It was almost over before it even started.

They had arrived at Hogwarts just as the sun was setting behind the Forbidden Forest, and after showing Harry to a room in an unfamiliar part of the dungeons, Snape and Lupin left him to unpack.

He hadn't been told to stay put. As far as he knew, the castle was practically empty. And so, after stowing his new clothes in the chest of drawers and his books on top of the desk, he left the room and wandered upstairs with the vague intention of seeing the Great Hall.

His room was deeper in the labyrinth-like bowels of the castle than he had ever wandered before, and after several wrong turns he was relieved to see a familiar stairwell up ahead.

Coming up the dungeon stairs at nearly a run, he turned the corner and collided with a boy coming from the opposite direction.

"Ron!"

It was out of his mouth as automatically as breathing.

"Weasley!" he said quickly. "You're Ron Weasley, aren't you?"

Ron's expression, which had been rather shocked, now changed to suspicion. "Who the bloody hell are you?" He looked at Harry critically, his eyes wandering from the top of Harry's head down to the toes of his shiny black leather boots. "Wait a minute..."

"Hadrian Carmichael -- I mean -- Hadrian Snape... Hadrian Carmichael Snape." Harry forced his face reluctantly into a glare. "You didn't answer my question."

Ron's face had now contorted into a very ugly expression. "None of your business who I am!"

"Then get out of my way," Harry said as nastily as he could. His heart had sunk into his stomach and was aching dully.

"YOU knocked into ME!" Ron snarled, his fists clenching.

Harry stuck his chin out and barreled past Ron, making sure to clip his shoulder -- but not hard.

He half expected to be hit, or hexed, from behind.

"I don't believe this," Ron muttered angrily. Harry heard his stomping footsteps heading in the opposite direction; no doubt Ron was off to tell his siblings all about the encounter.

Harry's shoulders slumped. Ron was rather thick, and in his fury wouldn't remember Harry's blunder, but having to be nasty to his best friend left him feeling absolutely awful.

He'd been afraid it would be hard to be ignored by his friends, who wouldn't know who he was, but he hadn't even thought to fear being hated by them. Now that seemed daft of him. Of course they would. He was Snape's son, and if Snape didn't relent, he would be a Slytherin besides. They'd have two good reasons to despise him... and now he had given Ron a third by having to cover his mistake with nastiness.

He was angry with Snape and Lupin, too. Why hadn't he been warned that Ron's family was hiding out at Hogwarts? They should have told him, and then this wouldn't have happened.

The more he thought along those lines, the angrier he got.

If he had introduced himself to Ron under very different circumstances, maybe Ron could have overlooked the fact that Harry now looked like a miniature Snape. They might be here until school started, and that was quite a lot of time. They could have become friends just because they were the same age and stuck in the same place with not much to do. Instead, Harry had ruined it all less than an hour after arriving at Hogwarts.

"Hadrian!"

Harry's fingers curled into fists and he spun around, ready to give Lupin a piece of his mind.

But Lupin looked pale and upset, and Harry's rage dulled.

Lupin pulled him into the small chamber off the Entrance Hall and shut the door behind them.

"I just saw -- I had no idea -- did you -- ?"

Harry drew in a resigned breath. "Yeah, I ran into Ron. No, I didn't blow my cover."

Lupin shut his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was calmer, and looked apologetic. "I didn't know they were here. He seemed quite angry..."

"Yeah, well --" Harry shrugged stiffly, unable to continue because he knew he couldn't keep his temper in check.

"I'm sorry about this," Lupin said, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry threw the hand off. "How could you not know?" he asked accusingly. "You told me you knew they were all right! How could you say that when you didn't even know where they were!"

Lupin stepped back, a hint of anger creeping over his own face. "I knew they were all right because I was in contact with those who were making sure they would be all right. The fewer people who knew the details, the safer the Weasleys would be, so, yes, their exact location was not known to me."

Harry glared at him for another few moments, but what Lupin said did make sense. Huffing, he hugged his arms around himself.

"Well, this is just great. Ron thinks I'm a big jerk now."

"That..." Lupin hesitated, looking at Harry as though weighing how likely he was to blow up again. "That may be the best thing for now. We need your friends to believe that you are who we say you are, at least until the danger has passed."

Harry nodded glumly. Leave it to Lupin to come up with a reason why it was for the best if Harry was despised by everyone.

"A light supper is being served," Lupin said, obviously determined to change the subject. "Let's get something to eat and then we can decide how we'll handle things."

"Are they going to be there?" Harry asked warily. He didn't think he could stand seeing Ron again just then.

"I don't know."

Harry figured that was honest, at least. He nodded dejectedly. "Fine. Let's go."

Lupin pulled open the door -- revealing Snape behind it.

Harry almost groaned.

"Well?" Snape demanded.

"It's fine, Severus," Lupin said quickly. "It's been taken care of."

Snape muttered something about idiots and incompetency, turned on his heel, and stalked off.

Harry let go of the breath he'd unconsciously started to hold, expecting some sort of explosion.

He followed Lupin silently to the Great Hall, where a table had been set for three.

Snape was already sitting down, and had taken the middle seat, and Harry had no choice but to sit down next to him.

It was a silent meal, until Snape set down his fork with a clang.

"We will meet in my office to discuss damage control."

With that, he pushed back his chair and swept out of the Great Hall with his black robes billowing behind him.

"Damage control?" Harry repeated incredulously in the silence that followed Snape's exit.

Lupin sighed.

Harry waited, but Lupin didn't volunteer anything.

"I guess the plan didn't take into account the Weasleys might be here?"

"No," Lupin said shortly. He pushed away his empty plate and poured himself tea.

Harry picked at his food. He hadn't been very hungry to begin with, but now, with Ron on his mind, everything he put in his mouth tasted bitter.

"Are you planning to finish?" Lupin asked, putting down his empty cup. "You hardly eat enough to keep a bird alive."

Harry scowled. Lupin wasn't one to talk.

"Fine, then. In that case, let's go see what's expected of us."

Harry followed him down to the dungeons. Snape's office door was closed, but light shone from beneath indicating that Snape was inside.

Lupin knocked, and the door opened immediately.

"Sit," Snape said.

Harry looked around even as he took a seat on the hard visitor's bench -- Lupin got the cushioned chair.

The office was about as he remembered it, but there were signs of things having been moved around. There were several packing boxes that seemed to be full of books, and empty spaces on the bookshelf suggested they had either been packed up or had not yet been unpacked. Snape's desk was cluttered with unopened mail and old newspapers.

"I want to know exactly what transpired between you and Ronald Weasley."

Harry looked up, lips pursed. The last thing he wanted to do was to tell Snape how he had almost blown the whole plan.

"Well?"

"I ran into him," Harry said, figuring it was useless to argue. "He was coming the other way and we bumped into each other."

"And?"

Harry hesitated. This was probably something Snape and Lupin would want -- or maybe even need -- to know, but he had handled it, hadn't he?

"POTTER!"

Harry looked up and glared at him, swiftly deciding that if he was going to be yelled at anyway, he wasn't going to make it worse.

This was the wrong thing to do.

The moment their eyes met, his head swam and Snape's office dissolved like a reflection on the surface of the lake after a stone had been thrown in. The whole scene in the Entrance Hall played out like a movie in front of his eyes.

"AAAAAaarrghhhh!" He wrenched his mind out of Snape's snare and dropped his head into his hands. "Bastard!"

There was silence.

Had he actually said that out loud?

He looked up cautiously and found both Snape and Lupin looking at him with distaste.

"Sorry," he mumbled before he could stop himself. That made him even angrier. Why should he apologize? He hadn't started it!

They turned away from him.

"It isn't as bad as I expected," Snape told Lupin. "Still, the Weasleys will have reason to be suspicious."

"Should we move up our plans?"

"Yes."

Harry, who did not like being ignored, looked from one to another and glared, but refused to ask them what that was about and give them the satisfaction of knowing he cared.

"Harry?"

Harry tried to stop glaring.

"How would you like to speak to Ron? As yourself, of course."

Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. What was Lupin talking about? "Of course I would."

"One way we planned to alleviate suspicions was by having Harry Potter and Hadrian Snape be spotted in the same place at the same time. Since clearly it is not possible for one person to do this, witnesses would be left with no doubt that Harry and Hadrian are two different boys."

"Great," Harry said gruffly, not entirely prepared to trust that they would really let him meet with his friends.

"We were going to do this once school started, perhaps when Fudge showed up -- he most certainly will be curious about you -- but it seems it's necessary to convince the Weasleys of your identity first. Do you think you're up for it?"

"What do I have to do?" It did seem like a good plan, and if it let him meet with Ron, even for just a little while...

Lupin exchanged a look with Snape before answering.

"Well, we can have you meet with Ron in Hagrid's hut, since that's connected to Hogwarts' own Floo. You can tell him you're in hiding, catch up for an hour or so, and then floo directly to Professor Snape's office. Meanwhile, Tonks will make sure Ron runs into Hadrian --"

"And make him hate me even more," Harry muttered under his breath.

Lupin frowned at him.

"Oh, all right," Harry said, huffing. "Sounds like a plan."

Lupin studied him for a moment, as if trying to convince himself that the whole thing wasn't a mistake.

"I can do it," Harry said peevishly.

"I know you can," Lupin said, even as Snape snorted. "All we need is a way to get Ron, and Ron alone, to Hagrid's."

"We will discuss those details later," Snape said. He was scowling, leaving no doubt that the plan didn't entirely agree with him. "I will set the Floo to activate half an hour after Weasley enters the hut --"

"Half an hour!" Harry exclaimed. "That's --"

"Plenty," Snape said suppressively. "Any longer and you will no doubt give too much away."

Harry clenched his teeth and didn't retort.

"Tomorrow after breakfast, then?" Lupin asked.

Snape nodded.

"In that case, I think it's time for him to turn in."

Harry scowled at the floor, not liking one bit being talked about in the third person as though he wasn't even there.

"Come on, Harry," Lupin said, catching him under the arm and pulling him to his feet. "It's getting quite late."

Harry allowed himself to be led back to his room. He still wasn't totally oriented, and the dungeon corridors all looked the same.

"Where are you going to be?" he asked, looking around for signs of another habitable room along the same hallway. All he saw were unused classrooms. His own room seemed to be a converted office.

Lupin fumbled with the big iron key that opened Harry's door. Apparently it required his whole concentration.

Harry sighed and gritted his teeth. "Fine. Where're Snape's quarters?"

Lupin pushed the door open and practically shoved him inside. "Back the way we came, near the bust of William the Wronged. Good night, Hadrian."

"Good night," Harry repeated grudgingly, staring at Lupin's back until he disappeared around the corner.

Finally, he went in and shut the door. A lamp had lighted as soon as he did so, and he looked around the small space, which was still unfamiliar.

He hadn't fully unpacked, and now he needed his pajamas, towel, and toothbrush. He rifled through his steamer trunk to find them.

He came up with his Invisibility Cloak instead.

It was the only thing he had been allowed to keep of his own possessions, just in case he ever needed it to keep from being discovered.

Maybe...

But he shoved it under the mattress, willing himself to not even think of wandering around the castle when he wasn't supposed to. Who knew what other surprises, besides the Weasley family, there might be?

Besides, he could wander the castle all he wanted, without a disguise, as Hadrian Carmichael Snape.

He found the things he needed, and headed for the bathroom.

Seeing himself in the mirror still gave him a bit of a shock.

No wonder Ron had stared at him like that. The clothes Snape had bought for him made him look paler, thinner, and more Snape-like. His hair seemed longer now that it was straight, and hung over his ears limply. He hadn't needed glasses since taking the potion back at Grimmauld Place.

He couldn't help wondering where the real Hadrian Carmichael was, and what he was like. Did he even know he had a father, and that his father was a greasy git who loved to frighten and berate children?

It occurred to him that Hadrian Carmichael might not even exist. The idea of Snape having a son was so ridiculous that Harry wouldn't have been surprised at all if the whole thing had been made up, perhaps for the sole purpose of providing Harry with a new identity until the Ministry stopped looking for him.

But then, whose face was looking out at him from the mirror?

Harry suffered through a mostly sleepless night. Aside from the nightmare that had him wide awake, sweaty, and shaking by half past three in the morning, his new surroundings made it hard to keep his mind clear. Even as he tried to get back to sleep, his eyes kept opening and darting around the small room, taking in all the unfamiliar features: the rough stone walls, the uneven ceiling overhead, the heavy, dark wood furniture...

He supposed he would have to decorate the room somehow. The unadorned walls were giving him an odd, claustrophobic feeling of being in a dungeon cell. There was a single, long window up near the ceiling, too high up to reach and look out of. Aside from the books he had stacked on top of the desk and the clothes he had draped over a chair, there were no signs of the room being inhabited by a teenage boy.

He really missed having his parents looking out at him from their photograph on his bedside table. He hadn't realized just how much of a comfort it had been during long sleepless nights.

Morning finally came -- Harry knew it because a ray of light managed to shine through the window and throw a rosy glow over the far wall.

He was about to get dressed when there came a light knock at his door.

Wondering if he should draw his wand, he pulled the door open anyway.

"I wasn't sure if you would be up this early," said Lupin, who was carrying a bundle wrapped in brown paper.

"I'm up." He stood back to let Lupin in, and shut the door after him.

"This is for you." Lupin offered him the bundle. "Tonks will wear the same black shirt and green cloak when she plays her part as Hadrian. Wear dark slacks and the same boots you wore yesterday. You'll change before meeting with Ron. I left your glasses and a red jumper in Professor Snape's office, and your old trainers as well."

Harry nodded, swallowing. As much as he wanted to spend time with Ron, he felt vaguely uncomfortable with the whole plan.

"Everyone will be having breakfast in the Great Hall," Lupin continued. "We have arranged for an owl to arrive for Professor Snape shortly before the meal is over. He will pull you aside under the pretense of needing to speak with you urgently. You will exchange places with Tonks at that time, and floo to Hagrid's hut from Professor Snape's office. We will send Ron in as soon as breakfast is over."

"All right," Harry said. He hesitated for a moment. "Professor... would it be all right if I told Ron... well... I was thinking..."

"Yes?"

"Would it be all right if I told him I met me -- I mean Hadrian -- over the summer, and if I told him I thought Hadrian was someone he should get to know?"

Lupin frowned.

"It was just an idea," Harry said, disappointed in spite of knowing all along it was a long shot.

"Well..." Lupin said, still frowning. "I suppose it's possible Professor Snape would have invited his son to visit him once or twice, but I'm not sure how much opportunity you would have had to meet. Remember, it was not supposed to be known to anyone that you were at Grimmauld Place with us."

"But --" Harry interjected, "I was probably being a nosy idiot again, and somehow made a mess of staying out of sight, and we met --"

"I will speak with Professor Snape," Lupin said with finality. "I will let you know if this will compromise any of our plans. Remember, Harry, we don't want to put Ron in the dangerous position of knowing too much about where you were after your official disappearance.

Harry nodded glumly. If it was up to Snape, he could just forget it. And Lupin was right. Telling Ron that he had met Hadrian meant taking away any doubt that he had been in hiding with Snape and Lupin. If Ron was ever questioned, he wouldn't be able to deny knowing it.

"There's one more thing."

Harry looked up.

"You will be taking a potion to return you to your usual appearance. Because the potion you took to become Hadrian was so powerful, the antidote cannot work in one dose and will only last one hour, making it absolutely imperative that you take the floo back to Professor Snape's office as soon as it activates."

"Do I have an hour, then?"

"Not quite. You will have to wait for Ron to arrive, and you will leave before the hour is up, just to be on the safe side."

Harry sighed.

"It can't be helped, Harry. Remember, we are just trying to alleviate suspicions. Once that's done, we may be able to give you much more time with your friends."

"I got it. Really," Harry said, slightly peevishly. He was a bit tired of everything being for the greater good.

"Wash up --" Lupin's eyes trailed over Harry's head. "You might want to wash your hair." He paused. "And comb it. Breakfast is in one hour. Will you be able to find your own way?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess."

"It's quite simple. Just follow the main corridor until you come to a portrait of Bathsheba the Beady-eyed, turn right, right again at the next fork, past William the Wronged, another right, and you will see Professor Snape's office."

"All right," Harry said, though not at all sure he'd got all that. "I'll see you there."

"You will have to keep using the key for now. I'll ask the Headmistress to have a password set."

"All right," Harry said again. "It's not a problem."

"In case we don't get to speak freely again -- good luck today."

Harry nodded.

Lupin left, and Harry spent the next half hour scrubbing his hair and combing out the tangles. If Hadrian Carmichael existed, Harry felt very sorry for him. Snape's hair had to be the worst thing to inherit. He supposed it was only by sheer luck that the nose hadn't been passed down in all its glory.

He dressed, following Lupin's instructions carefully.

Getting out of the dungeons proved more difficult than expected, and having taken a wrong turn somewhere he was starting to wonder what Snape would do to him if he failed to show up on time. He was feeling stirrings of panic when he turned the corner and walked into the marble pedestal on which rested the bust of William the Wronged.

"Ow!"

The pain in his elbow causing his eyes to water, he stumbled on, and a few minutes later was passing Snape's office.

At least he knew the way from there, and in no time at all he was out of the dungeons.

As he crossed the Entrance Hall, he heard sounds behind him which could only be made by a crowd of people coming down the staircase. He quickened his pace.

A long table had been set at the far end of the Great Hall, and Snape, Lupin, and McGonagall were already seated. Harry stopped short when he saw another occupied seat.

Ginny.

They all looked up at him, and he quickly tore his eyes away from the ugly scar and eye patch over the left side of her face. He focused on Lupin's small but unmistakably encouraging smile and made it to an empty seat next to Snape without meeting anyone else's eyes.

Unfortunately, he wasn't even given time to catch his breath, which seemed to have been knocked right out of him.

"Hadrian, I want you to meet someone," Lupin said lightly. "This is Ginny Weasley. Ginny, this is Professor Snape's son, Hadrian Sn--"

"Hadrian Carmichael Snape," Harry interrupted with a scowl. Somehow being that one step away from a Snape was comforting. He was sure the real Hadrian wouldn't be in any hurry to abandon his mother's name, either.

"Yes," Lupin said, giving Harry a hard look. "Well, I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to get to know one another, seeing that classes won't be starting for a while yet."

Ginny was looking at him with curiosity, but anything she might have said was interrupted by the arrival of the rest of the Weasleys.

Harry stared straight at his plate and refused to look at anyone, other than to jerk his chin up when Snape introduced him to one and all.

He wasn't sure why he was in such a black mood. They had to be getting a very bad impression of him. And it made no sense to be acting as though he wanted nothing to do with any of them, since Hadrian Carmichael had no reason whatsoever to dislike the Weasleys, and would, most likely, be unaware of his father's unpopularity with them, or of the intense rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Still, he couldn't seem to do anything but glower at his plate until an owl landing on the table in front of him and nearly soaking him with a spray of spilled pumpkin juice caused him to jerk back in his seat.

Snape removed the thin roll of parchment from the owl's leg and unrolled it, reading silently for a few moments.

"Hadrian," he said, standing, "I wish to speak with you. Come."

Harry got up and followed him, his heart beginning to hammer in his chest.

Snape led him to the Entrance Hall, positioning them so that Harry was certain the others could still see them.

He spoke in a low tone.

"Two goblets are waiting in my office. The silver will change your appearance for one hour. The bronze will change you back when you return. You have precisely one hour from the moment you drink the potion in the silver goblet. Is that perfectly clear?"

"Yes, sir."

"As soon as you have returned, change your clothes and be ready to leave my office, but do not open the door for anyone. Either I or Lupin will come for you when it is time. You are not to leave my office until then."

Harry nodded.

Snape glared at him in an appraising sort of way, which made Harry's skin crawl.

"You may, if you so desire, tell Weasley that you spent one or two evenings in the company of --" Snape stopped and glared at him harder. "Do not mention where this meeting took place; disabuse him of the notion that it was at Grimmauld Place. The Order has moved headquarters several times over the summer. Imply I brought him to a meeting. Do not --" and he glared harder still, "-- overstep yourself. Weasley will only become suspicious if ordered to befriend a stranger... and a Slytherin besides."

"I don't order my friends around," Harry muttered angrily under his breath.

Snape's hand came down on his shoulder, hard.

"I won't," Harry said. "Sir."

"Go now," Snape said, his mouth a thin white line. "And attempt not to do anything inordinately foolish."

Harry nodded and turned to go. He turned to look back once, and found Snape watching him with his arms crossed over his chest.

He was coming down the dungeon stairs when he ran into Tonks.

She said nothing, but smiled, and as they passed each other her face morphed sickeningly into the face of Hadrian Carmichael Snape.

Harry forced his feet to continue forward, and quickly reached Snape's office. He shut the door after himself, and looked around.

The two goblets were indeed there, along with the clothes he was supposed to change into, his glasses, and a note.

He stripped off his black cloak and shirt and shrugged into the comfortable old Weasley sweater. He exchanged his shiny new boots for Dudley's ratty trainers. He felt instantly a lot more like himself.

He looked at the note, which was short and in Lupin's careful handwriting.

The Floo powder is on the mantle.
Simply say "Hagrid's" and you
will be taken there. Do not attempt
to activate a return Floo -- it will
activate at a predetermined time.

Be mindful of what you say.

R.J.L.

He crumpled up the note and left it next to his discarded clothing. He took up the silver goblet, which was warm in his hand, and tried not to breathe as he downed the contents in one mighty swallow.

The thick mass slid down his throat and hit his stomach like a rock, and immediately his skin began to creep and stretch in that terrible way he was sure no one could ever become accustomed to.

When the awful feeling stopped, everything was blurred, and Harry fumbled around Snape's desk, knocking several things to the floor, until he found his glasses.

There was no mirror in Snape's office, but a shiny silver platter let him take in his new appearance.

He ruffled his fingers through his hair, and it predictably poked up every which way. It seemed slightly longer, but not noticeably so.

The Floo powder was where Lupin had said it would be, and he took a handful.

"Hagrid's!"

The green fire consumed him, and Snape's office spun out of view.