Present

“I should probably have dreaded the upcoming talk with Dad more than I was. I knew I was in trouble. I deserved whatever punishment I got,” Harry said as he shifted on his stool.

“I guess I wasn’t dreading it because I wasn’t scared. If I ever got in trouble with the Dursleys they made sure I felt their disapproval. With Dad, I knew he would never hurt me, not physically. It was nice knowing there was no pain heading my way, a strange thing to say I know,” Harry explained.

“Dad and I had some important things to discuss.  There was the whole thing about what actually happened at the Ministry, my dependence on a certain spell, not to mention my punishment.  After the Pensieve incident I got detention. This was way more serious and I honestly had no idea what to expect this time.  It was a good thing that Professor Dumbledore canceled exams.  It gave me and Dad lot of time to deal with things.”

“One of Dad’s favorite things to give as punishment  was preparing a barrel full of frogs for use in potions.  I really should say his favorite thing was for me to have to deal with it.  I think I’ve cut up more toads in the last week then all of the students in Hogwarts’ history combined.”  Harry complained picking a bit of frog skin out from under his nail.  

“I only have a few more months of this to look forward to.  But I’m getting ahead of myself again….”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

June 1996 (The week before)

“Sit at the table, Harry,” Severus instructed his son as they entered the professor’s quarters.

Harry gave his father a questioning look, but did as he was told. Severus crossed the room stopping in front of the hearth. A moment later a platter of sandwiches and pitcher of iced pumpkin juice appeared before Harry.

“Your horrid Muggle relatives may have starved you when you were in trouble, but I will do nothing of the sort.” Severus said taking a seat, “Eat.”

Harry obediently took a ham sandwich from the tray.  The two sat in a semi-awkward silence as they ate their afternoon meal. Despite being hungry. Harry couldn’t bring himself to eat more than half a dozen bites. Severus wiped his mouth and hands pushing away from the table.

“I forgot you do not care to eat before your punishment is handed out,” Severus said setting down his own sandwich. “I apologize.”

“It’s alright,” Harry said with a shrug.

“It is not. It was rude if me to eat when you were clearly uncomfortable.” Severus disagreed.

“I’m fine,” Harry dismissed. His protests were refuted as Harry’s stomach made a hungry growl.

“It seems we should speak about your punishment soon if only to put an end to such distressed rumblings,” Severus said lightly.

Harry gave him another shrug.

“Stop that infernal gesture. It is lazy and means nothing.” Severus scolded. The wizard rose pacing by the table.

“Yes sir,” Harry said sitting up straighter in his chair.

“Your behavior last night was deplorable. You were specifically instructed to stay here. Your refusal to follow my instructions not only put your life, but the lives of your friends at stake. Do you realize that Harry? Granger and Weasley could have been killed! Their lives were only put at risk because of your choices!” Severus yelled.

Harry looked down at that statement, ashamed.

“Look at me when I am speaking to you,” Severus ordered.

Harry looked back to his father. His face was flushed with embarrassment, his eyes bright with tears.

“You could have been killed Harry!” Severus continued. “You DID die last night! It is only by a miracle you are here now! Do you know how that makes me feel? I nearly lost my only child!  The only person in this world I love!” Severus yelled.

Harry’s breath caught in his throat at his father’s last word. His dad loved him. He had actually said “love”. That was when the tears began to fall in earnest.

Severus let the boy’s tears fall. He would not be like his own father. Tobias would have smacked Severus if he every put on such an emotional display. Harry’s tears slowed after several minutes. They fell, but no longer in such heart wrenching sobs.

“Do you realize if it were not for Longbottom’s actions you and your friends would have most likely been killed?” Severus asked.

Harry cocked his head to the side, “Neville?”

“Yes,” Severus confirmed. “Longbottom heard your conversation with Mr. Weasley before you came to my quarters. The idiot thought you were suffering from some sort of breakdown. He believed you refered to me as your father.” Severus added at Harry’s puzzled look.

“Oh,” Harry muttered at the clarification.

“Mr. Longbottom’s actions allowed Professor McGonagall to alert the Headmaster and the other members of the Order of your whereabouts. Yet another group of people who put their lives on the line for your stupidity.” Severus scolded.

Harry shrunk in on himself. He had never felt so stupid or as young as he did right now. He was pretty sure he’d take one of Uncle Vernon’s beatings right now if given the choice. At least those were over quickly.

“I’m sorry,” Harry said softly.

“That does me little good now,” Severus snapped. “You are grounded for the summer. That means no flying, no telly, no sleepovers, and extra chores. You have lost the privilege to sleep in Gryffindor Tower until next term. You are to come directly to these quarters when you finish with dinner. Am I understood?”

Harry nodded.

“A verbal response, Mr. Potter.” Severus snapped.

“Yes, sir.” Harry said. Harry licked his lips and asked, “Where am I going to sleep?”

“Follow me,” Severus ordered.

Harry hopped out of his chair following his father down the small hallway. Harry had never been in this part of his father’s quarters. The professor never gave Harry a tour, and Harry never felt the need to ask for one. There were four doors off the hallway. Severus stopped in front of the door at the end of the right side. Harry waited for the man to open the door, but when his father made no move to do so Harry stepped forward.

“Go ahead,” Severus urged softly.

Harry pushed the door in. The room was not overly large, but not too small either. It was larger than Dudleys second bedroom though. Along the wall stood a four-poster bed identical to his one up in the Tower, Gryffindor bed hanging included. At the foot of his bed was his trunk.

Along the same wall was a large window. The light was sort of green and eerie.

“We are under the lake,” Severus explained.

Harry nodded. His eyes continued around the room. There was a large wardrobe along the wall parallel to the foot of the bed. There was a desk and bookcase on the wall with the door.

“It is very basic at the moment,” Severus commented. “You may personalize it as you like. I expect you to keep it clean. The house elves have been given clear instructions, they are not to step foot in this room.”

“Alright,” Harry agreed, pulling the curtains back on the bed. He sat down testing the mattress.

“It should be to your liking, I had the elves bring down your bed from the Tower. I saw no reason to leave your bed up there for the moment. It will give the other boys a bit more space. We will shop for a more permanent solution this summer.” Severus told Harry.

“Okay,” Harry agreed flopping back onto the mattress.

“If you don’t need anything at the moment I have essays which need marking,” Severus excused himself. “I will come and get you for dinner.”

Harry lay on his bed for a long time thinking about all that had happened the night before and what his father just told him. Before Harry knew it his father was knocking on the door.

“Dinnertime?” Harry asked sitting up.

“It is,” Severus confirmed. “Did you sleep well?”

Harry shook his head. “Didn’t sleep. I was just… thinking. You know about everything.”

Severus nodded.

“Dad,” Harry asked after a moment.

“Yes, Harry,” Severus acknowledged.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Harry said without preamble.

“What doesn’t make sense?” Severus asked mildly.

“Voldemort. The prophecy said that I had to kill him. You shouldn’t have been able to kill him.” Harry tried to explain.

“The prophecy said ‘one must die at the hand of the other’. Your death after the Dark Lord possessed you is by his hand. However, this does not matter. The Dark Lord could not die until the Horcruxes he created were destroyed.”

“What’s a Horcrux?” Harry asked curiously.

“It is a dark magical act that allows a wizard to store part of their soul in an object. As long as that object remains intact, the wizard cannot die.” Severus explained patiently.

“So the bit that ended up in me wasn’t the only one?” Harry asked confused.

“No, it was not. At what point did the Headmaster tell you that you had a piece of the Dark Lord’s soul?” Severus asked slightly unnerved by his son’s lack of emotion at the information.

“He didn’t, Mum did. She said that it attached to me when the Killing Curse backfired. So it didn’t really mattered who killed him once I died?” Harry asked.

“No, as proven by my spell.” Severus confirmed. “Harry, if you ever wish to become an Auror, you need to learn more than one spell. Disarming your opponent is not always a valid option.”

Harry shrugged. Severus rolled his eyes at the noncommittal gesture.

“Dad?” Harry asked again hopping up from the bed to join his father at the door.

“What is it Harry?” Severus replied.

“Can I see Sirius?” Harry asked nervously, “Like today?”

“If he will speak to you. He is still your godfather. I have no intention of keeping you from him. You may also visit him this summer, without my company. However, you will be required to be home before dark,” Severus said.

Harry looked up surprised. He hadn’t expected his dad to be so willing to let him see Sirius.

“I will contact Black after dinner,” Severus promised.

“Great. Thanks Dad,” Harry said cheerfully.

“Now come, you are in need of dinner,” Severus said heading out of Harry’s room.

Harry followed his father almost happily. Harry’s light mood carried him all the way to the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall.

“Hey mate,” Ron greeted. “You alight? Your bed and all your stuff is gone. You’re not expelled are you?”

“No,” Harry said taking a seat across from Ron. “Dad just moved it down to our quarters.

I’ve ‘lost the privilege to sleep in the Tower until fall term.’”

“That’s rotten.” Ron grumbled. “That all he’s doing to you?”

Harry shook his head. “I’m grounded for the summer. No sleepovers, T.V. or flying. I’ll have extra chores too. I have to go straight back to our rooms after dinner. Not too bad really,” Harry said helping himself to the mashed potatoes.

Hermione chose then to speak up. “You’re very lucky, Harry.”

“Yeah,” Ron agreed. “If it were my mum she would have walloped me with a wooden spoon.”

“Dad won’t do that, but I get to spend all summer gutting frogs,” Harry told them.

His fellow Gryffindors made faces at the task.

“Harry?” Neville asked anxiously.

“Yeah, Neville?” Harry said turning to the other boy.

“Is Professor Snape really your dad?”

Harry nodded.

“How long have you known?” Dean Thomas asked dropping his fork in shock.

“This last summer, the night of the Dementor attack. My aunt told me. Showed me a letter from Dumbledore about it and everything.” Harry explained.

The talk of Harry’s parentage spread through the school like wildfire. By the end of dinner the students were no longer talking about O.W.L.s, N.E.W.T.s, or the fall of Voldemort, but wondering how Severus Snape had a tryst with Lily Potter. Severus could have strangled his son for his lack of forethought.

“Did you not think to discuss with me your announcement of our relationship?” Severus demanded of Harry as they walked back to their rooms.

Harry shook his head, “I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“It is not your private life being discussed by the entire student body,” Severus snapped.

“Like I haven’t been there,” Harry grumbled.

The two walked back to their quarters in a heavy silence. Severus did not stop until he reached the hearth. “12 Grimmauld Place,” Severus called out after throwing down a pinch of powder and putting his head through.

Harry sat on the couch watching his father. He heard his father call out, “Black”. There was a short exchange before Severus pulled his head back once more. Almost the next moment Sirius was stepping out of the fire place.

Harry gave the man a welcoming smile. Sirius grinned right back.

“Hello Harry, Sn-your dad said you wanted to talk to me,” Sirius said flopping down on the couch next to Harry.

Harry nodded. Severus watched the exchanged somewhat uncomfortably.

“I will be in my office, if you need me, Harry. Try not to burn my rooms down Black,” Severus said by way of leaving.

“Right grouch you dad is,” Sirius said sitting back. “At least James knew how to have a laugh.”

“He’s mad at me,” Harry explained. “I told Neville that Professor Snape is my dad and now everybody in school is talking about it.”

“Well he’s a little late. The Prophet ran that story this morning. It was on page four. The kids here just didn’t notice since none of the little sods read past the first page unless they’re looking for Quidditch scores.” Sirius said, clearly amused.

“Great,” Harry grumbled.

“It’ll be alright kid,” Sirius tried to sooth.

“Yeah, well, it’s not you they’re talking about.” Harry protested. He could just see the owls coming in now.

“Nope, I’m on page six,” Sirius informed him cockily. “Seriously, it will all blow over in a couple of days. There'll be other things, Death Eater trials, Umbridge getting sacked and whatnot.” Sirius promised. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”

Harry took a deep breath and launched into his story of crossing the vale. Sirius listened patiently as Harry told him everything.

“Well,” Sirius said, “I guess I need to be nice to Snape from now on. Thanks for telling me Harry. I’ll see you kid. Now I’ve got some things I need seeing to.” Without another word Sirius left.

It was late in the afternoon and the Leaving Feast would be starting in about an hour, but Harry had no desire to go.  His father had already said that it was fine with him for Harry not to attend.

Harry was not looking anymore forward to the next morning.  Professor Dumbledore had asked him to give a speech in front the student body, as well as, a few select reporters to describe his defeat of Lord Voldemort.

Harry didn’t understand why everybody was calling it his defeat.  It was his dad who cast the final Killing Curse that destroyed Voldemort, but he stopped asking that question days ago.  Nobody could give Harry a good answer.  As annoying as it was, Harry understood why the Headmaster wanted him to do it.  It would help to avoid what happened the previous summer with the press printing all sorts of lies.  Everything happened so quickly though, Harry wasn’t sure he could explain it.

Harry let out a soft sigh. Since returning to the castle Harry hadn’t wanted to see most of his classmates.  In a way he was very glad his father forced him to move into their rooms in the dungeons.  Harry thought if he wasn’t on restriction down here, he probably would have taken to hiding in them anyway.  Harry only made appearances at meals or in the Potions classroom.

Everything was just odd.  Up until the events of the previous week, Harry’s entire life, even before his birth, his fate was tied to that of Lord Voldemort.  Now with that not being an issue, Harry wasn’t sure what to do with himself.  It should have been liberating, but at least for right now, it was more troubling.

Harry was alone in his father’s quarters with nothing to do.  His father and friends were at the Feast and wouldn’t be back for several hours at least.  Harry supposed he could try and figure out what he would say at the press conference, or look ahead to his summer homework, or better yet, revise for his O.W.L.s, but none of those sounded particularly appealing.

Letting out a sigh Harry heaved himself up from the sofa.  Since he moved into his father’s quarters almost a week ago there was little left to explore.  Harry knew where everything he needed was kept and what not to touch.

Harry still spent most of his time in the living room.  He loved the fact he was never forced to hide himself away like at the Dursleys.  Harry crossed the living room.  He took in the pictures on the mantle.  He’d never really paid that much attention to them before.

There was one of his mother and father, probably no more than about 12.  The other was a rather serious looking woman.  She had his dad’s sallow complexion, dark eyes and hair.  This must be his grandmother.  He should ask his dad more about her sometime.  He still didn’t know all that much about his grandparents.  There was another picture of his mother, this time by herself around 15 or so. The last picture took Harry a bit by surprise.  It was one of himself, it looked like it was clipped from the Daily Prophet, probably somehow connected to the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Bored, Harry continued on to the bookcases that lined the room.  Harry continued along the wall until he reached the Muggle literature section.  He’d managed to make his way through “Treasure Island” and that hadn’t been so bad, but there wasn’t anything else by that author.  Harry ran his finger along the spines of the books until his fingers stopped on a small paperback.  It was shorter than many of the other books.  It was unimpressive really, but something provoked his curiosity.  Maybe it was the fact his father mentioned Lily like the author, or how beat up the cover was, he couldn’t say.  Harry pulled the book from the shelf and flipped to a random page.

The book, it turned out, was a collection of poems entitled “Leaves of Grass”.  Harry wasn’t a big fan of poetry, but he knew his mother was and notes in the margins seemed interesting.  They weren’t in his father’s writing, but Harry would hazard a guess there were in Lily’s.

Deciding to spend a bit more time investigating the comments Harry took a seat in the overstuffed chair Severus had conjured for Harry a few days before.  Harry threw his legs over one are while resting his back against the opposite and began to read.  That was the way Severus found him several hours later.

Severus was surprised to find his son tucked away in a book.  Harry hold him he was not a fan of reading.  Maybe “Treasure Island” had been enough to turn that around.

Severus pushed Harry’s feet so they were off the arm of the chair and once again on the floor.  “May I inquire to what has you so enthralled?”

Harry just held up the cover for his father to read.  

Severus raised an eyebrow in surprise.  “I would not have taken you as a fan of poetry, let alone Whitman.  He was an America Muggle from the time of their Civil War,” Severus remarked at seeing the cover.

Harry shrugged. “You said that Mum liked him and the comments were interesting.  Did Mum make them?”

Severus nodded, “The more Lily liked a poem the more comments she would make in the margins.”

“Oh, she didn’t have much to say about this one, but I kind of like it.”  Harry said raising his eyes from the page for the first time since his father returned.

“And which would that be?”

“I don’t know if it has a proper title, but the first line is ‘Year that trembled and reele’d beneath me.’” Harry told his father dog-earing the page.  He missed the obvious look of displeasure at the action on Severus’ face. “In kind of sums up the last year for me,” Harry added helpfully.”

“How is that?” Severus asked taking a seat across from the teenager.

“’Your summer wind was warm enough, yet the air I breathed froze me,’ it’s sort of like the Dementor attack last summer.  The way everything goes cold when they’re around, even when you’re in the middle of a heat wave. ‘A thick gloom fell through the sunshine and darken'd me,’ that was most of the year.  I mean with all the stuff in the papers about me being a liar and having to deal with Umbridge.  ‘Must I change my triumphant songs? said I to myself,/ Must I indeed learn to chant the cold dirges of the baffled?/ And sullen hymns of defeat?’  If I asked you at the start of term if I could ever beat Voldemort,” Harry ignored his father’s cringe at the name, “You would have said I could never do it.  There was a while there I didn’t think I could do it either, but I did.”

“Indeed you did.  Though, I do not think that was what Mr. Whitman meant when he wrote the poem, it is an interesting way of looking at it Harry.  Are you prepared for tomorrow?”

Harry nodded.  “I can tell them what I remember.  I remember the fight in the Department of Mysteries, and getting to the Atrium, but after that it’s all sort of hazy, or stuff I don’t want to share with the public.”

Severus gave the boy an understanding nod.  “You do not have to discuss anything you do not feel comfortable sharing.  Have you packed?”

Harry gave his a confused look.  “Pack? Why do I have to pack?”

Severus gave the boy a small smirk in return.  “Did you really believe I spend my entire year living in this dungeon Harry?”

“I…no sir, it’s just…” Harry began to say.

Severus held up his hand to silence the boy’s ramblings.  “I have a house, Harry.  It’s not much, but it is where I spend my holidays.  It is also where I grew up.  If you would like, at some point this summer I can show you where I met your mother and where we used to spend our time together.”

“I’d love that.  I guess I better go pack.” Harry said jumping up.

“It would be a constructive use of your time.  However, we will not be leaving the school immediately after the press conference tomorrow.  We will stay here approximately a week before going to Spinner’s End.  Nevertheless, I expect you to be prepared to leave before that.  I will not have any of this last minute rushing so many students do because they fail to pack ahead of time.  Do we have an understanding?”

“Yes sir,” Harry replied obediently.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry looked down at his watch, then back at the crowd.  The Hogwarts Express was scheduled to leave in less than an hour and a half.  Harry was sure at least a few students still were not ready to leave.

“So, that about covers everything.  I know that was a round about way of answering your question Bridgette, but it was the only way I could think to.  Thanks for listening,” Harry said offering a wave to the crowd.  There was a polite round of applause followed by the excited babble of voices and scraping of chairs as students and teachers followed Harry as he made his way out of the Great Hall, bringing another year at Hogwarts to a close.