~~~~SS~~~~

"Professor, thank you for dropping by," Samson condescendingly extended his hand to the former Death Eater the instant he crossed the threshold into the same shadowed interrogation room they used to collect Harry's memory of the Diagon Alley attack. Notably, Tonks did not follow in behind Severus, leading him to conclude whatever they found since Draco's trial was significant enough to warrant a need-to-know basis clearance level; one which Auror Tonks did not meet.

Hesitantly, Severus shook the outstretched hand to appear willing to help rather than a symbolic gesture of respect for the lead investigator. "I get the feeling I didn't have much of a choice in the matter. I must warn you, though, I'm on a bit of a tight schedule this afternoon and need to get back to the-" he paused mid-sentence and glared at the table where Kingsley and Williamson sat waiting for him, "-back to be with Harry as soon as possible."

"I understand." Samson gestured to the table where Severus chose the open chair across from the other two Aurors impatiently waiting to begin. "This really should be fairly straightforward, but we'll try to keep it as efficient as possible to get you out of here quickly."

"So then Potter's still not better, is he?" Williamson harshly asked. His eyes gleamed in the overhead lantern leaving Severus with an unpleasant feeling about this meeting. Perhaps they hadn't found something to help Draco after all.

"Regrettably, Leukemia is not an ailment one simply 'gets better' from overnight," Severus sneered, trying to remind himself Williamson's question could simply stem from most of the Wizarding World having little to no knowledge of muggle diseases. Still, he couldn't shake the unknown negative aura surrounding Williamson.

He arrested Draco. The three words fell into place easily in his mind. Hadn't he told Harry almost the same thing when the young wizard had the nightmare of Williamson attacking them? Therefore, it made perfect sense the professor would feel a similar way towards the Auror; the person who inadvertently ruined so much of Severus's life with one action.

"It's awful to hear about this happening to a kid like Harry." Kingsley folded his hands on top of the table then genuinely added, "Please let him know we're thinking of him and if there's anything he needs… either of you need… don't hesitate to ask."

"I'll do that." Severus narrowed his ominous eyes at the group around him. If Harry hadn't been seen as the Wizarding World saviour, would they even care about the young wizard sitting in a hospital bed constantly fighting for his life? Probably not, he concluded. Deciding it best not to go down that road in the present moment, he urged, "So what brings me here, gentleman? Surely everything you needed for Draco's arrest was in order. Otherwise, I'm certain you'd find yourself in a bit of a... problematic situation."

"Ironic you should say it like that," Williamson taunted. "It's almost as if you anticipated being called here."

Ah, so they did find something.

Outwardly, Severus didn't dare react to the information he'd been unintentionally given. Based on the defensiveness laced into Williamson tone, whatever it was, it wasn't in the DMLE's favour or Severus had no doubt the other wizard would be gloating over it.

"I can assure you, Auror," Severus hissed, "I haven't the slightest idea as to why I'm here. Auror Tonks made it clear my presence was mandatory, either voluntarily or not. Based on that statement, however, I'm starting to wonder if a solicitor might be in my best interest."

"You're not in any trouble, Professor," Samson promptly spoke up. "At this juncture, we merely need to ask you some questions about the night of thirty-first of October, but first-" he waved his wand over a small sphere Severus hadn't noticed when he came in, sitting on the table between the two pairs of wizards, making the sphere began to glow bright green, "- do you consent to us recording this conversation?"

Under normal circumstances, the former spy would have pushed harder to determine the subject of their interrogation - because clearly, interrogating him was their purpose despite wherever Samson chose to refer to it as - nevertheless, his intuition calmed any of his previous reservations and the message he picked from Kingsley's gaze confirmed his suspicion: he held a significant piece of a complicated puzzle to help Draco's current situation in Azkaban.

"Yes," he inclined his head as he agreed. "I consent to your recording the interrogation."

Williamson made a move to speak - surely to contest Severus's change of title for their little gathering -, but Kingsley's hand on his colleague's shoulder held him back. Samson gave no sign of caring what the professor called it. He ceremoniously dropped a folder down onto the table, opened it, and pulled out a piece of red parchment which he not-so-gently laid in front of Severus.

"Do you recognise this document?" The Chief Auror asked, pushing the parchment closer to Severus. "Take your time to review it if you must."

Naturally, that's exactly what he planned to do; unwilling to weigh in, on the record, prior to identifying the article and its potential use. Very carefully, the professor lifted the parchment. The top was lined with a full range of information: name of suspect, date, location. A list of twelve spells sat beneath the identification section and directly below the spells were four signatures; Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt, Auror Mark Williamson, Albus Dumbledore, and his own.

Pretending the document did nothing to start the wheels in his head turning - frantically attempting to piece together how this related to Draco's trial - he pushed the parchment back to Samson and in an almost bored tone, said, "This is the document generated from Draco's first wand inspection on tenth of September of this year."

Samson nodded. "Very good. And do you recall, in detail, the event which generated this document?"

Severus folded his arm across his chest. "If you're asking me if I remember that day, yes I do."

"Tell me what you know about this parchment," the lead Auror challenged. His direct eye contact never faltered, so as much as Severus wanted to see Kingsley's reaction to the demand, Severus's black eyes never left his interrogator's.

"As Auror Kingsley explained it on that night, it was used to document the spells seen on Draco Malfoy's wand after casting Priori Incantato. This one is red, meaning it's the original. A yellow copy was supposedly made here simultaneously."

"You are correct." Samson cautiously reached over and pointed to the last scribbled name on the page. "And can you confirm this is, indeed, your signature at the bottom?"

For appearances only, seeing as Severus already recognized his signature when he first took possession of the report, he glanced down at the page. "Yes. That is my signature. I was asked to sign as Draco's witness. Is there doubt in my identity?"

"Not at all," Samson reassured. He then opened the file again and pulled out an identical-looking report, on yellow parchment this time and containing a significantly smaller list of spells. "And can you confirm your signature on this document matches that of the first?"

Interest piqued, Severus took longer to examine the new yellow report, dated 31st of October 1997. He was holding the DMLE's copy of Draco's wand inspection from the night of the young Slytherin's arrest. His eyes scanned the list of spells, hitching his breath when they reached the Animagus charm near the end. Similar to the first report, the bottom contained the same signatures of witnesses to the inspection.

"Yes," Severus curtly answered. "That appears to be my signature."

Samson gave a sly smile, obviously picking up on the professor's slight doubt in his words.

"And do you remember signing this document?"

He knew better than to immediately say "yes". They brought him here and were asking these questions - one's worded in a very particular way - for a reason.

"I wouldn't have signed this document," he tossed the parchment toward the centre of the table. "This is the copy.'

"That's right," the Chief nodded. "So then do you remember signing the original?"

Of course he remembered signing it, not that he would say so surrounded by his current audience. He closed his eyes and pulled forth the memory of the awful night, standing in Albus's office in complete shock at the series of events leading them to this moment:

"Was that an Animagus spell?!" Williamson accused with a sneer directly into Draco's pale face. To the young wizard's credit, he didn't take the bait; didn't move a muscle.

"If I remember correctly, Auror Williamson," Albus calmly started, "young Mister Malfoy was advised against speaking about the incantations found on his wand during these inspections."

Severus didn't approach the group or offer any possible explanation, as he tried to find any way possible to get Draco out of this predicament. Later, he'd second guess if his refusal to step in helped or hindered Draco's guilt. As expected, and surely outlined in the DMLE procedure when approaching an Animagus, Kingsley began to pull the registration records, where Severus already knew one wouldn't be found for Draco Malfoy - a white Persian kitten with grey eyes - while Williamson, relishing in the future arrest, finished up the inspection report.

"Severus?" Albus startled the younger professor out of his winding maze of thoughts. Nothing could fix this. Nothing would save Draco.

Albus held out the red report of the spell Kingsley pulled from Draco's wand having added his signature in its designated space. Right, he needed to sign it. Nodding his understanding, Severus grabbed the report out of his mentor's hand - proud of himself for resisting the temptation to tear it to shreds - and walked over to the headmaster's desk for a quill. In the background, Kingsley and Williamson were waiting on the registration request, the former giving words of encouragement to combat the latter's acerbic remarks; sounding too similar to how Severus's counterpart here used to speak to Harry. Doing his best to push away the negativity, Severus reached for a red Phoenix quill laying haphazardly on the desk but was stopped at the last moment.

"No, that one, Severus," the elder wizard essentially whispered to him. "I'm afraid it's had issues holding ink and has created quite the mess of some rather important documents to the Board of Governors. As you can see, I attempted it again tonight but I'm afraid it's reached the end." He pointed to the parchment showing Severus a large drop of ink next to Albus's signature. Gently plucking the quill out of Severus's hand he deposited it into the rubbish bin, then leaned over the books, notes, and rolls of parchment littering his desk to pull out an unassuming pheasant-looking quill. "Use this one instead. Not as unique as the Phoenix quill, I'm afraid, however, it is self-inking. I find that attribute to be overtly helpful in these types of situations."

"As long as I'm not signing it in my own blood," Severus grumbled, snatching the quill out Albus's hand and scribbling his signature onto the red parchment above the line designated as Witness for D. Malfoy.

His stomach churned thinking of his name being forever tied to the one and only piece of evidence damning Draco to Azkaban. He'd barely lifted the quill from the parchment - noting how quickly the ink dried from the self-inking quill - when he heard Williamson sardonically laugh, taking too much pleasure in the arrest of Draco Malfoy.

"I signed many documents that night." Severus neutrally answered, hiding away the distinct memory of himself signing the original report far into his occlumency shields. Folding his hands on top of the table, determined not to show a hint of doubt, he continued, "On top of spending the afternoon reviewing and consenting to the procedures for Harry's treatment the following day, as I'm sure you already know Hogwarts held a Halloween Ball on the night of the thirty-first and we had no less than five deliveries for the event - three of which were ingredients for my cauldrons, requiring my confirmation of delivery."

"And that means…"

"I signed the receipt for them," Severus clarified. "Therefore, while I can assume, based on my signature on the copy here, that I signed the original, I cannot, without a doubt-" he made sure to put a hard emphasis on those previous three words, "- say I remember specifically signing this one versus the others of the night."

"It's been less than a fortnight!" Williamson stood, and leaned over the table as he yelled the accusation. "How can you not remember something from only twelve days ago?!"

Severus didn't flinch at the sudden movement or loud intimation technique. If Williamson expected him to quiver at a desperate Auror, he had no clue the things Severus endured as a Death Eater; and all while keeping his Occlumency in top form to successfully lie to the darkest wizard of their lifetime. Clearing his throat for dramatic effect, Severus began to explain: "Since the thirty-first, I have probably signed at least two dozen papers including missives to parents, detention record slips, documents for my laboratory work, and Harry's treatment consent. While you may be able to remember every last signature you write, I have not been required to do so as a measly school professor, nor will I apologize for refusing to lie and make a statement I cannot properly corroborate."

"No one is asking you to lie," Samson eyed the sphere providing their official transcript in much the same way as the carbon copy of Draco's inspection report.

Thinking quickly about what this might mean for Draco, Severus requested, "I'd like to see the original documentation you claim I signed."

Williamson hissed as he sat back down. Without another word, the chief pulled a sheet of parchment, red this time and exactly the same as Severus remembered from that night - right down to the extra-large spot of ink following the Headmaster's signature, the very same one Albus pointed out to him when arguing against using the Phoenix quill in favour of the self-inking one - and slid it across the surface. What stood out to him the most, and literally took his breath away, was his signature completely absent on the line above Witness for D. Malfoy. To add to the mystery of it all, the line had zero evidence of ever being written on: no depressions of the Severus Snape he knew he signed, no ghosted text, not even a single smudge. The space appeared as pristine as if it were still waiting for his quill. Anger filled him up inside at the now obvious betrayal of Albus. How the headmaster managed to interfere, he didn't know, but he'd been left out of whatever plan he'd orchestrated. And not knowing that something, anything, was being done behind the scenes to potentially help Draco led him to his literal breaking point.

Continuing to hold his completely neutral face, he dropped the parchment. "You have your answer, gentlemen. Obviously, I forgot to sign it."

"Then how do you explain the carbon copy with the signature you confirm was your own?!" Williamson's voice held a fear in it that fueled Severus's resolve.

"I do believe that's for your department to answer." The corners of his lips upended slightly. "And I presume a full investigation into how a supposedly tamper-resistant document managed to be falsified will be launched? That is my signature... one I did not provide and-"

"Your memory," Williamson interjected. "If you truly don't remember the night, let us view your memory of the inspection."

Thankfully, Kingsley immediately came to his aid. "That won't work, Williamson," the only Auror Severus legitimately respected said. "Severus's aptitude of Occlumency and Legilimency is renowned. As a master on both sides, any memory taken from him would be questionable, at best. He'd be able to show us whatever he wanted us to see and we'd never know the difference. It is, admittedly, a flaw in our memory retrieval process, yet given how few natural Occlumency and Legilimency masters exist we don't see this issue arise often. Unfortunately, Severus is one of those exceptions."

A heavy silence fell over the four wizards when Kingsley finished. Severus had no clue if what the former Order member said was at all true, but it sounded logical enough for him to believe it. After all, Veritaserum had a similar dilemma. Only in the potion's case, it could not differentiate between the real truth and a fake truth the user believed. It's why the Ministry did not use it in trials, especially on victims and children. But this didn't have to sound logical to Severus, or even Williamson. Samson needed to believe the justification and in Severus's ability to fake a memory to such a degree no one could see the telltale signs of it being done.

"I have to say, I agree with Kingsley." The Chief ultimately declared. "I've read through the profiles on every marked Death Eater… convicted or not… and his skills in the mind arts are top form."

"I'd be long dead by now if they weren't," Severus offered, although the comment wasn't needed - nor appreciated based on Samson's glaring stare - and the wave of the chief's wand changed the sphere back to dark. "Is there anything else you need from me? Because it sure looks like you have your work cut out for you."

"We have everything we need for now." Samson stood, implying the end of their meeting. "It's in your best interest to stay available in case any follow up inquiries arise over the next few days."

Severus's jaw clenched tight. The way the request was worded made him wary. Did his ambiguity go far enough to help save Draco? Although his responses alone wouldn't immediately solidify the young wizard's release, they certainly shifted the foundation of his arrest - and subsequent sentencing - from solid concrete to a sandy silt and therefore he needed the DMLE to believe him. "You know where to find me, Chief Samson, I'll likely be there all week."

"Very well." Samson once again reached his hand across the empty space between them and for the second time in as many hours, Severus shook it, only this time he passed a small amount of respect through the gesture; the Auror didn't push Severus nearly as far as he someone like Williamson might have if he'd been left alone. "We'll be in touch. Auror Shacklebolt will see you out."

Severus nodded his head and, not looking back, left the small interrogation room - Kingsley in his wake - hoping to never find himself back there again.

The two former Order of the Phoenix members walked in silence through the hectic DMLE office. Tonks no longer sat at her usual messy desk, reminding Severus of her busy week and the one ahead; the very reason she wasn't currently standing in his classroom at Hogwarts, leaving his students to the mercy of whomever Albus managed to schedule for today. The thought of Albus, and his meddling schemes, brought forth his anger once again. Looking back, the signs were all there: Albus's aloofness during the week leading up to the trial, his non-committal attitude the morning of, and his lack of contact since Severus arrived at Guildford. Despite their current animosity towards one another, the fact Albus never reached out was odd behaviour for the other man in and of itself. If only he'd known Albus had a plan. He didn't need the details, but to know Draco hadn't been forgotten and left alone would have made all of the difference in his outlook last Friday. Perhaps if he'd known, it would have altered his reaction to the news of Harry's test results and then he'd never have gone to Mae's flat.

The two wizards shared a lift with four elderly witches who spent the entirety of the trip loudly gossiping over an upcoming wedding and critiquing - incorrectly, the professor noted - the meaning behind the flowers chosen. Outside of making Severus incredibly uncomfortable to be forced to listen to pointless drabble, the extra quartet prevented him from asking Kingsley a single question about what had just happened. And so the moment they stepped out of the lift - leaving the witches to continue on - the former spy shoved his unnecessary escort into a side vestibule.

"What the hell was that all about?!" Severus growled into the face of the other man.

Keeping his composure, Kingsley waved his wand, placing a privacy enchantment around them.

"You handled yourself well in there," the Auror expressed. "I should have trusted Albus when he assured me as much."

Severus sneered. "You didn't answer my question!"

"That's because I don't have an answer you'll accept." Tempted as he was to do it, Severus didn't need Legilimency to know Kingsley told him the truth. "You'll have to go to Dumbledore for the details, and even then I'm not sure he hasn't protected them behind a Fidelius Charm. What I can say is he came to me shortly after the arrest and instructed me to contact him if the DMLE or Registry Department found any issues with the inspection report of Malfoy's wand.

"Then on Monday, the Malfoys' solicitor came in claiming the original report was missing all of the required signatures, yours to be exact, to hold its validity. I pulled the Department's copy and once I confirmed they were all there, it got pushed up to Samson. He collected mine and Williamson's memories of the night, but somehow you ended up completely out of our conscious and subconscious view. At that point, I went to Albus concerned you'd get dragged into something unintentionally and he reassured me you'd handle it with ease. So you're saying you have no idea what happened to your signature?"

Severus covered his mouth with his hand as he thought through all of the information just relayed to him. "No," his long black hair batted the sides of his face when he shook his head, "I haven't the slightest clue about what went on in that room."

"Good," Kingsley asserted. "I'd advise you to keep it that way until all of this - whatever this is - blows over, but I know better than to expect you to listen to me."

He was absolutely correct. Severus's next stop needed to be Hogwarts, even if, by his rudimentary calculations, it'd put him cutting it closer than he liked to getting back to the hospital for the end of Harry's treatment. He needed to know what Albus had done and how it may or may not impact his own innocence or guilt in the process.

"Thank you, Kingsley." Severus backed away but stopped when the opportunity to liberate his guilty conscience presented itself. "One more question for you. Unrelated to the issue at hand."

"I'll answer whatever I can," Kingsley neutrally offered.

"Friday night," Severus cryptically said, "were any magical disturbances reported in the muggle Guildford area? Specifically accidental magic?"

Kingsley didn't answer right away, showing Severus respect by taking his question seriously and thinking back on the night. "No," he eventually replied. "I don't oversee the auror team called to assist the Magical Reversal Squad, nevertheless we generally hear about instances where obliviation is necessary, and I can't say I recall anything recent coming through."

Interesting.

"Hypothetically," Kingsley clarified, "would this have been an adult or child?"

"Does it make a difference?"

"Of course," the auror remarked. "We only track underage witches and wizards, so unless the incident became a public spectacle, where we'd be looking at the Statute of Secrecy being threatened, it likely went unnoticed."

Severus unconsciously nodded his understanding. "Even if an adult witch or wizard wasn't registered in the area?"

"Yes," Kingsley confirmed. "If no one saw it, then who's to say it happened?"

Severus couldn't remember the last time he stormed through the castle as enraged as he was after taking the floo from the Ministry to his Hogwarts quarters, then making his way through the familiar winding corridors to the Headmaster's office.

Draco's first wand inspection.

The professor distinctly remembered the wrath instantaneously swelling up inside of him when Hermione interrupted his and Harry's strained dinner to inform him of her boyfriend's harassment in the library. As furious as he was back then, the more he reflected on how Albus's meddling actions - specifically the secrecy of those actions - and they directly affected Severus's life in the last week, today's felt ten-fold in comparison. He didn't care about the stares his chaotic actions garnished or his lack of wizarding robes to billow behind him, so long as every student, staff, and ghost parted his way; which they all, thankfully, did. Charity Burbage hurriedly walked beside him for two or three meters, attempting to remind him of his upcoming commitment to discuss muggle medicine and its differences to healing next week. His face didn't register having heard a word she said and eventually she stopped, leaving him to continue on his quest alone to the Headmaster's office.

Somewhere deep in the recesses of his mind, Severus recognized his anger was more than a little misguided. After all, Albus didn't irrationally yell at Harry's oncologist when the news they received didn't turn out the way he wanted, nor did Albus force Harry to choose between the advice of said physician and the person he'd come to rely on. Albus didn't push his girlfriend or force Severus to consume the potion to numb his pain, making him miss the start of Harry's chemotherapy - a set of medications he'd had the hardest time yet - and subsequent seizure. Regardless of his understanding, he still couldn't shake the notion that had he known someone was looking out for Draco, actively working to get him freed, the night would have transpired more than differently: having the boulder removed from his metaphorical plate might have helped him remain in control.

The gargoyle guarding the stairs to Albus's office threw off Severus's furious stride, temporarily forgetting the need for a password to enter the other wizard's office. Rattling off the staff password, the professor impatiently waited for the stone figure to move, his arms crossed aggressively over this body. Over the years, he long suspected the stone guard somehow informed the headmaster of incoming guests, and the gargoyle's delayed response, combined with Albus's standing posture - a reaction to being warned of an irate visitor - behind his desk all but confirmed it.

"Care to give me the details as to why the bloody hell I was summoned to the Auror's office this afternoon?!"

"Good afternoon, Severus," the elderly wizard motioned to an unoccupied chair in front of the left side of his ornate desk, directly next to Horace Slughorn sitting in the one on the right, looking rather uncomfortable with the situation. "Please take a seat."

The defense professor silently groaned but obeyed the command accordingly.

"Horace, did you have anything further to discuss?" Albus awkwardly asked.

"N-no, sir. We covered it… it all," Horace stuttered. Severus internally rolled his eyes at the continued nervousness of the man. Although he hadn't kept up with his former post, if Horace was this nervous while speaking to the headmaster a whole two years after returning post-retirement, Severus doubted he held the students to Severus's previous level of standards.

The Potions Professor scurried out of the office. Only once the door came to a firm close did Albus turn his back to Severus and casually ask, "You say you were called to the Ministry today?"

"What did you do?!"

"I thought you'd be pleased to know alternate arrangements were made on young Mister Malfoy's behalf." He rotated back around, without any hesitation in his actions or wavering of his voice.

"How did you do it?" Severus demanded. "We both know damn well I signed the original report! It's still on the damn copy for Merlin's sake! How can it simply go missing from the original?!"

"Did you tell them you signed it?"

"Of course not!" He slammed his hand on the desk, then stood and started his customary pacing. Anxiously, he ran his hand through his hair, noting its over-greased texture due to his lack of showering while at the hospital. A trip to Spinner's End to regain a minimum amount of physical respectability certainly wouldn't be remiss. "I told them I didn't remember one way or the other. But what if I had said I remembered signing it?! What would've happened then?! Do you even realize how close this came to falling apart for Draco? Not to mention what it did to me to see him hauled off to Azkaban for a year! Thinking that... that we'd failed him too!"

Severus stilled. The office remained eerily silent except for his laboured breath after his rant. It felt good to get it off of his chest, to admit to his recent toils the situation caused.

"You couldn't know, Severus," the four words seemingly danced around the room to him. He knew that, of course, nevertheless it didn't make the situation any easier. "Had you known about it… about this-" the elder wizard lifted a quill off his desk; the same pheasant quill Severus used to sign the report, "-you would have been forced to Occlude the truth and although Kingsley assured me he had ways to prevent your memory from being used, there was too much at stake to risk them seeing our conversation regarding it. By doing it this way, you were able to deny any wrongdoing and in the worst-case scenario, they would see you sign it in your memory of that night, but would still need to account for the validity of your memory on top of the obviously missing signature."

"And you switching the quills," Severus countered, his steam considerably lowered now having verified the information. "Not to mention if I was skilled enough to Occlude against Voldemort and still be alive, the Aurors would be nothing for me."

"True," Albus agreed, "but dare I say you've been more than a little distracted lately. Did you really want to risk Draco's freedom? And your own? What would Harry do if you ended up in Azkaban for aiding in evidence tampering?"

Unintentionally, his blood ran cold. He'd already let both of those boys down, doing it twice - for his pride, no less - would kill him.

"So what is this?" Severus picked up the quill in question and flipped it over in his hand.

"A gift I received from two former students a couple of Christmases ago," Albus jubilantly proclaimed. His bright blue eyes twinkled. "It's a self-inking quill now being sold by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. At first, I considered it a thoughtful gift, at least until I used it to sign a batch of disciplinary records where I discovered the ink to be of the… disappearing variety. Needless to say, without the headmaster's signature on those records, they are not officially counted."

Severus fell back into the chair as the reality of what transpired dawned on him. Out of nowhere, he began to laugh; a small chuckle quickly grew to full laughter. Disappearing ink… provided by the Weasley twins!

"But how…"

Albus finally sat down in his lavish chair, giving Severus a sense of ease. "After that first inspection, I decided it'd be in our collective interest to have a contingency plan ready at a moment's notice. I've kept this quill in sight since, being careful not to accidentally utilize it, of course."

"Obviously," Severus replied. "So what happens now? Is it enough to free him?"

"Yes," the headmaster confidently said; almost too confidently for Severus's liking. "I suspect the DMLE will begin their review process, which will likely take several months to complete. In the meantime, the Malfoys' solicitor has been informed of the discrepancy and will insist the evidence be found inadmissible and that a reversal of his verdict is in order."

"They'll go back to trial," Severus argued. "And they'll still find him as an unregistered animagus, so what good does that do him?"

"You're forgetting two very important pieces, Severus. For one, if the inspection is inadmissible, meaning it cannot be used as evidence, the Ministry will have to build a new case without it. And without evidence of the spell, they have no proof obtained before his inspection that he was an animagus." The other wizard flourished his wand and a sheet of parchment came flying into his awaiting hands. "Second, as you can see, Draco Lucius Malfoy registered as a White Persian Cat - distinguishing features include grey eyes and a small black mark on his inner front left leg - animagus. This was done courtesy of his Transfiguration Professor, Minerva McGonagall, in lieu of his private tutor… the one he saw during his sanctioned trips back to his home for his muggle university tutoring… who oversaw his transformation. Now if they go back to trial, he is registered and they do not have any admissible evidence to prove differently. It's all in order."

It seemed too easy. Nevertheless, Severus knew without the Halloween inspection, anything reported in the trial - such as the weather detail giving the last possible date Draco could have had his first transformation - would also be considered off-limits, and having him registered now meant they'd have a difficult time building a new case against him to establish when he completed the ritual.

"What about the signed copy?" Severus questioned. "Surely the DMLE will investigate how my signature managed to be there and not on the original?"

"I'd be surprised if they didn't," Albus remarked like it answered everything.

"Kingsley, again?"

Albus shook his head. "As much credit as I give Kingsley, even he cannot stop an investigation into what will be assumed tampering with the official Auror evidence. No, I imagine Lucius will have a hand in preventing any further problems, and quite quickly. Please keep me abreast of any developments should you speak to him in the coming days."

"I do need to stop by the Manor soon. And might as well inform you of the same," the younger professor pinched his eyes closed relishing in the temporary relief of stress the action brought. Opening them again, he inhaled deeply to gain the courage to admit the truth out loud. "It's doubtful Harry will return to the castle this weekend. They're anticipating Monday night or possibly Tuesday. I'll plan to return to the castle if Draco comes back before Monday, and I will be in classes come Tuesday as I know Tonks is set for Azkaban patrol next week. Monday, however…"

Albus lifted his wrinkled hand to stop the Slytherin mid-sentence. "We have you covered, Severus. Take the time you need to be with Harry."

Grateful for the flexibility as he was, it did not absolve his remorse for burdening a fellow colleague with his responsibility. He needed to find some way to better balance his multiple roles in a way beyond anything he did as a spy; toeing the line between dark and light.

"Thank you." Severus stood, more to get away from the uncomfortable conversation than his already running late for the end of Harry's infusion. "I'll update you on both boys as soon as I know more."

Albus nodded his head, but as Severus turned to take his leave, the headmaster spoke again. "Oh Severus, when we find out the set date for Draco's arrival to the castle, please plan to speak with your House regarding their expectations for his safety. The reaction to his residing in the castle again may go one of many different ways, and if anything Horace relayed to me this afternoon is true, they can all use a bit more guidance."

Severus slowly swivelled, imagining his missing black robes encircling him. "And what, exactly, did Horace have to say about my House?"

The headmaster gave a small, sad smile, one Severus did not like in the slightest. "A discussion for another day, my boy. As I previously said, you already have plenty on your mind to keep you busy."

Severus didn't immediately return to the hospital after Albus's meeting as he originally planned. Between his interrogation, Albus's explanation of the scheme to save Draco, plus his hinting at issues caused by his absence as a Head of House, it left Severus too emotionally drained to deal with Harry… or Lupin, for that matter. Instead, he chose to floo to Spinner's End for his much needed shower, allowing himself the ability to feel a little more composed to deal with whatever he might find walking into the Guildford hospital.

He thought about Mae, the final person he needed to make amends with from last Friday's debacle. He briefly considered stopping by her flat despite her making it crystal clear she needed time to think - to reevaluate their relationship and how his potential violent tendencies fit into it - and she'd reach out to him whenever she came to her conclusion. A decision about the pair of them she'd make solely on her own. As the instigator of the issue at hand, it somehow nullified his opinion on the matter; a concept he still didn't understand, but already lived through once when Lily decided, on her own, to end their friendship all those years ago. Apparently, the rules hadn't changed much in the decades since the night he begged for Lily's forgiveness outside of Gryffindor Tower. He lost a piece of himself that night and he vowed never to give someone that much power over him again. Yet as he stood in the shower, allowing the hot water the chance to wash away his anxiety, he found himself itching to do the same at Mae's flat - to find out what was going on between them, already fearing the answer she'd give him.

By the time Severus deemed himself as presentable as he was going to get, he missed the end of Harry's treatment by almost an hour. Nothing of significance would have happened, merely the nurses removing the young wizard's last bag of chemotherapy, adding any supplementary medications to get Harry through the side effects, and Dr Swanson walking them through the next step of a shot tomorrow morning to aid in increasing his white blood cells. Still, he should have been there. In so many ways, the inpatient phase of this cycle had been the hardest on both of them and the solidarity to see its completion would have been liberating, to be able to watch this awful cycle ending until they met again at the end of December. Severus shuddered wondering if Harry realized the timing of his next Cycle B fell the week of Christmas. As it always seemed, the holidays simultaneously creeped up almost out of nowhere and took forever to get there. Unwilling to let him himself hope Harry would be back at home by Christmas day, Severus made a mental note to start planning how to celebrate the holiday being cooped up in the hospital.

The AYA floor was quiet when he entered, exactly how any parent hoped to experience if they were unfortunate enough to end up there. The welcome nurse made small talk about the fortunate break in the rain - most of which Severus only saw from the window in Harry's room or the cafeteria on the ground floor - while she went through the formality of checking his muggle credentials.

An odd flash of disappointment overcame Severus when he walked into Harry's room, closing the door quietly behind him, and did not see any sign of Lupin. A deep scowl formed on his face at the thought of the werewolf sneaking out at the first sight of trouble with Harry - who laid asleep in the reclined chair between the empty hospital bed and Severus's sofa bed - and having to tell the young wizard he'd, yet again, been let down by the man.

I should've known better than to depend on him for-

Suddenly, the door to the room slowly creaked open in much the same manner as the stairs at Spinner's End used to constantly do over the summer; they'd remained quiet since Harry's absence and Severus expected they'd stay that way with Harry's magic now blocked.

"Severus," Lupin quietly greeted the professor, sounding unsurprised to see him standing at the foot of Harry's bed. At Severus's warning glare, the Gryffindor casually approached, lifting his hand to show the lidded paper cup he brought in. "I haven't been gone long, just stepped out for some tea. One of the nurses was kind enough to show me where to go get some. Everything go alright with Dora this afternoon?"

Severus narrowed his black eyes at the man who had practically been part of his extended family in his old world. It took them - him, Lupin, and Sirius - longer than his Harry wanted to fall into some kind of a cordial camaraderie, but they managed to overcome their animosity and differences for the benefit of Harry. Ultimately, he suspected he'd have to do the same here, especially if the adoption went through. Becoming father and son, superseding Lupin even if it weren't illegal for a werewolf to adopt a young wizard, would significantly change the landscape between the three of them; four or more if he counted Tonks and any children they might produce.

"It went longer than expected." Realizing the short statement went against his previous plans, he clicked his teeth and added, "Thank you for being here with him."

If the gratitude surprised Lupin, he didn't act upon it. Instead, he took an obnoxiously loud sip out of his cup, then gestured over to Harry's sleeping form. "So, how's he doing?"

Even though he'd gotten there mere moments before Lupin and therefore had no information to provide, Severus didn't answer right away. He slowly walked the short distance up to the chair and lifted the half-fallen green - but not Slytherin green - blanket back around Harry's thin form. He'd lost too much weight since his relapse, his face looked too sallow like he was wasting away right in front of Severus's eyes, powerless to stop it. The professor shifted his vision up Harry's head, covered in a red and gold beanie he'd worn to bed almost every night since he shaved his hair off on Halloween, and his heart lurched. Choosing not to linger on the young wizard's ill body, his gaze continued to the IVs directly behind the chair. To anyone else, the infusion station would look no different than when he'd left just after noon, but Severus immediately noticed one less bag; the last of Harry's chemotherapy for this part of his cycle. The missing bag gave him a needed boost of optimism. They made it through. They were fighting it, Harry was fighting it with all he had. If Severus knew anything about the boy sleeping there in front of him, he knew all too well how stubborn the teen could be, at least when he wanted to be, so he vowed to help give Harry every reason to keep fighting.

"You'd know better than I at this point," the professor turned towards his former classmate, pretending the shock on the other wizard's face didn't bother him. "How did everything go today?"

Pulled out of his temporary stupor, Lupin took advantage of the geniality offered without question. "I'm afraid I don't have much of anything to compare it to in order to say 'good' or 'bad'. He got sick… vomited a couple of times and then fell asleep," the Gryffindor nervously shuffled the cup between his hands, watching Harry sleep with a level of concern matching Severus's.

"He usually does," Severus offered the small detail to help ease Lupin's worry. "Did you record the event?"

"Did I… do… what?"

A heavy sigh escaped the professor's lips before he had a chance to stop it. "I'll add it to his chart in the lavatory. They keep track of his fluids, both in and out. Just the one event?"

Lupin's brown eyebrow knitted tightly down his forehead. "He had three or four... rounds... of it, but only one total time."

"Good." It could have been much worse, not like he'd say so, though. "And he's been sleeping since?"

"Unfortunately, no." The werewolf ran his hand across the back of his neck and in that moment, Severus took note of how ragged and exhausted the man appeared. Three days until the full moon meant Lupin would be feeling the upcoming change, particularly when not actively taking Wolfsbane. Just as Severus was about to mention the potion for next month, Lupin proceeded, "He started getting restless around three and woke up roughly thirty minutes later in pain. He reminded me of-" his brown eyes shifted back and forth between Harry and Severus, "-let's just say I can understand his agony. The nurse… ah, Kathrine-"

"Kathleen."

"Yes," Lupin snapped his fingers at Severus's correction. "She came in after I called out the door for help… it felt like forever… she did something there-" he pointed to the IV's, "- to get him settled back down and asleep. She was back again about an hour or so ago, I went to get a cup of tea, and here you are."

An oversimplification, at best, but he'd take what he could get. Kathleen not only wouldn't give any information on Harry's status to his visitor, but even if she did the man wouldn't have the slightest clue what they were telling him. Vomiting, pain - albeit no idea of what type or where -, and his chemotherapy ending; he'd get the rest of the details from Kathleen during her next check-in.

"When does Tonks leave for Azkaban?" The question left Severus's mouth before he had a chance to stop it. Even more unexpected was his follow up question: "Will she be here through your-" he waved his hand in Lupin's general direction.

"Ah," Lupin nodded, sitting carefully down onto the sofa - unaware of Severus sleeping on it every night - holding the paper cup between his hands, and stared into it as if trying to decipher the tea leaves for the answers. "She starts Monday morning, and by then I'll be stable enough. Andromeda offered to swing by to check-in, but I prefer her not to see me so soon after a transformation. I'm just pleased Williamson approved her request to push it back to Monday rather than Sunday to Sunday."

"Williamson?" Severus hissed. "Does that bastard have his hand in every aspect of the DMLE?"

Lupin chuckled. "Dora has a similar sentiment to you, though I imagine for very different reasons. Unfortunately, he's the senior Auror during her rotation, so she's at his mercy. Knows his stuff though, and has done a decent job of watching out for her and the rest of the newer Aurors, so I can't be too cross with him."

"I'm surprised they employ her level to rotate prison duty," Severus sourly commented. "You'd think they'd want someone a bit more experienced to keep the prisoners in line."

"Scrimgeour's struggling for ample coverage as it is. Something about the lack of new recruits and needing to spread out the more talented Aurors to street duty," Lupin sighed, disappointedly. "I've made my opinion of her latest assignment well known, and she's assured me they organize the coverage accordingly to keep each rotation safe, but even low-level criminals make me uncomfortable."

For once, Severus actually agreed. He'd be livid at the thought of Mae spending those long days surrounded by the worst of the magical world, except maybe the unregistered animagi, however few of those were actually in the prison outside of Draco.

Against his better judgement, Severus offered to take a trip down to the cafeteria to bring back soup and sandwiches, an offer the werewolf graciously accepted. Luckily, he thought ahead to grab something easy for Harry because the young wizard awoke sometime during his absence.

"You're back," Harry pushed himself to the edge of his chair as Severus sat the bowl of broth down onto the table in front of him.

"Of course, I'm back," Severus jested, one eyebrow raised, "or did Lupin conveniently leave that detail out."

"No, h-he told me," Harry's forehead creased in confusion, either not remembering the conversation - a side effect the professor picked up more often as of late - or not understanding Severus's bad attempt at humour. "He didn't tell me why you left, though."

Severus busied himself by divvying out Lupin's sandwich, going as far as to deliver it to the man sitting on a pulled up chair at the end of Harry's bed, then set up his own on his folded up sofa bed. As much as he wanted to tell Harry everything he learned at the DMLE and from Albus, just as with the adoption, he didn't want to get the young wizard's hopes up if it fell through. Once he spoke to Lucius, he'd feel more confident about the direction the Wizengamot might take in regards to Draco's release. Until then, he'd do whatever it took to buy himself time.

"Dinner," he answered flatly. "Someone has to make sure you brazen Gryffindors don't starve yourselves."

For what it was worth, Lupin laughed.

Given Harry and Severus's odd sleep pattern in the last three days, dinner became quite the animated affair. It all started when Lupin brought up Severus's dishevelled - the current professor's, not the former's, adjective to describe it - defense class, proudly taking "his due credit" for the maze assignment Severus gave to his classes the week of Halloween. Harry had a good laugh at Severus's stern reassurance he'd never intentionally take another professor's idea uncredited, and ended with Severus relaying the more memorable submissions while the Gryffindors debated the potential winners; reminding Severus he still needed to officially mark the projects in the first place.

Harry's green eyes glazed over when the conversation shifted to Lupin's upcoming nuptials - delivering Severus his own verbal invitation - although Severus doubted the werewolf noticed much. They hadn't spoken at any length about Harry's potential romantic interests, and given how the young wizard seemed to be surrounded by couples lately, he made a mental note to ask him about it when they returned home. Leading up to the Halloween Ball, he remembered Harry not wanting to officially go with someone should he not be able to attend, but that didn't necessarily equate to him not wanting to. How many times did Severus try to talk himself out of contacting Mae after the Weasley Wedding? How many Order meetings did he sit through watching Tonks's horrific flirting go unanswered? And yet here sat both of them in varying stages of their relationship; albeit his own most likely ending soon. A quick check-in with Harry would allow the young wizard to get any lingering issues off of his chest.

They talked about the last Quidditch match over a riveting game of chess - the muggle variety, given their environment - between Lupin and Harry, pausing once when Kathleen interrupted to check Harry's vitals, updating Severus on Harry's chemotherapy ending and of Dr Swanson's arrival in the morning with details on his next stage of the cycle. Then the nurse's visit was shortly followed by another painful round of vomiting where Severus jumped right into his caretaker role, dismissing Lupin's stare practically burning through him the entire time. Unfortunately, they never were able to get back to the same casualness after those two interruptions spotlighted the harsh reality they were living. Harry became distracted, forgetting when it was his turn to move, or missing pieces of the conversation around him, and eventually Severus called an end to their night, claiming to be too tired himself.

"You're doing well by him," Lupin quietly admitted to Severus right outside of Harry's door; Lupin supposedly headed to the exit and Severus for a cup of peppermint tea. "I can see how happy he is with this change, especially given what he's going through."

"I do not need your approval."

"No," Lupin gave a sad sigh, "no, you don't. No one in his life has ever invested as much energy into that child as you have this year and I just… I wanted to tell you that I appreciate you giving me the chance to be close to him again. I know you probably didn't want me to stay, and I promise I'll do my best to be around more for him."

"You've always known where to find him, all you had to do was show up,'' Severus lamented. He should have left - suppressed the desire to go down a road he was too emotionally charged to safely navigate and one he told himself earlier he'd work harder to demolish - but his frayed nerves made resisting that urge impossible. "I'm going to tell you this once, so you better listen carefully. Now is not the time for you to be hiding behind the self-inflicted pity party you've thrown yourself over the decades. You are probably the only person in our world who has even a hint of what that boy is going through and instead of supporting or helping him through it, you've hidden yourself away like a second class citizen. Don't you think he's wondering how he's going to fit in with us when he finally walks away from all of this? Always thinking about what kind of job he can do having a piece together education or who might want to date and marry someone unlikely to be able to naturally father children? I'm going to take a wild guess, but I'm willing to bet my vault you had those same fears growing up, did you not?! And imagine how different your life would have been if you'd had someone like you to relate to when those fears plagued you the most.

"What about your monthly treatment? Tell me you haven't seen the similarities between your cyclic illness and Harry's… not even I take you as being stupid enough to miss it. Now get your head out of your arse, stop sulking, and understand Harry needs you, all of you, here for him. This whole notion of jumping in and out of his life at your convenience does more harm than completely eradicating you from his life would be!"

The two wizards stood completely still, staring at one another, in the empty corridor.

"I deserved that-"

"You deserve more than that."

Lupin shifted his weight uncomfortably under Severus's scrutiny. How the tides had turned since their Hogwarts years. And yet, Severus didn't get nearly as much enjoyment of being on top as he'd always imagined. He wasn't standing up for himself against being bullied, harassed, or ridiculed after all. He was doing it for Harry, and it had a very different, more parental, feeling behind it.

Lupin ran his hand across his stubbled cheek, thoughtfully. "I promise, Severus, after being here today, I want to be around more for him when I can… when it doesn't align with the moon, of course. But I need something first."

"I don't believe you're in the position to be making demands," the professor scowled. Then making an assumption over the demand, he conceded, "I'll make myself a reminder to send you the… medication... next month. I was a little preoccupied these last-"

"No, not that," Lupin dared to interrupt. "I mean, I appreciate your continued offer and I won't turn it down. The last alteration you made was phenomenal, my best transformation yet, but I hope we've come far enough for you to know I wouldn't use Harry as a bargaining chip for it." Severus merely inclined his head slightly for him to continue. "I have a question for you… about Harry… or more accurately a clarification on something he said to me this afternoon."

Apparently needing his verbal agreement, Severus crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled, "Go on."

"He told me…" the werewolf's hand moved from his face to rub behind his neck, "he told me he felt like he was going to die, that he was destined - his exact word - to do so. And when I questioned him on it, he told me to ask you."

Suddenly, Severus couldn't breathe and he wasn't sure if it had more to do with Harry's declaration of his fate - one Severus knew the young Gryffindor's opinion of - or how close he'd gotten to revealing the truth of Severus's reality to the very last person the professor would have wanted to know.

A little of both, he honestly admitted to himself.

"Why does he think it's his destiny to die?"

The second, more confidently stated question didn't make Severus any less panicked. Although no longer relevant, the damn prophecy would make a perfectly acceptable excuse, nevertheless, his mind wandered back to his meeting Albus for the answer.

"A seer," he quickly claimed, squaring his shoulders and clasping his hands behind his back to feign his assurance. "We have a first-year student with… potential in my house. She may have insinuated such a notion to him. In any event, I'll discuss it with Harry and clear up any possible misconceptions he may have on her rudimentary aptitude to foresee events which may or may not occur."

Lupin grinned, and for a split second Severus congratulated himself on the lie. "Did you know your vocabulary increases when you get nervous?"

Damn him.

"I apologize for catching you off guard," the Gryffindor kindly said. "I thought you were aware of his frame of mind on the subject. This potential… seer, you say… do you believe he-"

"She."

"-she," Lupin flushed at the correction, "has any skill behind the premonitions?"

Severus closed his eyes wishing he'd stayed at Spinner's End. "Of course not!" he sneered, hoping to hide his doubt from his voice. Unwilling to give the other man the chance to challenge him, Severus threw open the door to Harry's room, abandoning his search for tea in the process, and stormed inside.

"I heard yelling," Harry greeted him as soon as the door closed. "Is everything alright, Severus?"

Harry, settled back into his bed for the night, leaned up onto his elbows to get a better view, giving the professor the same. Lupin's words, why does he think it's his destiny to die, were forever burned into his mind and seeing Harry's frail form made him question if it were true: did coming here only delay the inevitable? And if so, how could Severus ever live with himself for all of the collateral damage his jumping realities caused should his son be fated to die.

"Yes, Harry," Severus lied, "everything is fine."