Albus Severus Potter was trembling as he peered into the Headmaster's Chamber. He had been summoned there merely moments ago, and yet he found the regal mahogany desk within it to be vacant. Hoping that he wasn't breaking the rules by entering without explicit permission, Albus cautiously ventured into the study to wait for the headmistress, the formidable Professor McGonagall. He was sure that this meeting had something to do with the bullying he had been experiencing lately, not anything that he himself had done wrong. However, Albus couldn't help but feel anxious at the prospect of facing someone as powerful as the headmistress of Hogwarts. He had barely set foot in the room when a deep, sour voice roused him from his thoughts.
"The headmistress will return momentarily, but I must warn you- she has neither the time nor the patience to deal with students other than those whose presence she has formally requested. What is your name, and what business do you have here?" Albus followed the source of the harsh voice and looked up to see a portrait of a man with shoulder-length black hair and a rather large, hooked nose staring down at him.
"My name is Albus Potter, sir. I was asked to meet with the headmistress, although… I'm not entirely sure why she wishes to speak with me." He answered truthfully.
"Very well, you may be seated." The portrait instructed. Albus did as he was told, but he couldn't help but notice that the man in the portrait was staring at the emblem of Slytherin on his school robes with a rather bemused expression.
"A Potter, in Slytherin? That is most peculiar. I bet your father is proud of you boy, is he not?" The voice was dripping with irony, although Albus didn't pick up on it. At the mention of his father, the famous Harry Potter, he brightened immediately.
"You knew my dad?" Albus asked incredulously.
Regretting that he had said anything and not wishing to engage with the son of a student he once despised, the man simply replied "Yes, we were acquainted."
"Cool! Well, my dad is very proud of me, in fact." Albus replied happily. "Dad was in Gryffindor, but he told me that it didn't matter which house I got placed in. He said I was named after a Hogwarts headmaster who was also in Slytherin, and he was the bravest man he ever knew." There was an unmistakable note of pride in Albus' voice as he said this.
"I'm sorry to burst your bubble, boy, but Albus Dumbledore was a Gryffindor, just like your precious father," came the snide reply.
"No, I'm talking about my middle name," Albus interjected adamantly. He did not know why, but he was convinced that the man in the painting did not like his father, and he was determined to set the record straight. "My full name is Albus Severus Potter." He enunciated each syllable of his full name with importance, daring the greasy figure in the portrait to contradict him. However, he was surprised to find that the man's derisive sneer had softened, then melted away completely.
"So it is." he whispered, the faintest inkling of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips, despite his best efforts to conceal it in the child's presence. He peered down into the piercing emerald green eyes that were now only inches from his frame. He was forcefully reminded of the boy's grandmother, which did nothing to stem the sudden rush of emotion that suddenly came over him.
"Who are you, anyway?" demanded Albus, scrutinizing the portrait. He had not entirely forgiven the man within it for displaying a lack of respect toward his father during their little exchange.
"I am Severus Snape."