AN: The feedback I got from the last chapter was overwhelming. You guys are truly amazing, I cannot thank you enough. Enjoy!
Chapter 16- Good News
The wait back at Severus's house was agonizing. As the hours ticked on without news the three wizards grew more and more desperate. No one ate, they barely talked. At one point Tuck and Minerva had to physically restrain Albus from flooing into the Ministry.
Finally at 9'o clock Tuck leapt up and ran a hand over his buzzcutted hair, biting his lip in frustration. "I can't wait here anymore. I need to clear my head. When you get news I'll be at my house… or whatever's left of my house." He let out an unstable laugh. "That kid better pull through this."
"He will," Minerva said automatically but it did little to reassure the three of them.
"We'll see," Tuck responded darkly and disappeared with a pop.
Albus had been silent for a long time. He looked wearily at Minerva. "I'll go make sure he's alright." With a crack he was gone too, leaving Minerva alone in the dark living room. She let out a sigh; it was going to be a long night.
Meanwhile back at the Ministry Severus had rejoined the other aurors. Harry had fallen asleep and they had permitted Severus (and about 13 armed guards) to place him in a special holding cell that thankfully had a bed. Severus had laid Harry down gently and pulled the covers over him, trying his best to not look too attached in front of the guards.
It turned out that wouldn't be a problem because after he had stepped away every auror had come up and squeezed Harry's shoulder or whispered goodnight to him. It seemed that the memory had gotten to all of them, and they were all united in one purpose- to care for the boy.
Now the aurors talked quietly in the meeting room, everyone subdued from what they had just witnessed. Severus was exhausted but he stayed rigid with attention. This was a delicate situation; saving Harry was not going to be easy. Although having the entire Auror Department backing him up helped Severus's case immensely.
When Fudge reentered the room it went so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. He was pale and his hands were shaking slightly showing the aurors what he had thought of the memory. He cleared his throat, looking like he might throw up at any moment, "We are gathered here for sad news, as you all know. It seems that Harry Potter is not the boy we thought he was. It is unclear on how the Ministry is going to react regarding Harry's future but one thing is for certain- he will never see a day in Azkaban."
Severus had never liked Fudge, or any Minister for that matter, as much as he did in that moment. A cheer rose up in the room and Severus couldn't help but join in with a small smile as relief flooded through him.
Fudge seemed a little taken aback by the enthusiasm. He cleared his throat a few times until the chatter died down again. "It is very good news, but I need you all to act with a certain confidentiality towards this. It is a very delicate situation, and it needs to be dealt with carefully."
At the confused looks at the aurors around the room (honestly it was like they had never even studied law) Madame Bones stood up and said in a commanding tone, "That means keep your mouth shut until you are asked to open it. Fudge and I need to handle the press before we run around with a "free The Boy Who Lived" campaign."
A few people laughed. Severus, on the other hand, was lost in thought planning. His Slytherin mind was drawing a blank for the first time in longer than Severus could remember. Harry was no longer going to Azkaban, and that was the best news Severus had ever heard.
But now he wanted to make sure that Harry stayed with him. And that was where the problem was. Severus was not delusional about how others saw him- he had built his façade demanding the fearful respect of others. He had never seen a problem with his closed and detached demeanor before- it kept him from being hurt, but now he needed people to see him as warm and affectionate. See him as a father.
Severus knew that was never going to happen. He had been a death eater, which wasn't something that was publicly known, but the Ministry was certainly aware of it. Even if he could manage to completely reverse the public's view of him enough to discount his past it wouldn't matter. He didn't have any more claim to the boy than anyone else and Severus had a feeling that Harry would end up going to the highest bidder. Like the Malfoys- which would put him as the perfect target for Voldemort. Harry wouldn't last a day there.
Frustrated anger rose in Severus. But the more he thought about, the more he realized that discounting the Malfoys, Harry's change in guardianship was a good thing. Severus had no idea how to be a dad, he had no idea how a family worked from his own dysfunctional one, and he had problems forming even the most basic of relationships. Of course Harry had latched onto him as the first person who hadn't abused or ignored him, but Severus was certain as soon as he met real parents he would change his mind. It was just selfish for Severus to try to hold on to the boy. Severus pushed away the ache in his heart and focused back on the room.
Fudge and Bones seemed to have finished up their conversation and were now addressing the room. "Go home everyone," Madame Bones said with a tired smile, "You all did good work today, thank you for coming in on such a short notice. Keep everything said or seen here today a secret, even from your closest relatives that you'd trust your lives with, at least until the news is known by the general public. I want you all back here tomorrow normal time. Before you go, Mr. Snape I need to speak with you."
Severus froze from his spot half way out the door. The others gave him questioning, sympathetic looks which he ignored as he pushed his way back through the crowd. He was exhausted- couldn't this wait until tomorrow? He knew that whatever Bones had to say to him it couldn't be good and he didn't think he could handle any more bad news.
He followed Bones to her office, dragging his feet. They sat across from each other and Madame Bones gave him a gauging once over. She smiled, "Would you like some tea?" She pulled out a teapot and some teacups from under her desk and cast a warming charm on the teapot.
"Tea?" Severus raised an eyebrow, not expecting that.
"It's highly caffeinated," Bones said with a smirk and poured Severus a cup without waiting for his response.
They sat and sipped their tea, which Severus had to admit was quite good considering it was reheated. After a moment Bones set her tea cup down, "You had a guest yesterday. Or nearly two days ago now," she said with a laugh looking at the clock. "Tell me about him."
It took Severus a second to follow her train of thought. "Oh, you mean John Tucker."
She smiled, "Hmmm Jonathan Tucker, never heard of him. Anyway he gave poor Auror Jacobs quite a scare, apparating in here all disheveled and looking for you, he even read her mind the poor girl."
"Errr, sorry about that," Severus said awkwardly, putting down his finished tea cup. "I'll tell him to avoid that in the future."
Bones stared at him, looking decidedly amused. "It begs the question though- how did he apparate in here without setting the wards off? And why did he want to see you so badly?"
"He is rather talented at… apparation. And it's a personal matter."
"Ohhhh, a personal matter," Bones repeated in a disturbing sing-song voice with a giant smirk on her face.
Severus realized where she was going with this, "No we're not- he's not, no," Severus spluttered, desperate to explain that him and Tucker were not ever possibly in any way together (Severus was pretty sure Tucker was like 50 anyway).
Bones just laughed, "Don't worry Sev, I don't judge."
Severus was still bright red as Bones walked out of her office still chuckling to herself (seriously? Sev?). "Go home, Severus."
Severus took her order to heart.
When Severus stepped out of the fireplace he was practically attacked by one very tired and very anxious witch. "What happened? How is Harry? Is he going to Azkaban? Where are they keeping him?"
Severus put a hand on each of her shoulders and tried to calm her down. "Minerva, he's fine, relax."
Minerva didn't relax. "What did they decide? How come it's not in the news yet?"
Severus ignored her, spelling the lights back on in his living room which she had left dark for reasons beyond him. Minerva squinted at the light, looking like a feral animal as she continued to pester Severus with questions. "Where are John and Albus?"
When Minerva didn't answer Severus let out an exasperated sigh and cast his patronus. The shock at seeing it shut Minerva up. It took Severus a second to realize what it was as the large animal stalked around the room, sniffing the floor. He lifted his eyes to reveal the proud glowing silver eyes of a wolf. Not a werewolf, but a full grown, gray wolf with a coat that gleamed and shimmered before their eyes. Minerva's mouth was literally hanging open as she studied the proud beast but Severus quickly snapped out of it. He gave his new patronus a message and sent it to Albus and Tucker.
Minerva and Severus didn't have time to discuss the patronus before Albus and Tucker appeared right in front of them with a pop, both looking as wild as Minerva had. Severus cast a silencing spell before he could be bombarded by any more questions. Minerva and Albus looked positively livid at being shut up but Tucker looked faintly amused and gave Severus an appraising look.
"Harry is fine. I interrogated him and was able to extract a memory that highlighted the… tougher parts of his childhood without involving any of us. I showed it to the Ministry and they have made the decision that he will not be charged, but the rest is up in the air. I anticipate that they will make the announcement tomorrow."
Severus canceled the silencing spell and watched the relief wash over the other's faces as the news sunk in. "How is Harry doing?" Minerva asked quietly.
Severus narrowed his eyes, "I already told you, the boy has been freed of guilt."
"No, I mean how is he mentally?" They all looked at Severus curiously.
"He is… Truthfully I don't know how he's doing," Snape admitted.
"Now we just have to figure out how to get him back with you," Tucker said thoughtfully.
Severus looked taken aback. "Why? I think the Ministry will be able to find an appropriate guardian."
"Why?" all three of them asked with similar incredulous looks. "Because he cares about you and you care about him!"
Severus looked confused. "I'm not a good guardian," he said in a near- whisper. "Harry deserves better."
Albus actually started laughing. Severus stared at him, ready to hex him right out of his house. "My dear boy, you think that Harry would have it any other way? He loves you, and I don't think you see how much you have already changed each other."
Severus was honestly speechless, which didn't occur often for him. At least he had the dignity to shut his mouth as he stared at the other three members. They all just laughed; apparently it was decided for him. "We'll get Harry back, don't worry," Minerva said with a twinkle in her eye that rivaled Dumbledore's. "Now would you like to explain your patronus?"
Albus and Tucker looked at Severus expectantly, looking forward to what sounded like a good story. Severus sighed, what had ever made him invite these people into his house? "Can we at least sit first?"
They all agreed heartily and took their normal seats, with Tucker taking the spot where Harry usually sat. Once they had settled down Severus cast his patronus as explanation. The wolf ran in circles around the room, looking eagerly at the present guests. Severus canceled it and it disappeared in a cloud of silver mist.
"Ah, well I take it that is not your usual patronus," Albus said rather unhelpfully.
"My natural patronus is a fox, but it was most recently a doe," Severus responded flatly, ignoring the tinge of pain at the picture of the beautiful silver doe running through his mind.
"Are you sure that's not just a big fox?" Tucker asked, not grasping the significance of what was going on. No one even bothered to answer him.
"Well your patronus changes when you care deeply for someone," Albus started to spell out, "And the most recent person for you would be Harry."
Tucker glanced between the shared looks of shock on the adult's face. "I'm sorry but I don't quite understand."
Minerva stared at him, "Severus is copying Harry's patronus. Which means Harry's patronus is a wolf."
Tuck raised an eyebrow at her, "I got that, but so what? What's so special about a wolf?"
Minerva and Severus stared at him like he had grown two heads. Tucker was starting to get the feeling he was missing something. "He was homeschooled," Albus told them before turning to Tuck.
"Oh this is one of your Hogwarts myths isn't it?" Tucker said grinning, "You guys come up with all sorts of crazy stuff, I don't know where in the world you get it all from."
"This one isn't a myth," Albus said quietly and then sat back, taking a deep breath before launching into an explanation. "I don't know how much of Hogwarts' history you know so I'll give you a brief run through. Back before Hogwarts was even an idea in the founder's mind there was a great wizard by the name of Merlin."
"I know who Merlin is," Tucker grumbled but shut up with the sharp look from Albus (he felt like he was in school, it was an odd feeling).
"Even back in Merlin's day, the patronus of a wolf was legendary, something that only appeared about once a century. When Merlin's patronus was revealed as a wolf it became even more famous. You see, there are plenty of wizards who have become werewolves, but having the right combination of traits to be just a wolf is something that doesn't happen often."
"When Merlin was very old, he became a sort of mentor for the four founders. He knew his time was almost up and he wanted to help leave a lasting legacy on the world. So he helped them build Hogwarts up and provided many of the enchantments that are still around today. He helped found the four houses and was invaluable to starting up the school."
"Many years later, Godric Gryffindor was able to convince Merlin to try on the sorting hat. It was a legendary sorting that took a full day before the hat decided Slytherin, but only because Merlin had asked him to sort him there. You see, the hat had found him unsortable, a perfect blend of all four houses."
"There has only been one boy with the Patronus of a wolf recorded since. It was about 80 years ago and even though he was born in India he was brought to Hogwarts and underwent a sorting. Again the same thing happened- the hat couldn't sort him. Sadly the boy disappeared from his home a few months later and was never found again, I'm sure he would have done great things. Since then the wolf has been known as the perfect symbol of Hogwarts, a part of all four houses."
"A wolf is as brave as a Gryffindor, as loyal as a Hufflepuff, as cunning as a Slytherin, and as intelligent as a Ravenclaw. In short, he is the perfect embodiment of Hogwarts and wizards with such animagus tend to have extraordinary power. Which only fits with what we have already seen in Harry."
Tucker sat there thoughtfully, "We can't let this get out."
"Thankfully, patronuses are not part of the Hogwart's curriculum," Minerva said.
They sat there for a minute before Severus stood, "Well it's been a nice chat, but it is one in the morning. You can all take your absences now."
Minerva smirked at Severus's forwardness and immediately bid the group farewell. Albus and Tucker tried to convince Severus to come see Tucker's new and improved house that they had managed to rebuild (from scratch) while Severus was gone. When it looked like Severus was about to murder them they finally left, giving Severus his first blissful bit of peace he'd had all day.
Before bed he quickly downed a dreamless sleep potion, not wanting to be interrupted by the certain memory that hadn't left him alone all day. Severus slept steadily through the night.
A few hundred miles away at a cell in the Ministry Harry did not sleep quite as well. His dreams were haunted by images of his old family, the horrors renewed from the memory that was now fresh in his mind. His screams haunted the guards as they stood watch through the night.
