Severus Snape marched to the Headmaster's office in a huff. He was not looking forward to this conversation, but he had to have it, and there was no way out of it. Unless Potter was going to have the conversation with the Headmaster, but he, Severus, had already volunteered to do it for Potter. It must have been stress enough on Potter to bring his concerns to one person.

Severus had very little experience with these sort of matters, but they weren't entirely foreign. All he intended to do was to report this issue to Albus and wash his hands of the matter. Once this was out in the open, then he would no longer bear any responsibility towards Potter, and life could go back to the way it was before.

He knocked on the large wooden door outside of the Headmaster's office.

"Come in!" Albus greeted him. So Severus opened the door and stepped through. "Severus!"

"Good morning, Albus," Severus returned.

"Lemon drop?" Albus offered.

"How many times do I have to refuse before you learn that I will not take one?" Severus drawled.

"I'm trying to find out how many times I have to ask before you do take one," Albus quipped.

"Mm," Severus grunted.

"What brings you here?" Albus asked. "Take a seat." Severus sat down in a large armchair with a high back, draping his cloak over the chair as he did so. He crossed his legs and leaned back, trying to think of where to start.

"Is it about Harry?" Albus prompted.

"When is it not about Potter?" Severus sneered in response.

"Is something wrong?" Albus continued.

"Yes," Severus admitted. "Potter came to me after class with some - concerns. With his permission, I am here on his behalf to present them to you." Albus looked intrigued, perhaps a little concerned himself, but didn't say anything. "Over the last few weeks of the summer, Potter was at headquarters, as you know. As you may or may not also be aware of, there were times when Potter and Black were alone together in the house. There is reason to believe that Black is not entirely sane anymore, after his stay in Azkaban, and according to Potter, Black harbored a secret - affection - for Potter Sr. Due to his lack of sanity, Black has transferred said affection towards Harry Potter."

"What are you trying to say, Severus?" Albus asked. "You're skirting the issue."

"Fine," Severus snapped. "Black raped Potter. Is that clear enough for you?"

"Harry told you this?" Albus asked.

"Yes, he did," Severus confirmed. "He also asked me to make the request that you not turn Black over to the Ministry. Since this is due to a mental illness on Black's part, Potter does not wish to see him turned over to the authorities."

"I take it that isn't what you want to see done, judging from how you word that," Albus pointed out.

"Absolutely not," Severus sneered. "I want to see Black punished to the full extent of the law."

"Such protection for the boy," Albus mused.

"Only common human decency," Severus corrected.

"If you say so," Albus deflected. "And with Harry's opinions in mind, what would you like me to do about this?"

"Potter was concerned that he not be alone with Black in any further instances. I informed him that unless this matter was brought to your attention, you would conform to any requests Black would make to have Potter visit him. Now that you are informed, I trust you will be sensitive to the issue and not allow Black to be alone with the boy in the future."

"How do you know Harry's story is the truth?" Albus continued. "I'm not sure Sirius would do something like that. Not to Harry."

"Black can't separate Harry from James!" Severus sighed. "He wasn't aware the boy wasn't his father!"

"Severus," Albus began, "Harry has gone through a lot of stress lately too. You may not realize, but he's been taking Cedric Diggory's death very hard, and when Voldemort returned," Severus winced again at the name, "he was subjected to a Cruciatus. Even for a few moments, on an undeveloped body and mind, it can have a traumatic effect, as I'm sure you know. Harry may be having breaks with reality. How can you be sure it is the truth?"

"And that's your argument?" Severus asked, blinking a bit. Potter had been put under a Cruciatus? He would have to file that information away for later. "That Potter is the insane one? One look at the boy and you know he's not insane."

"I'm not saying he's insane," Albus correctly. "All I am saying is that sometimes the Cruciatus can cause hallucinations and breaks with reality in its wake. The longer his body and mind have had to heal from that, the fewer the effects."

"You can't prove his claim false," Severus argued. "Surely he should be given the benefit of the doubt."

"You can verify whether this is a hallucination or the truth, you realize, Severus," Albus pointed out. "The accusation is serious enough that it shouldn't remain a matter of doubt."

"If you're suggesting the method of verification that I think you are - " Severus voice trailed off as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm not going to do that."

"There are only three wizards alive today with the necessary skills," Albus began, "me, Voldemort and you." Severus didn't wince this time. "I believe we can agree that Voldemort is not an option. Harry has trusted you with this information, and wouldn't you agree that he would rather you did this than I?"

"Fine, fine," Severus huffed. "Fine."

"So you'll do it then?"

"Yes, fine," Severus repeated sharply. "I'll watch the boy's memory in a pensieve to check for authenticity."

"Let me know your findings," Albus instructed.

"Of course," Severus sighed. "Did Potter receive any treatment for the Cruciatus?"

"I'm not sure," Albus admitted.

"You're not sure?" Severus sneered.

"If you recall, there were other things which had my attention - and yours, I might add - that night."

"I didn't know Potter had been subjected to that, though," Severus defended. "It wouldn't have taken long for you to tell Madame Pomfrey - or even myself - and we could have treated him for it right then."

"Should have, would have, could have," Albus dismissed.

"Look, I can still treat Potter," Severus pointed out. "The treatment looses potency with time, just like the Cruciatus itself looses its potency, but since they both degenerate at the same rate, its effectiveness is not lost."

"Then by all means," Albus approved.

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" Severus asked, a bit bewildered.

"Healing arts are not a specialty of mine," Albus admitted. "I was unaware that the treatment would still be effective." Severus snorted.

"And you didn't even think to ask," he sneered. With that, Severus rose and left the Headmaster's office.