Disclaimer: Unfortunately I am not J.K. Rowling. In fact I'm not even in the same league as her in writing. Because of that fact, I am obviously not her and anyone who thinks otherwise is kidding themselves.

5 years later…

"Dad!" An obviously elated Harry Potter ran inside their home at Spinners End. "I got it! I got it!" He shrieked, as his feet pounded on the wood paneled floor. "It came!" He spun around looking for his dad, almost losing his balance, but at the last second, two strong arms caught him. Harry looked up, and saw the object of his search. Severus picked Harry up and plopped him on the crème colored couch.

"Now Harry, take a breath and explain to me what you are screaming your head off about." He said in calm tones, trying not to laugh at the scene his adopted son was making.

"I, I got my Hogwarts letter." Harry exclaimed, his eyes shining with ecstasy as he held the letter in the air with pride.

"Really?" Severus asked. "Well, it just so appears I did too," Severus replied, pulling out a letter with the Hogwarts crest on it.

"Whaaaa?" Harry gasped he couldn't believe it. His father, Severus Snape was going to be a first year? That made absolutely no sense at all!

"Don't be silly, Harry, the Headmaster seems to be asking me to be a teacher. Again!" He pulled out the letter and groaned. "This year the Headmaster seems to be pulling no punches," he murmured. He set the letter down and said, "good job Harry, I'm really proud of you. I need to think a decision over but I'll be back soon."

When he said he was proud of Harry, glowed in happiness but the fact that Severus had to leave intrigued Harry. Why did he have to leave to think things over? Normally he seemed so sure of himself. What was in that letter that was so important that Severus was so completely unnerved by it?

As soon as Severus left the room, presumably to take a walk, Harry rushed over the mysterious letter. He looked around carefully, not wanting to be caught then picked up the letter and read it.

Severus, my dear boy,

How are you? How is your advanced potions project doing? It must be really complicated if it's taking you five years to do it. I find it quite interesting that you quit your position at Hogwarts a week after young Harry disappeared. It must have been devastating, but there's good news my boy. My registry showed that Harry has gotten his Hogwarts letter. I'm assuming of course that he will attend. Once again, I must ask you to come teach Potions at Hogwarts again. We need your expertise, and Professor Slughorn is reluctant to continue this year. Besides with the amount of trouble James got into, I highly doubt that Harry will be any different. Now you're probably saying why should I be made to teach just because of Harry. The answer is Lily's sacrifice. You promised Lily you'd watch over her son. But remember, you mustn't become to close to the boy, we still need you as our spy. And if you are too close to the boy, your position might be compromised, Come to Hogwarts in order to fulfill her request and protect Harry over his school years.

Sincerely,

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

Harry put the letter down, his head spinning. What did he mean 'spy'? Spy for what? And what did the headmaster mean by saying that he had disappeared for five years. Harry knew for a fact that he was as a matter of fact here, living with his dad, well-adopted dad, for five years. Lily, Lily was his mom's name. What was her sacrifice and what did it have to do with Dad? And why couldn't his dad become close to him? That didn't make sense. Unless… The Headmaster didn't know about himself living with his dad. Why not? What was so important, so secret, that the whole world didn't know he was still alive? Why didn't the world know that Severus Snape was his father? Then suddenly a completely unimportant and random fact popped into his head. What potions project? Dad hasn't told me about a long term Advanced potions project. And his dad told him about all his experiments! And with that final thought, the world came crashing down.

"Harry James Potter! What are you doing with that letter!

After leaving the house, Severus cast a ward to alert him if Harry left the premises and he walked through the streets, silently loathing Dumbledore and that infernal letter. How dare he use Lily's sacrifice against him! How dare he tell him to stay away from his son! Admittedly, Dumbledore didn't know about him adopting Harry, but it was the sheer nerve of the suggestion that made Severus angry. How dare Dumbledore presume that Severus would still be willing to be a submitting, humble servant for the Dark Lord never mind Dumbledore himself, the supposedly greatest Light Wizard of their time. Dumbledore had crossed the line on this one. And there probably wasn't going to be a time where Snape would forgive him. He might be a spy, but only for the little boy sitting in the family room. Only for his son. He'd have some explaining to do, about the long nights where he and Harry had switched places. Those nights were the worst. The nights where the father had to be woken from nightmares about being a death eater by the son. The son who was a victim of the crimes his adored father had done. The father who could do no wrong in Harry's eyes. Snape, eyes flashing in resignation sighed and turned to walk back to his house and confess to Harry all that he had neglected to tell him about his own horribly morbid past. Then he remembered, the letter! He had left the letter out on the coffee table where Harry could read it. And knowing his son's innate curiosity, the letter had already been opened and was being read as he was thinking. Maybe if he got home fast enough, he could minimize the damage done. And taking a deep breath, he apparated into the room where he had left Harry, just in time to watch Harry finish reading the damned letter.

"Harry James Potter! What are you doing with that letter?" He shouted.

Harry looked up, yelped and dropped the letter as if it was on fire. And it might have been because if something, anything could be set on fire, with a glare, that letter would be an inferno with the look of hate that Snape was sending towards that piece of parchment.

"Harry, go to your room and wait for me, I'll come up shortly," Severus said calmly, but inwardly he was seething. He didn't want to have to tell Harry what he had done, and shatter that image of a perfect father that Harry had cultivated in his mind. Severus knew he was not perfect but he didn't want to have to tell Harry about the not so nice side of the world. Harry had indeed experienced it, but Harry was still so innocent. He didn't want to shatter Harry's childlike innocence, the one that by now most kids still didn't have. But he knew that he had to. Because if he didn't he didn't know who, if anyone, would and even with Severus being there for Harry, he didn't know, no he didn't want Harry to make the same mistakes he had. It was no life for anyone to lead serving two masters and just trying to survive using one's wits. It was only for the eternally damned. And with that depressing thought, he headed up to Harry's room.

Harry heard the steps climbing up the stairs, slowly, almost resigned in the step. As the door opened, he saw Severus sit down on the bed next to him. When he looked at his dad, he saw a difference in his countenance. It was never free and innocent, but now there seemed to be an extra weight to it. One that wasn't there before. Severus took a deep breath and said, "Harry we need to talk."

"About what?" Harry asked.

"About that letter you read, and by the way, you are not to read anything of mine without my permission first. There are some things that are in my mail that you shouldn't read; they aren't for everyone to know. But first you know what you did wrong, right?"

"Yes, but dad, I, I was curious! I wanted to know what was so horrid in that letter that you had to leave to think it over! I wanted to know what was going on," he said. "But I'm sorry and I won't do that again," he promised.

"Good. Because if you do, there will be a punishment. I think knowing what was in the letter is punishment enough. You shouldn't have to know I'd rather no one knew, but it's essential." He said wearily. "You can't tell anyone this. Afterwards if you have any questions feel free to ask okay?"

"Ok, Dad," Harry replied, instantly sitting up straighter.

"Well, I'm really not sure how to start," he said slowly.

"How about from the beginning?" Harry suggested, using the words that Severus had used on so many occasions.

"Well, if I start from the beginning, then it's going to be a very long story."

"I don't mind can you just start already, please?"

"When I was younger than you are now… Well, lets just say I didn't have a very good home life either. In fact the only difference between us was, that you are still a good person, and you escaped it. I thought I had when I went to Hogwarts, but that just wasn't meant to be. While I was on the train going to Hogwarts, I unfortunately ran into a bunch of boys who decided that they'd be my personal tormentors. I always found it rather ironic, how they always attacked me in packs, because they were in Gryffindor, the house of the brave and courageous. Don't get me wrong not everyone in Gryffindor was horrible. My only best friend was in Gryffindor, and I figure if I hadn't me those bullies, I wouldn't have met her either. She was the one who defended me from those people and I was grateful to her."

"What about your house? Why didn't they defend you?" Harry queried, his green eyes a mixture of concern and worry. He hoped that what had happened to his father wouldn't happen to him.

"I was and probably always will be an outcast. They knew that and that was the kind of people they picked on. People they knew wouldn't have any defenders, people who the student body would love to see humiliated. Those who are just the slimy creepy nobodies who no one cares about. I was one of them. And that's the way it was. But, I gained skills that I might not have gotten otherwise. So that was the silver lining to that dark, stormy cloud. Unfortunately, there was this incident where the four boys, who called themselves the marauders, tricked me into going into a werewolf's den. I nearly got killed that night and only the actions of one of those boys, saved me. I leaned a very important but not so true lesson that night. That night I learned that the only person who will always be there for me is myself."

"But that's not true dad," Harry cried, "I'm here."

Severus smiled, "yes, you are here. But you're also my son. I said that lesson wasn't true, not for everyone. I'm always going to be here for you, no matter what. And so will your friends. So in that way you're different than me. I said some really mean things to that girl who was my best friend, and she decided that she wasn't my friend anymore. I was humiliated and lashed out at the only person who cared and I regret that even now. The headmaster rejected me and decided to not punish the boys who tricked me. They didn't even get detention from him and the boy who saved me earned points. They got off with a mere reprimand while I got in detention for being outside on school grounds past curfew. Never mind that they were also outside, that showed that my life was worth almost nothing in the eyes of the great esteemed headmaster."

Harry sat and listened, eyes wide as his father was telling the story. He had seen bad things in his past, but they were only memories, and it seemed that his dad had gotten the worst of life and from the way things were going, it only seemed like it'd get worse.

"After that, I had no where else to turn to. So I immersed myself in my studies, determined to focus on what I was doing. I probably would have driven myself to destruction if some of the older Slytherins had not stopped me. Lucius was one of them, and we soon became great friends. His intentions were originally pure, not wanting me to accidently kill myself from overwork, but then when the Dark Lord, Voldemort, made overtures of friendship to some of us, Lucius was drawn in. After the first meeting he said that the Dark Lord was making a generous offer. He was allowing one of Lucius' friends a chance to join the ranks. I was especially miserable that year because my best friend started to date the boy who was the leader of the bullies. So without a thought I decided to join with Lucius. That was another of my worst mistakes. I went to the meeting with Lucius, and the rest of the night was a blur. I do remember saying some sort of oath, and feeling a burning pain in my arm, as if it was on fire. And I remember Lucius carrying me home. From then on, when the Dark Lord wished us to come to him, he makes the tattoo on our arm burn red-hot. We're supposed to drop whatever we're doing and go to him. I was young but that doesn't excuse what I did. I eavesdropped on a conversation talking about the Dark Lord's downfall. It talked of a boy, a boy who could bring about the destruction of him. I regret telling him that because, because…" Severus' voice cracked and died. He took a deep breath and resumed what he was saying. "Because it brought about the death of my best friend, and it killed me. It was the worst thing I've ever felt. It was also a good thing. The only good thing that came out of that was that I turned and became a spy. Lucius would to eventually but right then he was still an avid follower of the Dark Lord. But I had already know to guard my mine. So even when I was his subordinate, I never truly was his. And now, I'm a spy, my work is dangerous and things I've had to do in the job to keep my cover are things that you should never be exposed to. It's a hard job; people curse at you and think you're bad. People try hex you and you can get seriously hurt. The only reward is that you save a couple of people that otherwise would die. It's a job where you have to be wary of everyone and the wrong move can get you killed. But I know what I'm fighting for. So, because of that I know I won't give up without a fight," Snape said.

"But dad, you said you could die!"

"Yes Harry, I did say I could die, but I won't go down without a fight because now I have a reason to come back. I have to take care of you. I will come back, okay?" Severus swore, and his black eyes glowed with a power. His power. And Harry was reassured. His dad would come back to him.

"Is that why I can't have my name be Harry Snape? Because you have to keep your cover?"

"Yes. As much as I'd love for you to be my heir in name as well, I can't for it would compromise my position and most importantly you'd be put in danger. You can change it once this war is over, for I don't think it's over yet, but not before. Therefore, I have to act like a mean git to you, and you have to hate me while we're at school. Okay?"

"But that's not fair! You don't hate me and I don't hate you!"

"I know, but life isn't fair," Snape sighed. Then he smiled wearily. "Any more questions?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "What's Lucius Malfoy's story? And why does it have to be you?" He cried. "A-a-and what, what if it happens to me too?" He stated the last question in a whisper. As if he was almost afraid of the answer, or even ask the question.

"Firstly, I'll tell you Lucius' story later. Secondly, why not me? I'm just as qualified to do the job as anyone else, and before I had you, I had no one who cared for me. So I had no attachments and that way they couldn't hold anyone as a ransom if I was found out. And it won't be you." He said in a voice filled with so much sincerity, that Harry had to believe it. "I'll make sure of it. Now go on, I've been talking for a while and it's time for bed. Good Night Harry," he said as he lightly pushed Harry towards his bedroom.

"But—"

"Night Harry," Snape said in a voice filled with finality.

As Harry rounded the corner, Snape collapsed boneless in a chair. Tonight was exhausting, he thought. And he was sure that tomorrow he'd be bombarded with questions again. Best get some rest then, he thought as he slipped off to sleep mentally exhausted from the day's events.