Reveal

"Harry!" Remus smiled as he ushered them inside. "You look…"

"Fat. He looks fat."

"Come, Severus. There's no need to be insulting."

"I wasn't insulting him," Snape said, frowning as he dug around in Petunia's handbag. "His cousin is the one with the weight problem."

"When will it wear off?"

"As soon as I find… ah, here it is."

"What's this?" Harry said.

"Antidote to Polyjuice."

Grabbing his jeans and T-shirt, Harry hurried to the bathroom. A couple sips of potion and he transformed back into himself, sighing in relief as he shed Dudley's oversized clothes.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who hated looking like a Dursley. Snape had taken the antidote, too, flowered dress discarded in favor of his customary black robes. He'd joined Remus in the sitting room, leaning against the wall with his arms folded over his chest.

"Come, Harry," Remus said. "Join us."

"Okay."

"How about some tea?"

"Sure, thanks."

Plopping onto the couch, he accepted a cup as he inspected his surroundings. The room was small but clean, decorated in soft shades of blue.

"Who's house is this?"

"No one's," Remus said. "That is, it was vacant when the Order acquired it."

He nodded, taking a sip of tea. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Severus has something important to tell you."

"Yeah, that's what he said. What is it?"

"This won't be easy…"

Harry frowned. "Did someone else die?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Then it can't be that bad. Tell me."

Remus hesitated, shooting a quick glance at Snape. "Do you want to…"

Snape shook his head. "Tell him about Potter and Black."

"Sirius and my dad?" Harry said. "What about them?"

"They were close, Harry. Very close."

"Yeah, I know. Best friends, right?"

Remus had never looked so uncomfortable, perched on the edge of his seat like he was about to bolt from the room.

"Not exactly. I mean, yes, though it was a bit more complicated than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I do believe James had good intentions…"

Snape snorted. "Right."

"When he married Lily, I'm sure he tried his best to…"

"My mum? I thought we were talking about my dad and Sirius."

"This involves all three of them, I'm afraid. There's no easy way to tell you…"

"What?" Harry said, unable to keep the frustration out of his voice. "Just say it!"

"Harry, James wasn't in love with Lily. Their marriage was…"

"It was a sham," Snape finished for him.

"A sham?" Harry's eyes widened. "Are you joking?"

"No, Harry," Remus said quietly. "I'm not."

"But you told me the whole story! You said he was after her for years, that she didn't like him at first but he won her over. I didn't understand how when he'd been such a prat, but you said…"

"Most of that was true."

"Most of it?"

"He did pursue her," Remus said. "Quite persistently, from what I remember."

"That's an understatement," Snape muttered.

"Okay, so what part isn't true?"

"Yes, he pursued her, and yes, she eventually gave in. That's all that matters."

"Like hell it is," Snape said, dark eyes fixed on Remus. "Tell him the truth."

"Severus…"

"Shall I do it, then? My version will be much less flattering, I assure you."

Harry glanced from one to the other, a knot forming in the pit of his stomach. He was about to speak when Remus cleared his throat, voice so soft Harry could barely hear him.

"Your mother was vulnerable," he said. "Her parents had just died, and she'd lost her best friend the year before that."

"Her best friend?"

"Me," Snape said, pushing away from the wall and dropping into an empty armchair. He wore his usual stoic expression, though to Harry's surprise, his hands trembled ever so slightly as he fixed himself a cup of tea.

"Go on," he said, turning his attention back to Remus.

"She… she was an easy target."

"A target?"

"Yes, Harry. He…"

"He deceived her." Snape said roughly.

"The bullying?"

"Pardon?"

"Bullying," Harry repeated, frowning at Remus. "You told me he'd stopped that."

"He did."

"Except for Snape."

"Harry, you must understand…"

"Sirius made it sound like he was asking for it."

"Asking for it?" Snape rose to his feet, knocking over his tea. "Did I ask to be ambushed in the middle of the woods? Or how about in the hallway, when they petrified me before stripping off my clothes?"

"Severus, please…"

"I was only trying to get to my common room. Instead, I was left to lie there until morning, covered in piss!"

"They peed on you?" Harry stared at him, horrified.

"The cloak."

"What?"

"The cloak!" he snapped. "You wondered how I knew about it? There's your answer. That bloody thing… that and the map… both were instrumental in my torture, used to ambush me so many times that I… to say that I asked for it…"

Snape was nearly incoherent now, face twisted with anguish. He turned away from them both, breathing so hard Harry could hear him from across the room.

"Sir…"

Remus shook his head. "Give him a minute."

Somehow, Snape regained his composure. He dropped back into his chair a few seconds later, features smoothed out into a bland, emotionless mask.

"Now," he said, his tone so casual it bordered on indifferent. "Where were we?"

"I'm sorry, Severus. I should've done more to stop them."

"That's neither here nor there. Continue."

Unlike Snape, Remus wasn't particularly good at hiding his feelings. He shot a glance at the door before he turned back to Harry, his expression pained.

"James did lie about the bullying," he said softly. "He lied about other things, too."

"Like what?"

"Claiming to be in love with your mother. Marrying her under false pretenses."

"But that… that makes no sense! Why spend years trying to wear her down if he didn't love her?"

"I believe it was the challenge that appealed to him. Well, that and the competition."

"Competition?" Harry said, glancing at Snape. "Are you talking about…"

Remus nodded. "Severus and Lily's friendship was unacceptable to James, even more so since she was a Gryffindor. He was determined…"

"Determined to drive us apart."

"Yes, though in fairness to James, I think he genuinely believed Lily would be better off."

"Fairness to him?" Snape's lip curled into a sneer. "He hounded her, manipulated her, changed the entire course of her life through his deceptions! Don't you dare try to defend…"

"I'm not defending him, Severus, merely explaining his point of view. His motivations might've been flawed, but…"

"Flawed? He was an arrogant bastard!"

Harry had tried so hard to give James the benefit of the doubt. He'd accepted Sirius and Remus's excuses, choosing to believe that his father had outgrown his worst qualities. But if even half of this was true… James Potter had been a terrible person.

"Fifth year."

"What?"

"Fifth year," he repeated, turning his attention to Snape. "That's when you and my mum stopped being friends, right?"

Snape nodded.

"She didn't marry my dad until a few years later, so that couldn't have been the only reason…"

"It wasn't," Remus said, pouring all three of them another cup of tea.

"Good."

Despite everything, Harry wasn't ready to believe the worst of James. If additional information would redeem him somehow…

"Personal inclinations aside," Remus said. "James was eager to get married. With aging parents and no siblings, he was the only one who could carry on the Potter name."

"So he did it for his family's sake?"

"In part, yes."

"Even though he didn't love my mum?"

"Yes."

"Did he love someone else?"

"Yes, Harry."

He frowned. "Why not marry that person instead?"

"Because he… it's a bit complicated…"

"He couldn't wed Sirius Black," Snape interrupted, "nor could he procreate with him. Seems simple to me."

"Severus…" Remus shook his head, shooting Snape a reproving look.

"Sirius?" Harry's eyes widened. "Sirius and my father?"

Snape grimaced. "I wouldn't put it like that."

"I don't care how you put it! That can't be true!"

"It started when we were still at Hogwarts," Remus said, "sometime around fourth or fifth year. They managed to keep it quiet, but…"

"You're lying!"

"No, Harry, I'm not."

"Then you lied to me before! You and Sirius both!"

"We told you a kinder version of the story, one we had no reason to believe would ever be disproven. There was no changing the past – it seemed better to let you remember him as a hero, not for his flaws and mistakes."

"Then why are you telling me this now?"

"That part is complicated," Snape said. "Perhaps we should wait…"

"No. Tell me the rest."

"You aren't going to like it."

"I don't like being lied to either!"

"Very well, though we'll need something stronger than tea."

"I'll fetch it." Remus hurried out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a bottle of Firewhiskey.

"You're letting me drink?"

"Yes," Snape said, conjuring two glasses and filling them to the brim. "In fact, I strongly encourage it."

Harry accepted a glass, closing his eyes as he took a large swallow. The amber liquid warmed him from the inside, his muscles relaxing by slow degrees.

"Does that help?"

"Yeah, a bit."

"Good." Snape drained his own glass before he set it on the table. "Now where were we?"

"My dad… Sirius…"

"Yes, we've talked about that. Perhaps it's time we discuss your mother."

"All right."

"Lily and I were friends. Close friends."

"Then you called her that awful name and that was the end of it, right?"

"Not exactly," Snape said. "We were estranged at Hogwarts, but everything changed after we left school. A chance encounter… I'd gone down a dark path by then…"

"You became a Death Eater?"

Snape nodded. "A choice I regret to this day."

"So what happened?"

"Lily was married to Potter, a decision she'd already come to regret. Neither of us could escape our situations, so we… let's just say we were a comfort to one another."

"Are you saying you had an affair?"

"Not the term I'd use, but yes. We were… involved."

Harry didn't know how to respond, other than to hold out his empty glass. To his surprise, Snape filled it to the brim a second time, topping his own off before he lifted it to his lips.

"Shall I continue?" he said.

"I guess so."

"We went to great lengths to be discreet, though that didn't stop Potter from finding out."

"Bet he was pretty mad, huh?"

"Furious," Snape said. "Lily and I never spoke again."

Harry opened and closed his mouth, struggling to process this new information. Should he tell Snape he was sorry the affair had ended? No, that didn't seem right. James was his father, whether hero or villain or somewhere in between. He might've never been born if…

"Wait a minute."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

"When did it stop?"

"1979."

"When in 1979?"

"Late October."

Harry's stomach lurched, his head shaking of its own volition. "No," he whispered. "No bloody way. You're not trying to tell me…"

"That is precisely what I'm telling you," Snape said. "Or would have if you'd given me the chance."

"But that's impossible! You can't…"

Suddenly, it was all too much. He burst into tears, horrified to be crying in front of Snape of all people, yet he couldn't seem to stop it. Losing both Sirius and Dumbledore… finding out that Remus, one of the few people he had left, had been lying all along? Even his parents seemed like strangers now, illusions he'd clung to all his life scattered like so much dust.

"Harry…"

"Stop calling me that!" he shouted. "It's not normal!"

"What shall I call you, then?"

"Potter. Call me Potter!"


Severus had known better than to expect a good reaction, though this was worse than he'd anticipated. Harry was on the verge of hyperventilating, struggling to catch his breath between huge, gulping sobs.

"Enough, Potter! Control your emotions, or I'll shove a Calming Draught down your throat."

Harsh, though strangely enough, it worked. The room grew quieter, sobs giving way to much more muted sniffles.

"Is that necessary?" Lupin frowned. "He's got every right to be upset."

"Of course he does! That's not…" Severus shook his head, cursing under his breath. "Will you give us a minute?"

"If you'll permit me to say something first."

"Well? Spit it out."

"I'd like to apologize. There's nothing I can say to justify my silence, but Harry, you must understand…"

"Stop! I don't want to hear it!"

"That isn't going to help," Severus said, "though I know something that will. The other matter we discussed…"

"I'll take care of it."

Severus watched Lupin leave, sighing heavily as he turned back to Harry. To his relief, the crying had stopped, though that didn't mean they could continue their conversation. Harry had clearly had enough, pushed well past his breaking point.

"Potter."

The name was bitter on his tongue, but he forced himself to say it anyway. What his son needed was a touch of normalcy, something to counter this strange new reality he clearly wasn't ready to accept.

"Sir?"

"What we've just discussed…"

"I told you I didn't want to talk about it!"

"Very well. We'll put it aside until you're ready."

"What if I'm never ready?"

That was his private fear, though he chose not to say so. He shrugged instead, vanishing the stain on the carpet where he'd spilled his tea.

"That is your choice," he said. "Meanwhile, we have other matters to discuss."

"Like what?"

"The war."

Harry relaxed, though his expression was still dubious. "What about it?"

"I'd like to help you however I can."

"You can't."

"I'm on your side," Severus said. "Surely you must realize that by now."

"Doesn't matter. I need to do this on my own."

"Says who? Dumbledore?"

Harry nodded.

"Can you at least tell me…"

"I promised I wouldn't."

Severus was 99% certain he knew the truth. He kept that to himself, however, still hoping Harry would be willing to confide in him. It would certainly be better that way, an act of trust rather than yet another shocking revelation.

"Do you know why I was chosen to give you Occlumency lessons?"

"No."

"Because I know how to keep a secret. Indeed, I've mastered the art. That is why Dumbledore entrusted me to be his spy, a role I've succeeded at for the better part of two decades."

"What's your point?"

"Tell me the truth," Severus said, "and I'll take it to my grave."

Harry shook his head. "If Dumbledore wanted you to know, he would've told you himself."

"What Dumbledore wanted and our current situation are two different things. We've already deviated from the original plan."

"What do you mean?"

"The poison was my idea, not his. He wanted me to use the Killing Curse, leaving everyone with the impression that I'd murdered him in cold blood."

"The Killing Curse?" Harry's eyes widened. "Why would he do that?"

"Draco had been ordered to murder him," Severus said. "You wondered about his peculiar behavior throughout the school year? Now you know. The curses, the poisonings… all of those were botched attempts to carry out the task he'd been given."

"But what does that have to do with you?"

"Quite a lot, as it happens. Shall I show you?"

"You mean in a Pensieve?"

"That won't be necessary." Severus pulled his wand out of his coat, pointing it at Harry. "Legilimens."

Unlike last time, he didn't plunder through Harry's thoughts. He focused on his own instead, replaying memories in painstaking detail. He showed his frantic efforts to mitigate the curse, followed by Dumbledore's casual acceptance. Recalling every word of the discussion they'd had about Draco, he finished up with the awful task he'd been given. Finally, he offered a glimpse of himself at Spinner's End, clasping Narcissa's arm as he took the Unbreakable Vow.

"So you see," he said as he withdrew. "I had no choice. If I hadn't killed him, or at least given him the means to take his own life, I'd be dead myself."

"But why did you take the Vow? If you hadn't…"

"If I'd refused, I would've lost the Dark Lord's trust. I couldn't let that happen, particularly at such a crucial moment. Dumbledore was already dying. Hogwarts was in peril, and I was the only one in any position to protect it. I could not hope to do that without proving my loyalty."

"They had to believe you were willing to kill him."

"Yes."

"Okay, but why did you change the plan? If Dumbledore wanted it to be more obvious…"

"Would you want to do it?" Severus said. "Cast the Killing Curse on a man you truly respected?"

Harry grimaced. "When you put it that way… yeah, I get it. You took a much bigger risk, though."

"I did."

"Why?"

Because I didn't want my son to hate me.

Of course, he couldn't say that aloud. Harry was still in denial, obviously doing his best to pretend their earlier conversation had never happened. Still, he couldn't help thinking it. Where would he be now if he hadn't stumbled across that box?

"I felt I could be more useful if I continued to play both sides."

"Yeah, but if I'd told anyone what I saw…"

"You didn't," he said, "for which I'm exceedingly grateful. Your discretion has allowed me to maintain my connection to the Order – meanwhile, the Dark Lord is thoroughly convinced that I killed his greatest nemesis. Both those things give me a considerable advantage, one I'd like to use to assist you in your task."

"No."

"Whatever it is…"

"I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't tell. Sorry, but I'm not going back on my word."

Harry wouldn't be confessing anytime soon. That much was obvious, the stubborn set of his jaw an uncanny reminder of his mother.

"So that is the promise you made?" Severus said. "You wouldn't reveal what he asked you to do?"

"Yes."

"What if I already knew?"

"You don't."

Perhaps he could've worn Harry down by slow degrees, though time was a luxury they didn't have. Better to go ahead and voice his suspicions so they could plan their next steps.

"I don't know about the Horcruxes?"

Harry gasped, his eyes widening. Too late, he attempted nonchalance, his bland expression almost laughable in its transparency.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm referring to the diary," Severus said. "Well, that and the ring that cursed Dumbledore. I've deduced that there are others, though I'm not certain…"

He trailed off, both of them distracted by the sound of voices in the hall. Poor timing on Lupin's part, though Severus supposed he couldn't blame him. It had been his own request, after all, one he hoped might ease Harry's transition.

"Is that…"

"Harry!"

Hermione Granger stepped into the room, the Weasley boy close on her heels. They both stopped short when they saw Severus, the excitement on their faces giving way to confusion.

"Oi, what's going on?"

"I was wondering the same thing," Harry said. "What are you guys doing here?"

"I brought them." Lupin smiled, obviously giving himself way too much credit for the reunion.

"Yeah, but he didn't tell us…"

"Didn't tell you I'd be here?" Severus smirked at Weasley. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"No, no," Granger said hastily. "He didn't mean…"

"Yeah, I did. It's weird."

"I appreciate your honesty, Mr. Weasley, though I object to the overall premise. As a member of the Order, there's nothing unusual about me using a safe house to conduct Order business."

"Business? What business? What do you want with Harry?"

"Some of that is between him and myself. The rest…"

"Sorry," Harry said. "Can you give us a minute?"

"I suppose so."

Severus stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. Of course, that didn't stop him from overhearing their conversation, particularly when he cast a charm to aid in that endeavor.

"Snape brought you here? Why would you go anywhere with that greasy old bat?"

16 years of teaching… one would think the students would've invented a more clever insult by now.

"Ron, don't call him that. I'm sure Professor Snape is just trying to help."

"Oh, come on, Hermione. What has he ever done to help us?"

Quite a lot, actually, though Severus was in no position to point that out. He rolled his eyes instead, wishing he'd given Weasley more detentions while he'd still had the chance.

"Remus trusts him," Harry pointed out. "Dumbledore did, too."

"Yeah, but what do those two have in common?"

"Gryffindors?" Granger suggested. "Really good wizards who've always cared about Harry?"

"No," Weasley said. "Both of them were always too nice. Dumbledore was bad about trusting the wrong people, and Remus can't say no to anyone."

"Ron, that's not fair. You know very well…"

"Shit!"

That single word brought an end to the conversation, the room suddenly silent as Severus gripped his forearm. Not now, not now… oh, bloody hell, not now!

"Lupin? Lupin!"

He should've expected it. Indeed, he'd been lucky thus far, given enough time to coax Harry out of Petunia's house and install him in a safe location. Unfortunately, it seemed his luck had run out.

"Lupin!"

It was no use. The werewolf had already left, which of course, was another part of their plan. A stupid part, in retrospect – Severus fired off his Patronus, doing his best to regain his composure as he opened the sitting room door.

"I have to go," he said, eyes boring into Harry's. "You, all three of you… stay here. I'll return soon."

He wanted to give them a proper warning, but there simply wasn't time for that. The burning sensation was growing stronger, making it clear that there'd be severe consequences if he didn't respond in short order.

"Where are you going?" Harry said.

"It doesn't matter. Remember what I told you."

With that, he headed for the back door, stepping outside before he pressed his fingers to the Dark Mark.