The Headmaster's face was as solemn as the Marauders had ever seen it.
Professor McGonagall, also present in Dumbledore's office in her capacity
of Head of Gryffindor House, was every bit as stern.
"I only know as much about this incident as the very small bit James Potter told me as we carried Severus to the Floo portal. What I would like here is a discussion of all the facts – with the emphasis on all, gentlemen – concerning what happened at the Potter home. I will not tolerate any dissembling. If you are caught in a lie, you will be appropriately punished at Professor McGonagall's discretion."
The Headmaster sat down, as majestic and commanding as the boys had ever seen him.
"We will start with Mr. Pettigrew."
All eyes were on the plumpest member of the Marauders.
"Um – well – Sirius owled me and told me to bring my broom and meet him at the Charlesgate floo portal, which is close to where James lives. When I got there, Remus was there as well. Sirius said we were going to go to the Potters and 'play a little prank on Snivelly'."
He looked at the Headmaster earnestly, as if to say, "You can see by my expression just how innocent and unassuming I am!"
"And what happened next?" Dumbledore said, ignoring it.
"We flew over there, and I saw both Sniv – er, Severus and James flying above the rooftops, using rocks instead of bludgers. So we all landed, then both of them came down as well. Severus started throwing up in the bushes. Then he came and stood next to James. Sirius told me to come over, and I did. He said that James had said we could use Severus as the bludger – "
"Who said this?"
"Um, Sirius said it to James. And he asked me if I agreed, and I guess I said I did."
"Did you ever hear anything even remotely resembling that statement from James Potter?"
"No, sir."
"Why did you agree with Sirius?"
"I don't know. Maybe because I don't like Severus and wanted to make him leave so we could just play by ourselves."
"Yourselves being the four of you?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Yes."
"Do you realize the harm your lie caused?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."
Dumbledore frowned. "Let's hear from Mr. Lupin."
Remus sighed. "First of all, sir, I'm sorry for anything I did that might have caused trouble. I really didn't say anything myself. I did hear Sirius say that they were going to use um, Snivelly as the bludger. And I heard Peter agree to it. But I didn't know whether what they'd said was a lie or not."
"Did you hear any word – at any time, Mr. Lupin – indicating that James Potter planned to trick Severus or upset him in any way?"
"No, sir." Remus hung his head, tarnished -- no doubt -- with guilt by association. "From what I saw, they were acting – well, like two schoolmates who were friends should act."
"Mr. Black?"
Professor McGonagall edged forward in her seat a bit, almost as if to say, "This ought to be good."
"I got the fellows together to go play Quidditch at the Potters. And – "
"Did you know, first of all, whether Mr. Snape was there?"
"I did."
"And how did you know this?"
"James told me in Potions class right before school let out, sir."
"And how did you feel about it?"
"Well, um, I don't care much for Sni – er, for Mr. Snape. I guess I was sort of mad at James for not inviting me. I'd been three or four times, and it had been a good time."
"So you planned to eliminate Mr. Snape from the playing field, so to speak?"
"I guess I must have."
"Had you spoken with any of the other boys in your group about playing a trick on Mr. Snape?"
"Only Peter – um, Mr. Pettigrew, sir. I told him to go along with what I said."
"And after you arrived and all brooms were back on the ground, what happened?"
"Well, I saw Mr. Snape throwing up in the bushes."
"Did you find it amusing, Mr. Black, that a fellow student was so upset by your presence that he became ill at the sight of you?"
"It's not like he hasn't played tricks on us, sir! In fact, I – "
"Confine yourself to the day in question, please."
"When he came back, I made it sound like James had invited us over to get, um, Mr. Snape."
"Had Mr. Potter said or done any such thing?"
"No, sir."
"And you had arranged ahead of time for Mr. Pettigrew to go along with you in this lie?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you made sure Mr. Snape heard all of this in order to upset him further?"
"I guess so, sir."
"Yes or no, please, Mr. Black."
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"We played a little Quidditch, sir. You know, just flew around the trees and smacked around rocks in place of the balls we use at school."
"What happened to Mr. Snape's broom?"
"I hit a rock into the top of it, sir, so it flipped him off."
"Then what happened to Mr. Snape?"
"He fell and hit the roof of the Potters' shed, and then fell to the ground."
"Thereby injuring his knee?"
"He acted like he had, sir but it was all nice deep snow he fell in – "
"You might be interested in knowing that among other things, St. Mungo's is currently treating Mr. Snape for a fractured kneecap, Mr. Black."
Sirius' eyes darted from friend's face to friend's face, looking for some respite or perhaps redemption.
"That's too bad, sir. I didn't really mean for him to get hurt."
"You only meant to wound his feelings, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"What was Mr. Potter's attitude toward you throughout this shameful display?"
"He – uh – was angry about it. He was angry that I'd told that fib about his setting Mr. Snape up for a fall, so to speak." Sirius gave a small grin, pleased with his pun. No one appreciated it with him.
"Had you since apologized to Mr. Snape for what you and your friends did?"
"Nuh – no, sir. I mean – why would I? He's played plenty of tricks on us. I figured he was ripe for a payback from the last prank."
"Which was?" Professor Dumbledore asked, pushing his glasses slightly up his nose.
"He glued my butt – er, the seat of my pants – to the stool in the Potions Lab. Then he changed our potion into fish heads, sir."
"And destroying any happiness Mr. Snape derived out of the holiday with the Potters, sabotaging his friendship with Mr. Potter, and breaking his knee were sufficient recompense for glue and fish heads, Mr. Black?" said Albus, visibly angry.
Sirius – knowing that all was lost – fell silent.
"Mr. Black – you have what some call a 'mean streak.' It is most unbecoming in a Gryffindor, or any student of this school. I am ashamed of you." Letting that comment sink in, Dumbledore rounded to face James. "Well, Mr. Potter, you appear to have been exonerated."
James nodded, miserable.
"What was the gist of your comments to Mr. Snape after he fell, Mr. Potter?"
"I told him that Sirius was lying and that I didn't want Sev to leave, and I was sorry for it all."
"Mr. Potter, have you made an attempt since you returned to get in touch with Mr. Snape?"
"No, sir. I guess he was there in Slytherin Tower by himself for days, with his knee broken and no medical treatment. I wish I had gone to see him. Perhaps he wouldn't have drunk the poison if I had."
"Do you feel as if you are to blame for Mr. Snape's suicide attempt, James?"
James looked up, his eyes swimming with tears. One breached his lower eyelid and slid down his cheek. "In part – yes, sir. None of it would have happened if I'd stood up to Sirius and Peter instead of going along with their plan to play Quidditch together."
Dumbledore nodded, satisfied. "You are not to blame, Mr. Potter. I feel that you all may have contributed to how badly Severus had been feeling, but keep in mind that none of us – not any of you nor I – had any idea that Severus had brought poison from home for that purpose and that he would actually use it."
All four boys looked dismally at the floor.
"The punishments, Professor McGonagall?" Albus said, turning to the witch.
"Mr. Lupin? One detention with Mr. Hagrid. Mr. Pettigrew? Five detentions with Mr. Filch."
Peter groaned.
"That will be enough out of you, young man! I do not feel that Mr. Potter – being blameless in all of this – should be punished. In fact, I am giving him ten House points for his kind invitation of Mr. Snape to his home -- and another twenty for his kindness to the boy."
James nodded, still not looking up.
"Mr. Black, your conduct was reprehensible. It was cruel. I am thoroughly disgusted. That being the case, in addition to the loss of twenty House points and seven detentions with Mr. Filch, you shall go to St. Mungo's and apologize to Mr. Snape yourself. Am I understood, Mr. Black?"
Sirius nodded, his ears and neck reddening.
"The trip there by floo is quite safe. I will supervise your departure and a healer by the name of Miss LaChance will see you to the proper floo portal to get you safely back to Hogwarts. You will do this tomorrow."
"But Professor," Sirius gasped. "Tomorrow is the match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!"
"It appears that the match will not include you, Mr. Black. You are quite fortunate that I don't throw you off the team altogether. I am appalled by what you have done. The child you've targeted with your spite and malice has had a most unhappy life, and your cruelty towards him has been reprehensible. And -- that will be all." At this, the two professors stood.
One by one, the students left the Headmaster's Office.
"Thank you, Minerva, for being a voice of reason in all this. I'm afraid that I would have been imprudent in light of my anger at Mr. Black."
"What would you have transfigured him into?" Professor McGonagall said with a smirk.
"A chamber pot, I believe," the Headmaster replied. "A chamber pot in Mr. Snape's hospital room. Shall we head downstairs to dinner?"
The Professor laughed. "Of course, Albus. I'm just not so sure my appetite is as keen as it was ten seconds ago."
"I will visit Severus tonight. I wonder if they will use the bindus spell to keep him from hurting himself?"
McGonagall shook her head. "The bindus is false security. The moment it's off, the suicidal person feels the urge to take advantage of its absence. I do hope Mr. Snape gets well. I know how much you care for him. Have we heard from his mother?"
Albus Dumbledore shook his head ruefully. "I have dispatched three different owls on three different occasions, and upon their returns I saw that the message had been removed from them. I'm becoming rather firm in my belief that the good lady doesn't want her vacation ruined by her son's attempt to kill himself."
They made their way down the spiral staircase.
"Oh, Albus," Minerva replied, horrified. "Can she possibly be that selfish?"
"She stood by while that child had been beaten since babyhood, doing nothing because she didn't want to lose the manor house or the family wealth."
"She's no better than her husband was!"
"Speaking of her husband, I understand that his term of incarceration at Azkaban will be over in another month. He'll be quite free to return to his home, his fortune, his wife, and – "
"Gods, Albus. His son."
Dumbledore nodded. "I won't tell Severus about this, of course. We will have to take very good care of the boy, Minerva – particularly in light of the prophecy."
And with that, the two elderly teachers made their way to dinner.
------------------
Sirius Black stood in the reception area of St. Mungo's Hospital the following afternoon, dusting soot from his clothes.
"Damn the greasy git anyways," he groused. "Wish he'd landed on his bloody fool head instead."
"Mr. Black?" said a voice behind him. He turned to see a young woman wearing what looked like a dandelion puff on her head. It took several seconds for him to realize it was her hair.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Come along," she said curtly.
They walked up and down corridors until Sirius was thoroughly confused, then stopped in front of a sunlit room filled with beds, some occupied by children or teenagers. It took Sirius a moment to register that these were abused children, and that at least some of them had tried to end their misery by taking their young lives. He felt suddenly sick to his stomach.
"He's over to your left," the healer said. "I will be back for you shortly."
"Thank you, Miss Dande- , er, Miss LaChance."
It had never actually occurred to Sirius Black that in front of him lay an abused child who had tried to end his misery by killing himself.
"Uh – Severus?"
The Slytherin boy was sleeping fitfully. His face was pasty white and the discoloration under his eyes looked like deep bruises. Healing burns marred his mouth and nose.
He looked dreadful. Sirius gulped, in spite of himself.
"Come along now, Severus," an incoming nurse chirped. "Here's your tea! That's a love. Let me help you sit up. You have a visitor, isn't that nice?"
Severus moaned and looked like he might start to cry any minute. He might cry because he was all by himself in this large and confusing place, or because his mother didn't trouble herself with him, or because he wasn't a handsome child that people naturally took to, or because of all of these reasons and more besides.
He rubbed his eyes and the nurse helped him sit up, fluffing a large pillow behind his back and head so that he would be more comfortable. She handed him a paper cup of tea. "Have a lovely visit, dear," the nurse said as she whirled and bustled around him. She turned to Sirius. "Aren't you a good boy for visiting your friend!" And then – as suddenly as a summer thunderstorm – she was gone, and Sirius was face to face with Snivellus Greasy-Slimy-Git Snape.
Severus gasped. "What –?"
Well, best get on with it, Black told himself.
"I – came to tell you that I'm sorry."
No elaboration. No "what I told you was a lie" and no "James never meant you any harm".
Silence.
"How are you doing?" Sirius asked.
"I wish the poison had done its job, Black. I wish I was dead."
Black's lower lip twitched a bit.
This was awful.
Just awful.
"Did the Headmaster force you to come, then?" Snape said in his odd hoarse voice, courtesy of the caustic poison he drank out of his despair and misery.
"Yes."
"Bet you lost a whole lot of House points for ruining ol' Snivelly's vacation, didn't you, Black?"
Severus continued to hold the untasted cup of tea and stared at Sirius with a malevolent eye.
"I – guess I did."
"Pity," said Sev, taking a sip of the tea. "Did they toss you off the Quidditch team?"
"No – but I'm missing a match right now."
Sev sneered, his eyes deadly cold. "I should burst into tears, Sillyass Black, but I seem to have run out over the past few days."
"Look," Sirius said, his anger rising. "I've done what I came to do. Apologize, and that's all there is about it. Hope you choke on that tea, Snivelly."
"Shove it, Black."
"Too bad you didn't off yourself, you nasty ugly git."
Sirius suddenly felt someone with a vice-grip catch hold of his arm.
He was actually being dragged out of the hospital room!
With the appropriate swear words on his lips, Sirius yanked his arm away and looked up to see –
Headmaster Dumbledore.
Oh gods.
"That really wasn't what I had in mind for an apology, Mr. Black. It's unfortunate that spite and bad manners spoil the development of the fine young man you would otherwise be. Miss LaChance will escort you back to the floo portal. Off with you now."
His face now scarlet from embarrassment, Sirius looked up into the stern gaze of Miss LaChance.
"I'll be happy to escort you off the premises, Mr. Black," she said, turning on her heel and beckoning him to follow.
------------
The Headmaster gave a great sigh, and then composed his face to greet the ailing boy.
"Severus! How are you feeling today?" he said with a smile, pulling a dozen Chocolate Frogs from his voluminous pocket.
Instead, the Slytherin child had dropped his tea on the bedcovers so he could cover his face. He could no longer keep the tears back. The harsh words of Sirius Black had left him undone. He was too ill to keep up his customary defenses, and could do nothing but weep.
"Oh, my poor child," Albus whispered, his heart aching. He went to the boy's outstretched arms and let him encircle his neck, while he gently lifted him up and out of bed. He then sat on the chair next to the bed and carefully set Severus down on his lap, being mindful of his injured knee. With a wave of his hand, he charmed their upcoming conversation so that others would not hear.
Severus laid his poor head on Dumbledore's shoulder and cried, the injury to his throat making his sobs sound like little growls instead.
"There, there, my child," Albus soothed, rubbing the boy's back. "Nobody is going to harm you whilst I'm around – you know that, don't you?"
He felt Severus' head nod against his neck.
"Try to put Mr. Black's words out of your mind, Severus," he soothed. "Words lack the power to hurt us unless and until we permit them to."
"Don't go," the child pleaded.
"I'd be happy to have a nice long visit, Severus," the kindly old wizard said. "I've been thinking of you all day."
Severus raised his head and wiped his eyes, with just the mere hint of a smile on his lips. "I was thinking maybe that you were," he said in his curious hoarse voice. "I wished all day that you would come."
"Well, here I am, Severus, so let's sit and enjoy each other's company for a while, all right?"
Winding his arms around the Headmaster's neck once again, Severus nodded. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Thank you for being such a good and brave boy, Severus."
--------
It was only ten minutes later when Healer LaChance joined them. "So – that's the boy who told Severus the lie, isn't it?"
Pointing at the sleeping young burden in his lap, Dumbledore nodded. Without so much as a pause, the healer took off the blanket that had absorbed most of the tea and reached for a fresh one from a little cabinet on the other side of the hospital bed. She snapped it open and neatly made Severus' bed up again. She patted it obligingly, gesturing to Albus to lay the child down since he had fallen fast asleep.
Both of them tucked him in. Healer LaChance arranged his pillow comfortably around his head and neck while Albus whispered a safe dreams charm and touched the Dark child's forehead. Asphora LaChance looked up at Albus and was moved to see his tears of empathy and love blurring the blue of his eyes. She put a hand on his arm, sending him a pulse of soothing healing energy. He nodded his thanks, and then sat back down in the chair next to the boy's bed.
"I'll sit with him a while, if that's all right," Dumbledore said quietly.
She smiled and nodded, happy for her patient's sake that at least one kindly soul beside herself would help care for him here at St. Mungo's Hospital.
TBC
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"I only know as much about this incident as the very small bit James Potter told me as we carried Severus to the Floo portal. What I would like here is a discussion of all the facts – with the emphasis on all, gentlemen – concerning what happened at the Potter home. I will not tolerate any dissembling. If you are caught in a lie, you will be appropriately punished at Professor McGonagall's discretion."
The Headmaster sat down, as majestic and commanding as the boys had ever seen him.
"We will start with Mr. Pettigrew."
All eyes were on the plumpest member of the Marauders.
"Um – well – Sirius owled me and told me to bring my broom and meet him at the Charlesgate floo portal, which is close to where James lives. When I got there, Remus was there as well. Sirius said we were going to go to the Potters and 'play a little prank on Snivelly'."
He looked at the Headmaster earnestly, as if to say, "You can see by my expression just how innocent and unassuming I am!"
"And what happened next?" Dumbledore said, ignoring it.
"We flew over there, and I saw both Sniv – er, Severus and James flying above the rooftops, using rocks instead of bludgers. So we all landed, then both of them came down as well. Severus started throwing up in the bushes. Then he came and stood next to James. Sirius told me to come over, and I did. He said that James had said we could use Severus as the bludger – "
"Who said this?"
"Um, Sirius said it to James. And he asked me if I agreed, and I guess I said I did."
"Did you ever hear anything even remotely resembling that statement from James Potter?"
"No, sir."
"Why did you agree with Sirius?"
"I don't know. Maybe because I don't like Severus and wanted to make him leave so we could just play by ourselves."
"Yourselves being the four of you?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Yes."
"Do you realize the harm your lie caused?"
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry."
Dumbledore frowned. "Let's hear from Mr. Lupin."
Remus sighed. "First of all, sir, I'm sorry for anything I did that might have caused trouble. I really didn't say anything myself. I did hear Sirius say that they were going to use um, Snivelly as the bludger. And I heard Peter agree to it. But I didn't know whether what they'd said was a lie or not."
"Did you hear any word – at any time, Mr. Lupin – indicating that James Potter planned to trick Severus or upset him in any way?"
"No, sir." Remus hung his head, tarnished -- no doubt -- with guilt by association. "From what I saw, they were acting – well, like two schoolmates who were friends should act."
"Mr. Black?"
Professor McGonagall edged forward in her seat a bit, almost as if to say, "This ought to be good."
"I got the fellows together to go play Quidditch at the Potters. And – "
"Did you know, first of all, whether Mr. Snape was there?"
"I did."
"And how did you know this?"
"James told me in Potions class right before school let out, sir."
"And how did you feel about it?"
"Well, um, I don't care much for Sni – er, for Mr. Snape. I guess I was sort of mad at James for not inviting me. I'd been three or four times, and it had been a good time."
"So you planned to eliminate Mr. Snape from the playing field, so to speak?"
"I guess I must have."
"Had you spoken with any of the other boys in your group about playing a trick on Mr. Snape?"
"Only Peter – um, Mr. Pettigrew, sir. I told him to go along with what I said."
"And after you arrived and all brooms were back on the ground, what happened?"
"Well, I saw Mr. Snape throwing up in the bushes."
"Did you find it amusing, Mr. Black, that a fellow student was so upset by your presence that he became ill at the sight of you?"
"It's not like he hasn't played tricks on us, sir! In fact, I – "
"Confine yourself to the day in question, please."
"When he came back, I made it sound like James had invited us over to get, um, Mr. Snape."
"Had Mr. Potter said or done any such thing?"
"No, sir."
"And you had arranged ahead of time for Mr. Pettigrew to go along with you in this lie?"
"Yes, sir."
"And you made sure Mr. Snape heard all of this in order to upset him further?"
"I guess so, sir."
"Yes or no, please, Mr. Black."
"Yes."
"What happened next?"
"We played a little Quidditch, sir. You know, just flew around the trees and smacked around rocks in place of the balls we use at school."
"What happened to Mr. Snape's broom?"
"I hit a rock into the top of it, sir, so it flipped him off."
"Then what happened to Mr. Snape?"
"He fell and hit the roof of the Potters' shed, and then fell to the ground."
"Thereby injuring his knee?"
"He acted like he had, sir but it was all nice deep snow he fell in – "
"You might be interested in knowing that among other things, St. Mungo's is currently treating Mr. Snape for a fractured kneecap, Mr. Black."
Sirius' eyes darted from friend's face to friend's face, looking for some respite or perhaps redemption.
"That's too bad, sir. I didn't really mean for him to get hurt."
"You only meant to wound his feelings, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir."
"What was Mr. Potter's attitude toward you throughout this shameful display?"
"He – uh – was angry about it. He was angry that I'd told that fib about his setting Mr. Snape up for a fall, so to speak." Sirius gave a small grin, pleased with his pun. No one appreciated it with him.
"Had you since apologized to Mr. Snape for what you and your friends did?"
"Nuh – no, sir. I mean – why would I? He's played plenty of tricks on us. I figured he was ripe for a payback from the last prank."
"Which was?" Professor Dumbledore asked, pushing his glasses slightly up his nose.
"He glued my butt – er, the seat of my pants – to the stool in the Potions Lab. Then he changed our potion into fish heads, sir."
"And destroying any happiness Mr. Snape derived out of the holiday with the Potters, sabotaging his friendship with Mr. Potter, and breaking his knee were sufficient recompense for glue and fish heads, Mr. Black?" said Albus, visibly angry.
Sirius – knowing that all was lost – fell silent.
"Mr. Black – you have what some call a 'mean streak.' It is most unbecoming in a Gryffindor, or any student of this school. I am ashamed of you." Letting that comment sink in, Dumbledore rounded to face James. "Well, Mr. Potter, you appear to have been exonerated."
James nodded, miserable.
"What was the gist of your comments to Mr. Snape after he fell, Mr. Potter?"
"I told him that Sirius was lying and that I didn't want Sev to leave, and I was sorry for it all."
"Mr. Potter, have you made an attempt since you returned to get in touch with Mr. Snape?"
"No, sir. I guess he was there in Slytherin Tower by himself for days, with his knee broken and no medical treatment. I wish I had gone to see him. Perhaps he wouldn't have drunk the poison if I had."
"Do you feel as if you are to blame for Mr. Snape's suicide attempt, James?"
James looked up, his eyes swimming with tears. One breached his lower eyelid and slid down his cheek. "In part – yes, sir. None of it would have happened if I'd stood up to Sirius and Peter instead of going along with their plan to play Quidditch together."
Dumbledore nodded, satisfied. "You are not to blame, Mr. Potter. I feel that you all may have contributed to how badly Severus had been feeling, but keep in mind that none of us – not any of you nor I – had any idea that Severus had brought poison from home for that purpose and that he would actually use it."
All four boys looked dismally at the floor.
"The punishments, Professor McGonagall?" Albus said, turning to the witch.
"Mr. Lupin? One detention with Mr. Hagrid. Mr. Pettigrew? Five detentions with Mr. Filch."
Peter groaned.
"That will be enough out of you, young man! I do not feel that Mr. Potter – being blameless in all of this – should be punished. In fact, I am giving him ten House points for his kind invitation of Mr. Snape to his home -- and another twenty for his kindness to the boy."
James nodded, still not looking up.
"Mr. Black, your conduct was reprehensible. It was cruel. I am thoroughly disgusted. That being the case, in addition to the loss of twenty House points and seven detentions with Mr. Filch, you shall go to St. Mungo's and apologize to Mr. Snape yourself. Am I understood, Mr. Black?"
Sirius nodded, his ears and neck reddening.
"The trip there by floo is quite safe. I will supervise your departure and a healer by the name of Miss LaChance will see you to the proper floo portal to get you safely back to Hogwarts. You will do this tomorrow."
"But Professor," Sirius gasped. "Tomorrow is the match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw!"
"It appears that the match will not include you, Mr. Black. You are quite fortunate that I don't throw you off the team altogether. I am appalled by what you have done. The child you've targeted with your spite and malice has had a most unhappy life, and your cruelty towards him has been reprehensible. And -- that will be all." At this, the two professors stood.
One by one, the students left the Headmaster's Office.
"Thank you, Minerva, for being a voice of reason in all this. I'm afraid that I would have been imprudent in light of my anger at Mr. Black."
"What would you have transfigured him into?" Professor McGonagall said with a smirk.
"A chamber pot, I believe," the Headmaster replied. "A chamber pot in Mr. Snape's hospital room. Shall we head downstairs to dinner?"
The Professor laughed. "Of course, Albus. I'm just not so sure my appetite is as keen as it was ten seconds ago."
"I will visit Severus tonight. I wonder if they will use the bindus spell to keep him from hurting himself?"
McGonagall shook her head. "The bindus is false security. The moment it's off, the suicidal person feels the urge to take advantage of its absence. I do hope Mr. Snape gets well. I know how much you care for him. Have we heard from his mother?"
Albus Dumbledore shook his head ruefully. "I have dispatched three different owls on three different occasions, and upon their returns I saw that the message had been removed from them. I'm becoming rather firm in my belief that the good lady doesn't want her vacation ruined by her son's attempt to kill himself."
They made their way down the spiral staircase.
"Oh, Albus," Minerva replied, horrified. "Can she possibly be that selfish?"
"She stood by while that child had been beaten since babyhood, doing nothing because she didn't want to lose the manor house or the family wealth."
"She's no better than her husband was!"
"Speaking of her husband, I understand that his term of incarceration at Azkaban will be over in another month. He'll be quite free to return to his home, his fortune, his wife, and – "
"Gods, Albus. His son."
Dumbledore nodded. "I won't tell Severus about this, of course. We will have to take very good care of the boy, Minerva – particularly in light of the prophecy."
And with that, the two elderly teachers made their way to dinner.
------------------
Sirius Black stood in the reception area of St. Mungo's Hospital the following afternoon, dusting soot from his clothes.
"Damn the greasy git anyways," he groused. "Wish he'd landed on his bloody fool head instead."
"Mr. Black?" said a voice behind him. He turned to see a young woman wearing what looked like a dandelion puff on her head. It took several seconds for him to realize it was her hair.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Come along," she said curtly.
They walked up and down corridors until Sirius was thoroughly confused, then stopped in front of a sunlit room filled with beds, some occupied by children or teenagers. It took Sirius a moment to register that these were abused children, and that at least some of them had tried to end their misery by taking their young lives. He felt suddenly sick to his stomach.
"He's over to your left," the healer said. "I will be back for you shortly."
"Thank you, Miss Dande- , er, Miss LaChance."
It had never actually occurred to Sirius Black that in front of him lay an abused child who had tried to end his misery by killing himself.
"Uh – Severus?"
The Slytherin boy was sleeping fitfully. His face was pasty white and the discoloration under his eyes looked like deep bruises. Healing burns marred his mouth and nose.
He looked dreadful. Sirius gulped, in spite of himself.
"Come along now, Severus," an incoming nurse chirped. "Here's your tea! That's a love. Let me help you sit up. You have a visitor, isn't that nice?"
Severus moaned and looked like he might start to cry any minute. He might cry because he was all by himself in this large and confusing place, or because his mother didn't trouble herself with him, or because he wasn't a handsome child that people naturally took to, or because of all of these reasons and more besides.
He rubbed his eyes and the nurse helped him sit up, fluffing a large pillow behind his back and head so that he would be more comfortable. She handed him a paper cup of tea. "Have a lovely visit, dear," the nurse said as she whirled and bustled around him. She turned to Sirius. "Aren't you a good boy for visiting your friend!" And then – as suddenly as a summer thunderstorm – she was gone, and Sirius was face to face with Snivellus Greasy-Slimy-Git Snape.
Severus gasped. "What –?"
Well, best get on with it, Black told himself.
"I – came to tell you that I'm sorry."
No elaboration. No "what I told you was a lie" and no "James never meant you any harm".
Silence.
"How are you doing?" Sirius asked.
"I wish the poison had done its job, Black. I wish I was dead."
Black's lower lip twitched a bit.
This was awful.
Just awful.
"Did the Headmaster force you to come, then?" Snape said in his odd hoarse voice, courtesy of the caustic poison he drank out of his despair and misery.
"Yes."
"Bet you lost a whole lot of House points for ruining ol' Snivelly's vacation, didn't you, Black?"
Severus continued to hold the untasted cup of tea and stared at Sirius with a malevolent eye.
"I – guess I did."
"Pity," said Sev, taking a sip of the tea. "Did they toss you off the Quidditch team?"
"No – but I'm missing a match right now."
Sev sneered, his eyes deadly cold. "I should burst into tears, Sillyass Black, but I seem to have run out over the past few days."
"Look," Sirius said, his anger rising. "I've done what I came to do. Apologize, and that's all there is about it. Hope you choke on that tea, Snivelly."
"Shove it, Black."
"Too bad you didn't off yourself, you nasty ugly git."
Sirius suddenly felt someone with a vice-grip catch hold of his arm.
He was actually being dragged out of the hospital room!
With the appropriate swear words on his lips, Sirius yanked his arm away and looked up to see –
Headmaster Dumbledore.
Oh gods.
"That really wasn't what I had in mind for an apology, Mr. Black. It's unfortunate that spite and bad manners spoil the development of the fine young man you would otherwise be. Miss LaChance will escort you back to the floo portal. Off with you now."
His face now scarlet from embarrassment, Sirius looked up into the stern gaze of Miss LaChance.
"I'll be happy to escort you off the premises, Mr. Black," she said, turning on her heel and beckoning him to follow.
------------
The Headmaster gave a great sigh, and then composed his face to greet the ailing boy.
"Severus! How are you feeling today?" he said with a smile, pulling a dozen Chocolate Frogs from his voluminous pocket.
Instead, the Slytherin child had dropped his tea on the bedcovers so he could cover his face. He could no longer keep the tears back. The harsh words of Sirius Black had left him undone. He was too ill to keep up his customary defenses, and could do nothing but weep.
"Oh, my poor child," Albus whispered, his heart aching. He went to the boy's outstretched arms and let him encircle his neck, while he gently lifted him up and out of bed. He then sat on the chair next to the bed and carefully set Severus down on his lap, being mindful of his injured knee. With a wave of his hand, he charmed their upcoming conversation so that others would not hear.
Severus laid his poor head on Dumbledore's shoulder and cried, the injury to his throat making his sobs sound like little growls instead.
"There, there, my child," Albus soothed, rubbing the boy's back. "Nobody is going to harm you whilst I'm around – you know that, don't you?"
He felt Severus' head nod against his neck.
"Try to put Mr. Black's words out of your mind, Severus," he soothed. "Words lack the power to hurt us unless and until we permit them to."
"Don't go," the child pleaded.
"I'd be happy to have a nice long visit, Severus," the kindly old wizard said. "I've been thinking of you all day."
Severus raised his head and wiped his eyes, with just the mere hint of a smile on his lips. "I was thinking maybe that you were," he said in his curious hoarse voice. "I wished all day that you would come."
"Well, here I am, Severus, so let's sit and enjoy each other's company for a while, all right?"
Winding his arms around the Headmaster's neck once again, Severus nodded. "Thank you," he whispered.
"Thank you for being such a good and brave boy, Severus."
--------
It was only ten minutes later when Healer LaChance joined them. "So – that's the boy who told Severus the lie, isn't it?"
Pointing at the sleeping young burden in his lap, Dumbledore nodded. Without so much as a pause, the healer took off the blanket that had absorbed most of the tea and reached for a fresh one from a little cabinet on the other side of the hospital bed. She snapped it open and neatly made Severus' bed up again. She patted it obligingly, gesturing to Albus to lay the child down since he had fallen fast asleep.
Both of them tucked him in. Healer LaChance arranged his pillow comfortably around his head and neck while Albus whispered a safe dreams charm and touched the Dark child's forehead. Asphora LaChance looked up at Albus and was moved to see his tears of empathy and love blurring the blue of his eyes. She put a hand on his arm, sending him a pulse of soothing healing energy. He nodded his thanks, and then sat back down in the chair next to the boy's bed.
"I'll sit with him a while, if that's all right," Dumbledore said quietly.
She smiled and nodded, happy for her patient's sake that at least one kindly soul beside herself would help care for him here at St. Mungo's Hospital.
TBC
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