Sirius wasn't looking forward to Severus Snape's visit, necessary as it might be. Every party would have preferred the Potions master to send over the potion by owl or by Floo, with minimal to no personal interaction. Unfortunately, based on the way the magical protection went, the person who took the final dose of the potion had to drink it in the presence of all participants.

If Harry never did go to Hogwarts, he would never meet James' and Sirius' nemesis. More than that, he wouldn't have to suffer lessons under him. Sirius had heard stories about him from other parents, told to them by their children. He'd begun teaching at Hogwarts just after James and Lily had died, and was about to enter into his fourth year. He would also become the head of Slytherin, since Horace Slughorn had been telling Dumbledore that he was going to retire. When the man had become headmaster, one of his first edicts (to use a favorite term of his deceased mother) was to forbid any form of physical punishment on any student by any member of the faculty. Be it groundskeeper, caretaker, or any teacher-any physical correction would result in "dire consequences" for the person caught. Of course, while Harry might be spared being beaten by Severus Snape for incorrectly answering a question, the Potions master had plenty of other ways to make life truly unbearable for his students.

His own cousin, Andromeda Black, had told him on a few occasions that Dora received detention for no reason of importance, and had been made to disembowel flobberworms for five hours. After the second detention, she'd sent Snape a Howler, and the detentions had been more reasonable-or so she assumed.

No, Sirius was not looking forward to Snape meeting Harry for the first time.

Remus was also dreading the visit, even though he did his best to hide it. He pointed out that Snape likely had other plans for his Saturday, and would want to keep things brief with Harry.

The child in question was currently sitting in his room, dressed for the day, and working on another jigsaw puzzle. Sirius had told him that he needed to have a private word with Uncle Remus, and Harry seemed happy enough to obey. After getting him set up with the puzzle on one of the desks, they took their conversation to the sitting room.

"You never know, Sirius. He might be kind to the child," he pointed out. "Severus wanted Harry safe from the Dursleys as much as we did."

Sirius snorted. "Happy and safe are hardly the same thing. The git likely thinks he can lord it over us, as though he's some great wizard for having discovered an alternative to a childhood of torment..."

Remus raised his eyebrows as if to say, "well..." and Sirius flicked his wand to send a pillow hit him across the face.

Lightly, of course.

"You will be civil to him, won't you? I can't imagine it's any more pleasant for Severus to come here than it is for us," Remus pleaded.

"Why do you call him that, anyway?" Sirius asked, moving the pillow back to the couch, and placing his feet on top of the table. Oh, how his mother would yell at him if she saw this...

Remus shrugged. "I suppose I got into the habit after he started delivering me the Wolfsbane potion. He didn't have to do it, you know, and I wanted to demonstrate my gratitude and offer some sort of friendship. Only between myself and him." He grinned. "I wouldn't dare to do that on your behalf."

Sirius snorted. "Good. And while I promise I won't call him Snivellus, I certainly won't call him his first name."

"No one's forcing you," Remus assured him, rolling his eyes. "But if he made the effort?"

"When pigs fly, you mean? I'd probably be so shocked I'd pass out on the spot." Sirius grinned. "So would you, and don't pretend otherwise."

"You're hopeless, Padfoot," Remus chided, with a sigh, but Sirius could see the familiar twinkle in his eye. "You at least promise me you'll keep the rudeness to a minimum?"

"I will be completely civil towards the greasy-haired git, Remus, but only for Harry's sake."

"For mine, too. Don't forget that it's because of him I can transform safely each month," Remus reminded him.

Sirius shuddered, remembering the days of Remus needing to be confined within the Shrieking Shack...until they had finally figured out how to become animagi. The Wolfsbane Potion did little to take away the physical pain of transforming, but it did make Remus safe-and not harm himself. Remus might still need a day to recover fully, and Sirius hoped that the potion would be improved to remove all of the pain of transforming, but it was certainly better for Remus than how it had been in his childhood.

"All right," he allowed, "because of that, too. Anyway, we'd better get Harry. It's only fifteen minutes before he's due to arrive."

The two had prepared Harry, as much as they could, in the previous week. He was far too young to know about Voldemort murdering his parents, and certainly about the blood protection of the Dursleys needing to be cancelled out and replaced with a different (yet equally powerful) type of magic. Instead, they simply said that he would have to drink something twice a year in order to be protected, and the person who would give him this drink would come by.

"Before you fetch him," Remus added, "do you think we should confirm with Severus that Harry knows nothing so far about, well, who he is?"

Sirius swore. "Don't you think he already knows? Harry's not even five years old, and we won't be telling him for years."

Remus shrugged. "I expect so, but it certainly can't help to confirm." He smiled. "You get Harry, and I'll send a patronus when Severus is here. Harry would like to see that type of magic, I imagine."

Sirius grinned. "He loves all kinds of magic, but what child doesn't? All right, we'll wait for your word."

He walked quickly up the stairs, wishing for the millionth time that his family house didn't make muggle castles appear like cottages, but not willing to Apparate for a small trip. He wasn't even thirty years of age, for Merlin's sake. Still, if they ever played the muggle game "hide and seek" with Harry, they'd have to remember to limit the hiding places to certain wings...

Harry was not exactly sitting on the chair as much as using it as a type of footstool so he could better assemble the puzzle. Sirius made a mental note to bring the table lower to the ground. The bedroom had been intended for guests, and while the furniture was adequate for adults and teenagers, a child like Harry would feel swallowed up by everything. No wonder he needed Sirius to sleep with him. At least five boys of his size could easily fit into the bed.

All the same, he had made considerable progress. The puzzle was two-hundred and fifty pieces, and the pieces assisted the child when necessary, but Harry seemed to be doing a good deal of the work without their aid. Certainly, it was a rather easy puzzle, but Sirius felt a spark of pride at his godson's talent.

"Hello, puppy," he murmured, softly, so as not to disturb him.

Harry turned his head, then abandoned the puzzle and ran for Sirius as though it had been months, instead of less than an hour, since he had last seen him.

Not that Sirius minded in the slightest.

He scooped up the tiny boy in his arms, and took a seat on the couch that sat within easy reach of the desk and chairs. "You're making short work of the puzzle, I see," he murmured, tucking a piece of hair behind Harry's head. "Soon, we'll have to get you started on puzzles with more pieces."

Harry gave him a shy smile. "I'd like that."

"Good." Sirius planted a kiss on the top of Harry's head. "Now, I want to talk to you about someone who's coming over for a bit, all right?" At Harry's nod, he continued, "Professor Snape is an expert at making potions, and he's a teacher at Hogwarts. We also went to school together, there. He's coming over for a bit to give you a very special and very important potion."

"W-why do I need a potion?" Harry asked, stuttering a bit as he formulated the question. "I don't feel ill."

"You're not ill," Sirius reassured him, holding him a bit tighter. "But you know how you take vitamins now to help you become big and strong?"

"Yes," Harry said, softly.

"This is...rather similar. Well," Sirius amended, "that's not a very good analogy. All right. Do you remember how when you lived with your aunt and uncle and had to go somewhere, you would wear a seatbelt?" At Harry's nod, he went on, "This is similar, except you drink it instead of wearing it. Professor Snape and Uncle Remus and I all drank it before you came, to protect you. Now, you will drink it, to keep you protected. It lasts for six months, so a little after the new year, Snape-that is, Professor Snape-will return and you'll drink it again. And you'll keep on drinking it until you're an adult. We will also drink this potion twice a year until you're seventeen."

"Does it keep me from getting ill?" Harry wondered, looking up at Sirius with wide eyes.

Sirius chuckled. "Not exactly. It's more to protect you from others who would hurt you."

"Like Aunt Marge?" Harry asked, softly.

Sirius sighed. "Her, although you likely will never see her again. But there are other people, very bad people, who would hurt...children," Sirius quickly amended. "And this potion will prevent them from doing so. Do you understand?"

"I think so, but why do you have to drink it?"

Sirius had expected this response. "Because I'm your guardian, and Remus is your uncle, and we both love you very, very much. Professor Snape will drink it because, as he's the one who will brew the potion to protect you, he also has to drink it." After a slight pause, he added, "Do you have any more questions, puppy?"

"Will the potion protect all of you?"

Sirius wasn't entirely sure about this. Snape had done extensive research, and because the potion involved old magic, there simply wasn't much in the way of history about its users. He'd speculated that the protection it would give Harry might provide an extra layer of protection to the others, but Harry would be the primary recipient.

"We're not sure," Sirius admitted, "but we are adults, and we have our magic to protect us. You won't be able to do magic for quite some time, puppy, or not on purpose. You'll probably do accidental magic in the next year or so...but that's not the same thing."

Harry nodded, slowly. "Is making the potion a lot of work?"

"Yes," Sirius answered, truthfully, "and it's not very tasty, but I'll give you a big glass of pumpkin juice to help it go down, and you can have extra ice cream for dessert. Sound fair?"

Harry grinned, then pointed. "Ohh, what's that?"

Sirius glanced over his shoulder to see a giant wolf. "That's Remus' Patronus."

"Harry, Sirius, Professor Snape is here. Please come downstairs," said the wolf.

Harry stared, awestruck, as the wolf disappeared into smoke. "Wow."

Sirius picked him up, chuckling. "You heard the wolf. Time to head downstairs. Come on," he added, rising from the couch, "I'll explain what that was on the way."

Author's note:

Next up: Harry and Severus meet.

All constructive comments are most welcome.

If you like Severus Snape oriented fanfic, please check out my work "The Unlikely Gryffindor," wherein Snape is sorted in Gryffindor upon his arrival at Hogwarts.