Oh Merlin. Was...was this him?

Okay, maybe he hadn't turned into an overlarge lizard or something, like he had expected to, but this...this was still pretty awful!

Harry looked at his new face. His cheekbones were much more prominent and his nose was slightly longer, but not really hooked. His face seemed much more angles and planes than before-but his eyes. They were still bright green and almond-shaped. His hair had changed and lengthened-absolutely straight, not a single tuft hanging up. Well, he didn't have to worry about it being messy anymore. His hair was also darker than before, and-Harry felt it in astonishment-it was more silky than oily.

Harry stared and stared, unable to believe this was how he actually looked. This was his real face. He probably could have been able to stomach it, but-but he had a bit of resemblance to Snape! And he couldn't live that down. He would rather die than look like-

"Potter?" Snape's voice was weak. "Did it work?"

"Yeah," Harry still didn't turn around. He decided to not give Snape any relief just yet. "Thanks to you, I look like a complete moron."

Snape flinched.

Harry took a deep breath. Then he turned around, surprisingly nervous for the reaction.

Snape bit back a gasp of shock. He blinked, at a loss of words. "You-you resemble your mother," he said finally, focusing mainly on Harry's still green eyes.

Harry looked at him in disbelief. The only unfortunate soul he resembled was Snape.

"It isn't as bad as I expected, though. And your hair certainly isn't that infuriating mop anymore."

"It's like yours,"

"No, it's like hers, only not red."

"Look, let's face it, I'm a copy of you. I think I'm going to go kill myself-"

"Potter, that's enough," Snape said sharply.

"I'm not Potter anymore, am I?" Harry said fiercely.

"I will call you Potter for now as I don't know what else to call you,"

"Really?" Harry gave a mocking laugh. "How about, let's see...my name? Harry?"

Snape looked at him stonily, not responding.

"Oh, forgive me, father, I forgot-you're not comfortable calling me by my name,"

"I said that's enough!" Snape shouted. "Even without looking like Potter, you still seem to be the same, arrogant child!"

"I'm not a child, nor am I arrogant-"

"Put the glamours back on before anyone catches sight of you," Snape ordered. "And if you hate your real self so much do us a favour and don't remove them,"

"You mean do you a favour," Harry spat. "You hate me still! Some father you are,"

Snape's teeth were gritted. Harry walked up to him. "It's time you make a decision. Either you refuse to acknowledge me and we all pretend we're not related to each other. Or either you grow a backbone and accept me and we figure out what to do,"

Snape looked at him. "I will never, never accept someone as arrogant and infuriating as you!" He said in a low, fierce voice. "I don't love you, nor will I ever. I hate your very existence," Snape didn't know where these angry words were coming from-but the moment he said them he regretted them.

Harry looked at him with eyes full of some emotion Snape did not want to acknowledge before leaving the office. He waved his wand and put the glamours back on as he walked. The mirror he left behind floated innocently in the air.

"Wait," Snape called out suddenly, panicking. "Potter, wait, I didn't mean-"

But Harry was long gone, and Snape for once couldn't blame him.

XXX

Harry went all the way back to his dorm, feeling like his heart had been ripped out and stamped on.

He couldn't believe it. Snape didn't want him. Snape didn't want him!

Why do you CARE? Harry thought. Like I want him to.

But he felt like crying, actually crying. It hurt. Even if it was Snape who had rejected him, it hurt.

All his life Harry had been rejected and hated and looked down upon. Hogwarts had been a change from that lifestyle. He was famous and adored-but Snape had always been the only one who had been not quite as adoring as his other friends.

Harry didn't want to be adored, but not hated either. Soon Snape had started to bully him just like the Dursleys did and now...now he had tuned away from his own son. Even though he wasn't a Potter anymore, didn't carry James Potter's genes, he had been turned out. That meant the hatred stemmed deeper than just a school-boy grudge. Maybe Snape hated him for who he was.

"Harry!" It was Hermione and she rushed forward to hug him. "Where have you been? We've been so worried!"

"Detention with Umbridge," Harry raised a bandaged arm. "She smacked my hand with a ruler, and it was cursed. I'll tell you the whole story, but we should probably get somewhere private,"

Hermione's brown eyes had gone wide but she led him to where Ron was sitting, building a castle with cards.

"Harry! About time," Ron said, standing up.

"Ron, you won't believe-" Hermione began. She cleared her throat and looked at Harry. "You explain, Harry, from the beginning. I can't believe that old hag dared..."

Harry sat and recited the entire tale of his detention, trying to sound casual so that they wouldn't suspect there was something else upsetting him besides that. He didn't mention Snape once and after hearing his two friends cursing Umbridge as much as they could, he set out to sleep.

He was glad his friends didn't think he was abandoning them anymore. Even though he felt abandoned most of the time.

XXX

"Potter," Snape held his arm tight before he could leave the classroom. "You're staying behind."

Some students stared at them curiously and Harry gritted his teeth, forced to stay still.

Once the classroom was empty, Harry shouted: "What?"

"I didn't mean what I said yesterday," Snape said urgently. "I just got angry,"

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. I don't like you, I'll grant you that, but I'm not about to abandon you."

"I don't care if you do."

"You wouldn't, but Potter-" Snape closed his eyes and muttered, "Harry,"

"No," Harry said harshly. "You lost the right to call me that, Snape. Just call me Potter,"

"I need to change my habits now," Snape said. "You're not Potter. The quicker we get used to it-"

"I don't want to. I don't want to be your son,"

"But you are," Snape growled. "So stop acting like a child!"

Harry glared at him. "If you were a father you wouldn't treat me like trash,"

"If you were my son you wouldn't speak to me like that," Severus retorted, reddening.

"You first," Harry snapped. "But I don't think you're capable of it, Professor. I don't think you've got even a bit of kindness in you." He stormed out of the classroom and Severus slumped back in his seat.

That wasn't true. He could be kind. He could.

Severus clenched his fists. Potter-no, Harry-was testing his patience.

XXX

Harry felt something stir inside him as he walked out of the dungeons. Anger. Resentment. Pity for himself.

He was basically all alone. Everyone around him seemed to have a family, a home. And they chattered about them easily, expecting Harry not to mind. But Harry did. He often wished he had a family too.

But my parents died for a good cause, for me!

But they were still not here. Well. His mother wasn't.

And it had turned out his father had not died after all...and it had also turned out that his father was actually Snape.

A dalliance, Snape had called it. So basically they had just met up in some random place? Did he even love her? Did she love him? Probably not.

Stop thinking about it, Harry begged himself. But for how long would his ignoring this topic work out for? One day he had to get the answers to his questions.