"Black."

The head of matted hair rose off the skeletal arms, and two dimly glinting eyes looked at him.

"Snape. Fancy seeing you after all these years."

"Get up, Black."

"Whatever for?"

"If you would prefer to rot here for the rest of your life --"

The man laughed haltingly. "Why? Have you come to rescue me? Are you my knight in shining armor?" His laugh turned to a wracking cough. "Say whatever you came to say, Snape."

"All right," Severus said, leveling his voice like a weapon. "Your godson has been abused to within an inch of his life by his bitch of an aunt and her husband. Albus Dumbledore couldn't care less. And Lupin is planning to break you out, which he will without a doubt bungle and end up on the wrong end of the executioner's ax."

Black was on his feet so fast that Severus almost went for his wand.

"If you've come here to goad me with some pack of lies...!"

"No lies," Severus said cooly. "Everything I just told you is the truth. I'm here to see if you've still got your wits about you."

"I haven't gone mad, if that's what you're on about," Black said, the scowl on his gaunt face truly awful. "But what is it to you?"

Severus smiled mirthlessly. "I've come to rescue you."

And now Severus stood in the front room of his childhood home, staring down at the child fast asleep on a makeshift bed.

The child with Lily's eyes.

The child Severus had sworn to protect.

He would claim him; would go to Dumbledore right now and tell him everything and then....

Lose his position at Hogwarts; and who else but Dumbledore would employ him.

Lost his potential as a spy.

Lose Dumbledore's -- albeit now dubious -- protection.

And when all was said and done, perhaps lose the child, as well, for who would give The-Boy-Who-Lived to a Death Eater, without Albus Dumbledore's backing?

No, it was an impossible line of thinking.

He was twenty-three, with no living family, no assets save for a derelict Muggle dwelling, no earning potential....

He let his eyes wander off the boy's face.

Lupin was on the couch, sleeping the dead sleep of one dosed with too many calming potions in quick succession, draped over the skeletal body of the escaped convict, Sirius Black. Even in sleep, Black's hand was holding tight the spare wand Severus had offered him.

Black did look a mess, but he was sane still... Severus didn't know how.

Lupin was right, Black did have a direct claim on the boy. He'd need Dumbledore's backing, of course, but --

Severus shook his head.

He couldn't do it.

How was he even thinking it -- a werewolf and a mangy ex-convict? That was the best he could do for Lily's child?

The boy moaned in his sleep.

Without thinking, Severus reached down and brushed stray hair off his forehead, then tucked the blanket more securely around the skinny body.

This child was going to bring about the Dark Lord's downfall? This starved, scarred, scared child?

He'd need all the help Severus could give him.

With a final tug at the blanket, he straightened and looked away... only to have his eyes meet another pair.

Black raised himself on an elbow, but the weight of Lupin proved too much and he fell back, his hair fanning around his head like a warped halo. He looked at Severus and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm going to Hogwarts to settle things with Dumbledore. I'll send word... either way. Tell Lupin he knows what to do if you need to make a break for it." He hesitated, just for a moment. "Stay as long as you need. Lock up when you leave."

'Take care of my child,' he added silently.

He turned on his heel.

"Snape, wait."

He stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Thanks."

He gave no indication of having heard.

The air outside was frigid despite the season, and he gulped lungfulls of it until he no longer felt like he was suffocating.

He walked to the edge of the wards, stopping to look across the muddy river meandering past.

He gathered his thoughts about him; what he would say to the old man.

How the old man would agree a werewolf and a mangy ex-convict were better guardians for The-Boy-Who-Lived than Severus Snape, Death Eater.

How the old man would be relieved not to lose his spy.

How Severus would threaten to reveal all if the old man was not compliant; tarnish the golden image of The-Boy-Who-Lived and his hero parents who didn't.

How the old man would start his scheming once more, but Severus would be ever-wary, ever-watchful.

How in less than ten years the boy with Lily's eyes would walk through Hogwarts' doors.

How it would all be worth it, someday.

He shut his eyes, picturing his destination.

He never saw the tiny figure at the window, peering through the grimy glass, green eyes squinting to make out the figure in black as it vanished very suddenly into thin air.