Madam Bones
Harry and Lin walked along the beach and let the waves wash over their feet.
"I don't like it one bit that you have to go back to England tomorrow. What am I supposed to do until school starts?" Lin asked, looking downcast.
"The same as you did before I arrived," Harry answered with a small smile.
"But that's the point. It was just boring. Besides, it was so long ago I can't even remember that time," she whined overdramatically.
Harry frowned, "Don't you have any other friends you could meet?"
"I do, but I had a lot more fun with you."
At this Harry smiled warmly at the girl. "Well, thank you, I guess. Maybe you could come and visit us in England?"
"Yeah!" Lin's eyes started to shine in excitement, "That would be an idea. I'm sure Mom would miss Severus too."
Both kids started to giggle. They knew how much the two adults liked each other.
-xox-
"You have already finished with packing?" asked Caroline, astonished.
"Yes. I plan to leave early in the morning. We are bringing the car back to José and then we will use his floo to get to Madrid. There a portkey will bring us to the Leaky Cauldron in London, and from there we will use the floo again to get to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts." Severus explained.
"Sounds like an exhausting journey. Don't you think Harry will get sick with all those transportations?" Caro asked, concerned.
"Yes, it is going to be hard but we have to hurry. Besides, Hogwarts is the only place where we will be safe right now and I want to get there as fast as possible. I have some potions at hand if Harry gets unwell."
"Will we see each other again? I enjoyed our time together. It would be a pity if it was all over," Caro said and slowly wrapped her arms around the stunned potion master.
"I… erm… can't say what is going to happen when we are back in England. I would guess the next few days will be very turbulent and then school starts again," Severus talked around the question.
"Aw, you are so cute, when you get red in the face," Caroline said smiling mischievously.
Shocked, Severus tried to get free but Caro didn't let go of him. She took a loose strand of Severus' black hair and let it glide through her fingers, and then she placed her hands behind Severus' neck.
"C… Caro!" Severus stuttered, embarrassed. "I… don't think this is a good idea."
"Well, I am sure!" she said stubbornly and pulled herself up on tiptoes, her lips just an inch away from Severus'.
Hastily, Severus tried to think about a way to talk Caroline out of this without hurting her feelings. "You are right. It was nice, but-"
Before Severus could finish his sentence, Caroline cut him off as she bridged the last distance and kissed the stunned man.
It had been a long time since Severus had kissed someone. To be precise, Lily was the only woman Severus had ever kissed. After Lily, Severus didn't find anyone who caught his interest long enough to start a relationship.
Caroline was the first after Lily, but Severus hadn't been aware how serious it was for Caroline. Obviously this woman really liked him. The kiss was mind blowing and felt incredibly good. Her lips were so warm and soft. A heat rushed through his whole body.
"Caro," Severus panted, looking deep into her brown eyes. She smiled at him, and then closed her eyes again as she saw Severus' lips nearing again.
"We are back!" yelled Harry from the hall as he and Celine entered the flat.
Severus suddenly pulled back as if he had gotten burned. Shocked, he looked at Caroline and then stepped back and straightened his clothes.
Caro, on the other hand, licked her lips while memorizing every single second of their kissing. "Wow," she whispered, dazed.
As Harry entered the living room with Lin at his heels, he frowned. Something was off. Severus looked uncharacteristically nervous and Caro's smile seemed to be contrived.
"Everything alright?" Harry asked, wondering.
"Yes, of course," Severus answered. Within seconds he was back to his normal self and went on. "I have packed everything of importance."
Harry looked at the bags and then asked in a small voice. "Can I keep the new clothes?"
"Of course! You cannot consider wearing any of those rags you had before."
Embarrassed, Harry hung his head but then felt Severus' fingers under his chin guiding his head up again. "It's not your fault that your relatives were incapable of raising you properly or providing you with fitting clothes. It was my desire to give you new clothes so of course I wish you to keep them."
Harry gave Severus a tentative smile. "Thank you," he whispered. Then his smile grew as Severus pulled him into a hug. Wrapping his thin arms around his guardian he sighed happily. They stood motionless for a few seconds, but then Harry looked up at Severus and asked, "Lin wanted to know if they could visit us in England?"
"I'm not sure if we will have time before the new term starts," Severus answered with a pained expression. At that, Harry buried his face deep into Severus' shirt and fastened his arms around his guardian. His fear of losing the only person he had come to call father resurfaced. Severus also held tight to the small boy. No one noticed the determined look on Caroline's face.
-xoxox-
"Harry!" Severus shook Harry's shoulder.
"Wha?" Harry asked, still half asleep.
"Wake up!"
"Wha time?" the boy slurred.
"It's six in the morning. I told you we had to get up early. If everything works out without problems we will be in Hogwarts within two hours," Severus explained.
"But I wanna sleep," Harry whined.
"I know. You can sleep in the car!"
Harry grumbled but finally sat up in his bed. Groggily he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. With Severus' help he got dressed and in no time the two sat in the car driving to Finestrat. José offered them a breakfast but Severus declined, knowing full well that any food they ate wouldn't stay down very long, in Harry's case.
So Severus and Harry thanked Josè for his help, finally saying goodbye to each other. Standing in front of José's fireplace Severus cast a side-glance at Harry and asked, "Ready?"
Harry took a deep breath and then nodded, biting his lip nervously. Together they stepped into the green flames and wrapped their arms around each other, not risking getting separated during their floo trip.
They landed safely at Estación de Chamartín, one of the two central stations of Madrid. Harry felt a little dizzy but recovered quickly. He was now glad that they hadn't eaten anything in the morning. They left the station to find a friend of José who would have their portkey. Luckily Fernando Andrés lived near the train station, so it didn't take long to find his flat.
At the door with the number eleven on it, Severus stopped and then knocked in a special pattern that would tell José's friend who exactly was knocking. After a short time the door opened a bit and someone asked. "Mr. Rickmann?"
"Yes. My son and I are here for the portkey." Severus said, and placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry was surprised about the words. They sounded foreign but he kind of liked it.
"Yes. Yes. Come in!" Fernando's face showed in the doorway and finally the door opened completely.
Severus and Harry entered. Nervously, Harry looked around. It was a very small flat consisting of just two rooms; a bathroom and a living room with a small kitchenette and a bed couch. Fernando led them over to an overcrowded table and asked them to wait while he dug into the pile of objects on the table, murmuring to himself. "Where is it?"
Concerned, Harry looked at Severus, feeling queasy. The whole room was filled with an air of foreboding. At first Harry didn't understand why Severus thought it was so important that they hurry to get to Hogwarts, but now Harry realized that he felt very unwell out in public. Every second, he feared that Aurors would show up to arrest Severus.
Severus squeezed Harry's shoulder, trying to reassure the boy. He felt every bit as nervous as Harry, but he was better at hiding his feelings.
"Ha. Found it! That's fifty gallons," Fernando said, pulling a coffee mug out of the pile of objects. The mug was printed with a picture of London.
Severus already knew the price and had the right amount of money at hand. He handed the envelope over and waited until Fernando checked the sum. Fernando grinned and gave the coffee mug to Severus. "The activation code is London Bridge. Good Luck!"
"Thank you," Severus said and then turned to Harry.
As soon as Harry touched the mug, Severus said the code word and they vanished into a whirlwind of passing lights. They landed in the portkey room of the Leaky Cauldron. Harry would have fallen over, but Severus grabbed him around the middle and held him upright until Harry found his footing.
"Whoa!" Harry gasped and put his hands over his mouth, unsure if he would sick up or not. Given that his stomach was empty the nausea wore off again after some time, but Harry still felt unwell.
"Here, drink this!" Severus said and pressed a vial into Harry's hand.
Soon after Harry drank the potion some color returned to his face. "Thanks," Harry said and handed the now empty vial back. "Why don't you get nauseated?" he asked nearly reproachful.
Severus smiled and tousled through Harry's hair. "With time, you get used to it."
Harry shuddered to think about doing that again.
"Come on, Harry. Let's go to Hogwarts," Severus said, and laid his hand back on Harry's shoulder, guiding the boy out of the portkey room and over to the fireplace. Before anyone could take notice of the two they were flooing away.
Harry nearly lost his balance again but managed to gain it in time before he fell. Proud of himself he started to grin but then he froze in shock. Opposite Professor Dumbledore sat a very official looking woman.
Panicking, he turned around towards Severus but the man calmly placed both of his hands on Harry's shoulders and steered the boy forward.
"Good morning, Harry and Severus," Dumbledore greeted them with a happy smile, "So good to see the two of you well and unharmed."
"Mr. Potter, Professor Snape." The woman stood up and shook hands with them. "You two caused a lot of stir. I'm Amelia Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and currently your Ministry-appointed guardian, Harry Potter." With these last words she looked directly at Harry.
Harry's eyes widened in shock at that and he tried to step back, but he couldn't as Severus was still standing directly behind him. "No," he whispered in a panicking voice.
"Don't look so frightened. I will not act against your best interest. If you two agree to cooperate, I will do everything in my power to help you. Minister Fudge is keen to try to ruin Professor Snapes reputation and to gain guardianship over you, Mr. Potter. Therefore we cannot get around an official hearing. Minister Fudge wants to use this hearing to get Professor Snape arrested. To withstand the storm of accusations that will be coming, you will need more than just the muggle papers of god-parenthood." Madam Bones explained.
"The hearing is set for this coming Thursday, so you have four days. Within these days you should get muggle adoption papers as well as wizard documents of god-parenthood. For the wizard adoption papers I fear you will have to wait, but we will have to see how the hearing goes."
Severus nodded and looked down at Harry, who grinned up at him.
"But," Madam Bones started again, "before I can let the two of you go with a clear conscience I need to interview both of you, separately."
At the word separately the panic was back in Harry's eyes. "Is this necessary?" he asked in a very small voice.
"Yes absolutely, my dear. You have to understand that I'm currently working against the minister's wishes. Therefore, I need to stick to the law. It will not help you if I overlook something because I was negligent. I'm sure Professor Snape is an honest man. That's the reason why I came without any Aurors, but I at least need to document the minutes of the proceedings. Otherwise, Professor Snape will go to jail, I will lose my job, and the minister will get what he wants and that is you, Mr. Potter."
Harry gulped and then nodded. "O… Okay."
-o-
Moments later, Harry sat in a small side room of Professor Dumbledore's office. Nervously he chewed on his bottom lip wishing he was still in Benidorm. No matter how horrible their trip from Spain back to Hogwarts was, he would do it again if it would take him away from here.
"Are you okay, Mr. Potter?" asked Madam Bones, looking concerned.
Harry nodded quickly.
"Do you wish to have some tea?"
Again Harry nodded, but then he found his voice and said "Yes, please."
Out of nowhere, a teapot and two cups appeared, startling Harry. During the last weeks in Spain they hadn't used much magic.
"So…" Madam Bones pulled a note pad and a quill out of her back, and looked expectantly at Harry.
In the next minutes, Harry told her everything about the Dursleys, their "loving" care, and why they needed to flee. He didn't say that they were in Spain, but Madam Bones didn't dig either.
"Do you like living with Professor Snape?" she asked.
"Yes," Harry said with gleaming eyes. "He is brilliant. Sometimes he is a bit overprotective, but it's nice. He is completely different than my relatives and I like that."
"I'm sure there are many people that would be better than your relatives. Professor Snape is not your only option," Madam Bones pointed out.
"But I want to live with him!" Harry argued immediately.
"It's good that you have found someone you can trust, but do you know anything about Professor Snape's past? Do you know why there is so much fuss about him?"
"He is no Death Eater! Not anymore. He always protected me. Since I started Hogwarts, he has saved my life and looked after me. And even before my parents died, he tried everything to stop Voldemort killing my parents", Harry yelled, disgruntled.
"There is no need to yell. I just need to be sure that you really know him, because in the hearing this will be a main topic. I also need to ask you: Do you think Professor Snape only cares for you because he feels it is his duty?"
Harry frowned deeply. How could he be sure why Severus did what he was doing? How could he know why Severus cared so deeply for him? He never got the feeling that Severus acted out of duty.
"I don't think so. I think he really loves me," he finally said.
"Thank you, Mr. Potter. You may go, please send Professor Snape in to me."
-o-
"Harry?" Severus asked, concerned as Harry stormed out of the room. The boy ran over to Severus and wrapped his arms around the man he had come to call 'Dad' in his mind.
"Everything alright?" Severus asked, hugging the boy back.
Harry nodded his head, but held onto Severus a few seconds longer before he released the man again with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Severus told me you two left without any breakfast, so I took the liberty of ordering sandwiches for you. Come have a seat and eat something while Severus is giving his interview," Albus said, and gestured towards a chair next to his desk where a plate full with sandwiches was waiting.
Harry's stomach started to growl at this sight. While Harry sat down Severus walked over towards the door to the side room. Harry watched as Severus vanished through the door.
"She is on our side, Harry. You don't need to worry," Albus said, trying to calm Harry's nerves.
"But what if the minister gets custody of me?" Harry asked.
Albus studied the boy before he answered, "I don't think that it will come to that. Madam Bones has custody of you right now, and she is held in high esteem within the ministry, higher than the minister himself. So as long as she doesn't violate the law, the minister won't have a chance."
Harry nodded and then looked back at the closed door of the side room.
As more and more minutes passed, Harry got nervous again, "Why is she keeping Dad so long?"
Albus arched an eyebrow in surprise. He knew that Severus and Harry had been getting closer, but he wasn't aware of how close. "Oh, I'm sure your dad will be back in a bit," Albus said, amused.
Harry blushed at his slip of the tongue, but before he could explain anything Albus said with a smile, "I'm glad that the two of you have such a good relationship and it is absolutely understandable that you would start to see Severus as a father figure."
Still blushing, Harry looked back at the door and waited.
-oxo-
"Professor Snape, Mr. Potter has already informed me of the incident that took place in July, and so far I understand why you took Harry away from the Dursleys. What I do not understand is why didn't you wait for the Aurors? Your head over heels getaway from the crime scene casts a questionable light on the situation. You fled without telling someone," Madam Bones started with her questions.
"Albus asked me to bring Harry to safety if the situation with the Dursleys escalated. He wanted to keep the problems with the Dursleys quiet."
"With your sudden escape, you managed quite the opposite. It was all over the paper for weeks. You really should have waited for the Aurors, to explain what had happened."
Severus sighed, "Yes, I know. In hindsight, it was not the wisest thing to do. I hadn't thought things through. I just did what Albus asked me to do, which was to bring Harry to safety immediately."
Madam Bones frowned. "Why didn't the two of you go into hiding at the start of the holidays? No one would have questioned Mr. Potter's whereabouts then."
Yes, why Albus? Severus asked in his mind. It wasn't that Severus hasn't tried to do that. Suppressing a new sigh, Severus cleared his throat. "Albus had been talking to the Dursleys and was of the mind that they would treat Harry better. His plan was to prepare a place where Harry could have stayed the rest of the holiday with me. Albus said that he would need two weeks for the wards around the safe place to perform and test, but they fell without any reason. So as the situation escalated, I took Harry to another safe place that even Albus didn't know about. Albus didn't like the idea of not having contact with me, but he had agreed that Harry's safety was top priority."
Madam Bones nodded her head in thought, and then frowned again. "Why was it so important for Mr. Potter to go back to the Dursleys, when you already knew that the muggles were unfit to raise the boy?"
Severus knitted his eyebrows. You should askAlbus that, not me. "As Harry's mother was killed, she released an ancient form of magic which created a kind of blood protection for Harry for as long as he stayed with a relative by blood. Within this protection, Harry was undiscoverable and untouchable for Death Eaters or the Dark Lord himself. It was supposed to be a very powerful protection, but during the school year it would weaken due to the distance between Harry and his aunt. The protection should have renewed itself as soon as Harry went back to the Dursleys."
With her curiosity aroused Madam Bones asked, "Is this protection still working?"
Severus shook his head, "No. The blood protection fell for good this summer, as Harry's uncle started to abuse Harry. I assume that it had already been weakening because of the neglect in the past, but Harry realized just this summer that he cannot call the Dursleys' house his home any longer."
"So it was all for naught", Madam Bones remarked.
Severus snorted at that comment. Damn right!
After looking through her notes Madam Bones asked wondering, "Do you know why Mr. Potter felt the need to use a floating charm?"
Severus was taken by surprise because of the sudden change of topic, but he said, "Harry told me it wasn't him, but a house elf."
"Ah yes, Mr. Potter told me something about a house elf. I wonder, though, why would a house elf be in a muggle household?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen said elf, but Harry told me the elf's name was Dobby and I do know an elf with that name. I also know that Harry had no way to know this name, if he didn't really meet him. Therefore, I believe him."
Shaking her head in disbelief, she asked, "What did the house elf want?"
"I'm not sure. He intercepted Harry's mail and withheld letters from Harry's friends. Harry was very depressed because of that. He thought his friends had forgotten him. As the elf talked to Harry, he asked Harry to not go back to Hogwarts for the next school year. If I'm not mistaken, I think the house elf hoped he could force a promise out of Harry with the floating charm. Unfortunately, no one knows why the house elf wanted Harry to stay away from Hogwarts."
Madam Bones frowned again, "Mysterious. Did this visit with the house elf relate to the rest of the incident?"
"Yes. The floating charm started the whole escalation. Harry's uncle read the letter from the ministry, which warned Harry not to do magic outside of school, and therefore thought he could prevent Harry from going back. He was about to beat Harry when I entered the scene."
"So it was you who performed the Petrificus Totalus."
"Indeed." Severus said and suddenly remembered in what position he had left Harry's uncle. He had cast the Petrificus spell with Mr. Dursley's arm raised high, the belt tangling from his hand. That was probably the reason why Dumbledore couldn't hide the fact that Harry's uncle was abusing the boy. Mrs. Dursley on the other hand must have been found in a protecting position in front of Dudley, with a shocked expression on her face. So someone may think Petunia was shocked about Vernon's actions. That would explain why the woman was free again.
"Well, I think I finally get the whole picture of the situation. One thing is confusing me though. Earlier you sounded as if you had no say in the decisions that were made in Harry's regard concerning his summer arrangements. Are you aware that as Harry's godfather your word has more weight than Albus Dumbledore's?"
Severus suppressed a sigh. Yes, it would have had more weight, if he would have had the papers of god-parenthood at that time, but he couldn't tell Madam Bones that the papers had a fake date on them. "Yes, of course I'm aware. I thought that, as Albus has more experience than I do, he would do the right thing. I trusted him, a mistake I will not repeat."
Madam Bones looked thoughtful for a moment, and then she asked, "Are your decisions affected by Dumbledore being your supervisor?"
"I have to admit they were but, as I said before, I will not make that mistake again. Harry is most important to me. I regret deeply that I let Albus control things. As soon as I realized what impact the Dursleys treatment still had on Harry, I worked out an alternative plan and, as the situation escalated, I put that plan in action. Albus was informed of it but not about our whereabouts."
"Hmm…" Madam Bones hummed, "What would you do, if you lose guardianship of Harry?"
Severus looked pained, "I don't know. Harry will always be my son in my heart. I will still look out for him. What will happen with Harry if I lose guardianship?"
"As much work as I have within the ministry I will probably give him to my sister. Harry would even have a stepsister there. My niece is a very nice girl."
Severus nodded his head. That solution would be much more acceptable than the minister getting his hands on Harry, of course, but Harry still wouldn't want that. "It still would break his heart," Severus whispered.
Madam Bones looked sympathetically, "I will do everything within my power to help you, but even I can't say how all this will end."
"Thank you for listening to our story. Your help is much appreciated," Severus stood and shook Madam Bones' hand.
"Thank you for being frank," the woman answered.
-oxo-
"Dad!" Harry shouted, and jumped out of his seat. Running over to Severus he wrapped his arms around the man once more. Severus returned the hug with a soft smile, realizing that it would not only break Harry's heart but his too, if he wasn't allowed to look after this child anymore.
Unbeknownst to them, a determined look crossed Madam Bones' face. She would be damned if she couldn't help these two people.