Sirius gagged heavily as he appirated with Albus, landing within the confines of a place he had been told was called Spinner's End. An awful, putrid odor assaulted his nose and he could only guess it emanated from the nearly black river that wound it's way about the wretched area. With great disdain, Sirius noticed the great majority of homes were simply abandoned and boarded up with whatever chunks of wood or cardboard that could be found. Broken streetlamps lay across the uneven sidewalks and stuck out every few feet from the poisonous river. What appeared to be an abandoned wool mill looked close to collapse, and the several pieces of creative graffiti lines its crumbling walls. Overgrown shrubs and briers line the river and homes, along with several shards of glass, and Sirius had to be careful to watch his step for fear the large pieces of glass would break through his boots to cut his flesh open.
It was late, the sun already setting, as he made his way with Albus through the streets- taking care not to stumble and fall over the debris that lay about in the uncared for streets or to slip in various piles of blood and vomit. Sirius marveled that a town such as this still stood, and he wouldn't be surprised to find that, in the morning, the town had vanished or was condemned like it obviously should have been years ago.
"It reeks."He muttered darkly, glaring out at the depressing scene laid out before him. "The heat doesn't help either." If anything, it made the stench worse.
"It's only for awhile, Sirius," Albus consoled, "You'd do well to try and focus on the positives."
"Such as?" Sirius demanded, in no mood to deal with Albus's eccentricities.
"You've always said how much you've wished to be free from Grimmauld Place, and now you're wish has been granted." The ancient man said simply, sidestepping what appeared to be the corpse of a squirrel.
"I'd much rather be back there than here!" Sirius snapped, feeling uncomfortable in the muggle clothes Albus had forced him into. "Mother is a hundred times more tolerable than Snape!"
"The Fidelius Charm no longer protects Grimmauld Place, Sirius." Albus explained slowly, but showed no sign of weariness and Sirius's protests. "The safest place for you right now, and the most secretive, is with Severus."
"I'd rather be back in Azkaban!" Sirius grumbled, kicking a beer bottle and sending it skidding down the street.
"I've heard just about enough of this ungratefulness, Sirius." Albus's voice was uncharacteristically stern. "If nothing else you can at least attempt to hide your contempt."
Sirius didn't bother, or dare, to argue with the powerful man and settled for glaring down at the dirty ground below him. Ever since graduation, his life had no longer been as lucky and carefree as it used to be. In fact, it seemed almost to be the opposite. There no longer a break to be had for Sirius, and it frustrated him to no end.
They arrived at the end of street, coming face to face with a house that was not better off than any of the others in that neighborhood. The paint was peeling and the concrete steps, leading up to the warped door, were cracked and crumbling. While the windows weren't boarded up, they were heavily curtained, and Sirius could only guess that the inside did not fare any better. Didn't Snape have a manor? He was a Slytherin wasn't he? What the hell was this?
Albus carefully ascended the hazardous steps before knocking loudly on the door, and Sirius was hoping that Snape wouldn't answer. Albus would have no choice then but to let him stay at Hogwarts. He was out of luck again, however, as Albus simply opened the door and gestured for Sirius to follow. He did so reluctantly, fully expecting Snape to ambush him the moment he stepped a toe without his subpar house.
He stepped into a tiny living room, by his standards, and looked at his surrounding with a scowl on his face. Everything was neat and orderly, not a speck of dust anywhere; not even on the walls that were comprised mostly of hundreds of ancient looking books. A threadbare sofa, two old armchairs and a rickety coffee table were the only furnishings available, and Sirius wondered how anyone could stand to live in such a place.
"Narcissa? Lucius?" Snape's excited voice called out, and Sirius scowled, the Malfoy's were hardly anything to be overjoyed about. "Who's here?"
"It's me, my dear boy!" Albus called out jollily, settling himself down on well-used sofa.
"Albus?" Snape sounded confused and angry at the same time and, for once, Sirius could say he felt the same way. "Is everything alright?" Snape's tired voice drifted into the living room, followed by the sound of pounding footsteps on stairs.
Sirius was very confused, wondering just how big the house was. He had been almost certain it was one measly floor when one of the bookshelves slide aside a few feet, revealing Snape standing at the bottom of a very narrow staircase. Wearing a glower, the greasy git stepped into the living room, the bookcase sliding back into place as soon as his boots hit the floorboards.
"What is he doing here?" Snape demanded, his tone waspish and his face twisted up in irritation.
"I've some rather unfortunate news, child." Albus said kindly, folding his hands in his lap. "It appears Kreacher has compromised the safety of Grimmauld Place."
Snape just stared, still managing to look bat-like even in the muggle clothes he was wearing. "While it is most unfortunate that Order headquarters have been jeopardized, I fail to see how that would warrant you arriving at my house at this hour with Black in tow."
"It would appear that Sirius needs a place to stay." Albus said softly, making it sound as if this were a perfectly reasonable conversation that was about to be had.
As usual, Snape caught on quickly to the schemes others planned. "Why here, Albus?" Snape hissed. "Why not anywhere else!?" He finished, his eyes taking on a steely edge.
"The ministry has had Sirius's money tied up for the last year, and I have little hope that they will be rectifying the problem any time soon." Despite the kindness in Albus's voice, there was no sugarcoating the raw facts, and Sirius despised the fact that Snape should know about his predicament.
"Why can't the Weasley's take him!?" Snape snapped. "Or Lupin- or anyone else from his damnable fanclub?"
"Severus," Albus's voice was gently, as if he were a father gently scolding his wayward child, "The majority of people still believe Sirius to be guilty, even with the ministry's public declaration of his innocence, and I do believe there might be some out there who would wish to harm Sirius."
"You still haven't told me why one of his mates can't take him in!" Severus argued, clearly as unamused with Albus's plan as Sirius was.
"Believe me, Snape, if there was any other option I'd have taken it." Sirius returned his glare.
"But what of all those mates of yours, Dog? Have they so quickly abandoned you?" Snape taunted, his lips turning back in a sneer.
"At least I've got mates." Sirius spat, his own face curling into a vicious mask.
"I assure you've I've plenty enough friends, Black." Snape purred. "The only difference, it seems, is that mine are truly loyal while yours abandoned you." The words were icy and cruel, and Sirius fought the urge to attack. "Why can't he live with the wolf?" He asked, glowering all the while.
"If you haven't forgotten, you got Remus fired!" Sirius accused, blood boiling as he recalled the events leading up to that.
"If you haven't forgotten, Lupin should have taken his damn wolfsbane potion!" Snape countered.
"Maybe if you didn't make such disgusting rubbish, he'd actually be able to stomach it!"
"Then you can make the damn potion for him, seeing as you don't feel I'm doing an adequate job." Severus drawled, disdain in his black eyes for the entire situation.
"Enough of this bickering, boys, it solves nothing." Albus interrupted. "Please, let us talk this through calmly."
It wasn't a suggestion, it was simply an order masked in a sweet tone, and Sirius knew better than to disregard it or go against it. With the least amount of gratefulness he could muster, Sirius flopped down on the couch beside Albus, glaring as Snape settled himself in the leather recliner.
"Severus, I hate to ask you such a favor knowing how opposed you are toward it, but ask I must." Albus did look apologetic, as he gazed at Severus with sympathetic eyes. "I've exhausted every other option, I promise you, but I always wind up with the same conclusion- Sirius must stay with you."
"Why?" Snape asked through gritted teeth, his tone taking on an edge of defeat along with anger.
"I believe we've already gone over one or two of the reasons," Albus smiled, softly scolding Snape, "Might I also add that I feel Sirius should be far from those who wish to harm him and in the care of someone who would be better able to protect him should a lynch mob form outside your door?"
"You're asking a lot, Albus!" Snape sounded tired, yet furious at the same time. "You do realize that?"
"Of course I do, my boy." Albus nodded. "And I hate to impose on you so, believe me, but you are just so reliable and willing to do as I ask. Don't think it is not appreciated."
"How long, Albus?" Snape sighed, frowning heavily as he slumped down into the oversized chair.
"However long it takes for another plan to be devised, and not a minute more." Albus promised, placing a hand over his heart.
Snape just scowled at the proud look coming from Albus. "You always get what you want, don't you, Albus?" He muttered darkly. "An awfully Slytherin trait if you ask me."
"And you are always so eager and willing to help out the Light," Albus countered smoothly, "A very Gryffindor trait if you ask me."
Snape looked as if he were about to hex the old man, but remained still, face flushing with anger at the compliment Snape clearly took as a most grievous insult.