Chapter 49

As he watched Miss Delacour profusely thank a very uncomfortable Harry, Albus reflected on how convenient the Triwizard Tournament was resulting to be. It really was ironic that it was Tom himself who had so far had the biggest role in Harry Potter's development as a hero, accidentally preparing his own downfall ever since that night in Godric's Hollow.

Albus had never expected the boy to make it this far, so he had not put much thought to what kind of Harry might come out of the Tournament, but he was beginning to think there was hope after all and he wondered about the impact that the boy's survival might have over the upcoming war. Tom's plan was no doubt to get rid of the threat without moving a finger, causing as much chaos as possible in the process, but even though some amount of chaos was inevitable it now seemed likely that the end result might come to be an even bigger threat for Tom.

For the Tournament not only was forcing Harry to begin training himself as a warrior from a young age, it was also building up his reputation as a force to be reckoned. Harry's current public image might be precarious at best, but not even his biggest detractors would be able to ignore the facts. And the facts spoke of power beyond what anyone could have expected from a fourteen-year old, and of nobleness. Harry had proven himself capable of killing, and of saving lives, of frightening merpeople, and of befriending them. He showed potential for darkness, and potential for light.

He might very well become the rallying point for all kinds of followers. At the very least it might make Tom's potential new recruits hesitate to join him, and even some old ones reconsider their allegiance. It certainly had raised a lot of eyebrows the fact that Harry Potter could form an alliance with the Durmstrang champion.

To his shame, Albus couldn't deny to himself that he was also contemplating the convenience of Harry's self-sacrificing tendencies being reinforced. He had already been confident that the boy would willingly sacrifice himself for the Greater Good if it was required (the Philosopher Stone's set up had proven that), but after today he felt completely certain.

He had hoped to be able to grant the boy a few more years of oblivious youth, but with Tom's imminent return time was clearly running out. If the boy survived the year, Albus would have to consider to tell him about the Prophecy, and he feared he would have no excuse not to, since Harry was clearly almost ready to be burdened with his prophesized fate.

Perhaps it was also time for Albus to start looking into the Horcrux issue more closely.

The reading of the score was perfunctory, since the audience was dispersed and none of the champions seemed very interested to hear their scores. Cedric received full marks, but the boy barely smiled in response to the general applause, his troubled eyes constantly darting towards Harry and the young girl still clinging to her sister. Mr. Krum didn't even seem to hear his score, too occupied scowling at his Headmaster or at his ally by turns. Miss Delacour looked much calmer now that she had her hostage with her —and no doubt several Calming Draughts in her system—, but she still protested loudly when she was granted points and she seemed ready to attack the judges when Albus announced that Harry would not be receiving a score.

Harry himself didn't seem to care at all about that. He was barely paying attention when his own performance was briefly described, stroking Sirius's fur absently while his eyes glanced around apprehensively. No doubt he was worried about Sirius' identity being suspected, or perhaps he was afraid Severus would try to kill his dog whether he suspected who he was or not. Someone must have already told him about the incident with the bezoar.

Severus was nowhere to be seen, however, which was probably wise after having used the Cruciatus Curse on a dog in front of the entire student body and multiple Ministry representatives. He was probably back in his quarters literally nursing his wounds and his hate.

Because he definitely knew who the dog was. Albus had been watching Severus closely by the end of the task, so he had noticed the exact moment when his blank mask had suddenly crumbled to betray the kind of murderous expression that he had always reserved for Sirius Black and James Potter. His face distorted by terrible hate was probably the reason why not only Sirius, but most people around them had thought Severus was trying to kill Harry, although fortunately only Sirius had reacted fast and aggressively enough.

Albus had worried for weeks about the impact that figuring out who Harry's hostage was would have on Severus' nerves, but now that the time had come he was still seriously cross about Dobby so he felt more inclined to consider Sirius' presence a small sample of poetic justice. And perhaps the blow of having accidentally helped saving his old nemesis' life would keep Severus from trying to interfere again.

Not that it was likely he would come up with some other effective method of interference, of course. Dobby had been a weird stroke of luck, an unexpected opportunity Severus had come across and recklessly put to use.

Although...

Could he have found another way of interfering during the first task? Now that Albus knew Severus had never stopped trying to find a way around the Goblet's compulsion, he wondered. He didn't believe for a second that the hadn't known it might count as interference, although he did believe him when he said he hadn't expected such a reaction and that he would not risk it again. But what was to say he hadn't tried something else before, something that had gone unnoticed by the Goblet? It really was suspicious the way Harry had survived the dragon without a single injury.

Albus had wracked his brain for the last day and a half trying to think of anything else Severus might have done, but he kept coming out with nothing. To be sure, Severus was far more versed in Dark Magic than Albus, but what good was the darkest of spells if one couldn't even begin to mutter an incantation? And no matter how much he squeezed his brain, Albus couldn't think of anything that Severus could have done to except himself from the Goblet's enchantment. Everything had already been tried in the past, without success.

Until Dobby.

And clearly using Dobby had been a one-time trick. Severus hadn't even been aware of the anomalous elf before Christmas, and even if he had any use of it during the first task would have triggered the Goblet's anger as well and come to Albus' attention.

No. Something strange had definitely happened during the first task, but after Harry's unexpected demonstration of power there was no reason to question Poppy's theory about the boy's accidental magic coming to his aid.

It was hard not to mistrust everything that Severus did now, though. Even his quick intervention at Harry's acute respiratory distress made Albus suspicious, even though as Hogwarts' Potions Master Severus was qualified in basic healing and it was part of his job description to attend any medical emergencies when the matron wasn't available.

Albus sighed. He was turning more paranoid than Alastor, he thought grimly as he made his way back to the castle levitating the Goblet of Fire before him.

There was a hesitant knock at the door. Albus took a moment to place the Goblet inside its box and put it away, having already noticed how angry the sight of it made the boy.

"Come in," he said then, and he watched Harry walk in with Sirius in tow. Albus waved his office's door shut and silently cast a few strong wards over it. "I imagine your godfather would like to spend some time with you in human form, Harry, and I would rather he doesn't risk doing so just anywhere in the castle."

He pinned Sirius with a stern look, and by the dog's sheepish expression he felt certain that he had intended to take such risk the first time he managed to get in a room alone with the boy.

"Is it safe here, sir?" asked Harry, glancing nervously at the portraits.

"Yes, Harry, perfectly safe. These portraits can't spread any rumours without my leave, and they already know about Sirius in any case."

"Indeed," said Phineas sourly. "I was loath to hear that my great-great-grandson truly was a blood traitor after all."

"I'm not sorry to disappoint, grandpy," retorted Sirius, looking at the portrait with distaste. "Send my regards to my hag of a mother, will you?"

Phineas humphed and raised his chin indignantly, but didn't disappear from his frame. No doubt he didn't want to miss anything interesting happening in the office, nor to deal with an old portrait of Walburga Black.

Harry witnessed the exchange with obvious confusion and curiosity, but he was distracted from any questions he might have thought to ask by the sight of his godfather, who didn't look much better than he had last year. Albus had been concerned too when he had met with him last night, having expected him to have recovered some weight, and according to Sirius he had been better at some point, but apparently the last few months of deep anxiety over his unhelpable godson had reverted any health improvement.

Sirius seemed to misinterpret Harry's concern, though, losing his usual easy confidence and looking uncharacteristically anxious and hesitant. This in turn seemed to make Harry nervous and insecure, which was only natural considering that godson and godfather barely knew each other and Harry might not be sure if Sirius returned his attachment. Albus considered to give them some privacy, but he feared to break the moment if he made a movement so he remained still and cast a silent warning at Phineas.

It really was something to see Sirius Black so serious and emotionally at a loss, but what broke Albus' heart was Harry's obvious vulnerability. He wondered if the boy had known who his hostage would be before he had gone into the lake or if it had come as a shock to find Sirius down there. It certainly looked as if only now he were being confronted with the realization of how much he cared about his godfather, and with the fear of rejection.

After what felt like an hour of intense and uncomfortable staring, and just when Harry's green eyes were at their shiniest, Sirius finally seemed to gather the courage to take the first step, and he hesitantly reached out to put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Perhaps it was the touch that did it, or something in Sirius' eyes, but suddenly Harry's shoulders relaxed and a moment later he let himself be trapped in a fierce hug.

Albus surreptitiously wiped a tear from the corner of his eye.

When they finally broke apart, the tension in the room had eased off and both Harry and Sirius were smiling to each other.

"How exactly did you give yourself a Gillyweed overdose?" asked Sirius lightly after a moment. "Isn't that stuff like really easy to measure?"

"Not you too," huffed Harry, falling hard on one of the chairs. "Snape has already insulted me all about it. And he was bleeding while he yelled, so you can imagine how nasty he was."

Sometimes Severus really made Albus feel the urge to roll his eyes. Only he would consider more urgent to insult Harry Potter than to tend to his own wounds, probably even welcoming the pain if that made easier to resent the boy.

Sirius seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but he looked angry instead of amused.

"He shouldn't have taken it out on you, I was the one who bit him," he growled.

"I'm pretty sure he would have come to insult me anyway," said Harry dryly. When he saw that Sirius and also Albus were looking at him expectantly, he sighed and resigned himself to explain. "I had Gillyweed to spare, and I wasn't sure if I would be out of the lake in an hour, so I figured I could take more and then Finite the effects whenever I came out. Apparently 'it was stupid to experiment with an unfamiliar substance and just see what happened'. Snape also accused me of stealing the Gillyweed from him, but of that at least I'm not guilty." The boy's anger was suddenly replaced by concern as his eyes met Albus'. "Did you find Dobby, Professor?"

"Who's Dobby?" asked Sirius in confusion.

"Dobby is the house-elf that provided the Gillyweed to Harry," informed him Albus, making sure of leaving sadness out of his voice and expression. "I did manage to locate him, Harry, and just as a precaution I decided to send him away for a while, with instructions not to answer any summons. I suspect he's the first house-elf ever who will enjoy a vacation."

Harry looked slightly guilty at that, which was enough confirmation to Albus that it was best to keep the truth from him, at least for the moment. Fortunately the boy was more worried about his godfather than about Dobby, so he didn't ask any more questions about that and turned instead to Sirius again.

"Is it true that Snape used the Cruciatus on you?"

Sirius ran a hand through his tangled hair and sighed.

"Yeah, but don't worry, I'm fine. And I kind of deserved it, after using his arm as a chewing toy."

"That's no excuse," said Harry angrily. "Who tortures a dog? That's just sick."

Sirius let out a bitter snort.

"Snape knew full well who I was, Harry. Although I wouldn't put it past him to crucio real dogs just for fun."

Harry's horrified eyes turned to Albus.

"You told Snape about Sirius?" he accused.

"Professor Snape, Harry," corrected Albus for what felt like the hundredth time and knowing that it was pointless to make the correction. "And no, I did not tell him. But he overheard Remus talking about their Animagi project last year in the Shrieking Shack, and I dare say today it wasn't hard for him to guess who the dog might be. He will not expose him, however."

"Yeah, right," said Harry incredulously. "He tried really hard to get him kissed by the Dementors last year, Professor, why wouldn't he try again now?"

"Because now he knows Sirius is innocent," said Albus calmly. Innocent of the worst charges, at least. "Last year he didn't. It wasn't easy to convince him, but he finally accepted that Pettigrew is still alive and that Sirius was wrongly imprisoned."

Neither Harry nor Sirius seemed much convinced that that would make any difference.

"He exposed Professor Lupin as a werewolf last year," pointed out Harry. "Even though he was harmless."

"Professor Snape exposed Remus because he proved himself dangerous for the students, Harry," said Albus patiently. "Remus agreed with that assessment, which is why he resigned and doesn't hold a grudge against Professor Snape."

By the angry look in Sirius' face, he held a grudge. He had always been extremely protective of his friends, defending them even when they were indefensible. Of course, they were half right. Severus had exposed Remus in great measure out of spite, and he no doubt felt now tempted to expose Sirius too, but Albus was confident that he would not do that. The situation was different now, more serious, and Severus had been recently exposed himself and protected and scolded by Albus so he almost certainly would not risk his own freedom and survival engaging in old vendettas.

"Anyway," said Harry, clearly searching for another angle to attack Severus from, "Snape probably knew all along that Sirius was innocent, being a Death Eater, he just pretended not to know and left him to rot in Azkaban."

"Harry has a point, Dumbledore," said Sirius, his eyes darkening. "You said that Snape was always your spy, then why didn't he tell you that I wasn't a Death Eater? Either he was never on your side or as Harry said he just wanted me to rot in Azkaban even if I was innocent."

Albus sighed. This was precisely why he had been hesitant to invite Harry and Sirius to his office, and why he had preferred Severus' status as a former Death Eater and spy to be kept quiet.

"Severus didn't know if you were or not a Death Eater, Sirius," he explained. "Voldemort was often secretive even with his own subjects, keeping the identities of some of them from the others just in case someone betrayed him. Severus was surprized when you were accused of being a Death Eater, but he assumed he had simply not been told, since the evidence against you seemed unquestionable at the time. After the suspicion over Pettigrew arose last year —and after he calmed down a bit, I must add— he managed to use his connections to confirm that, indeed, some Death Eaters had known who the real traitor was, but Severus had been kept in the dark due to his previous history with the Marauders."

Severus had looked really put out when he had come to report on that conversation with Lucius. Albus wasn't sure if it had irritated him more to have to accept Sirius' innocence or to learn that Lucius had been entrusted with more information than he. Even after all these years, some part of Severus' mind was still conditioned to compete with his fellow Death Eaters for their master's favour.

Severus admitted that he probably would have murdered Pettigrew if he had had access to him, though, even if that had meant to be punished for killing a brother and a valuable spy. So it made sense that Tom had taken the precaution of not telling him.

"That's what Snape says," insisted Harry. "How can you be sure that he's on our side, Professor?"

"I would like to know the same thing," said Sirius crossing his arms. "How do you know he's not making a fool of you, Dumbledore?"

Despite their frustration, Harry and Sirius exchanged a look that made plain that they were happy to be arguing together against a common foe. While Albus supposed it was good that they had found something as strong as their mutual mistrust for Severus to bond over, he couldn't help feeling a little sad. He wished he could tell Harry and Sirius whom they really owed their lives to, but his current disappointment with Severus wasn't enough to make him forget the promise he had made to him.

Albus also feared that if his vulnerability were to be exposed to these two people Severus might react aggressively and change his mind about protecting Harry, or at the very least induce him to turn Sirius in to the Ministry.

"I'm sure. I trust Severus Snape," he said in a firm tone. Mostly. He trusted that he wasn't working for Tom, at least. Although it couldn't hurt to perform the Patronus test again one of these days.

"Well, I don't!" said Sirius loudly. "And I don't want him around my godson."

"Severus is Harry's teacher, Sirius, they are around each other every day. Even if Severus weren't trustworthy, Harry would still be perfectly safe around him. Nobody outside the Tournament can harm him for as long as the Goblet is active, I believe Harry knows this."

Harry rubbed his neck uncomfortably.

"I guess I know," he admitted. "Snape said that, and Professor McGonagall. Ron punched me in the face just fine, though, so I'm not sure how true is that."

"Ron what?" exclaimed Sirius, seeming to forget the Severus issue for a moment.

"Just a misunderstanding," rushed to say Harry.

"Perhaps I should rephrase," said Albus. "No one can do anything that would put you out of the competition, Harry, since that would be an advantage for the other champions."

"I'm sure two Death Eaters like Snape and Karkaroff can find plenty of nasty things to do to Harry without killing him," said Sirius dryly. He seemed to regret his words when he saw Harry's sudden worry. "I want to stay around for a while, just in case. "

Harry looked at him with horror.

"No, no way! You have to go away, Sirius, right now! What if someone suspects?"

"No one knows I'm an Animagus, Harry."

"Snape knows!"

"Dumbledore just said that he won't expose me, and I don't think he will risk pissing off the only person keeping him out of Azkaban."

"Snape is a Death Eater, you can't trust him with anything! What if he told Karkaroff about you?"

"Professor Snape hasn't told nor will tell anyone, Harry," said Albus with conviction. "But I agree with you in that it is too dangerous for Sirius to remain here. It was extremely risky to bring him as a hostage, and extremely fortunate that I managed to keep his real identity from the other judges."

"I'm fine with taking the risk," said Sirius stubbornly.

"It's not a risk just for you," pointed out Albus. "If you were discovered, both Harry and myself would be accused of aiding a fugitive."

Sirius ran his hands through his hair and let out a very pitiful sound. Harry seemed torn now, clearly not knowing how to argue against his godfather's desperation.

"I don't want you to go, Sirius," he said softly after a minute. "But I don't want you to get caught either. You can't help me here, anyway, and I would rather know you are safe and enjoying the sun in some tropical beach."

Sirius stared at Harry in disbelief.

"I won't go abroad again, Harry," he said firmly. "I need to be close. Maybe I can hide in the forest, or in the Shrieking Shack like last time..."

Harry started to shake his head, but before they could begin arguing again a knock on the door made them both freeze.

An instant later Sirius had turned back to his dog form, the transformation just as quick and graceful as Minerva's. It would always amaze Albus that the Marauders had managed the Animagus process being so young and without help, and even more that Sirius had retained that power while being in Azkaban. It made one wonder how powerful a wizard he could have become if his life had not been hampered by despair. If Albus had only given him the benefit of the doubt and a chance to explain instead of sealing his Fate by testifying against him.

Albus locked his guilt away and lifted the enchantments from the door before inviting the visitor in.

Judging by Severus' expression when he saw who was in the office already, Albus had been wise not to tell him what the summons were about. Even now he looked as if he were considering to turn around and leave without more than a dark glare in Sirius' direction.

At least he didn't seem to be bleeding anymore, although he was holding his arm in a way that made Albus suspect he was still in pain. He probably hadn't been able to heal the deep wound as well as Poppy could have, and of course it wasn't an option to have Poppy taking a look at his left arm.

"Please come in, Severus," said Albus pleasantly. "And close the door behind you."

With obvious reluctance, Severus stepped into the office and closed the door.

"This will only take a moment. Sirius... if you could resume your usual form."

The great black dog looked up at Albus and, after a brief hesitation, turned back to human again. Severus stared at him with plain hatred in his face, his right hand twitching at his side as if fighting the urge to reach for his wand. Sirius' expression was more of mistrust than of hate, and Albus thought there might be some guilt and fear there too.

"I would like you to reassure Harry and Sirius that you won't risk exposing Sirius in any way, Severus," said Albus with a hard edge in his voice, remembering Severus' subtle attempts to make the students suspect Remus' condition last year. "And that includes not making suggestive comments nor making obvious that you personally hate Harry Potter's dog."

Severus frowned at him.

"I believe Black would have exposed me in a blink if someone else hadn't beaten him to it, Dumbledore," he answered after a tense moment, eyeing Sirius with the utmost loathing. "He obviously would send me to Azkaban right now if it were up to him."

"You should have been in Azkaban instead of me for the last decade, Snape," said Sirius angrily.

"I wasn't stupid enough to let myself be dragged to prison laughing, Black," said Severus with a sneer. "And you were hardly innocent, Secret Keeper or not. As far as I'm concern you deserved that hell and should be sent right back to it."

"Severus," chastised him Albus. "You and Sirius are on the same side and will need to work together in the future, it is time for both of you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."

Severus took notice of Albus' warning look and seemed to struggle with himself for a long moment before turning back to Sirius.

"I will not expose you, Black," he finally said. "I'm certain you will find the way to doom yourself without any help. If you ever dare raising your wand or your teeth to me again, however, you will beg to be back in the safety of Azkaban."

"And if you ever dare put a finger on Harry, Snivellus, I will tear you apart limb by limb," Sirius shot back.

Well, at least they both seemed willing to settle for a few threats.

"I think a friendly shake of hands is in order," said Albus. "And perhaps a round of apologies."

Both men looked at him as if they thought he had lost his mind, but Albus stared back at them sternly until finally Sirius sighed in resignation and offered a hand to Severus.

"I'm sorry about your arm, Snape," he said, sounding genuinely sorry even though each word seemed to cost him horrors to pronounce. "I thought you were trying to kill Harry."

Severus looked at the proffered hand as if he wished to cut it off, not making even the slightest movement towards it.

"I have nothing to apologize for," he said. "Nor desire at all of touching your filthy hand."

Sirius put down his hand and scowled darkly at Severus.

"If you're done wasting my time, Headmaster, I have things to do," said Severus coldly.

Albus sighed and waved him away. It had been a nice try, he thought. Sirius had actually apologized for something, which would have been impossible fifteen years ago.

"Well, now I feel much more reassured," commented Harry sarcastically once his Professor had left the office.

They continued discussing the subject of what to do with Sirius for fifteen more minutes. Albus had been hoping that Harry could persuade his godfather of going away into hiding again, but somehow Sirius ended up persuading Harry of the opposite. The boy might be concerned about his godfather getting caught, but clearly he was also worried about sending him away alone again with only a hippogriff for company and rats for food. And of course it was obvious that Harry didn't really want to part with Sirius, especially not after having discovered how much he would miss him. They both seemed to crave for some time together.

Touched as he felt, Albus considered that the risk was too great, and he would have put an end to the whole notion of letting Sirius stay inside the castle for any amount of time if he could have. However, Triwizard tradition dictated that the champions were allowed to keep their hostages with them for a week after a task if they wanted to, and since tradition in this case equalled undisputable law in the end Albus had no choice but to allow Harry to keep his dog for a few days.

It was plain that Sirius wasn't content with so little time, but it was something. And as long as he behaved like a real dog and didn't do anything stupid, the chances of discovery were minimal, considered Albus.

He just hoped Severus would be able to keep his temper for a week.