On the morning of July 30th, 1995, Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, woke up to find an envelope hanging in front of his face. He did not seem surprised by this seemingly strange phenomenon as he reached for it. It was a plain white envelope with his name written on it in a handwriting that he hadn't seen in more than fifteen years. A strange look crossed his face as he opened it -- one that was a mixture of sadness, regret, and fondness. He opened the envelope to find two things: one, a letter; and two, another envelope with what felt like more letters. He turned his attention to the letter:

Dear Albus,

If you are reading this, then I've not come to fetch the letter from its hiding place and am most likely dead. Tomorrow my son will celebrate his fifteenth birthday, and I think it finally time for the truth to be revealed; I only hope that it is truly safe for it to do so. In the enclosed envelope are three more letters, one for Remus Lupin, one for Harry, and one for Severus Snape. Once you finish reading this letter and speak the phrase, the envelope will continue on to Remus. Remus will read his letter and come to you, and then the two of you must together go to Severus and Harry. I am hoping that the presence of you and Remus will help the process go more smoothly.

Albus, as you well know, Severus and I were fairly good friends in our earlier years at Hogwarts. I know that in his heart, he is a good man, though he has made some very poor choices. I have forgiven him, and I can only hope that the rest of the world has done so, as well.

Well, by now I'm sure you're wondering why I sent you this letter and why I'm rambling on about Severus, his choices, and the truth. I am torn between telling you now and letting Severus tell you, but I think it might be better if I tell you now, so that you can be prepared when you have Severus and Harry looking to you for help. And they will need your help, Albus, and I know you will give it to them, you've always been there for those who need you. Perhaps I should start at the beginning...

Then Lily explained what had happened in the year preceding Harry's birth.

...And there you have the whole story. When James found out, it took a fair bit of ding to calm him down, but in the end, he came to see that of all the possible scenarios for how things could have played out, this was the best. I have a feeling that you will need to beat this fact into Harry and Severus' heads, Albus, especially Severus. He must still be living with guilt from that night. Make sure that he understands that under no circumstances is he to continue to do so. It's all right.

Thank you Albus, thank you for everything.

Sincerely,

Lily Potter

Albus Dumbledore looked thoughtful as he finished the letter, then he sighed as he spoke the passphrase that would send the envelope on to its next destination, "Amor omnia vincit." Then he set about getting ready for the arrival of three people whom he held very dear.

***

Remus Lupin was having lunch when the envelope started to hover before his face. Unlike Dumbledore, he was surprised by this occurrence, and he was even more surprised when he recognized the handwriting on the envelope. He quickly opened it to find a letter and another envelope. After looking over the second envelope, he turned his attention to the letter.

Dear Remus,

I hope that this letter finds you well and happy and not still grieving over me. I will not have you wasting away over me! Happy moments for you are too few and too far between as it is, I will not be adding to your troubles, Remus J. Lupin!

Ah, my dear friend, enough lecturing for now as I'm sure you're wondering why I'm sending you a letter from beyond the grave. Well, truly, I'm not. I'm writing this letter just a few short days after Harry's birth. Enough time has passed that the truth can no longer be denied, though James and I are trying our best -- not because it hurts, mind you, but rather for the safety and well being of all those involved. You see Remus, James isn't Harry's father...

Here, Lily repeated the tale that she written to Albus.

...Don't hurt Severus. I'm sure he's done enough of that to himself over the years. You and he are not so very different, you know.

Well, enough of that. I'd best get some details in here before I forget. You have received the second letter of four, and Albus has the first. The letters in the enclosed envelope are for Severus and Harry. Unlike you and Albus, however, the two are supposed to read their letters together, in the same room. I want you and Albus to be there. Albus will be a calming force on Severus, and I'm sure that you will be the same for Harry. You being you, I'm sure that by now you've found the boy, and that the two of you are good friends.

Remus, I want Severus and Harry to know the truth together. I know that neither of them will take it well, but I am determined they will take the news together. I'm not sure why, but this is important to me. I think that maybe this will be the only way to make sure that both of them will have the family that each so desperately needs -- I know Harry knows consciously that he desires a family, but I'm sure that this fact has completely gone over Severus' head.

Take care, Remus; love Harry for me, will you, please? And don't be too hard on Severus.

Love from your friend,

Lily Potter

Remus Lupin put down the letter in shock. For a few minutes, he sat there and tried to comprehend what Lily had written. Dear sweet Lily, she was so concerned about what the news would do to Snape... She didn't even care how Harry had been conceived, she just wanted the two to be happy -- together, no less! He shook his head and smiled, Lily had always been that way. She was quick to forgive and slow to anger. Then he sighed and shook his head again to clear the memories, he would have to contact Albus now. He would know what to do.

Completely oblivious to the facts in the letters that Albus Dumbledore and Remus Lupin had read and were now earnestly discussing, Harry rolled over, and then realized with a start that he'd rolled just a little too far that time as he fell out of bed. Harry groaned and got up to reach for his glasses and watch. It had been a rough night, Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, had been up and about. They'd been having fun torturing Muggles, planning various raids, and so forth; Harry, on the other hand, had had no fun at all. There were times when he appreciated his link to Voldemort, and he'd owled Dumbledore to warn him those few times, but the rest of the time he hated the nightmares, the dreams, and the fact that he could feel it every time Voldemort used the Cruciatus curse. Voldemort had been especially angry last night, and his displeasure with his followers left Harry feeling very sore and very tired.

As Harry glanced at his watch, he realized that today was his 15th birthday. This cheered him up a bit and he looked around for his owl, Hedwig. Hedwig was at the window, tapping her beak against the glass impatiently, and flitting above her was Pig, who looked very excited. Harry laughed, when was the last time Pig hadn't looked excited? He opened the window to let the two owls in.

Hedwig was carrying a rather large package. Harry untied it and let her return to her cage. Pig was carrying a letter, which Harry assumed must be from Ron. He took it and sent Pig to Hedwig, then he opened the letter first.

Hi Harry!

Happy Birthday! Hermione's here for the week, and we want to let you know that you're welcome to come stay with us for the rest of the summer. Dumbledore said that you could come so we want you to come today! Mum and Dad said that after the fiasco before the Quidditch Cup last summer they were going to come by car, but they're going to come whether you have your aunt and uncle's permission or not, so don't worry. Be ready by three, okay?

Ron

Harry grinned as he read Ron's letter, then he turned to the package that he had taken from Hedwig. When he opened it, he found another letter and a smaller box. He opened the letter:

Harry!

Many thanks from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes! We've put the money you've given us to good use, and put in an ad in the Daily Prophet. For now we're a strictly mail order business, but we hope to have enough money for a shop after we finish school. Here's a birthday and thank-you gift for you. Couldn't have gotten this far without you, thanks a lot and Happy Birthday, Harry!

Fred and George Weasley?

Proprietors, Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

Harry opened the box to find a collection of sweets from the twins; he knew he wouldn't be eating these, but he had a few unsuspecting friends to give them to. Then he turned to the next package. It was from Hagrid, and it included some more of his infamous rock cakes as well as a note wishing him a happy birthday. The last package contained another letter, a box of his favorite sweets and a book on defending yourself against the dark arts-it looked more advanced than your average school book, too. He turned to the letter that accompanied it:

Dear Harry,

I hope this letter finds you well. I've got good news for you, Dumbledore wants me back to teach DADA and I've decided to accept, so I'll be coming back to the school next year. Sirius will be coming with me, he's posing as my loyal companion. I hope no one finds it strange that a werewolf keeps a dog as a pet, though.

The sweets are from Sirius and the book is from me. Dumbledore also said that he wants me to give you extra DADA training, so I expect that book read by the time you come back to school! (Well, the first five chapters, anyway. I know how summer holidays are.)

Happy Birthday, Harry!

Professor Remus Lupin and Sirius

Harry happily bit into a Chocolate Frog; all in all it was looking to be a very fine birthday. Then he got up and set about packing his things.

Despite the fact that the Weasley twins had played a very awful and very abnormal joke on Dudley last summer, the Dursleys weren't all that bad this year. Harry supposed that it was probably their fear of Sirius that kept them from doing anything but assign extra difficult chores. He actually didn't mind the work so much, anyway. It kept him from thinking about what had happened at the end of the Triwizard Tournament. He shook off the thoughts, today was a day to be happy, not to dwell on the past.

***

The doorbell rang, but whoever it was probably hadn't quite gotten the hang of it yet and the constant ringing was making Vernon Dursley very angry. He yelled for Dudley to answer the door, "Dudley! Get the door, now!" Dudley hurried, almost running, it seemed that his diet had been a success.

A rather embarrassed red-headed man and woman stood in front of the door. "Er.. hello, are you Dudley?" asked the man.

Dudley reddened with embarrassment and anger when he recognized the man as the one who had come to fetch Harry last summer. "Hello," he answered, rather timidly.

"We've come to fetch Harry," explained the woman.

Dudley's eyes opened in shock and he called his father over. Vernon, deciding that he didn't want the neighbors to get any more suspicious than they already were, called Harry down after dragging the Weasleys in. "Harry! Get down here, now!"

"Coming, Uncle Vernon!" came the slightly annoyed response. Harry figured that the Weasleys must have arrived and decided to bring his trunk down with him. He'd already sent Hedwig on to the Weasleys that morning.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Weasely," Harry greeted the couple.

"Hullo, Harry. Everything all right?" responded Mrs. Weasley, warmly.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. Can we go now?"

"Hullo Harry, yes that would be a good idea," interjected Mr Weasley, after a nervous look at a fuming Vernon. And with that, the witch, wizard, and wizard-in-training took their leave.

***

After they had gotten to the Burrow, Harry turned to the two Weasleys. "Thank you for coming to get me. This summer hasn't been too bad, but I definitely prefer your house and company," he said, smiling happily at them.

"You're quite welcome, dear. We're glad to have you. Now go on up, the boys are waiting for you, and I know Hermione and Ginny are quite anxious as well," Molly Weasley replied with a warm smile and a hug.

Harry took his trunk and began to climb up the stairs, but was interrupted. "Harry, hold up. Let me help you. Wingardium Leviosa!" commanded Arthur Weasley.

Harry grinned. "Thanks, Mr. Weasley." Harry took his floating trunk and set it down in Ron's room. Ron wasn't in his room, but he could hear several excited voices coming from the twins' room, so headed there.

"Hullo everyone, what's new?" he asked.

Everyone there, Fred and George, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, looked up, guiltily. "Hello, Harry," they all chimed together.

"Harry! What've you done with your hair?" exclaimed Ron, after giving Harry a look over.

Harry was confused, he hadn't been able to look in a mirror lately, but he hadn't done anything to it. "What do you mean, Ron? I didn't do anything..." Harry's voice trailed off as he saw that no one really believed him.

Hermione recovered first. "Ronald Weasley! What sort of thing is that to ask your best friend when this is the first time you've seen him in over a month?"

Ron blushed a little. "Sorry, Hermione, you're right. It doesn't matter, Harry. How's your summer been? Oh, and Happy Birthday!"

Harry smiled. "Thanks Ron. Summer's been the usual, though the Dursleys haven't been as bad as usual, thank goodness."

Fred and George, who'd been watching the little exchange with amusement, suddenly piped up, "Hey Harry, how'd you like our package?" They grinned mischievously.

Harry laughed and replied, "It was excellent, thanks, but I'm saving those things for school! Goodness only knows what you've done to those things."

Fred and George laughed as well. "Smart thinking, Harry. That's probably for the best," they replied in unison.

Now it was Ginny's turn to interject into the conversation. "Oh, you two are impossible, you know that? Hi, Harry, it's good to see you again. Happy birthday." Ginny grinned shyly.

Harry smiled at her, "Thanks, Gin. It's good to see you again, too." And the thing of it was, Harry really was glad to see her again. Ginny was a very steady person, and he was beginning to appreciate that in her, especially since his own life was just so unpredictable and crazy. He was glad that he would be able to see her more often this summer.

"Well, Exploding Snap, anyone? Too close to supper for Quidditch," asked George. They all agreed and had so much fun that Mrs. Weasley had to come in and get them for supper as they hadn't heard her calling for them. The group headed downstairs to find the downstairs decorated and a sign reading, 'Happy Birthday, Harry!' There were also people there, waiting: Professors Dumbledore and Lupin, Sirius, and Hagrid.

Harry gaped in shock. He couldn't believe it. They were having a party, for him! It was the first time anyone had ever thrown him a birthday party. He was so happy he thought that he would burst. "Wow," he said, "is all of this really for me?"

Remus Lupin laughed. "Yes Harry, it really, truly, is all for you."

"Wow," Harry repeated, still gazing around the room in shock.

Sirius barked (he was there as Snuffles), and Remus leaned in and hugged him. "You know, you could catch flies if you don't close your mouth. Come and eat. Have you started reading that book I sent?" he whispered the last part.

Harry grinned again and shut his mouth, only to open it again to reply, "Yes, sir. Started this morning after I finished packing."

"Good lad, now sit down!"

Sirius transformed, and after nearly giving Molly Weasley a heart attack until the trio of friends reminded her that Black was innocent, came over to give Harry a fierce hug. "Happy Birthday, Harry! Isn't it grand that I'll be able to keep an eye on you at school next year?"

Harry laughed and returned the hug, "Yes, Sirius. I'm very excited about it. It'll be great, and now I won't have to worry about you."

At this Sirius drew back and glared at Harry. "It's my job to worry about you, not your job to worry about me, you hear? No more of that. Your safety is my number one priority, and I won't hear any arguments about it."

Harry scowled and replied, "Yes, Sirius. Can we please eat now?"

"Of course, dear. Come and sit!" came Molly's voice.

Harry found himself sitting between Professor Dumbledore and Remus Lupin and across from Sirius and Ginny. Professor Dumbledore told them all stories about the trouble that the Marauders used to get in at school, much to Remus' and Sirius' dismay (and Molly's). Fred and George were thrilled to be in the same room as Misters Mooney and Padfoot, and they begged for more stories after Remus tried to get Dumbledore to stop saying, "Really Headmaster, at this rate, I'll never get anyone to listen to me when I'm teaching." Harry smirked at that comment and only one person sitting at the table noticed who he resembled when he did that.

The conversations and laughter went on until nearly midnight, which was when Harry could feel himself nodding off, despite his best efforts. Molly Weasley noticed this and started sending people on their way, saying that Harry needed his rest and so did everyone else for they were going to Diagon Alley in the morning, as they would be taking advantage of the fact that Dumbledore had brought them their school letters early.

Before they left, Dumbledore and Remus turned to Harry. "Harry, you're going to come to Hogwarts a week early, all right? Something important's come up, and we need you there," Remus said.

Harry looked a little confused and more than a little concerned, but he nodded his assent and bid them goodnight. Then he climbed up the stairs and fell into his bed, asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Harry awoke the next morning feeling very happy and very safe. His sleep had not been interrupted by unpleasant nightmares or undesired visions from Voldemort. He felt so content that he thought that he would just continue to lie there for the rest of his life and leave Voldemort to the rest of the world. Unfortunately this was not to be as Ron came in and dragged him up.

"Hey Harry, come on! We're going to Diagon Alley today, remember?" He went on excitedly in this way until Harry exclaimed that he was getting up and would Ron please leave him be for a minute.

"Sure, mate. Come on down when you're ready, Mum's got breakfast out," came Ron's rather understanding response. So Harry had to drag himself out of bed and get dressed, though he did perk up when he wondered about what sort of interesting new things he'd get to see this year.

"Good morning, dear! How was your sleep?" greeted Mrs. Weasley when Harry came down.

"Morning, Mrs. Weasley. Very well, thanks," Harry responded enthusiastically as he sat down. The conversation was lively as they planned out their day. Mr. Weasley wouldn't be able to accompany them as he had to work, but Mrs. Weasley was very able to keep an eye on all of them. After breakfast, they each stepped up to the fireplace, threw down some Floo powder, shouted, "Diagon Alley," and they were off.

Harry stumbled out of the fireplace and Mrs. Weasley brushed him off. Then she had them all go off to Gringott's to fill their money bags. Mrs. Weasley kept them at a whirlwind pace, and Harry thought that perhaps she just wanted them to keep going so quickly that no one would have any time to get into trouble. They went to Madame Malkin's for new robes, then to Flourish and Blotts, then to the Apothecary for potions supplies, and then it was finally time to have some lunch. After lunch, Mrs. Weasley said that they had an hour to have some fun, but no going into Knockturn Alley (she said this looking sternly at the twins).

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny set off to wander around. For once, they had no particular destination in mind. Harry decided that he'd like to return to the bookstore as he wanted to see if there were any interesting potions books. Ron looked at him as if he'd gone mad, Hermione looked pleased, and Ginny looked curious. Harry defended himself, "Well, while I was at the Dursley's I didn't have anything to do, so I took out my school books and read them. The potions textbook is actually quite interesting when you don't have Snape standing over you."

A cold voice interrupted him. "Really, Mr Potter? I expect then that you will excel in my class next year, since you'll have completed all this extra studying."

Harry nearly jumped, but managed to maintain control. "P- Professor Snape," he stuttered. "Er.. yes, sir. I hope so."

Professor Snape scowled and replied, "Good." Then he stalked off, his black robes billowing behind him even in the crowded atmosphere of Diagon Alley.

"I swear," exclaimed Ron, "he must have his robes charmed or something, that's the only explanation."

"Oh, Ron!" replied an exasperated Hermione.

***

When the group returned to the Burrow, Mrs. Weasley had them all put away their things and then sent them off, saying that she needed them out of her hair for a while. Fred and George returned to their room to work on more inventions, while Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny went out to talk. They'd settled themselves under a tree and were speculating on what next year would bring when Ron turned to Harry and asked, "Harry, really, what did you do to you hair?"

Harry laughed. "Still at that, Ron?" Ron flushed a little while Ginny and Hermione laughed. "Well, I don't know. I didn't even notice until you said something, it's flatter, more manageable now. Not so wild as it once was," Harry shrugged as he concluded his reply.

Hermione said, "It's probably nothing, Harry. Don't worry about it." Ginny though looked at Harry, she was the only one who had noticed Harry's smirk at dinner the previous night, and his scowls looked terribly familiar, too. She studied him now and noticed that while before his nose had been shorter and rounder, now it was longer and thinner, and his cheekbones were just that much more pronounced. She shrugged it off, but she still thought it curious that he would change so much in so little time.

"Come on, who's up for some Quidditch?" she asked, standing up. Hermione declined, but they talked the twins into coming and soon they had a rousing game going which they kept up until they got called in for supper.

"Ginny!" called Harry. "You're really good, you should try out this year. Oliver's graduated, so we'll need a new Keeper."

Ginny's eyes widened at that bit of news, "Thanks Harry, but I don't know..." her voice trailed off.

Harry smiled, "Think about it, okay?"

"Okay."

***

The weeks passed by quickly at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley made sure that she took good care of Harry, Mr. Weasley questioned Harry constantly about Muggle life, the twins showed him their new inventions, Ron pestered him about Quidditch, and Ginny made sure that he had time to finish his homework. Harry was very grateful to her for this, as he had no desire to face an angry Snape at the beginning of the year.

Then one day after supper, Mrs. Weasley came to him and said, "You'd best pack up, dear. Albus told us about you coming a week early. You'll be able to Floo there, but Albus wants you to come right after breakfast."

In truth, Harry had forgotten that Lupin and Dumbledore had told him to come early, but now he remembered and his worry returned to him full blast. "All right Mrs. Weasley, I'll go pack now," he replied.

While he was packing, Ron came in. "Harry, why are you packing? School's not for another week!"

"Dumbledore wants me to come early. He didn't say why, he just said it's important. I'm leaving tomorrow after breakfast," Harry explained, as he continued to pack.

"I wonder what he wants?" puzzled Ron.

"Dunno, I hope nothing's wrong with Sirius."

"I don't think so mate, he seemed fine at your party."

"You're right," Harry sighed, "I guess I'll just have to see when I get there."

Ron stayed with Harry as he finished packing, and then the two went to bed. Harry slept fitfully now that his mind had returned to his worries, and his nightmares returned in full force. Now though, instead of just dreaming about Voldemort killing his parents, he also had to deal with the ones about the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. The next morning he stumbled, still half-asleep, to breakfast with his trunk and Hedwig's cage.

"Good morning, dear. Didn't you sleep well?" inquired Mrs. Weasley.

"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley. No, not really, but I'll feel better after eating," Harry replied with forced cheerfulness.

Mrs. Weasley looked concerned, but for once she didn't press the matter. "If you say so, dear. Here's your breakfast, eat up."

Harry ate in silence as he considered his dreams, perhaps he should talk to Dumbledore about them.

"All right, dear. Time to go! You don't want to keep Professor Dumbledore waiting," commanded Mrs. Weasley.

"Thank you for everything, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," said Harry, "I've had a wonderful time, and I'm very grateful."

The two blushed and smiled. Mr. Weasley replied, "You're very welcome, Harry. You're welcome here anytime. In fact, why don't you and Ron come back here for Christmas?"

"Can I really?" asked Harry. When he saw them nod, he added, "Wow! Thanks a lot! I'd love to come!"

Mrs. Weasley smiled and gave him a hug. "Now, on with you," she said as she handed him the floo pot.

"Bye, everyone! I'll see you guys at the Feast!" With that, Harry stepped into the fireplace, and out into Professor Dumbledore's office.

Remus Lupin and Albus Dumbledore were playing a game of chess when Harry and his things tumbled into Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore and Lupin exchanged a serious look before Dumbledore greeted Harry, "Good morning, Harry. Did you enjoy your time with the Weasleys?"

Harry brushed himself off and replied, "Good morning, Professor. Yes, I had a wonderful time."

Lupin moved forward now and greeted Harry with a smile. "Hullo, Harry."

Harry smiled back, "Hullo, Professor Lupin."

"Well Harry, it is my pleasure to announce to you that you have been made a house prefect! You may take your things up to Gryffindor Tower; Remus can show you the way. Then, in one hour, I want you to come to Professor Lupin's office. There is a matter of the utmost importance we have to discuss with you." Dumbledore looked very serious as he explained all of this, but Harry noticed that the usual twinkle in his eyes was still there.

"All right, Professor. Thank you," Harry replied.

"Come on, Harry. I'll get Hedwig for you," said Lupin. Lupin walked with Harry to Gryffindor Tower, and on the way there Harry tried to get out of Lupin what Dumbledore wanted, but Lupin refused to talk about. Harry resigned himself to just having to wait. Then the conversation turned to Sirius.

"Professor, where's Sirius?" asked Harry.

Lupin looked up, he'd been lost in his thoughts. "Sirius? Oh, he hasn't come to Hogwarts yet. Actually, he doesn't even know you're here. He'll be here before school starts, though, so don't worry."

Harry looked a little confused. "Umm... why isn't he here yet? Why doesn't he know I'm here? Isn't this the safest place for him?"

"Harry," said Lupin, "You'll just have to trust Dumbledore."

"That wasn't much of an answer, Professor," Harry said, a touch of resentment entering his tone.

"I know, Harry, but that's the way it is." Lupin smiled apologetically. Harry got the message. Lupin did not want to talk about it, though he did know why Sirius wasn't there with them.

"Look, we're here." Lupin's voice broke into his thoughts. "Password's 'lemon drop', and it'll probably stay that way until the term starts."

"All right, thank you, Professor," said Harry.

Harry walked into the room that he'd shared with the others in his year for the past four years. He set down his trunk at the foot of his bed and sat down. Though he was apprehensive about his meeting with Dumbledore, he looked around with a smile. It was good to be home.

***

Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore was sitting in Remus' office trying to calm down the younger wizard. Remus was pacing around the room worrying frantically about the two lives that would now be changed forever. No matter what happened, after reading Lily's letter neither person would be leaving the room the same as they came in. "It will all work out in the end, Remus. Lily is right to tell them. The potions she gave Harry will be wearing off soon, we have no choice. We can't leave them in the dark. Severus will be wondering too when he sees Harry. This must be done," Albus explained.

"I still don't like it. The two hate each other! This will never work out, I'm sure of it!" exclaimed Remus.

"Sure of what, Lupin?" came Snape's voice from the doorway.

Remus jumped, not even his keen werewolf's sense of hearing had detected Snape's arrival, that or he'd simply been too busy worrying. "Is it time already?" he asked.

"Yes, Remus. It's time," came the headmaster's calm voice.

Snape was getting impatient, and he burst out, "Time for what? I was busy working on my plans for the NEWTs level class, can someone either tell me what's going on, or may I leave?"

Dumbledore sighed. "No, Severus," he said, "I cannot tell you just yet what we need, but you may not leave. Some very important news has come to my attention. We're just waiting for young Mr. Potter to arrive..."

Snape sneered, "Potter? What does he have to do with this?"

"Everything, Severus. Everything," was Dumbledore's only reply. "Ah! Here he is! Come in, Harry, come in." Dumbledore ushered Harry into Remus' office and conjured an extra chair for him to sit in.

Harry had been standing in the doorway, waiting and watching, his nervousness compounded thrice over by the presence of Professor Snape. When Professor Dumbledore addressed him, he walked in, hesitantly.

"Don't worry, Harry. Sit down, lemon drop?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry sat down, still looking rather pensive, though he did accept the offered lemon drop. Dumbledore sighed and knew that he couldn't reassure the boy any further, he also realized that actually with the news that Harry was about to receive the boy was quite right in being nervous.

"Sit down, Severus." Dumbledore waited until Snape sat (which he didn't do until after sending a glare towards Dumbledore), and then he continued, "Remus and I have come across some very important letters. The letters in question are from your mother, Harry."

Both Harry and Snape let out a small gasp and then Dumbledore continued, "I received the first one the day before your birthday, then Professor Lupin received the second letter. Now there are two letters left and they are meant to be opened at the same time in the same place." Dumbledore paused and searched the faces of the two seated in front of him, Harry was still looking pensive and even Severus' mask was showing signs of strain.

"The last two letters are addressed to the two of you," he concluded.

Harry's eyes widened and Snape asked, "There's one for me?"

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their twinkle now. "Yes, Severus. One is for you," he replied solemnly. Snape nodded and Dumbledore continued, "I am going to give you yours, Severus, and Harry, Remus will give you yours. Your letters are meant to be read together, here and now." Dumbledore paused again until the two nodded to show that they understood, though Snape looked dismayed. "Very well, here you go. Remus and I will wait until the two of you have finished."

***

Harry opened the envelope that Professor Lupin gave him, and he held it carefully. These were his mother's last words for him. He knew that no matter what the letter contained, and he knew it must be serious indeed to have Dumbledore and Lupin looking so concerned, he would treasure the letter for as long as he lived. He carefully took out the letter and began to read:

My darling son, Harry,

 

Oh how I wish I could see you grow up! I wish I could have been there to buy your wand with you, to see you study, to see you laugh, to see your triumphs and even your failures, to see you love, and just to see you. For I know that if you're reading this I'm dead. I've charmed the letters to show up the day before your 15th birthday in case I don't retrieve them. Harry, I have something very important to tell you. I think that by your 15th birthday you will be old enough to understand the truth in this letter and to be able to live with it.

Harry, you will have grown up being told that your father is, was, James Potter. In truth, he is not. Harry, I know you must be feeling confused, but you must continue to read. You must know the truth, only the truth, Harry, will set you free. And so, I will tell it to you.

Harry, the years before you were born were dark years. I'm sure you know of Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. Albus will have seen to that. Twelve months before you were born, Voldemort started a special extermination program of muggle-born witches. At this time he left the wizards alone, only he knows why, though I think that now I at least have a suspicion as to what he was doing.

Voldemort had his followers kidnap the muggle-born witches, no one knows what happened to them, they simply disappeared. Well, I should correct myself, I do know what happened to them, but I am the sole exception, as I lived when I should not have. You see Harry, nine months before you were born, I was one of those witches taken by the Death Eaters.

I was taken to Voldemort, the Dark Lord they called him, he looked me over, but never was a word spoken. Then he told them to take me, apparently I was to be given to one of his favorites. Not until later did I learn who he meant. I almost died when I discovered that this Death Eater had been a friend of mine when I was young. When he realized who I was, he begged me to listen to him. He'd been devastated when he learned that I was one of those taken. This incident was the last in a series of many incidents that had shattered this young Death Eater's faith in his cause.

However, he couldn't let me go unless he did what Voldemort commanded. A spell had been placed on the room so that if either of us left before we did, we would be killed. So I consented.

We had no choice, Harry, really, neither of us did. He whispered words of apology to me the entire time, and I could hear the pain in his voice, Harry, he meant it, truly, he did.

After the deed was done, I was supposed to die. Instead, the young Death Eater took me away, and then that young Death Eater went to Albus Dumbledore and told him that he deserved the Dementor's Kiss for all he had done. Albus, in his infinite wisdom, saw this as taking the easy way out and gave the young Death Eater a new purpose -- he would spy for the Order of the Phoenix, an order of witches and wizards fighting against Voldemort. He was a good spy, Harry, really, he was. He was the one who told us that Voldemort was looking for us and that we needed to hide.

Anyway, some weeks after I returned to James I realized that I was pregnant. After you were born, I explained the whole thing to James, because we knew instantly that he was not the father. I'll be honest, Harry, James was furious. He had not been on good terms with this Death Eater at Hogwarts, and this only made things worse. But in the end, I managed to calm him down and get him to realise just how dire our situation had been. James has decided to adopt you as his own (though this is in name only, as everyone else thinks you are James' son), and we are pretending to everyone that you are really James' son. We feel that not only is it in your best interests, it is also in the best interests of that young man.

In school, one of my best subjects was potions. I created a set of potions that would allow you to look like James. The catch was that they would wear off roughly 15 years after being administrated. We would have given you more, or perhaps not. It would depend entirely on the situation of the world. As it stands, that decision has been taken away from us. Only I know how to make the potion, and only James can supply one of the necessary ingredients. The potions are wearing off now, Harry. You're beginning to take on your true appearance. You will probably look a lot like your father when all is said and done.

Harry, now I must tell you the name of that young Death Eater, though I'm sure you can already guess. Albus told us of his plans for that young man, and I'm sure you know him. Harry, the man who took me that night was a friend of mine for most of my years at Hogwarts, and despite all that happened between us, I still care for him as such. So don't hurt him. The Death Eater who took me that night is Severus Snape.

I love you so much Harry. I know you'll take this truth and make something good of it, you must make something good of it. Don't hate him, Harry. I don't, and if any of us should, it is me. Yet I don't. Even James came to terms with it, and by the time we went into hiding, he loved you as if you were his own.

I love you, Mum

For a moment, Harry couldn't breathe. He couldn't believe what he had just read. He didn't know how he felt; he felt numb. Then something hit him, and he jumped up and yelled, "He's my what?!"

***

Snape couldn't believe that he had received a letter from Lily. Why now? He couldn't understand why he had to open it here, with Potter, rather than on his own. Sighing softly, he opened the envelope and gently opened the letter and began to read:

Dear Severus,

 

I can only imagine the confusion you must feel at this moment. You never were one for surprises, were you.

Severus, it's time for the truth to come out. I have kept it from you for, what James and I have decided, is a very good reason -- to keep you and our son safe. I know you recall the night that I was taken to Voldemort, the night that you went to Albus and offered yourself to him. I also know that you've been feeling guilty over that night ever since. Well, before I continue I just want to make one thing very clear to you: stop it. I won't have you feeling guilty about it. I've forgiven you for it, and even James has. You are not to continue holding this over your head.

I realise that after the way we parted after our fifth year, you probably don't believe me. But while I was pregnant with Harry I had a lot of time to think, and I decided that everything could have been so much worse. Had I been given to anyone but you, I'd be dead now -- and for my life, I'm grateful, even though we were coerced into doing what we did. And besides that, I'm older now, and I know that not everything is as straightforward as we might wish it to be.

Anyways, some time after that night I realized I was pregnant, but it was not until after the baby was born that we realized that James was not the father -- you are. James has decided to accept the child as his own, and I have created a set of potions that will allow him to take on James' appearance for roughly 15 years. Now that James and I are dead no more potions can be made, not even by you, my Potions Master. The truth has most likely already begun to make an appearance, but it won't show itself fully until after the potions wear off completely.

I know that Albus has you teaching at Hogwarts. He told me he would give you the position, and you know Albus, no one turns him down. You know your son already, you just have to accept him. I hope you do, I hope he accepts you. I want you two to take care of each other; you need a family, and he needs one too. You're probably too much in shock to make a guess as to who your son is, so I'll just have to tell you. We named him Harry James Potter.

Take care, Severus.

Your friend, Lily Potter

Snape put down the letter in shock. He had a son? Something had come of that fateful night? He couldn't accept it, he didn't want to accept it. He wanted to simply go on with his life. He couldn't do this, he didn't even know how to be a father. He wasn't even particularly sure that he wanted to be one. Then something hit him and he jumped up and yelled, "He's my what?!"

"He's my what?!" shouted Harry and Snape together. They had each jumped up from their seats and shouted the same thing at the same time. Remus Lupin looked up in shock and Albus Dumbledore simply chuckled at this joint exclamation. It was a rather humorous sight, after all, how many times does one see two people who mutually loathe each other jump up and shout the same thing, at the same time?

Harry and Snape looked at each other. A myriad of emotions played across Harry's face, while Snape's face showed no emotion, though his eyes told the whole story. Harry spoke first. "Is it true?" he asked of no one in particular.

Snape sighed. "It's true," he quietly admitted. Harry just looked at him. He couldn't believe it.

Harry cocked his head, now his face showed nothing, but his eyes were an open book. To those who cared to read, anger, deep sorrow, and shock were all seen, but surprisingly, no hate. His mouth opened, and he made to reply, but he found that he couldn't say anything.

In an uncharacteristic move, Snape looked away from Harry, as though he couldn't bear to look at him. Remus looked and thought he saw a flash of sorrow, though. Finally, Harry spoke again. "For her sake," he began, "For what she wrote and asked of me, I won't say anything just yet. I need time to think about this, what it means." Then his attention turned to his professors. "Professor Lupin," he said, his voice tight with mixed emotions.

"Yes, Harry?" came Lupin's tentative response.

"Now I know why Sirius isn't here."

"Yes, Harry," Lupin acknowledged.

"I'm going to go finish unpacking now," Harry said, quite calmly. He left, not waiting for a response.

Albus Dumbledore sighed, he wondered how Harry was doing. He hadn't expected this reaction from the boy, denial, even anger, but not this quiet... acceptance, or whatever it was, that he saw. "Are you all right, Severus?" he asked.

Snape took a long time in answering, "No... No, I don't think I am, Headmaster." His voice was shaky, but formal, and Albus recognized that he would have no further discussion with the man for now.

Snape stood there, staring at nothing for several more long moments. Then he stopped and shook his head. "I have class schedules to prepare," he said before leaving.

Remus turned to Albus. "What do you think?" he asked.

Albus sighed, "I don't know, Remus, I do not know. We must leave them for now. Harry will need some lunch later, why don't you go to him then?"

Remus nodded. "Yes, I'll do that." Dumbledore left then, leaving Lupin with his thoughts.

***

Harry walked slowly to Gryffindor Tower and into his room. He still felt numb. Harry almost laughed to himself, everything he'd known to be true was suddenly revealed to be a lie. A lie perpetuated by his own mother. He wasn't sure how he felt about that now, it certainly didn't help that no one really spoke about his mother. Snape had never shied away from insulting his father... no, not his father, James, but even Snape, his father, had never said a word about his mother. Now he thought he knew why, because they'd been friends, and possibly because of what he'd done to her. He shook his head as if he were trying to clear away the tangle of thoughts. It didn't work.

Harry stood up and started to pace around the room. He remembered the Dursleys and what it had been like to live with them; he had a father now, would he be living with him? Did he want to live with Snape? What about Sirius; what would he say to this? There was no doubt in Harry's mind that if Sirius were here and he knew what had happened between Snape and his mum, Snape would not live to see the end of the day. No, Harry most certainly could not talk to Sirius about this. While he wasn't quite sure how he felt about Snape now, he did know that he did not want him dead, and he most certainly did not want Sirius in Azkaban again -- this time for a murder he did commit.

Thinking of Sirius made Harry remember the rest of the Marauders. Lupin seemed okay with all of this, if a bit saddened. He wondered about James; his mother had said that he had been okay with all of it. Harry didn't know what to do with that, but his thoughts quickly sent him in a new direction. All of his life he'd thought that Lily and James Potter were his parents, when he came to school and had learned a little more about James, he had started to try and be like him. What about all of that? It was all a mess, such a mess. Harry suddenly realized that he didn't know who he was anymore...

He heard a knock at his door, and after staring at nothing for a few more moments, he opened up and saw Professor Lupin standing there.

When lunch time came, Remus walked to Gryffindor Tower and sighed before he gave the password to the Fat Lady. He hoped that Harry would be willing to talk a bit about this over lunch, but he didn't know. The boy had reacted so strangely and he was concerned. He cared for Harry, even if he wasn't James' son as he'd always thought him to be. He went up and knocked on the door to Harry's dormitory. A few moments later, Harry stuck his head out into the corridor and greeted him. "Hello, Professor."

Remus smiled a bit; he wanted to reassure the boy. "Hullo, Harry. Up for some lunch?" he asked, trying to be cheerful.

Harry nodded and stepped out into the hallway. "Where to? Somehow I doubt that we're eating in the Great Hall..."

"Your Common Room, unless you'd rather eat somewhere else," Remus replied.

Harry shook his head. "No, here's fine,� he replied, “I'm not really up to facing anyone else right now."

"I understand, Harry. You don't mind if I eat with you, do you?"

Harry seemed to consider this. "Well, yes and no. I want company and yet I don't want any. Do you understand?"

Remus nodded his head, "Yes, Harry. I know exactly how you feel. We don't have to talk, we can just sit."

Harry smiled slightly. "Thanks, Professor."

"You're welcome,� Remus replied simply.

The two sat down in the Common Room and Remus got a house elf to bring them some sandwiches and pumpkin juice. Harry smiled slightly as he wondered what Hermione would think of that. His smiled faded quickly though, as he wondered what Hermione and Ron would think of Snape being his father. Hermione would probably think nothing of it, but Ron was another matter... Harry grimaced and then he wondered if he would even be able to tell anyone that Snape was his father -- he didn't know exactly what his role in the war was, but Harry was sure it wasn't safe.

Remus watched the conflicting emotions that played across Harry's face. He knew Harry must be hurting now, at the very least he would be feeling quite confused. The house elf returned with their lunch and they ate in silence for a few moments.

At long last, Harry broke the silence. "Professor, I don't know who I am anymore," he said.

***

Snape stalked to his dungeons. He was very surprised about the revelation he had just received. He understood why Lily had never told him. That wasn't his problem, though. His problem came from the fact that he wasn't sure if he even wanted a son. He thought that even if he did have a son, he was quite sure that he didn't want Harry Potter, of all people, to be his son. No, best to pretend this had never happened. "Riddle," Snape spat the password to his quarters at the statue guarding the entrance, and then he stepped in and returned to the schedules he'd been working on earlier.

After a few moments he realized that he had just assigned the same plans to three different weeks and he was getting nowhere. Snape really did not like this; he was always in control over his emotions. He never got distracted. Lily's letter had obviously shaken him up more than he had realized. He got up and started pacing around his room.

Snape's thoughts turned to Lily. They had met shortly before they began attending Hogwarts, in a Muggle park. Lily’s powers were new to her, a muggle-born, but to Snape, a half-blood, they were commonplace. He had been watching Lily with Petunia for quite a while before introducing himself to her, and though they’d gotten off to a rough start, they’d done all right, at least until their fifth year. After he had called her a mudblood, she had forced him to choose between her and his friends, and after that, they had parted ways. Until that incident on that night had occurred, anyway.

Snape frowned at that memory and willed it to go away, he did not want to relive that particular scene. Instead, it reminded him of another role of his -- that of a spy for Dumbledore and the Order. It was his penance for what he'd done as a Death Eater, though mostly for what he had done to Lily. Snape could never forgive himself for what he'd done while in Voldemort's service. And now he had a living, breathing example of what a mess his life was.

Snape scowled as he contemplated this. It had been bad enough while he'd thought of Harry as Potter's son, now he was his own and the result of his service to Voldemort. His earlier resolution to ignore the information forgotten, he contemplated the boy. He'd always considered Potter far too arrogant for his own good, too much like his father. Now that he knew who the boy's father really was, he still couldn't bring himself to like him. If anything, he thought he hated the boy all the more for what he represented.

It all came crashing back in on him, the memories of his years as a willing Death Eater. He'd been so stupid! How could he have fallen in with Voldemort? Snape shook his head bitterly, he knew exactly how and why he'd fallen in with Voldemort, and no matter what anyone might say about his family, he'd chosen that path willingly. Now he would just have to live with the consequences, there was no way his debt could be repaid, no matter what Dumbledore might think.

Suddenly, he came to a decision. It would most certainly be best if he tried to ignore what Lily had written to him and continue on as if everything were normal. Next week classes would start and he could go back to his normal routine. Until then, he had class schedules to make up.

"Professor, I don't know who I am anymore."

Remus sat back in shock. For a minute he looked at Harry and studied the emotions flying across his face: fear, confusion, uncertainty, even a little anger. Remus shook his head, "Harry..."

Harry sighed; he wasn't surprised at Remus's reaction. "I'm serious, Professor. I never knew anything true about my parents; my aunt and uncle rather enjoyed telling me lies about them, until I came to Hogwarts. Now I find out that everything I was told was a lie, again! A big part of me came from being the son of Lily and James Potter, and now..."

"Harry, listen to me. You are a Gryffindor; you are the Seeker for your house Quidditch team. You are a brave, loyal, caring, young man. You are the son of Lily and Severus. You faced Voldemort, in one form or another, four times and lived. You are a wizard. You hate Divination and enjoy DADA. You have a godfather who loves you. You have two best friends who care deeply for you. You are the youngest wizard I know to successfully cast a Patronus Charm. Do I need to go on?" Remus recounted all of this with a slight smile as he watched the emotions change again on Harry's face. This time he saw amusement, a little pride, and a regaining confidence appear.

Harry shook his head and replied, "No, Professor. I understand what you're saying."

"Good. The only thing different is that instead of being James' son, you're Severus'. James still lives in you, you know, your Patronus is proof of that. He loved you very much, that was clear to everyone," explained Remus.

Harry took this in. He knew he was different from the man he'd always considered his father. He was his own person, after all. Still though, he'd tried his best to be like the man everyone told him his father was, he had looked up to his memory. Now that was gone, all of it shattered by one letter. The dismay, the slight confusion returned to Harry's face again. He shook his head. "Professor, I've tried to be like my father, now I find out that he's not really my father. I know all that you said, but this is different. I'm not really sure how to explain it..."

Remus stood up and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. He tried to comfort Harry by saying, "I know you're feeling confused, Harry. Maybe you should try to get some sleep, this must be very tiring for you and it'll do you some good, anyway. Afterwards, why don't you go fly for a bit?"

Harry didn't really want to take a nap, but he did think that he'd like to go lie down. He allowed Professor Lupin to lead him back to his room, and after he said good bye, went to his bed. When he lay down, he realized just how exhausted he was, and sleep claimed him quickly.

***

Remus decided that it would be best if he went to speak with Dumbledore next. He gave the password to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office and entered the office. "Albus, may I speak with you?" he asked.

Dumbledore looked up from his letter and smiled, his eyes still twinkling behind his glasses, "Of course, Remus. Come in, lemon drop?"

Remus shook his head no and sat down. He sighed and began to speak, "I've just seen Harry. He's feeling very confused, he says he doesn't know who he is anymore. I... I don't know how to help him." Remus was clearly upset about not being able to help Harry.

Dumbledore nodded. "I know, Remus,� he said, “He'll come to terms with it all eventually; he's a strong boy. All we can do is do our best to help him. He trusts you; he'll come to you when he needs to. Until then..."

"I know, I just wish there was something else..." Remus shook his head and changed the subject. "What about Severus? How's he taking all of this?"

Dumbledore almost laughed. "Well, you know Severus..."

"Indeed I do, that's why I asked," Remus cut in.

"Ah, of course... well, he's taking it as only Severus could take it. Which means that he's probably ignoring it... or at least trying to ignore it," Dumbledore replied.

Remus snorted and said, "Well, I'm not surprised. I don't think that I should go speak with him though."

Dumbledore smiled before replying, "You're quite right, Remus. I will speak to him this evening. Give him time to compose himself."

Remus nodded to show that he understood. Then he stood and said, "Very well then, Albus. I'd best be going, Severus isn't the only one who has lessons to prepare."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he smiled. "Good afternoon, Remus."

"Good afternoon, Albus." Remus left the office still feeling a bit concerned, but Dumbledore had managed to ease his worries a bit. Harry was a strong boy; he could take nearly everything that was thrown at him. It was the 'nearly everything' that worried Remus though.

***

That evening, Dumbledore decided that it was time to see how Snape wasn't taking the news. He walked down to the dungeons and thought that first he'd check Snape's office. He saw the younger man there, but as he was brewing a potion, Dumbledore decided to watch and wait before he interrupted. He knew that Snape could get very involved with his potions and probably wouldn't even notice that he was standing at the door.

Snape actually did notice the Headmaster, but since the Headmaster was obviously not going to disturb him for a while, he went on with his work. When he finally got to a stopping point, he said, without turning around, "You can come in now, Albus. I'm sure you're here to see how I'm doing after this morning."

Dumbledore smiled to himself, he wasn't too surprised that the young man had noticed his presence. "Thank you, Severus. You're quite right, I am here to see how you are."

Snape shook his head, Dumbledore was sometimes just a little too predictable. He asked, "As you can see, I'm quite well. Was that all?"

"Ah Severus, trying to get rid of me again, hmm?" was Dumbledore's only response. It was a game they would play.

This time Snape was in no mood and decided that he'd better just give the Headmaster what he wanted, as he wouldn't be leaving until he got it. "What do you want, Albus?"

Dumbledore was a little worried that Snape had given in so easily this time, but he pressed on. "What do you intend to do, Severus?" he asked quietly.

Snape sighed impatiently. "Nothing. I will do nothing."

Dumbledore frowned. "Nothing? He's your son, Severus," he said.

"I know that!" snapped Severus, "But I am supposed to pretend that I am a loyal Death Eater, or have you forgotten about that? When the Dark Lord finds out, he will demand that I hand Potter over to him."

Dumbledore knew that Snape was correct; if it were to be publicly revealed that Harry was Snape's son, Voldemort would surely want Snape to bring the boy to him. Snape would refuse, and there it would end. The trouble was that the potions Lily had given Harry were wearing off. When that happened, there would no more be denying who his father was...

"There are charms we can use, Albus," Snape's voice broke into Dumbledore's thoughts, "No one need know a thing. I don't want the boy anyway." Snape finished his explanation in a cold tone that told Dumbledore all he needed to know. There would be no arguing, not today at any rate.

"I'll speak with Harry, Severus. But do not think we are finished. It is not fair to Harry to force him to be dependent upon spells to hide who he truly is, especially since he is now so confused about that very issue," Dumbledore said all of this with just a hint of disapproval in his voice and left.

Snape sighed. 'No, Headmaster, I know full well that you will be back one day to finish this conversation...' he thought as he turned back to his potions.

***

Dumbledore sighed to himself as he left Snape's quarters. He hesitated before continuing, but then decided that yes, it was for the best if he spoke to Harry now. He walked to Gryffindor Tower and up to the fifth year boys' room. When Harry came out, he said, "Harry, I must speak with you." Harry nodded and they went in to his room.

Dumbledore looked around and smiled. “This was the same room Professor Lupin shared with his friends, you know,� he said.

Harry's eyes widened in surprise, and he said, "Really?"

Dumbledore caught the hopeful tone in Harry’s voice and replied, "Indeed it was, and, in fact, you should also ask Professor Lupin about being a prefect with friends who love pranks."

Harry laughed at that and said, "I never thought that one of the Marauders would be made a prefect."

"Ah, I see," said Dumbledore, "Well, Remus was the serious and studious Marauder. I think he helped rein them in, sometimes. Though as you heard at your birthday, he was as often in the thick of it as he was holding them in check."

Harry's eyes sparkled at this bit of news, but then he sobered. "I'll have to ask Professor Lupin about it, but that's not why you're here, sir, is it."

"No, Harry, I'm afraid not,� Dumbledore replied.

"Have you spoken to Professor Snape?" asked Harry.

Dumbledore sighed and nodded. "Yes, Harry. I've just come from his office."

Harry caught the regret in Dumbledore's motions. "He doesn't want me, does he."

Again, Dumbledore noticed that Harry didn't ask, he stated. Harry had expected all of this, "I'm sorry, Harry."

Harry shook his head. "No, it's all right. I rather expected it. Maybe we should just go on as before. Before this, I always thought I hated him. Now, I'm not so sure. I haven't decided yet how I feel about what happened between him and my mum. She asked me not to hate him, so I don't think I can, no matter what else goes on."

"Harry," Dumbledore waited until Harry's eyes met his, "they had no choice. You know that."

"Yes, I do. It's helping me do as Mum asked."

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I see. Well then, that's that," he turned to leave, "Good night, Harry."

"Good night, Professor."

***

The next morning, Harry had some breakfast and then decided to go out and fly a bit again. Remus did know him well, as flying cleared his head like nothing else. He felt much freer on a broom than in the castle. Here, in the air, his problems seemed a world away. Harry flew until he felt that he could no longer sit on a broom for a very long time.

He went into the castle to return to his room, but as soon as he entered the castle, yesterday's events returned to him and he was quickly lost in his thoughts. He was so lost in his thoughts that he ran into Professor Snape and didn't realize it until Snape commented, "Wherever are you off to in such a hurry, Mr Potter?"

Harry started and replied, "Er, sorry, Professor. I didn't see you."

Snape scowled at him. "That much was obvious."

Harry gulped. "Sorry, sir."

"Very well, Mr Potter," was Snape's only reply as he started to stalk off again.

Harry stopped him. "Um, sir? I was wondering..."

Snape stopped, but he didn't turn around, "Yes?"

Harry sighed, it was now or never. "I... wanted to know if I could talk to you sometime... about my mother."

Now Snape did turn around, he seemed to study Harry as if he were looking for something. Then he nodded and said, "Very well. Be in my office at one o'clock this afternoon."

Harry was surprised; he hadn't expected Snape to say yes. "Th- thank you, sir. I won't be late," he stuttered. Snape gave him a look and moved on.

Harry didn't quite know what it was that had made him ask Snape for permission to speak with him. He'd been thinking about his mother and the friendship she'd had with his professor... his father. He wondered what his mother had seen that no one else had... Harry shrugged to himself and continued on to his room; perhaps he'd get a chance to see that afternoon.

Snape scowled to himself as he stalked away from Harry. He wondered what in the world had made him agree to the boy's request. It would not be a good afternoon, and he was quite sure that after the boy left, he would not be getting any work done. Snape shook his head, this was ridiculous, why did the boy even want to speak with him? With that thought in mind, Snape hurried to the dungeons, determined to get as much work done as possible before Harry came by.

***

At a couple of minutes before one o'clock, Harry found himself standing in front of Snape's office. He was feeling very nervous and couldn't remember exactly what he wanted to speak with the potions master about. He took a breath and stopped as if preparing himself and then he knocked.

Snape was surprised to hear the knock at his door, was it one o'clock already? He also had to admit that he was surprised that Harry had even come. He sighed and said, "Enter."

Harry walked in looking very apprehensive, he stopped a few feet into the room. Snape scowled at him and said, "Well don't just stand there Potter, sit." Harry nodded and came and sat down in front of Snape's desk.

For a few moments the two simply stared at each other, until Snape finally grew impatient. "Well, what do you want?"

For a few heartbeats, Harry was silent, and then he spoke, "I was wondering about my mother, sir. I was hoping you could tell me about her."

Snape stared for a moment and then shook his head. "Very well, I suppose it is the least I can do. She was very intelligent, she had many of the qualities of a Ravenclaw, and yet she was placed into Gryffindor. Her best subject was Charms, though Potions was a close second, and her worst was Transfiguration. She had a fiery temper and was fiercely loyal. Now, was there anything else?"

Harry took all that Snape said in and didn't answer for a few seconds, then he said. "No, sir. I suppose not." He stood up and started to walk towards the door. "Thank you, sir." He said the last bit without looking at Snap and very quietly. Then he suddenly stopped and turned around. "Professor?"

Snape sighed, what now? "What is it, Potter?"

Harry again looked as if he were gather his nerves. "Um.. I was thinking-"

Snape cut him off, "Well, that would be a first, wouldn't it?"

Harry sighed and ignored the comment, instead he merely said, "I was wondering if maybe we could, umm, declare a truce or something? In private, anyway."

Snape glared at him and asked, "Why ever would we do that?" Surprisingly, to both Snape and Harry, there was no malice in his voice.

Harry looked at him thoughtfully and answered, "Well, I know you want to ignore the information in Mum's letter, but we are still father and son. No amount of ignoring will change that, not when the potions finally wear off..." Harry's voice trailed off and Snape simply stared at him. Harry decided not to wait for an answer, he turned and left without another word.

When he was sure he wouldn't be heard, Harry started running away from the dungeons. He couldn't believe he had just asked Snape for a truce! He still felt confused, but he knew that inside of him there was a part that was overjoyed that his father still lived -- even if it was Snape. He'd lived for so long without a real family, and now one was hovering just barely out of his grasp. He still didn't particularly like the man, but for whatever reason, he just couldn't give up on his hope of having a real family.

Harry gave out both passwords to Gryffindor Tower and to his room and then collapsed onto his bed. For a long while he thought confused thoughts and then sleep came to him.

Back in his office, Snape stared at the quickly retreating figure of his son. A truce? The boy had just offered him a truce? Snape didn't know whether to be relieved or dismayed that the boy knew that he wanted to ignore Lily's letter. He sighed and went on with his work.

***

Dumbledore was coming out of Remus's office when he heard Harry run by. He sighed as he realized where Harry was probably coming from- Snape's office. Why had Harry gone down there? He knew what Snape's reaction to all of this was. When he couldn't answer the question, he decided that he'd better go down and speak to Snape about it.

Dumbledore quickly walked down to Snape's office and walked in. For once he didn't bother to knock. "Severus?" he said.

Snape looked up when he heard Dumbledore call his name. "Yes, Albus?"

"What was young Mr Potter doing down here?" Dumbledore asked with a concerned look.

Snape looked at the Headmaster and answered, "He wanted to ask me about Lily. I decided to oblige. Before he left... he offered a truce, for when we are alone. Though how often he expects us to be alone is beyond me, he knows what I want to do about Lily's letter."

"Did you answer him?" asked Dumbledore in a mild tone.

Snape shook his head. "No, he didn't give me the chance. He left as soon as he finished asking."

"Will you give him that much?" Dumbledore's tone indicated that he wouldn't try to force Snape into doing so.

Snape sighed, and the Headmaster could see that Snape looked slightly troubled, but only slightly. "I don't know, Albus. I don't know."

Dumbledore sighed and nodded, he'd expected that. At least it was better than a flat out refusal. "Very well, Severus. Good day," he replied, and with that, he left Snape to his thoughts.

Surprisingly enough, the rest of the week passed fairly quickly for Harry. He was doing his best to avoid Snape, as he didn't want to know what the man's reaction was to his proposal. He passed the time talking with Remus, and he even decided that since he was at the school, he'd take advantage of the library and get a head start on studying for the O.W.L.s. Harry was still considering becoming an Auror and he figured that one probably needed top grades to become one; if nothing else, studying kept this mind off of what was going on with Snape. In the evening before the Hogwarts Express was due to bring the students to the castle, Harry decided to talk to Professor Dumbledore about what would happen after the potions wore off.

Harry didn't have to look far as he encountered the headmaster on his way into his office. "Professor, may I speak with you, please?" he asked.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry and said, "Of course, come in." The two went up the stairs and into Dumbledore's office. "Sit down, Harry. Lemon drop?"

Harry shook his head no and sat down. He sat in silence for a few seconds and then spoke, "Professor, I was just wondering, what will happen when my mother's potions wear off?"

"Well, Harry, as you know, you will take on your true appearance. It's happening very slowly so those people who see you everyday probably don't really notice it much right now. Eventually though, you will look quite different from the way you do now. You were the spitting image of James, except for your mother's eyes of course, now I can already see that you do have a great deal of your father in you, though your mother's features are those that are coming out the most at this point. That may change as well. I really don't know." Dumbledore explained all of this and then paused before saying, "I presume you are asking because Professor Snape doesn't wish to acknowledge you as his?"

Harry winced, almost imperceptibly, though Dumbledore noticed, and then replied, "Yes, sir, I am."

Dumbledore nodded and asked carefully, "Do you want it, Harry?"

Harry looked away from his headmaster and shrugged. "I don't know, sir,� he began. “He's always been so hateful towards me and I've responded in kind. Now I don't know anymore. I can't hate him, whatever he does; he's still my father. After thinking that both of my parents have been dead for all of these years, now that I know the truth, I can't quite bring myself to hate my own father. Part of me is overjoyed, even if it is Professor Snape. Another part of me is feeling very angry with him. So really, I'm not at all sure what I want."

Dumbledore looked at him with an understanding expression and replied, "I understand, Harry. This is a difficult situation; I think you're doing surprisingly well, though. Be patient, Harry. It will all work out in the end."

Harry nodded. "I hope so, Professor. But, what about my appearance?"

"Oh, of course, Harry. Well, there are various charms that can be performed. I think that we will choose a simpler one so that you will be able to perform it on yourself. However," Dumbledore looked sternly at Harry before continuing, "because it is a simpler charm, you must renew it once a day. Choose a time where you will have no problems being alone. If you choose to do it as soon as you wake up, you'll have to be careful. You don't want to forget and go to class that way."

Harry looked at the headmaster, relieved that it wouldn't be anything too complicated. "All right, I understand, Professor. Who will teach me the charm? I'm assuming it won't be Professor Flitwick..."

Dumbledore's answer surprised Harry. "I will,� he said, “I am the only other person on the faculty besides Professor Snape and Professor Lupin who knows your true heritage. Professor Snape's worst subject was always Charms and Professor Lupin wasn't much better."

Harry smiled a little at that bit of information, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he said, "Okay, shouldn't we start practicing soon? The train comes tomorrow..." Harry didn't finish, of course Dumbledore knew when the train was coming! He felt a bit silly.

But Dumbledore ignored his slip and replied, "Of course, how about if we start now?"

Harry looked pleased. "All right," he replied.

Dumbledore and Harry spent the next hour going over the charm and how to perform it. Harry decided that he would renew the charm after dinner as he'd gotten into the habit of going off by himself after dinner anyway; he spent the time studying extra defense methods and Ron was used to him doing that. He'd started the habit while at the Weasley's home. By the time they finished Harry was feeling rather exhausted, so he simply returned to his room and fell asleep.

***

The next day found Harry both apprehensive and pleased about Ron and Hermione's arrival that evening. When they did arrive, Harry greeted them, and they went to sit in the Great Hall for the Sorting Ceremony and feast. They tried to find out what Dumbledore and Remus had wanted Harry for, but he refused to tell them, explaining that he would tell them later when they were someplace more private. Hermione looked unhappy, but she understood; Ron simply accepted it, though in hindsight Harry supposed that he was being unusually accepting because he was so hungry.

The sorting ceremony was fairly quick this year; the hat's song was shorter than usual, and it gave a warning about remaining divided. Gryffindor received ten new first years, Slytherin eleven, Ravenclaw eight, and Hufflepuff twelve. Then Dumbledore gave his usual remarks about the Forbidden Forest being forbidden, Filch's list of banned objects in the castle (it now contained nearly 500 items), he also reintroduced Remus as the new DADA teacher, and then he continued with a warning, "As I announced last year, Voldemort has returned. Because of this, Hogsmeade weekends may be cancelled without notice and Aurors will be around the castle at various times. They will have the ability to assign detentions and remove house points, though only in certain cases, therefore you would do well to respect them and their authority. Thank you, that is all."

The students looked uneasy at Dumbledore's last comments, but soon everyone began eating and their unease was quickly forgotten. After the feast everyone went to their houses. Once in Gryffindor Tower, Harry, Hermione, and Ron quickly found a mostly secluded corner and Hermione cast a silencing charm around their area. Then she turned to Harry, "Well, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath, and, hoping that this wouldn't go too badly, began to explain, "The day before my birthday Remus and Dumbledore received a letter. From my mum." Harry stopped and looked at his friends, Hermione's eyes were wide and Ron was gaping, so he continued, "She also sent two more letters, they were to be delivered by Lupin and Dumbledore. I got one and... Snape got one."

Hermione gasped with surprise and Ron exclaimed, "Snape?! Why him?"

Harry explained, "Because, what my mum explained in the letters included him. See remember how he found out that he used to be a Death Eater and then he started to spy for Dumbledore?" When Harry saw his two friends nod their heads, he continued, "Well, umm... see, before he became a Death Eater he was given my mum by Voldemort. He was supposed to kill her, but he didn't. Somehow he helped her escape and then he went to Dumbledore. That's when he became a spy. Anyway, after I was born... my mum and dad found out that my dad wasn't really my dad... er... Snape is my real father..." Harry explained all of this very quickly; he just wanted to get it all out.

Hermione's eyes quickly showed that she realized what had happened. Ron wasn't so quick but he grasped the most important point. "Snape's your father?!" he exclaimed, "But-but..."

Harry smiled a little at that. "Exactly," he said.

"What are you doing about it, Harry?" asked Hermione.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing. He doesn't want me, and I don't really know that I want him."

Hermione looked a little shocked. "But he's your father, Harry! Do you realise what that means?"

Harry nodded his head. "Yes, Hermione. It means that I'm not an orphan anymore. I know that! It's hard to explain, part of me is thrilled that I have a living father, part of me doesn't care that it's Snape. But there's the part of me who hates the fact that of all the people to be my true father it would be Snape, just look at the way he's treated me for the past four years!"

Hermione nodded her head sympathetically. "I know Harry, he's been cruel to all of us. But maybe there's a small hope of reconciliation. Have you spoken with him?"

"Yes, I have," Harry said bitterly, "I asked him about my mum, then before I left I suddenly got it into my head to ask him for a truce."

“What did he say?"

Harry shook his head. "Nothing. I didn't give him the chance to answer... I ran out, and I've been avoiding him ever since."

Hermione sighed and said, "Oh, Harry. You have to face him sooner or later, you know."

"I know, Hermione! I know," Harry said.

Hermione sighed and patted Harry's arm, then she seemed to notice Ron. "Ron! What's the matter with you?"

Ron had been watching the whole conversation in shock, and his mouth still hung open. "You want Harry to make up with Snape?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course, Ron! Professor Snape is Harry's father, after all. Maybe Harry will be a good influence on him," Hermione explained.

"But it's Snape, Hermione!"

Hermione simply rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Come on, we should go to bed, it's late and classes start tomorrow." With that, she walked off to the girl's dormitories. Ron stared at her for a moment.

"She's mental, Harry. Are you really going to do it?" he asked seriously.

Harry looked up; he'd been staring into the fire. "What? Oh, make up with Snape? I don't know, Ron," he sighed, "Look, I'm going to bed too now."

Harry neutralised the silencing charm Hermione had put up and then climbed the stairs to the room he shared with the other fifth year boys. After a minute or two Ron followed him up.

Harry had a difficult time falling asleep. He was thinking about what Hermione had said. He'd had a lot to think about the past few days, and Hermione had voiced exactly what a little part of him had been saying all along. He should at least try to get along with Snape. Even if he wasn't sure about the whole father/son thing; even if Snape didn't want to acknowledge that he was his, he didn't want to close any doors. With that thought in mind, Harry finally was able to fall asleep.

The next morning, the trio hurried down to breakfast. Their conversation the night before had sent them to bed later than anyone else and they had slept too long. When they arrived at their usual places at the Gryffindor table, they saw that McGonagall was already handing out the schedules for the coming year. She looked at them disapprovingly, but gave them their schedules without a word. The three friends looked them over.

"Oh, no! First thing on Monday mornings is Double Potions!" Harry groaned. "I can't do this, why first thing?"

Hermione looked slightly amused. "Really, Harry. You've faced down Voldemort four times and you're moaning about Double Potions?"

Harry glared at her. "I didn't exactly have much choice about facing Voldemort, you know, and he's not the Professor who hates you whom you've suddenly found out," Harry leaned in and whispered the rest, "is your father!"

Hermione replied, "I suppose you're right, but still, you've got to face him eventually. Might as well get it over with now."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, Harry. You're a Gryffindor, remember? Brave, daring, all that..."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes, but he nodded and smiled a little at his friends. "I suppose you're right. Well, we'd better go or we'll be late. I don't want to make things any worse than they already are."

***

Snape watched as the Infamous Three (as he'd dubbed them) walked in. Granger looked as self-assured as usual, Weasley kept sending nervous glances his way, and Potter wasn't looking in his direction at all, in fact, he was looking everywhere but in his direction. Snape's eyes narrowed, well, he'd see how the boy did today.

Snape stepped forward and addressed his class, "Today you will be making Dreamless Sleep Potion. It is fairly complex, and if the ingredients are not prepared and added exactly as the instructions specify then exploding cauldrons shall be the least of your worries." Snape looked at Neville as he spoke the last phrase. "The instructions are on page 75 of your textbook, get to work."

Harry was rather relieved that they would be making Dreamless Sleep Potion; he'd been studying the theory behind the potion during the summer in the hopes that he would have an opportunity to make some while the Dursleys were away. His nightmares were very bad sometimes. Unfortunately, he'd never been given the opportunity, but he was still certain that he would have no problems brewing the potion. In fact, he had it memorized by now and he set to work, expertly preparing the ingredients and his cauldron.

Snape noticed that Potter hadn't yet taken out his textbook but was simply gathering the ingredients and setting to work. He was just about to break his promise to himself to ignore the boy and make a scathing remark, when he noticed that Potter was doing exactly what he was supposed to do, the ingredients were prepared almost perfectly (the boy definitely needed improvement in that area, and yet he wasn't so far off that the potion would be affected), and he was adding them to the mix in the proper order and at the proper time. Snape stopped and watched Potter work, he was surprised and more than a little impressed as Potter had never before shown any true aptitude for potions. He remembered the comments Potter had made when he'd seen the boy and his friends at Diagon Alley. Perhaps Potter hadn't been exaggerating after all.

Snape's musings were interrupted by a horrid smell coming from Neville's part of the room, and he stalked over and quickly extinguished Neville's fire while yelling at him for not following the directions exactly. "Twenty points from Gryffindor, Longbottom! If your cauldron had boiled over the entire class would be in an enchanted sleep for the next three months!" Snape continued in this manner for a few more minutes before he finished by telling Neville that he had a detention.

Harry was too busy with the middle stages of his potion to really pay attention to what was going on, Snape noticed. Normally when he yelled at Neville there were several indignant glares coming from the corner of the Infamous Three, today only Weasley and Granger were glaring, but Potter was working. Snape ignored them and walked around the classroom, observing everyone's progress.

Harry noticed that his professor was doing his best to ignore him, as he hadn't said a word to him the entire class session while normally by this point several insults would have already been sent his way. Harry wondered about this, but he quickly put it aside to continue working on his potion, now that things were finally starting to come together for him in this class he didn't want to mess it up by losing his concentration. When he was about three-quarters of the way through the potion, after the incident involving Neville's potion, Harry felt a presence above him.

"Cheating, Potter? Or perhaps you find yourself above using your textbook and think you can simply make do on your own? Just like your father," came Snape's voice.

Harry simply looked at him, he was careful to keep any expression from crossing his face. Snape, however, noticed that when he'd started the taunting Harry's eyes had flashed first with annoyance, then anger, and finally there was a hint of amusement after he'd made the comment regarding Harry's father. Mentally, he kicked himself, no matter what the boy's reaction was to Lily's letter, hearing the last comment regarding James, when in fact the two of them both knew who Harry's father really was, had to be amusing, though in a rather twisted way.

Harry watched his professor as the man tried to process Harry's unusual reaction. He found the sight rather comical, but he was careful to keep this off of his face. Instead, he decided to turn back to his potion. He did so, leaving Snape dumbfounded. Finally, Snape gave up, and he snapped, "Detention, Potter. Eight o'clock tomorrow night." Harry simply nodded and continued working as Snape stalked away.

***

At two minutes until eight in the evening Harry was standing in front of the Potions classroom trying to work up the nerve to actually go in and face his father -- he would be alone with him for the first time since their conversation the previous week. He wondered if his hasty declaration would be brought up, and he rather hoped it wouldn't be.

At two minutes until eight in the evening Snape was sitting at his desk in the potions classroom thinking about the fact that very soon he would be alone with his son for the first time since their conversation the previous week. Though he would never admit it, he was actually feeling a tad apprehensive. He'd been contemplating the truce Harry had offered to him and the motives behind it. Was it possible that the boy wanted to acknowledge him as his father? The sound of the door opening startled him from his reverie; Harry had come for his detention.

At exactly eight, Harry decided that he could put off entering the classroom no longer, not unless he wanted another detention that is. He opened the door and entered the classroom.

Snape sighed as he watched Harry hesitantly enter the classroom, and he wondered what had possessed him to give the boy detention. Well, now he was stuck with him. "Don't just stand there, Potter. Come in," Snape commanded.

Harry walked forward a few more steps and stopped in front of Snape's desk. "Yes, sir?" he asked.

Snape thought quickly, what should he have the boy do? Ah, yes... "You will be redoing the potion you made in class today. This time, Granger won't be here to help you." Snape walked over to one of the bookshelves and grabbed the fifth year textbook, "Here," he said, "page 75." Then he sat back down at his desk and returned to grading the summer assignments that had been handed in.

Harry sighed as he accepted the book from Snape. The man was clearly set on having things continue as they had before the letters from his mother. Very well, then. Though that still didn't mean he had to use a book that he didn't need to make a potion that he now knew he could very well make in his sleep. Harry set the book down on a desk and set to work.

Twenty minutes went by and the student was still hard at work while the potions master observed, unbidden and unnoticed. Snape watched as Harry once again set to work on the potion without using the book, his cuts were surer this time, but that was the only change. He considered this as he watched. He had never truly thought that Granger had assisted the boy, and this proved that he was correct. Something had happened; something had changed. Suddenly, he spoke, "Potter."

Harry looked up. "Yes, Professor?"

"Why do you know how to make that potion?" Snape asked suspiciously.

Harry looked uneasy as he replied, "I studied it over the summer."

"Why?" the question was made without malice, and a hint of true curiosity came through, much to Snape's dismay.

Harry looked everywhere but at his professor. "I was bored," he replied.

Snape didn't believe him, there had been just a slight shift in tone to indicate that the boy was actually questioning whether he'd accept that answer or not. "Try again," he said.

Harry sighed. "I wanted to make it."

Again Snape pushed, "And why was that?" When there was no response he said in a warning tone, "Mr Potter, I asked you a question."

"So that I could get some sleep at night," came the reluctant and quiet response.

Snape was surprised, though later he would admit that he shouldn't have been, he felt a little silly but he had to ask, "Why can't you sleep at night?"

When he heard the word 'Why' leave his professor's lips again Harry smiled slightly, it was enough to make him decide to trust a little. "Because I have nightmares, sir."

Snape breathed a sigh of relief, finally something he could respond to with something other than 'Why?' "Of what?" he asked instead.

Harry looked down. "The third task," he mumbled.

Snape looked surprised and a little disgusted. "I should have known," he said to himself.

Harry's head came up, he sent a hard look to his professor. "Why should you have known? For that matter, why should you even care?" he asked, perhaps disrespectfully, but Harry was annoyed by Snape's response.

Snape was taken aback by Harry's reponse. 'When had the boy become Harry instead of Potter?' he wondered to himself. For a few short moments he stared at the boy, then he gave a small frown. "I don't know why," he finally said. His answer surprised himself as well as Harry. He didn't know why he suddenly cared to know the answers to the questions he'd forced the boy to answer. Deciding that he would rather not dwell on the question, or where the answers would lead him, he changed the subject. "Detention is over, Mr Potter. You clearly do know how to brew this particular potion. We'll see how you do at our next class session."

Harry looked up, he was more than a little surprised. "Yes, sir," he finally said, "Good night." He left then, leaving a very confused potions master behind.

***

The next morning at breakfast Harry received a note. He recognized the handwriting instantly and opened it with a certain amount of dread.

Mr Potter,

Your offer is accepted.

Harry's eyes widened briefly, but he nodded shortly in response to the note just in case Snape was watching. As he tucked it safely away, he wondered where things would go from there.

Harry woke up screaming -- again. Ron had rushed to his bed as soon as he'd started moaning, and when the moans had turned into screams he'd woken his best friend up. Harry woke with a start, at first he looked confused, but after Ron handed him his glasses he composed himself. "Vision. Voldemort," was all he said before grabbing his invisibility cloak and leaving.

Harry put on his invisibility cloak and walked out of the Common Room. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep again especially not after witnessing that. He'd had the rather dubious privilege of witnessing one of the Death Eaters' revels. Harry truly did not want to know what kind of person could take joy in what went on at those events. Unfortunately, he did know, and he knew only too well.

Harry walked and walked. It was a familiar path that he was taking now. He'd gotten in the habit of walking to the Astronomy Tower whenever his dreams took a particularly nasty turn. Tonight's dream was no exception. He'd walk up to the top of the tower and, after sitting there for a few hours, he would get to see the sun come up and that was when he knew that it was time to go back down and get ready for breakfast and whatever classes he had that day.

As Harry climbed the last few steps to the top of the tower, he started to relax. There was a slight breeze coming through and it seemed to blow away some of his tension and fear. He opened the door and stepped outside. After standing for a few minutes, Harry threw off his cloak and turned to one of the class telescopes that had been left out. He noticed that Mars was looking especially bright, so he turned the telescope in that direction.

Harry spent the next two hours lost in the heavens. While he didn't particularly care for his Astronomy class, he did sometimes like the practical part. Especially on nights like this one where it was easier to escape into Space than to stay on Earth and deal with Voldemort.

Finally Harry turned his attention away from the telescope. He sat down and dangled his legs off of the tower. He could just see the Sun in the horizon; it was looking to be a beautiful day. He sighed and thought about his dreams. Sometimes he thought that the information gained from his dreams was very useful and that he shouldn't want to be rid of them, but other times, he thought that he would do anything to never have to see another revel again. The screams of those Voldemort's followers had been torturing echoed in his head, and finally he stood up, grabbed his cloak, and ran to the Headmaster's office with tears falling down his face.

Snape watched as Harry suddenly flew down and out of the tower. He'd come in about an hour before the boy had left. The night's events had left him unable to sleep, both from the adrenaline rush caused by the danger he had been in, as well as because of his disgust at what had gone on.

Snape also came to the Astronomy Tower when his mind was troubled at night. The endless reaches of the nighttime sky never ceased to amaze him and, like Harry, he too would spend hours at a time searching the heavens for an escape. It seemed that the two of them had more in common than he'd ever thought possible. He had stayed in the shadows while Harry had been absorbed in the telescope and his thoughts. The tower was big enough that it wasn't too difficult to observe Harry without being noticed.

His first instinct was to take points from Gryffindor for Harry being out of bed, but something had stopped him. Instead, he simply stood and watched. When the boy had sat down on the edge of the tower he'd almost gone to him to make sure he wasn't attempting to jump. But then he'd seen that this was a practiced position for Harry. Snape had heard the boy mutter to himself about whatever it was that he had been thinking about, but none of it had been clear.

When Harry suddenly jumped up and ran out, Snape had been startled. The boy had been sitting so quietly that he hadn't expected that. When he looked at Harry's face he noticed the tear tracks down his face. He wondered about that, but he dismissed it. Then he walked down the steps and returned to his office. All the while thinking of a boy who had suddenly become an enigma to him.

***

Harry found himself standing in front of the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. Because he was now a Prefect, he didn't have to stand there and throw the names of various sweets at the statue. Instead, he simply said, "Sugar Quills," and hurried up to the office door. He knocked and after a few minutes he was greeted by a rather tired looking Albus Dumbledore.

"Harry!" came the surprised greeting. "What are you doing here?"

"Professor Dumbledore, please, may I speak with you?" Harry asked, his tone clearly upset.

The Headmaster looked concerned. "Of course, Harry," he said, "come in. Sit down." For once, Dumbledore did not offer Harry a lemon drop.

Harry sat and took a deep breath and asked, "Professor, I was wondering if there is a way I can stop having these dreams from Voldemort."

Dumbledore looked at the Gryffindor with a concerned expression, but he replied with a question of his own. "Doesn't a Dreamless Sleep potion work?" he asked.

Harry shook his head. "No, sir. Now that I'm back at school I asked Madame Pomfrey for one, but it didn't help at all. I think that they may not be dreams anymore. I think they're visions from Voldemort, I see everything as he sees it."

Dumbledore frowned and said, "Well, Harry, there is only one thing that I can think of that is left to do. Come see me again after dinner tonight and I'll see what I can arrange for you, all right?"

Harry nodded, he had hoped for something more conclusive, but he knew that that was all he would get out of Dumbledore for now. "Yes, sir," he said.

Dumbledore smiled. "Go now, it's almost time for breakfast."

"Thank you, sir. I'll see you tonight." Harry left then, leaving behind a very concerned, yet oddly satisfied, Headmaster.

After Harry left, Dumbledore stood there quietly considering what he was about to do. Finally he smiled and walked over to his fireplace. He grabbed some floo powder and threw some into the fireplace. "Severus Snape," he called.

***

That evening, Harry returned to Dumbledore's office. He knocked and, after being called in, entered. When he entered the room, he was rather surprised to see his father there. '"My father,"' he quoted back at himself, 'when did he become "my father?"'. He looked at Dumbledore and waited for an explanation of what was going on.

Dumbledore smiled at Harry and said, "Come and sit down, Harry." Harry sat. "Good, now, Harry, since the Dreamless Sleep potions are clearly not working for you anymore there is only one thing left that I can think of to do for you."

Snape started visibly when he heard that bit about the Dreamless Sleep potions. He sent a curious look towards Harry, and he wondered if this could have anything to do with what he had seen at the Astronomy Tower this morning.

Dumbledore noticed the look, but he didn't comment, instead he continued, "Harry, you will have to learn how to build a wall around your mind. You will have to learn how to protect yourself from intrusion."

Harry nodded, but he looked a little confused. "How do I do that, sir?" he asked.

Dumbledore smiled and he replied, "Professor Snape will teach you."

Harry's eyes widened and he smiled inwardly when he saw that Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling madly, the Headmaster was up to something. He nodded again. "All right, sir," he agreed.

Snape, for his part, had known that he was needed to teach Harry something extra and that it pertained to Voldemort. Albus had not told him anything more than that. Though Merlin only knew how hard he'd tried to get more information out of the man. In the end, he'd agreed, he knew from the moment Albus' head appeared in his fire this morning that something would be required of him, he also knew that he probably wouldn't like whatever it was, and that he would agree to it. He always agreed to do as Albus asked. It was a weakness of his.

Dumbledore's next words startled Snape from his reverie, "Well, now that that's settled, I think, Harry, that you should accompany Professor Snape to his office where the two of you can work out a schedule." He smiled benignly and bid them both good evening. The pair was then ushered out of the office and down the staircase before either could even think about protesting.

Snape scowled at Harry and said, "Well, come along, Potter."

Harry sighed but he followed the professor down to dungeons. The duo walked to the potions classroom and then through a door into what was obviously the Potions Master's office.

"Sit," came the curt command. Snape than walked behind his desk and sat down, "Well. I'm sure that Headmaster Dumbledore has an ulterior motive for having me teach you -- he's perfectly capable and able to teach you himself."

Harry nodded his understanding. "I think we both know why he wants us together, sir," he quietly replied.

"Indeed," replied Snape, "and I think that we both know why it was a futile gesture."

Harry schooled his features into impassivity. "Indeed," he echoed.

Snape allowed himself an inward smile. The boy could learn. He continued, "We shall start by you telling me why we need to be doing this."

"I see what Voldemort sees when I sleep. Once in a while, it even happens while I'm daydreaming. Those are the worst, he's feeling a particularly strong emotion when it happens while I'm awake." Harry closed his eyes and then told Snape what he had told no one else. "I can even feel the curses he casts," he said softly.

Snape looked at Harry in shock. The boy had to watch various Death Eater meetings, and he could feel the curses? That explained the tears this morning, and it explained the strangely melancholy mood he'd been in at the tower this morning. "I see," was all he said.

Harry looked down, he was exhausted, and he felt strangely drained by the short interaction that he'd so far had with his father. The professor noticed, and he continued, "I don't believe that we can start tonight. It would merely be wasted effort. Later you will be expected to be able to learn even when you are exhausted, for now, it would be futile. Come to my office after dinner tomorrow. Wear your cloak."

Harry felt that Snape was being strangely compassionate, but his later words showed that he was simply being pragmatic, but still, perhaps there was some hope after all. "Yes, sir. I won't be late," he replied.

"Good. Good night, Mr Potter," was the only reply.

Harry left and after saying an early good night to his friends, he went to the fifth year boys' dormitory and quickly fell asleep.

The next day dragged by for Harry. Last night's meeting with Snape hadn't brought up the truce that they'd made with one another. Harry wondered if it would be brought up again, or if it would simply remain unspoken of, something they just did. He found himself in his last class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Harry paid a surprising amount of attention to Professor Lupin. His mind wandered occasionally, but for the most part he was able to keep his attention on the lesson. The class was learning about shielding charms. Harry already knew quite a bit about them as he'd spent quite an amount of time with the book Lupin had given him for his birthday. That reminded him, because of all of the mess since he'd come to Hogwarts he hadn't had a chance to speak with Professor Lupin regarding the extra defense lessons Dumbledore wanted him to have.

"Three feet of parchment on shielding charms, the method and their uses. Due Monday!" Lupin's voice snapped Harry from his musing. He looked up to see Professor Lupin watching him. "Harry?" Lupin began.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Are you all right? You were rather distant for the last part of the lesson," Remus replied.

Harry sighed. "I'm all right. I just have a lot to think about. You know, everything that I learned over the summer, and now I have to have extra lessons with Professor Snape."

Remus looked concerned. "Extra lessons with Professor Snape?" he echoed. "Why? What for?"

"I have to learn how to block the visions I'm getting from Voldemort. We're connected through my scar. Since I like to sleep at night, Dumbledore is making Professor Snape give me lessons on how to protect my mind, as he called it," Harry explained.

Remus nodded, the concerned look on his face still there, and Harry found out why when he asked, "Will you be all right taking lessons with Professor Snape?"

Harry nodded in response. "I think so," he said, "Dumbledore had a reason to put us together, though it's not as if it's a big mystery or anything."

Remus chuckled. "Indeed," he said, doing a fair imitation of Snape's dry tone. The two laughed about that.

Then Harry turned serious. "Professor Lupin, I was wondering about the extra defense lessons I'm supposed to have?"

"Oh, right. I'd almost forgotten about those. Let me see about my schedule. We'll also have to make sure that they don't interfere with your extra lessons with Professor Snape," Remus replied.

Harry nodded, "Okay. We haven't set up a schedule yet. I'm meeting him tonight. I think it might be easier if I found out when he wants to meet first before making up some times with you."

Remus smiled, and said, "You're right, Harry. I'll see what works best for me and then we can see what we can do after your meeting with Professor Snape. Why don't you come by my office after lunch tomorrow?"

"All right, Professor. I'll do that." Then the two bid each other a good afternoon and Harry turned to leave.

Remus interrupted him, "Wait, Harry. I just remembered something."

Harry turned and looked at his professor with a questioning look in his eyes. "What is it?" he asked.

Remus sighed and explained, "Sirius is coming back next week."

Harry paled a little, but he smiled. "All right, thanks for letting me know, Professor. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Harry."

Harry dropped his things off at his dormitory and then headed down to the Great Hall for dinner. He was worried about what the next week would bring. Truth be told, he didn't know what to do with Sirius. He knew that he should tell him about Snape being his father, but he didn't want to. Harry knew that Sirius would not take the news well, he'd surely take a strong offense to what Snape had done to his mother all those years- conveniently ignoring the fact that in the end, Lily had actually been mostly willing, or accepting anyway, and that neither of the two had had any choice, not really. He sighed, pushed the thoughts away, and sat down to eat with his two best friends.

***

An hour later, Harry was standing in front of the potions classroom, waiting to dredge up enough courage to knock on the door, again. If the situation hadn't been as it was, he would have found it funny. As it was, it wasn't so amusing. He knocked and, after being bid to enter, he opened the door and went into the classroom.

"Mr Potter," Snape greeted.

"Professor," Harry replied. They stood there, an uneasy silence filling the room. The knowledge that they had to now at least try to be civil was at the forefront of both their minds. Finally, the silence was broken.

"Mr Potter, we--"

"Professor Snape, I--"

They stopped, a smile beginning on Harry's face. Surprisingly, Snape beckoned that Harry should go first.

Harry nodded and started again, "Professor Snape, I wanted to... to, well, to warn you about what Professor Lupin said."

Snape arched an eyebrow but he didn't say anything.

Harry continued, "Professor Lupin told me that Sirius is coming back next week."

Snape's face remained impassive, but he asked, "What are you going to do?"

Harry sighed, "I don't know. I am leaning towards not telling him, though."

Snape frowned. "Why?" he asked. Inwardly, he rolled his eyes, 'Are we at that again?' he asked himself.

"Because. Because we're not openly acknowledging our... relationship... beyond this truce. Because I'm still maintaining the illusion that I am James Potter's son. Because I have to reapply an illusion charm to myself every night. Because," Harry finished his mild rant, a tinge of bitterness running through his voice, which surprised him just as much as did Snape.

Snape's frown grew deeper, but he didn't say anything beyond, "Very well. Let's get started, shall we?"

Harry sighed, but he nodded and the duo got to work. "Now, the first thing you have to do is imagine your mind," came Snape's first instruction.

Harry frowned but he tried to do as Snape told him, though he had no idea what it mean. "All right, what next?" he asked, after a few moments.

Snape glared at Harry. "Don't be cheeky, boy. This is serious. This will only work if you truly make an actual attempt at learning," Snape growled.

"Fine," said Harry coolly. He closed his eyes and looked inside himself, he tried to picture his mind. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and nodded, "I've got it," he said.

Snape nodded, his glare fading away. "Good," he said, "Now, build a wall. Guard your mind from an attack. Defend your secrets."

Harry frowned, not quite understanding, but he thought he had a rough idea as to what Snape was after. He went deep into his mind and imagined a man building a wall. He had the man surround his mind with it, and then he opened his eyes and nodded at Snape. "I think I have it."

Snape raised his eyebrows at Harry in shock and merely replied, "We shall see." He reached out and touched Harry's scar with his left hand, with his right hand he waved his wand and whispered a phrase that Harry didn't catch.

Harry almost jumped when Snape reached out and touched him, but he held himself in check and waited. He didn't have to wait long. The spell Snape muttered allowed him to join the connection Harry had with Voldemort. His own connection through his Dark Mark made it easier to join, and he slipped in painlessly. Soon he was in Harry's mind and he saw the wall. He set to work tearing down Harry's defenses. It was far too easy, but more difficult than he had imagined it would be. It was, after all, Harry's first attempt.

Harry could feel the extra presence inside him. He was mildly annoyed, but more so when rather unpleasant memories of his time with the Dursley's started popping up.

There was the memory of the first time he'd spoken to a snake... Blowing up Aunt Marge... One of Dudley's birthdays... Dudley saying that Harry always ruined everything... The fights with Vernon about his Hogwarts letter...

The flood of memories stopped. Snape was looking at Harry. Harry was trying to avoid looking at Snape. Snape finally caught Harry's gaze.

Harry glared. "What happened?" he finally asked.

Snape sighed impatiently and explained, "Your wall, it was not secure enough."

"How am I supposed to make it more secure?" was Harry's rather indignant response.

"It is difficult," Snape replied, "but it can be learned. You will have to allow me access to your thoughts-full access. Only then will I be able to bring you out and show you how to erect blocks that are strong enough."

"You tried to break down the wall," Harry suddenly backed up and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yes," Snape acknowledged, "I did. I had to, you must have a very strong wall built up if you want to block your connection with Voldemort."

"Oh," said Harry. He looked warily at his professor and asked, "Full access?"

"Yes," Snape replied, "full access."

Harry looked down. He wasn't so sure he liked the idea of this, there were many things that he did not want Snape to learn of, not the least of which was his hopes for a future relationship with the professor.

"Well?" came the impatient prodding.

Harry sighed and resigned himself to his fate. He needed to do this. He was rather fond of being able to sleep, and feeling the curses that Voldemort had to have some long term effect eventually. It was for the best, he had to do this. "Fine," he finally said, "I'll do it."

Snape looked resigned, but there was a flash of triumph in his eyes. "Good," he said, "I'll see you here again on Tuesday evening."

Harry nodded and turned to leave, but then he stopped.

"Yes?" Snape said.

"Before I go... Professor Dumbledore wants me to have extra defense lessons from Professor Lupin. I'm supposed to set up a schedule of blocking lessons with you tonight so that tomorrow I can set up a schedule of defense lessons with Professor Lupin," Harry explained.

Snape waved his hand lazily, "Fine. Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings after dinner."

Harry nodded. "Thanks," he said before leaving the room. Harry slowly walked back to his common room. He was thinking of what had just happened in the dungeons. 'That went fairly well. I expected it to be more awkward. Guess I'll have to wait and see what happens next time... I wonder what that look he gave me was about?'

Harry suddenly found himself in his dormitory. He crawled into bed, his mind filled with thoughts on his odd relationship with the potions professor.

On Wednesday of the next week, Lupin stopped Harry from leaving class. "Sirius is back," he said, "He wants to see you today." He stopped and looked around. "Are you going to tell him?" he asked softly.

Harry shook his head and replied, "No, I won't. Professor Snape and I have nothing beyond a truce. Until he accepts me as his... I won't tell Sirius anything. He'd kill Snape. For doing what he did to Mum, and then for rejecting me. No, Professor, I won't tell him."

Lupin could see the sadness at the edge of Harry's eyes. He could tell that Harry wasn't exactly happy about the situation, but Lupin could also tell that Harry wasn't fully certain as to why he was so unhappy with the situation. It was all very confusing and he hoped that Harry and Snape would resolve their relationship soon.

Lupin nodded. "All right, Harry, I understand. Padfoot's reaction to the news would not be good at all, and at this point, you're probably right, it would be easier, not to mention safer, just to withhold the information for now."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Professor. When should I come see him? Do you want me to come to your office?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. We can have our lesson, and then I'll take you to my quarters. I don't think it's a good idea if he roams the hallways anyway," Lupin replied.

Harry nodded. "I'll come right after dinner?"

"That's fine, Harry. I'll be here," said Lupin.

***

Dinner came and went. Harry stopped by the bathroom to find an empty stall and renew the charms he'd cast on himself to retain his false appearance. Then he went to Lupin's office.

"Hullo, Harry," Remus greeted Harry cheerfully, "Have you been practicing the shielding charms?"

Harry nodded, "Good evening, Professor. I have, and I think the ones you've been showing us in class are very easy compared to the ones you have me doing here."

"That's rather the point of these meetings, Harry," Remus' eyes showed his amusement as he answered Harry.

Harry laughed and nodded. "Of course, sir. What are we doing tonight?"

"I think it's time we started practicing some offensive spells. This one is good to start with, the incantation is..."

***

Snape walked away from the door he had been about to knock on. He could hear that Harry and Lupin were currently in the midst of one of Harry's extra defence lessons, and, for once, he decided not to intrude upon the pair. Albus had told him that Black had returned, so he knew that the pair would be going to Lupin's quarters later that evening. He could bring Lupin his potion then. Dumbledore wanted him to speak with Black anyway, more Order business.

As he walked off he considered Harry. Something within him had changed when Harry had offered the truce. He denied it, he suppressed it; he shut it away, unwilling to deal with whatever it was. He was still surprised that the boy had offered it, so surprised that he'd taken it. Snape sighed, 'What is that boy doing to me?' he wondered.

To make matters worse, Dumbledore knew that something was up. The man was always smiling at him, of course, he always did that, but this time it was a knowing smile. And his eyes were still always twinkling. Snape sighed in frustration and stalked off towards his office. Glaring at the Hufflepuff first years in his way made him feel better, but only a little.

***

"Excellent, Harry! You've got it now!" Remus' excited voice rang through his office. It was the end of their Defense session, and Harry was feeling quite exhausted.

"Thanks, Professor," said Harry, "Can we stop now for tonight? I'm really tired..."

Remus smiled, "Of course. Ready to see Sirius?"

Harry grinned a little as he replied, "I don't think anyone's ever ready to see Sirius, he's rather excitable when he hasn't seen someone in a long time, but yes, let's go."

Remus laughed at the truth in Harry's statement and nodded as he gestured for Harry to follow him. "Okay, come with me," he said.

Harry followed his professor to his quarters, which weren't too far from Gryffindor Tower. Harry waited to the side a little while Remus gave the password to his rooms. (Remus' password revealed his odd sense of humor, it was 'Aconitum', Wolfsbane.) Then the two entered the room where Harry was immediately accosted by a rather large black dog.

"Padfoot! Off!" commanded Remus, smirking, which looked rather out of place since Remus didn't usually smirk.

"Yes, please! Sirius! Get off!" yelled Harry.

"Oh fine." Sirius had changed back into his human form and now he was smiling at his godson. "How are you Harry? Nothing unusual happening?"

Harry's eyes widened briefly at that question, but he knew that Sirius didn't know about that. He just shook his head and said, "No, everything's the usual around here. Well, except for the fact that I've got extra defense lessons from Professor Lupin and mind-shielding lessons from Snape."

Sirius scowled at the last, but mercifully he didn't comment. "Moony's giving you extra lessons, huh? How're they going?" he directed the last towards Remus.

Remus smiled and answered, "Harry is doing very well. He's got shielding charms down excellently."

Sirius grinned and exclaimed, "Wonderful, Harry! This is very important, make sure you learn everything Remus wants you to."

Harry smiled and nodded. "I know, Sirius, I know," he said.

"Of course, you do."

Remus interrupted them then. "Tea, anyone?" he asked.

A "Yes, please, Professor," and a "Yes, please, Moony," answered him. Remus smiled at the two and went into his kitchen to make the tea, leaving his best friend and student to their conversation. When he came out, he saw that Sirius was glaring at Snape, and that Snape was doing his best to ignore the animagus and holding a goblet with what Remus assumed to be the Wolfsbane potion.

"Hello, Severus," greeted Remus, "Is that my potion?"

Sending an 'I-told-you-so glare towards Sirius, Snape answered, "Yes, it is, Lupin."

Smiling pleasantly, Remus replied, "Thank you, Severus. Would you like some tea?"

"No, Lupin. I've merely come to deliver your potion and to deliver a message from the headmaster for Black."

"What is it, Snape?" that was Sirius, hostility clear in his tone.

Snape barely refrained from rolling his eyes. "The headmaster wants you to go to Dublin, we've received word that the Dark Lord is having some of his Death Eaters meeting there. You are to go and see what it is they're doing. He'll tell you the details; you leave in two days."

Sirius blinked. "Oh," he said. Then he frowned, "I thought I was supposed to stay here in the castle for the rest of the year?"

This time, Snape couldn't refrain from rolling his eyes before replying, "Yes, well, this can't be helped. Go talk to the headmaster about it, not me."

"Fine, Snape. I will."

"Good." The Potions Master and animagus stood there and glared at each other until Remus coughed.

"Yes, well, thank you, Severus. I'll see you tomorrow," Remus said, trying to ease the tension.

Snape nodded, "Good night, Lupin. Black. Potter," he said. Then he turned and left the room.

"What did you say to him, Sirius?" Remus was more than a little annoyed.

"He just came in here and demanded to know where you were!" Sirius started to reply, but Harry cut him off.

"Oh come on, Sirius, you know you provoked him. Accusing him of bringing Professor Lupin poison, honestly!"

Remus laughed as he said, "You know, Harry, I remember once when you accused Professor Snape of the same thing. You were none too subtle about it, either."

"I guess so," Harry was sheepish, "I don't know, I guess I just trust him more now, or something. Maybe it's because I know a little of his work with the Order."

Remus' eyes narrowed at his student's statement, and he asked sternly, "And just what do you know about it, Mr Potter?"

Harry had the good grace to blush. "Well... a little more than I should, I think."

"Harry!" Remus exclaimed.

"Well, I overheard some things when I was at the Burrow!" Harry tried to defend himself.

Remus sighed and shook his head. "Well, don't go "overhearing" things again. It's too dangerous."

"Yes, sir," responded a properly chastised Harry.

"Oh, leave him be now, Remus. Let's turn our attention to happier things for now. I've only got two days left, and I want to spend as much time as possible with my favorite godson!" Sirius jumped in on the conversation.

"He's your only godson, Sirius," commented Remus.

"That doesn't really matter, Remus..."

Harry left his meeting with Remus and Sirius feeling considerably better, and there was a spring in his step as he walked back to Gryffindor Tower. He settled into the corner that he usually occupied with Ron and Hermione and started working on his homework. Soon, Ron and Hermione came in.

As they walked over to him, Harry grinned at them. "Where've you two been?" he asked.

They both blushed and looked away, and it was Hermione who answered. "Oh, around," she said vaguely.

Harry gave them an odd look and said slowly, "I see..."

Hermione just smiled and sat down next to him, pulling out her books as she did so. Ron followed, though he wasn't so enthusiastic. "Hermione, you do realize that O.W.L.s are at the end of the year, don't you?" he complained.

Hermione glared slightly at him. "Ron! It's best if we start now. We have to go over all the material since first year, in fact, we probably should have started last year!"

Harry smiled as he watched the two bicker over Ron's study habits. They did fit well together, he realized. Then he sighed sadly and turned back to his homework.

Hermione, despite being rather occupied by Ron, noticed. She commented softly, "Harry? Is something wrong?"

Harry looked up at her, and she could see some of the pain that he was hiding in his eyes, but only briefly before he shut down again. He answered her, "I'm all right, Hermione. I've just been to see Professor Lupin and Snuffles, and Snape came by."

Instantly a hint of reproach flared in Hermione's eyes. "Did he say anything to you?" she asked, almost fiercely.

Harry shook his head, no. "No, Hermione, actually, he pretty much ignored me. I guess the truce thing is holding up also in the presence of Professor Lupin and Snuffles."

"That's a start, Harry, isn't it?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"I suppose, so..."

"It's not enough though, is it Harry," Hermione said gently, "Maybe he'll come around in time."

Harry sighed again, "I'm surprised at myself, Hermione... When I first found out, I didn't really care that he didn't want me, but as life goes on... I find myself wanting him to be a part of it."

Hermione shook her head gently at him and replied, "Of course you do, Harry. That shouldn't surprise you. You've always wanted a family, and here's your chance. But it hovers just out of your reach. You'll catch it someday, Harry. I'm sure of it."

Harry gave Hermione a weak smile and nodded, "I hope so..."

***

The weekend went by and soon Tuesday approached. Harry felt rather apprehensive as his evening with Snape drew near. This was the night where he would have to let Snape fully into his mind -- Snape would see everything, his thoughts, his emotions, his reactions. This terrified Harry; he was worried about how Snape would react to certain things. He knew there were memories he would much rather keep hidden, but it wasn't to be.

On the other hand, Harry did realize that this might allow his father to see him for who he was, fully and separately from James Potter. Harry didn't doubt that Snape probably still held him to the same standards as before, still compared him to James Potter. How could he not? Harry still looked like his son, and was probably a living reminder of things that Snape would probably prefer to be forgotten. Perhaps this night was what they needed.

Harry had to run to his meeting with Snape. He'd been distracted by his homework until Hermione had suddenly pointed out the time to him. Thankfully, Harry made it in time. He knocked, entered the room, and sat down across from Snape's desk.

Snape looked up, his eyes flickered to the clock and back to Harry. "I see you've managed to learn the importance of punctuality," he said snidely, "Good."

Harry ignored him and replied with a nod, "Good evening, Professor."

Snape glared at him, but he didn't comment. "Well, Mr Potter, shall we begin?" he asked.

Harry nodded and replied, "Yes, sir. What shall I do?" Snape didn't reply, he simply slipped into Harry's head.

Inside Harry's mind, Snape quickly found the mental image of Harry Potter. "Come along," he said when he found him, "I don't want this to take too long."

Obediently, Harry followed his professor out and away. As they stood there, Snape turned back to Harry and said, "Now I will show you how to properly build your defenses."

Harry nodded, but Snape didn't see as he had already turned away. He began to wave his wand and whisper the words to a spell -- one that Harry didn't recognize. Instantly, images from Harry's memories started flashing through, also present were the impressions left by his emotions.

The first thing that came was an almost overwhelming sense of guilt -- Cedric's death still haunted Harry's memories. Snape glanced over at the mental-Harry, his eyes were wide, and he looked frightened. Snape looked away and their journey continued...

Next there were more memories of Harry's pre-Hogwarts years... The times Dudley and his friends had gone after Harry... Stays at Mrs Figg's house... Being locked in the cupboard for various minor offenses... Now Harry looked at Snape, his face was impassive, but Harry thought he saw a flicker of something in his eyes.

Next came Hagrid... The first time Harry had been exposed to the Wizarding world... Harry learning how his parents had died... Dudley's tail... His trip to Diagon Alley... Meeting Draco for the first time... It all flashed by in the span of only a few heartbeats, and yet the two wizards were still able to understand what he happened in each scene.

After Hagrid came Harry's first week of classes. The embarrassment he felt in his first Potions lesson... His wonder as to why Snape didn't like him... Enjoyment at his first touches of magic... Again, Snape looked at Harry, this time there was a small flash of understanding on his face, but it was gone very quickly.

More of the Dursley's mistreatment of Harry followed that. What stood out the most to Snape was the Weasley twins' rescue of Harry before his second year. He was shocked by the image of Dursley putting up bars on Harry's window, the locks on the door. He felt dismayed that anyone could treat a child in such a manner.

Next came the events that made up Harry's nightmares... His encounter with Quirrell and Voldemort... The Chamber of Secrets and the Basilisk... Even the Shrieking Shack incident from Harry's third year. (Snape glanced quickly at Harry after that memory, too.) Then the Graveyard at the Riddle Mansion... Voldemort's resurrection was a terrible sight to behold and Snape suddenly found himself feeling a touch of respect for the boy after witnessing what had happened.

Suddenly, Harry and Snape were hit with a wave of emotions. The guilt that they'd felt earlier was still very much present, but along with it came sadness, fear, worry, pain, and happiness. Sadness over Harry's relationship with Severus; fear for his friends now that Voldemort had risen; worry for what was to come and worry that Snape would never accept him; pain over the loss of his family and seeing Cedric die; happiness over the joy that was escaping to Hogwarts each year from the Dursleys, happiness for his friends and those whom he loved.

It was very overwhelming, especially for Snape who hadn't expected to feel the myriad of emotion the way that he had. Thankfully, it stopped then and Snape turned to Harry. "It's done now, your walls are down. All of your defense have been stripped away, even those you have built up unconsciously over the years. Now I will teach you how to build proper walls, and when I am through, not even the Dark Lord will be able to reach you."

Harry nodded firmly. "Show me," he said determinedly.

Snape took in the determined expression on Harry's face and he nodded his acceptance. "Let's begin," he said, and he took out his wand again.

For the next hour or two, Snape and Harry remained in Harry's mind building up his defenses. The work was slow, almost tedious, as Snape often insisted on tearing down what Harry felt were perfectly good walls only to have Harry build them up again. But soon their work paid off, and Harry's defenses were firm and steady. The two wizards surfaced from their journey and faced each other again in Snape's office.

Snape was just in time to catch Harry before he collapsed from exhaustion. Frowning, he cast a 'Mobilicorpus' spell on him and took him up to Gryffindor Tower for his friends to tend to. Then he returned to his dungeon to try to forget what he had learned about Harry that night.

As the weeks passed, Harry and Snape managed to avoid each other quite well. Harry didn't want to know what Snape's reaction to his memories and feelings was, and Snape simply didn't want to deal with the thoughts that facing Harry would bring up. Dumbledore was beginning to get mildly annoyed with both of them, and Remus was following him in that. They both could see that the two wizards desperately needed to talk. Unfortunately, both wizards were all too skilled in avoiding things that they didn't want to do.

Soon enough it was Halloween night. Harry excused himself from the feast early, telling Ron and Hermione that he was feeling very tired. Snape watched him go, and he noticed that all was not well with Harry -- the boy was clearly upset about something.

The truth was, Harry was upset. Since he had learned that his parents had been killed on Halloween, the holiday had taken on an odd significance for him. He couldn't quite mourn people that he'd never had the chance to know, but the celebrations that went on didn't quite feel right either. This year, with his troubles with Snape, the holiday only felt that much worse.

Harry sighed as he walked up to the Astronomy Tower. The familiar path taking him up to the telescopes that he so loved to lose himself in. After staring up into the heavens for about ten minutes or so, Hedwig suddenly flew to him and landed on his shoulder. For a brief moment, Harry was startled, but then he smiled and he reached up to stroke her.

Carefully, Harry walked to the edge of the embattlement. He sat down and leaned his head against the wall. All the while he continued to gently stroke Hedwig. Harry sighed softly, and after a moment or two, he began to speak quietly to the owl. "I don't like Halloween anymore. Not since I've learned that that's the day my parents were killed. It feels odd to celebrate on such a day." Another sigh. "But then, I suppose that really, it's only the day Mum was killed. Since my real father is still alive, and hates me just as much as ever..." Harry's voice trailed off as he looked into the distant sky.

Some time later, Harry left the tower to return to his room. He had no desire to be caught out after curfew, and certainly not by Snape. He sent Hedwig on her way back to the Owlery, and made his way down the long set of stairs, through the halls, and into the Gryffindor Common Room where he was met by a very worried Hermione.

"Harry!" she exclaimed when she saw him. "Where were you? I was so worried..."

Harry sighed sadly and shook his head. He walked slowly over to the sofa where Hermione had been sitting and sat down. "Hermione..." his voice trailed off as he realized that he didn't quite know what to tell her.

Hermione sat down next to him and sighed. "Oh, Harry..." she said softly, "What's wrong? What's going on? You've been oddly quiet for a few weeks now. Did something happen?"

Harry was silent for a few moments and he stared into the fire as he gathered his thoughts. Finally he nodded his head without looking back at Hermione. "Yes," he said softly.

"What?" she asked gently, only concern and care showing on her face.

Harry sighed and looked back at the girl who had always been by his side -- even more faithful than Ron. "Those special lessons with Snape... do you know how they ended?" The question was rhetorical, but he waited for her to respond anyway. "We were in my mind, Hermione, he saw everything. My memories, my thoughts, my feelings... He knows that I want to try to make this work somehow. But he hasn't come to me, and I can't go to him, Hermione, I can't!" Harry's voice had risen as his worry grew through his story, and Hermione had to calm him down before replying.

"Harry," she began, her voice letting him know that she knew that he probably wouldn't want to hear what she was about to say, and that she was looking for the right words so that he would listen anyway. "Harry," she began again, "you have a talent for ignoring things that you don't want to think about. I know you've been ignoring Snape, Harry. He's been doing it too. Potions has been surprisingly quiet these past few weeks; I'm surprised that you haven't picked up on that before."

Harry thought over the past few weeks and noticed that Hermione was right. "Yes," he replied in a low tone, "but what now?"

Hermione didn't reply right away, but when she did it was in a sad tone. "I don't know Harry, I don't know."

***

A few moments after Harry had left the feast, Snape had also left. Actually, he had purposely followed Harry. He had followed him up to the Astronomy Tower; he had heard everything that Harry had told Hedwig.

And now, Snape was leaning against the edge of the Tower, looking up at the stars while deep in thought. To say that the sadness in Harry's voice surprised him was an understatement. Although it really shouldn't have been, after all, he had felt that Harry was interested in a family while in Harry's mind.

Snape spent several hours up in the Tower; his thoughts tumbling over and over in his mind. At some point, Dumbledore came up and put a concerned hand on his professor's shoulder. "Severus?" he spoke softly, gently.

Snape almost failed in keeping himself from jumping, and he cursed himself inwardly for allowing Dumbledore to sneak up on him like that. "Albus?" he growled to cover his discomfort.

Dumbledore gave Snape a smile that said that he wasn't fooled and asked him, "What's wrong, Severus? Why are you still up here?"

Snape sighed and shrugged Dumbledore's hand away. "I don't know, Albus," he replied harshly, his eyes not betraying the lie.

But Dumbledore knew better, and he knew exactly why Snape was still up in the Tower. He had simply wanted Snape to tell him for himself. "How goes things with young Harry?" he asked curiously.

"The same as always, Albus, you should know that," Severus replied in an annoyed tone. "I ignore him, he ignores me, we go on with our lives."

Dumbledore was silent for a moment. He thought he could hear the slightest amount of displeasure with the situation in Snape's tone, but he knew that the other man would never admit it. Finally he responded with a soft, "Why, Severus?"

"You know my feelings towards the boy, Albus, that is enough," was the harsh reply.

"Severus..."

But Snape cut Dumbledore off. He turned away from the battlement and faced the headmaster. "Good night, Albus," he said, and he was gone in a swirl of black robes.

Dumbledore remained behind for a few moments before sighing sadly and returning down the stairs and to his quarters.

***

The next day, Harry and Snape faced each other in Potions class again. Harry was quite tired from his sleepless night, so he wasn't paying the proper attention to his potion. It started to fizzle, but Snape stepped in and added an ingredient before turning angrily upon Harry.

"Idiot, boy!" he hissed in a dangerous tone, "You would have taken out half the dungeons had that potion been allowed to explode! What is the matter with you, Potter? The directions were clearly stated. But I seem to have forgotten, following directions is beneath you, isn't it?"

Harry didn't reply, he simply looked down, intent on avoiding the Potions Master's harsh gaze.

"Detention, boy. Eight o'clock with me," Snape snapped at Harry before turning away to berate another Gryffindor.

Harry hung his head, and Hermione placed a comforting hand on his arm before turning to help him fix his potion.

***

After dinner, Harry was lying on his bed thinking things over. In just over an hour he was to have detention with his father. A detention that would probably be one of the most unpleasant he had ever received while at Hogwarts. And in that moment, Harry made a decision. A decision that he hoped would change things irrevocably between himself and his father.

Harry was about to do something that could probably be classified as blindingly stupid. He was about to go to his detention with his father without reapplying the illusion charm he used to maintain the fiction that he was James Potter's son. Harry watched in the mirror as the charm melted away. The changes had completed by this point -- his mother's potions having finally worn completely away. He inspected the changes carefully before nodding firmly to he reflection. "Right," he whispered to himself before he put on his invisibility cloak, after all, it wouldn't do to be seen walking through the halls looking so much like Snape as he did.

Harry knocked uncertainly on Snape's door. His earlier confidence was fading as he faced the door to the Potions classroom. The door was harshly yanked open, and Snape stood before Harry, glaring as usual.

Snape's eyes narrowed in suspicion and he looked around. "Who's there?" he asked harshly after a moment.

Harry had forgotten about his cloak. "It's just me, sir," he said softly after stepping into the shadows to remove it and then coming back.

Snape studied the student before him. It was a Gryffindor -- that much was obvious from the school robes -- but he didn't recognise the student. The student had straight black hair that was cut short. He looked uncomfortable in his robes, and when he shifted, Snape could see that the robes were just that much too short for him. Snape moved his glance up to the student's eyes; the green shocked him. It was a shade he'd only ever seen on two people previous to tonight -- Lily and Harry. His eyes flicked up to the student's forehead, but the boy's hair was covering whatever scar may or may not have been there.

He hazarded a guess anyway. "Potter?" he asked harshly. His anger grew when the student nodded silently. "Get in." Harry could hear the anger in Snape's voice quite clearly. He winced as he followed his father into the classroom.

Snape shut the door behind Harry and warded it with several layers of locking and silencing charms. Then he whirled on Harry and asked in a deathly calm voice that was quite surprising in light of his earlier harsh actions, "What do you think you are doing?"

Harry sighed and looked his father straight into the eyes. "I'm tired of dancing around the school all the time in a hopeless attempt to avoid each other. I'm tired of pretending." Harry looked away. "I'm just tired of it all, I suppose," he finally said, softly.

If it was possible, Snape's glare seemed to turn even harsher upon hearing Harry's words. "Tell me," he hissed, "how would you propose that we stop pretending? Coming out as father and son would be a death sentence for me. Voldemort would surely demand to know why I haven't already handed you over to him. Tell me, Potter, how would you handle this?"

Harry's shoulder's slumped as the truth of Snape's words sunk in. He looked away from his father's harsh gaze and shook his head. "I don't know!" he shouted. "We don't have to be public about it, but you could stop treating me this way in private!"

"Potter, that's impossible. Attempting such a charade would make it far too easy to slip up when we are around others. This is simply what we must do, at least until the war is over," Snape answered in just as harsh a tone as before.

Harry shook his head. "Two deceptions too many for you then?" he asked bitterly. "You'll do it for Dumbledore, but not for me?"

"Potter --" Snape began to answer his son's accusation -- funny how Harry had firmly entrenched himself as Snape's son even while the two were avoiding each other -- but he was interrupted by his son's firm denial.

"No," Harry said quietly. "No." And he ran out of the room, unlocking the door as he got to it.

Snape shook his head as he watched his son go. The truth was that just the one deception he had going on was difficult enough to handle. He had to work desperately to try to keep his Slytherins from Voldemort's side, even while guiding them in attaining their goal as per Voldemort's orders. Keeping up the role of loyal Death Eater in an environment such as Hogwarts was very difficult -- he had to walk a fine line of keeping up the appearance of a barely-cleared-former Death Eater, while still being completely loyal to Voldemort, or rather, appearing to be completely loyal to Voldemort.

Adding in the difficulties of appearing to hate the boy-who-lived while at the same time carrying on a father/son relationship with the boy, would be more than he felt he could handle. At the same time, he was beginning to think the burden of knowing he had a son while at the same time denying that very fact, was getting to be more than he could deal with.

It did hurt him to see the pain in his son's eyes when Harry looking in his direction. It did him hurt to treat Harry the way he did. It did hurt him to sneer at his son's pain when he wanted to offer what help he could -- however incompetent he may be at that sort of thing, though after the years of working with his Slytherins, he liked to think that he wasn't completely hopeless in a parenting role. It hurt because every time he looked Harry in the eyes, he saw Lily's eyes staring back at him, and truly, he had never stopped loving her - everything he did against Voldemort, he did for her.

Severus began to pace around the classroom. The current situation was that the war was beginning to pick up. Voldemort was growing more active, albeit slowly. The frequency at which he was called had begun to increase, again slowly. He had thought it would be easy to deny Harry, and it mostly was, but now he had seen undeniable evidence of Harry being his son -- the perfect blend of his and Lily's features on Harry's face.

It was a shock, to say the least. Knowing that Harry was his son even while Harry wore James' face was a very different thing from knowing that Harry was his son and seeing that Harry was his son. It suddenly hit him all at once that Harry was his son!

Snape sunk into his chair at his desk, and put his head into his hands, almost as if he was trying to hide from the onslaught of sudden emotions. Behind the shock, there was a sense of loss as he realised all the years that had been lost to him, not that Harry would have ever been raised as his in the first place; though perhaps if the facts had been known, then Harry could have lived with him following the Potters' death. Still the sense of loss he had could not simply be reasoned away.

Snape sighed heavily. So much had been denied to him, some as a result of an upbringing, but many more as a result of his own choices. He could not deny the fact that his poor choices as a young man had played a large part in bringing him to his current position in life. If he hadn't become a Death Eater, he could play a larger role in Harry's life. On the other hand, if he hadn't become a Death Eater, Harry would never have been born. Lily would have carried James' child instead.

The realisation that his role as a Death Eater had such a major impact on the current situation was more than Snape could handle at that point. He could practically see the ripple effect surrounding them all.

Harry ran blindly from his father's classroom. He didn't even notice that he had run into Remus until Remus had called for him. "What happened, Harry?" Remus asked after catching up to the Gryffindor.

Harry sighed as he looked at Remus. "Not here," he replied.

Remus nodded and led Harry up through the maze of corridors and staircases that was the route from the dungeons up to the corridor that the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was located in. Once in the classroom, he gently propelled Harry through the door leading into his office when Harry simply stood there, looking rather morose.

In a few minutes, Remus had some water boiling for tea. He took a spoonful of some herbs from an unmarked jar that Harry hadn't seen before. After allowing the tea to steep for several minutes, he strained the liquid into two cups and placed one before Harry before sitting down into his own chair.

Harry looked quizzically at Remus. "It's good," Remus replied. "It's a special blend, designed to help you relax, supposed to help you sleep better, too," he added rather pointedly.

Harry nodded and took a sip. It was good. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

Remus saw this and put down his own cup before saying, "Well, now, why don't you tell me what happened between you and Severus?"

"He gave me a detention this morning -- I was just tired and hadn't been paying proper attention to my potion -- and I decided that I'd had enough. As you can see, I just went without renewing my charm. We had the expected confrontation, that's all." Harry's voice was tired, and he sounded as though he very much just wanted to get away from everything.

Remus could see that Harry was clearly putting on a brave face despite how upset he'd been in the hallways earlier. His tone wasn't so different from Severus' when he was evading a question -- controlled, calm -- he suppressed a smile at that. "I see," he replied at last, and he nodded wisely as he did.

Harry winced. Remus obviously was entirely too good at reading between the lines for his own good. He took another sip of his tea in an attempt to hide his reaction, but Remus had already caught it.

"So there is more," he added knowingly. "What happened, Harry?"

Harry saw only concern and care in Remus' eyes. In that moment it struck him that Remus cared for him because he was Harry. Not because he was the Boy Who Lived, not because he had thought that Harry was James Potter's son, only that he was Harry. Remus didn't even care that Harry had turned out to be son of the man who had forced him out of Hogwarts two years previous and was consistently rude to him for his being a werewolf.

Harry sighed; this was a fairly shocking conclusion for him. All of his life, he had endured the hatred of his blood relatives. Then he had come to Hogwarts, where the acceptance of his peers depended entirely on whether they were looking for a hero or a scapegoat that week. There were still times he wondered about his friendship with Ron -- how much of it was Ron accepting him for him, but then he realised that if Ron was just looking for friendship with the Boy Who Lived, then he'd probably not stick around after their life-threatening adventures. He wasn't even sure of his teachers -- which of them liked Harry, and which of them liked the Boy Who Lived? He couldn't get the memory of Flitwick falling off of his stack of books that first day those years ago. On the other hand though, Flitwick seemed to like pretty much everyone except Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

For once in his life, Harry decided to take a chance and give an adult a full answer. He felt that Remus deserved it. So he took a deep breath and opened his mouth and began to tell Remus everything that had happened -- from the time Snape had opened the door to the time Harry had ran out. He talked, and as he did he found it strangely relieving. It felt good to let Remus know how he felt. When he was finished, he slumped into his chair and drank, almost greedily, his tea.

Remus, too, sat back and sipped from his tea as he considered what Harry had told him. It seemed to him that he really needed to hear what had happened from Severus -- perhaps the man would speak to him for once. Remus was one of the few who knew that Severus wasn't all that bad. Two months after he had left Hogwarts, he began to receive the Wolfsbane again. The note accompanying the first one had simply said that they wouldn't want a repeat of that last night. Yes, Remus would indeed be going down to see Severus that night, but for now he had Harry to take care of.

"Harry," he began as he carefully returned his teacup to its saucer, "you know what Professor Snape is, what he does. And, to be perfectly honest, I do understand his point. These are dangerous times we live in, and not only is it dangerous for Professor Snape to acknowledge you as his son, but it's dangerous for you, as well." He stopped at that when Harry began to look at him skeptically.

"How can it be dangerous for me?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "I didn't really think it was possible for things to get even more dangerous!"

Remus smiled as he thought of how to answer. Finally, he said, "During the school year, you're relatively safe at Hogwarts, as long as you avoid death defying stunts on your broom, that is. But should this information come out, then there is a very real possibility that you would be facing trouble from the general population here at school. You know, I'm sure, that there are children here of Death Eaters? If they see this as the reason for Snape's betrayal, then, well..." Remus' voice trailed off as he allowed Harry to come to the conclusion himself.

Harry considered Remus' words. He still thought that perhaps everyone was overestimating the danger to himself, but he knew full well the danger that his father would be in. At long last he nodded. "Fine," he said. "If I have to wait, I'll wait."

Remus looked at him sadly. "I'm sorry, Harry. I know that there are so many uncertainties about the coming years. I know you wish that you could have this now, but I think that if you wait, it will be worth it."

Harry nodded. He put down his tea cup and stood. "Thanks for the tea, Professor," he said quietly, "but I think I need to go now."

Remus gave him a sad smile and nodded understandingly. "You're welcome anytime, Harry," he replied. Then he walked Harry out of his office, where they said good night.

After Remus saw Harry off, he walked down to the dungeons. Where he found Snape much as he was when Harry had left him an hour or so ago. "Severus?" he said softly as he approached the Potions Master's desk. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Snape looked up at his fellow professor. "No. No, I don't think I am," he replied in a distant voice.

Snape's answer surprised Remus. Not only had he been expecting to be told off, and harshly too, but he'd never ever thought that Snape would give him such an honest reply. Truth be told, Remus wasn't the only one surprised by Snape's answer. Snape was rather surprised as well. But now that it was done, he felt a strange sort of relief come over him at having told someone the truth. So he did a second unexpected thing, he waved Remus towards a seat and told him to sit down. Remus sat.

"What can I do, Severus?" Remus asked after a few moments.

Instead of answering the question though, Snape began to tell Remus what had happened that night. He told Remus about Harry's wishes; he told Remus about Harry's disappointment; he told Remus about the bitterness in Harry's voice. What he didn't tell Remus about were his own reactions. At this point, bringing himself up would simply be too much.

Remus nodded slowly as he listened to what Snape was telling him. He realised that he was at a very important time in both Harry's and Snape's lives. This was the moment that could very well determine whether or not those two ever had a hope of accepting one another. He sighed. "Severus, listen to me. I know, probably better than Harry, why Harry feels the way he does," he finally replied.

Snape looked up at Remus and frowned. "How can you say that?" he asked, not quite harshly.

Remus shrugged. "Easily enough," he replied. "You see, Harry is too close to it all. He is very confused at the moment because he knows what he feels, but he doesn't know why."

"So tell me, werewolf," Snape snapped, beginning to become impatient.

Remus gave Snape a small smile and explained. "Harry has never known the love of a family. You know this; you saw it in his memories. He loves the Weasleys dearly, and he knows they love him in return, yes, but to him, it's simply not the same as knowing the love of your own blood relatives.

"When he discovered that he was your son, he wasn't sure what to think. On the one hand, here he had another living relative, on the other hand, however, this relative, his father nonetheless, gave every appearance of hating him -- just as his aunt and uncle, only this was his father, and so it was different. The longing he felt for his own family intensified. But he knew he had to shove it aside because of the bad feelings between you two.

"You see, Severus? Do you see why Harry feels the way he does? He wants desperately to be accepted by you, and he wants desperately to accept you. But he doesn't understand why this is, though I wouldn't be surprised if Miss Granger has told him, he doesn't comprehend the emotions." Remus stopped and waited. He hoped that what he had said would be enough, he hoped he had said the right thing.

Snape, meanwhile, had placed his head back in his hands. Remus' explanation made a great deal of sense, but he still didn't quite know how to proceed.

Remus knew, though, that he had to tell Snape of what he had spoken to Harry. "He's wiling to let things go," he said after a while.

Snape suddenly looked up and frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked harshly.

"Merely that I explained to him the danger that this information puts the both of you in," Remus explained. "He took it all well enough, but..." his voice trailed off, and he shook his head.

Snape's eyes narrowed, and he looked at Remus suspiciously. "What?" he demanded.

Remus sighed and looked away from Snape's intense gaze. "Harry is afraid," he said. "The war is intensifying, and I think he has a suspicion that he won't live to see the end of it, and what's more, he knows that your life could be forfeit at any day. He is, even if he doesn't quite realize it yet, angry at the fact that he is being denied a chance at a family, and he is afraid that if he waits until the end of the war, he won't ever get it."

Snape didn't really have anything to say to that. What could he say? The information he gave to Dumbledore was too important to let go, and there was no one to take his place, nor would he ask anyone to do so. This was his penance; this was his task, and no one else's. He had to be a spy.

Remus left then, without saying a word, and Snape barely noticed.