Chapter 3

Albus, Lily and James led Harry down to the dungeons. Albus informed the wizard that he would tell the staff of his arrival at dinner. The Wizarding world was in for a shock; Harry Potter had returned. He was very glad that it was summer; all the students were at home so he did not have to deal with them until September. It would give him some time to adjust to this universe.

"Albus, please I do not want any publicity." Harry tried to tell the headmaster but the old man wouldn't listen.

Fighting the rising irritation Harry attempted to clear his head and get through to the man. Finally, when that failed to work he released a blast of controlled magic. 'Ha. That got his attention.' He thought sardonically. "Albus, I had enough problems with the media in my own universe. I would prefer to be anonymous here." It was not a request. "I would like to be introduced as Harry Evans."

Looking like a toddler who has just had his favourite toy taken away from him Albus agreed reluctantly. He also wondered at just how powerful this young man was. His wand had been broken yet he didn't even seem to have noticed its absence, as he had never reached for it or even asked for it to be returned; it certainly made no effect on his use of magic.

For his own part Harry had indeed noticed the absence of his wand but could also sense that it had been broken so he had not asked for it, knowing that had it not been it would have been taken from him until Dumbledore had decided if he was a threat or not. It mattered not. He had mastered wandless and non-verbal spells in the past year during his training. He had no need of his wand but he did mourn it. It had served him well since he was eleven, even if it had been the brother wand of Voldemort's.

After travelling through the dungeons that Harry knew quite well, thanks to all his after-curfew wanderings, they reached the portrait guarding his new rooms. It was Salazar Slytherin. Harry inclined his head respectfully to the Founder. [Lord Slytherin, it is an honour to meet you and to have you as the guardian to my quarters.] He hissed smoothly. He felt rather than saw the three people behind him freeze. Looking over his shoulder he quipped, "Ooops. Guess I forgot to tell you that Voldemort transferred some of his abilities to me that night. I'm a Parselmouth." He grinned innocently at their nervous faces. Once it would have upset him to see their obvious surprise and slight fear but Harry had been trained to harness his natural advantages. Now it simply amused him.

[Welcome, young snake-speaker. It has been an age since the last. I would greatly like to converse with you at length but perhaps a later date would be best. For now, what is your password?] Slytherin asked after a short bow in return.

[New beginnings.] Harry hissed back.

Slytherin nodded, [None shall pass without your permission or password though I dare say I would find their attempt at saying the password highly entertaining.] The original Slytherin joked.

Harry laughed lightly. He liked Slytherin, he had met a portrait of the man in his own universe too. Slytherin had turned out to be not quite the evil muggle hating man that history had painted him as. The man had Severus' sense of humour which Harry had come to appreciate once he discovered it though that had taken a while and had required him to develop a thick skin.

The portrait swung open revealing the guest quarters. They were plain but warmly furnished no house colours which was Harry was glad for. He may be a Gryffindor but red and gold were garish and together could only serve to give him a headache. He thought he'd keep his colour scheme neutral of house affiliations. It would be best not to upset anyone. He wondered if his father still favoured Gryffindor or if he had given up on 'House pride' after over twenty years out of school.

"This is wonderful, thank you. Do any of the professors or Madame Pomfrey need an assistant?" Harry turned to Albus and asked.

The older man looked at the younger man kindly, "There is no need for you to do this, Harry. You are free to stay here as long as you wish." Albus insisted.

"Please. I'll go crazy if I don't have anything to do. I've never been idle." Harry pleaded. He would have to go find a job if he couldn't help anyone here.

"Very well then. I believe Severus would benefit from an assistant. He has mentioned it in the past. How were your Potion grades?" The headmaster conceded.

"I got an O in my NEWTs." Harry admitted. What he didn't say was that he had only done so well after he had begged Snape to tutor him. Once he understood the mechanics Potions was easy. It had just taken him six years to master the basics that's all. It wasn't easy to focus on chopping ingredients when you had to keep an eye out for things being thrown at you from the Slytherins. He had only mastered the containment charm in his seventh year.

"Excellent. I shall ask Severus to consider it." Dumbledore seemed unnecessarily happy. 'Maybe now James and Severus will reconcile. This young man is a miracle. A half Gryffindor, half Slytherin Potter. And he seems to be on good terms with Severus. Delightful.'

"Thank you, Albus." Harry truly meant it. He now had a reason to spend time with this new Severus Snape. It would be easier to break through the man's barriers that way. Though that did not stop him from noticing the twinkle in the headmaster's eye and wondering what he was scheming now.

Lily Potter came over and once again embraced Harry tightly. "We'll see you in the Great Hall at dinner."

The kicker came when James Potter also hugged his 'son' before saying goodbye.

The trio left and Harry immediately felt more relaxed. He had been on edge since he had woken up. What in Merlin's name was he going to do? His parents were alive. They were here. They even seemed willing to accept him. Harry didn't know what to make of it. It had been his dream forever to have his parents back. Now he did and he didn't know how to act around them. 'I mean, really, I am even their son? Their Harry had died nineteen years ago. I am an imposter, a stranger with the face of their son.' The only three people Harry felt comfortable around were Albus, Poppy and Severus – them he trusted. He knew them. They didn't feel any different to the ones he knew. But the Potters, he didn't know them. But he very much wanted to.

Hoping to find his peaceful centre Harry set about decorating his room a little. He installed some book shelves, changed the colours of the curtains on the charmed window and other such things. He exchanged the rather stiff looking armchair for a transfigured plush one placed near the fire. Now all he needed was some books to put on his shelves, he resolved to visit the library; and Diagon Alley when he had some money.

The Potions Master took little convincing to Albus' surprise. He had expected to have to flatter the Slytherin into allowing the young Gryffindor and spawn of James Potter nonetheless into his potions lab. Severus, however, had agreed with one stipulation, "I want to test him first. See if he is competent or not. I will not allow some bumbling idiot into my labs. There are still scorch marks left from Longbottom's pathetic attempts at potion making."

Thence the reason why two hours later a more composed Harry Potter was to be found knocking on the Potion Master's office door, feeling rather like he was reporting for detention.

"Enter." Came the silky baritone Harry found intensely attractive.

He complied and opened the door, "Good evening, Professor Snape." The teen intoned politely.

A dark gaze fixed itself onto him. Apparently a decision was made as the man replied, "Good evening, Mr Potter."

It was strange to be called Mr Potter in that tone Harry thought absently. Snape had always put a certain amount of acid into the name during Hogwarts and afterwards he had been "Potter" but never in that tone, it was almost friendly, he was used to hearing his name said neutrally but normally in exasperation, very rarely in pride.

Snapping himself out of his reminiscing Harry recollected why he was stood in the familiar office. "You wished to examine my competency, Professor? Although I should probably tell you that I am going to be introduced as Harry Evans. Please do not call me Potter in front of anyone else." 'I have had enough of being Harry Potter.'

"Very well. Follow me, Mr Evans." Snape rose from his seat behind his desk and glided to a concealed corridor which Harry knew led to the Potion Master's private lab. He followed and waited silently for Snape's instructions.

Standing tall in his black robes Severus quickly swept his gaze over the stranger. He was shorter than himself, not unusual considering his height, but also shorter than James Potter and likely Lily Potter too which he found odd. His eyes and bone structure were his mother's and his hair most definitely his father's. All together the characteristics of the parents blended together to make an individual altogether very pleasant to look at. He was powerful, that much Severus had already felt. He would not care to anger the young wizard.

"Dumbledore informs me that you achieved an O in your NEWT?" Snape asked for confirmation. Harry nodded. "Very well. What is the most complex potion you can brew?"

"Wolfsbane." Harry answered promptly, with a slight smirk.

A dark eyebrow rose in surprise. That particular potion was not taught at NEWT level. It was a highly complex and volatile recipe, if one thing went wrong it could kill the werewolf. Only Masters usually brewed it and even then not even all Masters could. 'Only one reason why he would know that potion.' Severus guessed, "Lupin?"

He nodded, "I begged you to teach it to me, just in case. Still it took me a few tries to master it." Harry confessed.

"Do you know me well in your universe?" Severus was curious. He had rarely heard his name called in such a tone; familiarly and as though the person was happy to see him. Also he was sure that he would never teach a potion such as Wolfsbane to someone he did not believe capable.

Harry glance around the lab debating what to tell the man. It was exactly as he remembered, just like the office itself. That was reassuring. Should he tell the truth and risk alienating the man or be brief. His Gryffindor morals won over his Slytherin instincts. If he wanted a friendship with the man he couldn't lie to him. He would feel guilty even though he was sure that the man wouldn't know that he was lying. His Occlumency skills had vastly improved since his fifth year.

"Yes and no. Due to your position as a spy you could not risk being anything but a complete bastard to me yet you still saved my life numerous times though that took me a long time to realise. Once I graduated Albus paired us in the Order and you were also one of the people who trained me so we were forced to end our animosity or die. Eventually we became…comrades. There was too much history between us for us to ever be friends though I was more comfortable trading well-meant insults with you than spending time with my old best friends by the time I turned nineteen. I had changed too much and they too little. I believe that, apart from Albus Dumbledore, of course, I knew you better than anyone and you always knew me better than even I did." The half Slytherin explained to the stoic Head of Slytherin before him.

A few seconds passed in which the onyx gaze burnt into him, then, "Brew the Wolfsbane. Do you need the recipe?"

Harry knew Snape needed time to digest the information and gracefully took the out, "No, thank you. I know it." He set to work. Collecting the ingredients he needed from the store cupboard, mindful of Snape's curious and assessing gaze following, scrutinizing, his every move. Heart beating a little faster than usual at the thought of that dark gaze upon him the still-teenaged wizard began to brew.

Snape was watching this stranger in his private lab carefully but part of his mind was working over what Potter had revealed. He could guess that he probably treated the boy horribly, a "complete bastard" Harry said, while he was a student, if he was still a double agent then he would have had no choice. His alternative self probably used his hatred of Harry's father. That they had been comrades explained the wizard's tone when he first met him. Combining this insight to what he learnt earlier that day Severus created a profile of the mysterious Harry Potter. He was definitely a Gryffindor, no doubt about it, but had strong Slytherin inclination judging by some of the things he had said – Albus had even told him that the man was a Parselmouth. He was extremely powerful and knew it but did not flaunt it as James would have. No he seemed more like Lily Potter than his father. For that Severus was grateful. He had always been on relatively good terms with Lily. Severus wanted to learn more about Harry Potter he realised and not in an entirely pure way either. The stranger was stunning; beautiful even, if that particular adjective could be applied to a man, it certainly fit this one. His sense of humour even seemed very similar to his own. A silent sigh escaped him. Who was he kidding? Such a beautiful creature would never want him. He should put it out of his mind.

By the time he completely focused on the teen he was putting the final ingredient in the cauldron, it had been over four hours. Severus was shocked, had he really spent four hours thinking about the young man before him? The first stage was complete. Now it had to sit for twenty-four hours before it could be completed. The Potions Master walked over to inspect the potion.

Harry knew that it was faultless. He had done this too many times for it not to be. Snape acknowledged it, "A Potter brewed a perfect potion, the world must have ended while we were down in the dungeons." He joked.

Harry laughed, "You said the exact same thing when I correctly brewed a potion on the first try." It was odd, this Snape was so similar. Yet he didn't have the hard edge surrounding him, keeping everyone at arm's length. Sure he was sarcastic, but the man could be nothing less; it was in his nature and Harry would never want to change that.

Snape looked up at him after casting a stasis charm around the workstation. "Considering that we are now colleagues I believe that it would be more appropriate for you to call me by my name."

With an inward smile Harry agreed, "Alright, Severus. But only if you do the same. Mr Potter is my father as I am sure you well know and Mr Evans doesn't really exist."

"Very well. I shall see you at dinner I expect. Goodbye, Harry."

Harry loved the way Severus said his name. It sent shivers down his spine. "Goodbye, Severus. I'll see you later."

"Oh!" Harry stopped as he reached the door. He spun around and said quickly, "Thank you for giving me a chance. I look forward to working with you in this universe as well."

The teen left, leaving behind a bemused Severus Snape staring blankly at the closed door to his lab. 'This year will certainly be interesting.' He predicted.