'Oi! Martha,' shouted a very hungry Sirius Black with his face pressed up against the bars of his abnormally small cell. 'I'm hungry give me my damn food.' It was a particularly gloomy afternoon in Azkaban Prison, not that it was any improvement from every other day.

'Well, guess what cupcake?' replied a rather fat and grubby jailer that Sirius had come to call 'Martha' as the jailer would tell him his real name. The jailer in turn started calling Sirius 'cupcake' as it was one name his mother always called him that he hated. 'Me poor old dog here is just withering away and I could help giving him your grub. Oops, better luck next time sonny.'

'Arse Hole,' shouted Black as his stomach moaned so loudly, the jailer started laughing. Sirius crawled back to the left hand wall that he always leaned on and sighed. He sat silent listening to the jailer's croaky laugh then turned around to face the wall he was leaning on. The wall was covered in tally marks the Sirius had etched in, one for every day he had been there. So far he was up to eleven years and three hundred and sixty four days. This is just pathetic, he thought to himself, just like he did ever since he was dumped here, I shouldn't have to put up with this. Pettigrew was the murderer, not me. But the thought of Pettigrew only pissed him off even more. He turned back around and leaned on his wall and tried to think about something else to take his mind off the hunger.

Meanwhile, in the dungeons of Hogwarts behind the portrait of a very evil looking Slytherin, Severus Snape, the Potions Master was sitting behind a large wooden desk reading through a check list he had made of things he was going to do that day. So far he had ticked off half of his long list and still had six things left, three of which were his last two meetings of the day and dinner. He closed the book and opened the draw that he kept all his prized possessions in. Inside the draw was a sheathed two and a half inch knife, a necklace with a crystal ball the size of a ten cent piece encased in a claw at the centre, blue prints for Hogwarts –so he could keep track of all the new secret places that he intended to hide objects that he would confiscated from students–, and a long black scarf with diamond shaped beads hanging from one inch long pieces of fabric along the two shortest edges of the scarf and white and grey patterns on each end that looked like a different language –which to the people of the proud Prince family, in fact were words that simply said 'When In Doubt Look To The Moon', Severus was still having problems understanding it's meaning as his great grandmother had a problem with forgetting the reason for giving out these metaphors. Today's a good day for push starting a plan, he though as he placed the book inside then closed and locked the draw and headed off to Dumbledore's office, a very good day indeed.

After three and a half hours of making Bartimus Crouch eat his words, proving the minister wrong, telling to Minerva about how pointless the ministry was and listening to Albus Dumbledore brag about how he discovered the different uses for dragons blood –which by the way has changed from the first time Severus heard it– Severus was finally able to return to his quarters. He went straight to his desk, unlocked the draw and took out the book, necklace and scarf and laid them out on to his desk. He opened the book and checked off the meetings and dinner, and reread the last three. A small smile creped on to his face and he walked over to his full height mirror and undid his belt. He slowly pulled it from his pants and as he did his reflection began to distort. The more of the belt he pulled out the more distorted his image became until he had completely removed the belt and his image came back into focus a young man about twenty years old was standing where the older Severus Snape once stood. The man smiled as his once large hooked nose was now normal, once greasy hair now grease free and shinny. A few months ago Severus had finally created a potion that permanently removed unwanted DNA from the body. Not only did the side affect stop him from aging but it helped him regain some of his youth. He also created what he came to call a 'disguise belt'. Made from the unwanted DNA of the maker and the DNA of the parent that gave them that DNA –it was strange how a few days after that Tobius Snape, Severus' somewhat abusive farther, suddenly went missing and still hasn't been found (not that anyone was going out of their way to try and find him that is). Severus stood in front of the mirror for a while admiring his own handy work. He was no longer wearing his usual black robes; instead he was black boots that went half way up his shin with silver buckles and long black semi skin tight pants, which were baggy on his thin legs, and a black cloak like robe with a belt on the collar, tied around his neck and no shirt underneath; Severus thought it very rebellious of him and almost made himself feel 'cool' for the first time. Visible just under his robe was what Severus always insisted was a birth mark shaped like the symbol for fire (in Prince Language) and what wasn't visible was a dragon that ran from the back of his neck, around his thin chest and finished at his stomach. They were in fact birth marks as in the Prince family you were always born with an element that you can control, and for Severus it was fire. After admiring his reflection Severus returned to his desk and pace the belt in the draw then took the scarf and wrapped it twice around his waist then tied it leaving the rest to hang at his left side. Next he put on the necklace and grabbed the book that he promptly put inside the pocket of his cloak (which had a very handy extension charm on it) then he muttered a phrase in the language of his heritage and disappeared in a burst of flames.

There was a loud whooshing sound and a flash of bright orange flames as Severus arrived at Azkaban, and he promptly burst into a cloud of deep grey smoke that quickly made its way up the side of the mighty structure and searched for one person in particular. Finally when he found who he was looking for, the cloud of smoke that was Severus reformed into the young man in a crouched position on the window sill.

'Well, well, well. What do we have here?' he said to a very dirty and thin Sirius Black who jumped as Severus' voice broke the silent rhythm of the jailer's snores.

'Snivillus?' asked Sirius as he was wondering whether or not Severus being there was just a hallucination or if he was really there.

'I believe that my name is Severus,'

'Whatever Snape, why are you here? And why do you look so, not old?' said Sirius with amazement in his voice and rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. Severus sighed.

'Prince, if your must call me by my last name,' corrected Severus, 'and the reason I'm 'not old' is because I'm a genius and the ministry won't admit it, but the reason I'm here is to give you something to think about while you're sitting here moping, for the simple fact that you are a very crucial piece in my plan,'

'What plan?'

'My plan to destroy the Dark Lord, of course; you didn't honestly think that I was going to let him get away with killing the only true friend I would ever have, do you?'

'No… no of course not,' said Sirius. He knew very well that Lily was far more than a true friend to Severus. He also knew that Severus had threatened James once they had left the Hogwarts Express. 'If you ever hurt her,' Severus said 'then you had better hope the Dark Lord finds you first, because I will not be so merciful.' It was the first time that Severus had genuinely scared James. Sirius knew that if Severus was planning to destroy the Dark Lord, then was going to literally destroy him.

'Well, out with it already. What's the plan?' said Sirius eagerly, wanting to know what Severus' master plan was and why he was such an important part of it.

'Not so fast,' said the Slytherin, 'firstly you have to get out of here, but before that you have to swear your allegiants to me and that you will do everything that I tell you to and never utter a word of my plan to anyone,' Severus posted his hand through the bars of the cell window, offering it to the Griffindore. Sirius contemplated the extended hand and considered the terms of Severus' agreement. After a minute of thinking Sirius shook Severus hand, but when he tried to let go Severus tightened his grip and with the other hand pointed his wand at their linked hands. A thin thread of fire spilled from the tip and wrapped it's self around the two hands.

'Do you, Sirius Black, swear your allegiants to me, Severus Prince, until the completion of my plan?' he asked.

'I do,'

'And do you swear to any and every thing I tell you to?'

'I do,'

'And do you swear never to utter a word of my plan to anyone?'

'I do,'

'Good,' said Severus smoothly while replacing his wand in his robe and releasing Sirius' hand. The fiery thread disappeared and left behind a slight indent in both men's hands. 'Now, Dementors are odd creatures,'

'What's this got to–' Severus raised his hand for silence.

'They feed of the emotions of living things, but find it incredible difficult to do so to animals,' finished Severus raising an eyebrow and giving Sirius a 'think–about–it. It–might–come–to–you' look, returned to his smoke form.

'See you at the bottom, cuz,' said Severus in an airy voice as he flew away. Sirius and Severus never admitted it to anyone but they were related. Though they were distant cousins they were still closer than they wanted to be. But at that moment Sirius was glad he had a genius for a cousin, especially one that hated his gut but was still trying to get him out of Azkaban. He got down onto all fours and rotated his head in a circle as his ears began to lengthen and his clothes began to stick to his body and turn to black hair. His nose and mouth stretched forward into a snout and his arms and legs turn thin and hairy with paws instead of hands and feet. In a matter of seconds what was a man on all fours was replaced with a sad looking black dog. Sirius walked up to the cell bars and just slipped through them. Why didn't I think of this? He thought, as he trotted towards the sleeping jailer and his dog which was most definitely dead. I'll take that, he thought as he ate the food that the dead dog didn't finish then walked down many flights of stairs passed Dementors and other jailers and prisoners that were trying to lure him in to their cells (to eat him no doubt) until he reached the ground floor. Then he trotted straight for the exit. Once outside he stopped and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. So this is what freedom smells like, he thought.

'It's about time,' came Severus' voice at his right, but when Sirius turned his head to look at him he just saw a sleek black panther wearing a collar identical to the belt around Severus' neck.

'A panther?' said Sirius.

'Is there a problem with me being a panther?' replied Severus as he padded his way silently over to where Sirius was standing.

'No,'

'Good,' said Severus stopping and sitting next to Sirius and putting his large paw on the dog's head. 'Because then I would have left you to get to Little Wingy on your own,' and then the two animals disappeared.

It was a quiet evening, in Little Wingy, accept at number four Privet Drive where a thirteen year old Harry Potter was being told off by a purple faced Vernon Dursley. At the end of Privet Drive the street lamps suddenly went out with a crack and a large black panther and dog appeared padding around the corner down the street past neat rows of houses and tidy gardens with vibrant green grass and colourful flower patches.

'Now,' said the panther, 'I want you to keep an eye on your godson. His aunt is coming to his house this evening and I know for a fact that she is going to cause some trouble,'

'How do you know that?' said the dog turning its head towards the panther and noticing a small crystal ball hang around its neck along with the collar. The panther noticed the dog's interest with the crystal ball.

'A little birdie told me,' he said simply. As they continued down the street the lamps continued to go out and relight once they passed them. They passed number four and the black cat gestured its head towards the house.

'That's where the boy lives,' he said.

'With the Dursleys?' said the dog with amazement.

'Yes, it was Dumbledore's idea,' they continue until they reached a park at the other end of the street then crossed the road to a bench on the other side. The panther stood on its hide legs and quickly began to turn into a tall young man. As the cats torso formed into a humans, the collar around his neck began to glow dimly then fabric began spill from it and wrapped itself around him forming a robe and the fur on his legs began to turn to fabric and loosened form around his legs forming long black pants then paws into boots. His facial features returned to that of a human and where the panther once was, was now Severus Prince with his shoulder length black hair and deep grey eyes and scarf around his waist. He sat on the bench and took the book from his pocket and ticked off another thing from his check list; 'Get Cousin from Azkaban' it read. Then he closed the book and replace it in his pocket.

'Stay here,' he said, 'Potter will be come this way with all his belongings, but I'm not sure what happens after that. So I want you to tell me where it is he goes, and be discrete the last thing I need is Dumbledore knowing that you're here,'

'And why can't Dumbledore know?' asked the dog.

'Because, it's better if he thinks he's calling the shots,' replied Severus as he got up and walk away then he stopped and turned to face the black dog. 'Oh and by the way Dumbledore has a squib watching the house as well. I'm not sure who and Dumbledore doesn't know that I know. I'd like it to stay that way,' and he tossed a small star shaped stone towards the dog which it's caught in its mouth. 'Use that to let me know where the goes.' And the Slytherin muttered the language of his family and disappeared it a burst of flames. Bloody pyromancer, thought Sirius, always showing off when he can. Then the dog disappeared into the bushes behind the bench. Few hours past and screaming could be heard from the Dursleys home. Sirius stuck his head out of the bushes to what happened and saw a fat old woman floating past right above him then heard more yells from Vernon Dursley and saw his godson burst from the house, wand in hand and pulling his trunk along behind him. Sirius laughed.

'He's a spitting image of his farther that boy,' Sirius said to himself. He watched as Harry Potter marched up the street towards where Severus said he'd come. The boy stopped and sat on the sidewalk directly opposite where Sirius was. He looks just like James, thought Sirius stepping forward to get a better look at his godson but stood on a stick which snapped and got the boy's attention immediately. Crap, he thought as Harry stood staring straight at him. Sirius smiled, bearing his teeth, but it only made it worse as the boy pointed his wand at him, and I've made it worse. Nice one Black, real good first impression you've made. Severus is going to be so pissed when he hears about this. Luckily the Night Bus arrived; knock Harry over, giving Sirius enough time to retreat to the bushes. Sirius used his extra sensitive dog hearing to listen carefully to the conversation Harry and Stan, the Night Bus conductor, were having.

'Who'chu doing down there?' said Stan after his speech.

'I fell over,' said Harry.

'Who'chu fall over for?'

'I didn't do it on purpose,' Harry looked over towards where Sirius was before the Night Bus arrived, and then Stan swung off the edge of the Bus to look in the same direction.

'Who'chu lookin' at?' he asked.

'Nothing,' said Harry.

'Well get in then,' ordered Stan turning to look at the boy. Harry must have reached for his trunk.

'No, no I'll get that, you get in,' said Stan jumping down from the Bus as Harry climbed up. Stan tried and almost failed to life Harry's trunk on to the Bus. Once back on Stan asked where Harry wanted to go. Sirius listen intently to his answer.

'The Leaky Cauldron, that's in London,'

'You hear that Ern, The Leaky Cauldron, that's in London,' then Sirius Heard a third voice that had a very heavy Jamaican accent.

'Hahahaha, the Leaky Cauldron. Hey, if you have the pea soup, make sure you eat it before it eats you, hahahaha,' and with that the Night Bus sped away. The Leaky Cauldron, thought Sirius, Severus will be interested to hear about that. He spat the star shaped rock that Severus had given him on to the floor the shape shifted back into his human form. He pick up the rock and suddenly realise that Severus hadn't told him how to use it. He sighed. After a few minutes of fiddling with the rock he pressed the centre and the rock started to glow then a beam of light burst from the centre and split into a 'V' shape with an image of Severus' face in the middle, which looked much older than when he saw him a while ago.

'What did you find?' said the image of the potions professor, with a deeper voice as well.

'What happen to you, you're, old?' asked Sirius. Severus rolled his eyes.

'I've already answered that. It's because I'm a genius. Now, what did you find?'

'He caught the Night Bus and is on his way to The Leaky Cauldron now,'

'And where are you?'

'Same place you left me,'

'Why?'

'Because you said be discrete,'

'I didn't say you couldn't follow him,'

'Well, um about that,' the Slytherin pinched the bridge of his nose.

'What did you do?'

'It's not my fault I just wanted to get a better look at the boy, but a bloody stick snapped and he saw me-'

'Yes well guess what sticks tend to do that when you stand on them,' he sighed, 'let me guess your first reaction was to smile at him, while in your dog form, and he thought you were going to hurt him,'

'Yeah,' moaned Sirius. Sometimes his cousin was just too smart, 'then the Night Bus showed up and it gave me enough time to hide,' get to the end of the street and I'll be there to pick you up and for Merlin's sake be discrete.' And the image of Severus disappeared. This is going to be a long night, thought Sirius as he put the stone in his pocket and shifted back to his dog form then headed down to the end of the street when a tall dark figure grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and they disappeared.

P