Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: The next chapter will be also the last one. Although I make no promises due to my finals coming up, I'll do my very best to get it out sometime this month.

Deepest Bonds

Motherly Miseries

Coming back from dead, Sirius had come to discover, was not an easy business.

In fact, the only things he hadn't had to struggle with were Hogwarts and regaining his fortune. Harry would have returned to him even more than he would have cared for, and Dumbledore seemed to have no problem with his formerly dead status, the rest of the school following his example. Of course, there was a joke here and there occasionally, but then again, if there wasn't anything about a teacher to joke about, students made up something suitable.

The Ministry, however, was a pain. Absolutely. They couldn't deny the fact that he was alive – after all, they had a very annoyed, very noisy proof right in front of them – but they wouldn't admit that he indeed was Sirius Black. His Animagus skills were of no help as he had never registered his ability, and for some obscure reason they also claimed his magical signature was not a valid proof of his identity. Considering they had been more than happy to accept him as dead without the slightest proof, all this was getting rather ridiculous.

Fortunately, he didn't have to bear the idiocy of the Wizarding bureaucracy alone. Though nobody ever dared to say anything bad about Severus in front of him or any other teachers, there was – naturally – more than enough talk behind their backs. Although his bravery at the recent incident had gained Severus some respect among the students, some still bore ill will for him. As a result, Severus much preferred staying out of the corridors, giving up his usual rounds of chasing wrong-doers. And, as a result of this, he was always around when Sirius needed company or just somebody to whom complain about the idiots that were calling themselves the Ministry of Magic.

"These idiots wouldn't find their own butt with two hands," Sirius fumed, staring at the latest official letter. "Last time they demanded me to open my Gringotts vault to prove that I truly am myself. How am I supposed to do that when both the vault and the keys to it were left to Harry as an inheritance?"

"I thought Potter returned your inheritance to you, Master," Severus pointed out. "So why can't you do it?"

"He tried to," Sirius replied, "but I wouldn't accept all of it. Some of my family's fortune is the kind I'd never want to have anything to do with. Of course, they know this and did their fair best to find out just which vault I still do not own."

"So ask Potter to give it back to you, open it, and return it to him – or dispose of the contents, whichever way you'd prefer," the Potions Master said. He still didn't raise his gaze from the book he was concentrated on. "It shouldn't be that difficult, really."

"It is," Sirius sighed. "The time they gave for it is far too short for any exchange of vaults, Gringotts being even more suspicious than the Ministry. And now they have already given up on the claim. This time, they are asking for some proof from my family's side that I actually am a Black!"

"Your family tapestry won't be of much help, will it?" Sirius could swear he saw Severus' lips twitching a bit into something vaguely resembling a smile. Damn the Slytherin and his lack of expression. "Then are you going to find yourself a new identity?"

"Of course not!" Sirius spat. "I may not like my family, but I like myself! I like being myself! I won't take another name just because those asses at the Ministry think they're being funny!"

"There is one way." Severus finally raised his eyes from the book, giving his Master a serious gaze. "Lucius Malfoy's will. Dumbledore should still have it. As it states you the new owner of the slave Severus Snape, and it is easily enough confirmable that you indeed are your Master, that should be enough of a proof even for them."

"I know," Sirius sighed. "But that's the absolutely last thing I would do. I will, if I have no other choice, but I'll look into all the other possibilities at first."

"How noble of you, Master." Severus returned to his reading of the book.

A while passed in semi-comfortable silence. It was not entirely comfortable, as Sirius was still fuming with anger, but Severus seemed to find nothing wrong with the situation at hand. In fact, he was probably more amused at it than was healthy. The thought of Sirius, who had vehemently denied any relation to his family when he was younger, now just as franticly trying to reclaim his name apparently appealed to his sense of humour.

Finally, just when Sirius was certain he would explode soon, the Slytherin spoke again, though briefly. "Diaries."

"Huh?" Sirius looked at his slave at this puzzling remark. "What do you mean, 'diaries'?"

"But Master, surely your parents kept diaries? It is rather customary to the older Wizarding families to keep records of everything happened to the family, after all. In one of them should also be recorded your birth. And, unless you have managed to forget it, any semi-official recording of a child's birth can be compared with the individual's magical signature to prove their identity."

"How is a personal diary a semi-official recording?" asked Sirius. Still, he couldn't help but be a bit hopeful at the prospect of actually finding a proof that didn't involve humiliating the other man with yet another reminder of his status.

"If it has the signature of either of your parents, it is." Severus smirked. "Pureblood families are infamous for their inheritance arguments, after all. I would be surprised if your mother hadn't taken her husband's signature proving that you are indeed his son – and the other way around, I presume. Of course, I mean no offence, Master. It is simply the customary way of dealing with things."

For a moment the Animagus was speechless. Then he gave the Slytherin a look of pure gratitude. "I think, Severus," he said, "that you just made my day a damn lot better..."

"So this is it, Master?" Severus asked a couple of days later, looking at the trunk on the floor and the man currently crouched over it. "Your mother's personal belongings?"

"Well, some of them." Sirius smirked. "I asked Harry to exclude any too unpleasant things. Fortunately he had kept these in the attic instead of getting rid of them – although I wouldn't have blamed him if he had. This should include all her diaries from the period around my birth."

"Excellent." Severus smirked as well. "Knowing your mother and the ways of your family, there definitely should be something that can work as a proof of your identity." He crouched down next to Sirius. "Would you allow me to help?"

"If you'd like to." Sirius took the nearest diary and started checking it for curses. "Be careful, though – my mother was not the most agreeable of women."

"Yet you taught her to walk, I presume," Severus said, then flinched minutely. Sighing a bit, Sirius settled a soothing hand on the Slytherin's arm. Despite everything, Severus still was hesitant about everything that could be taken as an insult to him.

For a moment they worked together in silence, each looking through the diaries for curses, countering those they found and hoping fervently there would be no more. Severus seemed more accomplished in this task – for example, he did not find the book stuck to his hands and screaming even once – but Sirius stubbornly refused to let him do all the work. This, he felt, was something he had to at least partly do himself – and besides, he did not like the thought of letting his slave take care of all his work. It simply wouldn't have been right.

Most of the diaries were discarded almost as soon as they were safe to open, their dates being too far from Sirius' date of birth. Sighing, Sirius reached for yet another diary. The curses on it were fairly simple, and he managed to open it without any mishaps. Seeing the date on the first page, he started skimming through the pages, interested. This was at least from the correct year.

Suddenly he dropped the book from his hands, shocked. What he had read could not be right. Yet there it was, still glaring at him from the open page even as the book had fallen down.

"Master?" Severus asked, turning to look at him, worried at the shocked look on the Gryffindor's face. "Master, is something wrong?"

"My mother," said Sirius raspily. "My mother -- was a slave."

"What?" asked the Slytherin, instantly alarmed. "What do you mean, Master? Amanda Black most certainly wasn't a slave."

"No, she wasn't," admitted Sirius with a hollow voice. "Nor was she my mother. My mother was a slave of my father's, who died as she was giving birth to me." Picking up the diary and handing to his lover and slave, he continued, "It's all in there. My father and his wife had been married for ten years already, with no sign of an heir. So, when his slave fell pregnant to him, they pretended that I was my mother's. When she then later finally gave birth to Regulus, they regretted ever having taken a slave's child as their own, but I had been registered as theirs and couldn't be enslaved anymore. That's why they always treated me so badly."

"Oh," Severus said quietly, his eyes downcast. "Lucky you, then. You don't realize how lucky you were, Master."

"Oh, I believe I do," replied the Animagus softly, smiling shakily. "Had I been a slave, I would have never got the chance to be with you."

"Now, now, such sentimentality." Severus still didn't raise his gaze.

"Severus." Sirius placed a finger under the Slytherin's chin, raising the other's face and forcing their gazes to meet. "If there was any way of releasing you, I would do so. Just because I escaped sharing your fate with some freak luck doesn't mean I'm any better than you are."

"Oh, but that is exactly what it means, Master," Severus replied with an unamused smirk. "Due to that freak luck, you are a human and I'm a possession."

They continued the staring contest for a while. Finally, though, Sirius gave up, drawing Severus close into an embrace.

"Let's continue looking," he said after another moment of silence.

"Yes," Severus said, his voice only the slightest bit shaky. "Let's."

The Ministry's acceptance of Sirius' identity was slow and reluctant, but in the end they could not argue with the proofs given in Amanda Black's diary. On the first page of an otherwise empty diary – well away from the actual truth – was the announcement of the birth of one Sirius Black, his both parents' signatures confirming the fact. Comparing the traces left to this with Sirius' magic the Ministry could do nothing but admit that yes, he indeed was who he claimed to be, and very well alive and kicking. Of course, this didn't mean they were making anything easy for him, struggling against his wishes every step of the way.

Fortunately, there were other branches of the Wizarding society that were not exactly as strict about official identity.

Never before had Sirius expected to be as grateful for the help of house-elves. Dobby in particular turned out to be a great help. Its experiences in the Malfoy household proved very useful in tracking down the individuals he wanted to reach. And, one day, a letter came bearing the news he had been awaiting.

Keeping everything carefully hidden from Severus, he sent back a letter, suggesting a certain price in it. The price wasn't much – for a racing broom, that was. For a human being, it was ridiculously low in Sirius' opinion. A fair price, he had been assured, although maybe exaggerated, considering the purchased object's true value.

Some time later a response followed. The answer was positive.

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Sirius?"

The Animagus gave the Headmaster a calm gaze. "As sure as I'll ever be. The papers have all been singed, so there's no cancelling it, anyway. And besides, what harm will it do?"

"What indeed." Dumbledore sighed. "It is already well known that you have a slave. Those who accept will hardly give any worse response than they have until now, and those who don't can't have any worse opinion of you than they already have."

"Exactly." Sirius smirked a bit. "Whether I'm a hero or a monster, nothing will probably change. And as long as they don't give any public trouble to Severus, I don't much care about else."

"It won't be easy, though," Dumbledore warned him one last time. "But for what it is worth... I believe Severus will be glad."

"That's what I'm hoping, anyway." With one last nod, Sirius left the Headmaster's office.

He had something – or, rather, somebody – waiting for him.

Sarina Snape was feeling quite uneasy. She did not understand the current situation. She was too old to bear children anymore; why would anybody want to purchase her? Well, she probably was pretty enough to be somebody's toy, still, but there were younger and prettier slaves for that. Not as many as there had used to be, mind, but there were slaves available. And she'd been told that somebody was specifically asking for her.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand one bit.

There was one thing she did understand, however, and that was the feeling of her Master approaching. Thus, even before the door was opened, she was already bowing down to greet them. Dutifully she recited the official words required of her, then awaiting the Master's first command. When she heard it, she was quite surprised.

"Get up," the man said, sounding uneasy. "I don't want to see you do that ever again. Understood?"

Sarina stood up, bewildered. Who was this Master, who didn't want her to follow even the most traditional customs? And what exactly was expected of her, if not the usual humbleness?

"At first, we'll set some ground rules," said the Master. "So. Nothing is expected of you. I want you to live as normal a life as possible with the slave's bond. If you can do magic, you are allowed to do that unless I especially forbid it. Oh, and the Headmaster has promised to arrange quarters for you."

"M-Master?" she asked, confused. "I'm not sure I understand..."

"Oh, you might understand soon enough," the man replied. "I'm Sirius Black, by the way. Have I understood right, that for a period of time, you served the Malfoy family?" As she nodded, he then asked, "And during that time, you had a son?"

"Yes, I did, Master," Sarina replied, remembering very well her little son. She'd managed to stay close to him exceptionally long, so she actually did remember him rather well, unlike her other children, from whom she'd had to part soon after the birth. She'd had many children in her time – slaves, every one of them – but only this one she remembered as more than a distant image. "His name was Severus, Master."

"That's great." A sudden smile spread onto the Master's lips. "Now, would you mind waiting here? I'll call you to the next room in a minute. There'll be somebody there who'll be glad to meet you."

"What is it, Master?" asked Severus as he walked in with his customary bow. "The Headmaster told me you wanted to see me immediately after my classes."

"That's right," Sirius said, grinning. "There's someone I want you to meet." Turning towards the other door to the room, he said, "Come on in!"

The door was opened hesitantly and a woman walked in with a small bow. With dark, silver-streaked hair and black eyes, she was still quite attractive despite no more being very young. It was also quite clear that she had a striking resemblance to one of the men – or perhaps the other way around.

Severus' eyes widened as he realized this resemblance. "M-mother?" he asked, bewildered.

"Severus?" Sarina froze in the doorway. "But... how..." She was speechless. Then she turned towards Sirius, a question in her eyes.

"I did some research," their Master simply said. "Ever since Severus told that his mother had been sold elsewhere, I've been looking through the records. And, well, I found you."

"Oh!" Forgetting all hesitancy for a moment, Sarina stepped forward to hug her long-lost son. The next moment, however, she looked at Sirius, her eyes wide with fear. "I apologize, Master – I didn't ask –"

"It's okay," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "I said nothing is expected of you, remember?" He grinned. "I simply did this for Severus' sake. This way at least one of us can have a caring mother."

"Master," Severus said clearly, looking Sirius in the eye, "you are, simply put, an idiot." This time, he didn't flinch visibly.

Sirius grinned. "I'm glad to hear that, Severus," he replied sincerely.

Next (and last) chapter: Something bad happens. But, also, something good.