Harry Potter: Who cares about belated motherly love?

One day, Snape contacted me urgently and asked me to come over immediately.

Even though he had been bullied by James and Sirius, and I was powerless to stop it, and could only watch it happen, and even caused me to be seriously injured, he still agreed to help me experiment with werewolf drugs in the summer. He is a better person than James and Sirius thought, although he certainly wouldn't want me to say that.

The drug trial was supposed to be postponed a little longer, but since he asked me to come over, I went immediately.

After arriving, I found that Snape looked particularly neat.

"That guy is about to be taken out of Azkaban, and Lucius said he wants you to take care of him. Of course, it's a paid job."

"What? Did Peter find it?"

"You already know who the traitor is."

"Well, I'm just guessing, but it's probably right."

"Thinking about it carefully, it is indeed unlikely that that guy would betray me."

"But what about the Muggle murder? I thought that was something Sirius did on impulse."

"That was Pettigrew's doing, too. He caused the explosion in order to throw off Blake, who was chasing him."

"I see... Then what does it mean to take care of it?"

"Literally. I told you to keep an eye on that guy and don't let him do anything wrong."

"After we get him out of Azkaban, things will be very busy. Someone will have to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything unnecessary."

It is said that Weasley and Malfoy intend to unite the pure-blood nobles of the light and dark factions to form a third force. They want Sirius to be the leader, so someone needs to keep an eye on him.

"In other words, this force belongs neither to that person nor to Dumbledore?"

"That's right. In terms of background, he is the most suitable. Even though it makes me unhappy, he does have the ability."

I thought Snape followed Dumbledore because of Harry, but Snape explained Harry's current situation.

"Unbelievable... but Dumbledore might do that."

"Maybe he wants to use Harry as his pawn? Just like with me?"

"Very likely. For that purpose, he deliberately put Harry in trouble so that he could look like a savior... But Dumbledore wasn't pretending, he probably really thought he was kind."

"That's right. He always felt that he represented justice. In order to maintain this justice, he didn't care if others' hands were stained with blood, or even how much blood was shed or how many people were unfortunate because of it..."

“When a person is in extreme pain, he will give up thinking and become a useful chess piece, just like me.”

"So, go buy some decent clothes. You have to look after Black, so you have to fit in well with both the wizarding and Muggle worlds. The Black family has a lot of assets over there, so you have to prepare clothes that can be used in both places."

After that, he handed me a large sum of money.

"By the way, Snape, you look brand new as well."

"I said I was going to meet Harry, but I was severely scolded by Edgar of the Weasley family. By the way, the money was given by Lucius, so don't forget to thank him next time you see him. It seems that he is looking forward to you taking care of that guy."

"But can I do it? Back then at Hogwarts, I couldn't even stop it."

"The late Lady Lucrezia, the eldest daughter of the Black family, married into the Pruwitt family. I heard that she will retrain him. Weasley and Malfoy will also control him. You are just an assistant. The two heads of the families will be in charge of the overall situation. There should be no problem, right? They don't want Sirius to be alone, but people with jobs can't watch over him all day. Since Lucius has personally named you, do your best."

"Besides, Lady Lucrezia is getting old, and they hope you can help take care of her."

"Understood. I accept."

Afterwards, I was informed of the details of my salary. The formal contract would be signed after Sirius was released, but until then, the Malfoys would employ me.

It was obvious that they didn't want to take care of Sirius wholeheartedly. After all, his wife was Sirius's cousin and probably knew the trouble. I was hired to take care of Sirius, maybe to save her from this hard work?

But I'm happy. It's a real job.

"By the way, I have now inherited the title of the Prince family, so I am no longer Snape."

He said that he was designated as the heir of his mother's family and took over the family. The Prince family focused on potions and had a large number of magic books and research materials, which made him talk about the research prospects with great anticipation. He also said that I could spend the full moon in the dungeon of the Prince family. I checked it out and found that the place was quite spacious and very sturdy. Well, it seemed safe.

He also kept talking about how cute Harry was, his tone brighter than ever.

I was very busy until Sirius was released. First, I needed to sort out my appearance. With no place to live and no experience in shopping, I had no idea where to buy clothes. Snape took me to the Muggle shop that he and Edgar often went to to buy clothes. As for the clothes in the wizarding world, Snape introduced a tailor shop that the Malfoy family used to buy. After receiving the notice from the Malfoy family, the owner quickly tailored clothes for me. By the way, the cost was borne by the Malfoy family. The owner also criticized my shoes. When I showed the clothes bought in the Muggle world, he recommended me shoes that were suitable for both sides, which were also paid by the Malfoy family. Obviously, wearing worn-out shoes is unacceptable. In the end, even socks and underwear were rejected. The owner said that my clothes could not ruin his carefully made clothes. That's it.

I also visited Weasley and Malfoy, as well as Lady Lucretia. She was a beautiful woman with a strong aura. I thanked Mr. Malfoy, who said that it was okay, but at the critical moment, Sirius must be stopped at all costs, even if it required risking his life.

I understood that this was indeed a difficult task. He did not want to do it himself, nor did he want his wife to do it. So, considering the difficulty of the work, I accepted the high cost of the costume without hesitation. Since this was the responsibility of stopping Sirius, it was a very important job.

I also went to thank an old acquaintance who had introduced me to temporary jobs in the past. When I told him that I had found a formal job, he was very happy. Although Knockt Alley is often regarded as the "dumping ground" of the wizarding world, he is a good man, although he does not look like it. He may have some commissions, but he has never introduced illegal jobs. The cheap hotels he introduced are shabby, but they are never scams. I feel safe living there, because it is full of low-level people like me, and there is no real danger.

I know people who were forced into illegal jobs, lived in dangerous hotels, and eventually disappeared without a trace; some met the wrong people, went down a path of no return, and got into trouble. However, this person never recommended such jobs or hotels. He only recommended reliable jobs and safe accommodation.

As for food, he also taught us how to identify questionable restaurants to prevent drugs, being sold for experimentation, or being used as tools for crimes. Therefore, I didn't mind his commission, which was the price to pay for safety.

He may have taken advantage of people who were unwilling to commit crimes, but to me, he is much better than those who pretend to be good people. No matter how evil he looks, he is just surviving in Noct Alley.

Harry was going to spend the summer at Prince's house, and I started to tidy up his room. Snape was so excited that he wanted to buy a lot of things for Harry, but I said it would be more fun to choose together after Harry came, and finally convinced him to buy only the necessities. We spent a busy and fulfilling time at Prince's house. At the same time, I also accompanied Mrs. Lucretia to visit the Black family's lawyers, accountants and investment companies to prepare for Sirius's release from prison.

Not long after, I learned that Sirius's brother, Regulus, had been confirmed dead. Snape had been at the funeral and told me when he came back.

...it turns out that he really is dead. He sacrificed his life to retrieve Voldemort's most important item, all for his most precious house-elf.

To him, the elves are more important than blood ties.

I finally met Sirius. The first thing he said after we met was to apologize to me, saying that he had suspected that I had stood in the enemy camp and thought that I had betrayed them. He also admitted that he should not put the blame on Peter and should care more about the people around him. He said that he was too naive at that time.

"It's okay, I'm not angry. However, if you really reflect on it, then put these reflections into action.

From now on, you must not make any more mistakes. If you act on your own again, it will become more difficult to stop Dumbledore's plan. Please remember this."

"……I see."