He had to find Harry. He had to find Severus as well, or all his plans would be for nothing. This was not supposed to happen. He was not sure what had happened exactly or why Harry was no longer at his aunts house but he knew that the letter still on his desk could not mean good things for him.

Albus Dumbledore was well aware of what he had done. He was not however aware that anyone else knew of what he had done. He knew that Harry was Severus's son but it didn't matter. Severus was unaware of it now and Harry was rightfully led to believe what Albus wanted him to. Although the letter made Albus nervous, he refused to let himself be frightened.

"The woman is dead for Merlin's sake!" he thought.

No, Harry out of easy access was a small hinderance but not a major problem. And Albus was certain there was no way for Severus to remember anything. Things would go as they should.

"Nothing to worry about, a dead woman can do nothing to ME." Albus said to himself.

The headmaster strode out of his office then, heading towards the Hospital Wing, thinking perhaps Harry had gotten someone to bring him to Madam Pomphrey since the boy couldn't just take what he got with his mouth shut.

As the door closed he never noticed Fawkes burst into flames and disappear nor the copious amounts of magic begin to stir in his office, ready to reak havoc.

Poppy sat in her office thinking about her dearest friends and how things should have been so much different for the young man now lying in her infirmary. It was cruel what the headmaster had done to Severus and Harry. She understood Lily's anger and she had every intention of letting her do as she please to senile old coot as she sits back and enjoys the show.

She was torn from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps crossing her threshold, ones she knew well.

"Speak of the devil.." she whispered to herself.

The mediwitch stood and made her way over to office door and as she looked out on her only patient, the sight that met her eyes made her smile.

Severus barely managed to sleep 2 hours. He woke in the dead of night and the only thing he could think on was Harry. He had told Harry he would back to see him in the morning, but that didn't mean he couldn't check on him while the boy was sleeping did it? Now that he knew what had been stolen from him, and what Harry himself could deny him, he hated the thought of losing even more time with his son.

"Even if he has no idea I am there." Severus rationalized to himself.

With resolve in mind the Potions Master got out of bed and made his way to the Infirmary.

He made his way over to the only occupied bed as soon as crossed into the ward. As he sat down next to Harry on the bed, facing him, he couldn't resist the urge to card his fingers through his child's soft hair.

"Just as it was...as I remember."he thought.

The longer Severus sat there and looked at his sleeping boy, he found himself fearful. Severus knew he had been not just awful, but cruel to Harry in the four years he had know him. Granted it was not of own volition but it still mad Severus fear the Harry would turn him away. Harry had gained throughout his life more one reason not to trust adults, himself included. Though the thought alone pained him, Severus would not blame the boy if he did dismiss him.

As much as Severus wanted to stay here all night and hold vigil over his baby boy, he would not intrude on Harry's sleep, nor his personal space. Yes, he would back in the morning as promised, but only to briefly check in on the young Gryffindor's health. Then he would wait. He would ask Poppy to let him know when Harry had read his own letter from his mother and then, if Harry wanted to see him. He stood to leave but before he left...

"I love you Harry, my son." Severus whispered into Harry's ear, leaving a father's kiss in his hair before he left his son to his dreams.

As he left the ward, he failed to notice the Matron leaning against the frame of her office door, having watch the entire scene with a pleased and hopeful smile adorned her face.

It had always boggled Harry's mind as to why all the adults around him, at Hogwarts at least, took him to be a heavy sleeper. He couldn't be when he hardly ever slept to begin with but even when he did sleep, the survival part of his brain was always awake, always on high alert. Harry heard the professor come in to the ward, felt the bed shift from the weight as the man sat down along side him. He had felt the long fingers card through his hair, soothing him. And he had heard words from his Potions Master, words he thought he would never hear in his lifetime.

"I love you Harry, my son." he heard in the most gentle tone he had ever heard from an adult in his life.

With the small, and dare he say...loving, kiss dropped on his head as his...father left...

Harry Potter finally slept, truly slept for the first time in almost a decade.

As morning crept in through the high windows of the Hospital Wing, Harry began to stir. He took a mental check of himself and he noticed with surprise that he felt better than he had in years. He felt the muggle cast on his left wrist but other than the unfamiliar weight, it wasn't painful. He managed a small stretch before his body started to twinge so he laid himself back down carefully and looked around.

The wing was empty, as would be expected during the summer, and while there was slightest sterile feel to the room, he couldn't help but revel in the sense of safety he felt here. He also noticed the smell. Instead of the room smelling of fresh linens as it usually did, Harry felt like he was enveloped in a blanket of Sandalwood.

"I know that smell...where do I know that smell from?" he wondered. Hold on...

Harry's snapped to his right so fast he nearly went dizzy but his eyes immediately latched on to the envelope placed neatly among the potions, his wand and glasses, which he now saw had been repaired at some point. He carefully plucked his glasses from the table to place them on his face. Once he could see properly again, he slowly and painstakingly maneuvered himself to rest against the head board, turning his head once more towards the table next to him.

The letter.

His letter.

His letter...from his mother.

He grabbed for the letter and placed it gently in his lap, running his fingers reverently over the handwriting adorning the envelope. My Son.

Taking a deep breath, gathering all his Gryffindor courage, he turned it over and with hand shaking violently, opened the envelope. As soon as he broke the seal, Harry felt and overwhelming swirling in his head as memories he wasn't even aware he had came rushing back to him.

The soft voice of his mother singing him to sleep with her Celtic Lullaby.

Sitting on his daddy's clothed knee in the garden as daddy whispered to him, his mother running flowers across he little hands and through his tiny fingers.

Long black hair surrounding his face as he let out a baby's giggle. His daddy was playing a game with him, his smile comeing to sight as he brought his face up again.

Strong arms, dressed in dark warm cloth, cuddling him close, soft black lock brushing his baby face, tears as his daddy whispers, "I love you Harry, my little Imp."

Another black haired man with glasses, telling him that daddy had to go away for a little while, that this man would be here for him until he got back. Reassuring him that daddy loved him and always would.

Sandalwood, Rosemary, and Wolfsbane, all coming out of his comfy blanket that his mother had made for him, the one his daddy cuddled him in. It was wrapped around him, felt like daddy was cuddling him. And then the pretty smells are gone and his head feels funny.

Harry came back to reality with a jolt. As he processed everything, he went from confused to hurt to angry. All his life he longed for memories of his parents, but especially his mother. He craved any information he could get, true, but all anyone talked about was James Potter. He wanted to know about the woman who loved him so very deeply she gave her life for him. Now his head was full of memories he was never aware he had ever even had, and yet he could stop himself from getting angry that someone had actually stolenthose from him.

He wanted to know who had the nerve to take something so precious from him, no matter how old he was, wanted to know what gave them the notion that who ever it was had any right to do so. He ran his hands through his lengthening hair out of pure frustration only for them to land back in his lap with a quietsmack.

His letter.

He still hadn't even read it yet. So caught up he got in injustices...had he actually forgotten it was there? Now his mind had re-tracked itself. He was shacking all over justthinking about what his mother could have said to him.

He gathered his will and for a second time, took a breath to calm himself and slowly pulled the parchment from it home.

My Sweet Little Boy,

Oh, how I wish I could be there to hold you and tell you how much I love you. My greatest treasure is what you are Harry. The most wonderful gift I could have ever been granted. I know today if your 15th birthday.

Happy Birthday my child.

My gift to you is the truth. The truth you were so cruelly robbed of. Harry you must listen to me. While James Potter loved you with all his heart, he was not your father. He was never my husband nor the man that I loved.

Your father is Severus Snape.

I know by the time you read this, it will be very hard to believe or accept but Severus truly was the only man I ever loved. It pains me to know that my sweet, loving husband will have been reduced to a bitter, hateful man. Hopefully you now remember what I am trying to tell you. He loves you Harry. He has always loved you.

Professor Dumbledore is a manipulative old man. There is a ridiculous prophecy he believes in and is willing to destroy yours and your father's lived, living by it. He stole those memories from you. He is the one that made you father into the "evil potions master". This deplorable man stole your father from you my son and be sure - he will be very sorry indeed.

Open your heart little one. Let Severus in. Let him love youas I know he does. He had gotten a letter from me just as you. I will have done the same as yours so he will remember I promise you.

Do not blame him Harry. He was robbed and toyed with just as you were. Blame the man that caused all of this. Blame the man that truly deserves it.

Stay safe and remember that I am always with you.

All the Love in My Heart,

Mum

When Poppy left her office in the morning to check on Harry, she was not expecting to see him half sitting up, nearly hyperventilating. She quickly made her way over to him, making her steps just loud enough that he would hear her approach. As she got close to him, she could see a piece of parchment sitting in his lap, and tears beginning to form in his eyes.

"Harry? Are you alright? Are you in pain?" she asked.

She had to be certain exactly what could be troubling him. Either he had moved himself up and was now in pain and therefore stuck, or this had something to do with the letter sitting nicely in his lap. Poppy had a feeling it was the latter, but before she could ask again to be sure, Harry answered without a single word. He merely handed her the letter for her to read.

She read to basics. She already knew the truth anyway. Though she was bound to never reveal it until they knew themselves, she still knew. She skipped over the special words from mother to son, those were meant for Harry and Harry alone. She would not take those from him, not a chance in hell.

"Is it true Madam Pomphrey?" Harry asked her. His voice had broken the silence but it sounded so small and so broken and unsure, she had to mentally remind herself that he was almost seventeen...not seven.

"Which part, dear?" she asked. There was more than one thing in the letter that he would be expected to question. She hoped he was asking what she thought he was.

"I know Professor Snape is my dad. I do remember, little things. M-Mum said...the Headmaster did this. Did he? Did he take away my only family, all that I had left of my mother? Did he really DO this to me?" he begged her for the truth. It wasn't that he didn't believe his mother, he did, but Madam Pomphrey had always been there for him, and she had never lied to him. He felt compelled to ask.

Though the truth is what he wanted, her answer didn't help much.

"Yes, Harry. What she wrote you is the truth." she spoke to him softly. She saw the raw emotions cross his face and his emerald green eyes fill with more tears just waiting to fail. She watched as he tried with great effort to hold everything in until finally she could watch it no more.

"Harry, love, would like a Dreamless Sleep Potion now, or a Calming Draught?" she inquired, desperate to help his pain, if only for a little while, but the boy shook head to the negative.

In that moment Harry Potter wanted only one thing. He did not want potions, or explanations, or anything else.

"I want my dad." he informed her. He said with absolutely no hesitation at all and sounding so small she didn't hesitate to assure him before striding to her office and over to her floo to get the boy exactly what he wanted.

Severus was reading an old muggle novel, of Lily's, in the sitting room of his quarters when the fireplace grew aflame with the school matron's head floating inside it. The second he saw who it was in his floo, Severus jumped from his seat in a near panic.

"Poppy, is Harry alright?" he asked her frantically.

"Physically he is healing an no worse that he was yesterday but..." she started, she was wondering about the look on Severus's face if she told himexactly what Harry had said to her.

"But what? What is it Poppy, please tell me!" he anguished, the woman was starting to scare the hell out of him. What she said though nearly gave him a stroke.

"He's asking for you. He read the letter from Lily this morning, he asked me if it really was Dumbledore that did all of this and I told him the truth. He seemed upset, which is understandable, and when asked if he need a potion to help calm him, he said, and I quote: 'I want my dad' .". she told him, and then promptly disappeared from the fireplace. She made sure to catch a good glimpse of his expression first...priceless indeed.

It took Severus a minute to realize that the medi-witch was no longer there and as soon as he processed what exactly she had said, he flew from the dungeons as fast he could. He could have used the floo, but he remembered his son's whispers from when he had found him, whispers of the scents on his robes. The floo would distort the scents and if, even at almost seventeen years old, they were still a comfort to Harry, then he would take any little bit of help he could find.

He sped through the halls of the castle, he thought about what it was exactly that had upset Harry. His first thought was finding out that Severus was his father, but the remembered how Harry had asked for, no,demanded him.

"I want my dad."

He wasn't sure what Harry remembered from opening the letter, but he knew that his son remembered him and was not turning him away. His son was not rejecting him as Severus was sure he would. That thought alone carried him all the Hospital Wing without him even noticing until he opened the doors and laid eyes on his child.

Harry was sitting up in his bed, staring off into space, and falling down his face were...

Tears

That alone propelled Severus from his spot at the door, over to Harry's bed. He sat down without a single word, and with a gentle touch brought his son's eyes to meet his own. As soon as Harry focused on the dark, familiar eyes locked with his, he snapped. He suddenly collapsed into the potion master's chest. His arms wrapped tightly around the older man's rib cage as he tried desperately to bury himself in the warm, soft, black robes...only one word came from his lips.

"Daddy"

Severus, damn near tears himself, put his own arms around the child, who was now very quietly sobbing into his chest, and without a single word, maneuvered them both so that they were laying down on Harry's bed. Severus felt the Harry struggling around a bit, trying to find the most comfortable way for him cuddle into his robes. He let him be as he watched for any sign of a whimper or a cry of physical pain from the young man. As Harry finally settled himself, curled up to Severus's side, his head resting on Severus's chest so he could hear his father's heartbeat lull him back to sleep, Severus continued to hold him.

He then laid his head upon his son's and let himself rest, knowing that safely wrapped in his arms once more, lay his treasured little boy.