Summary: For some reason, Snape makes Harry his heir. That should be the driving force/jumping-off point of the story, not a result of the action of the story. When does he do it? Why? Does Harry find out right away or down the road? What happens when he find out? Does he find out before or after Snape dies? Does finding out before change the whole story?

This could take place at any time. It can be an epilogue story that is a one-shot, or a story that starts in an earlier year where this action changes the whole arch of the HP story. Up to the author. I'm just curious to find out where the prompt leads people.

Note, this story must include an OC lawyer or equivalent - someone who notifies Harry.

Summary: A collar is invented that can force a Wizard into their animagus form, even if they have not mastered the animagus form already themselves.

Summary: The Dursleys sell Harry off to the highest bidder.

Summary: Someone has an unexpected, unusual reaction to a pain-reducing potion, making them more likely to tell the truth.

Summary: Harry Potter doesn't just have his mother's eyes, he also has his mother's smile, that is when he is unguarded enough to display it, that is. (The full-watt version, not the empty false smile so often seen.) That is something that the wizarding world has seemed to forget, looking to attribute all of his traits to his pureblood father. But Snape can't forget her smile, and that in combination with his eyes is a shot directly to his heart. He first sees the smile out of the corner of his eye and knows then that he'll be in serious trouble if it is ever pointed in his direction. So he resolves to make it so that the Boy-who-lived never has a reason to direct that smile his way. The only problem is that he can sometimes catch a glimpse here and there when he sees him in the great hall or around the grounds with his friends. It creates a great longing in him, he both wants to see that smile and be the cause of it while at the same time knowing that it could be his greatest weakness and therefore seeking to avoid it. He knows that he will give into anything with the combo of that smile and those eyes, after all, he was never able to refuse Lily anything when she pointed hers his way. His willpower is slowly eroding against his desire to see Harry happy, to bring out that full smile, especially as he observes Harry more and more and starts to realize that the full smile rarely appears. Something is keeping him from true happiness, there is something wrong, and Snape can't help that he wants to make it right, to make Harry happy enough to smile as his mother once did.

Relationship - mentor up through adoption, no slash.