February 1996

“Black! You flea-bitten mongrel.  Where are you? Black!” Severus yelled as he stormed into number 12 Gimmauld Place.

The portrait of Walburga Black screamed as Severus would not be out done and continued to yell his nemesis’s name.  Black finally emerged from his bedroom.  His long hair was disheveled a bed robe hastily pulled on, as if he been woken.

“Snape you bloody bat what do you want?”

“I want to know if you wanted to see my son hurt or were simply incompetent in your care.” Severus demanded.

Sirius was shocked.  “What are you on about?”

“You were named the boy’s godfather.  You claim to care for him, yet you did nothing to prevent him coming to harm.  Did you simply fail to notice the mistreatment or are you too thick to recognize what the signs actually meant.” Severus explained.

Sirius was still obviously lost.  “Wait this is about Harry?  What happed to Harry?  Is he hurt?”

“Yes, you dunderhead, this is about Harry,” Snape snapped.

“If he’d hurt you’re more like to know what happened.  He’s at your school.”  Black responded.

“The harm I was inquiring about did not occur at the school, but his Muggle relatives’.”

Black frowned in confusion.  “What harm?  Harry never said his relatives hurt him.”

Severus schooled his features.  “Harry never mentioned the Dursleys hurting him?”

Sirius shook his head, “Never.”

“Did he ever mention punishments, being denied food, being forced to do endless lists of manual labor, or being locked in a cupboard?”

Black’s frown deepened.  “No, he never talked about anything like that.  Wait, a minute the summer before fourth year he said something about the Dursleys putting a lock on the fridge.  But as far as I know that was to prevent his dolt of a cousin from getting extra helpings of lettuce or something.”

“What about the other things?  Did he ever talk about how the Dursleys punished him?” Severus demanded.

Black shrugged.  “Nah, he said they made him do chores, but that’s normal for Muggle families isn’t it?  Didn’t Lily have to do chores growing up?  I could have sworn I remember her saying something like that.”

Severus frowned, or would have if he had been in different company.  “I see it is incompetence than.”

“What the hell do you mean by that Snivellus?” Black demanded.

“I simply mean that you missed the signs you’re supposedly beloved godson was abused by his relatives.” Severus explained slowly.

“No way,” Sirius snapped back.

“Yes, you were simply too thick to see it.”

“What Harry says he wants to move away and that he has to eat a few vegetables and I’m supposed to think his relatives are beating him black and blue?” Black yelled.

“Yes,” Severus said calmly.

“You’re mental.”

“No, I listen.” Severus explained.  “When did Harry inquire as to when he could live with you?”

Sirius frowned.  “I told him that night in his third year.  That with Peter captured my name would be cleared.  He wanted to know if he could come and live with me then.”

Severus asked, “You did not find this off?  Most thirteen year olds who are in happy homes do not ask to move in with people they have met only hours before.  Especially ones they spent almost a year under the impression the person wanted to kill them.”

“I never wanted to hurt Harry.”

Severus snorted.

Sirius choked back tears.  “I never wanted to hurt him.  I know he asked if he could come and live with me, but just thought he wanted to be around people like him.”

“He told you the Dursleys required him to do manual labor.” Severus asked.

“Well yeah, but he lives with Muggles there isn’t any other way to do housework is there?”  Black sobbed.  “I mean kids always complain about their families don’t they?”

“Yes, Black they do, but most families don’t treat their children like human house elves.  Nor do they normally target one child specifically for such treatment.”

“I never knew.  I never realized.” Black sobbed.  “If I did, I would have come and got him earlier.”

“You never came for him,” Severus snapped.  “You only bothered to escape when you saw your rat of a friend appeared in the paper.  If you really wanted you could have escaped and taken the boy anytime over those twelve years.”

“I was too weak…:”

“Yes, but your supposed love should have been able to fuel such an ability for you to escape, just as your hatred for Pettigrew.  If you believe the Headmaster love is the strongest power in the universe.  That should tell you something Black.”  Severus words were like acid.

“What about you Snape?”  Black shot back.  “You never cared about Harry.  You’re only spending time with him because Dumbledore ordered you to.  You wouldn’t give a knut worth a damn for the boy if he wasn’t your son.  Even now, you call him Potter.  It’s like he’s still James’s!  HE’S YOUR SON!”  Black yelled.

“You know what he did tell me about in his letters?  You. He told me about how you hated him and made his life miserable.  You picked on him for no reason.  You hated him simply because he looked like James.  They only reason he’s even here is because you wanted to stick it to James.  You took advantage of Lily.  You didn’t love her.  You just wanted to show James you could out do him just once.  He took your girl, you’d show him.”

Severus could take no more.  Forgetting the wand just up his sleeve Severus threw his right arm back and brought it forward into solid contact with Black’s lower jaw.  Black stumbled back at force of the contact.  Not to be out done Sirius threw his own punch.  It landed on Severus’s nose, breaking it.  In the midst of the fight neither heard the front door open and close.  Neither was paying attention as the portrait of Black’s mother started screaming once more.

“What the Hell?” Remus screamed as he and Arthur found the wizards mid tussle at the top of the stairs.  It took casting Full Body-Binds on both wizards to break up the fight.  Once the two were separated and levitated to different rooms it fell to the two new comers to find out just what happened.

“What the Hell was that Sirius?” Remus demanded of his remaining best friend.  He felt like he was back in fifth year.  What was he supposed to do now, give his friend a detention?

“Snivellus accused me of not loving Harry.” Sirius explained mournfully.

Remus was taken aback, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Sirius shook his head, “He’s right though.”

“No he’s not.” Remus said firmly.

“But he is.  I should have broken out and gotten him after I was captured.  I should have recognized the signs.  I should have seen what he was asking for.  I should have known why he wanted to leave the Dursleys so badly.”

Remus’s brow furrowed in confusion.  “What are you talking about Sirius?”

“They abused Harry.  I don’t know how, but Snape came here tonight demanding to know why I never did anything about the Dursleys abusing Harry.  I said he never told me anything about it.  Then Snape started asking me all sorts of questions about Harry and what he told me in his letters.  I should have seen it.  What sort of happy 13 year old wants to leave the only home they’ve ever know.  Snape told me that they treated Harry like a house elf.  He mentioned something about a cupboard.  What was that about?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t know Padfoot.”  Remus ran a hand back through his hair.  “Is that why you were fighting?”

Sirius looked away.  He more closely resembled an ashamed eight year old then his 37 years.  “No…sort of.  He was on my case for missing the signs.  That I didn’t really love Harry.  I couldn’t take it anymore Moony.  I told him that in his letters Harry used to complain about the greasy bat.  I said something about how the slime ball didn’t really love Lily, he just wanted her because James had her.  That’s when he hit me.”

“Sirius!” Remus exclaimed.  It was no wonder Severus struck him.

“You have to apologize Sirius.”

“No way.  I’m not apologizing to that greasy git.” Sirius snapped.

Remus rolled his eyes at his friend’s immaturity.  “You’re both adults Sirius you need to act like it.  He’s Harry’s father if for no other reason.”

“Let him apologize,” Sirius said crossing his arms over his chest.

Remus let out an annoyed huff.  “How do you expect to attend Order meetings?  What would Harry think?”

Sirius shrugged.

Remus shook his friend.  “You need to apologize Sirius.  Get it behind you and move on for Harry’s sake.  Now I’m going to see how Arthur is faring.  We’ll be in the kitchen in case you change your mind.”

“Good gods” Remus mumbled to himself as he headed downstairs.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Would you like to tell me what happened?” Arthur asked as he handed a measure of brown liquid to Snape.

“It is none of your concern Weasley.” Severus snapped before downing the shot in one harsh gulp.  He normally refrained from such liquor, too reminiscent of Tobias, but the pain from his freshly broken nose was searing.  He would have to have Pomfrey set it once he was back at the castle.  The last thing he wanted was to have it broken once more to do it properly, as had happened after his own attempt in the past.

“I didn’t say it was,” Arthur said sitting back slightly.  “I just wanted to let you know I was here in case you wanted to talk about it.”

“Yes, for I am so known for my desire to broadcast my personal matters with half the wizarding world.”  Severus said sarcastically.  “I am not one of your misbehaving children. I will be fine Weasley.”

Arthur did not move however.  “I don’t doubt you will.  I’m guessing this had something to do with Harry.” Arthur said removing his glasses to clean them on his shirt’s hem.

Severus merely raised an eyebrow at the comment.

“There’s not much you and Sirius have in common.  Only Harry could make you want to talk to Sirius voluntarily.  If Dumbledore wanted a message passed on here he’d have sent Minerva or Madame Pomfrey.  No, it has to be Harry, which it means it is my concern.”

Severus sneered, “You are not the boy’s guardian, or teacher.  I fail to see how he is your concern.”

Arthur’s face darkened in anger, “That boy is as good as a son to me.  If there is something wrong with him I’ll have it known.”

Severus simply asked, “If you were so concerned for the boy’s welfare why did you do nothing about the abuse he was suffering at the hands of his relatives?”

“We did the best we could.”  Arthur explained. “We asked if we could take Harry in.  Dumbledore insisted that he must go back to his relatives for at least part of the summer.  His ‘home’ must be with a blood-relative to keep the protection his mother provided him. It the summer after his first year we had Ron write him at least once a week.  We never heard back though.  We didn’t know then the Malfoy’s house elf was stopping all letters getting to Harry.  Not that it would have mattered.  Harry’s uncle had locked Hedwig in her cage to prevent him sending any letters.  When the boys rescued Harry, they told us there were bars on his window and he was locked into his bedroom from the outside.  We told the Headmaster all about this.  We were able to keep better contact with Harry the next summer, but we couldn’t take him with us to Egypt.  The summer before his fourth year, he was with us a good few weeks.  Before he came to stay, we made sure he had plenty to eat.  Molly insisted when she heard how he was practically starved for his cousin’s sake.”  Arthur put his glasses back on, “See Severus, we did what we could.”

Severus gave a small nod.  It amazed him just how much the boy had been able to hide from him.  The Headmaster had seemed shocked when Severus told him what he’d seen in the boy’s mind.  How much had the old man known.  He would have to talk to the Headmaster and soon.  He needed to know the truth about his son and just how long Dumbledore had known.  He would not let his son be the old man’s pawn, not if he could help it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Present

“I found out about that fight and stuff from Dad and Sirius after the whole thing with the Department of Mysteries.  I never knew that they got into a fistfight.  I knew they weren’t speaking, but that didn’t surprise me because well, they never talked until it was to insult each other.  I’m surprised they avoided hitting each other for as long as they did, to be honest.”