Chapter originally published on December 12th 2018. This chapter was beta-read by SacShibari on AO3 for grammar and linguistics. English is my third language.
Severus Snape, 7th June 1994 (early hours)
Severus had finished depositing his memories to Albus' Pensieve and was drinking tea when Albus returned with Miss Potter. The girl seemed happier now, relieved, perhaps, by having gone through the events with her legal guardian. He knew girls often needed someone to talk to, and for all his various flaws — which the old man usually concealed very carefully — Dumbledore was easy to talk to. One tended to open up to him, reveal things that might really have been best left unsaid. Severus suspected the manipulative old codger knew more embarrassing secrets than anyone on the British Isles had in centuries, and knew how to utilise them.
Severus raised an eyebrow at them, emptying his cup. "I see you locked Black in the bathroom, Headmaster. Good choice."
Albus chuckled. "It pays to be careful. You left the memories in bowl?"
"They're in there," Severus said with a small nod.
"Thank you, Severus. Might I bother you to escort Miss Potter to Gryffindor Tower while I watch them? Then we'll have a discussion with Mr Black."
"Of course, Headmaster," Severus acquiesced. "Come along, Miss Potter."
"Yes, sir," the girl said with a small smile and followed him to the stairs that lowered themselves down. When they walked through the gargoyle-corridor, she caught up to him and walked by his side, quite close, but, blissfully, remained quiet. Unusual, considering she was usually brimming with questions.
The silence didn't last the entire way. Severus saw how she fidgeted, twiddled her thumbs, cast his furtive glances, and finally let her mouth loose: "Sir, what happens next? Will the Headmaster be able to exonerate Mr Black if Peter Pettigrew gets caught? You did wound him, so maybe he didn't get far? But if the prophecy said that..."
"Miss Potter," Severus sighed, "the Headmaster will discuss all these things with you later. For now, I could not answer any of your incessant questions."
"Yes, sir... do you think I could visit Ron in the infirmary?"
"No. I'm taking you to Gryffindor Tower and nowhere else. It's well past curfew and you need sleep, and so does Mr Weasley. If you feel the need to go gloat at him tomorrow, then you may do so, but not until morning."
"I'm not going to gloat!" she said, her voice becoming rather shrill from indignation. "He's going to apologise, and then I'll forgive him."
"Why would you forgive him that easily?" Severus couldn't help the question he blurted out. "I've heard some of the things he said to you, and seen how he's avoided you."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Hermione said with a shrug. "I wasn't absolutely certain that it wasn't Crookshanks either, not after Ron found his hairs and some blood in his dormitory. He's a great hunter."
"He didn't catch Pettigrew in the end, did he now?"
"He would have, if Professor Lupin hadn't..."
"Enough. Not in the halls, if you please," Severus stopped her abruptly. She looked chastened, and they continued on quietly until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady and the Security Trolls still standing guard. The Fat Lady was quite annoyed at being woken up at what she called 'ungodly hour', but Severus merely frowned at her and nodded to Hermione as she bade him good night and passed through the hole, where her friends were, without a doubt, waiting for her.
The Fat Lady huffed in annoyance as Severus began his journey back through the empty corridors towards the Headmaster's office. He ran across Filch and his cat: Filch seemed disappointed when he hadn't come across a student breaking the curfew, but nodded and went on his way: up to that date Severus wasn't quite sure if Filch followed Mrs Norris or if the cat merely went where Filch told her to.
His mind was in turmoil over what had occurred. Now that the worst of the panic had eased, now that he was safe, Hermione was alive and uninjured, and Mr Weasley was, well, at least relatively unharmed, the rage poured out.
Sirius Black, a dark-hearted bastard as he was, hadn't been guilty. Severus would still have liked to have sent him back to Azkaban for all the things he'd done: the torment, hurt and, most of all, the attempt on his life when they were still in school. Luring him to Lupin's reach had been the worst, but there had been times when he could have broken his neck or died when Black and Potter had pushed him down the stairs. He could have had lasting spell damage from any of the unknown curses they'd leashed on him, or died when they'd sabotaged his potion in classes, before he'd learned to protect his cauldron.
And Pettigrew, who'd lived well and happily with Weasley and his idiotic family. The rat had obviously grown fat and prospered with Molly Weasley's cooking while the Potters were rotting in their graves, before he'd lost weight from stress. The traitor who'd been there, close enough for him to kill, and he'd gotten away to reunite with the Dark Lord. Severus wished he'd simply have killed him, snapped his disgusting neck and left the corpse for the insects and rodents.
Lupin, that idiot, had been given a chance to earn his keep by teaching and ruined it by simple neglect: Severus, who'd toiled endless hours and days to brew him the Wolfsbane Potion, earning nothing for his effort but an attack when the idiot neglected his dose. He'd warned Albus, warned him several times, and now this!
But the knowledge of Lily hurt him the most. Oh, he'd always known he wasn't handsome enough for Lily: she never even deemed him worthy of one kiss, though he'd have gladly laid down his life for her, given anything and everything for mere crumbs of her love: instead she'd given herself to the likes of Pettigrew and Black before she'd picked James Potter for his wealth and influential family. What was a penniless Mancunian boy with a long and hooked nose and greasy hair compared to the rich and handsome James Potter? And she hadn't even loved the git, had she? Except she'd looked like she had: Severus remembered all too well how she'd been perching on Potter's lap when no professor could catch them, snogged the Quidditch-player before and after the game in their last year, and how he'd spotted them coming from an alcove with their clothes askew and wrinkled and hair dishevelled, Potter's hand on her arse, and the mischievous smirk on her lips.
And now he'd have to tolerate Black's presence in Albus' office. Disgusting, utterly disgusting.
He gave the gargoyle the password and entered Albus' office, where the Headmaster was still observing the events in the Pensieve. Severus sat down and poured himself another cup of tea, though he much preferred the tea he himself could brew.
After a moment he heard Albus sigh and move. "I see," the Headmaster muttered. "I'm afraid I am rather disappointed in myself, Severus," he admitted. "Why didn't I see it?"
"Black could easily have done it," Severus said angrily. "There was no way of knowing."
"He and James were the best of friends."
"And friendship matters absolutely nothing in the end," Severus remarked, taking an aggressive bite from a sandwich.
"It depends on the friend," Albus told him quietly. "Some simply appreciate their friends more than others." Severus looked warily at him, but the Headmaster's face was impassive.
"I believe it is time to let Sirius out of the bathroom," Albus said quietly.
"I could call in the Aurors," Severus suggested lightly.
"He's innocent," Albus said sternly, "and you and I both know he wouldn't get a fair trial. They sentenced him once before, and they'd send him to be Kissed immediately."
"Not much of a loss," Severus muttered, but Albus had already gone to the bathroom and waved his wand to let down the locking spells. Severus could see that Black had curled up into a ball in his dog-form, but was already struggling to get back on his feet. The Animagus transformed back into human: dressed in loose-fitting and slightly worn but clean robes instead of his rags: his hair had been washed and combed, but was still ridiculously long, and he hadn't shaved either: he probably couldn't shave with a blade, not that the house-elves would have supplied him with one, and he hadn't a wand.
Black straggled out of the loo, and Severus smirked nastily at him, his opinion evident in his arrogant posture. He tilted his head and cocked his eyebrow and asked, "Had a good sleep, mutt?"
"Fuck you, Snivellus." Black actually growled like a dog, and Severus chuckled, fingering his wand. He was now wearing crisp and well-fitting robes and dragon-hide boots, well-fed and earning a wage, while Black was thin and wearing something obviously borrowed or discarded. His vault at Gringotts had most likely a thousand times more Galleons than Severus' did, but then again, Severus wasn't running for his life from the Dementors and Aurors.
"Settle down," Dumbledore said sternly, "I don't want to see any fighting. We have much to discuss. Sirius, please sit down and eat, take tea. I gather you could use the sustenance."
"Thank you," Sirius said, loading his plate with several sandwiches and pouring himself a cup of tea, which he sweetened with an obscene amount of honey and sipped with pleasure. "Hermione has kept me relatively well fed, but I've not had a good cuppa for a long time."
"I've viewed Severus' memories of this night in the Pensieve, but I would like to hear of it in your words," Dumbledore told the mutt, "starting with how you escaped Azkaban and how you've been hiding."
Black, drinking cup after cup of sweetened tea, recounted his tale. Albus paused him occasionally to order some more tea and sandwiches, or to ask questions. Severus had nearly forgotten how angry he'd been when he'd heard that Hermione had been feeding the dog in secret: he snarled, and Albus quickly stopped him.
"Don't be angry at her, Severus," he said softly. "She's a kind girl with a soft heart for someone who is suffering. It was a humane thing to do, to feed a starved animal. She couldn't have known."
"Yet she kept a pet without permission, hidden. The rules allow one pet per student, and she's already been granted two. Do the rules not apply to her?"
"She's gone through a lot before she came here, and she'll go through much worse before all is said and done," Dumbledore said calmly. "If keeping a couple of pets gives her comfort, who are we to deny that? I'd be more concerned if she showed no compassion, even if it was just an animal... which it wasn't, in this case."
Black smirked, and Severus snarled again, before he turned his lips up to a responding smirk. "Yes, I can see how pathetic Black would look as a dog. Pitiful, really..."
Black threw the cup and saucer on the floor, and they broke with a crash: he nearly leapt at Severus, who'd already aimed his wand at the convict and smirked nastily. "Go ahead, Black," he chuckled, "try it. See how well you'll fare against me now, unarmed or not."
"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore bellowed, and the two rivals fell silent. "I need you two to stop fighting. We have an enemy and the enemy is not in this room."
Severus glared at Black but sat down: he set his wand on his knee and kept his hand on it, caressing the handle with his long fingers. Black took another sandwich and gobbled it up, while Albus Summoned the broken cup and saucer and repaired them with a quick Reparo, handing them back to Black*.
"Severus," Albus continued, "you need to stop baiting Sirius. He was innocent of the crime he was sent to Azkaban for. I know you two had your differences and disagreements years ago, but it's past the time you let go of silly rivalries..."
"You call attempted murder a silly rivalry?" Severus snarled.
"And Sirius," Dumbledore continued as if Severus hadn't said a word, "I know you don't like Severus, but you need to get along. He's a member of the Order..."
"The Order?" Black interrupted, his eyes blazing. "The Order still exists? And you've brought HIM in?!"
"I brought the Order back. We shall discuss it later, and yes, Severus is a member of the Order. A loyal one, Sirius, and he was one during the first war as well. Furthermore, I know you want to get along with your god-daughter, and you need to understand that Professor Snape is Hermione's favourite teacher."
Black had taken a sip of tea and ended up spluttering most of it over himself, back into his cup and over his lap. Severus didn't bother to help him clean the mess up, since no drops had reached him: he merely lifted an eyebrow arrogantly, keeping his surprise off his face: the thought of being anyone's favourite teacher was strange, especially if that anyone happened to be a Gryffindor. He'd favoured Slytherins all through his career and heard some of them call him their favourite teacher when he was in hearing range... and known that the only reason was that he'd let them get away with things others couldn't, and allowed the children of prominent pure-blood families better grades than they would have actually earned. The title of favourite teacher had been bought, in those cases, and only his because the cunning students knew he heard them: he'd be an ugly and greasy bat when they thought they were alone.
"Impossible," Black managed to gasp, and Severus snorted. Pity the pathetic excuse of a man hadn't choked on his tea.
"Yet true," Dumbledore said calmly. "She won't take it lightly if you try to bait him, Sirius, and I know you wish to get to know her..."
"I do," Black said, and Severus could clearly see the man was trying to be cunning, and failing spectacularly. "Lily and James named me her godfather, and told me they wanted me to take her in should anything happen to them. She can come live with me..."
"Where?" Severus sneered. "The Forbidden Forest? Perhaps you intend to set her up to live in a pit on the ground like an..."
"Severus!" Albus said, his voice filled with warning. "I already said that's enough! Sirius, you know you cannot do that. You are a fugitive, and the Aurors will be looking for you. I am Hermione's legal guardian..."
"James and Lily specifically wanted me to..."
"Yes, but they never predicted you becoming a fugitive. She's safe with me. She lives with the Order through the summer and resides here during the school year. She's well protected and cared-for."
"Where?" Black demanded.
"We have a safe-house in London. It's not huge, but Remus lived there before he was hired to teach here, and there are a few rooms for others, including Hermione's. Hestia and Molly are very attached to her, as is Minerva..."
"Perhaps you should demand the Oath from him before you trust any further Order business on him, Headmaster," Severus suggested.
"I hardly think..."
"You've had every other member swear the oath," Severus remarked, "including many of your blessed Gryffindors. Why should... Black... be any different?"
"He hasn't a wand," Albus said.
"Then you cannot reveal anything until he does and is willing to swear."
"Very well, I concede to your point," Albus said, but his tone belayed his disappointment on Severus. Black was starting to look murderous.
"Look, the house you have... Pettigrew was an Animagus, a rat. Did he have access to it?"
"I don't think so..."
"He lived with the Weasley's. If she ever told of the house in front of Ronald Weasley, the house may be compromised. If Ronald ever visited her with the rat, it certainly is. I know Fabian and Gideon Prewett died in the first war, but if the others had any access to the place, Peter may have well hitched a ride... he did that, you know. He hid in people's bags a few times and gained access to professor's quarters, to the Slytherin common room... everywhere. He once visited your personal quarters as a rat, Headmaster. If he's used the opportunity and you take her to a place Peter knows, she'll be in danger!"
Albus and Severus looked at each other, and Severus could see the same alarm in Albus' eyes that he himself felt. Molly and Arthur frequently visited to safe house, and the traitor might have seen everything. If he'd ever heard a meeting where they'd spoken about the Horcruxes, the Dark Lord would learn they were after them and hide them further.
"I'm right, aren't I?" Black demanded. "I can see it from your expression, Headmaster."
"There are... risks..." Albus conceded, "But we shall discuss them later. I want you to tell me the rest now."
"I will, but hear me out. My first idea was to flee the country until the Ministry stops the man-hunt, perhaps to the continent or somewhere in the tropics, but if the order is back but their location compromised, I have a suggestion. A new location, as a matter of fact. I have a house at Grimmauld Place, in Islington. Only twenty minutes or so from King's Cross on foot. It's been abandoned and empty since my incarceration. It's ideal for Headquarters. It's big enough with bedrooms for many, large rooms for meetings, the family library... My father put every security measure known to wizardkind on it when he lived here. It's unplottable, too, and you can place it under Fidelius. I'll offer it for the Order to use, free."
Severus wasn't too keen on the offer. An abandoned house like that would be infested with various unpleasant creatures such as Doxies and Boggarts and filled with cursed and harmful objects. Not to mention that the house belonged to Sirius fucking Black
"I believe the idea has merit," Albus said slowly. "We'll discuss this further. I'll help you out of Hogwarts and get you a wand, but first I'd ask you to go through the events. We have to move soon, and dawn is approaching fast."
As Severus battled his exhaustion while listening to Black's recount of the events in the Shrieking Shack, he felt uncomfortable and unsettled: there would be trouble if the Order were to relocate into Black's house, especially between him and Black, since Black felt very possessive and jealous of Miss Potter. If Pettigrew had ever heard of the Horcruxes, their hopes of destroying the Dark Lord would be narrowed down considerably. Not to mention that the return of the Dark Lord seemed more imminent, Severus' cover might be questioned, and Trelawney's second prophecy seemed to indicate that the Dark Lord would be even more horrifying and monstrous than during the first war, although considering the fact that he'd already split his soul several times and would be using a Horcrux to return, it was only to be expected.
He felt sick in his stomach just thinking about the future.
Albus Dumbledore, 7th June 1994
After the door had closed behind Remus, Albus let out a tired sigh and rubbed his forehead tiredly, removing his spectacles and leaned back in his chair. He was exhausted: this was no life for an old wizard.
He'd had to sack Remus, and it hadn't been easy: Remus was a good man and a good teacher, and Albus could have held back Severus' desire to spread the knowledge of his affliction among the students, but Remus had simply neglected the very expensive and hard-to-brew potion, endangering the lives of Hermione, Severus and the youngest Mr Weasley. He'd continue to pay him for his services for the Order, and Severus would continue to brew the Wolfsbane — though it had taken a long argument to make him agree to it — but Remus had been very disappointed and eager to blame Severus for getting the sack. Albus, himself, felt immensely disappointed when he'd learned that Remus had kept knowledge from him: he'd had three illegal Animagi at Hogwarts. If only he'd known...
In the end, he'd agreed that Severus wouldn't spread the word, and Albus would let Remus go back to the Order and hire someone else for the position. Moody was due to return, and perhaps he could be convinced for a year.
He'd inspected the Shrieking Shack after dawn: there had been small splatters of blood from Pettigrew, so Severus had indeed wounded him, but no sign of the rat anywhere, in human or Animagus form, and Albus guessed he'd be long gone by now. Remus had been extremely embarrassed, humiliated and regretful when Albus had come to fetch him and fix the protections on the Shack.
Severus and Sirius would probably pose a problem of their own. Severus more than Sirius, because Albus had seen the things Pettigrew had said about Lily Evans, and he knew Severus' allegiance to her would waver, possibly crumble, and there was no telling how long it'd last. It'd been a surprise it had lasted as long as it had, and he was quite certain only guilt — which Albus had conveniently polished frequently, keeping it fresh in his mind — had kept it going.
But faced with too many unfortunate facts about Lily... Albus had considered Memory Charms, or perhaps a potion, but Severus was a Potions master and would detect any potion, and Albus wasn't absolutely certain that he'd be able to force his Occluded mind with a Memory Charm either, not even with the Elder Wand: Severus was dangerously powerful.
Perhaps Hermione herself could be used to secure his loyalty. She had already demonstrated a far nobler, kinder and gentler heart than Lily Evans had ever had, and Albus could see that Severus had already grown attached to the sweet girl. Perhaps she could be used to secure Severus' loyalty, when Lily's memory would fade and loose the battle of real Lily versus the sainted memory that had been so carefully forged and manufactured: when Severus would remember the person the real Lily had been.
Author note: Albus is manipulative, I'm not taking that away from the canon, but he is human and he does love Hermione like a granddaughter, though he'll quite soon wish he didn't. I'm trying not to change the canon-characters too much, but showing another side of them: the points-of-view that might have been hidden or covered from Harry Potter in canon. Because heck, would Lupin and Black really say to an orphaned boy that yeah, your mother was a vapid and shallow bitch? I don't buy into the whole "Lily was a living saint"-thing, sorry.