A/N: Sorry I didn't get this out sooner. It's been crazy and I only had
time for one. The good news, this story is now around the neighborhood of
twenty-five pages, so you won't have to wait for me to write it, just
posting. Hope you like it! ~Sylvia
Liam sat at his desk, taking deep breaths and trying to remember exactly when the last time had been when he had seen Professor Snape. He knew Professor Snape, having been taught by the man for seven years, and fought with him on the battlefield that finally gave one world their independence from darkness. He had needed to call upon his Occulmency lessons quickly, glad that he had not forgotten how in his four years away from the wizarding community. Liam shuddered at the thought of Snape in his mind, revealing Liam's true identity. He could not go back to being Harry Potter. He refused to go back. He got his breathing under control and went back to the paperwork, allowing himself to tune out everything else around him. The buzzer at his elbow sounded, causing him to jump at the noise. "Yes, sir."
"Liam, please join us. I have a feeling that you will become deeply involved in this case." Liam clicked off and went back to the sitting room, gathering a pad of paper and a pen, just in case, on his way to the door. He entered and sat down in the chair indicated. "Ah, Liam, this is Professor Severus Snape. Professor Snape, this is my secretary, Liam Harrison." Liam reached over and shook Snape's hand, which had a surprisingly strong grip. "Professor Snape has come to ask us to be his representative in his search for his son." Liam looked up, surprised at the knowledge for more than one reason. Snape had a son? That idea was almost laughable. The poor kid, whoever he was. And Mr. Davidson was going to help in an investigation? "Professor Snape, if could tell him what you told me?" Snape turned to the young man sitting near him and looked over him once more before explaining.
"Would you prefer to be called Liam or Mr. Harrison?" He asked. Liam blinked in surprise.
"Liam is fine, Professor Snape." Liam said, readying his notebook.
"Very well. I have come to ask that Mr. Davidson be a representative to the authorities here in England, as my work is currently very unpredictable and takes me many places. The investigation centers around someone I am looking for, my son." He paused and allowed Liam to assimilate this knowledge. Liam nodded and Snape continued. "I did not know that this boy was my son until a very short time ago. He actually attended the school at which I am employed, and I must admit that I was never very kind to him. He disappeared four years ago, almost to the day. I cannot tell you the circumstances of his disappearance. What I can tell you, however, is that he was in a fight for his life and was lucky to have escaped alive, even with possible injuries." Snape took a small sip of tea. Liam began running through the names of boys he had known while at school, the Slytherin house was a good place to start. "Many of us, my colleagues and I, as well as his friends and family, thought that he was dead, taken by his enemy. I recently received a letter that would not have arrived had the boy been dead." Snape pulled out a piece of parchment. He unfolded it and laid it on the table.
"That is the letter. It arrived from a solicitor, the one employed by my son's adoptive father. It says nothing more than the truth. You see, the boy's mother and I were engaged to be married before the boy's adoptive father was even on the scene. We naturally did things that other couples do." Mr. Davidson grinned broadly, remembering how he and his wife often acted when there were no children around, while Liam nodded, his face still bland without emotion.
"To continue, I took up a position spying on an evil man, one whose quest for power led to his own downfall in the form of a one year old. My girlfriend had gone into hiding with an old friend of mine from school. When I heard that she was pregnant, it never crossed my mind that the child was mine. I assumed that she had moved on after being separated from me for so long. I, in fact, attended their wedding and toasted to their happiness. The man on whom I spied believed that the Potters," Liam felt the floor tilt under him. There was no way it was true. He had looked too much like James Potter when he was younger. He looked different now, that was true, but war did that to everyone. He looked up as Snape continued. "for that is the married name of the couple, was going to bring him down from power, and so he went to kill them. The child's cries alerted authorities to his presence, but not before Riddle, the power hungry man, managed to kill both Lily, my former fiancée, and her husband, my best friend, James. Their son survived and was raised by his maternal aunt and her husband, came to my place of employment for school when he was old enough. Riddle, however, was still out there, weak, but determined to get his revenge on the innocent. He set out to kill Harry Potter, the child that I had thought resulted from their reunion. The boy, precocious as his mother, and just as talented, met him many times and managed to defeat him over and over again, until their last meeting. I was there, and found Riddle dead after a fight. Harry, we assumed, had been taken by some of Riddle's supporters and was long dead with no body able to be recognized. We searched, for almost a year, but nothing came of it, so we buried his memory and tried to move on. It seems that we were all mistaken."
Snape gestured at the parchment. "That letter arrived, informing me of Lily and James' deception, in an effort to protect both me and my son. I, because I was a spy, needed to have complete cover and not a chink in my armor, not a weakness that could be exploitable. A son would have done both. As well as Lily. James and Lily carried on a charade for almost two years to fool Riddle, but he attacked both of them and killed them." Snape shook his head. He shut his mouth. He almost couldn't continue. Liam drew in a breath. He didn't want Snape to continue. He didn't even want Snape to be there, telling stories about Harry Potter's parents. He wanted to get out of the room, wanted Snape out of the room. Wanted to disappear. Mr. Davidson leaned forward.
"It sounds like you are involved in espionage work, Professor Snape." He said, his voice dropping low. Snape shook his head.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Snape answered. Liam twitched slightly in reaction, but said nothing. "What I can tell you is that my son is out there somewhere. I have brought photographs of him. They are four years old, but he can't have changed much." Snape pulled out pictures and handed them to both Davidson and Liam. "He is twenty-one years old now. I have no idea what he could be doing with himself, nor how he surviving, but his scar there is rather distinctive. He received that from Riddle when he was only one year old. Harry is intelligent enough and may have entered University, or could be doing mundane work. I'm not sure. Those who knew him best say that Harry would do anything he could and would be very good at it." Liam handed back his photograph and wrote down some more notes for his employer, avoiding both men's eyes carefully. He checked his breathing and cleared his mind. He had changed a lot in the last four years, so much so that looking at old photographs of himself did not reveal his identity to the men in the room with him. He was safe and still Liam. Snape and Mr. Davidson talked for a while, almost ignoring Liam completely.
"Well, Professor Snape, I would be happy to take your case on. I hope that we will find your son soon." Mr. Davidson said, ending the conversation and standing up. Liam closed his notebook and stood up to retrieve Snape's overcoat. When Liam returned from the hall closet, Snape and Davidson were engaged in conversation about football. Liam shook his head and smiled. Mr. Davidson was obsessed and had invited Liam over to the house more than once to watch the game.
"Ah, thank you, Liam." Snape said as he accepted his coat from the secretary. Liam nodded and mentally urged Snape to leave. Why was he hanging around? He handed a file to Liam. "This is the information for the investigators." Liam nodded and put it under his arm, saying that he would see that the information got to the right people. Davidson walked Snape out, while Liam added the solicitor's information to the file, saying that Davidson was the contact, and further contact would be made with the party concerned. When Davidson returned to the desk, he leaned down, smiling at Liam.
"What did you think of him, Liam?" Davidson asked. Liam sighed and looked up.
"Well, it's amazing that he only found out about his son recently, and it is admirable that he wants to find the boy." Davidson chuckled. Liam seethed inwardly. As though he would ever claim that man as his father. It didn't matter how many letters he had received from Lily Evans, that would not make Liam announce who he was.
"He's your age, Liam." James smiled and nodded.
"That's true; I forgot." Davidson shook his head and smiled at Liam.
"Speaking of someone your age." Liam looked up.
"Uh-oh." He paused and saw his employer's face color a bit. "Mr. Davidson, you promised." Davidson nodded his head and smiled again. "Which relative is it now?" he asked, resigned to his fate once again.
"It's my wife's niece. She is coming into town and we, Gloria and I, are worried about entertaining her and showing her around town and Gloria thought of you." Liam sighed and put his face in his hands.
"Mr. Davidson, we've been through this. I'm not interested in a relationship." One look at Davidson's face led him to roll his eyes and start groaning. He put his head down on the desk and groaned again. Everyone he had ever gotten close to had been hurt in some way for just knowing him. Had Mr. Davidson the knowledge of that, he would take his niece and run far away.
"Now you are acting near your age, Liam. All I am asking is two days. You can take the days off from here. I can get someone from the temp agency." He took in Liam's folded arms and raised eyebrow. "Please, Liam?" He pleaded.
"Mrs. Davidson told you to beg, didn't she?" Liam smiled as his employer nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. Just warn your wife that nothing will come of it."
"Thank you, Liam. She will be here tomorrow afternoon. You can take tomorrow afternoon off after lunch. Lunch will be served at one o'clock, allowing you to meet Nicole. After lunch, you kids can take off and go out on the town." Liam nodded, defeated, and allowed Mr. Davidson to plan their trip around the village and nearby London. He shook his head. He didn't understand his employer's crusade to see him settled down with a wife and children. He was happy being alone. It made things much safer.
Liam placed all of his files in the required places and smiled at Mr. Davidson. "I will see you tomorrow." Davidson nodded and asked for a copy of the notes that Liam had taken during the meeting. Liam nodded and retrieved his own coat after seeing his boss off.
Liam walked home as he did every evening, savoring the way he could actually move his legs. He hadn't been able to when he had first woken up. He clenched his right hand, feeling his scars stretch as he did so. He thought about the new client. He knew it was Snape. In fact, he had used his real name, and the handwriting was that of Harry's mother. He had seen some of her final papers handed in at Hogwarts. He shook his head. The man had seemed sincere, but Liam was used to dealing with him and thought that the man could create any emotion he wanted to by just thinking about it. He could not be Snape's son. He looked too much like James Potter. Everyone said so. He strode up the walk and let himself into the house.
He sighed and hung his coat up. "Hello, Minn." He said to the white dog that walked into the hallway to greet him. The dog had been a stray before she settled on Liam as her new owner. He had avoided that as much as he could, but she seemed content to stay, whether or not he wanted her, so he gave in and named her, and found her a place to sleep. He now could not remember his life before her. She walked with him early in the morning as he stretched his leg out best he could. She sat near him as he ran through the exercises that the doctor had cajoled Liam into adopting in his daily habits. She greeted him when he returned home and slept at the foot of his bed. She was his constant companion and his friend.
"Well, Mr. Davidson has done it again. He wants me to take out his niece tomorrow and the next day. What do you think, girl?" Minn just wagged her tail and made a strange noise in her throat. "Yeah, me too, girl. Hungry?" She barked and led the way to the kitchen. He smiled and went after his dog, who only thought with her stomach most of the time.
Liam sat at his desk, taking deep breaths and trying to remember exactly when the last time had been when he had seen Professor Snape. He knew Professor Snape, having been taught by the man for seven years, and fought with him on the battlefield that finally gave one world their independence from darkness. He had needed to call upon his Occulmency lessons quickly, glad that he had not forgotten how in his four years away from the wizarding community. Liam shuddered at the thought of Snape in his mind, revealing Liam's true identity. He could not go back to being Harry Potter. He refused to go back. He got his breathing under control and went back to the paperwork, allowing himself to tune out everything else around him. The buzzer at his elbow sounded, causing him to jump at the noise. "Yes, sir."
"Liam, please join us. I have a feeling that you will become deeply involved in this case." Liam clicked off and went back to the sitting room, gathering a pad of paper and a pen, just in case, on his way to the door. He entered and sat down in the chair indicated. "Ah, Liam, this is Professor Severus Snape. Professor Snape, this is my secretary, Liam Harrison." Liam reached over and shook Snape's hand, which had a surprisingly strong grip. "Professor Snape has come to ask us to be his representative in his search for his son." Liam looked up, surprised at the knowledge for more than one reason. Snape had a son? That idea was almost laughable. The poor kid, whoever he was. And Mr. Davidson was going to help in an investigation? "Professor Snape, if could tell him what you told me?" Snape turned to the young man sitting near him and looked over him once more before explaining.
"Would you prefer to be called Liam or Mr. Harrison?" He asked. Liam blinked in surprise.
"Liam is fine, Professor Snape." Liam said, readying his notebook.
"Very well. I have come to ask that Mr. Davidson be a representative to the authorities here in England, as my work is currently very unpredictable and takes me many places. The investigation centers around someone I am looking for, my son." He paused and allowed Liam to assimilate this knowledge. Liam nodded and Snape continued. "I did not know that this boy was my son until a very short time ago. He actually attended the school at which I am employed, and I must admit that I was never very kind to him. He disappeared four years ago, almost to the day. I cannot tell you the circumstances of his disappearance. What I can tell you, however, is that he was in a fight for his life and was lucky to have escaped alive, even with possible injuries." Snape took a small sip of tea. Liam began running through the names of boys he had known while at school, the Slytherin house was a good place to start. "Many of us, my colleagues and I, as well as his friends and family, thought that he was dead, taken by his enemy. I recently received a letter that would not have arrived had the boy been dead." Snape pulled out a piece of parchment. He unfolded it and laid it on the table.
"That is the letter. It arrived from a solicitor, the one employed by my son's adoptive father. It says nothing more than the truth. You see, the boy's mother and I were engaged to be married before the boy's adoptive father was even on the scene. We naturally did things that other couples do." Mr. Davidson grinned broadly, remembering how he and his wife often acted when there were no children around, while Liam nodded, his face still bland without emotion.
"To continue, I took up a position spying on an evil man, one whose quest for power led to his own downfall in the form of a one year old. My girlfriend had gone into hiding with an old friend of mine from school. When I heard that she was pregnant, it never crossed my mind that the child was mine. I assumed that she had moved on after being separated from me for so long. I, in fact, attended their wedding and toasted to their happiness. The man on whom I spied believed that the Potters," Liam felt the floor tilt under him. There was no way it was true. He had looked too much like James Potter when he was younger. He looked different now, that was true, but war did that to everyone. He looked up as Snape continued. "for that is the married name of the couple, was going to bring him down from power, and so he went to kill them. The child's cries alerted authorities to his presence, but not before Riddle, the power hungry man, managed to kill both Lily, my former fiancée, and her husband, my best friend, James. Their son survived and was raised by his maternal aunt and her husband, came to my place of employment for school when he was old enough. Riddle, however, was still out there, weak, but determined to get his revenge on the innocent. He set out to kill Harry Potter, the child that I had thought resulted from their reunion. The boy, precocious as his mother, and just as talented, met him many times and managed to defeat him over and over again, until their last meeting. I was there, and found Riddle dead after a fight. Harry, we assumed, had been taken by some of Riddle's supporters and was long dead with no body able to be recognized. We searched, for almost a year, but nothing came of it, so we buried his memory and tried to move on. It seems that we were all mistaken."
Snape gestured at the parchment. "That letter arrived, informing me of Lily and James' deception, in an effort to protect both me and my son. I, because I was a spy, needed to have complete cover and not a chink in my armor, not a weakness that could be exploitable. A son would have done both. As well as Lily. James and Lily carried on a charade for almost two years to fool Riddle, but he attacked both of them and killed them." Snape shook his head. He shut his mouth. He almost couldn't continue. Liam drew in a breath. He didn't want Snape to continue. He didn't even want Snape to be there, telling stories about Harry Potter's parents. He wanted to get out of the room, wanted Snape out of the room. Wanted to disappear. Mr. Davidson leaned forward.
"It sounds like you are involved in espionage work, Professor Snape." He said, his voice dropping low. Snape shook his head.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that." Snape answered. Liam twitched slightly in reaction, but said nothing. "What I can tell you is that my son is out there somewhere. I have brought photographs of him. They are four years old, but he can't have changed much." Snape pulled out pictures and handed them to both Davidson and Liam. "He is twenty-one years old now. I have no idea what he could be doing with himself, nor how he surviving, but his scar there is rather distinctive. He received that from Riddle when he was only one year old. Harry is intelligent enough and may have entered University, or could be doing mundane work. I'm not sure. Those who knew him best say that Harry would do anything he could and would be very good at it." Liam handed back his photograph and wrote down some more notes for his employer, avoiding both men's eyes carefully. He checked his breathing and cleared his mind. He had changed a lot in the last four years, so much so that looking at old photographs of himself did not reveal his identity to the men in the room with him. He was safe and still Liam. Snape and Mr. Davidson talked for a while, almost ignoring Liam completely.
"Well, Professor Snape, I would be happy to take your case on. I hope that we will find your son soon." Mr. Davidson said, ending the conversation and standing up. Liam closed his notebook and stood up to retrieve Snape's overcoat. When Liam returned from the hall closet, Snape and Davidson were engaged in conversation about football. Liam shook his head and smiled. Mr. Davidson was obsessed and had invited Liam over to the house more than once to watch the game.
"Ah, thank you, Liam." Snape said as he accepted his coat from the secretary. Liam nodded and mentally urged Snape to leave. Why was he hanging around? He handed a file to Liam. "This is the information for the investigators." Liam nodded and put it under his arm, saying that he would see that the information got to the right people. Davidson walked Snape out, while Liam added the solicitor's information to the file, saying that Davidson was the contact, and further contact would be made with the party concerned. When Davidson returned to the desk, he leaned down, smiling at Liam.
"What did you think of him, Liam?" Davidson asked. Liam sighed and looked up.
"Well, it's amazing that he only found out about his son recently, and it is admirable that he wants to find the boy." Davidson chuckled. Liam seethed inwardly. As though he would ever claim that man as his father. It didn't matter how many letters he had received from Lily Evans, that would not make Liam announce who he was.
"He's your age, Liam." James smiled and nodded.
"That's true; I forgot." Davidson shook his head and smiled at Liam.
"Speaking of someone your age." Liam looked up.
"Uh-oh." He paused and saw his employer's face color a bit. "Mr. Davidson, you promised." Davidson nodded his head and smiled again. "Which relative is it now?" he asked, resigned to his fate once again.
"It's my wife's niece. She is coming into town and we, Gloria and I, are worried about entertaining her and showing her around town and Gloria thought of you." Liam sighed and put his face in his hands.
"Mr. Davidson, we've been through this. I'm not interested in a relationship." One look at Davidson's face led him to roll his eyes and start groaning. He put his head down on the desk and groaned again. Everyone he had ever gotten close to had been hurt in some way for just knowing him. Had Mr. Davidson the knowledge of that, he would take his niece and run far away.
"Now you are acting near your age, Liam. All I am asking is two days. You can take the days off from here. I can get someone from the temp agency." He took in Liam's folded arms and raised eyebrow. "Please, Liam?" He pleaded.
"Mrs. Davidson told you to beg, didn't she?" Liam smiled as his employer nodded. "Alright, I'll do it. Just warn your wife that nothing will come of it."
"Thank you, Liam. She will be here tomorrow afternoon. You can take tomorrow afternoon off after lunch. Lunch will be served at one o'clock, allowing you to meet Nicole. After lunch, you kids can take off and go out on the town." Liam nodded, defeated, and allowed Mr. Davidson to plan their trip around the village and nearby London. He shook his head. He didn't understand his employer's crusade to see him settled down with a wife and children. He was happy being alone. It made things much safer.
Liam placed all of his files in the required places and smiled at Mr. Davidson. "I will see you tomorrow." Davidson nodded and asked for a copy of the notes that Liam had taken during the meeting. Liam nodded and retrieved his own coat after seeing his boss off.
Liam walked home as he did every evening, savoring the way he could actually move his legs. He hadn't been able to when he had first woken up. He clenched his right hand, feeling his scars stretch as he did so. He thought about the new client. He knew it was Snape. In fact, he had used his real name, and the handwriting was that of Harry's mother. He had seen some of her final papers handed in at Hogwarts. He shook his head. The man had seemed sincere, but Liam was used to dealing with him and thought that the man could create any emotion he wanted to by just thinking about it. He could not be Snape's son. He looked too much like James Potter. Everyone said so. He strode up the walk and let himself into the house.
He sighed and hung his coat up. "Hello, Minn." He said to the white dog that walked into the hallway to greet him. The dog had been a stray before she settled on Liam as her new owner. He had avoided that as much as he could, but she seemed content to stay, whether or not he wanted her, so he gave in and named her, and found her a place to sleep. He now could not remember his life before her. She walked with him early in the morning as he stretched his leg out best he could. She sat near him as he ran through the exercises that the doctor had cajoled Liam into adopting in his daily habits. She greeted him when he returned home and slept at the foot of his bed. She was his constant companion and his friend.
"Well, Mr. Davidson has done it again. He wants me to take out his niece tomorrow and the next day. What do you think, girl?" Minn just wagged her tail and made a strange noise in her throat. "Yeah, me too, girl. Hungry?" She barked and led the way to the kitchen. He smiled and went after his dog, who only thought with her stomach most of the time.