Who Are You To Me?

Chapter Nine

Severus and Harry finished loading Harry's belongings into the boot of the car, and climbed in. Severus turned to Harry, and raised an eyebrow.

"Sam Naples?" He watched his son's cheeks flush red.

"She cornered me!" Harry tried to protest, worried that he'd made his father unhappy, but was surprised to hear Severus laugh. He'd never heard that before. He had to join in; the situation had been ridiculous in there.

"Well, at least you can think on your feet." Was that...pride Harry could hear?

"I didn't exactly have a choice. I wasn't about to tell her I was meeting Severus Snape in disguise could I? She would have never even let me near you!" Harry watched his father laugh again, before turning back to the steering wheel.

Severus was suddenly serious. "How did your friends take it?"

"Well, they were both shocked. Ron also seemed quite angry, but Hermione..." Harry paused. "She was...strangely worried. She said something to me about it being a trap. It isn't like her to be like that."

"Gra..." Severus stopped at the look on Harry's face. "Sorry, Hermione. She seems to be very protective of you." Severus sighed, and continued. "She has every right to be cynical, I suppose. After the way I've treated you all over the past few years."

Harry was quiet. He didn't really know what to say. What does one say to something like that?

Severus looked over to his teenage son, wanting to say so much more. He found that he couldn't quite find the words yet.

"The lights are green, Severus." Another driver confirmed this by hitting his horn. The car sped away from the junction, and Harry was grinning.

The drive to Severus' house wasn't an overly long one as he lived just on the outskirts of London. When they arrived, Severus finally removed the glamour charm. He shrunk Harry's luggage, and took him inside the house.

Harry looked around the entrance hall. The house was about four times as big as the Dursley residence. He turned to his father. "It's wonderful."

Severus smiled again, and took Harry upstairs. "My room is here," He pointed to a door. "Your room is next to your bathroom, just down here." They approached a door, and Severus followed Harry in.

Harry was awestruck. His room was huge. It was a medium blue colour, with a large bed in the middle of one wall. On the wall to the left, there was a desk with a computer on it, and opposite the bed, a cabinet with a TV, VCR, DVD player, and a stereo. There was also a bookcase, a wardrobe, and a chest of drawers. Harry slowly took this all in and then turned to Severus.

"Is this all for me?"

Severus looked at him. Surely the boy didn't need to ask. "Of course it is. It wouldn't be in here if it wasn't." He got a shock when Harry threw his arms around him, and whispered a thank you. Severus didn't know what he should do, so he patted Harry's back awkwardly.

Harry looked embarrassed when his stomach grumbled loudly. He looked at Severus, who, again, was smiling, and who looked like he was trying to hold in laughter. Harry was feeling slightly freaked out at all the smiling his father was doing.

Severus quickly prepared dinner, with Harry watching him all the while. When dinner was almost ready, Severus turned to Harry.

"Can you go into the dining room, and lay two places?"

Harry walked to the room he had been shown earlier, and laid the two places. He turned just in time to see Severus carry two steaming plates into the room. They seated themselves, and began to eat.

"Harry? Is anything wrong? You're very quiet."

"I guess..." Harry sighed, "It's a bit weird, being here, and seeing you smile. I mean, I'm very grateful, and I know you've had to pretend before, but..."

Severus stopped him. "Harry. I understand that it will be a little unusual for a while. And I'm sorry if I ever made you feel bad, I know I've done it many a time. But do you remember what I said to you a few weeks ago? I told you that I have always loved you. I've hated having to lie to you, to pretend to be an unbearable man. I can be harsh, but it's the way I am with most people. When You-Know-Who is gone, then I will be able to stop pretending." Noticing that Harry had gone a whitish colour, he stopped. "Harry?"

Harry looked at his father, scared to ask the question he wanted to ask, scared of having to explain. "Do you know about the prophecy?"

"What prophecy?" Severus looked confused.

"The prophecy that Voldemort," Severus flinched slightly, "desperately wanted, that day in the Ministry, the one about me."

"No. Can you tell me about it?"

Harry agreed to tell Severus after dinner. The finished their meal in silence, and took the plates to the kitchen before entering the living room. Harry took a deep breath, and began to speak.

"There was a prophecy made about me, saying only I have the power to get rid of him for ever. The last bit said that one of us has to kill the other to live. I apparently have power that he doesn't know about. But I will be either a murderer or a victim when it comes down to it." He looked at his father, who seemed to have turned even paler than usual.

Severus knew that Harry had a weight on his shoulders, and that people had been saying he would be the one to kill Voldemort, but to have it confirmed? That his son couldn't live his life to the full unless that madman was gone? It was crazy.

"Well then," Severus finally spoke. "We'd better make a start on training you in further magic. No son of mine is going to lose in a battle with Voldemort." Severus knew he sounded too blasé about it all, but what good would come of acting scared?

They talked for another hour or so, before Harry decided he'd better go and shower and go to bed. He'd gotten into the habit, whilst at the Dursley's, of going to bed at about 9pm, mainly to get out of the way. Severus said goodnight, then sat back down with a drink and thought about what he could teach Harry.

Meanwhile, Harry was upstairs writing a quick note to Ron and Hermione.

Hi you two!

Hope you are both well, I am enjoying my first evening here, we haven't done a lot. I was shown my room (it's huge by the way) then we had dinner and chatted. I'm just on my way to have a shower and go to bed. I would love it if you could come and visit sometime, I will ask about it if you want to.

Well, I'd better be off, but I hope you reply soon!

Love, Harry.

Casting the glamour charm on Hedwig, he sent her off, and had his shower. When he was wrapped up in the sheets of his huge bed, he smiled, and thought about all the cool new spells and magic he was going to learn.

A/N – Thanks very much to all who reviewed the previous chapter:

HecateDeMort, leggylover03, separatriX, ShadowedHand, Sarahamanda (twice!) Anna Taure, Anarane Anwamane, Immortal Tears of, and thanks to Potions and Snitches – who put the story on their website! Thank you!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!