Disclaimer: I own none of these characters, I don't even own the story line. This is a response to Severitus' challenge. And I want you to know that I am not being paid to do this.

A/N: Well I loved to read these challenge ones, so I decided, what the heck let's do it.

Chapter 7----Up On The Downside



Snape put down his briefcase on the floor of his new office, just up the stairs from his classroom. His immediate attention was the windows of the far corner. Walking at a casual pace so not to look (as you can never know who's watching you) as if he were excited about the prospect of having windows he went up to them, and leaned on the ledge.

It was just a couple of weeks from Halloween and the cold was just about to settle in the school grounds. Rubbing his arms he lit the fire, and continued to look outside. Smoke was coming from Hagrids cabin and he saw a boy walk very fast to it. It was Harry. He must have been released from the hospital wing when Snape was away dealing with the Dursleys.

The speed and the emotion that Harry was walking reminded Snape of himself. Tightly closing his eyes he looked away from his son. But realised that he could not keep them away for long. He had to resist a massive urge to go down there and speak to Harry, he was hurt almost that Harry would rather speak to that big oaf, then sort some of this mess out with Snape. But then it occurred to Snape that this was his own entire fault.

But the hurt feeling was there and then he realised that it all ways had been. Harry all ways being known as the son of James. Then again, there was no reason to suspect that James had never been the father of Harry. But then Snape wondered what Harry was going to talk to Hagrid about, surely the giant would want to talk about the expulsion that many people thought that was going to happen. But Snape never knew the Half giant that well at all. Maybe he wouldn't.



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"I know that you an' Professor Snape never got along Harry…"

I don't want to talk about it."

"I know that, yer a good kid, I just can' see you doin' somethin' like that. Yer gonna have to explain yerself ter Dumbledore" Hagrid said in a friendly voice, which Harry thought was a bit controversial.

Harry shook his head, "He already knows //why// I did it."

"Then why did you?"

"I thought I said that I didn't want to talk about it."

Hagrid nodded his shaggy head, and said nothing.

Harry lifted his legs up and rested his head up. Still he didn't understand. Couldn't understand. Didn't understand why drinking too much would make you do so much. Didn't understand why people //allowed// themselves to drink that much. Everything now was so different, yet to every one else it was all the same, save the fact that they feared for Harry's sanity.

Looking into Hagrid black friendly eyes only made it worse. He wanted to tell him

but knew he couldn't even bring himself to. He felt as though he was dealing with all this alone. He was the ugly duckling, just waiting to turn into a swan. The unloved orphan boy. No one loved him, like a son. He doubted even his real father did.

It wasn't until Hagrid asked if he was all right did Harry realise he had suddenly burst into tears. Crying in front of Hagrid wasn't what he had planned. But now as the tears came he found that he couldn't get them to stop. It was as if the tears were freeing him of this pain he had to bear with. Harry tried to get enough air to speak, but found that he couldn't. There was some block that disallowed him to tell Hagrid the truth. As if no one was to know. But Hermione was suspecting something, maybe she was noticing. A few weeks ago, he would have loved that but now…now…now he knew //why// this was happening her finding out… he couldn't put the pain and shame into words, even think them.



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Snape, walked out of the main doors of the school, and hovered for a while. Wondering what the hell he was going to do. Slowly he walked forward to the door of Hagrids cabin. Just a couple of meters away from it he stopped.

All he wanted to do was speak to Harry, to hold his son, tell him everything was going to be all right, they were going to sort this out and how no force on earth was letting Snape, allowing Harry to return to those muggles. Nothing. Harry was //not// going back there.

Taking in a deep calming breath he took a few more steps forward so that he was right at the door. He raised his hand to politely knock on the door, when something made him stop.

Crying, Harry was crying. Snape had inflicted that pain on his son. Every thing was so confusing. To cause that much pain to make //Harry// cry like that. It tore Snapes heart open so much he almost couldn't live any more. To cause so much pain on Harry. Maybe it was best…maybe he shouldn't live anymore. After all he didn't really deserve this life.

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"Hermione, I have absolutely no idea what you're on about." Ron asked his friend, the common room was empty, harry had got an early night because he was starting classes tomorrow. Pouring over a book, was not what Ron wanted to do in the early hours of the morning. "Please, Hermione, just let me go to bed."

"No," she ordered. "We're going to figure this out. I don't believe that you can't see it, then again, not very many people can."

"See what?" Ron asked her, getting agitated by lack of sleep for the past fortnight because he was worrying about Harry. "Look, Hermione, Harry is… oh I dunno, what do you think is up?"

She lent forward, as she was afraid of eavesdroppers. "Harry comes storming out of Snapes' office, when Snape was being you know, nice that period. Then he spends a week in bed, not speaking to any one. Then he burns down Snapes office, and Snape goes to see him, and allows //us// to miss class to visit him. Now Snape doesn't care that his office is a charcoal mess, and he's fighting against Harry's expulsion."

"Whoa." Ron said. "Something is definitely up. I mean the other day he asked me if alcohol could make you loose control of yourself, he seemed horrified at the thought of it."

Hermione nodded pensively. "Hmm, yes." She murmured into her hand, then spoke to Ron again. "Harry's appearance is changing, not naturally, like something's happening to him, that shouldn't be. Also, when Harry awoke, he was speaking to Lupin, he seemed very heated about something. Then when Lupin was about to leave he saw us and he said, when we told him what Snape had let us do. 'There you go, maybe he's not such a Darth Vader after all.'"

"What's that got to do with anything. They were talking about a stupid muggle film."

"Yes but Darth Vader ended up being the main character's father, Luke Skywalker."

Ron sighed. "I have no idea what the hell your on about…oh…my…god." He laughed manic like. "No…way."

"Yes way."

Ron rubbed to lower part of he face. "I think I know where you are, but you…can you just say it to get it into my brain, jumpstart the system."

"I think Snape's Harry's true father.