Summary: Harry Potter was looking forward on spending some weeks with the Weasleys. Severus Snape thought he would just run another quick errand for the Headmaster. But suddenly they find themselves on the run, and far away from Hogwarts the Boy-Who-Lived and the Death-Eater-Turned-Spy discover that behind the facades they are both only human. Guest Appearances by Mrs. Figg, the Dursleys and everyone's favorite dog-animagus. NO SLASH!

Disclaimer
Mrs. Rowling owns the world of Harry Potter. I don't.
I only borrow some of her characters to play around with them.
Porthos, the musketeer, is a brainchild of Alexandre Dumas.


Beta read by MartianHouseCat (everyone go and read her stories!)

Unfamiliar Roads
By Clio

Chapter 5 – Good Intentions

Long after Snape had retired to his room, Harry switched off the lights and lay down on the couch. Somehow he had the feeling that sleep wouldn't come easily. The Dursleys were dead. Slaughtered by Voldemort, enemy of the wizarding world the Dursleys had all their lives feared and hated. Ironic.

Harry felt his stomach cramping. If Voldemort could attack the Dursleys, he could hunt him down anywhere, couldn't he? It was pure chance that Harry hadn't been at their house. But how could he so selfishly think about his own welfare tonight? This was not right. He should mourn the death of his only remaining relatives, shouldn't he?

He had remained calm and detached when Cedric was killed a year ago. But he had been a child then. Now he was 16, almost an adult. And men don't cry, do they?
Harry swallowed hard. He had seen some of his schoolmates having nervous breakdowns right in the Great Hall when they got the Ministry's letter about the death of a family member. He had seen tears glittering even in McGonagall's eyes when Cedric had been killed. So why wasn't he able to mourn the people he had lived with for 15 years? Hadn't he even been at the movies today when the Dursleys had already been dead?

He rubbed his scar and concentrated hard, but unsuccessfully on falling asleep. He felt strangely detached. His throat was not tight, his eyes were not burning and his chin did not quiver a bit. Maybe he wasn't like other people? Maybe he was not normal, his emotions were not normal?

Dysfunctional. A word Aunt Marge had once used for him. Maybe she was right? Suddenly Harry felt his heart beat in his throat. He jumped to his feet. Light. He needed to switch the light on; he needed to stop thinking in this creepy way. Now.

He tried to get to the light switch by the door, but couldn't find it. Panic took over, as he felt his way around, disorientated in the unfamiliar dark room. Where was the wretched switch? The air was suddenly very hot and it became difficult for Harry to breathe. Frantically he doubled his efforts to search for the switch.

With a bang one of the chairs toppled over as Harry bumped into it. He froze. Had Snape heard the sound of the falling chair? Desperately he held his labored breathing to listen to any movement in the other room. He couldn't deal with an angry Potions teacher right now.

No such luck. The door to the adjacent room flew open and Snape stepped into the dark living room. He immediately switched the light on. "Potter? What the hell..." His voice trailed off when he saw Harry standing by the door, face covered with sweat and hands trembling.

Harry swallowed. "I…" he cleared his dry throat. "I just wanted to... to get some water."

Snape pocketed the wand he was holding. "Water? It's 2 o'clock in the morning, Potter!" He cast a skeptical look at Harry before he turned to the tap by the fridge and filled a glass. Brushing past Harry and he set it onto the wooden coffee table, hard. "Here, your water." Under Snape's penetrating stare Harry slowly went to the couch and sat down, not touching the glass.

With a derisive snort Snape turned on his heel. He had already his hand on the doorknob, when Harry called upon him. "Professor? Do you think I'm dysfunctional?"

Snape's grip around the doorknob hardened. Stiffly he turned to Harry. "Do I think you are what?"

Harry lowered gaze to the blanket on the couch and started to pull free a thread from the seem. "Dysfunctional," he mumbled, "um, I mean, do you think, in a way, that I'm not normal?"

Snape blinked in disbelief and let go of the handle. "Where on earth did you get that idea? I certainly don't treat you like a celebrity, but..."

"No," Harry shook his head, "that's not what I mean. You see, the Dursleys are dead, and I, I don't feel bad about it." He spread his arms in despair. "See, I don't cry."

Snape walked towards Harry until he was looming over him. "And why do you think that makes you, well, dysfunctional?"

"A normal person would grieve, wouldn't he? I mean, the Dursleys were never overly nice to me, but they brought me up; I played with Dudley's toys and all. Now they are dead. Am I not meant to grieve or something? Maybe, maybe they were right all along, I'm a freak." Harry looked up to meet Snape's eyes. Instead of the cold fury he somehow expected to see there, he found Snape looking at him with something resembling concern.

"Do I look like I expect you to bawl your eyes out?"

"No, sir. Um, but the others..."

"The others!" Snape rolled his eyes. With a sigh he sat down on the other side of the couch, as far as possible from Harry and pulled a cigarette out of the pack that was lying on the table. "Potter, believe me, I know this cannot be easy for you." He shoved the unlit cigarette back into the pack forcefully. "Give yourself a little more time. This is not a game of Quidditch, for heavens sake! It is fine if you need some time to sort through your feelings before you react. It certainly does not make you a freak; I can assure you are perfectly normal. Well, as normal Hogwarts' star seeker and the Boy-who-lived can be."

He glanced over to Harry, who was in no condition to respond in any way to Snape's barb. Snape's wry smile faded and his lips thinned into a sharp line. His eyes still resting on Harry he said somberly, "They all expect a lot from you, don't they? The Order, the Ministry, and your fellow Gryffindors. Sometimes I wonder..." Harry looked away. He couldn't bear to be pitied by his most hated teacher. Snape, sensing his discomfort, trailed off. He got up suddenly and walked towards the door but turned before he reached it, his face set into his usual stern mask. "Try and sleep now, Potter. We might have to leave this place tomorrow." Without another look at Harry he swept into the other room.

Harry stared at the closed door for a long time. Was Snape indeed capable of something like sympathy for him? He was very confused now, but at least Snape had pulled him out of the panic he had been in earlier.


The next morning Harry woke to an annoying tapping. He groaned tiredly. His body felt as if he had only slept a few short hours, and considering his state yesterday, that was probably the case. The annoying sound didn't stop, so Harry finally opened his eyes.

Close to the foot of the couch hovered Professor Snape, his arms crossed and his foot tapping the carpet impatiently. "Finally, Potter," he snarled, his customary sneer fixed on his face.

Harry sat up drowsily. He always felt vulnerable when Snape was looming over him, and being sprawled on one's back didn't help matters. "Morning, Professor."

Harry couldn't imagine what he'd done so early in the day to invoke Snape's irritation. Then he remembered Snape's awkward attempt to console him after his panic attack the previous night. Harry searched Snape's face for a trace of the sympathy he foggily remembered to have been there yesterday, but he found nothing but a mask of impatience. Tentatively he smiled up at him, but the smile was not returned.

"Potter, I need more precise information on the events in Little Whinging." Harry flinched. Snape regarded him pensively for a moment. Then he said, "I will go and find some Muggle papers, possibly get in touch with one or two Muggle contacts the Order has in London. I should be back in approximately one hour. You can stay here; the flat should be safe. I trust you to be here alone without creating major havoc or getting yourself into trouble, as hard as that may be for someone with a penchant for rule breaking, like yourself. If you move a mere inch away from these rooms I shall have you pickle toad brains until Christmas. Understood?" Harry nodded sheepishly. "And try to get some more sleep, you look like a ghoul."

After Snape had left the flat, Harry contemplated getting up and showering, just to spite Snape's last admonition, but he was too tired. He was just nodding off, when he heard a sharp knock at the door.

"Harry! You in there?"

Harry rubbed his neck. How long had he been dozing? Was Snape back already? "Yeah," he called hesitantly.

With a cloud of yellow smoke the door flew open and in the doorway, brandishing his wand like an avenging angel, stood his godfather Sirius Black. "Harry!" With three quick strides he was at the couch and pulling his godson into a firm hug. "I'm so glad I found you."

"Sirius." Harry allowed himself to go limp in his godfather's embrace. It felt good to be simply held by another human being. He would have liked a hug last night, but despite his uncharacteristic kindness Snape had been far from touching, let alone hugging Harry when he had talked to him. But now Sirius was here, sent by Dumbledore to retrieve him from Snape's doubtful care. They would go to Hogwarts and everything would be alright.

Harry sighed in relief. "So happy you are here, Sirius," he muttered into his godfather's shoulder.

Sirius drew back and a triumphant smile crept onto his features. "That snake thought he was clever, but I figured out he was hiding you here. I'm not stupid, you know."

"Who was clever?"

Sirius held his godson at an arms length and scanned him carefully. "What did the git do to you? You look terrible! Whatever he did, I swear he will not get away with it this time."

"What are you talking about, Sirius?"

"Snape, of course. Where is he, anyway?"

"He'll be back soon." Something definitely was not right. A suspicion sneaked into Harry's slightly confused and still sleepy brain. "You are supposed to fetch me to go to Hogwarts, aren't you?"

"I was thinking of a more fun place, the Caribbean maybe, but if you want to, we can go to Hogwarts. Sure. Why not."

"But Dumbledore..."

"What about the Headmaster?"

Harry and Sirius stared at each other, both bearing an equally perplexed look. "You weren't sent by Dumbledore?"

"No. Why should I have been? I was concerned for your life, so I came looking for you."

Harry was dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Snape kidnapped you, don't you remember?" Sirius placed a worried hand on Harry's forehead. "Hmm, you don't have fever. Maybe he confunded you?"

Harry shook off Sirius' hand, now fully awake. "Snape didn't kidnap me, and he didn't cast a curse on me, either. He was actually quite nice."

Sirius looked at Harry as if he had grown a second head. Then he pulled him into a tight embrace again. "The Confundus Curse. Poor kid, you are talking nonsense. Don't worry; there is a counter-spell for the Confundus. We will take care of that later. What else did he do to you?"

Harry struggled free. "No, Sirius. Nothing happened."

"Nothing?" Sirius jumped to his feet and started ticking off his fingers. "The Death Eaters blew up the safety perimeter in Little Whinging some days ago, the Dursleys were killed, Snape kidnapped you, and he's holding you prisoner in this bloody flat."
He held up the last remaining finger – his pinky. "But worry not. It's Porthos Black to your rescue! Taa daa!" He spread his arms wide and then bowed deeply in front of Harry, waving his arms like windmill sails. Despite the obvious misconception Harry had to laugh at Sirius' little act.

"Come on, Harry, let's go quickly before the greasy snake reappears." Harry didn't move. "What is it, hurry!"

"Um, Sirius, I really appreciate your coming here, but things are not as they appear. Snape didn't kidnap me. I'm here voluntarily. He brought me to London on Dumbledore's request."

"On Dumbledore's request? Impossible. Dumbledore would have him bringing you to Hogwarts; it's the safest place these days. If he would send Snape, that is. Even the Muggle authorities are looking for that slimeball because of the explosion at the Dursleys."

"What?"

Harry's puzzlement must have shown in his face, because Sirius crouched down in front of him and said very slowly, as if explaining to a small child, "It's in the Muggle papers, Harry. He was seen around Privet Drive by Muggles, behaving in a very suspicious manner. They're looking for him for questioning."

Before Harry could answer they heard the sound of a turning key. Sirius jumped to his feet again. The door opened and Snape stepped into the room, under one arm a bunch of papers, in the other a shopping bag. It caught Harry's eye that for the first time since they had left Mrs. Figg's Snape didn't carry his arm in the sling.

"Ah, just the man I came here to see," growled Sirius.

"Black!" Snape dropped the bag and the papers and drew his wand in one fluent, well practiced motion. Some scones and apples rolled over the floor. Without looking he kicked the door shut.

"Whoa, easy Snape. I just came to pick up my godson."

Snape lowered the wand. "Pick up your godson?"

"Yes, free him from your clutches. Harry will leave now with me. Come on." Sirius kept his eyes fixed on Snape's face when he motioned to Harry to stand up.

"Sirius, wait a minute, I told you there is a misunderstanding here," Harry said.

Snape sneered at Sirius and put away his wand. After his initial agitation at seeing his rival had worn off, he seized his first chance to get back the control of the situation. "Looks like your precious godson has more brains than you. Maybe he wants to stay with me."

Sirius turned to Harry with a look of utter disbelief and shock. Harry shrugged helplessly. "No, of course I would love to come with you, Sirius, but… but…"

Sensing Harry's hesitancy Snape pressed the matter. "You want to go with Black? Fine. Do that and, you'll be Dementor fodder in no time. The whole wizarding world is still on the lookout for Black. And don't forget all those Death Eaters that will be at your heels. What will you do? Hide in some remote forest and hunt mice and salamanders for dinner? Come on, Potter, you're not that daft. You would not be safe. Black has no inkling what is really going on."

"And you do?"

"Yes, I do." Snape stated with an air of arrogance that made Harry want to throttle him. "Trust Albus judgement, if you cannot trust mine. After all it was his idea to have me play bodyguard for you." As much as Harry hated to admit it, Snape had a point.

Sirius found his voice again. "Don't believe him, not a single word, Harry. He lies as soon as he opens his mouth." He stepped closer to Snape. "You might be pulling the wool over Dumbledore's eyes, but you are not fooling me, Snape."

Snape crossed his arms, an amused smile played over his features. "Really? Pray tell me, what's the crime you believe me guilty of now?"

"You kidnapped Harry, and killed the Dursleys." Sirius shouted, his face turning red with anger.

"That's ridiculous, Black." Snape's stance became, if possible, more relaxed and calm – a strong and carefully calculated contrast to the other wizard's rage.

Sirius turned towards Harry once again. "Please Harry, come with me. He has you confunded. You don't know what you're doing. And you don't know what he's capable of doing." He gestured helplessly towards Snape. "Harry," he said urgently, "I have reason to believe he still supports You-know-who. He's a Death Eater."

Snape clapped his hands in a mock applause. "Oh, brilliant, fleabag. Your talent for deduction scares me. Will you tell Dumbledore?"

"Trust me, I will. I will reveal all your little schemes to the Headmaster. I happen to know that you also participated in the first attack on Privet Drive"

Harry scratched his head. Was it possible that both men were working for the Order of the Phoenix and yet Sirius still didn't know about Snape being a spy? On the other hand it made sense for the Headmaster to keep them as separate from each other as possible.

Snape smiled wickedly at Sirius. "Now, that you have found out about my darkest secret, I will have to kill you, Black." Harry wasn't quite sure if Snape was still mocking Sirius.

"You could do so, but that wouldn't help your situation. I've been investigating, and I've found out enough to put you into Azkaban. Maybe I've already placed some information in the hands of the Ministry and Hogwarts' Board of Governors."

With an angry hiss Snape grabbed Sirius by the collar of his jacket and shoved him hard into the wall. "For your own good and the safety of us all, keep your nose out of my affairs, Black. Leave this flat. Now."

Sirius hands shot up to catch Snape's wrists. "I'm not leaving without Harry, you arrogant bastard."

Snape sneered at him. "You are in no position to insult my parentage. Unlike you, I don't have to look up my ancestors in a dog breeding menu." The sneer changed into a malicious smile. "Which leads me to the question – have some animal lovers managed to get you fixed yet to prevent such unfortunate accidents like yourself in the future? I would happily assist…"

Snape was cut off by Sirius fist landing square in his face with an ugly crunching noise. He staggered back a few steps. Blood gushed from his nose. For a blink of an eye both wizards stared at each other in shock. Then Snape roared "Black!" and lunged at his opponent.

Harry speechlessly watched the sudden eruption of violence in front of him. Both were able to deal a few hard punches before Harry realized that this was different from a quarrel in the halls of Hogwarts, and that he had to break the two men apart before either could draw a wand and possibly kill the other. He dove for his own wand, forgotten on the couch table. Just as Harry turned around, Sirius aimed a blow at Snape's head that he managed to dodge. Sirius' fist caught his shoulder instead. With a pained yell Snape doubled over and fell to his knees, clutching his shoulder in much the same fashion he had at Mrs. Figg's two days ago.

Sirius seemed to be a bit surprised by he effect of his last blow. It didn't last long. "You need more exercise, Snape." He kicked him in the ribs.

"No. Sirius, stop," shouted Harry horrified before Sirius could kick Snape a second time. Quickly he moved between the two men and gripped Sirius upper arms. Reluctantly he turned his attention to his godson. Harry took a step back when he saw the same wildness in Sirius' wide-open eyes that had been there when he had attempted to kill Peter Pettigrew in the Shrieking Shack in Harry's 3rd year. "Please, Sirius, calm down. It's enough."

"You have to crush the snake's skull, or it will rise it's ugly head again and again." Sirius eyes flickered to Snape, who was already attempting to get to his feet with the support of the table.

Then Sirius shook his head as if to clear his mind. "Let's go Harry, before he recovers." He darted to the door.

Harry doubted that leaving with Sirius would be the right decision. If only he could talk sense into his godfather. "You coming, Harry?" Sirius waited at the door.

"I'm just going to grab my stuff. Go ahead and see if the coast is clear outside, I'll catch up with you." Sirius nodded. Without effort he fell to his hands and knees and turned into a great black dog.

When the dog had disappeared into the dim hallway Harry turned towards Snape. His teacher leaned against the table with closed eyes, the right arm hanging limply at his side. With the other hand he carefully prodded the bridge of his profusely bleeding nose.

"Professor? Are you alright?"

Snape opened his eyes. Like Sirius's they were glittering with barely restrained fury. "You still here?" He coughed and spat out some blood that had run into his mouth. Harry made a movement towards him, but froze when Snape said icily, "Leave, Potter, there is nothing to gloat about."

"I, I…" Harry stuttered.

"You really think you are better off with that idiot Black, don't you?"

"He is no idiot. At least he cares for me," Harry protested.

Snape stared angrily at him. Then he briskly moved to the door and held it open for Harry. "Go, if you prefer to stay with you godfather. And good riddance. A lot of good it will do for both of you."

Harry exhaled deeply. Deep inside a little voice told him that it was safer to stay with Snape. And hadn't he gone out of his nasty way to show him something resembling sympathy yesterday night? And hadn't he been nice and even humorous after they had been at the movies? But after all this was Snape, the man who had loathed his father and did his best to make Harry's life at Hogwarts a misery. And Snape was Sirius's arch-enemy.
Maybe if he explained everything calmly to Sirius he would understand why Harry chose to stay with Snape.

"Well?" Snape spat impatiently at the door.

Harry cleared his throat. "Sirius is waiting for me outside. I need to talk to him for a minute."

"If you walk through this door, you don't need to come back, Potter." Snape's voice was cold and commanding. He wasn't going to make things easy.

Harry looked at him pleadingly. "I'll be back in a minute."

Snape did his best to sneer at Harry while the blood was running down his chin. "You heard me. The matter is settled."

Harry made a step into the direction of the doorway. He was standing next to Snape now. "You leave me no choice, Professor." For a fleeting moment he thought he saw something like hurt cross over Snape's blood-smeared features. But then it was gone, and Harry purposefully strode through the door Snape still held open.

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story!!
Nicky: You are an excellent observer. There were indeed four not three bodies found in the house. I will come back to this in chapter 6 or 7. Oh, and of course that quote was from 'The Empire Strikes Back'. *blushes*
Atheis and Aeris Gainsborough: ROTFL. I'm happy if you are.
RogueAngel: I agree, it's fun to see how the relationship between Snape and Harry develops when they are pulled out of their usual environment.
besnaped, iejasu, Zorra: I actually think the lightsaber part was a bit ooc for Snape, but I just couldn't resist.
Zeebee, Princess Kattera: It's amazing what movies can do for your mood, isn't it?
Helen: You ask the right questions, congratulations! The answers to those will be given in the next chapter. And it was no mistake, there were indeed four victims in the Dursleys' house.
mimine: Three words - you embarrass me. Thanks. (Well, those were four words. I hope I could live up to your expectations with this chapter.)
Lolajack: Couldn't believe Snape wouldn't comfort Harry in the last chapter? I'd find it much less believable if he actually comforted him.
Ossobucco: Your reviews mean a lot to me. I can see how much effort you put in there, thank you.

Thanks for your support, Sevrin, Sandrine Black, and landersh.