Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: Most of the chapter is NEW CONTENT.

Fathers and Sons

Chapter 3:

Another Letter

As Harry woke up, he was not happy. Not at all. Part of the reason for this unhappiness was that he'd fallen asleep in quite an uncomfortable position, hanging half off the bed. As for the rest, well, that he did not notice at first. When his mind had properly woken up, however, he noticed that something was off.

To be exact, the trouble lay with his hair. Over the night it had grown considerably longer. Harry's hair had always been a particular length, just as long as his father -- James, he corrected himself, although he loathed doing so -- had in all the photographs he had of the man. Now, however, it reached a bit below his shoulders, which did not please him. At all. Also, to his great horror, he noticed that instead of the jet-black colour his hair had possessed before, it now was rather a dark brown colour. It was wrong.

And, of course, there were his eyes. He could still see perfectly without his glasses, which would have alone been astonishing enough. However, his eyes had also changed colour. Most people probably wouldn't have even noticed the difference, but Harry did. He knew that his eyes had been a lighter green the night before.

So, the seventeenth year of his life did not begin very well. Of course, it certainly didn't improve his mood when he put his clothes on and noticed that his jeans appeared a bit shorter than before. Merlin, he indeed was changing. And he desperately wanted it to stop at once.

Sighing, he finally found a piece of string and bound his hair on a ponytail, annoyed by the way it fell on his face. Then he headed downstairs to make breakfast. It was still one of his duties, and in reality, he did not mind -- not nowadays, when he was actually allowed to eat like the others, the Dursleys being too afraid of the wizards' revenge to even suggest anything else.

As the Dursleys saw his changed appearance, they didn't say a thing. Sure, Uncle Vernon frowned disapprovingly, and Aunt Petunia looked confused, but neither said anything. In fact, the first thing that was said was, "You've got mail, Potter", when Dudley had retrieved the post (to Harry's great satisfaction).

Therefore, after eating his breakfast, Harry returned to his room to read the letter. It wasn't from a Muggle, he knew, as it didn't have a stamp -- not to mention that the envelope had been folded from parchment, and his name was written with emerald ink. A bit curious, he then opened the letter and started to read.

"Not-so-dear Mister Potter, or whatever you are," the letter began, and immediately Harry knew who it was from. For a moment he considered never reading it, but finally decided to continue.

"At first, no matter how much you undoubtedly loathe doing so, I suggest that you read this letter completely. It contains my opinion of this situation, and I do think you should know it.

Yes, I am indeed your biological father. Or, rather, I am Michael Snape's biological father -- the rest depends on who you are. I refuse to admit that Harry Potter is my son. If, however, you wish the Adoption Charm to be lifted -- or if it leaves by itself due to your own magic, a possibility that I fear shall soon become reality -- I am ready to bear my responsibility. Merlin knows I won't mourn if the son of James Potter ceases existing, and I do not oppose the idea of an heir, either. And, of course, there is the fact that Remus would probably like nothing more than to have his son back. As the Ministry won't allow a werewolf to have a human child, I will claim you to make him happy.

Ah, Remus. Yes, I was indeed his lover at one time -- and I am his lover now as well. As you know already, I left him when he had just got pregnant with you; at that time I did not know about a child being on the way, though. There were two reasons for me leaving him. One was that I wanted to keep him safe from the Dark Lord, who most certainly wouldn't have approved of our relationship, should he have known about it; the other was that, despite our relationship, Remus did not know about my spying. It wasn't that I didn't trust him, but I figured that if he didn't know, nobody would try to torture him to make him reveal the spy's name. However, he didn't know that I was a Death Eater at the first place, either, and keeping such a secret was putting a strain on our relationship. As he already was suspecting something, I simply showed him my Dark Mark and left. For some reason, possibly as a sign of his love, he didn't turn me in to the authorities.

For many years, we heard nothing of each other. Then, however, he came to Hogwarts to teach. I was less than pleased -- his presence raised rather unpleasant memories in me, or, rather, too pleasant ones. By now knowing that I had been merely a spy, he tried to approach me to renew if not a relationship, then at least a friendship between us. However, I pushed him away, not wanting to be hurt again. Yes, Mr Potter, it did hurt me to leave him all those years ago. Despite the rumours circulating within the school, I am indeed a human, and capable of human emotions.

You know how his teaching career ended. However, what you probably don't know is that before leaving Hogwarts, he came to my office. Instead of raging at me, however, he made a last attempt at removing the drift between us. I was not about to give in, but my resolve rather effectively left me as he stepped forward and kissed me. And since then, well, ever since we have been maintaining a relationship in secret. A year ago we got secretly married -- why ever he accepted my proposal, I do not know, but my reason for proposing was my will to ensure that even if I were to die, he would still be able to live comfortably. I am not a poor man by any means. However, had I just named him my heir in my will, the Ministry might have brought trouble; as my husband, nobody will be able to take the Snape fortune from him or to claim that he doesn't have a right to it.

Yes, I am still a spy. Yes, if I publicly claimed you as my son, it would bring trouble -- either the Dark Lord would force you to become one of his Death Eaters in training, or he would kill me for "hiding" you. Therefore, coming out as your father would force me to give up my position as the spy of the Order. However, I am ready to do that.

You probably want reasons for this decision. They are rather simple. For one thing, the Dark Lord is probably already doubting my loyalties, and for another, as I've stated before, having his son back would make Remus happy. Yes, Mr Potter, I would give up spying to make my husband happy.

Most probably you don't even want to consider being my son under any circumstances. That is definitely understandable. I am not the easiest of men, and I admit having done my best to make you loathe me even more than the other students, although I have at times also saved your hide. I'll have you know, however, that I did have my reasons for my behaviour -- petty in the eyes of most people, perhaps, but reasons, good enough for me. To be exact, there are three reasons.

One reason -- but, I assure you, not the most important one -- is that you are James Potter's son. Yes, I hated your father -- or, rather, your adoptive father -- more than anybody else, excluding the Dark Lord. And yes, I also took out my hatred for him on his son, or at least on the person I thought was his son. For this, I will not apologize -- it most certainly wouldn't help our cause if the Boy Who Lived died of shock -- but I do admit that it might not have been the best possible way to act.

Another reason is my hatred for all Gryffindors, your carrier and the Headmaster aside. This hatred I claim to be the fault of not only the old House rivalries but also your adoptive father and his friends, who certainly did their best to ensure that I would never think anything good of any Gryffindor. You might want to thank your luck for the fact that I did manage to find something good in two members of your House, for without my being with your carrier, you would not exist.

The last reason is the fact that, frankly, you annoy the Hell out of me. You do this by your attitude and character, which are exactly like those of James Potter, rising anew in you and irritating me just as much as they did in the original one. Of course, now I know that they aren't your true character but rather the doing of an Adoption Charm. Should the Charm be removed, I am confident that you wouldn't annoy me quite as much.

What I am trying to explain is that you should not let your fear of having a father who hates you affect your decision. As you can see, the main reasons for my treating of you are due to your adopted father and the character you have inherited from him. If the Adoption Charm is removed, both reasons will disappear, and I can tolerate certain Gryffindors, like your existence proves.

Unless the Charm leaves by itself -- in which case the Ministry files will automatically register you as Michael Snape -- I leave the decision to you. I'd like to remind you, however, that if you wish to remain a Potter, you will continue to live with the Muggles. If you wish the Charm to be lifted, you will gain a father who loves you very dearly and another who is willing to at least try, if need be.

Please inform me of your decision as soon as possible.

Yours sincerely,

Severus Snape"

For a moment Harry just looked at the letter, not really seeing it, his mind going over what he had just read. As strange as it was, in the letter Snape had appeared to be almost... human. True, it had been written in the usual style he normally detested in his Potions Master, but to his astonishment -- and slight horror -- Harry now found it familiar and almost amusing rather than unpleasant or irritating.

Now, Harry glanced at Hedwig. He then took a piece of parchment and quickly wrote a note. Then he attached it to his owl's leg and said, "Take this to Severus Snape." The owl hooted, a bit surprised, but then flew away to do as she had been told. For a moment, Harry looked after her, uncaring about the fact that she had already disappeared from sight and instead his eyes were locked at the empty sky.

Then he turned around and started to gather his things.

Severus received the note with mixed feelings. Remus raised his eyebrows as he recognized Harry's owl, but didn't say anything. Instead, he just sat on the couch, waiting to hear what it was all about.

The Potions Master now unfolded the parchment. Then he read the short message that said everything.

"Professor Snape,

I fear neither of us have a choice in the matter.

Yours,

HP/MS."

And then, attached with a Muggle tape, he saw something below the message. To be exact, a small lock of hair. Hair that was, instead of black, mostly dark brown -- and he could see at least one golden brown strand amidst the darkness.

No, they no more had a choice, it seemed.

Next Chapter: The Headmaster's Protests

Dumbledore isn't exactly willing to agree to Remus and Severus' plans.