Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Web of Lies: Revelations.

Harry shifted nervously on the couch as he waited for Severus to return. The man had gone to Hogwarts to retrieve Ron and Hermione, after Minerva had granted permission for them to miss their morning lessons. The black-haired Gryffindor wasn't looking forward to the reunion with his friends, but knew that it needed to be done. At least, he wouldn't have to deal with Sirius and Remus until later on. The werewolf was still at St Mungo's and Sirius had managed to stay with him until now. He didn't know if they had heard about him yet, Severus had avoided that question when he had asked, and for his part, Harry wasn't very eager to talk to them yet. After all, he knew how his godfather felt about Severus and right now, if he had to choose between the two men, he was afraid he would choose the Slytherin Head of House instead of his Godfather. After all, the Potions Master had been there for him all this time in a way that Sirius hadn't had the chance to be.

He had been so lost in thoughts that he jumped up from his chair when the fireplace roared to life and Severus entered the living room. The tall man looked down at him with an intent look, as if to see if he was feeling well enough for that particular meeting. Hearing the fire flare again, the Potions Master stepped aside and allowed Hermione to enter the living room. Harry stood up a bit shakily, that morning he had completely given up his disguise as Alec. His hair was back to his natural black colour; Severus had changed his lenses so they were now transparent, he had come to prefer them to his glasses and had decided to keep wearing them. The make up that had been covering his scar for months had also disappeared, leaving the mark plainly visible on his forehead. The only thing that showed he had been Alec was the Phoenix pendant he wore around his neck, in which the charm to modify his voice had been dispelled, and the clothes he wore.

For a minute, Hermione stood there, just staring at him with huge eyes. It looked like she hadn't really believed she was going to meet him. When the fact that he was really standing there finally entered her brain, she jumped and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Harry bit his lip, unsure of how to react at such an action. He saw Ron enter the living room and stare at him the same way Hermione had just done. While the girl continued hugging him, the two boys stared at each other seriously, no hint of a smile on either of their faces. Harry knew Ron well enough to know he wouldn't have reacted well to the news. Especially if you took into account who he now considered to be something like a father figure. With a half amused thought, he wondered what would piss the red-head off worse, the fact that he had been lying to him or the fact that he called Severus Snape "Uncle".

Finally, after a few minutes of tense silence, Hermione drew back and Ron came closer. It seemed like none of them wanted to start the painful conversation. Harry was very aware that Snape had left as soon as Ron had entered the room and knew that he was on his own for now. The three of them were very relieved when Twinkle appeared with a soft pop and a tray of tea in her hands.

"Master Severus asked Twinkle to get tea for Young Master."

Harry gave her a grateful smile and helped the elf to put the things on the low table in front of the couches. "Thank you, Twinkle."

The elf nodded and disappeared with a soft pop. Turning towards his friends, Harry nodded to the couch.

"Why don't you sit down? I doubt you came all the way here to stare at me."

Ron snorted, and without a word he plopped down on one of the couches with Hermione at his side and Harry opposite of them. They drank tea for a moment, before Harry decided to get this over with.

"I'm sure you have questions."

That was what Hermione seemed to need, because at once she started to ask. "Why? Why this charade?"

Harry shrugged slightly. "I thought that would be obvious. It was all for protection, I wasn't safe as Harry Potter and you weren't safe while I was around."

Hermione sighed. "So, you left the Dursley, Dumbledore found you and decided to do things this way?"

The other boy shook his head. "No, Dumbledore went to check on me, I was ill and you know the Dursley would never take me to a doctor. Grandfather decided to take me away, and after that, he came up with everything else."

Ron growled at him. "He is not your grandfather! He is the Headmaster!"

Harry looked at him intently. "He has taken care of me, treated me as if I was a member of his own family. He loves me and I love him, we may not be related by blood but otherwise he is my grandfather, and unless he tells me he doesn't wish to be called that I will keep addressing him that way."

Hermione quickly spoke before the red-head had the chance to reply. "So the only ones to know about this were Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape? I can understand the first two, but why Professor Snape?"

Harry was shaking his head. "No, Hermione, no one knew about this at first. Only Dumbledore, Twinkle, and I knew. We were aiming for maximum safety and every time someone found out, the safety became lesser." Smirking a bit, he added. "Can you really believe Uncle Sev would have treated me the way he has if he had known I was Harry Potter?"

The dark-haired Gryffindor saw how Ron clenched his fists. "How can you call that bastard "Uncle"?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Because he has been one to me this entire time. Because I got to know him without the prejudices and the hatred and managed to see the man he hides behind the mask."

Hermione, sensing they were quickly heading towards an argument, interceded again. "Why don't you tell us how everything happened? It will probably make much more sense that way."

Agreeing with her, Harry relaxed a bit against the couch and started to talk. He didn't want to spend hours talking and there were things that were private, but in the end, he managed to get his point across. Ron, who had passed through several stages of anger and surprise, finally threw up his hands and shook his head.

"Only the headmaster could come up with such a ridiculous idea and make it work."

Hermione and Harry laughed softly, agreeing with the other's assessment, but Ron wasn't finished. "Ok, I can understand about the need of being Alec, but what about Snape? He wasn't necessary for the plan to work."

Harry shook his head. "No, he wasn't. But I've come to like him, he is interesting to be around with, he looks out for me."

Ron was still shaking his head while the other boy spoke. "Are we talking about the same greasy git here?"

The black-haired Gryffindor grimaced. "Please, don't call him that, you don't have to like him, but I do."

"Still don't see how you can forgive him everything he has been doing to you over the years."

Hermione shook her head. "I think Harry grew up, Ron, and managed to get over petty grudges."

The red-haired boy snorted. "You're talking about someone that has spent months pretending to be eleven."

Harry laughed. "Gave me more time to think about things." Jumping up from his seat without giving the redhead a chance to reply, he nodded towards the chess set he had gotten for his birthday. "Want to play, Ron?"

The boy looked a bit surprised at the sudden change but readily agreed. He still couldn't understand most of what his friend had gone through but he guessed he would never completely understand it. Maybe, he reasoned, that wasn't even necessary. Harry was there, safe, with a family who loved him and which he adored, for now, that was more than enough. Hermione seemed to be thinking along the same lines, because she sat down next to them and watched the game.

Just as it had been a few months ago, when they had played in the train, the game was very evenly matched, but unlike that time, this time Harry actually won. Hermione and Ron were both quite surprised when the redhead was forced to admit defeat, but Harry was ecstatic. Jumping out of his chair, he started to whirl around the room laughing that he had won which in turn made the other two laugh. Severus found them like this barely a minute later and frowned.

"Harry!" The tone of voice was stern but not overly harsh. "I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't get too exited about anything? You're still recuperating."

The boy stopped at once and stared sheepishly at the man. "Sorry, Uncle Sev, but I beat Ron at chess!"

Severus had just enough time to catch the boy in his arms as he jumped in to them. Ron and Hermione, who had become silent when the man entered the room, couldn't help but watch in amazement as the tall man hugged their friend close before putting him back on his feet.

"I'm very glad to hear that, child. But now it's time for your friends to go back to Hogwarts and you to get back in bed. Poppy is going to come in a bit to check on you, and I won't hear the end of it if she finds you in this state."

Harry pouted a bit, but one look into the man's face told him he was quite serious about that. Sighing, he turned to his friends and smiled slightly, accepting a hug from Hermione and a pat on his shoulder from Ron. They both quietly told him they would see him one of these days and headed towards the fireplace, where Severus was patiently waiting for them. Turning towards his charge he nodded towards the door that led to the hall.

"I'll take your friends back to Hogwarts; I want you in bed when I get back."

Harry nodded slightly and the trio left. Knowing he hadn't been given much of a choice, the teenager turned around and went to his bed. Maybe he could convince Severus to play a game of chess with him, and maybe he would even be able to win.

To be continued...

A/N: Well, just one more chapter to go and it will be done, I hope you liked this one. Thanks for all the reviews and thanks to Vinnie for beta-reading this.