"Don't snoop, Potter." If this didn't prove Severus would do anything for his godson, nothing would. Exposing his memories to James took a giant leap of faith. Give that man an inch, he'd take a mile!

James caught Sirius' imploring look so he clamped his mouth shut. Honestly. They had been children. Was Snape ever going to let it go? He silently counted to five like he did when Harry tried his patience. "I'm only interested in the memories regarding Draco. He is the important one here, remember?"

If looks could kill, James would have been six feet under. "As you'll see in a few moments, that boy is never far from my thoughts," Severus hissed. He hated that he needed James' help, but Draco was getting worse by the day. One minute he'd act sullen and withdrawn; the next minute he'd throw a tantrum. The mood swings exhausted Severus, but they also added fuel to Lucius' simmering flame.

Sirius still didn't like Snape, but seeing how far he'd go to protect Draco softened his resentment. It was hard to hold on to boiling hatred when they both loved that little boy so much. Well, Sirius was finding it difficult anyway. He wasn't sure if Severus agreed. "Can we get on with this?"

"Gladly," Severus sneered. "Potter, let's be done already." His stomach churned, but he made room for Sirius and James at his Pensieve. He could not recall the last time he saw Potter, much less spoke with the bloody jerk.

"Finally," Sirius muttered under his breath as he took his place between Severus and James.

Severus shot Sirius a sharp look. Like it was his fault it was taking so long? "It goes back to when he was three."

"Hmmm." James was already watching the unfolding scene. He winced. "Hell, he is a baby. How can anyone possibly expect..." He clenched his fists as Lucius bellowed out more admonishments. Even an advanced child couldn't do what that lunatic expected. He thought of innocent little Harry at that age. Where James tickled his son's tummy and helped him finger-paint, Lucius smacked exploring hands and shouted over manners. He felt Sirius stiffen during a scene where Lucius left his son without dinner for forgetting to bow his head in greeting.

"I can't..." Sirius gritted his teeth. He thought he had done a better job protecting Draco, but all he saw was memory after memory of Lucius punishing the child in outrageous ways. The cold voice replayed over and over in his head. "No dinner. No dinner or lunch. No meals for a whole day. Only bread and water for a week. Write until I say stop. Stay here until we feel like looking at you again. Stop crying. I'll give you something to cry about. Man up. Behave like a Malfoy. Only nine out of ten correct? You are no son of mine."

"Bloody hell, how long does he leave him alone in there?" James glanced from Severus to Sirius. "And the way he makes him write until his hands bleed...and the way he burnt his tongue with that spell..." James stopped talking when he saw the storm brewing on Sirius' face. "How did you not know?" He turned back to Severus. "How did you know and let this continue?"

"We'll be lucky to get the bastard now," Snape snapped. "At least I can keep Lucius in check so long as he thinks I'm a friend."

"I had no idea it was this bad." Sirius fought the urge to throw up. He felt like he just watched eight years of horror. "How the fuck didn't I know?"

Severus considered twisting the knife, but didn't. He was guiltier than Sirius for letting it go on. "They've never completely trusted you," Severus replied. "Even you must realize that. They needed to keep your mother happy so they gave you the illusion of more control than you really had." He shrugged. "I suspect they didn't plan on Draco attaching himself so fully to you."

"Why didn't he tell me?" James thought his best mate sounded like a desperate little boy.

"He was likely afraid. Or possibly ashamed. Lucius wasn't shy in disciplining him in front of me so I assume Draco was more at ease speaking on it with me."

"DON'T CALL IT THAT!" Sirius roared. "Discipline is a time-out or a grounding or a few smacks on the rear! Not...not THAT!" All burgeoning respect for Snape flew out the window. "Emotional torture! Magical punishment! That is NOT DISCIPLINE!"

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. "You knew Lucius wasn't kind to him, Sirius. Do not yell at me because you buried your head in the sand. Didn't we concoct this plan precisely because Lucius is harsh? What did you imagine?"

Sirius took a threatening step toward the slimy git, but James quickly intervened. "This is about Draco," he reminded them. He took off his glasses and used his shirt as a rag to clean them. "We knew we were going to witness abuse, Sirius. Snape has a point. It is just...just jarring seeing it." He was a father. He couldn't understand how any man could treat his son that way. He couldn't understand how Snape allowed it either.

"He is getting older." Desperation returned to Sirius' voice. "Lucius is just getting worse. He is likely to starve him or use an even harsher spell or..." Lucius literally didn't like getting his hands dirty. Sirius knew that much. He managed to hurt Draco with very little physical contact. It sickened him. "I want to see him. I want to see my boy."

"I don't think that is a good idea," James admitted. "You said it yourself. Malfoy has ears all over this place. Given what we just saw..." He squeezed Sirius' shoulders. "Let me take this back to the Ministry. There is no way I am going to allow a child to live like that. I don't care who his parents are."

"It cannot become public knowledge where you learned the information. Lucius has ears at the Ministry too, you know." Severus tended to the Pensieve in case anyone had any bright ideas about sneaking looks at some other things – namely his own childhood. "Getting me and Black cut off from Draco would-"

"You are not protecting him anyway!"

Snape didn't flinch at Sirius' booming accusation. "We have been through this. If his parents do not trust me, they will not allow me to witness as much as I do. If I cannot witness as much as I do, Draco could get severely hurt." He turned cold eyes on Sirius. "If you believe I'd allow that to happen, you are a worse fool than even I credit you for, Black."

Sirius realized James looked uncomfortable. It was a bad sign when his favorite arrogant mate looked that way. "You agree with him."

James was a man of action. He wanted nothing more than to smash Malfoy's face in before placing Draco into his uncle's arms, but he knew he couldn't. Severus really did have a point. James' temper gave way to reason, but only because he wore his Auror hat for the occasion. "There is clearly more to this than you were allowed to know," he replied. "If we lose Snape on the inside, there is no one monitoring Malfoy. He could hurt Draco far worse than he already has." He held a hand up to halt the expected protest. "You know what I am referring to."

Sirius did know. He hated his parents for it. He just never thought Narcissa would allow her son to go through it. "So I just sit back and wait? I trust you..." He pointed a finger at Snape. "To keep him safe?"

"You have no idea what I have managed to smooth over where Lucius and the boy are concerned." Severus didn't cower. It was not an ideal solution, but they weren't facing some bum off the roadway. He would have rescued Draco years ago if he thought he stood a chance. Hell, there was still no guarantee their plan would succeed. "Like explaining his insistence he'd rather have you than his own father was merely the work of your smooth ways, which can be easily undone under mine and his parents' watchful eyes."

Sirius drew his wand and lunged for Snape, but Snape was quicker. He side-stepped the lunatic and drew his own wand in one fluid movement.

"Enough!" James hollered. "This is not helping Draco." Damn, he sounded like a broken record. "You two can kill each other once we've hit Malfoy where it damn well hurts." He pointed his wand from one to the other like they were naughty children.

"Fine," Sirius huffed. Draco's name dispelled his pride. He pushed his wand back through his belt loops.

Snape grabbed his Pensieve. "Get to work, Potter. We don't have all the time in the world."