Raised by Canines {A Harry Potter fanfiction}

17. Attempts at Apologies

A/N: Oh my god, I haven't updated in so long and I am so sorry. I've been suffering from a bit of writers block and other stuff has been going on... But here's the next installment. Lots of Snape in this one, but it sets the scene for future chapters (not much longer before I go on to Hogwarts days) so it's important. Enjoy :)

Sirius groaned as he woke up.

"What?" The voice startled him; Sirius had nearly forgotten the events of the night before. He opened his eyes slowly and stared into Remus' amber ones, and grinned a little.

Remus had spent the night in his bed.

They'd stayed up most of the night talking.

Merlin, did Sirius feel like a young school girl.

"Morning."

Remus couldn't help but grin back. "Morning."

Sirius frowned again as he reminded himself about what he was dreading. "We have to meet with Dumbledore, again."

Remus closed his eyes and let out a sigh. "When?"

"Eleven."

"Uncle Padfoot? Uncle Moony?" Both men shot up at the questioning tone of their godson.

"Harry?" Sirius asked. "Come here, kiddo. You're up early."

Harry padded over to the bed and let Sirius help pull him up. Harry plopped into Sirius' lap and cuddled up to his Godfather's chest, then set Remus with a questioning look. "Did you have a bad dream, Uncle Moony?"

It was Remus' turn to look confused. "Hm?"

"Is that why you slept with Uncle Padfoot? 'Cause you had a bad dream?"

Remus turned a dark shade of red as Sirius tried to hide his bark-like laugh with a cough. "No, Cub, we were just talking and fell asleep."

"Oh." Harry nodded his understanding, then laid his head on his Godfather's chest and gazed up at him like he hung the moon. Lately, he'd been pretty clingy to the man, as if he were worried Sirius was feeling left out.

Sirius wasn't complaining.

"Are we gonna go see 'Fessor Dumble-dumble...dumble..."

"Dumbledore?" Sirius supplied, grinning at his Godson.

"Yeah, him and 'Fessor Minnie? Are we gonna see them today Uncle Padfoot?"

"Yes, we are." Sirius tweaked the boy's nose. "How about you go get dressed and we'll go out for breakfast before we go see them."

"Yay!" Harry, excited about the prospect of actually getting to go out with his family for breakfast, jumped out of Sirius' lap and dashed to his room. Sirius and Remus shared a small grin, happy to see their son so excited.

*~*~*

Severus stormed down the corridors, his robes billowing behind him.

He couldn't believe that he had to apologize to his childhood tormentors and the little brat. The thing had cried so loud the night that Lily had died, it was dreadful. However, he was only a child...and he'd been told that that is what children did.

He supposed he wouldn't hold that against the boy.

He did have to resign himself to the fact, however, that Dumbledore had a point. He'd been asked to do a job and hadn't performed it, and as a result, the child had been left to those filthy abusers.

"Headmaster." He'd entered the man's study sooner than he thought he would, especially since he'd been avoiding this for as long as possible.

"Severus." Albus greeted him simply. "Have a seat. There are some things we need to discuss before Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black arrive."

"Such as?"

"You'll no longer be teaching at Hogwarts." The Headmaster studied his wand. "Tell me, Severus. Was I wrong to put my faith in you? Are you still loyal to Tom?"

Merlin. "No, Headmaster."

"Then, pray tell, why did you not do the one thing that I asked you to do? For her, at the very least!"

Severus said nothing.

"Alright." Albus muttered, seeing that he was going to get nowhere. "In addition to apologizing to Mr. Lupin, Mr. Black, and Harry, you'll be supplying Mr. Lupin with Wolfsbane every month."

Again, Severus only sat and fumed. This was not going in his favor.

"Severus."

"Yes, Headmaster. I understand."

"And from now until I see fit, you'll be working at the apothecary that supplies Hogwarts with its potions ingredients."

The ex-Death Eater knew that this was Dumbledore's way of keeping tabs on him. Whether he liked it or not, he was going to have to play along if he wanted the protection that Dumbledore was, surprisingly, still willing to give. With a tight grip on the anger that was threatening to come out Severus Snape grit his teeth and answered the Headmaster with a simple "Yes Sir" before the mutt, the werewolf, and the brat entered the office.

For a long moment, Severus could not take his eyes off the young boy who was doing his best to hide behind his Godfather's legs. The large, doe shaped eyes that had belonged to his mother didn't hold the same fierceness that hers did but held a gentle, yet fearful gaze.

And then it clicked. This boy was scared of him.

Trying and failing to soften his features the man stood. "Mr. Potter."

"H-hullo." Still he clung to the mutt's leg, and Severus couldn't help but glare at the smirk Black was wearing. Yet, the man bent down and put an arm around the boy that looked so much like James Potter yet acted so much like Lily and began to try and calm him down.

"Harry, this is Severus Snape. He was very good friends with your mother a long time ago."

"Mummy? He can tell me about her, right?"

"A lot more than Uncle Moony and I can." Black glanced over at Severus and then looked back at Harry. "But maybe another time. You were going to go talk to Minnie today, remember? She's excited about seeing you again."

"It's Professor McGonagall." Snape corrected, irritation evident. "Have some respect, Black. At least try to teach the boy decent behavior, if that's not too difficult for you and your puppy over here."

Lupin let out a low growl. If they hadn't been in Dumbledore's office with Harry, Severus might have been worried. However, the mousy haired man didn't necessarily strike fear into him except for when he let certain instincts take over, which was likely far more often than the man would like to admit. This thought caused a half smile to creep on to his features.

"Now, now, I think it's time for Harry to go see Minerva." The headmaster was quick to try and diffuse the situation. "Sirius, do you think you could take him to her office?"

With a glare at Severus the man nodded and picked up the boy, and a feeling Severus didn't recognize creeped into his stomach. Black may have been willing to let him see Harry a few moments ago, but those wishes were certainly shot to hell now. As the man swaggered out of the office with the little one sitting on his hip, Albus motioned for the other two men to have a seat.

"Please, Remus, sit. We have some things to discuss that are just between the three of us."

Severus saw the man gulp and grinned.

Whether he liked it or not, Remus Lupin was whipped.

A/N: I felt like this was a good place to end things for now ;)