Harry stood facing the doorway of the dingy house at Spinner's End. His sense of urgency in his task was truned to confusion as he looked over his ex potions professor, standing in said doorway. The man had left the hospital wing when no one was looking and somehow apparated himself here. Harry and others had been content to let the man alone despite Poppy Pomfrey's protests, but then that lunatic had shown up and Tonks and Remus had begged Harry to find the potions expert and ask for his help.

When Snape had left he'd still been in the robes Harry had always seen him in; black, professional if not somewhat bat like. He now stood before Harry in muggle sweats and a t-shirt. The man was wearing athletic socks. The cheap kind they sell at Poundland, the kind that Aunt Petunia had bought Harry long ago. His long greasy hair was greasier than ever but also clumped awkwardly on the one side making it look like the man had a pigtail on one side. The blood from his neck wound must have settled there after Harry had left him bleeding on the floor of The Shack. He winced inwardly at that, not his proudest moment. Snape had a bottle of something Harry suspected was alcohol (judging by the smell) in one hand while the other was holding his wand awkwardly as he attempted to pick off the bandage at his neck.

"What the hell do you three want?"

Harry glanced behind him at Ron and Hermione who looked just as lost he now felt, especially after they marched here with such purpose. Harry now realized having three of them show up instead of just one might be a bit overkill but both friends had been by his side since the battle like guard dogs and refused to be called off for anything less than a bathroom break. Harry was starting to get sick of it, theyd have to talk later.

He looked back at Snape and said lamely, "We need help."

Snape rolled his eyes and winced as the bandage he was trying to remove stuck. "There's a corner store with a payphone down five blocks, you can call the police from there. I'm done. Now get off my front step." They didnt move. In spite of himself, Snape asked "How the hell did you even find this place?" Wincing again as part of the bandage let loose he mused, "Unless...?" Realization struck his features and he went to close the door with his bottle hand while Harry lurched forward and braced a hand on the door to keep it open.

"Narcissa Malfoy told us. She told us she was your Secret Keeper. She said if you didn't open the door, to tell you she'd show up next if you didn't listen to us and she'd show up and, and make you." Harry ended his speech lamely. It had not sounded like much of a threat when Mrs. Malfoy had told him in earnest this is what he should say. He was about to try another approach when Snape swore under his breath and opened the door wider and stepped to the side.

"Fine. Get in. Do not touch anything." He seemed to direct this last part directly at Ron who looked offended at whatever Snape was insinuating

After a moment of recovery, Harry squared his shoulders and entered, Hermione following after while Ron lightly grabbed her arm as if to protect her from whatever horrors Snape's home had to offer.

The most horrific thing, was basically the dated décor. Harry wasn't one for opinions on decorating, but he knew this was a home last decorated by an older woman. It oddly reminded him of something Aunt Petunia would have put together if she'd had less money and was 30 years older. Littered about were knick knacks and various pieces of "art" that were both defiantly feminine and stark. Harry noticed a desk with harsh electric lighting, a sofa (where several brown paper bags were taking residence, Harry thought he could see a bag of crisps poking out the top of one), an arm chair and a large cardboard box with a picture of a tv on it.

Snape strode toward the box and started to open it, but not before he downed the remaining contents of the bottle and vanished it. He had given up on the bandage on his neck. Gesturing absently towards the bags told his guests, "Help yourselves, I don't have anymore wine to offer, couldn't carry that much. The man was already suspicious when I said I could carry this." He gestured at the box he now had open and was banishing bits of errant packing peanuts as he spoke.

Ron looked like he was eyeing the crisps but Hermione cut him off, "We don't mean to impose on you for long Headmaster'-" Snape didn't look up scoffed, "HA. Not a headmaster anymore though am I?"

Hermione rubbed her hands and looked uncertain, but continued. "Professor then," Snape seemed to acquiesce to this title as he pulled out a long chord, "We need your help. You see Tonks and Remus," Snape unwrapped the remote from another layer of foam and was inspecting it, Hermione continued even more unsure, "A man came and tried to kidnap their son, Teddy, he said he wanted his blood for potions. Tonks said Bellatrix had said the same thing to her while they were dueling. They both, the man and Bellatrix, both said Teddy's blood would be rare and valuable."

Harry was starting to lose his patience, Snape was being rude and clearly ignoring Hermione in favor of his new muggle gadget. He took over for Hermione with more force in his voice, "Bellatrix told Tonks you had told her the blood was rare and valuable. Said it would be useful in hundreds of different potions. Somehow some maniac potion brewer had the same idea and came to try and take Teddy-'' Harry was cut off by a loud fizzle and thunk. Snape had switched from trying to lift out the television by hand and opted to float it out of the box with magic when it sparked suddenly and thudded back into its packaging. It had luckily only gotten a few inches of air. Snape shrugged and looked at the three of them sizing them up, then snapped his fingers at Ron, "You, Weasley, lift it, over there to the corner." Ron looked lost but still went to follow through on the order. He lifted the large black box up and pivoted to the corner as Snape raised his wand again which caused Hermione to lose it.

Her nerves were already frayed but she didn't think she could handle another explosion and losing her patience, shouted, "Oh for Merlin's sake you can't use magic on it. its electronic, not analog!" Snape seemed unperturbed but looked at her curiously and asked "Do you know how to set this up?"

Hermione was incensed, "A child was almost kidnapped and you're worried about a bloody tv?!" At the same time Harry demanded "Why did you sell out Tonks and Lupin's baby? What had it ever done to you? You knew Bellatrix was after them!"

Ron stood awkwardly straining beneath the weight of the tv waiting further instruction.

"You can use magic on it. I lightened it when I bought it. You just can't use too much magic on it. I've never had anything this big before, I didn't know what the limit was." Snape explained as he waved his wand so a space in the corner was made and gestured Ron to continue his task. Ron gratefully set the tv down in its corner. He had set it backwards not knowing there was a frontwards, and Snape instructed him to turn it as best he could without scratching the floors.

While this business was going on Harry was seething too much to articulate a response and unfortunately Hermione's academic curiosity got the better of her as she asked what Snape had meant about too much magic. Snape started explaining how he had gotten his turntable upstairs to work with a charm when Harry exploded, "WHY THE HELL DID YOU TELL BELLATRIX MY GOD SON'S BLOOD WAS VALUABLE!? I THOUGHT YOU WERE A BETTER MAN THAN THAT."

Snape finally turned around to look Harry in the face. He took up an imposing stance he'd often held in class when Harry had been unable to answer an overly advanced question sprung on him. The effect was slightly bellied by the man being in stained sweatpants, but Harry still felt a bit cowed by the perfected glare of his old professor.

"Yes Mr. Potter why would I tell Bellatrix Lestrange such a thing? Why would I tell a woman, hell bent on "pruning her family tree" that her great nephew might be more valuable to her alive than dead? Why would I insinuate to her-"

"Ok! I get it!"

"What do you get Mr. Potter?"

"You," Harry sighed, feeling foolish now that he'd had the obvious pointed out to him, "you told Bellatrix he was worth something alive so she wouldn't be as motivated to kill him. Better a kidnapped alive baby than a dead one."

Snape nodded condescendingly as he had so many times during potions class when Harry had answered something insufficient to Snape's standards. He half expected the man to take 10 points from Gryffindor for some perceived slight in his answer.

"No doubt Tonks and her werewolf came to the same conclusion or they would not be willing to seek my help. Very gallant of you to storm over here and demand I 'be a better man' to ensure I assist them. Which now that we are discussing it," He turned to Hermione, done with having to face 'the boy who lived too long, now that he had served his purpose', "What could they possibly need my help for?"

Harry answered before Hermione could, "It was a coincidence really. Narcissa Malfoy was at the house when we answered Tonks Patronus for help. She was the one who got the man tied up after Remus stupefied him. I think she was there trying to appeal to Mrs. Tonks... " Snape's face was impassive, "That's when she mentioned you lying to Bellatrix and her about Teddys blood-"

''I wasn't lying, it's true. That Lupin brat is incredibly rare, I'm confident enough to say one of a kind. I doubt a metamorph and a werewolf have ever even crossed paths before those two decided to copulate, as rare as her kind is. There spawns blood will have a million and one uses in research. Werewolf blood already has magical properties, Lupin supplied me with quite a bit during his stint at Hogwarts." Harry looked disgusted at this, Snape caught it, though he was addressing most of his response to Hermione refusing to meet Harry's eyes. "Tonks was relatively competent at potions, she made it to my NEWT class, she would know. I'm surprised the news got out so fast about the existence of the child."

Hermione answered here, "The Prophets in full swing already, Rita Skeeter somehow wiggled her way out of the debris. News, more rumor's than actual facts, but events about the battle are circulating quickly." Here she gave Snape a nervous look the man couldn't quite read. His first instinct was to try and read her thoughts but he took a deep breath. He wasn't doing that anymore. He wasn't spying, he wasn't looking for subterfuge, it wasn't his business to know what the girl was concerned about. He was going to sit here and watch the telly he'd always been curious about as a child, but could never afford, and eat all the muggle foods he'd been missing from before shit had really hit the fan and Wormtail had come to stay with him in hiding. Spying was for before he'd taken an Unbreakable Vow and looked at one weeping mother and seen a different woman in his mind's eye until their faces bled together.

He tuned back into what Potter was now saying.

"She said this place was under the Fidelius, that it'd be safe. They need somewhere to go, and Kingsley doesn't want to set up anymore Fidelius charms until the dust settles. Remus," Harry swallowed, what he was asking felt personal and like it shouldn't be his business, "Remus also needs Wolfsbane. He's been without it for months, someone's been buying up all the ingredients and they have the baby and he needs to be able to stay sharp. Tonks would brew it but she's still recovering and like I said, there's a shortage…"

"There's not a shortage, I have all of it. I've been cornering the market. Once Lupin's disastrous foray into the werewolf camps went south I started ordering all the ingredients I could. Practically drained my savings before the Dark Lord just gave me a bunch of gold after…after I became Headmaster."

"But why?" Hermione wondered, unable to stop herself.

"Cause I could? I didn't know when you three would decide to show up. Didn't know what Voldemort's next step was regarding the werewolves, if there even was one. Especially with Greyback lurking around getting them all charged up. I thought if it came to the worst and the Dark Lord rose to full power I could brew Wolfsbane and either control the pack with it or maybe use it to kill Fenrir."

"That seems like an odd base to cover." Hermione mused.

Snape had finally gone back to the tv box and was fishing out the last of the wires. "I was covering every base. Dumbledore was gone and he didn't leave me instructions, or even tell me what you three were up to. All I had was that damn portrait that was almost as annoying as he was. I had a lot of time in that office to come up with plans. Now. Granger."

He stared her down from his awkward crouch by the tv box, muggle wiring in hand, "Do you or do you not know how to make this work?"

Harry was in no mood and about to say so, but he heeded the look Hermione gave him that usually meant she had a plan and she needed him to cotton onto it quickly.

Hermione apparently did know how to set up a muggle tv, and was also quite fascinated about the charm that blocked surrounding magic from interfering with it. It was subtle and very delicate and she was extremely excited to try it in her spare time. Hermione also knew how to trim men's hair. She had been cutting Harry and Ron's on the road, getting quite a knack for it. When her ex professor asked in a hushed voice if she could help him (after a hearty swig off a new bottle of something foul smelling) she allowed him to direct her to a kitchen. He sat in a chair with a conjured towel around his shoulders and explained he couldn't seem to magic the blood out and it wouldn't wash either. He also warned her to try not to touch it as it was probably poisonous in various ways after it had mixed with whatever wa sin Nagini's fangs. Hermione used a barbering spell to lop off the chunk on the one side and she and Snape sat in an awkward limbo on what to do next. She knew he could have done that on his own and hadn't asked for her assistance for no reason. Remembering that this man had done some things recently that had helped quite a few people, she took pity on him and offered to trim the sides as long as she was there.

He merely nodded and stared straight ahead looking anywhere but at her. She decided to cut the other side as well and concluded the trim she'd given Harry and Ron was not appropriate for a grown man. Hermione tried to remember what her dad's hair had looked like (trying not to focus too hard on how much she missed him and hoping he was ok). Mr. Granger was a dentist, a respectable muggle occupation. She determined it was equal to the level of Headmaster of a school, magical or not. A few minutes later, Severus Snape stepped out of his kitchen with "the dentist" haircut. He gave Hermione a quiet, but genuine thank you.

Ron in the meantime, had been spending the wait reading over the tv manual, mimicking his father's interest in muggle gadgets, while Harry was perusing a few of the titles on the many book shelves. Snape had spent the awkward few minutes of silence in the kitchen weighing the pros and cons of the request Potter had brought him. Snape shuddered to remember the time in his private home with Wormtail, and doubted he wanted to let another Marauder into his personal space. He hadn't been lying about the Lupin boy's blood's possibilities, nor how much he had drained his own savings...

"Now what do you need Potter? A safe house? For how long?"

Harry explained the details, Snape demanded gold. A lot of gold. Harry said "Done" and that he would arrive with The Lupin's and son as soon as possible.

A/N:Snape 100% went out in his teachers robes and a baseball hat with bloody hair to buy that junk food and TV.