School started on Wednesday. SO MUCH HOMEWORK! I'll be slow with writing until I figure out how I want my schedule to be, but luckily I have chapters written for submission until early November, so you'll continue to have your story for then, but please, please, forgive me if I don't upload for a week or two in November until school is out. I will do my best to continue writing, but this story will not be abandoned! R&R please!
Lots of love in these trying times,
ekrichards
Severus walked into the library where Hermione and Harry were quietly chatting away, making their lists for Diagon Alley. Rather, Hermione was chatting away and Harry was listening and saying a word here and there. Severus smirked at the two. It was hard to keep his reputation and appearance up around them, especially now that he knew they were his daughter and son. His! He still couldn't believe it. He cleared his throat and the two tweens turned to look at him.
"Hi Severus," Hermione called.
"Hermione, Harry, I have something I need to discuss with you. Can I join you?"
Harry nodded and scooted his chair over so Severus could pull up another chair. Once Severus was seated, he began to discuss the results.
"Last night I had promised Hermione that I would create a potion that would prove she is my daughter. This afternoon while you were making your lists, I did just that. Here are the results," he said, laying the sheet of parchment on the table so both Harry and Hermione could read it.
Harry glanced down at the piece of parchment, then stared at Severus, eyes wide. Hermione did the same, but instead bounced in her seat a little bit.
"Sir, this isn't lying right?" Harry said, the nerves obvious in his voice.
"No, Harry, this potion is very truthful. You are indeed my son."
"I have a dad?"
"You do."
"Harry, you're my brother! And I'm your sister! Oh, Harry this is so exciting!" Hermione exclaimed, clearly thrilled about the news.
Severus gave a rare smile. He opened his arms, wanting to hug both of his children. Hermione immediately dashed into his arms and he gave her a one-armed hug, before looking at Harry and beckoning him to join the hug as well. Harry cautiously got up and walked over to Severus before wrapping both of his arms around his newfound dad. Severus held his two children tight before releasing them.
"Tomorrow we will go to Diagon Alley and get all of your things for Hogwarts, and anything you'd like to decorate your room with. At some point we will need to decide if you want to change your last name to mine, make a mixture of the two, or keep your current last name but that doesn't need to be decided immediately, understood?"
"Yes, sir," Harry and Hermione said simultaneously.
"Now, it appears to be time for some dinner. Would you like to see what Lucinda has prepared?"
Both kids scampered towards the door, Harry more calmly and tentatively than Hermione as Severus shook his head in amusement. This was going to be a crazy 7 years.
Dinner turned out to be baked ziti with garlic bread and watermelon for dessert. After dinner, Severus had suggested that he teach them Gobstones, which was a popular game that students liked to play at Hogwarts. Both Harry and Hermione had quickly picked up on it, but had been horrified when Severus lost to them and got sprayed in the face with the stinky liquid. Severus himself had been quite shocked and hadn't been expecting it at all. Even though he wasn't mad, Harry became quite scared and fled the living room to go hide in his room. After walking Hermione to her room and bidding her goodnight, he knew that it was time to talk to Harry about his life and some of the horrors that he had experienced at Privet Drive. He knocked on Harry's door.
"Come in," a small, tentative voice called out.
Severus entered the room and wasn't surprised to see Harry curled up in a ball on the balcony watching the birds in the bird bath that was sitting in the front yard.
"Harry, you realize I'm not mad at you right? It is simply a game, and I'm happy that you won, especially since it was your first time playing! Many young wizards don't," Severus said, knowing he had to keep a calm, positive demeanor.
"But you looked mad, and whenever uncle looked mad, I would get punished because I did something wrong. What is my punishment going to be, sir?" Harry was obviously nervous.
"Harry, there is no punishment. It is merely a game." This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. "Harry, you need to get this off your chest. Why don't you tell me what they did? You can trust me. I had a similar past, so I do understand your fear."
"I can't tell, Uncle will be mad at me," the boy whispered, now facing Severus.
"You will never be going back to your Aunt and Uncle again, do you hear? Your uncle will never lay hands or eyes on you again, and he will never know," Severus promised.
"But Uncle said that if I told anyone he'd just make everything worse for me and people would know I'm lying," Harry whispered.
"He will never know that you told me, and I know that you are not lying. Everything that you say about them is true."
"Sir, I can't," Harry whimpered.
"When did they start hitting you?"
Harry sucked in a breath.
"You can trust me, Harry," Severus coaxed.
"I don't remember a time when I wasn't hit with Uncle's belt or fists," Harry said, a tear rolling down his cheek.
"Why did they beat you?" Severus was feigning calmness, although he was anything but.
"Because- Because they thought I was a freak and because I was never perfect. No matter how hard I tried something always went wrong," Harry said, his breathing getting heavier as he started to cry.
"Harry, you are not a freak. You are obviously upset right now, so I will not push you but every night before you fall asleep, like I said earlier today, I want to discuss 1 thing a night that the Dursleys have done to you. Trust me, it will feel like a weight has been lifted off your shoulder."
"Okay," sniffled Harry.
"Tomorrow we are going to get you new clothes and different glasses. I left them all at the Dursley's but it's clear that we would've needed to get you new clothes anyway. Were they all hand-me-downs from your oversized cousin?"
Harry nodded.
"I figured as much," Severus sighed. "Not to worry Harry. As your father, I will be paying for everything tomorrow. You and Hermione are my responsibility, now. Also, eventually I would like for you to call me Father or Dad at some point. Obviously, it will take a little bit, but for the meantime, Severus or sir will do."
"Yes, Severus," Harry said, giving a small, unsure smile to his father.
"Now, there is something else that I need to tell you. It is a pretty big weight to place upon your shoulders, but you need to know. I will give you the night to process it and then we can further discuss it in the morning with your sister if you wish."
Harry nodded. Severus took this as a sign to continue.
"Harry, your mother and supposed father, James Potter, were killed when you were a little over a year old. The original theory is that a man named Lord Voldemort killed them to get to you. Why he chose you, I do not feel as if you should know yet, since you are only 11. Albus Dumbledore, who is headmaster of Hogwarts, knew that the Potter's were in danger, so they went into hiding, and they needed a Secret Keeper."
"Aunt and Uncle told me my parents died in a car crash."
Severus was finding it harder and harder to control his temper when he learned new things about the Dursleys. He was about to respond when Harry spoke up.
"What's a secret keeper?" Harry asked.
"A secret keeper is someone who is the sole person who knows of a location in hiding. The secret keeper is someone the people, in this case, the Potters, trusted with their life. The Potter's had chosen Sirius Black, who is currently in Azkaban, the wizard prison. However, Dumbledore had strongly suggested that they choose Peter Pettigrew, because Lord Voldemort was after Sirius Black."
"Who are Sirius and Peter?"
"They were your father's two best friends at Hogwarts, aside from Remus Lupin. Dumbledore knew that Peter Pettigrew had already become attached to the Dark Lord, and yet he still pushed for Peter Pettigrew to become the Secret Keeper. Can you see where this is going, Harry?"
"Peter…was already loyal to Voldemort…and so he let the secret out. So, does that mean that Dumbledore betrayed my parents?"
"Very good, Harry. Dumbledore knew of Peter's loyalty to the Dark Lord and yet he still persuaded your mother and Potter to change their Secret Keeper. It was the Dark Lord's intentions to merely kidnap you, after I had begged him to leave your mother alone," Severus had blushed at his momentary weakness.
"He had promised to leave your mother alone, as long as I spied on the Order of the Phoenix for him. It was a good deal. When I heard the news that your mother was killed, I was furious, and immediately had asked for an audience with the Dark Lord, and he obliged."
"Sorry to interrupt sir, why did Voldemort want to kidnap me? And what's the Order of the Phoenix?" Harry asked, slightly nervous.
Severus glared at Harry. He hated being interrupted, even if it was by his own son.
"Sorry," Harry whispered, looking down at his hands, which were now blurry from his fresh tears. He had messed up. Again. It had barely been 24 hours and he was going to get punished with a beating.
"Harry, child, I'm not going to punish you, I simply hate being interrupted. I…apologize for glaring at you. Let me explain your first question and then I'll explain the second later."
He waited for Harry to look him in the eye before continuing.
"The Dark Lord wanted to kidnap you because there was a prediction that gave him terrifying information. The Dark Lord wants power and he doesn't want to be rivaled, especially by a toddler. Unfortunately, he was forced to kill your mother and Potter and was not able to get to you. No one has seen him since, except for his Death Eaters. Many others think that he was killed, but I believe that he was simply too embarrassed to admit that he failed in his goal. That is how you were sent to the Dursley's."
"But I digress. In my meeting with the Dark Lord, he showed me his memory of the night, and I could tell he was genuinely sorry about what had happened. The Dark Lord isn't bad, Harry, he just has interesting ways to go about getting what he wants. This is why I have stuck with the Dark Lord, and while I hope that you and your sister help fight alongside him, I can understand why you wouldn't. I still spy for the Dark Lord on the Order."
"What's the Order? Is it the Order of the Phoenix? And what are Death Eaters?"
"Death Eaters are the Dark Lord's Army, followers, members who believe the same thing as the Dark Lord, while the Order of the Phoenix are Dumbledore's followers. I am a member of both, but a follower of one."
"Oh, okay," said Harry. He was clearly deep in thought.
"I know that that was a lot. Do you have any questions?" Severus asked.
"No, not at the moment, sir, I just want to think, if that's okay."
"Very well. Have a good night's sleep, Harry. Sleep. In. Your. Bed. You know where to find me if you need me."
"Good night sir," Harry said before crawling into bed, still amazed at the fact that he could sleep in a bed.
Severus nodded once before closing the door behind him as the day's events rushed into his mind. He had two biological children and one of which had been abused all his life. Severus knew that the future path would not be easy, especially now that Harry knew the truth about his past, Dumbledore, and his mother.