The Little One with Green Eyes

9: In Which a Dark Lord Rages

-September 26 1991-
Sirius still wasn't sure if he was dreaming or having a nightmare. Having his godson returned to him was all he'd ever dreamed about, but having him returned as an Inferius... that was never a part of it. One hand was clenched tightly around a stalk of Forget-Me-Nots (the irony of the flower was not lost on him) and the other held Harry to his chest. He was sitting around the massive table in the kitchen that doubled as a meeting space for the Order, and everyone was silent.

They were all staring at Harry with a mixture of emotions, too many for Sirius to decipher. Everyone had grieved the loss of James and Lily, as they were all close friends, but none had grieved like Sirius and Remus did. And when Sirius had returned to the Order, his eyes empty and dried tear tracks still drying on his cheeks, they had all frozen. They'd been in the process of making a welcome party for little Harry when Sirius told them that Harry was gone.

To see Harry alive... sort of... it was a shock to everyone's system.

Harry didn't seem to understand that, though. He sat contendly in Sirius's lap, playing with the fingers holding his midsection protectively. He seemed incredibly happy for a toddler who died. Sirius's grip tightened ever so slightly at the thought.

"Snape." Sirius suddenly said, breaking the silence. The bat looked at him with a sneer, but Sirius persevered. "What do you know about him?"

Snape sighed. "Not much." he answered, and Sirius scowled.

"My boy, I believe whatever information you have would be beneficial," Dumbledore said, clearly sensing that Sirius was two seconds away from ripping his face off. "Please, my dear boy, share what you have."

"What do you want to know?" Snape asked, looking at Sirius with barely concealed disgust.

"How did he get Harry?" Sirius asked. That was one of the questions that had been weighing on his mind since Harry was returned. That and... "How did he die?" he added as an afterthought.

Snape looked as though he sucked on a lemon. "I do not know how the Dark Lord got Harry, nor do I know why," he said. He then paused. "As for how he died..."

"You know how he died?" Sirius demanded, his heart beginning to beat faster. Snape narrowed his eyes and nodded slightly. "Tell us!"

"There was... an incident." Snape said slowly.

Sirius glared at him and bit out through gritted teeth, "What kind of incident?"

"Little One---"

"Harry."

"Little One was being introduced to new recruits," Snape said, ignoring Sirius's hiss. "One of the recruits had a death wish and insulted him in front of the Dark Lord. He asked if Little One was aware that he was dead."

"And?" Remus asked, leaning forward slightly. Snape sighed, and the answer clearly made him weary. It put Sirius on edge, seeing the old dungeon bat so uneasy. "What happened?"

"Little One informed the recruit, and the rest of the people in the room, that he did know," Snape said, his dark eyes finding Harry's form. He smiled softly at the child in Sirius's lap, and it made Sirius clench his jaw and hold Harry tighter. "He explained that he... He was punished for doing magic and his Uncle strangled him to death."

It was dead silent in the room as everyone's horrified gazes switched between Snape and the oblivious Harry.

"You. Son. Of. A. Bitch!" Sirius shouted suddenly, snapping his head to glare venomously at Dumbledore who sat stricken at the head of the table. Sirius felt Harry flinch in his hold, and instantly he felt guilty for scaring the child.