Sleep didn't come easy to Severus Sunday night. Sleep actually never did. But it was worse than normal. His thoughts kept swirling around Harry and what he witnessed when he went to talk to the boy in Gryffindor tower. When he finally did fall asleep, he had made up his mind on what he was going to do about Harry. He needed to tell Harry the truth before the end of Monday. He had to. The truth and all the emotions it awakened within him were slowly eating him up. He couldn't keep playing around the truth of what he felt any longer.

Upon waking Monday morning, Severus removed his real memories and replaced them with his altered memories. As an experiment earlier in the week, he had removed his real memories and left his altered ones alone. Walking around without any memories from all those years was actually worse than his altered memories. With that being the case, he decided he would never go without some type of memory.

After getting dressed and switching out his memories, Severus headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. When he opened the door to enter the room, he was greeted with the sight of one large rectangle table set in the center of the hall. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Lupin, and Sprout were all in attendance. The remaining Hogwarts students had left after dinner the night before and the remaining professors had yet to arrive for the meal or had already left for the holiday. The professors had until that evening to leave for their mandatory holiday.

Severus walked into the room and took a seat next to Professor Flitwick and across from Dumbledore. After serving himself some breakfast, he looked around the table. Harry was no where to be seen. He took a sip of tea and addressed Dumbledore. "Headmaster, where is Potter? Does he feel he's above following the rules already?" He asked the last question in his usual condescending tone, but it didn't have his normal feelings behind it. He had to keep up appearances after all, until he felt it safe for the truth to be generally known and of course after Harry had been told.

Dumbledore looked at Severus over the rim of his glasses, his blue eyes twinkling with hidden amusement. "Concerned about the boy Severus?" Dumbledore asked lightly.

Glancing around the table at the other professors, he narrowed his eyes and returned his attention to the headmaster. "Of course not," he denied. Maybe he was concerned or maybe he wasn't concerned. However he was feeling, he was not going to let the headmaster be privy to his thoughts.

"Of course not, Severus," Dumbledore repeated, completely seeing through the man's lie. "Harry has the option of joining us for breakfast or having a house elf bring him his meals. He is, however, required to attend lunch and dinner in the Great Hall."

"Pampering him already I see," Severus stated then stared at the headmaster for a few seconds. He then turned his attention to his breakfast and began eating.

~SH~

Harry awoke about two hours after sunrise. After taking a shower he made his way down to the common room. He sat down in one of the arm chairs in front of the fire and called Dobby to bring him his breakfast. When his food arrived and he began eating, he was glad the Headmaster gave him the option of joining the professors in the Great Hall for breakfast or staying in the Gryffindor common room. After his vision the evening before and the subsequent nightmares, he was in no mood to be in the company of his professors for the early meal, or to leave the common room for quite a while. He was just disappointed he was required to take his other meals in the Great Hall.

~SH~

Still unaccustomed to having a lot of his thoughts revolving around Harry, even after having removed his memories, Severus tried to engage himself in the conversations around him at the table during lunch. Throughout the meal, though, he found that he was watching Harry more often than he was used to. And it wasn't due to the fact that the boy was sitting diagonally across from him. He knew that it was because of the events he witnessed yesterday evening, his thoughts all through the night, and the fact that he hadn't seen Harry at all since he left the boy's dorm room last night.

As Severus finished the last of the water in the cup in his hand, he looked over at Harry one more time. The boy wasn't really eating and wasn't really talking to anyone. More than likely it was because of what he'd been through yesterday evening. Since making the decision late last night not to speak with Professor Dumbledore with regard to Harry's vision, Severus knew now would be a good time to speak with Harry, about the vision and about them.

Severus waited until the boy left the Great Hall and followed him out. He started to speak once Harry was in a corridor away from the Great Hall. "Mr. Potter."

Harry stopped walking and turned toward his professor, unsure why the man was following him. "Yes sir?" he said hesitantly. Whatever the professor was going to say would probably not be good. It never was.

"Mr. Potter, Professor Dumbledore mentioned you had a vision last night," he began, with a lie or course, as he slowly walked up to Harry. "In order for me to see if the Occlumency lessons you are having are beginning to help, I would like…"

"I didn't go see the Headmaster last night," Harry interrupted. "I haven't for…" He stopped talking and looked at his professor in confusion. "Hang on, how did you know I had a vision last night?"

The opportunity for Severus to talk to Harry presented itself, though not in the way he had imagined. Now he wished he went to the Headmaster before confronting Harry. It would have made things a little easier. "Mr. Potter, follow me to my office. We will continue our conversation there."

Not wanting to get on Snape's bad side the first day of the holiday, Harry decided to comply. "Okay."

Almost at a run, Harry followed the professor down to the dungeons and into his office. After Harry entered, Severus closed the door behind them. He walked to his desk and pointed to the chair on the other side. "Sit please." He watched as Harry sat down opposite him.

Harry sat down and looked at his professor, wondering why the man was looking at him the way he was. He had never seen him look at anyone like that before. Not being able to read the expression in his eyes, Harry wondered what was so important to talk about that they couldn't stay in the empty corridor by the Great Hall. But first, he wanted to know how Snape knew about his vision. "Professor. Erm…how did you know I had a vision last night? I didn't tell anyone."

Severus laughed to himself as soon as he realized the boy had a one-track mind. But it would probably be best to get that question out of the way. "Fine, we'll start there. I was up in your dorm room last night."

"What?" Since when did Snape go to a student's dorm room…especially a Gryffindor? Harry was slowly beginning to realize what exactly Snape had probably seen. Then he thought back to how his bed was a lot cleaner than he thought it should have been. His face paled at the thought.

"I went looking for you so I could talk with you. I didn't want…"

"How long were you there?" Harry asked coldly, knowing the last thing in the world he wanted was to have this heartless man in front of him see him at his worst.

Severus saw the change in Harry's face and had a feeling what the boy was thinking. "Long enough."

"Brilliant." Harry was now fuming and glaring at the man he hated most in this world. "Just brilliant." Almost yelling now, Harry stood up. "Another thing for you to use in class when you decide to ridicule, humiliate, and criticize me for the stuff my father did to you!"

Harry's last sentence really stung Severus. He knew he had to tell him the truth now before he ruined his chances at finally having what he secretly desired for years. "Potter," he stated, trying to rid his voice of sadness.

"I am not my father, professor," Harry continued, ignoring how Severus stated his name.

"Potter," Severus said again, a little louder.

"…Stop treating me like I am." Harry started moving to the door. He reached out to grasp the door knob when Severus called him again.

"Harry." The name came out of Severus' mouth more quietly and gently than he had intended.

At his first name being used and the tone in which it was said, Harry stopped in his tracks and turned slowly toward Snape. He had never, in his over five years at Hogwarts, heard his teacher say his name like that before or say his first name at all for that matter.

"Please, sit down." Severus gestured to the chair again and waited until Harry reluctantly sat down. He looked at the boy a few seconds before continuing. "This really isn't the way I wanted to go about doing this," he said more to himself than Harry. He took a deep breath and looked at Harry in the eyes. "First, Harry, I would like to know if you've noticed any differences in yourself."

Harry just stared at the professor when he said his given name again, wondering what had gotten in to the man. Then he thought about the question asked. It was definitely a weird question. Though still fuming, Harry decided to answer. "I'm not too sure what you mean, sir."

"I mean, do you think you're taller or shorter or anything like that compared to a few months ago?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes and call the boy dense.

"Well, yes, but I think it's normal for someone my age." He still couldn't quite figure out what Snape was getting at.

Severus was slowly beginning to lose his patience with the boy no matter how much he wanted to have this conversation. "How about when you look in the mirror? Are there any differences?" he clarified, hoping to get a real answer out of Harry.

Harry had been thinking the changes were all in his head and he was losing his mind. Relieved, he answered. "Actually yes. I have noticed some changes…changes that I really wouldn't expect just by getting older." At Severus' nod he continued. "So you see the changes too?" Harry asked. "I thought it was all in my mind."

"No, it's not in your mind." Severus was thankful that Harry didn't seem to have a problem with the changes, and that his anger was dying down.

"What could be causing it? Does it have something to do with Voldemort?" At Severus' intake of breath at the word Voldemort, he surprisingly apologized. "Sorry Professor. I know I'm not supposed to say his name."

"The changes have nothing to do with him, though they are one of the reasons I asked you down here. But we'll get to that later." Severus opened the top desk drawer and pulled out an envelope. "There really is no easy way for me to explain." He handed the envelope to Harry. "I received this a few months ago. It will explain everything for you. Just promise me you won't run off after you read it." Severus placed his hands in his lap, fists clenched with apprehension.

Harry nodded as he hesitantly took the envelope from Severus. He took out the letter and slowly read it.

In Severus' nervousness his hands were getting sweaty, something he hadn't experienced in years, and he had to keep wiping them on his trousers. As he waited for Harry to finish reading the letter, he watched the boy's face for any indication of what he was feeling. He didn't see anything until Harry slapped the letter down on the desk five minutes later and they made eye contact. Harry had tears forming in his eyes, but in front of the tears was pure hatred…hatred and revulsion.

"I get it, Professor," Harry said, with his voice shaking slightly. "This is just one of your sick jokes, another way to taunt me. Well, it's not funny."

"I assure you Potter, that this letter is not a joke." He took the letter from the desk, put it back in its envelope, and carefully returned it to the drawer. "It is entirely true. You and I are father and son. And I'd like to begin having that relationship with you."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Why should you not?"

"Why should I not?" Harry's voice was rising. "Why should I not?" He was now yelling at the man seated in front of him. "Are you kidding me? You've hated me from the very first second you laid eyes on me. Hated me because of what my father did to you. You've never said a decent thing to me in the five years I've been attending Hogwarts. You're mission in life seems to be making my life the worst it could possibly be. Why should I believe you, sir?" he spat.

Severus regarded Harry's answers while he watched the boy sitting across from him, and tried not to show how upset he was feeling. To calm his nerves, he ran a hand through his lanky hair, took a deep breath and looked back up at Harry. "What would it take for you to believe me, that this is not a joke? My memories are still in the bottle. Would you like me to get the Pensive so you can view them?" Severus moved his hand to retrieve the bottle of memories he placed in the drawer earlier that morning for this occasion.

"No! I know there are no memories to be seen. You can stop playing around." Harry stood up from the chair, fists clenched. "You should be happy to know, professor, that although I hate you, you can still hurt me. Now there's something else you can use to taunt me."

Severus watched as Harry bolted to the door to leave. He couldn't believe how much it hurt to know that Harry didn't believe him. But then again, why should the boy believe him? Harry was right. He placed his elbows on the desk, put his head in his hands and sighed. "Lily I wish you would have obeyed my wishes. I knew the pain would be too much to live with." Severus' voice was soft and it started to crack. This made Harry stop just as he was about to leave the office, and he turned around to face Severus. Severus continued talking to himself, not knowing Harry had yet to leave. "Why did you have to keep my memories Lily? I can't do this. God Lily, how am I ever going to get him to believe that he is my son and that I want that relationship?"

Harry watched a few seconds as Severus just sat there with his head in his hands. He then slowly closed the office door behind him, turned and ran to the Gryffindor common room.

Luckily it was a mandatory Christmas holiday for everyone so when Harry entered the common room he didn't have anyone to pester him, like he normally would have. It also meant he could sit anywhere he liked and do anything he wished. However, he had too much on his mind to take full advantage of the empty room this afternoon. He placed himself in front of the fire in one of the room's prime squashy red arm chairs and thought about the past few minutes. Was Professor Snape really that upset when he left? "No way," he said to the empty room.

Harry sat staring into the fire thinking. After a while he got up and went into the bathroom. He stood in front of the sink and just started at his reflection in the mirror. As he had been noticing, and others as well, his appearance had changed over the past four months. He was a bit taller, his shoulders broader, and he noticed his fingers were a little longer. His eyes stayed the same, as did his mouth, but his face was a bit longer, his cheekbones accentuated more, and his hair was sleeker, more auburn and wasn't unruly like it used to be. He also noticed his ears and nose had changed a little too. “It can't be true can it?” Harry shook his head to rid himself of that thought.

Furious at the professor and the letter, Harry snatched up a forgotten bottle of shampoo on the counter, left there by one of his house mates, and threw it as forcefully as he could at the mirror behind the sink. As he watched the bottle, now dented from its meeting with the mirror, fall to the floor and roll away, Harry's anger intensified. How the slimy potions master could do something so hurtful was beyond him. What was the man playing at? He knew the professor loathed him, but to do something like this was totally uncalled for.

His thoughts then turned to his Occlumency lesson last Thursday night and the memories that the professor had seen. Most of the memories were when he had been little and locked up in his cupboard thinking about a loving family he would never have. "That's it. That slimy bastard is using my memories to hurt me even more. That's got to be what he doing."

Harry looked at his reflection in the mirror again. "Well, I won't let him get away with it. I won't let him think he's won whatever game he's playing. These physical changes are from Voldemort. They're just something Dumbledore forgot to tell me about…or doesn't want to tell me about."

Now hurt that Dumbledore would keep from him more information regarding his connection to Voldemort and angry at the joke that for some reason Professor Snape was playing on him, Harry decided to forgo his wanderings in the castle and went up to his dorm room. He lay down on his bed staring at the ceiling and just let his mind wander. Before he knew it, his eyelids became heavy and he fell asleep.

~SH~

After Harry darted out of his office, Severus stormed to his quarters quite upset. He slammed the door shut and sank into his sofa. He couldn't believe how bad the conversation with Harry had gone. Harry's reaction was definitely expected, but he didn't think that he would be as hurt from it as he was. The feeling was almost overwhelming. It was then that he decided to do everything possible to demonstrate how true that letter was and how much he wanted Harry to be his son. And it would begin with going to Dumbledore.

Just as he was about to leave for Dumbledore's office, he remembered that the headmaster would be away on Order business until around dinner time. Deciding to get a head start on the potions the infirmary would be need after the holidays, Severus went to his private lab instead of returning to his office. He figured he'd better brew as many potions as he could that afternoon. Not knowing what this week would bring, now that Harry knew the truth, Severus wanted to be sure he had at least half of the potions complete before the week's end.

Dinner had come too quickly for Severus. He was in the middle of brewing the required stock of pepper-up when the alarm he set earlier to alert him of dinner went off. He put the potion on stasis until he could finish it and went up to the Great Hall. As he entered the room, he had figured that everyone would have been in middle of eating seeing that his alarm was set to go off half way through the meal. However, empty plates and glasses greeted him as he sat down. He looked around the table and met Professor Dumbledore's eyes.

At Severus' questioning gaze, Dumbledore answered the unspoken question. "We are waiting for Mr. Potter to join us before we begin eating."

Severus raised his eyebrows. "You've been waiting for the boy for half an hour? Why didn't you just start eating without him?"

"That would be considered rude, Severus."

"But you would have started eating if I…." Severus began, but was cut off my Dumbledore.

"We were also waiting for you, my boy." With a small smile, Dumbledore continued. "Minerva has gone to fetch Mr. Potter. They should be here in a few minutes."

Severus didn't acknowledge the information the headmaster provided. He just turned his attention to his empty plate while wishing he set his alarm for a bit later. He could probably have finished the potion he was working on before coming up.

~SH~

Minerva stood at the entrance to the Gryffindor's sixth year dormitory. She found Harry asleep atop his bed. Bringing a fist to the open door, she knocked a few times. "Mr. Potter, you had better get up. It is time for dinner." When she received no response, she knocked louder and called his name again.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked towards the door. He brought a hand up to his eyes and began to rub the sleep out of them. "Sorry professor. I guess I fell asleep." As he lay in his bed, the embarrassment of having his teacher wake him up made his face start to turn a shade of pink. He didn't like the thought of being woken up by a professor, especially when he really shouldn't have been sleeping.

"Hurry up and get down to the Great Hall. Dinner isn't being served until you join us." She ignored the embarrassed tinge creeping up the boy's face and left the room.

After hearing the portrait door close, Harry quickly got up, brushed a hand through his messy hair to tame it, and ran down the stairs to join the rest of the professors in the Great Hall.

As Harry opened the door and began the trek to his seat, he eyes immediately went to Snape. The man was looking down but at the sound of Harry's entrance, he raised his eyes to meet his. Harry quickly averted his gaze. He would not look at or acknowledge the man unless it was absolutely necessary.

The minute Harry sat down at the table, their dinner had appeared. Harry, not being all that hungry after what he'd gone through that afternoon, put a few ladlefuls of soup in the bowl in front of him. As he tried to eat, he felt someone's gaze on him. He had a feeling he knew who it was, but kept his eyes trained on his bowl.

Severus found himself watching Harry all throughout the meal. He tried to catch the boy's eyes, but it seemed Harry was intent on just looking at the food in front of him. He noticed that whenever he was spoken to, his answer was given to his bowl. He never once looked up at anyone at the table. He figured Harry was still trying to come to terms with the information he had learned that afternoon.

Harry had only a few spoonfuls of soup; his stomach almost wanting the liquid to make a repeat appearance. He pushed his bowl away and slowly stood up. He finally looked up since arriving for the meal and turned his attention to the Headmaster. "Professor Dumbledore, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to head back to the tower. I'm a bit tired."

"Of course my boy. You are feeling alright aren't you?" Dumbledore questioned. He didn't think Harry should be so tired since he hadn't done a thing all day.

Harry nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Good. You may leave then. We'll see you tomorrow Harry. Good night."

"G'night." Harry quickly left and went back up to his room.

Severus watched with worry as Harry left the Great Hall. He was aware of how little Harry had eaten during dinner and that he looked on the pale side. He highly doubted anyone else had noticed.

~SH~

A few hours after dinner, Harry was seated at a table in front of the raging fire in the Gryffindor common room. He had a few pieces of parchment spread out along the far side, and he was busy writing away when the portrait door sprung open. Expecting to see his head of house, he was shocked to see Professor Snape walking through the door. Not wanting to talk to the man, Harry quickly turned his attention back to the letter he was writing.

Severus entered the common room, the second in as many days, and spotted Harry at a table. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he noticed that the boy looked a little better than he did at dinner. But he was still a bit worried; the emotion still feeling unnatural to him.

"Mr. Potter," Severus began as he took a seat on the sofa by Harry's table and faced the boy. Upon getting no reaction from Harry, he cleared his throat and tried again, this time with a little more authority in his voice. "Mr. Potter."

Knowing it was in his best interest to not ignore the man, Harry turned his attention to the professor.

Seeing he had the boy's attention, Severus continued. "I do not take your words at face value Mr. Potter, like the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall. So I want to ask you a question and I expect to be told the truth. Let me remind you that I do have some healer experience and will be verifying everything you say to me." He let that sink in a few seconds before continuing. "Are you feeling ill?"

Angry about this afternoon, Harry responded not caring about the tone of voice he was using. "Why do you care professor?"

"Mr. Potter," Severus warned, his usual malice slowly creeping into his voice without meaning for it to.

"Leave me alone!" Harry returned to writing his letter, ignoring the professor seated a few feet away. As he finished the sentence he was writing, he heard the chair next to him slide across the stone floor. He shifted his eyes to the chair and saw that Severus was now sitting down in the chair. Rolling his eyes, he quickly snatched up the parchment, quill, and ink and stood up from the table to go to his dorm room.

Sensing Harry wouldn't be telling him anything, Severus reached into his robes and pulled out his wand the minute Harry started grabbing everything from the table. He pointed it at Harry and muttered a diagnostic spell. Seeing the results, he replaced his wand and spoke to Harry's retreating form. "Mr. Potter, if you are feeling unwell, I think it best if we cancel tomorrow night's Occlumency lesson. It is ill-advised to proceed when you are not healthy."

Harry was genuinely surprised that the professor was actually going to allow him to skip a lesson if he was unwell, something that the man had never done in the past. But he was not going to fall for whatever scheme the man had going on. He would not admit anything to the man or show any kind of weakness. Harry turned around at the bottom of the spiral staircase. "I feel fine, professor." He still did feel a little queasy and a bit cold, but he knew it was because of this afternoon and his nightmares last night, not because he was ill. Of course, he wouldn't let the professor know anything.

"What did I say when I first walked in here Mr. Potter?" Severus asked threateningly as he stood up from the table. "I thought I had told you to tell me the truth." He couldn't believe the boy was being so defiant.

"You are not my head of house," Harry yelled, not caring what the potion's professor would do to him. "I don't have to tell you anything."

Severus was growing exasperated and slowly retreating to his usual self. "I am your professor, Mr. Potter," he growled. "And as such, you will do as I say."

Harry looked at the professor, turned around and marched up to his dorm room slamming the door shut behind him.

As Severus watched Harry walk up the stairs, he started brooding about insufferable students and their lack of respect. When he heard the door slam, it awoke something inside him. He shook his head and just realized what had happened.

He had gone to Harry to check after his well-being, to show the boy he was concerned about him and his health and to see if he needed anything; something any father would do for his son. He was expecting a little resistance from Harry, but hoped his persistence would begin to show that he was serious about being his father. That idea was shot down in a matter of ten minutes.

Determined to keep trying, Severus left the Gryffindor common room to retire to his own quarters.