Minerva couldn’t find Severus. She went to his house at Spinner’s End; it was gone. Well, to be precise, it was sold. Some Muggle family lived there now. She checked his apartments at Hogwarts; he wasn’t there either. It was a complete mystery where the man went. As far as she knew, he had no living relatives, nor did he have any (close) friends he could stay with. So where could he be?

As she pondered, she slowly climbed the stairs up to Albus’s office. At the door, she stopped. What was she doing here? Oh, well. Maybe Albus was back? She knocked, but no one answered. She quickly said her special password – one that gave her access to the Headmaster’s office.

Perhaps she was too old at this age to be snooping. But she did want to know – desperately. Oh, how she hated being left out of secrets! Why couldn’t they trust her? Severus’s favourite phrase: “You Gryffindors wear your heart on your faces,” and then he’d sneer, as if she was inferior to him. All Albus would do was laugh, like he wasn’t a Gryffindor at all.

The stack of mail at the corner of his desk caught Minerva’s eye. Could she…? Before she lost her nerve, she incanted, “Duplicatio!” Another stack, exactly the same as the one on the desk, flew into her hands. She quickly left…hoping that her spell had copied the words as well as it had the mass.

She walked into her office, fully ready to peruse the mail. What she saw stopped her immediately. She called out, “Stupe–”   

“Expelliarmus,” the voice lazily called, and the wand shot out of her hand.

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Severus and Harry were decorating Harry’s room – with appropriate colours this time.  Severus was surprised that Harry hadn’t picked red or gold (perhaps the child was too young for colours such as those). Instead he picked light blue and light green. Harry had wanted pink and yellow too, but Severus told him that two colours were ample enough. The walls were a light green, and the furniture turned blue.

Severus also noticed that Harry loved his window, so he created a window seat for him – after child-proofing it, of course. The child immediately clambered on to the window, and was quickly mesmerized by the outside. He noticed that the room still looked a little bland. What else would a child like on the walls?

At the toy store, Harry had loved Winnie-the-Pooh, and Severus had bought all the characters for him. Maybe he’d like animated versions of them on his walls? He decided he’d do that – as soon as he figured out how and when to do it. He really should ask Minerva. She probably would know.

But for now, he needed to go shopping with Harry at Diagon Alley for some wizarding clothes. He probably needed to go see Albus too, about the child. Fine, he decided, they would go to Hogwarts for the day. But first, he would have to owl Albus to see if the coast was clear. Sometimes, Aurors or snoopy old Wizengamot witches or wizards visited Albus…and of course, if he had happened to be there at the time, those eyes would quickly turn to him in suspicion. No, Harry must be kept safe from gossip.

He quickly wrote a note on the parchment, and asked his owl, Archimedes, to deliver it to Albus. Meanwhile, Harry had found a new source of entertainment – a large ball that Severus had bought for him at the toy store. When he found Severus’s eyes turning on him, Harry clambered over to him and demanded that Severus play with him. Actually, more like he asked in a quiet voice. Since coming to Severus, Harry seemed to be much less reluctant to ask Severus for things, and seemed to realize that Severus would rarely refuse anything of him. At this rate, Severus was going to spoil the child.

A Hogwarts owl was hovering by the window, pecking furiously and angrily as it thought that Severus had ignored it. Severus sighed. How he hated obnoxious animals! He opened the window, and took the letter from the owl. The owl hooted, and left. The letter was in Dumbledore’s fine script. What did the Headmaster want from him? Why didn’t he just Floo-call? Annoyed, he tore open the envelope.

My dearest Severus,

Remus and I have found something of utmost importance, and it to some extent is in regards to Harry. Do not worry; it is not bad news. Or, at least, not for us anyways.

In any case, that is not the reason why I have chosen to owl you. I was wondering if perhaps you would still like to continue as the Potions professor and Head of Slytherin House, since you now have more responsibilities as guardian of little Harry. Of course, Harry is welcome to stay at Hogwarts during the year, but if you are adverse to such, please reply as soon as possible. We will need to find a replacement. If you like, you may pick your replacement. Visit me in my office Monday, Severus. We can discuss it then.

                                                                                                Your (adoptive) father,

                                                                                                    Albus Dumbledore

P.S. Please bring Harry along. We’d love to see him!  

That old man fully expected him to leave his job! Of course, it wasn’t totally unappealing. He could work as a full-time Potions Master, taking contracts, and would have free reign to complete his research! At the same time, though, if he said yes, wouldn’t he be confirming that he wanted to keep Harry?

He was conflicted. He loved Harry, yes, but…he knew he didn’t deserve him. Maybe as an occasional babysitter, but not as a full-time guardian.

You’re just chicken, Severus, his conscience chided. You’re just afraid you won’t raise the child well.

Was that true? Severus shook himself out of his musings, when he felt two very small hands tugging at him. “Dada, we go play now? Outside? Pwease?”

Severus smiled. “All right, little imp. Let’s go play catch.” His thoughts could wait for another time…perhaps tonight when Harry went to bed.

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Remus opened the letter with shaking hands. What did the letter contain? Why had Lily chosen to hide it there, of all places?

My dearest friends (I know you’re there, Headmaster),

YOU DUMB MUTT! I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN! You’re lucky I had the presence of mind to write this down. So much for me being “as stubborn as a mule.” I don’t know if you know, but as of late, I have been having Seer dreams. I know they’re not always accurate, but I attempted to safeguard against every possibility. So if you (Sirius) aren’t in Azkaban, I sincerely apologize for calling you stupid.

Peter Pettigrew was our Secret Keeper, since Sirius was oh-so-adamant about being “sneaky.” Any Slytherin could have seen through that! Anyways, now that that is established, I suppose you’ll have enough evidence for you to take him out, though God knows why you would (just joking!).

I have far more important news. It will require the presence of both Severus and Sirius (Sirius knows what I have done, but not its consequences, or what led up to it). I timed my Muggle mail to arrive late at Severus’s house; it should have arrived a week ago, but Severus hasn’t responded yet. In any case, two weeks after the letter is delivered, the envelope will become a key to vault 728. Inside the vault are all my old treasures (more proof of Sirius’s innocence can be found here), and also…well, you’ll find out. There will also be another letter in that vault; it’s hidden in a similar chair, with a similar compartment.

Give my love to my dearest Harry.

                                                                                                Love,

                                                                                         Lily Evans  

P.S. Tell Sirius I’m sorry for putting his chair back in his vault. He went ballistic when I told him and I didn’t really have time to apologize.

Remus shouted with excitement! His friend was finally going to be free! Dumbledore, on the other hand, wasn’t half so gleeful. Yes, his mistakes were about to be atoned, but what was Lily indicating? Was there something he didn’t know? He searched his memory, then sighed. Perhaps it was in his pensieve. He tended to put all of his most important memories in there, and then he’d forget to put them back into his brain.

“Headmaster! Let’s go! We have a man to free!” cried Remus, reminding Dumbledore of a child at Christmas. He smiled indulgently in reply.

By the time they had arrived at the Ministry of Magic, Remus was all covered in sweat. He quickly performed a Scourgify, and waited patiently for Dumbledore to catch up. Finally, together, they walked up to the main office – where they could request entrance to see the Minister of Magic, Madam Millicent Bagnold. Luckily for Remus, Dumbledore’s reputation preceded him, and they were quickly ushered in.

“My dear friend Albus! What can I do for you today?” asked Madam Bagnold.

“How have you been, Millicent? May I introduce Remus Lupin?” said Dumbledore genially.

Remus took the hand proffered, and kissed it. “It’s very good to meet you, Madam.”

“What charm!” the Minister fluttered. “Now, Albus, I know you don’t often visit me purely for social reasons. Out with it! What can I do?”

“Well, Millicent, it seems I was badly mistaken about Sirius Black. We have uncovered new evidence that suggests that Sirius was not responsible for either the Potters’ deaths or the Muggles’.”

“It isn’t very often that I have Albus Dumbledore admitting his mistakes,” teased the Minister. “If you will kindly show me the evidence…oh, I suppose we will have to do this the official way.”

She tossed Floo powder, and called, “Department of Magical Law Enforcement!”

Amelia Bones answered. “Yes, Madam Minister?”

“Could you come down please? Headmaster Dumbledore has found something regarding Sirius Black.”

Madam Bones’s face paled, and she answered, “I’ll be there right away.”

Within seconds, she had arrived. Dumbledore proceeded to tell her everything they had found, and showed her the memories and Lily’s letter. Finally, she answered, “Yes, it looks like everything’s in order…except…Sirius Black is no longer with us.”

Remus’s mind blanked. No longer with us?