A Life Unplanned by TiffCutshall
Summary: Harry has just returned to Privet Drive after his sixth year. Shaken, scared, angry, and feeling utterly alone. However, the Dursley’s, more particularly Vernon, takes things too far and looses his temper with Harry after he wakes up screaming a week after returning. This one event now has changed the course of a plan that Lily had made nearly fifteen years ago and causes Harry and Severus’s worlds to be turned upside down. Can the two come together as the family Lily had wanted?
Categories: Parental Snape > Biological Father Snape > Severitus Challenge Main Characters: Dumbledore, Hermione, McGonagall, Original Character, Remus, Ron, Sirius
Snape Flavour: Out of Character Snape, Snape Comforts, Snape is Kind, Snape is Loving, Snape is Stern
Genres: Angst, Drama, General, Hurt/Comfort
Media Type: None
Tags: Abuse Recovery, Hospitalization, Injured!Harry, New Identity!Harry, Resorting
Takes Place: 7th summer
Warnings: Abusive Dursleys, Bullying, Emotional Abuse, Neglect, Physical Abuse
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 9 Completed: No Word count: 22342 Read: 8283 Published: 09 May 2022 Updated: 29 Oct 2023
Chapter 3 by TiffCutshall

Chapter 3

 

 

Harry stepped out of the shower of the hospital wing feeling a bit more human. That morning after breakfast, Poppy had suggested that Harry take a shower. He had gladly agreed. When he walked back into the main wing, he found Remus and Sev…no, his father, sitting beside the bed.

“Good morning, Harry. How did you sleep?” Remus asked with a smiled.

“Morning Remus, Prof…um…” Harry stuttered.

“You can call me either Professor or even Severus if you’d like.” Severus supplied.

“I think I might just stick with Professor. For now, anyway. As for how I slept, I slept pretty good surprisingly.” Harry answered, slipping back into bed.

“Harry, I know yesterday was a lot for you to take in.” Severus began.

“Yeah, it was. I mean, the last sixteen years have been what? A lie? Did my…aunt know? That you and mum were married? About me?” Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

“No, she didn’t. No one knew except Albus, James and Remus. We never even told Sirius.” Severus answered.

“Why didn’t you tell Sirius? Wasn’t he your friend too?” Harry inquired.

“Actually, Sirius and I have never gotten along. He and I could be civil if need be and mainly it was James that kept the peace between us. We met on the train to Hogwarts. From the day we met, he and I just didn’t…click. Much like yourself and Draco Malfoy.” Severus explained.

“You have to understand how Sirius was back then Harry. He was a wild one, well, still is as a matter of fact. James and Severus have been close since they were toddlers. They met me when I was about four. Of course, when I was about five or six and was attacked by that werewolf, they stayed at my side. I think Sirius was a bit jealous of the three of us.” Remus added.

“Oh.” Harry said. “So, you really had no memory? Of you and mum?”

“No Harry, I didn’t. Your mother was always talented when it came to charms. She was very precise in this charm. She allowed me to remember the love I felt, well still feel, for her, but altered my memories of my relationship with your cousin James, Remus, and her. She knew what she was doing.” Severus replied.

“I still don’t understand why she did it though? I mean, in the letter she said she had created a spell that removed the Dark Mark, so why was it even necessary?” Harry questioned.

“I might have an idea on the why. Harry, Voldemort, like the rest of the Wizarding world, believed that she and James were married. That was because of Severus’s father, Tobias. He was Voldemort’s right hand and a cruel, heartless man. If he even heard so much as a whisper of Severus and Lily being together, he would have killed her and made Severus watch the whole thing.

“Tobias Snape made Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix LeStrange look like amateurs. At the time Severus and Lily married, he was still very much alive. He had killed your grandmother, Eileen, the summer before Severus’s fifth year. Though there was no proof, everyone knew he killed her. It was James that came up with the idea of publicly being Lily’s boyfriend and later husband.” Remus said.

“Is he…is he still alive?” Harry inquired, a hint of fear in his voice.

“No, thank God. Tobias was killed two weeks before Lily and James were killed. He had been sent on a raid along with a few other Death Eaters and the Ministry got wind of it and intercepted them. I believe it was Mad-Eye that killed him.” Severus answered. “Having said that, I’m not sure if Lily or James even knew that he was dead.”

Harry nodded and looked down. He was silent a minute or so before he lifted his head and looked at Severus. “Why did you treat me like you have these last six years? If James Potter was your cousin, that still made me family and you say you loved mum, so why?”

It was Severus’s turn to sigh. “Harry, I acted the way I did toward you for a few reasons. The main reason was because I BELIEVED that James had betrayed me and stole your mother from me. Lily left some memories unaltered. I do remember us dating our fourth year, but after fifth year, she was dating James. At least in my memories.

“The other reason was it was my way of protecting you. I was a spy, Harry. I gathered information to pass on to the Order to try and bring Voldemort down. I have a reputation here as being a hard-ass and favoring Slytherin. What do you think would have happened if any of the children of Death Eaters saw me treating you as family?”

Harry frowned as he thought about it. His eyes widened as an idea hit him. “I would be used to get to you.”

“Exactly. While Voldemort was gone, well in a physical sense, that did not mean that his followers were not still out there. You saw what happened at the Quidditch World Cup and again at the cemetery. You already have a target on your back, and I was not about to make it even bigger.” Severus said.

“Okay, I think I get that. So, what happens now? I mean, you’re my…father.” Harry asked.

“That’s where I come in. While you were getting your shower, Severus and I were talking with Poppy. She says that tomorrow she is releasing you. I suggested last night to Severus that the three of us take off. We can either go to my cottage or, and I think this would be better, we got to the estate that your mum and dad lived before she and James went into hiding.” Remus supplied.

“Estate?” Harry gaped.

“Yes Harry, estate. It was left to me by my mother’s parents. They died when I was sixteen almost seventeen and they left Prince Manor to me. This of course infuriated Tobias as he expected it to go to him since my mother was dead.” Severus nodded.

“We could really go there?” Harry asked hopefully.

“If that is what you want, yes. In fact, I can ask Poppy if she would be comfortable releasing you into my and Remus’s care and we could leave today. I know you must have lots more questions about the letter Lily wrote and Remus and I can do our best to answer them.” Severus suggested.

“Yes.” Harry agreed.

 

 

~0000~

 

 

Harry stood looking at the house in a sort of gob smacked fascination. The manor was huge. It looked like one those Great Houses from the Victorian/Edwardian age. “Wow. This is where you and mum lived?”

“We did for the first few months of our marriage and then I started teaching at Hogwarts.” Severus answered with a soft smile.

“Um, how old were you when you became a professor?” Harry questioned as the three headed for the front door.

“I was eighteen almost nineteen. With the help of James and…the headmaster, I became the youngest potions master and professor.” Severus answered, opening the door.

Harry said nothing as he stepped inside behind Severus, with Remus right behind him. The entryway was huge. A double staircase took center stage of the room. There was an archway to his left that led into what Harry assumed was a living room. To the right there was an open door, but he couldn’t make out what the room was.

Hanging on the second-floor landing between the two staircases was a portrait. Harry felt tears in the corner of his eyes as he looked up at it. It was of his mum and Severus on what seemed to be their wedding day. To Severus’s left was James and on Lily’s other side was Remus.

“Me and James had it made for them and gave it to them just before Severus went to Hogwarts to start teaching.” Remus spoke up.

“She looks so happy, so beautiful.” Harry breathed.

“She was that day. Of course, Lily always looked beautiful to me, but that day she just seemed to glow.” Severus remarked.

Harry turned his head and looked up at the man. After Severus and Remus had left the previous night, Harry had done a lot of thinking. Yes, Severus had treated him horribly, but that was before the truth came out. Now, Harry realized that neither he nor Severus knew each other.

“Um, where is my room?” Harry asked, clearing his throat.

“Severus, why don’t you take Harry to his room, and I’ll have lunch made and brought into the living room.” Remus suggested.

Harry silently followed Severus upstairs. The second floor was large and spacious. On either side of the stairs was several doors that he suspected were bedrooms. Severus led them to the left. The carpet felt plush under Harry’s sneakers. Three doors down, Severus paused and looked down at him.

“Your mother had decided that when we started a family, this was going to be your room. It has a beautiful view of the backyard.” Severus said before opening the door.

Harry walked into the room and gasped. The room was a large common room. A polished white marbled fireplace was just to his left with comfortable looking furniture in a semi-circle before it. A sofa and two arm-chairs, with a coffee table in the center. Directly across from the door was a large bay window with a cushioned seat.

Harry walked to the window and looked out. The backyard was huge. He could see a small orchard off to the left, what looked like a hedge maze to the right. The yard seemed to stretch on for miles.

“How…how big is the property? How close are we to anyone else? Where are we anyway?” Harry managed.

Severus chuckled. “We are on the edge of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire. We are on the west side of the forest. My grandparents took great care when they built this estate. We are about twenty minutes from the village of Edwinstone. The estate is nearly thirty acres. Our nearest neighbor is about ten miles to the south.”

“You mean THE Sherwood Forest? Like Robin Hood?” Harry asked.

“Yes. Robin Hood was born Robin of Locksley. He was a descendant of Merlin as a matter of fact. James once had an extensive family tree done up of the Potter and Prince lines. I think it’s somewhere in the library.” Severus answered.

“Wait, I was told that the Potter line was also descendants of Merlin. So, in a way I’m related to Robin?” Harry frowned.

“Yes, and not just from the Potter line. My mother and James’s mother were sisters. The Potters and Princes were old friends and have always lived close to one another. I spent many a summer here visiting my grandparents. James would come too. Once my…father’s true colors were revealed, Grandmama and Grandpa made sure I was as far from him as they could manage.” Severus nodded, stepping up beside Harry looking out the window.

“Severus? Harry? Lunch is ready.” Remus said from the doorway.

At that moment, Harry’s stomach grumbled causing him to blush a little. Severus merely smiled, and slowly slipped his arm around his shoulder. Harry’s head jerked up in surprise. Severus started to remove his arm, but Harry stopped him.

“It’s okay, Sir. I…I kind of like it.” Harry smiled a little.

From the door Remus smiled as well. It warmed his heart to see that Severus was easily stepping into the shoes he should always have worn. Those of a father. The three of them left Harry’s room and headed down.

 

 

 

~0000~

 

 

“Albus how could you!” Minerva screeched.

“Minerva, I feel guilty enough as it is.” Albus sighed.

“As so you should.” Minerva glared as she started pacing.

Albus had just filled her in on what had happened almost seventeen years ago. Albus knew he had to tell her. Minerva had always been highly protective of Severus as a student and even now as an adult. Not that he was surprised since Minerva had been friends with his grandmother, Aurora Prince.

“All this time Harry could have been raised in a LOVING home. You and I both know that if he had been given the chance Severus would have been an amazing father.” Minerva said.

“And he will still have that chance. The spell that Lily created has removed the Mark. He is now free of Voldemort now that he has returned.” Albus replied.

“Thank Merlin for that. Lily always was a bright one. I just wish they had told me they were married.” Minerva sighed.

“Minerva, my dear, they were being careful because of Tobias. If it was only Voldemort they had to worry about, I doubt they would have needed James to pretend to be Lily’s husband. Sadly, with Eileen dead and Tobias very much a threat, they could not risk the truth being known.” Albus explained.

“So, what happens now? Has Harry been told?” Minerva asked.

“Remus told me this morning that he and Severus told Harry last night. The three are now at Severus and Lily’s estate and will remain there till school begins. I fear Severus may never forgive me. He has not yet turned in his resignation.” Albus answered sadly.

Minerva stopped pacing and faced the older wizard. “Albus, he is hurt and upset. Not to mention he was one of the ones to find his son nearly being killed by that worthless muggle. I warned you not to leave Harry with those people. He will forgive you, just as Harry will.”

“I hope so. I never meant any harm. I begged Lily not to go to this extreme, but she was so fearful for Severus and Harry that nothing would have changed her mind. I tried, James too and we both failed.”

“Albus, I understand all this. With time, so will Harry and Severus. For now, however, I suggest you keep your meddling in their lives to a bare, bare minimum. You hear me?” Minerva warned.

“I agree. My meddling has caused the two of them enough pain.” Albus nodded.

 

To be continued...


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