Severus came back shortly with the tea, handing Harry one mug and keeping the other as he moved to sit in his armchair. He did have a proper tea service, of course, but he rarely used it. “You may start,” he said, gesturing for Harry to speak. He knew that the boy would have questions, and while he had a few questions of his own, they mostly involved the Dursleys, Black, and their living arrangements. He could wait until after the boy had asked his questions.

Harry took a sip of his tea while he tried to think about where to start. He had so many questions for the man across from him, he honestly wasn’t sure where to begin. “Who is my mother? What would my real name had been? Why did Dumbledore take me from you? Did my parents…I mean, did James and Lily know that I wasn’t their son?” The questions tumbled out without his permission, and he stopped when Snape raised a hand, asking for silence.

“I do not know if Potter or Lily knew that you are not their son,” Severus admitted. “You would need to ask the Headmaster for the answer, but I am sure that could wait.” Waiting for a nod of confirmation from Harry, he took a drink of his tea and continued. “I also do not know why Dumbledore stole you from me, although I can make assumptions, it is also something we would need to ask the Headmaster later.”

Now for the slightly more complicated questions, more complicated only because they were painful for him and because the boy had been raised by muggles, and likely hadn’t been instructed in this particular facet of the magical world yet.

“Your name would have been Henry Oliver Snape. As for your mother…if you wish to know who carried and birthed you, I did. There is a potion, which you will learn how to brew in your seventh year, that allows two wizards or two witches to conceive a child together. Understandably, it is slightly more complicated for the two witches, but the process is the same otherwise. The child will be the product of its parents, will have genetics from both of them.”

Harry gaped at Snape, his mind automatically trying to come up with a picture of the feared potions master waddling through the halls of Hogwarts, heavily pregnant. He shook his head, Snape likely hadn’t started teaching until afterwards, but it was still a lot for him to take in. Nothing like that was possible in the muggle world, and while he was glad that couples would still be able to have a kid that was fully theirs genetically, it was a lot to take in.

Severus didn’t interrupt, drinking his tea and preparing himself for the questions that he knew would follow once the boy had come to terms with the information he had just been given. After a few minutes thought, he summoned a book, handing it over to Harry. “That should help explain the process slightly better, if you need further information.”

Harry accepted the book, flipping through it for a few minutes before closing it again. He’d read it later, it seemed like it would be a good way to answer the lingering questions he had about how it worked, but right now he had other questions.

“So, if men have to take the potion to be able to be…pregnant, does that mean that you were actually trying for a baby?” Harry asked, looking at the professor curiously. He would have never expected Snape to be the type who wanted kids, but the professor had already surprised him several times today, so he thought he was beyond being shocked by anything he would find out.

Severus shook his head. “No, I was not. I was nineteen when you were conceived, twenty when you were born. I had gotten sick, and I was out of my head with a fever. My partner had gone to the apothecary to get potions for me, but the man mixed up one of the vials. I, obviously, was in no state to notice, and L-my partner was not competent with potions. He disliked brewing because of what the fumes could do to your skin and hair.”

Harry nodded, accepting that. If Snape was out of it, it wasn’t like he would have been able to tell that he was being fed the wrong potions. If he was fully with it, Harry didn’t doubt that the mishap would have never occurred. “What happened?”

“My partner and I were not…open, about our relationship,” Severus admitted, thinking back. The time when their son was conceived had been the last time they had done anything together.

“You must understand, Severus, I have a responsibility to my father. I need to marry a witch of good standing and provide my family with an heir,” Lucius said. There was regret in his tone and in his eyes, Severus could see it, but it clearly wasn’t enough to make Lucius change his mind.

“There is nothing I can say that will convince you otherwise,” Severus said, keeping his hurt feelings locked behind his shields. He would not break down or cause a spectacle in front of Lucius Malfoy. Regardless of his feelings for the man, he was not that weak.

“No, I am sorry Severus. Narcissa and I are going to be married in a week’s time,” Lucius admitted. He had wanted one last night with Severus before he broke the news. He knew the man was too stubborn and proud to consent to bed a married man, and he would not go against his father’s wishes. Perhaps Severus was content to live in poverty, to work and scrimp and save to make a better life for himself, but Lucius had never been the type to do so.

“Congratulations,” Severus said flatly, turning on the spot and disapparating.

Severus shook his head, coming out of the memory. “My partner and I separated shortly after you were conceived, not that we had known of you at the time. He was from an old pureblood family, he needed to marry someone else of good standing and produce an heir. I am a halfblood, my father was a muggle although my mother was of the Prince line. He would have been disowned if he had been open with our relationship, and he was not the type to do well in poverty.”

Harry wanted to ask who his other parent was, if Snape had told them when he’d realized that he was pregnant, but he could see that this wasn’t an easy conversation for the potions master to be having. He would get his answers, but for once he needed to reign in his impatience and curiosity and let the man tell it when he was ready.

“So, he and I went our separate ways, and I continued my mastery studies. One month later, when I was feeling ill enough to justify a healer, I was told that I was pregnant,” Severus continued, shaking his head. “You can imagine my shock, I am sure. It is what led me to research how it had happened, finding that the apothecary had made a mistake with my potions. Once I had my answers in that regard, I went home, and spent quite a long time considering what I would do.”