“My dear boy, you must understand,” Dumbledore said, holding up his hands placatingly, looking at the furious wizard across from him. “It was…”

“If you even attempt to say that it was for the ‘greater good’, I will submit my resignation here and now and my son will be transferred to a different school,” Severus snapped, folding his arms over his chest and looking down his nose at the old wizard.

“Harry, dear boy, you can understand why I did this, can’t you?” Dumbledore asked, switching his attention to the boy who was sitting beside Severus. “The prophecy stated that you would be the one to vanquish Voldemort. You needed to be raised…”

“By people who hated me?” Harry asked, scowling. “By people who locked me up, refused to give me meals, and punished me for accidental magic?”

Severus looked like he wanted to say something to that, especially getting an explanation on what sort of punishment the Dursley’s used. He had known that Petunia should have never been trusted to raise Potter. But, he was cut off by Harry before he could.

“I thought my parents were dead! Snape thought his son was dead!” In hindsight, Snape’s treatment of him made sense. He was born on the same day as Snape’s son, not to mention the child of someone he hated. His son had ‘died’ at the same time that Harry was ‘born’. It was enough to make most people in his position bitter. “I thought that I had no one.” The last was said in a quiter tone.

“When James and Lily perished, you needed to be raised by someone who would groom you to be the Savior,” Dumbledore said, looking down at his desk

“By making me feel like I was unwanted and worthless?”

“That is his standard reaction,” Severus sneered, thinking back to Dumbledore’s ‘you disgust me’ when he had come to him, asking to be able to switch sides. “The best pawns are the ones who are blindly loyal and will do anything for the cause. If blind loyalty isn’t enough, guilt is a wonderful motivator as well.”

Harry wondered what personal experience Snape had with that, there was too much disgust and bitterness in his voice for anything else, but he didn’t have time to ponder it long before Snape was speaking again.

“Well no more, Dumbledore. He is not going to be your precious savior because of a half-baked prophecy given by a drunken seer. He is going to be a normal boy.”

“Severus, you know as well as I that Voldemort…”

“Can be, and should be, fought by adults. The boy is still a child, and he will not be made into a savior just because you wish to relive the past. Wars are fought, and won, by adults, not young wizards who haven’t even finished school.”

Harry watched the two of them, not speaking up at the moment. Mostly, he was stunned that Snape, regardless of the fact that he was apparently his son, was standing up for him. And it sounded like the man had given this argument before. Apparently even though Snape hadn’t liked him when he thought he was Harry Potter, the man also hadn’t wanted him to die.

“Harry must go back to Private Drive, the blood wards…”

“Are rubbish, because he is no more related to Petunia Dursley than I am,” Severus refuted. “He is my son, and he will be spending the summer with me, unless he wishes to go back to his ‘relatives’.”

Both wizards looked over at Harry, who was having a hard time not laughing at the disgust in Snape’s voice when he said ‘relatives’. He didn’t know how the man had known the Dursleys, but clearly he didn’t like them anymore than Harry himself did.

That brought about another question, however. Did he want to go home with Snape? The man was cold, sarcastic, and bitter. But Harry was learning that there was a good reason behind the bitterness, and so far the man hadn’t sneered at him or obliquely insulted him since they had found out that he was Snape’s son.

With the Dursleys, he knew what to expect, and how to avoid the worst of their temper. He didn’t know what Snape would do if he was punished, or what the man would make him do.

“Potter…I cannot claim to be a perfect parent,” Severus said, looking down at the boy. “But I will not physically harm you.” Even if he had raised the boy from a baby, as he had originally planned, he wouldn’t have used much corporal punishment. He had endured too much at the hands of his father to be confident that he could use corporal punishment without it turning into abuse. “You will have chores, as I will not have you lazing about all summer, and if you have gotten less than an Advanced in any subject, I will tutor you until you are capable of grasping the material, but you will also have time to yourself.” He may consider allowing the boy’s friends to visit, but he wasn’t sure. If nothing else, he could visit them instead.

Harry considered that, looking over at Fawkes rather than either of the adult wizards. He wasn’t looking forward to tutoring in History of Magic, and possibly Divination although he was sure that Snape had the same opinion that McGonagall did about that particular class, but he could admit that it was fair. Most of his friends and classmates talked about their parents giving them chores, and it wasn’t like he wasn’t used to it. Snape had already promised that he wouldn’t beat him, and that was better than anything he could say about the Dursleys. And Snape had promised that he would have time to himself which, again, was better than anything the Dursleys would do. Snape seemed to actually care about him, or, at least, he had cared about his son. He didn’t have anything to lose trying this, and maybe…maybe something good could come out of it.

“I want to go with you,” Harry said, looking up Snape. He would try it, see how Snape treated him now that they were apparently related. He wanted a family, he wanted someone who cared about whether or not he was alive. Snape was already trying to protect him, going against Dumbledore and saying that Harry wasn’t going to fight Voldemort anymore. If the man was already protecting him, he could at least see where this would go.

Severus nodded, inwardly relieved. He knew that they would have to have very many conversations over the course of the summer, explaining how Harry had been conceived and what his plans had been, not to mention the damage that had been done by his actions over the past five years and whatever the Dursleys had done to him.

For now, however, he turned, gesturing to Harry. “Come, you need to fetch your trunk.” The other students had already left on the train roughly an hour ago, but they didn’t need the train to get to his home. His things were already packed, and he had no doubt that the boy was the same. All they needed to do was collect their belongings and leave the grounds so they could apperate. Where they were going, no witch or wizard, not even Albus Dumbledore or Tom Riddle, would be able to find them.

Harry nodded, getting up and following his black robed professor out of the room. He didn’t know where they were going, but anywhere would be better than going back to the Dursleys. For now, he would just need to trust Snape. The questions could wait until they were wherever the professor stayed for the summer.

Harry went up to Gryffindor tower while Severus went down to the dungeons. Both retrieved their belongings, but they also took a moment to sit and think.

Harry thought about his life, how different it would have been if he had been raised by Snape. The man was strict, he knew that wouldn’t change, but it was clear that he had loved his son, and would have done anything for him. Would Snape have still been a spy? Would he still be with whoever his partner was? What would it have been like, going to school like a normal person, not worrying about anything other than his grades and spending time with his friends? What would it have been like, growing up knowing that magic exists, not being punished for his accidental magic? He had no doubt that he would have known how to at least brew the Boil Cure potion by the time he started Hogwarts, but what else would have changed? Would he have grown up in Hogwarts, spending the school year here because his father was teaching and then going home during the summers? He shook his head, picking up Hedwig’s cage and using the Featherlight spell on his trunk so that he could carry it easier. Dwelling on the past wouldn’t help them now, but he couldn’t help feeling cheated. He would have had a completely different, maybe even better, life.

Severus, once he was in his rooms, sat in the armchair by the fire and buried his head in his hands. His son was alive. Harry Potter was the son he’d thought dead almost sixteen years ago. The small plot was in the same cemetery as his mother, the small marker proclaiming Henry Snape dead on the same day that he was born. And he was alive, Severus had been mourning for nearly sixteen years because of Albus Dumbledore and his bloody stupid plans. Well, no more. The Boy Who Lived no longer existed, and Dumbledore could take care of Voldemort himself. Severus would still spy, of course, but he was an adult. Potter was only a teenager, not even of age or finished with his schooling. He was not going to allow Dumbledore to use the boy as a pawn, not anymore. He hadn’t had the right to contradict the man before, Potter wasn’t related to him. Well, now that the old man’s lies had been uncovered, Severus found himself with much more say. He wasn’t going to lose his son a second time, not so Dumbledore could relive the old days where fifteen year olds were heroes. In those days, however, fifteen was a man as they only lived to thirty or forty. The boy had a long life ahead of him, and Severus would ensure that he was able to live it. He shook off the melancholy, picking up his shrunken belongings and putting them in his pocket. He could shrink the boy’s trunk and broom for him, it would make it easier, and it might be best to let the owl fly. She would be able to find her way to wherever Potter was, and most animals disliked apparition.

He made his way up to the entrance hall, unsurprised to see the boy already waiting for him. A wave of his wand was all that was necessary to shrink the trunk and broom, and Potter put the now dice sized trunk in his pocket.

Harry let Hedwig out of her cage when the professor explained that it would be better for her to fly on her own, and she seemed content with that. He let Snape shrink the cage and put it in his pocket with the trunk and broom, before following the man out of Hogwarts.

“Have you ever had someone side-along apparate you?” Severus asked, looking down at Potter. He was going to need to stop calling him that, but it was a very hard habit to break.

Harry shook his head. “Mr. Weasley would have, when I needed to go to the ministry, but since I was there for a case about underage magic, he decided that muggle transport would be best.”

Severus tipped his head in acknowledgement. He could agree with that, the minister would have likely used any excuse in that travesty of a trial. The man was an idiot, and he likely would not be in office for much longer.

Severus let them out of the gates, leading Potter away from the wards. “Take my arm,” he requested once they were outside of the wards.

Harry gripped the man’s forearm tightly, not bothering to ask why. He’d likely have his answer in a minute. That thought was proven correct when he felt a sensation like being squeezed through a tube, the feeling seeming to last far longer than the few seconds it likely took before he landed on his knees on grass, Snape standing beside him.

Severus looked down at Potter…Harry, unsurprised that the boy looked vaguely ill. The first instance was never easy, especially considering that the boy had never really had much explanation about what to expect. “Do you need a stomach soother?”

Harry didn’t bother to get up or look around at first, closing his eyes and focusing on not being sick. He shook his head at Snape’s question, opening his eyes and getting to his feet after a moment. “I’m fine.” And he was curious, looking around and seeing that they were in a park, in a secluded section where it was unlikely that they would be seen. Snape started walking after that, and Harry followed him, looking around curiously.

Severus led Harry down the street, ignoring the few rundown houses. His neighbor took pride in his home, however, so it was in good shape, as was his own home. He led Harry past the garden, flowers in the front, and muggle plants that could be used in potions in the back, and up the few steps to his porch, unlocking the door with his key and allowing Harry to enter.

Harry looked around, surprised by how normal it looked. The front room had a sofa and two comfortable looking leather armchairs beside the fireplace. There were bookshelves along the wall, filled with muggle books as far as Harry could tell, and he could see a staircase, and a bit of the kitchen. “It’s nice,” he said, after a moment.

Severus was carefully altering the wards, allowing Hedwig to come through the wards while keeping all other owls out. When he went home, he was not going to be found by any wizards. It was why the place was warded as tightly as it was. “No one from the wizarding world will be able to find us here. If you write to your friends at any point, do not tell them where we are, and remind them that they need to send the letter with Hedwig rather than their owls.”

Harry nodded, accepting that. He wasn’t surprised that there were wards in place, Snape would have never survived as a spy without them most likely. He was surprised that he would be able to write his friends, but relieved that Snape wasn’t going to do what the Dursleys had done and try to prevent him from having any contact with his friends.

Severus cleared his throat, looking over at Harry. “I am aware that you will have questions, as do I. I will make tea, and then we can have our discussion. I will show you to your room afterwards.” It would most likely be quite late by the time they finished speaking, as they both had questions and he had no doubt that Harry would have questions about who his other parent was.

Harry moved to sit on the sofa when Snape gestured for him to sit, watching the man head to the kitchen to make tea. Now he’d get answers to his questions, as much as Snape knew. He was actually looking forward to it, finding out about everything that had happened before Dumbledore had stepped in.

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.”

“I am what?” Severus asked, staring at the healer in shock. He had expected to be told that he had food poisoning, or that he had gotten the flu. Anything but this.

“You’re pregnant, Mr. Snape,” the healer said calmly, fetching the different pamphlets the man would need. They would tell him what potions to take, how to cope with the morning sickness, and how often he needed to see a healer, as well as recommending books that would explain the topics in more depth. “Your partner will be pleased, I have no doubt. I’ve known couples who’ve taken that potion for months before they conceived.”

No, Severus thought wryly, no Lucius will not be pleased. He is enjoying newlywed bliss with the new Mrs. Malfoy, and likely trying for a child with her. If he found out that he had a child with me…

Severus shook his head, accepting the pamphlets from the healer and scheduling his next appointment before leaving. He needed time alone to think, to decide what he was going to do next.

Pacing in his living room for over an hour only cemented one thought in his mind. He was not going to tell Lucius. The man would never claim their child, the product of a relationship with a halfblood. Abraxas Malfoy would never accept it, and Lucius would do nothing without his father’s approval.

He moved to sit at the table, beginning to write out the list of things he would need for the baby. He would need to put his mastery studies on hold, some of the potions they would have him brewing had fumes that were harmful to the baby if he inhaled them. He would need to find something else, something in the muggle world if necessary. He had completed his muggle schooling while going to Hogwarts, he’d needed a backup in case something went wrong and he’d needed to leave the wizarding world.

Summoning the newspaper, he turned to the help wanted section. He could work as a substitute teacher, at least for chemistry. It was close enough to potions that he would be able to do it. There was also an opening at the general store, and another in the library. Any of those jobs would pay well enough for him to be able to afford things for the baby and medical expenses until he was able to continue his studies. He made a note to check out each of them the next day, and then went back to planning out what he would need to take care of the baby. He was not going to go into this unprepared.

---

“Once I had come to terms with the pregnancy, I decided that I would not tell your other father, as he was already married to a woman who his family approved of,” Severus continued, shaking his head to banish the memory. Potter did not need to know everything that went through his mind. “I knew that I could not continue my mastery studies, many fumes are harmful if inhaled while pregnant, so I resolved to find a job in the muggle world. At the time, I was not showing, so there was nothing to conceal. I planned to use glamor charms once I became further along, to hide my pregnancy from the muggles as they would not understand otherwise.”

Harry nodded, he didn’t think any muggles who had encountered Snape while pregnant would have drawn the correct conclusion. He was surprised that the man had decided to work as a muggle when his studies needed to be put on hold, but it did make sense. Especially if he wasn’t going to tell the other parent.

“Why didn’t you tell him anyway? I mean…I was his child too, didn’t he deserve to know? Or would he…would he have claimed that I wasn’t his?” That was a sickening thought, but he had seen how some purebloods could be. Blood status meant everything, and a child who’s parent was a halfblood…they would not be accepted by many purebloods.

Severus sighed, setting his mug aside. “He was in line to inherit his family’s fortune when his father passed. He was the man’s only son, and as long as he did what his father wanted, he would remain the heir. His father wanted him to marry a pureblood witch and have a child, so that is what he did. He would not have accepted you while his father was alive, because the old man would have never accepted you.” And, at that point, Abraxas’ approval meant everything to Lucius.

“Did he…do I…I mean, did he have a kid? Do I have a…half-brother or sister?” It was a weird thought, especially if the other person had known about him, or at least about Henry Snape, and had known that they could have had a half-brother if he hadn’t ‘died’.

“He and his wife conceived a child shortly after they married, with the aid of fertility potions.” When two purebloods married, it was increasingly common for them to need fertility potions to conceive, as the gene pool kept getting smaller and smaller as many of them would only marry and have children with other purebloods. “In January, I received a letter from him, informing him that his wife was pregnant and that he wished for me to be the godfather of his child. At that point, I was three months pregnant while his wife was barely one, so it was an awkward position for me. I had stayed out of the wizarding world for the most point once I had discovered my pregnancy, and so I had not seen him since we had separated. Still, he seemed inclined to salvage our friendship if nothing else, and after much thought I agreed to be his son or daughter’s godfather.”

Harry thought that that would have been a bit cruel, as though the man was rubbing his happy life in Snape’s face, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t know the particulars of the relationship, before or after he was conceived, so he didn’t know what had happened. Still, he thought it had probably hurt Snape, having to agree to be the godfather of his partner’s child while his partner would be nothing at all to their own. “So, you were going to raise me by yourself?”

“That was the plan initially, yes,” Severus admitted. “But life has a way of changing one’s plans. Especially when one runs into his former partner and said partner’s wife while shopping for baby clothes.”

Harry blinked, looking at his potions professor in shock. “You ran into them while you were shopping for baby things?” He couldn’t really imagine Snape shopping for baby things at all, but the man had been determined to raise his son himself, so he would have needed to do the shopping and things as well as going to the scans by himself. He couldn’t imagine doing it, in all honesty. He would have wanted the other parent to be there, if he was the one pregnant, and he would have wanted to be there every step of the way for his partner if he or she was pregnant. Granted, his dating life wasn’t the best right now, so he had awhile before he needed to worry about it, but he felt bad that Snape had gone through it all alone.

“I was five months pregnant, and I had a list of baby things I still needed to pick up. I had already browsed the muggle shops, and I planned to do the same to those in the wizarding world,” Severus replied. He planned on comparing the two, seeing where the best quality and the best value lay. He had decided that the child would have a mixture of muggle and wizarding things, not that the baby would have cared one way or the other at first.

Harry nodded, he guessed that would make sense. Snape was a wizard who had, apparently, been raised in the muggle world. It made sense that he would want to use things from both worlds for his son.

“There was a small shop, off the beaten track, that I had heard had good quality clothing for both parents and infants at a reasonable rate. I needed to find clothing that would be acceptable in the muggle world while also accommodating my growing waistline, as well as looking into some of the clothing,” Severus admitted. “What I did not know was that my former partner and his wife knew of the same shop, and had decided to go there to keep away from the press. They planned to keep the pregnancy secret until after it passed fourteen weeks. The owner of the shop respected her customer’s privacy and thus there was little chance of her running to the Prophet with the news.”

---

Severus browsed the pregnancy section of the shop, looking for clothing that would fit him as he continued to grow and would also tolerate the daily spells cast to hide his growing waistline. At the moment, he had the charms undone, and his black trousers and white dress shirt did little to hide the fact that he was, indeed, pregnant. His black robe did a better job of hiding it, but it was tossed over his arm for the moment as he assembled a few outfits that would be suitable for the muggle world while also being forgiving to his body’s changes.He smiled faintly when he felt the baby moving, pressing his hand to the spot. The child, a boy he had recently learned, was quite active, on the move from morning until night. He seemed to enjoy being spoken to, and Severus, although feeling a bit foolish, had taken to reading his books and potions journals aloud in the evening. He had read that babies enjoyed and were comforted by the sound of their parents’ voices, so he did his best, regardless of how foolish he had felt initially, to read aloud for at least a short time each night, as well as talking to the child when he was alone.

The bell above the door chimed as someone else entered, and Severus paid them no mind, finishing collecting the clothes that he planned to try on, but a too familiar voice, shock evident as he spoke, stopped him.

“Severus?” Lucius Malfoy, when Severus turned to face him, looked much the same as he had the last time they spoke. His robes were still extravagant, and there was nary a hair out of place. He carried a cane now, which he had no doubt was hiding his wand, and his wedding band gleamed on his finger. Beside him was the new Mrs. Malfoy, Narcissa. Her robes were equally extravagant, her hair perfectly coiffed, but she looked a little green still. Morning sickness was apparently still running rampant for her, he mused.

“Hello, Lucius,” Severus replied. “And Mrs. Malfoy, you are looking well.” He hated what had happened, hated that blood was all that separated them, her carrying the Malfoy heir and he carrying a child that would not be acknowledge by its other father, but he had heard that Narcissa was no more happy with this marriage than he was. He did not know the particulars, of course, he had never been one for gossip, but he’d heard that the former Ms. Black had been in a relationship with someone her mother deemed entirely unsuitable, thus the marriage to Lucius had been arranged.

He turned back to his shopping, pleasantries out of the way, but he was stopped by a hand on his arm. Long experience being touched by Lucius was the only reason he hadn’t pulled his wand. He hated when others touched him when his back was turned.

“Severus, the child…is it mine?” Lucius could only estimate, given by how far along he thought Severus was, but he couldn’t understand how the other had gotten pregnant. Unless he had been taking the potion secretly?

“There was a mishap when you retrieved my potions several months ago,” Severus said simply. “I inquired once I discovered the pregnancy, as I did not take the potion myself. As a result, the next time that I shared a bed with a man, I became pregnant.”

It was an out, Lucius realized. Severus didn’t plan to make a fuss, didn’t plan to force him to claim the child. He had made all of the preparations himself and likely would continue to do so, and hadn’t planned to tell him at all. If they hadn’t run into each other now, he possibly would have never known that Severus was pregnant.

“It’s yours, isn’t it?” Narcissa asked, watching Severus go to the back of the store and into one of the dressing rooms. “His child, it’s yours.” She knew that Lucius had been with Severus, just as she had been with another before their marriage. Neither of them were able to choose their spouse, to marry for love, as that was simply not done. They were told who they would marry, and they either accepted it or were disowned.

“It is,” Lucius admitted, moving with Narcissa to look at baby clothes. She had enough robes and dresses for now, she simply had wanted to see about things for their child.

“We could set up an account for him. Your father would believe that it is because he is going to be our son’s godfather,” Narcissa pointed out. She believed the child would be a boy, simply because it had been a few generations since there had been a female born to the Malfoy family.

“If he notices,” Lucius added. Abraxas’ health was slowly declining, a bad case of dragon pox shortly after the wedding had left him weak. Lucius didn’t think that his father had much time left. If the man lived long enough to see his grandson’s third birthday, Lucius would be surprised.

“Still, I doubt that Severus is able to work much at present,” Narcissa mused, picking up an outfit that was a brilliant emerald green. “He can use it to buy things for the child, or for himself. Children can be expensive.” That was one thing that neither she nor Lucius needed to worry about, the Malfoys had more than enough money and Lucius was a smart investor.

“If we can convince him to accept it, perhaps that would be for the best,” Lucius mused, watching Severus emerge from the dressing rooms and move to pay. The man was stubborn and proud, but Lucius had years of subtly giving Severus gifts even though the younger man hated when he was in someone’s debt. He had no doubt that they would be able to work something out, regardless of how stubborn he knew Severus Snape could be.

“So what happened after you ran into him in the shop?” Harry asked, breaking Severus out of his memories once again.

“I confirmed that you were indeed his while also stating that I had no desire to make the considerable fuss that many would attempt to,” Severus replied. “I knew that, no matter what I did, his name would not be on your birth certificate, and I had already come to terms with that. Our relationship had been good, while it lasted, but it was not a situation I would have wanted to bring a child into. He had abandoned us, and even knowing of your existence did nothing to convince him to make a statement. He did, however, offer money.”

“Money?” Harry asked, confused. The man wouldn’t admit that he was his son publicly, but he would give Snape money?

“He wanted to ‘ensure that you had the proper resources to care for a child’,” Severus replied, quoting the line that Lucius had attempted to feed to him. “It was a way to help alleviate his guilt. I told him to keep his galleons as we did not need them.” His muggle job had paid well enough to cope with his expenses while he was unable to brew. “I had planned to quit and return to my studies and re-open my owl order potions business once you were a few months old.”

Harry could see the sense in that. Babies cost a lot, and a potions master would make more than an apprentice or whatever Snape was at the time.  Obviously, that plan wasn’t needed, thanks to what Dumbledore had done, but Harry had another question. “Who was he? Your partner?” Harry wasn’t going to call the other man his father, even if he managed to be comfortable enough with Snape to call the man Dad, or something like it. Snape would have done his best to raise him, the other man wouldn’t have wanted anything to do with him because of his blood status.

Severus debated on whether or not he should answer that. Harry already knew that he was a spy, and knowing that his partner had been Lucius Malfoy…it had been Lucius who had convinced Severus to join the Death Eaters in the first place and once in, he hadn’t been able to leave. Still, he could tell that the boy wanted to know, and he wasn’t going to keep it from him. Too many people had lied to Harry so far, and he was not going to do so now that they were, however tentatively, building a relationship. “Lucius Malfoy.”

Whatever Harry had been expecting, that certainly wasn’t it. He was glad that he’d already finished his tea, otherwise he likely would have embarrassed himself in front of Snape by spitting it out. “Malfoy?! I’m related to Draco?!”

Despite his own reservations, Severus couldn’t help a small amount of amusement at the boy’s reaction. The look of repulsed horror on his face was nearly comical. “Lucius Malfoy, yes, and if you had been claimed, your half-brother would have indeed been Draco.”

Harry made a face at the thought. Growing up to be a spoiled, entitled brat like Dudley and Draco, ordering around house elves and making fun of muggleborns. “Not a chance.”

Severus actually chuckled at that, the sound slightly rusty as it had been some time since he’d last had a reason to use it. “It would not have happened, Harry. Lucius would not and did not claim you, so I would have raised you on my own. “

Harry had a comment ready for that, but paused when he realized something. “You called me Harry.” Snape had never called him that before, it was always ‘Potter’.

Severus blinked, and then his expression turned from amusement to wariness. “You are my son. Perhaps you were not raised as Henry, and I certainly intend to hold your miserable relatives accountable for everything they did to you, but that does not change the fact that you are my son, and calling you Potter would be pointless.” They would need to have a discussion about names at a later time, for now their main concern was seeing if their relationship could be repaired enough to tolerate living together.

Harry accepted that, fiddling with his mug just so that he had something to do with his hands while he tried to come to terms with what he’d heard. He would have more time later, hopefully, to talk to Snape about it, right now he wanted to go back to a relatively simpler question.

“So, when Mr. Malfoy tried to give you money…was it like a bribe? ‘I’ll help you support our son as long as you don’t tell anyone that he’s mine?” That sounded like something a Malfoy would do, in Harry’s experience. They seemed the type to throw money at a problem to make it go away.

Severus sighed softly, setting down his empty mug. “I believe that Lucius and Narcissa were honest in their intentions with the offer of money, they were not as arrogant and cold as they are not. They were arrogant, I will not deny that, but they have gotten worse as the years have passed.” They all had changed, one way or the other, as the years had passed. “I also am not foolish enough that I don’t know that Lucius hoped that by giving me the money, it would put paid to any ideas I had about having him claim you publicly.”

“Which you didn’t want,” Harry pointed out, Severus nodding.

“Precisely. Lucius has always been as proud as a bloody peacock, he actually believed that I took the potion deliberately to become pregnant with his child, until I corrected him. He hoped that giving me money would ensure that I had no reason to want to give you the Malfoy name. And cemented the fact that I did not wish for him to be more than an acquaintance.”

Harry couldn’t blame the professor for that. If someone had walked out on him, abandoned him for someone ‘respectable’, and then tried to give him money to ‘help’ him while also trying to buy his silence…Harry would have told the man to shove his money where the sun didn’t shine, and he wasn’t surprised that Snape had done the same.

“What happened next?” Harry asked, curious to have the rest of the story. He wanted to know what else had happened to his father before he was born, and he really wanted to know how Dumbledore had managed to convince Snape that he was dead and convince Lily and James Potter that he was their son.

“I continued my work in the muggle world, coping with the pregnancy fairly well although I did miss my brewing,” Severus admitted. Harry could understand that, it was like him and flying. “It was one night in June, slightly over one month before my due date, that I received an urgent letter from Lucius. Narcissa had gone into labor early, and the doctors were unsure if their son would survive.”

Severus rubbed his back, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on the small footstool. After a day on his feet, he usually spent the rest of the night sitting with his feet propped up, getting up only when the baby sent him to the bathroom or when he was going to make food. It seemed he was always craving something now, although he wasn’t surprised. His body and magic were nourishing the baby as well as himself, so it would require more energy, and thus more fuel, than it would ordinarily.

An owl tapping at the window started him out of his thoughts, and made him remember that he was planning to add anti-owl wards to the list of wards he’d already cast on his house. A flick of his wand was enough to unlock and open the window, letting the owl fly over and drop the letter in his lap. He summoned a treat for the bird, feeding it and then turning to the letter.

He recognized the stationary and penmanship, of course. He had become well familiar with them during his years with Lucius. The owl was new, but it was quite likely that Lucius had simply bought a new owl, as his was getting on in years. Merlin forbid that Lucius Malfoy have anything that isn’t perfect.

His musings are brought to a halt when he reads the contents of the letter. Narcissa had gone into labor, the healers had been unable to stop it, and their son had been born. There was little that the healers could do, he knew well the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of the potions used on premature newborns. He had already made notes in several different potions books, plans to fix existing potions and to make new and better ones.

Unsurprisingly, the Malfoys were asking for his help. They wanted him to make new potions for their son, to try to help him survive. It was clear they were desperate, as Severus hadn’t had any contact with the Malfoys since the conversation about the money.

Severus set the letter aside, resting a hand on his stomach, feeling his son moving around, as best as he could in the increasingly limited space. Two of the potions would be safe for him, even with his additions, so he wouldn’t need to take any precautions. The other three, however…the fumes could harm his son, and he didn’t want to risk that.

As bitter as he was over the separation, he did not want to force the Malfoys through the pain of losing their child. Whether or not they deserved it, the child deserved the chance. And he would fully blame the hormones for that thought, but he couldn’t help it at the moment.

He would not risk his son’s life, however, so he would need to find a way to brew without worry over inhaling the fumes. Perhaps a carefully applied bubblehead charm would work. He would need to change his clothing, the fumes often clung to his clothes, so he would simply wear one of his old potions’ robes, enlarged of course, and he would take care of it when it wasn’t dangerous for his son.

“Just this once, little one,” he murmured, getting to his feet with a soft groan. “You will have your first experience with potions. At least I do not have to worry about you sneaking into my lab after this.” He could see that in the future, the curious imp would try to go back down whenever his back was turned, because he would be curious about all of the different vials, ingredients, caldrons and books. Still, as the child was still three weeks from being born and it would be at least a year after that before the child was mobile, so there was little point in dwelling on it now.

Mostly, he was stalling because he was worried. His bubblehead charm would prevent the fumes from getting to him, his robes were specially made for potions masters to wear and had a myriad of protective spells woven into the fabric. It didn’t stop him from worrying, however, but he gritted his teeth and went down to his lab.

---

“Draco was born early?” Harry asked, surprised. He wouldn’t have believed it, the arrogant prat who tormented him and his friends whenever they were in school had nearly died as a baby. “You saved his life?”

“The potions I brewed helped to keep him stable until he’d grown enough to make up for his missed growth in the womb,” Severus said, shaking his head. “He needed to be dosed daily, initially. Once he began to improve, the frequency decreased. It took months, of course, but he was eventually a healthy child. The potions I created to help him were the first that I patented once I received my Mastery. My correction of the other potions used for him were the next I submitted. Of course, that was after…”

“After you thought I was dead,” Harry finished softly, noticing the pain on Snape’s face. From what he’d heard, the man would have been a good father. He couldn’t believe that he was saying that about his terrifying potions professor, but it was the truth. He thought that Snape would have been a good father, that he would have been strict, obviously, but he would have also been fair in his treatment of his son.

“What happened? How did it happen that you thought…?”

Severus sighed softly. “I hadn’t expected that you would arrive when you did. I was visiting Draco in the nursery at the hospital when I began having contractions. I left before Lucius or Narcissa could notice, going back to my home to wait until the time had passed that I was far enough along to justify them keeping me. On my way out, I passed Albus Dumbledore, not that I had cared at the time.” He had been too taken up with the thought that he was finally going to meet his son to care why Dumbledore was pacing the ward. Now, of course, he could look back and curse himself, but then all he had cared about was going home and ensuring that everything was ready for Henry’s arrival.

“We will have to go to Hogwarts, to talk to the meddling old man, to get the full story,” Severus warned. He was stalling, he knew that. This was a difficult conversation for him, remembering the day when he had lost his son. Talking about the pregnancy had been difficult enough, but recounting Henry’s birth…”Perhaps we can go tomorrow, as it is too late to go tonight. I will clear out the spare room so that you will have somewhere to sleep.”

Harry wanted to protest, he wasn’t tired and he wanted to know what had happened, but he stopped. There was only so much that Snape would be able to tell him without Dumbledore, as neither of them knew why the headmaster had told Snape that his son had died and had given him to the Potters. It might be easier to hear the story all at once, rather than Snape telling what he knew and then going to Dumbledore.

Also, although he knew that Snape was trying to hide it, he could tell that this was a difficult conversation for the man. He had seen the pain in Snape’s eyes at various points throughout the story, and it had only intensified now. Harry may be back, Snape’s son might have never really died, but it didn’t change the fact that Snape had spent almost sixteen years thinking his son was dead. The pain wouldn’t just go away in an instant, it would probably always be there even if the intensity lessened.

“Yes sir,” he said after a moment, when it seemed like Snape was waiting for something. Disagreement, most likely, Harry assumed. It wasn’t like they’d had the best relationship before this, and previously he would have taken any opportunity to argue with Snape if he thought he could get away with it. Now, the rules were all askew, both of them were trying to figure out how to have a family. The storytelling had been a good way to put it on hold, but they would still need to figure out how to live with each other if this was going to be a permanent arrangement. “I’ll wash the mugs,” he offered, picking them up. He’d never volunteer for chores at the Dursleys, but he wanted to show Snape that he wasn’t afraid of a few chores, and that he wasn’t as much of a spoiled brat as the man had previously believed.

Severus nodded, relieved at the momentary reprieve, and turned to head upstairs. The guest bedroom, which had been his bedroom as a child, was clean, he just needed to put sheets on the bed and ensure that anything stored in there, which was mostly the things he had bought for Henry as a baby, was sent to the attic. Doing that would only take a few minutes, magic sped up moving, thankfully, but he was still grateful for the momentary break from storytelling. Harry had been tolerable thus far, but he’d been worried that the boy’s insatiable curiosity would lead to him demanding the full story now.

He sank down on the bed once he’d finished making it, putting his head in his hands. Henry was alive. His son was alive, and he’d been apparently abused, if he was interpreting Harry’s comment about his relatives correctly. He had mourned his son, throwing himself into trying to save Lily because she was his old friend and nearly condemning the boy. He’d nearly sentenced his own son to death. Severus had to focus on his breathing to keep from breaking down. He was a strong man, and the last time he cried was on the day his son was born, but this, realizing how close he had come to never knowing his son…it was difficult, and that was a gross understatement. In a moment he would push the pain behind his shields, stand up and go to fetch Harry to show him the house, but he needed a moment to mourn what could have been.

Harry washed the mugs quickly, doing dishes was one of the easier chores he’d done at the Dursley, and he looked around when he was done, expecting to see Snape waiting to lead him to the guest room. He was surprised when the man was nowhere to be seen. How long did it take to clear a room, especially when you had magic to help? He headed for the stairs, making his way up cautiously. The first room at the top had an open door, and through the crack he could see Snape, sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. He saw a box near Snape, one he’d likely been planning to send upstairs with everything else that had been in the room that he didn’t want Harry to get into. The flowing script he recognized from his potions’ essays had neatly marked the box ‘Henry’. Nothing else, but Harry knew what it was. It was full of things that Snape had bought for his son, that he’d packed away when he thought that his son was dead.

He backed away from the door, moving down to the sitting room again. He could wait for a moment, somehow he doubted that Snape had wanted him to see that. It did help Harry make up his mind, however. He’d been worried that Snape would change his mind, that his hatred of Harry Potter would override whatever he felt for his son, but this? It wasn’t faked, Snape clearly hadn’t expected Harry to see him, and he was clearly in pain. He looked like what Harry thought most fathers would look like if their son died, and even getting him back…it was still a lot to handle. Especially considering that Harry was sure that Snape didn’t trust many people, and that Dumbledore had been one of the people that Snape, trusted until this was discovered. At least Harry could try to write to Ron and Hermione about this, as long as Snape didn’t mind him sharing the news. Snape didn’t really have anyone to talk to about this.

“Finished with the dishes?” a low voice inquired, and Harry jumped, twisting in his seat to see Snape, looking perfectly ordinary, standing behind him.

“Yes sir,” Harry said, standing. Severus wondered at the look on the boy’s face, but he decided to leave it be. There was nothing that Harry could have gotten into here that would have been hazardous to him, after all.

 “Come with me,” Severus replied, turning to head back upstairs. Tomorrow, they would talk to the headmaster, find out why Dumbledore had thought that separating them was necessary. For now, he would show Harry to his room and the bathroom before retiring for the night. They both had much to think about.

Harry woke up the next morning, more well rested than he usually was at the beginning of summer. Usually, as soon as he stepped off the train, the Dursleys would have things for him to do. Snape had said that he would have chores, of course, but he doubted that the man was going to make him scrub the entire house by himself, as well as cook the meals, and do the dishes and gardening. Snape had asked him to take care of the dishes from their tea, but the man had taken care of cleaning out his bedroom, so Harry thought that the division of tasks would be a bit more fair.

He got up and wandered to the bathroom that Snape had showed him the night before. After he was finished, he spent a few minutes looking at himself in the mirror. Once the glamor spell had been cancelled, his appearance had changed. His hair had lengthened slightly, becoming smoother and looking less like a haystack. It was still black but had somehow become darker, and his eyes had changed entirely. Instead of Lily’s green eyes, he now had grey eyes that were reminiscent of the Malfoys. His face had changed as well, lengthening slightly and becoming more angular. Looking at him now, no one would realize that he was Harry Potter. He was Henry Snape, entirely unremarkable. His scar was, regrettably, still there, but it was covered by his longer hair, so he had less worry about anyone gawking at it when he went to Hogwarts.

His skin was paler, but he wasn’t that surprised by that. The Malfoys were relatively pale, and Snape was as well. He’d assumed it was because the man spent all of his time in the dungeons, thus not getting outside often enough. It would explain the sallow tinge to his skin, but it seemed like the man, and the Malfoys, were simply naturally pale. He spent awhile staring at himself in the mirror, cataloging the changes. He was actually grateful for the changes, it made it easier to believe. If his appearance hadn’t changed…they would have never known. It was an accident, one he knew Snape would want the full details of later, but he was grateful for it.

Harry decided to get a shower, as he hadn’t heard Snape moving around yet, but by the time he was finished with his shower, he could smell bacon. His stomach growled, reminding him that, with the various revelations yesterday, he hadn’t eaten anything. It wasn’t that unusual in the summer, admittedly, as the Dursleys weren’t the best at ensuring that he had enough to eat, but it seemed that Snape was different.

By the time he’d made his way downstairs, there was a plate of bacon and eggs setting at one seat, with Snape in the process of making more. Considering that the Daily Prophet and a mug of coffee were both at the place without the plate, he assumed that the eggs were for him.

“Sit, Harry, and eat. There is milk if you wish for it,” Severus said, gesturing. He didn’t know if the boy drank coffee, and he personally thought that Harry could use milk more than coffee, in an attempt to regain at least some of the nutrients that the Dursleys had robbed him of, but that was a battle for another day, one where they wouldn’t be talking to the headmaster.

Harry went to the refrigerator, getting himself a glass of milk. He’d drank coffee a few times and while he liked it, he didn’t need the caffeine making him jittery right now. He noticed a letter waiting for him beside his plate, looking at Snape curiously.

“It was delivered early this morning, while you were showering, I believe,” Severus said tersely. It puzzled Harry for a moment, until the man continued. “It is from Black. I assume he wished to ensure that you arrived at your relatives’ home safely.”

Harry looked at the letter, picking it up and turning it over in his hands. He didn’t know what to do. On the one hand, he wanted to know what Sirius was saying, and to reassure him that he was safe. On the other hand, he didn’t want to tell his godfather that he was staying with Severus Snape, and that his parents weren’t really James and Lily Potter.

That brought another question to mind. “Do you think he knows? That my parents aren’t…that I’m your son and not the Potters’?”

Severus sighed, sitting down at the table with his plate once he’d finished making his breakfast. “No, I do not believe that Black knows that you are my son and not Potter’s.  He is far too blunt to keep something like this a secret for so many years, especially after escaping Azkaban. He would have revealed something to you before now, I have no doubt.”

No, Black likely did not know, so that brought more questions to mind for Severus. Were Potter and Lily in on the deception, and simply kept it from their friends as they didn’t trust that they would have the necessary discretion? Or had Potter and Lily been deceived as well, hoodwinked by Dumbledore and never knowing that the child Lily had carried and birthed had died, and had been replaced with another child?

He didn’t know, and he wouldn’t know until after breakfast, when he and Harry would go to Hogwarts and confront the old meddler for good. Severus was also going to extract a promise from Dumbledore, using an Unbreakable Vow if necessary, that Dumbledore would tell no one of Harry’s true parentage without their consent. The secret would only help them, particularly if he continued to spy. Harry would be permitted to tell his friends, permitted that he trusted their discretion and the extended Weasley clan wasn’t notified until he could impress the importance of this secret upon them, but the Wizarding World at large and the Dark Lord in particular didn’t need to know about this revelation yet.

Harry nodded, setting Sirius’ letter aside for now and turning his attention to his breakfast. He would think about what he wanted to say a bit more before he wrote anything to Sirius. He needed to gradually introduce the idea of Snape as a decent person before springing the fact that Snape was his real father and that he wasn’t related to James and Lily at all. But, for now, he wanted to know the rest of the story, how he was taken away from his real father and placed with another family on the day he was born. He wanted to have the answers, and he knew that Snape did as well.

Albus paced outside the room where Lily Potter’s son had been taken. The boy had seemed weak and sickly, and it seemed as though, despite the efforts of the healers, the child would not last the night.

That left him with a difficulty, however. Lily’s son was going to be crucial to the coming war, as would Alice Longbottom’s. The Longbottom boy had been born the day before and was perfectly healthy, but Lily’s child was not. Lily and James were loyal members of the Order. Their child would be raised properly, and would do his part in the war, Albus had no doubt of that.

The problem was that he doubted that the child of Lily and James Potter would survive the night, let alone long enough to defeat Tom Riddle.

To his knowledge, no other witches had been admitted to deliver a child today, which meant that there was no chance of a ‘mix-up’. He was internally cursing his luck while also attempting to come up with another plan, when voices from the room next to where the Potters’ son had been taken got his attention.

“He’s a beautiful baby, Mr. Snape. I’ll bring him back so that he can nurse soon, right now we need to check him over, make sure he’s healthy. Little Henry will be back before you know it.”

A quick glance into the room confirmed his suspicions. Severus Snape had apparently just given birth to his child, not long after Lily had done the same. The child was a boy, and seemed to be in perfect health.

Briefly, he debated the morality of what he planned to do. It was for the Greater Good, however, and Severus was a Death Eater. Any child of his would grow to take the Mark as well, it would be easier to solve this problem before it occurred. Killing two birds with one stone, as the muggles would say.

When the mediwitch who had been in the room with Severus went into the nursery, Albus slipped in after him.

Memory charms were applied, glamors were cast, and when the healers left the room, they accompanied Severus’ mediwitch to tell him of his child’s death, while the living baby went with the Potters’ mediwitch, off to tell James and Lily that their son was alive and healthy.

“You switched the babies?” Harry asked, stunned. He had hoped it was just a mistake, one that Dumbledore had taken advantage of once he learned of it, but this?

“Harry, dear boy, you have to understand. The prophecy,” Dumbledore tried to explain, only to be ruthlessly cut off by Severus.

“Meant nothing, as I had never defied the Dark Lord,” Severus snapped. He had planned to keep a low profile after his son was born, but he wouldn’t have been foolish enough to risk the Dark Lord killing his son when he changed sides. When Severus did decide to change sides, throwing himself into saving Lily because he had nothing else, he didn’t care if he lived or died. His son was dead, and he had blamed himself because of the potions he had brewed for Lucius. He assumed that the spells he had cast or the protections woven into his robes had failed, and the fumes had killed his son.

“You did defy Tom, Severus,” Dumbledore pointed out, looking at the two men sitting across from him. “When you became my spy-“

“Something that happened after Henry was declared dead,” Severus said frostily. “I did not defy the Dark Lord even once until after my son was declared dead. Even then, I did nothing until I discovered that the Dark Lord was targeting Lily.”

Harry wondered if he should be frightened by that, the man had said outright that he had joined the Death Eaters and hadn’t changed sides until after Voldemort targeted the Potters, but he was going to wait to hear Snape’s explanation before he jumped to conclusion. Maybe the man had been planning on quitting once his son was born, and just hadn’t afterwards.

“Regardless of whatever half-baked prophecy that the drunken seer made to attempt to pass her interview, you stole my child, tampered with the healers’ minds, and cast strong glamor charms on infants, all so that you could have a child savior for your war,” Severus continued.

“But Harry did defeat Tom, not once but many times already,” Dumbledore replied, and Harry scowled.

“I survived because of luck, and you forced me into a lot of the situations,” Harry replied. “Leaving the Mirror of Erised where anyone could wander onto it? My cloak? The easy tasks in first year?”

“You’re a reckless fool, Harry, that’s been established,” Severus said dryly, causing Harry to look at the man indignantly. “But you do make a valid point. Several of the situations that you found yourself in could have been avoided if you were properly punished when you broke the rules, rather than letting you off with a slap on the wrist. If any child of mine had flown a car to school, a Howler would have been the least of their worries.”

“What would you have done?” Harry asked, interested. Snape had said that he wouldn’t hit him, so what would the man have done?

“I would have had you scrubbing cauldrons and pickling rat spleens for weeks,” Severus replied.  “And you certainly wouldn’t have gotten your allowance for a set time.”

Harry was going to ask about that, since he had never gotten an allowance and wasn’t sure if he would be now, but Snape didn’t give him a chance, standing and glaring at Dumbledore.

“The only reason that I am not pressing charges is because I do not want this getting out until after the war has ended and there will be no increased risk to my son,” Severus sneered. “But I want your word, on your magic, that you will not tell another about what has been discussed here without our express permission.”

Harry watched as Dumbledore promised on his magic, planning on asking how it worked later, and then followed Snape out of the office. Now they knew what Dumbledore had been hiding, but Harry didn’t know where they would go from here. He was also having trouble reconciling the kindly headmaster who had visited him in the hospital wing with the manipulative leader of the Order. Time, he supposed, and further conversations, would help with that.

Harry followed Snape out of Hogwarts, gripping the man’s arm once they were outside of the wards and letting the man take them back to his house. The method of travel still wasn’t his favorite, admittedly, but it was slightly easier the second time around. He didn’t feel like he had to sick up, at least, which counted for something.

“I’ll need to look up the mediwitches who attended to you and the Potters’ son,” Severus said once they were inside, taking his cloak off and going to make tea. His mother had always made tea when there were difficult discussions to be had, whenever it was just the two of them, at least, and it was a habit that he decided to mimic now. It had given her time to unwind, he knew, and a hot drink was usually soothing to him when he was upset, so he hoped the same would hold true for Harry.

“Why do you need to find them?” Harry asked, confused. He’d known that Snape was likely planning something as they left Hogwarts, but he hadn’t expected that the man would want to talk to the doctors and nurses so soon. “They don’t remember anything…”

“Legilimency can, on occasion, be used to break blocks that have been used to alter memories,” Severus replied, handing Harry a mug before sitting down with his own. “I am rather skilled in both Legilimency and Occlumency, which is why the headmaster ordered that I teach you-“

“Which worked so well,” Harry said dryly. “You were irritated that he told you what to do, and I was irritated that no one was telling me anything. Putting us together when we were both ready to snap was a bad move.”

“Especially as it is rather difficult to teach Occlumency to begin with, most who know how are born with the gift,” Severus added, sighing. “However, I do think that it is still a good idea for you to shield your thoughts from the Dark Lord, so once we are settled, I do intend to continue our lessons.”

Harry considered protesting, then decided against wasting his breath. He knew it was important, he couldn’t have Voldemort free to rummage through his mind. It had nearly gotten Sirius killed, and he didn’t doubt that Voldemort would use the same trick again since it had been proven effective. Learning how to protect himself from that would only help him, regardless of if he was still going to be the ‘Chosen One’ like Dumbledore wanted or not.

Severus waited for a moment to see if Harry had any objections, continuing once he was sure that there wouldn’t be an argument over the planned lessons. “While I am going through records at the Ministry and attempting to find the witches in question, I would prefer if you stay here. It would not do to be seen in public together yet.”

“If any Death Eaters see you, you could be in danger,” Harry realized. He knew the man was a spy, Snape had pretty much admitted to it and he had overheard enough from the other Order members at various points to know that it was the truth. “If they saw you with me…they’d figure out that you’re on our side, not theirs.”

“Precisely,” Severus replied, pleased that the boy had cottoned on easily enough. “You may explore the house, if you wish, although you would do well to stay out of my lab. It is warded, in any case, but I would request that you never enter without my express permission, as several of the potions that I brew are volatile. My room is similarly off limits unless I am present.”

Harry nodded, he could accept that. Snape had been better than he’d expected about giving him his privacy, and Harry could return the favor. He was curious, of course, but he could accept the reasoning and figured that he would see both rooms at some point.

“You may reply to Black’s letter, but do not tell him where you are or what we have just discovered. I would ask that you not tell your friends yet as well, until we can be certain that they will be able to keep this from their families, and not be tempted to tell another.”

“Ron and Hermione wouldn’t tell anyone,” Harry felt inclined to point out. They were his friends and he trusted them to keep his secret. Granted, he knew that Ron would hit the ceiling once he learned that Harry was a Snape, not a Potter, and that his half-brother was Draco, so maybe keeping it to himself for awhile wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

“Just until we have more information. Once we know precisely what we are dealing with, and I am certain that they will be comfortable keeping such things from their parents,” Severus said simply. He knew that Harry, Weasley, and Granger were close, and he wouldn’t have the boy keep things from them if it truly wasn’t necessary, but for now, until they knew more, it was best to keep this to themselves.

“I also plan to speak to your muggle relatives,” Severus continued. “Any possessions that you have left at their home can be retrieved, and we will file the appropriate paperwork in the muggle world so that I have sole custody.” No Death Eater would look through muggle records, even for the Boy Who Lived. They wouldn’t consider it, and would think it was beneath them if it was ever suggested, so it was perfectly safe, even if they would need to wait until after the war to file the appropriate papers in the wizarding world.

“I never have to go back?” Harry asked. He believed Snape, of course, but he had to make sure. So far, living with Snape had been better than Harry had expected it to be. He was sure that they would fight at some point, but it wouldn’t be any different than when Ron talked about fighting with his parents from time to time, or when Hermione mentioned arguments that she’d gotten into with hers. Snape seemed to be actually trying to be his father, and while he didn’t doubt that it would take a lot of work before they both adjusted to the new circumstances, it seemed like Snape was actually trying and that was enough for Harry right now.

“You never have to go back,” Severus confirmed. Those muggles would be lucky if they weren’t incarcerated for child abuse and neglect, depending on what had happened, but he wasn’t going to force Harry to go back to them. They would need to discuss the Dursleys in greater detail later, but for now they were a minor concern. “I promise you, I will do everything in my power to ensure that you never have to return to them.”

Harry nodded, turning his attention to his tea to hide his small smile. Imagining Snape in the same room with his aunt and uncle was amusing, and he had no doubt that, despite their distaste for magic, Snape would be able to make them agree to sign whatever papers were necessary to transfer custody. Regardless of how immune Dumbledore seemed to be to Snape’s glares, they were very effective on everyone else.