Part Four

Hogwarts

Sirius couldn't stifle his gasp of emotion. The turrets and the crenellations, the greenhouses and the Quidditch Pitch, the Gamekeeper's hut, and the lake, all blurred before his eyes. He'd always believed and yet he'd never dared imagine he'd walk up that path again, let alone with his godson at his side.

So much had happened and so much had been stolen from them, but he knew that even if he died in the effort, they were going to steal back what was left. He looked at Harry at his side, and the other children gasping and pointing and laughing; this was all about them. This was about the parents of most of these children; parents who had made the ultimate sacrifice; James and Lily, Arthur, Frank and Alice, Sanji and Saheda Patil, all of the others. Sirius made no attempt to think of a more fitting tribute; there was none. This was what he and his handful of ragged warriors had retreated into hiding for nine long years to protect, when all looked lost. Sirius had always had faith, but he felt something lift his heart that he realised he hadn't felt for a long, long time; its name was hope.

He couldn't begin to imagine how Dumbledore had engineered this, how he had gathered all of the others. He'd assumed that the party at the Burrow was the only one that was going to be here today, but there were others, more than a hundred others. Some were dressed as Muggles, some proudly wearing their favoured mode of dress. Gilderoy Lockhart had managed to squeeze himself into a set of what looked like tailor-made Ravenclaw Quidditch robes. Sirius laughed to himself in sheer joy; the idiot had been a Hufflepuff, and the stern green-clad old witch at his side seemed to be telling him so. He felt a catch in his chest as he realised she was Minerva McGonagall. He knew she'd been badly injured in the final days, but he hadn't prepared himself for the bent frail woman favouring her left leg with the aid of a thick black stick.

He noticed the surrounding hills lay differently to the way they had lain before the final battle that had all but defeated them, and realised that Dumbledore had moved Hogwarts's location. He knew that the Headmaster could wrap the castle up into such a tiny package that he could carry it around in his pocket if need be, and probably had done just that for nine years. Sirius was one of the few men who also knew that Hogwarts was an illusion. Dumbledore was Hogwarts; and when he passed from this world it would become the next Headmaster, and so on in perpetuity, until not a man of them was left standing. It was the Castle of Dreams of every one of the faithful, a joint vision so complex that it was a reality. He felt someone at his side, glad it was Lupin; the werewolf smiled his slow smile, a touch watery, a bit like his own he supposed.

It took him a moment to realise that a small hand had clasped his own, and he looked down; somehow he wasn't surprised to see it was Hermione. He bent down and lifted her into his arms; she was too heavy, but that didn't matter. Tears sparkled on her eyelashes as she leant to his chest.

'You like it, Sweetheart?' he murmured into her bushy brown hair.

'Oh, Sirius, it is so beautiful,' she said in a tiny voice. 'I know why you kept it a secret. We would never have believed you.'

He set her back down on the ground, almost floored by the depth of his emotions.

Dumbledore stood in front of the great double doors and raised his staff. He didn't knock the door; he smote upon it, three short sharp raps with the phoenix head of his staff. A window was thrust open above his head and a blue and red bird flew from it, dipping and swooping in some sort of benediction over the hundred-odd children and the thirty or so men and women, who had kept them safe. Fawkes flew to Dumbledore's shoulder, shrieking his song of elation, as a man stuck his head out of the casement.

'Who has seen fit to waken the phoenix?' he cawed down, and Sirius could see it was a ritual greeting, something awaiting a ritual response.

'Albus Dumbledore has brought the faithful, Mr Filch.' He made a great show of rapping on the door again. 'Open the doors.'

'And has he brought the Hunter?'

Dumbledore nodded to where Lupin stood with Sirius. 'The Hunter has returned, Mr Filch,' the werewolf called over with his self-effacing smile, joining the Headmaster's game.

'And has he brought the Guide?'

Sirius watched Snape step forward from where he stood with Lucius and their brood, his face its usual blank mask. 'The Guide has returned, Mr Filch.' Sirius was glad and a little surprised that Snape hadn't seemed inclined to break the mood of the day.

'And has he brought the Protector?'

'The Protector has returned, Mr Filch,' Sirius called across the heads of the mesmerised children, smiling at Dumbledore's theatrics, as he took up the game too.

'And has he brought the Provider?'

'The Provider has returned, Mr Filch,' Lucius called over in an artfully bored voice, which fooled no one but himself. 'And it's bloody freezing out here.'

'Well, that's all right then,' Filch responded in his own raspy voice at last, leering his gap-toothed leer. He moved away, grumbling and mumbling to himself. A moment later he called out of the window again. 'I won't be long. I just need to find the ruddy keys, don't I?'

Dumbledore didn't bother waiting; he'd had his little show, he seemed content. He raised his staff again and the great doors swung open. Somehow Argus Filch had managed down the stairs; he stood in the entrance hall, scowling in his inimitable way, his greasy grey hair at the shoulders of his old leather doublet, his bug-eyed kneazle held to his chest. A scream of welcome rose from the veritable army of house-elves standing behind him, some wearing tall chef's hats and tossing pancakes, and some in flat caps, stirring pots of stew.

Sirius supposed just one child had begun to run to cause the stampede, as children broke away from parents and guardians to reach the castle; maybe in case it ran away from them before they could get there. He saw Harry running up the path with Hermione, calling the Patil twins over his shoulder, as the two girls took up the call to Seamus and Dean; he was sure that somehow Dumbledore patted every small head that passed him.

*****

It took a surprisingly short time to settle everyone into Hogwarts. Minerva's weakness proved only to be physical and, if anything, her razor brain had sharpened; she went about the task of putting the children into their respective houses in a way that even left the Sorting Hat struggling to keep up with her. Within two days classes had started. Sirius found himself with the role of teaching duelling to the over elevens, and History of Magic, a subject about which he knew very little, having slept through his first round of the Goblin Wars. Flitwick arrived at the end of the first day and took Charms, while Lupin taught Astronomy and Herbology, in place of Pomona Sprout, who had been killed during the early days of the war. Minerva taught her usual subject of Transfiguration and doubled up with Arithmancy, until Gilderoy could get his head round the subject and reduce her burden.

Severus had a long bitter argument with Dumbledore about teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts, which he lost ungraciously. The Headmaster seemed to feel that he would be unnecessarily opening himself to an attack from Voldemort; Sirius was given the additional task instead, a fact that did nothing to enhance their wary relationship.

Sirius found himself beginning to tread on eggshells around Snape, who had installed himself in the dungeons near to the Slytherin Common Room, and grudgingly taken on the mantle of Potions Master.

Within a week it became apparent that Lucius was at a loose end; he had refused to take up a teaching post, pleading the excuse that despite his family of eight he was ill equipped to deal with children. Sirius suspected he was right. If Lupin were teaching, he was in Snape's rooms, and if Snape were teaching, he was in Lupin's rooms; Sirius wasn't at all sure what he did when both of them were occupied, as was the case for much of the day. The truth would have shocked him.

*****

Harry watched as Hermione leant across to Cassiopeia, and the two looked up at the sky. He'd noticed that they had had their heads together for much of the day; it suddenly became clear to him just why that was. He'd even been studying it in Astronomy today, but the significance had passed him by, until the full moon slipped out from behind a cloud, bathing the lake in a white rippling path of cold beauty, as Harry, too, looked through the thick mullioned windows of the Great Hall. He turned his attention to the oddly quiet staff table. Sirius was missing, as were Lupin, Snape and Lucius. That wasn't anything particularly strange in itself; the men often skipped meals. It was unusual for them all to be absent at one time though, and unusual for Lucius to miss a meal at all, being as it was a perfect opportunity, not only to fill his stomach, but to use the staff as a sounding board for his more ridiculous grievances.

Harry bent his head to Draco, and nodded to the high table. 'Have you any idea where they are?'

Draco shrugged. 'I saw Lucius earlier, coming up the dungeon steps.'

'Where was he headed?'

'In the opposite direction from me, once I worked it out.' The blond boy grinned. 'Why, what do you want them for?'

'It's full moon,' Harry said from the corner of his mouth. He didn't want Ron to overhear; he'd obviously missed the significance too.

'I'd forgotten about that,' Draco replied. 'I wonder what it was that Severus had for Lupin. I forgot to find out with all the excitement.'

They were halfway through pudding when Sirius eventually walked into the Hall, alone. He crossed quickly to Dumbledore and exchanged a few words with him; he looked quite pleased with himself, the Headmaster looked pleased too.

'Whatever it was,' Harry murmured to Draco, picking up the thread of the old conversation. 'I think it worked.'

Ron poured custard over his treacle tart. 'What worked?'

*****

It was about ten days later when Sirius eventually became concerned about Snape. Apart from what could only have been described as an academic interest in what had been a successful outcome to his work on Lupin's Potion, Severus had shown little interest in anything that was going on in Hogwarts. Sirius was worried that he was becoming very withdrawn. He knocked his leg against Snape's, where he had slung them up on his table. 'What are you going to do about Lucius? Even he can only laze about for so long; we'll need to find something for him to do.'

Snape grunted. 'I'm trying to read.'

'And I'm trying to ask you something important; so put the fucking book down and look at me.'

Snape looked over the slim volume of poisons he had been leafing through. For a moment it looked as though he were going to snarl at Sirius, but he seemed to change his mind. He stiffened instead, and what little blood he ever had in his face drained from it.

'Severus,' Sirius said quietly. 'What's wrong?'

Snape had set the book down; he appeared to be in pain. A sheen of sweat had broken out on his forehead and his top lip, and his breath came too fast. He tore back his shirtsleeve, seeming not to notice the tiny white buttons he sent dancing across the floor, and Sirius looked in horror at the Dark Mark; the serpent was undulating through the skull on Severus's arm. Snape stumbled to his feet, as Lupin's head appeared in the fireplace.

'Severus, I need help with Lucius. We're in his rooms,' he said urgently, and disappeared without elaborating.

*****

'What's wrong with him?' Draco asked in a frightened voice from the corner he and Harry had retreated to when Lucius had first let out his scream of agony, and Lupin had shoved them out of the way. Draco had only come down to see if Lucius would come to see them taking their first flying lessons. He had watched with mounting fear as his father was reduced to a shaking keening wreck by whatever invisible thing was assaulting him, as Lupin tried in vain to offer him some sort of help. 'What can we do?' he asked again, panic rising in his voice.

Lupin didn't reply; he had managed to steer Lucius to his table and sit him down, peeling off his dark green frock coat as he did. His father was pushing back the sleeve of his silk shirt, clawing at it.

'I'm going for Snape,' Harry offered timidly, not stopping to wonder why, of all of the inhabitants of Hogwarts, the grim Potions Master was his automatic choice. He hesitated when Lupin threw some green powder onto his fireplace and seemed to have a conversation with Snape.

It could only have been moments, which seemed to Harry to stretch to hours, before Snape threw the door open and ran into the room with Sirius behind him. Harry didn't think the Potions Master looked well either; his sleeve was hanging loose about his fingertips too.

He was glad when Snape took over, although he seemed not to have even noticed the two boys. He pulled back Lucius's sleeve, and Harry felt himself recoil at the mark on his arm; it appeared to writhe in a way that could have nothing to do with the movements of any muscles he knew of. He had a sudden insight that Snape had the same mark on his arm. He decided there and then that he would begin to pay attention to what he was being taught; it seemed that there was quite a lot of stuff going on in the background. He remembered Snape telling Draco how dangerous moving them to Hogwarts was. Harry realised with a start that it was the men who had been placed in danger to keep the children safe; he wondered if it had always been the same.

'Start breathing with me,' Snape said quietly, exaggerating his breaths and encouraging Malfoy to slow his own, until he picked up the same measured pace. He nodded to Lupin, who stood fretting over Lucius's shoulder. 'Go and get Dumbledore. I think we might want to speed things along.'

'No.' Lucius appeared at last to become aware of him. 'I can manage; I don't want anyone else here.'

Snape ignored him and gave the werewolf a curt nod. Lupin seemed to hesitate, torn between leaving Lucius and seeking whatever help Snape thought Dumbledore could give, and Draco opened the door to go for him instead. Harry wasn't surprised to see the Headmaster had already arrived on the other side of the door.

Dumbledore swept in, and it looked to Harry as though he understood the situation, that explanations were superfluous. 'When did it start?' he murmured as he sat beside Lucius.

'Not long ago,' Malfoy replied. He seemed exhausted; sweat was rolling down his pale face and his hair had begun to hang in ropes. He ran a shaking hand through it and looked across at Draco. 'What are you still doing here?'

'What's wrong with you?' Draco asked. He looked to Snape's loose sleeve with a frown. 'It happened to you too, didn't it? What is it?'

'It's nothing for you to worry about,' Snape said as he nodded to him. 'I want you and Potter to go now; your father needs peace and quiet.'

'But I will worry,' Draco replied, not at all the confident boy he was. 'What's happening?'

Dumbledore turned to them. 'Now, young Malfoy, Harry too, you heard Severus,' he said, smiling over his half-moon glasses at them. 'If you do as he has requested, I am sure he will fill you in with all you need to know once he is sure that Lucius is recovering. We would not want to have him stop doing that to tell you stories, would we?'

'No ... but ...' Draco began.

'Just do it, Draco,' Snape replied tiredly. 'And kindly keep this to yourselves.'

As Draco opened the door, Harry looked to Sirius; he was standing beside the fireplace, a look of deep concern on his face. He caught Harry's eye and raised his finger to his lips, shaking his head slightly; the gesture cautioned not just silence, but secrecy too.

Draco looked doubtfully at Snape. 'All right, as long as you promise me he's all right.'

Lucius lifted his head again, his grey eyes dull and his face etched with fatigue. 'I'm fine. Now do as Severus said, and keep your mouths shut. It is very important that you do.'

Draco opened the door wider and caught sight of Gilderoy Lockhart, knocking Snape's door further along the dungeon corridor. 'He's not in,' he called. 'They've gone to watch our flying lesson.'

The strawberry-blond popinjay began to strut along the corridor. 'Ah, I'll have a few words with your father then.'

'He's not in either,' Draco said as he closed the door quietly. 'He's gone to Hogsmeade, with Lupin I think.'

'He lies very well,' Dumbledore said mildly, from the other side of the door.

'Yes,' Snape agreed blandly. 'It's the only lesson he learnt from his father.'

*****

'I need to tell Cassiopeia,' Draco said stubbornly. 'I always tell her stuff, Julius too.'

Harry bit his lip; he'd have liked to tell Hermione too, maybe Ron as well, or maybe not. Ron got spooked by a couple of ordinary ghosts yesterday and Harry thought whatever was going on in the dungeons was a lot more serious than that. 'All right,' he relented. 'As long as you swear they'll not tell everyone else.'

'They won't,' Draco assured him. 'They never do. I wouldn't tell Weasley, Potter,' he said as though he were unsure of Harry's reaction to that. 'Granger maybe, if you want, but Weasley's got all these brothers he might tell.'

'No, he wouldn't.' Harry bridled; failing to point out that Draco had more brothers and sisters than any of them. 'Anyway, I wasn't going to tell him.'

Draco nodded and sat down opposite Harry at the Library table. He gave him a sly look for a moment, and pulled two cigarettes out of his pocket; they looked a bit bent.

'Wow, where did you get them?' Harry asked. He'd only ever tried one of Sirius's; he'd been sick but he was sure if he practiced enough he could be as cool as Sirius was.

'I nicked them,' Draco said a bit guiltily, 'from Lucius, when he first stood up. Before I knew he wasn't acting it.' He passed one over to Harry with a grin. 'We'll just have these and then we'd better get the girls. I haven't a clue where to start, but I'm sure they'll know,' he said with confidence.

*****

'I don't know how many times I could resist that.' Lucius raised his head from where he stood against the bathroom wall, having thrown the contents of his stomach rather spectacularly into the sink. 'How can you stand it?' he asked Snape.

'I used to spend a considerable amount of time with my head over a toilet bowl,' Snape replied dryly. 'It will get better; it's just the shock.'

Sirius stood at the door; he thought Lucius looked truly shaken. He realised he had never actually resisted Voldemort's call before. 'Has he not summoned either of you in the last nine years?' he asked.

Lucius shook his head.

'He had no real need,' Snape replied. 'He has only just begun to look for Draco.' He paused, remembering the headmaster from the school in Scotland. 'We have to assume that, up until we moved from Scotland, he has always known where we were. He just decided to round us up last week.' He turned to Dumbledore with a frown as he walked back into the living area of Lucius's rooms. 'Why did you pick that particular time to send for us?'

'I didn't, Severus. Lucius wrote to me when he thought that Draco was struggling with his identity, although I was on the point of calling you all to me.'

Snape looked sharply at Malfoy. Sirius wondered if that were another secret; he hoped Severus wasn't going to jump down Lucius's throat.

'What made you think that?' Snape asked in a puzzled tone instead. 'Was that what was in the letter you wrote the day Draco was sent home from school?'

Malfoy nodded. 'Cassiopeia said he'd been fighting a lot at school,' he replied with a shrug. 'It was Delphinia who suggested that I write to Dumbledore, and let you deal with Draco.

Snape surprised Sirius by accepting that version of events; whatever the real truth was it was apparent that they hadn't moved a day too soon.

*****

It was almost a week later when Hermione and Cassiopeia stumbled across a reference to something called the Dark Mark in a book they had found in the Restricted Section of the Library. They puzzled over it for a while. Hermione was almost sure that Sirius and Lupin had no such mark on their arms; Cassiopeia didn't think that Snape or Lucius had such a mark either, but she was a bit less sure.

'I know Lucius always wears long sleeves, when he does wear clothes, but he's got a ... a mark on his arm. It's just a birthmark though, like a patch of sunburn,' she added quickly, omitting to say that Severus had one too. It couldn't be what Draco and Harry had described; it was just a faded blotch.

'Maybe we should show this to the boys anyway,' Hermione said. 'They can tell us if it's what they saw.'

Cassiopeia bit her lip; she wasn't at all sure that she wanted her suspicions confirmed; this Dark Mark didn't look like something she'd want either Severus or Lucius to have. Perhaps she'd speak to her mother's portrait first. She was denied the chance though as the two boys and Julius bore down on them.

'Well?' Draco asked with a bright smile.

*****

'I need to talk to you, Sirius.' Harry caught up with him as he walked alone from the Great Hall. Neither Snape nor Lucius had appeared for dinner; it was the perfect opportunity. He hadn't noticed Lupin follow Sirius out of the Hall.

'Yeah?' Sirius grinned. 'What about?'

Harry looked back; Draco was still eating and none of the others seemed to have noticed he'd left. Lupin had joined them, but that was all right; he reckoned Lupin needed to be warned too. 'It's kind of private,' he said.

'There's nobody else here.' Sirius grinned again. 'Except Remus. And we don't have secrets, at least not too many.'

Harry pushed open the Library door and sat at a table down towards the middle, so that he wouldn't be overheard if anyone came in, and he could strike up a false conversation if necessary. It was also the table where he'd asked Hermione to hide the book showing the Dark Mark.

*****

'It's a lot to keep secret,' Lucius said doubtfully. 'I don't know if I can carry it off.'

'Can you carry off the alternative?' Snape asked.

Lucius shook his head and shuddered. 'No, I can't do that either.'

'Well, it's going to be one or the other; so you had better make a decision. I do not intend to make it for you.'

'Okay, we'll do it your way,' Lucius said, clearly unhappy. 'I still think someone will find out.'

'Not if you are careful,' Severus snarled at him, tired of his procrastination. Lucius sighed again; that was another thing Snape was fed up with.

'When do you think he will call again,' Malfoy asked and rubbed at his arm.

Snape looked at the clock on the mantle piece where it stood ticking its way past "late for dinner" to "too late for dinner". 'About eleven twenty-five,' he said dryly, enjoying Malfoy's surprised look. 'How the fuck should I know when he'll call? I'm not a ruddy mind reader.'

'Don't tell lies, Severus. You are so.'

*****

Harry watched Sirius light the cigarette and exhale the first plume of smoke. 'It's the same mark, Sirius; you know it is. I think we'd better tell Dumbledore.' He wished Lupin weren't there now; he'd become unusually hostile when Harry had talked about how both he and Draco had seen the mark on Lucius's arm.

'I think you'd better keep your tongue between your teeth for a moment, young man,' Sirius replied.

'Oh, just let him run away with his accusations, Sirius,' Lupin said coolly. 'It will be interesting to know just what they are.'

Harry had never known Lupin to be so cold before; if anything Sirius was the volatile one, Remus was always quiet and calm and kind. 'I'm not accusing,' he replied angrily, annoyed that they weren't taking him seriously. 'I know what we saw. We saw that Dark Mark on Malfoy's arm, and that book says it means he's one of Voldemort's followers. It means he's a Dark Wizard, Sirius.'

'You've been here for two minutes,' Lupin said in the same cool tone, which Harry now recognised as defensive. 'And now you think you know all about the wizarding world you didn't even know existed.'

'Let me handle this, Moony,' Sirius said quietly.

'Handle what?' Harry interrupted. 'I know what I saw. Lucius Malfoy's definitely a Dark Wizard.'

'Don't be so quick to judge people, Harry. A lot of things can happen in a man's life, and not all of them are always good,' Sirius said to him. 'A small bit of what you say is true. Lucius Malfoy did once take the Dark Mark,' he held up his hand to stifle Lupin's objection, 'but a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since then.'

'You can't change back, Sirius,' Harry explained, pointing to where the text lay open. 'Hermione and I checked.'

'Who else have you discussed this with?' Sirius asked quickly, before Lupin could interrupt again.

'Just Draco and Hermione. Sirius this is important; I think Snape's a Dark Wizard too. I think we should do something about it. I don't trust him; there's something creepy about him.'

'And I think you should refrain from judging people by any mark you imagine,' Lupin said with unmistakable anger.

'I didn't imagine it,' Harry said heatedly. 'Any more than I imagined you're a werewolf.'

Harry felt the sting on his cheek before he realised Sirius had raised his hand. 'What was that for?' he flared, through the hot rush of anger. Sirius rarely issued corporal punishment, and when he did it was normally just a slap about one of the boys' ears for cheek.

'That was for discussing your elders behind their backs with your friends, and then running behind the same friend's back and hurling accusations about his guardians to us. And if you don't keep that mouth shut and listen, you'll get another one for the way you spoke about one of the men who gave up his freedom so willingly, to ensure yours.' Sirius paused, and pointed the cigarette at him. 'How does that sound for starters?'

'Sirius, enough,' Lupin said quietly; the anger seemed to have leaked out of him. He sat down heavily and pulled a cigarette from Sirius's packet. 'He's old enough to ask the questions; he's old enough to hear some of the answers, as pitiful as they are.'

Harry felt a stab of shame. He wished he hadn't said what he'd said about Lupin; he'd never done anything to him, nothing but shield them all from the excesses of Sirius's temper when he came home drunk or got maudlin. It had always been Lupin who had wiped the noses and the tears, and helped with the homework. It was Lupin who fed them and dressed them when they were too small to do it for themselves; Lupin who bandaged skinned knees and kissed sore fingers better. And Harry had called him a werewolf, but it wasn't only that; somehow he understood it wasn't the statement of fact, it was the accusation behind it. 'I want to understand,' he said in a small voice that didn't sound much like his own. 'I think I'd like you to tell me,' he said with a tentative attempt at a smile at Lupin. 'Sirius sometimes misses the important bits out.'

'I want to say one more thing first, Harry,' Sirius said. The hostility had left his voice, but for all that he sounded even more serious than he had done. 'Remus and I may have given up our freedom, such as it was, but that was nothing compared to the sacrifice of the real heroes. Your mum and dad gave up their lives so that you could live in a world free of prejudice. I want you to swear to me that you'll always honour that.' He bent across the table and let his hand touch Harry's face, just below his glasses. 'Now, don't cry. It's my fault you didn't understand, and I'm sorry I hit you.'

Harry watched him stand. 'Where are you going? Aren't you staying too?' he asked, suddenly needing the closeness, wishing Dean and Seamus were here too, and the twins and Hermione, their little broken family of broken families.

'No, Remus is better at this sort of thing.' Harry saw him catch Lupin's eye as he let his grin slip onto his face. 'I need to see a man about a horse, anyway.'

'That's a novel name for it,' Lupin replied blandly. 'Send the rest of the kids along, Sirius; I'm going to tell them a story.'

'Where's he going?' Harry asked Lupin as the Library door closed.

'I suspect he's gone to see Professor Snape.'

'Oh.' Harry didn't think he'd pursue that one.


*****

Severus looked absently at the potion he was stirring, wondering for a split second what it was. He had been so deep in thought that he'd all but blanked out his surroundings. He was disappointed. He hadn't known what he'd expected when and if they ever got back to Hogwarts, but it wasn't the reality he found himself in. He was used to the solitude of his own cottage, used to the children calling occasionally; they seemed to know how much space he needed, how much room to think, but here everyone seemed to expect him to be on tap. He found his fuse becoming shorter and shorter as everyone, except the people he wanted, tried to get a bit of him.

He was used to the way of life they had lived in Scotland and had come to mourn its loss, stifled here in the thankless task of teaching children who had no interest in learning anything but waving wands and flying brooms; he wasn't cut out for this. He wondered what Draco was doing; he hardly saw the boy now. He'd even missed today's potions class, presumably for something more important, the list of which would be very long.

He knew just how restless Lucius was becoming; the werewolf wasn't going to be able to keep him happy for long; Lucius needed his own particular brand of space too. Severus knew he had to throw off this shroud of captivity he'd donned, this feeling that all they had really done was swap one prison of his choosing to another of someone else's. He wondered if they could pull off what he needed to do... and now someone else was knocking on his ruddy door. He pulled it open as he felt his temper rise again.

'Why have you changed your wards?' Sirius frowned.

'To stop all and sundry barging in on my privacy,' Severus replied in a flat voice.

Sirius gave him a cool look; he felt it wash over the rest of the coldness but he didn't think he cared much.

'Harry came to me asking me about the Dark Mark. He saw it on Lucius's arm.' Sirius had sat down. 'I think we need to tell them something of what's going on. It's a better idea than having them snoop about after us and getting into trouble.'

'I am sure that you can manage that. You're the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher; Dumbledore seems to think you're better equipped to deal with that than I am.' Snape didn't attempt to keep the bitter bite from his voice.

'Severus, stop this nonsense,' Sirius flared. 'You know why he did that and if you even stopped to think about it, instead of wallowing in some pathetic self-pity about having to leave your cosy little set-up with Malfoy, you'd know that you would have suggested it if Dumbledore hadn't.'

'Go away, Black; I'm busy.' Snape gave a quick look to where the cauldron muttered over a low flame on his workbench.

'What's wrong, Severus?' Sirius held his eyes. 'What's gone so wrong over the last weeks that you've virtually shut yourself away? Isn't this what we've worked for?'

Severus tried to let go of the eyes, the damn blue that always sparkled with raw emotion; laughter, anger, the pain they were showing now. The ruddy Gryffindor was so shallow that all that nobility bubbled onto the surface, just like James. He pushed the thought away; he had to stop thinking about James, about the howling regret that he was not here.

'I don't want to be here,' he said in a low angry hiss, and shook his head. He hadn't even understood why that truth had slipped out; he hadn't even known it himself.

'I know that much,' Sirius replied and then fell silent, just sitting watching him, blowing his Gryffindor smoke rings. He let the silence draw out for a few long moments, as though he understood Severus was trying to collect himself, to draw his scattered wits and calm the panic which kept trying to rise in his chest. When he spoke again he surprised Snape. 'How worried are you? How badly prepared do you think we are?'

'We're sitting ducks.'

'I thought as much.' Sirius nodded. 'Now do you intend to keep it all to yourself, or do you think you could give me the courtesy of letting me know what you intend to do about that?'

'Pardon?' Snape gave him a quick reappraising look.

'Or maybe you thought that Dumbledore really thought that teaching Potions would fill your time.' He leant over the table, letting an odd version of his grin slip onto his face. 'I'm going to get Gilderoy to take your classes and a couple of mine. Get a move on, Severus; get planning.'

Snape felt something slip into place; he suspected it was his sense of purpose. He nodded without grace as someone else knocked the ruddy door. He was about to stand, but Sirius beat him to it. The Gryffindor flung the door open, and Snape had a feeling he hadn't even waited to see who was there before beginning his tirade.

'He's busy and will be for the rest of the week. Don't come back.' Black seemed to watch in satisfaction as Gilderoy Lockhart took two backward steps. 'Make sure everyone knows that the dungeons are out of bounds to all but invited guests.'

'How long for?' Lockhart replied. 'I need to see Severus soon.'

'Forever,' Sirius snapped back. 'We'll make an announcement if that changes.'

Snape smiled to himself as he heard Lockhart's stumbled apologies. On reflection it was just as well Sirius had opened the door; the dandy had got off lightly.

'I'll just go then ... I was just wondering where to teach Potions. I was going to have a chat with Severus about it ...' His voice sounded as though he were backing further away. 'I'll just speak to Dumbledore instead.'

Sirius turned to Snape again as he closed the door. 'Why didn't you go to see Draco playing his first Quidditch game?'

Snape felt a catch in his chest. It was a small thing; it wouldn't have stolen much time from the hours he had spent in moody reflection. He had no defence to that one.

'Don't push him away, Severus.' Sirius moved across the room and Snape thought he was about to sit back at the table. He moved behind him instead and dropped his head to Snape's neck. 'Don't push away the people who love you; they're frightened too.'

Severus closed his eyes and let his defences drop, slowly, bit by bit.

*****

The bed was empty, apart from himself, just a space beside him, more than that; it was a void. Sirius put out his hand; the space was cold. He hauled himself upright as his eyes adjusted to their normal acute night sight. Severus was sitting on a ledge below the tiny window, which was his only view of the outside world; set at ceiling level, it was ground level for the rest of the Castle. His head was bent and for a moment Sirius was sure he was so deep in thought that he hadn't even noticed him stir.

'One of us must go to him, Black ... before he comes for us.'

'Lucius isn't strong enough, is he?' Sirius asked.

'No. And yet I know he wants to go. I also know that I cannot afford to send him alone. And yet if I go with him there is always a chance that he will succumb and I would be unable to leave him there.'

'What are you saying?'

'I need you to make sure that when I go that he does not follow me.' He bent his head again. Sirius could see he had his arm resting on his thigh; even in the blackness of the room he could see the malignance that was the Dark Mark creeping under Snape's skin. He knew he was stifling unimaginable pain; it was etched on his face and the set of his shoulders.

'Is Lucius with Lupin just now?'

Snape nodded his head. 'I have just given him something to let him sleep. He is quiet just now; he will not remember this in the morning.'

'You're playing with his mind, aren't you?'

'I have to.'

'Do you know where Voldemort is?'

'No, he will Apparate me to him.'

'I'm going with you,' Sirius said into the darkness.

'Don't be ridiculous. I don't even know where I'm going, and even if I did you still wouldn't be going.'

'Well, I'll just hang on to your coattails then. But I am going.'

*****

'Well, well, Lucius, you finally heard my call.' Tom Riddle gave no hint of his anger as he swept into the drawing room at Malfoy Manor, and the big blond Slytherin dropped to his knees. 'Have you brought Severus with you?'

'No, my Lord. He is at Hogwarts.' Lucius Malfoy's eyebrow rose a fraction. 'He feels he serves you well there by keeping an eye on Dumbledore.'

'On your feet, my old friend.' Riddle smiled. 'Let me see how the years have dealt with you.'

'Not as well as with you, my Lord.' The grey eyes widened a touch as a smile played on Lucius's lips.

Riddle looked into the mirror over the fireplace and touched his auburn hair. He was extremely good looking in a rather old-fashioned, almost archaic way. 'I'm afraid I have only, shall we say, borrowed this body. I only have a few years in it.' He ran his hands down his ribs and his thighs as though checking everything was still there. 'It has served me well though. Better than some things.' There was no mistaking the coolness now.

'We had no way of knowing where you were. Had we known, we would have been at your side these nine years.'

'Perhaps, Lucius, perhaps.' Riddle nodded to a red chaise that sat in front of the fire. 'Sit with me for a while,' he said as he smiled and drew a long-fingered hand down Lucius's cheek in an unmistakable gesture, and then held his hand out to pull him to his feet. 'You can tell me all about the boy Narcissa bore for me. I trust you are keeping him safe, Lucius. I shouldn't want anything to happen to him.'

'He is quite safe. I wager you will be pleased; he is rather like me.'

'I rather hope not, Lucius.' Riddle smiled again. 'I am expecting a slim young virgin.'

*****

Sirius gave up trying to catch Snape's eye; he felt as though he'd been avoiding him all day. He watched Lupin walk into the Hall alone.

'Where's fat boy?' Sirius grinned, as the werewolf sat down.

'Don't call him that.' Lupin gave him a hurt look without meeting his eyes. 'Anyway, I don't know where he's disappeared to. I thought he was with the kids,' he nodded down to where the children sat, 'but they're all here.'

Sirius frowned and watched Snape eating; it took him a while to realise just what he was seeing. He became angrier and angrier as the meal progressed. He caught Dumbledore glancing at him, and looked away as the Headmaster bent across the table and spoke to Snape. When Snape eventually stood, Sirius rose also and followed him out of the Hall.

'Severus,' he called to Snape's back, trying to keep the cool tone from his voice.

'I'm busy, Black.' The Potions Master turned for a moment. 'I'll see you later.'

'Like fuck you will; you'll speak to me right now.'

Snape spun again and gave him a cool look. 'Later, Black, I have a lot to do.' He began to walk toward the dungeon steps.

Sirius caught up with him and grabbed a handful of arse that made the Slytherin stop in his tracks. 'I think we'll chat now.' He gave a tight grin as Snape backed into his hand, in what appeared to be a subconscious way, before pulling away.

Snape turned again. His eyebrow had risen slightly and there was a questioning look in his eyes. 'Do you have something on your mind?'

'Where is he?' Sirius snarled.

'Where is who?'

'Don't fuck me about, Shirley,' Sirius delivered in a hard flat tone. 'Severus would have knocked me down the fucking stairs if I'd grabbed his arse.'

'I take it denial is pointless?' Lucius asked. He seemed relieved he'd been rumbled. 'Dumbledore thought you'd guessed. What gave it away?'

'Your appetite, fat boy. Now where's Snape?'

'I'm sure you can work that out for yourself.'

Sirius slammed Lucius against the wall; he had a fistful of Snape's robes held under Malfoy's chin. 'You let him go alone? You fucking coward.'

'Coward?' Lucius smirked through Snape's face. 'Perhaps, but at least I am man enough to admit to the fact.' He pulled away from the wall so quickly that Sirius almost toppled backwards down the steps.

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'It means that Severus has things to do wherever he has been Apparated to, and it will serve him better if he does not have to worry about whether I can hold my end up or not.'

'I'd be surprised if you couldn't, not with all the practice you get.'

'Grow up, Animagus. Your attitude is exactly why he has not seen fit to take you.'

'What's that supposed to mean?'

'Is that your only line?' Lucius enquired.

Lupin stepped out of the Hall as Sirius grabbed another handful of Snape's robes. 'You tell me everything you know, you fat bastard, or I'll knock you flat.'

'Leave him alone, Sirius,' Lupin said mildly.

Sirius spun on him. 'You knew?'

'Of course I knew.' The werewolf didn't bother to look apologetic. 'Didn't you?'

'Well, of course I knew he was going,' Sirius lied. 'He just didn't tell me when.' He dropped the robes, and Malfoy dusted himself down, as Dumbledore came out of the Hall and shot Sirius a reproving look.

*****

'Let us retire for the night, Lucius.' Riddle smiled across the dinner table. 'The rest of the troops have been sent to other parts of the house. Your own bedchamber will be undisturbed. It has been a long time since I have dealt out your own particular brand of medicine. I confess there are few men who can withstand what you can, and I find little sexual pleasure in the Cruciatus Curse; it is a poor substitute for the joy of a willing victim.' He smiled again. 'I'll wager Severus does not offer full flight for your fancies; he's far too noble by half.'

'Severus is too tiresome for words sometimes, my Lord.' Snape forced the languid smile through Lucius's face. This had always been a probability; he hoped he could carry it off, almost as much as he hoped that Lucius was remembering to take the Polyjuice Potion every hour.

He watched Riddle stand and look at himself in the long mirror over the fireplace; he seemed to satisfy himself with his reflection. When the Dark Lord turned to him again, Snape dropped Lucius's grey eyes for a moment in submission. He felt Riddle at his shoulder as he willed Lucius's body into relaxing to the flagrant surrender that would be expected, as Riddle let one long finger caress his neck under the mass of blond hair. He composed his thoughts and placed Lucius's most vapid look on his features; it wouldn't do to forget why he was here. He let the Malfoy lips part a little and widened the grey eyes as he raised them again; he had to know.

Riddle was smiling down at him, his face a bland mask. Snape picked away at his thoughts even as the Dark Lord dropped his head to take his mouth.

He found a welter of unexpected images. Two horsemen were riding up a pathway, laughing together; the smaller one rode a fine black stallion. For a moment the larger horseman turned and Snape caught a flash of blond hair. He tried to catch his thoughts as the implications ran through his overtaxed mind. Lucius was riding the bay that Delphinia usually rode. The image changed to another place, to a place where only one rider cantered the bay over the moor. Snape knew it was Delphinia; he knew also that whoever had been sent to kill Lucius, so that Voldemort could take Draco without the parental permission he required, thought that it was Lucius. Snape knew they had swapped horses the day before because the stallion had pulled up lame, and Delphinia's lighter weight was less taxing for him to bear homeward; even as he knew he was in deeper trouble than he'd ever been in.

"Well, well, Severus, I wondered when you would pluck up the courage to come knocking." Voldemort's thoughts slammed into Snape's mind as he tried to close it down. 'You vain pathetic fool, the years have made even you a disappointment,' he said with a dangerous smile.

'Lucius feared for the boy, my Lord,' Snape replied calmly; there was no point in denial.

Riddle spun to the door as someone answered his silent summons. 'Ah, Imelda, the proverbial mountain has come to Mohammed, after all. Take him away.'

'My pleasure, my Lord.' She bowed her head. 'Shall I deal with him for you?'

Riddle laughed. 'I think not, Imelda; this one is a bit much for you.'

'As you wish, my Lord. Shall I put him in the dungeons?' she asked sweetly.

Riddle tapped a finger against his lips. 'Put him in his own bedchamber, Imelda ... and don't get too inventive.'

Snape held his eyes; for some reason Riddle hadn't told Imelda who he was. He felt his resolve crystallise; all he had to do was survive what was to be dealt out to him and get away from here. The survival would be easy; his hate would see him through.

*****

Sirius stood over Malfoy as he gagged when he tried to swallow the next batch of Polyjuice Potion. It took Sirius all his time not to grab his nose and force it down his throat when he opened his mouth to breathe.

'How much of that have you got?' He nodded to the vials of Polyjuice on Snape's workbench.

'Enough for tonight and tomorrow morning,' Lucius replied as he took the glass of water Lupin held out to him. 'I don't know if I can drink any more of it though.'

'Oh, don't worry, fat boy. I'll just knock you out and force feed it to you if I have to.'

'Sirius, stop it,' Lupin said. 'I don't know why you're being so hostile.'

'Hostile?' Sirius looked surprised. 'I'm not hostile ... yet. He'll be able to tell when I get hostile.'

Malfoy ignored him. 'I think we should think about what we're going to do if I run out of Polyjuice.' He addressed himself to Lupin. 'Severus will change back to himself whenever I stop taking it.'

'You'll have to make more then,' Sirius snapped.

'Me?' Lucius turned to him. 'I couldn't make ordinary Polyjuice never mind whatever Severus cobbled up to allow me to take it for him.'

Lupin exchanged a long warning look with Sirius before turning to Malfoy. 'Lucius, are you trying to tell us that you don't know what was in the Potion?'

Malfoy nodded. 'He thought he'd be back tonight.'

Sirius said nothing. He knew what he had to do, after he stopped the bickering with Malfoy; he had to go and get Snape. He'd been away for ten hours now and Sirius knew it was too long.

*****

'Is that everything?' Sirius looked at the cauldron doubtfully. He just wished he didn't have Hermione tutting over his shoulder every two minutes.

'Just a bit of Severus,' Malfoy replied.

'It says here that hair's the best thing,' Hermione said from where she and Cassiopeia sat with the huge potions book and Snape's notes. 'If we just take a few hairs from his hairbrush.'

'Hairbrush?' Sirius replied as though the idea were as ludicrous as cycling shorts. 'Snape?'

'I don't know why you girls always have to be so complicated,' Draco said with a superior air. He nodded to Harry and Julius as he began to walk through to Snape's bedroom.

Hermione bent over and began whispering animatedly to Cassiopeia as the black-haired girl nodded in agreement. 'How much of the Potion have you actually got?' Cassiopeia asked Lucius. 'It takes a long time to make another batch.'

'Oh, there's plenty,' Lucius replied with an airy wave of Snape's hand. 'He's got stuff brewing in various stages all over the place.'

Sirius watched as Draco came back through into Snape's study and crossed to the workbench. 'Is this it?'

'Yes,' Malfoy nodded absently.

'There we go then,' Draco delivered with self-assurance, as he held his hand over the cauldron with a confident beam, and let something very small drop into it.

'Where did you get that?' Cassiopeia asked with a catch in her voice as she shared another look with Hermione.

'His bed, of course.' Draco smiled as Harry and Julius nodded with superior smiles at how stupid everyone was.

'I'm not sure I would have done that,' Hermione muttered.

'Too late.' Draco peered into the cauldron; it had started to spit back at him. 'Why not, anyway?'

'It doesn't matter,' she said with a worried frown at Cassiopeia. 'Maybe you should just have tried it in a small bit first ... but if you've got lots, it doesn't matter.'

'What doesn't matter?' Sirius asked quietly. 'The rest won't be ready for about three days.'

'Well, it doesn't matter,' Cassiopeia said. 'I'm sure it will be all right. I'm at least fifty percent sure, at any rate.'

Lupin had begun to measure out a small beaker of the Polyjuice concoction. 'Come on, Lucius; we haven't got time to mess around.'

Sirius breathed a sigh of relief; Malfoy had swallowed the Potion and he still looked like Snape. Perhaps his hair was a little shorter and the planes of his face were definitely changing, but surely he still looked a little like Snape. He just wished he didn't look so much more like ... well, there was no denying it now, the hair Draco had put into the cauldron was one of Sirius's own. He didn't like the smile that crossed Malfoy's face, his own face. The big Slytherin was unfastening the snake's head buckle of his belt.

'Well, well, I always wondered what it was that so fascinated Severus; now I can see just what you have to offer for myself, Animagus.' He dipped his hand into his underwear, making a great show of fumbling about as though he were looking for something he couldn't find.

'Touch my cock and I'll kill you, Malfoy.' Sirius advanced on him, aware of the stifled giggles of the two girls, and two boys bent almost double with laughter.

'Call that a cock?' Lucius arched the dark brown eyebrow and turned to Lupin. 'He's not much to write home about is he?'

'That's it,' Sirius snarled. As he grabbed the doublet Malfoy wore, a single silver-blond hair gleamed back at him. He picked it off Lucius's shoulder and dropped it into the cauldron.

*****

Snape couldn't tell what time it was; he couldn't tell if the room were in darkness or if he still hadn't opened his eyes; it didn't seem to matter much. He was glad he had come here alone; at least Black and Lucius would have some type of warning that they had trouble brewing. Perhaps between them and Dumbledore they could get the children to some sort of safety; surely they would have done that much by now. He knew that as long as Riddle was here he wasn't anywhere else; there was that much too.

'I'm not entirely sure that I prefer your own body, Severus; there is so much more of Lucius,' Riddle said languidly from somewhere towards what Snape thought was the window. 'And all of it so much more compliant.'

Snape said nothing; there was no point.

'Perhaps if I looked a bit more like the Animagus you would respond more willingly? I'll keep the werewolf look for Lucius, shall I?'

He could hear the laugh in Riddle's voice, that particular enjoyment he had in informing him of what he had known for many hours now, that Tom Riddle knew everything that was going on, right down to who was sleeping with whom at Hogwarts.

'Maybe if you make another of these wonderful versions of your Polyjuice Potion I can actually turn into the dog for a while ... when he gets here.' The voice got nearer. 'As he will, Severus, as he will. He will come for you like the noble Gryffindor he is. I sometimes wish you knew just how crushingly tedious all that Hogwarts righteousness is; small wonder Salazar walked out. Tell me, just out of interest; do you have him change form, or do you just fuck him like the bitch in heat he always was?'

Severus wasn't sure when he opened his eyes; he just knew they weren't shut any more. He watched Riddle cross Lucius's bedchamber and sit on top of the bed. He felt him draw a couple of icy fingers down his cheek, like a concerned lover who knows he has overstepped the boundaries and seeks to redress the balance with some act of tenderness.

'What do you want, Tom?' Severus found his voice from somewhere, surprising himself that it sounded calm, that he sounded as though he were in control. He let his eyebrow rise; he would still play the game; he didn't know any other way to act this out. 'Apart from the world on a plate?'

'All I wanted was you and Lucius at my side,' Riddle responded as he drew himself up onto the bed. 'Faithful to me alone, of course.' He let his head fall to Snape's neck. 'Was that so much to ask?' He seemed to think for a moment when Snape didn't reply. 'And the boys, of course.'

Severus knew that Riddle hadn't realised he'd picked James's boy from his mind, at least he thought he knew; on the record of the last few hours perhaps he was deluding himself. 'Boys?' he asked with a frown.

'Come, come, Severus. Don't be obtuse. Surely you know if I had only wanted Narcissa's gift I could have taken it at any time.'

'That much is evident,' Snape replied, omitting to point out that he would have needed Lucius's permission, although on reflection the killing of Lucius wouldn't have been difficult. 'Who are the other boys?'

Riddle didn't reply directly. 'I wonder just how much of your mind is still closed to me,' he smiled, 'and mine to you.'

Severus felt the slam of the Dark Lord's mind on his again. He wondered if Riddle knew the sucker punch he delivered every time he did that, if Riddle knew that even as he slammed his mind into the black wall of Snape's, that he left the back door to his own open ... just a crack, just enough for Severus to slip in and see if there were anything interesting lying around.

He sifted through the malignance with a detachment born of hate to see if he could clarify something the Dark Lord had said when he still thought Severus was Lucius; in less than the time between one heartbeat and its neighbour, he had satisfied himself.

*****

Sirius felt his body roiling as the Polyjuice transformed him; he felt the pressure of clothing that was becoming far too tight. He was vaguely aware that his hands were at his throat, loosening his collar as he gasped for air.

'Very funny,' Lucius drawled.

'It will be when I get Ginny Weasley to cut this lot of crap off my head.' Sirius grinned, once he'd opened the first couple of buttons on his shirt, and lifted a handful of the silver-blonde hair close to his ear. 'A buzz cut, I think.'

'Don't you dare,' Malfoy gasped in genuine chagrin.

'How on earth do you haul this lot around with you, fat boy?' Sirius slapped the front of his bursting shirt.

'Tell him to stop that, Lupin,' Lucius whined, but the werewolf's mind seemed to be dwelling on something else.

*****

Some part of Severus was still able to feel the blinding pain as the Cruciatus Curse hit him again; some part of his torn and wretched body was still whole enough to be broken. He keened to himself in agony, knowing no sound was capable of coming from him lest brought about by another; the snapping of the odd uncracked bone, or the ugly hiss as another cigarette was stubbed on his shoulder, third party sounds. He hung onto the hate; it would keep him sane and strong. He knew it wouldn't be too long until Voldemort thought he was weak enough to deliver his coup de grace. He hung onto the hate; it would be his buffer, his last line of defence. When the Dark Lord would assume he had none ... he would still have the hate.

'Enough, Imelda.' The lazy voice came from nearby. 'Leave me something to play with tonight.'

He felt his hair being pulled, as though someone were standing over him, lifting his head to see if he were conscious. He didn't brother to try to deceive; he would keep that for later.

'Are you ready, Severus?'

The slap caught him by surprise, the very innocence of it amongst the exotic tortures he had endured, the clean sharp crack. He let his eyes open, pleased to read the triumph in Voldemort's eyes, as he ceased to think of him as Tom Riddle.

'For what?'

'To bring me the boys of course.'

The Dark Lord let Severus's hair drop from his hand, and Severus let his head fall forward as though it had been its only support. 'I shall never do that.'

'Actually you will; one way or another, you will.'

'No.'

'What is the point of this, Severus?'

'Let us just call it my last stand.'

'Have it you own way then.'

Snape smiled to himself. The fool, why did they always have to announce their trump card? Why weren't they smart enough to let it fall and gloat about it afterwards? It was a failing of the toweringly vain. He let thoughts of Delphinia fill his mind, thoughts of Lucius finding her body, his staggering grief at her death, a grief so deep that it had frightened Severus and left him no space for his own. He let the faces of the crying children at her graveside fill the corners of his heart, the images of little hands dropping flowers into her grave, as Lucius crossed her hands over her eyes, and the white clouds scudded across the sun in their own farewell. He let the void her loss had left expand and fill in a few cracks, and then summoned thoughts of the love of his life, until James filled any spaces left unnoticed, and there was no room for the Imperious Curse the Dark Lord delivered, as the things he had stolen shut him out.

He lifted his head. 'I shall bring them to you, my Lord.'

The Dark Lord smiled down. 'Now that wasn't so hard, was it?'

*****