Sorry it took so long to get this out. I'm still trying to get settled in and I still have no Internet. Had to use my dad's. Anyway, enjoy…

*Hugs Eternal Cosmos* everyone should bow down to her!

Severus Snape and the Boy-Who-Is-Missing

  Next week found Harry walking alone in grass covered hills. Trees were scattered about, but they were few and far between. The white puffy clouds were the same, scattered around the bright blue sky.

  The pirate thought it was a perfect day to bury the young Dark Lord. Harry walked over a small hill to a little clearing, where he could see the Weasley family mourn the loss of their own. He walked as close as he dared; just under a tree, where he could hear what was said about the late Percy Weasley.

He admitted that it was a nice funeral. Harry doubted that he would have had one half as nice if he went down the same path Percy did. The Weasley family was really outstanding.

Harry scanned his eyes over the family. Fred and George were extremely subdued. Bill and Charley were not letting their tears faze them. Ginny, to Harry's surprise, was not there. Ron was comforting his wife of six years, Hermione. Molly and Arthur were holding each other up, crying their eyes out.

The funeral came to an end as they all said their peace, but Harry did not move from under his tree. He wanted to watch the family a little more, but when Ron spotted him and headed his way, Harry stood.

 "I demand to know who you are, sir!" Ron shouted as he ran up to the pirate.

Fixing a glare with his red eye, Harry said, "Vladimir, Dark Prince of the Seas."

"What are you doing here then?" The red head asked, recognizing the name. "Were you one of his men?"

"Ah, so you know about your brother's… prerogatives." Harry chuckled softly. "I can assure you sir, that I am unmarked." To prove it, Harry rolled up his left sleeve to show his toned, scared, but unmarked arm. "It is unusual for me to pay respects to my victim's family, but he was a special case."

He let that slip out slowly, knowing full well how Ron would react, and he did nothing to stop the punch as it landed on his jaw. As Harry's head snapped back, he realized his mistake.

"Harry?" Ron had a damn good view of Harry's scar when his hair flew back by the force of the blow. "You son of a bitch!" The tall, muscular red head went for Harry again, pounding him into the ground, and the pirate did nothing.

He let Ron beat him to a pulp, because his instincts were screaming for him to fight, to kill, because he easily could. But still, he just stood there and took everything Ron could give him, until he saw him with his wand in hand and felt a sharp pain in his right eye. By the time he started to fight back, Ron was pulled off of him by Bill and Charlie, who immediately used a Portkey to take their brother home.

Standing on shaking legs, the dark wizard looked up to see the rest of the Weasley family staring at him with shock and Hermione with tears in her eyes. Quickly she walked up to him and slapped him hard across the face, before she fell in his arms.

"Gods Harry!" She cried, holding him closer. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

"Hermione," he whispered, drawing her closer. "I had my reasons, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

She nodded, pulled away and whipped her tears. "I want to talk to you." She whispered. "I'm going back to Hogwarts before I go home."

"I'll only be a moment behind." He kissed her cheek and watched her leave, as his right eye started to fill with blood.

  Soon he was embraced from the front and the back as twin arms encircled him. Twin heads rested on his shoulders and two identical lips ghosted over his ears.

"Listen, mate—"

"We know what Percy was up to—"

"And we're glad it was you—"

"Who took him out."

"It was a family matter—"

"And you are family."

As soon as the twins came, they were gone, leaving him alone with Arthur and Molly.  Molly didn't say a word to him. There was no need to; she just hugged him and whipped the blood off his face. The gesture told him to get it looked at very soon.

Arthur was the last one. He hugged Harry quickly and looked him right in the eye, saying, "I helped to bring him into this world, Harry. I only wish I could've been able to get him out of it." It was a terrible thing for a father to wish, Harry knew that. He also knew how helpless Arthur must have felt. "Perhaps when everything has settled down, you could come and visit us." Arthur said hopefully. "Everyone misses you, even Ron."

Harry nodded in understanding. There really wasn't more he could say and there wasn't anything he wanted to say. So, with one last hug, he went back to Hogwarts.

He apparated in front of the lake just in time to see Hermione walk out of the castle with a little girl by her side. They spotted him and headed his way, with Severus coming out of the doors a moment later, also heading towards him. Hermione stopped just a couple of feet away from him as the little bushy red headed girl hid behind her mother.

"Is that Clarice?" Harry asked as he crouched in front of the little girl. "I know I must look awful," he pointed to his right eye that had completely lost its sight. "But I am a friendly old pirate."

"Are you my Uncle Harry?" She asked shyly, poking her head around her mother.

"Aye," Harry said, smiling.

"When was the first day I was supposed to meet you?" The little girl asked as if she didn't believe him.

"I was going to meet you in Hogsmeade, but it was attacked that very same day." Harry replied.

Hearing the right answer, the little girl's face brightened as she flung herself at Harry, who fell backwards. Playfully, Harry rolled around on the grass with her as she laughed with delight. Soon, Harry found himself on his back with Clarice sitting on his chest, looking smug.

Harry kicked his legs up a little and wiggled around as if he was trying to get away from a powerful hold. "Oh, yeh got me!" He dramatically said, giving in the fight.

"Uncle Harry," Clarice began, "in your letters you said you would show me pirates, vampires, werewolves, griffins, a cursed mummy named Bob, an evil ferret named Draco, a centaur, large spiders…" As the little girl's list got more deadly by the second, Hermione's glare did too, as Harry's sheepish smile got bigger.

"Alright, love," he said, cutting off the little girl's list. "You're going to get me in trouble with your Mom."

"He's in enough trouble as it is!" Hermione snapped.

"Where did you get that cut from, Uncle Harry?" Clarice pointed at Harry's wounded eye.

"Fight," He mumbled as he stood, the child safely in his arms. That's when he noticed Severus.

"You're going to Poppy." Severus stated, and Harry wasn't about to argue. He simply nodded and handed Clarice to her Mother's outstretched arms.

"As much as I need to talk to you, I must do so on a later date." Hermione gave a look to her daughter. "In a week or so when things have cooled off, I'm coming back to Hogwarts."

"Will I get to come back too?" Clarice asked, resting her head on her Mother's shoulder.

"We'll see." Hermione said in the way only mothers could. "See you in a week, Harry, Severus." Hermione nodded to each man before she carried her child to the carriages.

"Poppy. Now!" Severus snapped as soon as Hermione was out of ear shot.

Smirking, Harry followed the taller man to the hospital wing, getting gapping stares from the students as they passed. "Is my eye really that bad?" Harry asked Severus.

"It's only hanging out of the socket and resting on your cheek." Severus replied sarcastically, and laughed when Harry checked his cheek to make sure. Finding that his right eye was indeed not hanging out, he gave Severus his best glare.

"What the hell happened to you?" Came Draco's tired voice as Harry and Severus entered the wing.

"Well he's about 6'5", has red hair and has a mean left hook." Harry said, sitting on a vacant bed with Severus, waiting for Poppy to mother him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm having terrible dreams." Draco stated sadly. "Your First Mate, Stratus, wakes me up if they become too horrible. He's helping me a lot. I hope he knows how much it means to me."

"I'm sure he understands." Harry smiled to his old school mate.

"Sweet mother of Merlin!" Poppy's voice carried around the room. "What happened to you, child?"

Harry just smiled and told her what he had told Draco. The Mediwitch bustled about, scanning, testing, mothering and insulting his intelligence for getting into a fight in the first place.

Stepping back, Poppy gave Harry a concurred motherly look. "I'm afraid I can do nothing more then clean your eye. I can't repair the damage. You'll never see out of it again."

"It's alright." Harry said, his one good eye focusing on her. "Thank you for doing what you could, even if it was a lost cause."

Smiling, Poppy patted him on the shoulder and handed Harry an eye patch she transfigured from gaze tape. "It's good to have you back in my wing Mr. Potter. I've missed you." She smiled, brushing his bangs in front of his lightening bolt scar.

Standing up from the bed, he kissed her cheek, thanking her once again. Looking back at Severus, Harry grabbed his hand and made it out of the infirmary, promising to Draco that he would be back to see him later.

They only made it about five feet away from the hospital wing when Harry spotted Stratus, cloaked, and flying their way. "Captain!" Never had Harry heard is first mate sound so worried. Stopping in front of his Captain and Severus, Stratus said; "We've found your Godfather."

"What do you mean you've found him?" The red eyed wizard asked.

"The crew and I found your Godfather floating in the lake." Stratus rushed his next words when Harry's eye widened. "He's still alive. Don't worry, he's alive."

Briskly, Harry pushed past Stratus, heading towards his ship. Severus gave the unusual vampire a look and headed after Harry. Stratus ignored Severus's glare and ran to catch up with his Captain.

***

Albus sighed as he sat on a wooden crate. The room he was in was stripped bare. There was little the boy could look at, other then Hagrid. But the half giant fell asleep hours ago.

The auburn haired child sat straighter as the door to his room was unlocked and in walked Ron Weasley. "You have a visitor, my dear Headmaster." He sneered, waving in two men, carrying an unaware Sirius Black. "Five minutes are all I'm allowing." Ron turned and walked out the door, shoving the other two men out as well.

"Albus," Sirius moaned, his voice muffled by the cold stone floor. "Harry's… good kid… peace… please." And poor Sirius fell unconscious.

Albus turned to Hagrid, who had awakened with the noise. "I'm afraid, dear Hagrid, that I have made a grave mistake." The little boy placed his head in his hands as Hagrid picked up Sirius and placed him on the only bed. "I don't know what to do anymore, Hagrid."

***

"He's in your bed." Stratus said to Harry as they boarded the Mistrust. Severus followed Harry and his first mate to the captain's quarters. Severus never did like Sirius Black, but that didn't mean he was prepared to see Sirius lying on Harry's bed, deathly pale, cuts and bruises covering his face and body. His clothes were torn and his once long dark hair was a starch white.

"What did they do to him?" Snape whispered to no one in particular.

Harry was by his godfather's side, stroking his white locks. "I told you to be careful." He whispered. "Stratus, do you think it will be safe to move him?"

"In my personal opinion…" The vampire paused, gathering his thoughts. "I think he should stay right where he is. I'll bring Madam Pomfrey here to give him a look over."

"No," Harry said, stepping away from Sirius. "I'll go to her, but I have a favor to ask." Stratus nodded. "I want you to gather support from the vampires; they are of your kind. I'm sure they will listen to you."

Stratus bowed his head in thought. He had been on many adventures with Harry, and in his long life, never had he met anyone like him. For the first time in his very long life, Stratus decided to tell Harry one of his secrets. He felt that he owed him at least a small part of his past. "They are not my kind." Stratus sighed, knowing Harry would never abuse this information. "The vampires are my children."

Blinking a couple of times, Harry smiled at his friend. "We'll talk about that later, but all the same, I need their help. We're facing something other then Albus here and I don't know what it is. I need the vampires to be my scouts." Again, Harry pleaded. "I need their help."

"And they shall give it." Stratus briefly said good bye as he flew out of the rear window.

"Severus," Harry whispered out his name. "I don't know how much more I can take. I know Albus would never do this to Sirius." Pulling his long hair into a low ponytail, Harry locked eyes with Severus. "This new battle is coming closer, I can feel it. But I do not think Albus is behind any of it."

"Then who is?" Severus asked as Harry grabbed his hand, getting ready to apparate to the hospital wing.

"I don't know." Harry closed his eyes, feeling worn. "I just don't know." He apparated without another word.