Lana
No one seemed to recognize him that day; however, as he took the place their beloved Harry Potter usually sat, his classmates slowly got the picture. Before dinner, the school was buzzing about his new look; he had been approached multiple times and asked why he looked the way he did. He just smiled and shook his head, telling them they'd find out along with the rest of the school.
Dinner finally came, and Harry was approached by Professor McGonagall before he left the Gryffindor common room. She instructed him to follow her, and she led him to the dungeons, where Severus' office was. Harry could just see the inside of the office, where Dumbledore and Severus were standing impatiently.
"So sorry, Headmaster, it took me a while to find him." Professor McGonagall opened the door just as Severus and Dumbledore were standing up.
"That's quite all right, Minerva. Shall we, Harry?" Dumbledore led the way as the three followed him to the Great Hall, where the rest of the school's population was. Harry followed the three up to the Head Table, but stood behind Dumbledore and Severus when they took their seats. Dumbledore waited for a moment, then stood up to get the students' attention.
"Good evening, students, and what a lovely evening it is." The ceiling of the Great Hall was slowly turning orange and pink and reflecting against the cumulus and stratus clouds the sky was proudly showing off.
The volume suddenly turned down from a loud roar
to a soft murmur among the curious students. Almost everyone's head turned
towards the High Table, waiting for Dumbledore's speech.
"I'm sure some of you have noticed a certain student
of ours different appearance, and I'm also sure some of you have been curious
as to how and why." Dumbledore observed most of the Gryffindor table nodding.
"My great-great-great-great-grandson, Harry Potter, has come across some
his family history he didn't know of as of earlier this month. I'm sure
almost all of you are familiar with the Potters' story and the first downfall
of Lord Voldemort. I will not go in to detail of the story, but it has
come to my, Harry's, and Professor Snape's attention that not only was
James Potter not Harry's father, but Professor Snape in fact is."
The roar of volume returned as the Great Hall reacted to this news. Harry Potter, the one who had defeated the Dark Lord and escaped him three more times, was in fact their most hated teacher's son? For most, it came as a shock, but to Ron, Hermione, and Draco, it was old news. The three watched as the rest of the school reacted, Ron trying not to laugh at his brothers' disbelief.
"Harry Potter is Snape's son?" Fred bellowed, "Impossible!"
"How can that Death Eater be related to him? His mother must have been under the Imperious Curse." George snickered, "Poor Harry."
"He seems to be taking it fairly well." Ron noticed,
looking up between Snape and Dumbledore to where Harry was standing, arms
crossed and eyes downcast.
"Ah, so is that him?" Fred commented, "He looks
different."
"Dumbledore'll get to that." Hermione said, taking a bite of her steak.
As if on cue, Dumbledore silenced the hall and continued; "Before any of you start to think my granddaughter had an affair, they were legally married." He shook his head, "If I hear of any of you taking this news poorly and taking it out on either Professor Snape or Harry, you shall be dealt with accordingly. As some of you may have noticed, Harry – " he turned towards him and waved him forward, " – has a new look. His mother ended up cursing him to look exactly like James Potter, in fear of Harry's safety. However, the curse has been reversed, and Harry is now looking as he would have had it not been for his mother's curse."
The Hall's reaction was exactly as Harry had imagined it; the outburst was deafening as students stood up to get a better look at him. His own table, Gryffindor, was divided; those who had seem Harry earlier stayed in their seats while the rest of the table stood up with everyone else, blocking Ron and Hermione's view of him.
"I feel bad for him," Hermione said quietly, "People are going to be asking him questions for the rest of the year now."
"All he has to do is tell them he doesn't want to talk about it." Ron answered, "It's not like he has to."
"He definitely looks different." George said, after sitting back down to face the two. "He's taller."
"Taller than me, in fact." Ron said grimly. "Why's his hair longer?"
Hermione shrugged, "Like Dumbledore said, he looks as he would have if he hadn't been cursed; Maybe he would have grown his hair out a bit? It looks good on him."
"Yeah, it does." Ginny squeaked, sitting back down next to Hermione. "He's really cute now."
Harry was in deed better looking; He was taller and had lost the little boy look he possessed for nearly fifteen years. He no longer needed his glasses, as poor vision was a trait James had possessed, not Severus or Lily. His eyes were still as green as they had ever been, but his cheekbones were higher, more defined. His scar, no longer hidden behind a mass of bangs, shot across his lower forehead. He was lankier, but his cheeks were still as full as they had ever been. He had his mother's button nose, not Severus' crooked nose, much to Hermione and Ginny's satisfaction. His hair was still as black as ever, but was now about a half an inch below his ears, straight and neat. His face was still slightly round, thanks to his mother's genes. It didn't have the arch in it that made Severus as evil looking as he was. They also noticed a change in Severus' appearance; he wasn't nearly as lifeless as he had been before. His hair was now clean and shiny, touching his shoulders slightly. His eyes weren't downcast as they usually were, but alive and observant to everyone's reaction to Harry. He looked happier, almost, which made the shallowness in his face less noticeable. He wore a half-smile on his face, making him seems almost friendly.
Dumbledore waited for silence once more, finishing his announcement. "Also, Harry Potter is no longer a Potter; he has requested a change of name, due to the fact he has no relation to James Potter. He is now Harry J. Evans Snape. It will take some getting used to, yes, but I trust you all to accept it. He is still the same person some of you have known for five years, in spite of appearances and name changes. Do not treat him any differently, or like I stated before, you will be dealt with accordingly."
He nodded towards Harry to take his place among the
students. He felt hundreds of pairs of eyes follow him closely as he made
his way down to the Gryffindor table to take his place between Ron and
Hermione. Slowly, people started talking amongst themselves once more,
but once in a while they glanced over towards him, anxious to ask him why.