Disclaimer: Not My characters. None of them! They belong to J.K. Rowling. What a brilliant mind she has! No copyright infringement is intended, honestly!

Chapter 4 – Who's Yo Daddy

Five minutes ago Harry had been told that his least favorite teacher was his real father. He couldn't believe it. He didn't know what to think. After he had walked out, he ran to the hospital wing where his trunk still sat. He grabbed his "family" photo album that Hagrid had given to him at the end of his first year, then bolted out, not caring as he bumped into and whirled by a few teachers, and probably Filch.

He found himself standing on the Astronomy tower. Good. There were no other classrooms nearby, and no offices…none of the professors would bother him up here. He sat on the floor at the corner of the ledge and pulled his knees up, resting the book on them. He opened to the first page, where the picture of his mother, James, and himself as a baby smiled back at him, waving happily. Had she known? Had his father…no, James known?

He couldn't help it now. The tease spilled over his face in a mad rush. Sobs uncontrollably racked his body. Why was this happening to him? The one thing he had been sure of for his whole life was that Lily and James Potter were his parents. And now he's being told it's not true? This was worse than his aunt and uncle lying to him about James and Lily's death, and not telling him he was a wizard. Well, when he found out, that had been the happiest day of his life.

He didn't know what to feel now. He had a father, but it was someone who was always mean to him, and the lies…who had known? Snape said he hadn't, and Dumbledore seemed new to the news…but his mother had known. Had she told James? Did Sirius and Remus know?

Harry felt a hand land on his shoulder and squeeze. Then he heard the voice. "Harry?" It was Snape.

"Leave me alone," Harry said softly.

"Harry…"

"Fuck off!" Harry didn't know what to do. Snape wasn't leaving. He looked behind him, only seeing the ledge.  What was he doing? Before he knew it, he was standing on top of it, looking down at the ground several stories below him, his family album forgotten on the floor of the tower.

"Merlin…Harry…don't…come down, please." Harry could hear the pain and fright in Snape's voice. He'd never heard that before in his potions professor. But he was still so confused.

Just get down, Harry, he thought to himself. He looked down to the ground, thinking how stupid he was for standing on the ledge. He stepped back towards Snape, but his foot caught on his too large pants. A clumsy "Whoa" escaped his lips before he fell forward towards the ground below.

Snape didn't even have time to gasp in horror before he was reaching over the ledge, grabbing Harry's wrist. The frail boy looked up at him, eyes wide in fear. "Help," Harry managed to whimper. Snape held onto him, each looking into the others eyes, each seeing fear, along with softness.

The boy was skinnier than ever, but he had grown a few inches. A good 130 lbs,  Snape couldn't let go to reach his wand. "Just hold on Harry," Snape pleaded. I just found you, he thought, I'm NOT loosing you. Snape pulled up with all his strength, his adrenaline aiding his efforts, and Harry's body slowly slid back over the ledge, both of them landing on the tower floor, Harry in Snape's arms.

Snape held onto Harry lightly, expecting him to quickly pull away, but was surprised to find Harry's thin arms wrapped tightly around him, sobbing into his robes. Snape smiled slightly and held on tighter to Harry, allowing a few tears to escape his own eyes.

Once Harry had calmed down, he loosened his hold on Snape and leaned back against the wall. "Sorry," he murmured.

Snape sighed and placed his hand gently on Harry's shoulder, pleased that he didn't pull away this time. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Harry."

"Why didn't anyone tell me," Harry asked, his eyes avoiding Snape's. "Why does my life always have to be a lie?"

Snape felt his heart squeeze with pain for his son. "Harry…I'm sorry. I just found out less than a week ago and told Dumbledore right when I had the chance. And we went for you right away." Then Snape realized Harry was thinking of Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. "Harry, Dumbledore talked to Black and Lupin. They knew about the occurrence, but thought you were still James' son. Lily had told James about the whole thing.  and as much as he disliked me, he didn't care if you were conceived by me or him. He loved you anyway, Harry. You can't stop believing that. You are his son as much as you are mine."

Harry gave a small smile. He couldn't believe this side of Snape. How deep he really was. And he knew, looking at the pictures in his family album, that Snape was right. Snape continued explaining the rest. " Even at one year old, you looked remarkably like James, so the question never came up again. That's why Black and Lupin never said anything."

Harry nodded. Then something occurred to him. "Why do I look like James?" He watched as Snape pulled a photo out of his robes, handing it to Harry. He could tell it was Snape, but he looked so much different. He looked about fourteen or fifteen. His hair was shorter, and not greased back, but light and frizzy. His features weren't as sharp as they were now either, just a slight sharpness to his nose. Harry felt his own nose. So he hadn't broken it.

Snape gave a small laugh. "Yeah, sorry about that," he pointed to his own nose. "It wont get this bad, I've broken it a few times."

Harry let out a snort of laughter. Snape was being funny. This was getting interesting. Then he went back to being serious. Bringing his knees up to his chest, Harry rested his arms on top, and then looked over to Snape. "So what happens now?"

Snape sighed. "That, Harry, is up to you. You certainly can't go back to those horrible Muggles. I won't have it, Dumbledore would never have it. No matter what you must stay here at Hogwarts. But whether or not you want to have anything to do with me, it's up to you." Snape gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze. "I won't rush your decision, Harry. Just let me know when you've decided." Snape stood up and walked towards the door before turning around, grinning. "Oh, and stay off the ledge, eh?"

Harry watched Snape walk down the tower, then picked up his family album. He looked at a picture of his mother and father. They each winked at him and nodded. "I love you, Dad. I love you, Mum." He turned to the middle of the book and stuck the picture of Snape as a teenager between the pages.

Standing up and dusting himself up, Harry hiked up his oversized jeans and ran down the stairwell after Snape. Rounding a corner, Harry spotted Snape walking slowly, not looking to be going any place in particular. Taking a deep breath, Harry slowed and called to Snape. "Professor?" Snape stopped and turned too look at Harry. Harry thought for a second, and then continued shyly. "Father…Dad…I-I want to try." To Harry's amazement and delight, Snape smiled widely.

"Come on then," Snape replied, holding out his arm, motioning for Harry to join him. Harry walked the distance between them and Snape put an arm around his shoulders. "It's about dinner time. To the Great Hall?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, I'm starving!" Snape smiled to himself. That was faster than he could have hoped for. This was one amazing son he had.

Author's Note: Well…you like? Should I write more? I want to develop their relation ship, and bring Ron and Hermione into the story. Oh, and Hagrid, of course. Review please!