Chapter Six: From Murderer to Martyr

The magical world was in turmoil as the Ministry of Magic gave the shocking news. Most people didn't believe what they read in The Daily Prophet until Millicent Bagnold confirmed it herself at a press conference. It was unbelievable.

The Ministry of Magic (with the aid of an eight-year-old, nevertheless) had found a man who was supposed to have died three years ago, and not any man. It was Peter Pettigrew, who was said to have been murdered by Sirius Black along with twelve innocent Muggles after the Dark Lord's downfall.

He had been found in his Animagus form, asleep (on his parents' orders, Percy had given him a special coffee toffee to make sure of that) and taken to Azkaban, before he could transform and escape, to a special cell. There he had confessed committing the crimes for which Sirius Black had been sent to Azkaban under the effects of Veritaserum, a truth potion recently discovered.

(The story wasn't so detailed at the Prophet. The name of the Wizarding family who had been unknowingly hosting Pettigrew wasn't mentioned, and neither was mentioned which was his Animagus form. The Ministry had feared that it would only cause panic, as Pettigrew could be confused with any normal rat).

Everyone had been shocked to find out what a terrible mistake they had done (and several wanted Bartemius Crouch's head, as he had been the one who'd sent Black to jail without a trial) and the Ministry hurried to correct it.

After announcing to the magical world what had happened, Sirius Black received a formal apology, which he was forced to accept, along with a large sum of money and his freedom (which was way more welcomed). Suddenly, he was no longer a psycho murderer in magical folk's eyes, who were horrified at the hideous way he'd been treated. Actually, soon Sirius found that not only they no longer saw him as a criminal, but he seemed to have turned into some kind of martyr. A little too popular of one.

Reporters stalked him, wanting to listen to the story first hand, and asking how his life in Azkaban had been and whether he was resentful of the Ministry. Sirius avoided them all, even though there was one that was eespecially hard to do so (her name was Skeeter or something) so Sirius ended up hiding at Remus' place.

There he was a sunny autumn afternoon along with his friend and Professor Dumbledore, a couple of weeks after his release had taken place, when he was finally told how everything had come to pass.

After Remus had heard Sirius's story, he'd gone straight to Dumbledore and had told him everything, including the part about how his friends had turned into illegal Animagus because of him. Dumbledore had listened attentively, and not only was he not mad at him but he had also believed every word. He told Remus they had to act with caution and not to give Peter any reason to escape.

The first step was to get evidence, which they did with the Weasley's help (Dumbledore explained to them the situation personally) and then he talked to the Minister. She had been skeptical at first, but she had always had a good opinion of Dumbledore so she agreed to cooperate. The rest was history.

'So, where's Harry? Who's taking care of him?'

Dumbledore and Remus exchanged somber looks. They sensed that Sirius wasn't going to like the answer. And he didn't.

'What? You've left him with Lily's relatives? But they hated her! They hated anything magical. They'll never accept Harry's nature.'

Dumbledore explained that after James' and Lily's death there hadn't been many options, and plus he'd thought that it'd be better if Harry grew up away from all that attention. Sirius shook his head.

'Well, now I've got my freedom back and I can take care of him. I'm his legal guardian and godfather. I think it'd be for the best.'

But Dumbledore shook his head.

'I think it'd be better if we leave Harry where he is now, at least until things calm down.'

'But…'

The Headmaster left before he could keep complaining and the argument was over. By now, Sirius thought frowning. He wouldn't leave things like that. He owed James and Lily that much.

In spite of all the notoriety that Black's story got, there was one wizard who wasn't aware of what was going on. Which was a surprising fact, as he had known Sirius Black personally and had a personal interest in what happened to him. Or that had been before his whole life turned upside down.

That wizard was Severus Snape, whose mind was a little distracted by the fact he'd become a foster father to a five-year-old child, whom he'd known for only two months. Hell, he hadn't even met the child's parents in his life (which, if the rumors were true, was probably a good thing).

However, here he was, taking care of Connor Angel, who had moved into his house as soon as he had prepared a room for him. At first, Snape had been at a loss when he had to decorate Connor's room (which had formerly been a creepy and quite useless guestroom). Finally he'd let Connor decide how he wanted it to be decorated. The boy had chosen sky blue paint for the walls but then had insisted that the furniture had to be orange. The teacher had tried to explain to him that those colours didn't go together but then decided that it was up to Connor. Anyway, the boy realised his mistake and the furniture was magically changed to a more appropriate shade of green, much to Snape's satisfaction, as green was one of his favourite colours.

There were shelves on the walls with some children's books on them, a couple of Quidditch posters, and many pictures featuring different magical creatures that Hagrid had given to him, along with a blanket which had a huge dragon on it. It worried Snape a little the growing interest Connor was showing for wild and extremely dangerous creatures. Maybe the Key Keeper wasn't such a good influence, after all.

When Connor approved his room at last, he moved in with the few things he possessed and Snape realised he'd have to buy the child a lot of things, especially clothes. So that weekend he decided to take Connor to Diagon Alley and start the shopping.

Connor was both fascinated and startled at the place. He'd never seen so many wizards and witches together, and even though he'd learned he didn't have to be afraid of them, he clutched Snape's hand tightly. The man wasn't bothered by this. In fact, it made things much more simple. He'd been afraid that keeping an eye on Connor would be much more difficult, as he wasn't a child who could stay still for a long time.

However, even though Connor was watching everything with eyes wide open, he was very careful not to lose Severus (the Potions Master had asked him to call him that) from his sight. He didn't want to get lost in that place, although he thought he'd probably be able to find him by the smell. Connor was very good at tracking smells, which had been useful when he'd lived in Pylea and had to hunt his dinner.

The first shop they went to was Madam Malkin's to get Connor some proper robes. The shop assistant was attending with a man whose child, a corpulent nine-year-old boy, was complaining because he wasn't getting some Hogwarts robes.

'You don't have to wear them yet, Marcus. You're still too young.'

The child pouted as Connor watched him curiously. The older boy noticed this and glared at him but Connor was quite unimpressed. He'd certainly seen much scarier things than a spoiled brat.

Father and son left the shop, and Madam Malkin approached them. She looked a little taken aback when she saw Connor, as she'd known Snape for years and she wasn't aware he had a child.

'Oh, you've came with your little son. Hello, young man. What's your name?'

The child's eyes flickered to Snape before answering.

'I'm Connor. And I'm not his son, madam.'

'He's my…hum, nephew,' Snape hurried to explain. The woman looked a bit startled, but she composed herself and smiled. Then, once Snape had stated what they were looking for, the witch took the boy to take his measurements.

Dumbledore and Snape had agreed that it was convenient to make up a plausible story that explained Connor's presence at his house. They certainly couldn't say that Snape had never seen the boy before and that he was the offspring of two vampires. It would be a little unconvenient. Finally they had come out with a solution.

There was a branch of the Snape's family tree that had produced a couple of squibs many decades ago. Being the snobbish pureblooded family they were, they had disowned them. Those squibs had married each other, which was even worse in their relatives' eyes, and then their descendants had married to Muggles. Snape had never met any of those distant relatives, and he was pretty sure that neither his father nor his grandfather had, or anyone from the magical branch of the family.

All Snape had to say was that Connor belonged to that branch of his family and since he had turned out to be a wizard, Snape had accepted to take care of him after his father's death. It was quite a simple story, very hard to disprove as these Snapes had been long ago erased from the family tree and they had never been in touch with their magical relatives. It was possible that they didn't even know they had those magical relatives anymore.

To his surprise, Madam Malkin wasn't the only one who thought that he was Connor's father. In fact, every shop assistant (including those who knew him very well) was convinced that the boy was his son. After a while, Snape was bored of explaining that Connor wasn't his child and gave up. Let them think whatever they want. Which surprised him was that there were people capable of thinking that he and Connor were father and son when they were so physically different. They hadn't one single thing in common, apart from the fact Snape didn't look like the fatherly type, and yet people believed they were a family. How strange.

After having an ice cream at Florean Fortescue's, Connor and Snape started their way to the Leaky Cauldron, from where they'd go home, when they ran into one of his old 'friends'. Someone who wasn't exactly the kind of person Snape would have liked to see with a Muggleborn child: Lucius Malfoy.

'Well, well, well, do my eyes deceive me, or this is Severus Snape with a child?'

Snape forced a smile, keeping his eyes unreadable.

'Oh, hello Lucius. How have you been?'

'Fine, thanks. He's not yours, right?'

Finally someone smart enough to notice that.

'No, Connor's just a distant relative. Connor, this is Lucius Malfoy.'

'Good afternoon, Mr. Malfoy.'

Connor extended his hand formally and Lucius shook it, a slightly amused hint in his gray eyes. He must find the situation as ridiculous as I do. Then, the man asked jovially how old Connor was. Snape was surprised to see Lucius acting like that, then he remembered that he had a small child too. Probably he was more used to dealing with children than Snape was…a fact he found quite ironic.

'I'm five years old, sir.'

'Really? I have a son about your age. He's turned four recently. His name is Draco.'

Thank God Connor didn't laugh, but asked, sounding interested:

'Draco? Does it have something to do with dragons?'

'Well, yes. It's dragon in Latin.'

'Oh, I like dragons. I've never seen one, of course, but they are beautiful.'

Lucius chuckled.

'Be careful with this one, Severus. Watch out what he brings home as a pet. Last week, Draco wanted to adopt an augurey. Only Merlin knows where he got that silly idea.'

Snape suddenly felt uneasy. He hadn't thought that Connor would probably want to have a pet. Oh, great. As if taking care of a child wasn't hard enough.

Lucius Malfoy and Snape talked for some minutes about people they knew while Connor examined a Quidditch shop. At last Malfoy said he had to leave, but he talked one last time to Connor:

'You know, you can ask Severus to bring you to my mansion some time, so you can meet Draco. Would you like that?'

Connor nodded politely, even though he wasn't sure whether he'd like it or not. He hadn't met any children his own age yet, and he wondered what it'd be like.

On the other hand, Snape made a mental note: Connor would need some playmates. Merlin, this was getting much more complicated than he'd first thought…

Three or four days after Mrs. Bagnold had proclaimed Sirius Black's innocence, and a week after Connor had moved in with Snape, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Dumbledore were discussing the matter at the latter's office. Suddenly, Flitwick asked if any of them knew how Snape had reacted to the news. It wasn't probable he'd be too happy – he and Black had hated each other since they both had set foot in Hogwarts.

'No, I don't have a clue', Dumbledore admitted. 'I haven't had the chance to talk with him about it – he's so busy now, you know. And as we no longer share meals with him, there's not a lot of time to chat.'

The other two nodded. Now that Snape was taking care of Connor, his schedule had been modified so he'd come right after breakfast and he'd leave before lunch, only coming back in the afternoons twice a week. A friend of Madam Pomfrey, Mrs. Frobisher, looked after Connor while Snape was at Hogwarts. The rest of the time, though, it was the Potions Master who had to look after the boy, so he didn't have much time.

'I can go and check on him this afternoon,' Professor McGonagall said. 'I have to go to Hogsmeade anyway.'

'That'd be nice, Minerva. Also, you can see how, hum, he and Connor are adapting to their new situation.'

In other words, Professor Dumbledore was asking her to check whether Snape and Connor were trying to kill each other. The witch nodded, repressing a smirk. It'd be interesting to see how Snape was doing as a surrogate father.

When she arrived at Snape's place, she noticed he wasn't in his best mood. There were bags under his eyes and he looked really tired. However, he forced himself to be polite (well, as polite as he'd ever been with her) and let her in.

She went to say hi to Connor first, who was at the kitchen staring glumly at the plate in front of him, full of fish and vegetables.

'You can sit at the living room while I prepare you a cup of tea', Snape told her. He turned to Connor 'And you'd better eat. Including the fish.'

There was a frown on Connor's face and for a moment she thought he was going to complain, but instead he took his fork and began to eat the vegetables. He didn't look too happy about it.

Once they were both at the living room, drinking their respective cups of tea, McGonagall asked him how he was doing. Snape shrugged.

'It could be worse. But he's awfully stubborn, and I can't understand what's his problem with food. At Hogwarts he'd eat anything we gave him, but now he doesn't want to eat fish, and he has to eat it, everyone says fish is good for children, and…'

Professor McGonagall blinked.

'Er, Severus? I was asking about what happened with Sirius Black.' Seeing his puzzled look, she added, 'Haven't you read the Prophet lately?'

Snape shrugged.

'No, I've been too busy with…'

'Severus, I've finished eating,' came Connor's voice from the kitchen. 'May I go?'

'First put the plate at the sink,' He looked at McGonagall. 'What were you saying?'

She took a great gulp of air. Here we go…

'He is innocent, Severus. The Ministry of Magic has just found out that he didn't commit all those crimes…'

'Really?', he said, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. 'Wait a moment.' There was a frown on his face now. 'How did he finish eating so fast? No one can eat that fast, not even him.'

It took her a moment to realise what he was talking about. Before she could say something else, Snape stood up and walked to the kitchen.

'Connor! What's this? You've only eaten the vegetables.'

'So?'

'So? You were supposed to eat all of it! Now, sit down and eat. You won't be allowed to get up until you are finished. Is that clear?'

Connor mumbled a 'yes' and Snape returned.

'Sorry, Minerva. Now, what did you say?'

She repressed a sigh.

'I was saying that Sirius Black is innocent'.

Snape looked puzzled.

'Innocent of…? Oh, yeah. That. Really? How come?'

McGonagall hid her shock at his lack of reaction.

'The one who committed all those murders was Peter Pettigrew. You remember him, don't you?' Snape nodded and she went on. There was a tense silence now. 'He pretended to be dead, but in fact he was hiding as a rat. He turned out to be an Animagus.'

'I see', he muttered, lost in thought. Everything was silent. Too silent.

Suddenly, he stood up once more.

'Why is everything so silent, he asked, but he didn't wait for an answer. 'If Connor were really eating, he'd have to be making some noise.'

He went to the kitchen again and, resigned, she followed him. At the kitchen, Connor was staring at the fish, but he hadn't touched it.

'What's this, Connor?' Snape demanded. The boy looked quite unaffected by his tone, a tone that had made corpulent eighteen-year-old students shiver. 'Why aren't you eating the fish?'

'Because I don't like it.'

Snape folded his arms.

'You don't have to like it, you have to eat it' Then he turned to McGonagall again. 'You were saying?'

'I was trying to tell you that Sirius has got his freedom back.'

Snape stared at her blankly for many seconds.

'Oh,' he managed to say at last, and to McGonagall's shock he absently added 'Good for him.'

The witch's jaw fell open. She couldn't believe her ears. Had Severus Snape just said 'Good for him' while talking about Sirius Black? Had the world turned upside down?

Oblivious to her astonishment, Snape turned to look at the child, a frown on his face.

'Connor, if you don't eat the fish, you won't eat anything else. Do you understand?'

'Fine.'

'Fine? How can you say 'fine'? Are you planning to starve to death or what?'

The child shrugged.

'Once I went three days without eating.'

Snape looked like he was about to pull his hair out.

'He's impossible!' he exclaimed. McGonagall almost felt sorry for him.

'Severus, if you let me, I think I can help you. May I have a word with Connor in private?'

Resigned, Snape nodded and left the room. For Merlin's beard, why was Connor so impossible? Every magazine and article he'd read about children (something he'd never, ever admit) said that a healthy nutrition was vital for their development. And fish was one of the healthy things that children had to eat. Why wouldn't Connor eat it, then?

When McGonagall called him, he was astonished to see how Connor was eating the fish, almost enthusiastically. What on Earth…?

Soon, the answer was revealed. Once they were alone again, she confessed performing a charm on the fish so it'd taste like chocolate, but it'd still keep its nutritional conditions.

'But Minerva!' he protested 'He has to learn to eat things that are good for his health, not just what he likes.'

'It's true, Severus' she admitted, but he saw the hint of a smile on her face. 'But Rome wasn't built in one single day.'

He eyed her with a frown on his face.

'What do you mean?'

'Well, I'm saying that, no matter what some articles might say, children learn things one by one. And sometimes, what works for one child doesn't work for another one.'

His eyes widened. How had she known about…? Then he noticed he'd left one of those damned and useless magazines on a chair. Damn it.

'You have to give Connor some time, Severus. He won't learn everything you want to teach him in one day. You have to be patient. Pick your battles.'

'Well,' he snapped 'If you know so much about this stuff, why don't you take care of him?'

A wide smile crossed her face.

'Because he's chosen you.'

After they'd talked a while about some school matters, like the upcoming Quidditch cup (and Connor had showed her all the books Snape had bought him), she got up to leave. When they had reached the door, she was surprised to hear Snape's whisper:

'Minerva, about today…thank you.'

Occasions like these were truly rare, so the witch smiled at her colleague and replied:

'It was nothing, Severus, really.'

They said farewell when Snape called her name again:

'And, Minerva? I think I'll just start reading the Daily Prophet again from now on.'

That evening, when Professor Dumbledore asked McGonagall how Snape was dealing with Sirius's new situation, he was deeply shocked to see how the always serious and severe woman fell on an armchair and burst in laughter.

Harry Potter ran away from Number Four, Privet Drive, on a chilly night. He had decided he could no longer stay there. Not with her there.

He took the few things he had in his cupboard and put them inside a nylon bag, then he stood very still until he was sure everyone at the house was asleep. He tiptoed to the front door, took one of the keys and opened his way to freedom. He ran before anyone could stop him.

While he was running down the streets with the cool air on his face, he was filled by a feeling of freedom and joy. No one was chasing him, no one was telling him what to do. He was free at last.

In spite of this, soon he realised how dark and cold it was outside. Horrified, he realised he had nowhere to go.

His pace slowed down until he stopped walking. Anxiously, he scanned the shadows surrounding him, which looked very creepy. He was beginning to feel scared.

You can go back. You aren't so far away.

No, he'd never do that. It didn't matter how frightening the night looked, he'd never go back to the Dursleys. Especially when the dreadful Aunt Marge was visiting them.

Feeling much more confident, he rose his chin and started to walk again. In that moment, he heard it. Footsteps, right behind him.

He turned around to see the cause of the noise, and his mouth fell open in horror, as his eyes snapped wide open.

A scream was heard in the night (his scream) and then everything turned black.

Like always, a thousand thanks to Joy Solo for her amazing beta read.