Nothing in his life could be easy, that much was obvious. That wasn't to say that he couldn't hope, though. Then again, all the times he had resorted to hope had done nothing but cause him more pain. He didn't know why he thought this time would be different. He thought himself a coward for resorting to sneering and his sarcastic nature. He thought he had tried, but it was apparent he was causing more harm than good. He wasn't sure what would have happened had Draven not alerted him to Malfoy approaching. He supposed they could have made some headway, but then Malfoy would have suspected something if he wouldn't have answered the door. He figured he would just have to have yet another talk with Remus. The only thing he was grateful for was that he didn't find this out a few years from now. There was simply no telling how far his resentment for the boy's supposed father would have taken them. He had to figure out a way to appeal to the boy without causing more fear and hatred between the two of them. He knew he was to blame for it to begin with. All Harry did was show up to Hogwarts. Severus was the one who brought out the hatred and resentment that he held onto since his own Hogwarts days and put it on full force to the unsuspecting child. With a dramatic sigh and a flick of his wrist, a bright white light in the shape of a snow leopard flew out of the tip of his wand.

He sat in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace in his quarters. He leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. He didn't notice the door opening or the slight scrape of a chair across the bare floor. He barely acknowledged the voice speaking to him.

"Really Severus; your patronus? A little dramatic, don't you think? Even for you. You could have just used the floo; or dare I say it, even walked up to my office?" Remus leaned back in his chair and watched the unfamiliar sight before him. The normally well composed man was long gone. Before him sat a man defeated and lost.

"He's terrified of me, Remus. I cannot even ask him a simple question without him cowering in fear. What have I done to him?" Severus brought his head up just enough to look at Remus.

"He was very excited about the broom. I believe that was a step in the right direction." Remus wanted to make sure Severus didn't suspect that Harry thought it was Remus that gave him the broom. That surely wouldn't help matters.

"He has no idea it was me that gave it to him, Remus. I assume he suspected it was from you." Severus couldn't meet Remus' eyes. He didn't want to confirm what he already knew to be true.

"Be that at it may, it is still in the right direction. You're just going to have to do this, Severus. The sooner you tell him, the sooner you two can get through this." Remus knew he would have to take matters in his own hands. He watched his oldest living friend for a time, both men lost in their own thoughts.

"I am not good at this sort of thing. I do not do well with other people. I have no idea why it is you still hang around."

"Must be your bubbly personality. Now, while you are down here sulking, I have been forming a plan. Care to listen?" Remus managed to get the dark haired man to raise his head.

"Oh, do tell, wolf." Severus tried to sneer, but it came off as more of a grimace. Remus just gave a small chuckle.

"This weekend is a Hogsmeade weekend. Harry still cannot attend, as he has no one to sign off for him. That is, of course, unless you wish to make this widely known?" Severus gave Remus a worthy sneer. "Ah, I thought not. As it is, Harry is confined to the castle, therefor I can subdue him. We are to have training on his patronus while everyone is in Hogsmeade, so all we would need is you in attendance to get this started." If it was possible, Severus looked even more pale.

"I simply do not believe I am ready for this." The man hung his head again.

"We've spoken about this before. If you wait until you are ready, my friend, you will wait forever." The two men sat in comfortable silence, each contemplating the upcoming weekend.

Harry made his way slowly back up the stairs to the Gryffindor tower. He didn't want to bring his bad mood to the Room of Requirement. He knew he needed to start thinking about what he was going to do about Snape being his father. It still seemed so unreal to him. He decided instead of Gryffindor tower he was going to go to the library. There, he figured, he would have some peace and be able to think. He had about an hour until curfew so he found a rather dark, secluded corner in the back of the library and just sat. Draven flew to the back of his chair and gently nipped his hair. Harry couldn't think of anything to do but write. He pulled out parchment and a quill and wrote. He wrote about the unfairness of having to live with the Dursleys. He wrote about the unfairness of having never known his parents. He wrote how he didn't understand why Snape hated him so much and how he wished he knew what he could do to please the man. He figured if the man was his father, he really had no choice but to accept it; it would just take some getting used to. He had been writing for a solid half hour when a familiar pouf of bushy brown hair plopped down in front of him.

"What are you doing back here, Harry?" Harry set his quill over his paper just as Draven jumped from Harry's chair to the table and stood on the parchment Harry had been writing on. Harry reached up to stroke the jet black owl.

"Snape let me out early." He gave her a small shrug and turned toward her.

"Okay, but what are you doing here? There's something going on, isn't there?" She watched the defeated look come across her best friends face. He knew he would have to tell her. He cursed his luck that brought her there without Ron. If Ron would have been there, he could have avoided saying anything. Hermione was the more level headed out of the three. He wasn't ready to say the words out loud, but he couldn't just lie to his best friend. He looked at Draven, who seemed to sense his discomfort and jumped onto his shoulder. He gave Harry a soft hoot of encouragement. Harry took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and looked Hermione in the eye.

"Snape's my dad." There. It's out there. He said it out loud. He felt Draven lean into his hand and he felt a little more comfortable. He knew he could trust Hermione to be straight with him. He knew he could count on her to help talk him through this.

"Are… Are you certain? How do you know?" He could see the wheels turning in her head.

"I'm as certain as I can be. When I ran from Malfoy, I ended up in the dungeons. While I was hiding in the back, Remus and Snape came in. That's another thing. They're like best friends or something. Snape looked defeated, like he didn't know what to do. Anyway, they were talking, and I heard Remus tell him I was his son and that I needed to know the truth." Harry continued to pet Draven while he watched Hermione. She sensed his discomfort as well and brought her chair closer to him. She grabbed his hand in her own.

"Well, I can't say that it's not a shock. How are you?" He could see the understanding in her eyes. He felt the comfort and the support. It seemed a little less daunting than a few hours ago.

"I'm not sure. I thought I would feel better after coming face to face with him, but, well, you saw how potions went. It wasn't any better in detention." He gave her a hand a little squeeze, but didn't release it. He needed the connection.

"Well, you have to see how it is for him, Harry. I'm sure he hasn't known all along. I don't see a man like Professor Snape leave his own child behind, no matter how hateful he seems in class. Not that this is any easier for you, but just try and see it from his side." The two sat for a few minutes when Draven hopped over and nipped Harry's free wrist. Still holding Hermione's hand, he looked at his watch and immediately got up and grabbed his bag.

"We've got just enough time to make it back to the common room before curfew." He turned to look at Draven. "Man I don't know what I would do without this bird. He has saved me from being late at least twice now!" The two Gryffindors made their way to their common room. Just before they reached the fat lady, Harry pulled Hermione to a stop.

"Listen, I don't want this to get out, especially before I get to deal with this. I especially don't want to talk to Ron about it. You know how he is about Snape. This will make him go bonkers and I won't be able to deal with the situation and him. I'll tell him, just not until I can deal with this fully." Harry watched her eyes for any sign of turmoil. There was none.

"Of course, Harry. I know how private of a man Professor Snape is, and I know how Ron can be about him. You'll tell him as soon as you're ready. You can trust me." She reached for his hand, gave it a squeeze and looked him square in the eyes. With that, the two made their way into the portrait hole and to their respective dorms.

While the two friends left the library, a very large, black owl took it upon himself to grab a forgotten parchment and took flight down to the dungeons, slipping into a recently open door. He flew to a familiar desk and gently laid said parchment onto the top of the others that were sitting there. Since the door was closed again, he made his perch on the back of a black wing-backed chair in front of a warm fireplace until morning.