Ron and Hermione were staring at him, Sirius looked horrified, and Severus looked ever so slightly smug as Harry crossed his arms and said, "I live with him. Severus is going to be my legal guardian."

Sirius stared at his godson, not saying a word. It was Ron who spoke first, "Harry, mate, what the bloody hell are you on about? You live with your family, you live with the Dursley's, not Snape."

"No I don't." Harry told him, still holding his arms across him defensively, "I moved into Severus' quarters at Hogwarts a week ago. I've moved out from the Dursley's, I don't live with them anymore. I live with Severus. He's going to be my legal guardian."

Sirius sprang to life at the words, suddenly realising what all of Harry's words meant, he and turned on Severus with a vengeance, "What have you cursed him with Snape?" He roared. His first were balled and his face was scrunched with anger. Remus moved closer to the door of the room, watching Sirius' movements.

"Excuse me?" Severus asked, "What are you suggesting?"

"You've done something to him! What have you done to him?" Sirius reached for his wand but quickly realised he still didn't have one, "What spell have you cursed him with to make him think like this? To make him agree to this? He's my godson!"

"And now he is my ward." Severus said coldly, not responding to Sirius' anger with his own, "You are a wanted felon, Black. You couldn't possibly have taken him into your home. You like to think you could have, but it would never have been possible."

"You sick, twisted -" Sirius lunged for Snape but Remus darted into the room quickly, having anticipated the move. He got in the way and dragged Sirius away from the Potions Master, who didn't look affected but held his wand firmly. There was clearly a group of people situated by the door, the Weasleys and aurors, who all looked shocked at the new revelation.

"Harry?" Hermione said quietly, stepping forward to take her friend's arm, "Is it true?"

Harry nodded, "Of course it's true, Hermione. I wouldn't say it otherwise."

"Why didn't you tell us?" She looked sad, and Harry almost felt sorry for her. He never wanted to keep secrets from his friends. He had never told them the extend of the Dursley's torture. He never told them how he was treated, and so this situation was difficult to explain.

"Why didn't you tell me about all of this?" Harry said instead, and gestured to the room they stood in, the base of a secret society he knew nothing about. Hermione looked ashamed, nodding slightly and walked to stand next to Ron, who looked like he was fuming, "Ron?"

"Snape?" Ron hissed, "Are you kidding, Harry? He hates you!"

"No he doesn't," Harry argued, "He apologised for all that. I know it's strange but -"

"Strange? Harry, you can't live with Snape. No matter what he says, he doesn't mean it! You can't. You just can't. What will the rest of Gryffindor say? You have to move out. Come live with us here or at the Burrow -"

"No." Harry interrupted adamantly, "I live at Hogwarts now."

Sirius spoke up from where Remus was holding him back, "Not a chance, pup. Your Dad would roll over in his grave if he could see this. You living with Snivellus of all people. I'll get you out of this. It's not official yet. You can come and live with me, here, that's how it should be. I'm your godfather, your parents named me such. You are my responsibility, not his."

"Actually," Severus cleared his throat, "I've got to interrupt your fantasies, Black. It is already been made official, Harry was just not made aware yet. I am already his legal guardian, and he is my legal ward and responsibility."

Harry rounded on Severus, looking shocked and wide-eyed, "What?"

"It was made official a few days ago." Severus took the letter he had been storing for Harry out of his robes pocket, handing it over to the boy, "I didn't exactly mean for the information to be shared at a time like this -"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I was waiting until your birthday. I tried to tell you this morning, as I wanted you to know before you saw your friends, but you were rather immersed in your art equipment."

"Art equipment?" Remus asked, at the same time as Hermione. They looked at each other and smiled at their shared curiosity.

Harry didn't look up at them as he spoke, he was too busy ripping open the letter Severus had handed him, "Severus brought me lots of art equipment for my birthday. He added a room onto my bedroom in his quarters, so I could have my own art studio to work in."

"Harry that sounds wonderful -"

"Trying to buy him, are you Severus?" Sirius spat, struggling in Remus' strong hold, "I'll fight against this. This won't happen. You are lying. You can't be his guardian. The ministry would never allow it. Does Dumbledore know about this?"

Dumbledore, at that very moment, appeared at the door, as the red-headed Weasley's parted for him. The room was overcrowded with the amount of people in it, but no one paid attention to the heat, "I was perfectly aware, Sirius, I personally wrote to the Ministry in favour of the action. The ministry has allowed it, and the Dursley's signed for the transfer of guardianship. It is legally binding."

"How could you -"

"It's all here." Harry interrupted, and Sirius turned his hopeless gaze on his godson, who held out the letter before looking at it again, "It says it right here, 'The official guardianship of Harry James Potter, the recipient of this letter, has been transferred with ministry approval from Petunia Dursley, to that of Severus Tobias Snape. Severus Tobias Snape takes all legal responsibility from this day forward, until Harry James Potter becomes of legal age' See?"

Sirius looked devastated as Harry handed him the letter. He grabbed it and his mad eyes scanned it nervously, and he looked more and more saddened with every line of writing he read. He looked up at Harry miserably, "Pup…"

"I'm happy this way, Sirius." Harry told him, taking back the letter, "Please don't be too upset."

Sirius stared at him for a moment, then looked at Severus, and back at his godson. He straightened up in Remus' grip, pushed his old friend away from him, and walked out of the room. Harry was silent as he listened to the footsteps go down the stairs.

Severus turned to Harry, "Are you alright?"

Harry nodded once, "Yes."

"Good." Severus turned to the rest of the adults, who couldn't decided what to do or where to move, "Why don't we leave Professor Lupin, Mr Weasley, Miss Granger and Harry to talk for a while. The rest of us can resume our places downstairs until they are done."

"Thank you." Harry called to his guardian, and Severus shepherded people out of the room and away from what felt like a crime scene. Severus nodded to him, and shut the door behind the retreating crowd, and the four of them were left. A teacher and three of his former students.

Ron exploded, "I cannot bloody believe this!"

"Ron -"

"Snape? Of all the people, Harry? Mate, please tell me this is all just one prolonged joke that you are playing on us." He snatched the letter from Harry's hand, and the scarred boy made no protest. Ron looked desperate, "Come on mate…"

"Ron stop." Hermione said softly.

"Talk some sense into him Hermione. I am with Sirius on this one."

"Why?" Hermione asked him, looking as if the mention of the animagus offended her deeply. She sat on the bed with the holyhead harpies cover, on the furthest side of the room, "If Harry is happy this way, if Professor Snape is treating him well and not acting prejudiced, what exactly is the problem? Harry if you are comfortable and happy this way then I, for one, will not stand in the way of it. I am struggling with concept, but I will try to support you."

"Thank you Hermione. That means a lot." Harry told her, pleased at her kindness. She smiled back at him.

"Hermione…" Ron sighed and sat next to Hermione, head in hands.

"What about you, Remus?" Hermione ignored Ron, turning to their former Professor, "I know you and Professor Snape have never been friends, and did not get on during your own days at Hogwarts, but you can be happy for Harry, yes?"

Remus looked at Harry, sadly, "Would you have considered me?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned, sitting on the opposite bed to Hermione and Ron.

"To be your guardian, would you have even considered me?" Remus asked again.

"Of course I would have," Harry said immediately, "Remus if it wasn't for your… well your furry little problem, as you call it, you would have been my first choice."

"After Sirius."

"Sirius is a convicted felon on the run."

"I know, but he is your godfather."

"Who consistently gets my name wrong."

Remus looked gutted, but nodded at the statement, "You honestly would have considered me?" The ex-Professor looked so depraved, and Harry felt a surge of regretful emotion for the man. He would never know what it was like to feel so cast out, as a man like Remus did.

"Honestly." Harry told him truthfully, and Remus sat down next to him. He spoke to all of them, "I know you don't get it, but Severus was just the simplest option, the one that made most sense. I couldn't stay here, with Sirius or you, Remus. The Burrow, Ron, I am afraid it just doesn't have enough security and wards. The securest place, Dumbledore believes, is for me to stay at Hogwarts. Severus was willing to take me on as his ward, and I am happy with it being that way."

"And he hasn't been, well, awful?" Remus inquired.

"Not at all. He apologised for all of his past behaviour, blaming it on childhood animosity with James and the rest of you. We've begun on a clean slate, and we've been getting on well." He looked at his two best friends and his mentor, "Please be happy for me."

Remus smiled, and clapped him on shoulder, "If that is the case, then I am happy for you. Just… just message me, anytime you need me."

Harry grinned and leaned in to hug Remus, "I will, thank you."

Ron looked up, swallowed and saw the other three's eyes on him, "I don't like it." He told them firmly, "And the rest of Gryffindor won't like it either."

"I know." Harry responded.

"And you still want to go through with it?"

"It has already happened Ron."

Ron sighed, running his hands through his hair, "I still don't like it." He repeated.

"He is a much, much better choice than the Dursley's ever were, you know. You should see my room. He treats me a lot better than they ever did. " Harry told him, "Ron you are my best friend. I don't want you to hate me over this."

Ron shook his head immediately, "I'd never hate you, mate." Harry held out his hand and Ron took it. They both stood and hugged, clapping each other on the back, "Just don't start calling him 'dad' or anything, I don't think I could handle that. And don't go making friends with all the Slytherins."

Harry laughed, "Neither of those is ever going to happen, don't worry."

"Good." The boys relinquished their hold on each other, and Ron cleared his throat, "I suppose we should go downstairs then, I bet Mum is all over the place. She'll probably be asking Snape all sorts of questions, you should go save him. Fred and George will be enjoying it to no end."

The four of them made their way downstairs, and they gave big grins as everyone turned to look at them. Severus was, as Ron had said, being interrogated by Molly Weasley, but he managed to excuse himself from her presence as Harry came into the room. He looked incredibly relieved as he asked, "Everything alright?"

"Yes, I think so." Harry told him, "Remus was slightly upset that he can't be considered as my guardian because of his lycanthropy, but he is pleased that I am happy at least. Hermione was very understanding, as she always is. Ron doesn't, like it, but has agreed to support me as we are friends." He grinned at his guardian, "So it's official then, you're stuck with me."

"Indeed." Severus said. He delved into his pockets and brought out a small envelope, "Here, these are for you as well. Again, there was no time earlier." He handed it to his new ward, who looked at quizzically.

"Another present?"

"Not exactly."

Harry took the contents of the envelope out. Inside was a set of photographs displaying some of the most disgusting rooms he had ever seen, yet they were oddly familiar. He grimaced as he flicked through them, not understanding the significance, "What in Merlin's name is this?"

"I thought I would show you how the Dursley's ended up after I visited them for their signature on the transfer documents." Severus drawled, and Harry stared at him in awe, looking back down at the pictures and imagining them without grease and grime and mould… They were the rooms he had had to clean for so many years, "I thought they deserved a taste of their own medicine."

"This… This…" Harry started, and then grinned, "This is oddly satisfying."

"I thought you may say that. Now, you should speak to the rest of the Weasley's." Severus nodded to the cluster of red heads watching them avidly, "Molly all but roasted me when we arrived back downstairs. She clearly worries for you. And young Miss Weasley also looks confused."

Molly and Arthur were worried about him, and it took a while for him to assure them that Severus was treating him very well. Ginny had joined in on the conversation, and he spoke to her privately afterwards as well. She had hugged him, kissed him on the cheek and behaved much like Hermione, promising to support him. Percy hadn't said a word, and the twins wanted to know whether he would help them prank the Slytherin's, now he was living in the dungeons.

Throughout all of these talks, Sirius never once returned to the room, and in the end Harry started walking around the house looking for him. It took a while, but he eventually stumbled upon a strange room with the wallpaper showing a large family tree. Sirius was stood there staring at it, his eyes flittering over each person's face, analyzing them and frowning.

"This is the Black family tree… My family tree." He said wistfully, as Harry entered the room. He pointed to a blackened spot, as if a cigarette had been stubbed all over it, "My mother did that, after I ran away… Charming woman." He laughed cheerlessly, with no humour or joy, "I was sixteen. I hated the lot of them, with their pureblood ideals…"

"Where did you go?"

"To your Dad's." Sirius said sadly, his hand tracing the blackened mark on the wall and then falling away, "I was always welcome at the Potter's. I see so much of him in you, Harry. You are so very much alike."

"I'm not so sure." Harry said uncomfortably, "I want to be my own person as well, Sirius. You know I hate it, even if you don't mean it, when you call me James. I'm not him. I'm not James."

"And I hate that you call him James, and not Dad." Sirius said sharply, "He will always be you Dad."

"I know that, but I never knew him." Harry said, exasperated with Sirius' behaviour, "I know you are upset that I am living with Severus, I know you don't like it or him, I know you think my parents wouldn't like it but -"

Another of Sirius' joyless laughs cut through his words, "Your parents would roll over and claw their ways through the mud they are buried under to stop this, if they could. James… James would be so disappointed."

"Why? Because I finally have someone to look out for me?" Harry spat, and Sirius looked at him, "You didn't act like a godfather that night, when my parents died, you know. Instead of looking after me you ran off to go play auror, and faced the consequences afterwards. Suddenly though, now that you are around and don't agree with something I have chosen to do, it is suddenly your right to make all the decisions?"

Sirius was clearly offended, "Harry how dare you suggest -"

"No, how dare you!" Harry retorted, "I'm happy, Sirius. You are my godfather and I don't want that to change. I know who my parents are, and I know that will never change. But I live with Severus now."

Sirius walked towards him, "He's a death eater, Harry. Did you know that? He used to work for you-know-who, and you have signed your life away to him! Snape could hand you over to you-know-who and the rest of them tomorrow."

"He wouldn't."

"He might." Sirius countered, "You don't know. You've only been living with him a week, you said, and before that you hardly spoke. Harry trust me. I've known the man for twenty years. He's not right, and he is not on our side."

"Dumbledore trusts him."

"I don't. I never will. Especially not with you."

"You hate him because of your school days. You say I have hardly ever spoken to him, you haven't spoken to him either, you've been in Azkaban for twelve years for Merlin's sake! You have no idea what he is like." He gave his godfather a hard look, "No one is the same as they were in school."

Sirius sighed, "Harry please, please just listen to me." He placed his hands on Harry's shoulders, giving the son of his best friend a pleading look, "Please don't live with him. Fine, the guardianship has gone through. He's your guardian, but come live here with me. Please. Ask Dumbledore, he'll let you."

"You…" Harry moved away from Sirius, "You don't get it. I want to stay at Hogwarts. You haven't even asked why I left the Dursley's. You don't know anything about the situation at all."

"Fine then, why did you leave the Dursley's? I assumed it was because of you-know-who's return. Is there more? Did something happen?" Sirius looked interested and concerned but Harry knew it was all an act. It was just an act to try and persuade him to leave Hogwarts and Severus and to come and live at Grimmauld Place.

Harry found that he didn't want to tell Sirius about the Dursley's. He didn't feel comfortable talking about it here, with his godfather, not like he had been comfortable with Severus. It was an unsettling realisation, but he knew he couldn't speak of it.

"They're waiting for me; to open my presents." He muttered, and walked out of the room.

"Harry!" Sirius called after him, but Molly had seen him and quickly ushered him into the kitchen again, where everyone was seated and holding their present to Harry each. Severus gave him a kind but quizzical look, and Harry tried to convey 'We'll talk about it later' in his returning expression. Severus nodded, so Harry presumed he understood.

His presents were wonderful and kind, but none were as thoughtful as what Severus had given him earlier in the day. A broom cleaning kit from Ron (standard) and books from Hermione (predictable), joke products from the twins (obviously) and sweets galore from Ginny and the rest of the Weasley's (they were always trying to fatten him up).

Remus gave him a beautiful set of feather quills for the upcoming school year, which he was especially thankful for. He knew Remus didn't have much money, held back by new legislation he couldn't get a job, so this was an extremely precious gift. The teachers of Hogwarts had clubbed together to give him an old edition of Hogwarts; A History, with personal notes from Bathilda Bagshot in it. Hermione poured over the book like it was a relic to worship.

Sirius didn't speak as he handed over his gift, and Harry unwrapped it to find a framed non-moving photo of his parents on their wedding day. Lily looked beautiful in her silk white dress, and James looked handsome and so in love with his bride. Harry smiled and thanked Sirius, and everyone but Severus cooed over the picture. Harry just wasn't convinced by the gift.

It was lovely to see his parents so in love, and on such a special day, but he knew why Sirius had done it, and it wasn't for Harry at all. It was just another way of trying to remind Harry of his parentage, where he came from, trying to keep him as James' and Lily's son and not as his own person. He grit his teeth and smiled at everyone but inside he secretly hated Sirius for giving him such a gift, especially after the argument they had just had. He placed it face down on the table, and thanked everyone for their generosity.

They socialised for a while more, ate some cake, before Severus sent all of the presents through the fireplace to their quarters and made ready to leave. Harry hugged everyone bar his godfather, receiving a few last compliments on his new clothing, final birthday wishes, promises to meet up again in August, and wishes for him to live well with Severus. He saw one last meaningful look of detest from Sirius as he stepped into the fireplace with the man's enemy.

In a matter of seconds, they had landed back at Hogwarts, and Harry collapsed on one of the sofa's in the living room. His presents had piled themselves neatly by the fireplace, but he knew that going through them meant seeing the picture of his parents again, and he couldn't face that right now.

"Was it that bad?" Severus asked, sitting on the edge of the opposite sofa, "I thought you would have enjoyed seeing your friends for your birthday, but you look rather distraught."

"I'm not distraught, and it wasn't bad. Thank you for organising it. I just can't handle Sirius' childish behaviour."

"You are very welcome. What did the mutt have to say for himself when you spoke to him?" Harry gave his guardian a pointed look, "Fine, what did Black have to say for himself?"

"Nothing that makes what he did any better. He tried to convince me I shouldn't live with you, that I should move in with him, that you are dangerous, that you worked for you-know-who -"

"That last one is true."

Harry sat up straight, "Excuse me?"

Severus responded calmly, "I did work for you-know-who for part of the first war."

"You… you were a…"

"A death eater, yes." Severus told him, and then cocked his head to the side, "Did you not know that? I thought that was a fact well known amongst the students. I thought that was why they disliked and often feared me. Was I misunderstood?"

Harry shook his head, turning so he faced his guardian, "No, I didn't know that, I thought Sirius was lying. The Slytherin's may know but the Gryffindors certainly don't. The Gryffindors don't like you simply because of how you behave in the classroom. Nothing has ever been said about you being a follower of you-know-who."

"Then Dumbledore has done a better job than I realised of keeping it from the parents. It was never a secret, in fact. It is widely known that I helped identify death-eaters in the trials after the war."

"Sirius said you would sell me out to you-know-who."

"I would not do such a thing. The mutt is being stupid."

"Don't call him mutt. You were one of his followers though."

"I was." Severus rose and walked to the kitchen, making himself a drink. Harry suddenly felt very weary of him, unsure, something he had not felt the past few days while living in the dungeons. Severus turned back to him and raised a brow, "Is that a problem? I can assure you I no longer follow him, nor take believe in his pureblood ideals or agree with what he wants for the wizarding world."

"Why did you at the time?" Harry probed.

Severus sat back down on the sofa, "I didn't particularly. I was surrounded by dark thinkers, was intrigued by the magic more than the belief, and wanted somewhere to belong. The death eaters offered that."

"What did you do? For him?"

"He recruited me as a potioneer. To begin with, I was part of a team experimenting with dangerous ingredients to make deadly potions. He recognised my potential and I rose through the ranks of the death eaters very, very quickly. I became his personal potioneer, in the end."

"You joined him after Hogwarts?"

"The day after graduation I received the mark."

"You took the dark mark?"

"As every death eater did. Would you like to see the prove of it?" Severus asked the question sarcastically, but seeing Harry's hesitant look he groaned softly. He put his glass down on the table and carefully tucked the sleeve of his robes back, until it revealed the black skull and snake. Harry visibly recoiled, and Severus pulled his sleeve back down, "I am careful to never touch it, which is part of the reason I wear these long sleeved robes. Touching it summons Him."

"I didn't know that." Harry told him.

"Many people don't." Severus responded, "The mark faded over the years, it looked like a scar, but it grew black and burned again last year, when he-who-shall-not-be-named was growing stronger. Igor Karkaroff knew it, as he also took the dark mark during the first war. He frequently confronted me about it throughout the year."

"The mark burns?"

"Yes."

"Is it painful?"

"Quite."

"Does it happen often?"

"Yes. Are you done?" Severus asked.

Harry blushed, "I'm sorry… I just didn't realise…"

"I understand now why there was no hesitation to me becoming your guardian." Severus said, picking up his drink again, "My apologies, I thought you were aware. If it makes you feel any better, I changed sides about a year before the war ended, when I realised where it was headed, and became a spy for Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix." He told a little white lie in his motives, but Harry didn't need to know that.

"What is that?"

"The name of the society that bases itself in your godfather's house. An alliance founded by Dumbledore in the first war, that has resumed itself now, and works against you-know-who's forces. You parents were a part of it, as was Black, Lupin and Neville Longbottom's parents." Severus informed him, surprised at how little the boy had been told.

"Will you be working as a spy now that He is back?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because he-who-must-not-be-named would ask me to hand you over." Severus explained, with more patience than he had ever remembered having, "My guardianship of you is ministry approved. He will know this, because of his many spies that work in the ministry. He will know now that I am a traitor to his cause."

"Is that bad?" Harry asked, and then realised how dumb the question was.

"He can't harm either of us while we are here in Hogwarts." Severus assured Harry, "However my deflection from spying doesn't do the Order any favours, considering I cannot retrieve information about he-who-must-not-be-named's whereabouts or intentions, but it was decided that your safety was more important."

"I'm thrilled." Harry rolled his eyes, and Severus snorted.

"Do you have any other questions?"

Harry hesitated, then shook his head, "No, I don't think so. I still trust you, I don't believe Sirius that you are dangerous or would sell me out."

Severus smiled, "I am glad to hear it. Take your presents and put them in your room. It is five o'clock now. You can have a few hours free time before dinner. I assume after all the food Molly laid out you will not be wanting much to eat."

Harry adamantly shook his head, and Severus chuckled, gesturing towards the presents cluttering the living room. Harry picked them up and took them into his room, stacking them to one side of his bed, and retreated into his studio.

He sat down at his desk, opening the 'How to Draw' book to a picture of a fire crab (an animal resembling a large tortoise, with a jewelled shell and the ability to shoot fire from its rear end) and began to sketch. He stopped thinking about the events of the day, his argument with Sirius and learning that his new guardian was an ex-death eater, and lost himself in the artwork.