The bottle clinked, elf made wine slopping messily into the crystal glass - not that Sirius cared for much refinement in front of this particular guest. Returning the cork to the bottle he set the wine on the end of the table. Snape never ate and rarely drank in Grimmauld Place, both of them agreeing he was not here as a social guest. The only time Sirius had ever seen him touch something to drink it was elf made wine, and he did so only to be polite to Dumbledore who had offered it to him.

Today Snape glanced at the wine with an air of suspicion that grew when he saw Sirius was not drinking from the same bottle. Neither of them said a single word. There were no salutations, no cheers…that was asking too much for old enemies.

For himself Sirius poured a glass of whiskey, daring Snape to comment. Only a few days ago he had promised Molly and Dumbledore that he would cut down on his drinking, and he had - mostly. Harry hadn't seen him take a drink of anything stronger than a butter beer, and he was always sober enough to properly react if something terrible happened…that would have to be good enough. He was busy fixing Harry right now, fixing himself would have to wait.

He was a little disappointed when Snape didn't comment - he enjoyed their verbal spars, getting a most satisfying kick out of antagonising him. But instead there was absolute silence. The two enemies stood on opposite sides of the kitchen table, neither of them sitting down, each with their backs to the wall as if they expected their enemy might try to sneak up on them - which he supposed in this situation was quite possible.

Matching Snape's tone he stood very still, staring him down and itching for a row. It wouldn't take much to set them off…the torture and torment he inflicted on Harry, the terrible things he did as a Death Eater, the years he spent grooming Regulus to join the Death Eaters. Over two decades had passed since Regulus was sorted and still he remembered all too clearly the sight of him sitting down next to Snape. The shit eating grin he gave him from across the Great Hall that was the first true declaration of war between them.

Ten minutes passed, both of them silent and still except to breathe. Though he would have liked to leave Snape down here alone he stayed. Snape had arrived a good deal earlier than planned, and when it came to him nothing was by mistake.

So what did he want? Sirius waited impatiently, his mind going back and forth as he debated whether or not to make the first move…and then finally he could take it no more.

'Has Umbridge been dealt with?'

What might have been almost a smile flickered in the corner of Snape's mouth, but only very briefly. He glanced at Sirius from the corner of his eye, and for a split second the two enemies shared a common adversary.

'As much as one can deal with Dolores Umbridge. Yes.'

'So she's not still mutilating her students?'

A sore spot had been broached now, touching on the notion that every single one of Harry's teachers bore some responsibility for allowing that vicious cruelty to happen right under their noses…but especially Snape. The Order had tasked him with more than being Harry's potions and Occlumency teacher, but with the responsibility of keeping an eye on him throughout the year. He had failed on numerous accounts.

'I must give the boy credit,' Snape said tightly. 'He kept that from me. Whether intentional or that I did not look for it, I do not know…but he kept it from me.'

Sirius sneered, unable to help himself. 'About time you gave him credit owed.'

'Has his disposition improved?' Snape asked cooly.

Now hr began to grit his teeth, certain that this was it, the start. But just as he was about to retort with something scathing he stopped himself. He knew better. Snape wouldn't openly ask if Harry was alright. He had to maintain a facade of distance and indifference, both for his own ego and for Voldemort.

'He's holding it together,' Sirius answered, his voice as plain as he could manage. 'But he's not ready to go back.'

Silence lingered between them, an entire gulf of words unsaid - and this was their opportunity. If there was anything to be said before Dumbledore arrived it had to be now.

'Albus and I have discussed this very matter extensively.'

'I'm sure you have. He's not going back.'

Snape grew annoyed. 'Occlumency lessons will be different going forward.'

'I'm sure they will be. He's not going back.'

Finally Snape turned to face him properly, lifting his chin to sneer at him. 'It will come as a great surprise to you, Black, that I agree. It is too soon for Potter to return.'

Sirius raised his eyebrows, wondering if perhaps the whiskey had gone to his head already. Finally he sat down at the table, trying not to huff. 'Well shit. Did my head just rotate on my neck? Because one of us is possessed.'

Snape didn't even bother to roll his eyes. 'There is no need for theatrics.'

'I'm just surprised.'

'That I care for Potter's welfare?'

'Yes.'

'I am not entirely heartless.'

'Now I am surprised.'

That was it. That was the extent of their verbal sparring. While Snape resumed his former occupation of staring at nothing Sirius snatched his whiskey back up and downed it, ignoring the need to pour another. He wasn't expecting to have an ally in this conversation, especially where it concerned Harry not returning to Hogwarts. Yet he shouldn't really be surprised.

In the midst of what happened last June the two of them had settled into an uneasy alliance, one neither felt completely comfortable with, but one that could not be set aside. And truth be told, he had seen a side of Snape he had never expected to see. It would have been easier to keep him securely in the category of Death Eater who got away with it, Death Eater who hoodwinked Albus Dumbledore…but that wasn't the case.

When Harry had been taken after the Third Task Sirius had been helpless. In all but a literal sense his hands were tied. He couldn't get information, he couldn't reach out to the Order, he couldn't go and search for Harry himself…but Snape could. That night it was Snape who did it all. He followed the summons of the Dark Mark, he resumed his post as Dumbledore's spy to tell them that Harry was still alive, he brought him an actionable plan to get him back safely. And it worked. They got Harry back. Not in one piece, but still alive.

Since then Sirius had no choice but to swallow his pride and try. He hated Snape's guts with every fibre of his being, but he could not deny that it was Snape who saved Harry's life, the son of his worst enemy. And he didn't have to do it either. He could have pretended Harry was dead, or that there was nothing he could do to save him. He could have killed Harry himself, but he hadn't. Harry was alive thanks solely to Severus Snape.

'What does Albus say?'

'I don't think so much of myself that I will speak for Albus Dumbledore.'

'Cut the shit, Severus,' he said impatiently, the use of his first name acting as an olive branch. 'What's he coming here to say?'

Snape paused, labouring over his words as he always did. 'He wants Potter to return to Hogwarts immediately. However, he is coming here to listen. As I said, he and I have already talked extensively.'

'Talked about what?'

'Our failures.'

He was about to ask more, surprised that Snape would make any admission that there had been failures, something he had known himself for months now. But something caught his attention, a sound upstairs that would have been indistinguishable to the human ear, but not to Padfoot's. He couldn't hear quite as well as he could in his animagus state, but Sirius's hearing and sense of smell had always been overly sensitive since that incredible night he first transformed. And right now he heard footsteps…hurried footsteps.

Harry.

Sirius leapt to his feet, realising instantly that Harry had found them out - how did he bloody do that? Now Snape was sneering at him, and he could hear the unspoken insult about Sirius's subpar parenting.

Harry was pissed, and now Sirius was pissed too. Outwardly he was confident this would go their way, but he never could tell with Albus…and now he risked disappointing Harry. He would get his hopes up about being able to stay, which only added to the pressure Sirius felt to not let him down, to not start breaking him all over again.

He sent Harry back upstairs, suspecting it had been Kreacher who gave away that they had visitors, and then only a few minutes later Dumbledore arrived. But as he tended to do Harry hadn't fully obeyed Sirius's orders, and was on one of the upstairs landings listening in.

'It seems our conversation is not entirely private,' Dumbledore commented. 'No, it's quite alright,' he hurriedly added. 'Tell me, Sirius. How has he been?'

Sirius glanced up through the open staircase, trying to catch a glimpse of where Harry was listening from. But he couldn't see him. 'McGonagall's concerned about his O.W.L. exams,' he began, thinking out loud. 'But he won't make it to his exams the way things are.'

'Mmm,' Dumbledore murmured. 'Harry's exams - while important - are the least of my concerns.'

'Mine too. He wants to see you.'

'Let us go downstairs and speak in private,' Dumbledore suggested lightly.

Agreeing Sirius made his way towards the basement stairs, relieved he had finally gotten around to fixing the hole in the hallway left by the cannon ball. 'Snape's here already. I poured him a drink, but he seems to think its poisoned.'

'I'm certain you would never seek to bring a fellow Order member to harm.'

Sirius guffawed, because the thought had crossed his mind more than once. 'Your faith in my self-control is concerning.'

Downstairs in the kitchen he offered Dumbledore a drink, pouring him a glass of the elf-made wine from the same bottle as he had poured Snape's, not that this gave any reassurance to Snape that his wasn't poisoned. They took a few moments to make small talk, Sirius answering Dumbledore's second enquiry about Harry's welfare with the same honesty he had to Snape. They sat down at the kitchen table, but preferring to lurk in the corner Snape did not join them.

'Harry is holding it together,' he stated again, addressing Dumbledore who occupied the head of the table. 'But he's not ready to go back to school.'

Sirius's statement put a stop to any more small talk, bringing them right to the subject of the meeting he had called. For a moment the three of them lingered in silence, dwelling on their own thoughts until finally Dumbledore spoke, his tone gentle but firm.

'It is my preference that Harry return to the castle tomorrow night, as planned. Other than returning him to Surrey, Hogwarts is the greatest protection that I can offer him right now. In addition he will be close to Severus should he need him.'

Sirius shook his head, firm in his resolution. 'He may be safest at Hogwarts, but he is not going to last. In a couple of weeks he'll be right back here again, only this time it'll be worse. He is not going back,' he said, and this time it was a statement of fact. It wasn't a request, nor a suggestion. 'Can we all agree that he can't go any further with Occlumency in the state he's in?'

It seemed reluctant, but slowly Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

'If you force him back there you're setting him up to fail. He'll be worse off at Hogwarts than he would be here.'

He held Dumbledore's eye while he continued to hesitate, giving no feedback or suggestion as to what might be an agreeable compromise. If the last three months had made something crystal clear for Sirius it was that his priorities and Dumbledore's were not always aligned. Despite the assurances he had so recently given Harry it was apparent that although Dumbledore went to great lengths to provide for Harry's safety, he was willing for that to come at a steep cost. The state Harry was in now proved that.

It was a stark reminder as to why Sirius had been confined to this house for so long, which had less to do with his wanted status and more to do with where his loyalties lay. Dumbledore knew his first loyalty was to Harry above all else, that he would put the Order second if it meant protecting his godson. That didn't exactly make for a productive and trusted Order member.

Dumbledore softly cleared his throat and proffered a suggestion. 'One week. Harry can return for his final week of term.'

Sirius shook his head. 'No. He needs more time.'

Dumbledore hesitated again, caught between the need to protect Harry from Voldemort's exploitation and to protect him from the world. Objectively speaking one was more important than the other, but Sirius was not conceding.

'How long do you think he needs?'

'A month, at a minimum,' he stated, having thought this through. 'He can stay here through the Easter holidays, and then we can discuss him going back for next term.'

Dumbledore's features tightened, not at all comfortable with the notion that even one month was not a certainty. He wasn't a man who often liked to wait and see.

Finally speaking Snape stepped towards the table, but still he did not sit. It seemed he never allowed himself to get comfortable.

'If our concern is for the boy's long term safety then one month seems insufficient.'

'Insufficient?' Dumbledore asked politely. 'You would suggest an even more extended stay at Grimmauld Place?'

Snape held Dumbledore's eye. 'I would suggest he not return to Hogwarts at all. He would not be the first student to sit his O.W.L. examinations by correspondence.'

For a moment Sirius held his breath. Did he detest Harry so much that he didn't want him back at all? 'I'm not saying I don't want that too,' he began, choosing his words with care. 'But Harry can't be here indefinitely. He needs to go back to his friends eventually…he needs them more than me.;

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. 'Yes. Harry's residence here, however long, must not be permitted to become permanent.'

'Whatever the balance, it must not be rushed,' Snape continued, impatient to get to his point. 'I alone have the most intimate knowledge of the boy's condition. He not not adequately coping with the trauma he carries. It is as one could expect of a child. That in addition to the pressure he faces within the school environment is not conducive to his mastering of Occlumency.'

'It's a little late to start caring for him now,' Sirius snarled. 'A few days ago you couldn't wait to crucify him.'

'My concerns were misplaced, I admit,' Snape said lowly, his teeth grit as though it physically hurt to say those words. 'Our lessons got out of hand. I pushed him too hard on the belief he that he was motivated by ego and pride.'

Harry's pride was not the problem here.

'It was too soon to start teaching him Occlumency under those circumstances. Particularly with me as his tutor.'

Dumbledore shook his head. 'We had no choice, Severus.'

'I disagree. We could have retained him here after Christmas,' he rebuked. 'We could have sheltered him so that he could concentrate without distraction. The boy was clearly ill prepared to manage such pressure.' Snape paused now, lingering on his thoughts. 'How quickly we forgot what the Dark Lord did to him. What I did to him.'

Sirius's head jerked up, his lips parting around the vicious response on the tip of his tongue - because he had not forgotten any of that - but he stopped himself. Snape was speaking directly to Dumbledore. It was an unflinchingly brutal assessment, delivered without needing to raise his voice.

'A fourteen year old child under our care, imprisoned and tortured. Then patched up and sent back to resume his former life. He was not ready for that ten months ago, and nor was he ready to face it during Occlumency with his aggressor.'

Quite slowly Dumbledore nodded his head. He held Snape's gaze, and in that moment Sirius could see how weary he looked, how this was weighing him down. He felt a surge of sympathy that was at odds with how he generally felt for their leader. Protecting Harry was a delicate balancing act - none of them knew how to get it right, not even Dumbledore.

'No,' Dumbledore murmured. 'He was not ready.'

'We have done more harm than good. We have failed him utterly.'

'Yes.'

The silence that fell now felt physically painful. The three of them became still as if the truth of their respective failures would pass them by if they tried hard enough. Snape had failed Harry in Occlumency, Dumbledore had failed him by turning a blind eye to reality, while Sirius had failed him most of all by not following his own instincts. They really had done a spectacularly horrific job of looking after him.

Finally Dumbledore broke the silence. He sat up straighter in his chair, having reached a decision.

'I will have the Order make arrangements to oversee Harry's extended stay at Grimmauld Place,' he began, looking to Sirius. 'However his return to Hogwarts is not negotiable. The start of next term I think will be most appropriate.'

Sirius was satisfied, but cautious. 'What are the conditions?' There were always conditions where Dumbledore was concerned. There was always a catch.

'He must resume Occlumency.'

'Not before he has his head on straight. And not like before,' he added, throwing Snape a glare for good measure.

Snape jerked his head in what might have been a nod of agreement. 'There exists alternate methods that may prove less confronting for the boy.'

'You better hope so, because I'll be supervising.'

'That seems reasonable,' Dumbledore agreed. 'Providing Harry also consents.'

'What else?' Sirius asked expectantly. 'What other conditions?'

'I have only one more condition,' Dumbledore concluded. 'That this is what Harry wants. If he agrees, I would like to speak to him myself regarding these matters.'

Sirius breathed a mental sigh of relief. Perfect. 'He'll talk to you.'

Satisfied Dumbledore turned to Snape, giving him the opportunity to speak again should he wish. But though Snape returned his gaze it seemed he had nothing more to say. He eyes flicked over to Sirius, and then, 'Show me out, Black.'

He was normally spared the pleasure of escorting Snape out of his house and slamming the door to the back of him, but it seemed Snape did have something else to say after all. Together they departed the basement kitchen. As he fully expected he found Harry sitting on the first floor stairs plain as day, not even trying to hide the fact he had been waiting for them to come up.

Snape didn't so much as glance in his direction, but Harry's eyes followed him, watching his teacher and torturer's every step until he was outside the house. Following him out Sirius took a moment to relish the sunshine and fresh air. He didn't normally go this far outside, there was so little protected space that it served only to torment him about being cooped up for so long.

'Are you satisfied?'

The question wasn't confrontational - merely a straight forward question seeking an equally straight forward answer.

'Yes. Are you?'

'Somewhat,' Snape resounded shortly. 'Time will tell as to whether or not this course of action will be of benefit. I will know within our first Occlumency lesson.'

'I'll sort that out with Albus. No doubt Harry will negotiate terms of his own.'

'No doubt,' Snape agreed, and this time there was the hint of a sneer in his voice. But only a hint. 'Do not underestimate the delicacy of his situation,' he warned. 'I do not foresee that the Dark Lord will make any imminent attempts to bring the boy to harm, but naturally I am not privy to all of his plans.'

'If that was going to happen, when would he do it?'

'At any time he sees fit, but particularly when the boy sleeps. You must remain vigilant.'

Sirius nodded, taking it seriously. He was confident of his plans, that sleeping as Padfoot gave himself enough rest to survive while keeping alert to any change in Harry's state. And should he need help some carefully worded instructions would see Kreacher watching over Harry just as carefully.

'Do me a favour. Ask-'

'You ask for yet another favour?'

'For Harry's benefit,' Sirius said tightly. 'Ask Dumbledore to bring Lupin back, even just for a couple of weeks.'

Smirking, Snape let out a huff of air. 'For whose benefit?'

'I cannot watch him twenty four seven,' he argued, hiding his true motive, the desperation to make sure Remus was safe. 'I'm going to need help.'

'Do you not have a House Elf to assist with child care?'

'Just do it, would you? And then do Harry a favour. Give Voldemort something to obsess over other than the Department of Mysteries. Harry's been dreaming about it for the last three nights. Reaching his arm out for it, talking in his sleep.'

'Hence the need for your vigilance.'

Sirius stared at him, an offhand comment from earlier lingering in his mind. 'You said Harry's not coping…about what happened at Malfoy Manor?'

Snape stared at him in return. 'Yes' he said plainly, his tone suggesting it should have been obvious. 'It comes to him in nightmares. Vivid flashbacks. Paranoid thoughts, fits of anger and reckless behav-'

'And you didn't think to tell me any of this?' Sirius growled, hands clenched by his side. Those words felt like a dagger in his stomach, one that Snape drove in and then twisted around at will. Harry wasn't coping at all, and he had been almost oblivious.

'I have admitted to failures of my own, have I not?'

Sirius grit his teeth, feeling the tension rising again. Failure didn't seem to cover it. Nevertheless he tempered his own heightened emotions, recalibrating. He and Snape could not be at each other's throats…not after that conversation. Strange as it was to think right now he put greater faith in Snape's priorities than he did Dumbledore's…it was him he trusted right now.

'Thank you for what you said about Harry,' he said sincerely. 'You're right. We failed him.'

Snape stared at him, his normally plain expression now betraying a hint of annoyance - he did not take well to receiving an enemy's gratitude, it tipped the scales. Tension remained between them, but also a renewed sense of understanding, of allegiance. They would never be friends, but they had to be allies.

'Is that all?' Snape said cooly.

So that's how it was going to be? Fine…

'All the better to see the back of you.'

Snape got the hint. Turning on his heel he took one single step outside the protective wards and onto the Muggle street beyond, striding away without a single care. Sirius remained on the front step and watched him go, still somewhat wrapping his head around the idea that as much as he had stood up for Harry and demanded he be allowed to stay, it was Snape who once again made all the difference.

A/N Thanks so much for the awesome reviews, I really appreciate your enthusiasm!

Hope you enjoyed the chapter of Sirius's POV, and the background scene that Harry was not privy to. This was the last Sirius POV scene that I have written. The idea that Snape took Regulus Black under his wing just to spite Sirius was inspired by the incredible fanfic All The Young Dudes by MsKingBean89 (read it on AOOO), specifically a scene in chapter 21 and 23. I'm only part way through so no spoilers please, but it's an amazing read and I highly recommend.

Reviewers - friendly reminder that I can't respond to your reviews if you're not logged in, but Guest reviewer/s please know I read and adore your reviews, thank you so much!