From Dusk 'til Dawn; a fan fic by Siriusly Serious & Screecheif
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, though one day I will, and when I do Sirius and Severus will shag like little bunnies until the collapse from exhaustion. Don't mind me, the bleach in my kitchen is affecting my brain.
Summary: Severus is sent on a mission to study the veil that took the life of Sirius Black, but when he shows up to do a bit of research, he finds Sirius isn't as dead as everyone thought.
…
It seemed just like another cold September evening at Godric's Hollow; little did the unsuspecting muggles know that a group of wizards were exiting from a forest just outside their town. There was a long silence as the youngest order member stood there, a little ways away from the others, waiting for handkerchiefs to dry any wet eyes.
"Sirius was a great man and we were all blessed to know him." There was the blowing of a nose and then she started again, "I had only known him for a year. When I was young, I hadn't known of his existence until the year I turned 18 when I happened to come across the case in a file of legal papers I was using in my research. And even then, he was the one who got caught. The weirdo who rebelled against them all only to go and carry on the family practice without their knowledge. We all know this is not the truth. I only found the truth when I spoke to my mother. She claims he's a hero. I have no reason to disagree. They were in the same situation and he took her under his wing. This man was not a Death Eater, but the kind of men who went up against Grindelwald. The kind of men who will do it all again."
These words slowly sunk in to the crowd, several of who were looking at their feet as a wave of guilt washed over their heads. There wasn't one there, with the exception of Nymphadora, who could honestly say they had not believed the verdict given to Sirius Black in November of 1981. Many had even questioned his innocence after he had escaped. After all, how could timid little Peter Pettigrew ever even conceive of betraying the man he had idealized for seven years in school? Quite easily, it would seem.
…
Harry slept on, in a dream about Sirius, actually. He had the map with him still, the one he had used. It turned out Godric's Hollow wasn't that far from Privet Drive. They all climbed back up the side of the sloping ground up to the street in silence. Only a few lingered still, only three, to be exact.
Molly Weasley wiped her eyes one last time before storing her handkerchief and following the rest of them back. Tonks followed only a minute after Molly had left, eyeing the last person still remaining with a semi suspicious glare as she trudged ahead to catch up with Molly. As she reached the top of the hill where the others were gathering, her foot connected with something very solid and she went toppling over onto... "Harry?" She blinked, shifting off the boy who she just fell over.
Harry winced and curled up into a ball, his knees pressed tightly against his chest as he stared at the woman who had tripped over him, his hand rushing to wipe the tears that were forming in his eyes. "S-sorry Tonks." He stuttered, shaking a little. That dream had been so vivid, he was certain when Tonks had toppled over him that it had actually been Sirius.
Sorrow clouded over her eyes and she closed them. "No, it's all right…" she trailed off and sighed, getting to her feet. She watched him sadly for a moment, "You'd probably better be h-heading back, Harry. Don't make the Dursleys get in trouble with Albus; no one deserves that unless they actually do something. G'night." She gave him a feeble wave.
He watched her go up the mountain, disappearing eventually. He wiped at his eyes again with a sniff. It was time to get back to the Dursleys'. But when he started back down the hill, a tall, dark-haired figure came into view, And Harry, tired and needing ran to it. He wrapped his arms around the man, dropping to his knees and started bawling.
…
Severus Snape was struck dumb. He closed his eyes as if in pain, willing the boy around his waist to disappear. But, did he ever leave when he wished him to? No.
"Sirius," the boy moaned, still half-asleep. The professor gently removed the arms from him, backing away from the child. "You're tired. Go home and get some rest." His voice was soft, but it cut Harry deeply anyway.
Harry fell backward into a sort of seated position, gawking with a tremble. The man closed his eyes again, hand digging nervously in his pocket. "They'll worry." Harry snorted cynically. "They won't." He sighed, his headache worsening. "Mr. Potter," he said firmly in that same soft voice. He grabbed onto the collar of the boy's shirt, pulling him to his feet. "Would you rather I send you on your way or deliver you personally?"
Harry flinched despite himself, eyes closed for a moment as he tried to collect himself. "Why are you here?" He asked coldly, opening the bright green orbs and turning them to stare intently to the empty black ones. "I know you hated him, you were glad when he..." Harry cut himself off, refusing to admit that his godfather was dead. He averted his eyes, too angry to even look at the professor. "You don't belong here."
The professor looked suprisedly back at the boy, eyes widened slightly. The urge to strangle the boy, or at least scare him more than ever before, wrung him and he averted his eyes. "I…think you had better head home now, Mr. Potter," he said warningly.
Harry bit back a few sobs, wiping his sleeve across his eyes. He was glad Snape said nothing more to him, just waited for him to collect himself. He took a deep breath and steeled himself with it. He raked a shaky hand through his hair and was on his way.
Severus let out a breath he'd been holding. He took one last solemn look at the area and slunk up the hill, exchanging a glance with a pitying Minerva McGonnagal, who had watched the grim scene.
And then they left slowly, like popcorn starting to pop or a fire burning out, one by one trickling back to wherever they needed to be.
Albus wrapped an arm around his Gryffindor head of house. She stifled a yawn with a practiced grace. "Get some rest, Minerva." She nodded, "I need to."
"I might wait until I gather everyone tomorrow. What's an hour during the summer?" She smiled and detached herself from him, as they were now standing near her office. "Thank you, Albus."
"Good night, Minerva."
…
Petunia Dursley had done something unheard of. She had hugged him. It was a forceful, upset hug, but it was a genuine hug nonetheless. Uncle Vernon knocked him once upside the head. Dudley sneered and asked him if he had been staying at his new girlfriends' house. "I've seen you hanging around those two like they're the greatest thing on the block. So weird, you never seem to want to hang out with any boys. What is it, Harry, are you gay?"
"No, actually. But you only hang around boys, so I could ask you the same question." His green eyes flashed like traffic lights, signaling go. Dudley blinked. Then he blinked again. And with the third time, "Don't turn this around on me! Just because you're a freak that doesn't mean you can pretend we don't have power over you."
Harry rolled his eyes, already halfway up the stairs. "I don't get what you see in them," Dudley muttered, following him up the stairs. "You wanna see what I see in them? Okay then, Dud, I dare you, dare you to join us tomorrow."
"You…what?"
"I dare you to join us. That is, if they aren't too disgusted." He scoffed at him before slamming the door and slamming himself onto the bed in annoyance. "You're…you're on."
As for Snape, he went back to the dungeons.
…
Author's Notes: Well, there you go. The longest fic I've ever written, and I didn't even write it by myself. -scampers off to go sulk- R&R please, and don't forget to go pay Screecheif a visit at Death-curse.