Harry sighed heavily, fixing his glasses on his nose. Dudley relayed to him what little he knew about Snape. It seemed that the Potions Master had somehow survived being bitten by Nagini. Of course, that message made Evan immediately want to find his father.
Unfortunately, the task turned out to be a hard one. Nothing connected to Severus Snape was ever easy, Evan thought bitterly, sitting opposite Potter. It seemed that his father was not yet fully recuperated, so he decided to delay the visit to Spinner's End despite his wishes.
He'd spent the last couple of days with Potter, his half-brother, reading the pieces of paper describing his father's lifestory and habits and his current appearance.
***
Evan Prince and Harry Potter visited Spinner's End on a Autumn afternoon. They found the right house with ease, but to their disappointment nobody was home.
A woman peeked out of the next house.
'What are ya doin' here, else I call the cops!'
Harry detached his Auror badge from his robes.
'I'm a private detective. We're looking for the man who lives here' he jabbed his thumb in the direction of Snape's house 'Family matters, you know, ma'am.'
'I don't s'pose old Tobias left anythin' to his son.' The woman snorted. 'He was a drunk and wasted everythin'. He'd be sendin' his kid for beer. An' then the kid met a redhead lass and tha' last I've seen of the kid. He'd returned recently. Somewha' changed…'
'Many years passed' Harry mentioned, to divert the woman's attention from Evan.
'Yeah, tha' too, but young Snape looks like he'd been… in a war or summat. Or in a terrorist attack. He's got scars, here… and he's right gloomy. He'd always been weird, but now – don't come close if ya don't want t'get bitten. Like me man who'd lost his best mate in a war'
***
In spite of daily visits to Snape's house at Spinner's End, Evan and Harry had more luck one Sunday. Weak light seeped from behind old, tattered and dusty curtains. The men exchanged looks and then Harry used the rusty knocker. They heard footsteps and the clink of the chain being taken off. The door was opened a few centimeters wide. A dark eye stared at them above an old gun's barrel.
'Mr. Snape?' Harry asked. 'We wanted to talk…'
Any hopes that Snape had not recognized his voice were dispersed immediately. A strong hand grabbed him by his clothes and pressed him to the wall. Harry recognized Snape… more of the strong smell of Potions and the silhouette than his face because the corridor was dark.
Evan heard the click of the door closing and for a moment he thought of Harry, one-on-one with his father. He could hear raised voices. The Slytherin pushed harder on the door. As luck would have it, Snape… his father… did not yet put the chain back in place.
'Lumos' Evan muttered, lighting up the dark corridor.
He underestimated the reflexes of a man who'd spent most of his life in the shadow of death. He heard Harry's shout and he flung himself to the ground on instinct. A shot went over his ear.
'Evan! Evan, are you OK?!' Harry shouted.
Snape lowered his gun at the name Evan being mentioned and looked at both wizards more carefully.
'Give me a good reason not to shoot you dead, Potter. First you can say what you two are doing here…'
'I was hired to find his parents' Harry replied truthfully.
Snape snorted and moved his arms as if he were to point the gun again at him. Evan jumped up and caught the Professor's arm.
'Professor, he is speaking the truth…'
'I am wondering what are you doing here then, Mr. Prince, if you are looking for your parents…'
Evan saw, from the corner of his eye, Harry sigh and roll his eyes. Not really thinking, he grabbed his old teacher – the man who was his birth father – by his coat and started to shake him roughly.
'Why… did… you… never… tell… me… the… truth?!' he roared in his face, punctuating every word with a shake.
'Evan! Evan, calm down, he's wounded!' Potter caught his hands and tried to get him back in order.
The Slytherin finally let go of Snape, who leant on the wall, trying to catch his breath.
'Can you explain what you meant, Mr. Prince? This time without the manhandling…' the Professor said when he was able to.
'You know full well what I meant!!!' Evan cried.
The Potions Master only smacked his lips together in displeasure. Harry grabbed Evan's arm before he could fly off the handle again.
'Maybe I'll take the lead or otherwise we'll achieve nothing… Evan, calm down. Professor, maybe you'd like to sit down, it'll be a long story…'
'Shut up, brother, I don't recall asking your opinion' Evan exploded.
'If you called me brother at last, you can take a deep breath and ask yourself what Mum would think, were she to see us now'
Snape dropped heavily down into a chair. He was glancing at one then the other, as if trying to ascertain what sludge of a Potion they had drunk…
'You've heard right, sir. Evan Prince is a son of my mother's… Lily Evans's.'
'Was it to be a joke? If it was, it was a very poor one. Tell the Weasleys to improve the level of their pranks.'
'Professor, it is not a prank of George's. Evan has papers that prove it… besides, it's enough to look at his eyes.'
Evan felt the Professor's gaze on himself and was surprised to note that it softened… for a while.
'I am wondering who would be Mr. Prince's father, then? He does not look like your father, Potter.'
'No surprise. His father was not James Potter.'
'Who then?' Snape laughed derisively. 'Lily was not…'
Evan coughed and fixed his hard stare on the Potions Master.
'You haven't guessed by now?' he ran a hand through his dark hair 'Look in the mirror'
A moment later he regretted his words – Snape's face had lost all color. He looked more like a wax figure than a man.
'It is not funny, Mr. Prince' he'd managed to utter.
'It is no joke. I was born in the summer of 1978'
Snape fixed his gaze on him, one that Evan was not able to read. The Professor was moving his lips, but seemed unable to voice anything. The Slytherin decided he will not leave any more doubts.
'You are my father, sir.'

END