***6 November, 1986 ***

It was Thursday afternoon and Severus would normally spend his lunch with Lucy, as was their custom on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He had stopped by her office to ask one more time if she would join them, but she had made appointments with two of her students who asked for help in locating some primary resource materials. She intended on having a working lunch after the children left. Lucy had brought her photographs of the spell book and calligraphy tools in order to practice matching Salazar Slytherin's script.

"Severus, as I much as I would love to see you pitching a ball to the children," Lucy could barely maintain a straight face. "I simply have too much on my plate today."

Lucy couldn't believe that Severus was going to teach the children how to play Cricket, of all things. She relentlessly teased him about 'going jock', whatever the hell that meant. Severus was certain it was some type of Yank insult.

"It's not 'pitching'," Severus said with a bit of self righteous annoyance. "It is referred to as 'bowling', and you're trying to divert the subject again. You need to get out and get some fresh air," he said with a bit more emphasis.

Severus was more than a bit worried about Lucy. Over the last few days she had been buried so deeply in her feelings of guilt, he was afraid it was taking a toll upon her health. Lucy had taken on pallor, and Severus doubted it was from lack of sunlight. Her next checkup was approaching soon and Severus would make sure to voice his concerns to Poppy.

Lucy still believed Black's escape was her fault, in some warped-convoluted fashion. Severus kept telling her that she was in no way to blame for either Musgrave's or Black's actions, but the witch was being hard on herself. The fact that it looked like Black may not have made good his escape had gone a long way towards bringing Lucy back to her good humour, but she still looked a bit haggard. Today was the first time Severus had even seen Lucy smile since Black's escape, and Severus did not wish to ruin it by divulging his lingering concerns.

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him in response. "You now, if you keep doing stuff like this, your reputation as the 'Big, Bad, Scary Potions Master' will be ripped to shreds before you know it." Lucy reached into her desk drawer to pull out her reading glasses she knew she would need soon.

Severus smiled thinly as he spun her around in her chair to face him as he leaned over her. "I'm not falling for it, Lucy. You should join us for lunch outside after you finish here… and I do not do 'stuff'," he said the last a bit defensively.

Lucy gave him a peck on the cheek, then patted his face patronisingly in the spot she kissed him. "Of course you don't, Darling"

He was about to tell her if she continued to be cheeky he would bend her over his knee, when there was a soft *ahem* coming from the direction of the office door.

"If you haven't convinced her by now, Severus, I don't think there is much hope for it" Molly said jovially. Severus immediately looked over Lucy's shoulder and pursed his lips in irritation. Lucy turned her chair around only to face Molly Weasley standing at the door with a brood of grinning children trying to jostle their way into position to see what was happening.

Harry made his way to the front of the pack and wondered over to Lucy's desk. "You are going to come out with us, aren't you? Daddy's going to teach us how to play Cricket!"

Lucy sighed. She really couldn't join them all for lunch.

Severus then asked her to join himself and Harry for dinner in their quarters. He watched as her eyes could no longer hold their smile. She was trying to hide something from him but even with her best efforts at subterfuge, she wasn't fooling Severus. Something was not right with Lucy and he intended to watch her like a hawk.

***12:24 p.m. ***

Severus couldn't believe he had agreed to this madness, but 'the natives were restless', as it where.

With the revelation that Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban, Hogwarts was in a lockdown of sorts. With the exception of those who were of age, all students were on a strict schedule. All excursions off Hogwarts grounds were canceled indefinitely, including Hogsmeade visits and any outings Lucy had planned for her classes. Security simply could not be guaranteed. Also, all students had to be inside the castle walls no later than sunset, as dusk came early this time of year, it put a severe damper on Quidditch practices, a matter in which Severus had to emphasize to his team that he would tolerate no bending of the rules.

It was also decided that for now, Harry would remain at Hogwarts or Spinner's End, as the protection Wards were strongest at those locations.

Unfortunately, this was a logistical nightmare for Molly. Albus had provided ample space to accommodate that many young children in an unused corridor of the castle. But Flooing back and forth between the Burrow and Hogwarts everyday was harrowing, even for an experienced Mother Hen like Molly Weasley. Severus would have preferred his own home to Hogwarts, but it was far too small to accommodate six young children for the majority of the day.

Lucy had suggested a temporary alternative, one in which neither Severus nor Harry was entirely thrilled about, though their reasons differed.

Lucy had recommended that Severus ask Alf to watch over Harry at either his home or at Hogwarts. Alf usually only worked the weekends for Pawpaw in the pub, and he was trustworthy as well as available.

As much as Severus was working through his outward hostility towards Remus Lupin, he still wasn't sure if he could trust the Werewolf around Harry, and not necessarily because of his Lycanthropy, which was under adequate control. Truth be told, Severus wasn't sure he wanted Lupin's influence on Harry. He was concerned that Lupin may try to shape Harry into another James Potter, and therein lie insanity.

But even more importantly, Severus wondered if Lupin still was devoted to Sirius Black. Severus wasn't concerned that Lupin was in secret service to the Death Eaters, the Werewolf was an unfailingly loyal lapdog to James Potter and would have died rather than betray him, but did Lupin truly believe Black was guilty? He may consider his old friend incapable of betraying his friends and killing over a dozen Muggles. If Black found his way back to his old stomping grounds, Lupin, who had an annoying habit of always assuming the best in people's nature, may inadvertently let the murderer too close to Harry so the bastard might have a chance to explain himself.

No… Severus would need some serious convincing before he left Harry alone with Remus Lupin.

Harry said he would miss playing with the Weasley's too much, a point in which Severus and Lucy saw as a valid one. But at the moment, it was a moot point. Remus Lupin was still unavailable, so even if Severus agreed to Lucy's proposal (which he wouldn't), there was no guarantee that Lupin would take the job, though Severus doubted seriously that Remus Lupin would not jump at the opportunity to help James Potter's son in his magical education.

Severus was kicking himself in concern to Lupin. Even though Severus was concerned about Lupin introducing Harry to Black, he was probably borrowing trouble. Nearly a week after Black had escaped, Lupin had yet to hear news of it and it was Severus' fault. Severus had given Remus some phials of the pain reliever for combating Cruciatus pain. It was meant to help Lupin recover from the pain of his violent transformations faster.

It had worked.

Unfortunately, in combination with Dr. O'Conner's improved Wolfsbane formulation, Severus' potion had succeeded in rendering Lupin all but comatose during his human phase. At this juncture, two days into the waning moon, Lupin was still recovering. That was a finding Severus needed to inform Dr. O'Conner of. The problem was, for the past two days, Lupin was still incoherent…not an altogether bad thing, though Severus would never dare say that to Lucy, but it was impossible to discern what he may know about Black's whereabouts.

Thus far, there had been no sightings of Sirius Black since an old Bloomogganner claimed to have spotted him along the coast of Peterhead sometime early on the morning of November first. That sighting had remained unconfirmed. Severus had personally hoped the idiot had managed to drown himself in his escape attempt.

But such assumptions could not be made and the staff could not afford to let down their guard as of yet. The safety of the students was first priority. So Albus had declared lunch to be a picnic so the children may have a chance for some fresh air before curfew. The entire school was out of doors for lunch, taking advantage of the fine weather.

Between the horrible weather of the past week and the fear of an escaped murderer keeping everybody inside, Hogwarts now suffered an epidemic of Cabin Fever. Pranks had been flying down the corridors at an alarming rate, and if it kept up too much longer, the once hallowed halls of Hogwarts were going to end up coming down around their ears (asses' ears in the case of Stanley Shunpike, one of Severus' second year Snakes).

Severus hadn't seen so many unnatural shades hair, skin, and eyes, not to mention the diverse and frightening amount of animal appendages the students had inexplicably sprouted, since the days of the Marauders. Something had to be done before poor Madam Pomfrey, along with the rest of the staff, ended up in St. Mungo's with a case of magical exhaustion or student induced lunacy… whichever came first.

After Albus had turned down Severus' half hopeful suggestion that they expel the entire student body and start over from scratch, the Potions Master was ready to take Harry and Lucy, and leave the damned place to the little demons. Let Albus could clean up the bloody mess.

Fortunately, it now appeared as if the entire population of the school was taking their lunch al fresco that afternoon and for the first time in days-Black bedamned- the school had seemingly found a sense of relative normalcy. The air was still chill, but the sun and student spirits were high, so the day seemed warmer than it actually was.

And of course Hogwarts new pseudo-day school class, as it were, was eager to get out and enjoy the day just as much as everyone else. Severus, however, was not ready to let Harry outside and out of his sight yet. As a result of some pointed suggestions from the oldest Weasleys in the group, Severus had joined Molly and her six young charges along with his godson.

Severus did not mind watching over the children, but he couldn't believe the Weasley kits had managed to get him to agree to this. Why couldn't he have kept his big mouth shut?

Severus used to catch Test Matches on the telly when he was young. Yes, Severus may have known the rules to Cricket, but he never actually played the bloody game before. The closest he ever came to a game was placing wagers for his dad with the local punter.

As Severus strode out of the castle behind Molly and the children he wondered to himself, why couldn't the children settle on proper wizarding game? Now Severus could play a wicked game of Gobstones. His mum had been captain of the Hogwart's Gobstone team and had taught her son well. Not only that, it could be played inside and away from curious onlookers and vicious murderers. Unfortunately, Severus had to resign himself to the fact; the whole point for his presence was to allow the children to play outside.

Arthur Weasley had managed to get his hands on a Muggle Cricket set, and now the children expected him, Severus Snape, Former Death Eater, Feared Potion's Master, and all around Snarky Git, to teach them how to play bloody Cricket! Severus may have managed to stave off the Twins and young Ronald, but once Harry had begun to whinge along with the rest of the Weasley clan, Severus had to acquiesce or he would never hear the end of it at home.

The children had become especially excited to hear that the game was played on a pitch and there was a player known as the keeper.

"Just Like in Quidditch!" was the exclamation from the horde.

"You have to teach us…"
"…now, Professor Snape, please." The red-headed doppelgangers had begged.

The grounds around the castle were dotted with students. Heads turned as they noticed the professor following behind a gang of ankle bitters. Seeing Professor Snape interact with Harry Potter had become a common and mundane occurrence around Hogwarts, but it was mostly limited to him watching Harry play, or at most skipping stones across the Black Lake with the young boy.

Snape taking charge of a pack of little monsters bordered on bizarre. Few students regarded Severus Snape as an evil git who lorded over the dungeons, waiting for unsuspecting firsties to inadvertently wander into his lair so he might waylay them with the most unimaginably cruel detentions ever doled out at Hogwarts…well...not anymore... much. But he was still snarky and unpleasant to almost everyone and favoured his Slytherins with unrepentant conspicuousness.

The only people, who actually seemed to like the dour Potions Master on a personal level, were the Headmaster, Harry Potter, the goat man who ran the Hog's Head, and Dr. O'Conner. Everybody knew the Headmaster had to at least he pretend he liked Professor Snape, Harry was too young to know better, the goat man was plain barmy, and no one had any idea as to why Dr. O'Conner liked Professor Snape.

But now here was Snape, not only with Harry Potter, but also with what looked like none other than the younger siblings of one of the Gryffindor Prefects and the Quidditch team's Seeker. People were waiting for the inevitable earthquake that would result from the entire planet flipping on its axis.

"I think we're going to have to go almost all the way to Hagrid's hut before we can find a place to play!" Harry had called back to the crowd.

Since the Weasley tribe was on Harry's home ground now, and he knew all about Hogwarts, they allowed the younger boy to lead the way. Ron was happily trotting along beside Harry. The twins were behind the two younger boys, carrying a blue canvas equipment bag between them. Alongside the twins, Percy was holding on to Ginny's hand, and the adults, Molly and Severus, followed behind the lot of them. There was a large picnic hamper floating in front of Severus.

Severus had decided that the group had gone far enough, "Stop right there, Harry!"

The group was about one hundred meters from the side of Hagrid's hut. Severus did not want chance breaking any windows. Even though they were going to be closer to the older children than Harry would have liked, Severus thought having to deal with a crowd of students was preferable to having the children playing too close to the Forbidden Forest.

Severus let the hamper settle under a Rowan tree then went to help the boys unpack the equipment bag.

The leaves had long since fallen, but as the sun helped to take the chill out of the air. Neither he nor Molly bothered to erect a shaded shelter.

Whilst Molly unpacked the hamper, she reminded the Potions Professor gently, "Severus…the children need to eat first."

The concern of the older children taking an interest in their activities had been a valid one as Bill Weasley snuck up behind his mother; a few of his Gryffindor friends were standing back, curious as to what was going on.

"Hey Mum," Bill reached around Molly and grabbed an apple from out of the hamper. He asked as he crunched into his apple…"Is that the Grasshopper game Dad wrote us about?"

"It is… But I think Severus informed us that it's called Cricket. Where's Charlie? Has he eaten?" she asked as she continued to unpack.

Bill rolled his eyes. "He decided to get some broom time in whilst he could. You know Quidditch fanatics. Mum, do you think we can give this Gr- Cricket a go?" he said, indicating his friends lurking behind him. They were wary of getting too close with Professor Snape nearby. Bill had yet to convince them that Snape would not dock points from Gryffindor for breathing the same air as they.

Molly leaned over and gave her oldest son a pat on the shoulder. "Not this time dear. Let the little ones have their fun." Bill squirmed uncomfortably under Molly's coddling and gave her a look that begged her not to act quite so motherly in front of his mates.

"Hey…We're not little!" Ron called out as the children descended on the picnic blanket like Nifflers on gold.

***1:34 p.m. ***

Lucy was sat at her desk, her elbow was cocked on top of the smooth surface and her head leaned into her left hand. In her other hand, she was idly twirling a long swan's flight feather upright in a jar of hot sand. She was tempering the shaft of the feather so to shape and notch her quill. She wasn't doing a very good job of it.

She exhaled a long suffering sigh…an honest one.

It took quite a bit out of her to put on a good game face for Severus. He had enough to worry about taking care of Harry. Lucy did not want him fretting over her as well. Truthfully, she did not need to work on her research now. The effort would be wasted if she did. But she did not think she had the energy for a picnic today.

Lucy had not been sleeping well lately. In fact, if she were to admit the truth, she had turned into somewhat of an insomniac. She had been worrying about Sirius Black and his intentions towards Harry and Severus, thinking that if anything were to happen to either one of them, she would never forgive herself. Lucy had been unable to suppress the horrific images of Black, and what he would do if he should get his hands on the men she loved so dearly.

She considered taking her concerns to Alf once he recovered, then thought better of it. Alf had never once mentioned Sirius Black during his time in the States. The betrayal of his former best friend was obviously and understandably a sensitive subject.

It was a shame that Dreamless Sleep potion was off limits to her now that she was in her second trimester. In an effort to rid herself of consequent guilt-ridden nightmares, Lucy had taken to holing herself up in her scriptorium at night, eschewing the comfort that Severus might offer. It just seemed a little hypocritical to her to use him that way when she was the cause of his current straights. The time away from him and Harry had not done any good as far as her research was concerned. Her brain was too fuzzy to retain any information.

Lucy's eyes had become heavy with sleep when she was nearly startled out of her chair as her Floo came to life.

"Lucy…" Aberforth called out urgently. "Have you seen Severus or Albus? They're not in their offices."

"Severus went outside with Harry and the Weasley children…I have no clue where Uncle Albus went." Lucy knew if her great grandfather was actively seeking his brother, then something terrible had happened. "Step through Pawpaw."

The Floo roared and Lucy arose from her chair. She shook herself out of her stupour as Aberforth stepped through. Lucy was taken by surprise again when Alf stepped out directly after her grandfather.

"Alf…You're awake."

"No time." Remus said as he gave his friend a quick kiss in greeting on her cheek. "I have to speak to Albus and Severus."

Lucy looked between the two men. Something was wrong. Very wrong. She hadn't seen Pawpaw this agitated since her grandmother had taken ill, and Alf was so upset, he looked as though he was about to turn his wand on himself.

As much as Lucy wanted to ask questions, at the moment it was more important to find Severus. "This way." Lucy quickly led the men out of her classroom and into the corridor.

The halls of the school were nearly empty with the exception of a few sixth and seventh year students. Almost everyone else had been back in class for nearly a half an hour.

"Where is everyone?" Remus asked as he looked about the halls.

"Class," Lucy said simply as she headed down the stairwell. Her classroom was close to one of the outer courtyards, but she knew if Severus and the children were going to play something that needed an expanse of space, they would be on the main grounds.

"I don't suppose either of you men are going to let me in on this little mystery?-Damn these moving staircases!" Lucy exclaimed as they were forced to wait for the staircase to stop moving before they could be on their way. She turned towards Aberforth and Remus and looked at them, conveying her impatience with a lifted brow and a tapping foot.

Remus and Aberforth looked at each other and then at Lucy. They both looked as if they knew she would find out whatever their news was, but neither wanted to tell her. After seconds of hesitation, Remus appeared resigned to the fact that it was his news to tell. "Sirius Black is an unregistered Animagus…"

Lucy's impatient twitches stopped and she went paler than she already was. Severus wasn't the only one who had seen the black stray that had so suddenly shown up last weekend. "Holy shit…He's a great black dog, isn't he?"

The look on Alf's face was all the affirmation Lucy needed. When the stairs finally settled into place, Lucy ran out of the castle as fast as her short legs would carry her, Remus and Aberforth followed her quickly.

It did not take long to find Severus, Molly and the children. The students had long since cleared out and gone back to classes, leaving the younger children to have the grounds to themselves. Severus was over talking to Molly while the children were cleaning up their makeshift pitch.

It looked as though Harry was supposed to gather up the second wicket, but something had caught the young boy's attention and he was wandering off towards a nearby tree line. Lucy's heart nearly stopped when she spotted a figure of a huge black dog, wallowing happily in the grass.

Remus pushed his way past Lucy with his wand drawn and pointed determinedly ahead of him.

"SEVERUS!" he shouted, "Get Harry away from that dog!"

Severus' and Molly's heads craned away from the picnic basket as Aberforth and Lupin ran at full speed toward the dog with their wands drawn. Lucy had stopped just long enough to send out two Patronus messengers, one flew off into the sky as the other flew into the castle.

The kids looked up to see who was shouting. Even Harry stopped in his tracks and turned around. He turned back to see what could have been so wrong with the nice dog, but the dog had taken off and was now heading directly into the Forbidden Forest.

Lucy watched as Harry turned around again, only to have his daddy snatch him up into his arms and run back up towards their picnic area. It was evident that he could see on his daddy's face that he was in trouble for wondering off.

"I'm sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to…" Lucy could hear the fear in the little boy's voice as she drew near.

"Not now, Harry," Severus snapped as Lupin and Aberforth ran past them in a futile effort to catch up with Black.

Lucy was gratified that Severus had not even waited for Lupin to explain why it was so imperative to keep Harry away from the dog, not that Severus would allow Harry to wander close to a strange animal. It was evident that Severus, however, knew their shouted commands had more to do with Harry trying to pet a stray dog.

Severus was a brilliant man by all rights. With the sudden appearance of Lupin, it did not take a genius to realise that the black dog that had been wondering the school grounds since Saturday was indeed Sirius Black.

Molly had her brood gathered protectively around her by the time Severus had reached her. Harry had been apologising since ever Severus had picked him up. "We'll talk about this later, Harry," Severus said firmly, as he left Harry in Molly's capable hands.

Lucy had finally made it down to where everyone was gathered. She was still gasping for breath and clasping her chest when she said, "I sent messages to Minerva and Uncle Albus." Lucy had no sooner made the statement when Professors Flitwick and Kettleburn came around from the far side of the castle with Hagrid.

Severus gave her a quick look of concern then hastened to his colleagues to inform them that Black had escaped into the forest, and that Aberforth and Lupin were in pursuit. They had received word from Minerva that Black was in on the grounds. Minerva had done her job as Deputy headmistress and alerted the staff to Black's presence on the grounds.

Professor Kettleburn and Hagrid joined Lupin and Aberforth in the Dark Forest to help with the search efforts.

Filius returned to the castle to help with getting the students back to their houses. It was a sad fact that now Black had made it onto the grounds, the school would remain in lockdown until he was caught. The only way students would be able to step out of doors, would be in one of the three small interior courtyards. The Cabin Fever was about to become a plague, Lucy thought.

At least the children had a chance to enjoy one fine day before everything went to hell.

As Molly ushered the children back to the castle she took noticed that Lucy was not with them and turned to see where she had gone. Lucy had not even made it to the castle steps.

"Lucy, are you alright?" she called out in her concern. Molly could see Severus running up behind the young witch.

Lucy nodded weakly and waved to Molly to continue, "Get the children inside. I just need to speak to Severus."

Molly seemed to accept that Lucy would follow shortly and so she complied. Lucy held onto her consciousness until they entered the building before her knees gave way and she collapsed onto the grass. Blackness enveloped her as she finally gave into her faint.