Snape had honestly believed that nothing could shock him as badly as the boy's preferring him to Black, but Black's actually referring to him as Harry's father did it. He found his head back between his knees as Black shouted to Remus to hurry up with the tea.
"Are you all right, Pr'fessor? Maybe you should have a biscuit," Harry offered, hovering worriedly. "D'you want me to go an' get Madame Pomfrey? OrтАжdo they have wizard doctors here in Switzerland?"
Snape's pride finally reasserted itself. He was not about to sit here like an overemotional Hufflepuff! He managed to straighten up, ignoring the spots flashing before him. "I'm fine, Mr Potter, and do not think I was so overcome I did not see you pocket those cream cakes. Kindly remove them at once."
Harry blushed guiltily. "They weren't for me," he protested, pulling out the now-linty cakes. "I was savin' 'em for Ron an' Hermione."
"Hmf." Snape sipped at his tea and grimaced. Had the werewolf upended the sugar bowl into his cup?
"Sugar is good for shock." Remus interpreted his expression correctly. "It will speed your recovery. Trust me."
Snape huffed again, but he was beginning to feel a little better. Events had just beenтАж unexpected.
Harry sat on the couch next to him, not quite on his lap, but definitely closer than decorum indicated. He gave the brat a sharp nudge, but of course he was oblivious to such subtle corrections. Snape gave up with a sigh. There would be plenty of time later on for etiquette lessons, and тАУ if truth be told тАУ just now he rather liked having the boy so near.
Harry made sure to sit extra-close to his professor, so he could keep an eye on the man. He hadn't liked it at all when his professor had gone all funny, but Remus insisted he'd be fine and it was probably just something he'd eaten. Still, Harry was going to stick close for the rest of the visit. His professor must have noticed, because he gave him a friendly little nudge as Harry sat down, as if to say "thanks for being there". Harry scooted even closer. He knew how awful it was to be alone when you were sick, and he definitely didn't want his guardian to feel that way. "If you need anything, just let me know," he told Snape sternly. "You sit and rest, okay?"
Snape tried to understand what had just happened as he sipped his too-sweet tea. Black had actually beenтАж pleasant. He had endorsed the brat's affection for Snape (nonsensical though it was) and had appeared quite sincere in his intentions not to assume custody of the child. Snape could not have been more surprised if a house elf had punched him in the nose.
Of course, Black had called him a "fuckwit", but for Black that was practically a term of endearment.
Sirius finally managed to drag a hovering Harry away and began pulling memories out of his head and placing them in the pensieve, much to the boy's fascinated disgust. Remus settled next to Snape, and it was a measure of how rattled the Slytherin was that he didn't recoil from the werewolf's proximity.
"You look a bit confused," Remus said, his voice quiet.
"Has Black recently suffered head trauma?" Snape asked seriously.
Remus muffled a laugh. "No, but I was wondering if you had. You're usually much quicker on the uptake."
"The workings of Gryffindor minds тАУ such as they are тАУ remain mysterious to me," Snape retorted, giving him a dirty look.
Remus grinned. "Better get used to it. You're living with one now." He glanced over at where Harry was warily peering into the pensieve. "But I don't see what's so confusing."
"You don't see anything at all odd about Black тАУ Sirius Black тАУ consenting to allow his godson, the orphan of James Potter, to be raised by a greasy Slytherin who is offensive merely by existing?"
Remus had the grace to color. "Merlin, Severus, we were what, sixteen? I'd have thought you might have forgotten by now."
"And you have such a short memory for those who call you names, wolf?"
Remus sighed. "Touche. It was inexcusable then and now, but Sirius really does regret it, you know. As do I."
"He did apologize," Snape commented begrudgingly.
Remus heard what Snape had not consciously intended. "Please let me do the same. Severus, I am sincerely sorry for my actions. We treated you abominably, and we were never properly punished. Your treatment of Harry proves that you are тАУ and were тАУ the better man."
This was not helping Snape's mental health. Apologetic Gryffindors? Mouthing the very lines his teenaged self had longed to hear? Maybe he didn't need to worry about Voldemort after all тАУ surely the Apocalypse was upon them. How many more Signs of the End Times did he need?
Remus sensed his befuddlement. "Severus, I may be the one with the wolf inside me, but Padfoot has always shown a doglike devotion for his friends. His loyalty, once given, is so strong that he would have made a good Hufflepuff, if it hadn't taken such obvious courage to break with the rest of his family and join the Light."
"And this is supposed to have something to do with him not hexing me or taking Harry?" Snape demanded testily.
"What is the most important thing in Sirius' life?" Remus asked, seemingly at random.
"Casual sex," Snape replied promptly.
Remus choked, then laughed in delight. "Actually, that's number two. Number one is Harry тАУ he's all that we have left of James and Lily, but even more than that, Padfoot swore to look after Harry if anything happened to them."
"And a fine job he's done to date," Snape sneered.
"That's exactly the point, Severus. Once Sirius realized what had happened to Harry and saw what you have done for him тАУ and for Sirius himself тАУ he realized how badly we had misjudged you. You broke him out of Azkaban when you learned he was innocent. You weren't stopped by the fact that you hated him тАУ or the fact that he couldn't stand you. You did the right thing regardless of your personal feelings. Of course he felt grateful. And then to realize that, when you discovered Harry's situation, you had done the same thing for him? Severus, you saved the only thing in this world that Padfoot really cares about. You did it when Dumbledore wouldn't, and Sirius couldn't, and тАУ " Remus swallowed hard but forced the words out, his voice thick with guilt " тАУ and I didn't. You were the only one who was there for Harry, even though you owed him nothing and could feel only hatred towards his family. Sirius and I know how much we owe you and that you are тАУ despite being a 'greasy Slytherin git' тАУ a very good person. Much better than us, in fact... Like it or not, Severus, you're now a Marauder too. You're part of our Pack."
How ignominious. Snape mused gloomily that this was every bit as bad as being an honorary Weasley. What more humiliation would the brat have in store for him? All he wanted to do was to prevent the Dark Lord from murdering the boy, but at this rate, he'd be a bloody Gryffindor before Harry was in third year.
TBCтАж