October 31st, 1989
Val and Severus had exchanged many a letters about what to do about Halloween. Harry was looking forward to trick-or-treating. The year before he had not wanted to go outside but had carved a pumpkin with Toby and had watched as Val doled out sweets. This year he had lots of friends and knew Spinner's End and the adjoining roads like the back of his hand. Sev had told his son about the deaths of James and Lily Potter but the child did not yet connect the date with the holiday he was looking forward to.
Should they observe the death day of Harry's parents and thus lessening his joy of the day? The child knew about the custom to visit graves on All Soul's day as he had helped Granny McGowan to replant the grave of Val's dad for the occasion.
Another consideration when Sev thought about visiting Godric's Hollow with Harry was that he feared around Halloween journalists to lay in wait around the cemetary, to get a picture of the Boy-who-lived. At the end of September he had visited with Antonin to check for any wards around the grave. They had found none.
Val had the perfect solution. After a talk with Harry about the journalists they would visit the graves three weeks early. In the morning of the 31st the family would visit the local cemetery and Harry would light a candle for his parents there, and later on enjoy the day with his friends.
So it had happened. Harry had not talked a lot after coming home from Godric's Hollow. Neither Val nor Severus could make him open up but a few days later the boy had asked his Grandfather while they were sanding some blocks for Grace in the shed.
"Grampa, I cannot remember my parents and I cannot cry over their graves. Am I bad?"
Toby rummaged around in the shed and finally produced a sturdy cardboard box. It was filled with odds and ends but in the front a child had written "Phil".
"I have never met your father but Lily, your mother, used to come over to play with Sev. One day they brought home an injured blackbird. Lily called him Phil and used this box here to make a bed for him. Eileen, Sev's mum, had a hard time explaining to her that the blackbird had a better chance of getting well if he stayed here in the shed rather than in a box in Sev's bedroom. Lily eventually saw the sense in that and two days later Phil was well enough to fly back to wherever he came from. Lily was kind-hearted and lovely. I guess she is angry at the fates that she could not have you growing up with your parents but I am absolutely sure that she would wish you to be happy. Remember your first parents, Harry, but do know that remembrance is neither bound to a certain time nor to a certain place. Lily will be far happier with you thinking of her every time you hear a blackbird than moping around on Halloween instead of spending the evening with your friends. So no, you are definitely not bad." Toby drew the little boy in an awkward, one-armed hug. Soon Harry's sniffles subsided and he started to sand the block, a penguin, again.
By the beginning of November Albus looked decidedly worried. Then he was absent from school. A day later the news reached Hogwarts that Dumbledore had been stripped of his office as Head of Wizengamot and was facing charges of child-endangerment. The Dursleys had been questioned. They had told the Aurors that Muggle social services had taken Harry away. Petunia had volunteered that she had gladly thrown away everything reminding her of the unwanted child, even the forms from social services. At an Order meeting Alastair Moody had told the others that he had performed Legilimency on the Dursleys but only had gotten vague impressions of the social worker taking Harry away. No hint of any magic had been found. Kingsley Shacklebolt was tasked with following the paper trail as he had the most experience with the Muggle world. Severus doubted his success, Shacklebolt was a Pureblood. While he had guarded the Muggle Prime Minister for a while he knew next to nothing about the Muggle social service, let alone computers. And Severus was the only Half-blood in the order. For now they were safe.
Weeks went by and no one was any closer to finding Harry Potter. Severus had met Lupin at Slug and Jiggers when he had gone to collect an order. The werewolf was there, buying a strong anti-depressant. Cursing his conscience the Potions master followed him.
"Lupin!"
The man looked tired.
"What do you want, Severus, I have to get back soon."
"You can't take the potion you bought more than once a week. It is terribly addictive. And I would not recommend it for werewolves, most have an adverse reaction to the St. John's Wort."
"Thank you, but it is not for me."
"Black then."
"I must be off." With a crack Lupin Apparated away.
That evening Severus had a long conversation with his wife via the mirror. Val knew the gist of his history with the marauders but pointed out that Harry would not thank them for not helping his godfather when he learned of the fact. They agreed on telling the boy about Black and sending a picture of Harry, together with a letter. Black was still running ads in all major Muggle and wizarding newspapers asking for any news on the boy's whereabouts. Severus would ask Filius to visit the man and find out about his Occlumency skills. While Black seemed to have severed any contact with Dumbledore Severus wanted to be on the safe side.
A week later the letter was sent. Two days later, when walking up the hill towards Hogwarts after a weekend with his family, Severus found himself on the business end of Remus Lupin's wand. Meek he might look, but the werewolf was a formidable opponent.
He snarled, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth! I want the truth, Snape!"
"Lower your wand, Lupin. Sherlock Holmes doesn't need force."
"Spare me, Potions master. It's too much of a coincidence!"
"You will get nothing from me if you do not lower your wand. Seven years of torture by your mates while you looked on and some more by Voldemort, I doubt you can do worse."
The fight seemed to go out of Lupin.
"What do you propose?"
"We will find out if Filius is available as a binder for a vow, then secure a room at Rosmerta's."
"Wouldn't be the Hog's Head better?"
"I gather Black and you are no longer fans of Dumbledore? Aberforth is his brother!"
The other wizard conceded and for a while they waited whether Severus' Patronus message had been received. He had instructed his doe only to talk to Filius if the man was alone.
Minutes later the part-goblin touched down with a broom in front of them.
"Gentlemen! Is Mr Black stable enough to be part of the meeting?"
Lupin perked up at this, having his suspicions confirmed.
"He is. If you have a Calming Potion on you, Severus, that might be beneficial."
"I will not put up with anything from him. If he puts one toe out of line we will Obliviate both of you."
"I will take a vow on his behalf if it means we get some answers." They agreed that Severus would book and secure a room at the "Three Broomsticks" and Filius and Lupin would wait for Black, administer the Calming Potion and then bring the man to the rented room.
Half an hour later four unlikely wizards were sitting around a table in Rosmerta's number four. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black had taken a vow not to disclose anything spoken in the room. Severus told them the barest bones of how his father had found out about the abuse Harry had suffered and that they had worked together to establish the boy under an assumed name with a Muggle foster mother. He talked about the geas that only Albus Dumbledore – or possibly Alastair Moody – could have put on Harry's social service files, explaining how the numerous complaints from teachers or neighbours documented there hadn't been followed up. The Potions master then explained that he had regular contact with the boy and that his foster mother knew about magic. At this point of the story a speculative gleam entered Remus Lupin's eyes. Damn, the man was way more perceptive than expected. Or he had simply recognised the smell in Severus' clothes.
Black was getting restless and Flitwick and Severus were glad about the werewolf's presence.
"Siri, that has been a lot to take in. Harry is safe and well-cared for. Shall we meet again in a few days to talk about a possible meeting?" At this he looked Severus squarely in the eye. The Potions master nodded. Sirius Black looked at the man he had tormented so relentlessly during his days at school.
"Thank you, Snape, for helping Harry. Please convey my thanks to your father, too. I formally acknowledge a debt to you. And I want to apologize properly for what happened during our school-days, anytime you deem suitable. I am quite prepared to let you hex me to get it out of your system if that helps us to work together for Harry."
Severus was surprised, but also newly annoyed.
"You want to apologize because of the boy, not because you have realised what you and your cronies have done! You will need to come around to that, otherwise Harry won't connect with you. He has been the odd kid out, with the ragged clothes, bullied by a gang of stronger, more popular children. He got no help from his teachers, they were told he was dark, no, my mistake, that he was lying and a thief. He learned some very harsh lessons far too early in life and consequently had to adapt quickly. Harry Potter, whoever his parents were, was moulded into the Slytherin poster child by his abusive relatives and a blind headmaster who had no call to meddle in his life at all!"
The gleam in the werewolves' eyes intensified but Black only nodded in a defeated manner, "Whatever. I am glad that Harry is safe. I will do my best to be worthy of meeting him."
Severus left first. He truly longed to talk with Val. Seeing the erstwhile marauder so downtrodden and meek should give him some satisfaction, shouldn't it? Yet it felt wrong. Shaking his head the Potions master walked faster, to reach his quarters and his mirror before Val would bring the children to bed.
December 19th, 1989
It was shaping up to a wonderful Christmas holiday. One black spot, no pun intended, would be the visit of Remus Lupin and Sirius Black on Boxing Day. Severus stocked up on Calming Draught extra strong, just to be on the safe side. Harry had exchanged letters with his godfather and Val had put one of hers into the envelope as well, cautioning the man against making up for missed Christmases with presents. And no, a broom was no appropriate present for a nine year-old living in a completely Muggle area.
Albus Dumbledore had escaped a conviction by the skin of his teeth as it was not proven that he hadn't had Harry's best interests in mind with putting him with the Dursleys. His reputation as leader of the Light had suffered, though. The Order was all but disbanded, only old friends like Moody, Doge and Diggory listening to the headmaster's gloomy predictions. Shacklebolt had managed to trace Harry Potter to Hackney Social Services but no further. The Muggle police had interviewed the social workers there but no one had any recollection of the little boy. The backlash of that investigation had brought to light how severely understaffed the office was.
Grace was crawling around at an astonishing speed and was trying to stand up all the time. Severus was casting childproofing spells left and right while Toby was screwing all cupboards and sideboards to the wall, fearing them falling over when Grace dragged herself to a stand on an open cupboard door. Val usually left the pots and pans on the kitchen floor as it took her enterprising daughter under five minutes to clear them out of their proper places. Harry got some dark looks from his parents when he showed his little sister how to drum on a pan with a ladle, but never for long, too cute were the siblings in their mayhem.
There was one dark spot on Severus' otherwise perfect family holiday. Antonin Dolohov had recommended a check-up with a Gringotts healer for Harry after doing a scan of the boy himself. He had found some lingering dark magic, most likely a souvenir from surviving the Killing Curse. Antonin was not overly worried, as he had found no traces of darkness on the boy's magical core, but Severus worried as was his prerogative as a father. They would venture – under heavy glamours – to Gringotts after the New Year.
December 25th, 1989
Val remarked on how far their foster son had already come. Harry got at least as much enjoyment from Grace's wonderment about the tree and the colourful parcels and the sounds of discarded wrapping paper as he got from his own presents, now that he trusted to actually get some. Severus had relented and gotten his son a beginner's potions set. It would be warded away when he was at school, unable to supervise, but he had put together a little booklet with salves and tinctures for scratches and bites Harry could brew with Val. If he managed to imbue them with magic they would work better than their Muggle counterpoints, if not nothing bad could happen.
Toby had joined them for breakfast, bringing Grace's new blocks along and for lunch the whole family walked up to Granny McGowan for a roast. Harry consoled his grandmother that Santa no longer came for adults with a framed picture of Mrs McGowan sitting among her beloved roses. The flowers had flourished beyond her wildest hopes, thanks to some special fertilizer from her son-in-law. Harry had tried to get the different species right and had put their common and Latin names alongside, grateful that his daddy's magic could erase any spelling errors without damaging the picture.
Back at home, Grace napping and Harry playing with his new Legos, Val had put an end to her husband's fretting by putting the vegetables for tomorrow's stew in front of him on the kitchen table.
"Sev, Black will be on his best behaviour. He has been nothing but humble since your first meeting."
"Yes, there is that. But I cannot relax near that man. His family has a history of madness and Azkaban did not help."
"But look at Antonin. He is fine. And he will be here tomorrow as well, able earlier than any of us to recognise any signs of erratic behaviour."
Severus was not sure whether Lupin and Black had heard of Dolohov's release, therefore the wards master would come under a subtle glamour as a cousin of Val's. Who did not talk much, as his accent was still noticeable.
Soon enough Harry, somehow sensing the tense atmosphere in the kitchen, joined his parents at the kitchen table, carefully probing for a reason. As the child was still prepared to take too much on itself Severus was forced to answer truthfully.
"Harry, Mr Black, your godfather, was in the same year at school as myself. We did not get along. While he knows that you live with Val he doesn't know that I am your foster father. I am afraid that he will not take that well, much more so as James Potter, your birth father, was his best friend. That his friend is replaced as your father by his old enemy will hurt him and I fear that he will lash out and hurt you in turn. He will come around, of that I am sure, as he truly wishes you to have a happy life with family who loves you as you deserve, but tomorrow could get nasty. That's why I am so tense."
The boy was weighing his answer as he diced a carrot better than most third years at Hogwarts.
"Mr Black did write a lot about my parents and about a toy-broom I had as a baby. But he always asked after Mum and my school and friends and so. And Grandpa and Toni are here also, even if Toni is here in secret. And Mary showed me the Ippon Seoi Nage from her judo course. I could use that on Mr Black!"
"No, Harry, our living room is too small for judo throws. We did everything in preparation for the meeting tomorrow to go well. I am just worried for you all, I don't want you to have any reason to be upset."
"Dad," – Harry mostly called the Potions master `Sev´ and used the other appellation sparingly – "so far Mr Black has been friendly and polite in his letters, I do not think he could be as bad as Uncle Vernon in person." As sad as it was, Harry had experienced far worse from the Dursleys than he could expect from Black, the boy had it right.
"You are wise beyond your years, son. Let's finish that celery stalks and then put together your new Lego project before Grace eats the pieces."