Albus Dumbledore had considered himself lucky today, for it was sunny outside and there were no dramas from misbehaving students or issues that the teachers often brought to him. He had no paperwork and no worries. But that was when he'd thought too soon as his door banged open and a very livid-looking Severus Snape stormed in, the door rebounding shut behind him.

"Good evening, Severus" Dumbledore said calmly in greeting.

"Might I ask what had happened for you to make such an entrance into my office without knocking?" He asked.

"He's lost it" Snape said, his voice sounding unnaturally stressed and shaken.

"Whom might I ask and what is it exactly is it that he has lost?" Dumbledore questioned while staring at the pacing man.

"Potter!" Snape said as if it was obvious to everyone but him, although it was actually the opposite. "He's lost his mind!"

Dumbledore could say he wasn't surprised but that would be a lie. "And what, may I ask, has brought you that assumption?"

"He asked me to be his father" Snape replied and suddenly stopped moving, only to sit rather heavily in the seat before Dumbledore's desk.

"And what did you say?" Dumbledore's tone never changed, but his eyebrow was raised in astomishment, not that Snape was noticing anything at this point.

"What did I--did you not hear me?" Snape growled. "Harry bloody Potter asked me to be his father!" He stressed, as though he was yet to make his point clear.

"I heard you Severus, as it was rather difficult not to" Dumbledore said in a mildly sterner tone. "I was merely expressing my curiosity as to what answer you gave the boy."

Snape stared at him as though it was the most rediculous thing he could have been asked.

"I kicked him out" He said so calmly that Dumbledore doubted he had even considered answering the boy.

"Oh, Severus" Dumbledore sighed and looked skyward for a moment. The way this man reacted to some things still astounded him to this day.

"Where is the nearest mental asylum?" Snape asked, his tone returning more to normal and he appeared to be over his brief fit.

"I do not think it would be wise to send the boy to one" Dumbledore commented.

"Not for Potter" Snape admitted, hanging his head and massaged a headache. "For me" He finished and glanced up again, trying to return to his calm and collected stance.

A silence washed over them as both men pondered on two different threads of thoughts involving what had occured barely an hour ago and where to proceed from there.

"I believe..." Dumbledore finally spoke. "That there is only one course of action that could possibly be taken" He raised a finger and summoned a house-elf.

"Yes, master Dumbledore?" The elf squeaked and bowed to the headmaster.

"Could you please retrieve Harry Potter and have him come to my office?"

"Right away, master Dumbledore!" The elf vanished with a pop and Snape instantly regained his composure.

"Did you even consider the boy's question?" Dumbledore asked as they waited for Harry.

Snape's eyebrows nitted tighter together in defiance to answering but his look plainly said "Don't even go there, old man".

Harry stared at the stone phoenix as it moved to form a staircase and he got on, his hands were sweating and he was chewing his lip softly. He was sure that he knew what this was about but was still feeling really miserable if not a bit upset by Snape's reaction earlier.

He had prepared himself to be let down and even killed for asking him to be his father, which was why it shocked him so much that he actually was quite affected by the outcome. It wasn't just the rejection or that fact that he as yet another person that didn't want him but also because in his own mind and heart...he felt that if it wasn't going to be Snape than there was no one else. His hope was finally fading.

Harry knocked on the door and then let himself inside the headmaster's office and his blood went cold again when he saw Snape standing on the right side of the room, and eyeing him with a look that was unfamiliar but also very unsettling.

"You wished to see me, sir?" Harry asked and both men didn't miss the slight croak in his tone or the defeated look his once-firey eyes contained.

Dumbledore sent Snape a scowl as though it was his fault (well, it kind of was!) and nodded to Harry before asking him to take a seat.

Harry reluctantly sat on the chair and focused on keeping all his attention on Dumbledore and not Snape but he was unable to prevent his mind was wandering back to the way Snape had yelled at him to get out once he'd asked his question. He'd even grabbed him by his collar and shoved him out the door; Harry had barely enough time to grab his books before the office door slammed in his face.

"Harry?" Dumlebore asked, seeing the boy was fighting with too many emotions and his eyes looked a little glazed over. "I was recently informed that you had approached Professor Snape with a rather unusual question earlier this evening?"

"Yes" Harry said, still refusing to look at the man somewhat behind him.

"Might I ask you what brought on such a question?" Dumbledore inquired. "You do understand what you were asking of Professor Snape?"

"Yes" Harry frowned. "I've been thinking about it since the end of summer and was planning to ask him for weeks...some good that did" He looked away.

"I am sure we all understand how much you miss your family" Dumbledore said. "But perhaps it would be best if you were to shed some light on why you felt Professor Snape was the one you chose to approach with such a request. Asking someone to be your father is asking that man to be responsible for your wellbeing, your safety, your education, your happiness...and numerous other areas of importance. That man would decide important decisions involving your life and your future. Do you understand this?"

"That is why I asked" Harry nodded and Snape inched closer to hear him better, now more confused than shocked.

"And why Professor Snape, Harry?" Dumbledore pressed again.

"Because he..." Harry pondered on how to explain everything he was feeling and everything he'd considered. "He's just...I don't know why exactly it has to be him" He sighed and took a breath, deciding to just get it out before they ruled him off as unstable.

"I know that it's a father I need, and if anyone could best fill the role I was hoping, it would be him. I want him to give me advice because I'm sure he's got a lot of it, sir. I mean he was a Death Eater but he is also a Professor....surely that garantees that he has been through a lot and learnt a lot through experiences. Plus I..." He shifted and felt embrassed to be admitting these things but there was no turning back now.

"I always wanted to know how he could be so calm even when he was clearly not. He seemed so in control and....I don't how to explain it but in some ways I wish I could do the things he did."

Snape placed a hand on the wall to his right to keep himself from falling over or passing out. If James Potter could hear his son now, Snape couldn't even imagine his reaction. The boy did respect him after all but he'd gone beyond that...what had he done to have the boy look up to him and want to be like him? Surely this wasn't true?

"He is organised and stubborn" Harry said, voicing the things he'd come to notice about the man in the last few weeks and could finally put a name too.

"He's often unfair but I think it's because he wants results and is always trying to make us do better. I would love a father who could do that: bring out the best in me" He swallowed what was left of his pride and nerves to face the man behind him. "Is that too much to ask, sir?"

Snape was about to say "yes" when Dumbledore spoke instead.

"Harry, it would seem that you are refering to someone who is more of a tutor than a father."

"Hermione thought that too" Harry turned back to face the headmaster.

"But then there is the other stuff...I want to feel safe, I want to have someone to turn to when things are too much. A tutor can't do that like a father can. I'm not sure if I could ever really explain how strongly I feel about this, sir" He sighed and glanced down again.

"I don't care if I have a bad father or one that only pays interest in the small things, but I want a father and I want it to be Professor Snape."

Snape opened his mouth to object once again but Dumbledore sensed this and stood up.

"You may go Harry, Professor Snape and I will discuss this but it was a rather big question you are asking of him."

"I understand" Harry bowed his head and left the room.

"No" Snape said to Dumbledore the moment the door had shut behind the boy.

"Severus..."

"No" He said again, more firmly.

"Hear me about" Dumbledore gave him a stern gaze and Snape almost said "no" again but the look he was recieving barely stopped him.

"The boy needs someone, he is falling apart inside, I can see that. He said so himself that even if you're not really there for him as a father would be...at least you would be there for some of it."

"No" Snape said again but less firmly this time. "I can't be that boy's father, Albus."

"Because of James?" Dumbledore asked, trying to find out why but the man was being particularly hard to read today. "Or because of Lily?"

"Because of me" Snape corrected. "I can barely tolerate the boy as it is, much less of be his father."

"He looks up to you, if his words meant anything" Dumbledore said, clearly not too pleased with Snape's reluctance.

"You are telling me to pratically raise that brat!" Snape scowled. "I can't give what the boy wants."

"I doubt that, he is not asking you to be expressive of your emotions or tuck him in at night, he is merely asking for someone to watch out for him...which you have been doing already."

"Not in the sense of tutoring him, giving him advice and does he honestly think that he could trust me? That he would feel safe around me?" Snape scoffed and sat on the chair he had previous occupied. "No, Albus. I can't do this."

"Can't or won't?" Dumlebore asked as he approached the man.

"Both" Snape frowned.

"He is Lily's son" Dumbledore added.

"Don't remind me, you manipulative old man" Snape growled but that thought was still lingering on his mind for it was true: Harry was Lily's son and he was asking him to be his father, something he would have been anyway if she hadn't gone off with James...if he hadn't foolishly ruined his own life in their 5th year by calling her that dreadful name.

"Haven't you ever wanted a son, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. "And this is your chance to be close to Lily's living memory, to make her proud. You could both gain anormously from this situation."

"No" Snape said again and got up to leave, intending to just stroll out of there and never look back on this night, but he paused and turned to glance at Dumbledore once more.

"James Potter is living through that boy for the sheer purpose of haunting me" He said. "How could I raise such a brat? He wants a father but I am not the right man for that job."

"You won't have to adopt him" Dumbledore said. "Merely be there for him, help him when he needs it...and he has more of his mother in him than you dare to see."

Snape glared and turned the knob, pushing the door open and then strolled down the stairs.

His mind had been made up when Harry had asked him, he held that decision when he'd gone to Dumbledore and it remained strong as he left the office. But as Snape reached his private quarters in the dungeons...he began to doubt.

"Harry?" Hermione asked as she saw him returning to the common room.

"What did Dumbledore want?" Ron added.

"Leave me alone" Harry replied and went up to the dormitory. He pulled the privacy curtains around himself and wrapped his arms around his legs, resting his chin on his knees.

He had felt like crying, and throwing something breakable at the walls, but strangely as he sat there his hope started to return to some extent.

It had been a huge question to dump on the unsuspecting teacher than had long accepted that they hated each other...maybe he just needed some time? Harry lay down and felt a bit better, thinking his professor just needed time to really consider it and only then would get be given the final decision. All he could do was hope, wait and pray.