Chapter 20: A Light in the Maze

Room 494 of Saint Mungo's long-term patients' ward was a quiet one; the man in its only bed was trapped inside his head. Severus Snape was making a monumental effort to stay calm. The more scared he got, the worse he felt. He needed to find a source of light. Dumbledore had made it rain in his mind and turned off all the candles. He had been walking around his library, trying to find his wand, matches, anything to turn on a light.

Severus was missing something. Dumbledore's shadow had been making the section on Lily disappear. The shadow took books with her memories and turn them into ash. He wished with his entre soul that Lily was there. She was always a beacon of light. Out of nowhere, Severus felt a surge of pure energy bask him. He felt Dumbledore's shadow had left his mind. It was as if that wave pushed the fog out of his library. A strange thought came to him. What if he fashioned a Lily from his memories? What if he created her in his mangled mind like children fashion imaginary friends?

He began thinking of her really hard. He was about to give up when he felt the life being squeezed out of him, and he smelled her perfume. But this Lily was young. She was much shorter than he was. He realized as that thought entered his mind, his body went shorter, and looking down, he knew he was about her same age.

"Sevy!" Lily said. "I thought he had finally made you forget about me!"

"L-Lily," Severus whispered. His heart constricted painfully, "Please forgive me! I failed you! I hurt you… I should have died, not you… Never you!"

"Severus Snape! You stop that right now! I forgave you ages ago. I knew you weren't yourself. Stop procrastinating. We have to get you out…" Lily stood in front of her with a frown and her hands on her hips.

"I have tried everything, Lily," he said, lowering his head in shame.

"We do not give up. We are fighters, Sevy. Have you tried reversing the legilimency?"

"I'm too weak for that… I already tried, and it didn't work."

"How about runes?" she asked, biting her lower lip pensively.

"Lils, be reasonable. Dumbledore taught me all I know about runes."

"Right, hmm… I know! Sevy! Of course! We need to try potions! And anything muggle!"

Severus' eyes went wide. Lily was right! Potions! That old goat had been potioning him for years! No wonder he couldn't take back control of his mind! He was detoxing!

"What?!" an anxious Lily shook his shoulders.

"I'm going through rehab!"

"Rehab? What do you-? Merlin's beard! He potioned you! That… b-horrible monster!" Lily said with difficulty.

"You don't curse?"

"You created me as a child, don't be surprised," she giggled. "You know, you are a potion master. He isn't. There have to be things you know about detoxing that he doesn't."

"I'm also a half-blood… There has to be some muggle magic I can tap into."

"Hmm… What about psychiatry?"

"Hyp-… Perhaps. I have read about mental illness from the muggle side. You know, for a really long time, I wanted to believe my father was insane, and that he couldn't control himself."

"But he wasn't…"

"No, he was just an evil, cruel man who never loved my mother or me."

Lily hugged Severus and sighed. "But you have your mom, Sevy. She adores you. Remember that she needs you out of your mind so you can help her get out of hers."

"Let's get to work. I bet Dumbledore thought all muggle memories were unimportant; let's start there."

"Yes, sir," Lily said, giving him a mock salute and chuckling at his eye roll.

They had a lot of work to do. Luckily mind time moves differently. They would be working on that for weeks at best.

Outside the realms of Severus' mind, a mediwizard was startled when the patient groaned. He ran diagnostics and saw that the man's body was starting to wake. He seemed to be in excruciating pain. Snape was sweating, and his complaining was growing in decibels. The mediwizard tried to make Severus drink a pain potion, but his lips seemed to be glued together. Looking at the patient's arms, they were getting blisters at a rapid pace. They needed help. The mediwizard could have sworn the man groaned the word Harry.

"Sevy, I'm sorry. I know it hurts. You have to be strong for me, for your mum, for Harry. He needs his Uncle Sev."

"It burns. My skin is boiling!" Snape gritted his teeth and looked down. The skin of his arms was covered in angry blisters. He could feel that his entire body was covered in them. They had been working for days (mind days, as time went much slower in his mind), and they were able to come up with a fast purge for his body, but it was extreme, excruciating, and disgusting.

"I know! I am working as fast as I can," Lily said while moving around applying an ointment they made and cutting off Snape's shirt. The pomade mixed the cure for boils, a mild version of topical muggle pain reliever that they had been able to make in the lab attached to the library of Severus' mind.

"Lils, something is wrong… I feel like I'm going to burst."

"What?"

Lily could say no more because the Snape who was lying down on a library table had his navel burst to expel a disgusting green sludge all over the place.

"Oh no! Did we kill him!?" Lily began checking for a pulse. She was getting desperate. There was a weak pulse.

"L-Lily… we did it. I can feel my body pulling my consciousness back."

"YES! Thank Merlin!" Lily said, smiling in joy and holding her friend. She didn't care she was covered in sludge, and neither did he. After a minute, he vanished. She smiled, cleaned herself, and disappeared.

"He can't be coming back from unconsciousness. Nothing we did worked"

"Just look at him!"

As the Head mediwizard leaned over Severus' face, the man woke up by repeating the throwing up in his mind. His lips were torn apart with the effort his body did to get all the poison out. The vomit-covered the mediwizard, the length of Snape's body, and some even fell to the floor.

"Argh! Bloody hell!" the mediwizard yelled, promptly emptying his own stomach in a trash can

"Eeeeew!"

"You are so unprofessional! Go get help!" a Head medi-wizard yelled while scourgifying himself and holding the patient who had a coughing fit, which made his torn lips bleed even more.

"Mr. Snape, try to calm down."

"W-Water," the man's raspy voice begged.

The mediwizard served him a cup of water once he had attempted to heal the man's lips to no avail.

"Mr. Snape, how are you feeling?"

"I'll be okay. I just need to get out of here." Snape swung his stiff, numb legs off the bed. He was about to try to stand up.

"Sir, calm down. We need to evaluate your condition and ask you some questions."

"No, I will answer your questions later. I want you to analyze the vomit. You will find significant amounts of different potions. They were given to me illegally by Albus Dumbledore. His purpose was to manipulate me like a puppet to his benefit. I need Madam Bones, my clothes, and a flushing potion," Snape said all this in a determinate tone.

"Mr. Snape, with all due respect, this is a hospital. We have protocols. You do not walk out when you choose to do so. You have to be released after a thorough evaluation of your physical and mental health. You are in the psych-ward. Lastly, you don't get to choose your own treatment," the mediwizard explained, pushing Snape back into the bed slowly.

"Then bloody collect the samples you need and call the DMLE! I guarantee that Madam Bones will want to deal with this in person. I am a potions Master. I know exactly what the analysis will say. Do your job quickly!" Snape complained.

The mediwizard sighed, "Stein, collect the samples while I run the analysis. I will alert the DMLE."

A couple of hours later, Snape had been flushed of any potion remnants. He was right. His detox had been horrible. Throwing up, diarrhea, hives, hair loss, and terrible pain. But he was free now. For the first time in ages, he could think clearly. Severus' memories were crystal clear. His anger was all-consuming. He wanted payback. The first thing he did after he gave his testimony by swearing an oath on his life and magic, was to bring a very confused librarian to St. Mungo's. It had taken the rest of the day, but she was clean of potions and out for the Deceivers' blood. The mind healers were going to help her fill the holes in her memories by carefully undoing all the spells that had been used on her.

Snape needed to do several things. One, talk to the Marauders and apologize. Two, talk to Harry, apologize, and offer to be in his life if the child so wanted it. He would not force any relationship. Three, call a meeting at Hogwarts to explain and apologize. Four, he needed to go to Gringotts to apologize once again and to request an audit. Lastly, he wanted to be in Lily's lab and review her journals. He was sure there would be a lot of information on Dumbledore. Merlin, he would love to see that man turned to ash and flushed down a muggle toilet. He called the Knight Bus and went to Hogwarts. He would write to the Marauders to request a meeting.

In his small apartment adjoining the church, Father Martin woke up after four hours of uneasy sleep. The phone was ringing. He picked it up with apprehension.

"Father Martin?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Dan. We need to talk. Please come see us."

"I'll be there in a bit."

Martin was careful not to say when or where exactly. Ever since the call with his mentor, he was feeling watched and heard. He bathed faster than ever before, grabbed his wallet, and quite literally ran to the Grangers. He knocked. Sirius opened the door.

"Martin! Come in, come in."

"Thank you."

Martin was shown into the kitchen. Remus, Dan, and Emma were there with steamy cups in their hands. Soon enough, he had his own cup. They began answering his questions and filling him in. Once they stopped, Martin looked sick. He had started to look greenish at some point between the things the Dursleys did to Harry and how it was all orchestrated by the equivalent of a political Santa for wizards and witches.

"Father Martin? Are you alright? Do you need something stronger?" Daniel asked. Martin nodded. Daniel poured him a double scotch. The priest grabbed the glass with a shaky hand and downed it all in one gulp.

"Whoa! Father, slow down. Take a deep breath," Emma instructed, rubbing circular motions on the man's back.

Remus sighed. "Look, we know this is a lot. We know your brain must be about to blow up. If you would rather forget it all and go back to blissful ignorance, we can arrange that."

"What?! How?!" Martin looked around in fear.

"Remy! Don't scare him."

"I'm being honest. If he wants to forget, I can swish and flick," Remus said, showing Martin his wand.

"What my boyfriend means," Sirius explained, taking Remus' wand and putting it back in the man's pocket. "Is that we have a spell to erase memories."

"It's no use."

"Why?" Emma asked with a frown. She had never seen the man so… defeated.

Martin sighed and slowly said: "I wasn't thinking straight a couple of nights ago-"

"That makes three of us," said Sirius with a wink and a chuckle. Dan and Emma groaned while the priest looked even more puzzled.

"Sirius! For crying out loud! Worst possible timing!" Remus slapped the back of Sirius' head. "Like Emma has told you many times before: .ROOM!"

"Sorry... You were saying?"

"I wasn't thinking properly. I called one of my mentors… Long story short, he threatened me," Martin said with slumped shoulders.

"Threatened you with what?"

"I told him I knew the truth and that I would take it to the press."

"Oh no," Emma sighed.

"What? Does the mentor own the press?"

"No, but the church hates bad publicity… If what they have helped cover up comes to light, it would be their end," Daniel said, crossing his arms.

"You don't understand. I saw the man as an uncle. When I said that, he said that he wouldn't be able to protect me from the consequences."

"It was an open threat, then?"

"I complained about being kept ignorant and naïve… You know what he said?"

All others shook their heads.

"Naïve is much better than dead, Shaw."

All adults responded with similarly colorful expletives in unison: "Fuck!" "Bloody hell!" "Oh my God!" "Merlin's dirty underpants!"

"I don't think they are playing. I really want to blow this cover-up, but I don't want to die trying..." Shaw sighed.

"Are you willing to keep an open mind?" Remus asked.

"About what?"

"All things you don't know about yet," Moony replied.

"Yes. I spent the last two days thinking about everything I don't know. I want to learn with an open mind," Martin said after a while.

"Good. Neesy," Remus said softly. The elf popped and bowed. "We'll be needing some calming draught."

Neesy nodded and vanished.

Martin jumped at the second pop, "Does one ever get used to that?"

"Nope," said Emma with a smile. "But Neesy is a wonderful friend, and she wouldn't harm you."

"Rosarys man, your calming draught. It also be having a sobering up potion," Neesy said, offering Martin a vial. At Daniel's amused lifted brow, Neesy continued, "Neesy is sorry, but it is being much too early for the... hiccups."

Emma covered her laugh by pressing a tea towel against her face.

Martin colored: "Thank you, Neesy. You are right. I apologize, this hasn't been a good day."

Neesy bowed and pulled on Sirius's pant leg. He crouched, and Neesy whispered: "Rosarys man be apologizing to Neesy. Neesy likes Rosary's man."

Sirius smiled indulgently. "He is a good man. His name is Martin Shaw."

Neesy nodded and walked away.

Martin took the vial in one gulp. "I have no idea what to do. I don't want to abandon my parishioners. But if I stay, the church knows exactly where to find me."

"Ask for a leave! A medical leave. One of us could certify you need time off," Dan suggested.

"That may work. But it has to be right away. My mentor said he was meeting with the Camerlengo, and it was up to him when he would return to England, but as you know, any other authority could come…"

"The Camer what now?" asked Remus with a frown.

"The Camerlengo… It's a priest who is the treasurer of the Sacred College of Cardinals," Martin replied in monotone.

"Priests have a sacred college?" Sirius asked amusedly.

"Priests have a treasurer? Whatever for?" Remus asked right after his boyfriend.

"No, Sirius. It's a body of Cardinals that is called a college. It advises the Pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary council; it also works on protocols during things like the canonization process."

"Remus, the catholic church handles large amounts of money. Let's just leave it at that," Emma explained with a face that said she would fill him in later.

Sirius' face looked more puzzled: "What is a cano-canonization?"

"I'll explain that to you later. Father, is the Camerlengo still Cardinal Paupini?" Daniel asked.

"No, the current Camerlengo is Cardinal Willebrands."

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Remus asked, crossing his arms.

"No idea. Never met him."

"Alright. We need to get things going. I have to start my shift at 1 pm today. Come with me so I can get you that long leave."

"Say we do that… Then what? My only family is within the church. My aunt is a nun. Where am I supposed to hide? And how?"

"I can offer you sanctuary somewhere remote within magical territories," Remus offered with a small smile. "They will not find you there."

"Really? But you barely know me…" the priest was stunned.

"Yeah, but any friend of the Grangers' is my friend. As long as you don't mind staying at Sirius' place during the full moon," Remus added. His entire demeanor went somber.

"The full moon? Wait! So it is true! Do you turn into a wolf!? I had my suspicions with your last name being Lupin and all…" Martin blushed. Remus grimaced.

"Very clever assumption, but I am not an animagus like Sirius. I am a werewolf," Remus replied, looking down in shame. Sirius put a comforting hand behind the man's neck.

"W-What?!"

Remus nodded.

"You mean werewolves are real!?"

"Yes, just like goblins, elves, pixies, dragons, mermaids, and unicorns," Sirius replied calmly.

Martin shook his head as if to clear it. "W-Were you… um… born like that?"

"No, I was bitten and turned when I was a teenager. Sirius and my closest friends became animagus so they could be with me and try to keep my humanity active so the wolf wouldn't overpower my conscience. I was apprehensive of keeping you around. At some point, priests almost ended all werewolves in England with their silver bullets."

"I apologize for other priests who harmed you and yours."

"It's alright; it wasn't you."

"Rosarys people be always apologizing for what other rosary people is been doing," they heard Neesy say from the kitchen.

Martin shrugged. "There is a lot to apologize for when you work for one of the biggest and oldest institutions in the world."

"Well, let's get going to the hospital, so there is evidence that you were there. I want us back as soon as possible. We'll stop by the parish so you can get your clothes and your passport," Daniel said, standing up.

"Passport?"

"Well, it's better to be safe than sorry."

Martin sighed.

"Martin, I know you want to blow this cover-up. When you come back, we'll talk about why that could be very dangerous not only for you but for all of us. In the meantime, you know nothing, alright?"

"Are you threatening me too?" Martin asked, going pale.

"Never. We consider you a friend. Me, especially. After all, you were very kind to me when you thought I was a stray. You are a good man, Martin. The Grangers trust you, and so do I..." Sirius clapped the priest on his back.

"Thank you. You are a good dog," Martin said, smiling for the first time that day.

Sirius laughed. The doctor and priest left. Then, Remus and Sirius realized they had business to attend to in Gringotts. They told Emma not to expect them for lunch and left. Emma called Neesy and told her that she was going for a run around the neighborhood. While the elf looked absolutely confused as to why such a thing could be necessary or even a good idea, she nodded and asked if she could bake a cake. Neesy wanted to give a treat to the kids. Emma only baked on special occasions but saw no harm on allowing it, so she agreed.

"Harry?" Ms. Applegate said.

"Yes, t-teacher?" Harry replied, timidly.

"Are you okay?" the teacher asked with a frown.

"Hermione…"

"She's in the loo, Harry."

"I know. I-I just miss her," Harry pouted. The art teacher smiled indulgently. What a sweet child! She thought. Ever since their bonding, the kids needed to be close at all times. At their school, they would have to be considerably far for using the loo, and each child felt bereft and weak for that brief time.

Hermione came in and visibly brightened once she was next to Harry. The kids had gotten pretty good at working as ambidextrous. Since they were always holding hands, they would try to change the hands they were holding under the table so people would stare and ask less.

"Harry, I want your guardians to teach us magic," the girl whispered.

"I would like that. Maybe we can ask aunt Minnie. She is a p-professor," Harry whispered back with a smile while rearranging his legos.

"Do you think Father Martin is angry at us?"

"I don't know. Probably," Harry said after a few seconds of consideration.

"We need to say sorry. He helped you," Hermione said, getting up to get some paint and noodles to work on her art project.

"Maybe we can go see him with Padfoot later." Harry squeezed Hermione's free hand, and she smiled.

Neesy hummed to herself as she decorated the cakes. Missy Emma was letting her bake now. Her first elf finding adventure had been very informative. She had a lot to work on. Many elves' location was a mystery. However, she was able to find out a couple of them: Blinky and Trippy. They were shocked and joyous to know master Harry was alive, and the prospect of binding themselves to their masters' heir was a wonderful one. Blinky and Trippy were mates when the Potters had been murdered, but they had no little elves because they were scared that without their bond, their babies would be born weak and die. The pair had survived on ancestral food and keeping busy at the lower levels of Gringotts. Goblins were not very good at cleaning, but they were kind and fair. Blinky and Trippy were allowed to live in the forest near Potter manor by the property's ancient magic.

Neesy felt like berating herself when she realized they were so close and weren't working together. She could have brought them home. As Head House Elf, she had failed in her duty to her masters and their manor. She could have kept the manor looking brighter with their help. They had decided that starting in a week, they would stop working at Gringotts and meet master Harry. Neesy needed to find a way to tell masters Moony and Padfoot that Blinky and Trippy were coming back. They would need the Gringotts' funds for the new greenhouses to feed the family and the elves. That would cost quite a bit. It didn't matter. It was essential for the elf army she wanted to create. It's what mistress Lily wanted.

There was a knock at the main door, and Neesy vanished into her room. Emma went to the door to open it for her kids. She hoped today had been a good day. Since the pair had bonded, they were closer than ever.

"Mommy!" Hermione squealed, jumping into Emma's arms.

"Hello, monkey!" Emma squeezed the girl, who quickly took off her shoes, put on her slippers, and ran into the kitchen to greet Neesy.

"Hello, Emma," Harry said, looking shy. Ever since the bonding, Harry seemed like he was apologizing for something.

"Hello, sweetheart," Emma said with a smile, giving Harry the same squeezing treatment. "What is it, Harry?"

"I-I just want to say I'm s-sorry for what I did to H-Hermione. I didn't mean to."

"Honey, we know that. Daniel has been worried. So have I, but we were never mad at either or you. We are upset about what happened," Emma crouched and smiled, holding Harry's hands in hers.

"Emma…"

"Yes?"

"I'm h-hungry," the boy whispered with a blush. Emma's smile grew. Months ago, this boy wouldn't even look at them directly. Now he was even asking for what he wanted. Slowly but surely, he was growing confident that he was with them to stay, that he was loved, and that he wasn't a burden.

"That's great. We have a wonderful lunch ready. And Neesy baked a cake, but you can't have cake unless you eat all your veggies, okay?"

Harry nodded, took off his shoes, and put on his slippers. "What's for lunch?"

"Ratatouille with baked salmon."

Harry's stomach grumbled loudly, and he jumped, "That's my favorite!"

"I know, sweetheart."

Harry dashed to the kitchen to greet Neesy and have a hearty meal. The boy had become quite enthusiastic about food. He loved vegetables because he was used to bland colors. When the Dursley fed him, they would usually have him eat porridge or plain stale bread. Now that he could eat what he wanted, Emma noticed he would make his plate as colorful as he could. This was one of the reasons he loved ratatouille so much. Mrs. Granger went into the kitchen to find the children staring in awe at the finished cake. Neesy was something else. The cake was a chocoholics dream. It had five thin tiers, with a layer of chocolate buttercream with raspberries between each tier. It was topped by chocolate ganache, which was dripping down the side of the cake and by raspberries and chocolate-covered strawberries.

Emma sighed. That was a lot of sugar.

"Missy Emma," Neesy said with concerned eyes. "Is you angry at Neesy?"

"No, Neesy… It's just that we don't really have so much sugar at once here…" Emma said as tactfully as she could.

"Neesy knows. Neesy is getting special chocolate from special no sugars chocolaty in Diagon Alley. Neesy be getting sugar subtitles because Master Doggie says to Neesy not to use sugar at the Grangeys"

"You mean chocolatier and substitutes."

"Yes, those is being difficult words," Neesy said, making the cake fly and land on the center of the table.

Emma couldn't wait to try the cake. Neesy cut her one generous slice and looked at her expectantly while handing her a spoon. Emma took a spoonful. Bliss. The cake was perfection. How was it sugar-free? She couldn't help the satisfied smile that broke out.

Once the kids were done eating, Harry took his and Hermione's plate and put it in the sink. Hermione took the bigger slice to give it to Harry, and he pushed the plate back so she could have it instead. While this was happening, Emma was pretending not to look at them while she explained to Neesy how the beater and blender worked. Neesy had made everything with a whisk! Harry was such a wonderful kid. As off-putting as the notion of child marriage was, if her daughter was to be bound for life to someone, they couldn't have asked for someone better.

After a quick visit to the church and a couple of phone calls, Father Martin was packed and ready to go. The kids apologized to the cleric who just hugged them and said he would see them later. Remus took him to his cottage via side apparition. Sirius decided to stay back and keep eyes on the church. The Grangers were nervous about someone making the connection and having people come to their home with bad intentions. Having Sirius around, helped them feel safe.

At this point, Harry was already reading, albeit slowly. His handwriting was getting better. However, he could only write his own name and a few other words. Hermione was always helping him practice. Harry was in love with learning. His brain was kept in something akin to suspended animation at the Dursleys. He wasn't allowed to learn anything that wasn't related to cleaning or cooking. Those things he knew a lot about. He was always paying attention to Neesy and her techniques. There was a lot to learn still. Neesy was happy to indulge the boy's curiosity.

Neesy had been very busy every other night. She would do the dishes when allowed, and then she would retire early. Once in her room, she would pop over to Gringotts, to the apothecary, to Remus' home, to Lady Longybottom's greenhouses. In very little time, with the help of Blinky and Trippy, the Potter Elven Greenhouse was starting to take form. It was actually three separate structures. Augusta was a retired Master in Herbology. She helped the little elves giving them lists of seeds they would need for human potions and ointments. One greenhouse was devoted just to elven plants, both foods and remedies. The next one was devoted to growing ingredients for human remedies. The third one was devoted to growing human food.

Blinky had been reading on human nutrition at Potter manor. She complemented those readings with the nutritional food recipe books the Grangers had. She had always loved cooking and was ecstatic that master Harry loved it as well. Neesy had been talking to Sirius about the Grangers. How they were non-magical children healers who really liked healthy food like colorful fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, except for the occasional bacon or cheese covered treat. She had taken special care not to buy any sugar. It was more expensive, but master Doggie said that money was no issue.

Harry and Hermione's bond was still settling. They realized new things every day. It was really special. Being able to feel what the other person felt was an exercise in empathy. The Grangers were uncertain as to whether they could stay safely in their home. Their answer came a few days later. Sirius was in his dog form on the front yard. The kids had gone inside to get a snack. Sirius was enjoying the sun until he heard a twig being stepped on. He sniffed. It smelled like another canine. That wasn't right. Remy wasn't coming until a while later. He looked at the source of the noise. Greyback. Had he escaped from Azkaban? The werewolf hadn't seen him. Sirius ran fast, got in through the doggie door, transformed, and silencioed the house. He drew the curtains close with wandless magic. The kids looked at him questioningly. Emma went pale at his expression. Dan was in the backyard, working out.

"Cubs, Emma, I want you to get into Neesy's room now. We're in danger. No questions. No noises. Run."

The kids looked scared but complied. Emma looked uncertain but rushed with the kids. She wanted to protect them, but her husband was exposed. Before she made up her mind, Sirius locked them in and applied as many protections as he could. "Neesy! Get Emma's gun safe and go to your room. If you don't sense me anymore, apparate everyone to Potter manor and contact Madam Bones and Remus. I'll try to get Dan to come to the garage so you can take him too."

The elf was about to suggest helping, but Sirius quickly added: "It's an order." Neesy vanished.

Sirius transformed again and went rushing through the doggie door to Daniel. The animagus jumped, bit the man's sweaty t-shirt, and pulled him to the floor behind some tall bushes. As soon as they hit the ground, the front door exploded.

"Sirius, the kids! Emma!"

"Dan, listen to me. They are safe. Neesy is with them. The attacker is a werewolf. Whatever you do, try to avoid getting bitten. Try to get to the garage. I'll hold them as long as I can."

They could hear the werewolf breaking everything he could.

"I'm not leaving you," Dan insisted.

"Daniel, you are no help to me right now. Unless you have a knife or a gun on you."

"I don't, but you have a wand! Make me knives!" Dan whisper shouted.

Sirius could have smacked himself. He took some stones and transfigured them. Before they could jump out and attack, they heard a cold voice say: "Look what the cat dragged in."

Sirius craned his neck. Was that…?! It couldn't be! Snape?!

"What the bloody hell are you doing here, Fenrir?"

"Hunting. Where the fuck have you been? He is not happy."

"I was in a mission. I was told to come here to get you. This little feeding trip was not authorized."

The werewolf sized the man up. He smelled of sickness and lies.

"You were in no mission. You look like shit, and you reek of St. Mungos," Greyback bared his teeth and was about to lunge towards Severus when he was hit from behind by a spell that bounded his hands and legs with silver cuffs and gagged him. Fenrir howled in pain. Severus moved out of the way as the werewolf.

"Which was Lily's favorite flower?" Lupin said, pointing his wand at Snape.

"Jade vine for its rarity… Orchids for their simple elegance," Snape answered without missing a beat while lowering his wand.

"I thought you were too gone to come back, Snape," Remus lowered his wand.

"I thought so too. The Dark Mark is burning. We have to leave at once!" Snape looked at the writhing werewolf now bleeding and burnt were the cuffs were touching him. Greyback stilled and smirked evilly. Severus was very familiar with that smirk. It meant help was coming. A quick wand motion left the wolf unconscious.

"Sirius, where are the kids?" Remus said when then the man came out from the bushes pointing his wand at Snape.

"Safe. We gotta go. I just summoned the Aurors," Sirius replied. "Snape, I thought you were dead."

"So did I. I need to speak to you." Severus noticed Black's hesitation. He pointed the wand at himself and said: "I swear on my life and magic that I have no ill intentions towards Black, Lupin, Potter, or the Grangers."

Mr. Granger just shrugged and ran to the garage.

Sirius lifted his brows in surprise at the oath. "Ooookay, come with us."

"Neesy!" Remus whispered, seeing her empty room. There was a bit of blood on the floor. He could smell the kids, Emma, and Neesy. Their scent had a lingering fearful note. There had been another elf in that garage. His alpha wanted to tear Greyback to pieces for threatening his pack, but he needed to make sure everyone was safe.

"Remus. She took them somewhere safe," Sirius said quickly.

"Sirius there's blood-"

Another explosion shook the house and made their ears rang. The men staggered. They saw the glow of Aurors apparating and heard spells being yelled.

"Neesy!"

The scared elf popped inside her room. She had a cut on her face "Masters! You is okay!"

"Neesy, take us to them!"

"Him too?" Neesy looked at Snape with uncertainty.

"Yes, I'll explain later."

The elf looked very annoyed at having to touch the man who found her repulsive but complied. Remus swiftly cleaned the blood off the floor. It wouldn't do for those who wished them ill to do blood magic on them. She grabbed Snape's hand and offered her arm for the other men to take. In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading. Welcome to all new readers and welcome back to those that have stuck with me. I hope each of you had a wonderful Holiday season. My best wishes for 2020! :) I took a break from writing to go on vacation. I hope to post more regularly now that I'm back. I went to Universal and Islands of Adventure in Florida and visiting the Harry Potter World was amazing. I'm still a bit in awe. I got so many ideas from the trip that my plot bunnies are running a bit wild. -Lux