"Harry, are you ok?"

"Huh?"

"You seem... off."

Harry frowned. "Fine. I'm fine."

"You don't seem fine."

He was sitting on the floor beside Susan again, this time on a large pillow he had conjured for her. It was getting more difficult for her to sit on the floor now with the baby growing in her body.

He let out a sigh and wrapped his arms around himself. He felt out of sorts truth be told. If his father wasn't James, then he didn't know who he himself was. He wasn't a Potter. Who was he? Not a Weasley, at least that much was certain, because he didn't have orange hair.

"I didn't tell you something."

"What?"

"That night the portrait let me back into the tower... she told me I was finally the man my father was. Said that now that I decided to take care of you, even though the baby wasn't mine, that I was finally like my father. I thought about it, and I think she was trying to tell me that James wasn't my dad. He just took responsibility for me."

"Oh Harry, are you sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"No wonder you've been so distant lately."

He sighed again. "How do I even find something like that out? What if he didn't even know about me? Or what if he did and didn't want me? I'm just like the baby in your stomach."

"How do you mean?"

"He'll never even know who his father is... or who her father is."

"It's a him Harry, and his father will be you."

"Susan, I wish it were true. I do. But I don't even know who the real father is. And the truth is, it just isn't true. I can be the best stepfather I can, but he's not my son. I'm not James Potter's son..."

"He's Draco's."

Silence followed her words into the empty corridor.

Harry looked over at her. "You're positive?"

"Yes."

"You fell in love with Draco Malfoy, got pregnant, and then claimed it was his enemy's son?"

"Yes. I'm so sorry Harry!" She seemed mortified, as if Harry would turn away from her now.

Harry let his head hit the wall behind him. "No wonder Draco's been so out of sorts. There's no chance people will think this is my child now. He's going to have blond hair."

"Maybe not Harry. I have dark hair.'

"Doesn't matter. Remember that wizarding genealogy class they make the third years take for one term? Wizarding genes win out over Muggle genes. You're half, so his blond hair will win out over your brown." Harry's eyes widened suddenly and then he said, "Which means my dad must still have black hair!"

"What do you mean?"

"My mum's hair was red and she was half, so my dad must have had black hair too, just like me."

"That doesn't narrow it down much."

"No, but it's a start."

* * *

Harry wasn't sure if he was more pleased or amused to see the fat lady preventing people from entering the common room in the following weeks. Ron, Seamus, Dean, and several others had taken to waiting around for groups of people to go in and out of the common room in order to enter themselves. Harry never did have to tell Lady Justice who was causing him trouble, she always just seemed to know. It was too bad she didn't have control over students from other houses as well.

While the comments about him and Susan had lessened significantly, some slurs were still occasionally thrown Harry's way, especially by the Slytherins. Harry noticed that Draco kept his mouth shut for the most part, and in general seemed unhappy and depressed. Perhaps Draco had his reasons for ignoring Susan, although Harry couldn't understand why. She was beautiful, and funny and kind, and if Harry weren't still in love with Ginny Weasley, he would give his whole heart to Susan without any restraint. He wanted to be free of the love of one or the other, but found that an impossible task now. And as much as he wanted to do the right thing by Susan, he had the feeling that Draco wasn't giving up his responsibility completely of his own free will. He just didn't think it was right to raise up Draco's son if Draco wanted the chance. And maybe he didn't, Harry didn't know, but he did know that Draco was downright depressed, and looked a far sight thinner than he did when the term had started.

* * *

Harry had a bad feeling that he couldn't shake. It had been with him when he'd woken, so much so that he double checked all of his things to be sure they hadn't been cursed by his housemates. All through lunch Harry couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. Nobody seemed to be staring at him any more or less than usual, Susan was fine, Ginny was fine, even Ron and Hermione seemed well. Snape was a little off, in a Draco sort of way, but Harry knew that wasn't it.

Unwilling to go to sleep when such a bad feeling still plagued him, Harry left the common room just before curfew and made his way to the Entrance Hall, thinking about taking a walk and maybe making a visit to Hagrid, whom he hadn't seen in a few weeks.

The grounds were dark and cool, and the grass was wet from recent rains. Snow would be falling soon, Harry was reminded when the cold wind picked up and he was forced to wrap his arms around himself for warmth.

"Excuse me."

Startled, Harry turned around to find a large middle-aged man with black hair and glasses staring at him. He seemed to be on his way up to the castle. "Are you Harry Potter?" Harry's heart skipped a beat. Black hair, glasses, wizard... it's my father, it's my father. He's come for me.

"Yes?" his voice was too hopeful, and he found himself betrayed when the man took a long step forward and grabbed Harry's collar.

"I'm Gary Lewitt. Susan's father."

Harry could feel the blood draining from his face, and perhaps it was a good thing as next second there was a fist hitting him in the face repeatedly. Harry fumbled for his wand, but couldn't find it in the darkness, and his arms failed to block the blows. One good punch took the wind out of him, and another had Harry gasping for breath. He hadn't faced punishment of this kind since two summers before, when he had forgotten his wand in his room and had accidentally knocked over uncle Vernon's favorite bag of golf clubs.

His attacker threw him roughly to the ground and the attack continued with hard boots on Harry's back and sides. And then when Harry was barely conscious, the blows stopped, and a cold voice was too close for comfort.

"You stay away from my Susan. You're to have nothing to do with her or the baby. If you touch her, or any girl under the age of 21 again, I'll kill you. Do you understand?"

Harry gurgled, unable to get words to come out of his mouth, and the man seemed to take his response as yes.

"Don't make me come back to make good on my threat boy," and then he was gone, and Harry blacked out.

* * *

Severus Snape knew something was off. It wasn't that he'd encountered the caretaker's mewling cat in the Entrance hall, or even that Draco had just confessed to him in his office of his undying love for Susan and their unborn child. No, something else was amiss, and he had to find out what. The second floor, and Great Hall were empty. Severus was just about to check outside when the oak front doors opened and admitted Gary Lewitt. Perhaps that was the issue. He had never liked Mr. Lewitt. He had been a few years behind Severus in school, and even then he was an annoyance.

"Mr. Lewitt," Severus greeted.

"Just here to see my Susan Professor," the man gave him in return. "She hasn't been writing."

"I believe she has been preoccupied with schoolwork and tests. And perhaps Mr. Potter."

The man paled. "What?"

"Regardless of his innocence, Potter has been defending Susan against all insults and rumors. He is one of her only friends within these walls."

He scoffed. "Don't give me that, ‘regardless of his innocence' crap. My Susan told me-"

"Young pregnant girls frequently lie Mr. Lewitt. Mr. Potter was given the chastity test twice by aurors and he passed both times. There can be no doubt that he is not the culprit."

Severus took note of the sudden paleness on the other man's face and then noticed the blood on his hands. "Have you been fighting Mr. Lewitt?"

"Wha- oh, fell," he said distractedly. "I- I just remembered. There's something I've got to- I have to go."

"What about Susan?"

"Another time!" he called, before rushing out the door, not even bothering to close it behind him.

His bad feeling intensifying, Severus followed him out the door. The man was already out of site, running down the drive into the darkness. Walking down the steps, his ears were perked for any sound amiss in the night. It was not until he was down the steps and twenty steps down the walk that he heard a groan from the bushes. He withdrew his wand, knowing that it was not unheard of for animals from the forest to sometimes wander out onto the grounds. A swift lumos however revealed no animal, but instead a bloody mess that was a student lying on the cold wet grass in a heap. Not just any student, but Potter.

Severus knelt quickly next to Harry, trying to assess his injuries through so much blood. Harry's eyes cracked open, but in the darkness what he saw was dark hair and he waved his arms feebly in front of his face to fend of a non-existent attack. "Nnno- didn't- please-" he cried, words slurring.

"Lewitt's gone Potter, stop fighting."

"H- help."

"Hold on," Severus said. He stowed his wand in his pocket and scooped Harry up into his arms. "Just hold on."