This time Severus had actually scheduled an appointment, rather than bursting in in a righteous fury, but that didn't seem to help the anger any. Albus rather suspected the man of stewing over the matter for the last hour or two, working himself almost into a frenzy. Still no frothing at the mouth, though.

"Four months, it's been four months without any indication that you've even attempted to find more suitable guardians for Harry, much less made the arrangements and permanently removed him from the odious care of Petunia Evans and her whale of a husband," Snape raged, pacing back and forth the width of Albus's office. Yes, he'd definitely been stewing, and built up far too much restless energy as a result. "I thought you might take the opportunity while the school was largely empty of students, but instead you've spent the holiday goofing about and having tea with the students."

"I'm terribly sorry if you felt excluded, my boy," Albus said congenially. "Harry's coming by again for tea tomorrow with all the Weasley boys, you are more than welcome to join us. I'm thinking of making it a weekly thing, actually."

Severus rounded on Albus accusatorially. "Don't change the subject. Why have you done nothing to rectify this situation? I'm beginning to suspect that you placed him with the Dursleys on purpose; does subjecting the Boy-Who-Lived to an abusive childhood fulfil some master plan of yours for the greater good?" Severus practically threw the words at Albus, and Albus reacted as though stricken.

No, that wasn't entirely true; had Severus actually struck him, doubtless Albus would have done a better job of maintaining his composure.

It lasted no longer than the space of an eye blink, but Severus had not been a spy because he lacked in observational skills, and he blanched, clearly horrified at the effect of his own words. "Headmaster, I..."

"You are upset and are making accusations that, while entirely inaccurate, are perhaps not entirely unfair," Albus finished for him evenly. And it wasn't as if Severus could have possibly known the effect those particular words would have on him. "The problem with a perception of omniscience is that people assume you know everything."

"That would be the definition of omniscience," Severus responded, still a bit uneasy, but fast recovering, or giving the appearance of it, at least.

"Yes, but when people think you know everything, they also tend to think you have control over it all, which wouldn't necessarily follow even if I were omniscient. I make mistakes, maybe less often than the average person, but I have the misfortune of making very large ones when I do. And given the gravity of the mistake I made with Harry, I am not eager not repeat it."

"It would hardly be difficult to find someone more suited to care for Harry than those two. Take out an ad in the Daily Prophet and I'm sure you'll be inundated with volunteers," Severus said dismissively.

"Yes, and once I've called attention to the fact that I've already placed Harry with an unsuitable family once, no doubt the Minister would then feel the need to step in and make the arrangements this time." Albus didn't finish the thought, as they both knew who would end up with Harry's guardianship in that situation. The best case would be for Cornelius to decide that he might grab some notoriety by taking care of Harry himself, and, all due respect to Cornelius, if that was what they were hoping for, then they were in dire straits indeed. "As such I've decided to take a somewhat cautious approach, which has slowed things down considerably. That's not to say I've made no progress."

"You have someone in mind, then?" Severus asked. "Who?"

"First, I think a little context," Albus said. He had no illusions about how well Severus would take this, likely that was why he had been putting the conversation off, but no need to make it worse by jumping straight into the thick of it.

"I had been aware for a while that the Potters had written a will, sometime between when Harry was born and when they went into hiding. I had never seen it myself, I was merely made aware of its existence when their solicitor came to me shortly after their death and confirmed that Harry's placement was in accordance with their directions and to ask me to pass along the key to their vault to Harry. It was my hope that this document might have some contingency arrangements for Harry's care, ones that could not be overridden by certain prominent families even if the situation became public."

"I find it hard to believe that the Potters would have deliberately placed the care of their son into the hands of the likes of Petunia Evans," Severus scoffed.

"Do you?" Albus asked. "Even after all that had happened, Lily still loved her sister very much. Is it so hard to believe that she would chose to have faith in her?"

"Not that Lily would, no," Severus said softly.

Albus favoured Severus with a fond look before continuing. "As it turns out, they didn't precisely leave Harry to his aunt and uncle, regardless. It took me some time to track down their will, as I was afraid that if I went to their wizard solicitor and asked to see it, it might bring up questions that I want to avoid until the matter is settled, if they have to come up at all. Luckily the Potters had the good sense to have their will on file with a Muggle solicitor as well, and I was able to persuade her to relinquish a copy to me. What the will actually stipulates is that in the event of both of their passing, the guardianship of Harry should go to the blood relatives of Lily Potter nee Evans - I believe her parents were also still alive at the time of writing."

"They died on May 16th 1981. They were in a car accident when they got hit by a drunk driver," Severus said. Albus didn't respond directly, merely looked at the man until Severus... well he didn't quite blush, exactly, but he did look a tinge embarrassed. "They were kind to me as a child," he added.

"Of course." Albus said, before moving swiftly past the uncomfortable subject. "It was really very clever wording by James and Lily, specifying Lily's blood relatives. James didn't have any close family left alive at that point, so there was no reason to worry about including them. Leaving it as unspecified relatives would have given the Dursleys and the Evans, had the latter still been alive, the freedom to decide who would be better suited to raising Harry for themselves, while using the qualifier ‘blood' prevented half the Wizarding World from trying to lay claim on the boy through some distant relation to the Potter family."

"I'm assuming, however, that they did have other possible guardians named in case Lily's relatives proved themselves unsuitable, as you would not have brought it up otherwise," Severus prompted.

"Oh yes, quite a list, in fact," Albus agreed. "Though as a testament to how very bad things got back then, I'm afraid most of their proposed alternatives are no longer suitable either. The first after Lily's relatives was-"

"Let me guess, Sirius Black," Severus said with a sneer.

"No actually," Albus said, letting his tone convey that he was as surprised as Severus was by this turn of events. "The next was Frank and Alice Longbottom. I suspect that while James and Lily had placed faith in Sirius when it was not warranted, they were at least aware that the man was not prepared for the responsibility of raising a young boy all on his own. By contrast the Longbottoms were also good friends with the Potters, and had their own son as well."

If it came down to it, Albus thought he might be able to use this to place Harry with Augusta Longbottom, as a proxy for Frank and Alice, but that would be legally tenuous at best. Not to mention, while he was sure Harry would be safe and cared for with Augusta, and would likely enjoy having Neville as a foster brother, he did have some concern as to whether Augusta would be as affectionate as Harry needed after his ordeal, and the woman likely already had enough on her plate having to chase after one adolescent boy.

"Sirius is the next on the list after that, and then Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew," Albus said.

"And then?" Severus prompted. Oh, Severus was going to take this quite poorly indeed.

"No and then, that's the last of them."

That earned number 13, ‘You better hope for your own sake that you're joking.' Well, at least it wasn't number 16.

"You can't possibly mean to have the werewolf take care of Harry," Severus said nearly spitting the word ‘werewolf' out.

"I can and do," Albus said firmly, and just a bit chastising. A lingering fear of Remus would be sympathetic, and even lingering hatred of Sirius for the prank he had attempted to play would be understandable, but there was no call for this anger at Remus, who had been the only other true innocent in that whole affair.

"This is your most ridiculous scheme yet. He's not a remotely suitable choice!"

"Something you and Remus agree on," Albus noted dryly. It hadn't taken that long, after all, to locate a copy of the Potter's will, and for the last month Albus's energy had been focused instead on convincing Remus of the feasibility of this plan. "Let me ask you, Severus, if Remus weren't a werewolf would you still object?" said Albus.

"I hardly see how that matters, as he is one," Severus said.

"I can't very well address your concerns if I don't know what all they are," Albus pointed out. "Humour me."

Severus looked a bit as though he'd rather volunteer to be the official shoulder to cry on for homesick first years, but after a moment's thought he finally allowed, "If James Potter can be considered qualified to raise a child through an accident of procreation, then I suppose that Lupin, were he not a dangerous monster, could be considered so too."

"Thank you," Albus said. "And as far as the danger Remus poses, rest assured I have been giving a great deal of thought to the necessary precautions. I will be making certain that Remus has access to Wolfsbane Potion every month to start."

"And you expect me to brew it for him," Severus said, somehow both defiant and resigned.

"I would never force you to do such a thing. Both myself and Remus would be grateful if you wished to volunteer, but I can get it elsewhere if need be," Albus said. Personally, he thought Severus should be the one making it, as Albus was optimistic that having some control over the situation might lend itself to having some control over his fear, but he wouldn't force it on him.

"And run the risk of the wolf winding up with an ineffective brew?" Severus sneered, though he made no other indication as yet that he would brew the potion. Ah well, he'd do it in his own time or not at all. "But I hardly think giving him Wolfsbane to be a sufficient solution to the problem; what if he forgets to take it, or if Harry needs his guardian some night, only to be confronted with a wolf instead?"

"Excellent points, both, which is why Harry will be spending the night at a friend's house every full moon. Or, if none of his friends are available, I'm sure there are some trusted members of the staff here who would be happy to watch Harry for a single night." And Albus was quite pleased indeed that he could include Severus on his mental list of those people.

"In that case why would you need to provide Lupin with the Wolfsbane Potion, if Harry isn't even going to be under his supervision those nights?" Severus asked.

Albus decided to refrain from pointing out Severus's distinct lack of sympathy, charitably chalking it up to continuing trauma. "As purely practical consideration for Harry's home life, those afflicted with lycanthropy are much quicker to recover if their transformation was eased by Wolfsbane. But I confess I have other reasons for wanting the potion for Remus as well. One of the concerns he expressed to me about potentially becoming Harry's guardian was that his condition makes it difficult for him to get and keep a job, and as such he simply doesn't have the assets to raise a young boy."

Severus looked shocked for a moment, then enraged all over again. "I've change my mind, this is your most ridiculous scheme yet. Giving Lupin the Defence Against the Dark Arts post?" There was little question in either of their minds that the position would be open by the end of the year. "This is a school full of children and you want to set a werewolf lose in the midst of them? We all know how well that turned out last time!"

"The last time Wolfsbane Potion didn't exist," Albus pointed out reasonably. And, not to belittle Severus's trauma, but no one had gotten hurt the last time either. "I should also point out that I'm not going to be hiring Remus for Defence post either; if he's going to be raising Harry, he'll need a job for longer than just a year." Come to think of it, it may be time to contact Gringotts again about hiring some curse-breakers to give it another go at breaking whatever spell Tom had laid on the job - they hadn't managed to do anything on their last attempt, but you never know. "I thought about encouraging Silvanus to go ahead and take his retirement, but given Lupin's condition, Care of Magical Creatures may not be the best class for him to teach. Ah well, I'm sure I'll figure something out."

"If you must, know that you do so with my objections. And I want your word that the first time he forgets to take the Wolfsbane he's out, no exceptions or excuses," Severus demanded.

Albus raised an eyebrow at Severus's presumption; the matter of hiring staff was Albus's decision regardless of what Severus thought. But Albus supposed that in this instance Severus did have a point. Albus wouldn't discriminate against Remus for being a werewolf, but being irresponsible with the children's safety was a different matter altogether. "That seems fair enough; I'm sure Remus will be willing to agree to it," Albus allowed.

"And I still don't think the werewolf is a suitable choice for Harry's guardian," Severus continued.

"Lily and James trusted him to look after Harry," Albus pointed out.

"They also trusted a mass murderer and a pair of child abusers, clearly their judgment was more than a bit suspect," Severus returned.

"That is enough. The last thing we need right now is for the Potter's will to be called into question," Albus said, briefly losing control over his temper. Albus took a breath in and let it out slowly, rubbing at his forehead. "I am attempting to be understanding, but you are trying my patience, Severus. I fully realize that a werewolf as a single parent is less than ideal, but this is a less than ideal situation. I will offer you a deal, which you may take or leave, but after that this discussion is over."

"I understand," Severus said contritely, which Albus knew was the closest he would get to an apology for the man's pushy behaviour. Albus offered a small smile as an apology of sorts of his own in return.

"It will be some time yet before I can have Remus named as Harry's official guardian. As I've already mentioned in passing, Remus has some misgivings on the subject, and I still need to formalize a place for Remus on staff. Beyond that, I do want Harry and Remus to spend some time getting to know each other before anything formal is set in place. If at any point prior to when I ask Harry if he would like Remus to be his new guardian - I do intend to leave the final decision in this matter up to Harry - you can give me an alternative guardian who would be more suitable than Remus and who has a strong enough legal claim that Lucius Malfoy would not be able to dispute it, then I shall defer to your selection," Albus said.

Severus inclined his head in acknowledgement and acceptance. "I do, however, have one further concern now."

"And what would that be?" Albus asked.

"You say it's going to take time to arrange matters, but the school year is almost half gone already. What do you plan to do if they still aren't in order by the time the summer holidays arrive? Since you obviously will not be sending Harry back to the Dursleys," Severus said.

Albus found himself smiling again at the question. This had been a rather clever solution of his when the idea occurred to him, and he was pleased to be able to share it. "I'm sure you've noticed that of our first year students, the Muggleborns are far more likely to get sick than their Pureblood or Half-blood compatriots," Albus said, seemingly apropos of nothing.

"Yes, because their time at Hogwarts represents the first time that many of the Muggleborns have been exposed to wizarding society specific diseases; they simply don't have the immunity that the other students do," Severus replied, clearly not happy with the change in subject, but willing to play along. Of course, Severus had known Albus long enough to realize that his tangents were rarely as tangential as they first appeared.

"Which is exactly why we've had to hold some of those students here for a short while after the summer holidays have started; their families don't have the immune systems to prevent themselves from coming down with whatever the student has caught, and goodness knows what kind of havoc even a relatively harmless disease could wreck on a non-magical being. Not to mention that the parents simply aren't equipped to handle the situation," Albus continued, watching as a spark of comprehension lit Severus's features, though Albus did not think he had quite grasped the whole of it yet.

"That might buy you some time, but only a few days, a week or two at the most," Severus protested.

Albus made a hum of acknowledgement. "In the normal way of things, yes. But you know what I've been dreading, though it thankfully hasn't come to pass since I've been Headmaster? The year when one of those students catches spattergroit, or some other such illness that takes months to recover from. Why, they might have to miss summer holidays altogether, which would be such a shame. Completely unavoidable for the sake of their heath, of course, but a shame."

"And I suppose that you would expect me to stay here all summer and take care of this hypothetical brat," Severus said, his voice dripping with disdain at the suggestion - the man did love to put on a show.

"You are, unfortunately, the most junior member of the staff that I would feel confident in leaving that kind of responsibility to, and seniority must be observed, I'm afraid," Albus said, his conciliatory words belied by the cheery tone he delivered them in.

"I understand," Severus said. "Though I sincerely hope it does not come to that."

"So do I."

"Well, then I'll leave you to sort out your affairs while I work on mine," Severus said, making it clear that he would be attempting to make use of their deal. His tone implied something threatening about that, but Albus didn't see why that should be threatening. He didn't truly believe that Severus would come across some marvellous solution that Albus had overlooked, but if he did, Albus would be nothing but grateful. All he wanted was what was best for Harry.

"One last thing, Severus. There is no greater good that can be serviced by allowing harm to come to an innocent child," Albus said, his tone firm, but it went softer on his next sentence as he considered the man before him. "I am sorry if there's anything I've done to make you feel I would think that way."

Severus didn't respond at all, but then, Albus had hardly expected him to.