"What is the meaning of this, Dumbledore?" Snape questioned calmly.

He was so calm that it made Harry a little scared.

"As I said before, there is a lot to be explained, so please allow me to do just that before you say anything." He said as he reached for his wand again. Snape seemed to not notice the man take his wand back.

"Then you had better explain quickly."

"Very well, where to start?" Dumbledore questioned, more to himself than anyone else, steepling his fingers in front of his mouth.

"How about you start by explaining how Harry Potter is my son!" Snape roared.

"Yes, that seems like a fine place to start. Six months after you graduated from Hogwarts, you proposed to Lily Evans. She accepted and within the year, you both were wed. By the next July, ten months after you had married, Lily gave birth to Harry. By the time Harry was eighteen months old, you had been in Voldemort's ranks for three years and you were his most trusted servant. It was also during this time, closer to the beginning of your fourth year of service, that you heard the prophecy." Dumbledore turned to Harry. "You know what prophecy I am talking about, correct Harry?"

Harry recited the prophecy after having committed it to memory a year ago.

"Do you remember how I told you that Neville Longbottom was not the boy of the prophecy? There is a reason for that. That prophecy, the one that you just recited, is not the actual prophecy. That was the prophecy that Voldemort thought was real. Professor Snape, your father, came to me after hearing the real prophecy, asking for help. He was afraid for his family because the real prophecy targeted those he cared for most, his wife and child."

Dumbledore paused before continuing.

"The one with the power to vanquish the dark lord approaches. Born as the seventh month ends, born to parents who serve opposing masters....And so on and so forth. It was always you because your mother served me and your father, at first glance, served Voldemort." Then Dumbledore turned to Snape. "When you came to me, I gave you everything you wanted. I changed the prophecy because you asked me to. You talked it over with Lily, you wanted to run away with her and Harry. Neither of us allowed it, Lily knew how valuable the information you were giving us was. She talked you out of running away. You asked me to hide them because Lily convinced you that it was the best choice. She knew that you were willing to die protecting your family.

This was the only compromise that we could come up with. You wanted to run and she wanted to stay with you. You and I agreed that someone needed to protect Lily and Harry, so why not choose an Auror?  Lily chose James because he was the best, but she also remembered that she use to love him. If he loved her then he would protect her like she was his wife. That was her logic in choosing him. I don't understand how you and James patched things up, but did. You know the rest of the story. James and Lily end up dead and Harry becomes the boy who lives.

I gave you the devastating news in my office and you left. I followed you down to the dungeons and watched you. You tried to end your life down there, but I stopped you. When you had fallen asleep, I removed all the memories that you had of your life with Lily and Harry."

"You son of a-" Snape growled.

"I'm not done yet. I hid it from you for many years. Actually, I had it very well hidden from you up until Harry was taken by the death eaters. From then on, it has been very hard to keep it from you."

"That's why you have been acting so strange. You knew that I was starting to catch on and you got spooked!" Snape shouted angrily.

"That is correct."

"Is that why you took Harry to my private quarters?" Snape asked.

"There were Death Eaters outside Grimmauld Place. I couldn't think of where else to take the boy." Dumbledore responded.

"The Order was having a meeting that night. Why would they have a meeting in there while there were Death Eaters outside?" Harry asked.

"There were no Death Eaters out there, Harry. I know for a fact that every Death Eater was with Voldemort at the time that you were suppose to take him to Grimmauld Place. You tried to get me killed because I was catching onto what you were hiding."

"I did no such thing, I swear to you Severus." Dumbledore was almost at the point of pleading.

"What have you done with my memories?" Snape asked, looking at Harry.

The boy looked so much like James. How was that possible? Snape had been thinking about this when Dumbledore spoke, so he heard none of the older man's answers.

"Give me your wand again, Dumbledore." Snape ordered, holding his hand out.

"Severus, I think...."

"I don't care what you think right now, old man. Give me your wand." Snape growled.

Dumbledore reluctantly handed his wand over to the potions master, who in turn, pointed it at Harry. He waved the wand in front of the boy's face. Harry's face changed, just as Snape thought. Harry's hair became longer and straighter. His cheekbones became sharper and more pronounced. His face becoming less round. Harry looked at him reflection in the window.

"Whoa!" He shouted, almost jumping out of the chair in shock.

Snape turned to stare at Dumbledore. Images.....no Memories came screaming into Snape's mind. Dumbledore fought to get Snape out of his mind, but Snape was a more accomplished legimens than Dumbledore was an occulmens. They sat there for a few minutes. Snape had seen enough.

"Are you done?" He asked.

"I've said my piece." Dumbledore said breathlessly.

"Even when you are telling us the ‘truth', you're still lying to us."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Harry asked.

"He says that Lily came up with the ideas. To hide, to be protected by James Potter, he says it was all her idea. It wasn't Lily, it was this fraud whispering the ideas in her ear. He's also the one who left you at the Dursley's. Do you know what they have done to this child? They have done unspeakable things to him."

"Like what?" Dumbledore inquired.

"You will have to ask Harry because I promised him that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"That's against your teaching code." Dumbledore blurted out.

" ‘That's against my teaching code'" Snape mocked. "Of course it's against my teaching code, but you're the one who told me that I had to gain his trust. I have done so and I'm not going to lose it now. And you're the one talking about going against codes. What about what you've done? What you did was immoral, it was unethical. I'm digressing though. Ask Harry what his relatives have done to him."

"Harry, can you please explain what Professor Snape is talking about?"

Harry looked tentatively at Snape.

"He's not going to hurt you. Not while I'm here." Snape comforted Harry.

Harry was afraid of speaking, fearing that his voice would betray him. So instead of talking, he stood up. He turned his back to Dumbledore and lifted the back of his shirt just a bit. Even though he had barely lifted his shirt five inches, he knew that Dumbledore had seen the scars. Harry sat down as Snape continued.

"That may have been going on since he's been there. I don't know, but if I ever see that Family, I will kill them for touching my son. Did you even know about this?" He questioned Dumbledore.

Dumbledore shook his head no in response.

"How did you not know, was there anyone watching him?"

"I did have someone watching the boy." Dumbledore whispered.

"Who?" Snape growled.

"Mrs. Figg was watching me. She told me last year that she was watching me under your orders." Harry elaborated.

"You had Arabella Figg watching the savior of the Wizarding World? No offense to her, but she's as clueless as a mountain troll. Lily warned me that this would happen and you should have known!" Snape shouted. "Had you known how Petunia Dursley treated Lily, then you would have known that leaving Harry with her was a terrible mistake."

"I never knew." Dumbledore repeated again.

"Where are the memories you have taken from me?" Snape asked again.

"I have them at Hogwarts when you are ready to come back and teach."

"I can't believe how shallow you are. You betray me like that, keep things from me, take a large part of my life from me, and you expect me to come back and teach for you." Then the realization hits Snape like a train. "Oh merlin." He groaned.

"What?" Dumbledore asks.

"Harry's my son." Snape responds, running a hand through his hair. "Harry's my son and I've been treating him like James Potter did me. I've....I've." Then Snape stops speaking all together.

He hates himself now. He's called his own son names, told him that he's worthless, that he's not smart. How could he ever do that to someone? Especially his own son? The self hatred he feels right now is enough to make him explode. He's angry at himself.

"Are you okay, Professor?" Harry questions.

Snape does not answer Harry, but he looks up at Dumbledore. His voice is calm.

"I'm not going to work for you again. You've lost it. Everyone thinks that you're the great leader in this war, but they don't see that you've lost it. You preach about families staying together, but you've broken mine up. You tell everyone that you know about love, but you're a hypocrite. If you knew anything about love, you never would have taken Lily and my son from me and you never would have taken my memories."

Snape jumped in the bed, knocking Dumbledore's wand to the floor. He jumped in the bed because his left hand had taken Harry's wand off of the table. The wand was now pointing at Dumbledore. Harry could see the spell begin to form on Snape's lips.

"Dad, think about what you are doing. You need to calm down." Harry said, then turned to Dumbledore. "Leave now." He ordered.

Dumbledore bent down to pick up his wand, then walked out of the room. Snape dropped the wand down on the bed and tears stung his eyes. they were tears of self hate.

"Dad?" Harry questioned, taking his father's hand in his own.

"Harry, you need to write to your friends. Tell them to watch their backs. I will write to their parents and Lupin. My personal space will be cleared out. You have a choice. You can return to the school or...."

"Or what?"

"If you would like, you can come live with me. I understand if you don't want to though."

"Why would I not want to?"

"I've been a terrible person to you, said things I never should have said. I understand if you still hate me."

"How could I hate my own father?"

"I did when I was your age."

"You're not beating me though."

"I've done just about the same thing, the scars just aren't visible."

"That was the past. Who cares? I don't want to be anywhere near that man."

"You want to come live with me?"

The idea of a family was an exciting concept. It was something that he had dreamed about since he was a small child at the Dursley's.

"Yes." Harry whispered, knowing that he now had a family.