July 31st, 1980

“Oh my god… okay… everything will be okay Lils,” said James to calm down a very frazzled Lily. “Just take deep breaths it will be okay,” said James once more. Lily completely ignoring James, screamed out in pain and gripped his hand even tighter, almost tight enough to break every bone in his hand. “Lily bloody hell woman my hand!” She glanced up at him with a somewhat apologetic look as another wave of pain took over as she cried out “James! Where the hell is that bloody bastard!” James sighed, “Hopefully he’ll be here soon,” he said as calmly as he could while his thoughts were running wildly in his head ‘I swear if he doesn’t get here soon…’ he thought to himself.

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room at St. Mungos burst open, and in came a very frayed-looking Severus Snape. “Lily!” he exclaimed “I am so sorry! Those damn anti-apparition wards at Hogwarts.” He looked over at James and Severus gave him a small nod and a quiet “thank you”. James nodded back and took a step back from Lily’s side so Snape could take his place.

Lily immediately reached for Severus’s hand and squeezed as she cried out again from another contraction. Severus sat down next to her and kissed her forehead “I love you so much, it will be okay my love, not much longer” he said gently to his wife. He turned around to look at James “Potter! Do something useful and go get someone to help!” Snape snapped at him, but before James could even leave the room, Healer Frida Smith walked in and smiled “Let’s see how far along we are now” she said calmly and walked over to examine Lily. “Okay Mr. and Mrs. Snape, looks like your baby is ready to meet you guys. How does that sound?”

Lily just let out another groan whereas Severus gulped. He wasn’t sure how to feel at this moment, but he knew he had to be strong for his wife. Taking one glance in her direction and slightly smiling he turned back to the Healer Smith.

“We are ready.”

“Alrighty then let’s get started, shall we?” replied Healer Smith. “Mrs. Snape, when I tell you to push, you have to push as hard as you can okay?” Lily simply nodded and then looked up at her husband with tears pooling in her emerald eyes. Severus kissed her forehead again and then motioned for James to stand on the other side and hold her hand. Severus honestly hated seeing the man touch his wife, but he knew they were close friends, and he was extremely thankful for the man for keeping Lily and his unborn child safe while he was away. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Healer Smith tell Lily to push. Severus never once took his eyes off his wife; she looked stunning. He ran a hand over her forehead brushing the few strands of strawberry blond hair stuck against it from all the sweat and allowed himself another soft smile for his wife.

After what seemed like forever, Lily finally collapsed back onto the pillows and let out an exhausted breath as a piercing cry broke through the room. “Congratulation’s mum and dad!” exclaimed Healer Smith, “you have a beautiful baby boy!” Severus thought his heart stopped beating for a few seconds as the words from Healer Smith’s mouth rang through his ears. ‘A boy… I have a son’ he thought. Severus would have been happy with either gender but hearing he had a son gave him a warm feeling in his chest as a few tears of his own pooled in his eyes. After Healer Smith cleaned off the newborn, she handed him over to Lily who had tears streaming down her face and she let out a happy cry and cradled her small son to her chest.

Without either Severus or Lily noticing, James slowly backed away from the side of the bed and pulled out a camera, and took a picture of the new family of three huddled around the bed smiling and gazing at their little boy wrapped tightly in a blanket. As much as James didn’t like to admit, he was incredibly happy that Lily and Severus have come this far in their relationship. He would never admit it or let it be shown, but he was beginning to respect Severus and promised he would do everything to keep his wife and son safe to keep Lily happy.

Lily looked up in James’ direction and motioned him to come back to her side. She gave a glance in Severus’ direction, and he gave her a small nod. “James” Lily began, “Severus and I… we want you to meet Harry James Snape.”

James’s jaw dropped. He knew the name Harry came from Lily’s father, but he never expected them to bestow his name as their son’s middle name. It was a tradition in the wizarding world for the first-born son to take the name of their father. He looked up at Severus and then back down to Lily and the small bundle in her arms and smiled. He knew he was going to love this boy like he was his own son.

“Obviously the copy of the birth certificate that will be submitted to the ministry will have to have Potter as the last name for the time being” Severus cut in with his smooth voice, even though James could detect a hint of animosity in it. James nodded and kissed Lily’s cheek and placed a hand on Harry’s head before straightening up. “I can go and get the paperwork started for you guys and give you three a moment alone,” he said and walked out of the room.

After James had left, Lily looked up at Severus and smiled. “I love both of my boys so much already,” she said quietly. Severus leaned over and gave her a long kiss on the lips. “I can never thank you enough for giving me one of the best gifts I could ever ask for… a son.” He sat back down in the chair and watched as Lily fed their son, the smile he hardly ever let anyone see aside from Lily, stayed plastered on his face. After Harry seemed to have his fill of food, Lily covered back up and laid back on the pillows letting out a big yawn. “Here Lily,” Severus said reaching out his arms, “let me have him so you can rest.” Lily simply nodded and handed Harry over to his dad and fully laid down in the bed closing her eyes. Not before long, she seemed to drift off into a light sleep.

Severus now sat in the chair with his son cradled tightly to his chest. “I know we have just met but I love you so much already my son,” Severus said quietly to the little bundle squirming in his arms. Harry opened his eyes and looked up at the man holding him and Snape held his breath. ‘Lily’s eyes’ he thought to himself. He raised one hand and started stroking the baby’s cheek with one long, thin finger as Harry then wrapped his little fist around his finger and held it tight. Severus felt his heart swell in his chest at the sight of his son and felt a few tears pool in his eyes as he then stood up and gently swayed back and forth with little Harry.

Snape was so caught up with his son he neither heard nor saw James entering the room again. James smiled softly and grabbed the camera again, capturing the moving picture of Severus Snape, the greasy git, the evil bat of the dungeons, the arsehole of a man, kissing the forehead of his newborn son and gently swaying him while whispering to the tiny baby in his arms. Snape looked up and saw James standing there and cleared his throat. James simply smiled and held up a file. “This is both of Harry’s birth certificates; the real and the fake” James stated. He walked over to Severus and opened the file to show him the real one.

“Harry James Snape, Born on the 31st day of July in the year 1980 to a Severus Tobias Snape and Lily Jade Evans-Snape”

December 24, 1980

“Ugh James!” Lily exclaimed “Don’t give Harry all that pudding! He’s eaten enough, and I do not want his dinner to be spoiled!” Lily let out a frustrated sigh as she came into the kitchen and saw the two of them.

“It's fine Lils don’t worry we were just finishing up weren’t we buddy?” he asked turning to the almost 5-month-old in his highchair. Harry gave him a big smile that showed his little four teeth and let out a bunch of baby gibberish. James let out a big laugh and picked him up from his chair and walked out of the kitchen to put him down on the playmat in the sitting room that was now fully decorated for Christmas tomorrow.

Just as he sat back on the couch the floo flared up and out walked a tall, slender man dressed in all black. Harry looked up from the blocks he was playing with while and immediately let out a loud squeal and started to crawl towards the man. Severus immediately smiled, forgetting about the stress from his day, and leaned down to scoop up his son in his arms and placed a kiss on the top of his already full head of raven hair. Harry gurgled and cuddled into Severus’s neck as he rubbed his little back. Snape looked over at James who was stretched out on the couch and sighed. It wasn’t that he completely despised the man who made his time at Hogwarts unbearable, but he still wasn’t overly fond of him especially when he had a trying day and all he wanted to do was spend time with his beautiful wife and son. He smiled to himself as he thought of how far he has come in the past five years. From being a complete loner who turned to the dark side for the wrong reasons, to turning to the light and becoming a spy for Dumbledore and finding Lily again to share his life with as well as his son who he loved more than life itself and would do absolutely anything for him.

Severus was broken out of his thoughts when Harry started to pull on his hair with his tiny fists that seemed to have an iron-like strength when trying to pull them open. “No Harry,” he said firmly and was able to pry the hands off his hair. “Let us go find mummy, shall we?” he asked his son.

He walked into the kitchen while still holding his son and saw his wife cooking dinner and listening to muggle Christmas music. She turned when she heard the footsteps and immediately smiled at the sight in front of her. “Hi Sev,” she said and walked the rest of the way to meet him “I missed you,” she said and stood on her toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips.

"Hello, my love,” Severus said after the kiss broke and wrapped an arm around pulling her close. He let out a content sigh as he felt his heart swell in his chest at the feel of his wife and son against him in their arms. He leaned down and kissed Lily’s forehead before she took a step back to finish the dinner she was preparing.

“Lily, why are you making so much food? This is more than they serve in the great hall at Hogwarts,” Severus told his wife.

She let out a chuckle, “Did you forget that we have company coming?” she asked her husband.

She heard Sev groan, and she rolled her eyes “They’ll only be here for dinner and a few gifts for tonight Sev, it’s not that bad,” she remarked.

“Not that bad?” he asked. “If I must sit and listen to Sirius Black brag about his life and Peter Pettigrew complain about his life, I am going to lose it,” he responded.

“Sev, it’s only for a little it won’t be that bad,” she said.

Before Severus could even respond the doorbell to the home in Spinners End rang and Severus groaned even louder this time and turned to Harry, “Your mother and James are trying to kill me” he told his son. Harry just gazed back at him and then looked over his shoulder to see the commotion that was coming from the other room. James let the rest of the marauders in and already started having an animated conversation with the three of them as they entered the home.

“Alright, alright enough of this. Now where is my favorite godson?” asked Sirius.

“You mean your only godson,” laughed Remus from behind him.

“Doesn’t mean he still isn’t my favorite” Sirius replied.

Snape walked out of the kitchen holding Harry and then placed him on the ground in front of the couch as the marauders filed into the sitting room.

“Snivellus,” Sirius said acknowledging Severus.

“Black,” Sev responded with clear malice lacing his tone.

“Tone it down in front of my son now, would you?” James remarked both men.

Severus, James, and Lily decided not to let anyone know (aside from Dumbledore) of Harry’s true parentage due to safety concerns, but that didn’t stop Snape from clutching his fists when he heard James call his son ‘my son’. The marauders knew that Severus and Lily were married but were told Harry was born from James before they wed.

Sirius simply nodded and began to play with Harry on the floor while Peter and James went into the kitchen to see if Lily needed help. Remus sat down on the couch next to Severus and watched his friend and Harry play with the few toys on the floor. Severus sighed as Remus sat next to him. Remus started talking to Snape as if he cared to listen and Snape started rubbing his temples, nursing the migraine he knew was coming on from the present company. He gave a glance in Harry’s direction and smiled when he saw how happy his son was, then stood up and stalked out of the room and into the study to do some work while he waited for dinner.

After about twenty minutes his left forearm started to burn, and he cursed under his breath. ‘Why tonight? Why me?’ he thought to himself. He hated going to these meetings but knew he had to stay on the dark lord’s good side so he can continue spying. He slammed his palms on the desk and grabbed his death eater mask and robes and shrunk them down to place in his pockets. He walked out and immediately followed the voices into the dining room where he saw everyone getting ready to eat. Everyone looked up but he only had eyes for Lily who was holding their son in her arms, just about to place him in his chair. Lily could already tell by the look of sorrow and pain in his dark obsidian eyes what he was conveying to her. She swallowed and walked over to her husband who placed his arms around her and kissed her before the pain flared up again in his forearm. “I’m sorry” he whispered so only her, and Harry could hear. He rested his hand on the top of his son’s hair and gave them both one last look before immediately running out of the house and apparating to Malfoy Manor to meet Lucius before leaving together.

Everyone in the dining room back at Spinners End remained quiet as they all knew where Snape was going. Lily, who always became extremely overwhelmed and filled with worry for her husband when he left, stood there for a few moments before James got up from his seat and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Come on Lils. Let’s eat” he told her. Lily nodded but didn’t respond. She turned and placed Harry in his chair and sat next to him. The group began to eat and started a small conversation where now and then they would try to bring Lily into it, but she would only respond with a few words.

****

Meanwhile, Severus met up with a displeased Lucius Malfoy outside of his Manor. “Took you long enough” Malfoy muttered just loud enough for Severus to hear. He was never good friends with Lucius, but of course, had to keep up with the façade. They both then apparated to the location of their death eater meeting outside the Riddle house. They could see that they were one of the last few and Severus knew this wasn’t a good thing.

“Ahh, my dear servants… Seems to me like we have a few stragglers amongst us. Were you two thinking you would make a grand entrance in the middle of MY meeting?” Asked Voldemort.

As much as this pained Severus to do, he and Lucius knelt and kissed the hem of Voldemort’s robes “No, my lord. Dumbledore kept me longer than expected. I do apologize” claimed Severus. Voldemort stared at Severus for what seemed like an eternity and then nodded seeming as if he was accepting this answer.

“Crucio!” Voldemort exclaimed suddenly and watched as Severus writhed on the floor. Severus tried his best to not let out a scream as it felt like a million stabbing and flaming knives were piercing his skin. Thankfully, Voldemort ended the curse and then moved on to Malfoy. Severus was slow to get up but was thankful it wasn’t one of the longer ones.

Lucius and Severus then stood with the rest of the death eaters and listened as Voldemort explained his next plans and ambitions for the following month. Severus did not pay close attention until Voldemort said something that made his breath hitch and his heart stop. “It seems that Dumbledore has a little group of aurors and volunteers trying to overcome me. There is one that seems to catch my eye, that being James Potter. I must finish him and his family before things go any further with that miscreant.”

Severus truly felt like he was going to pass out at any moment. He carefully listened to the plans Voldemort set forth before dismissing the group. He and Lucius apparated back to Malfoy Manor where Snape pulled two vials out from his robes and handed one to Lucius saying, “To ease the aftereffects of the cruciatus.” Both he and Lucius downed the vials.

“Thank you, Severus. Seeing as it is Christmas Eve, would you like to come inside for a drink and dinner? I know Narcissa and Draco would love to see you.”

Severus merely shook his head “I cannot tonight. I must return to Hogwarts as I am on night duty.”

Lucius seemed to accept his answer and bid him farewell before heading inside.

Severus let out a shaky breath from the stress and worry that seemed to convey him. He knew he had to tell Albus of tonight’s meeting, but he honestly just wanted to see his wife and child more than anything. He pondered what to do for a moment more before apparating to Hogsmeade and stalking up to the castle to notify Albus of his current situation.

****

Meanwhile, back in Spinners End, everything was settling down. The marauders and Lily and little Harry enjoyed their dinner as much as they could and then settled in the sitting room to open the few gifts. Sirius, Remus, and Peter all pitched in and gave Harry a starters broom. James was clearly very excited by this gift because he could not wait to teach Harry about quidditch, whereas Lily was a little more hesitant. She obviously loved quidditch and hoped Harry would too, but he wasn’t even one year old yet for Merlin’s sake! She also knew Severus would never approve. Hell, he probably wouldn’t approve until Harry was 17. Before she could say anything James immediately scooped Harry up onto the broom and held onto his small frame as harry sat on it.

“That godson of mine is going to be a pro! He’s already a natural!” exclaimed Sirius.

James was slowly walking forward with Harry on the broom and Harry squealed clapping his little hands together and kicking his little legs out. “James Potter you be careful with my son now!” Lily shouted.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah” was all James had to say back.

After about an hour, it was nearing 8 pm and Harry was starting to wear out from all the excitement. He was sitting up on the couch with pillows surrounding him to support him and protect him from falling when he let out a tired cry and rubbed his eyes.

“Looks like someone’s ready for bed,” said Remus looking over at Harry.

“I can put him to bed, it’ll give me a little more time with my godson before I leave on my trip for the aurors office.” Lily nodded and picked Harry up, placing a kiss on his forehead before passing him over to Sirius. Sirius walked up the stairs and into Harry’s room where he kissed his godson and laid him gently in his crib. He grabbed the stuffed animal in the shape of a dog and placed it next to Harry while pulling the little blue blanket up to his chest. Sirius let his hand rest on Harry’s chest for a moment while looking over his godson. “You know Harry, I can’t wait to take you out when you’re older and wreak havoc with you.” He said jokingly. “I love you very much and I’d do anything for you buddy. I’m going to be going away for a little bit, so you better not forget me.” Sirius told Harry as if Harry fully understood everything he was saying. Sirius kissed his godsons forehead, “Goodnight Harry” he whispered to him and quietly walked out of the room and back downstairs.

“Alright Padfoot, we’re just getting ready to leave,” said Remus “Let the family enjoy the rest of their Christmas eve in peace and quiet,” he chuckled.

Sirius nodded and gave Lily a hug and James a pat on the back “Well, I’ll see you guys after my mission.”

James gave him a sad smile and patted his back “Yeah see you when you get back Padfoot.” Turning to Remus, “See you Moony, see you Wormtail. Thanks for coming guys,” he said to his friends before leading them out the door.

After they left, James found Lily sitting on the couch looking at the photo album she was in the process of creating. Lily was currently looking at the pictures of her and Sev’s small wedding. She let her hands touch the page where her favorite picture of her and Severus was placed. It was the two of them having their first dance as a married couple. She was in her simple wedding dress with green dressing robes whereas Sev was wearing his traditional black tuxedo with green dressing robes overtop. She was pressed up against him as his arms were wrapped tightly around her and a big smile on both of their faces as he leaned down to kiss her.

She sighed as James sat next to her on the couch and loosely draped his arm over his friend. “He’ll be alright Lils.” She nodded and rested her head against James’ shoulder before closing the photo album and gazing at the twinkling lights on the Christmas tree. After what seemed like forever, the floo flared up, and out walked Severus.

Lily immediately jumped up from the couch and ran to her husband wrapping her arms around his neck so tightly. Sev slightly grimaced as he was still a bit sore from the curse, but he hugged his wife back and rested his cheek on the top of her head. Lily pulled back just enough to give him a long kiss on the lips and then placed her hands on his chest.

“Are you okay?” she asked him when she saw the anguish in his eyes. He looked down at his wife, the love of his life, his Lily flower, and broke down immediately. Tears streamed down his face as he clung to her again as if she was his lifeline.

James was still sitting on the couch watching this happen. Snape was not an emotional man, so he could only assume something horrible happened or will be happening. He silently watched as Lily led Snape to the other couch and sat next to her husband holding his head against her chest as she stroked his long, soft hair. After a few minutes, Snape straightened up and noticed Potter was in the room. His cheeks flushed and he became slightly embarrassed this man had just seen him break down in the middle of the sitting room. He wanted to yell at the man to get out and let them have their privacy, but he needed Potter to hear what he had to tell them.

He looked over at his wife who was gazing up at him with clear concern in those emerald eyes. ‘Those eyes’ he thought. He thought about how he could get lost in them for days on end and how he was so thankful his son bore those eyes. Severus leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands.

“Sev?” Lily asked while she rubbed his back. “What happened?” Severus stayed silent for a moment trying to get his thoughts in order.

“We can’t do this anymore,” he said quietly.

He straightened back up and looked over at his wife. “He wants to go after Potter and his family.” He said sounding defeated.

James from across the room dropped his head into his own hands. “I’m sorry Lily,” James said. “I’m also sorry to you Severus. I know I vowed to protect them.”

Snape snapped his head around and stood up angrily. “You just had to go and follow Black into the aurors office, didn’t you. Because of your unwillingness to be your own damn person you endangered my wife and my son!” Severus shouted at the man sitting in front of him. His wand hand twitched as he had the desire to hex the imbecile, but before he even knew it James stood up and pointed his own finger in Snape’s face.

“Yeah but you had to go and be a death eater. You endangered your future family by choosing that life, Snivelllus” James fired back.

Severus made a move for his wand, but Lily grabbed his arm back and stepped in between the two men. “Stop it right now! I will put you both in a body bind if you don’t calm down!” she shouted to both men. Tears pooled in her eyes threatening to fall over as she turned to her husband, her eyes pleading with him to tell her what was going on.

Snape sighed and took a step back. “The dark lord wants to kill Potter and threatened to go after his family for trying to overcome him” Lily gasped as Severus told them. James reached out and put a hand on Lily’s shoulder. Snape looked up and immediately grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her to his side.

Lily too caught up in what Sev just told her, didn’t react. “W-What… What will we do? Harry? What about Harry?” She asked, her voice faltering as tears now streamed out of her eyes.

Snape turned towards Lily and cupped her cheeks with his potion-stained hands and gently swiped at the tears. “Dumbledore has agreed to hide you three.” His voice grew thick with emotion You will have to leave tonight. He has a home in Godric’s Hollow set up for you three and you will be under a fidelus charm.”

“Wait… three? What about you?” James piped up looking confused. Snape sighed again and closed his eyes. He leaned forward to rest his forehead against Lily’s for a moment. “Dumbledore wants me to continue my spying and I agree with him. I need to receive information, so I know what the dark lord is planning,” he whispered.

Lily let out a sob now and wrapped her arms tightly around Severus, who immediately returned the strong embrace. “Dumbledore will be here in an hour to take you there,” Snape said into Lily’s hair.

“I’ll give you a moment and start packing,” James told them as he walked out of the room to get their things together.

“Hopefully it will not be too long. Dumbledore thinks we are close to bringing him down. As soon as this is over it will just be the three of us. It will be okay, Lily.” Snape told her, but he was also trying to tell himself they will be just fine. Lily looked up and kissed her husband again before taking a step back. “Tomorrow is Harry’s first Christmas, and you won’t even be there…” Lily said sadly. Snape looked around the room and took it all in; the Christmas decorations, the gifts stowed under the tree, the baby toys simply thrown about in Harry’s play mat, the pictures along the walls, and the fire mantle of the happy family. Tears pooled in his eyes again and he took a deep breath “It will be fine Lily. I am going to go wake him.” He said quietly while leaving the room and heading up to his son’s nursery.
Severus entered the small nursery and walked over to the crib that held his tiny son. He stood there for a moment watching the gentle rise and fall of his son’s little chest before placing a hand on it and gently waking him. Harry rubbed his eyes with his little fists and looked up at his daddy tiredly but gave him a big smile that showed his four little teeth. Severus smiled a sad smile and picked up his son and held him tightly to his chest, gently swaying his little boy before sitting down in the rocking chair in the room that faced looking out the window.

“Harry, my son, my beautiful son” Snape began, “I love you so very much. In fact, I love you so very much I am going to have to give you away for a while, but just know it pains me so deeply to do so. I need to keep you safe. You and your mother are the only people that ever mattered to me in this world. I will come and get you two as soon as I can. I promise.” Severus told his son quietly. Severus cradled his son closer to his chest and rested his cheek on the little head covered in wild black hair. Little did he know that James Potter was standing in the doorway to the nursery watching with his own tears threatening to fall over. He knew exactly what to do at this moment and quietly left the room undetected.

After an hour that Severus had broken the news, the floo flared up, and out walked Albus Dumbledore. He smiled a sad smile at the family of three sitting on the couch, with Harry and Lily held close to Severus’s chest. “I’m afraid it’s time my boy” Dumbledore said quietly.

Lily looked up from where she was resting her head on her husband’s shoulder and nodded. Severus and Lily stood up and Severus immediately drew Lily into a tight hug while holding their son in between them. James entered the room and took a picture of the family before hiding the camera again and placing it in one of the many bags he was holding. He nodded to Dumbledore and stepped closer to the family. Snape reluctantly gave his son one last kiss and handed him over to Potter before turning back to his wife and giving her a long, passionate kiss. “I love you, my Lily Flower” he whispered to her. She looked up at him and gave him a sad smile “I love you too Sev… always.”

James placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and Lily moved to his side. James looked up at Snape and gave him a nod “I promise you this… I will protect them with my life.” Severus nodded and gave one last look at his family before turning around. He couldn’t bear to watch the two people he cares most about go. Dumbledore stepped forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder “are you ready my boy?” he asked. Snape merely nodded and took one last deep breath.

Albus raised his wand and whispered “obliviate” erasing all the memories of Lily and Harry from the past year from his mind. Dumbledore led Lily, James, and baby Harry to the floo and took them away.

Little did any of them know though, was that someone was listening and watching their floo, intent on pleasing the man he considered his lord.

July 15, 1991

Harry sighed as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He could tell it was still early in the morning since he couldn’t hear the telly from the other room. ‘I guess I should still get up before they get mad at me for sleeping in’ he thought to himself and sighed. He opened the door to his room, or rather known as the cupboard underneath the stairs, and made his way into the kitchen to start getting breakfast ready.

Only a few minutes later he could hear the extremely heavy footsteps from his uncle coming down the stairs and he sighed. ‘There goes my peace and quiet’ he thought to himself. “Boy, you better be making extra food today! I refuse to be buying food at the zoo, it costs too much!” complained his uncle. Harry didn’t respond but silently thought to himself ‘I’d be shocked if he could put back more food.’ Harry threw more eggs into the pan, got out a second packet of bacon from the fridge, and added more flour to the pancake batter he was preparing.

Just as he was almost finished making breakfast, he heard his cousin Dudley come barreling down the stairs followed by his mother. “Mummy!” Dudley yelled towards his mother “Harry isn’t done breakfast yet! I’m starving!” he complained. Petunia followed her son into the kitchen and placed a hand on her son’s shoulder “it’s alright duddeykins go sit down I will bring you what is ready” she told her son in an attempt to calm him down. Petunia walked over to Harry and smacked the back of his head “you should know to wake up early enough by now! Now duddey has to wait for you because you decided to have a lie in you lazy freak!” she told her nephew. Harry took a step back “y-yes aunt Petunia, it won’t happen again” he said quietly while trying to flip the pancakes faster. Petunia sat down next to Dudley and her husband then joined them at the table where Harry then brought all the food over to them and went back into the kitchen to grab his allotted slice of toast. Before he could grab it from the pantry Vernon turned to him and glared at him “only half today brat. You made Dudley wait to eat” he told Harry. Harry simply nodded and took half of the stale bread and toasted it.

He was walking back to his cupboard to eat when the mail fell from the door flap and landed face up right next to his little feet. His brows furrowed in confusion and bent down to pick up the letter addressed to him:
“Mr. H. J. Potter
The cupboard under the stairs
Number 4 Privet Drive
Little Whining, Surrey”
Harry shoved the letter up his baggy shirt and grabbed the rest of the mail to put onto the counter in the kitchen for his aunt and uncle to go through. While he turned to leave Dudley stuck his leg out from his chair to trip Harry. Harry normally was used to him doing this and knew to move out of the way, but he was too caught up in who would write him a letter that he didn’t notice this time and tripped face-first into the floor. Dudley started laughing and clapping when suddenly, he saw the letter fall out onto the floor and quickly stood up to grab it. “Daddy! Harrys got a letter! Harrys got a letter!” he exclaimed. Vernon stood up and grabbed the letter from Dudley and then glared at the freak on the floor. “Not anymore he doesn’t!” he said turning to his wife to show her.

Petunia’s face dropped as she knew exactly where this came from. Her sister had received one right before her 11th birthday. Harry stood up “that’s mine! Give it back!” he shouted without even thinking of the repercussions. Vernon grabbed the back of Harry’s shirt and backhanded him. “You will not speak to us that way boy! That’s it! I’ve had enough of you today; you’re not coming with us to the zoo you brat!” Tears started streaming down Harry’s face and he sighed. He knew he shouldn’t have done that, but they had no right to take my mail, he thought. Vernon locked him in his cupboard and harry just decided to lay down in the dark and stare up at the ceiling. His face still stung from where his uncle hit him, but he figured he would get over it.

He listened to the whispered voices coming from the kitchen for another hour before they left. He knew they would be gone for the whole day so he just decided to rest up while he could because he knew once they came back, he would have to make up for what he did by doing chores.

A while later, Harry wasn’t sure exactly how long, but he heard the front door opening and his aunt, uncle, and Dudley enter the house. Petunia screeched and harry heard his uncle mutter “damn it” under his breath. “Those damn freaks!” he shouted. “We need to get away before they come. Pet, Dudley, go pack a bag to go on a little trip for a while” he told his wife and son “I think it’s time we go on a holiday” he said through gritted teeth. He stomped over to the cupboard and threw open the door grabbing the skinny arm of the boy and pulling him out. “YOU!” he began “you have caused my family so many problems since you got here! Grab your things we’re leaving,” he told Harry. Harry went to turn back into the cupboard to grab the few hand-me-downs he had from Dudley and the few broken army men that he kept when he saw the foyer to the house.

He gasped as he saw what must have been 100 letters all addressed to him by the door. He noticed they all had the same seal as the one before. ‘Someone must really want me to read what’s in that letter’ he thought to himself. Before he even had the chance to grab one, Vernon grabbed his arm and led him out the front door and into the car. Soon after Petunia and a crying Dudley followed them to the car. “But I don’t want to go mummy! Why do I have to go! I’m hungry!” Dudley was shouting. Neither Petunia nor Vernon addressed their son as they were both in a hurry to get out of there. Duddley got in the car next to Harry and punched his shoulder hard “you ruin everything!” Dudley told him before crying himself to sleep on the long drive.

Harry just sighed. He was happy to at least be out of the cupboard and get some sunshine, but he was still upset because he wanted to know what was in that letter that was so bloody important.

July 31, 1991

It was now the sixteenth day since they have been locked in the shack on the little island in the middle of nowhere. Harry sighed and rolled over onto his stomach from the thin blanket he was provided to use as a mattress. Every year on his birthday he had a slimmer of hope that something amazing would happen, but every year that slimmer of hope seemed to grow smaller and smaller.

He was just about to close his eyes and attempt to sleep over his cousins and uncle's loud snoring when he heard what he thought sounded like a motorcycle outside the door. Suddenly there was a loud knock on the door. He held his breath and just stared at the door hoping his uncle would wake up and deal with them, but then a louder second knock on the door, and the door fell off its hinges. Harry quickly dove back to the ground to hide behind the fireplace. He heard Vernon curse and get out of bed slamming his feet on the stairs “I swear boy if you did something…” he trailed off as he now saw the giant man entering the shack and swallowed. Dudley seemed to wake up and ran over to his father and that was when the man took another step towards them. “Ah hello there me name is Hagrid. I’m here te deliver a letter from Perfessor Dumbledore here sir,” the giant explained.

At some point, Petunia got out of bed and was now standing behind her husband handing him the shotgun, which Vernon grabbed and pointed it at ‘Hagrid’. Hagrid simply looked around the room and then saw the shotgun pointed at him “Oh! There’s no need fer that!” he said reaching out and bending the barrel backward. Petunia screamed and Vernon felt his breath catch in his throat. Hagrid looked down at the obese child and let out what seemed to be a painful smile “Yer must be Harry right?” he asked the blond boy. Dudley simply let his jaw hang open and shook his head. He then raised a shaky arm and pointed a finger towards the fireplace.

Hagrid turned and saw the little boy crouching down and took a step closer ‘hmm that makes more sense’ he thought to himself. Harry stood up and gulped. He figured if this was the way to go, at least he’d be put out of his misery. Hagrid walked over to the couch and sat down. Even when the old couch broke from his weight he didn’t move. “Hello Harry, I have something fer ya. It’s from Perfessor Dumbledore at Hogwarts. Oh, and also happy birthday to ya” He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the letter that Harry recognized from before. Harry tentatively took it and opened it.

“Mr. Potter,
We offer you congratulations as you have now been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We look forward to your presence this upcoming year.
Please see the attached letter with the school wardrobe requirements and supplies.
Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Head Mistress”

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and looked back up at Hagrid. “What’s Hogwarts?” he simply asked. Hagrid frowned “Yer a wizard Harry. It’s a school for wizards and witches like ya self. Yer parents went there.” Harry gasped and glanced between the letter and Hagrid. “My parents” he whispered quietly and let a small smile form on his face. “I’m s’posed to take ya to get yer school things and drop ya off at the Weasley’s befer school starts,” Hagrid told the boy. Harry nodded his head and smiled again ‘maybe my birthday wish came true this year’ he thought to himself.

He left with Hagrid and didn’t bother giving one glance back to the Dursleys as he hopped onto the motorcycle.

August 1, 1991

The next day, Harry and Hagrid made their way to what Hagrid called ‘Diagaon Alley’. “First we gotta stop at Gringotts to get ya money,” he told Harry as they entered the bank. Harry looked around at the creepy-looking goblins and gulped. Apparently, his parents left a vault for him with all kinds of heirlooms and money. Hagrid allowed Harry to enter the vault himself and when he did his jaw dropped. He had never seen this much gold before in his life! He walked over to a pile and opened the pouch Hagrid gave him to put the galleons in as Hagrid called them. He grabbed what he thought would be sufficient and turned to leave, but a big wooden chest by the door stopped him. On top, there was a letter with his name on it. Harry smiled realizing it might be from his parents and he grabbed the letter, sitting down next to the chest.

He carefully opened the envelope and smiled when he began to read.

“Harry,
I can’t even believe I am writing this letter. First, I want you to know how much I love you. You are my entire world, my beautiful, beautiful baby boy.

Unfortunately, if you are reading this letter, that means he found us. I am truly sorry that I didn’t do more to protect you from the evil that surrounded us at the time.

Just know, your father and I tried our very best.
Speaking of your father Harry, James Potter is not your real father. James loved you so very much as if you were his own son, but he was only my friend at the time and vowed to protect us. Your real father is Severus Snape.

He had to have his memories erased to protect us. Harry, he loves you so very much, and I can only hope the two of you are together right now and that you’re not actually reading this letter. If you are, go to Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts. He will help you two find each other again.

Bring along the contents of the chest and make sure to provide them to your father, Severus.

I love you so much my Harry bear.

Love,
Mummy”

Harry felt tears streaming down his face. He has a father! He has a parent that is still alive! ‘Or at least hopefully he’s still alive…’ he thought. He roughly wiped the tears off his face and stood up, opening the chest. Inside he saw what looked like a photo album, a smaller chest that held vials of silvery liquid inside, a stuffed toy dog, and a letter addressed to ‘Severus Snape’. Harry tried to drag the chest out of the vault but realized it was way too heavy and big for him to carry. He would have to come back for it.

He smiled as he walked out of the vault. He couldn’t believe what just happened. He didn’t think he has ever felt this happy before in his life.

August 31, 1991

After being acquainted with the Weasleys for four weeks now, Harry has become extremely comfortable in the wizarding world and with their family. At first, the initial shock each member of the Weasley seemed to have from being in the presence of ‘Harry Potter’ confused him until his new friend Ron explained it to him. He supposedly killed the evil wizard that killed his mum and James when he was only one year old! ‘I don’t even remember doing that… how did I even do magic before I knew it existed? Is Severus a wizard too?’ he thought to himself.

Speaking of his dad, he still had to get that chest out of the vault at Gringotts but wasn’t sure how to. He figured he better do it today before they board the train for Hogwarts tomorrow. Sitting down at breakfast, he finally turned to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and bit his lip wondering if he should ask them. Mrs. Weasley noticed he had hardly touched his breakfast placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “Are you feeling alright dearie? You’re not getting sick, are you?” she asked as she moved her hand to his forehead. Harry leaned into the touch and smiled internally; it felt nice to have someone care about him. He remembered the first day he met them she immediately hugged him tightly to her and complained that he was much too thin for her liking.

Harry shook his head and figured now or never. “Actually, I was wondering if I could ask you a question?” he asked. “Well of course honey!” she told him. “Well… my p-parents left a chest in the vault at Gringotts along with a letter and told me to bring it to Hogwarts. My mum wrote I’m supposed to give it to Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape. It’s too big to carry, so I was wondering if someone could help”

Suddenly, the twins and Percy dropped their forks on their plate and turned towards Harry. Harry felt the flush creep up his neck. Mrs. Weasley gave her children a look and then turned towards her husband who seemed to be just as flabbergasted as the kids.

After a solid minute of quiet except for the sound of Ron chewing, Fred was the first to speak “Did you just say you’re supposed to give something to…”
“Professor Snape?” finished George. Harry turned towards them and nodded. “Yeah um… he’s… he’s, my dad.”

At this, Ron stopped eating. He’s heard terrible stories from all his brothers, well aside from Percy really, that Snape was known as ‘the greasy git of the dungeons.’ He swallowed and stared at his new friend. “Harry, your dad is James Potter, hence your last name being you know… ‘Potter,’” Ron said emphatically. Harry felt the blush creeping higher on his neck “Well of course I know my own name Ron!” he replied heatedly, “but my mum wrote a letter to me telling me James Potter just protected us and that Severus Snape is my real dad… Why is everyone giving me that look?” he asked noticing everyone’s face at the table.

Even though Percy didn’t necessarily have a problem with Professor Snape since he was the most studious out of all his brothers, he still knew the man was a complete bastard. He was more shocked though at hearing the potions professor is his father. “So, the boy-who-lived isn’t even a Potter? He’s a Snape?” said Percy turning to his parents. Molly gave him a hard look and turned back to Harry. Arthur seemed to be no help at all now as he was still sitting there staring at nothing against the wall with his mouth hanging slightly open. “Harry dear, we surely can take a trip and get the chest out for you. We can go right after lunch and then pack it for you tomorrow,” she said while placing a hand on his cheek and stroking it gently.

Harry nodded and replied with a simple thank you. Now he really didn’t feel like eating his breakfast since every member of the family aside from Ginny, Molly, and Arthur were staring at him. Arthur seemed to snap back into it and admonished his children for staring at the boy, and everyone resumed their breakfast.

******

Severus Snape sighed as he leaned back into his chair. He was nursing a headache all afternoon preparing for the arrival of the miscreants tomorrow. He already knew he was in for it with the Weasley twins this year and groaned at the thought of that. What he then realized was that it was 1991.

He groaned again, ‘the Potter offspring is going to be here tomorrow’ he thought to himself. He didn’t know how he was going to react to seeing the boy. He doesn’t even know what the boy looks like but is assuming he’s going to look like a clone copy of his archenemy. ‘James Potter, bloody bastard’ he thought. He not only hated Potter for the years of torment he put him through during his time at Hogwarts, but he took his… his ‘my Lily’. Severus slammed his hand down on the end table and stood up. He hardly allowed himself to think of her anymore. It took years to get over her… except that’s the thing. He wasn’t over her. She was still the love of his life, his absolute best friend. ‘Then she went and married the devil's offspring.’

He walked over to the small kitchen in his quarters at Hogwarts and grabbed the bottle of firewhiskey from the shelf. Not even bothering to grab a glass, he took a long swig from the bottle and grimaced at the burn he felt when it went down his throat. He walked back over to his chair and sat down with the bottle in hand. ‘I do not know how I am going to put up with the brat for seven whole years. Maybe he’ll fail out or better yet, get expelled because he’s going to follow in his father’s footsteps'.

If only he knew the true parentage of the boy-who-lived.

September 1, 1991

Harry and the Weasley gang were standing on the platform giving their goodbyes to each other. Molly kissed each of her children goodbye, but then pointed a finger at the twins. “Fred, George,” she began “I know I say this every year, but if you two don’t shape up this year your father and I will not be happy!” Fred and George looked at each other then back at their mum “We won’t mum! Promise!” They both exclaimed at the same time. Arthur stepped in and placed a hand on both boys’ shoulders “please just refrain from blowing up your dorm again. And please try and keep the pranks on Percy to a minimum,” Arthur told the two. Fred and George smiled while they heard a “Hey! There shouldn’t be any!” coming from Percy.

Arthur then turned to Harry and bent down a little to look him in the eyes. “Alright Harry?” Harry nodded and gave a shy smile “Yeah, I’ll be alright. Thank you for the past month and for helping me with the chest, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.” Molly grabbed him and hugged him tightly “of course dearie. Let us know if you need anything else, don’t be a stranger.” Harry nodded and followed the rest of the Weasley gang onto the Hogwarts Express.

He and Ron found a compartment and settled in. Harry slumped against the seat and closed his eyes. He was extremely nervous to arrive at Hogwarts. He couldn’t believe he was going to see his father! He would never have to go back to the Dursleys again! He smiled and opened his eyes when he heard the trolley come around. He and Ron divulged in the lot and were talking about quidditch when there was a knock on the trolley door. Standing in the doorway there was a bushy-haired girl and another boy with a round face. “Have you seen a frog by chance?” the boy asked. He and Ron shook their heads and the boy groaned “Grans gonna kill me! I’m gonna go look for Trevor. Thanks for the help” he told the bushy-haired girl. The girl smiled and stood in the doorway a moment longer.

“You’re Harry Potter, aren’t you?” she asked noticing the scar on his head. Harry just shook his head and reached for the scar tracing it with his long, thin finger. The girl introduced herself as ‘Hermione Granger, muggle born’ and invited herself in. Ron shot his friend a look, but Harry just shrugged.

Suddenly, there was another knock on the door to their compartment. All three turned and saw a tall, husky-looking boy, a short and stubby-looking boy, and an obnoxiously blond boy standing in the doorway. The blond boy took a step forward “I’m Malfoy, Draco Malfoy” he said presenting himself. He looked at the three in the compartment and immediately caught sight of the flaming red hair “you must be a Weasley” he said with a sneer. Ron glared at him, but before he could say anything he looked to the other boy. “Well… you must be Harry Potter,” Draco said emphatically. “Why are you wasting your time in here with Weasley and…” he looked over in Hermione’s direction and sneered again “this mudblood,” he spat.

Hermione gasped and Ron immediately stood up and “Oi!” he shouted, “take that back, you bloody bastard!” Ron pulled out his wand but before he could do anything the twins appeared behind the other boys in the door. “You alright little brother?” George asked. Fred looked into the compartment and saw the girl with tears in her eyes. “Oi, George, you thinking what I’m thinking?” he asked turning to his twin. George smirked and nodded and they both pulled out their wands and gave all three boys a pig nose, pig ears, and a pigtail.

Fred, George, Ron, Harry, and even Hermione let out a loud laugh as the boys started squealing like pigs and ran down the hall. “Right well we better go…” George began, “before we get caught!” Fred finished.

After calming down from the laughter, Harry turned to Hermione. “Hermione, what did he call you?” he asked. Hermione looked away and a few more tears fell out of her eyes. “It’s a foul word for muggle borns,” explained Ron. Harry nodded and felt there needed to be a change in topic to lighten the mood. Harry brought up his first time in Diagon Alley with Hagrid and told them the funny stories he had about the giant. He also mentioned how Dumbledore told Hagrid to get a package from a vault in 713 and then acted weird about it. Hermione told him it was probably nothing weird and to just forget it.

They spent the rest of the train ride talking about all things in the wizarding and muggle world.

****

Severus groaned as he got out of bed. He cast a tempus charm and saw it was 3:30 pm. “Shit,” he said. He didn’t mean to sleep for that long, let alone drink half a bottle of firewhiskey. He immediately downed a headache reliving potion and took a hot shower. He figured he better get the last few preparations ready before the brats arrive.

After what seemed like 30 minutes, turned into 3 hours and he heard Dumbledore’s voice coming from outside his office. Severus stood up and opened the door seeing Dumbledore in the hallway with his twinkly eyes gazing at him over his half-moon spectacles. “Ah Severus my boy, the children are due at the castle any minute now. I will be expecting you in the Great Hall.” Severus nodded “I was just getting ready to head up there Albus,” he said summoning his dressing robe.

“Why don’t we head up together my boy. We haven’t had the chance to talk in the past week. How are you doing?” asked the headmaster. The potions professor followed the headmaster on the trek to the Great Hall and stiffened slightly, looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He knew the real reason why the headmaster was asking him this question. He took a deep breath “just fine Albus. Busy is all.” Dumbledore turned his head and looked at him while stroking his long, white beard. “Ah,” he began “so you have not been stressing over a young Harry Potter’s arrival this evening?” he asked. Snape swallowed. “No,” he simply replied and let the subject drop as they reached the great hall and headed for their seats.

After all the students, aside from the first years, filtered in, Severus stared at the door to the Great Hall finding himself feeling apprehensive at this one boy’s arrival. After all the first years filtered through and the ceremony began, he paid no interest until the name he dreaded hearing was finally called.

McGonagall looked up from her paper as she saw the name on her list. “Potter, Harry.” She said firmly. She scanned the rest of the unsorted first years until one small, dark-haired boy with emerald eyes stepped forward. Harry swallowed and sat on the stool as she placed the sorting hat on his head.

“Ahh I’m having trouble with you,” claimed the sorting hat. “Very interesting you are. I see many qualities in you. You would do well in any of the houses,” the hat continued. Harry whispered “not Slytherin, not Slytherin” to himself. Meeting the pretentious bastard Malfoy put a bad taste in his mouth for Slytherin. He also had hoped to be in the same house as his mom and James; he wanted to make them proud. He wasn’t sure which house his father was in, he never thought to ask, but he was hoping he would be proud of him either way. After what seemed like an eternity the sorting hat shouted “GRYFFINDOR!” and the entirety of the Great Hall erupted into a loud cheer.

Harry ran down the steps towards the Gryffindor table; he was so incredibly happy. He sat next to the twins with Hermione sitting across from him. They all patiently waited for Ron to be sorted and clapped loudly for him when the hat placed him in Gryffindor. Harry felt a huge weight being lifted off his shoulders since his friend was now in the same house as him. Harry and Ron started a conversation with the other first years in Gryffindor, not even noticing the pair of dark obsidian eyes seemingly burning a hole right through him.

Up at the head table, Severus sat with his eyes going wide as he heard Potter’s name called. A very thin and tiny boy emerged from the mass of first years. He swallowed hard when he realized the boy was not a replica of James. Sure, he looked like him a little bit with that wild black hair and round framed lenses, but he realized he reminded him of someone else. He just couldn’t think of who.

Severus was not at all surprised though when the hat put him in Gryffindor. “Go figures,” he muttered under his breath. He knew Lily would be so happy if she knew her son was in Gryffindor, but then again, he internally groaned when he realized he vowed to protect this boy, and already thought of all the trouble his ‘Gryffindor courage’ was going to cause him.

He didn’t even realize that he was staring at the boy until a pair of bright emerald eyes met his. The boy furrowed his brows and stared back. Snape immediately snapped his head away and looked down at the rest of the staff table. He realized he was not the only one staring at him, but rather a man that put a bad taste in his mouth. Quirinus Quirrell was too.

September 2, 1991

Severus was completely exhausted by the time 8 AM rolled around. He stayed up all night thinking. Just thinking. What would Quirrell be staring at Potter for? Who does Potter look like? Why can I not think of who he resembles? Severus grumbled and decided he should just make his way up to the great hall for breakfast. He smirked; he was excited to see if he could get Potter to squirm today during first-year potions class this afternoon.

****

Harry groaned when he woke up to the sun shining brightly in his eyes. He quickly rubbed them and sat up. After putting his glasses on he noticed all his other dormmates were already gone except for Ron who he could hear softly snoring in the bed next to him. He glanced at the watch on his wrist and immediately jumped from the bed. “Shit! Ron wake up!” he yelled running over and shaking his friend to wake him. “Bloody hell Harry!” Ron said as he was violently woken from his deep sleep. “Ron we’re going to be late! We almost missed breakfast!” Harry shouted back while running back to his trunk and grabbing his uniform. Ron shot up “not breakfast!” he shouted and immediately copied Harry’s motions as the two threw on their clothes and quickly brushed their teeth. They sprinted out of the dorm and common room and ran towards the Great Hall.

They made it with 5 minutes to spare but noticed there were not many students still in there. McGonagall sighed and gave a stern look to the boys who were trying to catch their breaths. “Please do try and be on time boys. Now hurry up and eat what you can, here are your schedules.” She handed them their schedules and walked out of the hall. Harry and Ron noticed they had the same schedule and high-fived. Ron began shoving as much food as he could in his mouth, whereas Harry simply grabbed a plain piece of toast. “Ron hurry up before we’re late to class! We have transfiguration with McGonagall, and we don’t want to be late again for the second time on the first day.” Ron simply nodded and grabbed one more muffin before following Harry out of the Great Hall in search of their first class.

Severus and a few other professors who didn’t have a class until later this morning simply sat at the head table and conversed. Severus’s head snapped in the direction of the entrance when he heard the doors bang open and saw two eleven-year-old boys run to the Gryffindor table. He shook his head ‘brats think they can run about in the castle’ he thought to himself. He watched completely disgusted as he saw the Weasley boy try and shove as many muffins in his mouth as he could, but what surprised him was Potter. The boy simply grabbed one slice of toast and seemed fine with that. ‘That damn child is already too thin’ he thought. He took a long sip of his coffee as he watched the two boys run back out the doors and shook his head. He turned back to the conversation at the staff table and again saw Quirrell staring in the direction of the doors.

Harry and Ron finally made it to their transfiguration class. After arriving five minutes late, they both smiled when they realized Professor McGonagall wasn’t anywhere to be seen. They sat towards the front of the room since it was the only table left open and then suddenly, they both realized the cat that was sitting on the desk in the front turned into their professor! Even though Harry was in awe of the magic, he, and Ron both gulped as she stared down at them. “S-sorry professor we got lost,” explained Harry. She gave one nod of her head and went on to teach the class.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all had the same schedule, which Harry was thankful for. That was until he realized he also had the same schedule as Malfoy and his cronies. He couldn’t stand looking at that distastefully blond hair anymore. They were sitting in Professor Binn’s History of Magic class when something hit the back of Harry's head. He saw the piece of paper land next to him and uncrumpled it. “I’m challenging you to a duel tonight. Be by the Black Lake at 8 PM.” Harry crumpled up the paper and put it aside; he was planning on showing his friends later. Also, he thought, ‘I can’t tonight anyway. I was going to go to Professor Dumbledore’s office with the chest and hopefully, he can get my father for me.’ Harry didn’t know all of the professors’ names or faces, so he still had no clue which one was Severus. He sighed happily as he thought of being reunited with his father and began to daydream during the rest of class.

Harry and his friends made their way down to the dungeons for potions class. Harry was dreading it as he heard from the Weasley kids that this class was terrible. He honestly didn’t know much or anything at all about potions, but he still liked to learn and was excited for class to start. He followed Hermione’s actions and took out a few pieces of parchment along with a quill and was preparing to take notes from the chalkboard. Abruptly, all the shades snapped shut on the windows and everyone ceased their conversations and looked up. The tall man dressed in all black was walking down the aisle of desks, his black robes billowing and approached the front of the room.

Severus looked over all the students. He caught eyes with Draco who smirked, but Severus did not react. He loved his godson, but he was not going to show the other miscreants that he wasn’t completely heartless. His eyes continued to scan the mass of students before they landed on one boy. Potter had the audacity to stare back at him with those damn round frames, so he made sure he was giving him the meanest glare he could. He saw the boy gulp and immediately looked down at the parchment in front of him. Snape felt a bit of satisfaction at this.

As he began his yearly lecture to the first years, he noticed Potter was the only one taking notes. He stopped his lecture and thought for a moment ‘so very unlike James and very much like Lily’. He shook his head slightly and began again. After his lecture, the students were brewing a very simple potion to break in their cauldrons and get used to the process of the class.

Severus was sitting at his desk watching Potter like a hawk, waiting for the boy to mess up. So far Potter has been doing a fine job and making observations as he went along. Snape had to admit that he felt… well he couldn’t tell what he felt at this moment. Was it pride? No, it couldn’t be. ‘Why would I be feeling pride for this boy’. His thoughts were immediately interrupted as he heard a student shout “Professor Snape!” His head whipped in the direction it came from and saw Neville Longbottom’s cauldron begin to bubble over. “Step Back!” Snape shouted, but it was too late, and Neville was hit in the face with his potion.

Snape let out a frustrated grunt and grabbed Neville by the arm pulling him towards the door. He had Seamus Finnegan bring Neville to the infirmary to be fixed by Madam Pomphrey. “Bottle your potions and leave them on my desk then you are dismissed,” he said frustrated with the idiot boy.

Harry sat at his desk with his jaw hanging slightly open. He had finished his potion already, and it seems like it was almost perfect since it was the light shade of purple the directions said it should be. ‘That’s Severus Snape?’ Harry thought to himself. ‘That’s my dad?’ Harry gulped and gazed up at the intimidating man. For a second, he thought he was having doubts about telling him he was his son but immediately shut that thought down. ‘Mum said he loved me. He just doesn’t remember…’ Harry’s thoughts were immediately cut short as that voice cut through the room. “Mr. Potter, if you are done with your potion bring it up here, or are you simply too ignorant to follow simple direction?”

Harry scrambled to grab his potion and put it on the professor, wait no, his dad’s desk. He smiled and grabbed his bag and followed his friends to dinner. He found his dad. Nothing could make this day worse.

****

After dinner, he and his friends returned to the Gryffindor common room, where they divulged in a game of exploding snap. Hermione shook her head from the table “you do know you boys have homework, right?” she told them. Harry and Ron paused their game to look at her as they both shrugged. “Yeah, but it’s not due for a couple more days,” Ron replied. She let out an annoyed huff and slammed her books closed. “I’m going to the library then where I won’t be disturbed.” She turned out the door and Ron watched her as she left “good riddance,” he said.

Harry glanced at his watch as it read 7 PM and figured he would make his way to Dumbledore’s office. “Alright Ron, I’m gonna go talk to Dumbledore,” he told his friend. Ron looked over at Harry and shook his head. “Harry, are you sure you want to do this? I mean sure it’s great you have a parent that’s alive and all but… is it that great when that parent is… Snape?” Harry stayed quiet for a moment, knowing better to give himself a second before he exploded at his friend. “Yes, there is nothing wrong with Snape!” Harry shouted back. “Were you not there in class today? He just has a face that looks mean! You saw how he exploded at Neville for an accident!” Ron exclaimed. Harry shook his head “so what, maybe he’s different outside of class! I’d rather have him as my dad than have no dad at all, or better yet have to go back to the Dursleys!” Harry huffed and stormed away to his dorm to grab the shrunken-down chest. He ran past Ron before anything else could be said and made his way to Dumbledore’s office. He never really talked about his time at the Dursleys, but he assumed the Weasley family knew they weren’t the best guardians out there.

When he reached the gargoyle leading to the headmaster’s office, he realized he had no clue how to get in. Right before he was going to turn around and find Percy to ask him, the gargoyle spun out of the way and out walked Professor Quirrell. Harry took a step back before Quirrell could bump into him. Quirrell snapped his head up and stared at the boy before running away. ‘Well, that was weird,’ Harry thought, but he made his way up the stairs and knocked on the door. “Ah do come in,” Harry heard the headmaster say. He pushed open the door and looked around the room in awe of all the portraits and knickknacks about the room.

“Why hello my boy, what can I do for you?” Dumbledore asked as he rose from his desk with a big smile on his face. “Hi Professor… umm well you see,” he began “my mum left a letter for me at Gringotts, along with this chest of things that she said I should bring to you and um… p-Professor Snape…” Harry trailed off and pulled the chest out of his pocket. Dumbledore peered over his spectacles and took a deep breath. ‘Merlin, help me’ he thought to himself. “Let me take a look here Harry.”

Harry handed him the chest and Dumbledore restored it to its correct size. “Do you mind if I take a look?” he asked the young boy. Harry shook his head “go ahead, sir.” Dumbledore gently opened the lid and alas, he saw the letter addressed to Severus Snape in the chest along with a few vials of memories. Dumbledore sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. He never thought he was going to have to do this, but he didn’t expect Lily and James to have left all this. Furthermore, he didn’t expect Harry to look like a mix of Lily, James, and the potions professor! ‘Merlin I’m in trouble now. Better get this over with,’ he thought.

“Well Harry, why don’t you take a seat and I’ll summon Professor Snape up here.” Harry simply nodded and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the headmaster’s desk, swinging his legs and watching the bird in front of him in awe. Dumbledore summoned a house elf, who then summoned Professor Snape. After five minutes, the door opened to the office and Severus stepped in “You needed me, Albus?” Dumbledore nodded and moved out of the way so Severus could fully enter his office. Snape took a weary step in when he noticed Potter sitting in one of the chairs. ‘What could this brat have done already on the first day’ he thought.

“Severus, it might be best if you sit down for this,” Albus told him. Snape looked at him for a second before sitting in the chair next to Potter. He glanced in Potter’s direction and saw the boy wringing his hands nervously. ‘Very much like Lily,’ he said to himself. Severus turned back towards the headmaster and raised a brow indicating to the man he wanted him to begin. Dumbledore opened the chest and grabbed the letter from inside first, figuring this would be the easiest way to begin. Severus looked at the envelope and immediately recognized Lily’s handwriting. He looked over at Potter and then back towards the headmaster before looking down at the envelope in his hands. He traced over his name with his long, slim finger and felt his heart in his throat. He began to open the letter but immediately stopped as he remembered the company, he was currently in.

“Headmaster, I wish to not do this in front of…” he glanced in Harry’s direction, “an unwanted audience.” Dumbledore simply nodded. He figured he would want to do this alone. “Why don’t you take the chest with you and floo call me when you are finished,” he told his Potions Master. Severus nodded and silently got up to grab the chest before throwing one more glance in Harry’s direction. He saw the worry in Lily’s, no, Potter’s eyes, but brushed it off. He picked up the chest and left without saying another word. After he left, Dumbledore turned towards Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I think it would be best for you to go, he might be a while. I will summon you when your father is ready.”

Harry looked up through his bangs and nodded. Without saying anything himself, he left and made his way back to the common room. He felt absolutely defeated at this moment. He knew it must have been hard for Snape, but he just felt abandoned, like no one truly wanted him. When he got back to the common room, he saw Ron on the couch flipping through a Quidditch magazine. Ron looked up and saw Harry looking miserable. He sighed and went over to his friend and gave him a pat on the back. Harry let out a long sigh and then checked the time. ‘Only 7:30,’ he thought ‘I still have time to meet with Malfoy and make him pay for what he said to Hermione’. He looked over at his red-headed friend and gave him a smirk “how about we forget about this and go have some fun?” he asked Ron. Ron seemed to ponder for a few seconds before agreeing and followed his friend to the black lake.

As Harry and Ron met up with Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, none of the boys seemed to notice the shadowy figure sitting in the astronomy tower gazing out at the lake.

September 2, 1991

After leaving the headmaster's office, Severus could hear his heart beating in his chest. ‘What could possibly be in this box and what could Lily have possibly written in this letter?’ he thought to himself. He made his way up to the astronomy tower, their place. The place he could still feel her when he allowed himself to think about his best friend. He sighed as he sat down and peered out over the edge, taking in the sight of the star, the Forbidden Forest, and the Black Lake. He pulled the letter out from his robe and took a deep breath before opening it. Right as he was opening it a flash caught his attention from the corner of his eyes. He snapped his head up and followed the direction it came from and saw a continuation of flashes down by the Black Lake and what sounded like a group of boys shouting at each other. He clenched his fists and shoved the letter back into his robe and stormed out of the astronomy tower towards the Black Lake.

****

Harry and Ron approached Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. “Well, if it isn’t Potter and the Weasel,” Malfoy sneered at them. Ron shot Malfoy a dirty look and grabbed Harry’s arm and whispered in his ear “Harry, what are we doing out here?” Harry shook his arm out of Ron’s grasp and turned to whisper back “we have to do this for Hermione. I want to shut this prat up, especially if we’re going to be seeing him every day.” Honestly, Harry wasn’t quite sure why he agreed to duel Malfoy, this was only his second day at school and only learned one spell. ‘Hopefully, Ron will know what to do,’ he thought to himself.

Malfoy drew his wand out and Harry and Ron followed. “It’s time to show you the mistake you made on the train befriending those imbeciles,” Malfoy said. Before Harry could react, Malfoy shouted out the Furunculus curse towards Ron, whose skin immediately erupted into painful boils. Ron grabbed at his face as he felt the surface of his skin erupt. Ron pointed his wand in the direction of the group and shouted back “Rictusempra!” The spell hit Goyle who immediately broke out into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. In fact, he was laughing so hard he fell on top of Malfoy. “Get off me!” Malfoy struggled as he attempted to get out from underneath Goyle. Harry turned to Ron as he saw Ron now on his knees from the pain of the boils forming on his face “Ron! What should I do?” he asked his friend hoping his anxiety from the situation wasn’t showing. “Use the one Fred and George taught you!” Ron shouted back. Harry turned and pointed his wand at Malfoy and shouted the incantation for the bat-bogey hex. Immediately, bats started to fly out from Malfoy’s nose, and he screamed, turning to Crabbe “do something you fool!” Crabbe, using the first spell that came to mind shouted “Bombardo!” and the next thing any of them knew was that they were all flying 10 feet into the air as the ground around them exploded.

Harry was thrown into a nearby tree, hitting his head and smashing his glasses. He sat up groggily and looked around and saw Ron laying a few feet in front of him. He slowly got up and realized he felt extremely dizzy but made his way over to his friend. Just as he looked up, he saw the blurry outline of a shadowy figure running down the hill towards them. “Shit,” he mumbled and helped Ron stand up. Before he knew it, there was a hand gripping his upper arm extremely tightly, and he flinched. “You imbeciles!” the voice shouted! Harry swallowed. He knew that voice.
Before he could say or do anything, the grip on his arm tightened and started dragging him and Ron back towards the castle. Without his glasses, Harry couldn’t make out where he was going, but after a somewhat long venture through the castle, he recognized the smell of antiseptic and realized they must have been in the hospital wing. “Sit.” The voice ordered as he was shoved into a bed. He could just make out his friend being shoved into a bed next to him and saw the professor cast a spell over his friend, figuring he was getting rid of the boils. He then looked around the room and saw three other occupants in the beds across and figured it was Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. Harry gripped the sheets on the bed and felt his heart racing. ‘This is not good; this is not good’ he kept thinking. ‘My father already hates me! Oh god, I’m going to get expelled; I’m going to have to go back to the Dursleys!’

Harry started to gasp for breath as tears filled his eyes. He pulled his knees up to his chest and placed his head in between his knees. He didn’t know how long he was like this, but then suddenly that voice broke through the room again “Potter!” it shouted, “calm yourself!” Harry immediately obeyed and took a few deep breaths while leaning back in the hospital bed. The next thing he knew was someone grabbed his wrist and opened his hand to shove a pair of glasses into them. “They’re not your original ones, but they will have to do for now until you can see an Optometrist get new ones.” The voice said. Harry nodded and put the glasses on. They weren’t exactly perfect, but he could at least see better than before. He looked up and saw Professor Snape, his father, staring down at him with a very angry expression on his face. Harry gulped and then looked around the rest of the room.

He was right; they were in the infirmary. He saw Ron sitting in the bed next to him, now boil free. He then looked across the room and saw the three other boys with a few cuts and bruises scattering their bodies. He heard the clucking of a tongue and looked up and saw an older woman dressed in what he assumed were hospital robes, entering the room and shaking her head. “Only the second day of school and I already have five students in here!” she exclaimed. “Severus, care to explain what happened?” she asked looking at the potions master. Severus nodded and glared at all the boys in the room “these imbeciles seemed to be having a duel when one of them caused an explosion right before I got there in time,” he explained. All the boys could tell their professor was extremely upset, but Malfoy looked up “Potter started it!” he yelled. “Did not! Stop lying!” Harry shouted back at the blond-headed prat. “Boys!” Snape cut in, “it does not matter who started it, what matters is that you all participated! One of the many rules at Hogwarts is that you never pull a wand on another student. Dueling is strictly forbidden! I have half a mind to expel each one of you, but this time I will be lenient. A week’s detention should suffice. I am extremely disappointed in all of you. Your families will also be notified.” With that, the potions master stormed out of the room.

Harry looked down and studied his hands and sighed, ‘my parent already knows,’ he thought to himself.

****

Severus made it back to his quarters. He immediately went over to the cabinet that had the fire whiskey in it and took a swig from the bottle. He ran a hand through his hair and sat back in his chair. “Those stupid children!” he shouted out. He was seething with anger; he was surprised he was that easy-going on the boys. He had to admit though when he looked into Potter’s eyes and saw tears in them, he immediately thought of Lily and calmed down a bit. “Those damn eyes are going to be the death of me,” he said aloud. He then remembered the letter and the chest the headmaster provided him. He pulled the letter out and sighed. He took another swig from the bottle of fire whiskey and leaned back in the chair, finally having the courage to open it. He pulled out the letter and began to read, hearing his heartbeat in his ears as he read.

“Severus,

I don’t even know where to begin with this. If you are reading this, that means I am gone, and our plan was not successful. You are probably going to be very confused by what is in this letter, but don’t worry. Dumbledore can explain and some artifacts inside the chest will help you better understand.

First, what you should know is that I love you. I love you so much Sev. I never stopped. I thought about you every single second of every single day. I miss our bickering, I miss seeing the smile that you would only allow me to see, I miss listening to your rants about those ‘idiot brats’ at Hogwarts, I miss waking up every morning next to you. I miss you.

I was never married to James. You were made to believe that after we had to obliviate your memory to protect us from Voldemort. We lived at Spinner’s end, but Dumbledore moved us to Godric’s Hollow Christmas Eve in 1980. He removed every single artifact that would have reminded you of us.”

At this, Severus took a deep breath… ‘us?’ he thought. He continued reading and felt his hands shaking against the paper.

“Sev, we had a son. His name is Harry James Snape. Well, to the ministry he is known as Harry James Potter, but his real birth certificate is hidden in our vault at Gringotts for safekeeping. Harry is your son. Harry is our son. I remember the day he was born; you were so incredibly happy. Hell, we were both incredibly happy! We were such a happy little family with our beautiful baby boy. He looks just like us. Unfortunately, because of this, I had to cast a small charm on the boy for him to resemble James, but I couldn’t bring myself to rid him of all the things that make him your son. He is a perfect mix of the three of us.

I know you are probably feeling very confused and overwhelmed, but the contents of the chest will help restore your memory. I wrote a letter to Harry as well, explaining everything to him and that he should find you. If you are reading this, that means he already knows. Sev, go find our baby boy and love him enough for the both of us. Open your heart back up for him.

I love you more than words can describe, Severus Snape,
Your Lily Flower”

Severus didn’t realize but he had tears streaming down his face. ‘No,’ he thought. ‘This cannot be true. This has to be some kind of sick joke the Potter boy is playing on me.’ He leaned forward in his chair and let the letter fall out of his hands as he lowered his head into his head. ‘But apparently, the Potter boy isn’t even a potter.’

He looked at the letter that was on the floor and read it once more. He had no clue what to do. ‘Could this be true? If it is, why the hell did Albus not bring him back to him after Lily had died? Is this a joke? Am I dreaming?’ He grabbed his wand and cast a spell to cut open skin. ‘No, not a dream,’ he thought as he watched the blood drip down. He healed himself and stood up. He looked at the chest and decided he had enough for tonight. He couldn’t bring himself to look inside just yet. He took another long sip from the bottle of fire whiskey and decided to retire for the night. He would deal with this tomorrow.

As he changed into his pajamas and laid down in bed, he found himself staring at the ceiling. He couldn’t bring himself to fall asleep. He looked over at the clock on the nightstand and saw it was 2 am. Without even thinking through his thoughts, he got up and transfigured his pajamas into his robes and stalked out of his quarters, finding himself standing in front of the infirmary doors. He knew Poppy would keep the kids overnight after the explosion. He took a deep breath and as quietly as he could, he walked into the infirmary and over to the bed of one tiny eleven-year-old boy. This was the first time he recognized the features in the boy's face. He noticed the high cheekbones and defined jaw. Those were his. He noticed the way the boy's hair had waves at the end. That matched his hair. He then saw his hand resting on top of the blanket and noticed he had the same long, slim fingers and nail shapes as the boy. ‘Is this boy really my son? My son with…. Lily,’ he thought to himself. He looked at the very thin frame of the boy and then back up to his face. He looked so vulnerable lying here asleep. He looked… cute? ‘Merlin I cannot believe I even allowed myself to think that nauseating word,’ he thought to himself. He continued to stand there silently, watching the gentle rise and fall of this boy’s chest. He found himself relaxing a bit.

A noise across the room caught his attention and he heard one of the boys begin to stir. He quickly sauntered out of the infirmary and walked back down to his quarters. This time he found himself able to fall into a deep, restful sleep, dreaming of his beautiful Lily.

September 15, 1991

It has now been two weeks since Severus read the letter from Lily. He still hasn’t gone through the contents of the chest due to him being too afraid of everything becoming real. He couldn’t bring himself to confront either Dumbledore or the boy. He hasn’t said a word to either of them. He had handed the boy’s detention over to Filch. Furthermore, every time he would catch Potter staring at him in class or the Great Hall, he would simply snap his head in another direction and distract himself. He knew it wasn’t fair to the boy, but he needed time. He couldn’t bring a child into his life. He couldn’t be a father. He honestly didn’t think he’d ever be able to care for anyone in any sense. Sure, he apparently used to care for the boy, but he didn’t remember, and he still wasn’t sure if wanted to. He figured the boy would be better off without him. He probably is better off with Lily’s family. If he knew anything, he knew Petunia Evans held such a high standard for herself that she probably spoiled him rotten. But then again, why is the boy that thin? Surely, he’s way smaller than an eleven-year-old should be. He reminded himself to investigate it later. Even if he didn’t think he could be a father to the boy, that didn’t mean the boy should suffer if he was.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Dumbledore’s voice calling him through the Floo. “Yes, headmaster?” he asked after walking over to his fireplace. “Severus, I think you should come to my office. It’s time to talk,” and with that, the headmaster pulled his head away. Severus sighed. No, he wasn’t ready. He couldn’t face this reality. He groaned and ran a hand through his hair. ‘I’m a grown man for Merlin’s sake,’ he thought to himself. He took one look at the chest that was now stowed in a dark corner of his quarters and grabbed it. He grabbed the Floo powder off his mantle and shouted, “Headmaster Dumbledore’s office!” As he stepped out of the Floo, his breath caught in his throat as he made eye contact with the owner of those pair of green eyes.

****

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were running out of the entrance hall to where they would meet the rest of the first years for their lesson in the courtyard. They were all excited for the day since today would be their first flying lesson with Madam Hooch. Harry has never flown on a broom before, be he watched the twins and Ron do it over the summer and he had to admit, it looked extremely fun.

After successfully mounting his broom, Harry immediately felt like a natural. He couldn’t quite answer why, but it just felt right. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted as he heard Madam Hooch yelling at Neville to get down, and Neville just screaming. Before anyone could do anything, Neville’s broom took off and slammed him into the side of the castle. Madam Hooch ran over to him and told everyone to hop off their brooms until she returned. Draco saw something shining in the grass and flew over, noticing Neville’s remberall. He smirked and picked it up showing everyone.

Harry was livid. He couldn’t stand Malfoy, especially with what happened with his duel. He blamed Malfoy for the reason why Severus didn’t want him. If he hadn’t had gone to that duel, his father wouldn’t hate him and think he was more trouble than what he’s worth. “Give it back Malfoy!” Harry shouted as he mounted his broom following Malfoy into the air. “Yeah? Why don’t you go get it Potter!” he spat out and then threw the ball as hard as he could. Harry took off following the ball. He leaned forward on his broom and without even realizing it, he grabbed the ball and turned the broom around just in time before slamming into the castle himself. He made it back over to the group and everyone cheered until they heard “Potter!” come from the entrance doors. Harry gulped and looked over to see his stern head of house calling him over. She grabbed his shoulder and started to drag him away. ‘Now I’ve really done it. I’m going to be expelled,’ he thought to himself. He was completely dumbfounded though when his professor introduced him to Oliver Wood, captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. She told him she found his new seeker and Harry looked up at her, his jaw-dropping. The twins and Ron had taught him all about Quidditch, and Harry immediately fell in love with it. He didn’t expect to be asked to join the team, especially as a first-year! They had told him people don’t normally try out for the team until their third year.

After the quick meeting with Oliver Wood, McGonagall escorted him to the headmaster’s office. “We will just have to ask him to contact your family for permission.” She told him as she brought him in front of the Gargoyle leading to the office. Harry tensed. There was no way the Dursleys would let him do anything fun. He knew they would deny it, especially since it would be coming from the ‘freaky school’. His shoulders slumped as he followed McGonagall into the office. He honestly didn’t pay any attention to their conversation until Dumbledore placed a hand on his shoulder. Harry looked up; he didn’t even notice McGonagall had left. “Harry, my boy, I think it is time we talk to your father.” Harry swallowed and looked back down at his hands in his lap. ‘The father that hates me? The father that doesn’t want anything to do with me?’ he thought to himself. After a moment he just nodded his head, not even bothering to look up.

****

After what felt like an hour of just sitting there, he heard the fireplace roar, and out stepped the tall man dressed in all black. He looked up and made eye contact with those dark obsidian eyes. ‘This is it. This is the part where he’s going to tell me he doesn’t want me,’ he thought.

Severus finally broke eye contact with the boy and turned to the headmaster. Albus motioned for him to sit down, and he complied, sitting down next to the boy. “Now, before we begin my boys, I would like to share the good news. It seems as if our young Harry here will be the youngest Quidditch player for the first time in a century!” Dumbledore said happily. “Well, that is if his father agrees to let him play,” He then added. Snape held his breath then glared at the headmaster. ‘This is how the old coot wanted to start this conversation?’ Harry on the other hand continued to wring his hands in his lap. He was so anxious he could feel his heart beating out of his chest. That was until he heard the simple words come from the potions master's mouth. “Yes, the boy can play.”

Harry snapped his head up. ‘So, he did know! This whole time he knew, and he hasn’t said anything!’ Harry felt like someone stabbed his heart as it shattered into a million pieces. ‘What is it about me that makes me so unlovable? Why does nobody want me?’ he asked himself. He felt like sobbing right now but knew better than to show his emotions to this man. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his emotions in check.

Dumbledore sat forward in his chair, folding his hands on top of his desk. “Well now that it is out in the open, I believe we shall begin. Severus, Harry, do you have any questions you would like to ask first?” Severus looked over at Harry and was surprised when he saw the boy shake his head. Severus sighed and decided he should be the grown man he is. “Actually, yes,” he began. “What happened?” Dumbledore gave him a sad smile and began his story.

“You and Lily Evans married two years out of Hogwarts. A year into your marriage she became pregnant. She was ecstatic, and though you never openly admitted it yourself, everyone knew you were too. Unfortunately, this situation was problematic. This was when you were spying for The Order and when things were taking a dark turn in the war. You came to me and begged for the protection of your wife and unborn child. That was when James Potter entered the scene. He was sent to live with you since Lily felt comfortable around him and I knew he could be trusted. Moving forward, Harry here was born on July 31, 1980. I remember you frantically running out of your fourth-year potions class when James sent his Patronus telling you Lily was in labor at St. Mungos. We couldn’t risk anyone finding out about your relationship with Lily and Harry, so everyone was led to believe that Harry was James’s son. Only James’s group of friends knew that James was never married to Lily, that you were, but they all believed Harry was his son. Now it was Christmas Eve that same year when you had come to me desperately begging me to protect your wife and son. I placed them in the home in Godric’s Hollow under the Fidelus Charm and had to obliviate your memory. What we didn’t know at that time was that someone was listening into the floo in Spinner’s End. That man was the one who ended up betraying his friends.”

At this Dumbledore took a quick pause. Before beginning again, he looked over at Harry and noticed the boy was intently listening, but then he looked over at Severus and was not able to detect any emotion or acknowledgment on his face. He took a deep breath and continued.

“After the war, I was going to restore your memory and Lily and Harry would have come back home. After that dreadful Halloween night, I realized I couldn’t put the boy in danger. Even with Voldemort being defeated, there were still death eaters that would have made life very dangerous for the two of you if they had found out the truth. Even now that the truth has been found out between the two of you, there is still reason to be cautious. Many people still want to hurt you, Harry. It is not safe for-” but he was cut off.

Severus slammed his palms on the table and stood up. “Not safe? Do you not think I would be able to protect my own son? I would have done everything, EVERYTHING to protect my son!” he shouted. Harry snapped his head around to look at the man as his jaw dropped to the floor. “You just wanted more pawns to play with! I have lost not only eleven years of my life, but eleven years of my son’s life! My son… my son with Lily,” he said thickly as he sat back down in the chair, rubbing his thumb and index finger on his forehead.

The room stayed quiet until Dumbledore spoke again. “I do apologize, Severus, but you know that he would not have been safe. The blood wards at his aunt and uncle’s house protect him more than you can think. He needs to remain there.”

Suddenly, one of the glass orbs on top of the headmaster’s desk shattered. Both older men looked around the room but then realized it had come from a trembling Harry. “Harry?” Dumbledore began, “are you alright my boy?”

Harry clenched and unclenched his fists. Without even thinking he shouted “No! Frankly, I am not alright!” Both older men turned and glanced at each other and then back to the boy. “I-I can’t go back there! I’m tired of being called a freak! I’m tired of sleeping in my cupboard! I’m tired of being given Dudley’s hand-me-downs! I’m tired of being smacked when I don’t finish cooking fast enough! I’m tired of being starved because I didn’t finish cleaning the house fast enough! I’m tired of being punched and kicked for fun! I… I-I’m tired!” he shouted angrily as tears now streamed down his face uncontrollably. When he looked up and saw both men staring at him with their mouths slightly opened, he had realized what he just said. He has never told anyone before. This made him cry even harder and drop his head again. ‘Great, now they think I’m just some broken kid,’ he thought.

“Harry…” the voice cut through his thoughts. When he didn’t look up, a hand was gently placed under his chin and lifted his head. Red rimmed, emerald eyes met the dark obsidian eyes that were filled with concern and sorrow. ‘Here it comes. This is the part where he says he doesn’t want a broken child. He doesn’t love me,’ Harry thought. He was utterly surprised when he saw the man stand up and grab his arm to stand with him. What surprised him, even more, was when he was being crushed against the man’s chest, one hand resting between his shoulder blades and the other resting on the back of his head holding him there. Harry didn’t know how to react to this, but he felt safe. For the first time in his life, he truly felt safe. This made him grab the robes of the Potion Master and hold them in his fists and he began to sob into this man’s chest. He felt one hand gently running through his hair and another rubbing small circles on his back.

Severus had no clue what he was doing. All he knew was that his heart shattered into a million pieces when he heard everything this child had to say. He could relate to some of the things since he grew up with an abusive father, but that didn’t mean he wanted to be able to ‘share abuse stories’ with Lily’s son… no his son. ‘Bloody hell, what am I going to do,’ he thought to himself.

When Harry finally calmed down and pulled back, Severus rested a hand on his shoulder and bent down to the boy’s eye level. “Alright, Harry?” he asked. ‘Of course, this child is not alright,’ he thought as he internally scolded himself for asking such a stupid question. Harry merely nodded and then sat back down in the chair. He looked back up and saw the headmaster staring at him with a sad look on his face. “Harry, I did not know. I am truly sorry,” he told the boy. Harry nodded and looked back down.

“Unfortunately, I am afraid my boys, that this still cannot become public. There are too many risks,” Dumbledore said softly. Severus looked back over at Harry and then back at the headmaster. “I agree. We must keep this quiet. No one can know. Harry, did you tell anyone?” Harry stayed quiet for a minute and then looked up biting his lower lip and wringing his hands again. “Y-yes, the Weasley’s know…” he answered quietly. Severus ran a hand down his face and sighed “at least they are members of The Order, but we must make sure they stay quiet about this.” Both Dumbledore and Harry nodded.

Severus looked at his pocket watch feeling completely drained and realized it was nearing dinner time. He turned towards Harry and sighed. “Harry, why don’t you head to the Great Hall for dinner and then head up to your common room for the night. I’m sure you’re exhausted,” he told him. Harry nodded and got up to leave. Before he reached the door he turned around “Good night,” he addressed both men. “Good night, Harry,” the headmaster responded, whereas Snape simply nodded his head.

After the door shut behind Harry, Severus sat down in the chair, his elbows resting on his knees and his head in his hands. “I don’t know what to do,” he said quietly. Dumbledore sat back in his own chair and sighed, looking sadly at the man sitting in front of him.

October 8, 1991

It was now nearing a month after the event that took place in Dumbledore’s office. After one more meeting with the headmaster with Harry present, Severus and Harry agreed to keep their relationship hidden from everyone. Well hidden from everyone aside from the Weasleys, but after talking to the family, each member agreed to never speak of it to anyone to protect the two of them.

Severus needed to start slow. He still has not viewed the memories or the photo album inside the chest. He just couldn’t put himself through the pain of seeing those memories with Lily. He still had a deep wound that needed healing, but he realized that after each day he and Harry spent in his office getting to know each other, that wound was slowly closing. He had started simple when he and Harry had their first meeting.

**** (FB)

It was the Friday afternoon after their first meeting with the headmaster. Severus had his first-year potions with Harry; it was the last class of the day for both of them. He had told Harry to stay after class to go over the essay he had turned in. After everyone had cleared out of the room, Severus led him into his office and sat down behind his desk. Harry stood there shifting from foot to foot before Severus motioned for him to sit down.

“Harry,” he began but Harry cut him off. “I’m sorry Professor Snape, I know my essay wasn’t the best. I had rushed to finish it the night before it was due. I had Quidditch practice that ran extremely late,” he started to explain but Severus held his hand up to stop him. “Please do refrain from cutting me off,” he said sternly. Harry bit his lip and nodded. “Now, I called you in here because I was hoping we would be able to talk a bit, get to know each other. And yes actually, I do have some comments about your essay to give back to you, but for now, let’s not worry about that.”

Harry nodded and let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “O-okay sir,” he responded. “What would you like to know?” he asked. Severus remained quiet for a few seconds. “Let’s start with the basics, what is your favorite color?” “Blue. Yours?” “Green,” Severus responded. “Then why do you always wear black, sir?” Severus smirked “I have an appearance to keep up. What is it they call me? Ahh… ‘the greasy bat of the dungeons,’ I simply cannot let the students think I am not as cold-hearted as they believe.”

Harry smiled at this. “What’s your favorite food?” Harry decided to ask. “Shepard’s pie, yours?” Harry stayed quiet for a moment thinking. “Treacle tart,” he answered with a shy smile. Snape nodded his head “Ah yes, a young boy who loves sweets,” Snape responded. “The first time I’ve ever had it was here during the welcoming feast,” Harry began, “it was actually the first time I’ve ever had dessert,” he added without even thinking.

Snape leaned forward and watched the boy in front of him for a moment. “Harry,” he began “we need to discuss your time at the Dursleys.” Harry’s eyes widened and he immediately shook his head “no!” he shouted. “Please… I-I can’t…” Severus sighed “Harry it is not healthy to keep it bottled up,” he began before Harry cut him off again with a sharp “no!” Severus sighed once more and decided to let the subject drop for now. “Well, if you change your mind, I will always be here to listen,” he told the boy. Harry nodded and changed the topic again.

**** (end FB)

It was Friday afternoon again and Harry would be staying after class. This seemed to become their new routine. Harry would stay Friday afternoons, and they would discuss the previous week and a few other things, getting to know each other. Severus and Harry started to feel more comfortable around each other and for that, they were both happy. Harry waited until everyone in the classroom left and then followed Severus into his office and sat in his normal chair.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Severus asked as he sat down behind his desk. Tomorrow was the first quidditch game of the year; it was Slytherin vs Gryffindor. “Kinda,” Harry began, “Wood had us practicing two times a day this past week. I have to say, I am truly exhausted,” he laughed a little. Severus nodded “well maybe if you didn’t stay up with Weasley playing exploding snap or wizard’s chest until an ungodly hour every night, you would feel a bit more rested.” Harry blushed ‘how did he know that!’ he thought to himself. Severus regarded the boy in front of him and smirked when he blushed. He had his ways of knowing things.

“Anyways,” Harry began again, “you’re coming to the game tomorrow, right?” Harry asked. “Of course, I am. I have to be there to show my own house support, right?” he asked Harry. Harry felt disappointment course through him “oh right,” he replied sounding upset. “Harry,” Severus began and stood up to stand in front of him and place a hand on his shoulder. “Even though I am very loyal to my own house, that does not mean I won’t be secretly cheering for my son.”

Harry looked up at the man. This had been the first time he had called him his son since the meeting with Dumbledore a month ago. The corners of his lips twitched up and Severus felt him mirroring Harry’s reaction. “You just have to promise to not blow them out of the water, alright?” Harry let his smile grow and he let out a small chuckle “alright, I guess that’s agreeable.”

Harry looked down at his wristwatch and sighed. He had Quidditch practice in 30 minutes and had to get his stuff before heading down to the pitch. “I need to head out,” he told Severus. Severus straightened up “give me one minute and then you can leave,” he told Harry. Severus disappeared behind a door and walked out with a long, rectangular box in his hands. “This is for you,” he said handing the box to Harry. Harry’s eyes went wide, and he took the box with shaky hands. No one’s ever given him a gift before. He looked back up at Severus who motioned for him to open it. Harry gently lifted the lid on the box and could have sworn he was going to pass out.

“Y-you… you got me a broom?” he asked pulling the Nimbus 2000 out of the box and running his hands over the handle. “No Harry, I got you a dog,” Severus replied sarcastically. Harry smiled and placed the broom back down. He ran over to Severus and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. Severus, taken aback by the sudden hug took a few seconds to respond to the child’s hug. He heard a mumbled “thank you” come from Harry and gave him a pat on the back before stepping out of the contact. “You are welcome, now get out of here before you’re late,” Severus told him. Harry nodded and grabbed the broom and dashed out of the office. Severus shook his head and allowed himself a small smile at seeing the look on his son’s face.

****

October 9, 1991

The Quidditch match had just started, and Harry was hovering over the top of the pitch watching the game down below. He looked around the crowd of Gryffindors and saw Ron, Hermione, Neville, Seamus, and Dean holding up a ‘Go Harry Go!’ sign. He smiled and then turned his attention to the teacher's stand. He made eye contact with Severus and smiled.

His attention was then diverted when he caught a glimpse of gold flash by him. He started to make a dive for the snitch, with the Slytherin chaser following him. The snitched immediately flew in the other direction and Harry skillfully turned to follow it. He was just about to grab it when suddenly he felt like he was about to be thrown off his broom. ‘This is weird,’ he thought to himself while grabbing onto the broom handle as tight as he could. The next thing he knew was that the shaking started to become more violent, and he was now dangling off his broom!

From the stands, Ron shouted, “bloody hell, Harry! Hold on!” to his friend. Hermione looked around trying to think of something to do to help her friend when she saw Professor Snape quickly moving his mouth and staring at Harry. She ran from the Gryffindor stand and up the stairs to the teacher's stand and climbed through the bleachers. She whispered “incendio,” and Snape’s cloak caught fire. Snape looked down and jumped up, but immediately fell backward onto the teachers behind him, knocking down a few of them. After the fire on his cloak was put out, he snapped his head back up and was frantically scanning the pitch for Harry. He let out a breath he didn’t even know he had been holding when he saw Harry back on his broom and chasing after the snitch.

Harry was just a few centimeters away from grabbing the snitch when a bludger suddenly slammed into his shoulder. He let out a cry and started to tumble out of the sky on his broom. He let go of his broom and then fell onto the ground. Oddly enough, the ground felt like it was cushioned, he had expected it to hurt when he hit the ground. He saw everyone in the stands looking down at him and he realized he had the snitch in his left hand. He shot his arm up in the sky showing the snitch to everyone but quickly realized that was a mistake as pain shot through his arm and back. The last thing he remembered was hearing Lee Jordan shouting through the speaker “Potter caught the snitch! Gryffindor wins 190-60!”

October 9, 1991

“Hush Ron! I think he’s waking up,” Harry heard from a voice that he assumed belonged to Hermione. He slowly opened his eyes and reached for the glasses on the bedside table. As he put them on, he looked around at all the faces he saw standing by his bed. The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team and his friends were huddled around his bed all staring down at him with big smiles on their faces. “Glad you’re okay! I need my star seeker back before the next match!” Oliver Wood. “Yeah Harry, you gave us quite a scare there for a second, we thought…” George began, but Fred piped finished with, “you were done for when we say you tumbling off your broom.”

Hermione sat down on the bed next to Harry and rested her hand over his. “Harry,” she began, “there’s something I need to tell you. When you were about to be hexed off your broom, I saw Professor Snape chanting the hex. I’m the one who set his cloak on fire to stop it.” Harry held his breath at this. ‘No, Snape wouldn’t do that… would he?’ Harry thought to himself. He looked up and looked over at Ron and the twins. They knew of his relationship with the man. Each of them avoided eye contact with him and Harry looked back down to his hands. ‘Was he just pretending to be nice to me?’ Hermione noticed Harry’s uneasiness and patted his hand “you okay Harry?” she asked. “Yeah, I’m just feeling a little tired. I might try and take a nap if you guys don’t mind,” he said. Everyone nodded and began to file out of the infirmary. Ron stayed behind for a second and studied his friend. “Harry, you sure you’re alright mate?” Harry looked up and furrowed his brows “yes Ron! Please I just want to lie down for a bit,” he said with some attitude laced in his tone. Ron nodded and left the infirmary.

***

Harry managed to fall back asleep, and by the time he woke up, he realized the only light filling the big room was coming from the moon. He sighed and went to sit up, but he felt extremely sore on his left side and winced. “Alright there Harry?” the voice asked him. Harry immediately jumped and turned in the direction the voice came from. He saw the professor sitting in a chair by the bed in the dark. “Uh... yeah, just a bit sore’s all.” Severus handed Harry his glasses and a vial of something. Harry put his glasses on and studied the vial in his hand and then looked back up at Severus with a confused look on his face. “Muscle relaxant,” was all the man said. Harry nodded and swallowed the vial, grimacing as it went down. “Yuck! You could have told me it would have tasted like a Hippogriffs arse.” Even though Severus smirked, he replied “Language Mr. Potter. Sorry I did not know you were expecting it to taste like treacle tart.”

Harry didn’t respond but laid back down against the pillows. “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked. “I wanted to check on you. You gave me quite a scare when you fell, I thought I was too late in casting the cushioning charm on you.” ‘Ah so that’s why the ground felt soft as I fell,’ Harry thought to himself. “Right well, I’m fine. You can go now, I don’t want to keep you up,” was all the boy replied with. Snape stared at the child and then stood up from his chair. “Have a good night then, Harry,” the man said and walked out the infirmary doors.

Harry sighed and closed his eyes again. He didn’t mean to be short with the man, but he was also now doubting their relationship. He knew he should have just asked him what happened, but he was honestly scared to hear the answer. Harry rubbed his eyes and groaned ‘maybe I should just keep my guard up from now on,’ he thought. Even though he slept most of the day, he still felt tired and just decided to try and fall back asleep.

****

Severus had to do everything he could from running after Harry when he was carried off the Quidditch Pitch. When he watched the bludger hit him and Harry began to fall out of the sky, he felt his heart stop beating and he frantically pulled out his wand to cast a cushioning charm on the ground. He couldn’t deny the pride that spread through his chest when the boy raised the snitch in his arm and smiled one of the biggest smiles Severus had ever seen on a person’s face. After Harry had passed out though, all he wanted to do was check on him. For some reason, he felt like he needed to see him and make sure he was okay but knew he couldn’t make a scene in front of every student and staff member at Hogwarts. He planned on checking on the boy during the night when he knew no one would be around due to curfew.

To keep himself occupied he decided to spend a few hours in his potion lab, but he found that couldn’t even tame the worry he felt for the boy. ‘Damn! This is why I don’t let people close to me,’ he thought to himself. He checked the clock on the wall and saw it would only be an hour before curfew. He figured he would go talk to the headmaster about investigating the person who tried to hex him off his broom. When he reached the gargoyle in front of the headmaster’s office, a frenetic Quirrell came barreling down the stairs. He looked up at Severus and tried to act calm, but Severus saw right through his façade. “H-hello S-Severus, pleasure s-seeing you tonight. Oh, well l-look a-at the time, I must be g-going,” Quirrell said and took off down the hall. Severus shook his head and entered the headmaster’s office to discuss the events on the quidditch pitch today.

After his meeting ran longer than expected, Severus stormed out of the headmaster’s office. They had no clue who tried to hex Harry off his broom, and they had no way of finding out either. Severus’s thoughts were running wild before he realized he was standing at the doors leading into the infirmary. He put his ear up to the door and did not hear any voices or movement, so he figured it was safe to go in. When he walked in, he saw all the beds were empty except for one small boy occupying the last bed on the right. As he walked closer to the bed, he allowed himself a small smile as he watched the gentle rise and fall of his son’s chest. He sat down in the chair beside the bed and just continued to watch Harry sleep peacefully. ‘Who would want to hurt this boy?’ he asked himself. Well, he knew who and why, but he couldn’t understand why.

Harry had so many of Lily’s qualities. He noticed he seemed to be somewhat studious when he wasn’t around Weasley. He also noticed how big this little boy’s heart was, especially after what he had endured in his childhood. ‘Damn you, Albus,’ he thought to himself. This poor boy had suffered for so many years at the hands of his relatives due to one old coot meddling in their lives. Severus promised himself right then and there that he would do everything to make sure Harry was happy and as healthy as any eleven-year-old boy should be.

His thoughts were interrupted when Harry had woken up. After Harry had basically told him to leave, he sauntered down to his quarters and sighed. ‘Did I say something wrong? Was it the fact I wasn’t there when he woke up the first time?’ he thought to himself. As he sat in his chair in front of the fireplace, he silently berated himself. ‘How could one boy have so much pull on me in such a short amount of time?’

October 31, 1991

It had been a few weeks now that Harry last spoke to Severus. He had stopped staying after class on Fridays and avoided making eye contact with the man whenever possible. He didn’t want to believe that the man was trying to hex him off his broom, but he just had such a hard time trusting people, especially adults. Harry seemed to just go through the motions today; he knew today was the day his parents… no, his mum and James died. As he was sitting at lunch in the great hall after missing breakfast this morning, he could practically feel Severus’s eyes boring into the back of his head. He knew the man probably wanted an explanation as to why he was avoiding him, but Harry decided he just needed some time to think, and today was especially not the day he wanted to talk to the man. He knew it would be a hard day for the two of them, which gave him even more of a reason to avoid him. He didn’t want to show his emotions to the man, at least not right now.

****

Severus sighed as he watched Harry from the head table. He hasn’t spoken to him since that night in the hospital wing; Harry has been completely avoiding him and he couldn’t find a reason why. He had become worried when he didn’t see him at breakfast this morning, but then again it was Saturday, so maybe he just had a lie-in and went to the kitchens. At least he had hoped.

He knew today was going to be hard for the two of them. He wanted to make sure Harry was okay. Severus had always hated this day due to the painful memories it brought to him, and he could only imagine how the boy must be feeling when he didn’t even have memories of his mum. He finished off the fish and chips he was eating and knew what he needed to do for himself and for the boy to be there for him today. He was finally going to look at the memories in the chest.

****

Harry and Ron filed into the Great Hall behind their fellow first-year Gryffindors for the Halloween feast. Harry looked around the table and noticed Hermione wasn’t in there and he sighed “Ron, maybe you shouldn’t have been such a prat to her. We should go find her and apologize,” he told his friend. Ron shrugged “I will later, let’s eat first, I’m starved!” Harry smiled “you’re always starved, Ron.” Ron sat down and immediately started piling food onto his plate, whereas Harry only grabbed a small portion of potatoes and carrots, not feeling super hungry tonight. He looked around the room and his eyes landed on a pair of dark ones carefully watching him. Harry could tell the concern evidently shown in them, so he decided to give Severus a small smile and then turned back to his friends at the table.

Up at the head table, Snape was sitting there watching his son. His heartfelt full again after viewing the memories from the box. He had remembered just how much that little boy had meant to him; he was his entire world, well aside from his wife. He didn’t think he could ever feel like this in his life, but he had to admit, he never wanted the feeling to go away. He was planning on talking to his son after he had finished his dinner but didn’t expect his plans to be so rudely interrupted when Quirrell frenetically ran through the great hall shouting that there was a troll loose in the building. Almost every single student started to shriek and panic until Dumbledore silenced them and told the prefects to escort them back to their dorms. Severus made sure his snakes were in order but couldn’t keep his eyes from watching the head of wild black hair file into the Gryffindor line. He so desperately wanted to grab Harry and run into the safety of his quarters with him but knew he had a job to do with assisting the hunting of the troll.

After the students left on their way to their dorms, the teachers agreed to take different sections of the castle. Severus was studying Quirrell; ‘was he not a troll tamer?’ he thought to himself. He realized there was something very off about him after he returned from his excursion in Europe but couldn’t dwell on it at the current moment.

Of course, the old coot had to put him, McGonagall, and Quirrell in the same group to cover the third-floor corridor. Severus groaned but stormed out of the great hall followed by McGonagall and of course, Quirrell.

****

Harry and Ron had diverged from the group so they could find Hermione and bring her back. Just as they were about to give up, figuring she probably was already back in her dorm, they heard a scream come from the bathroom. Harry and Ron shared a surprised look, and both sprinted off towards the bathroom where they had smelled the foul odor of the troll. When they entered the bathroom, they saw Hermione huddled in one of the stalls. Just as the troll was about to swing his club, Harry took off his shoe and threw it at the troll’s head. The troll turned around and stared at the two boys. Ron gulped and grabbed his friend’s arm “what now?” he asked. Before Harry could even answer, the troll swung his club at him and Ron, and they both nearly missed it as the club smashed into the sinks, spraying water everywhere.

Hermione had crawled out from the stall and went to stand with her two friends, just as the troll swung his club again at them. Harry had pushed his two friends down to the ground and managed to grab onto the club as it slammed into his stomach. Ron and Hermione looked up in horror as they saw Harry dangling from the air in front of the troll’s face. “Hermione, do something!” Ron had shouted, but just as Hermione grabbed Ron’s wand out of his hand to cast a spell, the troll had swung his club into the row of stalls smashing them. “Harry!” both of his friends had shouted as their friend’s body flew through the wooden doors. Harry felt pain radiate through his entire body and could have sworn he broke every single bone. Ron ran over to him as Hermione cast a spell to distract the troll. “Harry, are you alright mate? Can you move?” Ron had asked. Harry just groaned in response but was able to sit up as Ron pulled one of the stall doors off his legs. After the troll was stunned, Hermione ran over to the boys and helped Ron bring Harry to his feet.

Well, apparently stuns don’t hold on trolls for very long since now the troll had turned around and was staring at all three of them. Each child gulped and held onto each other tightly. ‘Have to think quickly, have to think quickly,’ Harry kept repeating to himself in his head. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and he snapped his head to his red-headed friend that was holding him up, “Ron! What was that spell Crabbe used on us during that duel?” “Uhm, I think it started with a B… bomb something!” he said back to Harry. ‘That was it,’ Harry thought. He grabbed Ron’s wand from Hermione’s hand and shouted “Bombardo!” at the troll. The troll immediately blasted back into the wall and was now knocked out. Harry and his friends were also blasted back by the force of the explosion around them. They were now all huddled to the ground in an unconscious state, covered in cuts and bruises from the shards resulting in the explosion.

****

Just as the three professors were about to deem the third-floor troll-free, they heard screaming and then a loud explosion come from the corridor down the hall that they had yet to check. Each of them took off in a sprint towards the direction where the explosion came from and ran through the bathroom doors. They abruptly halted and took in the scene around them; the bathroom was destroyed, the sinks were spraying water everywhere, the was not a single stall still standing, the troll was lodged into the stone wall seemingly unconscious.

McGonagall let out a sharp gasp at the sight of three unmoving bodies; one bushy-haired girl, one raven-haired boy, and one bright red-headed boy. As Severus turned his head to see what had shocked his coworker, he felt his heart stop beating. ‘No… no, no, no,’ he kept repeating in his head. Without even thinking he ran towards the three bodies “my son!” he shouted. Quirrell and Minerva watched with a look of confusion on their faces as Severus knelt in front of the group of children and placed his hand on the young Mr. Potter’s neck to check his pulse. Severus dropped his head and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he felt the steady pulse coming from his son. He placed a hand on the boy’s cheek and wiped a smear of blood that was coming from the cut above the boy’s eyebrow and then remembered his present company. “Please,” he began, “do not repeat the events that had just occurred.” He looked back at the two professors with pleading eyes and Minerva simply nodded while Quirrell had a pensive look on his face. “Very well, Severus,” Minerva had said. She turned to Quirrell and instructed him to deal with the troll, seeming as the man had spent many years studying trolls, and then walked over and placed a hand on Severus’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Let’s bring them to Poppy, they’ll be okay,” she had told the man.

Severus nodded and pulled out his wand. “I think we should wake them first before moving them,” he said. Minerva nodded and pulled out her wand as well. Both had cast an enervate on the children and each child woke up with a gasp and fear present in their eyes. Severus placed a hand on his son’s chest to prevent him from sitting up. “Are you okay?” he asked his son. Harry looked up and saw the worried dark eyes watching him carefully and he nodded but grimaced as he did. “Hurts… everywhere,” he had told the man. Ron had now sat up, seeming to be somewhat fine aside from the bruises and cuts, and had now helped McGonagall with pulling Hermione up to her feet. Ron and McGonagall both grabbed onto Hermione holding her up and started to make their way out the door to head for the infirmary. Severus turned back to his son after telling McGonagall they would be following right behind her. “Do you think you can stand?” he asked Harry. Harry shook his head “Ankle… hurts too much,” he had responded. Severus nodded and wrapped one arm underneath Harry’s knees and another underneath his shoulders and lifted him. Harry winced in pain but then relaxed into the arms feeling safe and comforted. “It’s okay Harry,” Severus said as he pulled his son close against his chest and began to walk out of the bathroom. Quirrell was watching the two the whole time; “I-it seems t-that the b-boy isn’t w-who we had t-thought h-he was,” he said to seemingly himself.

****

After arriving in the infirmary and placing his son on the bed, he sat down in the chair next to him and gently placed a hand over his son’s chest. He needed the constant reminder that his son was going to be just fine and feeling the gentle rise and fall of his chest helped him do this. While he waited for Madam Pomphrey to finish healing the Granger girl and Weasley boy, he allowed his mind to drift off somewhere far away.

**** (FB)

It was a cold Saturday in November, and he and Lily were cuddled tightly underneath the covers on their bed. It couldn’t have been any later than 6:30 am since the sun was just now starting to rise on the horizon and fill their room with a golden light. He had woken up a few hours earlier due to a terrible nightmare of the previous night’s death eater meeting where he had witnessed the slaughter of a young family. He was never able to fall back asleep after seeing those visions of the group’s ghastly activities. He hated that he had to be involved in such a terrible group, but he had no one to blame but himself. Aside from the meeting’s events, he was constantly worried over his family. He couldn’t imagine his life without the two most important people in it. He knew he would never survive if the dark lord had found out about them and taken them away from him. He felt his heart racing at the thought of this and pulled Lily tighter against his chest.

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a cry coming from down the hall. Lily rolled over and sighed, she was exhausted after the past week. James had left to go on a trip for the auror’s office and Severus was extremely busy with his classes this time of year preparing for the winter holidays that were fast approaching. Just as she was about to get up, she felt a gentle hand push her back down against the bed and kiss her temple. “I’ll get him, love,” Severus told his wife. Lily smiled and rolled back over into a more comfortable position, drifting back off to sleep.

Severus got out of bed and threw a dressing gown over his pajamas and stalked out of their room to follow the loud cries that were coming from the nursery. As soon as he pushed the door open, the little boy looked through his tear-filled eyes and sat up, reaching his chubby arms up in the air to be picked up. Severus scooped the boy in his arms and began to sway, hoping the crying would cease so Lily would be able to fall back to sleep. Harry had gripped Severus’s dressing gown in his little fists and continued his wailing. Severus was gently rubbing small circles on the little back and trying to hush the baby. After another minute of the loud wails piercing his ears, he leaned back to get a good look at Harry’s face and saw his big, red-rimmed emerald eyes filled with pain. “Ahh, I think I know what the problem is, little one,” Severus told his son. He pulled Harry’s lower lip down and saw two little teeth beginning to poke through his gums.

He carried his son down the stairs and grabbed one of the ‘teething toys,’ as Lily had called it, and walked over to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen to grab the jar of herbs meant for numbing pain that was safe for a child of Harry’s age to ingest. He rubbed the herbs on the side of the teething toy and walked back into the sitting room to sit down on the couch. He adjusted Harry so he was laying on his chest as Severus laid back against the arm of the couch. He gave the teething toy to his son and Harry immediately accepted it, quieting down after just a few minutes. Severus grabbed the blanket that was draped over the back of the couch and placed it over him and his son and stoked the fire with his wand. He had both hands around his son, one placed on the little back, rubbing soothing circles, and one placed on the little diaper bottom, and for the first time in a while, Severus drifted off into a peaceful sleep, letting the little rise and fall of Harry’s chest soothe him.

**** (end FB)

His thoughts were interrupted when Madam Pomphrey finally made her way over to check on Harry. She took in the state of her colleague and stared at him. She looked over at McGonagall who gave her a slight shake of her head. Ignoring the very many questions that she had wanted to ask the potions professor, she ran a diagnostic over the boy and noticed he has a concussion, two cracked ribs, a bruised hip, and a sprained ankle. She informed Severus of his ailments and Severus remained quiet for a moment before looking up at her.

“Would you mind performing a more in-depth diagnostic on him? One that would be able to detect any past broken bones or severe illnesses or allergies?” Poppy just stared at Severus for a moment before doing exactly as he had asked. She gasped and Severus snapped his head up to her, “what? What is it?” he demanded. Poppy sighed, “Mr. Potter shows signs of severe malnourishment and undernourishment as well as deficiencies in many essential vitamins and minerals. He is severely underweight, weighing in at 25 kilograms, whereas the ideal weight for an eleven-year-old boy is around 36 kilograms. He has a fractured wrist that did not heal properly, as well as a few ribs that were never healed properly. He does not seem to have any allergies. This also shows that he never received any typical wizard vaccinations or muggle vaccinations.”

Severus sat there quietly, watching his small son in the bed, taking in all the information about his son that the medi-witch was providing him. He could feel his anger rising at each thing she said, but quickly occluded his mind before causing a scene in front of everyone. “Would you be able to re-fracture his wrist and ribs to heal them properly?” he asked her. “I would need permission from his guardians to do that,” she responded. Severus looked back up at her, “you have my permission Poppy,” he replied. Poppy hesitated for a moment before doing just as he asked. Harry began to whimper in his potion-induced sleep and Severus immediately reached his hand out to run it through the boy’s hair and whisper reassuring words in his ear. Harry leaned into the touch and calmed down almost instantly. After Poppy had spelled some skele-grow into the boy’s stomach she wrote a list of ingredients needed for a nutrient potion. “I’m assuming you will know what to do with these?” she asked Severus. Severus glanced at the paper and nodded. “I will also be recommending a healer down in Hogsmeade that will be able to provide him with the wizarding and muggle vaccinations.” Severus looked up, sadness filling his eyes “thank you, Poppy,” he said quietly. Poppy nodded and closed the curtain around the bed, giving the two of them privacy. Severus leaned back in his chair and tipped his head back to stare at the ceiling.

‘Oh Lily, what am I going to do with our son?’ he had thought to himself.

November 1, 1991

Harry had woken up when the extremely bright light filtered through the room. He attempted to open his eyes but instantly snapped them shut due to the immense amount of pain it had caused him. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand and groaned. “Harry, you awake?” he heard come from somewhere next to him. He recognized that voice immediately. “Ron?” he asked. “Yeah mate, we’re in the infirmary. Do you remember what happened?” Ron asked. Harry took a second to filter through his thoughts and remembered the troll. He shot up in his bed but yelped out in pain as his body protested the sudden movement. “Hermione?” Harry asked. “She’s fine, still asleep. She had a nasty cut on her leg and a few bruises, but Madame Pomphrey fixed us right up. You on the other hand apparently have a concussion and cracked ribs along with a sprained ankle.” Ron had told his friend. Harry leaned back on the pillows and closed his eyes again. ‘Well, the concussion explains why my head hurts, but why is my wrist extremely sore?’ he thought to himself.

“Harry, you still awake?” Ron asked. “Unfortunately,” he responded. “I thought you should know something mate,” Ron began, “Snape sat by your bed all night. He only left about an hour ago.” Harry sat still as he absorbed the information. Had Snape really sat here all night? Maybe he’s not as bad as I thought. Maybe he does really care.

****

After eating lunch, Madam Pomphrey discharged the three of them with specific instructions to take it easy the rest of the day, and especially for Harry to return if he has any dizziness or nausea spells. The three of them headed to their common room to just do some homework for the rest of the afternoon. Harry could hardly focus due to the dull ache from his head. After another hour of just staring at his potions book, he decided to take a walk around the castle. He got up and started to put on his bag when Ron stopped him. “Where ya going mate?” his friend asked. When Harry turned to look at Ron, he noticed he had a Quidditch magazine on top of his transfiguration textbook and smiled. “Just going for a walk. I might stop by Professor Snape’s office to ask him a few questions about tomorrow’s potion assignment.” Ron nodded and went back to reading his magazine. “Oh Harry, before you go would you mind asking the professor to clarify why you need to add the legs from a fire beetle after adding the ginger root?” Hermione asked. “Sure, ‘mione,” Harry said as he walked out the portrait hole and down the staircase.

He was still feeling incredibly sore from last night’s events, and the walk seemed to make the ache in his head more noticeable. By the time he reached the door to Snape’s office, he felt exhausted from the long trek to the dungeons. Just as he was about to raise his hand to knock, the door swung open, and Severus was standing there looking down at him. “Can I help you, Mr. Potter?” Severus drawled out. “Uhm… actually yeah, I have a few questions about the potion for tomorrow’s class.” Snape curtly nodded his head and motioned for the boy to enter. Before closing the door, he glanced out in the hallway to make sure no one had followed the boy.

Harry dropped his bag and slumped down in the chair that he usually claimed. Severus took note of the boy’s body language and went to go sit behind his desk. “How are you feeling? I’m very surprised to see that Madam Pomphrey released you from the hospital wing so early.” Harry shrugged “I’m alright, and she gave me strict instructions to return if I felt dizzy or nauseous. She also gave me one more dose of a pain reliever to take tonight before bed,” Harry told him. Severus nodded and took in the boy’s appearance once more. “So, you said you had some questions about the potion tomorrow?” Harry nodded and then winced as the movement became too much for his current headache. “Yeah, um, why do you need to add the ginger root before adding legs from a fire beetle?” Harry had asked. Severus smirked and sat back in his chair, “the ginger root help neutralize the potion. If you were to add the fire beetle legs first, the potion would become too acidic, it would be rendered useless,” Severus answered. “Oh, okay that makes sense. Thank you, sir.” Harry stood up to leave but immediately stumbled forward as a wave of dizziness coursed through him. Snape was quick to his feet and practically leaped over his desk to keep the boy from falling. Severus placed two hands on the boys’ shoulders and leaned down to look into his eyes, “alright there, Harry?” he asked, concern showing all over his face. “Uh yeah, just lost my balance for a second,” Harry responded and closed his eyes and rubbed at his forehead. Severus wasn’t entirely convinced by this answer and frowned. “Why don’t we go sit somewhere a little more comfortable for a while?” Harry nodded and allowed Severus to place his hand between his shoulder blades and guide him through a door in the back of his office.

Harry took in the sight before him. He was standing in a decently sized sitting room that had a large, grey suede sofa and a matching love seat on the other side, and a cream-colored leather winged-back chair that looked decently worn and used, and a maple coffee table centered over a large, pine green plush area rug. Along the walls, there were bookcases that Harry was sure were filled with more books than the library itself! He saw to his left there was a small kitchenette with a round table and two chairs. On the other side, he noticed a dark hallway with a few doors in it. Above the fire mantle, there was a large clock and a few pictures in frames. He walked over to them and studied the pictures on them in awe. One picture was of Severus and Lily on the night of their wedding, Harry assumed. They both looked extremely happy as they danced together. Another one was of Severus sitting on the couch with Lily leaning back into him holding who Harry had figured was a baby him. Severus had his arm wrapped around Lily and his hand resting on the thick black hair of the baby. The final picture was of an older-looking woman who had a very faint smile on her face, but you could see the smile in her eyes. “That was your grandmother and my mother, Eileen,” Severus said from behind Harry. Harry turned around and then looked back at the picture. “They’re nice pictures,” Harry said. Severus placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder, “there’s more in the album your mother left for us if you’d like to look,” he told his son. Harry hesitated for a second before following Severus over to the couch and sitting down next to him but being sure to leave a decent gap in between them.

Severus summoned the album from the chest that was against the back wall and placed it over his and Harry’s lap. He and Harry absently flipped through the album together. The album first started with pictures of Severus and Lily through their time at Hogwarts, and then moved to the time when they started dating. “Your mother had always insisted on bringing her camera with her everywhere. I despise having my picture taken, but she always seemed to capture the right moment.” They stopped at one of the pages and Severus ran his fingers over the picture of Lily and him covered in snow. “This was the day I proposed to your mother. This was one of the few times I was happy that she had the camera because I knew she’d want to keep this as a reminder of the day…” he said softly. Harry looked at the picture and then back up to Severus, “could you tell me what happened?” he asked. Severus nodded and began his story.

**** (FB)

It was snowing outside and exceptionally freezing even though it was late February and spring was just around the corner. Lily had wanted to go for a walk outside and enjoy the potentially last snowfall of the year. Severus on the other hand, was more than happy to stay inside the nice comfort of his home on Spinner’s End, sitting in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea and a nice book.

“Sev, come onnnnn,” Lily begged. “Lily, I do not understand why you fancy the idea of parading around in freezing wet snow, are you trying to force yourself to catch a cold?” Severus responded without even looking up from his book. Lily grabbed the book out of his hands and pulled him off the sofa. “Sev… please? For me?” Lily had resorted to puckering out her bottom lip and making her eyes as wide as they could go. She knew Severus could never resist her when she gave him this look. Severus stared at her for a moment before leaning in to gently kiss her forehead. “Fine, but only for you, my love,” he said and walked up the narrow stairs to their bedroom to change into his warmest clothes and boots. When he came down the stairs Lily was waiting for him by the door with his cloak and scarf in hand. She placed them on him and grabbed his hand to pull him out the door.

The two walked hand-in-hand along the trail in the woods. When they came to the clearing by the now frozen lake, Lily took off in a run to her favorite spot underneath the oak tree. She sat down on the wet snow looking out over the scenery. “Surely you do not expect me to sit down,” Severus asked when he caught up to her. “Oh, come on, Sev. I’ll cast a drying charm on you,” she told him as she grabbed his arm and pulled him down next to her. She leaned into his side, and he wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

After a few minutes of peaceful silence, Lily secretly grabbed a handful of snow from behind them and then threw it at Severus’s face. “What the bloody hell was that for!” he said standing up. All Lily could do was laugh at the expression on his now snow-covered face. Before she knew it, she felt a snowball hit her shoulder and her laughter immediately ceased “hey!” Severus just smirked and shrugged his shoulders, but he didn’t realize Lily had grabbed her wand and sent ten snowballs to his back. She stood up and started to run away laughing as he began to chase her. “Not funny Lily!” he shouted. When Severus finally caught up to her he grabbed her waist and tackled her to the ground, but made sure he was the one that landed on the bottom just in case the ground was too hard.

They both erupted into laughter as they sat up. When Severus looked over, he felt like he could no longer breathe. ‘Merlin, she is absolutely beautiful,’ he thought to himself. He took in the state of Lily’s now damp auburn hair and rosy-red cheeks with tears of laughter glistening in her emerald eyes. He knew he couldn’t wait any longer. “Lily,” he said more seriously. Lily stopped laughing and looked over at him. “Yeah Sev?” she asked. Severus took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. He’d been carrying around the Prince's heirloom ring since the moment they started dating. When he finally pulled it out, Lily gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

“Lily, you have been my very best friend ever since that day we met when we were only 9 years old. I have been in love with you since the first day I found out what love meant. I believe you are my… what they call ‘soulmate’. After I had said that terrible word to you and you stopped speaking to me, I wasn’t sure I would ever feel happy again. That was until you forgave me, and our friendship was restored. The day where we shared our first kiss in Hogsmeade was one of the happiest days of my life. Now I’m hoping today can replace that day. My Lily flower, would you marry me?”

The tears that were streaming out of Lily’s eyes had now been frozen to her cheeks. She tried to open her mouth to speak but found she couldn’t say anything. Instead, she emphatically nodded her head and jumped into Severus’s arms, knocking them both back over. She placed her hands on his cheeks and gave him a long deep kiss. When they sat up Severus slid the ring on her finger and kissed her hand. “How about we head back home and warm up in front of the fire now?” he asked. Lily laughed and helped him up off the ground. The two walked back to their small home together, Severus’s arm wrapped tightly over her shoulders and Lily’s wrapped tightly around his waist.

The next day both had woken up in the morning with a terrible cold.

**** (end FB)

When Severus finished his story, he looked up from the picture to look at his son. Harry had fallen asleep, leaning his head back against the sofa with his mouth hanging wide open and letting out little snores. Severus shook his head and chuckled. He stood up from the sofa and placed the photo album on the coffee table. He gently took off Harry’s sneakers and placed his legs up on the couch, and then lowered his head onto the throw pillow. He then grabbed the throw blanket that was draped over the arm of the sofa and placed it over Harry. Severus let his hand run through Harry’s disheveled hair and whispered a quiet “sleep well,” to his son and left the room to brew until he woke up.

November 1, 1991

Severus had the door to his private potion’s lab slightly ajar while he was working. He wanted to make sure he knew when Harry was awake to not only check on him but make sure he talked to Harry about the complete recklessness he presented last night. Severus had actually taken notes on parchment for speaking tips. He wanted to make sure he didn’t leave a single thing out about how foolish the three Gryffindors were. He also wasn’t exactly sure how to be a father, so he had gone to the library after he left the hospital wing this morning and tried to find a book on parenting. Not only were there no parenting books in the Hogwarts library, but there also wouldn’t be a section titled ‘What to say when your child tries to get themself killed by acting like a dunderhead’.

Severus was just in the middle of adding in the two drops of dragon tears to the potion when he heard a blood-curdling scream come from the sitting room. Severus immediately dropped the entire dropper of dragon tears into the potion, which had caused it to erupt and splatter all over the table and the walls, but Severus wasn’t concerned about it for the time being. “Harry!” he shouted as he practically sprinted out of the lab. He saw Harry drenched in sweat and thrashing about on the sofa. “Harry!” he said again to try and wake him up. Severus reached over to shake him lightly, but Harry had immediately thrown off his hands and tried to punch and kick the air around him. Not knowing what to do, Severus conjured a bucket of water and poured it over his son. Harry instantly shot up from the couch and looked around the room with wide eyes. He grabbed his glasses off the table and saw Severus with concern written all over his face. “What the bloody hell was that for!” Harry shouted. “Harry, language!” Severus admonished. “Well, sorry I’m a little upset! It’s not like I didn't almost just drown from a bucket of ice-cold water!” Severus rolled his eyes at Harry’s dramatics, “you did not almost just drown, calm down.” Severus cast a drying charm on Harry and the sofa and motioned for Harry to sit again.

“Harry, are you alright? I heard you screaming?” Harry immediately blushed and looked away rubbing at the back of his neck. “Erm, yeah sorry about that. I just had a very umm… vivid dream you could say.” “Well, would you like to talk about it?” Severus asked after a moment of silence between the two. Harry sat there silently for another moment and then nodded, he figured his dad should know. “So, you know how Malfoy, Hermione, Ron, and I had gotten detention a few weeks ago?” Severus nodded, “I do recall hearing about your nightly escapade in the castle. In fact, I was the one who awarded Mr. Malfoy the detention,” Severus drawled out. Harry wanted to roll his eyes at him but knew that would never be a good idea in front of this man. “Yeah, well Professor McGonagall handed our detention off to Filch and he had us help Hagrid in the Forbidden Forrest to find a unicorn body. It was taking forever so we split up and Hagrid left me with Malfoy and Fang to cover one side of the woods while he, Ron, and Hermione covered the other side. Well, Malfoy and I found the um… unicorn, but when we were there, there was this shadowy figure that was um…” Harry wiped his hands on his jeans and rubbed the back of his neck again. He struggled with the images of this event, and he didn’t know if he could bring himself to finish the story. After a few moments, Snape cleared his throat and leaned forward on the couch so he could look at Harry’s face. He noticed the very pale look on his face and the fear present in his eyes. After another moment, Severus stood up and headed off towards the kitchen. Even though Harry didn’t necessarily want to talk, it hurt him sitting there watching his dad walk away.

As Harry was just about to get off the couch and head back to his dorm, Severus came in carrying a tea tray and biscuits. “I figured this may help make the situation a little more comfortable,” Severus said as he sat down and handed a cup of tea to Harry. After a few sips, Harry set the tea down and leaned back on the couch. “Where was I?” he asked. “The part where you found the unicorn.” Harry nodded “Oh right. So, there was a shadowy figure standing over the unicorn and then I guess it heard us because it started to float in the air towards us. Malfoy ran and I’m not sure where Fang went. I was curious to see what it was, but then my head started to hurt. Really badly too, so I started to back away but then… then I thought I heard someone say, ‘now’s not the right time’ and it sounded like… maybe Professor Quirrell? Then I heard another voice say, ‘he has the stone’, but I couldn’t make this one out. All I remember was that it was extremely hoarse. Then the shadow lunged at me and I truly thought it was going to kill me, but a centaur named Firenze came to help and Hagrid came back with the others and Fang.”

Severus sat there trying not to seem like he was absolutely appalled at the story his son had just told him. He almost choked on his tea when Harry had told him the shadow was approaching him, and then he had immediately wanted to smack the boy upside the head for just standing there. ‘Bloody Gryffindors,’ he thought to himself. The part that made his entire body freeze though was when Harry had said the shadow claimed he has the stone. ‘Does Harry know about the Philosopher’s Stone?’ he had asked himself. He wanted to ask Harry himself, but just in case Harry didn’t know he didn’t want him to then find out. He knew he would have to tell him about it then. “Harry, when you said you heard Professor Quirrell, was there a possibility he was with you?”

Harry shook his head. “No, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I mean maybe he wasn’t there at all and the pain in my head was just making me think he was. I’m not sure,” he ended with a shrug. Severus was also curious about the other voice Harry claimed to have heard. He would definitely have to look into it later. Severus ran a hand through his hair and then looked at the boy. “So, is it safe to assume that the reason you were screaming was that you had dreamt of the shadow figure?” Harry hesitated for a minute before nodding yes. “I-I have been almost every night since…” he said as he studied a loose thread on the hem of his t-shirt. Severus sighed and leaned back onto the couch. “Harry,” he said sounding a little upset, “why didn’t you say anything?” Harry shrugged and continued to stare at the loose thread. Severus wanted to hex the boy for shrugging, he absolutely hated shrugging. “Harry look at me please.” Harry looked up and met the dark obsidian eyes and bit his lower lip. He didn’t want this man to think he was weak. ‘What father wants to know that his son is weak? What eleven-year-old still has nightmares?’ he thought to himself. “Harry, remember I told you that you could always come and talk to me, right?” Harry nodded. “I meant it. I do not care what it is. You could talk to me about your darkest secret and I will never judge you or tell anyone. You could talk to me about Quidditch, and I would listen. Painfully listen, but I would listen because if my son is talking to me, I want to make sure I am listening to every single word he has to say. I want to hear about all your good days and bad days. All your likes and dislikes. All of it. I have eleven years of your life to catch up on and I do not want to miss anymore. I promise you, I will be here for you from this day on no matter what.”

Harry looked up at Severus and felt tears stinging his eyes. He turned his head away from Severus’s gaze and roughly swiped at them. When he felt Severus put his hand on his shoulder, something inside him broke and he was no longer able to hold back the tears. Severus wrapped his arms around Harry and pulled him so tightly into his chest, Harry thought he was going to suffocate. For the first time in his life, he felt like someone truly cared about him. No one has ever said that to him before. Sure, he has two amazing best friends, but there are just some things you don’t share with your friends. Harry felt safe and possibly ... loved? He wasn’t sure yet about the last one but knew he liked the warm feeling in his chest.

After a few minutes, Harry finally stopped crying and leaned out of the embrace. “Thanks,” he said before looking away and wiping at his cheeks. Severus nodded and grabbed his tea again. Severus had to admit that he was not a fan of personal contact, but he had grown accustomed to it when he was friends with Lily, and she would hug him all the time. After all these years of being alone, he realized he forgot how good it felt to have someone you care about wrapped in your arms, knowing that they are safe.

Severus looked at the clock on the mantle and realized it was getting close to dinnertime. “How are you feeling by the way? Does your head hurt or anything else? I probably should have asked earlier,” Severus said to Harry. “I’m fine. Better after the nap… and better after telling someone about what happened in the Forrest.” Severus nodded, “any dizziness or nausea?” Harry shook his head no. he truly did feel loads better now. “Okay good. Now I have something I would like to talk to you about,” Severus said as he stood up, silently going over the two pages of notes he wrote in his head. “What you and your two Gryffindor friends did last night was absolutely foolish. Do you not realize you could have been killed? Not only you but Weasley and Granger as well?” Harry winced at this. “Trolls are very difficult to deal with. They do not respond well to magic. Furthermore, do you know the damage caused to the third floor’s girls’ lavatory? It’s nearly irreparable, even with magic! I need you to understand that you cannot just run off into situations. You need to find an adult and tell them. I understand that may be hard sometimes, but please tell someone. Anyone. You could have told Percy. You could have told me or Professor McGonagall or even Professor Sybil for Merlin’s sake. If anything and I mean anything, like the troll situation or the situation you just described to me in the Forbidden Forrest happens again, I want you to promise me that you will tell someone.” Harry nodded, “yes, sir. I’m sorry. I understand and I promise I will tell someone next time.” he said looking down at his hands. Severus nodded, “very well then. I believe it is almost time for dinner, why don’t you head back up to your dorm and meet up with your friends. Do you think you will need a vial of dreamless sleep tonight?” Harry stood up and grabbed his bag to leave “umm no, I’ll be okay. I truly feel loads better after talking about it.” Severus nodded again “if you do, or need to talk again you now know where my quarters are. Also, make sure that if you feel dizzy or ill that you go to the infirmary. I will know if you do not,” Snape said giving him a stern look. Harry knew that Severus would know; he always seemed to know everything and that made Harry smile to himself. “Thank you again,” Harry said as he reached the door leading to Snape’s office.

“Oh Harry, I forgot to mention one more thing. I would like a 4-foot essay by the end of the week on the dangers of trolls and what to do when you come across one.” Harry groaned and Severus smirked and closed the door behind his son.

December 1, 1991

Severus and Harry’s relationship was beginning to grow even more. Harry would find himself coming to visit Severus in his quarters three times a week after class. Sometimes they would sit and chat over tea, but other times they would sit and do their work in companionable silence. They learned more of each other’s likes and dislikes. For instance, Harry learned that Severus has a passion for the dark arts and has even applied for the position at Hogwarts, but Dumbledore decided he was a better fit for potions. Harry had also learned that Severus considered Dumbledore to be one of his closest companions but found out that their relationship had weakened due to Dumbledore’s meddling in their lives. Harry had felt remorseful when hearing this. He did not want to be the reason his dad and Dumbledore stopped being friends, but when he tried to talk to Severus about forgetting what he did, Severus entirely shut Harry down. He would go on a rant saying things like, ‘that meddling old coot had no right to take my son away from me,’ or ‘that bastard left you to suffer at the hands of your relatives.’ Harry had just figured that with time, their relationship would mend. Hopefully.

On the other hand, Severus learned that Harry likes to play wizard chess even though he claims that he is ‘rubbish’ (his words, not Severus’s) at it. He also learned that apparently, Ron Weasley is some wizard chess mastermind. This came as quite a shock to Severus since Weasley seemed hardly competent enough to brew a simple boil cure potion. Severus also learned that Harry dislikes the attention he gets from being the boy who lived. Before Harry came to Hogwarts, he had thought the boy had been a spoiled brat who thrived off fame, but after hearing snippets about the time with the Dursleys and getting to know his son, he learned that he was quite wrong. Harry is extremely generous and has a heart that is way too big for his own good. He also hates unnecessary attention especially when it came to people pointing at him and murmuring ‘that’s him! The savior of the wizarding world!’. Harry had told him about his first time in Diagon Alley with Hagrid and how everyone in the Leaky Cauldron had made a scene when they saw who he was. Even though Severus felt terrible for his son and wished he didn’t have to go through all of this, he secretly smiled inside because he knew that Harry Potter was truthfully Harry Snape, his son with Lily. Not Potter’s.

****
It was Saturday and Severus had told Harry to meet him in his office at 9 am on the dot. He didn’t tell Harry why, but he had told him to dress warm and eat a decently sized breakfast before he came to his office.

Severus impatiently tapped his foot while sitting in his desk chair. It was now 9:07 and Harry had yet to show up. If Severus is anything, he is most certainly not a patient man. Just as he stood up to search for Harry, Harry himself burst through his office door. His cheeks were flushed, his hair was drenched, and he was out of breath. “How nice of you to show up,” Severus said clearly sounding annoyed.

“Sorry! I woke up kind of late and realized I had to shower since I didn’t last night and then I couldn’t find my winter cloak because I had left it in the common room and then the stairs kept moving in all the wrong directions and-” Harry had blurted out almost all in one breath before Severus cut him off.

“Harry, I do not want to hear every single detail entailing your morning and why you were late. Please learn for future endeavors, when I say to arrive at 9 am, you arrive at 8:55 am. Now, did you manage to eat?” Severus asked. Harry hesitated for a moment before shaking his head no. “Children,” Snape muttered. “We will just have to add a stop on our trip then. Follow me,” Severus said as he turned on his heel and walked into his quarters, immediately walking to the fireplace. “First, I must cast a glamor on both of us. We cannot risk being seen together as ourselves and frankly I would prefer if we could get through the day without people gaping at my son.”

Severus pulled out his wand and cast a glamour charm on himself first. His hair length changed to being just above his ears and the color turned into a light brown. Next, his eyes were changed to blue, and his skin was no longer pale but slightly tanned and his nose no longer hooked. Before Harry could say anything, Severus then cast a glamor over Harry that gave him almost the same appearance as himself, but he kept his eyes green and made his hair longer to cover the scar. “Since your scar was caused by a dark curse, nothing would be able to conceal it. I made your bangs longer in the front, but you must also wear this hat to make sure it remains covered.” Severus then pulled a winter hat from his cloak and handed it to Harry.

Harry examined the hat and then back up at Severus, giving him a slight glare. “You really had to give me a Slytherin hat?” he asked. Severus smirked. The hat he had given Harry was green with a black serpent stitched on the front and on the back, the stitch had ‘Slytherin’ written across it. Harry sighed and put the hat on. “Just please don’t tell my housemates about this,” he had pleaded.

“Do not worry, your secret is safe with me,” Severus smirked again. Little did Harry know was that Severus had his camera in his pocket intent on getting a picture of Harry with the hat on to taunt him forever.

“Now, have you ever Floo’d before?” Severus asked Harry. Harry shook his head, “No, what is it?” he asked.

“One of the many ways that wizards can travel. You will have to do it with me for the first time, so you see how it is done, alright?” Severus told Harry. Harry nodded again and followed Severus in when he threw down the Floo powder and the flames turned a bright green. “You might want to close your mouth and eyes for this,” Severus said as he wrapped his arm around his son.

“Wait what?” Harry had asked, but as soon as he did, Severus shouted, “Leaky Caldron!” and they were whisked away.

Severus kept his arm tightly wrapped around Harry after they were shot out of the fireplace in the restaurant area of the Leaky Caldron. Harry immediately began to cough up ash and Severus had to pat his back a few times for him to calm down. Severus then cast a quick cleaning charm on the two of them and walked over to a table to sit down. “You know, I did warn you to close your mouth and eyes.”

Harry rolled his eyes as he sat down across from Severus. Two menus popped up onto their table and Severus began to look over them. Harry hesitated for a moment feeling a bit uneasy before doing the same. Aside from the time with Hagrid, he had never been out to eat before. Every time the Dursleys went out, he was always left at home with a single slice of cheese on stale bread. When Tom had come over to take their orders, Severus ordered a cup of black coffee and a plate of eggs with two strips of bacon. Harry hesitated when Tom turned to him, and Severus nodded to him to order. Harry ordered a blueberry scone and a glass of water.

After Tom walked away, Severus turned back to Harry studying him for a moment. “Harry, are you sure that will fill you until lunch? I could ask Tom to add a plate of eggs for you, or anything else you would want.”

Harry awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. “No thank you, I’ll be fine with just that.” Truthfully, he would be. He was used to going a day or two without eating at the Dursleys and when he did eat it wasn’t much. He also had to admit that he was feeling a bit anxious as to why they were going out. He wanted to ask but didn’t want to annoy the man for having to explain everything to him.

The two were sitting together in awkward silence. Severus was looking at a copy of the Daily Prophet and Harry kept nervously tapping his fingers against the table and looking around the room. Just as Harry had gained the courage to ask what their plans were for the day, Tom appeared with their food. He had brought Harry a plate of eggs along with his scone and he simply stared at the second plate in front of him confused. When he looked up, he saw Severus watching him. “I had added it to the order when you weren’t paying attention,” Severus explained.

Harry blushed. “Thank you,” he told Severus. Both he and Severus dug into their food, paid their bill, and left.


“I just need to make a quick stop at the apothecary before anywhere else,” Severus told Harry as they began walking down the street. Harry nodded and followed Severus into the small store. “Hello! Welcome! Can I help you look for anything gentlemen?” The older store clerk had asked as soon as they stepped foot in the door.

“Ah just getting a few supplies that need to be restocked. I know where they are though, thank you for the offer,” Severus said. The two walked to the back of the store where Severus began to grab almost everything off the shelves that Harry had to help him carry them. “Jeez, are you restocking all of England?” Harry had asked jokingly.

Severus sighed, “the cheekiness I have to put up with,” he murmured just loud enough for Harry to hear him which caused Harry to roll his eyes again. After almost all the shelves were empty, the two finally made their way up to the front of the store to check out.

“Oh, a fellow Slytherin I see!” exclaimed the store clerk as he saw Harry’s hat. “I was in Slytherin back in my day. Best house there is if you ask me! We had won not only the house cup, but the quidditch cup every year I attended. Gryffindor didn’t stand a chance! What year are you in boy?”

Harry was genuinely confused at first but then remembered his hat. “First,” he simply replied.

“Ah first year is one of the best years!” the clerk replied. “I’m sure your pops over here is proud of ya, right?”

Severus gave a smile, but it turned out to look more like a grimace. He hated small talk. He would much rather be under the cruciatus curse than have to endure small talk. He placed a hand on Harry’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Yes, I am very proud of my son. Even though I am Slytherin myself and am a staunch supporter of my house, I would have been very proud if he was sorted into any of the houses. In fact, I am proud of my son more and more every day.”

Harry knew that Severus was saying he is proud of him for being in Gryffindor. To hear his father, say that he was proud of him honestly made him want to break down and cry right there. Severus was known for being a cold-hearted bastard, but Harry was beginning to know him as his dad. His dad showed him over the past couple of weeks that he has a big soft spot for him. Harry was really beginning to feel like he belonged here.

****

After they finished at the apothecary, the two continued to walk down the street together. Severus stopped walking when they reached a building that didn’t look like any of the other shops. Harry stopped and read the sign with a look of confusion sitting on his face. “Why are we at an optometrist?” he asked.

“You are in need of new glasses. The ones you currently have were just temporary after your others were destroyed in your duel with Mr. Malfoy.” Severus answered as he ushered his son inside the office of Healer John Wilson, Wizard Optometrist.

“Oh, thank you, but these glasses are actually better than the ones I had before. The ones I had before were from the lost and found at primary school… The Dursleys never actually took me to have my eyes looked at before…” Harry said.

Severus sighed. “Well, we should still get your eyes checked since they have never been before,” he said. Severus motioned for Harry to sit in a chair in the waiting room as he checked in at the desk. He then went to go sit next to his son and wait. A few minutes later, a young woman came out from behind a door. “Harry Snape,” she called out motioning for them to follow her. Harry stood up and walked towards the door with Severus trailing behind him.

After deeming that Harry needed a stronger prescription and ruling out any possible muggle eye diseases, Harry went to go pick out new frames. He immediately reached for the round wireframes and Severus groaned. “What?” Harry asked turning back to him.

“Must you pick those?” Severus asked. Harry hesitated for a moment and put them down and shrugged. His shoulders slumped in defeat; he had really liked those frames. Severus saw Harry’s dejected look and internally sighed.

“Harry, I’m sorry. If you like those, we can get those. They just reminded me of James, but it does not matter.” Severus knew that he no longer had a reason to hate James Potter. Sure, maybe it is justifiable to hold a slight grudge for James’s treatment of him in school, but James laid down his life to protect his wife and son.

“No sir, it’s fine I can find other ones,” Harry responded.

Without saying anything, Severus grabbed the frames from the stand and walked over to the desk to tell them to fill these. The clerk grabbed the frames and spelled them to match Harry’s prescription. Severus paid for the visit and the frames and the two were on their way again.

“I could have paid for them,” Harry said when they made their way out of the store.

“Nonsense. I am your father, and I will provide you with the essentials from now on,” Severus responded.

Harry just nodded. “Thank you then, I already notice a difference. I can actually see the street sign down the road,” Harry said with a slight chuckle. Severus just smiled and then ushered Harry back into the Leaky Cauldron.

“Alright Harry, we are going to head to Hogsmeade now. I have one more appointment for you and then we can stop for lunch before heading back to the castle. Now we are going to Floo again. Remember what I told you.” Severus said while reaching for the floo powder.

“Another appointment? What type of appointment?” Harry asked.

“You will find out, now come on,” Severus said as he threw the Floo powder into the fireplace and grabbed Harry. This time Harry managed to close his eyes and mouth but still stumbled out of the fireplace when they arrived at Hog’s Head. Severus kept his grip tight on Harry to keep him from falling. Just as they were about to leave, a voice stopped them. “Ah hello, my dear boys.”

Severus and Harry turned around and saw Albus Dumbledore sitting down at a table. Neither of them said anything but were both wondering how Dumbledore knew it was them under the glamor. “Please, do sit,” Dumbledore said and motioned to the two chairs in front of him.

Severus and Harry hesitated for a moment before Severus placed a hand on Harry’s back and guided him to the table. “How did you know it was us, headmaster?” Harry asked.

“Ah, a magician never reveals his secrets,” Dumbledore said and winked at Harry. “Now my boys, what were you doing outside of the castle today?” he asked turning to Severus.

“I had some appointments made for Harry. He required new glasses, and we also have another appointment in a few short minutes so we must be on our way. If you might excuse us…” Severus said as he began to stand up, but Dumbledore raised his hand to stop him from continuing.

“Please sit back down Severus, I would like to discuss something with you.” Severus froze and sat back down. He gave a glance to Harry and then looked back to the headmaster.

“Why did you think it was acceptable to remove Harry from the protection of the castle, Severus? I know you are fully aware of the danger currently looming around with the potential threat of an attack. I wish you would have consulted me before placing young Harry here in danger,” Dumbledore said.

Severus felt his blood boil especially at the last statement. “I am very well aware of the potential danger, headmaster. I would also like to state that Harry is in danger no matter where he is. There are many threats at Hogwarts that I am sure you are very well aware of, isn’t that right, Albus?” Severus said sarcastically. “Furthermore, I am fully capable of protecting my son, but I guess you wouldn’t have had the chance to know since you kept him from me all these years,” Severus now said with clear malice lacing his tone.

“Yes, Severus, I do believe you are capable, but might I remind you, if anyone found out about your relationship, your position for The Order is compromised. I cannot afford to lose your position, Severus.” Dumbledore replied.

This made Severus infuriated. He was tired of playing a pawn in Dumbledore’s game. It interfered with his past, present, and future. He was just about ready to hex the man into oblivion, but Harry had spoken up. “Professor, I don’t mean to be rude, but Professor Snape has made sure that we were safe. He even made me wear this stupid Slytherin hat on my head if you haven’t noticed.”

Dumbledore smiled at the boy. “Yes, indeed I have noticed, Harry, but it is not safe for you to leave the castle. There is a potential threat on the rise and your father was made aware of this. Now, enough of this, let us return to the castle, and Professor Snape and I will continue our discussion in my office,” Dumbledore said as he stood up.

Harry and Severus stood up as well and Severus grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled him behind him. “I sincerely apologize headmaster, but you do not get to make choices regarding my son anymore. I have the final say. Now, if you do not mind, Harry and I have an appointment we are now late for. I will meet you in your office tomorrow to have our discussion. Good day, Albus.” With that, Severus turned on his heel and wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders to usher him out of Hog’s Head. Severus was seething with anger but occluded his mind for the time being.

****

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Harry finally spoke up. “Sir, what did Professor Dumbledore mean by the ‘potential threat on the rise’, and what did you mean when you said Hogwarts isn’t exactly safe?”

Severus sighed, “we will talk more about it when we return. It is not safe to bring it up here, but for the time being, you must promise me that you will be on the lookout and stay with your friends at all times.”

Harry stayed quiet for a moment before he agreed. He wasn’t a fan of having to wait to talk, but he knew Severus wouldn’t keep it from him. He was deep in thought when they continued walking, that he didn’t notice Severus stop and he ran right into him almost knocking the two of them over.

“Please do watch where you are going, Harry,” Snape gently admonished. Harry blushed and then read the sign on the front of the door and groaned. ‘Healer Frida Smith – Family Practice’.

‘Great, another bloody checkup,’ Harry thought to himself. They went in and Severus checked him in. When he had returned to Harry’s side, he took out his wand and removed their glamor for the time being. Harry looked around the empty room to be sure that they were alone and then back at Severus with a questioning look on his face. “This is a safe environment, trust me, Harry,” Severus had told him. Healer Frida Smith had known about Lily and Severus’s arrangement with James when Harry was born. She was also the person the members of The Order would see when they were severely injured beyond Poppy’s skills, and he knew she could be trusted with Harry right now.

They followed the same process as before when they were called back and were asked a background of health history which neither of them could fully answer. After waiting for what seemed like an hour, there was a quiet knock on the door, and in walked a petite older woman. Well, she wasn’t that old, probably mid 50’s, but to Harry, she seemed old.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Harry Snape and his father!” the older woman exclaimed. “Severus, it’s been so long,” she said as she sat down on a stool.

“Yes, Healer Smith it has been. I wanted to thank you again for taking us on such short notice. I know you have a long waiting list of families trying to see you,” Severus said.

“Oh, nonsense! I make time for my favorites,” she said with a smile as she turned to Harry. “My, my, I haven’t seen you since the day you were born! I was your mum’s… uhh ‘doctor’ as muggles say when she was pregnant with you. I am also a very close friend of Madam Pomphrey and heard all about you before your visit today.”

Harry cocked his head to the side and gave her a questioning look. Severus stiffened in his chair. He hadn’t told Harry about what he asked Poppy to do the night of the troll incident. “May I ask what you mean by that?” Harry said.

Healer Smith glanced at Severus for a brief moment and he just nodded. He knew Harry was going to find out anyway.

“Harry dear, Madam Pomphrey performed a diagnostic charm on you a few weeks ago. In it, she found multiple things that are causing some… concern.” Healer Smith began with.

Harry’s face turned a bright shade of red and his whole body tensed. ‘No, no, no, no, no,’ he kept repeating to himself. He glanced at the door and began to plan an escape. He immediately sprang from his seat and ran towards the door, but Severus caught him by his slim waist. Harry flailed like a fish as Severus practically carried him back to his seat. “Let me go! Stop!” Harry kept shouting.

Severus gently pushed Harry back down into the seat and placed both his hands on his shoulder giving a firm squeeze. “Harry, please we are just trying to help you,” Severus pleaded with the still flailing boy.

“Stop! That’s what everyone says but nothing ever happens! It just gets worse!” Harry shouted back now with tears pooling in his eyes.

Severus kneeled down in front of his son. “Harry, it is not going to get worse. I promise. I just want to make sure you are okay and healthy as can be,” Severus said quietly. He gently cupped Harry’s cheeks with both of his hands and softly brushed the tears now falling from the boys’ eyes. “I care about you too much to let you get sick and suffer,” Severus said tenderly.

Harry stopped his flailing and looked into the dark obsidian eyes staring back at him with concern. Harry took a deep breath and nodded while looking down at his hands in his lap. “Fine,” he said so quietly that Severus had to strain to hear him.

“Harry dear, I’m just going to run my own diagnostic and we’ll go from there, alright?” Healer Smith piped in.

Harry nodded again. “Alright love, I’m going to need you to sit up here and you’re going to have to take your shift off. It’s alright. No one except us will hear about anything that is found, alright?” Healer Smith said again.

Harry sighed and took off the hat, cloak, and jumper and sat on the examination table with his head bowed and cheeks bright red. Severus watched his son and had to fight back a gasp. You could see almost every rib and vertebrae on the boy. His back had a few scars that looked like they came from slashes. Oh, how he wanted to strangle those muggles right now.

Healer Smith on the other hand kept an encouraging smile on her face. She waved her wand over Harry and found the same results from Poppy’s report. “Alright Harry, I’m going to be very honest with you, okay?” Harry simply nodded, too embarrassed to want to speak up. “You are severely underweight and lack many vitamins and nutrients. You are going to have to take a nutritive potion for a little while which I’m sure your father has already brewed. In addition to the nutritive potion, I am going to need you to eat more. The typical calorie range for boys your age is around 1,800 to 2,000 calories a day. I am going to have to ask you to eat 2,500 calories a day. I know this is going to be very challenging at first because you are used to practically starving so your stomach has shrunk, but it is very important that you gain some weight. You want to be big and strong just like your dad, right?”

Harry hesitated and then nodded. “Good. I heard you made the Quidditch team, correct?” Healer Smith asked. Harry nodded again. “Right, well unfortunately if you do not gain some weight, I will have to have Poppy bench you. It is simply not safe for you to be enduring a strenuous exercise until your body can handle the stress,” she said.

At this Harry snapped his head up and glared at Severus. At this very moment, he hated the man. ‘Why did he have to take me here? Is he trying to humiliate me or ruin my life? Quidditch is the only thing that makes me feel true joy and freedom and they’re trying to take it away from me,’ he thought to himself.

Severus raised a brow and returned Harry’s death glare with a stern look. “Harry, I did not do this. Please calm down,” Severus said.

Harry rolled his eyes at him. “Yes, you did! You just had to ruin my life, didn’t you! I told you I do not want to talk about this! Now you’re trying to take away the only freedom I have!” Harry shouted.

“Harry, I warned you once, I will not warn you again to calm down. We can discuss this in a quieter tone. I am not trying to ruin your life; I am simply trying to make sure you can live your life. Harry, you cannot keep beating around the bush. The Dursleys abused you. I know. It will be okay, it is time for you to heal now, son,” Severus said calmly.

Harry clenched his fists. He did not want to talk about this. In fact, he never wanted to talk about this. It was his past and he doesn’t want to be reminded of the terrible treatment. Harry started to shake with anger now as the memories he suppressed began to resurface. He slammed his fists into his eyes and then things started to fly off the shelves in the room. He was so angry that he was performing accidental magic.

Severus stood up “Harry James!” he shouted, and Harry looked up at him. “Please, we need you to calm down. We do not have to talk about it anymore. When you are ready, we will talk but for now, we must get the seriousness of this situation under control. You are simply going to have to live with the fact that I care too much about my son to watch him suffer!” Severus almost yelled the last part out.

Harry stopped shaking and unclenched his fists. He was still angry, but he knew Severus was right. Suddenly, Harry burst out into uncontrollable sobs. His tiny frame shook with each heart-wrenching sob. Severus ran over to him and wrapped his arms tightly around the boy. Harry buried his face in Severus’s chest and wrapped his arms tightly around the man’s neck and continued to sob.

Severus ran his hand through Harry’s hair and whispered soothing words into Harry’s ear as he held tight to his son. Severus had to admit that he wanted to cry right now for Harry. ‘How dare those damn muggles torture my son!’ he thought to himself. ‘Furthermore, how dare Albus allow this to happen!’ Severus was seething with anger and found it very hard to occlude his mind, but when Harry held onto him tighter, he felt everything melt away. He needed to be here for his son right now.

Severus looked up and noticed Healer Smith even had tears in her eyes. She quickly swiped them away and began to write a list of things for Harry to do every day to tackle his malnourishment and undernourishment.

After what felt like an hour but was only 10 minutes, Harry finally ceased his sobbing. He felt entirely drained now but he had to admit, he felt relieved that he no longer had to hide from someone anymore. He looked up at Severus and whispered a quiet thank you when Severus passed him a handkerchief to wipe his face and blow his nose.

Healer Smith finally broke in and placed a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Harry, there is just one more thing before I let you two go. I need to provide you with all muggle and wizarding vaccines so you can build immunity. They’re going to pinch a little, but it won’t be too bad, alright?” she told him.

Harry looked up at his dad with worry showing in his red-rimmed emerald eyes. Severus ran his hand over Harry’s hair and grabbed his hand in his own and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m not going anywhere,” Severus told him.

Harry smiled and squeezed Severus’s hand back. “Thanks, Dad,” Harry said quietly.

Severus felt like he could die at that moment. Harry had finally addressed him as his dad, and he felt his heart soar into the sky. He simply leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of his son’s head.

****

After Healer Smith finished, the two were on their way back to Hogwarts. They decided to have a quiet lunch in Severus's quarters and maybe play some wizard's chess.

The two chose to walk back to the castle so that they could enjoy the sunny afternoon. They had decided there was no need to replace the glamor, but Harry continued to wear the hat. Severus secretly took out his camera and snapped a picture of Harry in his hat running and jumping towards a pile of unmelted snow on the trail back to Hogwarts.

Even though Severus missed most of Harry’s childhood, the boy was still eleven and he had hoped that Harry would stay his little boy forever.

December 2, 1991

Sunday night rolled around, and Severus was sitting in Dumbledore’s office waiting for the man to tell him what he can and cannot do with his son. After yesterday’s emotional turmoil, Severus was prepared to start a war with Dumbledore if he tried to use Harry as his pawn in his little game of life. Much to his dismay, Severus thought back to the conversation he had to have with Harry yesterday.

**** (FB)

They were just finishing up with their tea after coming back to his quarters and warming up from their walk in the cold winter chill.

“Would you like to play a game of wizard chess, Harry?” Severus asked as he stood up to bring the tea tray back into the kitchen.

“Sure, that sounds fine, but could I ask you a question first?” Harry asked nervously.

Severus returned to the sitting room and could practically feel the anxiety rolling off the child. He knew what Harry wanted to talk about and he knew he would have to have this conversation with him at some point. He sighed and sat down next to Harry on the couch. “Of course,” Severus said as he turned to his son.

“What… what did you and Professor Dumbledore mean when you were talking about me being in danger whether I was in the castle or not?” Harry asked nervously.

Snape stayed quiet for a moment thinking about the best way to answer. He didn’t have time to prepare and now he wished he had written down speaking notes earlier. He knew this question would come up eventually, but how do you tell your eleven-year-old son that there are people who wish him dead? He figured being straightforward would be the best way to approach the situation. He didn’t want to keep everything from Harry, but he knew his son's Gryffindor courage would lead him to act imprudently trying to find his own answers.

“Harry, you have heard of the dark lord before, correct?” Severus began.

Harry thought for a second. “You mean Voldemort?” he asked innocently.

“Do NOT say the name,” Severus snapped at his son. When he saw Harry flinch slightly, Severus silently reprimanded himself. “I apologize, but his name… does not bring pleasant memories for me,” Severus said hesitantly.

“Sorry,” Harry said quietly.

Severus took a sharp intake of breath. “Right, well there are individuals who are still devoted followers of his and are hoping for his return someday… someday soon. There are many parents of Slytherin students who wish for their children to follow in their footsteps of becoming a supporter of the dark lord and have requested for their children to keep a watchful eye on you. Now, I am not saying all Slytherins are bad, but most followers of the dark lord do tend to come from the Slytherin house since most of Slytherin comes from the ‘pureblood’ nonsense.”

“You mean people like Malfoy?” Harry asked.

“Yes, the Malfoys are firm believers in purebloods. Furthermore, I wish you to not be alone with Draco. Now I am not saying Draco is a follower of the dark lord, but his father is, and Draco would do anything to please his father," Severus told Harry.

Harry nodded. He doesn't want to be anywhere near Draco anyway, so this shouldn't be too hard.

"Now before moving on, I need you to promise me Harry that this will never leave your mouth. What I am about to tell you is very dangerous for you to know, but I am only telling you because there are current inhabitants in the castle that I do not fully trust, and you should be aware of the imminent danger. Do you promise Harry?” Severus asked. He knew this was not a good idea but just in case his suspicions were right, he would rather Harry be made aware of the situation before it was too late.

“Yes, I swear dad I will not tell anyone,” Harry said fervently.

Severus’s heart swelled in his chest and he almost forgot the seriousness of the situation. He loved hearing that moniker come from Harry’s mouth. He looked into Harry’s emerald eyes and slowly raised his gaze to the lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead. He was reminded of Lily’s sacrifice and knew he had to do everything to protect their son so she would not have died in vain.

“Harry,” Severus began with his voice thick with emotion. “There is an artifact that is currently here hidden safely in the castle. It would be very challenging to get to it, but I cannot say it is impossible. I believe that someone is working with… the dark lord to find it. If the artifact comes into possession of the dark lord, it would be very fatal for the rest of the world and especially to you. The dark lord will come after you because he believes you are the one that put a stop to him ten years ago.”

“But what is the artifact and why does he want it so badly?” Harry asked.

Severus straightened up and firmly gripped his son’s shoulders. “That is not something you are to concern yourself with. You are not to go and look for it, you are not to speak of it, you are not to be involved in any of it. I merely told you just because I do not wish you to be in the dark and I would like you to be cautious of your surroundings. I do not wish you to be alone with any staff member or student aside from those little Gryffindor friends of yours. Do you understand?” Severus asked while strengthening the hold on Harry’s shoulders.

“Yes! I promise I won’t do anything and that I will come to you if I need to,” Harry said.

“Good, now why don’t we indulge in a game of wizard chess, and then you should head back up to your dorm and finish that homework of yours,” Severus said while giving Harry a stern glare.

Harry sheepishly smiled. His dad always knew.

**** (end FB)

Severus’s thoughts were interrupted when Dumbledore came into his office.

“Ah, Severus my boy, thank you for meeting with me,” Dumbledore said.

Severus rolled his eyes. He didn’t really have much of a choice since the headmaster would hunt him down. “Yes headmaster, now I have some potions that require my attention so can we please get to the point here,” Severus said.

“Very well,” Dumbledore said as he sat down in his desk chair. He folded his hands on the desk and peered at Severus over his half-moon spectacles. “I do not appreciate you removing Harry from the confines of the wards around Hogwarts. I wish you would have consulted with me first.”

Severus straightened up in his chair. ‘This man cannot be serious,’ he thought to himself. “I am very well equipped with the necessary skills that are required to protect my son, headmaster,” Severus snapped out. “I made sure there were precautions in place and speaking of the ‘safety of the castle’,” he said sarcastically, “Harry is in just as much danger here than he is anywhere else. You know my suspicions of a certain professor, but it seems as though nothing has been done,” Severus said raising his brow at the headmaster.

“You know we cannot afford to act brash in this situation Severus. We must wait and see-” Dumbledore began.

“Wait for what? Someone to get hurt or even killed? For that someone to be Harry? What would you do then without your precious boy-who-lived?” Severus retorted.

Dumbledore sighed, “everything is under control, my boy. There is no way for Quirrell to get to Harry, I promise you that.”

“Yes, and your promises always follow through,” Severus said as he rolled his eyes again.

“Ah but Severus, I have a plan that I think you would like to hear," Dumbledore began. "Over the winter break, I will be requiring someone to follow Quirrell on his supposed trip to Europe that he told me he will be taking. This will allow us to see if there is anything that confirms our reservations on him."

“And who might this person be, Albus?” Severus asked. He had a feeling he knew who he was going to say but wanted to hear it for himself.

Dumbledore stayed silent for a moment. “You, my dear boy.”

Severus stood up and placed his hands on the headmaster’s desk. “No,” he said forcefully.

Dumbledore stood up as well and mimicked Severus’s stance. “Now Severus, you know you are the only one capable of going unnoticed by Quirinus. It has to be you.”

“Again, no,” Severus said just as forcefully as before. “I planned on bringing Harry to my home on Spinner’s End and having a quiet and enjoyable Christmas with my son, seeing as missed out on all of the previous years with him thanks to you,” he said angrily.

Dumbledore began to stroke his beard and sat back down in his chair. “Even if you did not have to go on the mission, I would not have allowed you to take Harry over the break, it is too dangerous.”

Severus slammed his palms down on the desk causing the knick-knacks to shake. “The hell with what you would have allowed or not allowed! Harry is my son! Mine! You have no right to tell me what I can and cannot do with him! Furthermore, I would never place my son in danger!”

Dumbledore leaned forward in his chair. He considered Severus a son to him, but he couldn’t risk anything happening to his spy or Harry for that matter. He needed both of them if they were to be rid of Voldemort for good. “Now Severus,” he began. He knew he was about to cross a dangerous line here. “Did you or did you not plead for Lily’s life over your son on that fateful night?”

Severus saw red. “How dare you, you bastard! You know damn well I did not know my relation to Harry!” He straightened up and kicked the chair behind him sending it right against the stone wall. “You had no right to keep my son away from me! My son with my wife! My Lily! You have no right to control my relationship with him!” Severus ran his arm over Dumbledore’s desk sending everything crashing to the floor. “You have controlled my life for so long, I will not stand for it anymore!” He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the headmaster but then everything suddenly went black.

****

When Severus woke the next morning on his couch in the sitting room of his quarters, the last thing he could remember was every glass window shattering in the headmaster's office.

He stood up and went to the cabinet that held his fire whiskey and took a long swig from the bottle, relishing the smooth burn he felt as it went down his throat. After the burn disappeared, he threw the bottle at the stone wall and watched it shatter. Then for the first time in a long time, he fell to the floor and broke down into uncontrollable sobs.

December 3, 1991

Severus felt utterly exhausted this morning. After finally reigning in his emotions, he took a long hot shower and dressed for the day. He sat down on the couch, glanced at the clock, and saw it was only 6:30 am. He still had an hour before breakfast started, but he really did not want to be in the presence of the headmaster right now. He was still a little fuzzy on what happened last night after the headmaster practically told him that he had no right to love his son.

“Damn you, Albus,” Severus said aloud to himself. His and Harry’s relationship took a turning point this weekend and they were beginning to heal each other. Harry needed Severus for the parental affection he was starved of and to help heal the wounds caused by his relatives whereas Severus needed Harry to fill the huge void in his life he didn’t realize he had until he met his son. Harry’s smile, laughter, caring heart, and vivid green eyes allowed him to love again and open his heart up to someone after Lily.

Unfortunately, Severus now felt as though he didn’t deserve Harry in his life. As much as he loathed to admit, the headmaster did technically have a point… right? ‘No Severus… you didn’t know he was yours, obviously if you knew you would never have done that...’ he started to think. ‘But what sick man asks you to practically allow a dark wizard to brutally murder a baby?’

Severus got up and saw the shattered bottle of fire whiskey from earlier this morning. He groaned; he really needed a drink now. ‘For heaven’s sake Severus, pull yourself together you are not your father!’ he thought to himself. He had to admit that now he felt like absolute shit. How could he go on and pretend like everything was fine with his son? He knew he had to tell Harry before they could continue their relationship; he didn’t want to start a relationship with his son based on a lie. Severus began to tear up as he thought about how Harry might react. He thought of all the ways Harry would say how he despised him and what a true piece of shit he was, but he had to do this. The sooner the better, especially since he is leaving tomorrow morning to prepare for his mission.

Severus glanced at the clock and saw it was now time for breakfast, so he quickly wiped his face with a damp cloth and made his way to the great hall to face the brutal day he was sure in for.

****

“Boys come on!” Hermione shouted to her two friends. They were just finishing up lunch, but if they didn’t start walking in the next minute, they would be late to their potions class which was down in the dungeons.

“Sorry, ‘Mione, I’m not used to eating this much so it’s taking me longer,” Harry said as he finished the last bite of his sandwich and stood up to grab his bag.

“I just don’t wanna go,” Ron said with his mouth half full of a biscuit.

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Way to be pleasant, Ron,” she said and turned around to start walking out of the Great Hall with her two friends trailing.

The three Gryffindors made it to class with two minutes to spare. Immediately upon walking in, they noticed they were the last people to arrive and Professor Snape was already standing at his podium with his arms crossed over his chest.

“That will be five points from each of you for being tardy,” Snape drawled out.

“But Professor class doesn’t start for another minute now,” Harry argued.

“Listen here, Potter,” Snape spat, “you knew very well on the first day I gave specific instructions to arrive five minutes early so you’re not running around like a headless horseman trying to figure out what you are doing. I suggest that you get to your seats and stop keeping me from teaching.”

The three rushed to sit down next to Neville, but as they were walking to their table, Draco stuck his foot out which caused Ron to trip and fall hard to the ground. Harry spun around when he heard his friend crash to the ground and saw Draco snickering, but before he could say anything Severus’s voice cut in.

“Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, I assure you this will be the last time I warn you to get to your seats,” Severus said assertively.

“But sir!” Harry exclaimed. “It’s not our fault! Malfoy trip-” he began but was cut off by Severus.

“Another ten points each from Gryffindor and you will be serving detention with me tonight, Potter for your insolence. Meet me here at 7 pm and do not be late!” Severus bellowed sternly.

Harry groaned and made his way to his seat with Ron. Even though he knew his dad had to be an arsehole to him in class it still sucked.

He had to admit that he was still upset by his dad’s aggressiveness throughout the whole class and hardly managed to brew an acceptable potion. Instead of the pale purple color, it was more gray and goopy. When he and Ron went to turn it in at the end of the class, Severus sat at his desk with just a brow raised at both boys. Ron gulped whereas Harry seemed passive.

“I will tell you, boys, right now, this potion isn’t even worth the pen stroke it would take for me to write unacceptable,” Severus said to the two boys.

Harry shrugged and walked away without saying anything. Ron stood still for a moment with his jaw practically hanging open and then apologized to the professor and ran after Harry.

“Harry! What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing? Even if he is your… you know what,” Ron whispered the last part, “you still can’t do that! My mum or dad would’ve bloody murdered me!”

Harry again just shrugged and turned towards his friend. “Yeah, but he’s not your dad. He and I can’t have that relationship… We’ll never be able to.”

“Harry mate, it’s just for now,” Ron began but Harry shook his head.

“Just don’t worry about it now. I have to get ready for Quidditch practice, I’ll see you later,” Harry said and took off.

Ron sighed and shook his head. He wished he could tell Hermione because he knew she’d talk some sense into him.

****

Quidditch practice ended almost an hour ago, but Harry was still sitting in the stands of the pitch. It was getting dark out and he knew he should go in soon because he did have that detention to serve, but if he was being honest with himself, he really couldn’t bring himself to see his dad right now.

It’s not like what happened in today’s class was terrible. There have been other times when Severus acted like a true git towards him, but today’s actions seemed to bother him. Maybe it’s because he finally felt like Severus was his dad and to have your dad act that way when you did absolutely nothing wrong made him feel upset. It also dawned on him that he never will truly get to experience what a father/son relationship would be like. They would never be a normal family. He knew his dad cared about him and Harry had to admit that he cared about him too but having to pretend is starting to take a toll on him.

If Harry was being honest, it made him feel like shit. He secretly loathed families like the Weasleys or the way the Dursleys treated Dudley. They made having a family seem so easy, but to Severus and Harry, they were facing a much higher level of complexity.

Harry checked his wristwatch and saw that it was already 6:45 pm. He looked down at the broom that was laying by his feet and sighed, remembering the day his dad gave it to him. He remembered feeling loved when he saw his dad in the stands smiling at him even though he was playing against his own house. He just needed more time to think, and he didn’t think being with his dad tonight would allow him to do that.

He concluded to skip his detention and speak to his dad tomorrow morning when he was fully rested and hopefully had a clear head.

****

Severus was pacing his classroom. It was now 7:45 and he wanted to strangle that blasted boy. He kept going back and forth between feeling worried that something happened and feeling angry that his son could be so irresponsible.

After another ten minutes of pacing, he walked into his office and threw down Floo powder to Floo call Minerva.

“Severus,” Minerva answered. “How may I help you?”

“Would you mind checking the Gryffindor dorm and see if Mr. Potter is there?” Severus asked.

After agreeing to check, Minerva came back a few minutes later. “Yes, Severus. Harry is in his dorm. Would you like me to get him?”

“No, that is fine. Thank you, Minerva,” Severus answered and disconnected.

Now Severus was fuming. Not only did Harry worry him, but the brat dared to skip detention completely. Severus wanted to march right on up there and shake the boy until he had some common sense. He quickly decided against that since he knew it would never end well.

Severus entered his quarters and saw his pile of parchment. ‘Those damn speaking notes that I wasted my whole afternoon on!’ He thought to himself. Yet again, Severus made a list of how to get his message across to Harry, but now he figured it was useless. He crumpled it up and threw it across the room; he would toss it later.

After drinking a nice cup of herbal tea, Severus began to calm down a bit. Now instead of anger, he felt hurt that his son would blow him off. He was leaving in the morning and now he wouldn’t get to say goodbye to the little twat. He sat on the couch and looked up at the clock. It was now nearing midnight and he didn’t want to wake Harry up now, especially if Harry seemed to have no interest in him.

‘Damn, you were making progress,’ Severus thought to himself. He decided a letter would have to suffice until he could explain it to him after the break. Severus sat at the small stationery in his quarters and attempted to write his letter many times to his son. After almost ten attempts and sheets of parchment crumpled up on the floor, Severus finally found the correct words.
****

"Harry,

I am writing to you simply because there was not enough time to explain. I will be going away for a mission and will not be returning until the start of the new term. As poorly timed as this mission was, it is very important and must be completed. I had hoped that we would have traveled back to my home and celebrated our first boxing day together as a family. I apologize for not being able to follow through with that plan, but I promise I will make it up to you after the break.

Now, even though I will be away, I am including this wristband for you to wear. Wear this every day and tap on the medallion three times if you are in danger. It will notify me immediately as I have the matching one and I will be able to come to you right away.

I must keep this goodbye short for many reasons, but we will discuss more when I return.

Please behave yourself, son, and make sure to get ahead in your studies for next term. Reading ahead always helps! I will know if you did not.

SS

P.S. This letter is charmed so only you can read it, but after you are finished cast an Incendio"

****

Severus sealed the letter and decided to make the trip to deliver it now instead of rushing in the morning and forgetting.

Instead of turning right to head towards the owlery, Severus turned left and headed straight up to Gryffindor tower. He stealthily slid in and was thankful no one was in the common room. It was just after 2 am now and he did not want to have to explain himself. He quietly snuck into the first-year boys' dormitory and headed over to his son’s bed.

He gently lifted the tangled blankets to Harry’s chin and let his hand fall gently on top of the boy's unruly mop of hair, sweeping a few stray bangs out of his eyes. He placed the letter underneath his pillow and then took one last glance at Harry and then as gently as possible, kissed right above his brow.

“I love you, my little boy,” Severus whispered and stalked out of the room to get ready for his departure.

December 12, 1991

“Ron, come on or we’re gonna be late to breakfast,” Harry said while shaking his ginger friend awake in bed. After Ron seemingly woke up, Harry made his way over to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He looked at himself in the mirror and took in his appearance. He had bags forming under his eyes from the lack of sleep he had been getting the past week. Not only has studying for the end-of-term exams been brutal, but every night Harry felt extremely guilty about blowing off his dad before he left. What if the mission is dangerous and he never comes back?

Ron came into the bathroom and patted Harry on the back. Harry had told him about what happened, and he felt bad for his friend. “Ready to go down mate?” Ron asked.

Harry nodded and splashed some cold water on his face then followed Ron down into the common room. As they were leaving, there was a flyer on the wall that they stopped to read. Harry felt his chest constrict and thought he was going to vomit or pass out. Or both.

“Attention students:
Due to recent events, the castle will be closed for all students over the course of the winter holidays to strengthen the wards.
Students must return home for the break.
We apologize for any inconvenience.”

“Well guess this means mum and dad won’t be going to Romania to visit Charlie anymore since we all have to go home,” Ron said with a simple shrug of his shoulders. He turned to look at Harry and saw Harry look visibly ill. “Harry, you alright?” Ron asked.

Harry got out of the trance he was in and looked at Ron. “Ron…” He began but it came out as a hoarse whisper. “Ron I can’t go home. I can’t go back to my aunt and uncles I just can’t!” Harry said worriedly.

“Then don’t. Just come to the Burrow I know mum and dad would love to have you. I guess we’ll just have to tell McGonagall or Dumbledore but I’m sure it will be fine,” Ron suggested.

Harry started to calm down. Ron had a point he could just go to the Burrow for the two weeks. That shouldn’t be a problem. “Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go eat before we miss breakfast,” Harry said and pulled Ron with him out the door already in a better mood.

****

The rest of the day went by without trouble or any major event. After the last quidditch practice of this year, Harry made his way back into the common room and joined Neville, Hermione, and Ron on the sofa. Hermione was of course reading one of her history textbooks and Neville was reading one about Herbology. Ron on the other hand was flipping through a Quidditch magazine like always. Harry smiled and sat down next to them pulling out his defense textbook to read.

“Ugh, Harry not you too! Come on, how about a game of Wizard’s chess?” Ron asked putting his magazine down.

“Ron seriously! We have exams next week; don’t you think you should pick up a textbook for once in your life?” said Hermione.

“Ah but you just said next week, so that’s a next week's problem!” Ron snapped back. “What d’you say, Harry? Chess?”

Harry looked between his two friends and then glanced over at Neville who just shrugged. Harry sighed, “just one game Ron and then we both study.”

“Boys,” Hermione muttered. “Well, I’m going to the library where I won’t be distracted,” she said and grabbed her bag and turned on her heel to leave.

All three boys just shrugged. Ron went up to grab his chess set leaving Neville and Harry alone in the common room.

“Do you wanna take a turn at playing, Neville?” Harry asked.

“Nah thanks, Harry but I’m rubbish at chess. I prefer to watch,” Neville said.

Harry laughed a little, “don’t worry Neville, I’m rubbish too. Ron always beats me whenever we play.” Harry started to think back to the time he and his dad played a week ago. Severus had obviously crushed him, but he gave him tips about moving his pieces.

Harry’s mood automatically shifted. He started to get the anxious feeling again wondering if Severus was going to be okay or not. He looked down at his wrist and saw the leather band with a medallion in the middle. He thought about calling for help to just get Severus to come back so he could see him again. He knew he couldn’t do it for the hell of it, but what if he truly was in danger?

He thought about the announcement this morning about having to go home for break. He knew he had to talk to Dumbledore about it, and as much as Ron tried reassuring him this morning, he didn’t have too high expectations. ‘But maybe now since Dumbledore knows what they did and he knows dad will never allow me to go there again,’ Harry thought to himself.

Ron came back down and set up his chessboard for the two of them. He went to call Harry over but saw that Harry looked far away and was shaking his leg anxiously. He glanced over to Neville and saw him looking at Harry too. Ron walked over to them and sat down on the couch.

“Alright, Harry?” Ron asked.

Harry snapped his head towards Ron. “Oh uh yeah… just thinking about um… break,” Harry replied.

“Yeah, it sucks, doesn’t it… Gran wasn’t too happy to hear that she had to cancel her trip to see her friends,” Neville piped in.

“Yeah… the Dursleys won’t be too happy to see me,” Harry said sounding defeated.

“Mate, I told you to just come to the Burrow with me. How ‘bout we go ask Dumbledore now to give you some peace of mind?” Ron said while standing up.

Harry reluctantly agreed. “It might be better if I go alone, you two stay here and I’ll come back,” Harry told Ron.

Ron agreed and he suggested that Neville play the game of chess with him, no matter how rubbish he claims to be.

****

After a long discussion about why Harry needed to speak to the headmaster, Professor McGonagall gave him today's password and now Harry found himself at the entrance to his office.

His hands felt clammy, and he couldn’t stop clenching and unclenching his fists. After a moment of just standing there, he finally muttered “licorice wand” and the gargoyle swung around granting him access. He knocked on the door after climbing the stairs.

He heard shuffling around the office and the door swung open. “Harry, my boy, how nice to see you. Please do come in,” Dumbledore said while stepping aside.

As Harry stepped into the office Dumbledore placed his hand on his shoulder and guided him over to the chairs in front of his desk. “Is there something I can do for you, Harry?” he asked.

Harry swallowed and wiped his hands on his trousers. “Um, actually sir… I was wondering if I would be allowed to go to the Burrow and stay with the Weasley’s over the break?”

Dumbledore leaned against his desk. “Harry,” he began gently, “I’m afraid not. You see, there are potential dangers that may happen over the course of the break which is why Hogwarts has to close so you must return to the blood wards your relatives protect you with.”

Harry felt like there was a huge weight on his chest. He could hardly breathe. He just nodded to the headmaster and stood up. He couldn’t be in here anymore and had to get away to be alone.

“Thanks, sir. I still have some studying to do so I’ll be going now,” Harry said as he practically sprinted out of the office.

Harry ran through the castle and didn’t even know where he was going until he found himself in front of Severus’s office door.

He started pounding on the door with his fists, tears streaming down his face. He wanted Severus. He wanted his dad.

He stopped pounding on the door since he knew no one was going to answer it and slid to the floor placing his head on his knees. He never thought he would ever need someone as he did right now. He never thought he would ever be able to say he needed his dad because he thought his dad had been dead.

“I’m such a bloody idiot!” He screamed out. Harry stood up, wiped his face, and made his way back to the Gryffindor tower.

Instead of staying in the common room with Ron and Neville, he muttered that he was tired and went up to his bed. He drew the curtains closed and fell back face-first into his pillow and cried.

“I want my dad,” he continuously whispered until he fell asleep.

December 24, 1991

Everything hurt. His back was sore, his arms were exhausted, his feet hurt, and his head felt like it was about to explode. Harry was lying on the thin mattress in his cupboard staring up at the ceiling and fidgeting with the bracelet on his wrist.

‘I can do this,’ he thought to himself. He had only been at the Dursleys for three days now, he didn’t want his dad to think he was a baby, he wanted his dad to think he was strong.

Harry’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard Dudley come down the stairs making sure to stomp with each step. Harry shut his eyes tightly and covered his ears. His head truly was pounding, and he felt achy all over. Harry thought that his uncle genuinely enjoyed using him as his punching bag to get his frustrations out because the first night he arrived back here, Uncle Vernon wasted no time in giving him a good beating to ‘knock some sense’ into him. Vernon had taken his belt to Harry’s back and backhanded him a few times. Aside from that, Harry had hardly had any food since he came back. They gave him one slice of toast in the morning and half a banana at night.

On the other hand, Aunt Petunia gave him a list of chores almost as tall as him the first night. Harry’s arms were so sore from scrubbing he’d be surprised if he didn’t add another kilogram of muscle in his forearms alone.

Before Harry knew it, the door to the cupboard swung open and Vernon was standing there with a look of disgust on his face. “Get up boy! You must get ready for dinner tonight! I want everything perfect for when Marge arrives!”

Harry inwardly groaned. His ‘Aunt’ Marge was coming tonight, and they always wanted a big dinner whenever she arrived. Harry slowly got out of the cupboard and adjusted to the sunlight outside. ‘Man, my head and body truly do hurt,’ he thought to himself. He felt extremely sluggish and felt as though he was exerting all his energy into just sitting up. He knew he just had to get through tonight and then he would be able to sleep in a little tomorrow since the Dursleys are more than likely to go out to breakfast.

Harry sighed as he checked the clock in the kitchen. 10:04 am. Marge would be here around 6 pm, so that truly meant he had to spend all day cooking. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out the beef for the Sunday roast, the potatoes, gravy, and then the Yorkshire pudding ingredients and got to work.

****

It was now 5:30 pm and Harry was putting the finishing touches on the food. He had only burned his hand once when Dudley ‘accidentally’ tripped him causing him to put his hand out on the hot stove.

Just as he had started to plate the food, the doorbell rang. “Get that boy!” Vernon shouted from the sitting room where he was watching the telly.

Harry sighed and walked over to the door to open it.

“Oh, you’re here,” Marge spat out. “I thought you would be away at that school of yours. I’m surprised they let you out.”

Harry didn’t feel like saying anything because he knew if he would, Vernon would for sure backhand him. He just moved out of the way and allowed Marge and Ripper into the house.

After everyone said their greetings, they all filed into the dining room to be served dinner. Harry felt the day’s work catch up to him and he had to admit that he really didn’t feel well. His throat was starting to hurt, his nose was beginning to get a little stuffy, and his body felt exhausted. He wanted to tell Petunia so that she would tell him to get away and to stay in his cupboard, but he knew Vernon liked to be waited on, especially when there is a guest.

Well, Harry now realized he should have done that because just as he was bringing the Sunday roast to the table, his body gave out and he fell over, sending the pot roast everywhere. The first person to scream was Dudley. A piece of beef landed on his lap and Ripper immediately charged at Dudley, knocking him off his chair. Ripper was tearing at Dudley’s trousers as Dudley tried to kick him off. Petunia screamed and Marge jumped up trying to get Ripper off him.

Even though Harry felt terrible, he had to admit the sight was very funny, so he allowed himself a small smile. When he looked up, his smile immediately fell, and he took a huge gulp of air.

Vernon’s face turned a new shade of purple and he was giving him a death glare. “You worthless, good for nothing, waste of space, freak!” Vernon shouted.

Harry scooted back trying to get away from his uncle, but surprisingly Vernon could be fast for a man his size.

Vernon grabbed Harry by the neck of his too-baggy shirt and lifted Harry off the ground to only slam him back down. “You ruin everything!” Vernon shouted again.

Harry winced. He had never seen Vernon this angry before, so he had to admit that he was scared now. “I want my dad, I want my dad, I want my dad,” Harry began to whisper.

“What’s that now? You want your dad? Yeah well, your dad isn’t coming!” Vernon shouted in Harry’s face. He grabbed Harry again by the arm and stood him up and slammed him into the wall so hard, Harry was sure he heard something in his back crack.

Harry let out a cry of pain and curled in on himself on the ground. Just as he did, he saw the bracelet on his wrist. ‘How do I get him again?’ Harry thought to himself. “Think Harry! Think!” he said aloud.

“Yes brat, think about how you’re going to pay!” Vernon said.

‘That’s it!’ Harry thought. He tapped the medallion three times and felt a warm sensation come over his arm as well as the bracelet begin to glow.

“I thought I told you no freakiness in this house!” Vernon bellowed.

He gave one swift kick of his leg to Harry’s ribs right before there was a thunderous crack and everything went black for Harry.

December 12, 1991

Severus had been miserable since he left for his mission. Not only was he worried about his potions classes and who Dumbledore replaced him with, but he was worried about Harry. He kept thinking back to the ways he could have tried harder to give his son a proper goodbye. Severus was worried that he is completely diminishing the small bit of trust Harry put into him, and knowing small tidbits of Harry’s childhood, the boy clearly had issues trusting.

Severus had only been gone for a few days, but he truly did miss his son. Granted he and Harry had not known about their relationship for all that long, but Severus missed hearing his son’s laugh, seeing his sheepish smile, and seeing the glint in those green eyes. If anything, this mission was to prove that Severus needed Harry in his life just as much as Harry needed him.

So far nothing has happened. He had been following Quirrell around a small town in Scotland concealed by Polyjuice potion. He hasn’t seen anything suspicious of the defense professor yet, so he was beginning to wonder if Dumbledore would allow him to cancel his trip early just in time for him and Harry to celebrate boxing day together.

Severus had a few gifts planned to give his son so that they could make their first official boxing day together special. He knew his son deserved something special for once in his life.

****

December 20, 1991

Today had been just like any other day. He woke up at the crack of dawn, read the paper, made his tea, and sat watch. Severus was starting to grow bored of his current mission. Quirrell was being cautious and knew not to plan anything over this break.

“Damn you, Albus,” Severus muttered while sipping his tea. He was sitting next to the window in the small flat he was currently renting. It was located across the street from Quirrell’s building, so it allowed him to see when Quirrell would leave so he could discretely follow.

After about another half hour of perusing the Daily Prophet, Severus’s mind started to drift back to a few weeks ago in the headmaster’s office.

**** (FB)

“Now Severus,” Dumbledore began. He knew he was about to cross a dangerous line here. “Did you or did you not plead for Lily’s life over your son on that fateful night?”

Severus saw red. “How dare you, you bastard! You know damn well I did not know my relation to Harry!” He straightened up and kicked the chair behind him sending it right against the stone wall. “You had no right to keep my son away from me! My son with my wife! My Lily! You have no right to control my relationship with him!” Severus ran his arm over Dumbledore’s desk sending everything crashing to the floor. “You have controlled my life for so long, I will not stand for it anymore!” He pulled out his wand and aimed it at the headmaster.

“Severus, stand down,” Dumbledore said as he rose from his desk. In the past, he knew Severus would never try anything on him, but now bring his newfound son into the equation, Dumbledore did not know what to expect.

“You have taken so much of my life from me…” Severus started, his voice thick with emotion. “My freedom, my family, everything!”

“No Severus, you lost those things when you joined the wrong side to begin with,” Dumbledore replied calmly.

“Damn you!” Severus screamed. The objects that were once cluttering Dumbledore’s desk but were now skewed across the floor began to shake. The portraits of previous headmasters and headmistresses all ran from their frames; they did not want to witness what was about to happen.

Severus’s magic began to crack around the room and before he and the headmaster knew it, the stained-glass windows shattered all around them, the portrait frames flew off the walls, and the cabinets were shaking as if they were about to tip over.

“Severus!” Dumbledore shouted. “Get a hold of yourself!”

“I-I…” Severus stuttered but then trailed off. He knew Dumbledore was right but how dare he claim he wanted Harry to die. For Merlin’s sake what man wishes death upon a baby? Let alone his baby…

Severus sank down onto the floor with tears filling his eyes. Aside from Dumbledore, the only other person to see him shed a tear was his beloved wife. He did not like the fact he was being so vulnerable right now, especially in front of this man.

“I-I…” Severus stuttered.

Dumbledore walked out from behind his desk and placed a comforting hand on the potion master’s shoulder. “I know, my dear boy, and I am sorry too.”

Dumbledore whispered a quick sleeping charm and returned Severus to his living quarters for the night.

**** (End FB)

Severus’s mind was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw four cloaked figures walking into the building across the street. This set off immediate alarms in his mind since he recognized those cloaks from his night job. He grabbed one of the vials of Polyjuice potion and downed the vial, transforming into a random muggle he stole a hair sample from. As he made his way across the street, he cast a silencing charm on himself and slowly crept up the creaky stairs, and stood outside the doorway to Quirrell’s home. He could hear the muffled voices of the group of men, but there was one voice in particular that sent chills down his spine.

‘Oh for Merlin’s sake, please let this be a dream,’ Severus thought to himself.

Unfortunately for him, he knew it was not a dream but an actual living nightmare. Before he could do anything, he had to get in contact with Dumbledore and The Order to figure out their next steps.

Severus silently crept down the stairs and ran back to his own flat to Floo call the headmaster and devise a plan.

****

December 24, 1991

After informing the headmaster and The Order of the events that occurred, they sent two arurors to join Severus and stay watch. Ever since Severus left the building to provide intel, no one has entered or exited the building and it has now a full week without action. Severus and the two arurors, Frederick and Nolan were growing impatient and were all upset they were away from their families during unboxing day.

The day started just like any other day. Severus and the two arurors took shifts keeping watch in front of the window while the others would try and get some work done. Severus could not stop thinking about Harry. After finding out what Quirrell is involved with, Severus became extremely concerned for his son’s safety. He knew the dark lord would go after him and he knew his position as a spy would be severely compromised because there was no way in hell that he would even pretend to go along with the death eater’s plans.

Just as Severus was about to put a kettle of tea on, Nolan shouted from across the room for Severus and Frederick to join him.

When Severus made his way over to the window, he took a deep breath in. The death eaters started to make their move and they were now cursing innocent bystanders on the streets.

“We have to do something!” Frederick shouted as he summoned his wand and was already out the door. Nolan was right behind him too, but just as Severus was grabbing some healing potions to carry with him, the medallion on his bracelet gleamed a bright orange.

“Harry…” Severus said. He took one last look out the window and then back at the medallion. He only had one clear choice to make at this moment.

Thinking fast, he sent his doe Patronus to Dumbledore telling him about the situation and disapparated on the spot.

****

When Severus arrived outside the door to number 4 Privet Drive, he had to admit, he was very confused. ‘What is this place and why is Harry here?’ he thought to himself.

Without hesitation, Severus used his wand to blast the door open and there he saw it. A human whale kicking his son in the ribs. Before he knew it, Severus cast a blasting hex that hit Vernon Dursley square in the chest as he turned to the door. Vernon was hit so hard he flew through the hallway into the kitchen and right on top of what seemed like Whale Jr and a dog.

Petunia screamed as she saw her husband get blasted and she was pretty sure she heard a crunch as he landed on Dudley. Petunia grabbed Dudley out from underneath Vernon and did notice his foot was pointing in the opposite direction it should be. She screamed and visibly paled at the sight. Dudley who had been hopped up on adrenaline didn’t even realize until his mum pointed it out. He screamed and then passed out.

Severus closed the gap between him and Harry in three quick strides. He kneeled next to him and placed a gentle hand on Harry’s shoulder. Harry flinched and curled into himself even more.

“Harry, it’s dad. I’m here son,” Severus said as gently as he could. His emotions were all over the place right now and he was having a very hard time controlling his anger.

Harry peeked his head out from under his arms and did see his dad kneeling in front of him. He felt so exhausted and his whole body hurt that the only response he had was to begin to cry.

“Shhh,” Severus soothed. “It’s alright Harry we’re leaving. Can you grab your things?”

Harry didn’t respond for a moment, but when he did, he nodded his head. He was able to muster up enough energy to get the hell out of here. With the assistance of his dad, he stood up and collected a few things from his cupboard, and waited by the door.

Severus made sure his son could stand steady before he left Harry to go into the kitchen.

“How dare you lay a finger on my son!” Severus shouted as he stood over a struggling to sit up Vernon. “You know what they do to people like you in Azkaban? Well, when I’m through with you, you will wish you were in Azkaban,” he said in a dangerously low voice.

“Your son!” Petunia exclaimed. “Where have you been all this time then? Why did we have to take care of the rotten brat? Turned out just like your father huh, Severus?”

“How dare you!” Severus boomed. He pulled his wand out and cast a charm that stitched her mouth shut.

“Oi! Pet!” Vernon shouted as he stood up from the ground. “Enough with the freakiness!”

Severus took a step closer to Vernon and was face to face with him. “How dare you, you despicable muggle,” Severus spat. He turned to Petunia, “your own blood. Imagine how Lily and your parents would react if they even heard a third of the things you did to him.”

“Get out of my house!” Vernon said taking a menacing step towards Severus.

Before Vernon could react, Severus wound up and punched Vernon hard in the nose causing blood to trickle out.

“You bastard!” Vernon shouted through cupped hands.

“Dad?” Harry called weakly from the hallway.

Severus turned to look at Harry leaning up against the wall.

“You’re lucky that is all for today,” Severus whispered to Vernon before he turned on his heel and walked out of the kitchen.

He placed a hand on Harry’s back and guided him out of the house. As they were standing on the driveway Severus stopped and placed both hands on Harry’s shoulders and turned his son to face him. “Harry, where’s your trunk and Hedwig?”

“Uhh, I think it’s in the garage…” Harry said quietly.

Severus nodded and blasted open the garage door. He spotted Harry’s trunk and birdcage with a padlock on it and blasted them both away. He let Hedwig out of her cage and told her to go to Hogwarts and then he shrunk Harry’s belongings down and placed them in his pocket.

“Alright, Harry let’s get you out of here and back home,” Severus said as he walked back over to Harry who was now leaning tiredly against the car.

As Severus wrapped his arm around Harry’s shoulder, he felt the heat coming off the boy’s body. He moved his hand up to Harry’s forehead and brushed away the fringe. “Merlin Harry! You’re burning up!” Severus exclaimed drawing his hand away. “We need to get you to Poppy,” Severus said.

Harry’s response was just a cough and he leaned against his dad now, hardly able to stand on his own from the fatigue. Severus looked down and realized this. He sighed worriedly and bent over to place one arm behind Harry’s knees and the other against his back as he lifted his son off the ground.

“Is this better?” Severus asked looking down at his strong but fragile boy in his arms.

Harry closed his eyes and just nodded, leaning into his dad, and taking in the familiar scent of herbs and spices. He finally felt safe and allowed himself to succumb to the exhaustion.

December 25, 1991

The first thought Harry had when he woke up was as to how the small light in the cupboard could possibly be this bright. The second thought he then had was why his cupboard smelled sterilized. He fluttered open his eyes and blinked back the sleep before slowly lifting his head to take a quick glance around the room. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion because he had no recollection of returning to Hogwarts and especially being admitted into the hospital wing.

As he went to sit up, he felt his body fight back; the achiness and the soreness overpowering him and he let out a small groan of pain. A calloused hand then placed his glasses onto his face while the other pushed his chest gently back down onto the bed.

“You are going to be sore for another day or so, so might I suggest you take it easy,” Severus Snape told his son.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows again and looked up. “How… how did we get here? Why am I this bloody sore?”

“Language young man,” Severus gently admonished. “You do not remember?” he then asked while taking a seat in the chair next to the bed.

“Erm… I mean I remember being at the Dursleys, but to be honest I just thought I was dreaming when I saw you punch Uncle Vernon in the face.”

“Do not call him uncle,” Severus snapped. “No uncle or any adult for that matter should treat a child like that. They are not your family, Harry.”

Harry just nodded. He knew they were terrible to him, but blood is blood. Right?

He was interrupted from his thoughts when Severus placed his hand on his forehead and held it there to check his temperature.

“Hmmm,” Severus said quietly. “I shall go get Madam Pomphrey, do no move,” he said while standing up and disappearing into the office.

Madam Pomphrey and Severus returned a moment later. She was carrying a full tray of potions and Harry internally groaned. All medicinal potions tasted worse than a Hagrid’s rock cakes.

“Ah Harry dear, Happy Christmas! How are you feeling? Still feverish? Achey?” Madam Pomphrey asked as she approached his bedside and rested the tray of potions on the stand next to it.

“Yes, he is still feverish and does seem to be having discomfort,” Severus chimed in.

“Severus, I asked the patient himself, correct?” Poppy asked as she pulled out her wand to run a diagnostic on Harry. Severus on the other hand just rolled his eyes and sat back down in the chair.

“I guess I’m feeling a bit sore. Mostly my ribs and back. I am a little tired and feel cold but hot at the same time,” Harry said quietly.

“Yes well, cracked ribs and some severe bruising and cuts on your back will do just that. You got an infection and your body’s response was to break out the fever. Your temp is just around 38.7 C (101.6 F) so only a slight fever is left. You still need another day of rest and recovery before you will start to feel a difference. Here drink these potions and order some breakfast. I will be back to check on you before lunch dear,” Poppy said as she started passing each vial to Harry to down before giving Severus a slight nod and retreating to her office.

“Do you have anything particular that you would like for breakfast?” Severus asked while standing up.

“Erm… no. I’m not that hungry really so maybe some toast with jam?” Harry replied.

Severus nodded. “I will go to the kitchens in the castle to tell the house-elves. I am going to stop by my office for a few things I must handle since I have been gone, but I will be back soon. After you eat try and rest a bit.”

Harry stayed quiet and nodded. He didn’t want Severus to go since he felt safe with him around, but he didn’t want to interrupt his work.

Just as Severus was about to turn to leave, he turned back and placed a comforting hand on Harry’s shoulder.

“And I forgot. Happy Christmas, Harry,” Severus said with a squeeze on his shoulder and a small smile grazing his lips.

“Happy Christmas, Dad,” Harry replied and allowed himself to smile as well.

With that Severus turned and stalked out of the infirmary.

****

After placing Harry’s order in the kitchen, Severus took the long way back to his office. He was still filled with rage at the entire situation, but he was at least glad he had gotten there in time before anything worse would have happened.

After apparting to Hogsmeade and having to sprint to the infirmary carrying an eleven-year-old boy, albeit a very skinny eleven-year-old, who was passed out from either pain, starvation, fever, or all three, he was emotionally and physically drained. However, after seeing those emerald green eyes flutter open this morning, he had to admit that he felt all anger that had built up dissipate. Those damn green eyes would always have such an effect on him, and he just prayed Harry never finds out.

Severus reached his office and glanced over some letters and papers that were sitting on his desk waiting for his return. He made a note to check out his classroom and make sure it was actually still standing, but he had more important things to do today.

He unlocked his bottom desk cabinet and pulled out a wooden box. This wooden box had changed his life for the better and he thought of a way to turn this past month around. He began to set up his office for his surprise for Harry.

After he finished setting up, he checked the time and saw that only thirty minutes had gone by. He figured he still had time to meet with the headmaster before returning to his son’s bedside. He grabbed the floo powder off the mantle and shouted “Headmaster’s Office,” and peeped his head through.

“Ah Severus, my boy, please come through,” Dumbledore said from the other side.

Severus stepped through and immediately grabbed his wand from his robe and took three long strides crossing the room before he pointed it at the headmaster’s neck.

There was an audible gasp that came from behind and Severus snapped his head around to see Minerva standing in front of the desk with her hands closed over her mouth.

“Severus Snape!” she exclaimed. “Just what in Merlin’s name are you doing?”

“This old fool almost had my son killed!” Severus shouted and thrust his wand deeper into the headmaster's beard.

“Your son?” Minerva questioned.

“Harry? is he alright?” Dumbledore followed up.

“I’m sorry, you said Mr. Potter… Um, I mean Harry,” she quickly corrected when Snape shot her a look, “almost killed? Severus, what has happened?” She asked.

“Those blasted relatives that you put him with! You knew how poorly he was treated there yet you still sent him back! I am tired of you meddling in my life! You have taken so damn much from me, old man!” Severus spat out.

“Now Severus, let us take a deep breath. Can I interest you in a lemon drop laced with a calming drought before we proceed?” Dumbledore asked as he began to step away from Severus and return to his desk.

Severus just laughed manically in response. “This is it. You are done using me as your pawn, you are done using my son as your pawn, you are done. Anything that you wish Harry to do has to run by me first. I will not be going on any more missions. You will stop meddling in our lives. You have caused enough damage. Harry is only eleven but has been through so much already and will probably be going through a lot more if our suspicions are correct.”
“Suspicions? Severus, headmaster, what suspicions?” Minerva cut in.

“We shall discuss that later Minerva, but for the time being, I am truly sorry Severus. I did not think they would have hurt him. I sent a letter ahead and had Arabella Fig, a squib placed next door to keep an eye out. The blood wards were needed for over the break while you were away.”

Severus rolled his eyes. He was beyond livid but it’s not like he would actually ever harm Dumbledore. Well, that is if he never laid a finger on Harry or placed him in immediate danger anymore.

“How is Harry doing?” Dumbledore asked.

“He is much better. Recovering no thanks to you,” Snape muttered and checked his watch. “I actually must be getting back to him. I do not want to leave him for too long,” Severus said as he turned on his heel and made way for the door.

“Severus, please tell him I wish him well and will come to see him when he is feeling up to it,” the headmaster said.

Severus just grunted and left for the infirmary.

“Albus, I told you those muggles were the worst of them. I cannot believe you sent him back there without informing me of the situation. That young boy is in my care throughout the school year and after learning that Severus Snape is his father, well I do not want to be on the receiving end of his wrath,” McGonagall said.

“Yes, Minerva. You are right,” Dumbledore said while stroking his beard thoughtfully.

****

When Severus returned to the infirmary he saw that Harry had eaten all of his toast and had fallen back asleep. Severus would just have to give him his Christmas gift later. He gently reached over and lifted the glasses of his son and placed them on the nightstand and then leaned down to pull the bed covers up to his shoulders. He sat back down in the chair and gently ran his fingers through Harry’s hair, lingering over the scar slightly. Severus closed his eyes and sighed.

He wished Lily was still here. She would know what to do.