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            Weaving through the busy London streets under the glow of business lights, Severus carefully made his way through the crowd of people, being mindful to avoid coming in contact with anyone. The silk of the invisibility cloak flowed gently around passersby, nothing more than a gentle breeze like the evening wind, so it remained inconspicuous even if it brushed against someone. Severus kept a quick pace as he worked his way toward a side street that had far less people. Even on the darker street, he kept the cloak on and walked swiftly toward his destination.

            He didn’t expect to run into any familiar faces, but better safe than sorry if he did chance upon someone. He’d rather not come up with excuses as to what he was doing in some random location of London. It would not take even the dumbest of the Death Eaters long to work together what this area had once been, and that would only raise questions among the other followers. He wasn’t sure what tasks the others might already be performing, so keeping any run-ins to a minimum was essential.

            Finally, he arrived at the spot where Wool’s Orphanage once stood. Severus frowned at the newer building standing in its place—muggle offices, it would seem. The old orphanage had been torn down and replaced, destroying any evidence related to the children who once had to call the dreary residence home—including the Dark Lord. Severus sighed and stepped out of the way of a muggle hustling down the street, barely avoiding a collision.

            Pulling out his wand from his sleeve, Severus cast a charm to identify any magical residue but came up empty handed. It did not surprise Severus one bit that the Dark Lord would not leave anything behind at this location. The Dark Lord had never talked about his upbringing or childhood in any way, and it was only through Albus that Severus even knew where the Dark Lord had once lived. He had hoped to find some more clues about what the Dark Lord may have turned into horcruxes, but that clearly would not be tonight.

            With one last cautious scan of the area, Severus disapparated away.

            Once he got to Hogsmeade, he walked to Hogwarts, taking his time as he racked his brain for any other clues or devices he encountered while serving the Dark Lord. Nothing came to mind by the time he stepped foot into the castle and strode his way over to the headmaster’s office.

            “Severus,” Albus greeted as he set aside a book he was reading at his desk under candlelight. The room lit up more as torches and candles came to life. “Good evening to you. Any success?”

            “I’m afraid not. The orphanage has been demolished and rebuilt into muggle offices of some kind. I do not believe the Dark Lord would have valued anything from the orphanage enough to be a horcrux host anyway. He did not speak of it to his followers or in private conversation with me.”

            “I see. It was a good place to start,” Albus said as he stroked his beard. “We’ll keep searching and keep an ear out for any useful leads. Perhaps our old friend will provide us with something more in the future.”

            “How can you be so sure that the Dark Lord made several?” Severus asked.

            “Do you recall the diary that started the events of last year?”

            “I do.” Severus gave the headmaster a curious look. Lucius has been the kindle for that fiasco. He also recalled the fifteen hundred galleon fine Lucius was handed for neglectful handling of his dogs and injury to a minor. It was a slap on the wrist in Severus’s opinion, but he would take the small wins where he could.

            “I have a suspicion that the diary may have been a horcrux.” Albus picked up the book he had been reading, tracing a finger under some lines in the page it was opened to. “Tom Riddle somehow managed to possess Ginerva Weasley, and when Harry stopped the diary, it destroyed Tom Riddle’s . . .  spirit, should we say?”

            “You believe that spirit may have actually been a horcrux?”

            “This old tome discusses some of the darkest magic in history. It does not talk much on horcruxes as few have ever followed through, but here, it mentions how basilisk venom was discovered to be effective in destroying a horcrux. I cannot think of anything else that may have possessed that diary now.”

            “I see. So the Dark Lord made at least two horcruxes.”

            “And I’m sure he didn’t stop there. We must be diligent in finding the other horcruxes before his return.”

            “Agreed. Were you able to dispose of the locket?”

            “I was—using the sword Harry had used to kill the basilisk last year. Somehow, the sword has been infused with the venom of the beast, and it was able to destroy the horcrux within the locket.”

            Severus did not like the reminder of Harry’s adventure in the chamber of secrets, but he said nothing and merely nodded his head in response to the headmaster.

            “I have also looked into Sirius’s Black’s case,” Albus continued. “As there was no trial, I do not have much to go on, but perhaps there is more to the story than meets the eye. However, only Sirius Black himself can provide some much-needed answers.”

            “Of course,” Severus said. While Severus was open to learning more of what actually happened that fateful night, he wasn’t convinced Black was innocent, and he was still just as likely to murder Black on the spot if he saw the man anywhere near his son, but if they were able to capture Black and return him to Azkaban for interrogation, he’d be fine with that. He could agree with Albus that it was only fair that Black had some sort of trial, especially after serving twelve years. If he was found guilty, nothing changed. If not . . . well, he didn’t want to think of that possibility at the moment.

            “I will keep you informed of anything I hear,” Severus said. “Regarding Black or the horcruxes.”

            “Thank you, Severus.”

            Severus left the headmaster’s office and headed down to his quarters, pulling off his black cloak and setting the invisibility cloak down on the coffee table. It was dinner time at this point, and he recalled that Harry had asked him earlier that day if he could have dinner with Lupin, which Severus begrudgingly agreed to as long as Lupin walked him down to their quarters when they were done.

            This meant Severus had an hour or so to himself, and he ate a small meal before sitting down in his study to work on grading for a bit. He started with the first years’ written exam essays. Sometimes, this was his least favorite job as a professor. Then other times, it was a welcomed distraction, especially from horcruxes and Black, and he pushed all those thoughts away to really focus on marking the essays, covering a couple of them in a lot of red ink.  

            The door to his study creaked slightly, and Severus glanced up at the noise, but the door had not opened much and seeing nothing there, Severus charted it up to a breeze in his quarters. Or a ghost. Both options were highly possible.

            Severus returned his attention to his grading, but he had the strangest notion that he was being watched, and he paused in his work once more, frowning at the page he had been reading through as he focused his senses on the room, listening carefully.

            He heard the barest huff of a breath behind him, and he swung out an arm and pinned the intruder against his side, earning a surprised squeak from Harry whose head slipped out of the invisibility cloak he was hiding under.

            “How did you know it was me?” Harry asked.

            “Who else would it be?” Severus said, keeping his son in a restrained hold. “What do you think you’re doing with that?”

            “I was trying to sneak up on you,” Harry said as he tried to wrestle out of his father’s hold. “But of course your dungeon bat hearing would catch me.”

            “You know,” Severus said in a thoughtful tone as he grabbed his wand. “I’ve been meaning to see how impervious that cloak is to curses.”

            “Oh no,” Harry protested, struggling against Severus as his father cast a tickling hex on him, and he laughed at the invisible fingers tickling his sides. He managed to pull away from Severus only to fall to the ground in fits of laughter, his head disappearing under the cloak as he squirmed in an attempt to get away from the tickling.

            “Dad,” Harry’s voice called out in a desperate tone between laughs, “please, make it stop.”

            “I can’t cancel the jinx if I can’t see you,” Severus said, though that was a complete lie. He merely wanted to drag out the torture a few seconds longer.

            “Okay, okay!” Harry threw the cloak off and Severus snorted at his son before canceling the spell. Harry took a few deep breaths as he mock glared at his father from the floor. “You’re mean.”

            “And you’re not?” Severus shot back. “What exactly were you planning to do sneaking up on me like that?”

            “Touché.” Harry stood up and flung his cloak around his shoulders, becoming a floating head once more. “You left this out on the coffee table. What were you doing with it?”

            “I must have moved it when I was reorganizing,” Severus answered casually. “Take that off and set it on my desk, then we can have some tea.”

            Harry pulled the invisibility cloak off and folded it up as best he could and set it on Severus’s desk. Severus waved a hand and a chair materialized in front of the desk. Harry plopped down in the seat and watched Severus patiently.

            “Portia,” Severus called out. “May we have tea and biscuits please?”

            Portia, a small house elf in a Hogwarts uniform, popped into the room with a tea tray covered with all the tea fixings and a plate of biscuits.

            “Portia is most happiest to serve Masters, she is,” Portia said with a big bow after she set the items in a cleared space on the desk. “Please call Portia if Masters is needing anything else.”

            Portia popped away while Harry immediately grabbed a biscuit and bit into it.

            “She’s always so nice,” Harry said around his mouthful. “I can’t imagine what would ever have made Eileen want to whip her.”

            “Talking with your mouthful would have been one of those instances,” Severus said, frowning at his son as he fixed himself a cup of tea.

            “Sorry,” Harry said after swallowing his food, then he shoved the rest of the biscuit in his mouth.

            Severus rolled his eyes before taking a sip of his tea. He returned to grading his essays while Harry made himself a cup of tea. When Harry seemed settled, Severus started a light conversation.

            “Ready for more exams tomorrow?” Severus asked.

            “One of them is yours,” Harry said. “I think I’m ready.”

            “Studied enough then? How do you feel about the exams you’ve done so far?”

            “Pretty good. Remus’s was fun! It was like an obstacle course, and he said I did a great job when it was over, so I think I passed.”

“That reminds me: how was your time with Professor Lupin this evening?”

            “It went well. We talked about my parents and all the friends they had in school.” Harry trailed off after that, staring down at his nails and picking at them.

            “Is there something troubling you?” Severus asked as he kept grading, sensing his son’s tension.

            “I just don’t get it,” Harry muttered.

            “What do you not get?” Severus pushed when Harry fell silent again.

            “How someone who was your best friend can just turn on you,” Harry said. “Sirius Black was my dad’s and Remus’s best friend, and Peter Pettigrew’s, and he just betrayed all of them! He was my dad’s best man at the wedding. How can someone pretend to be such a good friend and then just stab them in the back?”

            Harry had been growing teary eyed as he spoke, and Severus slowly set his quill down and looked over at his son. Harry was sitting in the chair with his head down, fighting back tears, his hands shaking the slightest. Severus sighed and set his grading quill down.

            “He was supposed to be a friend,” Harry continued. “Like Ron is to me or even Hermione—I would never turn on them, even at the threat of death, I wouldn’t.”

            “Harry,” Severus started.

            “Can you imagine killing your best friend?” Harry said. “How could he do that? And then he killed Peter Pettigrew—would he have killed Remus too? What kind of friend does that?”

            Severus was suddenly hit with several flashbacks of hearing the prophesy, relaying it to the Dark Lord, pleading with Albus, and then Lily’s death. He closed his eyes and occluded briefly before opening his eyes once more.

            “It’s okay to feel upset about what Black did . . .” Severus began to say.

            “It makes me angry, too,” Harry added quickly. “He should be punished for what he did. Appropriately. Azkaban doesn’t affect him and he’s clearly no afraid of the dementors.”

            “Harry,” Severus tried to interrupt.

            “It’s not fair! It’s not fair that he gets to live after killing my parents who he was supposed to protect. I would never do that to Ron and Hermione, I could never imagine doing that, and he’s out there free when he should be dead!”

            The tea things on the tray shattered suddenly, along with Severus’s and Harry’s cups, and tea spilled all over the desk—and all over the essays.

            “Harry,” Severus scolded lightly as he picked up the stack of essays in a poor attempt to salvage them.

            “Sorry,” Harry said in a soft voice, wincing at the mess his magic had created.

            Severus flicked his wand and vanished the mess. Portia reappeared as well and replaced the tea items and fixed them both a fresh cup of tea just to their liking. Severus tried a drying and restorative spell on the stack of essays that took the brunt of the mess, but unfortunately, the ink could only be restored so much after mixing with the tea, and the parchments were left with weird blotchy stains that covered most of the essays.

            “I didn’t mean it,” Harry said.

            “I would hope not.” Severus set the stack back in front of him, glad that he was able to at least make out names. “However, you are getting a bit old for accidental magic outbursts like that. I understand your frustrations and your anger though. You’re not wrong. Black has gotten away with far too much with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Azkaban appears to have done little for him as well. However, when he is caught, he may face worse punishment than what he has currently been through.”

            “Still, I don’t like that he even gets to live,” Harry muttered. “My parents deserve better justice.”

            “Do not get any ideas, young man,” Severus said, pointing the end of his quill at Harry sternly. “Revenge is not the answer, and you will not seek Black out to exact it either. You mean too much to too many people, especially me. Do not make it easy for Black by seeking him out.”

            “I wouldn’t,” Harry said in a tone that was not convincing to Severus.

            “Furthermore, you are aware that Black was not given a trial?”

            “Yeah? What’s that got to do with anything?”

            “Professor Dumbledore is considering reopening the case. Perhaps there is more to the story behind Black’s role as your parents’ secret keeper, and he wants to make sure we have the entire truth when Black is caught again.”

            “Does Professor Dumbledore think he’s innocent?” Harry asked, making a face at the concept.

            “I do not know what the headmaster thinks, but I do believe we all deserve a fair chance at having our stories told,” Severus said. “Even if it is Black. Besides, I would like to hear why he betrayed them in the first place.”

            “Me too. I just can’t wrap my head around it.”

            “Which means you are a good person, Harry. Do not let yourself become so consumed by anger that you forget that.”

            Harry smiled at his father before frowning at the papers in front of Severus, watching as his father wrote down the names of the students whose papers were ruined.

            “Can’t you fix that? Are you going to make them rewrite the papers?”

            “No. These lucky few first years will get a free pass on the written portion. Their grades will be determined by their practical examination. Besides, they were Ravenclaws. I’ve yet to have one from that house score below an E, even the first years. I’m simply glad I didn’t have the entire class’s stack in front of me.”

            “I’m really sorry about that.”

            “There’s no need to apologize.” Severus set the ruined essays aside and began on a new stack of essays. This was a stack of first year Gryffindors, and he began marking the parchment, already taking points for an illegible name written at the top. Harry snorted at that as he took a sip of his tea before grabbing another biscuit. After enjoying the treat and taking another sip of the tea, Harry grew bored of watching Severus grade.

            “Do you think I could spend the night in Gryffindor Tower?” Harry asked. At Severus’s stern look, he added, “Just tonight. We could study together, and I’ve practically been stuck down here with you all year and school’s almost over. Black hasn’t tried to get into the school in a while. I’ll even come straight back down first thing in the morning for breakfast with you.”

            “You most certainly would not,” Severus said. Harry’s face fell. “You would stay with your friends at all times and attend breakfast in the Great Hall.”

            “Really?” Harry asked, a smile spreading on his face.

            “Against my better judgement, but at the first sign of any kind of trouble, you will summon me. Do you have your family bond ring?”

            Harry shot out of his seat and ran to his bedroom. After a minute, he came running back into the room with the peacock ring in his hand. Severus took the ring and waved his wand over it. He handed it back to Harry.

            “I will keep mine on me, and you are to keep that with you at all times. You do not have to wear it if you don’t want, but it stays with you. If you find any trouble of any kind, you are to tap the peacock’s head three times with the tip of your wand.”

            “Okay. Why didn’t you offer this option before?”

            “Because I don’t like it. I’d much rather you be in my immediate sight than having to race to where the ring tells me you are and find you dead. But as you said, it is the end of the school year, and you need time with your friends, or I’ll never hear the end of it come summer.”

            “Got that right.”

            Severus swatted at Harry, but the child jumped away with a cheeky grin.

            “Do not abuse this privilege,” Severus warned, “or you will find yourself grounded to your room until you’re thirty.”  

            “Yes, sir,” Harry said with a nod as he slid the ring on a finger.

            The third-year students struggled with the potion for their practical: a confusing concoction. Severus moved up and down the rows of bubbling cauldrons with a slip of parchment and a quill, and he made notes of where each student did well and where they did not. As Severus paused near Harry’s cauldron, he realized his son was really struggling with making the potion thicken, and he watched closely to see if Harry would figure out where he was going wrong.

            He had noticed that Harry had seemed distracted when he arrived to the classroom, and he didn’t miss the frantic attempts at trying to recall which ingredients went first and how they were supposed to be prepared. He wondered what had happened last night to have Harry so flustered today. He frowned when Harry picked up a pinch of arrowroot, a known thickener, and added it to the potion, giving it a few stirs, yet the green liquid refused to thicken despite it.

            Then, the potion began to bubble angrily, the green darkening slightly, and Harry ran a hand through his hair before rubbing his neck.

            “You have less than a minute,” Severus said in a low tone, “to figure out what you are missing.”

            Harry glanced back at Severus, then at his potion, then at the ingredients neatly laid out in front of him, but he didn’t grab the right ingredient, and the potion turned into an ugly shade of maroon. Severus sighed, lifting his quill and finding Harry’s name on his list. He hesitated for a second, then marked a “fail” box before making a note “sixth step” off to the side. As he passed Harry’s station to check on the other students, he discreetly pushed the lovage toward Harry slightly, and Harry nearly smacked himself on the forehead as he sat down at his desk.

            “Clean your station, Potter,” Severus said as he examined Ron’s potion. “Then stay after class.”

            Severus monitored the class while the rest of the students finished their potions, everyone else managing a passable solution save for Hermione, who scored high marks for a perfect concoction that Severus scoffed at, and Longbottom, who forgot to trim down the scurvy grass before adding it to the cauldron, resulting in a sticky, gooey mess that earned him half points for at least making it to the end, but with Longbottom’s overall grades, it just gave him enough to receive an A. Harry had his head down  on his desk, fiddling with the ring on his finger while waiting patiently for everyone else to finish, his station scrubbed clean.  

            When the last student was finished, Severus informed everyone to bottle their work, except Longbottom as his product would not have any chance of storing properly in a vial. After the students labeled their vial and left it on Severus’s desk, they left the lab one by one, gathering their things and offering sympathetic glances Harry’s way.

            Ron and Hermione whispered that they would wait for him in the hallway, and Harry nodded in response.

            Finally, it was just Severus and Harry in the lab.

            Severus waved his wand, and the cauldrons flew over to the sink and dumped the remaining contents before soap and water scrubbed away at the cauldrons. The desks cleared away and a washcloth flew around the room and wiped down the tables in preparation for the next class. Once everything was in the process of cleaning itself, Severus walked over to where Harry was still waiting for him with his head down on the desk.

            “I’m sorry,” Harry said when Severus paused in front of him.

            “What happened today?” Severus asked. “You’ve made a confusing concoction a few times this year with no problems before.”

            “I know.” Harry didn’t say anything more.

            “You didn’t even make it to the halfway point. That’s a failing grade, Harry. That will bring down your overall grade.”

            “I know. I didn’t mean to screw it up. I was just . . . distracted.”

            “Obviously. By what?”

            “It’s stupid.”

            “Stupid or not, you will explain yourself.”

            “My friends are still fighting,” Harry said. “This whole year, all they’ve done is fight. Ron’s rat Scabbers is missing again, and Ron thinks Crookshanks did something to him, but Hermione says her cat wouldn’t harm a fly. We didn’t even sit together last night; Ron wouldn’t talk to Hermione and Hermione wouldn’t even look at Ron. All I could do was just sit there in the middle and play mediator. It just wasn’t how I thought the night would go and then I didn’t sleep well because I was trying to think of ways to stop their stupid feud.”

            “Perhaps you should have stayed in our quarters last night,” Severus said.

            Harry sighed and looked down at the tabletop but said nothing.

            “Regardless of what may be going on with your friends, you cannot let it distract you from your work, especially your examinations. They make up a large portion of your grade. If you did not sleep well, you should have come to me before the exam started and informed me of the situation. I could have allowed you to take the exam at a later time.”

            “You could?” Harry asked.

            Severus crossed his arms and gave his son a stern look.

            “Am I not known for my generous exceptions?”

            “No,” Harry said with a shake of his head. “You’re not.”

            “I suppose those may only extend to you, then. Next time you are not feeling at your best, let me know. We’ll work something out.”

            “Can we work something out now?” Harry asked.

            “Afraid not. I would have to give you an entirely different potion to brew, which would not be fair to the rest of the class.”

            “So I failed?”

            “You did. However, your grades have been outstanding all year. The worst the exam will do is drop your overall grade to an E.” Severus rested a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m still very proud of how well you performed. You did very well given the circumstances.”

            “Thanks, Dad.”

            “You will be reviewing this potion over the summer, though.”

            “Of course. Can’t have the Potion Master’s son not knowing his potions.”

            “Indeed,” Severus agreed with an amused smile.

            Harry smiled back before glancing at the clock in the corner of the room. His eyes widen and he grabs his bag and throws it over his shoulder.

            “I have the Divination exam next,” Harry said. He rounds the table and hugs his father before rushing for the door. “See you later.”

            “Hey,” Severus called after his son. Harry paused and glanced back. “If you get more than an Acceptable on the Divination exam, I will admit you to St Mungo’s.”

            Harry laughed at that.

            “Okay, got it. I won’t search too hard for my inner eye.”

            Severus waved his son off as the child ran out of his classroom. Severus reached into an inner robe pocket and fiddled with the peacock ring. It was charming to heat up intensely when Harry used his wand to tap on the corresponding ring, and Severus was keeping it close just in case something happened. To be honest, he had not slept well either last night, too obsessed with checking on the ring every few minutes. He was sure Harry would be fine. He had obeyed every rule thus far and had all his exams to finish, so Harry would be too busy to go looking for trouble. Besides, he had no reason to leave the safety of the castle now. The school year was almost over. Perhaps this year would end without any dangerous adventure on his son’s behalf.