Chapter 6: No More Cages

One week before the "End of Archie", Severus woke up feeling a little weird. Not bad exactly, but somewhat distant, as if he was not really inhabiting his own body. He felt disconnected all through breakfast and even walked past The Magical Toys Shop on his way to work, too distracted to realize until he was nearly entering Knockturn Alley – and what a bad idea that would have been.

He was distracted all morning, lost in thoughts about Lily, about her son, about Alastor and his new crazy idea that Severus was ready to find a flat and take some more independence, about everything but his work, but even his distractions felt distant.

The only perk of his current distracted state was that it was relatively easy to ignore Archie, despite having the teenager working at the repair workshop station just to the side of Severus's desk since the start of the day; he was apparently busy repairing a whole series of toy brooms that had been returned by customers the previous week. It looked like a spell gone rogue for the whole series and Severus didn't envy the boy for the repetitive work. It wasn't difficult spell work at all, but tedious enough: first, all the spells present on the toy had to be disabled, then it was a matter of re-spelling everything, layer after layer, and putting fixation spells between each layer carefully to prevent the next one from interfering with the work already done. It could only be done one toy at a time and Archie's mood had been getting more and more volatile as the morning went on.

It took Severus double the time required to go through that week's pile of order forms but he finally put down the last one and started to stretch his back. He definitely needed a break. He got up and understood at once that it had been a very bad idea. He tried to call for help but only a gurgled sound escaped his throat, before the ground came quickly up to collide with his body.

When he became aware of his surroundings again, Archie was yelling at him, towering above his still shaking body, the yells hurting his head as much as blows would have.

"... look at what you've done! You destroyed them all! Hours of work, you disgusting monster!"

Severus tried to tune it out but just couldn't. Too weak to protest or even to move, he just tried to cover his head and ears in a protective gesture, wanting the noise to just stop, wanting his new found consciousness to slip away and wanting to rest into oblivion. He hurt everywhere, he felt disgusting and weak and pathetic and he couldn't get away.

"Are you listening to me? You better repair them all yourself! I'm gonna tell Sirius you destroyed all my work!" Archie was still yelling, sounding hysterical at this point.

Severus, not really registering the words, tried to just make him stop:

"Lower, please…" he murmured, his eyes closed in pain.

"You're not my boss! You don't get to tell me what to do! It's enough that I have to look at your disgusting face all day! You will be fired this time, mark my words, you useless Death Eater!"

Severus vaguely noted that it was the first time Archie had mentioned that he knew who he was. He usually objected to Severus working with him on physical appearance only, but obviously, it was deeper than that; it had most definitely always been about Severus' shady reputation. Was it better or worse? Severus couldn't think straight and decide.

His thoughts were roughly interrupted when the teenager started kicking him in the ribs, seemingly blinded by his current state of rage. Severus wouldn't have thought the young man capable of physical violence, obviously he had been wrong about that too. Not able to do anything else, he just let the blows rain on him, curling into himself, his arms raised to protect his head, powerless.

It could only have lasted less than a minute, but it felt like more for Severus, and then, the violence was blessedly interrupted:

"Archie! What's going on here?"

Black had apparently come into the back room to search for one of his employees or some toys for the shop and stumbled upon the scene.

Archie stopped immediately and started yelling again, completely out of control by now. Severus just stayed on the floor, still trying to block everything out.

"Hey… Are you okay?"

Severus opened his eyes and realized that Archie was nowhere to be seen. He didn't know how long he had zoned out but Black was now apparently crouching at his side, a worried look on his face that Severus remembered having seen on Black's face exclusively when he looked at Remus Lupin sometimes during their school days. Severus wanted to acknowledge the other man's question but didn't even manage to groan something. He closed his eyes again. Sleep, he just wanted to sleep now.

"Snape, can you hear me? Don't go to sleep on the floor, man…"

Black's voice sounded a little panicky and Severus opened his eyes again. When Black started touching his shoulder Severus swatted his hand away with all the energy he had left. He just wanted Black to go away and let him sleep, damn him!

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Sirius was trying not to panic, but it was incredibly hard. Alastor was going to kill him. He was a dead man.

Screaming at Archie had helped with the wave of terrible anger he had felt stumbling upon the horrible scene. The little shit kicking Snape, who was lying on the floor, helpless and clearly unwell, had made Sirius angrier than he remembered having been since just after the war, when his emotions were very volatile. He had fired him on the spot, of course, to hell with his important father! Archie had been going on and on about Snape falling on his work and daring to convulse on top of his repaired toys. Sirius had been appalled by the cruelty of it all. Now, however, he felt like he would trade the helplessness he was feeling for anger any day of the week.

Come on. Alastor had briefed him about Snape's having seizures sometimes, not the weird ones where he seemed to disconnect for a minute but the ones like today's, when he lost consciousness and jerked around before waking up weak and unwell. Sirius tried to remember what the Auror had told him he should do.

He regretted now having backed Snape up about taking his medical bracelet off during work. He could have done with Alastor's help right now. He felt very alone and like the responsibility to deal with the situation was too big for him.

Sleep! That's what Alastor had said; he focused on what else he could remember for a few moments and a plan started to form in Sirius' head. He could finally feel the panic going away, slowly.

His head clearer, Sirius looked at Snape's form: his eyes were closed and his face was frozen in an expression of mixed exhaustion and pain… A white streak of hair was clinging to his cheek, clearly drenched in sweat. Was he hurt? Did he hurt himself falling? No. Alastor had explained about that too… there were spells on him, he couldn't hurt himself because of the fits. Muscle pains then, because of the spasms. Oh, and Archie's kicking him couldn't have helped either… That little shit!

Sirius tried to avoid the spit and other suspicious bodily fluids, trying to keep his disgust out of his face, and started to pull Snape into a standing position, supporting most of his weight. The other man let him manipulate him like he was a human-sized doll, heavy and limp in Sirius's arms. Sirius could feel the bones through the fabric and was appalled by Snape's thinness, but at the same time, his body felt unnaturally heavy, like a dead body would.

"Easy, Snape," he said when the man started to slip away from him. "Alright, we don't need to go very far."

"'kay," was the monosyllabic reply.

Would Snape be offended if Sirius levitated him? Realising that the other man was starting to respond more coherently, Sirius chose to ask him directly:

"Snape, would it be alright if I levitated you for a moment?"

"Yeah, 'lright."

Sirius flicked his wand without waiting for Snape to change his mind, immediately relieved at not having to fully support his weight. He carefully directed Snape towards the door with the "Private" sign at the other side of the room, and took care not to bump him too much on the walls or ceiling while going up the stairs.

Once on the landing, he chose the door directly on the left and entered his own bedroom. Sirius wasn't exactly happy about putting the greasy git – among other things – in his bed but he didn't really have a choice. He hastily casted a cleaning spell on the man before laying him down on the bed, under the covers. Snape immediately grabbed Sirius' pillow under his arm and turned on his side, in a loose fetal position. He was asleep within seconds.

Sirius stood in silence for a moment, observing the other man. He was laying on his right side, which meant most of the scarring wasn't visible; it shook Sirius to the core to recognize the face. It was Snape. It was his Snape from school. It was Severus Snape, and Sirius realised in an instant of weird clarity that he didn't hate him anymore. It should have been logical and obvious since the war, since learning what Snape did to save Lily – to save them all – but it only hit him in the face at that exact moment. Like a healthy slap.

Sirius stayed still for a long time, looking at the face, recognizing its components: the nose, the dark eyelashes casting shadows on the pale cheek, the thin lips, even that little line around the mouth, the bitter line that only looked sad in the currently relaxed face. Snape looked simultaneously young and broken. It made Sirius' heart ache like he wouldn't have believed it could for that particular man. And just like that, like being struck by lightning, Sirius could see the remnants of his childhood world crumple around him, and he realised that he had been holding onto them all along; since the end of the war, he had not been able to really let go. But now, seeing the old, familiar pillars hitting the ground, the damaged ceiling going down with them in an impressive rumble, Sirius knew it was time to look forward to something else. Everything: gone, leaving behind an endless field full of broken parts from his old cherished life, his happiest memories. An endless field, ravaged, but also full of reconstruction possibilities for the first time in years.

Sirius Black didn't hate Severus Snape anymore, and he knew now, he could taste the change on his tongue, that he was the one who had been wrong all along.

Once he could finally shake himself from his weird mood, Sirius contacted Alastor immediately. He had promised the older man that he would keep him informed if anything were to happen to Snape since the discussion around the bracelets. Alastor was at the shop in less than fifteen minutes, frantic in his worry. He only started to calm down after having been able to see Snape sleeping peacefully for himself. He hadn't really premeditated it but Sirius didn't tell him about Archie; he felt like it would put Alastor at risk of doing something unwise.

Alastor stayed in Sirius's flat while Sirius went back to the shop for the rest of the day. It was a nightmare all around since from three competent men he was now reduced to working all by himself. He was more than happy to call it a day. Snape was still sleeping when he came back upstairs, so he kept Alastor for dinner and it helped him release all the stress from that day.

Snape woke up after midnight, after fourteen hours straight of sleep, and he still looked exhausted. Alastor took him home immediately but not before Snape had thanked Sirius several times and apologized profusely for having used his bed in his state. It made Sirius so uncomfortable that he still felt slightly nauseous after the two men had left the flat.

Sirius knew from that day on that his relationship with Snape could never be the same ever again.

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"Actually, that's kind of a good idea, Snape!"

"It is?" Snape looked sincerely baffled at Sirius's assessment. it made Sirius smile, a little more fondly that he should allow for Snape.

"Could you… I dunno, make variations of it? Like, some separate kits to go with the main set?"

"What kind of variations?"

"You know, one kit to help with… gardening or something, and then one that specializes on helping with the cooking, I don't know… Things like that?"

"I… I think so? I could definitely do one on cosmetics or things like soap and shampoo?"

Sirius nearly made the automatic joke at the mention of "shampoo," before closing his mouth again and just nodding. Snape didn't notice the little pause and, somehow, it made Sirius feel even worse for having even thought about throwing the usual grease-based jeer. He shook his head and offered, as if to compensate for the mean thing he had nearly said:

"Well, I have a proposition: tomorrow, you leave the orders and all that nonsense to me, and you prepare a detailed product study that you will show me at the end of the day. How does that sound?"

"Oh. Okay. I… I don't have any experience with creating toys, Black," replied Snape, looking worried. "Do you have a template I should use or an old project where I could learn the format?"

Sirius laughed openly at that.

"Oh man, you never did anything for fun, Snape, did you?" At the other man's frown, Sirius added, not unkindly, "I don't care about the format. Just write your idea down, think about the practical details and how to make it happen. Things like that. It's just something to prepare to be able to run me through it, not a formally written pattern for the Innovation and Magical Creations Bureau! I will help if it ever comes to that, don't worry."

Snape, still looking a little wary, just nodded.

"Good. Now, back to work, I think."

The rest of the day went on without any particular incident. The next morning, Snape arrived ten minutes early for his shift, looking exhausted. Sirius wondered if it was stress from the task of having to present his creation that day that had prevented Snape from sleeping but didn't say anything about it, somewhat knowing that it would not be well received. He just made sure to keep a caring eye on Snape and that the other man took several breaks and didn't forget to eat and drink.

When the moment to discuss the project came, Snape looked so much like his twitchy teenage self – all nervous energy and sweaty palms – that Sirius wanted to laugh and had a hard time keeping his giddiness in check. Fortunately for him, Snape was so focused on his work that he didn't seem to notice.

It was brillant.

Snape had a detailed plan for the basic set, an assortment of helpful little potions: a natural weed killer, a fertilizer for magical cooking herbs, a kid-friendly shampoo that made straight hair curl and curled hair straighten, a preparation to make big multicolored magical bubbles capable of cleaning any surface they were blown onto, and a basic bruise healing cream that could be used on everyday children's boo-boos and changed into funny characters once applied on the skin. All the detailed recipes for each preparation had been carefully written down, in a basic step-by-step format adapted for children – and for Sirius, for that matter.

He had also sourced each ingredient with a potential provider, assessed the costs of the raw material, the production, the work time to put each kit together and the designer's fee for the box and instruction cards to be included should they choose to do that.

There were also multiple additional kit ideas: a cosmetics/hygiene products one with multiple cleansing or basic care products with a fun twist, a special gardening one with different child-appropriate products to take care of magical plants – and Snape even suggested to put some seeds with it, which was indeed a good idea – a healing kit with anything a family could need, from basic burning paste to magical fizzy disinfectant. Only good stuff.

However, what really tickled Sirius's businessman side was the "A la Carte" program. Snape had imagined a service where parents could ask for a particular potion-based project they wanted to work on with their children, and the shop (which meant Snape, really), would elaborate a simplified brewing process customized to the child's age and the parents' skills and needs. It was genius, really. Sirius could already see that the pricing Snape had come up with was way below the curve and he knew that, if they could pull it off, this could be a revolution for the shop. It was so simple too: a simple box capable of asking pre-determined questions to the person wanting to use the service, an assessment spell capable to determine if it was feasible in an automated way, a clever system to send the summed-up demand directly to a special register in the back shop that would list the different commands by order of priority and automatically send the orders for the basic ingredients after a quick approval process by a human as safeguard.

Everything was detailed and thought out, Sirius was in awe that Snape could have come up with something so thorough in so little time. He was also secretly shocked at how fun and child-appropriate every final product idea was, coming from someone like Snape who seemed to hate children AND not knowing what fun even meant.

Looking at Snape's anxious face when he ended his – hilariously formal – presentation, Sirius couldn't keep it in any longer, he started to laugh so hard, he had tears in his eyes when he finally started to regain control. Snape looked so offended, it nearly sent Sirius back into hilarity. He took a deep breath, however, and succeeded in controlling himself, at last.

"Don't look at me like that, Snape. You did a great job here… What am I even saying: it's brilliant! We're doing it and you're the new Project Manager for that new line. Oh, and you got yourself a pay raise to go with the new job, of course, starting tomorrow. Well done."

"Are you making fun of me, Black?" asked Snape suspiciously, looking stricken.

Sirius could only laugh again while trying to shake his head in honest denial. Snape obviously didn't believe him… until he was met with a long list of details to sort out and a very real project timeline the day after their discussion.

From that moment on, there was a little something in Snape's walk when he was going to work that made Alastor smile every morning. The lad was going to be alright.

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Severus was so nervous, he kept reading the same roll of parchment over and over again without registering what that particular provider was saying. He had started to contact all the potential suppliers for his potions set idea the week before, asking for details on delays, quantities, and of course official estimates if they were to work together and was beginning to receive answers. It wasn't what was on his mind at that moment, however, as Sirius had informed him – informed, not asked – that James Potter and Lily were going to visit the shop that day and that they wanted to use the occasion to talk to him.

In a way, not having been prepared for Lily a few weeks prior had been a kind of blessing as he hadn't been able to stress over it in advance. The wait was torture. Severus wanted to find an excuse to leave early but couldn't resolve himself to play sick for such a silly reason when he knew that the real version of it was sure to happen over and over again despite his feeling of humiliation over it.

The decision was taken away from him a little while later, however, when the unsubtle voice of James Potter reached his little corner of the backroom. The dunderhead seemed to goof around with Black like they were still obnoxious teenagers. Severus couldn't help but snort.

He kept an ear trained on the sounds and tried to keep going with his work until the inescapable interruption. He was so focused on Potter and Black's guffaws that he nearly jumped out of his skin when Lily's voice resounded behind him:

"Hello Sev, working hard?" she asked, a smile in her voice.

Severus turned around at once and couldn't help his relief at seeing her standing there, just behind his chair, blessedly alone. She seemed to have decided to leave the two idiots behind and come see him.

"Hullo…" he replied, dumbly.

"What are you working on?"

Severus studied her face to see if she was just being polite or genuinely interested but she was way more difficult to read now compared to when they were children. Deciding that he may as well answer, he started to explain the project to her, not entirely able to filter the pride he was feeling over it all. It was ridiculous really… it was just a toy potions set, nothing to write home about. Lily disagreed with his sobering assessment:

"But, that's wonderful Sev! I can't believe you came up with something like that on your own! Well, actually, I totally can: you were always so creative."

"I was?" Severus asked, bewildered by that assessment of his character.

"Oh yes! Do you remember that ink you made for Tuney during the summer after our fourth year?"

Severus tried to think about it but came up blank. What was she talking about? Lily seemed to sense that he didn't know what she was referring too and explained further:

"How could you forget?! It changed every boy name she wrote in her diary into "giant squid" , it was hilarious! And mean… but mostly hilarious!"

"Oh, that? Yes, I remember… I also remember how mad at me you were over it, and now you're telling me it was hilarious?" he couldn't quite filter out all the bitterness from his statement.

"I didn't want to encourage you," replied Lily evenly. "Anyway, how have you been? Sirius told us that you had an episode a few weeks ago, I hope you're all recovered?"

Severus felt his cheeks heat and could imagine the awful brick-coloured blush that was sure to be covering his face right now… One of the rare things that was certain to make him even more ugly than he already was, quite an accomplishment really.

"I'm fine," he said, finally, looking away.

There was an awkward pause and, when Severus was about to ask her how she had been just to make the uncomfortable moment go away, James Potter came waltzing into view, grabbing Lily by the hip in a show of affection that made Severus grit his teeth in irritation. Severus also didn't miss the wince the other man couldn't quite hide when he looked at his broken face. Most people reacted that way of course, but it made Severus want to hit him all the same, make the arrogant man's pretty face swell for once, that would make his day better.

"Hello, Snape," greeted Potter, slightly dancing from one foot to the other, obviously highly uncomfortable.

"Potter," was all Severus could manage, his dislike heavy in his voice.

"Play nicely," said Lily, still smiling while she threw Severus a pointed look. Circe! but she was a Gryffindor.

"So, huh, Snape… How have you been?"

Potter was still an idiot then, noted.

"Dandy," replied Severus, the sarcasm so heavy in his voice that even the likes of James Potter could notice.

And as if on cue, the man frowned. Lily, still looking relaxed despite the high tension in the air, just hit Severus lightly on the shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at the casual gesture. How he had missed her…

Severus should have counted himself lucky, however, because just at that moment, Black came into view from the shop, trotting like a puppy after a new chewy ball. He reached them and, finally reading the room, looked at them, one after the other.

"What's going on, here, you're not fighting, are you, James?"

The fact that Black was addressing his slightly accusative question to his best friend and not him made Severus feel a wave of warmth for his boss that he didn't want to study too closely.

"No we're not!" replied James, looking a little offended, "you should train your staff better on the matter of human interaction, however, this one is quite rough around the edges if you ask me!"

"James!"

Lily looked crossed this time and James winced. Black, as was often the case, didn't seem affected by the rising emotions and just let out his bark of a laugh, looking as relaxed and laid back as ever.

"You know what, pal, you're not entirely wrong about this one," Black said, clapping James on the shoulder in a show of virile friendship that made Severus wince, "He's all bark and no bite though, cute as a groaning puppy, look at him!"

Severus's first reaction should have been outrage; that's why he was the first to be surprised when a guttural laugh started bubbling in his chest, slowly making his way along his throat to escape out of his mouth, a little hysterically.

Lily was the first to follow, then Black and, after a while, Potter's look of profound bewilderment turned into laughter too. The bits of hysterical laughter lasted for some time; every time they started to somehow calm down, one of them would start again, taking the three others down in the process. Severus's ribs were hurting and he was so air-deprived after a while that he had to sit on the floor because his legs couldn't support him anymore. He was the last one to do so.

Potter was the first to speak:

"Well, I think I needed that!"

"Not as much as I did," replied Black, in a loaded way Severus didn't understand.

"So, Snape," said Potter, startling Severus who had been studying them from his spot on the floor, "you can laugh, after all, who would have thought!"

Lily rolled her eyes but didn't say anything this time.

"The fact that you never made me laugh, Potter, is more a reflection on your inadequacies when it comes to humor than any physical inability on my part," replied Severus, waspishly.

That made Potter laugh again and Severus couldn't, for the life of him, understand why. He concluded that the man had always been silly, apparently he hadn't changed that much. They stayed in that undignified rough circle on the floor, like schoolchildren, and talked for a little while. Now that the tension had been diffused, the flow wasn't as awkward and Severus found himself being included in the other three's silly banter. It was weird and warm at the same time – an utterly alien feeling, not totally unpleasant.

Sirius had Severus explain his new project again to Potter and the man looked genuinely impressed, making Severus sit taller and hate himself for it. The awkwardness made an appearance again towards the end of the Potter visit when Potter brought little Harry into the conversation:

"You know, Snape, I would totally enjoy brewing your bubble stuff when Harry is a little bigger, that looks very fun and I'm sure that no better way to clean the shower glass has ever been invented!"

"Hey," replied Lily, pushing James playfully, "don't try to pass your chores onto Harry, you sloth!"

"Nice try, mate," interjected Black, apparently used to inserting himself into the couple's day-to-day little routine; it made Severus feel uncomfortable by proxy, he really envied Black's effortless easygoing state of being, not that he would have admitted it out loud of course.

"Speaking of Harry," said Lily, turning over to look at Severus, filling him with dread at the change of tone, "when are you coming to see him?"

"I… Are you sure… I mean…" stuttered Severus, feeling his horrible blush resurfacing.

"Don't worry, Snape, my godson is an angel, you will like him, no doubt about it!" said Black proudly, unhelpful as ever.

Severus felt trapped. He didn't want to meet little Harry… Well, he didn't want Harry to meet him, to be precise. Looking at the doting parents' faces, even he could sense that he couldn't say that.

"I will look up a date tonight, I will let you know if that's alright," he lied through his teeth.

They seemed satisfied by his answer and he started to breathe again. He didn't feel as much relief as he would have thought at not being discovered. It only made him feel like his soul was now matching his face.

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Severus was dragging his feet like a teenager. Alastor greeted his teeth in irritation. It was the fifth flat they had visited that day and still no success. The first one had been too dark, the second had apparently had too many windows, Alastor couldn't even remember what had been wrong with the third and fourth, and the one they just exited was on the fifth floor which was indeed a bother in regards to Severus's health.

"Can we go home, now, old man?" asked Severus, sullenly.

"Not before we find something. I would start being a little less picky if I were you, Severus," groaned Alastor.

"Surely, you don't consider me having objections about escalating five storeys every day 'picky?'"

"That one was reasonable, but don't make me start on the 'excessive number of windows' excuse, lad."

Severus didn't reply, his expression souring even more. He put his hands in the pockets of his outer robes and followed Alastor silently, looking at his feet.

Alastor stopped suddenly, looking at a piece of parchment in his hands to check the address and then back again at the number on the little plaque near the door of the building he was looking at. They were nearly at the end of Diagon and the proximity to Knockturn Alley didn't really put Alastor at ease with the location.

"It's here. Behave," was Alastor's only instruction before ringing the bell.

This last flat was on the first floor, with three – a reasonable number it seemed – big windows: one in the bedroom and two in the kitchen/living room area, simple but sturdy oak furniture and an old, kind landlady living across the hall. It was perfect. It matched Severus's finances, would allow him to have someone at hand in case of emergency at nearly all times and was, all in all, very close to his work. Even Severus's weak objections were only half-hearted this time. They ended up signing the rental contract with Alastor as guarantor despite Severus' protests about it.

Alastor wouldn't have let anyone know, but helping Severus to pack up his – albeit meager – belongings filled his heart with so much sadness that he actually cried when Severus moved out the next week. Of course, he did so in solitude and called himself 'silly' about it… but it was a hard step for him too. Severus didn't look too dry-eyed himself when they closed the door behind them, but Alastor, knowing how proud the young man could be, didn't comment on it, choosing to make silly jokes that made the younger man roll his eye instead.

Alastor knew, however, that when you really loved someone, when you cared, you had to let them go; and so he did everything to help Severus settle in his newly found independence after that. He had quickly realized that, under his indifferent facade, Severus was as affected as he was, maybe more so, and seeing the young man accept each of his invitations to come to dinner – at his or out – always made him smile fondly. Of course, it was always with a derogatory comment about how Alastor should get better friends or how he needed to learn to cook… but it always made Alastor answer with a fond smile, a smile getting even bigger at Severus's own frown.

Looking at the long way they had come from, from that fateful day at the Ministry when his team had dragged in the filthy, scrawny delinquent, to that young man moving forward with his life with such strength and such fortitude, Alastor felt proud like he would have for his own child.

An oversized, insufferable, brave child: leaving the nest to take over the entire world. The pain of it was a fucking privilege.