The Sunshine of Hogwarts, Snape

Severus took Lupin and the two children, officially setting foot on French soil.

They first stopped at a restaurant in Calais for a seafood feast, then immediately hit the road again, driving toward Paris without delay.

Shortly after they left the port of Calais, a group of people in dark green robes quietly surrounded the harbor.

Then, when the next ferry from Dover arrived at Calais, these men silently seized a pair of unlucky young couples who had just driven off the ship, couples who knew nothing and understood nothing, without alerting anyone else.

Severus and the others were, of course, unaware of all this.

The distance from Calais to Paris was over two hundred kilometers. Even without stopping, it would take them at least three to four hours to reach their destination.

After a full day of travel, both children, Harry and Draco, were exhausted. They curled up in their seats and dozed off for a while.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Lupin and Severus began discussing the letter they had received that morning in England.

"Britain must be in chaos by now. The Aurors can't possibly keep this news under wraps. The public knows how dangerous he is once he's escaped."

Lupin's expression was gloomy. Clearly, Sirius's betrayal of James had left a deep scar on him.

He still couldn't understand why Sirius, who had always been James's closest friend in their group, would commit such an act of betrayal in the end.

"Minister Bagnold is probably regretting not retiring at the beginning of the year and handing the Minister's responsibilities straight to Fudge."

Severus also mused aloud.

"Two high-profile prison breaks from Azkaban in a row, both involving ruthless Death Eaters… once the public hears about this, they'll definitely connect the two incidents."

[You should go after him yourself! And kill him! That would further prove your remorse!]

Of course, the one who said this wasn't Lupin, but Ghost Snape.

Ever since he and Severus had read that letter together that morning, Ghost Snape had grown increasingly restless.

Though he hadn't spoken up until now, Severus could clearly sense that he was being affected.

In response to his words, Severus replied honestly in his mind: 'If I really did what you're suggesting, Harry would have one more reason to hate me.'

[You'd be avenging his father!] Ghost Snape said coldly.

'Sirius Black is innocent. He didn't betray Harry's father. The real Secret-Keeper for the Fidelius Charm was their other friend, Peter Pettigrew. Black thought he had killed Peter to avenge James, but even so, he still couldn't forgive himself and chose to atone in Azkaban.'

As Severus explained this to Ghost Snape, he couldn't help but add sarcastically: 'Honestly, even if I don't look at this from your perspective, I have to say Black's brain really has some issues. His brother might be dead, but his godson is still alive, right? If he really wanted to atone, why didn't he choose to take care of Harry? Instead, he'd rather bear the infamy and hide in Azkaban?'

'Yes, I'm saying hide. Except for Lupin, all three of them, Black, Pettigrew, and Potter, were Animagi. They could turn into animals. Dementors can't sense animals' emotions, so they can't feed on them. That's how Black survived in prison all these years… by turning into a dog.'

'If he really wanted to punish himself, why did he turn into a dog to avoid the Dementors? If he didn't want to punish himself, why didn't he come out and take care of Harry? Honestly, I think he's just being hypocritical and there's something wrong with his brain.'

After listening to Severus's rambling explanation, Ghost Snape went from shock to cold fury before finally falling silent. It took him a long while before he spoke again.

[So... you knew the truth all along, yet you didn't tell the Ministry or anyone else.]

'He nearly killed you back then. The fact that I didn't kick him while he was down is already me being generous… why would I expose the truth?'

Severus said calmly.

Ghost Snape fell silent again.

Though Severus had repeatedly told him, 'We are no longer separate… we are one,' seeing how Severus truly treated all his past experiences as his own, how he willingly acknowledged Lucius as a friend and held onto his hatred for Black as his own enemy, left Ghost Snape with a tangled mess of emotions.

And among those emotions, what he felt most strongly was gratitude.

'But I did make some preparations.'

At this, Severus revealed a faint, sinister smile.

Ghost Snape frowned at him.

[What did you do?]

'You remember Arthur mentioning at the Leaky Cauldron before that his family's rat, Scabbers, has been losing fur and acting lethargic lately?'

It didn't take long for the ghostly Snape to recall the conversation.

[You said you'd send him a potion later!]

'After seeing the news about Black's escape, I decided not to wait. When we stop for a break later, I'll Apparate and personally deliver the potion, the one originally stored in the fourth row, sixth bottle in your office cabinet, straight to him.' Severus said.

'And I would tell him to add a small drop to the rat's food every day for 30 days. That should 'cure' it.'

[Fourth row, sixth bottle... a transparent, square vial... that's Dreamless Draught!]

Ghost Snape stared at Severus, [A single drop of that potion is enough to make a person lose all coherent thought for an entire day, leaving them to act on instinct alone. And you're telling Arthur to feed it to a rat-]

'That rat is Peter Pettigrew. The real traitor among those four.'

Severus said calmly.

In just this brief exchange, Ghost Snape had already lost count of how many times he'd been stunned by revelations like this.

His mind worked quickly, and within seconds, he grasped Severus's reasoning.

[You're worried the rat might panic after hearing about Black's escape and flee the Weasleys' home?]

'Even if I'm not planning to clear Black's name immediately, then I have to take precautions.'

Severus admitted, 'And we can't let that rat escape either. Might as well let it live in a drunken stupor at the Weasleys' for a month.'

'A month is more than enough time for us to handle everything abroad. By then, I'll catch that rat myself.'

[So what do you plan to do about Black in the end?]

Ghost Snape asked again.

Severus replied nonchalantly, 'That depends entirely on Black himself. Let's see how far he's willing to go once he realizes Harry left with me.'