Harry held his breath for about five minutes it seemed… Aunt petunia made her way slowly to the door, eyes on it as if it was the grim keeper about to take her away.
Harry was on the living room floor, so he had no view of what was going on, but after the slow creek of the door opening a sort of explosion erupted in the hall. "It's you!" Aunt Petunia screeched. Snape's low voice grumbled something Harry didn't quite catch… Why did Snape, the death eater, know the most non-magical person he knew, Aunt Petunia?
He looked down at the wooden letters of Perseus Evans on the grubby carpet, and he came to an abrupt conclusion:
He didn't know what the hell was going on.
He stood up from his spot; Dudley still drooling over the tele. Uncle Vernon, who by the sound of his booming voice had disappeared into the hall as well. Harry's breath grew quick in his chest, the voices of the three adults drumming in his ears. There was nothing to do but go to his room and pack. He grew unexpectedly apprehensive about leaving with his professor. He had not looked him in the eye since he had deducted points from Gryffindor, he was not keen on seeing him again. Even if Dumbledore had complete faith in him, he disliked his potions master like no one else. Not even Aunt Petunia. Ok… maybe Aunt Petunia…
He shook his head and rubbed his temples, trying to make the prickling of his scar subside. It's not like I'm going to live with him, he thought, he's just taking me from one place to another...
Mind made up, he eased himself around the corner, trying to figure out a way to get up the stairs unnoticed.
"Get out of here, why would you come now?"
"We've been taking care of him for fifteen years!"
His aunt and uncle were yelling into the opened door, the dark outline of Severus Snape was leaned against the frame. He was not responding. He just asked a simple question, "Where is he?"
"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO COME INSIDE OUR HOUSE AND DEMAND TO TAKE OUR NEPHEW AWAY FROM US!" Aunt Petunia's bird-like shriek echoed.
Snape appeared to be loosing what little patience he had. He hissed in his low, menacing voice, "You don't want him anyway, now just hand him over or..."
"Or what? You are in no position to threaten me!" Vernon Dursley puffed out his chest, in a surprisingly impressive way (especially since he had been threatened by a number of wizards only a week ago). But his shocking bravery was nothing to what he said next, "Snivelus!"
Snape's nose twitched, his eyes looked vindictive, "Am I?" He whipped out his wand and pointed it at Vernon's nose.
"Now… now… you d-don't need that… just… just come inside…" Vernon backed away suddenly. Snape stepped onto the carpet, looking so strangely in the white hallway that it made Harry go cross-eyed. Petunia was staring at his uncle pleadingly, eyeing her green carpet under Snape's boot in a look that read only one thing, "Get him out of here!"
It was then that Snape noticed a certain someone standing poised against the corner of the hall. He fell completely silent, like a hunter who had been accidentally spotted by its prey. His aunt and uncle turned to see him too. Harry was looking into the faces of the three people he liked the least.
He didn't blink. The whole room was silent except for the tele and Dudley's ignorant laughter. "What's going on?" he asked.
All three of them were reluctant to answer, the married couple looked at each other, and Snape seemed to be astonished with something on his shoe. Harry left his safer position behind the door and started to walk toward the three of them when he felt a bony hand on his shoulder.
(A/N: oooo! Cliffy! Cliffy! Ok no, I'm not that mean)
"Hello Headmaster…"Snape smirked. By only the look on the Dursleys' faces he could easily guess who was behind him.
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry turned around to see the shining face of his headmaster. "I thought you weren't coming!"
"Changed my mind," he hummed, smiling. He looked like he had aged ten years since the last time they talked.
Vernon's face was green. He all of the sudden started dancing around the house, shutting blinds and locking doors like a madman. Petunia just glared, eye twitching at the man who was her nephew's mentor. "You're not welcomed here," she murmured. Dumbledore, as usual, showed no evidence of offence.
"I'm sorry for the intrusion, Petunia, but I'm afraid you left me no choice."
"What's the meaning of it?"
He bent his head toward her, "I'm sorry?"
"What's the meaning of the letters? Of… of him," she pointed to Snape, "being here…"
"I thought we should all get together and have a chat," Dumbledore smiled and waved towards the kitchen, as if it were the most natural thing to do.
"I don't want to have a chat!" She seemed very close to tears now, "And I especially don't want him here!"
"Petunia, dear," he said softly, taking her hand in both his, as if she was his granddaughter, "He's your brother…"
Harry felt as though someone had hit him in the face with a frying pan. He stared from Petunia to Snape to Dumbledore, his eyes wide as saucers, jaw dropped.
"WHAT?!"
The room was silent.
"WHAT?"
Petunia was seething, Snape looked uncharacteristically afraid. Dumbledore let go of Petunia's hand and grinned sheepishly, "Well, the cat's out of the bag!"
"You… aunt… my mom… brother?" He could barely form the words.
"Half-brother." Snape said quietly.
"H-h-how?"
"Harry, calm down. Petunia, do you mind if I make a spot of tea?" Dumbledore said.
"Just make it strong," she said, sitting down at the kitchen table and rubbing her temples. Snape sat alongside her and refused to meet anyone's eyes.
Harry stood gaping at the scene before his eyes. Snape, in his black robes claiming to be his half-uncle, Petunia, looking in the need of some brandy, Vernon, still tinkering with the door, and Dumbledore in his bright purple robes bewitching the teapot to boil water.
"Trying to catch flies?" Snape said finally. He closed his mouth and sat down. Dumbledore passed each one their own cup of tea.
"I suppose we have some explaining to do, Harry…"
"Yeah!" He said, eyes still unnaturally wide.
Snape snorted and leaned his chair on its back legs, "What's there to explain? Their dad cheated with my mum, and that's that." He folded his arms grumpily. Harry was reminded of the little boy whose parents fought in the pensive.
"I think there's a bit more to it than that, Severus," Dumbledore announced.
Harry opened his mouth to speak, but his aunt cut him off. "We didn't even know… For twenty years… we didn't know…"
"When did you find out?"
"My father's journal," Snape said casually, "when I was twenty I found out he had a second family."
"He was never around much," Petunia explained.
"He was around you more than me!" Snape hissed.
"Did my mom know?"
"Yes," Snape smirked, "It was my wedding present. Potter didn't like it much…"
"How does Uncle Vernon know you?"
"He lived in the neighborhood where I grew up."
"…And the name, Perseus Evans?"
"That was the name my father gave me, my mother changed it when I was born. Her last name was Snape. It's an anagram…"
"I noticed." Harry's skull seemed to be full of water that sloshed around whenever he thought. He drank some tea, the room was silent again. He looked to Dumbledore. "How come no one told me this?"
It was Petunia who answered, "Like I wanted to make that public? That I'm related to… to…"
"But I'm not public! I should know!"
"What difference does it make," Snape's voice sounded hollow, "I wouldn't have taken you. All the death eaters were after me. Voldemort was after me. I didn't want to take care of a child and you probably wouldn't want live with me anyway."
Harry stared into his teacup, biting his lip. All those years he wished that some unknown relative would take him away. Now his unknown relative was sitting in front of him and he wasn't sure if he wanted to go…
"You know now, anyway," Dumbledore said, pouring himself more tea with the floating pot, "I told you your mother's blood could protect you, it still can… it's your choice, Harry."
He stared from Petunia to Snape. Before, he would have taken any chance to get away from the Dursleys… but Snape? He remembered the jar of beetles that was thrown at him when he came back through the pensive... He remembered his furious eyes, how he gripped his arm until there was a bruise. But he hated the Dursleys too, the abuse, the neglect…
"Can I have some time to think about it?"
Snape coughed into his tea.
Dumbledore surveyed the scene, and when no one spoke, he took to becoming the mediator, "How's this, Harry. You spend two weeks with Severus and two weeks with your aunt and uncle. After a month, you can decide? Hmm?"
Harry just nodded. His mouth was too dry for words. Petunia was staring out the window, refusing to look at any of them. All was silent. Harry just assumed that it was a general consensus that all agreed.
"Let's go, then," Snape stood up.
It was then that Dudley suddenly waddled into the kitchen. His eyes went wide, "What's going on?"
