The Deepest Bonds

Brought Back

------

It was cold behind the Veil, empty and cold. He wasn't entirely sure whether he was dead - how could he be? He didn't know what being dead was like - but he knew for sure that whatever he was, he didn't like being it. Memories were haunting him, memories of both good and bad days, teasing him and almost driving him insane, tearing him apart with their tiny claws.

It was cold, and empty, and he felt nothing -

And then, something tugged at him. And he was being pulled away, for a moment, he could again feel the Veil against his face, feeling like silk and stones at the same second.

At the same moment, he was out of the Veil, and alive. Unable to bear the sudden change, Sirius collapsed.

------

Sirius drew a deep breath, then eyed warily the two men in front of him. "Okay," he said then, "could somebody tell me just what the fuck is going on here?"

He expected at least one, if not both of the men to remind him to watch his language. To his great surprise, neither said anything about it. Instead, Albus cleared his throat, and said, "I believe it'd be better if Severus explained everything to you. I'd only be on the way." And with that, the ancient wizard stood, gave them both an almost pitying glance, and then left the room.

Sirius was just about to again demand for an explanation as he was shocked to the point of almost fainting by Snape's behaviour. The proud Potions Master slid down from his seat without a word, kneeling gracefully on the floor. Then he bowed low enough for his forehead to touch the floor. "I, Severus Snape, present myself to you as your loyal servant and slave, Master. I'm begging you to accept me and my servitude."

The Slytherin stayed like that, his head bowed down to the floor. When he at last rose and sat back to his seat, avoiding all eye contact, Sirius was back to his senses well enough to utter, "What the fuck?"

Snape sighed deep, his head hung down. "I come from an ancient family of Wizarding slaves, Master. I've been a slave to the ancient family of Malfoys ever since the day I was born. A few days ago, Lucius Malfoy, my last Master, passed away in the Azkaban prison. The bond tying me to him was transferred to you by his wish and will. All I ask you is for you to accept this bond." Then Snape shook his head slowly. "That's the official part required from me," he said quietly. "The bastard thought it'd be fun to leave me under my archenemy's rulement." Even though Sirius couldn't see the black eyes properly, he felt rather than saw the flash of anger in them, before Snape subdued to speaking again. "That's what pulled you from behind the Veil. As you weren't truly dead, in the real meaning of the word, the bond what was born between us was enough to drag you back to the world of living... Master." The word was spoken not with the venom Sirius would have expected, and could have handled, but with resignation that was shocking, coming from a man like Snape.

"So, let me get this straight," he said, tapping his fingertips against the arm of his chair. "You and your family were slaves to Malfoy. And now that he is dead, the bond of slavery over you was transferred to me. Right?" As Snape nodded, not saying a word, and certainly not meeting his eyes, he asked, "What about the rest of your family?"

"Most of my family had been already killed in the war against Grindewald," the Slytherin told with an emotionless tone. "By the time Stephen Malfoy died, I was the only one left. Therefore, I was the only slave Lucius inherited from his father."

"I-inherited?" stammered Sirius, not believing his ears.

"Oh, don't be so surprised, Master. Ever since I was born and bound to my master of those times, I've been considered a chattel by the Wizarding Laws, in all means. If Lucius's mastership hadn't been given to you, Draco Malfoy would have got me. I can be inherited like a house or a fortune - although I hardly hold that much value to anybody."

"Well, at least to Albus, you obviously do," said Sirius, trying to keep his emotions under control. He'd known that some of the most ancient Pureblood families were nothing short of bastards, but to discover that something like this could happen - legally - was just unbelievable.

"Ah, Albus," the Slytherin said with a small smirk that made him look a bit more like the Snape Sirius remembered. "Yes, he's been really supportive for me all the time. I think it was partly his achievement that I was originally even permitted to attend to Hogwarts - although of course the Malfoys would want an educated slave. What a pity indeed that Albus's support does little good for my situation, as the bond, once cast, cannot be removed or released, not in any way."

"Although I'm sure Albus will skin me alive if I use the fact that you're officially my slave on my advantage."

"I would think so, too, Master. Even though by law I'm your property, the Headmaster has always been a bit protective about me in all matters possible."

"Oh, please," snapped Sirius with frustration. "Do not call me that, it's a bit unnerving."

"I apologize, Master," Snape said, but according to his tone, he wasn't trying to irritate Sirius. "It's not a thing under my power. By the bond, I'm forced to call you Master whenever I'm addressing you, as well as bear all marks of my slavery."

"Fine, be that way." Sirius leant back in his chair, trying to ignore the headache that was just about to come to him. "What else does the slavery bond force you to do?"

"The magic of the bond or the Wizarding Law, Master?"

"Both of those."

"I cannot lie to you, not even say one untrue word, nor can I hurt you in any way. Whatever you tell me to do, I must obey. Whatever you ask me, I must tell you. If I displease you, I must submit to whatever punishment you see fitting. I'm unable to reveal to anybody, in any way, something you entrust me with as a secret. I'm required to bow every time you enter the room I'm in, and I must under no circumstances walk or stand next to you, but always exactly two steps behind you. I cannot perform magic in your presence without your permission, or any magic at all, should you want to forbid that. Whenever you call for me, I must come to you as soon as possible, no matter what the circumstances are. I cannot leave your presence without your permission, nor can I stay if you tell me to leave. If you decide to bind me to any place or area, I cannot leave it before I have your permission to do so. And I cannot participate in any bond, magical or otherwise, that you're not aware of or do not approve."

The longer the list got, the more anxious Sirius became. What upset him most was not the power he now had over Snape, no, but the fact that the man had been ruled all his life with the same power by the Malfoy family. Nobody deserved that kind of a life. He seriously doubted even Lord Voldemort would have deserved that.

"Stop, please," he said wearily, raising his hand to silence the man. "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"Well, if somebody treats me inappropriately, it's up to you to decide whether they should be punished, legally or otherwise, as well as to decide what that punishment would be. If you attack somebody who's harmed me, it'll be considered self-defence, as if you were the one they'd harmed. However, if you decide to harm me or even kill me, you won't be held responsible of that." There was a tone of bitterness in Snape's voice Sirius couldn't miss, as if the man was expecting him to kill him on his seat. "In all legal and financial matters concerning me, you're the one to decide, as I don't have any legal standing. Basically, you're my owner, like I was a pet, or chattel. I cannot own or even possess anything you don't allow me to. My payment from teaching at Hogwarts will be given wholly to you, and it's your decision how much of it you'll allow me to have, if any. Of course, that'll only happen if you allow me to continue working here - although I do think Albus would prefer it if you did."

Sirius nodded, swallowing slightly. He most certainly didn't like this, not at all. Snape wasn't his favourite person, that was for sure, but even the Slytherin was a human. And no human deserved to be bound like this, be it a spell, a curse, or just a law. "You can have whichever job you want," he said quietly. "And you'll have your whole payment for yourself."

The Slytherin nodded briefly, as if he'd been expecting this, but something in his expression startled Sirius. He'd never seen Snape unsure about anything. Now, however, the man looked almost - afraid.

As the silence stretched, Sirius forced himself to speak. "You said something about marks of your slavery," he started. "What are those?"

Without saying a word at first, Snape simply drew his sleeves back, revealing what seemed to be two tribal tattoos going around his wrists. "These tattoos, and my collar, are the basic marks of slavery," he said quietly. "Any other marks you want me to bear, I will."

"Your collar?" asked Sirius curiously. He'd never seen the Slytherin wear any kind of a collar. For a moment, the mental image of Snape in a dog collar and a leash became overwhelming in his mind.

Again silent, Snape opened the couple of top buttons on his robes, drawing the collar of the robes down. Thus, Sirius could easily see the plain metal band fastened tightly around the paler man's neck. It was obvious that the collar was a bit too tight, making it difficult for the man to breathe.

"Shit," he muttered. For once, he didn't wonder why Snape preferred high-necked collars, had done ever since their first day at Hogwarts. Of course, if he'd carried these marks ever since he was an infant. "That can't be comfortable."

"I can assure you, Master, it most certainly isn't," said Snape dryly, buttoning the robe's collar again. "But at least it doesn't have spikes inside, like some I've worn. Lucius Malfoy was by no means a good man, but he was an angel compared to his father."

Sirius shivered involuntarily at the thought of the child-Snape wearing a collar that had spikes burying into his skin. "I must find a more comfortable one for you as soon as possible," he muttered. "It's too tight by purpose, I suppose?"

"Yes, Master," replied Snape quietly. "I in fact have some older, a bit more comfortable collars in my quarters. However, as only my master is able to fasten or open my collar, I've had no change to better or worse ever since Lucius went into Azkaban."

"And that was when?" asked Sirius just as quietly, knowing full well that it must have been after he'd fallen through the Veil. Some of his memories were still a bit vague, but he sure as hell would remember if someone like Lucius Malfoy had been imprisoned.

"The day you fell through the Veil," replied Snape levelly. "A good five years ago."

Now, Sirius was truly shocked. He'd been "dead" for five years? What had happened during that time?

As he voiced his question, Snape sighed. "If you'd allow, I'd stay in basic points, Master, as it'd be too difficult to tell everything." As Sirius had nodded at this, the Potions Master continued, "To put it shortly, we continued fighting after your death, and eventually, won the War. It hasn't been long - your godson didn't defeat Lord Voldemort until half a year ago, which means that there are still a lot of stray Death Eaters out there. We've lost many, but the Wizarding World is now quickly recovering from the years of War, which were long and dark, and most definitely painful. Nowadays, Potter - who by some miracle managed to survive - is working as an Auror, and will be, I'm sure, delighted to know about your resurrection. Last time I heard of him, he was busy planning his marriage with young Miss Lovegood, if you remember her. Your name has been cleared, by the way. Kingsley Shacklebolt and your dear cousin Nymphadora are also going to get married, and even Mundungus Fletcher has managed to find somebody who's able to stand him. Whether or not that'll become anything else but an affair, we don't know, or even whether it's a man or a woman. Mad-Eye Moody, however, we lost, as well as Arabella Figg, and many others. I shall get you the full list of the casualties among the Order if you so wish, Master."

Sirius nodded, vaguely happy about what he heard. True, he did feel sorry for those who'd dead, but then again, he'd never expected them to win without some sacrifices.

However, something that Snape had said was nagging at him. Or, rather, something he hadn't said. "And - what about Remus?" Sirius asked quickly, a horrible presentiment in his mind. At the same moment as he saw Snape's apologetical expression, an ice-cold feeling set down on the pit of his stomach.

"I'm so very sorry, Master," Snape whispered, casting his eyes down at the floor. "You most probably don't believe this, but I truly am sorry. I miss him, too. After you - well, died, I and Remus managed to achieve something like a friendship."

"How?" was the only question Sirius could blurt out, fighting against the tears that threatened to fall. He'd had too few friends, and now, he'd lost the last person he truly loved as a friend, not even being aware of Remus's death at the moment.

"Almost a year ago," replied the Potions Master, thus answering one of his unspoken questions. "He died in a battle, for the sake of others, just like he'd always wanted to do. I almost think that he searched death, sook out dangers just to be hurt. He'd been seriously maimed as he was previously captured and tortured by some stray Death Eaters. There was no sight left in one of his eyes, and his right hand had been neatly cut from the wrist. It was a lucky thing he was left-handed, but still, he was badly hurt... I guess he just couldn't bear living with it anymore, and didn't care about the danger he presented himself to. And, well, when there was an opportunity to save others with his death, he saw that it was a perfect solution."

Sirius nodded, unable to say anything, and swallowing back tears. Yes, that would have been the Remus he knew. His werewolf friend would have never been able to kill himself, but even without any reason, he'd been always ready to sacrifice himself for others.

And now, Remus wasn't there, the one person who'd always been there for Sirius was dead. He wasn't sure about how he could bear that.

"Master?" he heard then Snape's quiet voice. "May I perform magic?"

"What?" Sirius snapped out of his thoughts, seeing the Slytherin watching him closely, a wand in his hand. Almost immediately, he nodded. Snape muttered a quiet incantation, and suddenly, Sirius felt calmer. The pain of discovering Remus's fate didn't disappear, but it eased a bit. "Why'd you do that?" he asked, astonished.

"To ease your pain," came the simple answer.

"No, I mean, why'd you want to ease my pain? I've never done any good for you, and we both know that."

"You are my Master," the Potions Master said with a quiet, yet calm tone. "I'm required to use whatever skills I might have to make sure you feel comfortable. And that's the best I can do right now."

"Right..." Sirius shook his head, attempting to clear it. Then he looked back at Snape. "Do you always need to ask before performing magic in my presence?"

"Every time."

"Wouldn't it do if I just told you that you're allowed to use magic whenever you please?"

This time, it was Snape who shook his head. "I'm afraid no, Master," he replied evenly. "Situations are different, there has to be always the chance that you forbid me."

"Fine. What about if I told you that you're allowed to do magic in my presence whenever you please, if I don't specifically forbid it?"

Snape hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "I think that could do," he said softly. Then, he glanced again at Sirius. "May I leave now, Master?" he asked quietly. "I've still got work to do tonight, and I understood Albus wanted to have a talk with you."

"Of course you may," said Sirius, blinking a couple of times. He'd probably never get used to Snape asking his, or anyone's, permission for anything. Even less he could get used to see the man being so submissive and quiet. "But I'm still going to visit you either tonight or tomorrow. I have to change that horrible collar, and we have to talk."

"As you wish, Master. It's Saturday right now, so I don't have classes either today or tomorrow. The password to my quarters is 'Aconite.'" And with that, he swept out of the room, his robe billowing behind him.

------

Conversations

------

Almost as soon as Snape had left, the door opened again, this time to let the Headmaster inside. There was something small shining between the old wizard's left thumb and forefinger. Walking nearer to Sirius, Dumbledore presented the object to him.

"This," said Dumbledore, holding up a plain silver ring, "is a Master's ring. It's a mark of your power over Severus in the same way as he has his collar and the tattoos on his wrists. You're also just as strongly required to bear this. Almost anyone from the older Pureblood families, or anyone who's been researching the subject, will recognize it, much in the same way as they would recognize a slave's marks."

Sirius nodded silently, reaching out his hand. Instead of letting him take it, the Headmaster simply slid it into the ring finger of his right hand. The Animagus eyed the ring warily for a while, halfly expecting it to suddenly bite or burn him or something. It had, after all, been previously Malfoy's.

He continued examining the ring as the Headmaster sat back down on the seat he'd abandoned earlier that day. "Now, listen to me," said Dumbledore in a steely voice that couldn't be ignored. "I know that I have no legal ways to deal with you, no matter what you do to Severus. But make no mistake, should you ever hurt him intentionally, I will deal with you personally. I consider Severus my son, and am going to protect him as such."

Sirius nodded wearily. "Don't worry, Albus," he said quietly. "I've come to notice that his life has been horrible enough as it is. I have no intentions to hurt him any more." And, surprising even himself quite a bit, he found himself to be truthful in his words as he said this.

"Good. I know you are a good man, Sirius, and I trust you not to take unfair advantage of the situation."

Sirius nodded slowly before speaking again. "So, I take it the bond cannot be broken?"

Dumbledore sighed deep and shook his head miserably. "Unfortunately, no," he said quietly, looking even older than he was. "Should we even try that, we'd end up killing Severus, you, or both. The mastership cannot be given to anybody else, either, unless you die."

"Oh," was all that Sirius said, nodding again, his eyes lowered to the floor. After a stretched moment of silence, he looked back up at the Headmaster, fiddling nervously with the ring in his hand. "What am I going to do now?" he asked hoarsely. "What am I going to make out of my life?"

"In fact," Dumbledore replied, a bit of the usual twinkle returning to his eyes but fading soon again, "I have an idea."

"Oh?" asked the Animagus, raising an eyebrow. "And what'd that be?"

"Well, at first, we have to get you a new wand from the Ollivander's, instead of any piece of wood nicked from the Knockturn Alley. And then... Well, we need a new Transfiguration teacher," said Dumbledore, a sad glint in his eyes. "Minerva... She was blinded during the War. And the replacement we got, well, she's old and is going to retire at Christmas, not that she'd ever been very good. You'd be an excellent choice to that position."

Sirius eyed the Headmaster thoughtfully for a moment. The offer was tempting, that he had to admit right away. However, one aspect of this was forcefully nagging at him. "If we're both staying here, there's no way in hell the whole school wouldn't know about our bond before the first day is out."

"I'm afraid so," sighed Albus. "But there's no other way."

"What the hell do you mean, there's no other way?" spat Sirius, getting angrier by any passing second. "Of course there's a bloody other way! I can find a job somewhere, thank you very much, Albus. And if I can't, well, I'll survive. There's no way I'm going to put Snape into that much humiliation. He's been through enough. I may be an Animagus, but I'm still too much a human to do that to him!"

"Do calm down, Sirius," pleaded the ancient wizard. "And please, listen to me. Severus's slavery hasn't been much a secret for a couple of years now. During one of the battles, his slave's marks were revealed, and you know how rumours spread. Most of the people here don't believe those, thankfully, but enough to make his life uncomfortable. In fact, I think it'd be much better for him to have a known Master than gossips flying around."

Again, Sirius nodded slowly, beginning to comprehend just what the life was like to his ex-nemesis. "It's just unfair, Albus," he sighed then. "I mean, I and he have never been in the best terms, but this is just inhuman. He's in much a worse situation than even... Remus was..." His voice trailed off as he mentioned his friend. It pained him to even think about the fact that Remus wouldn't be there to listen to him, that he wouldn't give him any advice in this tricky situation, that he wasn't... he wasn't alive. Against the popular belief, he and Remus had never been lovers, but they'd been friends in the deepest sense of the word, loved each other more than most lovers did. The odd charm Snape had performed on him somehow eased the pain, however, making him able to stay in control. The Headmaster waited patiently for him to continue, obviously understanding his feelings.

At last, Sirius trusted his voice enough to continue speaking. "I'm going to try to do everything I can to ensure that he has as normal life as possible," he said with a monotonous voice, trying to force the painful thoughts about Remus out of his mind. "I know that a complete normality isn't possible, not in any way, but I'm definitely going to do everything I can."

"So, are you going to accept my offer?" inquired Dumbledore, although he looked like he already knew what Sirius's answer was going to be.

"You know I will do that, Albus," replied Sirius, sighing deep. He'd never hated anything as much as doing exactly what Dumbledore expected him to do - it had always felt like he was acting on some plan of the Headmaster and not on his own free will.

What was even more infuriating was the truth that usually he acted on those plans even when he acted on his own free will. Dumbledore simply knew him too well.

"Very good," the Headmaster said, allowing his lips to be adorned by a small smile. "I've arranged quarters for you near Severus's, halfway from dungeons to the rest of the school. I'm sure Severus can show you to them."

"What a surprise," murmured Sirius under his breath. Aloud he said, "I was going to talk some more with him anyway, Albus."

"I know that," replied Dumbledore carefreely. "I just wanted to ensure that you do it as soon as possible."

The Animagus snorted and stood from his seat. Not waiting for any more dismission than the slight nod he got from the Headmaster, he walked to the door. Just then, he came to think about something. "Oh, and Albus?" he called out.

"Yes?" asked the ancient wizard, turning to look at him over his shoulder - he'd already turned around to glance at some weird apparatus on one of his endless shelves.

"I'm just telling in advance that if you consider that anyone has treated him wrong in any way, you have my demand to punish the guilty ones extremely."

To his great surprise, the Headmaster actually smiled. "I wouldn't have waited anything less from you," he said.

------

Snape opened the door as soon as Sirius knocked on it after uttering the password. The Potions Master let him in without a word. However, as Sirius had slipped past him to the living room of his quarters and Snape followed him, the Slytherin bowed on the doorway before coming in. Sirius chose to simply ignore this.

He eyed the Potions Master, who seemed to be gaining back some of his usual calmness. "At first, we have to get that horrid collar changed," he mused aloud. "You said you had some more comfortable ones lying around, right?" At Snape's nod, he continued, "Very well, pick one of them and we'll change it."

Still staying silent, Snape walked to a nearby drawer and browsed it for a moment before picking up a collar. As he brought it to Sirius, the Animagus saw that it was made of some fine cloth, with a small, golden buckle. Handing it wordlessly to Sirius, Snape then bared his neck and the metal collar on it.

"How does this thing open up?" asked Sirius frustratedly after examining the collar for a moment without finding any way to fasten or unfasten it.

"Just tell it to open," Snape said, speaking for the whole time during their this meeting. "You're my Master now, it will obey you."

"Very well, then. Now, collar - open up." And it did. Taking the unfastened thing away from Snape's neck and tossing it away in disgust, the Animagus frowned as he saw the red marks of irritation going all around Snape's neck. Trying not to hurt the already irritated skin, he carefully fastened the cloth - was it silk? - on the place where the metal collar had been.

"Thank you, Master," said Snape quietly, raising his hand halfway towards his neck as if to touch the new collar, but then letting it fall back down. Then he eyed Sirius warily and a bit suspiciously. "What did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"About us," replied Sirius, then elaborated, "and about this thing. What we are going to do about it."

"Well, there's not much to do," Snape replied, shrugging. "I'm your slave, you are my Master. Those are the facts that cannot be changed."

"Dumbledore offered me the Transfiguration position," Sirius said then, unable to find a proper response quick enough to Snape's statement. "And I accepted."

"I see." Snape lowered his eyes to the ground, biting his lower lip - a gesture Sirius would have never thought he'd see from the man.

"They don't have to find out," he still tried to say. "What if I order you to behave like we were just two teachers with nothing else between us?"

"You cannot order me to go against the magic of the bond," said Snape quietly. "Should you do that, I will eventually - most probably within a day - die to the battle of the sides of the magical bond inside me, if you do not take your command back."

"I see," said Sirius in turn. He was quiet for some time, trying to think of something more to say. At last, he said, "I'm going to make it very clear that if anybody as much as looks at you badly, I'll have them punished extremely."

"Truly you are better than either of my previous masters," said the Slytherin, sounding almost surprised. Then, he turned back into his usual, suspicious scowl. "Why do you care, Master?" he asked quietly.

Shaking his head, Sirius smiled weakly. "To be completely honest, I don't know it even myself," he admitted. "Most probably it's because I am a human, and you are a human, and not a human - not any creature - deserves to be treated this way." Suddenly, a horrible thought hit his mind. "About your previous masters," he started, then had to take a deep breath before he could continue. "Did they -" He swallowed, then tried again, "Did they ever rape you?"

Snape gave him a twisted smile. "It's funny that you ask that, Master," he said with a sarcastical voice, "seeing that my both former masters considered it their favoured way of punishment ever since I was seven. I displeased them a lot, although not intentionally, so yes, I was raped quite a lot of times. Why do you ask? Thinking about going along the same lines?"

"No," said Sirius quietly, horrified at the mere thought of that. He might be many things, and not all of them were pleasant, but a rapist was definitely not one of them. "Rather, I'm determined not to repeat your former masters' obvious mistakes."

"Like letting me live, you mean?"

"No," replied Sirius, his voice sounding hoarse even in his own ears. "Like taking your life away from you."

For a long time, Snape was completely quiet, studying the floor intensely. Then, at last, he glanced up to Sirius, and to his great shock, the Animagus saw a glimmer of tears in the onyx-black eyes. "Remus said that, too," he said quietly, quickly taking his eyes away from Sirius's face to avoid his piercing gaze. "That my life had been taken from me."

"Yeah," said Sirius quietly. "Remus... That sounds just like something Remus would say." Then, he felt as if some kind of a dam had been broken inside his heart. A ragged sob bursted out of his chest, and he felt his eyes dwelling with sudden tears. It was like he hadn't even realized that Remus was dead until now, and had just now started to mourn him.

"Master?"

"Yes?" muffled Sirius, flinching slightly at the way the other man addressed him.

"Shall I cast the mind-numbing charm again? It should last longer this time, the initial shock is always more difficult to put down."

Sirius shook his head, silent tears leaking through his fingers. "I'll have to deal with this sooner or later," he mumbled. "The sooner I do it, the sooner I'll get over it... As much as I ever can."

Snape nodded, understanding. "But the pain will never quite go away," he said in a whisper. Then, with a louder voice, he said, "Shall I show you to your rooms, Master?"

Sirius pondered this for a moment. He needed some place to be left in peace and silence, to go over his feelings. To that, his quarters seemed to be a perfect place. "Please, do that." He stepped aside to let Snape go first, but the Potions Master shook his head, indicating that he should go first. At first, Sirius was confused, but then another thing from Snape's rants got through into his brain. 'Oh, shit,' he thought. 'Two steps behind me. I'd completely forgotten about that one.'

So they went through the corridors, Snape's silky and all-too-well controlled voice barking orders at Sirius, washing his mind into a delicious oblivion. For a moment, he just concentrated on that voice, giving instructions about where to turn and how long to walk, letting all other thoughts flee. It worked so well that he almost suspected Snape had forgotten his order anyway and casted the charm.

At last - at least the walk seemed to take forever, although Sirius knew it wasn't even five minutes - however, they stopped in front of a door made of cherrywood. Snape tapped his wand against it and said sharply, "Monkshood!" The door swung open.

"Your quarters, Master," Snape then said, stepping aside to allow him to step inside. "Albus asked me to set the wards, as you don't have a wand yet. I can change the password into anything you want, or you can do that yourself later."

"Don't," Sirius said quietly. "It's just fine." With a sad smile, he asked, "It's because of Remus, isn't it? Aconite... Monkshood... I'm surprised you haven't used Wolfsbane anywhere."

Snape quirked an eyebrow. "You forget that I am wholly capable of twisting the Headmaster's office's wards," he said. "Albus knows the password, but he's unable to change it."

Sirius stared at Snape in a mix of amusement, surprise, and disbelief. "You did that?" he asked.

The Potions Master nodded. "A month before Remus died," he added quietly. "It was his idea. I haven't had the heart to change that." He looked almost as if he was going to cry, and for a moment Sirius wondered whether the world had come to its end.

Then, however, he himself awoke from the daze he'd been on, and then broke down, falling down to his knees on the floor of his quarters, the previously fallen tears soon accompanied by hundreds of more.

Hurt and Comfort

------

Sirius didn't know how long time he spent kneeling on the floor, crying and sobbing and crying again. All he knew was that he only wanted to curl up and die. Nothing seemed to have a purpose anymore, nothing. Harry obviously didn't need him anymore, the War had ended without his help, and now Remus...

Remus. Nice, kind Remus, who never said a bad word to anyone. Who never had got angry, never had held grudges, never had been unable to forgive. He'd forgiven Sirius for not trusting him with the Potters' secret, and more - he hadn't even thought there was something to forgive. Instead, he'd apologized for not believing Sirius. Apologized! After everything Sirius had done to him, he still apologized!

At last, Sirius got the tears somehow in control. He knew he would cry that night, and many, many nights after that, cry for the man who had never had a real chance to live before his life was already taken from him, cry for the friendship that he knew to be deeper than any other friendship he'd ever again accomplish. But for now, he could stop crying. For a moment. Maybe.

Then, his thoughts snapped back to Snape. The Slytherin had kneeled down next to him, seemingly trying to comfort him the best he could by lightly stroking his back. However, the man's eyes were not directed at him; Snape stared right in front of him like he was seeing something that nobody else could.

What Sirius didn't know that Snape, too, was going through his memories about Remus. And that those memories were just as bittersweet and painful as those Sirius had of his werewolf friend.

------

After yet another Order meeting - this time in Hogwarts, as the war was in full rage, and they didn't need to hide in the Grimmauld Place - Severus left the meeting exhausted. There had been far too many people in the small room, and while the others had had difficulties with breathing towards the end of his meeting, he had had to fight for every breath with the collar pressing his throat. To make it even worse, his head was pounding with a headache, like it had been ever since his Master had been taken to Azkaban. And he knew it was because of that, because his Master was facing the Dementors, and was still sane enough to push all pain he only could to Severus through their bond.

Therefore, Severus didn't at first register the lonely figure that started to follow him towards his office. He didn't remember promising Lupin to give him his Wolfsbane after the meeting. All he could think of was getting to his rooms, and then getting rid of the suffocating black robe he wore to hide the marks of his slavery.

And thus, he didn't even hesitate taking off the thick outer robe, not before he heard the soft steps coming to the door, and the shocked gasp as his companion saw the silver collar and the tattoos, which were both left bare by the short-sleeved shirt Severus wore underneath the robe. Realizing that Lupin had come to the room, Severus tried to hastily cover himself with his robe. It was, however, too late. The werewolf had already seen the signs of his slavery.

Lupin stared in horror at the collar on his neck, then at the tattoos on his wrists, and then again at the collar. "Severus -" he started to say, but never finished what he was going to say. Instead, he just shook his head, lowering his eyes to the ground. "Unbelievable," he whispered. "I mean, you, Severus? Of all the people around, you are a slave?"

"It wasn't my choice," he replied curtly. Secretly he hoped that Lupin would just leave and spread the word to all his friends like he obviously intended to.

"Of course not," Lupin hurried to answer. "I'm sorry for ever implying that. I just mean, you're always so well-controlled and self-confidant. That doesn't fit the usual picture people have about slaves."

"You should never trust stereotypes," snorted Severus. "Now, go away and have a good laugh with your friends or whomever you are going to inform about this. Just leave me in peace."

"I won't," said the werewolf quietly. As Severus raised a questioning eyebrow, he elaborated, "I won't go away, and I won't tell anyone. I don't have any right to tell anybody about your situation."

"Well, I told everybody about your Lycanthropy," Severus pointed out. "I don't see any reasons why you wouldn't want to spoil my life. After all, I spoiled yours."

"You didn't." At Severus's disbelieving snort, Lupin said more heatedly, "No, seriously, you didn't! I wasn't fired, you know. Sure, the parents would have got angry, but I wouldn't have remained there anyway. That night I saw that I was a danger, that I couldn't be trusted enough to have me around children. Even if a single soul hadn't known about my condition, I would have resigned."

"Just keep telling that to yourself," Severus said a bit snappishly. "Maybe one day, you might believe it. Oh, no, wait. Excuse me, of course you believe it. You are, after all, a Gryffindor."

"So, who it is?" asked Lupin, ignoring the insult thrown to his direction. "Your Master, I mean?"

Severus drew a deep, shuddering breath. Even though he was not directly addressing his Master, saying his name aloud was still difficult. "Lucius Malfoy," he at last forced himself to say, knowing that Lupin would never leave him in peace if he didn't tell him.

"Oh," said Lupin quietly. Then he again said, "Oh... Poor you, then."

Severus snorted disbelievingly. He had been called many things, but he was certain nobody had called him that before, not even Albus with his damned twinkling eyes.

But, somehow, coming from Lupin, it didn't feel that bad.

------

Severus shot a curse at the last retreating Death Eater. As Lucius was no more there to command him, he didn't have to pose as a Death Eater. True, he had been useful as a spy, and had thus continued in his position for as long as possible, but now his cower was blown, and he could openly fight for the Light Side.

He glanced around himself, seeing that the other members of Order around - Tonks, Granger, Kingsley, Moody, Dumbledore himself, and Severus's only real friend, Remus - had also taken down their own fair share of Death Eaters. None seemed to be alive or at least functioning on their side of the battlefield.

Then, however, he heard Remus shouting, "Watch out, Severus!" At the next second, a curse hit his back. Hard. However, thanks to Remus, he had enough time to avoid the full force of it, and the curse only ripped his robes.

'Only. What a word.' That was what Severus thought as he was stared at by everyone around, except for Remus, who concentrated on getting rid of the Death Eater who'd sent the curse. Or, more specifically, they didn't stare at him - rather, they stared at the collar on his neck, and the tattoos on his wrists. The others were all Pureblood, and Granger girl had done enough extra research to know exactly what those signs meant.

Dumbledore was there in an instant, covering Severus with his own cloak. It was dirty after the hours spent on the battlefield, but at least it was a shelter from the cold autumn wind, offering some warmth to Severus's shivering upper body that had been bared as the curse tore his robes to shreds - he nowadays wore only trousers under his robes, as an extra shirt would have slowed his movements. The cloak was also a shelter from the inquiring gazes of the other members of the Order, as he kept sure to cover both his wrists and collar under the folds of the cloak.

Severus noticed Tonks and the Granger girl whispering furiously to each other, their wide eyes locked at the Slytherin. He tried to send a glare to their direction, but couldn't collect the strength to do so. Instead, he just lowered his eyes and wrapped the cloak more tightly around himself, willing everybody else to just cease existing. Or maybe himself. He just couldn't say for sure.

Suddenly, somebody laid a hand on his shoulder. As Severus glanced up, ready to snap at whomever had dared to intrude his peace, he met Remus's amber eyes almost level to his own, full of understanding and compassion. Letting out a heavy sigh, Severus closed his eyes, trying to force everything out of his mind. He was still aware of Remus's hand on his shoulder, however, as well as the werewolf's soothing presence as the other wizard had chosen to sit on the ground right behind him.

The almost-silence, only broken by the two witches' whispered discussion, continued for still some time more. Then, however, somebody else came to the place. It was Mad-Eye Moody.

"Snape," the old Auror started. Severus didn't bother opening his eyes, however, as he knew that the comment wasn't directed at him. And truly, Moody continued to the direction of Dumbledore, "Albus, is he truly -"

"Quiet!" snapped Albus with an anger in his voice Severus had rarely heard from him before. "Listen to me, you all. Nothing you have seen today will ever pass your lips, and most definitely you won't question Severus about it. Anybody saying a word about it aloud, to one of us or otherwise, will be faced with my personal wrath. Is that clear?" As Severus opened his eyes halfly, he saw that everybody nodded, fearful expressions on their faces. Only Tonks and Granger continued whispering, but even they stopped quickly as the Headmaster said again, "Hermione, Tonks, not a word. Whispered or otherwise."

So, everybody fell silent. They kept watching Severus, however, and the Slytherin shrank down under the gazes, keeping his eyes firmly shut. He had no doubt that some of them would ignore Albus's words, telling someone they thought to be trustable, and rumours would spread. And even if they didn't, it was bad enough that they knew. He didn't mind being hated, that he was used to. But he didn't want to be despised, or, even worse, pitied. No, he most definitely didn't need their pity.

Nobody tried to approach him, however, even after Albus left as he got an urgent call from another side of the battlefield. Severus was sure that this was much thanks to Remus, who stayed by his side, a comforting hand on his shoulder, and glaring threateningly at anyone who took as much as a step to his direction.

And for that simple display of friendship, Severus was more thankful to Remus than for anything else.

------

Severus's eyes never left Remus's as he softly grasped the werewolf's right arm. Still staring right into the eyes, one amber and one milky white, he slowly brought the arm up to his lips, placing light butterfly kisses on the fresh skin on the end of the stump of the wrist. Remus shivered and lowered his eyes, trying to avoid his gaze, but Severus would not have that. Raising one hand to hold Remus's chin, he forced the werewolf to meet his eyes.

"Look at me, Remus," he commanded softly. As the other wizard at last did so, he continued, "You're not ugly, not at all. You're the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. You must not be ashamed of yourself."

"But I'm maimed, Severus," said Remus hoarsely. "I'm maimed and damaged. How could anyone possibly like me?"

"I do," replied the Slytherin softly. "I don't only like you - I love you. We're both abandoned by the rest of our society, Remus... We can only have each other."

Then, feeling suddenly determined, he reached up and placed a tender kiss on Remus's lips. The werewolf was at first too shocked to do anything, but then, very slowly, he started to respond to the kiss.

From that, the things developed further. Far further, like Severus idly thought while he lay on the bed, wholly sated, playing with Remus's gold and silver tresses that were spread all over his chest, the werewolf's arms wrapped around him, the fingers of his left hand half-consciously stroking his back.

For a moment, they both felt warm, safe, and loved. Unfortunately, this feeling did not last long - they had a war to fight.

And that war didn't seem to have an end in sight.

------

It had lasted two months. Two bittersweet, too short months in the middle of the raging war. That was all they had ever had, that was all they would have, as Remus was now gone and would be no more. Two months had been all Severus would ever know about loving Remus, all he would ever know about love in itself, he was sure. Nobody wanted anything to do with a slave. And even if he could catch somebody's interest, which would never happen anyway, he could never have anything that would surely last, never a true bond to his lover - as he had no legal standing, he could not get married to anyone.

Severus realized now that his Master was no more sobbing over the memory of his lost friend. Instead, the Gryffindor was sitting in front of him, watching him with half curious, half concerned eyes.

"Snape?" asked Black then hesitantly.

"M-master?" asked Severus back, trying to shake the rest of memories away from his mind. It was just too painful to remember. Too painful to know what he had had, and what he had lost.

"What were you thinking about?" The deep grey eyes seemed to be boring through his head, trying to see all secrets there. Even if the bond hadn't prevented him from it, Severus knew he couldn't have lied to his Master anyway.

"I was thinking about Remus," he said softly, unable to prevent all sadness and longing showing through his voice. "About Remus, and... whatever it was I had with him." Friendship. Relationship. Love. Words flew through his mind, he knew they meant something, but he couldn't tell what they meant. It had been so long, so long time alone, and he was in so much pain and so deep in his quiet sorrow...

His Master observed him for a moment. Then he asked softly, "You loved him, didn't you?" Taking Severus's silence as a sign of admission, the Gryffindor questioned him further, "Did you love him as a friend, or as something more? And did he love you?"

"I loved him as a friend, and as much more," said Severus hoarsely. "And he loved me back... at least he told he did. I don't know whether he was telling the truth."

"He was," said his Master, sounding self-confident. "Remus would never lie about something about that." Then, after another second of quietly watching him, the other wizard said, "You had the best there was, Snape, the best anybody could ever have. Just so you know that."

"I know that already, Master," replied Severus, his voice hardly more than a whisper. "I know that, and I thank Merlin every day for every second I was granted his love." He knew that he sounded much out of character, but then again, he was in a real turmoil of feelings. And he couldn't lie to his Master, it was like words were pried from his mouth forcefully, even though that force wasn't stronger than a feather's touch on his cheek.

For some time, they both were silent. Then Severus realized that Black had started to slowly pet his back in a similar manner as he had done to soothe the Gryffindor, like he was required by the bond.

Then tears broke free, and Severus curled up on a ball, crying like a lost child, crying like he had never before. And he hadn't, oh, he hadn't - ever since he was just an infant, he'd been punished every time he cried. He'd learnt not to cry, not to show his emotions to anyone.

And now his new Master was encouraging him to cry. Severus didn't even stop to think about the absurdity of that, he was in too much pain and sorrow for his long-lost lover to do.

Midnight Talks

------

It wasn't until much later that both Sirius and Snape had calmed enough to talk at least somehow sensibly. Mostly they talked about Remus. Sirius was shocked to find out about the relationship between his best friend and Snape, but he still listened to the quiet, well-controlled voice that told their story, emotionless now that Snape had let his grief out in the crying fit Sirius had encouraged.

He listened and listened, once again letting Snape's voice wash all hurtful thoughts out of his mind. This time, however, the voice was not giving him instructions as of where to go. That silky, controlled voice was telling him memories, memories of the man that had been his best friend, Snape's only friend besides the Headmaster, and the Slytherin's only lover and only love. It was not easy, nothing would be easy about Remus and the memories of him, not ever again, but it was bearable. And somehow, in some very odd way, it helped him. But just a little.

While listening, Sirius also watched Snape. He'd been surprised and shocked as Snape had indeed cried. He would have much rather seen the man as an unemotional, cold shell, but he was slowly starting to realize that it had all been just a mask, a mask the man always wore to defend himself from the rest of the world. For Snape thought he truly had to defend himself, he thought that because all his life, he'd been taught to be afraid of other people and what they would do to him, what they would think about him, how they would react to his doings. It was not a true life, not really. It was - well, it was slavery, pure and simple. Although it was not simple, not by any means.

Sirius absent-mindedly fiddled with the fine silver ring he now wore on his hand. He also lazily wondered whether Snape's previous collar had been genuine silver, and if it had, how Remus had managed not to hurt himself when the werewolf and Snape had been together. Other than the loss of humanity, Remus had always considered his silver "allergy" the most difficult aspect of his Lycanthropy, even more so than the painful transformations. Even in Hogwarts, he had always had to keep a knife, a fork, and a spoon hid in a special pocket in his sleeve, where they could easily be taken to use, so nobody would notice that he didn't eat with silver, but with the wizarding version of stainless steel.

Then again, of course it hadn't been. Malfoys could be snobs, and they could have even their slave's collar be made of silk, but that kind of collar, pure silver? For a slave? Now, that was just ridiculous. Not even Lucius Malfoy could be that snobbish.

...Hopefully, that was. Remus had always loved hugging people; he would have been heartbroken if he couldn't embrace the person he loved.

Remus. Remus. Always Remus. The werewolf had been the centre of Sirius's life for the short two years between their reunion and his "death". In this new life, without James around, Remus had been the person he'd clung on, the one steady, staying thing in his life.

Now Remus was away. And Sirius knew that picking up the tiny pieces that were left of his old life would be very difficult without Remus there to help him. It would not be impossible, but almost.

When Snape at last fell silent, having told all about the friendship and love he'd received from Remus, Sirius opened his mouth and started to tell. He told everything, starting back from the day when he'd met the small, shy boy in the Hogwarts Express. The Animagus then went on, telling how they'd found out about Remus's Lycanthropy, how he'd become an Animagus for his friend, the painful suspicions about Remus being the traitor to the Light Side, their reunion after his time in Azkaban - everything. And Snape listened, sat quietly there in front of him and listened, not saying a word, only nodding every now and then to show that he was indeed listening. And somehow, it just felt right - to tell about Remus to the only other person who'd ever known the werewolf as well as he had.

Neither of them had spoken about Remus with anybody else. Sirius hadn't simply because he had only known about Remus's death for some hours, and Severus hadn't because he wasn't one to bare his heart to anyone. But as they sat there, talking and listening in turns, sharing all their memories and thoughts about the werewolf who'd been an important part of both their lives, they knew they'd never talk about him with anybody else. A couple of words here and there, sure, or an idle comment to somebody talking about Remus, but never would they again bare their hearts in such a way. Nobody would ever understand, for nobody had ever known Remus like they had - nobody else had been his best friend, or his lover and love. This was for them, and them alone. In a way, it was for Remus as well - they knew he'd been delighted to know that they actually spoke to each other.

It had been over Remus and the regrettable Shrieking Shack incident that had finally driven them from schoolboys not liking each other to enemies in life and death. And, seemingly, it was over Remus that they could talk, listen to each other, and feel right when doing that.

At last, however, Sirius, too, was empty of things to talk about. After sitting for a moment in silence, he said, "Snape?"

The only response he got was a simple, "Yes, Master?" The Slytherin's eyes instantly shot up to him, and Snape looked as if he'd been woken up from some kind of a daze.

"I know we cannot keep our bond a secret forever, but I'll be damned if I don't at least try something," sighed Sirius. "As I won't become a teacher until after Christmas, I suppose I could simply hide from the students at least until then. That way, we can avoid being exposed for still some time. The teachers will of course know about my presence, but with a bit of creative Gryffindor madness and some Slytherin cunning we should be able to keep them in dark for quite some time. This addressing thing, does it also count when you're talking about me to somebody else? Or if you're talking to a group of people that includes me?"

"No, Master," replied Snape softly. "It's only when I'm talking directly to you."

"Very well." Sirius nodded briefly. "And the bowing thing? Is there any way to avoid that?"

"Well..." Snape looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he said, "In fact, there is - or at least there should be. If you're talking directly to me at the moment one of us crosses the threshold to the room where the other is, I'm not required to bow to you."

"Excellent." The Gryffindor grinned broadly. "Some of our usual fighting and bickering, and nobody will ever notice anything!"

"Yeah, that's it," muttered Snape sarcastically, rolling his eyes. Then, however, he let the subject drop - even though he handled it with a dry, businesslike tone that made Sirius truly wonder, he obviously wasn't wholly comfortable with it - and instead watched the Animagus intently. "May I ask you a question, Master?"

"Sure, go ahead," said Sirius, a bit surprised. This far, Snape hadn't made a single question that hadn't touched directly either whatever Sirius wanted to know or a permission for his slave "duties".

"As you are a child from a pureblooded family, how don't you know anything about the slavery bond and its requirements?" When Sirius's expression darkened at this, the other man hasted to say, "I - sorry, Master. I did not mean to upset you." Then, with an almost frightened tone he could have never associated with Snape, the Slytherin added, "You aren't going to punish me... Are you?"

"No, Snape, I'm not going to punish you," sighed Sirius. In his mind he vowed that if he'd had both Stephen and Lucius Malfoy in front of him at the moment, he'd killed them both with his bare hands. Snape was not supposed to be like this - weak and frightened. Snape was obviously meant to be strong, stubborn, self-confident, and even more courageous than any Gryffindor, even if he only was brave in his own, very twisted way. This broken man who'd been taught to be afraid to death of displeasing and punishment was just... wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

After a moment of silence, Sirius realized that Snape was still watching him closely, expecting him to say something, anything. So, he decided to answer the Slytherin's question. After all, what could he lose? "About your question... Well, my family was certainly not one of the best. Actually, it was one of the worsts. Everybody in my family has about forever been in Slytherin - however, I started very early to show signs of my Gryffindor nature. My parents didn't really care about me after I turned five or so, other than to send me nasty letters when I was at Hogwarts. I was mostly raised by house-elves, and while I was properly told about magic as well as birds and bees, the old wizarding traditions have stayed rather unfamiliar to me." With another sigh, he added, "Although I wish I didn't have to know anything about this particular tradition. Shit, I wish that no one knew anything about it! Nobody deserves a fate like yours."

"What we wish is rarely what we get, Master," said Snape softly. "And certainly we do not get what we deserve. How elseway would Remus be dead, and Draco Malfoy alive?"

"Unfortunately, that's too true," said Sirius with a grim nod. Then he raised his eyes once again to look at Snape. "And what about you?" he inquired. "What was your family like, Snape?"

"I'm a slave, Master. I don't have much of a family," said Snape bitterly, but his words were not directed against Sirius. "Well, there was my mother, Sarina Snape - she was sold to another family when I was about three. About my father, I've never been too sure, but I do suspect it was Stephen Malfoy himself, not just another slave. My mother was his favourite at her own time - he told me that in more than one occasion. He liked comparing me and my... skills to those of my mother."

Sirius stared at him in horror. "He - he was your father?" blurted out of his mouth before he could bite his tongue and force the words back. "Snape, are you telling me that your own father raped you on regular basis? And then your halfbrother did the same?" Even what he'd heard before had been inhuman. This, however, was simply insane. His family had been bad, but at least his father had never sunk so low as to rape him. And ever since Snape had been seven, wasn't it? That was sick. Sick and wrong.

"Why not?" Snape said, and shrugged, although the slight grimace on his face didn't match the carelessness of his words. "I was not really Stephen's son, or Lucius's halfbrother, nor was I any true relation to them. I was just a slave, and a slave's son - and that's all I've ever been."

"So... Is slavery always inheritable, then?" asked Sirius. He was now determined to get to the bottom of this horridness. What he'd heard was just inhuman. It was just simply wrong.

"In theory, no, it isn't, as it isn't biological. But practically, it is," replied Snape. Suddenly, he sounded rather tired - both sleepy and tired of life, tired of the nightmare that he had to call his life. "There's a certain ritual that needs to be performed on the child soon after it is born, preferably sometime during the first forty-eight hours after the birth. In ancient times, there were two kinds of slavery bonds - some that could be placed on anyone, but were removable, and others that were permanent, but could only be cast upon a slave's child. Nowadays, we only know the permanent, irreversible one. Thus, not an outsider can become a slave, but, courtesy of their masters, the offsprings of ancient families of slaves are almost without exception made slaves themselves."

"Then is it -" started Sirius, but then noticed that Snape was almost falling asleep on his seat. He didn't know what shocked him most, the fact that he'd spent most of the night to some ungodly hours talking with Snape, or the fact that Snape's usually so calm and controlled mask was rapidly crumbling. Crying, getting tired. Of course he'd previously known, somewhere deep inside his mind, that Snape was just a human, but it wasn't until now that he wholly believed it.

So, Sirius deliberately forgot about what he'd been going to say and instead said, "Go to sleep, Snape. You obviously need it."

"So do you, Master," replied Snape with a slight yawn - again, a gesture Sirius had thought would be impossible for Snape to even produce. "I think we'd better both go to sleep." However, as he got this sentence finished, he was already on the door. Sirius didn't know whether it was because Snape just simply wanted to get into his bed as soon as possible or because of Sirius's half-order to go to sleep, and he didn't particularly even want to know.

So, Snape left Sirius's rooms, and soon they were both in their beds. However, despite the late - or, rather, early - hour, it took a long time before either of them finally fell asleep, so deep they were in their thoughts.

Back from Dead

0000000

"Now, I'm sure you are all curious to hear why I have called you all here today," Dumbledore said, eyeing the people collected in front of him. All the current Hogwarts teachers minus Severus were there, as well as Minerva, who'd continued in her Deputy Headmistress post even though she couldn't teach Transfiguration anymore. She wouldn't let blindness slow her down, that was for sure.

"Mildly said," snapped Minerva with a slight snort. No, she certainly would not be slowed down; the woman was still her former, strict self. "Get on with it, Albus. Even I know that your eyes are twinkling - your voice gave you away."

"Very well." Glancing again at the teachers, he started, "You are probably all well aware that we'll need a new Transfiguration Professor after Christmas."

"Big news," muttered Charlie Weasley. Having taken over the Care of Magical Creatures Position, he had turned out to be almost as sarcastic as Severus. "Tell us something new."

"So I will, Charlie," the Headmaster replied, the twinkle in his eyes growing greater than ever. "I've found us a new Transfiguration Professor."

"You have?" Minerva's head perked up, and she bowed her head to one side like a curious cat listening to something. "And who's that, pray tell? I for one don't know anybody who'd be qualified enough, at least not anybody who'd be willing or able to take over the position."

"Oh, but I do," Dumbledore told her amusedly. "And this person has already accepted. Now, I'm sure that Severus will be bringing him here at any minute."

And like his words had summoned the Potions Master and the future Transfiguration Professor, the door was just then pushed open. "Your problem, Snape," they heard a vaguely familiar voice coming from the doorway as a man unfamiliar to them stepped in, his face halfly hid by his long, dark hair as he had turned his head to talk to somebody behind him, "is that you never know when to give up. You're always talking about the same things over and over, not realizing that you've already lost."

"And you aren't?" asked the addressed wizard as he'd stepped to the room behind the first one. "It's always the same things you bring up! Even a foolish Gryffindor like yourself should -"

"Now, now, I think that's quite enough, my boys," Dumbledore said, chuckling slightly at this little display of the men's attitudes. "Dear staff of Hogwarts, here's the man who'll fill the Transfiguration job after Christmas. I'm sure you don't need much introducing, but as he looks quite different from what he used to, I'll introduce him anyway. So, here's Sirius Black."

Surprised and shocked cries shot up all around the room as Sirius now turned to face them, a mischievous grin on his face. Snape merely stood at the side, glaring at him and taking little steps away from him.

The surprise wasn't only due to this sudden reappearance from "death". Sirius truly did look even more charming than usually. He was wearing a midnight-blue shirt that made his grey eyes look silverish, as well as black leather trousers and boots. There was a silver hoop through his right earlobe, revealed by the long, black hair that was tied on a low ponytail, and some rings of the same material in his hands, among which the Master's ring didn't stand out much enough to be noted.

"Now, I don't think it's such a big surprise to see that I and Snape haven't killed each other for good yet," laughed the youngest of the three Animagi present. "Albus did ask us to behave."

"Obviously he hasn't even thought about the possibility that his unwanted presence here might alone be a surprise to anyone," muttered Snape, not to anybody in particular. "Somebody, please explain the git what 'supposed to be dead' means."

"Who asked for your opinion, Snape?" Sirius snapped, spinning towards the Potions Master.

"Nobody," the man replied honestly. "But I gave it anyway."

"Ever the same, boys, I see," chuckled Filius Flitwick. "Good, very good. Nice to see that we get some young people here, so it's not only we old men and women scheming to get the children's heads."

"Ah, yes, of course," Snape said, sounding almost like a cat purring. "I, Weasley, and Shacklebolt are all just old men. Only Black the almighty is capable of being younger than you lot."

"With all respect, Severus, I don't think you've ever been that young, or at least not a child," Minerva said dryly. "Now, Sirius, before you start fighting with Severus, could you first please explain how exactly you're here, and not dead?"

"When Harry killed the Dark Lord, it caused a magical imbalance in the world," Sirius said casually, starting their fake explanation for his resurrection. "With Voldemort gone, there was a lot of Dark magic lacking from that balance. As you maybe know, I'd fallen through the Veil of Death, which is purely work of Dark Arts. So, a whirl of unbalanced magic came to the Veil, and sucked into itself some of the Veil's magic to regain its balance. However, this reversed the so-called death of the last victim of it - which happened to be me. And thus, I'm alive and kicking again."

"But are you truly qualified enough to teach Transfiguration?" demanded Professor Litcerol, the old witch who'd taken over Minerva's position as a teacher. It wasn't that she was afraid for her job, as she was going to retire anyway, but like her predecessor, she didn't want it to fall into unqualified hands. "Only an Animagus, like Minerva and I, or a Master of Transfiguration, like our Headmaster, can be hired to fill that position."

"Well, fortunately I'm perfectly qualified," laughed the young wizard - or, at least, young compared with her. "I never quite got around to get an educational rank high enough to make me a proper teacher, but..." And at the same moment, he was gone, and a huge, black dog with pale eyes was on his place.

"IT'S A GRIM!" shrieked Trelawney, and everybody else just stared in shock and surprise. With a wide grin, Sirius turned back to his human form.

"When did you accomplish that?" asked Professor Sinistra, looking genuinely curious. "No offense, but you've had pretty little time in your life to complete Animagus studies."

"I was fifteen when I first ran in my animal form," replied the young Gryffindor smoothly. "Which only works to prove that not even Albus knows everything." Most of them raised their eyebrows or gasped in surprise - whether at the revealment or at the comment about Headmaster, it couldn't be said for sure. Dumbledore himself, however, merely chuckled.

"Splendid," sighed Severus. "A Weasley trying to be sarcastic is bad enough, but any Gryffindor trying to be amusing is disastrous."

"Could you please just shut up, Snape?" asked Sirius frustratedly. He kept sure not to bring it out as a command. Everybody would surely notice if Snape obeyed any command coming from him - like he would have to.

"No," replied the Slytherin truthfully. And truthful he was, that Sirius knew - he could not lie to his Master, after all. "I'm not going to shut up for a good while yet."

"Pity," grumbled the only male Animagus present. Then he turned to Dumbledore. While sitting on the nearest empty seat, he asked from the Headmaster, "So, was there anything even slightly important?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Albus sighed a bit. Nodding seriously to all the teachers, he said, "Like you all are aware, our DADA professor this year, and hopefully for many years to come, is Kingsley Shacklebolt. However, like you can see, he is not present here today." As all of them nodded, looking a bit curious, the ancient wizard continued, "During the War, he was... attacked. One of Voldemort's minions got to him and, consequently, Kingsley is now... a werewolf." At this, many of the teachers started to speak, but a raised hand from the Headmaster silenced them. "I haven't told you until now, because I wanted the term to begin without problems," he said. "To this decision I came because you had no seeming problems with having Remus here." They all nodded slowly, sad expressions on their faces at the mention of the now dead man. "However, as it's a full moon now, I find it reasonable to tell you. Kingsley's condition will not be a secret from the students, but they're also to remember that he causes absolutely no danger as long as the Wolfsbane Potion is brewed for him regularly."

"And that is your job, Snape," said Sirius sharply, glancing at the Slytherin. Even though his words and tone were sharp, his eyes held well-hid concern. For anything he knew, it was hard for Snape to have a new werewolf at the school along with the memories of Remus. His concern for his slave came over even his own shock at this revelation.

"Yes, Master. Of course, Master," replied the Potions Master with a mock-obedient tone. Obviously he was hiding his own feelings behind the sarcasm - there wasn't surprise or shock, for he'd had to know in order to brew the potion, but sadness, yes, and longing for his long-gone lover. "Is there still something I can do for you, Master? Scratch your ears, maybe? Or get you a nice big bone?" This made a couple of teachers actually laugh. McGonagall, however, frowned, for a reason Sirius simply couldn't fathom.

"Also," Dumbledore said then, his eyes twinkling familiarly with slight amusement, "Sirius has asked that we should not reveal his presence in this school to anyone until he starts teaching after Christmas. Only those he chooses to inform are to know before that. It's hard enough for him to start his life again as it is, he doesn't need any additional disturbances on top of that, and definitely not any public attention."

"Now that's a surprise," Snape muttered under his breath. "I'd rather think that he informed the Daily Prophet the very day he came back. He has always been a show-off, after all."

"There is no need to be so nasty, Severus," Dumbledore said, although he did nothing to hide his obvious amusement. "I'm sure you are only happy to have someone of your own generation here at Hogwarts."

"Albus, you know perfectly well that there's only one person in my generation whom I'd like to have here, and he will not come, ever," snapped the Potions Master. "So, unless you want me to dose your precious lemon drops with my new stomach bug-instilling potion, do shut up."

"Now, that was low, Severus," Cleopatra Sinistra noted with amusement as the Headmaster truly fell silent at this. "If you didn't have anything else to tell, Albus, I suggest that we leave now. I have essays to grade." At the Headmaster's nod, she rose from her seat, soon followed by the others.

"Will you walk with me for some way, Sirius?" asked McGonagall. "I'd like to talk with you for a while."

"It's past curfew by now, so yes, I do think I could manage that," the younger Animagus replied with a charming smile that went completely waste on her unseeing eyes. Unnoticed by either of them, Snape soon slipped out of the room, hurrying away.

"I've been thinking about giving up my Head of House position by Christmas," admitted McGonagall as they walked down the corridor. "I wasn't sure before, but now that you are here, I can safely trust my position to fall into safe hands."

"You're trusting me with your House?" asked Sirius disbelievingly. "Thank you, Professor. This means much to me."

"Oh, please, call me Minerva," she chuckled. "I haven't been your professor for years, and it feels weird to hear you call me that, especially now that you are going to join the faculty."

"May I ask what has changed Charlie?" asked Sirius then a bit hesitantly. "He never was like that when I met him before - well, you know."

"The War changed him," Minerva replied with a slight sigh. "They lost a lot, the Weasleys - Percy, Fred, and even young Ginny. They are all trying to cope with their own ways. Arthur has thrown himself into his work, and Molly has taken on an even more caring behaviour about anyone and everyone. Bill is trying to replace Percy by always being responsible and sensible, George concentrates on his joke shop and names every other new product after his twin, Ron fools around with seemingly no worry about tomorrow, and Charlie, well, Charlie is trying to look like he didn't feel anything. Of course, he hardly manages, but the amount of sarcastic comments by the faculty has more than doubled. It's like he and Severus were all the time trying to overdo each other."

Sirius nodded slowly, even though he knew she couldn't see it. This was worse than he'd expected. He was so deep in thought that he was really startled when Minerva again spoke.

"You are Severus's Master, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "Oh, don't be surprised, I know you are. I of course know that he's a slave - I've known ever since I sent his Hogwarts letter all those years ago. Just as well I know that Lucius was his previous Master, and that once Lucius died, somebody else than Draco inherited him. With your so carefully laid plans it was easy to notice. Your voice was the tiniest bit forced when you spoke to him when you were entering the room, and Severus was so carefully trying to appear to be talking to you and calling you names even if the only name he really called you with was 'Master'. And the explanation about a magical imbalance, honestly!"

Sirius flushed. "I promised him not to let anybody notice it," he mumbled quietly. "Seems that I've failed him right away."

"Don't worry," Minerva calmed him. "I don't think anybody else noticed it - I just have got used to going by what I hear and how I hear it, not by what I see and what appears to be. And you seem to be a good man, Sirius - even more so than I have given you credit for. However," she added then, taking the stern tone he remembered all too well from his school days, "if you hurt him or use this bond on your advantage in any way, I will personally see to your punishment. I know you've most probably already had this talk from Albus, but I want to repeat it. You are not to hurt Severus, never. Do you understand?"

"I do understand," replied Sirius. Then he chuckled despite the seriousness of the situation. "You know, I'm beginning to feel like a young boy courting a girl with an overly caring father and a bitter aunt."

"Why, you -!" But her voice was full of quiet amusement as she shook her head in exasperation.

Questions Answered

------

As soon as Sirius had left Minerva's company, he headed towards the dungeons. He suspected that Snape was not too well at the moment. For some reason he felt responsible for the man, and decided to check on him.

Snape didn't answer to the door. Instantly worried, Sirius rushed in. "Snape!" he called out. "Where are you, Snape?"

"I'm right here, Master," Snape said, stepping out of his study, bowing in the doorway. Leaving the door open, he walked further into the room. "Was there something that you wanted to talk about?"

Sirius struggled with words, taken aback by the Slytherin's perfectly calm and collected appearance. "But - I thought -"

"That I wouldn't be well just because Shacklebolt happens to be a werewolf?" asked Snape mildly. Then he sighed, sitting down on the couch and reaching for a book on the nearby table. "It is not easy, true," he said. "But I can live with it. It hurts, to be reminded of Remus in such a way, but I've long since come to live with it. I have to, if I want to remain sane."

"Oh." As Sirius didn't have anything to say, he simply sat down on a nearby armchair. "By the way, Snape?" he asked then, only the tiniest bit hesitant.

"Yes, Master?" asked the man immediately back. The black eyes shot to him, examining him closely.

"That time you showed your Dark Mark to Fudge - the tattoos on your wrists weren't visible then. Had you hid them somehow? Or didn't anybody just notice them?"

"By that time, I was experimenting with a certain charm," the Slytherin replied levelly. "It was indeed able to hide the tattoos, but unfortunately, in a long-term use it caused me to fall ill as such magic drained me too much, so I had to give that up. Any other charm won't even work at the tattoos; they've been created by magic too powerful to come over in the usual means."

With that, Snape returned to his papers. For some time, they sat in relatively comfortable silence. "I don't understand one thing," said Sirius then, frowning slightly.

Snape turned to look at him again. "What don't you understand, Master?" he asked quietly.

"Why the hell do you live in the dungeons, if you then do everything in your power to ensure that it's as light down here as possible?" The Animagus waved his hand, closing the whole area in sight in the imaginary circle. Truly, there were lights everywhere around the sitting room and the study, torches and candles being lit and a ball of magical light floating over the Potions Master's desk.

"Lucius," replied Snape briefly. Then he elaborated, "He told me to request quarters in the dungeons, as he knew I wouldn't be comfortable down here. However, I can at least try to make it as easy to me as possible."

"You're afraid of dark?" Sirius asked disbelievingly. There was much he could take from this changed Snape, but this was just too ridiculous.

"No, I'm not," the Slytherin said stiffly. "However, I've had... bad experiences with dungeons, and especially darkness." As Sirius just blinked in confusion, he started to explain. "When I was too young to be punished in the way my previous Masters preferred, Stephen Malfoy had a different idea for that. Whenever I displeased him, he would take me to the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. It was dark and cold there, and there were rats running around in the shadows, and it smelled bad. There he would leave me, telling that I wasn't to move from my place. He wouldn't come to release me from the place before an hour had gone by - and crying meant another hour. It was horrible to a child only a year and a half old, and anything but pleasant even when I was older."

Sirius listened to this in silent horror. How could anybody be that cruel to a little child - their own son, on top of that? A slave or not, that was just inhuman! And how had Snape ever managed to turn out even as near to sane as he was now?

Noticing his expression, Snape gave him a grim smile. "The Malfoys rule their slaves strictly," he said quietly. "And it goes on even after their death. Should I now request quarters somewhere in the castle's lighter parts, that would be very suspicious."

"Not necessarily," replied Sirius. A plan was already forming in his mind. "Say, Snape... Does Poppy know of your... eh... condition?"

"Of course she does, Master. She's known ever since I was a student. Whenever Lucius punished me at school, she was the one to heal me. Of course, she couldn't do anything to prevent my Master from doing that, but at the very least, she did try to make it easier to me."

Sirius nodded slowly. "Now, listen to me, Snape," he said, the Marauder part of his mind already scheming rapidly. "We'll need Poppy's help for this. Anyway, the basic is, you complain about headaches or something, and after examining you, she says that it's not healthy for you to stay all the time in an unaired room with all those cauldrons of potions. So, your classroom will have to be moved to some upper floor of the castle, where there's a lot of fresh air. And as your quarters are even worse when you brew your own potions there, and you're irritating your eyes by reading in dark on top of that, your living quarters will be moved near to your classroom in the brightest part of the castle. You'll of course put up a loud fight, but in the end, you'll have to give in, albeit grudgingly."

Snape frowned a bit. Then, however, he smirked. "You know, Master," he said, "that could actually work."

"What?" Sirius feigned surprise. "So you would actually accept a suggestion made by a Gryffindor?"

"Don't worry, Master," the Slytherin replied, still smirking. "I will be sure to warn you long beforehand if I'm going insane." Then, however, his expression turned wary as he realized what he'd just said.

Sirius sighed deep. "Don't worry, Snape," he said. "I'm not going to punish you for saying that." The Slytherin huffed at this as if he'd been insulted, but Sirius couldn't help noticing that he was indeed a bit more relaxed after that.

Something stung painfully in his heart. And they'd bullied this broken creature at school? True, broken was the last word anybody would think of when talking about Severus Snape, but then again, Sirius had seen a side of him that very few others had. Under that hard, cold cover this man was broken, having lost all hope so long time ago that he hardly even knew what it was anymore. It was wrong, it was really wrong. Snape was meant to be strong and stubborn and whole, anybody could tell it just by looking at him. He was not meant to be afraid of dark, of being punished if he said one word out of the line. All this was simply a crime against humanity, not only because slavery in general was inhuman, but because it was even worse when weighing a man like Snape - if anything could be worse, of course.

"How could you spy, anyway?" asked Sirius then quietly. "Didn't it harm your Master? And didn't Lucius forbid you doing that?"

"It was in his best interest that I did that," Snape replied dryly. "Remember the thing about magical bonds and the Master's acceptance that is required? He knew that if I was discovered to be a Death Eater, he would be held responsible for all crimes I'd committed, rather than I myself. If I was a spy, however, he'd be off the hook himself, too. And Voldemort would have never suspected me of giving any information to Dumbledore as I was Lucius's slave. Only if his own loyalties were under suspicion, I would have been suspected, too - and of course, that never happened. He didn't tell me to spy, but he only forbade me giving out any information that might harm him directly or indirectly - in anything else, I could decide myself whether I told something as long as I didn't blow my cover and get him troubles with the Dark Lord."

"That sounds actually reasonable," Sirius said, raising his eyebrow. "Fascinating. You'd think that Malfoys are incapable of such logic."

Snape snorted. "To tell the truth, Master, there was something else in Lucius's head than just blond hair," he admitted. "He was not a genius, but a truly bright man he was, and extremely cunning. The perfect Slytherin, really. And his son is the same."

"And you're so proud of Draco, I'm sure," the Animagus said dryly.

"That little bastard," The Head of Slytherin said, startling Sirius with his unusual crudeness. "He was always blackmailing me and reporting my every move to his father. If I even looked at him or his friends the wrong way, I was soon called to the Malfoy Manor for a punishment."

Sirius clicked his tongue. "Not a wonder if Harry said you were always favouring Slytherins, then," he said quietly.

"No, it isn't," admitted Snape. "You should have seen the little snake's face in the beginning of his sixth year, when he realized that it was not going to be that easy anymore. With his daddy dearest in Azkaban, there was nothing he could threaten me with. If you ask your precious godson, you'll hear that my favouring lessened a lot after Lucius was imprisoned."

"But it didn't end wholly," commented the Gryffindor, raising an eyebrow again. "And weren't you afraid of what Draco'd do if he then inherited you?"

"As you maybe understand, Master, I had to keep up a loyal facade to Voldemort, so I had to favour them to some extent," Snape explained mildly. "I never took it to such levels as it was with the threat of Lucius's punishment hanging above me, though. And as of being afraid of Draco's punishment, well, I figured that nothing I could do to him could make it much worse."

"I understand." After a moment of silence, Sirius added, "I wish I'll soon be able to see Harry, though. And I certainly want to attend to his wedding."

"Have no worry about that, Master," the Potions Master said, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "The wedding is going to be on St. Valentine's Day, so you'll be well 'out of the Veil' by then. And as for seeing him, just owl him and he'll be sure to come the very day. Be ware, though, and don't owl him with your own name - the reporters nowadays have taken on a bad habit to try to capture the owls going to him. So, unless you want the news of your resurrection all over the newspapers the next day you owl your godson, be careful."

"Thanks for the warning." Sirius yawned then a bit. "It's getting late," he said, "and I still need to work on a little project of mine. I'll see you tomorrow - and while I am at it, I think I'll inform Poppy of our little plan."

"Your little plan, Master," Snape said dryly. "If I recall right, it was wholly a result of your little Gryffindor mind being at work."

"Whatever, Snape." Raising from the armchair, Sirius walked to the door. "Goodnight, Snape."

"Goodnight, Master," came the quiet answer.

------

Next evening after classes Sirius again managed to sneak into the Potions Master's quarters without anybody noticing. He was on a very cheerful mood. He'd sent an owl to Harry, requesting a visit, and his little "project" had finally got some results.

"Good afternoon, Snape," he said cheerfully as he entered the dungeon quarters. "I've got a surprise for you!"

"Really, Master?" Snape asked dryly, bowing a bit as he again came out of his study to the living room. "And what might that be?"

"This," announced the Animagus, grinning broadly as he took something from his pocket. "It's your new collar!"

The Slytherin stared at the thing in his hand - or, rather, tried to stare at it, but failed in his task. "An invisible collar?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Not invisible, no," Sirius said cheerfully. "Just completely transparent. Nodoby will ever notice it, not even if they look for it."

"I -" For once, Snape seemed to be at a loss of words, just shaking his head slowly. Then, however, he spoke again. "Thank you," was all he said. There was no mistaking about the grateful tone in his voice, however. For a moment Sirius was wholly expecting the floor to open and swallow them both. It certainly wouldn't have been any more shocking than Snape being grateful, and to him, Sirius Black, of all people.

Trying to dismiss the uneasy feeling, he said, "Now, let me put this on." Wordlessly, Snape slowly turned around, baring his neck. Sirius unfastened the previous collar and then fastened the new one to its place. It was also made of silk, and being transparent, it shouldn't cause any discomfort to the Potions Master. With some satisfaction he also noticed that the marks of irritation caused by the cruel metal collar had faded wholly away.

Sirius then watched as Snape hurried to look at his reflection in the mirror and with a wondering expression noted that the collar indeed could not be seen. It was there, fulfilling the demands of the slave's bond, but nobody could see it.

"By the way, Snape?"

"Yes, Master?" replied the slave immediately, turning back towards him.

"If the bond can only be transferred through inheritance, then how could your mother be sold to another family?" Sirius voiced the question that had been irritating him for quite sometime.

Something akin to a sad smirk touched Snape's lips, if such an expression could exist. "Her bond was different from mine," the Slytherin explained. "Most slaves are bound to their master so that their mastership can only be transferred through inheritance. However, some of them - most of the females of the 'better' slave families, and some from not-so-good ones - are bound with another bond. It's just as bad, but its holding can be transferred to another person with a special ritual. These women are used as broodmares to keep those tightly held families from becoming inbred. Usually when they've filled their purpose and given birth to a child they'll be sold to another family, and another broodmare will be taken to their place. The only reason why my mother stayed in the same family with me for even as long as she did was that she was indeed our Master's favourite."

Sirius nodded slowly, digesting all this information. "Your hair," he said then. "Why does it look the way it is?"

"Lucius again, needless to say," Snape replied dryly. "When I was four, he thought it fun to put my hair into fire. A house-elf saved me before any permanent damage was done, but ever since I've been afraid to death of fire. As soon as I learnt how to brew a flameproof potion, I started to protect my hair with it. It maybe makes it look greasy, but it makes my life easier by putting my fear down a bit."

"Oh," Sirius said, nodding. Then he grinned, trying to lighten the mood a bit. "By the way," he said, "you should visit Poppy this afternoon for an 'examination'. She's already busy looking for the perfect Potions classroom and quarters for you."

At this, Snape just slowly shook his head, muttering something about "foolish Gryffindors". Like Sirius noted, however, he didn't disagree.

Renewed Relationships

------

"Stay away from me, woman!" a loud yell was heard echoing through the halls of Hogwarts. "I will definitely not participate in any of your idiotic plans!"

"Don't be foolish, Severus," sighed Poppy Pomfrey, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling. "You came to me to find out what is wrong, and I told you. And then I told you what to do to recover from it. And you sure as hell will do as I say!" she added with a determined tone.

"No, I won't!" The Potions Master seemed to have given his last word on the topic, whatever it was.

"Now, now, do calm down, you both," they heard Albus's amused words. Behind the Headmaster they saw a couple of professors, as well as a herd of curious students. "What's the problem, anyway?"

"Albus, your mediwitch has gone bloody insane!" hissed Snape venomously. "She - she seriously thinks I would ever leave my dungeons and move to some other quarters! Because I 'need some light and fresh air,'" he added with a perfect imitation of Poppy's most overcaring voice, though with some added venom.

Now, the Headmaster chuckled. "Actually, I think that could be pretty good to you," he said with a slight smile. "You do spend too much time in darkness, Severus. It can't do much good to you."

"So now you're against me too, eh?" Snape raised an eyebrow. "How wonderful of you, Albus. I always knew I could trust you in my time of need." Needless to say, his tone was sarcastic.

"My boy, I'd never be against you," the ancient wizard replied with a gentle smile. "I just think that you should get new quarters. Fresh air and some sunlight surely could not do any harm!"

"But Headmaster," said a small voice from among the students, "sunlight is dangerous to vampires!"

At this, everybody froze. Snape turned slowly towards the children. "Who said that?" he asked with an icy cold voice, looking even more threatening than usually. All students cowered, but nobody confessed.

"Now, now, Severus, do calm down," Albus said cheerfully, placing a calming hand on his favourite professor's arm. "It hardly matters who said that, now does it? You're not a vampire after all, are you?"

"Of course I'm not!" snapped the Potions Master, glaring at him. "I do know what the rumours say, but against the popular belief, I happen to be a human!" 'Even if the Ministry laws don't count me one,' he thought then, but of course he didn't say it aloud.

"Excellent!" The Headmaster practically beamed. "Then you surely have nothing against your new quarters that Poppy must have already picked for you! Haven't you, Poppy?" he asked from the mediwitch.

"Yes, I have," the witch replied briskly. "In fact, they aren't very far from here!" 'Or from Sirius's quarters,' she thought, not saying it aloud, either. Sirius had asked for new quarters somewhere in the castle's upper floors. It wasn't that his current ones in the upper dungeons weren't comfortable, no, but after Azkaban and especially the Veil he didn't feel too good about darkness, either. So, of course she'd used this on her advantage to arrange them both new quarters near each other.

"Albus, this is ridiculous," hissed Snape. "I have no intention at all to move into new quarters!"

"But of course not," the Headmaster said cheerfully. "I'll have the house-elves move your things immediately, and all you have to do is to walk to your new quarters!" Most of the people present smiled at this, but nobody dared to laugh. Snape looked positively murderous. None of them would put it past him to attack anybody who dared to laugh.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Albus again as Snape seemingly wasn't going to respond. "Poppy, where are Severus's new rooms? I'd like to walk him there!" Yeah, this bumbling fool hadn't changed in any way.

"Well, his new classroom is the previously empty one next to Reliel Ravenclaw's portrait," the mediwitch said, smiling broadly at her "achievement". Of course, both she and Albus knew of Sirius's plot, as well as that Severus would have wanted nothing rather than to move. "The large one, with a beautiful view to the lake. And his quarters are behind the third door to west from there."

"Wonderful!" The Headmaster's smile got even broader. "Come on, Severus, let's go to see them!" He grasped the Potion's Master's arm and, under the bemused gazes of the other people, started to drag the black-clad man through the corridors towards the place Poppy'd mentioned.

"Let go of me," hissed Snape. "I hate you, Albus Dumbledore!"

"No, you don't," replied the older wizard calmly. "You're just saying that to make me feel better. Oh, and Severus?" he asked then. "Could you possibly change the password of my office? I have nothing against it, far from that, but Kingsley's feeling quite uneasy about it, that's all."

"Sure," replied the tall man stiffly. However, he didn't say anything else.

It wasn't until then that Albus noted his Potions Master's changed appearance. Sure, he was still in his usual stern black robes, that would not change. However, instead of the usual high collar that almost reached his jaw, Severus now had a robe with no collar at all. In fact, the Headmaster caught a glimpse of the almost black, dark green shirt underneath it - but no sign of the slave's collar.

This, of course, made him wonder. He knew better than well that the magic of the bond would have made Severus suffer great pains if anybody but his Master saw him without his collar. However, invisible collars usually had just the same effect. So how could Severus walk around with seemingly no collar at all, but not feeling any pain, either? Albus made a mental note to ask either Severus or Sirius about it later. Right now wouldn't do, with the couple of people who still lingered in the hearing area.

"And here we are," Albus said cheerfully as they reached the third door from the new Potions classroom. "I'll make sure your things are moved up here as soon as possible!"

Snape merely snorted. Then he pulled his arm from the ancient wizard's grasp. "I can very well enter on my own," he said sharply, then opened the door and stepped inside. Through the thick door the Headmaster and the others who were present heard several locking charms being murmured.

------

Once inside his new quarters, Severus sighed in relief. He'd got through it, and even without losing his gloomy image completely. Really, his Master's plan had worked just right.

"I take it that it worked, then?" asked a calm voice. As he turned around, he saw his Master standing in an open doorway that, by the looks of it, led to a study. All his things were already present. Of course - the house-elves had been busy with them ever since the morning, as he'd already known that he would move.

"Yes, it did, Master," replied the Slytherin, bowing as the other man stepped into the room. "I'll continue throwing dirty glares at both Albus's and Poppy's direction for a couple of weeks, and nobody will suspect anything out of ordinary. How is it that I find you here?" he asked then.

"Oh, I just checked that the house-elves had put everything on its rightful place," replied Sirius cheerfully. "As we're now in the public part of the school and it'd be difficult to me to sneak here in daytime, Poppy took the liberty of arranging me new quarters next to yours. My rooms are connected to yours through a door from your study to mine. The door can be locked on both sides," he then hastened to say as he saw the weird expression on Snape's face, "and it is so thick that even if I tried to tell you to open up, you wouldn't hear it. If you don't want me into your rooms, you can easily lock me out with no fear of me getting in." He sighed inwardly in relief as he saw the slave's expression turn a bit more relaxed. That was good. It wouldn't do to unnerve Snape, the man didn't deserve any more worries into his life.

"Master?" asked Snape silently after a moment of silence. As Sirius nodded, indicating that he was indeed listening, the Slytherin continued, "Could you... Would it be possible that you called me Severus? I know this sounds odd," he continued quickly as he saw Sirius's surprised expression, "but it's just... My both previous masters always called me just 'Snape', claiming that a slave was not worth a human's name. I was never called Severus until I came to Hogwarts, and hearing you call me Snape just... well, it makes me nervous," he finished rather uneasily.

"Afraid, you mean," Sirius said, smiling in what he hoped to be a soothing way. "Very well. I'll call you Severus... under one condition." As the Slytherin raised his eyebrow questioningly, the Animagus flashed a grin and said, "I'll call you Severus, if you find a flameproof spell and use it instead of that potion."

Snape - err, Severus just huffed as Sirius made his way towards the study and then his own rooms to prepare them for Harry's visit. However, when he was sure that his Master couldn't see it, he almost smiled. Not quite, but almost. And that was more than he'd done ever since Remus's death.

------

Harry Potter was very excited, though nervous, as he arrived to Hogwarts. The letter he had got had been astonishing, but he didn't want to get his hopes too high. In his mind he vowed that if this was some kind of a sick joke, he would seriously harm the one responsible for it. This was a thing nobody was allowed to play with, since it was too important to him.

The thing being, Sirius's death. Only that it now seemed that his Godfather wasn't dead after all.

The young Auror dug the letter from his pocket again, wanting to examine it for yet another time. And even though he'd decided against it, he allowed hope raise its head within him as he eyed the lines on parchment.

"Dear Harry," it said,

"They say that an old dog learns no new tricks, but seemingly that's not true. You say, 'die,' and it dies, you say, 'sit,' and it sits, no more dead. I just thought you'd like to see what's become of the dog, so could you possibly pay us a visit? We're still staying at the old place. You remember that painting, don't you? No, not the old hag, the one that I almost destroyed as I didn't like it. Don't bother to reply - just come to see me, okay?

Love,

Snuffles".

Some parts had been written with a bit bolder letters, the difference being small enough to be an accident, but Harry could clearly see the message hidden behind them: Sirius was alive again. It was Sirius's handwriting, anyway, and only a few knew of the name "Snuffles". Those who did would have never done anything like this to him. Or at least he had to hope so, for he couldn't bear it if this was just a joke.

For a moment he'd wondered whether the letter meant the Grimmauld Place instead of Hogwarts, but had dismissed the thought almost immediately. He and Luna were going to move there after their wedding, and there was always somebody fixing the places, so nobody could hide there without the cleaners noticing. So, Sirius had to be in Hogwarts. And it had to be Sirius.

To his great surprise, he was already expected. Albus Dumbledore stood by the main doors of the castle, smiling as he saw the young Auror approaching. "Ah, Harry, my boy!" he exclaimed in greeting. "You've come here because of a certain letter, am I correct?"

"Well... yes, Sir," replied Harry, running a hand nervously through his hair. "I was just wondering whether it could really be true." He held onto the letter like it had been a lifeline.

"Well, I'm glad to tell you that it is indeed true," the Headmaster said cheerfully. "And I've told you a hundred times to call me Albus, Harry. Come on now, follow me. I'll show you to him."

They walked through the corridors to a part of the castle Harry had never before visited. "Si - Albus," he said, "may I ask where we are? I don't know if there are any classrooms around here."

"Oh, but there is indeed one," replied Albus with a beaming smile. "The Potions classroom was moved here just today." Ignoring Harry's shocked expression, he said cheerfully, "Ah, here we are. The password is 'chocolate frog,' I believe." And truly, the door they were standing in front of flung open at the words. Albus winked at Harry, then said, "Go inside, my boy. I'm sure you're already eagerly expected."

A bit nervous, Harry stepped inside, closing the door behind him. As soon as the sound of the door being closed echoed through the quarters, the sound of hurried footsteps caught Harry's ears from the next room. The next thing he knew he was closed into a huge bear hug that emptied his lungs.

"Harry!" exclaimed a voice he'd thought he'd never again hear on his waking hours. "Oh, Harry, you've grown so much! Although you're still shorter than me," continued Sirius teasingly as he let Harry step a bit backwards, eyeing the young wizard from head to toe. As he did so, Harry did the same to him.

Sirius now looked better than he'd ever seen his Godfather. Even the pictures he'd seen of Sirius's younghood couldn't rival this. The shiny black hair fell past the man's broad shoulders in silky waves. The grey eyes were twinkling with a joy Harry had never seen in them, and a broad smile adorned the angular face. His skin was still pale, true, and looked even paler with the deep blue shirt he was wearing, but it no more looked sickly, being natural paleness instead. A silver hoop hung from the Animagus's right ear, and there were silver rings in his hands. All in all, Harry'd never seen Sirius so charming and healthy.

"Sirius," he breathed, now embracing the other man in turn. "I almost didn't believe it. I hoped, true, but I couldn't believe." Looking up in the shining grey eyes, he said then, "Although I should have expected this from you. Only Sirius Black could trick even the Veil of Death!"

Now Sirius laughed, a true, hearty laugh that Harry had longed to hear from those lips. "It's good to be with you again, too," he said then mischievously. "Now, come on, Puppy. Let's have some tea and biscuits - not doggie ones, I promise! - and you can tell everything you've been up to while I couldn't look after you. I've only heard the general news, but I'd like to hear everything in your life from you personally."

"You've heard the general news?" asked Harry, starting to follow Sirius towards a nearby table, where a steaming tea pot and two cups were already waiting for them. "Then you surely know that..." His voice trailed off. What if Sirius didn't know it already? He really didn't know how to tell about it.

However, to his great relief, he didn't have to. "That Remus is dead?" finished Sirius, the twinkle in his eyes dying for a moment. The Animagus sighed deep. "Yes, Harry, I'm aware of that. And even though it still does hurt, I've come to live with it."

"Right." Harry sat down and took the offered cup. Just then, however, he noticed something in Sirius's outreached hand. Something that he recognized from a book he'd seen when Hermione had been doing some research a few years back. Something that had been burned in his mind, although he'd never thought he'd see it in real life. Cursing aloud, he quickly stood up, knocking his chair over and dropping the teacup.

Sirius looked at him in pure astonishment. "What's wrong, Harry?" he asked, confused.

"How could you?" snapped the younger wizard. "How could you, Sirius? That's a Master's ring! Do you really think I don't think what it means? That - that's just inhuman!"

"Merlin, Harry, neither of us wanted it," sighed Sirius, his eyes casted down, avoiding the enraged emerald eyes. "His previous master, however, left him to me as an inheritance. If I hadn't accepted the bond, it would have been transferred to the previous master's son. As this previous master was Lucius Malfoy, and his father before him, I could not let the poor man suffer any more, and I definitely couldn't let him fall into Draco Malfoy's hands. You should be happy about it, anyway," he added harshly. "Not only my slave is now better than under his previous masters' rulement, but this bond also pulled me from the Veil."

"Oh." Harry calmed down a bit, ashamed at his sudden outburst. Of course Sirius would never voluntarily enslave anybody. Only a monster could do that, and despite the rude things he'd done in his younghood, Sirius wasn't a monster. "Who -" he started to ask, then remembered the rumours - the rumours that had started only shortly after Hermione had been doing her research on slavery. "Snape," he said. "It's Snape, your slave, isn't it?"

Sirius just nodded mutely. "Yes, it is," he said after a moment of silence. "It was really shocking at first, like you maybe can imagine. But, well, I've come to live with it. Sort of." He sighed.

Harry, however, sat straight in his chair. "Sirius," he said levelly. "I apologize for my outburst, I know you're not a monster and would never enslave anybody, given the choice. However, if you ever use this bond on your advantage, you'll have me to deal with. I and Snape maybe aren't in the best of terms, far from it, but I respect him from everything he's come through, and even more, if he truly is a slave. So, if you ever hurt him, I will hurt you, my Godfather or not. Don't you dare to forget that."

Sirius rolled his eyes towards the ceiling and muttered something that sounded like, 'And now a fierce little brother on top of it,' but Harry wasn't quite sure what that meant. Aloud the older wizard said, smiling a bit, "Of course not, Harry. Like you said, I'm not a monster. I've come to notice that Severus is anything but the bitter bastard he appears to be. That man has been through a lot, and certainly more than I would have ever survived. Twelve years in Azkaban are nothing compared with what he's had to bear. I'd die rather than hurt him in any way. He simply doesn't deserve that."

"Oh. Good." Harry wasn't exactly sure what he should say now. Suddenly, he felt very awkward.

Fortunately, Sirius knew what he wanted to hear him talking about. "So, this fiancée of yours," the Animagus said, grinning a bit. "What is she like? When did you start dating? May I come to the wedding?"

"Of course you may," laughed Harry, relieved at this change of topic. "In fact... I was thinking about asking Arthur Weasley to represent my father, but now that you are here... Would you take the honour?"

"Gladly, Harry!" replied Sirius immediately, a broad smile on his face. In Wizarding wedding ceremonies, the groom traditionally had his father with him, while the bride had her mother on her side. If the true parents couldn't attend to the ceremony for one reason or another, some trusted older friend took their place. Sirius truly seemed to be honoured that Harry had chosen him to stand on James's place.

"That's good, then," the young Auror said. "Luna's already asked Tonks - don't look at me like that, they're really good friends," he said hastily at Sirius's disbelieving expression. "Both are - well, a bit weird, if I can say that about my fiancée." And, as Sirius nodded, encouraging him to continue, he launched into a long talk about his favourite topic, his beloved Luna Lovegood.

And all the time, Sirius just listened, a warm smile on his face.

Loneliness and Love

------

If you've been brought back to life after years of being dead, it's not very likely that your main feeling will be loneliness. After all, being now surrounded by people and life again, how could you be lonely?

However, Sirius was just that when he sat in the living area of Severus's quarters, his thoughts a long time ago wandered away from the book he still had open in his lap. Before, he wouldn't have even considered opening a book, but now it only seemed appropriate. His whole life had changed, so his attitudes could do that as well. And besides, who would be there to tease him about it? Nobody knew the joke.

Yes, he was lonely. None of his childhood friends was there anymore. James had been dead for a long time, Peter was a traitor and didn't deserve to be even remembered, and now Remus was dead as well. It hurt, hurt a lot more than he could have ever imagined it would hurt. And not only was the circle of Marauders broken, the firm friendship and promises of being together forever gone, but also everything else he'd had in his life. Harry was an adult now, getting married. Sure, he still seemingly cared for Sirius and accepted his advices. However, he didn't need Sirius - not in the way he'd needed the Animagus when he'd been younger. Harry could look after himself now, Sirius didn't have to do that. He was no more needed for a protector, a confidant, somebody to tell him the facts of life, for he knew those already.

And without being needed by Harry, Sirius had no destination. His life seemed to be useless, there was no meaning for his whole existence. He could have just as well returned to the death, and only a few would have really cared, much less mourned, of even those who indeed knew he was alive.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. There was indeed one person who needed him, one purpose for him to live for. Severus Snape needed him to chase his old nightmares away, to keep from anybody evil claiming the slave's bond, to give him a normal, human life - or at least something with as much resemblance to that as possible. Of course, Severus would have never admitted that he needed help, much less asked for it; he just suffered. He didn't even know of Sirius's self-appointed quest. That didn't make it any less true.

Sirius watched his slave in silence. Although Severus could not be called tanned by any measure, his skin wasn't as deathly pale as before, having now natural paleness instead of the result of spending all his time away from sunlight. The deep blue robes complimented that paleness, making that smooth skin look even more milky white instead of the shade of bones it'd been before his living quarters had been moved. The Potions Master's hair now fell down his back, shiny and silky, not looking greasy anymore. And, although it couldn't be said that he was smiling, his expression and posture were relaxed, and there was a peaceful look in his obsidian eyes. All in all, the man looked... attractive.

That thought startled Sirius at first. However, after thinking about it for a moment, he had to admit that it was true. He did find the Slytherin fairly attractive now, and not only in the obvious physical respect. Lately he'd discovered that Severus was not the cold, bitter bastard he'd always taken him for. Instead, the Potions Master was a frightened, broken man, who had never been truly loved. Well, Dumbledore did indeed love him like a son, a very dear son at that, and there were a few people who loved him as friends, but that wasn't enough. And Remus had loved him, loved him with his whole warm heart, but the werewolf was gone now, gone and wouldn't return. Never had Severus felt what it was like to love and be loved without fear, without thinking that the other might leave him whenever they pleased or that he might be forced to leave them, unable to do anything about it. And never had anybody's love been enough to save him from the life he had to live, nothing had ever been enough to give him a second without fear.

Still, he had stayed strong. That strength was something Sirius loved and admired, just as much as he wanted to fix and repair the broken man that Severus was on his weakest moments, when he let his defences down for a moment, revealing his true self.

"Is something wrong, Master?" a voice asked out of blue.

The sudden voice startled him, and it actually took him a moment to realize that Severus had spoken to him. "What?" he asked hastily. "No, I'm perfectly all right, Severus. There's nothing to worry about, really." He flashed one of his most charming grins. However, it didn't work on the Potions Master.

"Everything is not all right," Severus said, putting his own book aside. "You haven't turned the page for at least half an hour, and you haven't been really reading for twice that long. There's obviously something wrong with you, you've never been quiet for this long."

"Maybe you've made me too much a Slytherin?" suggested Sirius cheekily. However, he regretted this immediately when he noticed the flicker of emotion in the sharp obsidian eyes. He should have remembered that Severus had too many bad experiences of Slytherin Masters, and didn't need another one.

However, Severus collected himself in a whisker of second. "Maybe," he replied, raising an eyebrow. "Or maybe you have become somehow sensible at last." And, like could be expected, he looked very startled after this. Maybe he now trusted Sirius enough to let a sarcastic comment pass his lips whenever he was so relaxed that he forgot to watch his tongue, but that didn't take away any of the fear afterwards. Well, Sirius was glad even about the fact that he actually could relax that much, even if the fear didn't disappear.

"Really, Severus," sighed Sirius, rolling his eyes. "For Merlin's sake, I'm not going to punish you for your words. If I did do that, you'd be dead by now for all the comments you pass in the staff meetings."

"Most probably." The Slytherin smirked at those words, but it took a moment before the fear disappeared from his eyes. Sirius sighed inwardly. He hated to see the strong man like this.

"Anyway, could you give me a hand some day?" asked Sirius then. "I've got Professor Litcerol's syllabus for this autumn, as well as her drafts for the coming spring. However, as I have no experience at all in teaching, making lesson plans would be much easier if I had the help of somebody who actually knows how these things are run. Of course I could ask Minerva, but..." He shook his head.

"She makes you nervous," Severus guessed. "I know, she does that to me, too. It is rather unnerving when she is quicker in reading than most seeing people and, instead of being helped, helps others. True, I wouldn't wish her to be an invalid or anything, but... She's blind, for Merlin's sake!"

"Exactly." Sirius smiled slightly. "Then again, she's never been one to be helped around. I don't think she'd let anything stop herself - well, unless she became completely mute, deaf, blind, and paralysed."

"Not even then," Severus argued. "She would learn telepathy and then boss everybody around."

"Most probably she'd do just that," Sirius laughed. "I'm actually surprised she hasn't found some way to teach even though she is blind. I mean, she always seemed to know what we were doing even if she wasn't looking towards us. How could not seeing at all stop her from doing the same?"

"She just has a sixth sense for any forecoming trouble," Severus said, smirking slightly. "And, as impossible as it seems at times, the children nowadays are a lot calmer than we were. At times I pity our teachers - we were a lot worse, and these kids we teach now are still enough to almost drive me crazy. I can only wonder how any of the old professors are still even relatively sane and at peace with the world." Then, he stood up, walking to the nearby bookshelf to put his book away.

Sirius rose as well, walking after Severus. Then he hesitantly raised his hand to touch the other man's cheek. As the Slytherin turned around, looking startled, Sirius couldn't hold himself back any longer. So, he leant forward, placing a soft kiss on Severus's lips.

At first, the dark-haired man went stiff as a board. Then he started to slowly relax. And, when Sirius drew a line over Severus's lower lip with the tip of his tongue, the lips were parted to allow the intruding tongue entrance. The man tasted of tea and, a bit surprisingly, chocolate. Interesting. Maybe Remus had had time to rub off his obsession even during the short time they had been together during the War.

After some time they broke apart. For a moment they both just stared at each other, not knowing what to say or do in this awkward situation. Then Severus suddenly took a step backwards, turning around.

"Er... Severus?" asked Sirius hesitantly. "What is it? Do not take me wrong, I -"

"I understand completely, Master," the other man said quietly. "You've been alone for a long time, and even now you cannot tell anybody that you are alive again. But I am always available to you, now aren't I?" As the Slytherin spoke, his hands started to unbutton the front of his robe. Before Sirius could think of anything to say in response, he noticed that Severus had already discarded his robe, and was now rather mechanically opening his shirt.

The Animagus grasped the unbuttoning hands with his own, stilling them. "Don't do that," he whispered hoarsely. "Listen to me, Severus. I did not kiss you because I am your Master and you are 'always available,' like you put it. I did it because I like you, am attracted to you. And even though I could force you into anything and tell you not to reveal it to anybody, I won't do that. There's no way I could use our bond on my advantage in that way. I'd never do that, never ever."

The Slytherin frowned slightly. "Then what am I to do?" he asked, looking a bit confused. His hands were still frozen on their places, firmly in Sirius's grip.

"Whatever you want," the Gryffindor said softly. "Whatever you want, and nothing you don't want, Severus. If you have feelings for me, too, then do show them. If, however, you do not want any kind of a romantical relationship between us, there will be nothing. It's all up to you, I'm not going to force you into anything." With these words, he pulled Severus's hands down to his sides, then let go. For a moment, neither of them spoke or did anything at all.

Then, however, Severus swallowed a bit and closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, there was an emotion in the onyx depths Sirius couldn't fully comprehend. He did know, however, that his words had been believed. Another victory to him in this war against nobody.

"I - I don't know," the Slytherin said quietly, lowering his eyes to the floor. "Don't take me wrong," he hastened to say, "I did enjoy that... kiss. However, I need... time. To think everything over."

Sirius smiled briefly. "Then take your time," he said. "I will not press any further before you are completely sure about what you want from me - from us. Do not make a hasty decision." With this, he lifted the other wizard's hand on his lips and kissed it briefly.

And then he left the Potions Master's quarters, leaving a very confused man looking after himself.

------

Sirius was fuming when he closed the door of his bedroom behind himself. What he had just witnessed was just plain wrong. There was no other way to put it - it was wrong, wrong and inhuman.

Sure, he had seen even before just how inhuman Severus's life was. However, this was too much. The man seemed to honestly think that nobody could actively seek his company unless they wanted to just use him on their advantage. He saw himself desirable only as a fucktoy, and found everybody telling him otherwise highly untrustable. And, obviously, he found it even more difficult to trust his Master. This was understandable, true, considering all his horrible experiences, but to Sirius, it was also disappointing. How could he ever be with Severus without the Potions Master, and everybody else, thinking that he was just using the other man and their bond on his advantage? There was no way that could manage. There was no way they could ever be equals in their relationship, either, if there ever would be one.

Oh, Sirius held no illusions of himself in this matter. He was not a monster, but he wasn't a saint, either. Now Severus was maybe too scared to step much out of line. If, however, they indeed became lovers, that would hopefully be forgotten. But if Severus was no more scared of him, his nasty side would show up. In fights - which they would surely have - Sirius would have an unfair advantage, and, given enough temptation, he knew he would not hesitate to use it. He had almost got Severus killed by Remus's werewolf form in his youth when he hadn't been thinking. Merlin only knew what he might do now.

But, even though he was indeed afraid of what he might do to Severus, he had to try. He would never forgive himself if he let it pass without even giving it a try. He'd had lovers before, sure, but those had all been just flings, nothing serious. Now, however, he felt something else for the Potions Master. And, even though he did have a lot of fears and doubts, he wanted to try what would come of it.

However, at first he needed Severus's approval. Otherwise, he would do nothing. The ball had now been passed to his slave, and he only had to hope that the outcome would be good.

He might be a bastard, but he wasn't a rapist. If he had been, he'd been no better than Lucius Malfoy. And if he ever sank that low, he might just as well kill himself, for he'd never forgive himself if he did.

Neither would Severus.

Decisions and Reactions

------

Albus Dumbledore glanced up at the sound of his office door being opened, curious to see who was coming to see him on such a late hour. He was delighted to see Severus coming in. However, his smile was soon replaced by a frown as he saw the expression on his favourite professor's face.

"Sit down, my boy," he said, then offered, "Tea?" At Severus's careful nod, he tapped the teapot on his table with his wand, reheating it. Summoning two cups, he then poured them both some tea. Handing one of the cups to Severus, he then asked, "So, what's the matter? You seem distracted."

"I need your advice," the Slytherin said quietly. "In a matter concerning my Master."

Despite Dumbledore's trust for Sirius, suspicion raised its ugly head in his mind. "Sirius hasn't used your bond on his advantage, has he? If that is the case, rest assured that he will get his due punishment."

"Oh, no, he hasn't done anything unacceptable," sighed Severus. "In fact, he's been as generous and concerned about my well being as possible." With another sigh, he added, "However, I can't help thinking that it would be easier if he just ordered me around, uncaring about my opinion on one matter or another."

Now, Dumbledore frowned in confusion. "What do you mean?" he asked. "Is it some act of his in particular that is disturbing you at the moment?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." The Potions Master sighed again. "My Master has expressed... interest in entering a romantic relationship with me, and has given me the choice of either accepting or declining his offer."

Now, that certainly surprised the Headmaster. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "Well, what are you going to do?"

"Frankly, I don't know," Severus said. "I've never been offered a choice in such a personal matter."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow. "What about your entering a relationship with Remus?" he asked.

Severus shook his head. "That was a different matter altogether, and you know it, Albus," he said. "With Remus, I was the one to take the first step. The circumstances were also very different we were in the middle of war for one thing. And besides, if anybody could ever be equal to me, which I doubt, it was Remus with his werewolf status. Sure, he was still far above me even in our heavily prejudiced society but in our relationship we were equals. With my master, that would be impossible. We're as unequal as it goes. How would that affect our possible relationship?"

Dumbledore sighed. "You are right," he said. "Full equality between two people should be the very foundation of any relationship. However, I have to admit that Sirius seems to be determined to make you as equal to any other human being as possible. Surely you agree with me on that?"

Severus snorted. "Albus," he said, "after a lifetime of slavery under two Malfoys, being allowed to sit on a chair in my Master's presence feels like equality." At seeing the old wizard's expression, he smirked dryly. "Yes, it's true. Stephen Malfoy let his dog sit on the couch, but never one of his slaves. It wasn't until I came to Hogwarts that I was to sit on a chair in other people's presence. Until then I'd been always forced to sit on the floor, unless there were only other slaves present."

"Merlin, Severus," Dumbledore breathed, horrified. "I never knew that."

"It doesn't matter," replied the younger man, shrugging. "You couldn't have done anything even if you had known. And besides, Sirius doesn't seem to have anything against me sitting on the furniture." He sighed yet again. "But I still don't know what to decide about his offer."

"Choose whatever feels right to you," the Headmaster advised. "However, let me talk with him first. I want to make sure that his motivations are acceptable." For a moment there was an icy glint in his blue eyes that was nothing like their usual warm twinkle.

So, Severus then left the Headmaster's office, feeling still indecisive, but now secure.

------

Sirius was a bit unsure as he entered the Headmaster's office. The summon sent by owl late at night had been polite but no less stern. He suspected it had something to do with his suggestion to Severus.

True enough, as soon as Sirius had got seated, Dumbledore fixed him a stern glance. "Severus told me about an... offer made by you," the ancient wizard told him.

Sirius just nodded. It didn't surprise him that Severus had gone to seek advice from the Headmaster. He'd already noticed that Dumbledore was the only true father figure his slave had ever had, and that Severus respected him a great deal. Of course the Potions Master would ask for his opinion if he was unsure.

Now, Dumbledore gave him a serious gaze. "Do consider properly what you are doing, Sirius," he said. "If it is just sexual release you're looking for, then forget Severus. Do not make any moves at him, nor respond to any moves he might make at you. Approach Charlie, if you must he's never been one for true relationships. But unless you're really in love with him, have nothing of that kind to do with Severus. You know as well as I do that the life has already struck him badly enough. I won't let you hurt him any more by playing with his feelings and offering promises you aren't going to keep."

"I would never do that," Sirius said quietly. "Believe me, Albus, I would never play with his feelings."

"I'm glad to hear that," Dumbledore said. "I will not allow Severus to be hurt again."

And there was a threat in his voice that told very clearly what would happen to Sirius if he did hurt Severus.

------

Sirius did not go to Severus's quarters the next day. He didn't want the slave to feel like he was pressured into a decision. Instead, he just stayed in his own rooms all day, trying to waste some time by reading books. Whenever he heard some sudden sound, he turned his head to look at the door attaching his quarters to Severus's. As Hogwarts with all its magic, ghosts, and human inhabitants was by no means a quiet place, he soon developed a serious kink on his neck. And Severus wasn't even finished with his lessons for the day yet. Merlin, he was truly getting desperate.

However, as the evening went on and Severus remained absent, the Animagus started to get restless. Even if his offer was to be declined, he would like to get to know it as soon as possible. So, he had to struggle with himself so as not to go and simply ask Severus again.

As night started to fall, he finally resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't hear the Potions Master's decision until the next day, if even then. So, he finally left the sitting room of his quarters and headed to the bedroom. Moments later, he lay in his bed, trying to get some sleep but restless.

Suddenly, he heard the door to his bedroom being opened. A dark form showed up in the dim square of light that marked the doorway, until it disappeared again, melting into the shadows of the room. He held his breath as he listened closely to the almost soundless footsteps on the floor. Then, the mattress shifted slightly, and he managed to make out the dark form of a man sitting on the edge of his bed.

After a moment of absolute silence, Sirius's ears caught the sound of ruffling cloth. In the dim light of the bedroom he saw as the dark form of Severus's robes was replaced by the paleness of his bare body.

"I've made my decision," the Slytherin said quietly. Then he lay down onto the bed and slid under the covers, his bare body brushing against Sirius's equally naked form.

The breath caught in Sirius's chest. Even this light touch on his side was enough to make him half-hard. Then light fingers brushed his chest underneath the covers, and he forgot about the half. Greedy for more, he turned to his side and gathered the other man's pale, lean body into his embrace. The explorations his hands made on the other wizard's form were returned, although hesitantly, by the soft hands wandering up and down his sides and back. As he then leant in for a kiss, being careful to keep it soft and gentle, the pressure he got in response was very hesitant but still existent. Encouraged by this, he continued his doings.

At last, he drew back. "I want to see you," he whispered hoarsely. "May I?" As he got the quiet agreement, Sirius reached for his wand and murmured a quick charm to light up the candles in the room. Then he pulled back the covers, surveying the pale form in front of him.

Severus tried to turn his face away, seemingly ashamed. Sirius, however, turned his head gently back to facing himself and leant again forward to place a warm kiss on the thin lips. "You are gorgeous," he praised. "Simply gorgeous." Then, he went on showing what exactly he thought about the Slytherin's body.

Soon neither of the men was aware of the time, and definitely not overly concerned about it. So, neither of them could tell exactly how much time had passed by the time Sirius lay on top of Severus, grinding their hips together. "Do you like this, Severus?" the Animagus murmured. "Tell me. Do you like this?"

The other man gasped, incoherent at the moment. At last, he forced himself to say, "Yes... Master..."

"Master..." Severus's own voice echoed in his ears. He gazed up and saw grey eyes that shone with a silver glow in the flickering candlelight. Another body was pressing him against the mattress, its weight and warmth oddly familiar against his skin. Familiar, and... terrifying.

A hand was raised to touch his cheek, a pale, slender hand, and he panicked, pure and simple. A hoarse cry of uncontrolled fear escaped his lips as he began to struggle against the muscular body on top of him, trying to get away from it. He knew he was sobbing but didn't care, his only thought being that he had to free himself from the other man, even if fighting meant being punished even more badly. He just couldn't give up so easily, couldn't let this man use himself without a fight. Couldn't, and wouldn't.

The other body rolled away from him, and he quickly crawled to the other side of the bed. Once he reached the edge of the bed, he curled up on a ball, shivering in fear. Trying to stop the sobs that were still coming out of his mouth in desperate bursts, he bit his lip, wondering what would come upon him now. Would it be the whip now, or a simple beating? Or just another rape, only rougher than usually this time? He'd rebelled against his Master, refusing to give what his Master wanted. Surely he'd be punished.

To his great surprise, no violence was landed upon him, not even a single curse or hex. Instead, a gentle hand was placed onto his shoulder, and a quiet voice asked, "Did I frighten you, Severus?"

That was it. His Master never called him Severus, never when there were just the two of them. Maybe he wouldn't be punished this time after all. Encouraged by this thought, Severus slowly turned around. To his great relief he didn't see cold silver eyes or a mane of blond hair. Instead, warm stormy grey eyes were watching him from a face surrounded by midnight-black hair.

"Look, I'm really sorry, Severus," sighed this man 'Sirius,' supplied his mind. 'Your new Master. A good one!' , "I really didn't mean to scare you, I just didn't think. I should have been more careful, it's obvious you've had bad experiences about it. I'm sorry I didn't remember that."

"There's nothing you have to be sorry for," whispered the slave, then choked out, "M-Master." Then, with an even quieter voice, he continued, "I'm stupid and disobeying. You really should punish me."

A smile touched Sirius's lips. "Don't you dare tell me what I should or should not do, Severus Snape," he said, teasing but nevertheless gentle. "Look, let's do it this way. You have my permission, no, my command to do whatever you wish with me. Whatever you tell me to do, I will. Let this night be yours."

The skinny Potions Master glanced up at him, the expression in the deep onyx eyes unreadable. Then, however, he crawled up to him and, hesitantly at first but slowly getting bolder, started to do exactly as instructed. Needless to say, both of them enjoyed themselves very much.

In the end, they both fell into exhausted sleep, their limbs intertwined. Severus's head was resting on Sirius's chest, rising and falling by the Animagus's breath. The arms around him were warm and comforting.

And, for the first time in a very long time, Severus Snape slept peacefully through the night.

------

Sirius awoke to see Severus just finishing buttoning his robes. At his questioning gaze, the Slytherin replied, "I need to get to my own quarters and properly dressed. I have classes to teach, you see."

The Animagus pouted. "Can't you just tell the little buggers that there are no classes today?" he whined.

Severus smirked. "Even though I would certainly greatly enjoy seeing Albus's expression as I presented post-coital exhaustion as an excuse for missing a class, I'm afraid I couldn't keep a straight face through it," he said. "So, I think it'd be better if I just simply went to teach the brats."

"Very well," Sirius said. "I'll see you after the classes, then?"

"Most certainly, Master." At first, Severus hesitated a bit. Then, however, he leant forward to place a gentle kiss on the other man's lips before leaving the room.

Sirius lay on the bed for a long time, a broad grin on his face.

Memories and Meals

------

Shortly before Christmas - it was only a week until it by then - Severus returned from teaching on a rather foul mood. Well, that is, on an even fouler mood than usually after he'd had to share a classroom with his students, and that was saying something. Of course, this made Sirius curious.

"What is wrong?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "Did the brats kill each other or what happened?"

"Nothing!" snapped the other man. Of course, he immediately went about apologizing, "I'm sorry, Master, it was not my intention to use such a harsh tone of voice. However, something indeed happened that I'd rather not discuss. Were you to take a look around the castle, you would surely notice it," he sighed.

Now, Sirius was even more curious. However, before he did anything, he went up to his slave and pulled him into a warm embrace. "Look, Severus, you should rest now," he said, trying his best to say it as a suggestion rather than an order. Even though it was clear that Severus truly needed some rest at the moment, Sirius could never try to use his powers as a Master to force him into it. It wouldn't be fair.

"I shall try, Master," sighed the Potions Professor. "However, I doubt rest shall come easy to me."

Releasing the other man from his embrace, Sirius then turned into Padfoot. With one last reassuring lick of Severus' hand, he then headed out into the corridors of the school.

At first he had no idea what to look for or where he might encounter it. However, he was lucky enough to come across Professor Dumbledore, who in his usual cheerful manner was just talking with a couple of very nervous first years. Padfoot barked loudly, hoping to catch Dumbledore's attention.

"Ah, Padfoot," Dumbledore said gently, turning towards him. "Are you looking for something, perhaps?"

Padfoot nodded his head once. He then locked his gaze at the Headmaster, hoping to get his message through to the ancient wizard. Surely he knew what Sirius must be concerned about?

Fortunately, the Headmaster indeed knew that. "Should you wish for answers for your questions, I suggest you go to the Entrance Hall," Dumbledore said, ignoring the wondering gazes of the students.

Padfoot nodded again, then licked the Headmaster's hand in thanks, waggling his tail. Then he turned and headed for the Entrance Hall, knowing that there he would find the answer to his problem.

Once he got there, Padfoot indeed found the source of his slave's grief. To be exact, a large statue.

Walking to the foot of the statue, Padfoot glanced up. The statue was indeed skilfully done, so much so that he figures appeared to be almost alive. However, they weren't - and neither were those the figures portrayed. And that was the problem, or, rather, exactly what was bothering Severus at the moment.

There were three figures there, all carved out of white, shiny marble. Two of them were smaller, obviously children, wearing torn Hogwarts robes and crouching in fear. In front of them stood another figure, this one that of a grown man, defensively extending an arm to shield the children, the arm ending on a cut wrist. His other hand was pointing the wand at some invisible offender, no fear showing on his face as he looked forward with his one remaining eye. The plaque attached to the pedestal read, "For the Ultimate Sacrifices." There were names written in neat lines all around the pedestal, the one right below the plaque, the name of the man portrayed above, written with golden letters. "Remus Lupin."

Padfoot whined a bit as he saw this. No wonder that Severus was so upset. Merlin knew what memories this must have made resurface. The Potions Professor was surely a mess at the moment.

"Sirius?" asked a quiet voice, startling him. After a second Padfoot realized that the statue had spoken.

A quick glance around confirmed that there were no students nearby at the moment. Therefore, Padfoot decided to risk it and changed into his human form. "...Remus?" he asked quietly, disbelievingly.

"Yes, it's me." The marble man glanced down at him, a sad smile on his face. "How are you alive?"

"Rather I'd ask, how are you not?" asked Sirius, his voice hoarse. Then, however, he sighed and raised his hand, showing the Master's ring on it. "The bond drew me back from the Veil," he said quietly.

"Oh, I see. You're Severus' new Master, then?" As Sirius nodded, Remus continued, "Although I'd never thought I'd say this, I'm glad you are. I've never seen Severus as well as he was today - well, before he saw me, that is. I didn't dare to even try to talk to him; Merlin knows how he would have reacted."

Sirius nodded in agreement. "He was a real mess," he said quietly. "And I've been doing my best to ensure him as normal a life as possible." For a moment, he casted his eyes down, then said with an even quieter tone, "I - I am sleeping with him. But I let him make the decision. I could never force him into it."

"I know that, Sirius," Remus said, a slight smile on his lips. "You always were more thoughtless than cruel, and I know you'd never try to use that bond on your advantage unfairly."

A brief smile curved Sirius' lips. "You have too much faith in me, Remus," he said. "I'm a real bastard."

"Perhaps so," the statue said, "but a bastard with a big heart. And I trust you with Severus - and his heart."

Sirius nodded slowly. "That's all I need to know," he said quietly. Raising his eyes to look at the statue again, he said, "As much as I hate to do so, I must leave you now. I'll see whether I can distract Severus enough to make him calm down." Now, a smile crossed his lips. Oh, distract he would.

"That is okay. After all, I'll always be here if you need to talk." Remus smiled briefly, then sighed. "Maybe one day I can let Severus know about myself, too. It'd be wonderful to get to talk with him."

With a sad smile, Sirius said, "I understand." Then, he turned into Padfoot, and was on his way.

------

Sirius' hands caressed the pale skin of his slave and lover as they both lay on his bed after their lovemaking. Severus' body fascinated him, the smooth pale surface as well as the marks of past injuries. His fingers skirted about the tattoos around the slender wrists, tracing the dark figures. However, as he felt the slave shiver slightly in discomfort, his hands immediately left their inspection of the marks of possession. He kissed Severus' cheek in a silent apology for the discomfort he'd caused.

"I'm still finding it hard to believe that you truly deem me worthy of your time and attention," muttered the Slytherin, his eyes closed and a small frown between his thin brows. "Surely I am damaged goods, now."

"Do not talk about yourself that way, Severus," Sirius said strictly. "I happen to think that you are a beautiful, strong person I have learnt to love. And I will tell that to you again and again until you finally believe me and start to love yourself, too." Drawing the other man close, he then said, his hands still caressing the slender body, "Until then, I'll just have to love you enough for both of us."

To this, Severus didn't say anything. He just rested his head on Sirius' shoulder, silently enjoying the comfort and warmth his former masters had never given him. The Grim Animagus smiled sadly in the dim light of the bedroom - he never allowed it to become completely dark anymore because of Severus - and ran his fingers through the Slytherin's hair. It was nowadays fine and soft with no sign of grease to be detected anywhere. In a way it also reflected the change in Sirius' thinking when it came to the Potions Master; there was no more 'greasy git' to him, and instead he saw an attractive, desirable person he craved to touch and hold close. And, of course, there was also the intellectual side. Their conversations were truly interesting, and he enjoyed the debate they often got into.

After a moment Sirius noticed that despite his outwardly carefree mood, Severus was far from relaxed. "You're still thinking about Remus, aren't you?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"How could I not?" came the quiet answer. Sirius waited for him to continue, but heard nothing more.

Sighing a bit, Sirius wrapped his arms around the other man. "Look, Severus," he said, "I know that you loved Remus. And I know you still miss him. However, you have to get over your sorrow. I'm not saying you should forget him, far from that, but at least you should concentrate on being happy about the time you had with him instead of mourning him endlessly. Surely Remus wouldn't have wanted you to be like this."

"I know that," Severus sighed, "but it is not easy. I've never had anything that would have been truly mine, mine to have, mine to hold, mine to love. He was the one thing I could call mine, the one thing I loved nobody could take from me. And yet I lost him. It hurt so much... more than you can even comprehend."

Now, Sirius placed a light kiss on Severus' hair. "Well, you have me now," he said quietly. "And I have no intention of leaving anywhere. There's no way anybody could take me from you, either." He tilted his head to gaze into the Slytherin's dark eyes, wanting to show all his love and devotion through his eyes. "It's okay to miss Remus," he whispered. "And it's okay to be sad at times, too. But remember... you have happy memories, too. And those are the ones you should try to remember."

This time, Severus did not answer. Sirius didn't expect him to, either. He just tightened his embrace around the slender form, putting as much love and warmth and reassurance into his gesture as possible.

Rather soon they both had fallen asleep.

------

"Good afternoon, Severus!" Sirius said, grinning a bit as he stepped into his slave's quarters. Severus, who had just settled down to eat, glanced up and bowed in greeting. The Grim Animagus sat down opposite to him, took the plate set ready for him, and started to load food onto it.

Sirius took his time eating, chattering nonchalantly, enjoying Severus' company after the lonely day. However, after some time, he noticed something that struck to him as strange. "Why aren't you eating, Severus?" he asked then, frowning a bit. "Aren't you hungry?"

"Yes, I am, Master," Severus replied quietly, his eyes downcast. "However, so are you. I'm stretching the rules even by sitting here, in the same table with you. As you're hungry, though, I am completely unable to eat. Slaves are not allowed to eat before their masters have eaten."

Sirius froze. Every time he thought he had at least some inkling of what life was like to his slave, he was proven wrong as yet another aspect of their strange relationship was brought to his attention.

"Shit," he muttered - perhaps not the most mature comeback possible, but it was the only one that came to his mind at the moment. After a moment of awkward shifting and furious thinking, he then said, "Look, would it be enough if I went to my own quarters to eat? So that you could eat, too?"

Severus, however, shook his head. "I can't eat as long as you're hungry and within the same building," he said. "With my previous Master it never became an issue unless he was visiting Hogwarts, or I was on one of my forced 'visits' to the Malfoy Manor. However, as we're both in the castle, I have to wait."

"Shit," muttered Sirius again. Then he added, being now the one to cast his eyes down, "Sorry, Severus."

"Don't, Master," the Slytherin sighed. "It is not your fault. You did not set the rules of the slavery bond, and you hardly can help feeling hungry. The only way you can now help me is eating as quickly as you can."

Despite having always been the first one of their group of friends to finish meals during his Hogwarts years, Sirius had never eaten so fast in his life. And never, not even while eating rats as Padfoot during his hiding, had he found it so hard to enjoy his meal, either.

Malevolence

------

As was to be expected, Sirius' first public appearance caused quite a stir. It seemed that the Wizarding public bought their explanation of magical balance, though, so it was not any cause of worry to them. Sirius and Severus avoided each other as much as they could, keeping up the hateful act in front of students and teachers alike, and every night they shared a bed. They'd scheduled their meals so that Sirius ate in the Great Hall first, then, right after he had left, Severus entered. Everybody thought they were just trying to avoid each other even on meal times, and although some of the other teachers called this childish, none thought anything more of it. They simply hated each other, like they had always done.

At nights, however, as Sirius often lay awake, deep in thought, there was no sign of an animosity between them. He held the Slytherin tightly, petting gently the now silky black hair, amazed that he had managed to win the man's trust. Severus was completely dependant on him on almost every aspect on his life, and he was going to do his best never to abuse that power.

Of course, everything could not go on like this forever.

------

Sirius, it turned out, was fairly popular among the students. Although he had calmed down considerably from the rebel he had been as a teenager, there was still enough of a Marauder in him to draw the students to him like moths to light. While teaching, he was serious enough, never letting his students slip from any of the exercises or homework, but he soon became known as a prankster. After a loud fight in a corridor after Sirius had turned Severus' robes a bright pink nobody doubted that they hated each other.

Slytherins were more wary of him, though - not only because their Head of House was so obviously set against him. They still accepted him to a degree, especially after they noticed that his pranks were not reserved solely for Professor Snape but that he got on the other teachers' nerves just as badly.

There were still those even he couldn't win to his side. One of them was Monique Lohawk, a Slytherin and a Pureblood fanatic of the worst kind. Sirius had been told that in the Sorting she hadn't at first even wanted to wear the Sorting Hat because Muggleborns and Halfbloods were Sorted with it as well. Only Dumbledore's threat of immediate expulsion had made her finally wear it. Miss Lohawk loathed Sirius, and Sirius returned the feelings full-heartedly. He had thought his family's habit of beheading house-elves when they got too old was horrid, but then he had discovered that the Lohawk family had traditionally given the same treatment to their aging slaves. After this nothing could have made him like the girl, no matter what she was like.

Thus, he was already prepared for something bad when he one day was summoned to the Headmaster's office, the message only mentioning the girl and Severus.

------

Much as he loathed doing so, Severus had to deal with Monique Lohawk on an almost daily basis. The girl hated him, having labelled him as a traitor, and he shared Sirius' dislike for her. Unfortunately she was one of his most attentive students, making up in her hard work what she lacked in talent. She had been ill for some time, though - rumours among the teachers, as well as the students, told that she had fallen ill simply out of spite - and now had to make up for her missed classes. This was the reason he was currently tutoring her in the otherwise empty classroom.

It may be just for the best that there were no other students about, Severus decided. Other students kept their distance from her, and even other Slytherins avoided her, feeling that her fanaticism went too far even for them. The war against Voldemort had uprooted the most avid Muggleborn haters, and if any of those remaining shared any of her views, they knew better than to make it known. Miss Lohawk, however, was both fanatic and obvious about it, and never missed a chance to make her opinion known, regardless of the subsequent loss of House points - another reason for other Slytherins to hate her.

The problem may have been avoided had he not been in his thoughts at the exact moment. As it was, however, he realized the mistake she had made a second too late. Unable to stop the already dropped ingredient from reacting with the rest of the potion, he pushed the girl away from the cauldron. Even if he hated her, it was not an excuse to let her be killed in his class.

The explosion was not as bad as he'd feared, but bad enough to tear his robes and cause small wounds to the arm he raised to shield himself. As the smoke cleared, he turned to look at his student to make sure nothing was wrong with her. She appeared to be unharmed, yet she stood absolutely still. After a moment of confusion he realized to his great horror that she was staring at his wrist.

His wrist, usually concealed, which had been revealed due to the damage of his explosion.

His wrist, which was decorated by an elaborate strand of tattooed symbols.

Before he could do anything, she started to scream.

------

"Ah, Sirius," Dumbledore said gravely as the Transfigurations teacher hurried into his office. "I fear we have a bit of a situation in our hands."

"When don't we?" asked Sirius, then continued, "What is it? You mentioned Severus in your message. Is he all right?"

"Aside from a few wounds - no more than scratches, I assure you - he is fine," Dumbledore reassured him. "However, due to the destructive tendencies of potions accidents such as the one that caused this harm, something was revealed that should never have been." The blue eyes were sad as he continued, "Miss Lohawk saw his slave's tattoos."

Sirius cursed under his breath. "And has spread the word to the whole school, no doubt," he said darkly.

"Oh, no," the Headmaster said, much to his relief. "It seems she was in a great hurry to reach me - to demand me to fire him immediately, I fear. Of course I have no intention of doing that, but we have to somehow stop her from causing a further scene."

The usual warm look in Sirius' eyes was replaced with a steely glint. "Where is she?" he simply asked.

Dumbledore showed him into a room hid behind his office. As soon as the door was opened Sirius was treated to the sight - and sound - of the quite enraged Monique Lohawk. Kingsley Shacklebolt stood in the corner, keeping an eye on her, and looked up in obvious relief as Dumbledore and Sirius entered. Sirius wasn't too surprised to find Minerva in the room as well. Apparently only those already aware of Severus' status were going to be involved.

"I refuse to be taught by something lower than a human!" screeched the girl. "He is a slave. What right does he have to go walking around like he does? Even animals have to be kept at a leash!"

Sirius seethed. Earlier he had doubted anybody could be as horrible as the rumours claimed her to be, but now they were all too easy to believe. He could absolutely see this little bitch standing in front of the whole school and announcing that she would not touch the Sorting Hat after so many Muggleborns. In fact, he was surprised she had finally worn it.

"I'm sorry, Miss Lohawk," he said, "but a slave's humanity or the lack thereof depends solely on their master. Therefore, I am informing you that Professor Snape has every right to teach you. If you ever show any disrespect to him, I will make sure that you are expelled immediately."

The girl looked quite baffled, while all the teachers mentally cheered Sirius on. The Grim Animagus was not finished yet, though. "In fact, in my opinion, he is more a human than you are. Therefore, if you insist that he should not be allowed among other humans, I can claim that you should be locked up. What exactly do you think makes you any better than him? His blood? Get real, girl. His blood is probably purer than yours, considering how most Pureblood wizards treat their slaves - especially the female ones."

However, a true Slytherin would not be beat so easily. "Not my blood, no," she said. "What puts me above him is that I have not been bound to another's will. And you're the one keeping him in slavery. If thinking that slaves are not humans puts me below them, just what does that make you?"

Sirius flinched a bit at that, but did not give in. "I was given no choice in the matter," he told her coolly. "However, I am using my position and power to ensure a human life for Professor Snape. You, however, are judging him and his worth based solely on the fact that he is a slave. That makes you, Miss Lohawk, not a human but a prejudiced little bitch." Drawing a deep breath, he continued just as the girl was about to speak up, "You said that the slave's bond is what makes him less than a human, not his blood. Then he was a free human being when he was born, correct? So what gave his first master the right to place a binding spell on him, a free human being with full human rights? Let's assume that I know the enslaving spell not based on blood. If I cast it on you, would that make you less than a human? I'd do it, you know."

Now, the girl was even more enraged. Just as she started to snap back, however, they were interrupted.

"I think this is quite enough," Dumbledore told them. "Mister Black has made his views quite clear, and I agree with him. Miss Lohawk, any disrespect towards Professor Snape due to his status will result with your immediate expulsion. Also, if I hear of any rumours concerning this, I will know who to turn to," he then added, the usual twinkle in his eyes replaced with a threatening glow.

Miss Lohawk glared at him for a moment, then nodded stiffly. Then, radiating frustration and helpless rage, she left the room, not giving them another glance.

Dumbledore sighed as he watched her go. "Such a pity," he muttered. "She would be a brilliant girl if she wasn't spoiled with her prejudices."

"Do you think she will cause trouble?" asked Shacklebolt warily. He knew all too well what it was like to be ostracized due to circumstances out of his control. And, while looked down on, he was still in a better situation than Severus. At least he could mostly control his own life.

"Not directly, no," the Headmaster said. "However, I have no doubt she will find some way to make the truth known. We should now do everything in our might to prevent such a thing - and prepare for the worst."

------

It didn't take much, it turned out. Only a botched - or sabotaged, like was suspected, although never proved - potion in the middle of a Potions class. It just happened so that this was Miss Lohawk's first attendance of a regular class after her illness. And, although even the other students blamed her, nothing could be proved.

This time the explosion was more powerful, enough so to send a few of the students to the hospital wing. The worst damage was received by Severus, who had done his best to shield the students. Not even his wounds as he lay unconscious on the classroom floor, however, could distract the students from what one of the Purebloods discovered while inspecting his wounds.

The following day found Severus still in the hospital wing, Sirius torn between worried and enraged, and the school buzzing with rumours about the marks of slavery on the Potions Professor. And, quite unsurprisingly, Miss Lohawk very satisfied.

Misfortune

------

"Is he still not better?"

Madam Pomfrey glanced at Sirius and sighed. "I'm afraid not," she said. "He was wounded very badly. I doubt he will recover soon, even with magic. If it were anybody else, I could ask him to prepare a salve specifically designed to treat such wounds, but as it is Severus..."

"There isn't anybody else with such skill," Sirius finished, nodding. "I understand."

"Maybe it's just for the better that he hasn't awoken yet," the mediwitch then said. "If he had to experience what is going on around here at the moment..."

Sirius shuddered at the mere thought. Severus' slavery was the only thing anybody talked about at Hogwarts nowadays. The marks were too obvious to be ignored, and now everybody was just speculating about who was his master. It wouldn't take long, he feared, for the first Purebloods to notice his ring – and after that, nothing could keep the secret a secret anymore.

There was nothing that could be done to stop the rumours. The evidence was too, well, evident, and denying it all would have just been the last confirmation. All he could do was act unconcerned – and make Miss Lohawk's life as difficult as possible. Never let it be said that Sirius was above vengeance.

He just wished Severus would wake up. At least then, he wouldn't have to worry so much.

------

Severus indeed awoke eventually. They allowed him to recover for a couple of days in peace before revealing that his status had been discovered by the students. The Potions Master accepted this with almost frightening calmness. Something must be wrong if he didn't even complain about it.

Sirius, of course, questioned him about his calmness. Severus simply told he had always expected it to come out sooner or later, especially after Miss Lohawk's discovery. He would, naturally, resign without any further fussing. He wouldn't cause any trouble.

Thankfully others were more sensible than Severus himself. The whole faculty, Dumbledore first of all, announced that he had better not even imagine resigning. He was, they announced, the best Potions Master Hogwarts had seen in a while – which was undoubtedly true. They could not find anybody better than he was no matter how they looked. It didn't matter that he wasn't exactly free – to them, he was the same Severus as always. When even Trelawney joined the pleas for him to stay, Severus gave in; after all, he had nowhere else to go, really. However, he still seemed rather uncomfortable at the thought of facing the students.

This hesitation was not, as they discovered, without reason. As soon as Severus first entered the Great Hall for breakfast since his accident, everybody started whispering and chattering. Some of the more observant ones even noticed the concerned glances Sirius kept giving Severus, and after a minute or two there were several hands pointing at him, undoubtedly due to somebody noticing his ring. While the students spoke, the teachers all tried to talk to Severus. The Potions Master, however, did not react to any of this, instead concentrating solely on his plate. He was simply pushing his food around even though he could have eaten – Sirius, having arrived first, had already finished eating.

Finally, though, Sirius had got enough. He would not see his lover being humiliated like this. Glancing sharply around, he shot up from his chair.

"SILENCE!" Sirius bellowed. As everybody fell more or less silent out of pure shock, he glared angrily around the Great Hall. "Yes, the mastership of the slave Severus Snape has been given to me as an inheritance. However, if any of you are stupid enough to think that I would not demand a punishment for anybody who harms him, well, you're going to be really fucking sorry. If you as much as raise a finger against him, or say one word out of the line, I won't be satisfied with anything less than an immediate expulsion." Getting to the end of his rant, he sat back down, still fuming.

Severus was, he noticed, trying to avoid his gaze. Then again, the Slytherin was avoiding everyone's gazes. The students eyed him in half despise, half horror, and the other teachers were giving him simply pitying glances.

After another moment of this, Sirius turned towards the Potions Master, who was seated next to him. "Do you want to leave?" he asked simply.

Severus still didn't say anything. However, Sirius noticed a slight inclination of his head, which he interpreted as a clear answer. Rising to his feet, he abandoned his place at the table, heading out of the Great Hall. Severus walked behind him, his steps more hesitant than Sirius had ever heard them. This enraged him even further, but not badly enough for him to forget to address Severus while walking into the Entrance Hall.

From now on, he decided, they would not eat in the Great Hall.

------

One may have thought that Severus had faced more than enough hardships now. However, Lady Luck was clearly not on the Potions Master's side. Only a few days after he had returned to teaching, Severus – along with Sirius – was called into a meeting of the Order of the Phoenix. This nowadays fairly unusual occurrence was due to rather extreme circumstances.

"There is a Death Eater on the loose," Dumbledore announced. "This is hardly any surprise, but it is indeed surprising that this Death Eater has already been captured once. Somehow, he has managed to escape – and being handling by Dementors has hardly made him any more sane, not that he ever was that to begin with."

"Who is it?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt. "I guess we know them already. There are only so many madmen even among Death Eaters, after all."

"The escaped Death Eater," the Headmaster told them, "is Thomas Manger."

The name told nothing to Sirius. The others, however, looked shocked. At Sirius' questioning glance, Severus spoke. "Thomas Manger joined Voldemort publicly towards the end of the war – a sign of his insanity if anything," the slave told dryly. "He mainly targeted women and children. If he indeed is on the loose, Hogwarts will be his first target, so we will have to be on guard."

"Not only because children are there," commented Mad-Eye Moody. "He has a specific grudge against you, Snape, doesn't he?"

Severus nodded slowly. "I may not have exactly made him happy by poisoning him," he admitted mildly. "Especially as it led to his being arrested at the first place."

"Well, as long as you stay within Hogwarts, you don't have to worry," Dumbledore said. "We have enough wards to keep anybody outside, especially the likes of Manger."

"But I can't stay at Hogwarts all the time," Severus shot back. "At the very least I will have to go to Hogsmeade to get more supplies."

The Headmaster tried to convince Severus, with little success. Sirius listened to this for a while, until he got enough of it all. He'd be damned if Severus got slaughtered by some psychopath without him even trying to prevent it.

"Severus," he said firmly. As the Slytherin raised his eyes at him, he continued, "I, as your Master, hereby firmly prohibit you from leaving the Hogwarts grounds for any amount of time after you get back there tonight. No excuse can justify going against this prohibition."

For some time, Severus just stared at him with cold, angry eyes. Then he let out a defeated sigh. "I shall do as you wish, Master," he hissed through clenched teeth.

"Good." Turning towards the rest of the stunned Order, Sirius said, "Now, where were we?"

The others, however, didn't seem to be up to continuing the meeting. They simply stared at Sirius. Then at Severus. And then again at Sirius.

Then they all started to talk at once. It seemed they had managed to push the revelation of Severus' status aside for now, but this reminded them of it rather directly. Unlike the students, instead of being despising towards Severus, however, they seemed to approve of Sirius' actions. Accusations and demands were thrown at him at an ever increasing rate, not leaving him a chance to even defend himself. A couple of times he even got accused of rape – something he definitely had never expected to hear from Molly Weasley.

Suddendly, a sharp, angered voice cut through all the other noise. "Shut the fuck up, you bloody idiots, and LISTEN!"

Shocked to silence, everybody turned to stare at Severus. Well, everybody but Sirius was shocked. He watched in something akin to amusement as the Potions Master stood with blazing onyx eyes glaring at every individual around the table. At last some of the old spark was back in Severus!

Severus surveyed the Order with cool black eyes, apparently completely ignoring his unusual use of profanities as though it hadn't even happened. As he spoke again, his voice was calm and silky as ever, even though his language may not have been up to its usual refined state all the time. "Now, let's see. Yes, my Master did give me an order. No, I cannot go against it, and no, I don't like it. However, even though I dislike it, I also understand that he gave it because he is concerned about my wellbeing - something you lot obviously do not understand.

"Sirius is my third Master, the two previous ones being Stephen and Lucius Malfoy – who just happen to be my biological father and halfbrother, not that anybody would ever acknowledge those bonds." Ignoring their even more shocked expressions, the Potions Master pressed on, "Yes, I sleep with Sirius. So what? At least he asks for my consent every single time, which is a lot more decency than I ever got from either of my previous masters. I sleep in his bed – not chained to the floor beside it. To me, that's one hell of an improvement in terms of the treatment I receive from my Master. He's never raised a hand against me, or tried to use our bond to in any way harm or hurt me, rather to the opposite. Any time he has caused me discomfort has been because he's too bloody innocent and kind to even think about the horrors my previous Masters inflicted upon me. You're all so fucking concerned about me, the poor mistreated slave, and attack the only decent Master I've ever had the fortune of having. And what did you do when I was truly suffering? You didn't lift a finger! Sorry, no way, can't do anything, you're their property. Well, now I'm Sirius' property! How's the situation any different from the time I was owned by the Malfoys?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Severus silenced him by lifting a hand. "You keep your bloody mouth shut for once, Albus Dumbledore. I've got enough of your futile reassurances. If you and those other idiots really want to do something for me, then shut your bloody traps and fucking let me be! Everything that can be done to help me has already been done – by Sirius here!"

As he stopped, there was a stunned silence for some time. Then Sirius, who had stood up at some point during his rant, walked to his side. "You done yet, love?" the Grim Animagus asked gently with a hint of amusement in his voice, wrapping his arms around Severus' shoulders.

Now, Severus sighed a bit. "I believe so, Master," he replied mildly. "That covered the main points, I think."

"Excellent." Sirius smirked, then gave the rest of the – quite shocked – Order a mild glare. "You heard him," he said. "Just let him be."

After the two were seated again, it took the others still a moment to recover. Not surprisingly, Dumbledore was the first one to manage to speak.

"Ah. Yes. Well. Okay. Now, if we would resume the meeting..."

------

"You surprised me quite badly today," Sirius commented later as they had finally again reached the safety of their rooms. "I do believe, though, that you shocked the others even worse."

"It may be so, Master," Severus commented mildly. "And I do apologize. It was not my intention to shock everybody so badly."

"They needed it," Sirius stated confidently. "Besides, if you hadn't done that, they would have stoned me to death before the meeting is over. Interesting, how much readier they are to attack one of their own than a known enemy."

"Perhaps because they think that from you, they don't have to fear revenge," Severus pointed out. "Nor do they believe you would actually kill me to get rid of their complaints. Would you?" he then asked, appearing completely serious.

"I do hope that was your version of a joke, Severus," Sirius huffed. "I would never kill you, for any reason."

"I'm glad." That was all that Severus said – aloud, anyway.

His kiss conveyed quite a lot, too, despite lacking words.

------

Disasters often prefer to come in groups, it seems. It was so this time, too. Not too long after the Order meeting, Sirius was shocked in the middle of a class by an announcement.

"All students are to move into their dormitories immediately," Professor Dumbledore's voice echoed through Hogwarts. "Prefects are to supervise this under the command of the Head Boy and Head Girl. All teachers are to gather in the Entrance Hall. No tardiness!"

There was only one reason that could have caused such an announcement, Sirius decided. And that reason meant immediate danger to Severus.

Thomas Manger was somewhere within Hogwarts.

Somehow he managed to escort the class out into the corridor in something vaguely resembling an order. In his head, however, everything was in a chaos. If Severus were to get hurt...

Suddenly, he heard a sound from one of the side corridors. Telling the two prefects in the class to take their classmates where they belonged and to alert some of the other teachers, he got his wand at ready, prepared to investigate the source of the sound. If Manger was there, he was going to regret it.

Nobody posed a threat to Severus and got away with it.

------

"The students are panicking," Kingsley Shacklebolt told Dumbledore. "We're also still missing a few teachers. Severus reported there was something suspicious in the dungeons, too, so the Slytherins can't go to their dormitory. We led them to the Great Hall, but, well..." He nodded towards the doorway, through which there were students walking to and fro. "They are spilling out. Apparently they want to know what is going on."

The Headmaster sighed. "Who are missing?" he asked, worried. When Thomas Manger was around, "missing" might mean much worse than just "impossible to contact".

"Well, Pomona for one," Kingsley replied. "Nobody's heard of Filius ever since Ravenclaws got to their dormitories, either, and... Sirius is missing, too. And I don't know where Severus is at the moment, either."

"So all the Heads of Houses," muttered Dumbledore. "And especially Severus. This is bad. We've got to do something to –"

He never got the change to say just what they had to do. Somebody had appeared into the staircase.

"I'd advise you all calm down," Thomas Manger said, grinning like only a madman could. "I've got three of your teachers captured and secured. If you try anything funny, they'll be hurt."

A couple of teachers went for their wands, but Dumbledore raised his own hand, halting them. "Don't," he said. "We are not taking risks with this man. And with most teachers patrolling, we have to concentrate on protecting the students."

"Exactly," cackled the Death Eater. "Your precious, precious students. You know what, Dumbledore? Let's make a deal. You give me the traitor and I'll spare your students."

"We're not making any deals with you," the Headmaster replied coolly. "We both know that even if I did give Severus to you – what I would never do – that wouldn't stop you from attacking the children."

"Your loss, then," replied the criminal with a horrible grin, waving his wand threateningly. "Then I'll just say a spell that rids you of three little annoyances called professors."

"I wouldn't be so sure." They all looked further up into the staircase to see Severus standing there. The Head of Slytherin stood unfazed, his arms raised above his head, the sleeves of his robes falling down to reveal the black metal guarding his forearms and hiding his tattooed wrists. In his hands he was holding a faintly glowing glass sphere.

"What do you want, Snape?" snapped the man. "And how do you expect to stop me?"

"Why, with this, of course," Severus smirked, tapping his fingertips against the sphere. "Have you ever seen one of these?" As the criminal shook his head, he said, "This is a potion sphere... a potion turned into mist and imprisoned in glass. When it's broken, the mist will spread... In this case, the Warlock's Wails."

Now, Manger seemed taken aback. Warlock's Wails was one of the Darkest potions known to the Wizardingkind. It caused immediate madness – not the madness already present in Manger, but actual loss of all sensible thought, never mind self-control – and its damages were considered incurable by any means known to the current Wizarding science.

However, the criminal would not be that easily subdued. "You don't dare to throw it," he spat. "You don't want to risk infecting yourself or your precious students, so you don't dare to break the sphere."

"I don't, do I?" Severus smirked. "For your information, the mist is so light that it will not go down to the students. And as for myself, the amount of mist is small and will not reach me - and even if it does, that's a risk I'm willing to take." Tapping the sphere again, he said, "Now, drop your wand."

"Oh, I don't think so," Manger said, his voice still as smug as ever. "Or is this a risk you are willing to take?" And with this, he grasped at something that looked like thin air. Drawing away something - an Invisibility Cloak, apparently - he revealed something that made everybody gasp. To be exact, a bound and gagged Sirius. "Well, Snape?" shouted Manger. "Are you willing to risk his sanity, too?"

For a moment Severus hesitated. Then he started to slowly lower the glowing sphere with seemingly no intent to throw it. However, suddenly he stopped for a moment. Then he drew a deep breath and threw.

Everybody watched the sphere as it spiralled down through the air. Nobody could move; they were all frozen in shock. Manger had just enough time to open his mouth in a scream before the sphere fell right at his feet, shattering into billions of tiny fragments. A cloud of purple mist enveloped him instantly.

Snape now fell to his knees, shaking visibly. "He told me to throw," he said, his voice quiet but still well audible in the suddenly very silent hall. "He was there and he told me to throw the bloody sphere!"

Dumbledore frowned. Apparently Sirius had created a link with Severus through Legilimency. A mental command was as binding to a slave as a vocal one. It was just like Sirius to sacrifice himself – but now his sacrifice also meant that Severus had an insane Master as his burden.

Suddenly they saw a human form within the mist. A moment later Manger stumbled into sight, a look of horror on his face. Seemingly not even considering stopping, he rushed right over the railing, falling down to the floor below. The students turned away in disgust and horror. Wizarding folk could indeed take a lot more damage than Muggles, but a fifty feet fall to a stone floor head first was too much even for a wizard.

While everyone had turned away to avoid seeing the bloody mess, Dumbledore's eyes were still locked at the shaking man far on the highest plane. Mostly hid by the purple mist between them, Severus was still on his knees. Then, however, a black form departed from the mist on the other side, going to Severus' side. The Headmaster's heart leapt as he recognized the large black animal.

Now the Potions Master flung his arms around the Grim, hugging him tightly. Even from where he stood the Headmaster could see the animal's tail waving around happily.

The memories of a Potions lesson from well over a hundred years ago returned to him. "The Warlock's Wails," echoed his own Potions Professor's words in his mind. "This is one of the Darkest potions known to ever have been brewed. I won't tell you even the ingredients, leave alone the recipe. It causes immediate insanity in any human being nearby. –– However, it leaves animals unharmed."

Motherly Miseries

------

Coming back from dead, Sirius had come to discover, was not an easy business.

In fact, the only things he hadn't had to struggle with were Hogwarts and regaining his fortune. Harry would have returned to him even more than he would have cared for, and Dumbledore seemed to have no problem with his formerly dead status, the rest of the school following his example. Of course, there was a joke here and there occasionally, but then again, if there wasn't anything about a teacher to joke about, students made up something suitable.

The Ministry, however, was a pain. Absolutely. They couldn't deny the fact that he was alive – after all, they had a very annoyed, very noisy proof right in front of them – but they wouldn't admit that he indeed was Sirius Black. His Animagus skills were of no help as he had never registered his ability, and for some obscure reason they also claimed his magical signature was not a valid proof of his identity. Considering they had been more than happy to accept him as dead without the slightest proof, all this was getting rather ridiculous.

Fortunately, he didn't have to bear the idiocy of the Wizarding bureaucracy alone. Though nobody ever dared to say anything bad about Severus in front of him or any other teachers, there was – naturally – more than enough talk behind their backs. Although his bravery at the recent incident had gained Severus some respect among the students, some still bore ill will for him. As a result, Severus much preferred staying out of the corridors, giving up his usual rounds of chasing wrong-doers. And, as a result of this, he was always around when Sirius needed company or just somebody to whom complain about the idiots that were calling themselves the Ministry of Magic.

"These idiots wouldn't find their own butt with two hands," Sirius fumed, staring at the latest official letter. "Last time they demanded me to open my Gringotts vault to prove that I truly am myself. How am I supposed to do that when both the vault and the keys to it were left to Harry as an inheritance?"

"I thought Potter returned your inheritance to you, Master," Severus pointed out. "So why can't you do it?"

"He tried to," Sirius replied, "but I wouldn't accept all of it. Some of my family's fortune is the kind I'd never want to have anything to do with. Of course, they know this and did their fair best to find out just which vault I still do not own."

"So ask Potter to give it back to you, open it, and return it to him – or dispose of the contents, whichever way you'd prefer," the Potions Master said. He still didn't raise his gaze from the book he was concentrated on. "It shouldn't be that difficult, really."

"It is," Sirius sighed. "The time they gave for it is far too short for any exchange of vaults, Gringotts being even more suspicious than the Ministry. And now they have already given up on the claim. This time, they are asking for some proof from my family's side that I actually am a Black!"

"Your family tapestry won't be of much help, will it?" Sirius could swear he saw Severus' lips twitching a bit into something vaguely resembling a smile. Damn the Slytherin and his lack of expression. "Then are you going to find yourself a new identity?"

"Of course not!" Sirius spat. "I may not like my family, but I like myself! I like being myself! I won't take another name just because those asses at the Ministry think they're being funny!"

"There is one way." Severus finally raised his eyes from the book, giving his Master a serious gaze. "Lucius Malfoy's will. Dumbledore should still have it. As it states you the new owner of the slave Severus Snape, and it is easily enough confirmable that you indeed are your Master, that should be enough of a proof even for them."

"I know," Sirius sighed. "But that's the absolutely last thing I would do. I will, if I have no other choice, but I'll look into all the other possibilities at first."

"How noble of you, Master." Severus returned to his reading of the book.

A while passed in semi-comfortable silence. It was not entirely comfortable, as Sirius was still fuming with anger, but Severus seemed to find nothing wrong with the situation at hand. In fact, he was probably more amused at it than was healthy. The thought of Sirius, who had vehemently denied any relation to his family when he was younger, now just as franticly trying to reclaim his name apparently appealed to his sense of humour.

Finally, just when Sirius was certain he would explode soon, the Slytherin spoke again, though briefly. "Diaries."

"Huh?" Sirius looked at his slave at this puzzling remark. "What do you mean, 'diaries'?"

"But Master, surely your parents kept diaries? It is rather customary to the older Wizarding families to keep records of everything happened to the family, after all. In one of them should also be recorded your birth. And, unless you have managed to forget it, any semi-official recording of a child's birth can be compared with the individual's magical signature to prove their identity."

"How is a personal diary a semi-official recording?" asked Sirius. Still, he couldn't help but be a bit hopeful at the prospect of actually finding a proof that didn't involve humiliating the other man with yet another reminder of his status.

"If it has the signature of either of your parents, it is." Severus smirked. "Pureblood families are infamous for their inheritance arguments, after all. I would be surprised if your mother hadn't taken her husband's signature proving that you are indeed his son – and the other way around, I presume. Of course, I mean no offence, Master. It is simply the customary way of dealing with things."

For a moment the Animagus was speechless. Then he gave the Slytherin a look of pure gratitude. "I think, Severus," he said, "that you just made my day a damn lot better..."

------

"So this is it, Master?" Severus asked a couple of days later, looking at the trunk on the floor and the man currently crouched over it. "Your mother's personal belongings?"

"Well, some of them." Sirius smirked. "I asked Harry to exclude any too unpleasant things. Fortunately he had kept these in the attic instead of getting rid of them – although I wouldn't have blamed him if he had. This should include all her diaries from the period around my birth."

"Excellent." Severus smirked as well. "Knowing your mother and the ways of your family, there definitely should be something that can work as a proof of your identity." He crouched down next to Sirius. "Would you allow me to help?"

"If you'd like to." Sirius took the nearest diary and started checking it for curses. "Be careful, though – my mother was not the most agreeable of women."

"Yet you taught her to walk, I presume," Severus said, then flinched minutely. Sighing a bit, Sirius settled a soothing hand on the Slytherin's arm. Despite everything, Severus still was hesitant about everything that could be taken as an insult to him.

For a moment they worked together in silence, each looking through the diaries for curses, countering those they found and hoping fervently there would be no more. Severus seemed more accomplished in this task – for example, he did not find the book stuck to his hands and screaming even once – but Sirius stubbornly refused to let him do all the work. This, he felt, was something he had to at least partly do himself – and besides, he did not like the thought of letting his slave take care of all his work. It simply wouldn't have been right.

Most of the diaries were discarded almost as soon as they were safe to open, their dates being too far from Sirius' date of birth. Sighing, Sirius reached for yet another diary. The curses on it were fairly simple, and he managed to open it without any mishaps. Seeing the date on the first page, he started skimming through the pages, interested. This was at least from the correct year.

Suddenly he dropped the book from his hands, shocked. What he had read could not be right. Yet there it was, still glaring at him from the open page even as the book had fallen down.

"Master?" Severus asked, turning to look at him, worried at the shocked look on the Gryffindor's face. "Master, is something wrong?"

"My mother," said Sirius raspily. "My mother - was a slave."

"What?" asked the Slytherin, instantly alarmed. "What do you mean, Master? Amanda Black most certainly wasn't a slave."

"No, she wasn't," admitted Sirius with a hollow voice. "Nor was she my mother. My mother was a slave of my father's, who died as she was giving birth to me." Picking up the diary and handing to his lover and slave, he continued, "It's all in there. My father and his wife had been married for ten years already, with no sign of an heir. So, when his slave fell pregnant to him, they pretended that I was my mother's. When she then later finally gave birth to Regulus, they regretted ever having taken a slave's child as their own, but I had been registered as theirs and couldn't be enslaved anymore. That's why they always treated me so badly."

"Oh," Severus said quietly, his eyes downcast. "Lucky you, then. You don't realize how lucky you were, Master."

"Oh, I believe I do," replied the Animagus softly, smiling shakily. "Had I been a slave, I would have never got the chance to be with you."

"Now, now, such sentimentality." Severus still didn't raise his gaze.

"Severus." Sirius placed a finger under the Slytherin's chin, raising the other's face and forcing their gazes to meet. "If there was any way of releasing you, I would do so. Just because I escaped sharing your fate with some freak luck doesn't mean I'm any better than you are."

"Oh, but that is exactly what it means, Master," Severus replied with an unamused smirk. "Due to that freak luck, you are a human and I'm a possession."

They continued the staring contest for a while. Finally, though, Sirius gave up, drawing Severus close into an embrace.

"Let's continue looking," he said after another moment of silence.

"Yes," Severus said, his voice only the slightest bit shaky. "Let's."

------

The Ministry's acceptance of Sirius' identity was slow and reluctant, but in the end they could not argue with the proofs given in Amanda Black's diary. On the first page of an otherwise empty diary – well away from the actual truth – was the announcement of the birth of one Sirius Black, his both parents' signatures confirming the fact. Comparing the traces left to this with Sirius' magic the Ministry could do nothing but admit that yes, he indeed was who he claimed to be, and very well alive and kicking. Of course, this didn't mean they were making anything easy for him, struggling against his wishes every step of the way.

Fortunately, there were other branches of the Wizarding society that were not exactly as strict about official identity.

Never before had Sirius expected to be as grateful for the help of house-elves. Dobby in particular turned out to be a great help. Its experiences in the Malfoy household proved very useful in tracking down the individuals he wanted to reach. And, one day, a letter came bearing the news he had been awaiting.

Keeping everything carefully hidden from Severus, he sent back a letter, suggesting a certain price in it. The price wasn't much – for a racing broom, that was. For a human being, it was ridiculously low in Sirius' opinion. A fair price, he had been assured, although maybe exaggerated, considering the purchased object's true value.

Some time later a response followed. The answer was positive.

------

"Are you absolutely sure about this, Sirius?"

The Animagus gave the Headmaster a calm gaze. "As sure as I'll ever be. The papers have all been singed, so there's no cancelling it, anyway. And besides, what harm will it do?"

"What indeed." Dumbledore sighed. "It is already well known that you have a slave. Those who accept will hardly give any worse response than they have until now, and those who don't can't have any worse opinion of you than they already have."

"Exactly." Sirius smirked a bit. "Whether I'm a hero or a monster, nothing will probably change. And as long as they don't give any public trouble to Severus, I don't much care about else."

"It won't be easy, though," Dumbledore warned him one last time. "But for what it is worth... I believe Severus will be glad."

"That's what I'm hoping, anyway." With one last nod, Sirius left the Headmaster's office.

He had something – or, rather, somebody – waiting for him.

------

Sarina Snape was feeling quite uneasy. She did not understand the current situation. She was too old to bear children anymore; why would anybody want to purchase her? Well, she probably was pretty enough to be somebody's toy, still, but there were younger and prettier slaves for that. Not as many as there had used to be, mind, but there were slaves available. And she'd been told that somebody was specifically asking for her.

She didn't understand. She didn't understand one bit.

There was one thing she did understand, however, and that was the feeling of her Master approaching. Thus, even before the door was opened, she was already bowing down to greet them. Dutifully she recited the official words required of her, then awaiting the Master's first command. When she heard it, she was quite surprised.

"Get up," the man said, sounding uneasy. "I don't want to see you do that ever again. Understood?"

Sarina stood up, bewildered. Who was this Master, who didn't want her to follow even the most traditional customs? And what exactly was expected of her, if not the usual humbleness?

"At first, we'll set some ground rules," said the Master. "So. Nothing is expected of you. I want you to live as normal a life as possible with the slave's bond. If you can do magic, you are allowed to do that unless I especially forbid it. Oh, and the Headmaster has promised to arrange quarters for you."

"M-Master?" she asked, confused. "I'm not sure I understand..."

"Oh, you might understand soon enough," the man replied. "I'm Sirius Black, by the way. Have I understood right, that for a period of time, you served the Malfoy family?" As she nodded, he then asked, "And during that time, you had a son?"

"Yes, I did, Master," Sarina replied, remembering very well her little son. She'd managed to stay close to him exceptionally long, so she actually did remember him rather well, unlike her other children, from whom she'd had to part soon after the birth. She'd had many children in her time – slaves, every one of them – but only this one she remembered as more than a distant image. "His name was Severus, Master."

"That's great." A sudden smile spread onto the Master's lips. "Now, would you mind waiting here? I'll call you to the next room in a minute. There'll be somebody there who'll be glad to meet you."

------

"What is it, Master?" asked Severus as he walked in with his customary bow. "The Headmaster told me you wanted to see me immediately after my classes."

"That's right," Sirius said, grinning. "There's someone I want you to meet." Turning towards the other door to the room, he said, "Come on in!"

The door was opened hesitantly and a woman walked in with a small bow. With dark, silver-streaked hair and black eyes, she was still quite attractive despite no more being very young. It was also quite clear that she had a striking resemblance to one of the men – or perhaps the other way around.

Severus' eyes widened as he realized this resemblance. "M-mother?" he asked, bewildered.

"Severus?" Sarina froze in the doorway. "But... how..." She was speechless. Then she turned towards Sirius, a question in her eyes.

"I did some research," their Master simply said. "Ever since Severus told that his mother had been sold elsewhere, I've been looking through the records. And, well, I found you."

"Oh!" Forgetting all hesitancy for a moment, Sarina stepped forward to hug her long-lost son. The next moment, however, she looked at Sirius, her eyes wide with fear. "I apologize, Master – I didn't ask –"

"It's okay," Sirius replied, rolling his eyes. "I said nothing is expected of you, remember?" He grinned. "I simply did this for Severus' sake. This way at least one of us can have a caring mother."

"Master," Severus said clearly, looking Sirius in the eye, "you are, simply put, an idiot." This time, he didn't flinch visibly.

Sirius grinned. "I'm glad to hear that, Severus," he replied sincerely.

The Last Struggle

------

Severus' delight at being reunited with his mother, it turned out, was rather short-lived. Soon after arriving to Hogwarts, she began to show signs of an illness Madam Pomfrey couldn't properly identify aside from confirming that it was apparently not contagious. Relieved by this news though still rather distressed, Severus spent almost all of his free time with his mother, determined not to lose a single moment of the time he was finally able to spend with her after years of not even seeing her once. Soon she was completely bedridden, only conscious half of the time.

Sirius observed this with more than just a mere touch of concern. Of course, he was concerned for Sarina, who was a nice woman – not that he could even understand the emotional attachment Severus had to her, the only person who had cared for him during his early childhood – but more than that, he was worried about the Potions Master himself. Every time he had been seeing his mother, Severus seemed a little more tired, a shade paler than before, a bit more irritable. Despite Madam Pomfrey's constant reassurances that the disease was not contagious, he couldn't help but worry. This didn't seem like it was merely the stress getting at his slave.

His suspicions were confirmed when, one day, Severus collapsed into his arms.

------

"I am extremely sorry, Sirius," Madam Pomfrey sighed, agitated. "I should have known better than to just rely on the standard diagnostic spells. Those never bring the best possible results in cases like this…"

"What is it?" asked Sirius curtly, watching her closely. "What's wrong with Severus? Has the disease suddenly turned out to be contagious after all?"

"I wish it were that simple," the mediwitch said. "However, the disease is indeed not contagious – not in ways the standard spells would recognize, at least. It appears it is something that only a slave can catch or spread. It also takes some time for the first symptoms to show up."

"Only a slave?" Sirius repeated. "Then – Sarina –"

"Most likely, yes." Madam Pomfrey nodded seriously. "She already had caught the disease before coming to Hogwarts, and as the symptoms began, she unwittingly spread it to her son. My spells indicated it was safe to be around her, and it is to us, but poor Severus…"

"Damn it," Sirius cursed. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't brought her here…" The thought of Severus just moments before, extremely pale as he lay still in a hospital bed, came back to haunt him. He had seen Sarina getting worse and worse all the time and didn't want it to happen to Severus.

"It's not like you could know, Sirius," Dumbledore reminded, suddenly appearing from behind him. "Your intention was merely to make Severus happy – and that you accomplished more than well. I have never seen Severus as genuinely happy as he has been lately. I think that, should we ask him, he would still prefer the chance to meet his mother, disease or not."

"But still," Sirius argued. "It's my responsibility to keep him safe, and not only did I fail to do it, I also caused him to fall gravely ill!"

"Now, I'm sure it's nothing that serious," Dumbledore reassured him. "After a few days Severus will probably be up and about again, telling you to stop spouting nonsense. It's not like any disease has ever kept him down for long, right?"

With these words, Sirius felt a little more hopeful. Of course, it would be over soon. Severus was simply too stubborn to let anything truly bad happen to him.

This hope was nigh completely crushed when, late that night, Sarina Snape finally let go of life.

------

The news of his mother's death were, unsurprisingly, hard on Severus. As Dumbledore brought him the news, he stared at the Headmaster for a while as though not understanding what he said. Of course, he did understand, his eyes being alert instead of the fever-induced absent gaze they somehow slipped due to the illness. He understood it, and even better he understood the possible indications of it.

His mother had died of the same disease he now had. His hopes were getting very slim.

Stubborn or not, everybody has their limit. It seemed Severus had finally met his. The severe illness combined with the loss of his newly regained mother, added on top of a lifetime of slavery and torture, would have killed a lesser man with their weight. Being Severus, the Potions Master chose to bear his burden instead, not succumbing to despair – but the faltering he experienced was enough. Enough for the disease to get even worse, that was.

Hope was not exactly in abundance in Sirius' mind.

------

"Why won't he get any better no matter what we do?" Sirius demanded. "Is the disease incurable or something?"

"It isn't impossible to recover from," Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Indeed, a rare variant of it is known among other wizards as well. However, as slaves rarely are in very good physical condition, the strain is usually too much for them and they die. Despite the excellent care he has been receiving lately, Severus still isn't well enough to pull through."

"So there is no way to save him?" Dumbledore asked very quietly. To his great disappointment, the mediwitch simply shook her head as though unable to say it aloud.

After a moment the pressuring silence was broken. "There is one way," Sirius said very slowly. "There is one way that just might manage to save him."

"Oh?" Dumbledore raised a questioning eyebrow. "And what might that be?"

"Cast the slave's bond on me, with Severus as my Master." The Animagus's eyes were perfectly serious. "Through the bond, I should be able to give him the strength required to recover."

"That might work," Madam Pomfrey gasped. "But – the bond can't be cast on you, Sirius. You would have to be the son of a slave for it to be cast on you."

"She is right, Sirius," Dumbledore said seriously. "I'd have thought you would be aware of these things by now, given how enthusiastically you have been researching the subject."

"Slavery isn't the only subject I've been researching," Sirius told them. "While reading my mother's diaries, I stumbled across some rather upsetting information. Upsetting at the time, that is – but, right now, it might mean survival for Severus." Looking the Headmaster squarely in the eye, he finished, "My biological mother was a slave."

------

It took, naturally, quite some explaining. After the full story and a quick glance at Amanda Black's diaries, however, Dumbledore accepted Sirius' words as the actual truth. Not that he had any reason to lie, anyway – who would voluntarily claim to be of a member of a family of slaves? The best he might obtain from it was getting Dumbledore to cast a spell that would fail completely due to his lack of the proper blood lines. This, of course, would not help Severus at all.

However, there was no lack of such blood, as it had turned out. And Sirius was determined to go through with his plan.

"Are you sure about this, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked very seriously, standing with the other wizard beside Severus' bed. "In the very best scenario, this will not work at all since he is already bound to you as your slave. If it works, there is no telling the outcome. All in all, it is very unlikely your plan will work at all."

"But if I don't even try, he will die, won't he?" Although the Headmaster did not answer aloud, his expression spoke loud enough. "As it is, I simply can't do anything else. There's no way I can just let him die, not if there's even the slightest chance of helping him."

"You truly are devoted," Dumbledore noted quietly. "I think that, if there is any way to save him through this bond, you will be able to do it."

"Then let me try," Sirius said seriously. "Let me find that way."

"Just remember that, once cast, this bond is irrevocable," Dumbledore said gravely. "You will have no chance to regret later."

"If Severus dies, I'll regret it forever," the Animagus replied. "Now, cast it, Albus."

Very slowly, the ancient wizard started to recite the incantation required.

------

The next thing Sirius knew, he was lying in a hospital bed, Dumbledore standing beside his bed. Blinking, he looked up at the ancient wizard. "…Albus? Did it work?"

"Yes – and no," the Headmaster replied, a twinkle in his eyes. Sirius immediately felt a lot better. "No, it didn't work as far as the attempt to bind you as Severus' slave is concerned. However, it did indeed work to make Severus feel better."

"How so?" asked the Animagus. "If the bond didn't work, then how –"

"Apparently, the opposite bonds cancelled each other somehow," the Headmaster told him. "You are not Severus' slave – but, in exchange, he's not yours either."

"Then what is he?" asked Sirius. "If he's no more a slave –"

"He is an ordinary wizard," Dumbledore finished for him. "Yes, exactly. Apparently the Ministry is having quite some trouble trying to register him, though. Children of Wizarding blood are usually registered at birth and Muggleborns upon starting school. However, he already has Wizarding degrees which make either of those impossible. However, regardless of how they do it in the end, the officials have no choice but to register him as an ordinary wizard, not anybody's possession anymore."

"And the disease?"

"Gone." Dumbledore smiled. "We are not sure exactly how it works, but apparently the disease somehow attaches itself to the slavery bond, and with that gone, it could no more linger in Severus. He is still tired and worn, yes, but will recover with no trouble, according to Poppy."

"Great." All the tension that had lingered in Sirius' body left him now. "Where is he now?"

"Waiting for you, I believe."

Never before had Sirius got out of bed so fast.

------

Severus, Sirius noted upon seeing the Slytherin, seemed indeed tired. The other man was pale – not that that was anything new – and apparently exhausted. However, he was awake now, and looked much better than the last time Sirius had seen him. This could only mean that he was getting better.

"Severus," Sirius sighed happily, and the Slytherin turned to look at him. There was a look in his eyes Sirius couldn't properly identify.

"Ma -" started Severus at first, out of habit, then shook his head. "Sirius," he said, a tired smile gracing his lips. "Sirius... that feels good to say."

"That's good," said Sirius softly, leaning down to kiss his lover's forehead. In the background, Dumbledore walked away, a small smile playing on his lips. "Because it feels really good to hear you saying it." And it did. He doubted any other word in existence could bring him more joy.

"Of course, there are also other things... I can call you now," Severus added. "Like idiot... or love."

Okay, cross that. 'Love' did indeed make him even happier. However, now Sirius grinned. "I should hope you will use the latter more frequently," he said, "but somehow, I find that unlikely."

"That's your own fault," Severus replied, "for being such an irritatingly stubborn, never-yielding typical Gryffindor and going through with that idiotic plan of yours."

"That 'idiotic plan' saved your life and gained you freedom," Sirius reminded. "Not all Gryffindor-made plans fail, you know."

"Of course not," Severus replied with a smirk. "Only 98.7 of them do." Then, he turned serious. "Albus told what you tried to do," he said. "All I can say is that, regardless of everything you have done in the past, I no more have any doubt about which one of your actions is by far the most thoughtless, idiotic one."

"Thank you for your trust," Sirius replied. "But it worked, didn't it? Just not in the way I planned for it to."

"And thank every lucky star you may have that it didn't," Severus spat. "At the very best, the result would have been a disaster to both of us."

"But it wasn't." Sirius grinned. "And for that, you may thank the Gryffindor way of thinking."

"There are many things I might say about the 'Gryffindor way of thinking', Severus replied dryly, "and thanking it is not one of them."

Still, Sirius grinned. Apparently the disease hadn't changed the Severus he knew and loved.

At least, not for the worse.

------

Unsurprisingly, the news of the bond disappearing soon reached others. Dumbledore patiently herded off all journalists seeking to interview the two men. Some – including all the students of Hogwarts – thought it was all just a ploy. At least the students were cleared of any doubts they may have harboured, though, when they heard Severus yelling at Sirius about his absolute idiocy, using his full name loudly and clearly. Though the fight didn't last long and was cleared easily – after all the years of having to watch his mouth around his Master, Severus had been mostly horrified as soon as the initial rage had worn off – it definitely made clear to anybody in the hearing range that, indeed, the two men were as equal as they could be at the moment.

Despite all the yelling, the names he got called, and the snarkiness and sharp comments directed at him, Sirius was happy. He became a bit happier every time Severus called him an idiot and didn't flinch afterwards, every time the Slytherin had got tired of waiting for him to show up and eaten by himself, every time the other man told him to go to Hell and did the exact opposite of whatever he had suggested. Of course, he also became annoyed, but still happier, too. In the end, what did it matter if Severus wished him to the deepest pits of whatever underworlds he could come up with – and there were many? At least he didn't ask for permission before casting the curses Sirius only barely managed to dodge.

It wasn't the most ordinary of relationships, true, but then, it had never been. However, it was, behind all the animosity and pent-up aggression, a loving relationship, not that either of them was prone to admitting that around other people.

It also made Sirius happier that Severus was changing around others as well. It was a slow process, true, but bit by bit he was losing his reputation as the most hated teacher in the school. He still loved sneaking around after curfew to catch students out of beds, and he still wasn't above playing favourites, but the said favourites were Ravenclaws more often than not and picked according to their skill, not their parents. Naturally, anybody making any comments about slaves was bound to have detention for the rest of the year, but then, they could only blame themselves for that – and the same applied on every lesson.

Still, despite the fact that most of the more popular teachers had to deal with such things regularly, Severus had been quite shocked when he had received his first ever love letter from a student.

Now, strolling through the castle on his way to their rooms – Severus still wasn't very fond of eating in the Great Hall, and became rather annoyed whenever he was late, so he shouldn't dally – Sirius looked up at the statue of his old friend as he passed it.

"He's a good man in the end, that old snake," he said softly. "And I'm going to do my best so that he can be even better."

The statue smiled – a bit sadly, perhaps, but still smiled. "I see that," it replied. "If I were you, though, I would hurry."

"Indeed," Sirius replied with a chuckle. "However much the habits may still linger, at least he no more has much reservations about taking his anger at having to wait out on me." With this, he hurried away. Severus had probably started eating without him – as usual. Stupid impatient Slytherin.

Still, the thought made him smile.