead only caused them to shudder. Blinking, Severus turned to stare at the anxious Gryffindor.
"Potter, how many times have you repaired these with magic?"
"Well, Hermione did it first, on the train at the start of last year," he mumbled. "I've lost count of how often I've had to do it since then."
"Indeed." Concentrating, the professor used a stronger spell to return the eye-wear to moderately decent condition, and handed them over. "I would suggest purchasing a new pair of those for yourself as soon as possible."
Potter bit as lip, looking worried. He nonetheless nodded to his teacher, mumbled another 'thank you,' and then fled for Gryffindor Tower.
-HP-
"Would you mind coming to my office before dinner tonight, Mister Potter?" Minerva noted the confused expression on her student's face, but was glad that he nonetheless agreed to her request.
That evening, she was doubly relieved when Harry arrived without either of his two companions, as this conversation had the potential to be awkward enough for the boy. Minerva first offered him a cup of tea, which he politely declined, and then set about her true purpose.
"It has been brought to my attention, Mister Potter, that you could use a new set of eyeglasses."
His expression of startled shock was at once both amusing and disheartening. "Um, that's alright Professor, I've made do with these just fine-"
"Harry." Her use of his first name immediately caused the boy to fall silent. "As Head of Gryffindor House, it is my responsibility to see to it that students lacking ways to get basic necessities for themselves are provided all the assistance they need. May I?" Harry reluctantly removed his glasses and placed them in her outstretched hand. Minerva took a few moments to inspect them, both with her eyes and magic, and came to the conclusion that the shoddy pieces of wire and plastic were indeed approaching the end of their lifespan.
The twelve year old across from her fidgeted uneasily, until he finally let a question burst forth. "What did Snape tell you?"
"Professor Snape, Mister Potter." She let her gaze lift to meet his. "And I don't believe I mentioned his name in this conversation."
"No, but- he was- he's the only one who knows about the glasses because he fixed them yesterday when Malfoy kicked them after the thing in the Owlery-"
"Harry, breathe."
"Sorry, professor..."
"It's alright, lad, but when one expels words that quickly without pausing to inhale again, it becomes a tad difficult to decipher just what they're saying."
"Oh."
"Now, as far as becoming aware of the issue with your glasses, all I can say is that I received a note this morning that described their deterioration, and the fact that you were likely unaware of how to procure new ones for yourself." She leaned forward to both hand the eyewear back and place a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Which leads me to ask you, Harry, just how this situation came about in the first place."
He twitched. "I wasn't sure if I could spend money on a new pair, since Aunt Petunia's always said glasses were expensive, and I don't know how many galleons are in my trust vault or whether there's enough for all my school things for the next five years-"
"Don't forget to breathe, lad," Minerva had to remind him again. "As for the monetary issue, I don't think there is a problem. Trust vaults are kept at a certain amount, refilled from whatever main vaults they're attached to. I happen to know that the Potter Family ancestral vault will have more than enough within it for all your school years, and that it more than likely is the source of your trust fund."
"I have a family vault?"
Minerva sat back as her eyebrows went up. "Yes. Have you not been able to speak with a Gringotts representative about it before?"
"I've only been to the bank once, professor - that was last year, when Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley for the first time. We didn't talk about other vaults, because he had to go get the Philosopher's Stone for the Headmaster-" Harry stopped as the Transfiguration Mistress let out a harumph. "Er, sorry. Anyway, this summer, I still had plenty of galleons left over, so on the shopping trip with the Weasleys I didn't go to Gringotts again."
"Well, in that case, we can make an appointment there in addition to visiting the optometrist."
"Optom-what?"
"A Healer who specializes in matters of the eye, Mister Potter. I'd like to escort you to Diagon Alley sometime this weekend in order to get you a new pair of glasses, and perhaps a spare set as well."
Harry gaped at her. "Professor-!"
"Don't argue with me lad, you need them. I want to make sure you're able to see instructions written upon the board, if nothing else."
"W-well- that- um-"
"Is Sunday morning agreeable with you?"
"Uh, sure! Yes!"
"Excellent. Then you can meet me in the front hall at exactly nine o'clock. Don't be late, Mister Potter."
"I won't - thank you, professor!"
As soon as the boy had left, Minerva slumped in her seat with a sigh. Then, after a moment's consideration, she strode to her office fireplace and grabbed a handful of floo powder. "Severus Snape's office."
The man himself glanced up with an arched eyebrow as Minerva stepped through, clearly in the process of putting away essays he'd just finished grading.
"I need you to tell me everything that transpired between Harry Potter and yourself yesterday."
-HP-
"Your appointment is for nine thirty this morning, Mister Potter. Healer Aspecture assured me it shouldn't take more than an hour or so, which will give us time to do a bit more shopping in Diagon before meeting with the Gringotts representative at noon."
"More shopping, professor?"
"I'd like to get you a few better-fitting outfits, if you'd be willing to accept them. And then perhaps we'd stop in at Quality Quidditch Supplies." Harry sent her a knowing grin, to which Minerva only smirked in return.
Most of their walk down to the front gates was silent, neither professor nor student quite willing to break the peaceful morning quiet. Only once they were nearly down to the boundary of the castle's wards did Minerva think to bring up their mode of transportation.
"Have you ever taken the Knight Bus before, Mister Potter?" His look of bafflement was all the answer she needed. "Right, then..."
-HP-
By the time the pair arrived at Gringotts Bank, there were quite a few shrunken purchases for Harry riding along in Professor McGonagall's cloak pockets. Once she'd talked him into agreeing to letting her buy some new outfits for him, the woman had also gotten Harry some novels for recreational reading, an absolutely brilliant wand-holster, a new owl travel cage with built-in environmental charms and cover, and a proper writing case to hold his quills and ink - all of which was on top of the two new pairs of glasses, their maintenance kit, and a pair of dragonhide gloves specially made for Quidditch players.
If he didn't know any better, Harry would say his professor got as much pleasure out of buying things for him that Aunt Petunia did with shopping sprees for Dudley.
But of course that was ridiculous.
Waiting in line at the bank didn't take too long, followed by an even shorter wait in a fancy office for the manager of the Potter account. When the goblin arrived, they quickly quickly established a system: Professor McGonagall would speak, Fillirg wouldn't react, Harry would repeat the question, and then Fillirg would respond. In this way, they learned that, yes, the late Potters had filed a will with Gringotts Bank, no, its contents hadn't been acted upon, because apparently on November 1st, 1981, one Albus Dumbledore, acting as Harry Potter's magical guardian and case manager, had Sealed the document at the same time he presented Gringotts with the pair of death certificates.
"May we actually see the will, Fillirg?" Professor McGonagall asked. The goblin turned an expectant look in Harry's direction.
"If Mister Potter desires it, I can Unseal the document."
"Would you please?" Harry smiled as Fillirg nodded. A few moments later, a folder containing several sheets of parchment had been retrieved from the magic filing cabinet. It was placed upon the desk, positioned so that both young wizard and elder witch could lean forward and read.
There was a standard heading, declaring both James Charlus Potter and Lily Katherine Potter nee Evans to be of sound mind and body, followed by the declarations that should either die before the other then the remaining spouse would receive the entirety of their joint and individual assets. Then, there came the stipulations of what should happen should they both pass away before their son reached his majority.
Custody of Harry James Potter is to be transferred first to his legal godfather and magical guardian, Sirius Orion Black. If Mr. Black is unavailable or unable to care for Harry, then custody goes to his legal godmother, Alice Longbottom nee Prewett. If Mrs. Longbottom or her husband Frank Longbottom are unavailable or unable to care for Harry, then custody goes to the first available of the following three persons:
-Remus Edward Lupin, second choice for Godfather
-Minerva Isobel McGonagall, first choice for God-grandmother
-Andromeda Violetta Tonks nee Black, relative
Harry's eyes widened as he looked at all the people who'd been named as his potential guardians, one of whom even happened to be the very witch currently sitting beside him. The boy turned to ask her about it, only to stall when he realized that his professor was shaking as she looked at something further down the page.
Bequests:
-For Harry, we've created a trust vault that will refill to seven hundred galleons per year, accessible only after he turns eleven years old. This is for his exclusive use, up until his seventeenth birthday, when he'll be given access to the Potter Family Vault (which the trust will be reabsorbed into).
-For whoever takes guardianship of Harry, there will be a monthly allowance of one hundred galleons, delivered from Vault 699, which remains in the name of Lily Potter nee Evans. Upon Harry's seventeenth birthday, this vault will be transferred to his name, to use or discontinue as he sees fit.
-For Sirius Black, best friend and beloved dogfather for Harry, we leave three thousand galleons and Aunt Dorea's set of dueling daggers out of the Family vault, as well as a set of keys to all the Potter properties.
-For the Longbottoms, being the other half of Harry's godfamily, we leave six thousand galleons, as well as that ancient Amicus Cor Meum plant Alice has always been keen to get her hands on and Neville seems to want to pet every time he sees it.
-For Remus Lupin, wisest and most responsible of the Marauders, we leave three thousand galleons, fifteen books of his choosing from the private library in the Potter Family vault, and the Derbyshire cottage.
-For Peter Pettigrew, good friend and our trusted Secret Keeper, we leave three thousand galleons, that good-for-a-century fifty-percent-off voucher at Zonko's he tried to filch from James in sixth year, and the Dorset house.
There were more, to other people whose names Harry did and didn't recognize, but for some reason Professor McGonagall's gaze was fixated upon the fifth bequest.
Peter Pettigrew
Good friend and trusted Secret Keeper
Secret
Keeper
"Professor?"
Minerva snapped back to herself, glancing at Harry's puzzled expression before facing Fillirg. "This document was Sealed by Headmaster Dumbledore, was it not?"
"That is correct, Madam McGonagall."
"Did he read it beforehand?"
"Yes."
That single word lit an enraged fire in the woman's soul. Harry actually flinched from the force of the long stream of expletives she unleashed, before Minerva was able to regain control of her tongue. "Mister Potter, we need to do several things now, very quickly."
"Um, okay?" Bewildered, the boy didn't argue as he repeated Minerva's request back to Fillirg. "Would it be alright if my professor made half a dozen copies of this document?"
"Of course, Mister Potter. The will has been Unsealed, and we will now begin processing the specifics within it." The goblin eyed him. "Are you currently in the care of one of the properly listed guardians?"
"No, but he will be by tonight!" Minerva bristled. Fillirg met her gaze for several moments, before nodding his understanding.
As soon as she had the copies in hand, Minerva stood, thanked the goblin and turned to go. Harry also expressed his gratitude before hurrying after her. The twelve year old was forced to trot in order to keep up with Minerva's fast stride, but she took no notice of that fact until they were outside the bank.
"Professor, what's going on?" Forcing her rage down, she paused to give Harry a brief explanation.
"Something I saw in your parents' will alerted me to a grave injustice, Mister Potter. It would seem that a man hailed as a hero for nearly eleven years was in fact a traitor, while another who was thought to be the evildoer has in fact spent more than a decade unlawfully imprisoned. And to make matters worse," she growled, further alarming the boy, "Dumbledore knew, yet chose to ignore presenting the will as evidence in the latter man's defense, so that he could illegally place you with your muggle relatives."
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "So, wait- when you said- does that mean-"
"By tonight, Harry, I promise that steps will have been taken to ensure you never need return to Privet Drive."
"But, but the Headmaster said-"
"Hang whatever Albus told you - we'll figure out other precautions for your safety in the summer months, while the rest of the year will see you safely at Hogwarts." Minerva felt a swelling of satisfaction at the downright awed expression Harry sent up at her. That and the eager gratitude in his eyes convinced the woman she was making the right choice. "Now, our first stop is to the local Owlery so that I can send some of these copies off to those who'll be most concerned by them. Then we'll take another to the office of the Daily Prophet, so that the media will do the rest of our work in spreading news of the injustice done to Sirius. After that, I'm going to make sure the final copy is given directly to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement."
"Brilliant!"
Minerva cast a sideways glance at the delighted Harry as they began walking again. "I can, of course, send you back to Hogwarts if you wish-"
"Please don't, professor, I don't want to have to wait until you're done and back to know how it all went."
"Very well, then. I daresay this day's turning out more exciting that you were expecting - I hope you aren't too put out by anything that's happened."
Harry beamed. "I got new glasses, new Quidditch gloves, new books, new clothes, and now I might get a new place to live too? Professor, this is becoming the best day of my life! Thank you."
"You're very welcome, lad."
At the Owlery, she scribbled out envelopes with the names and addresses of four different people: Remus Lupin, Augusta Longbottom, Andromeda Tonks, and Severus Snape. Minerva knew that the first three would all have stakes in Harry's future going onward, while her fellow teacher deserved to know about the true traitor responsible for Lily's death as soon as possible. Once those copies of the will had been sent out, she headed off again with Harry close to her heels. Further up the Alley, back past Gringotts, were the publishing house and offices of the Daily Prophet, where Minerva demanded to speak with one Rita Skeeter. As horrendously trashy as the younger witch often proved to be, her talents could still be put to use.
All Minerva had to do was hand another copy of the will to Skeeter, direct her attention to the bequests section, and sit back as the woman's mind connected the dots.
"Is this a legitimate document?" Skeeter asked with a mixture of excitement and anticipation.
"We just came from Gringotts with it," Minerva answered her. "And before today, the only person who read that will aside from the Potters and their manager was Albus Dumbledore - shortly before he had it Sealed."
Honestly, the predatory light in Skeeter's eyes was a bit unnerving, but the Transfiguration Mistress assured herself that it was necessary that Albus needed to face the consequences of his actions. She might not fully understand the particulars of why he deemed it so necessary to place Harry with his muggle relations, but sentencing an innocent man to Azkaban in order to see the action through was not acceptable. Especially a man who'd been one of Minerva's favored Lions in the previous generation.
Once things had been set in motion with Skeeter and her editor, both Minerva and Harry set off again, this time for the Ministry of Magic. Once passing through the initial security checkpoint, and hastily escaping the employee who recognized Harry and attempted to engage him in conversation, they headed for the elevators.
The pair had to wait a bit for the head of the DMLE to finish another appointment, but the secretary was confident that Madam Bones would be happy to meet with them as soon as she was finished.
Half an hour later, the office door opened to emit a brown-haired, square-faced man, who nodded to Minerva as he passed by.
"Professor McGonagall."
"Auror Scrimgeour."
The secretary poked her head into the office, spoke quietly for a moment, and then happily waved both Minerva and Harry inside. Amelia promptly rose and walked around her desk in order to shake hands with the both of them, before asking what the trouble was. As with Skeeter, all Minerva had to do was hand over the final copy of the Potter will and point out the pertinent information.
"...Pettigrew was the Secret Keeper." Amelia grasped at her forehead. "Dear Merlin, this is going cause such an upheaval."
"I'm fully confident you're up to handling the task, my dear. The Daily Prophet already has a copy of this as well, and will likely be publishing about it in tomorrow's paper."
"Had to go to them first, did you?"
"The less chance of this being ignored or swept under the rug, the better."
"Well, I suppose I can't argue with that logic... By why was this Sealed in the first place?" Minerva then explained about Dumbledore's custody arrangements, which she invited Harry to add his own input to. Amelia grew stony-faced when told about some of the things the Dursleys had done with no one to call them on it, and agreed that Minerva was indeed following the correct course of action.
"How dare he," she muttered, before returning to more legal matters. "We'll have Sirius out as soon as possible, Professor, and hold a re-trial in order to acquit him. After that, I'll leave it up to you, he and whoever else off this list you include to handle Harry's future - and I promise, neither the Headmaster nor Minister Fudge will be allowed to interfere."
"Thank you, Amelia."
"Is there anything else, or should I consider that all the bombshells for today?"
"Can I tell her about Dobby?" Harry suddenly asked.
Amelia listened intently to Harry's short tale, and by the end of it promised to have the warning note of illegal magic removed from his record.
-HP-
"Okay," Harry said as soon as they were back in Minerva's office that evening, still beaming about the official change-of-custody paperwork in his hands. "So, who are Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew and everyone else?"
His new guardian sighed, and gestured for him to take a seat. "It's a long story, lad..."
-HP-
Severus climbed the steps to the Owlery, wondering at his sanity.
The week had seen far too many unexpected revelations for him to be comfortable with, from Potter's insecurity concerning his owl's safety to Minerva's news about Pettigrew being the true traitor to Black's release from Azkaban and subsequent insistence on visiting Potter. At Hogwarts. During the school day. Somehow the thrice-blasted man had gotten away from his Auror handlers, to the school, and into the greenhouse where second year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs were in the middle of class. Needless to say, there'd been a near-riot, especially since Sprout had gone and fainted, removing any semblance of adult authority from the situation. Minerva was going to have her hands full, managing the Potter brat, the Black idiot, and the soon-to-arrive werewolf, needless to say.
Barely resisting the urge to grumble to himself, Severus entered the Owlery, gaze immediately landing on the mid-size white bird watching him from across the room. Fortunately, there were no witnesses to his latest bout of ridiculousness.
Like the previous occasion, Potter's owl flew over to perch upon his shoulder without any preamble. Severus offered her a handful of treats from his pocket.
"Not a word of this to anyone," he muttered as she gobbled the pellets up.
Hedwig simply blinked at him, smug as only an owl could be.