“How are we going to get there?” Harry asked. He didn’t fancy apparating, though he knew well enough they couldn’t apparate from within the castle, as Hermione’s chiding voice reminded him.



He tossed a brief, cautious look around the room. An uncomfortable worry itched in his skin and pushed at him to hide from the wide open space. He inched farther beneath Snape’s long, dark cloak and wondered if it was normal to feel so comforted by a piece of fabric. It was true that Snape’s cloak felt almost cupboard like, but there was something far safer about it.



It made his thoughts spin a little less violently, and his fears a bit quieter.



Snape didn’t seem inclined to move very much with Harry as close as he was. Every few moments, one of his long fingers helped to brush away tears, and Harry found he didn’t mind the small touch.



It was a struggle to pin down what exactly bothered him, given how his thoughts and feelings still felt a bit off. Snape’s potion sorted his memories into something resembling order, but his thoughts about himself and his own life seemed to dance just out of reach.



He couldn’t seem to grasp anything important at the moment, but maybe that’d been Dumbledore’s intention?



If Harry was frightened and confused, he was unable to focus his anger.



“We can floo to Spinner’s End from my fireplace and from there, we can apparate.” Snape’s voice rumbled around Harry. “That isn’t the case with every professor’s fireplace, however, I needed a convenient exit, given my employment with the Dark Lord.



Harry nodded and his too small fingers clenched around the neck of the potion bottle Snape had given him. He idly thought again of what would happen with Malfoy, but he wasn’t bothered enough to give it much consideration.



“Do you think I have time to change?” He asked after a moment.



He wasn’t sure if he meant his clothes or age, but he hoped for both. He knew Sirius wouldn’t mind seeing his school uniform, but he doubted he’d be as uncaring about Harry’s age.



“Clothes?” Snape asked.



“Age.” Harry hiccoughed bitterly.



“You do have time.” Snape said in a careful tone.



Harry blinked through several angry tears as he looked up at Snape.



“I am nervous to give you the antidote,” Snape said after he helped to sweep them from Harry’s cheek. “Not because I believe it won’t help, but because it will change the duration you’re fifteen for.”



Somewhere in Harry’s mind, that logic made sense.



“I don’t want to be six, though.” He sniffled in frustration. “I don’t want Sirius to see me at six either.”



A small crease pinched at Snape’s eyebrows and his hands twitched in his lap.



“Please?” Harry asked around his tight throat. He had a feeling he’d be more reasonable if he was his correct age, especially given how difficult it was to pick through the waves of confusion and misery surrounding him. His antidote was easy enough to take in two days anyway, and he could just hide in a toilet or broom cupboard and swallow the correct dose.



It was essentially the same thing he’d been doing, only he’d slipped away in the early morning before anyone awoke.



Snape’s hair slipped forward and covered his face for a long moment.



Harry shuddered inwardly as he struggled to keep his mouth shut. He half felt Snape should offer to give it to him, solely for being partly responsible in Harry’s circumstances. A needy feeling pushed at him to beg until he received what he wanted, but Aunt Petunia’s voice quickly drowned it out. It was Harry’s own fault for his circumstances, given that he’d been the one to burst into Snape’s office and speak parseltongue. If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn't be six.



He tried to choke back the lump creeping up his throat. He knew it made more sense for him to remain six until the morning, despite how he felt.



Snape’s lips tightened before he climbed slowly to his feet and tugged at his cloak until it fell safely around the two of them.



Harry slipped closer still.



One of Snape’s hands appeared in an open offer to carry him, but he didn’t think he could handle being out from under Snape’s cloak at the moment, despite the uncomfortable similarity it held to his cupboard. Harry took hold of Snape’s trouser leg instead.



Snape seemed to understand as he slowly made his way back toward the medicine cabinet, though this time with Harry in tow. “I might give you a false detention Sunday, or a note, to give you a wider window of opportunity to take the antidote again.” He said as he plucked the correct phial from the collection. “I would rather you feel comfortable now though, given what you’ve gone through.” A gentle hand carded through Harry’s fringe and he took back the small red bottle and traded it for the antidote. “You can take the time to relax, or practice Occluding.”



Harry nodded. “Thank you.” He said thickly.



He blinked at the small phial from his hiding place. He was reminded in an odd, fuzzy way of the first time Snape had hugged him without Harry having silently asked. He hadn’t fully understood why any adult would’ve helped him without his having asked, and even now, he struggled to understand why he’d been given what he wanted.



“You’re welcome to stay in my chambers tonight, if you’d prefer.” Snape said after a long moment. “Though I don’t want you to feel as if you have to, which is why I offered to bring you to your godfather. I would rather you feel safe. If you do choose to visit your godfather and take that,” He pointed toward Harry’s antidote. “I believe it would be wiser to do so from within your godfather’s house.”



Harry rubbed at his eyes and was glad to find that he’d stopped crying.



“I want to go,” He started with another sniffle. “I don’t know if the castle feels the safest right now.”



“Where feels the safest?” Snape asked.



Harry shook his head ‘no’ and stared pointedly at his trainers. Germany felt the safest. His eyes burned once more when he remembered Dumbledore knew of Ms Eileen’s house, though he squeezed them shut and willed himself to quit crying. He hadn’t ever felt the need to hide like this when he’d stayed in Germany, nor even before then, despite the terror he’d felt at times.



He felt safest around Snape, even if he was angry about Snape’s involvement in his current age. Despite having the potion in his hand, he couldn’t bring himself to take it, not while he knew Snape preferred for him to remain six.



Snape leant over and tucked Ms Eileen’s knit throw a little tighter around Harry’s shoulders.



He didn’t seem inclined to push for an answer, but Harry wasn’t interested in making him wait.



“Maybe just somewhere without Dumbledore.” He said with a whisper. “What if Spinner’s End is being watched though?” He asked as the dreadful thought swung into the forefront of his mind. “How can we apparate? What if we’re seen? I don’t have my invisibility cloak and I can’t go get it now!”



Snape brushed a finger down his nose.



“That’s why I recommend taking the antidote in your godfather’s house. You’re easier to hide at this size than you are at fifteen.”



Harry swallowed thickly.



“It’s also the safest and most direct route.” Snape added in a soft voice. “It’s unlikely that my house is being watched at the moment, as it’s a known fact that I am at Hogwarts. Likewise, as far as anyone is aware, you are no longer six.”



“Oh.” Harry said as he twisted the phial in his fingers.



He tried to pull himself together, but he belatedly realized that he’d need to leave Snape’s cloak if they were going to floo to Spinner’s End. He wasn’t sure he fancied seeing Snape’s house as a six year old again, especially given how he’d last left it.



“How are we going to get back here?” He asked. A piece of him couldn’t decide if he was delaying the inevitable intentionally, or not.



“We can floo from Grimmauld Place. We just can’t floo into it.” Snape answered. “Additionally, I have no doubt that if you tell your godfather you don’t want Dumbledore allowed entry, Dumbledore will not enter.”



Harry nodded and shivered as he pushed himself to leave his comfortable hiding space. His mum’s necklace warmed comfortingly, and Harry was more than glad for it.



Snape slipped smoothly to his knees as Harry stepped out.



“He’s the secret keeper though, isn’t he?” Harry asked as the wide sitting room surrounded him. He twisted and looked up at Snape as a nervous tremble rattled through him at just how open it was. He ought to have given it a bit more thought before he’d left Snape’s cloak, but he didn’t think he could crawl back beneath it now.



Snape spun his wand in a short movement and Harry felt a cleaning charm whisper over his face.



His hand appeared again seconds later in an open offer and this time Harry took it. He found himself held carefully against Snape’s chest and shortly after, the sound of a wand waved through the air and warmed his school jumper.



“Yes, he is the secret keeper.” Snape said as Harry dropped his head onto his shoulder. “Awareness of a location doesn’t always grant others the right to enter those areas though, does it?”



“He treated Aunt Petunia’s house as if he could come and go from it.” Harry mumbled.



He knew, somewhere in the back of his mind that being upset on Aunt Petunia’s behalf was a waste of energy, but he felt upset all the same. It hadn’t helped Harry when Dumbledore abused her sense of decorum, seeing as Harry was the one to endure her displeasure in the aftermath.



“Tuney is a separate case,” Snape said as he slowly made his way toward the fireplace. “I won’t speak on Dumbledore’s current behaviour, but in his own way, I believe he felt your needs came above Tuney’s.”



Harry gave an angered huff. “He was wrong.”



“You and I know full well that no one’s needs outweigh Tuney’s.” Snape nodded. “But Dumbledore is unaware of how it feels to be the less powerful party for any sort of duration.” He added as he curled a large hand carefully around Harry’s back. “He hasn’t experienced a fear for himself from those around him, and doesn’t understand those who do. As far as he understands, family loves one another,” Snape said. He stopped before the dusty fireplace and pulled Harry a bit more securely to him. “At least according to him.”



Harry shook his head ‘no’. He couldn’t believe Dumbledore had never experienced real fear from his family. Everyone felt fear. Everyone was on the losing side at some point in their life.



Ron feared Fred and George when they’d transfigured his bear into a spider. Harry was fairly positive Hermione would have a similar memory as well, though as she’d had no siblings, it’d have likely come from her parents. Even Dudley feared Harry every once in a while.



Everyone must’ve feared their family in one way or another.



“How’s that possible?” Harry asked.



“Long term fear, Harry.” Snape said. Harry caught the slight lilt his voice took on when he taught in class. “He is aware of minor infractions, but fails to grasp how loved ones can care for one another and yet, harm them in turn.”



Harry scoffed.



“He would be distraught to learn of the irony in that sentence.” Snape said. “Are you prepared to visit your godfather?”



“I think so.” Harry nodded as inhaled deeply.



He was positive he didn’t want to remain in the castle anymore, not while Dumbledore was able to find him at any moment.



“Do you want me to hold the antidote for you while we travel?” Snape asked.



Harry blinked at the small phial in his hand and nodded at Snape before passing it over. He wondered idly why Snape had even given it to him in the first place, but put it down to his wanting Harry to feel in charge of something, given the last hour.



Snape snatched a handful of floo powder and stepped into the dusty fireplace. He shouted out ‘Spinner’s End’ in a clear voice and the two of them swung through space before being spat out on the small welcome mat in Snape’s cellar.



Harry shuddered as he thought again of the last time he’d been in the house. He couldn’t quite keep himself from nervously searching for Avery.



He wasn’t sure if Avery was dead or not, now that he thought of it. He only remembered the damp park and the gruesome way Padfoot’s snout had glittered bloodily beneath the moonlight. After he’d landed in Germany, he’d put the terrifying experience out of his mind and moved onto bigger problems.



“Is Avery alive?” Harry’s small voice cracked and echoed through the dark potions lab. He quickly spotted the foggy, glass windows and he tried to spy if any evening sunlight managed to peek through, but instead found that night had fallen sometime after their conversation with Dumbledore.



Snape stepped quickly up the stairs and into the crooked hallway. They passed the cramped sitting room Harry’d slept in during his first night here and made for the long entryway.



“Yes.” Snape said as he tossed Ms Eileen’s knit throw over Harry’s head and helped to bundle him a bit tighter into the fabric. “He’s in Azkaban through Mad-Eye Moody’s doing.”



Harry regretted asking.



“Lie still for a moment please.” Snape added with a whisper before holding a finger to his lips and signaling to be quiet. He flicked his wand in a move too sharp to follow before what felt like an egg cracked over Harry’s head in a disorienting feeling.



Harry caught sight of an odd camouflage effect covering him and nearly asked what had happened, but kept silent after remembering he wasn’t supposed to talk.



Snape seemed to decide it was safe to leave the house then.



Rain dampened his knit hood and he almost forgot he was meant to stay still as the urge to look around washed over him. He wanted to see if the neighbourhood surrounding Spinner’s End had stayed the same as the eerie house. It didn’t seem as if things changed the way they did at Privet Drive, but that may only be because Harry knew where to look. The flowerbeds all turned with the seasons, as had fresh coats of paint on fences and mail boxes.



He couldn’t remember having seen a fence at Spinner’s End, now that he thought of it.



Snape’s hand tightened around Harry in a subtle forewarning for apparition and Harry was glad for it. He sucked in a quick breath and felt as if he was shoved through a tube seconds later.



A resounding crack echoed around them and Harry’s hood was soaked as heavy rain poured down onto them. The sound of a heavy door sliding opened rang in his ears before his hood was quickly pulled free and a drying charm swept over him.



The entryway looked a fair bit more grubby than the last time Harry’d been in it and he half wondered if that was due to Mrs Weasley spending less time in the house. He wasn’t sure if that was the case though, as he hadn’t known if she’d returned to The Burrow after the school term began.



A faint pop rang through the dusty hallway as Snape dried himself off as well.



“Master Severus,” Kreacher croaked as he gave a low bow. “Kreacher will prepare a cup of tea. Nasty weather to be travelling in.”



“No, thank you.” Snape said.



Harry shook his head as his hair sprung wild over his head.



Kreacher blinked at Harry and his sharp eyes narrowed. “Master Severus brought Master’s godson again.”



“I did.” Snape said in a careful tone. “Is Black currently in the house?”



Kreacher nodded and croaked, “Yes.” His eyes flickered down the hallway to his left and his knobby fingers knotted into the damp and ragged tea towel he wore. “Master Severus shouldn’t be bothering, bad blood.”



Harry blinked at Kreacher and tried to remember if he’d ever had formally met him before. He remembered Ron describing him once, but aside from catching a glimpse or two when they’d visited Grimmauld Place over the summer, Harry hadn’t actually introduced himself.



It felt a bit belated to do so now, but he hoped it’d make Kreacher less displeased with him.



“Erm,” Harry started awkwardly. “Pleased to meet you, Kreacher, I don’t think we ever formally met.”



Kreacher’s thin upper lip curled unpleasantly.



“I’m Harry,” He added and wondered if he should climb down to shake Kreacher’s hand. Snape hadn’t made any movement though, so he stayed near his chest.



He tossed a nervous look at Snape, and worried after realizing he hadn’t taken his eyes from Kreacher.



“Kreacher makes it’s acquaintance.” Kreacher finally rasped after a long, uncomfortable moment. It didn’t look as if Harry’s introduction helped at all, given how suspiciously Kreacher now regarded him. Harry wasn’t sure what might help though, what with how drastically different Winky and Dobby’s opinions on house elf etiquette had been.



“Inform Black of our arrival, Kreacher.” Snape said before stepping past Kreacher and moving further into the house. “Lupin as well. If Lupin is out, request him and stall Black until Lupin gets in.”



Kreacher snapped his fingers and disappeared with a quiet pop.



“I thought you said we were visiting Sirius.” Harry said as Snape lowered him to the ground. “I don’t mind Lupin, but if you’re here, why can’t we see Sirius?” He asked as Snape pulled the antidote from his pocket and passed it over.



“Because your godfather typically needs more than one other adult to keep him sane.” Snape murmured.



Eager footsteps pounded down a staircase, forcing Harry to quickly swallow the antidote. The thought of Sirius spotting him at six nearly had him choking around it.



He somehow doubted Kreacher attempted to stall Sirius at all and wondered if he didn’t like Snape as much as Ron had previously believed.



Snape flicked his wand and altered Harry’s uniform as he grew to his correct height.



“Harry!?” Sirius’s panicked form swung around the corner and collided with Snape seconds after Harry’d returned to his normal height. “Bloody—”



Harry jerked and moved to step in between them before a fight could break out, but his worry turned out to be unnecessary, as the two separated with a frustrated sound.



Sirius looked angry enough to start something, and that was often the only catalyst they needed when he and Snape were in the same room together, but he inhaled deeply instead and turned toward Harry.



“Kreacher said you were six again.” He said as his hands floated nervously near Harry, before stalling with an odd jerk. “He said you’d turned up like a drowned cat and were dripping all over his entryway.”



Snape sniffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is Lupin in the house?”



“He’s in the library, but that doesn’t explain why you’re here—”



Snape rolled his eyes and muttered something beneath his breath about Kreacher. He motioned for Harry to follow him and pushed past Sirius.



“Perhaps these conversations will be more productive in the kitchen?”



“What conversations?” Sirius asked as he trailed after the two of them. “Last I heard Harry was tucked safe and sound. You can’t turn up, unannounced on my doorstep and assume I’ll be anything less than worried, Snape.”



The entryway fed into a thin shabby hallway. Harry gladly noted how it felt a fair bit less oppressive when he was a proper size. The high ceilings loomed overhead and seemed likely to collapse in on themselves when Harry’d been small.



“Harry?” Sirius slipped between him and Snape and his grey eyes narrowed on Harry’s. “Nothing dreadful’s happened, has it?” He asked with a whisper.



Harry blinked at Sirius and leant sideways as he looked past him to where Snape had disappeared into the kitchen. He idly noted how he came up to Sirius’s chest now and wondered if Sirius felt it was odd for Harry to be so tall, given how short he’d been recently.



Perhaps though, Harry only thought that way because he was the one changing sizes.



He reached out and something in his chest loosened as Sirius eagerly hugged him. Sirius couldn’t have known about the day he’d had, but if he did, Harry felt he’d have come to Hogwarts and retrieved Harry himself. Harry almost wished Sirius already knew of his confusing episode with Voldemort. He wanted to know if Sirius would react the same way as Snape had.



He doubted he’d have let Dumbledore search his mind as Snape had, but then, it was likely very frightening to watch Harry behave like Voldemort. Maybe he would’ve asked Dumbledore for help as well?



“Erm.” He stammered after Sirius let him go.



He wasn’t sure laying everything out on Sirius at once would be the best idea, but he knew he couldn’t keep it from him for much longer. They were already in his house, if Harry’d wanted to keep things a secret, he shouldn’t have agreed to visit.



“We don’t really know all of what’s happened, actually. Dumbledore thought I was possessed, but then, I wasn’t. And Snape didn’t really know what to do, so,” Harry said before anger began to cloud his thoughts. “And Umbridge too. There’s this—” He paused and phantom ribbons slipped over lips in a silk-like glide as he thought of whatever Umbridge had poisoned him with. He pointed toward them, despite knowing no one else had ever been able to see them. He wondered suddenly if anyone else could feel them.



A fierce stubbornness overtook his thoughts as Hermione’s earlier guess rang in his ears. She thought Umbridge was waiting for him to beg her to cure him.



He felt Sirius would approve of testing the limits on how visible Harry’s ribbon problem was. A piece of Harry worried his emotions were too chaotic to trust at the moment, but he ignored it.



“Actually, don’t think I’m mental, but, can I borrow your hand?” Harry asked.



Sirius’s eyes darkened and a look of deep concern washed over his face, but he held his hand up to Harry.



“Voldemort’s bac—” Harry said forcefully before ribbons rushed across his jaw and burned atop his lips. Harry brought Sirius’s hand toward them as quickly as he could, despite Sirius looking more panicked by the second. The reality that Sirius likely couldn’t feel them set in, and Harry tried to force himself to accept what he’d need to say in order to make them stop. The burning built painfully before he finally sucked in a gasp, and allowed the ribbons to careen into his mouth.



“Anapneo!” Sirius shouted with a swish of his wand.



Harry wondered idly why Hermione hadn’t thought to use that spell when they’d been discussing ways to alleviate his symptoms, but he quickly discovered why.



The ribbons flew farther down his throat for one heart pounding moment before resurging to block his airway. Harry’s knees buckled against the exhaustion weakening him, but someone caught him before he hit the floor.



“Black!” Snape’s voice surrounded them as white spots began to dot Harry’s vision. The hallway flickered before him as the ribbons let up for a brief second, letting him gasp for air. Once more, Harry found he knew what to say in order to make them stop, though the phrase altered itself to suit Harry’s previous statement.



“Who hexed him!?” Sirius shouted.



“I must-n’t tell lies!” Harry choked despite the fierce bitterness he felt at speaking. “I shouldn’t have spoken out, I-I just haven’t found my feet.”



The ribbons retreated with a slow slippery caress and Harry breathed freely once more. He tried to contain the humiliation curling through him for having messed with Umbridge’s potion, but shuddered despite himself.



He looked up and found it was Sirius who’d caught him, as his hands were tight around Harry’s upper arms and he didn’t seem inclined to let him go.



A sickly pallor washed across Snape’s face as he pushed past Sirius to help Harry up.



Harry wasn’t sure he wanted to be helped up. He desperately wanted to hide again.



The hallway felt too open and Snape’s cloak was no longer an option.



He’d rather die than find a cupboard while Sirius was present though. Sirius had never seen him run for a cupboard and if Harry had his way, he never would.



Sirius slowly managed to pry his fingers from Harry’s arms once his knees were a bit more stable. He wanted to fall against the wall and not move again for a while, but stubbornness kept him standing.



“Who hexed Harry?” Sirius asked quietly as he looked toward Snape.



Harry flinched backwards as Lupin appeared before him. “I’m not positive I’d call that a hex.” He said before leaning back as quickly as he’d come. He gave Harry a careful look, but didn’t raise his wand near him. Harry spied it making a slow circle near his thigh instead and was reminded unpleasantly of Dumbledore’s discreet spell work from earlier. “We’ve been a bit in the dark it’d seem.”



Sirius’s hands fluttered near Harry once more, though they dropped back to his sides seconds later. “Cuppa tea.” He said in a weak voice. Harry couldn’t tell if he was speaking to himself or not. “Let’s get a cuppa tea.” He said again as he turned slowly and stumbled into the kitchen. “Cuppa tea.”



Lupin eyed Harry and gestured for him to follow after. His wand continued to spin, though he neglected to say why. Harry couldn’t tell if it was intentional spell casting or just habit either.



“We’re right behind you Harry.” Lupin added when Harry failed to move.



Harry wished he’d just kept his mouth shut rather than having dumped everything on Sirius. He wished he hadn’t decided to visit and he wished he’d asked to go to Germany instead.



He wished Dumbledore hadn’t found out about Germany.



Lupin gave his arm a gentle squeeze and nudged him toward Snape before stepping around the two of them and heading into the kitchen. Harry wasn’t sure if he’d guessed Harry’d needed a moment to calm down, or if he’d grown sick of waiting for him to leave.



He’d thought being fifteen would chase away the confusion and misery left by Dumbledore, but he’d been sorely mistaken. He rubbed at his face and tried to push off the dread weighing down on his shoulders.



“I don’t know why I did that.” He mumbled into his hands.



“Testing the limits of problems like the one you’re experiencing isn’t unusual.” Snape said softly.



Harry blinked through his fingers and caught sight of the deep purple rings beneath Snape’s eyes and how truly exhausted he looked. Some colour had returned to his cheeks, though he didn’t look well at all.



Why hadn’t he just stayed in the Common Room with Ron and Hermione?



“I wish I hadn’t. I’m sick of worrying about them.” A ribbon slipped past his lips. “I’m sick of her winning.” He said as he scratched at his eyes.



“She won’t win in the end.” Snape said. “Several of your blood samples will be ready soon, and we will have a bit more information after that.”



“If it’s a potion.” Harry moaned. He almost asked what they’d do if it wasn’t, but he couldn’t bear putting more stress on Snape. He looked as if he was as desperate for a reprieve as Harry was.



“You won’t remain this way indefinitely.” Snape said as he gently tugged Harry’s hands from his face. “Dolores Umbridge is a Ministry official. She is skilled in bureaucracy, that’s distinctly separate from magic. She succeeded in getting a hold of you, which is a mark toward her skill in bureaucracy, but she is unaware her actions left traces and that means she is unaware of the multitude of ways we can go about removing it.”



Harry blinked at stains littering Snape’s long fingers.



“We now have a previous defense professor and an ex Auror present.” Snape said as he pointed toward the doorway. “Both of whom, despite my consistent disbelief, give pause to certain Death Eaters.”



He knew how skilled both Lupin and Sirius were, but Harry still wished he hadn’t unleashed the full extent of his problems all at once.



He should have just kept his mouth shut and written Sirius like Hermione wanted him to.



“Harry?” Sirius appeared at the doorway. “Are you alright, prongslet?”



Harry inhaled slowly and nodded.



They made their way into the kitchen and Harry spotted Mrs Weasley’s faded red kettle steaming on the hob. Harry wondered if Mrs Weasley did spend more time at Grimmauld Place than The Burrow. He couldn’t guess why else she’d have left the kettle.



Lupin handed a mug to Harry and tried to push Sirius into a chair, but Sirius couldn’t seem to sit still. The panicked look that’d pinched his face had faded and a darker one overtook it once more.



“I think I’d like to circle back to the hex.” Sirius said. “Given how bloody awful that is to watch.”



“I’m still unsure I’d call it a hex.” Lupin said. He dropped his hands into the pockets of his cardigan. Harry wondered idly where his wand was. “It reminds me of a gagging curse.”



“It’s hard to hit someone with something like that though,” Sirius’s eyes flickered to Lupin. “It takes over a minute to cast and it’s nearly impossible to do subtly. In fact I’d say it is impossible to do subtly.”



“That doesn’t rule it out.” Lupin said.



“Can you explain what happens when it’s triggered?” Sirius asked.



Harry shook his head ‘no’.



“Thought not.” Sirius sniffed before spinning on his heel to look at Snape. “What have you found, then?”



Harry blinked between the two of them and wondered if they’d had a conversation without Harry at some point recently. Neither looked pleased to be in the other’s company, but they also didn’t look ready to kill.



“She used tea, either as a means for gagging or a method for keeping Harry still while she cast.” Snape said. “Blood results need a new moon.”



“Harry isn’t thick though.” Sirius said before he looked at Harry. “You wouldn’t have just sat and let her drug or curse you.”



Harry shook his head. “It wasn’t like that, she was—” His hands stuttered before him as he tried to explain the odd silence that’d surrounded him while she’d asked him about his summer. “It was really confusing. She was really odd—” He stammered.



“We can use your memories to better understand.” Snape said.



Sirius nodded. “We’ll do that next then. Is that why you came here?” He asked after inhaling deeply.



“Not entirely.” Harry said before rubbing at his nose.



“You are safer than the castle currently.” Snape said, relieving Harry from having to say it aloud. He wasn’t sure why it bothered him to acknowledge the vulnerability he felt about wandering the castle and he promised himself to use the map more often from now on.



Sirius nodded. “And what Kreacher said earlier, about you being six?” He asked as he looked at Harry. “Is that something we’re looking out for?”



Harry belatedly realized that while he still felt too out in the open, having the three of them present made him feel safer, in its own way.



“And Voldemort.” Harry said as he began trying to relay everything that’d happened today.