A/N: Thanks to my reviewers!
kateydidnt- I admit, I hated that too when I first read a Severitus
Challengefic. But then I thought about it. If Harry was charmed or whatever
to look like James, to be a mirror image of James, then it would
be true to think that his hair couldn't grow. The last time he had
his hair cut, according to the books, was when his Aunt Petunia did it
and left the fringe of bangs to cover his scar. And he made it grow back
overnight. Other than that, his hair hasn't changed one bit. So, if the
charms or whatever were wearing thin, or wore off completely, wouldn't
it be correct to think that Harry's hair, which was a mirror of James',
would grow too? At an alarming rate? I know that if I didn't cut my hair
for however many years, that it would be extremely long, not the exact
same as it is now. That is why I continued the tradition of having
his hair grow like that. I figure that if he wants his hair cut after he's
returned to his true look, then it would stay cut. But I will continue
to have his hair grow to the length I would expect it to be for the...
what? Eight years since his last cut? Then he can cut it if he wishes,
which he probably will. Hell, I don't blame him. I'd cut mine too. Anyway,
that is my reasoning for the growth spurt to his hair. : )
MerlinHalliwell- Read on and you shall see.
Potter Reader- You read my notes, didn't you! *points an accusing
finger* Of course, will Harry be the one to let him in on the little secret?
We shall see.
lara28- Thank you. Here's the next chapter.
selua- Thanks.
Wicked Kiwi- Thank you. I'm honored you feel that way. I'll
try my best to keep things on an original and believable scale. Within
the limits of the challenge, of course!
melilee- Thanks a lot! I'm trying to keep them as canon as I
can, though there will have to be deviations from it, of course, based
on the plot and all.
allison lightning- I really appreciate that. I've tried to keep
OOtP in mind, tho I'll admit that I've only read it once. My sister has
it and hasn't finished yet.
ress- Bad Voldie! Bad bad bad! *smacks Voldie's hand* He needs
to stop that. Read on to see how Snape finds out.
Charma1219- I'm sorry. Yes, I feel for Harry too. But I need
to torture our young hero so that he can be better prepared to face what
he has to face.
ResQgal- Thanks! We shall see if he can overcome this weakness
he has. I hope he will. We don't want Voldie to be able to figure things
out, now, do we?
Garner- Here it is! Honest!
these' are thoughts
**this** is parseltongue
*~*~*~*~*~*~ is a new perspective or scene
Chapter Seven: Snape's Bane
Last time, in Chapter Six:
When Hermione arrived back in the common room, Snape had already round on Dumbledore.
"What the hell was that, Albus?" he hissed.
"I am afraid I cannot answer that, Severus. But maybe you can."
"How am I supposed to know? WHAT am I supposed to know?"
The other three adults shared a look that Snape did not like before McGonagall stepped forward.
"Severus, there are things you need to know."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Oh?" he asked in his silky voice. "And what, pray tell, could that be?"
The Gryffindor Head of House cast a nervous glance at Remus. This, in itself, was odd to Severus.
'What could be so bloody important that she's acting like this? Where is the famed Gryffindor bravery? What the hell is going on here?'
Then his eyes fell on the Pensieve still sitting where Harry had left it. But it didn't look like Albus'. He was intimately acquainted with the Headmaster's Pensieve after last term. And that definitely wasn't it. The werewolf was standing near it, almost sheltering it. But when he saw where Snape's attention was, he gestured him over to it.
'What is going on here?' Severus wondered silently as he prodded the silvery substance inside the bowl with his wand. Then he fell into the memories. Memories of Sirius Black or James Potter. He couldn't be sure as both men were in them. But he listened to the conversation he heard, his ears pricking with curiosity even as his eyes narrowed at the insult. Sirius was speaking.
This is Snivellus' kid we're talking about! What if he turns out just like his father?"
'What the hell? I don't have a bloody kid!' Snape shuddered. The thought of him as a father was almost as terrifying to him as the thought of Voldemort having kids was.
"Padfoot." Just that one word from James in that tone was sufficient warning for Sirius. "We've been through this already. Snape, while I agree that he is a detestable git, is on our side. He risks his life daily knowing that Voldemort could find him out. And still he does it."
Severus didn't want to listen anymore. But morbid fascination kept him here. Here in the memory of one of his most detested enemies. It didn't matter if it was Black's or Potter's memory, he still hated the man.
"So? We risk our lives daily, too! We fight with the Order. We knew the risks going in. Snape did too, when he turned against Voldemort. That is no excuse to abandon Lily like he has."
"That's just it. Lily doesn't know he abandoned her. She doesn't remember that she told me just last week how she wanted to marry him. Don't you see? She doesn't remember!"
"So Snape Obliviated her? But why, Prongs? Why do something like that when it can only hurt in the end? What about when Lily realizes that her child isn't yours? What happens then, my friend?"
Yes, Severus remembered that day all to clearly. Lily had wanted to get married. She told him so after they spent hours together, after they had been sated. When his defenses were at their lowest. But he had felt himself go cold inside, knowing what he had to do, and hating it. Hating that this would be it for them. That this would be the last time they were together. He told her... he shook his head. He didn't want to remember what he told her. But he couldn't forget. The words were indelibly etched in his memory.
*~Flashback~* (Yes, inside the Pensieve. He wasn't paying much attention, anyway.)
Lily lay beside him, curled into his embrace. She was talking about marriage, family, a place to call home. And all he could think about was leaving her. Having to. Needing to keep her safe. Safe from him, safe from the Dark Lord.
"Lily." he had said. That one word conveyed so much meaning. So much heartache and loss. So much pain. She looked up into his obsidian eyes, and her own emerald eyes filled with tears.
"No." she rasped. "NO!"
"Lily. I have to. You won't be safe unless I do. It's for your own protection. And for mine." He added the last almost as an afterthought. But it was calculated precisely. He knew that she would never want him put at risk. At least, not more than he already was. She knew what he was. What he did. What would happen if anyone found out. He sighed, kissed her, and raised his wand. "Obliviate!" He removed her memory. Her memory of wanting to be with him. Her memory of what they had just shared. He was thankful that they were in her flat, and not his own. Before the glazed look left her eyes, he was gone. Less than a month later, -three weeks and two days, to be precise- he had been informed that Lily Evans and James Potter were getting married. Then he found out she was pregnant, and he hated James Potter more than he ever had before. He had wondered, over the course of the years, if the babe she had carried and borne was his. For eleven years he wondered. Then Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, and he had his answer. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Lily had given his nemesis the one thing he had craved more than anything. A child. Her child. Their child. And he had felt his hatred for James boil over and spill onto Harry Potter, The-bloody-boy-who-lived. Incessantly. Five times now.
*~End Flashback~*
Severus came out of his reverie to find that the memory had shifted. He was now in a hospital room, watching Lily cuddle her new baby boy. Watched as James moved beside her to look on the face of his son.
"Lily..."
"James. He looks. I don't know. Not like you. Even as a newborn, he looks... almost like... Severus."
And Severus moved, needing to look at this child who looked like him. Who was born on July the thirty-first. To Lily Evans... no! Potter. Lily Potter. And gasped as he saw himself. Well, a mixture of himself and Lily. But there was no denying that this child was his. Briefly he wondered where this boy was.
Lily finally let James hold his son as she drifted off to sleep. Sirius nodded to James, and they moved to the farthest corner in the room. James transfigured a pillow into a bassinet and laid baby Harry in it. The Sirius coaxed a potion down the boy's throat as James whispered an incantation, along with performing a very complex wand movement.
Snape paled as he saw what he had been dreading since he first laid eyes on the child. Harry James Potter. It was unmistakable. This was the same boy who was laying upstairs right now, sleeping under influence of one of his potions. This was his son. His son. He was a father. He forced himself to lift out of the Pensieve and faced the room, the occupants of said room staring at him with varying levels of sympathy, compassion, and, in the case of the Headmaster, amused exasperation.
He cleared his throat slightly before shooting them all a withering glare and swept from the room, through the portrait hole, and down into his beloved dungeons.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He paced his chamber, his hands clenching and unclenching at his sides.
'This is not true. This is only a nightmare. There is no way that brat Potter is my son.' He barked out a harsh laugh at this. 'His idiot father would never take a child of mine and make it his. Not even for Lily would he do that. And James Potter would NEVER sacrifice his life for the son of his most hated peer, a Death Eater who couldn't even decide what side he was on. No, Harry Potter is NOT my child.' With that out of his system, he set about methodically brewing one of the most complicated potions he knew. A paternity potion.
A/N: I know it's short, but it felt like a good stopping point.
Besides, I'm so tired right now that I'm not sure if it even makes sense.
Please review and tell me if you liked it, hated it, or thought it was
completely non-sensical. I'll have the next chapter up within one to three
days.