Disclaimer: I don't own the book characters or plot line, however I DO own the plot line of this fanfiction along with my own made up character, Hailey.

A/N: This is a response to Nagini's Challenge #5, and this is going to be a slash story, it happens to be more fun to write in my opinion then the mundane Harry/Ginny & Herm/Ron stuff. (But I do have stories like that too.) Couples are as follows (If any of this bothers you I suggest looking for another story): Harry/Sev, Herm/Seamus, Ron/Lav, Nev/Ginny, Dean/Colin, Parvati/Lisa Turpin, Sirius/Remus, Hailey/George, Fred/Katie

Harsh Realities



Voldemort's Reaction



Harry spent the rest of the day looking at the memories his parents had stored in the pensieve for him. Memories of Sirius and Remus laughing and looking the same age as he was now, happily in love and acting it. The memory of their own wedding, his and Hailey's birth. He was shocked to see that his sister had the opposite features he did, red hair and blue eyes; until he remembered that really, he had Tom Riddle's features, not James Potter's. Surprisingly, Riddle looked like James Potter to a point, and Harry really could pass off as a Potter.

It was while he watched his mum one night as she was watching James and himself that he truly realized what they meant in that letter. James whispered just loud enough for Lily to hear, "I don't care if you don't have my blood Harry, you're my little boy, my son, and I love you."

Harry came out of that pensieve realizing just how much both his parents truly loved him, not to mention how much Remus and Sirius truly loved one another and him. After coming out of the pensieve, he wrote another letter this time to both Sirius and Remus.

"Moony and Padfoot, I know I just sent you another letter Padfoot, but I'd like you both to come to Hogwarts if you're not busy. Mum and Dad left me a pensieve full of memories that I've been looking through all day. I think that if you'd like to, you both have as much right to look in it as I do. That and there's someone I'd like you to meet. Well, and something I'd like to talk to Padfoot about with Moony available to restrain him from loosing his temper. Please stop by soon, owl when you can come.

Love and miss you both, Harry"

Harry called a house-elf who took it to one of the school owls to take to them. Then Harry left through the hidden corridor, taking his invisibility cloak with him just in case, and went to wait for Severus to come back. Harry smirked to himself and sat on Severus's bed, slightly laid back in the single most provocative manner he could find and waited.

Harry didn't have to wait long, Severus was in the room shortly after he got there, looking thoroughly exhausted and worried. Harry smiled up at him as he walked in, making Severus slightly jump, but then smile back at him and say, "Well, had I known I wouldn't have taken my time getting back here."

Harry just smiled and rushed over to hug him and then asked, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Severus nodded, "He wants me to talk to you on his behalf, offering you as his Heir, the place of his right hand man. He's offered to turn Pettigrew over to you to take to the Ministry to clear your godfather's name as a peace offering between the two of you. I'm supposed to convince you tactfully mentioning all the lies that Albus has been keeping from you regarding your own life."

Harry sighed and said, "Well, it would be nice to have Pettigrew out of the way, and for Sirius's name to be cleared. Was that all he offered?"

Severus shook his head, "He'll leave any of your friends alone, regardless of their blood, unless they stand against him or in his way. He also said that he won't mark you, as you're his son, not his servant."

Harry just snuggled deeper into Severus's chest and didn't respond. Severus pulled him towards the bed, where they simply laid down and cuddled with one another. Severus eventually asked, "Did you look in the pensieve from your parents?"

Harry smiled and said, "Yes, and I'd love to show it to you sometime. I've asked Sirius and Remus to come take a look in it if they like. My Mum put almost every happy memory she possessed in it for me. It was nice to see Sirius and Remus smiling, not to mention Mum and Dad. Although it is quite unnerving to watch yourself do something. I got to see my sister though, she looks like Mum, but she's got Dad's crystal blue eyes. Mum had a hell of a time letting her go, but they wrapped her up in her own invisibility cloak, put her inside an infant carrier and gave her to Linda and Garrett."

Severus smiled and said, "Well I'm glad you at least got to see your parents happy, they truly were happy you know. I used to hope for something like what they had."

Harry gently kissed Severus's cheek and said, "And you're still young enough to find it, so stop talking like that Sev. You never know, maybe you and I'll have that someday."

Albus and Harry talked later that day, and agreed that Harry would accept the peace offering, but that no one outside of the three of them would ever know it. The next day Severus would take Harry with him to meet with Lord Voldemort. Albus gave Harry several portkeys that were activated by simply saying, "Hogwarts" that would bring him directly to Albus's office should he and Severus run into any trouble at all.

Albus assured Harry that when he returned, he would be taught how to apparate. For the mean time however, Albus put a ring on Harry's pinky finger that allowed him to perform any kind of magic he may or may not need to do to get home safely. Shortly before Harry went to bed, a response arrived from Sirius and Remus.

"Harry, Someone you want us to meet, ey? Who's the lucky girl? Or is it a boy? I see the cat's out of the bag on Remus and I. Harry I haven't told you before now because there have been so many problems fixing our relationship and getting it back to the way it once was. But we're slowly getting there. We'd both love to see whatever you want us to in the pensieve. We'll be by sometime next week, we miss you too. Love, Padfoot & Moony"