A/N: Wow! 16 Reviews by now? Thank you, thank you thank you!

Disclaimer: None of this is owned by me. You know... J.K.R. and Warner Brothers and so on. I do not earn any money with this and so I did nothing illegal, did I?

xXx

Niathal - Thanks for that remark. Seems like it worked, huh?

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vilthuril - Thank you for that remark! In the next chapter there will be some reaction.

Slytherinkid07 - Harry may be an idiot but in the first book you read that the hat wants to put Harry into Slytherin. When the years past by Harry's mind developed and I really wasn't sure where the hat should put him after five years and he just ended up nowhere.

rosiegirl - I will! Thank you for the compliment.

rebekah1 - Obviously he doesn't. But Severus will talk to him and they will try to work things out. That doesn't mean that they will always agree on everything, not at all!

Wytil - Thanks for that incredible compliment! I was really afraid this was so much OOC.

Phoenix 5 - You are right. Severus is going to explain Harry that this is just to save him.

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Just can't help it, I'm so grateful that Tabitha78 beta'ed this for me. Thank you!

Chapter 5 - Accepting the parentage?

Suddenly Severus held his son in his arms. The boy was crying, despair in his sobs and light screams. Harry hit his father's chest with his fists, fighting the man's embrace, his father's embrace, which he so desperately longed for.

"Why? Why did you betray me? You gave me away for your comfort. WHY?" Harry calmed down a little bit. It took him quite some time to stop screaming.

"No, I'm not surprised you don't want me. But why did you lie? Why did you promise to be my father, to try it, at least? I don't understand you!" Severus let go of the boy.

"You are not surprised...? STUPID boy!" he yelled, frightened.

"No, I am not surprised! I was surprised when you told me you did want to be my father!" Severus was in a way afraid of his son, and worried. Why was he so hard?

"Stop that!"

"No! I'm just that Potter-brat, aren't I? No one would want me to be their son, unless they lost their sanity completely. I'm an orphan, no big deal! I longed for a father, but now it's pretty clear to me that I will never have one."

Severus did something he never wanted to do to his own child. He slapped Harry in the face in order to stop him.

"Stop that, boy!" Tears were dwelling in Harry's eyes again. Why had Snape hit him so hard? And all a sudden he felt the burning of tears in his own eyes. "I'm sorry... son." Harry let himself fall against his father's chest and buried his face in the black coat. This time he wasn't upset, just sad. Severus laid his arms around his son's body firmly and tried to comfort him, while he was seeking for comfort in this tight embrace himself.

"I was just so frightened when I saw how hard you judge yourself! Don't... don't let anyone take your self-worth from you. I did not betray you! I just don't want you to have to be... a loyal Death Eater one day!" Tears were running down his sallow cheeks as he pulled the boy closer. How long had it been since Severus had allowed himself to cry? It had to be ages. And now... now he allowed himself to let his wards down, since the still unknown boy in his arms did the same. He never had seen the young Potter cry.

Perhaps he has just too much Snape heritage in him?

"We will get through that as well." Harry mumbled, his face still hidden in the folds of Snape's cloak.

"What do you mean?" Snape was confused now. Harry pulled himself from Severus embrace, and looked in those sad onyx eyes. Since when did Snape... his father cry?

"I... I was speaking of this... 'heir'-thing." Harry tried to explain.

"I don't want to put you in danger, son. I just found you, I don't want to lose you right away." Snape looked at him with a rather stern but still caring expression.

"You won't! I am careful. I don't want do lose you either, you know? Voldemort will hurt you if you don't present him an heir as soon as possible, right? Perhaps he will even kill you." Harry stepped away from the dark man, fighting his tears again. "I just saw how he put you under the Crucatius today! And you went through even more. I don't want to see you suffer anymore!"

Snape replied firmly, "I will not sacrifice you for my sake! Do you know how much I would go through for you? You are my SON!"

"And you are stubborn! You just won't understand me, would you? Do you know how much I would go through if you were hurt or killed? And do you think it's easy to see someone suffer you care for? I see it like it was me who hurt all those people, like it was me who hurt you today!" Severus sat down on the cold stone floor and leaned against the dungeons wall. How could that connection be erased? How much had his son lived through in the past years? How much would he have to live through in the coming years?

"Alright then. I... I will inform you about your duties as my heir, and then you can decide if you really want to do this. I won't be disappointed if you... don't want to."

Harry sat down next to his father. "I know."

He rested his head against his father's shoulder. He felt just tired. "But I won't let you down, father!"

"You are tired?" It was odd to feel the light weight on his shoulder, his son was searching for him. Severus hoped for him that he wouldn't be disappointed by what he would find.

"Exhausted. I have the foreboding feeling Madam Pomfrey wouldn't be very pleased if I she saw me now." Severus smiled and laid an arm around this son's shoulders.

"You can stay with me tonight. I have a big couch. It's rather comfortable, I spend some nights on it myself."

"Thanks!" The both of them stood up and headed for Severus private rooms.

Severus conjured a blanket and a pillow for Harry.

"The bathroom is the right door and the left one leads to my bedroom. If you need something just come over." Harry nodded and smiled.

The room was quite impressive. The walls were black and mostly covered with bookshelves. In front of a huge fireplace stood the large Bordeaux-coloured couch. In the far corner of the room stood a large table with four chairs, and a few feet away stood a heavy wooden desk.

Harry dropped on the couch and already was asleep when his head touched the pillow.

xXx

He almost fell onto the ground when he returned. Travelling by floo wasn't the most comfortable, but he couldn't walk from the gates down here. Everything hurt, his head was spinning and his stomach was almost about to spread its contents on the floor. He crawled over to the couch, and... well, rather passed out than fell asleep.

xXx

Worn out he fell on the couch, his face and clothing mud-covered. He had been outside in the stormy night for hours. He hoped he hadn't caught a cold. A pleased moan escaped his throat when he felt the sweet dreamless sleep caught him.

xXx

Severus was woken by light screams and moans of pain. He realized that Harry seemed to be in trouble. He jumped out of bed and hurried to the living room.

Harry lay on his back, his eyes fixed on a spot somewhere on the ceiling. His chest lifted steadily, he seemed to be alright, and he seemed to be calm.

"What happened?"

"You didn't tell me on which occasions you spend your nights on this couch."

Snape cleaned his throat. "Why should I have told you?"

"I lived through every single moment. Why? Did all this happen during the last year?"

"Basically I think so." Severus became nervous. His eyes flicked through the room.

"I'm afraid. I'm afraid I will see other memories, too!"

Severus looked at his son and helped him up. Slowly he guided Harry to the bedroom.

"Sleep. I'm with you, no one can hurt you." Harry closed his eyes.

"Please stay!" Severus laid down beside his son and tried to comfort him at least a little bit.

xXxXx

"Master! Master has to wake up!" a tiny voice called. "Master! Me has a message from headmaster!" Severus sat up, trying not to wake Harry.

"Tell me the message then, but don't scream like that."

"Headmaster says that is Sheldon vanished. He's not found anywhere!"

Severus looked down at the boy in his bed. "Tell the headmaster that I took care of him. And can you bring something for Sheldon to wear, and his stuff for today's lessons?"

"Yes sir!" the elf said and vanished. Severus lay back again and closed his eyes. This was so close to heaven.

He actually had slept for at least seven hours and felt quite relaxed.

Another fact was that his son... perhaps not quite accepted him as his father, but had addressed him as his father. His son... still, how odd that sounded. Severus never had thought about children very much. He left school and became a Death Eater. He made Potions Master and was suddenly one of the Dark Lord's most loyal servants. He had never even had the time to think about a family. And suddenly this boy stumbled in his life. He caused sudden changes in Severus life all the time. First he defeated the Dark Lord, then he became a Hogwarts student and finally he became Severus son. But how was that last possible?

The birds and the bees... he mused and smiled to himself.

Harry began to stir but didn't open his eyes.

xXx

Harry felt the warmth of a body next to his and slowly opened one eye. He was in a strange bedroom. It was dark, no windows. He didn't know any room in the school without windows, unless...?

What the hell did he do in Snape's bedroom, and even more important was the question what had brought him into Snape's bed?

His lips curled in a smile when he recalled what had happened in the last two days and his grin widened when he thought about the father-thing. Quite a lot of action for only one weekend.

Someone he had thought who had loathed him all his life for just being alive suddenly cared about him. This was way too much to think about right now.

Snape stood up and Harry closed his eyes again.

Some time later a hand shook his shoulder.

"Wake up, son!" Harry stirred and opened his eyes. He looked up in his father's face and smiled. "Dress and then we will have breakfast."

"Oh my goodness, it's Monday! Pray tell, what time is it?" Severus smiled and handed Harry his clothes.

"Well, let's put it like this, usually, you ought to be in class by now." Harry stared at him. "I will explain this during breakfast."

Harry took his clothes and headed for the bathroom.

When he returned to the living room he saw his father reading the Daily Prophet at the dining table. He sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Help yourself with the breakfast." Harry realized that a large tablet of food stood in the middle of the table.

When Harry had finished his breakfast, he cleared his throat and looked at his father feeling insecure. "I am still wondering why I'm not in class." Severus pushed the note to Harry.

"Read it yourself. It's addressed to the both of us."

Dear Severus, dear Sheldon,

I wanted to inform you that you are not expected to attend classes today.

Have a nice day and enjoy yourselves.

Albus Dumbledore

Harry looked at his father with surprise.

"What should we do then, today?" Now it was Severus turn to look at Harry with surprise.

"I actually thought that you would have an inexhaustible stock of plans for what to do on those days when you happened to be excused from classes?"

"Um... I don't have any plans. Since I never happened to be excused from classes before I never was in the need of such plans."

Severus nodded in acknowledgement.

"Normally I would go back to bed and just being happy to miss potions, doing nothing but making no attempt to join the others for lunch, being happy to miss potions, sneaking down to the kitchens and being happy to miss potions." Harry's eyes suddenly were fixed on his father's face. There might have been one 'being happy to miss potions' too much. But Severus just smiled, folded the newspaper and laid it down on the table.

"Well, I could arrange some private lessons, if you start feeling too happy!"

Harry laughed with relief. "I... I'm sorry for everything... for all the pranks and I'm sorry for... for what I saw last year." Harry didn't know where the hell that came from. But he meant it. He had been so cheerful and with the blink of an eye, it had vanished.

Severus sensed that he was speaking of the memories which happened to be much more insecure in the pensive than they would have been within his head.

"Well, at least it changed your attitude towards me for a few seconds, didn't it?" Harry felt guilty, even guiltier than he did last year.

Then he felt sorry for what had happened to Snape when he was a student, what James had done to him. But now... now he felt sorry for calling James 'dad' while he went on hating his true father. He should have seen the truth behind Snape's rude treatment, he should have been more patient.

Truth really hurts sometimes.

"I think it was more than just seconds. But... but you went on... sneering at me, yelling at me, insulting me and my parents. I just didn't see... what happened."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "What did happen?"

"You did the same thing I would have. You pushed me away like I would have pushed away you or anyone else who knew about... my dark memories."

"Well, some of the things I saw didn't leave my mind."

Harry sighed. Snape had never seen his darkest memories and he was thankful for that. No, Harry never had to face his too dark memories during Occlumency lessons.

"Do you feel you do have to confess something, Harry?"

"No, I don't think so." Why should he confess anything to Snape? Even now as he was his father he would try to keep this secret.

"Well. I think... I think Albus is already working on how to reveal your true identity to the staff and the students. You don't need to, if you don't want to."

"I... I'd love to, but..."

"Yes, this was what I told him. There are just so many things to be taken care of!"

Harry was rather surprised. This exact same thing had come to his mind. They were not as different as he had thought? "Well then... perhaps we should take care of some things?"

Snape stared at him. "A quite logical idea, for it came from a Gryffindor's mind. No offence intended."

"None taken." Harry smiled. He began to like the cool sarcasm.

"Well, I think we should start with some new clothing. I know you already went for school robes but you need some casual robes and perhaps dress robes. And of course you will need something besides robes and a school uniform."

Harry hadn't realized how empty his wardrobe had become. Most of those clothes he had gotten from the Dursleys happened to be too short.

"Yes... you are right." Harry played with his fork, something on his mind.

"What's the problem?"

"What should I be called? Will I stay with Sheldon McGraw or will it be Sheldon Snape then? Or will we even go further? Do I have to return to Harry? And will I have to be Harry Potter or Harry Snape?" Severus placed a warm hand on the boy's shoulder.

"We will decide this later on. I myself would rather pick a new name. I suggested to the headmaster to invent some story that you were threatened and had to live as Sheldon McGraw but now would return to your old name. Anyway, I think that I will have the least influence on the topic. Basically it is your decision." Harry nodded. "Let's get ready. We will apparate to Diagon Alley!"

xXxXx

"Hermione! Just have a guess what I saw during Divination?!"

"Don't tell me you saw the grim in your tealeaves, or some black strangers in some crystal ball." She sighed at Ron.

"Well, the latter one is quite close." Hermione looked at him stunned. This sounded far too serious for some odd prank.

"Well, why don't you tell me the whole story then?"

"I saw two black... strangers. They walked towards the gates of Hogwarts."

"Who could that have been?" she mussed.

"I'll give you a hint. At first I thought something was wrong with my vision, though I was squinting. Seemed almost like twins."

"Two black figures...? Snape and..." They were the only ones who weren't in classes.

"You've got it! I definitely saw Snape and this new boy heading towards the gates."

Hermione looked puzzled. Inside her head various scenarios were built and destroyed right away. Who was that boy and where was Harry? The two questions seemed to be immediately connected.

xXxXx

Severus led his son to a little boutique, where there would be more helpful in choosing some shirts and trousers of various colours and styles. After half an hour their decision was made. Right afterwards Severus decided that Harry would also be in the need of robes for casual and festive events.

After another half an hour they walked out of the boutique, carrying several boxes with three black trousers, two white and two black shirts, three black casual robes with rich Bordeaux-coloured edges on the sleeves and the collar and finally one dress robe in the same style as the casual robes, but for the edges were a rich green.

After another two hours, they went to the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch.

"Well... perhaps we should try to get things worked out." Severus suggested. "Perhaps we should. We should get things worked out." Harry was confused at the statement. What were Snape's intentions? "I don't want a tacky 'everything's-okay-really'-relationship."

"Oh." He really did want to work out things. "I don't want that either."

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