A/N: After this chapter, Harry will be called Damon, for obvious reasons. Anyway, 3 chapters inone day.. I doubt I'll be posting on Christmas, so.. yea. Here's the story.

"The Hat Who Stuttered"

Six bottles went down the drain,

one hours waste of time

I'd ask if you feel the same

Still pushing that chance to try

Your breath in this cool room, chill

Long hair that blows side to side

You speak and make time stand still

and each time you walk right on by

Violence- Blink 182

"I have an announcement.." Dumbledore said in the Great Hall at Breakfast. "Our very own, Harry Potter, has been suspended indefinitely, and will be leaving us shortly. He will be leaving tonight, so make the most of your last day with him."

Whispers surrounded, as Harry felt himself become rather uncomfortable.

"You're leaving, Harry?" Hermione questioned.

"Why didn't you tell us, mate?" Ron asked.

Harry replied, "Other things have been on my mind is all.." He trailed.

Ginny nodded, "Yea, like your fighting.. and Sirius.." ..My dreams.. Snape..

"Sorry, mate." Ron said. "Wanna cut class today?"

Hermione groaned, "Ron, he cannot! He cannot afford to miss any of what we are learning."

Harry replied with a sigh of aspersion, "Before you two start fighting again, I would just like to say, you both would make a good couple if you don't kill each other." With that he got up, and headed out the Great Hall doors. Wandering around the school, he heard talking.

"Can't believe that Potter is leaving the school.. Dumbledore must be a fool.. he won't have any excuses to keep him out of trouble now.." Malfoy.

"Yes, it is quite shocking.." Blaise Zabini?

"Yes, but what is even more; Severus has a son!"

"Are you yanking my chain?"

"No, I found out at the meeting last night. He admitted it, and was punished. I would not be surprised if he did not show for classes at all.." Snape was punished for having a son? For having him.. it did make him feel rather guilty as he too had been put under curses and knew all to well the pain.

They rounded the corner, and saw Harry. "Potter! Stalking me now?" Malfoy said snidely.

"If I was, I'd have to be behind you." Harry pointed out.

Ignoring that, Malfoy walked around, "Shame you are leaving, Potter.. won't get to see the show.." He trailed.

Harry inquired, "What show?"

"Oh, nothing.." He said with a smirk.

"Whatever." Harry said, turning to go. The conversation reminded him of when Malfoy hinted about Sirius, and about the Triwizard Competition. No matter, Malfoy's secret would be revealed. It always is.

"Anxious, Severus?" Lupin asked in a sort of tease, leaned over to whisper after the announcement.

"No, why should I be?" Sneering in response.

Lupin reminded, "You are meeting 'Damon' today", in a low tone voice, so that other teachers had not heard. In spite of the decision to enroll "Damon" to Hogwarts, the short-notice of it could lead to problems. According to the faculty, Severus knew his son well enough to want him to be enrolled in the school. However, he did not know his son but at all.

Severus was not anxious, he had gone through his whole pack of cigarettes just that morning, and had not slept well. To top it off the feeling in his stomach was nauseating. He wasn't anxious.. he was more.. sick with worry.. stressed out on the matter.

The boy had skipped his Potions class; but Severus had figured he would. Granger went, so the boy must have went with Weasley. No matter, Weasley would still get detention. Thinking of all the cruel yet fun punishments he could come up with for just the knowledge of Ron Weasley skipping. Of course, he would have to catch him... but that was easy.

Granger had come up to Severus after class. "Professor..." Oh no, the whining begins..

"Ms. Granger?" He questioned trying to be remotely interested in what she had to say.

"Why is Harry suspended? What did he do last night? I mean.. I know he was with you.."

"If Potter chooses to leave his friends in the dark, that is his choice. Do not waste my time to enlighten you." Snape said, absent-mindedly fiddling through the pages. So.. the boy has not told anyone about his... secret.. surprising.

At dinner, in which Severus had skipped to prepare for that evening (he heard that it was just a huge send off for Potter). Lupin had come down to announce Harry had left, and Damon would be arriving within an hour.

So Severus paced.. and paced..

The day went by in a hurry. His friends sent him off, but really all he did was go down to the dungeons as ordered. Snape was there waiting for him. "Come along, boy." Harry followed slowly behind the man to a portrait. Harry already assumed this was Snape's private rooms.

Low and behold, it was covered in green, black, and silver. It was a dark area, and to top it off, cold. Harry saw a line of potions along the glass coffee table, as Snape sat down at the lounge chair, Harry sat on the couch as far away from the professor as possible.

"You shall be taking the potions in front of you." Snape told him. "However.. because some potions combined together can cause unfortunate results, you will have to take smaller doses throughout the night, with a moderator. Which will, sadly, be myself, as I know what to look for." He said it with such importance, that he was the only one knowledgeable to know anything to do with potions.

"Fine." Harry snapped. "What are the potions?" He asked.

"Do not question this, Potter. You are taking them despite what they are." Then he shoved one in front of the boy. "This one first. Drink half, hold your breath."

Harry did as instructed. It was an hour into taking the potions, when Harry was allowed the first break. This seemed to be Snape's opening to talk, seeing as Harry was so full of whatever that awful stuff was. He felt his hair return to what it naturally wanted to be.

"That last one will make damn sure you are not a Gryffindor.. it alters your traits."

"I doubt the hat would put me in their twice, anyway." Harry grumbled, unhappy at the thought.

"Even so, we cannot take that chance." A Death Eater's child in Gryffindor? Yea, you would be better off, not I.

"How does it alter my traits? Change it to a different house set or...?"

"In simple, in merely blasts the traits right out of you. The dominant personality traits will not even show up. The hat will be none the wiser." Snape then gave a smirk. "Draco came to me a day before school started six years ago, so all the traits seen would be those of Slytherin." Remembering back on the first day that the hat had never even touched Malfoy's head before sorting him to Gryffindor.

"Can the traits be recovered?"

"If the reverse potion is taken within forty-eight hours." He commented, "Draco took his the next morning. I would expect you will do the same."

Yes, potion talk.. it is one thing they had to talk about since Harry had started to show improvement in the class. "What were the other potions?" Hoping he would answer, the silence would kill him.

"Hmm.." Severus said. "This one, it will keep your natural appearance.." Touching the small flask. "..and this one will hide the scar for a week; you will need to get another dose age each week, I would say.. but it has history of after effects.."

"Such as?" Feeling nauseous.. He wanted to throw up, but he knew he should not.

"Irregular bleeding from scars.. sharp pains.. in your case most likely headaches.. in extreme cases, black outs.."

"Great...."

"This clear one.. it will restrain your power to a minimum. Which is extremely dangerous, especially with the high dose age of belladonna you have consumed tonight." He forgot to mention it was necessary because Harry had to learn to control his power.

There was a knock on the door, later that evening, as Harry had his head leaned back exhausted on the couch; which was surprisingly comfy. "Draco.. news, I expect..? Come in." He said distantly.

The blonde boy was a blur, but Harry knew he was there. "Is this him?" Draco asked shocked. "Not in too good of shape.."

"He took a bad mushroom tonight.. poisonous.. he will be okay tomorrow, I expect." The taller dark man answered, simply.

Harry closed his eyes, still noting that he had two other potions to down in half an hour to forty-five minutes.

When the professor woke him up again, it was later than Harry thought. "Take the last of the potions, boy, and you can go."

Mumbling with uncontrolled muscles, Harry asked, "What did Malfoy want?"

"Not much." He answered simply, then explained almost out of duty to, "Bringing news of an attack just outside Hogsmeade.. it appears the coach that 'Harry Potter' was in crashed."

Harry downed the first one. "Hmm.." Not even realizing the significance of that. He took the other one, and asked, "Where am I to sleep?"

"Here." As if the answer was simple. "I haven't any spare rooms, and tomorrow you will be back in a dorm anyhow." With that he swept out of the room without a single word of goodnight. Harry was happy with that, as he passed out on the soft couch.

Watching as the boy paced outside the Great Hall doors was rather amusing. Dumbledore shook his head, and Minerva raced up with the hat. Once she had arrived, the group went inside.

The hall was silenced with a clearing of Dumbledore's throat. "Attention, please." He said. "We have a new student to be sorted.. though, it is highly anthoradox to accept a new student so late in the year, we have made an exception."

Sitting the stool down in front of the entire school, Severus walked to the head table with Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave the boy a cheerful smile of encouragement, as the hat sang a little poem.

"Paint this red,

the walls say.

A liar is lead,

the wrong way.

The sword pulled out of the stone,

was a facade.

Hidden blood and bone,

A mistake was made.

Power is beauty,

I'll see through thee!"

Trying to understand the words of the poem, he shoved it aside as "Damon Snape" was announced by Minerva.

The boy knew what to do, but you could see the panic wash over his face as the school began muttering. What if he was not accepted? Severus thought. His peers would surely judge him upon himself.

The boy sat on the stool, and pretended not to be interested in what the school was whispering. The whispering was heard all the way up at the head table, and what they said was not pleasant. Dumbledore looked at Severus, who glared at the student body, silencing them.

The potion that the boy had taken would make it an easy decision to pick a house. However, unlike Draco, the hat had been rested upon his head. If Severus could hear what the hat was saying, he would have been much more informed when the boy started to convulse.

"Gry-" The hat started, "Slytherin."

The hat was taken off his head, and the boy looked back at Severus. As if to ask why that had just happened. His eyes were blood red. The boy was shaken and confused, but he then went to join his table. None of the school seemed to know how to act. They ate, but they were silent. The boy was avoiding all the glances.

Dumbledore then commented softly to Severus, "Strange sorting." He then said, "The hat never has stuttered before."