The Son Becomes the Father by watercrystals
Summary: Following the death of Sirius, Harry isn't sure what to make of the sudden appearance of a six-year-old boy. The pair form a bond, unaware they're half-brothers, and Harry decides to take the boy to Hogwarts and hide him there. To aide the boy's education, Harry anonymously exchanges letters with Snape.

A story of a how a young boy becomes a father-figure to another while their own father is oblivious of their biological existence. But can sixteen-year-old Harry give what he himself has not gained? Can he go an entire year without being discovered? Just how far will Severus go to find the writer of those letters...Or are some things best left unknown?
Categories: Parental Snape > Biological Father Snape, Teacher Snape > Trusted Mentor Snape Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Dumbledore, Eileen Prince, Ginny, Hagrid, Hermione, Luna, Narcissa, Neville, Original Character, Other, Pomfrey, Remus, Ron, Tonks, Voldemort
Snape Flavour: Canon Snape
Genres: Angst, Drama, Family, General, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Tragedy
Media Type: None
Tags: Alternate Universe, Child fic, Kidnapped, Runaway, Sibling Addition, Snape-meets-Dursleys
Takes Place: 6th summer, 6th Year, 7th summer, 8 - Pre Epilogue (adult Harry)
Warnings: Alcohol Use, Character Death, Neglect, Violence
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 33 Completed: No Word count: 164477 Read: 236923 Published: 04 Mar 2011 Updated: 06 Oct 2013
Gryffindors and Slytherins - part 1 by watercrystals
Author's Notes:
This was originally meant to be only half of a chapter, but I was unable to sumbit it all as one, therefore I was advised to split the chapter into two parts, which is why this one is a little shorter than I intended.

Several sections of the content in this chapter belongs to J.K Rowling's other book "Tales of Beedle the Bard". I do not own such material, obviously Also thanks to Victory-Starr for help with how to get the banner on here. And thanks to JAworley for the actual banner, it's perfect and exactly how I pictured Toby. Check it out!
'Are you sure about this, mate?' Ron asked as he stood by the door to the dormitory later that night, just after dinner.

'Yes.' Harry nodded.

'Harry's right, it'll be better this way.' Neville added from where he sat on his bed with his Herbology textbook open on his lap although he wasn't reading it. 'We can trust them.'

Ron sighed and with a nod, he turned and left the dormitory with an anxious expression on his face. Everyone was nervous about this new change, but none more so than Toby.

'I don't wanna.' Toby frowned from where he sat under Harry's bed.

'It'll be fine, just wait.' Harry sighed.

A brief moment later, Ron returned with Dean and Seamus trailing behind him under the assumption that they were all going to sit around and eat sweets all night.

'What's going on, Harry?' Dean was the first to speak; the moment he and Seamus were fully into the room, Ron had shut and warded the door (thanks to Hermione pointing out a few useful spells for this exact purpose. She'd do it herself but she had a part to play at that moment as well, since she was up in her dorm talking to Ginny).

'We need to talk.' Ron said seriously.

Harry could see the alarm in the other boy's faces as they tried to work out what was going on so he decided to spare them the uneasy suspense. Harry left the spot on his bed where he had been sitting and stood a few feet from his other dorm mates as he began to explain.

'First, I need you to swear that what we're going to share with you will remain only between us.' Harry said. 'It's a matter of life and death.' He added that dramatic phrase again, and in a way it sort of was. Toby's life and future could very well be dictated by how these two boys react to his hidden existence.

'With everything we've been through?' Seamus cracked a nervous smile. 'You have our word.'

'Toby, you can come out now.' Harry said and the little boy emerged from under the bed, immediately running forward to stand beside Harry for safety.

'Who's the kid?' Dean asked in surprise and confusion.

'This is Toby.' Harry introduced. 'He's an orphan, like I am, and he found me through his magic during the summer. I couldn't leave him and he had nowhere else to go. So I brought him here and he's been hiding under my bed since the start of term.' He exhaled.

'I was worried at first if I could do this and I don't want to lose him. I was reluctant to even tell Ron or Hermione, but now it's unfair to keep you out of it anymore. I owe you that much; the chance to be let in on the secret since Toby kind of lives here too.'

Following his little speech, the dormitory fell silent as the other two boys absorbed the startling information they had just been told. Dean was mostly surprised that Toby had been there the entire time without either of them noticing, and Seamus was a little peeved with not being trusted with it at first. But as they each took one closer look at the six-year-old boy and the way he was clearly so attached to Harry, everything seemed fine and they were eager to be a part of the mission.

'We won't tell anyone.' Dean decided.

'Yeah, we've got your back like you've always had ours.' Seamus nodded.

'Thanks, that means a lot.' Harry exhaled with relief. Ron and Neville felt instantly calmer as well since none of them had been too sure how the others would take to the situation.

'Toby, this is Dean and Seamus.' Harry pointed them out to the smaller boy still partially hiding against him. 'And now that they know, than this entire room and the bathroom is no longer something you have to be as careful with. We'll find a way to ward the room when we're not here so you won't ever have to worry about being discovered here.'

'We'll make him an honorary Gryffindor!' Seamus declared.

'Certainly!' Dean nodded.

'But...I'm not a Gryffindor.' Toby whispered just loudly enough for them all to hear. 'I tried that hat on and it said I would make a good...I mean, I would be...' He sighed and ducked his head with embarrassment. 'Slytherin.'

He had expected the others to instantly hate him and call him mean names because even Toby he knew that no Gryffindor liked a Slytherin. However, the boy was surprised when Dean crouched in front of him and smiled.

'Don't worry, we can change that.' He smirked.

'Absolutely.' Seamus added. 'Leave it to us.'

Toby didn't mind being a Slytherin but since they were all willing to accept him anyway, his lips parted into a smile and he nodded his head at them.

'I bet you could be a great lion!' Seamus grinned at Toby, who was already becoming more comfortable around them. 'Let me hear it.'

'What?' Toby wondered and looked up at Harry for support. 'Hear what?'

'The Gryffindor roar.' Harry smirked. 'Go on, give it a go.'

'Oh, okay.' Toby blushed. 'Rroar!'

'That's a cub's call!' Dean laughed. 'Louder!'

'Let it loose!' Seamus encouraged.

'Yeah, no one will hear you!' Ron joined in while Neville smiled to himself and returned to his textbook.

'Roarrr!' Toby said but fell into a fit of giggles halfway through.

'What do you think, Seamus?' Dean played along.

'I dunno, not quite enough Gryffindor in that roar.' Seamus shook his head with an entertained smile.

'Let them have it.' Ron joked with Toby, who was still grinning from ear to ear.

'RROAR!' Toby shouted while curling his fingers and raising his hands as though he was a beast ready to pounce. 'I'm the biggest, most strongest lion and I'm gonna eat you!' He sneered.

Laughing, Toby took off running after Seamus and Ron while Dean joined Harry's side to watch them climbing over beds, stumbling on trunks and just generally having a lot of fun with the youngest member of the dormitory.

'Why does he look so much like Snape?' Dean wondered.

'I dunno.'Harry answered and didn't want to share his theory on that subject just yet, especially not to anyone other than Ron or Hermione. 'Maybe he's just unlucky?'

'Well, how are you doing it?' Dean sighed. 'Hiding a kid in Hogwarts without anyone knowing? Not even we knew and we live here with him!'

'Dobby's my house-elf now, he's been looking after Toby while we're at class and stuff.' Harry shrugged.

'That's mostly it. Although Hermione made a bit more space under the bed for him. He mostly stays there. Neville only found out a few days ago because of Trevor hopping under there. We didn't know about that until today and it was only fair we let you two in on it as well.'

'Thanks for that.' Dean nodded. 'We won't let you down.'

'I appreciate that.' Harry said as he glanced at Toby again, who was running towards him.

'Rahh! Roar!' Toby said and grabbed onto Harry. 'I've got you!'

'Oh yeah?' Harry reached out and tickled the boy, turning Toby into a bundle of laughter as the boy shrieked at being caught and tried to squirm away. And once he had wriggled free, Toby made sure everyone was included in his game; within ten minutes all five of the Gryffindor boys were running away from or after the boy.

It was as though they had no worries in the world. The Gryffindor tower was their safety net and now with the entirety of the dormitory occupants now looking out for Toby, surely nothing could possibly go wrong while they were there.

--

Several hours later and the entire room already felt different to Harry, safer even. He had just finished writing a somewhat lengthly letter to Remus to vaguely explain that Toby was living with him in secret at Hogwarts. He added details like how the boy was also an orphan with nowhere to go and that it would break both their hearts if they were ever separated.

After watching the owl leave the warmth of their dormitory to face the colder weather outside, Harry turned to notice that everyone was clearly tired and were getting ready for bed. Toby had already moved the things from under the bed into Harry's trunk. Once he had showered, dressed in his pajamas, and brushed his teeth, Toby was finally able to settle into a real bed as he prepared for sleep.

'You sure it's okay?' Toby asked for what must have been the sixth time since he had climbed into the large bed beside Harry.

'Yes, it's fine.' Harry sighed and searched for something to distract the boy with. Spotting the book Hermione had lent the boy (The Tales of Beedle the Bard), he snatched it up and handed it to Toby since he knew the boy read it most nights before he tried to sleep.

'C-could you read it to me?' Toby whispered as he rubbed his finger over the cover. 'I always wanted to know what it would be like.'

Harry nodded as he had longed for the same thing as a child; by now he had convinced himself that he had grown out of it, and that it didn't do him any good to dwell on such things that he could never have.

'Which one?' Harry glanced at the index page and checked that most of the other boys were asleep as it was an embarrassing concept to read a kid's book aloud.

'I really like “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”, can you read that one?' Toby smiled shyly.

'Yeah, okay.' Harry nodded and watched Toby get comfortable before he began. “There once was a kindly old wizard who used his magic generously and wisely for the benefit of his neighbours. Rather than reveal the true source of his power, he pretended that his potions, charms and antidotes sprang read-made from the little cauldron he called his lucky cooking pot...”

--

When Harry had finally reach the final page involved with that story and read the last line of the tale, he glanced down at the slumbering boy who was oblivious to the silence that filled the dormitory once more.

Placing the book on his bedside table, Harry lay down under the warm sheets and stared upwards at the canopy of his bed. It had been the sort of story he'd have wanted to listen to as a child; to have someone read to him to help him sleep when things seemed a little too confusing or weird.

The tale about a kinder wizard who used his magic to help muggles and than when he died his son seemed against such, like a typical Malfoy was, and yet it was what the Wizarding world considered to be children's bedtime stories that held so much more in them than any muggle fairytale, or so Harry believed.

He had idly flipped through the book briefly before reading and had been tempted to read those stories now but fought against it as it reminded him too much that he had missed his chance; now he was too old for such traditions, and still he had no one to read to him, anyway.

His usual urge to grab his cloak and go for a wander had to be crushed the moment he'd thought of it. Harry could not leave Toby there in case the boy woke and he was gone, neither did he want to wake his roommates by summoning Dobby. And besides, Harry was meant to be endeavoring to set a better example for the boy. All his rules-breaking days had to end, or at least become dramatically minimized.

Five years of such a habit was not going to be easy to break, but any time it got hard or didn't seem worth it, Harry would look down at Toby and remember why he did it.


'I found it!' Hermione exhaled as she rushed into the dormitory the next day while the boys were fixing their ties and getting ready to head to the Great Hall for breakfast.

'What?' Ron asked and wondered if it was about Mildred Merrengold, although surely it was too soon to have found anything on that strange woman yet, even for Hermione.

'An Invisibility Charm.' Hermione smiled proudly. 'And there's a potion that's almost just as good.'

'Well, go on.' Ron frowned. 'Don't leave us in suspense.'

'It's a very old charm, not many people use it anymore because it has a very specific time span of about twelve hours. But that's fine for us. And the potion is of a notice-me-not variety, so Toby can join us for meals and no one would think anything of it.'

'Brilliant!' Ron grinned.

'Are you sure, Hermione?' Harry liked the idea of the spell but the potion seemed a bit too risky at this point.

'Of course.' Hermione rolled her eyes. 'It's flawless, well...nearly. It would take a pretty strong counter-spell to remove the potion and besides, if no one notices him than that's unlikely to happen. Unless they already know abut him.'

'Good, we can use it right now!' Ron added.

'True, I brewed this last night.' Hermione held up a vial of swirly-blue liquid. 'Mind you, it is still incredibly dangerous. Maybe we should test it first?'

'How?' Harry wondered and stared at the vial, uncertain if he liked these new options.

'How about the common room?' Ron offered.

'Wait.' Harry frowned and he didn't know where exactly his sudden thought had come from, but because he had just been thinking about what he had seen about his father in Snape's pensieve, it had him thinking. 'No one can see him then, but if they were to view their own memory later, what about that?'

Hermione pondered for a moment and realized that perhaps more research would be required. 'Gosh, you're right! I don't know.' She frowned. 'Maybe we should just use it for free time outside or something. But the charm should still work since he'll be completely invisible.'

'Like when I wear the cloak?' Toby frowned as he repeated looping his shoelaces like Harry had taught him but was still unable to make them last very long. Frustrated, he waited for Harry to notice his lack of properly tied shoes and fixed them.

'Yes.' Hermione nodded. 'But the charm will be much easier for you and more reliable.'

'Wicked.' Toby grinned up at Harry. 'May I?'

A part of Harry wanted to say “no”, and keep Toby in the dormitory for any time he wasn't with Dobby. He knew it was unfair and without these new arrangements than the boy may as well be a prisoner.

'You still have to have your lessons with Dobby.' Harry negotiated. 'So you can come to a few classes with me and maybe wander around in free time if we're not studying. People will notice the food in the Great Hall disappearing; I don't want to do this more than we should.'

'Okay.' Toby sighed, slightly disappointed, but at least he was still gaining even more freedom than before.

'You have Herbology first today, can I come to that one?' The boy asked eagerly, knowing that most of what was learned in that class contributed to making potions in some way.

Harry glanced around at his friends and wondered how bad it could possibly be; it wasn't as though Snape would be there and it was outside, not in a confined classroom right under a teacher's nose. And Sprout wasn't likely to be as much as a challenge as perhaps McGonagall could be.

'Yeah, alright.' Harry permitted. 'Have Dobby bring you breakfast. We'll come and get you once we're done.' He sighed and had a sinking feeling of regret already. He had also permitted Toby to summon Dobby whenever he needed in case he wasn't there or something had happened. The elf had been brought to tears with joy at this news, having become almost as fond of Toby as he was of Harry.

'Thanks, Harry.' Toby grinned at him.

'Just promise to behave and it'll be fine.' Harry sighed again as he watched Hermione place the charm on the boy, setting the plans for the next twelve hours.

--

They left Toby in the dormitory and headed out of their house common room to make their way down the stairs and towards the Great Hall.

'Drats!' Harry hissed when he almost stumbled over his loose shoelace several meters from their destination. He spent all of his shoe-tying skills on Toby's that he often neglected his own.

'I'll meet you there.' He huffed and bent to tie it again. His friends shrugged and moved to enter the hall and planned to save him a seat at the Gryffindor table.

Harry stood and glanced around, having had the oddest feeling that he was being watched, apart from the obvious fact that at least ten portraits had their eyes on him.

Thinking it was nothing, he turned back towards the large doors when suddenly someone left the Great Hall and strode purposefully towards the stairs. Hesitating, the Slytherin stopped and stared at Harry with a mixture of surprise and resentment.

'Potter.' He snarled.

'Malfoy.' Harry returned. 'What are doing here? Isn't your snake den in the dungeons?'

'What's it to you?' Draco scowled. 'Maybe I'd like to be early to my classes, unlike you.'

'Yeah, right.' Harry scoffed. 'What are you up to, Malfoy? Bullying first years not enough for you anymore?'

'Sod off, Potter.' Draco almost sounded tired when he said that, which had caught Harry a little off guard.

'You stay out of my business and I'll stay out of yours.' He shoved past the Gryffindor and headed towards the stairs leading to the second floor. And yet there had been a particular tone in the way he'd said his parting words that worried Harry, almost as though...

Harry swallowed and turned to watch the disappearing form of his Slytherin rival, praying to anyone he could think of that Malfoy had no idea about Toby. He couldn't help but panic, with the way he'd suggested they stay out of each others business. And too many people knew about the situation already, had one of them slipped up? Or was Harry simply being too paranoid?

Shaking his head, Harry realized that he was indeed over-reacting because there was no doubt in his mind that if Draco knew the little secret, he'd simply have told Professor Snape right away.

Entering the Great Hall, Harry not longer felt as hungry as he had several minutes ago. He sank into the space beside Dean and turned to glance at the staff's table, almost expecting to see Snape glaring back at him with a promise of ruining all of his carefully laid plans involving Toby.

Instead, the man wasn't even in sight.

Something was going on and despite his new decision to abide by the rules, Harry could not let his suspicion slip away. An idea formed in his head and Harry instantly stood from the table without touching so much of a crumb of food.

'Ron, if I'm not back in time for Herbology than tell Professor Sprout I was feeling sick and take Toby there with Dobby.' He hushed quickly.

'Harry!' Hermione hissed and leaned over the table. 'You can't miss a class!'

'I won't, it's...just in case.' Harry nodded even though it tasted of a lie; there was very little time until their lesson, but if he was likely to miss his class session...than so was Draco.

'Trust me, please.' And with that Harry departed the hall and headed straight for the second floor.

To be continued...
End Notes:
I really didn't want to split the chapters, but I see I have no choice. I will be adding the next part in a few hours as they were meant to be read together anyhow. You need to keep the events of this chapter in mine when you read the next one as they're all connected.
Please review!


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