Character development is going to be a major in this. Unlike in some other Severitus' I have read, Snape is going to know about Harry's heritage before he goes to school... So the hate built up through school will not be there. But the fact he has no clue how to raise a child will be an issue... But the hate thing won't be there, just misunderstandings. (But there will be MANY problems... so don't go thinking this is a 'Goodness for all' Fic where everything is peaches and cream and everything is taken well...

Now read! My explanations are done. Any questions I will try to answer though.

Disclaimer is in the first chapter.

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Of Owls and Letters

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7-20-1991 6:23 A.M.

Harry awoke the next day, and the routine was in the norm. Get up make breakfast, get yelled at to hurry up with breakfast... Then given a list of chores, consisting of but not limited to: laundry, dishes, and cleaning about every room in the house.

Setting about to do them in a mechanical way, he was so used to doing the chores that it was almost automatic now... Most of his morning was spend doing dishes and gathering laundry to be washed, and washing and folding the clothes.

But when afternoon came around, Uncle Vernon yelled at him to get the mail from the front door.

He searched through it: A letter from Marge, Uncle Vernon's sister who was vacationing, a bill, and a Letter, for himself. Harry blinked, thinking it was his imagination. But no, after rubbing his eyes a few times to make sure that it wouldn't disappear, sure enough, the letter was still there.

Dumbfounded, he entered the kitchen and handed the two letters to Uncle Vernon, and sat down in an unoccupied chair at the table to look over his own.

Mr. H. Potter

The Cupboard under the Stairs

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

No stamp in the corner, or return address. Flipping it over, he looked closely at the seal, it adorned a lion, a raven, a badger, and a snake, all surrounding the letter H.

Just as he was about to open the yellowish tinted envelope... It was snatched out of his hands, and the annoying voice that he had grown up to hate filled his ears.

"Dad! Harry got a letter!" And the obese child ran over, and proudly presented his findings to his even fatter father.

Vernon scoffed.

"Who would send a letter to you?" He grounded out and took out what was in the envelope, and read the first line.

He paled.

Filled with confusion and irritation, Harry glared at his Uncle as he motioned Petunia to look at the letter, who also paled.

Harry had enough of the two looking up at him then back at the letter, and grumbling in hushed voices while Dudley asked over and over again to see it.

"I want my letter..." He growled out, and the two adults looked at him, then at Dudley.

"Get out, the both of you." Vernon said, in a voice Harry had never heard of before.

Fear, fear was in the man's voice... But what was in the letter that he feared?

After a moment when the two boys refused to budge, Vernon grabbed them both by the scruffs of their necks, and threw them out of the kitchen, slamming the door.

The two boys then went to the floor to try and eavesdrop on Petunia and Vernon.

"...How could they have known...?"

"...We'll just ignore them... They'll stop sending them..."

"...are they spying...?"

Harry really wanted to know who 'They' and 'Them' were.

The next day was no different, there was another letter, and no matter how hard Harry tried, he couldn't get to the letter, as Uncle Vernon ran him into the wall on their race to the mail.

The day after that, there were three, and owls began to hang around the house, always watching the family.

Days after that, the mail flap was nailed shut, the letters accumulated outside, and were used as fire fuel when Vernon got them, and made sure Harry watched them burn. His hatred for the man burned wildly like the flames destroying the letters.

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7-30-1991 12:34 P.M.

Albus Dumbledore made his departure from the Great Hall from lunch. All the teachers were there to use the final month they had to themselves to prepare for the school year, get supplies; make their curriculum schedules and everything else.

Going back up to his own office to look over plans, he was surprised to see a pure white owl making itself at home in his office, and seemed to be having a conversation with Fawkes, in their own speak.

Two letters were strapped to the owl's leg. Curious, Albus sat down in his large and overstuffed chair behind his cluttered desk. The owl, fluttered over to in front of the Headmaster, and Albus promptly began to free the letters. The owl flew away out of an open window as it's task was complete.

Reading who it was from, he was shocked:

Lily Potter

One was addressed to him, and the other to Severus Snape, from the same person.

Considering a spell of delay sending of sorts, Albus opened the letter written to himself, carefully pulling out the old letter.

Dear, Albus Dumbledore

If you are receiving this letter, then James and Myself are dead, and Harry is living with my sister Petunia and her family. I'm greatly saddened, that I could not be here to tell you and Severus what I'm about to write in person... But the fate is about as cruel as the monster who has killed us.

This letter was sent by a delay sending charm, and should reach you before my son's Eleventh birthday. This information is only known by me and James, but I know you and Severus should know the Truth.

James is not Harry's biological father, Severus Snape is. It happened before James and I had married, I knew of Severus' spying duties, and I knew that he couldn't have a wife, or a child with Voldemort using us against him. I had loved Severus, it only saddens me to know that I had to keep the existence of his own son away from him for his safety. I had married James as a cover up, so that when my pregnancy showed, questions wouldn't arise...

I had also put an advance Glamour Charm on Harry, so that he would look like James till his Eleventh Birthday, it will take about three days for the spell to wear off completely. I fear the reaction from my Sister and her family, as she doesn't like the idea of magic to well.

I know that Severus probably feels betrayed by this, for I haven't seen him since the wedding, I have sent another letter along with yours that I want you to give to him, I want you to be there for him when he reads this information in his own letter. And maybe, my son will have a better guardian to look after him.

I want him to have someone that will love him, my sister will not provide this, that I am sure of.

Please Albus... I know you're amazing at making up stories, and hiding any evidence opposed to it, please allow my son a normal life as the son of Lily Evans and Severus Snape, instead of the orphan boy.

With All My Love,

Lily Evans-Potter

Albus re-read the letter, twice. Soaking up the information. A long sigh came from his mouth as he got up and went over to his fire place. Taking a hand full of Floo powder from a suspended pot next to the fire place, he threw it in the fire, and said clearly.

"Severus Snape."

Said man came through the fire seconds after his name was called.

"Headmaster." He greeted with a nod, and Albus motioned to the chair in front of his desk before sitting in his own.

Albus looked at the black clad Potions Professor for a moment, calculating, and said gave him a slight rise the brow, questioning why he was called.

"Tea? Lemon Drop?" Albus asked quietly before summoning a House elf.

"No thank you. Is there something you wished to discuss with me?" He asked, suspiciously from the twinkle in the man's eye.

The old coot knew something... But then again, he knew a lot of things.

Albus sent away the House-Elf, and picked up the letter to Severus and looked over the envelope for a moment before handing it across the desk to Severus, who took it, and read who it was from.

Severus' head snapped up to the twinkling eyes of Dumbledore, before opening the letter rather quickly, and opening the contents.

Albus watched as the man sat up straight in the chair, and began to get a faraway look in his black eyes as he read the letter... That nostalgic look though, was replaced with one of surprise and shock. After a minute, he looked up from the letter.

"Headmaster... What..? How long have you known?" He asked, shock still in his black eyes.

"Just a few minutes ago, she sent two letters, one for you, and one for me. Seems she wishes for dear Harry, to have a real family." Albus chuckled, a normal life with an ex-Death Eater and ex-Spy, will really be something.

"All this time though, I thought- By the gods- I have a son! All this time, I though the child was the son of James bloody Potter... Why... She should have told me!" Severus was agitated and felt betrayed.

"Lily was protecting you... But now, Harry has a father, Severus." Albus said, a smile gracing his features.

Severus sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do about Lily now, she did what she thought was best, no matter how much she knew it would hurt him.

"She put a Glamour Charm on the boy... It's going to start wearing off tomorrow!" He said looking over the letter again.

The boy wouldn't look like James. That thought brought a sense of relief to him knowing that he wouldn't have to watch the carbon copy of his arch rival grow up.

"Then you should probably fetch the boy from his relatives, maybe tonight? It would be an interesting Birthday gift to find out he had a father." Albus said with a chuckle.

"But, Albus- I don't know anything on raising a child! And he'll wonder where I've been all this time." He began to read the letter over yet again.

"Start a new life... what does she mean by that? You don't think she'd want her son to have the Snape name?" He asked, and Albus couldn't help but grin.

"It appears to be that way my boy!"

Severus' hand came up to his face and rubbed a spot right in-between his eyes. He couldn't believe this was happening it was exciting, and troubling at the same time.

"It also seems that Harry's relatives are not allowing him to read his letter from Hogwarts." Albus announced, and Snape looked up at him and sighed.

"Why don't you go yourself? Or send Hagrid?" He asked, trying to find a way out of this, suddenly nervous about doing the task.

But he wasn't going to let Albus know that.

Albus suppressed a grin, knowing how nervous the man was, even though he tried not to show it.

"Hagrid is already running an errand for me, you know that." He strategically left out that he was going to send Hagrid to get the child as well, but he can make hasty changes.

Severus nodded, before sighing again.

"I'll go get him." Just as he said this, another owl came in and dropped a small piece of paper to the Headmaster before flying back out.

Reading it over, the Headmaster chuckled.

"It seems the Dursley's have moved to a shack on a small island just off the coast. It appears they are trying to outrun the letters."

Severus scoffed.

"Might as well deliver the letter personally and get the child out then... After all, if they're dense enough to think moving out to somewhere remote was going to stop the letters, I doubt they'll think that someone would come to question why he isn't receiving them." Snape announced as he got up.

"I will not, though, inform him about his heritage until we return here, and we can think about what to do then."

Albus beamed.

"Right then my boy! Here's his school letter, and you should leave a little before midnight as a surprise." He said with twinkling eyes as he handed the Potions Master a thick envelope addressed to Harry Potter.

With a curt nod, Severus left the Headmaster's office.

Looking over to the Phoenix on his perch next to the desk, Albus smiled.

"I wonder what these unexpected turn of events will bring for the future..."

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11:55 P.M.

Harry Potter sighed as he listened to the storm rage outside of the small and rickety shack. He could feel the waves violently crash all around the small island, shaking the small shack that was built on a sorry excuse of an island. You could hear the wind howl through the many gaps into the structure. Rolling over on the sand, and pulling a moth eaten blanket over his form from the cold, he began to doodle in the sand.

Looking up to the couch where his cousin Dudley snored, the fat arm hanging loosely over the side of the couch and the boy's digital watch blinked at him in neon blue, showing the time:

11:58 P.M.

Harry began to doodle a cake in the sand with candles, something he had seen Dudley get for his Birthday during the years. Harry's Birthday was usually ignored or never mentioned, usually having to tell it to himself so he wouldn't forget.

Writing the words 'Happy Birthday' on the cake in the sand, he looked back at the watch, 'Ten... Nine... Eight... Maybe something good will happen this time... seven... six... five... I wish I was away from here... four... three... two... I wonder if it'll be like this for the rest of my life... One...' The wrist watch beeped quietly, indicating the change in the hour, and Harry turned to the cake 'I wish I could be taken away from this...' and blew on the drawing as if he was blowing out candles on a real cake.

Suddenly, there was a loud knocking on the door...

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There you go a small cliff hanger even though you probably already know who it is... Dursely's and Harry get an explanation in the next chapter.