October 1, 1996

The fire turned green just as Harry stepped out of the memory. Snape stepped out and stumbled into the chair closest to the fire. Harry rushed to his side at once and helped him sit down. Snape said nothing, but he grunted.

Dumbledore exited the penseive calmly and didn't seem to notice Snape until Harry alerted the headmaster by pulling at his robes' sleeve, and then Dumbledore was kneeling next to Snape in a more worried way than Harry had ever seen him before.

"Did you do it?" Dumbledore asked frantically. "Did you destroy it?"

Snape couldn't answer the questions as far as Harry could see and was instead grasping his chair's arm rest so hard his knuckles had turned white, and Harry knew at once that Snape was in pain though he would never show it to them.

"Professor, he needs to go to the hospital wing," Harry said immediately.

Dumbledore seemed to regain himself and he nodded walking to the fire. He pulled out a box of floo powder and threw some in before calling for the infirmary. Harry in the meanwhile was looking at Snape's too pale face and trying to determine just how bad Snape was.

Suddenly madam Pomfrey was there and she was taking Snape out of the headmaster's office. Harry made to follow but Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder.

"No one knows what he is to you. If anyone were to see you, what he has suffered tonight would have been in vain."

Harry nodded and turned back to Dumbledore. "Where was he?" Harry asked the moment he was once more facing the headmaster. "Was it a death eater meeting?"

Dumbledore didn't answer. Instead he changed the subject. "This memory was very important," Dumbledore said. "You noticed perhaps that Tom liked to keep mementos, something that reminded him of the things he did."

"The bullying, you mean?" Harry frowned distastefully.

"That and anything else that he did which he was proud of," Dumbledore said.

Harry barely nodded in a distracted haze.

"It is important, Harry, to also notice that even then he had no friends."

Harry nodded again.

"Many of his followers call themselves his most trusted, the ones that alone understand him, but they did not. Voldemort works alone. He trusts no one. None of them understand him. He's always been very self dependent."

Harry nodded again.

Dumbledore stood up. "Do you wish to see your father?" He asked as if finally noticing that Harry was distracted.

Harry didn’t know if he should nod or not. Snape wouldn't want him to go see him, he decided at last. He shook his head at Dumbledore. "Somebody could see me. I'll go to my common room."

Dumbledore gave him a piecing stare but nodded and watched as Harry headed to the door, but Harry stopped once more as if he wanted to say something and then shook his head and walked out of the headmaster's office.

For a moment as he stood in front of the gargoyle he considered heading to the hospital wing anyway, but shaking the thought from his mind he walked towards the Gryffindor common room. He was worried, he would admit that, but he knew that he would have been worried about anyone that was hurt because of order business, if that was what it had been.

When he walked into the common room he found Hermione sitting by the fire with a large book open in front of her.

"Harry!" She exclaimed and closed her book without marking her place. "What did he show you tonight?" She asked without a moment's pause.

"First we saw Burke, you know from that shop in Knockturn Alley that I wound up in my first time using the floo, anyways we saw him talk about getting a great deal on Merope's necklace. Then Dumbledore took me into one of his own memories. It was of when Dumbledore went to tell Tom about the wizarding world at the orphanage he lived in," Harry said absentmindedly.

Hermione frowned and looked almost disappointed. "Nothing really interesting, then; nothing about the order," she said.

Harry barely nodded while his thoughts surrounded Snape in the infirmary.

Hermione seemed to notice that he wasn't really there and looked at him worriedly.

"Did something else happen?" She asked. "During the lessons, I mean."

Harry shook his head. "It's nothing," he said, and then added as an afterthought, "it just gave me a lot to think about."

"You aren't like him, Harry, far from it," Hermione said.

Harry nodded once again and began making his way to his dorm. He ignored Hermione's gaze as he walked up the stairs.

The first thing Harry did was go to his trunk so he could withdraw his two most priced possessions; his fath—James' cloak, and the marauders' map. He set the cloak down on top of his bed and picked up the unwritten piece of parchment which he tapped with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he muttered and watched as words began to form on the map. He opened it quickly and found without trouble, the Gryffindor tower. Hermione was still in the common room, but as far as he could see everyone else was asleep. He would just have to wait for Hermione to go to bed and then he could sneak down to see Snape. He could hardly believe that he was planning to sneak down to see Snape, even if the man was his father. It was just such an odd thing to even contemplate doing.

He sat down on his bed but left the map open as he pulled out the second book of the pile Snape had given him on the dark arts, which had actually turned out to be an interesting subject, even though he could see the bad side to the spells that were described in such gory detail within the books.

He had just gotten through twenty pages when he noticed that Hermione was no longer in the common room. He allowed himself a smile and then after putting his book back in his trunk and making sure that the cloak covered every part of him, Harry walked back into the common room and walked to the portrait of the fat lady, hoping that she wouldn't notice his leaving.

Once out in the corridor, he focused on the map once more, in search of any patrolling teachers. He found McGonagall entering her office, and Filch was in the dungeons. Mrs. Norris was near the Astronomy tower and it appeared that everything was clear for him to go down to the hospital wing. He checked there next and found only Snape in a cot and Madame Pomfrey nowhere to be seen.

As he shuffled his feet forward to the stairs, his eyes remained on the map, looking for anything that he could have possibly missed, and then he suddenly stopped.

On the map in the corridor he was standing, right by the stairs Harry Snape stood, instead of Harry Potter. As the shock wore off Harry became glad to have become aware of the fact that the map no longer regarded him as Harry Potter. He wondered why the sudden change but at the same time was glad that he was using the map rather than finding out the change with his friends. For a minute he imagined how Ron would take the news and shuddered. That was why he wasn't telling them, even though he knew that some time they would find out. Now, all he needed was a good excuse for not using the map with them ever again. Deciding to put that train of thought away, Harry continued down the stairs and to the hospital wing.

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Snape was just as pale as when Harry had seen him last in the headmaster's office, and he was fast asleep. Harry moved as close as he dared to the cot where Snape slept and looked down at the Potions master, wondering just what had happened to him. It couldn't have been a meeting, but then again he didn't always feel his scar burn when Voldemort called his death eaters. But Dumbledore's reaction when Snape had stepped into the room and made it somewhat clear that Dumbledore had sent Snape on a mission, and the mission had become much more important to Dumbledore than Snape himself. Harry sighed and moved closer. What had been so important that it mattered more than a human being? Harry pulled out the nearest chair and settled down next to his father. His father. This man was his father and even though the information had been lost to them until quite recently, it didn't change the fact that Severus Snape was his father, and that Snape was lying in the hospital wing, hurt.

Harry turned away from Snape for a moment and instead surveyed the grounds that he could barely make out in the dark. He noticed a slight movement out there and stood up, pressing his face against the window, looking for any sign of anyone being outside. He saw her then, pacing right outside the castle as if she was waiting for someone. He couldn't tell who it was, so sat down and again and pulled the map out and looked for her on it. He noticed the dot on the grounds at once. Nymphadora Tonks it read, and then Harry noticed another dot walking towards her. Remus Lupin.

Harry once more put the map away, but did not go back to look out the window. Instead his eyes focused on his father who seemed to have a regained some of his color.

Harry shifted in his chair. It was awkward even with Snape unconscious. He stood up, figuring that he at least knew Snape was alright, not that he had expected otherwise, and he could head back up to bed, but before he could he heard the door open. He quickly threw the cloak over his head and somehow managed to not get seen by whoever it was that had entered the hospital wing.

"He's alright, isn't he?" Tonks said.

"Yes. Albus said he would be fine. He just needs rest."

Harry listened to them move about the room, and heard Tonks take the chair he had been previously using. He pressed himself against the wall, hoping that Remus wouldn't notice his presence, and then he watched as the two of them sat with Snape for a few minutes before Tonks stood up.

"I have to leave. Tell him he was foolish to do what he did."

Remus nodded.

"You're too brave, Severus," Remus said to the sleeping potions master. "You had only one task. One that none of us are even aware of, but look at what you did."

Harry frowned to himself, wondering when he would be able to leave. He hoped that Remus left soon, but as his luck would have it, ten minutes later when Remus stood up to leave, Snape groaned and opened his eyes, looking disoriented, and within a minute Remus was next to him.

"Severus," he said. "How do you feel?"

"Fine," Snape said. "Could you pass me the green potion over on that table?"

Remus silently did as he was told and handed it to Snape, who downed it without a moment's pause.

"Nymphadora said to tell you that what you did was foolish."

Snape snorted and then added, "I will do anything it takes for the order."

"Even get yourself killed," Remus shot back.

Harry shifted slightly on the wall as Remus took a deep breath and waited for Snape to say something.

"It is the life of a spy."

Remus scoffed. "The life of a spy," He said laughing. "This had nothing to do with you being a spy, and you know it."

Snape nodded, but added, "but I will not hesitate to sacrifice myself if that is what it takes."

Remus left a few minutes later after his short conversation with Snape who seemed to be back to his normal self, and who, to Harry's annoyance had not spoken about what he had been doing when he got hurt, though now Harry was quite sure that it had something to do with the order considering all the hints that had been given.

"Come out, Potter," Snape said as soon as Remus had left and the fall of his footsteps could no longer be heard.

Harry sheepishly took his cloak off and walked closer to the bed. "Sorry," he muttered.

Snape found the entire thing amusing, for some reason as he motioned for Harry to sit. Harry sunk down into the chair.

"Albus said you were quite worried," Snape said.

"I just wanted to know you would be alright. Too many people have died already." He fought the urge to stand up and flee after saying that.

Snape lifted his left eyebrow and continued, "He also said you did not want to see me when he asked you. Yet here you are."

"I couldn't handle it later, not knowing…"

Snape interrupted him, "not knowing what I was doing. How I got hurt?"

"No—yes. I don't know, but I did need to know you were alright."

Snape snorted as if the very thought of Harry caring what happened to him was absurd—laughable.

Harry sighed and braced himself for the words he was going to say next.

"You're my father."

Snape's eyes widened in surprise and Harry laughed.

"I think neither of us have really realized it," Harry said after a pause.

Snape coughed.

Harry stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow, then. It's late, I should head up to bed."

Snape said nothing as Harry once more covered himself with the cloak and he walked out of the room. Had Harry remained behind for just a moment longer he would have heard a sigh and Snape mutter something.

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October 2, 1996

Harry woke up that morning to Ron jumping around the room on one foot while he clutched his other foot and cursed like a sailor. Seamus was already laughing from his own bed, but both Dean and Neville were still sleeping.

"He just came in, tip-toeing into the room," Seamus explained to Harry. "Wonder what he was up to last night. Anyhow, he was trying to enter unnoticed, but obviously he hit his big toe against the trunk. I told him to put a numbing charm on it, but I don't think he knows it and I can't quite get the wand movements right. I might have made it worse."

Harry laughed. Seamus was always doing that, even though he had gotten better than during their first year when he was blowing everything up, or at least putting fire to it.

Drawing his wand from under his pillow Harry waved it in the direction of Ron's feet and thought hard about the spell. He grinned when Ron stopped rubbing at his big toe. He hadn't been sure if he would get it right with his attempt at making the spell non verbal, but lately under the tutelage of his father, he had begun to try and only use non verbal spells.

"Thank you, Harry," Ron said. "You're going to have to teach me that one."

Harry grinned, getting up and out of bed. "Where were you?"

Ron flushed a deep red. "Lavender came to see me late last night," Ron said. "You weren't in here yourself. Did Dumbledore keep you up that long?"

Harry nodded for lack of something better to say as he begun to dress. Ron waited for him and once Harry had gathered his books and shrunk them, he and Ron made their way into the common room.

"I can't feel my toes," Ron said in complaint to Harry.

Harry laughed. "That was what the spell was for, Ron. Speaking of the spell, what were you and Lavender doing?"

Ron blushed again and muttered something that Harry didn't hear.

"What was that?"

"Snogging," Ron admitted embarrassed.

Harry laughed at his friend. "And?" he decided to ask the still red Ron.

"It was great," Ron said in a small voice.

Harry laughed again, remembering when he had been questioned by his friends the year previous after one of the DA meetings when he and Cho had kissed under the mistletoe. It had been embarrassing to discuss it with them, but Hermione had been helpful at least, even if Ron had teased him endlessly about it afterwards.

Hermione was in the common room waiting for them when they came down from their dorm. She put away her books before following them to the great hall for breakfast. None of them said anything, Ron still holding a slight tint of red on his cheeks, and Harry still trying to figure out what Snape had been doing to get him in the hospital wing. Hermione was still trying to absorb as much as she could from the books in her light-weight bag.

"Did you get a chance to study, Harry?" Hermione asked as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Harry shrugged. "Not, really, but I think I'll do okay."

They were having a test in charms that day and Hermione as usual was taking the thing as if it was the hardest test she would ever have to take in her life, which meant that she had a book propped open next to her during breakfast and she kept giving it sidelong glances.

"You'll do great, you always do," Ron tried to assure her.

She glared at him. "Did you study, Ronald?" she asked, next, with pursed lips. "Harry has a reasonable excuse, but you do not."

Ron said nothing and instead shoveled food into his mouth and turned away.

Hermione ignored him and proceeded to question Harry on the wand movements of a particular charm to make illusions. Harry answered by moving his spoon in the appropriate wand movements which earner him a small smile from Hermione, before she buried her head into her book and ignored them for the rest of the meal. Had she not ignored them, she would have seen Lavender sit down next to Ron and practically drape herself over him, and instead not been surprised when she was getting up to go talk to the small Charms professor.

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October 15, 1996

"How is the reading going, Harry?" Severus asked when Harry stepped into the sitting room of his quarters, where they usually held their lessons.

"I don’t have as much as time as I usually have to read, but I did manage to finish one of them. I didn't really enjoy the in depth descriptions of each curse but I guess that was mostly part of it."

Severus nodded before he stood. "There have been no more drastic changes, I hope."

"None," Harry said with a shrug. "Should we have expected more?"

"I don't know, perhaps," Severus said. In fact, he had been almost expecting there to be something.

"What are we doing today?" Harry asked.

Severus sighed weary. "I thought I would take you on a field trip today," Severus said. "Mostly because I need to harvest a few potion ingredients that can only be harvested on the night before the full moon; we will be going into the forest for these. I have something else to teach you from within there that might come useful to you. Professor Dumbledore has decided it would be best to key you to the wards in case anything were to go wrong. It is a precaution and something that I hope you will not abuse for some childish prank."

Harry nodded readily.

"How far into the forest are we going?"

"Not too far in, but far enough that it will be dangerous"—he stopped then and looked at Harry as if he were taking him in for the first time—"you will have to listen to me, Harry. In fact, it would be best if you brought that delectable cloak of yours with you, and whatever other thing that will help us do this."

Harry got up.

"Meet me in the entrance hall in ten minutes."

Harry nodded and stood up. He stopped, however, before leaving the room. "There is a map," he said slowly as if he didn't want to really divulge the fact. "It shows where everyone is at any time in the castle and the grounds. Anything within the grounds of Hogwarts is on the map."

"A valuable map to have," Severus said, "and you bring the subject up, for what reason exactly?"

"Well, you see, my father—I mean, James—created the map with Remus, Sirius, and Peter," Harry continued.

Severus' eyebrows knitted in confusion. A map that showed where everyone was within Hogwarts that had been created by the marauders seemed almost absurd, but Harry continued and he listened.

"Fred and George found the map and Mr. Filch's office. They gave it to me during my third year, not knowing at the time that James had created it. I found that out later. Anyhow, I mention it now because I used it the other night and I forgot I wanted to tell you, but always my name was Harry Potter on the map, but the last time I used it, my name was Harry Snape."

"Harry Snape," Severus repeated.

"Just when you asked me to bring the cloak I was reminded of that. I'll bring the map as well, sir?"

Severus nodded.

A map! Was that how they had always managed to catch him unaware, always knowing where he was? Did the map have secret passages marked? Did it show every nook and cranny of Hogwarts? How had they done it? He knew Lupin had been good at charms which would have helped, and Potter and Black had always been good at Transfiguration which was probably something that had helped in the making of the map. But they would have needed potions, wouldn't they, and none of them had been terribly good at the subject. Lupin had been the worst—a better version of Longbottom in his days. Potter and Black had been merely adequate, and as for Pettigrew he had blown up more cauldrons than not. Unless someone had helped them without knowing it, only one person came to mind—Lily.

Gathering the few supplies that he would need, Severus put them into his robes pocket, and after making sure that his wand was within his robes' sleeve, he walked out of his quarters towards the entrance hall to meet Harry.