H.P.

The atmosphere in Gryffindor Tower had gone from anxious in the aftermath of Nott’s poisoning to animated as seating began to be erected around the lake ahead of the second task. Students took it in turns to stare out of the snow-covered windows as Fred and George took bets on what the next task would be. ‘It’s a fight to the death against the giant octopus,’ one over-excited first year cried out and Harry joined in the laughter as he hauled his trunk up the dormitory stairs. 

‘Welcome back, Harry,’ Neville called out as he fished a few knuts out of his pocket.

‘Bet you’re glad you’re out of the tournament. I think I’d rather face a dragon than freeze to death in the lake,’ Ron said, grabbing the other end of the trunk.

‘Nah, I’d have drowned first. I can’t swim.’

‘Really?’ Ron replied, dropping the trunk at the foot of Harry’s four poster. ‘Don’t let You-Know-Who find out. Do you reckon he’s got a weakness like that? Like really bad hay fever or a dodgy knee.’

Harry chuckled, but his good humour was punctured by Ron’s reaction. Was it that much of a weakness that he couldn’t swim? Voldemort wasn’t going to try to murder him in the prefect’s bathroom or out at the lake, but he’d be better off if Snape didn’t find out. He shuddered as he imagined wearing inflatable armbands and flailing about in the lake as the Slytherins laughed. Not a chance.

‘I can’t believe you got Snape to agree to you moving back just like that,’ Ron said. 

‘I told you it would work.’ Harry looked at the mess collected in his trunk; he hadn’t packed so much as dumped in all his clothes and books. Snape had watched with raised eyebrows for a full ten seconds before walking away and shaking his head.

Hermione came in and perched on the edge of the bed, watching dubiously as he rifled through the chaos. ‘Did Professor Snape say anything about what happened to Nott?’ she asked.

‘Not really. I’ve told him I think it was Malfoy, but he just thinks I’m biased.’

‘Bloodroot is a nasty toxin. Nott was really lucky that Snape recognised it and knew what to do.’ She hesitated, picking up one of Harry’s quills that had gotten mixed in with his clothes and turned it over in her hands. ‘Is it possible he doesn’t think it was Malfoy because, well, he knows it was an accident.’

‘What do you mean?’ Harry asked, dumping his textbooks out onto the bed and making Hermione wince as they tumbled on top of each other. ‘This bloodroot’s not stuff you get in the student store cupboard, so whoever put it there did it on purpose.’

‘Or maybe when the cupboard was being stocked, someone made a mistake. It’s been a bit bare in there lately and he’s been so busy with the adoption, your training, and all the detentions he’s been giving out. You said yourself that he barely sleeps, and he’s obsessed with his new potion. What if he ordered bloodroot for it and then misplaced it?’

Harry dropped his bunched up quidditch robes, bristling with consternation. ‘He wouldn’t let people think a student poisoned someone just to get himself out of trouble. And he wouldn’t accidentally leave something dangerous in the cupboard. It wasn’t in there at the start of the lesson. I’d have seen it.’

‘Would you? It looks like a common root. There’d be no reason for you to notice it.’ Harry just glared. It hadn’t been there – he was sure of it. ‘If it was found to be from the store cupboard that would look really bad for Professor Snape,’ Hermione continued. ‘It, well, it makes him look negligent, and he wouldn’t want the adoption services to find out.’

Something in Harry’s stomach twisted. Could Nott getting poisoned be enough to put an end to the adoption? ‘Snape’s not negligent. He’s the most careful person I know. I’m telling you; it was Malfoy.’

‘Why would he poison Nott though?’ Ron asked.

‘Maybe it wasn’t meant for Nott at all. Or maybe he thought it would be worth it to get Snape in trouble. The Slytherins all have it in for him now.’

‘I bet Crabbe and Goyle were in on it,’ Ron said as he fished out a chocolate frog from the detritus at the bottom of the trunk. ‘They’re thick enough to mess it up and accidentally poison Nott.’

‘Malfoy never put his hand up. He must have made one of them plant it for him.’

‘Well, I hope you’ve got a plan to find out because I’m not brewing us another Polyjuice potion,’ Hermione sniffed.

‘Invisibility cloak?’ Harry suggested, holding it up with one hand and grabbing the marauder’s map with the other.

‘Not in the dungeons again. Too risky,’ Ron said around a mouthful of chocolate.

‘We don’t need to go to the dungeons. We could go to the hospital wing,’ Harry said. All they had to do was wait – the Slytherins were bound to visit Nott eventually. Even if Malfoy didn’t come, Crabbe and Goyle were bound to let something slip.

‘Now?’ Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. ‘Why not?’

Ron had to stoop to fit so they could all fit under the cloak as Harry whispered the map’s password outside the hospital wing doors.

‘Look, Dumbledore and Snape are here,’ Harry said, nudging Ron in the ribs.

‘And Nott’s dad,’ Hermione pointed out. The Mr Nott dot was with Madam Pomfrey in her office, wobbling from side to side as though he was pacing. Harry swallowed. Nott had been at the graveyard behind one of the masks, chasing him through the graves. He suddenly felt hot, and bile rose in his throat. Nott had watched him scream, had laughed.

‘Are you alright?’ she whispered. Harry gave a jerky nod, pocketing the map with a trembling hand. For the first time he was grateful he could pass it off as one of his tremors as they snuck inside.

They didn’t need to worry about being noticed. Nott was out cold and Nott Senior, a well-dressed man with a shock of grey hair, was causing a commotion at the far end of the wing. Harry recognised his voice, though the subservient tone he’d answered Voldemort with had transformed into one of indignation.

‘This woman says my son was poisoned in your classroom,’ Mr Nott said, gesturing rudely to Madam Pomfrey’s office. His face was bright red with anger as he squared up to Snape. If it bothered the Potions Master to be berated by one of the men who had watched as Harry was tortured, he was hiding it well. ‘My son almost died on your watch.’

‘Professor Snape’s quick intervention ensured your son will make a full recovery. Apportioning blame should wait until we get to the bottom of how he encountered the bloodroot,’ Dumbledore interjected, likely not entirely trusting Snape’s composure.

‘It was in his class,’ he said, jabbing his finger for effect. He rounded once more on Snape. ‘Your incompetence has almost killed my son. The board will not stand for this. You’re finished at this school, Snape.’

Snape narrowed his eyes, looking unimpressed by the threats and the finger-pointing. ‘I take the welfare of all my students seriously. I intend to leave no stone unturned in finding out how Theodore was poisoned, I assure you.’

‘He wrote home about your erratic behaviour. Your stores are woefully stocked, your classes taught with the students in silence, and you’ve started a vendetta against your own house.’ He turned back to Dumbledore, puffed up with righteous anger. ‘I want him fired now or else the board will suspend him while they investigate his conduct. I have more than enough evidence to have him removed from his post.’

Harry gasped. They couldn’t fire Snape over this. If he lost his job, then there was no way he’d get adopted. Besides, he didn’t want a dad he could only see in the holidays, not when he’d only just gotten someone of his own.

Hermione stepped on his foot, giving him a warning look. He clenched his jaw tightly, swallowing down another wave of nausea. He was itching to get his wand out and curse Nott. How could they just let him stand there and yell at Snape when he was the one who should be arrested.

His dad had the same look on his face that he got when he was about to say checkmate in wizard’s chess. ‘As we’re discussing evidence,’ he began smoothly, ‘I’ve preserved the bloodroot and the container. We’re prepared to investigate ourselves, but you will have my full support if you would rather both were turned over directly to the aurors so that you can pursue charges. I see that you are convinced of my guilt but a thorough investigation by professionals could conclude this more swiftly and with less danger to our other students. We potentially have a poisoner at large in the castle. Theodore may only be the first victim.’

‘I didn’t say anything about calling in the aurors,’ Nott backtracked quickly. ‘I want consequences, not a lengthy investigation into Snape’s inventory mismanagement. He’s not up to the job and the board will agree.’

‘I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you,’ the headmaster replied. ‘I have complete faith in Professor Snape. I won’t remove a capable teacher from Hogwarts without an investigation.’

‘I’m calling for an urgent meeting,’ Nott said. ‘I think you’ll find the board will be prepared to do what it takes to protect the students.’

Snape and Dumbledore watched Nott storm from the room in silence. Once the hospital wing doors slammed shut, Snape raised a single eyebrow, tilting his head to indicate they should follow.

‘Woah,’ Ron whispered as soon as the coast was clear. ‘Nott’s really got it in for Snape.’

Harry suppressed the urge to hit something, curling his fingers into fists. The queasy feeling started to ease, like a rush of adrenaline finally dissipating. ‘We’ve got to prove it was Malfoy before the board meets. If Snape gets suspended then that’s it, no adoption.’

‘Not necessarily. Maybe just no more potions in silence or evening-long detentions for turning pages too loudly,’ Ron muttered as Harry pulled the marauder’s map out of his pocket.

S.S.

‘You would have been an exceptional asset as a spy,’ the headmaster lamented as they followed Nott Senior from a distance.

Severus intended to make sure the Death Eater left the castle grounds directly. The last thing Harry needed was to accidentally bump into one of the men who’d tried to murder him, although thankfully without the mask and robes Harry shouldn’t be able to recognise him.

‘I expected no less of you, but you maintained your composure admirably,’ Albus continued.

‘He watched as my son was tortured and laughed. I saved his son’s life, and he has the audacity to come after me,’ Severus seethed. ‘Whatever foolish plot this was, it hasn’t come off as intended. Nott could never think on his feet, which is likely why it’s taken him a full day after Theodore’s poisoning for a fleeting visit to his bedside.’

‘You think he waited for instructions?’

‘Or to concoct a plan with Lucius. I imagine he’s already bribed half the board to support a motion to suspend.’

‘I think you underestimate our board members; not so many are so easily bought. I think more will be convinced of the need for you to stay given that you saved young Nott’s life. Your suggestion of bringing in aurors sufficiently scared Nott, although I was surprised you brought it up given our last conversation.’

‘It was a calculated risk. If Nott truly believed I was at fault, he would have demanded they be called himself. What better way to achieve his goal of having me discredited and removed from the castle than to have a criminal investigation. He doesn’t want to involve the aurors because he knows a good deal more than he’s letting on.’

He stopped on the grand staircase and watched as Nott left via the main doors. It was getting late, and Harry wouldn’t be out on the grounds at this hour so there was no risk of a chance meeting.

‘But does he want to avoid calling in the aurors more than he wants your suspension?’ the headmaster mused beside him.

‘We’ll have to hope so. I have a detention to oversee,’ Severus replied, excusing himself as rapidly as he was able, and descending with a sweep of his robes to the dungeons.

Tonight would be Harry’s first night returning to the Tower without the aid of dreamless sleep, not counting the nights that he rather foolishly decided to forgo his potion. He didn’t share his son’s rather naïve belief that his trauma could be cured by the presence of his housemates.

If the Gryffindors were content to have their sleep occasionally disturbed by gut-wrenching screams then he would not argue against it, but the idea that he might be on the other side of the castle if the Dark Lord attacked through his scar made Severus feel ill. They had no way to gauge how much more extreme the effects might be, and Harry was much more vulnerable at night.

‘Longbottom, stay behind,’ he called out as the fourth-year detention cohort filtered from the room.

Longbottom turned pale but did as he was told. The fool stood gormlessly behind his desk, not even moving to pack up his bag. Flobberworm slime clung to back of his hands and Severus held back his sneer with difficulty.

‘If Harry experiences pain in his scar during the night you will fetch me immediately. If his nightmares continue more than once a week, then you will tell me. I’m going to hold you personally responsible for his wellbeing while he’s in the Tower.’

‘Yes, sir. I-I wouldn’t let my friend get hurt,’ he promised, stumbling over his words. He was frightened, but sincere, and that would have to be enough.

‘See that you don’t.’

H.P.

The three of them headed back to the Tower and Harry’s stomach was twisting around a deep knot of anger. How many Death Eaters were allowed to roam the castle anyway? First Malfoy’s dad and now Nott’s. He’d told the ministry what had happened and who was there, and they called him a liar and said he was traumatised. Now the same people who should have been locked up were poisoning students and getting his dad sacked. And they were just supposed to do nothing?

Without a word, they went through the portrait hole and up to the dormitories. ‘I could go to Snape’s quarters and steal the jar,’ Harry suggested as soon as the door was shut. ‘There’s a spell that’ll prove where it came from, that’s what they said in the hospital wing.’

‘Are you mental?’ Ron said, lowering his voice even though they were alone. ‘We’d get detention for life if we steal from Snape. The way he’s been lately, he’d try to have us expelled.’

‘I don’t know the spell and one day isn’t enough time to find it and learn it. Besides, if it was that easy wouldn’t Professor Dumbledore have done it?’ Hermione added.

‘Fine, then let’s go to Slytherin,’ Harry suggested. His invisibility cloak was still in his bag and the marauder’s map was in his pocket.

‘And hope Malfoy starts bragging about poisoning Nott?’ Ron asked dubiously.

‘Why not? Malfoy loves showing off and he wants to get back at Snape. If he thinks he’s got him out of a job, he’d gloat about it.’

‘I’m not sure he’s that stupid, mate. Plus, we might spend all night in the dungeons and have nothing to show for it.’

‘Then we need to stop the board from meeting,’ Harry said desperately. ‘No meeting, no suspension.’

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look. ‘Harry-’ she began but he cut her off.

‘I’m not letting Snape get suspended whether you help me or not,’ he said, raising his voice. He was breathing hard as though he’d just run all the way from the hospital wing to the Tower. That was it, wasn’t it? They didn’t want him to get adopted anyway and everyone hated Snape more than ever.

He flung open the dormitory door and barrelled down the stairs, ignoring his friends’ attempts to appease him. There were still people who would help him, even if he couldn’t count on Ron and Hermione.

The twins were huddled together on a couch in the common room, talking in low voices when he approached. ‘Harry!’ Fred exclaimed, cutting their conversation short as soon as he was within earshot and smiling widely. ‘Any inside knowledge on the second task? I can give you excellent odds on finding buried treasure. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people putting money on a duel with the giant octopus.’

‘No. I don’t know,’ Harry said, shaking his head distractedly. He lowered his voice. ‘I need your help with something.’

‘Oh?’ Fred replied, his face lighting up with a mischievous grin.

‘Harry, Harry. What will dear old dad say? I was in detention all last weekend. Fatherhood hasn’t mellowed him out like I thought it would and he didn’t like me saying so,’ George said.

‘He’s been a bit on edge,’ Harry grimaced. ‘I need your help with a prank. Something big and distracting. I’ll take the fall for it.’

‘A Weasley lets no man take the fall for his prank,’ George declared, scandalised.

‘It’s a point of honour,’ Fred nodded seriously.

‘The thing is, it needs to happen tomorrow. I need to stop the board from meeting.’

Fred looked thoughtful. ‘We might have some things in the pipeline-’

‘As yet untested-’

‘Somewhat unpredictable-’

‘That might do the trick. Leave it with us,’ George finished, clapping him on the arm.

Harry sighed in relief. If nothing else you could always count on the twins to cause mischief. Not even Snape at his strictest put them off. 

Still thorough ticked off with his friends, Harry spent the remainder of the evening in the common room. It was long after the room had cleared and everyone else had headed off to bed that Harry finally dragged himself up the stairs.  

The one downside to his plan to stay in the Tower was that everyone had to believe he wasn’t having the nightmares anymore so taking his leftover dreamless sleep wasn’t an option. Hermione and Snape would see through that in an instant. He was getting good at the silencing charm though. It only took two tries once he was sure the others had fallen asleep.

He pulled the covers up over his shoulder and stared unblinking at the curtains. He would have a nightmare tonight; he was certain of it. The graveyard appeared in his mind as soon as he closed his eyes, and it was all Nott’s fault. Anger coursed through him in waves, and shame too, that they saw him screaming, helpless. He knew another of the faces behind the mask now. One of the people who wanted him to die, who wanted to watch it happen.

S.S.

Severus ploughed through a stack of essays, surrounded by the essentials: a vial of headache potion, his stone linked with Harry’s, and a depleted pot of red ink. One benefit to his new approach was that more of his students were inspired to make an effort with their homework, fearing they’d end up in detention if they received a score of dreadful or below. Frankly, they deserved detention if he had to waste time reading the drivel most students could fill twelve inches of parchment with.

A knock on his office door came just as he rewarded one Hufflepuff with a begrudging Acceptable. The carriage clock began to chime – eleven o’clock. Well beyond curfew. He touched the stone – he’d changed the spell to alert him through movement as well as heat to avoid another catastrophe where Harry called for him and he didn’t answer. It remained still and quite cool.

When he answered the door, instead of finding a colleague or an errant student on the other side, it was Lupin.

He looked tired, more so than the late hour warranted. Likely his integration with the werewolf community forced him to keep odd hours. Severus arched a brow and stepped back, allowing him to enter. He’d meant everything he’d said, but it might have been a tactical error to berate his most reliable source of free childcare. If the wolf wanted to end this impasse and apologise, he wouldn’t stop him. ‘Foolish to wander the castle if you want the werewolves to believe you aren’t close to Dumbledore.’

‘It served a purpose, a humiliating one, you’ll be pleased to hear. I came to plead for my job back and be denied. Unemployment and difficulty integrating in the wizarding community were how You-Know-Who appealed to the werewolves in the last war.’ He glanced at the desk, at the pile of essays still to be marked and the empty vial beside it, but he didn’t remark on it nor the late hour. ‘Albus said you’ve had a difficult couple of days.’

Lupin was a master of the understatement. The reminder of the looming board meeting, the adoption interviews and his failed attempts at ridding Harry of the horcrux was a sudden weight on his chest. Too agitated to sit, Severus remained on his feet, but kept the barrier of the desk between them. ‘There will be a board meeting tomorrow to discuss whether I am so incompetent a Potions Master that I have endangered the life of my students. The adoption services will be able to put this in the column where they’ve noted that I have the Dark Mark, I told the aurors that it wasn’t a crime to dislike Harry Potter and that my students find me intimidating.'

Once he’d started to unburden himself, he found that he couldn’t prevent his frustrations from spilling out. ‘I allowed Harry to go back to the Tower because he thinks it will make his nightmares stop, which is ludicrous. Now he is on the other side of the castle and if he is attacked through his scar, I won’t be able to help. And if Nott has his way, I’ll be suspended and removed from the castle where mere weeks ago my son was kidnapped.’

He gritted his teeth before he told Lupin that for the first time since he changed his allegiance, he was afraid to die, to abandon his son when he was most vulnerable. The damned adoption paperwork had thrown the question of what would happen to Harry were he to lose his life to the front of his mind, and the longer it went unresolved, the more it nagged at him. He’d scrutinised the issue from all angles and the ideal arrangement was complex but theoretically possible. But he would never put Harry in a home where he wasn’t wanted. He wouldn’t recreate the trauma he’d experienced with his aunt and uncle.

‘I don’t think you’re going to let this incident stand in the way of the adoption. You’re more than capable of talking the adoption services round. For better or worse, you know how to choose your words,’ Lupin said dryly, leaving Severus in no doubt that their last conversation was on his mind. ‘And Harry’s safe in the Tower. If he wasn’t, you wouldn’t have let him go.’

The great weight on his chest lessened somewhat. ‘I don’t require your reassurances,’ he lied.

‘Of course,’ Lupin agreed, making no attempt to appear convinced.

Severus narrowed his eyes and gestured to the door. ‘If that’s all you wanted.’

‘Obviously that’s not all I wanted. Look,’ he said, leaning forward in his seat, ‘you and I being on good terms is what’s best for Harry. It does him no good to have us at odds. Contrary to what you might think, I have been putting Harry first. I’ve changed my work schedule to be there when he needs me, and I supported you when you wanted to remove him from his relatives against Albus’ wishes. It was my idea for you to take him permanently. But I’m not his godfather and if I’ve stepped back, it’s only because I have nothing to offer that he doesn’t already get from you or Sirius.

‘James and Lily picked Sirius for a reason. He’s the one he’ll talk to when he’s in too much trouble to go to you, or for advice about girls or about the mischief he gets up to with his friends.’

Severus’ lip curled. ‘Harry already has numerous Weasley children to look up to when it comes to childish pranks and dubious dating advice. He has one notoriously strict parent and a volatile godfather; you do not think reliability and an even temper might be something he values?’

Lupin opened and closed his mouth like he’d been called on in class and hadn’t bothered to open his book. Severus continued; it was satisfying to eviscerate the wolf’s weak logic even if he came inadvertently close to offering a compliment. ‘What would two twenty-year-olds know about raising a traumatised teenager? They likely didn’t anticipate that rather than take up a parenting role when they died, Black would land himself in Azkaban for over a decade.’

Severus finally took a seat. He opened his desk drawer, removed the spell concealing the adoption paperwork and slid it across the desk.

Lupin took a moment to read the form. The space for the guardian’s name in the event of his death had been filled with Molly and Arthur Weasley. ‘I’m aware you can’t put Sirius’ name here. I know you’re not asking my opinion, but it’s a good choice.’

‘The options for who the ministry would deem acceptable were limited. It is likely that I will die in this war. If Harry goes to the Weasleys he will attempt to be unobtrusive in a family with seven other children, and the headmaster will ultimately dictate his fate.’

‘Is that what all this has been about?’ Some of the tension dropped from Lupin’s shoulders. ‘If anything happened to you, I won’t abandon him and I’ll speak up for him, even against Albus. For what it’s worth, I’ll do whatever I can to protect him.’

Severus sat back, lacing his fingers together as though he were embarking on a lecture. ‘As you know, when I took Harry from the Dursleys I had them sign a document that transferred guardianship to me. It didn’t give me official custody, but it sufficed to give me some authority. The Weasleys are prepared to be his official guardians in the event of my death, but I’ve explained that I’d like to use the same document with you, if you are willing.’

For a moment, the only sound was the ticking of the carriage clock.

Lupin shook his head. ‘There is no way you’re suggesting having a werewolf take care of your son.’

‘Your lycanthropy is irrelevant.’

‘That’s not an opinion I ever expected to hear from you.’ Lupin stood up, running a hand through his greying hair. Bolting again. He’d made a poor choice, after all.

Lupin clutched the back of his chair. ‘In a few months, I’ll lose my job again and I can’t afford to take care of a child. I have one bedroom in my house and every full moon I’d be a danger to him. I don’t know what point you’re trying to make by forcing me to reject him. This is cruel, even for you.’

‘If I could arrange it so that it was safe and you were financially secure, would you take him?’ He watched carefully for his reaction. Lupin was no occlumens – it would be easy to see if he were lying.

‘Of course I would.’

‘Good,’ Severus replied, satisfied at his sincerity. ‘He’ll stay with the Weasleys at the full moon and my assets will be divided between you and the Weasleys in your favour. My house will go to you; Harry has no need of it. You can do what you will with it, as long as Harry always has a room in your home, even after he reaches seventeen and graduates. There will be enough money that you can stop working if the war requires it. You’re to use the remainder for gifts, pay towards his wedding, nothing ridiculous if he wants to invite half the wizarding world. If he has children-’

‘You’re serious about this,’ Lupin said weakly, lowering himself into the chair.

‘We are at war and the Weasleys have enough of their own children to be concerned with. Harry needs someone of his own who’ll care if he starts slipping in his classes or won’t mind waking him up from nightmares five nights a week.

‘If the adoption doesn’t go through, which seems increasingly likely, the arrangement stands, but won’t formally begin until Harry’s seventeenth birthday. I intend to make it clear that you’re to take my position in his life in the interim, to whatever extent I’m permitted a parental role. To that end, I’d like you to be his godfather.’

Lupin stared as though he couldn’t comprehend what he’d asked. Severus watched in horror as the wolf made an abortive attempt to speak. ‘You are absolutely not going to have a breakdown in my office. I have more terms–’

‘Write them down,’ he said hoarsely. ‘But my answer is yes, regardless.’ He cleared his throat. ‘As long as it’s what Harry wants too.’

Severus tried not to let his relief show and inclined his head. ‘I’ll discuss it with him. If he agrees, my intention is to let the Order know of the arrangement as soon as possible.’

Lupin nodded absently, staring at the ingredient jars lined up on the walls. ‘I came here to suggest that we be friends,’ he said, just as Severus opened his mouth to pointedly suggest he leave.

Severus’ lip curled. There was a dearth of suitable options for Harry which led to Lupin being the only reasonable choice of guardian, but that didn’t mean he liked the man. Far from it.

‘Well, I could be your friend and you could treat me as you would an acquaintance,’ he continued in the face of Severus’ distaste. ‘A friend might be able to point out when you’re spreading yourself too thin or offer a different perspective without you jumping down their throat.’

Severus glared. ‘And that’s what you want from the arrangement? Freedom to critique my parenting?’

‘I want to be able to look out for you and have you take it in the spirit it’s intended. It’s no good for Harry if you’re completely worn out. Think about it, at least, for his sake.’

Lupin stood. ‘One last thing. About Sirius.’

‘You’re testing the bounds of this arrangement already,’ he growled.

‘I was pushing too much. It’s up to Harry if he sees his godfather and he hasn’t asked. But wouldn’t it be better if, when he is ready, you’re already on better terms with Sirius? Harry will forgive him eventually and if you two can’t get along, it will be Harry who gets hurt again. At the next Order meeting you could tell Sirius how Harry’s getting on yourself, that would be something.’

‘Are you done?’ Severus demanded.

Lupin smiled faintly. ‘Yes. Good luck with the board meeting.’