Severus sunk to his knees, his head in his hands. Merlin, what had he done? Harry was his child? With his beloved Lily? The one person he could imagine himself having a child with?

It was impossible, but somehow it was true. The paternity potion didn't lie. The question was how? Severus knew he hadn't been intimate with Lily, but apparently he had. Did Lily regret it so much that she obliviated him? After leaving Hogwarts and with the assistance of Polyjuice, he met up with Lily nearly monthly before the Potters went into hiding, usually in a public place to discuss his Potions work, but of course the conversations swayed from that. Had one of those conversations turned into something more?

How was he going to get answers? Lily was dead, and he refused to go to Albus. Severus' trust in the man was wavering, and he didn't trust what the Headmaster would do with the revelation. Yet, he had to know, if not for himself, but for Harry. Severus couldn't even think to tell the boy, his son, until he knew the circumstances around Harry's conception.

Severus cursed as he pictured telling the child that he was his father. His son was the fragile, sick child down the hall, who at that very moment was having poisonous chemotherapy pumped into his body. Harry could die, his son could die before he ever got to really know the boy, before the boy completed school or grew up and fell in love.

Yelling in frustration, Severus jumped up to his feet and flipped the workbench over, the upended cauldron clanking to the floor with the red potion splattering out in all directions. Was this some sort of twisted karma? Hadn't he lost enough already? He couldn't stand to lose his son, too. Not when he'd only begun to really know him. It wasn't fair though life had never been fair for Severus.

He had been doing well with helping Harry deal with his cancer diagnosis and subsequent start of treatments, but now things were different. Before, there had been a barrier that helped Severus stay calm and collected. Harry had been his student, a student he had taken a vow to protect, but just a student. Now that boy was his son, his flesh and blood and when the paternity potion had turned red that thin barrier had vanished.

Severus reached for the nearest potion phial and flung it against the wall, the glass shattering into tiny pieces. What had Lily done? How could she not have told him? He would've never let the child grow up with those Muggles even if those first few years would've been tough. Harry could've grown up in the wizarding world and been prepared to enter Hogwarts like all the other non-Muggleborns. More importantly, he could've grown up with his remaining parent like he should have.

Throwing another potion phial across the room, Severus restrained himself from screaming. Not only had the paternity potion changed everything between himself and Harry, it meant that to get his answers Severus would need to visit WCS in person which could possibly expose his secret of being the lost Prince heir that hadn't been seen since he was a child.

Another thing was how would the Ministry react to an ex-Death Eater spy being Harry Potter's father if they figured out Severus Prince and Severus Snape was the same person. Would they try to take the child away from him? It was against their rights since Severus hadn't abused the child, but he didn't doubt the Ministry would somehow try to take custody away from him, a custody he apparently had all along. Severus would just have to be careful on his trip to WCS, and hope the workers were as stupid as most of the Ministry workers.

But first, Severus needed to calm down. He couldn't storm off to WCS in his current state or he'd alert the Aurors upon his arrival at the Ministry for suspicious behavior. He also needed to check in on Harry and make sure the boy would be all right while he was gone for a few hours and hope Minerva could stay with him. Severus wouldn't leave Harry alone, not while he was receiving chemotherapy and the boy's magic was spotty at best.

The Potions Master took out his wand and returned his Potions lab to its pristine state, making sure to evanesco every last drop of the paternity potion. He wouldn't put it past Albus to come snooping around once he heard Severus left to visit WCS, and somehow he had a feeling Albus knew more than he let on concerning his son. Severus just couldn't put a finger on why he suspected Albus knew, but he would find out, and Albus had better be ready to face his wrath if the Headmaster had known all along and kept his son from him.

Levitating the last repaired phial into its place, Severus strode out of his lab and down the hall to Harry's room. He heard two female voices talking and a quill scratching across parchment as he came closer to the child's room. Miss Adamson had arrived then. He stopped outside the doorway to brush off his clothes and clamp down his Occlumency shields. He couldn't let on that he hadn't been brewing the wolf's potion, not yet.

"Professor," Harry smiled as he stepped into the boy's room from where he sat against the pillows, quill in hand. "Professor McGonagall and Miss Lucy are helping me with topics for my Herbology essay."

"Are you feeling better then?" Severus asked refusing to allow his mind to remind him that this was his son.

"Maybe a little," Harry shrugged. "After this chemo bag is empty, I get my hour off."

Severus nodded, leaning against the wall. He knew how much Harry had been looking forward to his daily break, even if it was only an hour. "Is everything going well?" he said to Miss Adamson.

"Yes, everything is going well. Harry and I had a discussion concerning his recent eating habits, and we agreed to give it one more day to see if his appetite improved any," the Specialist smiled as she moved to the infusion pump the moment the alarm alerted her the chemotherapy bag was empty. He watched carefully as she unhooked Harry and tended to his Hickman before giving the boy the go ahead to jump in the shower.

"I'll be back once the hour is up with the next bag of chemo and the results of his daily labs," Miss Adamson said, taking her leave.

Once Severus heard the shower running, he sat down on the edge of Harry's bed with a sigh. "Are you able to stay with Harry for a few more hours?" he asked his colleague.

"What's wrong, Severus?" Minerva collected Harry's school supplies and stacked them into a neat pile on the nightstand.

"Nothing is wrong, but I must make a trip to the Ministry to straighten out a few details."

"Of course," she nodded. "Are you coming to the Order meeting tonight?"

"I haven't decided yet. I'm sure I could get Poppy or Mrs. Weasley to stay with Harry while I attend the meeting, but it'll depend on how he's feeling," Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. He really needed to brew a fresh batch of his strongest headache potion.

"When do you plan to leave?" Minerva settled back into the chair as she conjured a tea set, handing a filled cup over to him, prepared with exactly one and a quarter cubes of sugar, just the way he liked it.

Severus took the offered teacup, glad for the caffeine source. Pepper-up potions could only do so much, and he'd need all the energy he could get to make it through the day. "Once Miss Adamson reconnects Harry, and he's situated. I don't want to wait too long, and then have the Ministry close before I'm finished with my task."

"That is fine. I just have my paperwork to tend. I sometimes long for the days before I was appointed Deputy Headmistress," Minerva sighed. "Each year the Ministry and Board of Governors' insist on more and more paperwork to be completed. Did you know that starting next year every detention must be written up and filed in the student's file? It's ludicrous."

Severus' frowned in irritation. Every detention would need to be written up? What would the Ministry or Board demand next? Every point reduction or addition noted with an explanation? It would certainly put a change in how many detentions he handed out. Severus hated useless paperwork that did nothing but take up his time. "At least the Weasley twins won't be returning."

"As much as I'm sure Molly will try to force them to return to school, I must agree I hope they don't if only for the reduced load of paperwork. Though, I'll certainly miss them on the Quidditch team," Minerva sipped her tea.

"I won't," Severus smirked. "Slytherin has their best chance to win the Quidditch Cup since Harry entered Hogwarts."

"I'm losing him for the year, too, aren't I?" she frowned.

"Yes," the Potions Master confirmed. "If the treatments go well, Harry should be able to play his Seventh Year."

"I suppose that's something. I was hoping my house could redeem themselves after finishing last in the House Cup this year."

"You won't have to worry about another occurrence like this year's where Harry and his cohorts sent Gryffindor into negative numbers, but I still think Slytherin will win," Severus enjoyed riling up Minerva over house rivalry. It kept his mind off the puzzle concerning Harry's parentage, and how it came to be. Severus wasn't looking forward to his visit to WCS later that day, but it was the only place he knew would possibly hold the answers he sought. He only hoped that he wasn't prevented from viewing Harry's sealed file once he reached the WCS office.

-----

As the house-elves served breakfast to the remaining staff in the Great Hall, Albus greeted Filius and Sinistra as the professors took a seat at the small table. He noted Minerva's empty spot. The Deputy Headmistress was never late for meals, and Albus wondered where she had gone. Severus' spot remained empty, but he expected that. Even when his Potions Master wasn't looking after a student, he tended to forgo eating in the Great Hall as soon as he could get away with it.

Albus was buttering a piece of toast when a small contingent of owls flew through the Great Hall, dropping the post at each professor's spot. A Ministry owl flew low, releasing its envelope on top of Severus' pile. The Headmaster reached over to his left to gather Severus' mail to deliver to him through the floo since the owls got lost if forced to fly into the elaborate maze of the Hogwarts dungeons. However, Albus took an extra second to examine the Ministry letter. He turned the envelope over, noticed the WCS seal, and tucked it into his robes for safekeeping before returning to finish his breakfast, never intending for Severus to see its contents. Albus hid a smile behind his teacup. He had caught the letter before his young professor saw its contents.

-----

With fresh pajamas on, Harry climbed back into bed. His shower had felt so good, even if he had to climb out halfway through to vomit. He appreciated Severus' freshening charms throughout the night, but it wasn't the same as physically scrubbing off all the grime that had accumulated on his skin from the night sweats. He was surprised to find his bedding had been changed again. Harry was lucky to have snuck his old graying linens in the wash once a month. Though, the gesture did make sense if he was to avoid germs as much as possible.

"Thanks," Harry said to Snape, gesturing to his bed linens.

Severus nodded, his lips set in a thin line across his face as he set a tray containing a smoothie and toast across his lap. "Eat."

Harry frowned as the man sat in the chair instead of on the edge of the bed. Where was his professor's breakfast and why was he acting so standoffish when a few hours ago the man had been affectionate in front of McGonagall of all people? Speaking of which, where had his Head of House gone?

"Where did Professor McGonagall go?" Harry asked, figuring it was a safe question. He hadn't known her to ever leave without saying she was leaving. She was too proper for that.

"She went to retrieve more paperwork," the Potions Master frowned. "Don't worry, she'll return as I have a few errands to run today," he said, his tone cold and distant.

"I didn't mean it like that," Harry sighed, picking up a piece of toast by the corner to twirl it around on the plate. He hadn't meant to hurt Severus' feelings, if that's indeed what he had done. The Potions Master was so hard to read. "Where are you going?"

"Nowhere that concerns you," Snape halfway snapped. "Sorry," he apologized right away, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stop playing with your food."

"Sorry," Harry let the piece of toast fall down onto the plate. "I'm not really hungry." Despite knowing he needed to eat, Harry just couldn't make himself go through the motions when he knew it was just going to come back up anyway. His nausea had failed to subside, and he was beginning to get used to the constant queasiness, but food was not an option. Perhaps he could be persuaded to drink the smoothie. It didn't look as revolting or intimidating as the toast.

"You need to eat," the Potions Master reminded him.

"I know," Harry sighed, picking up the smoothie and taking a few sips. He drank down the smoothie in silence. Snape kept giving him weird looks, and looked like he was going to say something multiple times, but continued to sit in the chair, his back straight and hands folded in his lap while ensuring Harry drank down the last drop of his smoothie.

"Finished?" Severus asked when Harry set down his glass.

"Yeah," Harry pushed away the tray. What had happened to his professor between morning and now? Snape seemed to be reverting back to his snarky-self, and Harry couldn't figure out what he had done to trigger it. Severus had said he was brewing a potion, Wolfsbane to be exact, but Harry didn't think the Potions Master could be angered over that, even if the potion was for Lupin, so it had to be something he did. But what had he done?

Harry tried to remember everything that had happened that morning, but nothing had happened that could possibly anger the professor. Was Snape changing his mind? Was he regretting agreeing to take care of Harry? He knew his professor hadn't gotten much sleep since every time he woke Snape was up. Was that it? The Professor couldn't handle sleepless nights, so he was going to leave to make alternative arrangements for Harry?

"Sir," Harry said, his voice wavering. "You don't have to stay with me at night. I'll be okay, and you can get some sleep." Anything was better than being sent back to the Dusleys. Harry was sure that's where he'd be going.

"What?" Snape snapped, his obsidian eyes searching Harry's. "What are you referring to?"

"You're going to speak with my relatives because you haven't been getting enough sleep, so you're going to send me back. Right?" Harry pulled his knees to his chest. He didn't want to leave Snape's quarters. He felt safe there.

"Merlin no, child," Severus said, his voice softening as he moved from the chair to Harry's side. Harry let out the breath he had been holding as Severus wrapped an arm around him and pulled him into his side. "You're never going back there. You hear me?"

Harry nodded, burying his face into his professor's shoulder. It was strange, but he missed the man's voluminous robes. They were perfect for hiding in. "But you're mad at me."

"I am not mad at you, Harry," Severus squeezed him. "I have a few things I need to take care of that have been at the forefront of my mind this morning, but it has nothing to do with anything you did."

"Then, can you stay?" he asked, clutching onto Snape's shirt with his right hand. He didn't want the man to leave him while he was undergoing chemotherapy. McGonagall was nice, but she didn't know how to take care of him or understand what he was going through.

"I must go, but I promise it'll only take a few hours at most. Once Miss Adamson hooks you back up and gives you your PCA, you'll likely sleep most of that time since you're not used to the morphine yet," Severus tried to reassure him and began to rub his back. Harry hadn't noticed how sore his back was until his professor's hands began loosening the built-up knots.

"What if he attacks again, and you're not here," Harry whispered, afraid the moment Severus left, Voldemort would attack his mind again. He wouldn't put it past the madman to attack again so soon after the last time, especially since Voldemort found out he still hadn't learned to defend himself.

"Minerva has a means to contact me, and I'll use my emergency portkey that the Headmaster gave me while I was spying. It takes me right to the Hospital Wing, and from there I can floo down. It won't take but a minute."

"Okay, but please be quick," Harry gave in.

"I shall do my best," Severus promised.

As if on cue, the Specialist knocked on the door and entered his room carrying a large bag. "Ready?" she asked with a bright smile on her face, her pink and white candy cane striped wand sticking out of the front pocket of her pants.

Nodding, Harry broke away from the Potions Master. He wasn't ready for more chemo, he'd never be, but if that's what it took to kill the cancer cells then Harry couldn't stand in the way of what was his best shot at survival.

-----

Once Harry was as comfortable as he could be and Minerva had returned and been given instructions, Severus forced himself away from Harry's room despite the pleading look on the boy's, his son's face. He needed to go to WCS, there were no other options and the sooner he found his answers, the better it would be for both of them. His actions earlier had demonstrated it needed to be done today. Severus couldn't allow Harry to think he had done something wrong, but until Severus figured out how Harry's paternity came to be, then he'd be too guarded around the boy, afraid he'd slip without the answers the boy would certainly ask.

But first, Severus had to make himself presentable. He was a Prince and as such needed to appear like he was the heir of a wealthy pureblood family if he was ever going to pull off his visit to WCS without raising suspicions. After a quick shower where he made sure to wash and condition his hair twice to make sure all the potions fumes were gone from his hair, Severus selected a designer pair of black pinstriped trousers and a light blue long-sleeved oxford. His mother insisted he looked good in pale blue, enough so that the shirt had been a present from her, and for once he was thankful he kept around the blue shirt that he wore only when he paid a visit to his parents. No one would suspect Severus Snape to wear a pale blue shirt.

The Slytherin slid his clothes on before kneeling down in front of his dresser. With a tap of his wand, the carved edging on the bottom of his dresser swung up, revealing the small hidden drawer. Severus pulled the drawer open, not remembering the last time he had a reason to open it. Inside, he kept a few valuable items, but mostly things he wished to keep secret, such as a small box that held photos of him and Lily, and the letters she had sent him when he was younger. However, the box wasn't what he was there for, and so he forced his hand to withdraw from sliding over the wooden box. Instead Severus reached for three smaller boxes before closing the drawer and reactivating its wards. He left the largest and slimmest of the three boxes on top of the dresser, but held on to the other two.

Taking the two velvet boxes into his bathroom and setting them down on his small vanity, Severus finished transforming himself into the Prince heir. He pulled his hair back into a low ponytail and cast a slight glamour to make the dark circles under his eyes disappear while letting down the glamour he always held up. It wasn't much of a glamour, his nose was the same size though it wasn't hooked and he didn't have as many wrinkles. His skin also had a healthier glow, not so pale. Yet, the small effects took ten years off his appearance, making him look only slightly older than his age rather than on par with his parents. Well, everything made him look younger except for that one strand of grey that stuck out like a sore thumb against his black hair.

Growling, Severus plucked the gray hair from his head, refusing to admit that he could already be showing the first signs of graying. He was thirty-six for Merlin's sake, not at all old by wizarding standards! Severus slid his glasses back onto his face. They'd work well to help cover up his dual identity.

Just a few more things left to convince the WCS staff that he was indeed the Prince heir. First, Severus opened up the small velvet box on the left. Inside was the platinum signet ring he received on his sixteenth birthday from his parents with the Prince seal etched on top. He slid the ring onto his left pinky finger. With his ring in place, Severus opened the second small box where a set of platinum cufflinks with the distinctive unicorn from the Prince seal resided. He secured them in the cuffs of his shirt before taking a final look in the mirror. His resemblance to the man everyone knew as Severus Snape was still there, but he hoped it was enough to fool a few witches and wizards at WCS.

Severus returned to his bedroom where he put on his boots and returned to his dresser to switch out his wands. The one he used on a daily basis he had bought the summer before his sixth year, needing a wand that was better tailored to his talents. That wand was registered to Severus Snape, and he couldn't have that on him when he entered the Ministry. However, the wand lying inside the slim box was registered to Severus Prince. It hadn't seen the horrors Severus faced as a spy, and he sometimes used it for brewing complicated potions where even the smallest tint of dark magic could cause the potion to explode. Severus swapped the wands, feeling the difference of the other wand in his hand before slipping it up his sleeve.

Retrieving his best cloak, the only thing left to do was tell Harry he was going. Severus waved his hand, temporarily returning the glamour to his face until he was off Hogwart's grounds. He left his room, warding the door on his way out. He didn't trust Albus to not go poking around in there either while he was gone.

The lights were dimmed low when Severus entered Harry's room. The boy was pale, but he was sleeping. "I'll be leaving now," he whispered to Minerva who looked up at him from her paperwork. "You know how to contact me should the need arise."

"Yes, get going," Minerva shooed him, returning to her paperwork. "I don't need another lecture over how to care for him."

Severus stole one last glance at his son before leaving the room hoping that when he returned he'd have all the answers he needed.