Disclaimer: J K Rowling owns Harry Potter.
A Change of Identity
Chapter 2: The Sorting Hat Knows
Professor Potter led them into a room off the Great Hall where he gave them all a speech welcoming them to Hogwarts and explaining the house system to them. He sounded rather full of himself, thought Harry. Of course, he was depute headmaster now- had been for three years since Professor Vector's predecessor who had taken over the depute headship from McGonagall had retired. Harry caught the eye of the one new pupil whom he knew, Draco Malfoy and grimaced. He'd met Draco a few times when their fathers had visited each other and got along rather well with him. With any luck they'd both be in Slytherin together. His speech over, Professor Potter said grandly, 'Follow me,' and led the first years into the Great Hall.
There was much excited whispering as the new pupils had their first glimpse of the magnificent ceiling, bewitched to look like the sky outside. And more than a few sighs of relief when it transpired that all they had to do was to try on a hat, as became clear when the stupid (in Harry's opinion) piece of headgear sang its song. It appeared one or two idiots had been expecting to wrestle a troll or to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Having attended several sortings as Professor Snape's son, it was nothing new to Harry. Soon Professor Potter was reading the names out and the first year students were getting sorted in alphabetical order. Harry didn't pay much attention to most of it. As expected, Draco was immediately sorted into Slytherin. At long last Harry's own turn came around. There was a distinct tone of dislike in the depute headmaster's voice as he called out 'Harry Snape!' Harry walked disdainfully to the stool and put the hat on his head as he sat down.
'So, where to put you?' A voice spoke in Harry's head and he answered it silently.
'Slytherin, of course you stupid thing. My father's head of house. How could I possibly be in any other?'
'Well, you know,' replied the hat, not at all put out by the rudeness of Harry's thoughts. 'There are other considerations. And I'm not at all sure that Slytherin is the right place for you.'
'JUST PUT ME IN SLYTHERIN!'
Harry practically yelled the thought at the hat and it relented.
'Very well, if you insist. SLYTHERIN!' It shouted the name for all to hear and Harry walked to his house table, looking up to his father where he sat with the staff and smiling. The last few pupils were sorted and then Professor Potter made to pick up the hat and carry it away.
'WAIT!'
A gasp went up around the hall as this demand came from the hat. Such a thing had never happened in all the history of Hogwarts. Before anyone could think what it could possibly want, it spoke up again in clear tones which reached each and every person present.
'One amongst those newly sorted
Bears a name that isn't his.
Harry Potter sits among you, live and well.
Harry Snape has long been dead, I'm sad to tell.'
There was a short silence followed by a low muttering throughout the hall. Harry was confused. The hat was obviously referring to him, but what was all this nonsense about him being dead. After a minute Professor Dumbledore stood up.
'Please enjoy your feast,' he said shortly. 'Professor Snape, Professor Potter, Harry, if you would be so kind as to come along to my office we will investigate the hat's claims.'
Harry stood up apprehensively. Draco said to him,
'Go on, it will be all right. Just some stupid malfunctioning of the hat's spells.'
Harry said nothing but followed the three professors out of the Great Hall. It wasn't long before they arrived in Professor Dumbledore's study. At the headmaster's request Harry sat down in a large squishy armchair. No sooner was he seated then his father started ranting.
'What was all that nonsense the hat was spouting? Perhaps it's time we got rid of it.'
Professor Dumbledore held up his hand to silence him.
'Please, Severus, James. Hear me out. It appears that the hat believes Harry here to be the son of James and Lily rather than you and Elvira, Severus. There is a relatively simple test I can perform using a small sample of blood from each of you which will tell us if the hat is correct in its belief. I trust that the three of you have no objection?'
'Fine, waste your time,' said Harry's father. 'I think I know my own son.'
'Certainly,' snarled James. 'Even though I already know the brat is Snape's child.'
Harry merely shook his head, terrified at the thought that he might have been living with the wrong father for all these years. Dumbledore went to the three of them in turn, touching his wand to their thumb and drawing out a single drop of blood from Professors Potter and Snape and two from Harry and placing them separately on a silver plate. He pointed his wand at the plate, muttering something Harry couldn't make out. Harry's drops of blood then moved, one to his father's and one to Professor Potter's. The one which went to his father's moved away again whereas the other joined with Professor Potter's blood to form a larger drop. Harry didn't realise immediately what this meant but the others in the room evidently had no doubts. Professor Dumbledore sat down heavily on a chair looking very sombre. Harry's "father" looked furious.
'YOU MEAN I'VE SPENT ELEVEN YEARS LOOKING AFTER HIS SON?' He roared out the question but then continued coldly. 'Well no more. He can keep his clothes and school stuff but anything else I've paid for is mine. I will have nothing further to do with him than as a student.'
Professor Potter was apparently no more pleased with the results of the test.
'As far as I'm concerned my son was murdered ten years ago. Do not expect me to suddenly take responsibility for Snape's cast offs.'
There seemed to be a pounding in Harry's head. His father wasn't his father after all. And now he didn't want him. Nor did Professor Potter who was apparently his real father. Professor Dumbledore seemed to be about to speak but Harry found he didn't want to hear anything he had to say. He leapt from his seat and fled the room, running through the corridors without paying heed to where he was going. When he found himself at a side door leading to the grounds he hesitated only a second before wrenching it open and going outside where he wandered around half dazed for half an hour before sitting down under a tree and staring out over the lake. It must have been an hour or so before he was approached by a teacher.
'Harry, you need to come inside and get to bed.' It was the new defence teacher, Professor Lupin. Harry ignored him. During the past week it had become plain to him that Professor Lupin was a good friend of Professor Potter. And a friend of Professor Potter was almost as bad as the man himself. Harry had learnt that a couple of years or so ago when Professor Black had been the defence teacher. He had frequently called him a brat and insulted his father. Or maybe not since Professor Snape wasn't his father now.
'Come on. You're to sleep in the hospital wing tonight since all your room mates should be sleeping already. You can settle into your house tomorrow.'
Harry stood up and allowed himself to be gently guided towards the castle. His house. He'd told the hat he wanted to be in Slytherin. The hat had tried to dissuade him without success. The hat had known but Harry had insisted. Suddenly Harry wasn't sure he wanted to be at Hogwarts any more. But he didn't have anywhere else to go. With the events of the evening spinning around in his head he walked silently beside Professor Lupin until they reached the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse said little to him just clucking sympathetically, and giving him a pair of pyjamas and showing him to a bed. Once he was ready she tucked him in and left him to go to sleep after giving him a small goblet with a potion in.
'Just a little helping hand to put you to sleep,' she said kindly. Harry downed it quickly and put his head on the pillow. The way he was feeling right now, if he didn't wake up for a hundred years it would be too soon.
