Severus stalked through the halls of Hogwarts after his afternoon classes were finished, looking for one particular student. He had purposely not thought about Dumbledore's revelations while he was teaching, since it would distract him to the point of being a more inept instructor than usual. It didn't matter if Dumbledore was right or not, because for one more afternoon, he could continue not knowing for sure.

Finally his sharp eyes fell on the person who was preying on his thoughts. Potter sat in the corridor, reading a book, his knees acting as a book rest. Severus' eyes narrowed and he paused when he saw him. The boy who was supposed to be the spawn of Potter. Severus wasn't sure what he hoped he would find when he tested the glamour. He didn't want Potter be his son, and he didn't want to know he had not only killed the one person who had cared about him, but his wife.

It was certainly an interesting way to find out you'd lost your virginity, Severus mused suddenly. Perhaps, at some level, he remembered Lily in his subconscious and knew to be faithful to her.

Potter had noticed him and was looking up from his book to meet his gaze. Severus reached down and grabbed Potter by his arm, pulling him to his feet. Potter stiffened and dropped his book.

"What are you doing?" Potter asked, his voice slightly panicked. "Sir?" Severus just glared at him. Potter shut his mouth immediately and stumbled along as Severus half-dragged him to his office.

When they arrived, Severus opened his door and almost threw Potter into his office. He closed and locked the door, and cast a silencing charm over the room. Severus sat behind his desk, and gestured to Potter to stand opposite him.

Severus simply looked at him for some minutes, eyes narrowed. Was he ready to find out the truth for sure? He didn't think Dumbledore was fool enough to spin a tale like that, so easily verified, without it being true. At some level, Severus already believed the story. While intellectually the story seemed wrong at every turn, a small part of his heart told him it was true, that the boy standing before him was, in fact, not Potter's spawn, but his own. Harry Snape. Harry Severus Snape. That's what his name should be if Dumbledore was right.

"What are we doing?" Harry finally asked. Severus ignored him, and continued to eye him suspiciously. If Harry was his son, he would have to take responsibility for him. There was no way around that. He wasn't going to be a deadbeat father, that was for sure. He'd spent the past fifteen years being a deadbeat father, if everything was as Dumbledore said.

"Is this about Sirius?" Harry asked.

Severus didn't know anything about how to be a father. It wasn't like he had ever had a good role model himself. If he truly had married Lily, undoubtedly he had also pointed this out to her. If he had her continual help, advice and support, he thought that maybe he could have been a good father.

"Am I in trouble? What did I do?"

Lily had come from a good, stable family. Her parents had loved and cared for her. She knew how to be a good mother, and he would have relied on that to see him through being a good father. He didn't have her now. How would he ever manage raising a teenage boy, one who he had intentionally antagonized for four years?

Severus pulled out his wand, and rolled it between his fingers thoughtfully. There was no time like the present to find out if he even had to worry about such things. Maybe there were no glamours and all these thoughts were inane concerns.

"Finite incantem," he whispered softly.

Potter's ratty hair smoothed out and fell straight around his face. His short nose grew longer. Indeed, Potter did have his nose. Potter's cheekbones rose high and proud, and his face lengthened some. His eyes stayed the same shining emerald green.

"What - what did you do?" Harry panicked. "I can't see!" Harry pulled his glasses off his face. "I can see without my glasses?" he whispered in amazement.

Severus expression was unreadable as he watched the glamour fall to pieces and confirm what was quickly becoming a nightmare for him. He quickly waved his wand again and replaced the glamours. It wouldn't do to change the boy's appearance yet. There would be too many questions. He had seen all he needed.

Potter looked confused as the glamours replaced themselves, along with his myopic sight. He put his glasses back on, apparently once again not able to make out the world around him without the help of those thick lenses.

"What was that?" Potter asked. "If it's possible that I don't need my glasses - I mean - "

"Get out," Severus ordered curtly. His tone left no room for argument. Potter stood there for a moment, confused by the whole incident. "Get out!" Severus repeated, louder this time. Potter darted for the door and disappeared without another word.

So Potter really was his son, Severus realized as he watched the firelight glint off his ebony black wand. He neither knew how to react to this nor how to cope with it. This was so much worse than finding out he'd had a son out of wedlock from some ill-planned escapade. He had been married, he had left his wife and child, and then killed Lily and left Harry to who knew what lonely fate without parents.

It hadn't been his fault! His memory had been wiped and had false memories put in their place. He remembered Lily never forgiving him, and he remembered doing more than just dabbling in the Dark Arts, as Dumbledore had put it.

How had Dumbledore known how to fake such a convincing decent into the Dark Arts? Severus dismissed the question in the midst of the turmoil in his mind.

He had never consented to having his memory wiped, and now he would never know for sure what had happened between him and Lily. He could speculate at generalities, but he would never know for sure, or specifics. He would never remember any intimate moments he and Lily surely had had. Harry stood as living proof of their intimacy that he would never know.

He pursed his lips and, as he rested his chin on his thumb, he tapped his index and middle fingers against his lips while his eyes took on a far away look.

What about his life would make anyone think he would make a suitable father? He couldn't even remember the boy's mother, not after they had become "more than friends." His conscience ached miserably even though he kept telling himself there was nothing he could have done differently, given the information he had.

An idea struck him. Harry didn't know his true parentage, and if Dumbledore was to be believed, very few actually knew. Those who knew would also know that he, Severus, didn't know. He could go on pretending he didn't know. He wouldn't have to lay claim to his son. He was sure the boy's relatives doted on him every minute and gave Harry a much more comfortable life than he ever could. Additionally, laying claim to Harry would make things incredibly difficult as a spy. Was he willing to sacrifice his livelihood - was Dumbledore willing to sacrifice his spy - so that he could make Harry's life miserable?

That was not an acceptable course of action. He would have to lay claim to Harry, if for no other reason than he had a son. Lily had believed in him enough to marry him. She must have thought him suitable father material, even if he begged to disagree on that. She wouldn't want him to continue to ignore her - his - their - son.

There would be so much explaining he would have to do. He hated explaining. How do you have a son? Your son is the Boy-Who-Lived? But he's James and Lily's son! Lily cheated on James, didn't she? Harry Potter, a bastard, son of a Death Eater. Harry would undoubtedly receive a fair amount of social unpleasantness with his peers, Severus realized.

Maybe he should give the boy a choice. If he explained the situation to Harry, then Harry could decide how he wanted to deal with it. Surely Lily would have respected Harry's wishes in the matter if she were still alive. If he hadn't killed her.

He began tapping his lips more furiously as he thought harder. Not only was Harry his son, and not only would he have to at least discuss this with him, if not actually claim Harry as his own, but his son was dealing with some pretty enormous problems at the moment. Due to Dumbledore's ineptitude, Harry was definitely having hallucinations in response to a Cruciatus he had never known was cast. Severus believed that Black had never touched the boy. But why would Harry have hallucinated that?

It bothered him, now more so that he was so unexpectedly a father, that Harry would imagine that his godfather would do that. Black may have some difficulty separating Harry and James (getting rid of the glamour should deal with that) but he had come to believe that Black wouldn't have done that, at least not without more evidence.

Maybe he should also have a talk with Black and find out what he knew.

Did Black know about his marriage, and that Harry was his son? He doubted it, because he couldn't see Black having taken such a strong protectiveness over his son.