Chapter Two- The Truth
He reappeared in his home on Spinner's End and put Harry on the couch before going into the kitchen and returning with a bowl of water and a rag. He pulled a chair up beside the couch before wetting the rag and placing it on the boy's forehead. He then leaned back to take in Harry's new look. Well, maybe not new, more like original look.
Harry's hair was longer, ending at mid-back and still black but with silver highlights. A pair of silver-tipped black ears sat atop his head. Both hands sported sharp claws and a black and silver tail hung over the couch's edge. He already knew that Harry's eyes were gold-green.
He doesn't need glasses. Foxes have excellent vision. I don't think Lily's side of the family have any fox relatives, so it has to be the father. But, James wore glasses, so perhaps the fox gene is recessive or maybe it skips a generation or more. Snape reached over and slipped the glasses off Harry's face. Yes, that's much better.
Harry's eyebrows twitched and slowly his eyes opened and focused on Snape's face. He sat up, the rag falling onto his lap, and rubbed his face which made him realize his glasses were gone. "Professor, can I have my glasses back?"
"You don't need them," Snape replied. "You've always had excellent vision."
"I have?" Harry was confused. If he always had good vision, then why did it blur whenever he took off his glasses?
"Yes. It's because you're a magical fox."
"A-a fox?"
"Yes. Clearly it's from your father's side of the family, either as a recessive gene or it skips generations."
Harry shook his head. "All I remember is being tortured and then you rescuing me."
"Well, one of your parents apparently put a long-term Glamour charm on you, most likely your mother. The Cruciatus Curse caused the charm to flicker and fail. The Dark Lord believes you to be a decoy while the "real" Harry is hiding. He wanted me to dispose of the decoy."
Harry held up his hands and stared at the claws. He lowered his gaze to see the dual-colored tail hanging down. Normally he wouldn't believe anything Snape said, but the sight of the claws and tail convinced him. "So, I was born a fox, sir?"
"It's not common for foxes to mix with humans, but foxes like us are born on occasion."
"Us?"
"Yes. I'm a fox too, on my mother's side. She taught me to use a Glamour charm to conceal my true form. She was a magical fox who fell in love with my father, a Muggle. He never learned the truth about either of us. I was surprised when mother told me that I was a full magical fox despite my parentage. The same goes for you…Harry."
Harry looked thoughtful and he unconsciously scratched behind one ear. He could accept that he was a fox due to the evidence he saw. But, was Snape really a fox, too? "Sir, can I see your true form?"
Snape pulled out his wand, gave it a flick, and the Glamour charm faded away. Harry gaped at his Potions Master: Snape was beautiful. He had long waist-length black hair with light red highlights, red-tipped black ears, long sharp claws, and a black and red tail that swished against his legs while gold eyes looked at Harry's expression with amusement.
"I know; completely different from what you knew."
Harry nodded. "Yes, sir."
"And you also look different than what I knew." In truth, Snape thought Harry made a cute fox; certainly most of the girls at Hogwarts would think so.
Harry ran a hand down his long hair and thought about the coming year. He needed to hide his true form, but he didn't know how to cast a Glamour charm…however, Professor Snape did!
"Professor, could you teach me to cast the Glamour charm?"
"Of course. I can teach you to pronounce it and the wand movement, but you must not go further than that. I'm sure the Ministry would love to expel you or summon you to a hearing.
"The end result is obvious." He flicked his wand at Harry, the spell said mentally, but nothing happened. He tried again harder, but still nothing. He turned his wand on himself and his human disguise appeared. He dispelled it and looked at Harry in confusion. "I don't understand why it's not working. However, perhaps the Headmaster knows."
Will Dumbledore know why the Glamour Charm failed? Stay tuned for the next chapter.
