AN: Alright! Here's the second chapter! My original Disclaimer still holds. :-D

Chapter 2 The letter and the Shock

Sighing, he opened the piece of paper and started to read:

Dear Rose,

I know you must be very confused at the moment. I am sorry that everything has had to happen like this and that I and James are probably dead. We decided to write this letter and give it to your foster parents to give to you when you were in wizardry school or have it sent to you if something happened to them. I pray it is not the latter.

There are many things you may need to know. First is about your foster parents. We met them when they were on vacation. They found out about me, and I decided to ask their help, rather than wipe their memories. I knew Voldemort was after me and James, and was scared he would kill you. So I asked your foster mother if she would carry you and raise you as her own. She agreed and I put a charm on you so you would look just like your foster parents. They would take care of you until Voldemort was destroyed or until something happened to them. I wanted to keep you dearly but I knew your father wouldn't be safe if Voldemort or anyone else found out.

You may wonder why I said your father and not James. That is the second thing you need to know. James isn't your father. Your father is Severus Snape and he is a Professor at Hogwarts. I was pregnant with you before I married James. I told James what I had done, and he understood. He married me and after your foster parents took you, I became pregnant with another child. It was a boy, and his name is Harry Potter...

At this Harry's head shot up and looked at Snape. Snape didn't look over at him; he was still staring into the fire, a strange look on his face. Shaking, Harry looked back down at the letter,

He is your stepbrother and he lives in Britain. I would like for you to find him if you haven't already. You will have to explain to him that you are related to him, as I doubt he has any idea. No one but James and I knew anything about you. You will also have to tell him that Severus Snape is his Stepfather. Severus doesn't know he's a father either. You will have to inform him of the fact and of the fact he has a Stepson. I don't know how he will take the knowledge but I hope he will take it with the grace I know he has.

You are probably wondering about the charm I mentioned earlier also. This can be taken off, but you will need to talk to Dumbledore about it. When it has been taken off, you will change in appearance and in mind. You will like different things and act differently. You don't have to take it off. It is up to you.

I want you to know I loved you dearly, and I never wanted to give you up. I did it only to protect you and I hope I can see you one day. I love you darling. Know that always.

Your loving mother,

Lily Potter

Harry stared at the letter for a moment, then looked over at Dumbledore who was studying him intently. Stunned, he handed the letter back to Rose, who was looking the opposite direction when she took it. She seemed embarrassed.

"What do you think Harry," Dumbledore asked him, eyes twinkling. He seemed to be enjoying the whole situation rather much.

Harry tried to speak but his throat had closed. All that came out was a semi-squeak sound. Dumbledore put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.

"I know this is a shock. I have to go, but I need you to help Rose. I already sent an owl to the Ministry of Magic and you're allowed to help her learn everything she needs. They don't learn magic until they're out of high school in America, so I need you to get her up to your grade level of magic. Hermione, Ron, and the others may help you. Now I really must leave you all," Dumbledore stood up and gave Harry's shoulder a squeeze but turning and starting to walk out of the kitchen. He stopped at next to Snape and leaned down. He whispered something in his ear, smiled, and walked out of the room.

Harry just sat there for a moment, confused. 'This is not happening to me! I cannot be related to Snape. He hates me and I hate him. I just want Sirius back...' he thought, shaking his head. Sighing, he stood up and smiled down at Rose. She looked up at him for the first time since he had walked in the room. She smiled hesitantly back up at him.

"Come and let me introduce you to my friends. You saw them earlier," he said, explaining.

Rose smiled up at him with her blue eyes, "Okay..." she said quietly as she stood. She followed him out of the door, but as she past Snape she put a hand on his shoulder gently, and pulled it back as he tensed. Sighing, she walked out of the room next to Harry.

"Are you going to take the charm off or are you going to keep it?" He asked her, looking sideways at her. She was staring at the ground, and she still looked beat up.

"I'm going to take it off. It is going to come off tonight, at Midnight. Dumbledore and I already worked it out." She muttered, shrugging. "I want to know what I really look like, not what I was forced to look like."

Harry smiled at her. "I would have done the same thing..." he said, then he stopped her before they got to the group. "Do you want them to know we're related or not? I'll keep it a secret if you want."

Rose smiled up at him, for he was a good couple of inches taller than her. "Tell them if you want. I don't want to keep secrets." She shrugged her shoulders again, and they walked up to the group.

The moment they walked up, Ginny and Hermione pounced on Rose, dragging her upstairs to clean her cuts. The twins and Ron bombarded Harry with questions until he was forced to yell at them to stop.

"Hold on and I'll tell you!" he yelled at them.

The trio stopped and waited for him to continue. Harry took a deep breath and explained the letter and everything. When he was finished, they were just staring at him.

"Snape the git, is your Step dad?" Ron asked finally, eyes wide.

"Uh...yea pretty much," Harry said, shrugging. He was pretending to be okay with it all, but he wasn't.

Ron started to say something, but was interrupted by Snape himself.

"Harry, may I talk to you a moment?" Snape came over and asked. Harry muttered a 'Yea' and they walked away from the rest.

"Harry, I'm not sure how to say this," Snape started, taking a breath before continuing, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you in the past. I had no idea that you were my...son...and I just wanted to apologize." Snape said it all fairly quickly, as if it would make it easier. Harry just stared at him for a moment, stunned. 'Snape apologized to me. That's a bloody miracle!' Harry thought, then grinned up at Snape.

"Its okay I guess...I'm sorry too. I haven't been the easiest to get along with," he said, looking down at the ground while he talked. "Maybe we should just start over?" He asked, looking up at Snape again.

Snape smiled, actually smiled, down at him. "Okay, I can live with that I guess." He took one last look at Harry, then swept away to the door, his cold mask back on.

Harry called after him, "Wait. Don't you want to see how your daughter is?"

Snape froze, then slowly turned to look at Harry. "I will. I'll be back tomorrow to see her." He glared at Harry, then quickly left, hoping to avoid any other surprises for the day.

Harry grinned, and walked back over to the group. They talked for a while longer, then realized how late it was. The twins grinned at them, then apparated back to their new apartment. Harry and Ron walked up the stairs to their room. Harry started in, and then told Ron he would be back in a second. Walking down the hall, he knocked on the door of the room Rose was staying in. He had talked to Hermione on the way to his room and found out she'd be okay, she only got a little beat up and shook up emotionally.

"Rose? Can I come in?"

The girl inside sighed, but called out, "Yea, sure. Come in Harry."

Harry pushed the door open slightly, and stood in the doorway, unsure. He couldn't see Rose's face, as it was in her hands. She was sitting cross-legged on her bed, head in hands. He walked in slowly, and shut the door behind him. Still walking slowly, he sat down on the bed beside her.

"Are you okay? I know this has been a hard day for you and everything..." He stopped talking as Rose lifted her head. Her face was streaked with tears and he noticed now that she was shaking. As she looked at him, there was something in her eyes he could not explain, and then he realized it. He had a look just like that after Sirius died, and he looked in a mirror.

"I'm not okay. I just found out my entire life was a lie, and that I'm stuck in a world I know nothing about. Would you be okay?" She said angrily, turning her head away as more tears fell. Harry looked at her pitifully, "No, I wouldn't be okay. But there's nothing you can do now. Don't worry. We'll all help you out, and everything will be okay. And your life wasn't a lie." He said, putting a hand on her back then standing up. "I'll see you in the morning. I can't wait to see how you'll look. Take it easy tonight; everything will turn out fine. It always does." He walked over to the door and pulled it open. Turning, he took one last look at the girl who was sobbing on her bed, then started to shut the door. Just before the door closed, Rose called out to him, "Thank you Harry. Thank you..."

Smiling gently, he closed the door and walked back to the room he shared with Ron. He ignored Ron's questions as he lay on the bed and closed his eyes, hoping that he would not be proved wrong in the end.

Back in Rose's room, the girl had finally stopped crying and was now curled at the head of the bed. She had her eyes open, scared of the nightmares she knew would come. Looking over at the clock, she saw it was 11:23. In less than an hour, she would be a completely different person. How was she supposed to sleep knowing that? Yet, exhaustion took its toll on her in a matter of minutes.

When she awoke the next morning, she opened her eyes and wondered where she was. She sat up suddenly, and rubbed her eyes. Everything that had happened yesterday in a matter of hours hit her hard and she stood up. She ran over to the mirror in her room, and, looking in it, gasped.
AN: Woohoo, a cliffhanger! Don't 'cha hate me sometimes? I hope a lot of thing was cleared up in this chapter and the return of Snape is in the next one! Hope you enjoyed and please R&R! I would love it all, criticism included.