Chance Meeting at the Ink Pot
by Healer Teddylonglong
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
COMPLETELY AU! Partly OOC!
It is my story, and I intend to write it the way I want it. If you don't like it, don't read it.
Reviews are very welcome, as they inspire my muse.
The whole school watched in shock as the hippogriff quickly descended a few metres and gently grabbed Sirius in his rapid descent towards the ground.
Professor Ito shot a laser beam into the air and called out, "Five minute timeout." He then approached Sirius as soon as Taiyo landed on the ground and asked, "Mr. Snape, are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Sirius replied in spite of feeling very shaky. "It was a bit of a shock, but I want to continue." He leaned forward and gave the hippogriff a light hug. "Taiyo-kun, thank you so much for rescuing me. You're absolutely the best. I'm sorry. It was my fault. I didn't pay attention," he added softly, chuckling as the hippogriff gently licked his right hand.
Unaware of the concerned look Mami Abe threw at Severus, which the Potions Master returned with a calming nod, Sirius and Taiyo leaped back into the air as soon as Professor Ito shot his next laser beam. 'This time, I really have to concentrate,' Sirius scolded himself as his thoughts once more drifted off to the unsettling news he had received that morning.
Flashback – three hours earlier...
Sirius had woken up a bit earlier than normal, feeling much better than the evening before. 'Thank Merlin; I wouldn't want to miss the match,' he thought and looked at the wiz2wiz parchment, noticing that it held several new messages from his father, from Poppy and from Minerva. Severus told him that he had given him a Pepperup potion, Poppy wished him good luck for the match, but Minerva had apparently mistaken Sirius' parchment for Severus'.
'Severus,
Albus seems to be going nuts. He doesn't speak of anything other than of his search for Harry. I think that he even suspects Poppy, you and I to be somehow involved in his disappearance, although he hasn't definitely said so. Today, he told us that he went to the Dursleys for the umpteenth time to question them, but since they weren't helpful at all, he 'punished them adequately' as he expressed it. I don't know what he did. I hope he gets a grip on himself soon. Take care of yourself and Sirius!
Minerva'
'Dumbledore harmed the Dursleys?' Sirius thought in shock. 'They didn't do anything to him! They raised me, well, perhaps not too well, but they did. They didn't really harm me, and now they were punished by a wizard for my actions. I need to speak with Dad about it. Maybe there is something we can do for them. But not now,' he decided. Not feeling hungry in the least, he decided to skip breakfast and headed out to cuddle with Taiyo before the Hippolo match.
End of flashback.
'Oh no, my thoughts are drifting off again,' Sirius realised and tried hard to concentrate on searching for the Snitch. However, it took him two more hours, before he could finally close his hands around the struggling little ball.
"The white team wins!" Professor Ito shouted to huge applause. "350:260 for the white team." As soon as Sirius landed on the ground, Professor Ito turned to him. "Mr. Snape, please follow me to the infirmary for a quick check-up."
"No," Sirius replied, horrified. "Please, Professor, I have something really urgent to discuss with my father." He threw Severus a pleading look.
"I'll take my son with me to my quarters for a while, and I'll check on him. I'll bring him to you if necessary," Severus said firmly, causing Mami to nod her agreement after a look at Sirius, who was trying to hide behind Severus' robes.
"Such a fall can be dangerous, even if he didn't hit the ground," Ito growled, glaring at Severus and Mami.
Severus and Mami exchanged a few quiet words, before Severus laid his arm around Sirius' back and said, "Let's go."
"Thank you, Dad, from saving me from Professor Ito," Sirius said gratefully when they reached his father's quarters, causing Severus to raise an eyebrow. His expression turned into concern as Sirius continued, "Dumbledore did something to the Dursleys. Is there anything we can do to help them? I can't have them being hurt or whatever because of me."
"Sirius, please tell me the truth. Are you feeling unwell?" Severus asked worriedly, and before Sirius knew what happened, a cool, slender hand found its way onto his forehead. "You're still a bit warm, but not enough to be delirious," Severus said thoughtfully.
Sirius sighed. "Dad, I'm fine. There was a note from Minerva. I think she got confused with our parchments and sent it to me. Dumbledore took revenge on the Dursleys for losing me or something like that. It didn't sound as if he had killed them, but..." He trailed off, throwing his father a helpless look.
"Maybe he transfigured them into something," Severus said thoughtfully. "I don't think Professor Dumbledore would go as far as kill someone, and whatever else he might have done to them, I believe that it serves them right." Seeing that Sirius still didn't seem convinced, he suggested, "Shall I contact Minerva and try to find out some more, while you go and take a nap?"
"Yes please," Sirius agreed. "May I...?" he longingly glanced towards his own room.
"Of course. Go ahead, I'll just scribble a message to Minerva, and then I'll come and check on you."
'Minerva,
What exactly did you tell Sirius about Albus and the Dursleys? He is very much in distress. Could you please explain the details to me?
Severus.'
Glancing at his watch, he realised that it was only five o'clock in the morning in Scotland, and Minerva might still be asleep. Sighing inwardly, he stepped into Sirius room, noticing in concern that the child was lying in bed with his eyes closed. He quickly pointed his wand at the boy's head, before he sat on the edge of the bed and whispered, "Sirius? Are you awake?"
Sirius opened his eyes. "Yes Dad," he said softly, reaching for Severus' hand.
"Sirius, why exactly did you fall off the hippogriff? Were you thinking about the matter with the Dursleys?"
"Yes," Sirius admitted in a small voice. "I'm sorry. I know that I have to pay more attention."
"That's true," Severus replied, showing his son a small smile, before he asked in concern, "Sirius, does your head or your ears hurt from the fall ?"
Sirius swallowed twice, before he admitted quietly, "Both hurt a bit, but it's not from the fall. They already hurt before the match."
"Sure?" Severus quirked an eyebrow, giving the child a sharp look.
"Yes."
"All right, then it's only from your cold. You're still running a slight fever, too. I'll give you another dose of Pepperup potion, and you should be all right later on." He left the room, only to return an instant later with a small goblet.
"Uh," Sirius said in disgust, greedily gulping down the pumpkin juice his father handed him. "I hate the steam coming out of everywhere."
Severus chuckled. "At least it'll help. Now sleep for a while, and by the time you wake up it'll be gone. I'll be right out here. Call me if you need me."
"Thank you, Dad," Sirius mumbled softly, already drifting off to sleep.
Sirius woke up a few hours later, feeling completely refreshed and fine. However, the thought of the Dursleys pushed itself in front of his mind as soon as he scrambled out of bed. He made his way into the living room, where Severus was grading homework.
"Hi Dad. Did you find out anything about the Dursleys?"
Severus threw him a sharp look. "Are you feeling better?" Seeing Sirius nod, he explained, "Minerva promised to ask Mrs. Figg to find something out about the Dursleys. She'll inform us as soon as she knows more, and she is very sorry for accidentally sending the message to you."
"I'm glad I got to know about it," Sirius replied in a small voice. "Dad, may I stay here with you tonight?"
"Of course," Severus replied in surprise. "I'll inform Professor Abe."
"Thank you," Sirius said gratefully and settled down on the sofa.
'How can this affect him so much?' Severus wondered, realising that Sirius still wasn't his usual cheery self. 'After all that the Dursleys did to him.' "Shall we play a round of wizard's chess?" he suggested, causing Sirius to readily agree.
It was only later in the evening that a reply came from Minerva.
'Severus,
I'm sorry it took me so long. Arabella found out that Albus must have cast a spell on them that makes their son Dudley look like Harry, however only to the Dursleys. I believe that's much less than they deserved. What do you think? I hope you can calm down Sirius with this information.
Minerva'
Sirius sighed in relief as Severus finished reading Minerva's note to him. "Well, I'm still sorry for them, but at least he didn't harm them."
Sirius spent the night in his own room in his father's quarters and was surprised that he enjoyed being at home more than he had expected. 'Now that I'm used to living together with the others, I should spend the weekend with Dad more often,' he resolved as he returned to the room he shared with Kenji on Sunday afternoon, because he still had homework to do that was due on Monday morning.
The remaining weeks of the school year passed uneventfully, and on the first of March, all the students gathered on the grounds and took a Portkey home. Sirius looked at the small group of people that were remaining at the school. He was the only student apart from the twins, and although he was looking forward to spending the holidays with his father, he knew that he was going to miss his friends.
"Sirius," Mami Abe suddenly appeared next to him and gently laid her arm around his shoulders. "You already know that our quarters are right next to yours and that you're welcome to play with Kazumi and Kenji at anytime, don't you?"
"Yes, thank you, Professor," Sirius replied, smiling.
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
The few weeks of holidays passed in what seemed to be the blink of an eye, and soon, the new school year was upon them. Sirius and his friends felt very big now as second-year students, and Sirius realised happily that Professor Abe remained their head of year. Although he liked all the teachers, Mami was not only his best friends' mother but also especially nice.
Sirius' second and third year passed relatively uneventfully with more classes, more homework and several Hippolo matches. Most of them were won by the white team, and Sirius never failed to catch the Snitch even once. Minerva and Poppy came to the Mirai school each summer, and while Minerva taught the older students the Animagus Transformation, Poppy spent the time in the infirmary with Professor Ito, who willingly agreed to teach her Laser Healing magic.
However, from the middle of Sirius' fourth year onwards, the time at which he would have officially entered Hogwarts as a first year, the news that came from Hogwarts caused Severus and Sirius to worry about their friends and their home country.
Minerva had already told Severus about the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Quirinus Quirrell, who was stuttering and wearing a smelly turban, as well as about a three-headed dog that was guarding the Philosopher's Stone, which Dumbledore had decided to hide at Hogwarts. However, it was on the first of November that Severus received the first really unsettling news from Minerva.
'Severus,
Last night was absolutely crazy. First of all, someone let a mountain troll into the castle. The troll nearly killed a Gryffindor boy, who barely survived and is at St. Mungo's now, and then Quirinus was injured by the three-headed dog. I don't know why he went near the dog, but according to Quirinus, it was to make sure that the troll wouldn't attack the dog, which I highly doubt. Think yourself lucky that you and Sirius are far away from this madhouse. Take care of yourself!
Minerva'
Severus pondered if he should tell Sirius about the matter but dismissed the thought. 'As long as nothing happens to Minerva or Poppy, he doesn't have to know. He is busy enough with all his classes, homework and Hippolo,' he decided. However, he spoke with the Abes about the matter. They were the only people, apart from Minerva and Poppy, who were informed about Sirius' true identity, and Severus knew that he could fully rely on the headmaster and his wife to keep the matter to themselves and to support Sirius and him if need be.
"Does Sirius know about the prophecy?" Mami asked one evening, when Severus and the Abes were having tea together in their quarters.
"No," Severus replied firmly. "He knows that he is famous under his old name and is aware of the fact that Professor Dumbledore is searching for him, because he thinks of him as the saviour of the magical world. But Sirius doesn't know the exact reason, and at the moment, I can't see any reason why I should tell him."
"No. It's better for him if he doesn't have to worry about such things," Mami agreed in a soft voice. "I'm glad that he has adapted so well and is so happy here."
"Which is mainly thanks to you and your children," Severus said gratefully.
"It is also because of you, Severus," Mami replied. "As you know, I talk to the children of my class every night, and I have noticed that Sirius has been in distress a few times. But whenever this happened, he always chose to spend the weekend in your quarters, only to come back refreshed and his usual cheerful self on Sunday evenings. You are a very good father, Severus. No one, who doesn't know that Sirius is not your real son, would even suspect that he might be adopted."
The Headmaster sighed. "Severus, if you ever need to bring any of your friends to safety because of how things develop in your country, please feel free to bring them here. We'll surely be able to help them or assign them some work here at our school."
Severus slightly inclined his head. "Thank you, Headmaster. My only real friends are Minerva and Poppy, and I appreciate the offer very much."
Abe chuckled. "They are very tough though. I already offered them to remain here instead of returning to Hogwarts twice, but they always refused, telling me that they didn't want your old headmaster to have a heart attack because of their leaving, considering that he was already suffering from the loss of you and Harry Potter."
"Their opinion might change in time," Severus replied darkly. "I'm afraid that the Dark Lord is not really gone and is re-emerging to regain power," he said thoughtfully, and he tentatively told the Headmaster and his wife about his Dark Mark.
To his great relief, the Abes seemed to believe everything, including his role as a spy. "I'm sorry, Severus, but can you show me the Dark Mark?" the Headmaster asked carefully, causing Severus to hesitantly roll up his left sleeve.
"I wonder if Professor Ito will be able to do something about the Dark Mark with laser magic," he said thoughtfully. "Severus, would it be all right for you if I asked him without telling him about you and your Mark in detail? I completely trust him."
"If you believe that it's safe, of course," Severus replied, sighing as he pushed his sleeve back down. "I made some grave mistakes in my youth," he said darkly.
"But as far as I know from Sirius and your former colleagues, you have done more than make up for them," Mami replied in a soft voice, gently patting his right arm.
本屋さんでの偶然の出会い
The following six months passed fairly uneventfully without any more disturbing news from Scotland. Only at the beginning of Sirius' fifth year at the Mirai school, something happened that no one seemed to have expected.
It was a few weeks before the beginning of the summer holidays, and Sirius was looking forward to the holidays, knowing that Minerva and Poppy would be coming soon to spend the summer holidays with them as usual. However, one morning, he was just sitting in the Planetarium, having breakfast together with his friends, when his scar suddenly erupted in pain. He let out a small moan and gripped his head, before he collapsed, unconscious.
tbc...
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