“Sirius!”

“Harry!” Sirius wrapped his arms around his godson and crushed him to his chest in a heartwarming embrace. “Oh Harry!” Sirius cried, allowing his emotions full range. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you!” he pulled the boy way from him a little so that he could see the child’s face. “Everyone thought you were dead!”

“I know,” Harry looked down guiltily. “But I’m not.”

Sirius threw back his head and laughed at this, relief flooding through him as though a dam had burst. “Yes, I can see that quite plainly,” the animagi smiled warmly at his godson, but a frown soon took its place soon after. “Harry, why are you in Slytherin robes? Playing some sort of prank, are we?”

“Sirius, please sit down,” Dumbledore instruct the convict and together, Harry and Sirius sat down, Sirius still had an arm around the child. “Now then, there are some things that we all need to discuss,” the Headmaster went on.

“Yeah,” Sirius smirked. “Like when we get Harry out of those ridiculous colors.”

Both Harry and Dumbledore remained quiet, neither one really wanting to tell the animagus the news about Harry’s recent resorting. Harry did not want his godfather to be hurt by the fact that he had switched out of the House that both James and Sirius had been in when they were in school; he was afraid that Sirius might reject him like Ron. Dumbledore did not want to tell the other Gryffindor simply because he did not want the younger man to explode in anger while in his office. But luckily for both of them, Severus had no problems speaking up.

“Those ridiculous colors just so happen to be his colors now,” Snape came out of the shadows, his face contorted into anger.

“Snape!” Sirius jumped to his feet, his wand drawn. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Haven’t you heard? I’ve been employed here,” Snape sneered. “But why should I expect a mongrel that can’t even walk out on his front step to know that?”

Faster than the Headmaster could have spoken, Sirius was at Snape, his hands around his rivals collar. “You better watch yourself, Snivellus,” Black growled like the dog he was.

Sneering down at the slightly shorter man, using his extra three inches to his advantage, Severus scowled down at the other wizard. He grabbed Black’s hands and pried them off of his clothes. “Can’t be civilized, can we Black,” Snape’s voice was collected and smooth adding volumes to his insult. With a look of distain, he began straightening out his collar again, as though it were dirty from where Sirius had touched it.

“Why you-!” Sirius began before he was cut off.

“Gentlemen!” the Headmaster finally intervened. “Please. We are not here satisfy either of your long held grudges and let you fight them out; we are here to listen to Harry and let him tell his story about the summer events.”

“But you can’t seriously expect me to believe that Harry’s really in Slytherin now can you?” Sirius exclaimed, turning on the Headmaster. “He can’t be in Slytherin! I mean…his parents were in Gryffindor!”

“And your whole family was in Slytherin,” Severus snapped impatiently from behind. How stupid could Black be? Although it was likely that a child would be sorted into the same House as their parents, that wasn’t a guarantee. Black, of all people, should have known this. 

Looking around desperately, Sirius turned his gaze down at Harry who sat quietly with wide, miserable eyes. The boy had not thought about what it would be like to have his father and godfather in the same room at the same time. He had almost forgotten that the two men hated each other. Although he knew he should have thought about this, Harry was almost in tears to think that he might actually have to choose between the first man that had actually claimed to want him, and the other who was biologically his father and the only adult that had ever followed through with his promises. If it came down to it, it would not be a hard decision on who to choose, but Harry knew it would still hurt him and Sirius both. The boy knew that there was no way he would ever give up him new father, not after everything that had already happened between them.

But when Sirius saw his godson, he did not really see Harry. The convict looked into the green eyes and saw a very different boy sitting there, a boy that looked almost exactly like Harry, but with different eyes. All Sirius could really see, all that he wanted to see, was his friend James Potter. He knew it was wrong, but damnit, Harry looked so very much like his friend, and Sirius missed James. It was not hard to fool himself that this boy was more or less James Potter, especially after all the trouble that Harry and his friends had gotten into that reminded him of Marauders.

“Sirius, please, sit down,” the Headmaster’s voice sounded strained. “That will all be explained later on.”

Reluctantly, the animagus sat back down, shooting a glare at Snape before doing so. “Sure it’s safe to talk with the viper standing over there?” he growled throwing his head back to indicate Severus.

“Quite,” Dumbledore’s voice was tight, proving he was in no mood to listen to bantering or bickering. “Now then, Harry, why don’t you tell us what happened this summer?”

Taking a deep breath, drawing strength on the fact that his father was in the room, Harry nodded. “Yes, sir,” he said quietly. “Well, you see, after you took me back, sir,” Harry nodded towards Dumbledore, “I really found that I didn’t want to stay there anymore. So after you left and the Dursleys left too, I packed my things all up again and I left.”

“Where did you go? How did you get there?” the Headmaster frowned, sensing the boy was uncomfortable. But he thought perhaps it was due to the guilt of running away without telling anyone or perhaps from the tension in the room between Sirius and Severus. Either way, he tried to listen and smiled kindly at the child. The boy needed to talk, needed reassuring after everything he had been through.

“I…I went to London, sir,” Harry answered hesitantly. “I had some left over Muggle money that I had converted when I was last in Diagon Alley and I took a taxi to the city.”

“Foolish boy!” Severus snapped from behind, startling Harry. “You could have just as easily been picked up by a Death Eater!”

“Shut your fat mouth, Snape,” Sirius growled hotly, too angry to really think of a proper insult.

“Severus,” the Headmaster sent a warning look at the Potions Master. “Please go on, Harry.”

Taking a deep breath, relieved that Severus was only acting, Harry nodded to the Headmaster. “Well, once I got to the city I’d wanted to go to the Leaky Cauldron, but I thought I saw the Malfoys so I just went into a Muggle restaurant to get something to eat. I didn’t really have anywhere to go and so I asked some men that I’d thought worked there if there was a cheap place for me to stay at and…well…”

“Go on, my dear boy,” Dumbledore encouraged, smiling.

“Well, they asked me if I had a family. I said no and was going to leave, but they pulled out these badges and papers and said that they could take me to an orphanage, and that they did not want me to wander the streets and I didn’t really want to either so…so I just went.”

“And you’ve been so close all this time…” Sirius trailed off. “Why didn’t you come find me?”

“Where were you?” Harry asked, becoming uncomfortable.

“He doesn’t know where Grimauld Place is, moron,” Severus hissed quietly where he still stood with his arms crossed.

“Severus,” Dumbledore growled. “Go on, Harry.”

“Well…that’s it really,” the boy shrugged. “I just…you know, stayed at the orphanage.” He paused. “It was better than staying with the Dursleys for the summer.”

The story itself was wholly unremarkable; Harry and Severus had planned it that way. There were facts, dates, everything that would quell the Headmaster’s curiosity. The story was seriously lacking in several details, but the Potions Master was sure that there would be no questions asked of the boy. Harry was innocent, always innocent to the Headmaster, no matter if anyone caught the boy stealing potions or money, Harry was cursed to always be innocent…And Severus was there and ready to take full advantage of that.

“I see,” Dumbledore nodded. Severus stretched out his mind, hoping to create a peaceful mood about the room so as not to provoke the Headmaster’s more rational thought. The Potions Master was slightly angry with himself for not having had the sense to stay calm before, but then how was he supposed to know that Black would be here?

“You’re okay though, right?” Sirius looked his godson over. “They fed you? Didn’t hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” Harry reassured the animagus with a grin. “It was actually better than a summer with the Dursleys,” he said again, just for emphasize.

Severus glared over at the Headmaster trying to determine if the man suspected anything. If he did, the Potions Master knew he would have to run quick interference and stun both Dumbledore and Black before wiping some of their memory. He had a potion for just that sort of thing, but it was tricky and needed magic. He had used it before, but there was always the possibility of it not working, and Severus really did not want to have to try it, but he would if it meant that his and Harry’s secret would be kept. Although he would not admit to it, the Head of Slytherin was terrified at losing his son again.

The room fell into silence with Severus glaring between the Headmaster and Sirius, Sirius glaring at Severus and chancing a glance over at Harry now and again, the Headmaster looking between the three younger wizard, and Harry trying hard not to just stand up and scream. It was all too much. He was lying to Dumbledore and Sirius, two of the people he had trusted the most before this summer and now he was having to trust the man that he had hated the most besides Voldemort. It was all too confusing.

“So, what is this about Harry in Slytherin?” Sirius spoke up, looking to Albus for the answers.

“At the Opening Feast the Sorting Hat called Harry up and promptly put him in Slytherin,” the Headmaster said shortly.

“I don’t understand,” Black looked Harry over as though expecting to see something noticeably different with the boy. But, of course, Severus had made sure that there was nothing different about Harry other than his height, which would have been harder to hide. Besides, boys were expected to start growing once they were fourteen and older.

With a heavy sigh, Dumbledore shook his head. “We don’t really know why or how this happened,” he admitted. “But the Sorting Hat decided to place Harry into Slytherin, so into Slytherin he went.”

“That’s outrageous!” Sirius screeched. “I will not have my godson staying in Slytherin with that…” he trailed off glaring at Snape all the while. “…that thing.”

While he had been relatively silent, Severus found himself furious at Black’s response. How dare he talk about him like that! Of all the most insulting, idiotic things to say! And in front of Harry and the Headmaster no less! It was not to be tolerated. Severus had put up with enough shit that day, and this was not making matters any better.

“Well then,” Snape’s silky voice vibrated around the room, sending waves of dread through both Harry and Albus, for they both knew that Snape was in no mood to stand there and be insulted. “What a blessing it is then that you have no say in the matter anymore,” he sneered down at the convict.

“As Harry’s godfather, Albus, I demand-” Black tried to go on, but was cut off.

“You have no right over Harry,” Severus hissed, claiming all the attention in the room. “Harry is not your godson.”

“What the hell are you talking about, Snivellus?” Sirius growled, standing up to face the other man again.

In his seat, where he had stayed quiet, Harry’s heart raced in his chest. What was his father doing? Hadn’t the Potions Master stressed secrecy? Why then was he chancing exposing them with this? Was he really that angry, did he really hate Sirius that much that he was going to revoke Sirius’s right as godfather? It was within the parents’ rights to do so, but how was Severus going to get away with it if he wanted to keep his and Harry’s relationship a secret?

Harry looked up at his father who was at that moment glaring down Sirius who was standing now only a few inches away. Had the Slytherin simply let his tongue slip? Had Snape simply got caught up in his anger? Although it was hard to admit, Harry himself found that he let his temper get the better of him, but when he looked at his father’s face, the Head of Slytherin did not looked panicked, or worried. In fact, Snape only looked furious and  something else...he looked smug.

Smug? What did Severus have to be smug about? Sirius was the only one that openly- if you could really call it openly- had a say in how Harry lived or was being raised. Sirius was Harry’s godfather, and although Severus certainly had more right that Sirius where Harry was concerned, no one else knew that. So why then did the Potions Master look like he was going to enjoy what he said next?

Merlin, Harry thought, holding his breath. Don’t tell! Don’t tell! he thought frantically. He was not sure he could handle throwing everyone for another loop again. It would be too much…

“Deaf, Black?” Snape sneered.

Sirius looked as though he were capable of murder at that moment. “What the hell are you on about, Snivily?”

Raising his eyebrow in his well-known, classic manner, the ends of Snape’s lips curled up just a hint, alerting Harry that this was not going to be good. “Only the fact that you are no longer Potter’s godfather.”

“What?!” Sirius reeled backwards as though struck before he lunged at Snape again. “What the hell are you talking about?” he demanded, desperation leaking into his voice.

For the second time, Severus shrugged off his rival, before straightening his robes once more. “Do you really not know? When you were thrown in Azkaban, Black, everything you owned, all of your rights, your titles were all stripped from you. That includes your rights as Potter’s godfather.” Sirius turned white, and looked as though he would get sick. “And since that title can only be restored to you by the parents of the child…well,” Snape smirked, “I don’t think that’s going to happen any time soon, do you?”

Both Harry and Sirius wore similar looks of disbelieving horror. Although a part of Severus wanted to laugh at Black’s stupid face, all humor was washed away when he chanced a glance at his son. Mentally, the Potions Master kicked himself for being so blunt and even cruel with his words towards the other wizard. Of course Harry would also feel the effects of all of this. The boy liked the mongrel for some reason or other, and Black had been the first adult the boy had ever entertained the idea that might adopt him. Of course Harry wouldn’t like losing a godfather. The fact that that godfather was Black angered Severus all the more, and another wave of jealousy surged through him at seeing just how much Harry wanted to keep the mutt around. Would the boy ever show anything like that for him?

“You’re a lying bastard!” Sirius growled once coming out of his shock. “Why would you even know?”

 “Because Severus had to go through the process himself when Lucius re-named him godfather over Draco,” the Headmaster supplied.

“Over Draco?” Harry could not help but be distressed. Was that why his father had always favored the blonde over anyone in the past? Did his father still like Draco over everyone? Could anything else possibly go wrong with his day?

But then another thought crossed Harry’s mind. His father had really been a prisoner in Azkaban? Although he had begun to expect it, the confirmation of the truth still startled the boy. Why would his father get sent to Azkaban anyway?

“You!” Black cried, startling Harry from his thoughts. “You were sent to Azkaban?”

Severus sent a vicious glare over to Dumbledore, who realized that he probably should not have said anything at all. The Potions Master had become more hateful over the summer, and the Headmaster wondered at it. In the past Severus had never been an open person, had never sought out a friendship with Albus, nor had he ever spent time with the Headmaster on his own accord, but the professor had always humored the older wizard in the past, and there had been a time when Albus had thought that perhaps his Potions Master had started to like him. But that all seemed to have been washed away now.

After the events during the summer, Severus had reverted back into his cold civility. No, that was not quite right, Severus outright hated him now, and Albus could not really understand why. The black eyes showed nothing less than bitterness, resentment, and outright hatred every time the Headmaster happened to look over. The Slytherin was excellent at concealing his feelings on his face, but his eyes were very lively anymore. Once sucked down into those dark tunnels, you could see everything, and Albus was getting burned.

But why would Severus be angry with him? Was it really because he had sent Harry back to the Dursleys? Sure Harry might not like it there, and perhaps his relatives were less than pleasant, but it was better for the boy to be there than anywhere else. The blood wards would protect Harry better than anything else could. Surely Severus could see that? Surely the Potions Master was not trying to project his own childhood on Harry’s, was he? Maybe Petunia had brought on some bad memories…

And that’s when it hit him. Dumbledore snapped his eyes back on his professor, revelation shining in his blue eyes. Dear Merlin, no, Albus thought as those cold black eyes continued to glare at him.

“Why were you in Azkaban?” Sirius continued, not noticing the tension building between the Headmaster and the Potions Master.

“That is none of your concern,” Snape hissed.

“What’d you do? Was it for murdering all those people while you were a ‘loyal’ Death Eater?” Black went on, as though he never heard Severus at all and failed to notice when the other man balled his fists tightly at his sides. “Was it for burning down homes? Raping women?”

“You know nothing about-” Severus was fighting to keep control over himself, but was finding it almost more than he could bare.

“I know,” Sirius cut off the other. “It was because they linked you to Lily and James’s death, wasn’t it? They found out that it was you who told He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named the prophecy.”

“Shut up!”

“That’s it, isn’t it? Albus told me all about that. Said how you ‘turned to the light’ and all that rubbish. But it was really you all this time that killed James. You killed Lily an-”

“NO!”

In a blink of an eye, Severus had Sirius by the throat and up against a wall, strangling the other man mercilessly. The Gryffindor choked, and desperately tried to claw at his attacker’s hands, but the Slytherin did not relinquish his grip. In fact, it did not seem as though Snape noticed anything being done to him.

“Shut up!” Severus screamed. “You don’t know anything! Shut up!”

“Severus!” Albus jumped up. “Severus, release him! Severus!”

If the Potions Master heard any of this, he ignored it in favor of trying to end the life of his rival once and for all. Although he knew what he was doing was wrong, it felt so good to finally be able to do something about Black so that mongrel did not get away again. This time Black was helpless, this time he would not escape justice, could not talk his way out of anything. This time Dumbledore could not help him!  It just felt so good extracting this revenge.

And yet Severus did not quite understand that he was really trying to take the life of another person. After he had quit the Death Eaters, Severus had never wanted to kill again, and he never had. The horrors that he had gone through were just too much, and he even had dreams about it, still, after all these years. There was not a night that passed when he did not have a nightmare of some sort, but he had gotten used to them by now. And so there was a part of him then that believed he was dreaming, that this was not true, and when he woke up, he’d feel another horrible guilt that would try to crush him at the thought of wanting to kill again. But as always, he would get over it once he had calmed.

“Severus!” Dumbledore bellowed, again, but to no avail. The Potions Master’s grip was firm and by now, Sirius’s frantic struggle was starting to still.

“Sir!” Harry cried, unable to believe that his father was actually killing someone right before his eyes. Not Severus, this man…this man was good.

At hearing Harry’s voice, Severus’s blind rage disappeared at the sound of his child’s desperate voice. The first thing that went through his mind was that Harry was in trouble and needed help. What was he doing wasting his time on Black?

But Snape’s reaction was too slow for the Headmaster, and Dumbledore took out his wand. “Expelliarmus!” he cried.

Severus was instantly thrown backwards from the power of the spell, and having already loosened his grasp on Sirius’s throat, he was the only one sent flying. The professor hit the opposite wall hard, smashing his head against the stone before crumpling to the floor gracelessly. Sirius, too collapsed, where he had been pinned against the wall and was gasping for air and coughing.

Harry stood next to the Headmaster, his eyes wide as he looked between his father and his godfather. He was torn as to who he should check on; Sirius, who was on his hands and knees coughing, or his father, who had apparently been knocked unconscious. It seemed Severus had gotten the worse of it all, but Harry knew that he could not let Dumbledore know that he was more concerned over the Potions Master rather than his own godfather. So, for appearance sake, Harry, a bit reluctantly, knelt down beside Sirius, while Dumbledore looked towards Severus.

“Tha-” Sirius coughed, “maniac!” cough. “H-he tired,” cough, “to k-kill me!” Cough!

Dumbledore did not kneel before Severus but looked down at the unconscious man for a moment. “Sirius,” he called back over his shoulder. “I think you should go.”

Sirius stood up with Harry’s help and glared over at the Headmaster. “That man tried to kill,” cough, “me and that’s all you’re going to do?” Cough. “Make me leave? I’m not leaving Harry with that man as Head of House!”

“He wouldn’t have tried to hurt you had you simply not provoked him,” Albus spat, angry enough at both thirty year olds that he thought he might just lose his temper completely. “You should have known better than to say those things to him.”

“Even if they are true,” Sirius growled.

“They are not true,” Dumbledore scowled darkly. “It was no more Severus’s fault that Lily and James died then it was yours.”

“Mine?” Black was insulted, hurt, and confused. “How would it be my fault?”

“You told the Potters to make Peter their secret keeper, did you not? And Peter betrayed your trust. Severus needed to tell Voldemort something but he chose a poor verse to tell. But in the end, neither of you actually killed or betrayed anyone. That blame lays on Voldemort and Peter,” the Headmaster explained, trying to gather back his control. “Now, I want you to stop accusing Severus of betraying the Order and get along with him. Wha-”

“But-!”

“-What he has done will not go unpunished, I assure you,” Albus held up his hands for peace. “I will be talking to him as well. But Sirius, this is no way for adults to behave.”

Scowling, Sirius, still breathing irregularly, crossed his arms. “Fine, but I don’t want Harry in his House.”

“That is not up to you,” Dumbledore said firmly. “There is actually no safer place for Harry to be at this time. Severus might not like you, Sirius, but he will continue to protect Harry.”

“He doesn’t even like Harry!” the convict argued. “He’s made Harry’s life hell for three years! Imagine what he can do now that the boy’s in his House?”

Here the Headmaster looked angry and his body stiffened. “Severus has been looking out for Harry for years, Sirius, long before you were out of prison. Although Harry and Severus may have their differences, I assume those are to be pushed aside for the most part, yes?” he looked over at the boy.

“Y-yes, sir,” Harry nodded.

“Good,” Albus nodded in response. “Now that Harry knows about everything, I think that the two will be able to get along better. Now, you should go, before he wakes up.”

Scowling, Sirius stalked over to the Floo and grabbed a handful of powder. “Tell me if you’re being mistreated, eh kid?” Sirius stared down at his godson. “I’ll come back and take care of it.” Straightening up, he said to Albus, “I’ll be back this week to talk about this,” he growled.

The Headmaster merely nodded, just wanting to get Sirius out. The fire flared a bright green as the Gryffindor left, and Harry found himself alone with Dumbledore. “You should go back to your dorm now, Mr. Potter,” the old wizard smiled tiredly.

“Is he okay?” Harry looked towards his father’s still body. He hoped the man hadn’t cracked his skull on the stone wall.

“He will be,” the Headmaster nodded. “But he won’t be enjoyable to be around when he wakes. You should go.”

Anyone could have guessed what mood the Potions Master would be in were he to wake up after being hit by a spell as powerful as Dumbledore, but Harry found that he did not want to leave. Although Snape was ill-tempered a lot of the time, he always had other things he worried about, like Harry. Would Snape wake up and wonder what happened to his son? Would he worry about that?

“He was supposed to escort me back to the dorms,” Harry said simply, hoping that was enough to let him stay.

“If you are worried about that, go to Professor McGonagall,” the Headmaster said. “I’m sure she’d be happy to walk you down.”

Knowing that he was not going to win the day, Harry simply nodded and slowly made his way out of the room. What would happen if he simply left his father with the Headmaster? What would be said? What would be done? Would Dumbledore sack Snape for this? The Potions Master had done worse…hadn’t he? Would Severus tell the Headmaster everything? Would Dumbledore try to wipe Snape’s memories again?

With these troubling thoughts, Harry walked out of the office and closed the doors, but he did not leave. Instead, he waited outside and listened, hoping he would hear something.

Once Harry was gone, Dumbledore turned to the man lying on the floor. The sight of the younger wizard lying there troubled the Headmaster considerably. Severus looked just about the same as he had about fifteen years ago the night he had come to tell Albus about his marriage to Lily. Seeing an almost reenactment of that night turned to ancient wizard’s stomach.

When the Headmaster was about to kneel down, however, the Potions Master groaned and looked up. His vision was blurry for several seconds before he was able to see. His head hurt horribly, and he was not sure at the moment if the pain would ever stop; but once his eyes focused, and he saw the Headmaster standing over him, the Potions Master quickly scrambled to his feet, feeling at a distinct disadvantage.

“Easy, Severus!” Dumbledore reached out to help the younger man, but was flat out refused when Severus slapped his hands away. “Careful. I think you’re hurt.”

Indeed, Severus could feel the warm blood tricking down from the back of his head to his neck. His head felt like it had been slip open, but he refused to show anything, even though it hurt like hell. He had had worse before. One did not become a Death Eater and spy and come away unscathed.

“Severus, please, you’re injured, let me-”

“You’ve done enough!” Snape growled, but instantly regretted the intensity of his words. He felt nauseous.

With a weary sigh, the Headmaster tried to lead the Potions Master to a chair, but again, the younger wizard refused to comply. “Severus, I do not understand why you are acting this way,” Albus’s face was stern. “All summer you have been acting strangely, as though I have done something terribly wrong.”

“You honestly think you haven’t?” the Slytherin hissed.

Having the nerve to look offended, Albus glared at the other wizard. “No, I don’t think I have done anything so wrong as to deserve this kind of treatment from you.”

“Really?” Snape raised a furious eyebrow. How could the old man act so innocent? This man had probably hurt or killed more people than Severus, and yet the Potions Master had never heard of the old man complain about nightmares or regrets.

“Is this about sending Harry back to the Dursleys?” Dumbledore asked carefully. “Because I thought you understood that-”

“It’s more than that, you old fool!” the words flew out of Severus’s mouth before he could think better of them. But it was too late to recant; too late to take them back. The Slytherin was on full attack and all he wanted to do was hurt the other wizard, he wanted to make the Headmaster feel some kind of regret, some kind of pain.

With those cold black eyes glaring at him, Albus suddenly felt his stomach do another flip. With such hatred glowing in those obsidian eyes, the old wizard knew that he had been correct. Dear Merlin, he really does know! His mind screamed over and over again. Somehow, against the odds, Severus had found out about his and Lily’s marriage, somehow he had found out the truth. All this time, Albus had been hoping he had been wrong, but facing the Potions Master now, no one there to distract them, Albus knew that he could no longer expect things to be the same between him and Severus again.

“You…you know about Lily then?” he asked quietly.

“Yes,” there was such hatred in that deep, rumbling voice that for a moment, Dumbledore wondered if his heart had stopped from the coldness of it. “I know what you did.”

Looking down in sorrow, the Headmaster nodded. “How did you find out?” he asked quietly.

“Are you honestly that stupid?” Severus growled. “You may have wiped my memory, but you never stopped to think that giving me a port key to Petunia Evans house might be a bad idea?”

“So…Mrs. Dursley told you then?” Albus asked, guilt rushing over him.

“Yes,” Snape’s voice was quiet. “She did.”

“And what about Harry?”

Instantly becoming defensive, Severus snapped almost to attention. “What about him?”

“Does he know?” Albus asked simply.

“Does he know that he should have been my child and not James Potter’s?” abhorrence dripped from the Slytherin’s tongue. “No, he does not know.”

Relief flooded through the old wizard like a flood. “And you will not tell him?”

For a moment, Severus thought about ending all the secrecy. He had lived most of his life hiding and keeping secrets, lying to and about others. And for a tantalizing moment, he thought about ending the secret of him being Harry’s father once and for all. But looking into the blue eyes of the Headmaster, Severus found that he simply could not do it. There was no way he could predict what Albus would do, how the old man would act. Would he accept the truth, or would he still try to carry out his plans? Technically, Severus now had the say over what Harry did or did not do; so what would the Headmaster do if he were to lose control over the boy?

“Why should I?” Severus answered once his mind settled.

The Headmaster sighed in relief. “Good, good, I was hoping you would see it my way.”

Scowling blackly, Severus glared at the Headmaster, reminding the old wizard once again that his Potions Master was furious with him.

“Severus…I did what I thought would be best,” Albus said simply.

“Well, what you did not only ruined my life, but it ultimately killed Lily…and Potter,” Snape hissed. “Had you not meddled in my affairs, Lily would probably still be alive! She had been safe under my care!”

“Severus, I did not do it to hurt you! I-”

“It’s not just about me!” Severus screamed. Albus sat stone still in his chair. “You’ve treated like shit for years, ever since I was here as a student. You never really did like me…I can understand that you would do such a horrible thing to me, but how could you do that to Lily?”

Those words seemed to nail Albus to his chair. Over and over again the simply question burned into the Headmaster’s mind, digging up old guilt and shame. A picture of the beautiful Lily Evans came into his mind and he could still see her the day that he had brought her news of Severus’s death. Had she really been that deeply in love with Severus? After all, she had married James only a month later and then had a son with the Auror... But then she had been scared, she had had doubts…

He could still see her white, aghast face as she buried it into Severus’s cloak, tears streaking down her face…

Before Dumbledore could say another word, apologize, make excuses, say anything, Severus was gone. The Potions Master had simply disappeared, leaving the old wizard alone with his own dark guilt.