After the Storm.

Harry opened his eyes to the sound of wiper blades pushing water from the windscreen, the rattle of rain on the car's body and the steady growl of the engine. Up ahead the narrow road twisted, through grey veils, down the side of the mountain. They were somewhere in the highlands.

"Home first" Snape had said and Harry wondered why.

As he straightened in his seat and pulled Snape's cloak more tightly around him, the professor glanced at him and then returned his attention to the road. Harry wanted to ask questions but was afraid of disturbing the fragile peace. It looked like late summer. Harry wondered how long he'd been kept under wraps in the ministry and decided that it was a reasonable question. 'How long?' he croaked.

'Twenty-five days,' said Snape.

Some catching up to do thought Harry. He was relieved that it wasn't longer. 'Thank you for coming after me.'

Snape glanced at him again. 'There's a flask in the glove compartment.'

Harry found and opened the flask: hot chocolate with a scent of orange. Whatever the problem with drinking things offered by Snape had been, it no longer applied and Harry drank thirstily. He had put the flask away, closed his eyes, and was letting himself drift off again when Snape spoke. 'Tell me what happened. Start with Mr. Weasley's disappearance. Did you realise that Draco Malfoy was possessed?'

Cocooned in the warmth of the passenger seat of the big car, Harry felt very detached from his experiences and he responded easily to Snape's soft voice, but when the questions finally stopped, Harry had one of his own. 'Did you put Veritaserum in the hot chocolate, professor?'

'Yes.'

Git thought Harry without animosity. He had another question. 'Draco Malfoy, the others who've lost family; they can't be very pleased with you?'

'We used a penseive to show them my memory of events,' replied Snape, still quietly. 'All of Hogwarts saw Lucius Malfoy walk to his death in the throne room, willingly, to protect his child. Not one of the bereaved doubts that, knowing what Lucius Malfoy did, every person in that room would have been ready to do the same. For purebloods, kin is everything. It was believed that Sirius Black had betrayed the order precisely because he had already betrayed his own family.'

'Has anything been heard of Sirius?' Harry dared ask.

'Nothing, but neither has there been any public mention of Pettigrew. The Ministry is in trouble and most unwilling to face further embarrassment. In the name of security, silencing orders are being issued and magically enforced. As this enforcement extends even to Aurors, this is causing a great deal of dissatisfaction.'

'What about you sir?' asked Harry. Snape had ended up in Azkaban after Voldemort's first fall and Harry wondered why the Ministry hadn't locked him up again. Especially given his part in events.

'They believe that I am still bound by the terms of my release from Azkaban.' His voice had become very cold. 'Controllable.'

As a snake thought Harry, wondering if he could ask about those terms. 'And you're not?' he asked.

'No.'

Harry waited and eventually Snape continued: 'I have made a "Full Disclosure" and all charges have been withdrawn although, as yet, Fudge and his friends are unaware of this.'

'You told them about Jane?'

Snape considered him for a few seconds. 'I told Moody and Shacklebolt about her, although I have allowed them to believe her to be a muggle and still at university. You will not give any indication to the contrary or use her name.'

Harry decided to leave well alone. He closed his eyes and relaxed.

'Wake up, Potter.' Snape's hand was on his shoulder. Although he had been awake, Harry blinked sleepily.

Snape got out of the car and slammed the door shut. Harry rubbed his eyes and got out. The cold, blowing rain cleared away the cobwebs and he was fully awake when he stepped, shivering, though the terrace door. There was a fire in the hearth and Harry homed in on it.

'Wotcher, Harry,' said Tonks, standing up. 'Nice punk look. How d'you feel?'

'Ok,' said Harry pulling the cloak tighter around his nakedness.

'There are clothes in your room,' said Tonks.

'And you need a shower,' said Snape authoritatively. 'Your hair's disgusting.'

Upstairs, in the bathroom, Harry considered his reflection. His hair was a mess, stuck up at all angles, but that wasn't what made him look different. It was the absence of glasses; and Harry could see perfectly. He wondered what Wormtail had done to him and decided to ask Snape.

He felt a lot better after a hot shower.

In his room, on his bed, Harry found a string tied, brown paper parcel that held school clothes together with a plastic bag from a major supermarket chain containing a new pair of shoes. Harry got dressed and went downstairs to find Snape, Tonks and 'Madeye' Moody talking in the library, waiting for him.

'Sit down,' said Snape, pulling the chair out from the desk.

Harry sat down.

Moody pulled a piece of parchment and a quill from his robes and put them on the desk in front of him. 'You'll need to sign this,' he said gruffly.

Harry read through the parchment and then he read through it again. 'You want to adopt me?' he demanded.

'Not me, Snape.'

Polyjuice thought Harry, a really bad dream . . .

Snape stared back at him. 'Even if you are not possessed by the Dark Lord, the Ministry of Magic will want to control you. As you are a minor, the simplest way to achieve this is to have you declared a ward of the Ministry.' He raised his hand to forestall Harry's interruption. 'While, I am sure that the Weasleys would be delighted to take you, that would require a hearing, to be held at the Ministry's convenience, and in the meantime the Ministry would have you. You might not survive.' Snape let that sink in. 'Magically, however, I am already your guardian. Because law follows magic and this is merely a formality, once this is signed, Ministry archives will automatically align themselves with the new information, unless they are actively prevented. They won't be looking for this. It will pass, in the muggle phrase, under their radar and it will remove the most obvious legal pretext for interference.'

Harry was finding it difficult to speak. 'Are you sure that you really want to do this?'

'No, Potter, I am entirely sure that I do not want to do this,' growled Snape irascibly. It is, nonetheless, necessary for your continued survival. Sign the bloody thing.'

Harry stared at the form. 'My godfather may be alive.'

'Doubtless,' said Snape, 'you would prefer it to be Black, but that would still require a hearing. You claimed to be Slytherin. Why don't you tell me why that would be a bad idea?'

'He was innocent! They know that,' said Harry and Snape's jaw tightened with irritation. 'They'd kill him wouldn't they?'

'He is guilty of escaping from Azkaban,' said Snape. 'No, they would not kill him. Not when they could return him to Azkaban and use him to ensure that you do exactly what they want.'

Harry stared at the parchment. 'I've done what I was supposed to,' he said. 'Voldemort's gone. Why would you care what happens to me?'

'Blood magic . . . ,' began Snape.

'But it was "Sympathetic Magic",' interrupted Harry, 'I lived because Tom Riddle's mother also died to protect him.'

'What?' interjected Moody. Not for the first time Harry was aware that he had said completely the wrong thing but, as quickly as Moody had drawn his wand, both Snape and Tonks had moved to defend him.

'I told you,' snapped Harry, 'I'm not going to be the next Dark Lord. I saw where it got Tom Riddle and you can sod that for a lark.'

Bemusedly, Moody lowered his wand.

Snape swung around to face Harry. 'We have discussed this,' he said dangerously. 'Miranda's runes were designed to protect her children. At her daughter's request I took you in. You were clothed and fed. I actually carried you in here. Ritual acts performed accidentally but the intention was to protect you and the house recognised you.'

'He will obey me' Snape had said on the night of his arrival, and Harry had. Even to the extent of missing dinner.

'You will protect him,' had been Dumbledore's reply.

But Snape had always protected him, Harry realised, even as he hated him, because of a promise made to Dumbledore. And now the professor was again subject to some sort of magical coercion, which couldn't be too happy about, and Harry didn't want to be hated. 'You don't have to do this,' he said. 'I can leave and it won't be your problem any more.'

Tonks gave Harry a thoughtful look and then stepped in front of Snape.

She slipped her hands behind his neck. When he met her eyes, she moved to stand very close to him, still gazing into his eyes, and to Harry's surprise, Snape didn't try to push her away. Harry wondered if Snape needed the spell for Legilimency. Tonks behaviour was clearly some sort of challenge and, very slowly, she began to smile.

Finally Snape blinked, and turned away from her. 'Whether your mother's Blood Magic prompted Miranda's runes to recognise you or, after the fact, tied into that recognition, Sympathetic Magic would strongly reinforce it. Thus, at present, the conjoined magic of three fairly powerful witches protects my child, and it would be exceptionally foolish not to accept that.'

As Moody's glance continued to switch in dismay between Tonks and the former Death Eater, Harry asked: 'You won't use this against my friends?'

'Sign the bloody thing, Harry,' said Tonks.

Harry signed the bloody thing. He watched as Snape appended his own spiky signature and then rolled the scroll up and deposited it in a carved wooden box on one of the shelves. 'Congratulations, Harry,' said Tonks.

'What about this "Astral Projection"?' demanded Moody.

Snape turned back, his eyes calculating. 'Perhaps you should attempt it now, Potter,' he suggested.

Harry sat back in the chair and, breathing deeply, closed his eyes. He tried to escape from his body, as he had done so easily before, but nothing happened. 'I can't.' he told them.

'Balance has been restored,' mused Snape. 'Perhaps it's as well. Even without Potter's peculiar history, such an ability would tend to make people uncomfortable.'

'Well, Harry's been "at home" about twenty-five minutes,' said Tonks. 'I should think that Magical Law Enforcement will have finished turning over the Dursleys by now.' She smirked. 'This might be a good time to return to the Ministry,' she suggested, taking her colleague's arm. Moody looked dubious but allowed himself to be steered out. 'See you later,' she called from the door.

'Supposedly an extremely powerful magical protection. If you don't mind having your life turned upside down,' Jane had said with regard to the talisman. She'd been right, thought Harry.

'What was all that about?' Harry heard Moody demand from the next room. 'I thought I warned you about swallowing anything that bastard . . .' Snape looked amused.

'He's one of only four people who recognise me whatever I look like,' said Tonks, 'and he's the only one who doesn't give a damn.'

'I'm old, I'm not dead,' grumbled Moody and then Harry heard the terrace door open and close.

Harry stood up and faced Snape. 'How do we get back to Hogwarts?' he asked.

'Come on.'

Harry followed Snape back to the car and got in. As they drove off Harry asked 'Where did you come across the expression "under the radar", professor?' And the explosives? he asked himself. Several minutes passed until Harry was sure that he wasn't going to get an answer and then Snape grimaced.

'Many years ago, some of my then colleagues were sufficiently unwise to "bait" some muggle troops. The muggles had the advantage of numbers, modern weaponry and, perhaps more to the point, sobriety. Further, being soldiers, they were not subject the sort of paralysis that usually prevails when people are unable to comprehend sufficiently quickly that they are being attacked. When the "hunting party" failed to return, I was sent to determine exactly what was detaining them. When I arrived, the muggles waiting.'

'Oh shit,' whispered Harry. 'Then what?'

'We argued,' said Snape. 'Starting arguments is, apparently, a common method of interrogation amongst muggles, but they had already guessed much. They soon decided that the Dark Lord not only "ill informed" but also "a bit of a prat".' The grimace had become a rather twisted approximation of a sardonic smile. Arsenic poisoning thought Harry. 'About the only thing more annoying than their patronisation was the "Monty Python". To ignore them was to be threatened with "the comfy chair" or subjected to "the Parrot Sketch". Worse, two of them had sufficient magic to produce minor explosions with a wand. What Salazar Slytherin had done, by persuading the Founders to accept only those who had demonstrated magical ability, was to allow those who's magic stayed dormant to remain in the muggle community. I am unable to surmise whether of not this was his intention but evolutionary theory and statistics, both of which the muggles were kind enough to explain, would suggest that there are likely to be many more witches and wizards amongst the muggle community than there are in the magical world.'

Snape and Dumbledore had spoken about this on the night of Harry's arrival at the cottage. 'It prevents war,' Snape had said then. When the professor continued, his voice had become very soft. 'These soldiers also explained the concept of Mutually Assured Destruction. The more dangerous a creature is: the more important are the rituals that prevent battle. Our species, muggle and magic, have become too dangerous for open warfare. It was decided that revealing the true existence of magic would be unutterably stupid. I helped them to tidy up the mess and then we set about devising some effective "disinformation" for our respective superiors. This was before Riddle's use of the Dark Arts and search for immortality had eroded most of his mind as well as his humanity and I was appalled to discover that I was able to mislead him. Someone I had been naive enough to call "Master" was less infallible than my own father. Make no mistake, Potter, I would much have preferred to continue to believe what I had been taught, but I could not and there could be no going back.' Snape paused. 'I don't have to warn you of the consequences of repeating any of this?'

'No sir.' Harry shook his head. 'But if there are witches and wizards among muggles wouldn't they do magic? Especially if they really needed to? I mean they could say a lot of things were just luck but what about stuff that goes against physics?'

'Miracles' said Snape dryly, 'magic blamed on angels, insanity or lies.'

That would fit thought Harry. 'The soldiers, they provided the explosives?

'Yes.'

Harry thought about the Dursleys and they way that they reacted to the thought of magic. 'But, magic,' he asked, 'weren't they afraid?'

The sardonic smile was back. 'I was advised that there was a "fuckwit in Washington with his finger on the button" another in Moscow and another in "Number Ten" all of whom came a poor second to the barmaid of a pub called the "Red Dragon" and that "a lot of bad-ass bloody fairies from a second rate pantomime" weren't even on the list.'

Harry stifled a giggle and settled back to think about that. Just as he was contemplating going back to sleep, Snape spoke again. 'You will recall the spell-work that we did on the car?'

'Yes,' said Harry, cautiously.

There had been a great many spells, all so minor as to be undetectable, and Harry hadn't seen the point of most of them. Nor had Snape explained the potions with which he had replaced the car's fluids, although he had appeared very pleased with himself. Harry had busied himself with applying the viscous liquid that Snape had supplied by way of polish and trying to stay out of the way of the unnaturally happy sod.

'The crossroads on the Hogwarts road,' said Snape, tapping the centre boss of the steering wheel, 'Vade!' and, in sudden sunshine, that was where they were.

Despite himself, Harry was impressed. 'The whole is more than the sum of the parts,' murmured Snape as he stopped the car. 'Get out.'

As Harry obeyed, Professors Hooch and Sinistra flew out of the trees, each carrying a second broom.

Harry recognised his Firebolt in Hooch's hand. He accepted it gratefully, mounted and took off. Looking down, he noticed that the car had disappeared, and that Snape had the fourth broom, and then he was following Hooch, whose flying skills he realised that he had underestimated, under the darkness of the trees.

They flew into sunshine over the lake. Low and fast they swept over the sparkling surface until Hooch led them to a stop on a deserted beach, where they dismounted. 'Well done, Harry,' said Hooch. She smirked. 'And congratulations, both of you.'

'Congratulations,' murmured Sinistra, avoiding everyone's eyes.

Snape gave them both a dark look and reached into his robes. 'Invisibility potion. Six minutes only,' he explained, handing Harry a phial of purplish liquid.

Hooch muttered a brief spell and Harry's Firebolt flashed into invisibility. Harry drank the vile contents and then held out the vial to Snape. As his hand faded from view, for a moment, the little bottle appeared to be floating in midair.

'Stay close!' snapped Snape, mounting his broom and then Harry was following him, up out of the trees and towards the castle. Flying invisibly felt weird but rather enjoyable and Harry pursued Snape as if he were a snitch. He soon realised that they were headed not for the castle itself but for the sheer cliff below it. Just as it appeared that Snape would fly into the cliff face, the professor vanished. Harry slowed but continued forward to discover the professor waiting for him on a small, ballustraded terrace.

'Leave it there,' said Snape, leaning his own broom against the raw stone. Harry obeyed and watched as visibility crept from his fingertips up his arm. This was less weird than disgusting. 'Hurry up!' said Snape and Harry hurried up, through wooden doors, into a plain but comfortable sitting room. A noise behind him caused him to turn and discover that the doorway was now a stone wall and Merlin only knew where Harry's Firebolt was. 'You can have it back when I am satisfied with your schoolwork.'

'Not before NEWTs then?'

'Probably not.'

Sneaky Slytherin . . . thought Harry, realising that now, unfortunately, Snape had that right. His guardian was touching the spines of books in a bookcase in what appeared to be a predetermined order until, in the tradition of mystery movies, the shelves slid aside to reveal a dark passage. Harry followed Snape in and the bookcase closed behind him.

What light there was now came from strange looking lichen growing in the joints of the stone-work and he could hear, rather than see, Snape walking ahead. The passage ended in a steep spiral staircase, the steps extending both up and down, but Harry could hear Snape's footsteps and started upwards. He was becoming dizzy by the time that he reached a narrow, arched doorway that disappeared behind him immediately he had stepped through it.

Harry found himself outside the open door of the Headmaster's office and went in.

Professor McGonagall sat at what had been the Headmaster's desk. 'Hello Mr. Potter.' Although clearly tired, she seemed pleased to see him. 'How are you?'

'I'm fine,' said Harry, 'and Tom Riddle won't be coming back. Ever.'

'We heard,' said McGonagall nodding thoughtfully, 'and I'm sorry about the Veritaserum, but we needed to report that we had taken all precautions. "The Prophet" is being as idiotic as ever. Oh well, it's good to have you back. And well done.' She smiled 'I believe that you'll find your friends out by the lake.'

'What do I tell them about the adoption?' asked Harry.

'That Albus Dumbledore was a devious old scoundrel with a sugar habit, Mephistophelean tendencies and a deeply warped sense of humour?' suggested Snape. 'De mortuis nil nisi bonum, after all.'

'How very true,' murmured a familiar voice and Harry spun round to where Dumbledore's portrait held place of honour on the wall. The painter had captured the familiar sparkle in the former Headmaster's blue eyes. 'Hello Harry. Very well done indeed.' Dumbledore appeared to be weighing him up. 'May I offer you both my sincerest congratulations?' he concluded smugly. Taking this as a dismissal, Harry nodded and left.

As he walked down through the school, he was strongly reminded of his second year after the discovery of his ability to talk Parseltongue. Younger children gawped and fled while older students rigorously ignored him, even some of the Gryffindors. "Seriously evil wizard coming through," the twins had said. He found himself grinning. Molly Weasley would not lose her children to Voldemort as she had lost her brothers. The Dark Lord was gone. Harry had done it.

As he reached the entrance hall, there was a sudden, punishing explosion of light. 'Creevey,' murmured Harry reasonably, as he blinked away the afterimages, 'do that again and I'll hex your eyeballs out through your ears. If I'm in a bad mood it won't just be your eyeballs.'

There was a startled 'Eep!' and when he could see again there was no sign of the photographer. Harry walked out into the sunshine.

He found them in the shade of a tree. As he approached they turned warily to face him but did not get up.

'Harry?'

Ginny looked scared.

'That's me,' said Harry dropping to the grass beside them.

What happened to you Harry?' asked Hermione. 'What happened to your glasses?'

'I don't know,' said Harry. 'Something Pettigrew did I think.' He told them most of what he had told Snape. When he reached the part with the Dementor, Ginny slipped her arm around him.

'Well done, Harry,' Hermione told him finally. This was echoed by many of the DA, who had gathered on the grass around them while Harry told his tale, as had most of the Inquisitorial Squad who were now whispering amongst themselves. Draco Malfoy's grey eyes showed nothing of his feelings.

Harry stretched out on his back to enjoy the sunshine and ignored the whispering. Dark Lords don't sunbathe he told himself. The warmth was soporific. He had decided to save the details of his escape from the Ministry for later. It would be better if Fudge did not find out about Percy's innovations in Ministry Housekeeping. He didn't know what to say about the adoption. He wasn't actually sure that he believed it himself, let alone how he felt about it. Apart, that was, from a profound hope that Snape and Tonks would remain friendly. He would have to ask her what that had been about back at the cottage.

Home? thought Harry wonderingly. His summer 'at home' had been the best that he could remember, even given the former Potions Master's acerbic presence. It had never previously occurred to him that the man could be funny.

'Shit,' said Ron. Harry sat up and looked around.

Heading towards them, with an escort of Aurors and Magical Law Enforcement Officers, was Dolores Umbridge. Her arrival was very different from her departure: an arrogant little strut. 'Where's Peeves when you want him?' Harry murmured.

He fixed his face into a pleasant smile.

&

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Authors note: a sardonic smile is a symptom of arsenic poisoning and 'de mortuis nil nisi bonum' means 'speak nothing but good of the dead'.