The next morning, Severus woke up feeling reasonably refreshed. It was still early morning and a Saturday to boot, so the Hospital Wing was empty.

To delay the moment when he had to think about everything that had happened yesterday, Severus immediately got up and changed into his own clothing, clothing which Poppy– or perhaps a house elf– must have placed on the bedside table after he had fallen asleep.

When he was done tidying up the area around his bed, he noticed that the transfigurations he'd performed on his sunglasses and stirring rod had reverted. He picked up the items and stowed them away in his pockets.

Then Severus slipped out of the infirmary and set off for his own classroom. If Poppy had wanted him to stay for a morning checkup, she ought to have said so.

Like the Hospital Wing, the hallways were sparsely populated, and Severus was able to make it to his classroom without interruption. Once there, he made a beeline for the supply cabinets and stowed the stirring rod inside.

He still had the sunglasses, so he turned to his office, coming to a halt when he caught sight of something lying on top of one of the student desks. Severus corrected his course and picked up the item.

It was Potter's uniform robe. He must have left it here when Severus had told him to remove it– yesterday. It was only yesterday that Potter had exploded his potion, setting the rest of the day's events into motion.

As Severus stood there, holding Potter's robe, he realized that Potter still knew nothing of what had happened. Even if the mutt had caught Potter up to the point where Severus was to take his place in the detention, neither of them would know that Umbridge had been arrested. That, even now, the toad was languishing in a holding cell at the Ministry, awaiting trial for her crimes. The thought of this brought a grim smile to Severus's face, because it was only the beginning of the nightmare her life would soon become.

Beyond his urge to share the good news– though it was hard to admit even in the sanctity of his own mind– Severus wanted to lay eyes on the boy and be assured that he was safe.

Severus's experience in the detention had demonstrated explicitly that there was more to Potter than he had ever managed to see before. Severus still didn't know, precisely, how many detentions Potter had been to. Though the depth of scarring Severus now bore was insignificant in comparison to the scar that was on Potter's hand, suggesting that Potter had been through far more than Severus would like to think on.

Severus might not know how many times Potter had knocked on that door, but he did know that Potter had to have been resilient to make it through those torture sessions on top of everything else that had going wrong this semester.

It had been quite idiotic of Potter to not tell anyone what had been happening to him, but the strength of will it must have taken to make it through detention after detention gave Severus hope that not only would Potter someday grow into someone able to fulfill Trelawney's prophecy, but that Potter would one day become someone who would survive fulfilling the prophecy.

Severus had always done his level best to avoid thinking about the prophecy. He had never been convinced that Potter would ever, ever stand a chance against the Dark Lord, and that thought had always made his oath to protect Potter itch.

But now…

Now Severus knew that Potter was more than the vapid attention-seeker that Severus had always thought he was. With proper training, Potter could gain the skills he needed– skills like when to ask for help or how to quit while one was ahead. And, of course, the boy could use training in subjects such as advanced duelling and identification of dark objects.

Severus latched onto this thought– the thought that Potter needed training– and immediately began to think through who would be the best choice to teach the boy.

Albus was out. He was simply too focused on the big picture to ever concentrate enough on Potter to properly train him. And, of course, Albus was currently too afraid of a connection between Potter and the Dark Lord to even look Potter in the eye.

Minerva was out. She had been singing Potter's praises for years now, and she had always been well-positioned to take on the task of training Potter– yet she had not. Whatever her reasoning, this fact alone was enough to discount her in Severus's mind.

Severus refused to even consider Black. Lupin was off– god knew where– running around with his werewolf friends. Hagrid didn't even have a wand.

Severus frantically racked his mind, trying to think of someone who could train Potter, someone who could make sure Potter would survive the coming war, but he came up short.

Then his brain landed on the option that should have been obvious from the beginning. Severus would have to be the one to give Potter the lessons he would need to survive. It was already nearly summer vacation though, which meant Potter would be going home. But Severus felt an urgent need to act on his new knowledge as soon as possible– maybe Potter could be convinced to accept summer lessons.

If Severus couched the offer with enough reassurances that Potter would still be able to see his family and have some time off, Severus thought he could convince the boy to accept the offer.

And if Severus was the one to give the lessons– and he would be– then he and Potter would eventually build a bond of trust. That would make it much, much easier for Potter to learn Occlumency. And Occlumency was important enough that the lessons would be worth it, if only because they would eventually enable Severus to teach Potter Occlumency.

Severus now had a concrete reason to go to Grimmauld Place. As he drew himself out of his reverie, he realized that he was still holding Potter's robe. He may as well return the robe while he was at it. He kept it in his hand as he turned to walk to his office.

With Umbridge out of the school, it should be safe to floo directly to Grimmauld Place.

Once he arrived at his office, he paused first to order and consume a light breakfast. While he ate, he planned what he would say to Potter and Black. He now had three reasons to go see them this morning. Strategically speaking, it would be best if Severus intimated as though he only had one reason to be there, at least at first.

After a moment of debating the pros and cons of each reason, Severus decided that he would start with Umbridge– this would put them in a more receptive mood to hear about his offer of private summer lessons.

When he brought up the lessons, he'd be sure to only mention the academic aspects of the lessons. The other portions– on life lessons and Occlumency– could wait until they'd built a little more trust. And he'd be able to return the robe whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Plan decided on, Severus hurried his way through the rest of his breakfast. Once he was done, he flooed away to Grimmauld Place.

When he landed in the kitchen, his ears were met with the sounds of conversation. The air was filled with the smell of cooking bacon and scrambled eggs. Once Black and Potter realized Severus was there, they fell silent.

"Snivellus? What are you doing here?" Black spat, getting to his feet.

Severus raised a single eyebrow. He should have remembered that Black would be combative. Severus placed his hand on his wand but refrained from drawing it.

"I am here with information that concerns your precious godson," Severus said, though his voice held less venom than it ordinarily would have.

Potter perked up attentively at this.

"How much did Black tell you of yesterday's events?" Severus asked Potter, deciding to ignore Black entirely.

Potter glanced at Black. "Er– most of it?"

Severus was truly going to have his work cut out for him. "Is that a question or a response?" he asked.

Potter frowned. "I think it was most of it. He told me about how you and Professor McGonagall had made a plan to prosecute Umbridge, and that the plan required me to leave the castle. He just didn't tell me what the plan was, exactly."

Severus nodded. For once, Black had exercised the singular brain cell he had bouncing around in his empty head and not told Potter too much information. Severus realized, then, that he didn't quite know how Potter would react to finding out that Severus had taken his place in the detention. "Good, then I do not need to go over that again."

Black opened his mouth, probably to say something imbecilic.

Severus continued speaking before Black could actually say anything. "I came here to inform you of the results of yesterday's activities. Last night, Dolores Umbridge was arrested– I believe she was charged under abuse of power– and she will stand trial sometime in the coming weeks. It is likely that she will spend the rest of her life in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Potter asked, shaking his head. "But– what? What for?"

Black walked around the table to stand by where Potter was seated– glaring at Severus as he did so. Black opened his mouth to speak again, but since the man had placed a comforting hand on Potter's shoulder, Severus subsided and let Black speak.

"Pup, she's going to Azkaban because she tortured you. Literally tortured you. She isn't getting away with that," Black said softly, though the effect was ruined by the second glare he sent at Severus.

"The mutt is right," Severus said reluctantly, when Potter still looked as though he wanted to argue.

"It wasn't all that bad," Potter protested weakly.

Severus was stunned into silence by this casual remark. Did Potter truly believe that? Even without knowing that Severus had experienced the detentions himself, Potter should know that the scars on his hands were evidence enough that it really was 'that bad'.

"Harry, listen to me," Black said, sinking to his knees so his face was level with Potter's and placing his hands on Potter's shoulders. "It really was that bad. Umbridge deserves to go to Azkaban for what she did to you. Not only that, she deserves to rot in hell for what she did to you, but Azkaban is a good first step."

Potter looked away from Black's face and shrugged uncomfortably.

Black sighed and released Potter's shoulders. Then he got to his feet and glared at Severus again. "What are you still doing here?"

"There is one more additional piece of information. It has been decided that Potter needs to attend additional lessons this summer. I will be covering topics such as Advanced Duelling and Warding." Potter looked like he wanted to protest, but Severus continued, "You will, of course, have plenty of time off to relax with your family, but with the escalation of the war, there is no more time to waste."

Potter remained still, a slight frown on his face, but Black reacted more violently.

"Why should you be the one to give my godson lessons?" Black spat. "I am more than capable–"

"Wait," Potter said, interrupting. "If I had these lessons, would I have to spend less time at the Dursley's?"

Severus had to pause to consider the odd question, and in the gap, Black continued to speak.

"That's right– the blood wards– Dumbledore would never let these lessons happen," Black said, seeming angrier at Dumbledore than at Severus.

"Potter– do you mean to say that you do not want to spend time with your relatives?" Severus asked, a new idea beginning to form in his mind.

Potter snorted derisively. "I definitely do not want to spend any more time with them than I absolutely have to."

"I have a plan then, but it will require your cooperation, Black," Severus said.

Black looked intrigued, though still mutinous, and Potter looked curious and even a bit hopeful.

"If Black and I worked together, then I believe we could arrange a solution. Potter would spend the summer here at Grimmauld Place with you, Black. Officially– though discreetly– Potter would be staying with me, since I am not a felon. And both of us would give the aforementioned lessons."

"Do you really think that would work?" Potter asked.

Severus nodded. "With the three of us working in conjunction, Albus would have no legal basis with which to stop us."

Even Black looked thoughtful now.

"Sirius," Potter said, barely loud enough for Severus to hear, "this plan sounds great– it sucks in a lot of ways, but we'd get to spend the summer together, and I think that's worth it."

Severus had to restrain a snort at the euphemism– Potter was clearly referring to Severus's involvement when he said that the plan sucked.

Potter's plea was enough to sway Black. "If you want this, then we'll make it happen," Black said.

"So, you'll be able to work with me?" Severus asked, just to make absolutely sure that Black understood the repercussions of agreeing to this plan.

"So long as you're able to work with me," Black replied with a grin.

Severus stared at Black blankly, a little thrown by the sudden lack of hostility.

"Uh, so how are you going to make it happen?" Potter asked, looking between Severus and Black.

"I rather thought that Black and I would contact Dumbledore for a meeting and confront him together," Severus said, glad that the conversation was back on relatively familiar ground.

"That works for me," Black said. "The sooner the better, though. I don't want to risk Dumbledore taking too long to respond."

"Why don't you go write the letter now, then?" Potter asked. "Just to make sure, you know?"

Black glanced at Severus, then back at Potter. "Will you alright being alone with– er– Snape if I do?"

Potter nodded.

"Right. I'll be back in a couple minutes with a draft for you to look over," Black said.

Severus got the feeling that Black wanted to say something else, but then the moment passed as Black left the room.

Another moment passed in awkward silence before Severus remembered the last thing he had come here to do. He stepped away from the fireplace, walking around the table towards Potter. Then Severus came to a halt and offered the robe he'd been holding the entire time.

"You left this in my classroom," Severus said.

Potter looked startled for a moment, then reached out to take the robe.

As soon as the robe was clear of Severus's hands, Potter froze.

Severus glanced down to see what had prompted this reaction. And then he froze at the sight of his newly scarred hands. New scars that Potter had just seen. Severus immediately shoved his hands into his pockets.

The motion snapped Potter out of whatever trance he had been in. "What happened," Potter demanded, his voice shaking ever so slightly, "to your hands?"

Severus had hoped that Potter would never find out about what he had done. It was too late for that now, though. Severus had to take ownership of the plan and hold his ground– taking Potter's place had been the right thing to do, and Potter would not convince him otherwise.

"Someone had to attend your detention. It had to be someone whose testimony would be admissible in a court of law," Severus said firmly.

"But you're scarred now! See, this is why I didn't want anyone to find out about it! Now another person's been hurt because of me–"

"I chose to Polyjuice myself as you," Severus said, cutting Potter off. "You hardly held a wand against my throat and forced me to do it, so I fail to see why you would have any culpability in this situation."

"If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been there in the first place!" Potter exclaimed. "You were pretending to be me! How could it not be my fault and– and wait, you used Polyjuice? How the hell did you get my hair?"

Severus cleared his throat. "Minerva was in charge of acquiring your hair," Severus said quickly. Then, normally, "But the point remains. I made the decision to take your place. Regardless of your involvement, if I had not seen the necessity, I would not have agreed to the plan."

Potter's brow creased in frustration. He thrust out his hand to show his own copy of the scar.

"See this? It's the same scar you have– a scar that you wouldn't have if it wasn't for me!" Potter said.

"What's this?" Black asked, walking back into the kitchen.

"Your godson is being even more moronic than usual," Severus said, in as bored of a tone as he could manage. Black began to bristle, so Severus continued, "He seems to be under the impression that he is responsible for what happened to me while I collected evidence against Umbridge."

Black immediately shifted gears and pulled Potter into a hug. "Harry, it was not your fault. You did not hold Snape at wandpoint, you did not Imperius anyone, and this is not your fault."

Potter was shaking his head against Black's chest. Severus began to back up towards the floo. Black appeared to have the situation handled, and Severus wouldn't know how to talk to Potter about this anyways.

As Severus drew near the fireplace, Black lifted his head from where it'd been buried in Potter's hair.

"Are you going now, then?" Black asked.

Severus halted. "You seem to have the situation under control, so yes."

Black relinquished his hold on Potter and pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket. "You ought to look this over before you go– oh, and we have some breakfast left, if you'd like to have something to eat while you go over it."

Severus was taken aback by the seemingly genuine offer. He'd already had breakfast, of course, so he had no need to stay. He opened his mouth to politely decline, but then he looked over at Potter and was shocked to see that Potter was looking between him and Black, a pleading look in his eyes.

For a moment, Severus teetered between accepting and declining. Then he realized that this would be the perfect time to initiate bonding with Potter, for the purposes of eventual Occlumency lessons, and landed on the decision to accept.

"I can stay for breakfast," Severus said slowly, feeling as though the world had turned on its head.

Black handed Severus the letter he'd written up, and then he went over the stove to load up a plate with breakfast food. "I hope scrambled is alright," Black said.

Severus was honestly not hungry, but he nodded anyways as he picked up the letter and made his way to an empty seat.

He'd just unfolded the letter when Black set a plate down in front of him.

"Thank you, Black," Severus said, though the words felt wholly unnatural.

"You're very welcome, Snape," Black said with a lopsided smile. Then he walked back around the table and sat down next to Harry again.

Black and Potter started up a benign conversation about some Muggle movie Black wanted to see, and Severus tuned them out as he began to work at forcing down his second breakfast of the day.

As Severus sat there at Black's kitchen table, forcing down a meal he did not need and only half listening to Black and Potter converse, an odd feeling of peace fell over him.

Perhaps his plan to mentor Harry wouldn't be so terrible, after all.

AN: That's it, folks! Thank you so much for reading! Unfortunately, this is all I've written for this universe and all I ever will write for this universe. If you're interested in more Snape and Harry gen, I do have another complete work whose sequel I am currently working on, titled 'The Chosen One and The Halfblood Prince' and 'The Reconciliation and The Journey', respectively. Finally, please don't forget to leave a comment! I love to hear what you thought!