Work Text:
“Kid, you have to pack,” Sirius states when he sees the state of Harry’s room. Harry was going back to Hogwarts in the morning and all of his things are strewn around the room in a complete and utter mess.
Harry lays petulantly on the unmade bed, looking through a quidditch magazine. “Don’t want to.”
Sirius crosses his arms and leans against the door frame, “I’d ask why not, but we both know you don’t want to go back to school and go back to dealing with some truly awful people, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re leaving tomorrow morning and you need to pack.”
“What if I don’t go back? I could just be homeschooled.”
“No, you can’t. You have to register with the ministry regarding tutors and such, and you can’t register me as your tutor.”
“Point taken.”
“Besides, what would your lovely girlfriend think?” Sirius asks, giving him a look and reminding him that Cho very clearly wants Harry to be at Hogwarts given her hints about some things she’d like to do with Harry.
Harry blushes, “Fine! Point made. I’ll pack.”
“Now.”
Harry rolls his eyes before getting off the bed. “Help me, at least?”
“Sure, kid.”
They don’t make it very far in the few minutes that they’ve started packing before Molly comes in, “Oh my!”
Sirius looks up to see her staring at the mess, and quickly says, “We’re cleaning it up now.”
She coughs and says, “Oh, of course, I’m actually here to tell you that Severus is here, he’d like to speak to Harry, something about orders from Dumbledore. I – er – don’t think Harry should be left alone with him if we can help it, so…”
“We’ll both be down in a minute,” Sirius offers.
Molly nods and escapes the room, quickly. He turns to Harry, “Alright, kid?”
Harry’s frowning. “Why do you think he’s here?”
“Not sure, but it’s probably nothing good,” Sirius states. “But I’m here to support you, so we’ll figure it out.”
Sirius is not looking forward to the visit with Snape and is not disappointed when they enter only for Snape to state, “We’re meant to be meeting alone, Potter.”
“As this is my house and my kid, I have every right to be here and if you want to meet with him then you get to deal with me,” Sirius states as Harry goes to the far side of the room and sits next to Sirius’ usual chair.
Snape ignores his statement, and addresses Harry. Sirius follows him and sits beside him.
“Potter, the Headmaster has sent me to tell you that it is his wish for you to study Occlumency this term.”
Sirius looks to Harry, who nods. They’d already discussed the topic and Sirius had Dobby buy him some books on the subject.
“I assume you don’t know what Occlumency is – it’s the study of –”
“I do, actually,” Harry interjects.
“Do not interrupt me, Potter,” Snape orders. He goes to continue the explanation when Sirius interrupts.
“He already told you that he knows what it is,” Sirius states. “And I’d prefer if you didn’t give orders in my house to my kid.”
“Ah, forgive me for assuming that Potter is just being his natural lying self given that I highly doubt that he actually knows what is such a high level of magic,” Snape states, insulting Harry.
Sirius stands up, angrily. “Do not insult my kid in front of me in my own house.”
Sirius didn’t care that Dumbledore believes this man has changed or that he’s the asset that Sirius is not. No one spoke about his kid that way under his roof.
“It’s the study of the magical defense of the mind against external penetration. It’s not well known, but useful with a scar like mine,” Harry states, pulling Sirius back down to his seat.
Snape doesn’t look moved at all by Harry’s correct answer. “You will receive private lessons once a week, but you will not tell anybody what you are doing, least of all Dolores Umbridge. Understand?”
Harry scoffs, “Why would I tell Umbridge anything?”
Rather than answer, Snape repeats, “Do you understand?”
Sighing, Harry says, “Yes. Who will be teaching me?”
“I am.”
Harry looks appalled and turns to Sirius for support.
“Why can’t Dumbledore teach Harry? Or one of the other professors? Surely, you’re not the only one that knows that art?” Sirius questions, upset at the look on Harry’s face. He must feel like he’s being punished or something.
“I suppose because it is a headmaster’s privilege to delegate less enjoyable tasks,” Snape states. “I assure you that I did not beg for the job.” He moves towards the door. “I will expect you at six o’clock on Monday evening, Potter. My office. If anybody asks, you are taking Remedial Potions. Nobody who has seen you in my classes could deny you need them.”
Sirius barely contains his inner Padfoot, who wants to bite Snape’s head off at the blatantly obvious way that he treats Harry, insulting him to his face more than once and ordering him around does not bode well for these lessons.
His message and insults given; Snape turns to leave when Sirius decides that he can’t let Snape have the last word. “Wait a minute, Snape.”
Snape turns to him, sneering. “I am in rather a hurry, Black… unlike you, I do not have unlimited leisure time.”
The barb at his pseudo captivity hits sharply, but this is for Harry, so Sirius’ll do his best to ignore the taunt.
“I’ll make it quick then,” Sirius states, standing up. “If I hear you’re using these Occlumency lessons to give Harry a hard time, you’ll have me to answer to.”
He doesn’t have to look to Harry to see the relief and reassurance that someone is standing up for him especially against Snape, who’s been abusing him for years.
“How very touching,” Snape sneers. “But surely you have noticed that Potter is very like his father?”
“Yes, I have – he’s got James’ best qualities,” Sirius says, proudly. “He’s also got his mother’s best qualities – surely you’ve noticed that.”
Sirius sees the curious look on Harry’s face out of the corner of his eye, and the twitch in Snape’s eyes. He’s clearly furious – he doesn’t want to remember that Lily chose James, focusing on his utter hate for James, instead.
“Well then, you’ll know he’s so arrogant that criticism simply bounces off of him,” Snape retorts, snidely. He’s clearly ignoring the mention of Lily and Sirius is utterly furious.
He knocks over his chair and storms at Snape, pulling out his wand. Snape mirrors him. “I’ve warned you, Snivellus,” Sirius states, harshly. Stopping merely a foot from him. “I don’t care if Dumbledore thinks you’ve reformed, I know better –”
“Oh, but why haven’t you told him so?” Snape whispers. “Or are you afraid he might not take the advice of a man who has been hiding in his mother’s house for six months very seriously?”
Sirius barely contains his growl. How dare Snape come into his house and insult his lover, his kid and now, him? He’s got some nerve.
“Tell me, how is Lucius Malfoy these days? I expect he’s delighted his lapdog’s working at Hogwarts, isn’t he? Let’s his kid get away with doing awful things and even rewards him for it,” Sirius sneers.
Snape doesn’t take the bait. Of course, Sirius hadn’t expected him to just admit that he does whatever Malfoy tells him to. Just like he’d done in school.
“Speaking of dogs,” Snape states, softly. “Did you know that Lucius recognized you the last time you risked a little jaunt outside? Clever idea, Black, getting yourself seen on a safe station platform… gave you a cast iron excuse not to leave your little hidey-hole, didn’t it?”
Furious, Sirius raises his wand to curse this man, “We both know that he didn’t recognize squat – you told him. I don’t doubt that.”
“Please,” Snape sneers. “I didn’t need to out you – it was obvious. Hence the reason you did it, right? Gave you an excuse to never leave…”
“Are you calling me a coward?” Sirius snarls. A coward is the last thing Sirius could ever be – being in hiding wasn’t cowardly, either. “Are you calling Lily a coward? Being in hiding has nothing to do with cowardness.”
“Yes, I am calling you a coward,” Snape retorts.
Sirius goes to curse him, when Harry jumps in between them. “Pads! Stop, he’s not worth it!”
“Kid, get – out – of – it,” Sirius snarls, pushing him out of the way safely, but the next second, the Weasleys burst into the room.
“Cured!” Arthur yells. “Completely cured.”
Given the situation with Sirius and Snape plus Harry in the middle, it’s certainly a scene. A very unfriendly scene.
“Merlin’s beard, what’s going on here?” Arthur questions.
They both stow their wands away, and as he walks away, Snape states, “Six o’clock, Monday evening, Potter.”
In the following few minutes, Sirius has to pretend like he isn’t furious and is thoroughly happy that his kid’s going to have to deal with an abusive professor outside of classes and Sirius probably just made it first. Luckily, the Weasleys and the adjacent order members that had come to celebrate allowed Sirius to sneak off and calm down (going to Buckbeak’s bedroom).
He shouldn’t have let Snape get to him, and he wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for the fact that he couldn’t do anything for his kid. He couldn’t protect him. He couldn’t stand up for him. He couldn’t help him with the things he knew how to do like training in Occlumency or Defense.
He couldn’t do anything.
Nothing at all.
“Sirius?”
Sirius turns from where he’s petting Buckbeak to see Remus in the doorway. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I want to know what he said.”
“Why? It won’t do any good. It’s not like it would change anything,” Sirius frowns.
“It could help you,” Remus counters. “It looked like you were about to kill Snape.”
“I was,” Sirius admits.
“Padfoot…”
“You don’t understand. It was bad before when I only suspected some of the bad things that he did to my son – now I know. Harry told me everything and I – I can’t stand the thought of my son suffering and being unable to do anything about the abuse because of me and it’s my fault. It’s my issues with Snape that led to the situation…”
Remus gives him a pitying look, and Sirius turns away. Remus moves in and begins petting Buckbeak across from him, not saying a word.
“Harry’s suffered so much because of me and the things he was saying about Harry weren’t true. He’s going to make Harry’s life more miserable than it already is this year and – and I can’t do anything because I’m stuck here in hiding.”
Although Sirius doesn’t believe that being in hiding is the cowardly thing to do – not if it means being his kid’s support system, Sirius still feels an ache that Dumbledore won’t allow him to do anything. He could Polyjuice or use an invisibility cloak or anything really, but Dumbledore won’t let him and always has random people stopping in just to check up on him. It feels like he’s a prisoner all over again, and Snape’s words just hit the tender spot he’s aware is there.
“I just don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“What do you mean? You’re not going to leave me, are you?” The heartbroken voice of his son asks.
Sirius turns quickly to the door. “I – no of course not kid, I would never leave you.”
“But you just said…”
Sirius shakes his head, “I’m just having a tough day, that’s all. It happens.”
Harry frowns. “You never mentioned tough days before.”
Sirius moves away from Buckbeak and towards Harry. “You remember that you’re the kid, right?”
Harry gives him a disgruntled look, despite admitting that he likes when Sirius calls him ‘kid’, especially ‘his kid’, Harry hates when Sirius reminds him that he is still a kid.
“Yes,” Harry responds, rolling his eyes. “What’s your point?”
“That I don’t like to put my issues onto you. That’s why I disappeared a lot over the summer, remember?”
Harry shrugs. “Doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t help.”
Sirius gives him a look. “Kid, I wouldn’t be a good parent if I let you help. I just have to deal with it myself.”
“It’s just not fair – I just – I don’t want you to be miserable because of me.”
“And I’m not,” Sirius promises. “I love you - you’re my kid. As long as I can help you by supporting you as much as possible, then I am not miserable. Do I wish I could do more? Yes, but I love you. And my only goal right now is being there for you and getting you through whatever life throws at you.”
Harry nods, still looking a bit upset. “It was really nice to have you there - I’m dreading these lessons. Mondays already suck.”
“I know they do, and I’ll be here waiting to talk you through it. At least I got those books for you. Hopefully they will help,” Sirius offers. “But your scar is different than anything we’ve experienced so…”
“Lucky me – always different,” Harry mutters, rolling his eyes.
“Aw Kid,” Sirius says as he hugs him. “It’s going to be okay. Everything will work out eventually.”
“Yeah, I guess I just hate being special. I just want to be just Harry, you know?”
“I do.”
Unfortunately, they both want something that they can’t have, as Sirius wishes nothing more than for Harry to be normal, too. Sirius has dreams of raising Harry with James and Lily, sometimes with a younger sister, sometimes as an only child. But always without any of the craziness that they’re both currently experiencing.
“I know that we both wish things were a bit different, but this is what we have and I’m here for you as much as I can be and that’s all I need right now, okay?”
“Okay,” Harry shrugs.
“So, no need to worry about me, okay?”
“Alright, I’ll try.”
“Good. Why don’t you go celebrate Arthur’s being cured with the Weasleys, then?” Sirius questions in voice that suggests Harry should do what he’s suggesting so that Sirius can deal with his own issues.
“I guess,” Harry shrugs before letting go and leaving the room. Sirius hears him run into Ron, who’d come up to get him. They both head down the stairs discussing Snape’s visit.
Sirius turns to Remus. “What I wouldn’t give to take him and run.”
Remus smiles. “You probably could do just that but life on the run isn’t fair to a kid.”
“I know. It’s why I haven’t done it,” Sirius states. “I just don’t like Snape having unfiltered access to Harry right now. And with Umbridge and the Ministry… This place doesn’t deserve my kid.”
Remus is giving him an understanding smile. “I know it’s tough, but maybe we can try and help?”
“How? Besides the mirror…”
“What if we talked to McGonagall? Or Bill or Tonks, have someone else present? We know of the secret passageways… we could find a way…”
“McGonagall hasn’t been much support before, I don’t exactly trust her after hearing Harry’s stories, and Tonks could sneak in easily, but Snape’s going to go through Harry’s memories and after she spied… let’s talk to Bill and Harry, I would feel better if someone else was there.”
Remus smiles, “We’ll find a way, Padfoot. We’ll make it work.”
“Thanks, Moony,” Sirius says, already feeling a bit better. Hopefully, Bill and Harry will like this plan.
***
Saying goodbye isn’t easy. Never is – even knowing that they talk every day. It’s just not the same, especially since he can’t walk him to the station, can’t hug him there and wish him well, can’t even wave to him as he zooms away. It just sucks.
“Cheer up, Pads,” Remus says.
Sirius gives him a look. “How can I cheer up when I can’t be there for my kid? Can’t even bring him to the station to say goodbye.”
“I meant, put on a smile for Harry because he’s already worried about you and you don’t want to worry him more. You won’t see each other for a few months so you don’t really want to spend this last moment together upset, do you?”
Sirius nods and smiles. “Of course you’re right.”
“Good because here he comes,” Remus states.
He’s right, Harry comes barreling down the stairs and into Sirius’ arms, “I don’t want to go.”
Sirius holds him close, ruffling Harry’s hair, “I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you that I don’t want you to go either, but you’ve got to return to Hogwarts. Don’t worry, we still have the mirror and Bill’s going to help you with Snape. It’s only a few short months.”
Harry pulls back. “I just have this horrible feeling like this is the last time that I’ll see you… you’ll be careful, won’t you? Stay inside and ignore Snape being such an arsehole?”
Sirius hesitates, prompting Harry to say, “Please, promise me.”
Sighing, Sirius says, “Okay, I promise. Anything for you, kid.”
“Good, I love you, Pads.”
“I love you, too, kid. Try not to let people get you down, we’ll be together soon.”
Harry nods and let’s go. “Bye, Pads.”
“Bye, Kid.”
***
Sirius isn’t surprised when Harry calls as soon as he can. Evidently, his worry is strong.
“I’m perfectly fine, kid. I told you; I’ll do anything for you.”
“I know I know. It’s just that I worry.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, kid, but you’re welcome to call anytime.”
Harry grins. “I definitely will. Just to ease my mind a bit.”
Sirius smiles. It’s nice that his kid cares so much. “Well, I’m here safe and sound. Why don’t you tell me how the train ride was?”
Harry shrugs. “Malfoy came by to annoy me as usual – I swear he actively looks for me just to annoy me.” He rolls his eyes. “Cho joined us for a bit, but before that Ron and I had an interesting conversation.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, he overheard the bit about wishing I was normal. I hadn’t realized that Ron didn’t see all the negatives of being famous. I thought he saw it all, but apparently not. It was a really honest and frank talk about everything I’ve dealt with – not in a ‘he overheard the crazy adventures and was pushing for answers way’ but in a ‘maybe being a Weasley with siblings and parents isn’t so bad way’.”
“Hmmm,” Sirius hums. He sort of feels like Ron should’ve figured that out sooner, but Harry appears happy about it, so he should be supportive. “That’s good.”
“Yeah, it is. I think it’s a sign that while he may get a bit jealous, he’ll likely be able to remind himself that it isn’t all sunshine and roses, most of the time it sucks.”
“Speaking of, are things any better with the other students?”
Harry shakes his head. “Apparently Seamus spread a rumor on the train that he had witnessed a psychotic episode, and now they’re even more afraid of me.”
“Aw, kid.”
“Neville defended me since Ron was obviously with me so now people are whispering about him, too. I’m not sure how many people know about his parents, but I sought him out on the train and told him that it didn’t feel like my place to say anything – you know, when I found out – but that if he ever wanted to talk, he probably could use some support, too. We actually spent most of dinner talking about how awful it can be for people to think they know about the situation to be able to say anything. He said he always felt like he should say something whenever it happened to me, but he was afraid. Didn’t want the targeted attention.”
“Fear can be a powerful motivator,” Sirius states. “But I’m glad that Neville defended you and that Ron understands more now. Standing up for yourself is a good thing.”
Harry smiles and yawns. “Anyway, I’ve got an awful Monday tomorrow, so I’ll chat with you after that- better get rest now.”
Sirius grins, “You do that, and I’ll send a note with Bill since it’d be weird if I didn’t since he doesn’t know about this.”
“Sweet, Pads! I miss getting letters from you.”
“It’s not the same as letters via Hedwig, but it’s something, right?”
“It’s everything,” Harry grins. “Night, Pads.”
“Night, kid.”
***
Sirius is honestly relieved that their plan has been working, Bill sneaks in and uses charms to hide himself rather well. He goes with Harry to Snape’s office, and watches Snape’s lessons with Harry. Of course, they had intended for Snape not to find out, but after the first half of the first lesson, it was obvious that Bill was there and of course, Dumbledore seemingly ‘knows’ everything, so he knows, too.
Funny how he knows about this and not about things like a giant snake roaming the school or a rat primed in the perfect position to hurt his kid. Not to mention the other things Sirius has learned recently.
Dumbledore makes a point to bring it up at the next meeting, two weeks into Bill sneaking into the school and supporting Harry through the lessons.
“Bill, may I inquire why you’ve been sneaking into Severus’ lessons with Harry?” Dumbledore questions despite knowing that Sirius would’ve been the one to ask him to do it.
“Because I asked him to,” Sirius states, firmly.
“Why?”
“I thought that would be obvious.”
“Enlighten me,” Dumbledore counters.
Sirius steels himself for a fight.
“I don’t trust him with my kid.”
“I trust Severus…”
“Let me finish,” Sirius states, firmly barely tempering his anger. “I don’t trust him with my kid, alone. I barely trust him in class, and I’ll explain why…”.
He goes into the details of a few of Snape’s very obvious unprofessional behaviors, including that Dumbledore had to step in to save Harry’s mark in third year and that Snape had threatened Harry with truth potion among other things like reading ‘Harry Potter’s secret heartache’ out loud. Everything that Harry had given him permission to mention to the order.
“His behavior has been out of line for years – unfortunately there’s nothing I can do about that, but what I can do is make sure that he doesn’t have unfiltered access to abuse my kid, alone, for lessons. Given that he has no problems insulting him and abusing him in front of others imagine what he would do if left alone with him. So yes, since I can’t be there, I found someone who I trust to be there,” Sirius finishes.
He can see many appalled looks, including Molly’s. She must not have realized how bad it was for Harry. He looks at Snape, who’s about to retort something Sirius is sure, but Dumbledore stops him with a wave of his wand.
“I don’t know what to say, but you can rest assured that Bill may continue attending the lessons with my full support,” Dumbledore states. If possible, he looks like he may be a bit chastised. His pet death eater had finally been outed, perhaps Dumbledore had assumed that it wasn’t that bad or perhaps, he believed Snape when he no doubt made excuses. “And Bill, please tell Harry that I apologize. I cannot do it myself, and we still need Severus, but I will do my best to mitigate any future appalling behaviors with regards to his lessons with Severus.”
Snape looks appalled but cannot speak due to the silencing charm placed on him. Clearly, he’s furious.
“This meeting is adjourned.”
As everyone leaves, Sirius turns to Remus, “Went better than I thought.”
“I think Dumbledore has always been a bit concerned about the situation,” Bill states. “There’s been complaints for years, but like you said, he actively had to step in when you escaped because Snape was going to fail him for helping you without any proof that Harry helped you. Plus, he doesn’t hide the way he feels about Harry during meetings, and he has said horrible things about him in front of Harry and Dumbledore more than once. I think he was just choosing to be willfully blind.”
“Just like with the Dursleys,” Sirius mutters. “At least I can protect him from Snape somewhat. Thank you, again, for helping out. It can’t be fun to do this.”
Bill smiles. “I care about Harry, too. And knowing about some of what he’s done certainly makes me feel like he needs a big brother to protect him.”
Sirius snorts, “He’d give anything to have what Ron has. It’s unfortunate that he doesn’t have it, but I’m glad that you’re willing to care about him in that sense.” He clears his throat. “I suppose I should stop acting like I’m the only one that cares about him.”
“We all messed up, Padfoot. But it doesn’t mean we can’t do better, now, right?” Remus questions.
Sirius nods. “You’re right. Absolutely.”
“Good.”
“And I’m just glad that you’re all willing to help Harry survive these private lessons with Snape,” Sirius grins.
Bill and Remus grin back. “Anything we can do to help.”
“Good.”