The man turned pale, his involuntary black pupils widening, letting his surprise be seen. "What?"

"Severus Tobias Snape is my biological Father. That is, you. Isn't it?"

The Professor shot up out of the chair, his face now bright red. "You lie!"

"What reason do I have?" Lucy questioned, standing her ground.

Snape couldn't answer that, as he continued in outrage, "I would NEVER take advantage of Lily-!" he couldn't finish.

"Well, WHO ever said you did?!" she accused, glaring at the Headmaster.

Albus Dumbledore held his hands up in surrender, this was just as much of a shock to him as it was Severus. He knew that Severus still had feelings for Lily, hence why he had agreed to be his spy during the war and was secretly looking out for young Harry. But, to have had a child at some point when they'd been close…

"Don't look at me Lucy. Your mother never shared with me who your father was. I thought it was James, young love and all that"

Both father and daughter rolled their eyes at the same time. "James Potter is my Stepfather, he gave me the "Potter" name so no one would question it when we were all together, to protect us. My full name is "Lucinda Prince" after my paternal grandmother, Eileen Prince before her marriage to your father whom I was told wasn't a nice man."

Somewhere deep down inside, Severus Snape almost wanted to believe this. That there actually was a living breathing part of him and Lily out there.

"If me and… your mother slept together, I'd like to think, I would have remembered it."

Lucy grimaced, "She didn't remember it either. You BOTH were victims of a Marauders' prank gone too far. James got you two intoxicated-!"

"WHAT?!"

"It's true, he confessed the whole thing two and a half years later when my existence was revealed. According to Mom's diary."

"Two and- that means… we were fifteen? said Snape in shock.

The girl nodded, "She found out I was yours through the paternity spell." "She would have told me, once she knew" "Mom tried, for seven months. Ending when you called her-"

"Please don't say it" he practically begged. Lucy complied, "She even tried again at graduation, the day you kicked the Marauders' ass."

"Language," both of the teachers said, though Professor Snape's was halfhearted.

Albus Dumbledore didn't want to believe what his old ears were hearing. Perhaps he shouldn't have given James and his friends such free range when they were at school. This went beyond a "harmless" prank they had gotten detention for. James' indiscretion actually led to a boy and girl having impaired judgement and getting pregnant. That was nearly as bad as Sirius' prank on Severus that almost got Remus Lupin exposed by either biting or killing the boy in question. What else had those boys done that he chose to dismiss as harmless? It seemed like he had made a lot of mistakes over the years, ones he was now paying for.

Lucy sighed "Look, we can do questions and denial for the next thirty minutes, 30 days. Or any other longer amount of time but, I'd rather not do that. So, how about one of us casts the paternity spell, answering the question once and for all. And we never have to have this conversation again. Unless you're scared?"

Scared? He certainly was! It would be too much to start to hope for, only to find it wasn't true. However, just looking into her familiar dark eyes, Severus found himself willing to take that chance… Quietly muttering the incantation, a warm golden beam of light shot out connecting them in a straight line to each other. It lasted about a minute and a half before fading away.

"It's true," said the Headmaster, his mouth hanging open in awe.

Professor Snape dropped to his knees overwhelmed, "You're mine" he started to weep, putting his head down as the tears began to fall. The teenager slowly wrapped her arms around and encased him in a hug.

"It's alright, you didn't know. I'm right here, I'm not going to disappear" she softly consoled him as she felt his arms grip her back fiercely then start stroking her soft dark wavy curls.

"Lucy…" he spoke her name for the first time,

"That's me" she smiled forgetting about Dumbledore and letting herself be in the moment. He had a daughter… I have a daughter… with Lily! Severus' thoughts of acceptance had finally caught up to his mind. She was real! And she was his!

"Thank you, Lily," he breathed, knowing he would be forever grateful for this gift in front of him….

...

Father and daughter remained together in that position for a while before Snape suddenly broke away.

"Where were you?" he asked, "Where were you that night? Because I came to the cottage instantly upon receiving news of the attack. I saw your brother, but not you?"

"I was in the nursery closet covered in debris too scared move until I saw people that I knew."

He squeezed his eyes shut in shame. Of course, she wouldn't have come out. He had been a stranger to her. There were a thousand things he wished; he could take back when it came to Lily. This just added to it. He had unknowingly placed his daughter in danger too when he relayed that damn prophecy. From the sounds of it, the Dark Lord hadn't known she was there? Lily had hidden her but not her son. Timing, he supposed had been the issue there. But then that brought up another question: If Lucy was sixteen-?

"Where have you been? Why didn't you start Hogwarts on time?" It would have been 5 extra years they could have been together sooner.

The girl shrugged, "Somebody had to raise Harry, protect him and make sure he turned out halfway decent. Petunia certainly wasn't going to do it; I wouldn't trust that woman to raise a window without breaking a nail and complaining. And when she does parent, it's disgusting. Just look at her own son. Don't get me started on Vernon… My childhood practically ended, the night Albus Dumbledore abandoned us on that doorstep. I stepped up and became sister and Mother to my baby brother."

"You should not have had to do that" said Snape, glaring over her shoulder at the Headmaster. They would be having words later. The old man at least had the decency not to argue his pathetic for the greater good reasons. The girl spun around, facing him too.

"As long as you continue to try and manipulate me into doing your will. You will never have my respect or trust, especially when it comes to my brother. I will be watching. See you later," she told her newly discovered father with another smile before leaving.

Albus Dumbledore gave a sharp exhale, putting his glasses down on the desk. This meeting had not gone at all the way he'd planned.

"I don't know where she gets it from."

"Her mother," replied Severus.

"Lily did not behave like that"

"Did you see only what you wanted to, Headmaster? Lily had a fiery temper on her when pushed to her limit. You were just never on the receiving end of it because she liked you. Even though her and Potter ended up together. I can personally guarantee he got burned a few times. Especially if he confessed to-!"

Snape broke off smiling at the image of Lily tearing into James Potter, hexes, physically and all. He may be too late to have his revenge but Lily had gotten hers. And he supposed that would have to be enough. Since he didn't want to agitate his daughter again by going after her brother. Things just got a lot more complicated…

...

Days passed and once again, Professor Snape found himself watching Lucy as she gently guided Neville Longbottom through the latest potions task. She seemed like a natural or at least had the potential to be but he could tell she was holding herself back. Was it Longbottom? Or Something else?

"Miss P-Potter" he spat out at the end of class.

The other younger Gryffindors looked at her worriedly, even her brother. The girl just gave a kind smile and assured them she would be fine. Lucy walked up to the front desk, her smile changing into a soft one as the door finally closed.

"Wow, exactly how hard was it for you to get that name out? You looked like you swallowed something sour."

"Well for me, it is. Especially since I now know your true name, Miss Prince" said the Professor, his eyes and expression softening slightly.

"You're not at all upset that she didn't use "Snape"?"

He slowly shook his head, "No, in fact. I am honored. Your grandmother was a wonderful woman, however short of time she was here."

"What is it you wanted to see me about?" the teen asked, wanting to distract him from more unpleasant memories.

Severus cleared his throat, "I think it's time we talked about your Potions Evaluation. Don't worry, I'll write you a pass for your next class. Professor Sprout won't mind. You seem to be doing quite well there. In most of your sixth-year lessons actually. As you are aware, you were assigned to the first-year potions to see where you were at. It has become apparent to me that the class has become too easy for you."

"My tutor had us working with potions bi-weekly since I was eleven."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "I often have seen you roll your eyes at the textbooks direction"

"It is true sir that in the past with Miss Aurora during a one on one, I've done some slight experimentation. Instead of just straight chopping the ingredients, I crushed and diced it"

The Professor nodded, trying hard not to crack at smile. Lucy truly was his daughter, not just in her studying habits but also her social skills? He had yet to see her made friends her own age here. But her brother's bird seemed to be constantly going and coming with letters at least twice a month? Maybe she was still in touch with that group she had mentioned in Dumbledore's office?

"Plus, both Harry and I weren't allowed to do better than our cousin Dudley in school. If we did, we got in trouble and paid the price for making their son "look" bad. Not that he needed help…" Lucy admitted, "Old habits die hard"

Snape sneered at that, how very like Petunia. Constantly jealous of Lily's beauty, smarts and abilities. Of course, she would treat her sister's children the same. Though he still privately thought her brother was a Dunderhead when it came to Potions. He did not have the gift, his sister did. He would love to watch and help her develop it.

"What are your plans for the future? What do you wish to be when you leave Hogwarts?"

"Free" she sighed, "But I know that won't happen until Harry graduates. If then, depending on Dumbledore's plan"

His eyes tightened, threating to squeeze shut at hearing the sorrowful tone in her voice.

"I'm not a soldier, at least in my heart. I won't have a choice if I'm drafted, same as Harry. If I could though, I'd want to be a Healer. Putting myself and others back together"

"You feel trapped?"

The girl nodded, "Ever since I was six, Albus Dumbledore doesn't care. He's like a selfish child in that way. He wants what he wants when he wants it. No matter who gets hurt, even his own family…"

Little did she know that the man in question was standing outside the door, preparing to knock. His hand had been raised in midair until he heard Lucy's words about him.

Selfish? That's how she saw him? Never he heard a student use that word to describe him.

He simply believed in "For the Greater Good." But so, did Grindelwald? He frowned at the thought of his ex-lover.

Were they really not so different after all? Did the ends justify the means?

According to her, they didn't.

And how and where did Lucy learn about his family history?

His talk with Severus could wait.

In the meantime, Albus would continue to give Lucy her space. He had done some serious damage to that girl from the sound of it. What had he done to Harry as well? They were both prisoners, weapons "safely" hidden away until Tom's return. Now that they were shone in a different light. For the first time, old man felt uncomfortable with his plans…

Hope you enjoyed and will review. I plan on publishing one more chapter before the Christmas holiday. I'll try to get it done this week. A big thank you to all those who have followed and favorited this story. To the mysterious guest who asked about why Lucy was in Snape's class with Harry, I hope this answered it.