Not another Severitus Story!...or is it?
a harry potter fanfic
by kach-noona
Synopsis: After learning that his wife Ginny is pregnant, Harry James Potter rushes to tell his closest friends about the good news, only to find out from Dumbledore that he is not James Potter's son. Well then, who's his real dad?
It was just a few minutes after midnight in the Headmaster's office, and Harry was standing in front of Dumbledore with his face scrunched up as he tried to comprehend what in the nine blazing hells the Headmaster was trying to say.
"So, James Potter is not my real father?" Harry stated, rather than asked, slowly.
"I'm afraid not, my dear boy," the Headmaster said. He sounded mournful, almost, if you thought that portraits could sound mournful.
Harry was at a loss for words. His whole identity was wrapped up in being Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. To suddenly have part of that ripped away from him was disconcerting at best.
"And you didn't see it fit to tell me until now when I'm twenty-three and expecting a child? When I've married Ginny, who's taken on my name–what I thought was my name?" He still wasn't completely sure if he could trust the Headmaster's portrait; it was just as batty as its subject, and about as manipulative. But did he really have a reason to lie? "Merlin, I was going to name our child J-James if he were a boy, and Lily if she were a–wait, but Lily is still my real mother?"
"Yes, Harry. You have her eyes," Dumbledore said.
Harry gaped at the Headmaster, the initial shock wearing off and leading in suspicion and disbelief. "It's well-established that I look entirely like James Potter except for that one detail, and yet you claim that it's the only real feature that denotes my parentage?" He snapped, a tad more verbose than usual.
"There's a glamour over you, of course. And it must be wearing off! You are starting to resemble your true father in your manner of speech," Dumbledore said, too cheerfully for Harry's taste.
"What good would a glamour do in that area?" Harry asked. "And who, exactly, is my father?"
"Well, I have good reason to believe that it is Severus Snape."
"Snape?" He asked, incredulously. "Not the man who abhorred me during all of my school years and tried to make every single interaction of ours a living hell?"
"And who saved your life multiple times," Dumbledore added.
"Yes, I know that," Harry said, distractedly. "I don't hold anything against Snape now, especially after watching him die in the Shack...but seriously? Him?"
Dumbledore's portrait started to scratch its beard. "Ah, well, yes. To the best of my knowledge, that is."
Harry's eye started to twitch. "You're telling me that you don't actually know whether or not Snape is my father?" He couldn't believe it. Was this all a joke? Did Dumbledore call him in because he was lonely and Harry hadn't visited in some time? Well, he could start visiting more often...if he wouldn't pull his leg like this!
"Look, Professor Dumbledore," Harry said with a sigh. "It's past midnight and I have a pregnant Ginny at home who's probably spewing her guts or about to spew 'em. I'd love to stay and chat more about my...real father, but if you don't have conclusive evidence, may we save this conversation for later?"
"But Harry, my boy," Dumbledore said, "I do have evidence. Perhaps not that Severus is your father, although you are seeming to resemble him more and more, but that James Potter is definitely not your father."
Harry made himself promise not to seethe, lest Dumbledore take it as further indication that he was becoming Snape. "Well, then, I'd love to see it, professor," he said with a forced smile.
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore said with the brightest twinkle a portrait could muster, which for a portrait of Dumbledore was quite blinding. He motioned for Harry to come closer, and revealed a Pensieve on the desk. "Take a look, Harry, and see."
Harry took a deep breath and plunged into the Pensieve, half-hoping that it would be a wild goose chase, and half-hoping to learn more.
A/N: Well, I'm back after a 4-year hiatus. There's at least one, maybe two more chapters of material I've written for this, but it's more of an excuse to let the plot bunnies run wild. No promises for the future, just a Hoppy Easter to you all!