Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Severus stared at Remus in shock. "Are you mad? Why in Merlin's name would I let Harry Potter pose as my son?" he hissed.

Remus shook his head. "I don't know, but I do know that boy I saw tonight is Harry," he said. "Don't lie to me, Severus. I know his scent and I recognize his eyes. Now, I want to know what is going on."

Harry entered the room at that moment, his hair still wet from his shower. He saw Remus and stopped, looking from his father to Remus. "What's going on?"

Remus turned and looked at Harry. "I could ask you the same question, Harry."

Harry' eyes widened in surprise and he turned to his father. "You told him! Why did you tell him?"

Severus gave Harry a stern look. "I didn't tell him. You just did. He was just guessing until you confirmed his suspicions."

Harry gasped in horror. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't...I thought.."

Snape laid a hand on his shoulder. "Calm down, Harry. It's okay. You just have to be more careful." Harry nodded.

Remus watched them in confusion. "Will one of you mind telling me what is going on?" he asked, impatiently.

Severus sighed. "I suppose we better tell him."

Harry bit his lip nervously. "Everything?" he asked.

Severus nodded. "It would be best to prevent any wild speculations on his part."

Harry sat on the couch. "You'll want to sit down. This will be quite a shock."

Remus sat next to Harry and put his arm around his shoulders. Harry relaxed and leaned into him slightly. What if he doesn't like me anymore after I tell him, he thought. Maybe he only cares for me because he thinks I am James' son. Harry closed his eyes. Oh Merlin, I can't do this.

"Harry."

He met his father's eyes. Severus' gaze was sympathetic. "It will be all right, just tell him."

Harry took a deep breath before he spoke. "James Potter is not my father. Severus is." He stopped and waited for the explosion. It came, but not in the direction he thought it would go. Remus stood and approached Severus furiously. "What are you trying to do, Snape? Why would you tell him such a hateful lie?" he yelled.

Severus' eyes flashed in anger. "It is not a lie, Lupin. I-"

Before he could react, Remus grabbed him by the front of his robes and shoved him against the wall. Neither of them noticed Harry run to his room.

"You're trying to get him to trust you so you can turn him over to Voldemort, aren't you?" Remus snarled. "I won't let you do it, Snape."

"I would never hurt Harry."

Remus pushed him into the wall again. "Stop the act, Snape, I don't believe you. I heard how you talk about Harry. I seen and heard about how you treat him. The only reason you would pretend to be his father is to harm him."

Meanwhile Harry had returned with his mother's letter and was trying to get Remus' attention. Frustrated when they continued to ignore him, he grabbed a vase from the mantle. He went back to the two men and threw the vase on the ground near them.

If the situation hadn't been so serious Harry would have laughed at their dumbfounded expressions. "Are you going to stop fighting, or do I have to break something else?"

"Please don't," Severus said wryly. "Albus told me you could throw quite a tantrum when you want to."

He blushed at the reminder of trashing Dumbledore's office last year. Remus let go of Severus and stepped back, still eying him warily. Severus straightened his robes before pulling out his wand and repairing the vase.

Harry looked at Remus. "Severus is not trying to hurt me. He rescued me from the Dursley's and I have been alone with him several times since then. If he was trying to turn me over to Voldemort, he has had many opportunities to do so. Also, he wasn't the one who told me he is my father. My mum did in a letter she gave to Dumbledore to give to me. Here, take a look." He handed the letter to Remus.

Remus sat back down as he read the letter. When he finished, he handed the letter back to Harry. "I'm sorry, Severus. I didn't . . . You're sure this is true?"

"Yes, the way he looks now is his real appearance. A person would have to be blind not to see that he is my son."

Remus was silent for a while. He was still lost in his thoughts when Harry spoke.

"Are you . . . okay with this? I know you liked me because you thought I was James' son, but-"

Remus stood and pulled Harry into a hug. "Harry, I love you because of who you are, not because of who your father is. Nothing about that has changed." Remus pulled back. "Are you okay with this? The two of you have not exactly been the best of friends for the past five years."

"Yeah, I am," he said. "It's been nice having a parent, and Severus has been really great about it. Even if I am a lot of trouble," he added, glancing at Severus.

Severus snorted. "Nonsense, you are not that much trouble."

Remus laughed. "I am confused about one thing." He said.

"Just one?" Harry laughed. "What is it?"

"You said Severus 'rescued' you from the Dursleys. Why did you need to be rescued? Was there a . . .?" He trailed off at the expression of horror on Harry's face. "Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry laughed nervously. "Did . . . did I say rescued? I didn't mean that. Of course not. I . . . it just felt like I was rescued, because I hate it there. You know I hate it there. I was just-"

"Harry," Severus interrupted. "You don't have to tell anyone what happened, but I do not want you lying to people."

Harry sighed. "Yes, sir." Harry looked at Remus. He could tell Remus, couldn't he? Remus was his friend. Harry started to open his mouth to tell him, but the words just wouldn't come out. What if Remus thought less of him? Worse, what if he was ashamed of him? The Boy Who Lived, The Hero of the Wizarding World almost beat to death by a magicless muggle. Harry felt his face flush with shame, and tears came to his eyes. He couldn't tell Remus, he couldn't tell anyone. He couldn't let anyone know how pathetic and weak he was.

Remus put his arms around Harry, and he flinched back for a moment before wrapping his arms around him. Don't cry, Harry told himself, but he felt several traitorous tears slip from his eyes. Remus simply held him tighter, and kissed the top of his head. After a few minutes Harry stepped back, and tried to surreptitiously wipe his eyes.

"Sorry, Remus," Harry said.

Remus smiled sadly. "You don't have anything to be sorry about."

Harry looked down as he answered. "I mean I'm sorry that I can't tell you what happened."

"You don't have to apologize for that either. You can come talk to me when you're ready." He glanced at Severus. "I hope you will at least speak to your father about it. It's obvious that whatever happened is very painful for you. You really should talk about it with someone."

Not a chance, Harry thought, I just want to forget about it. He nodded anyway to pacify Remus.

"Severus, can I speak to you a moment?" Severus nodded and led Remus into his office.

Harry fidgeted as he waited for them to return. What could they be talking about? Surely Severus wouldn't tell him what happened. Not after saying it was my decision. They were in there for only a couple of minutes before they came back out. Harry was relieved to see that Remus looked much too calm for Severus to have told him what happened with his uncle.

Remus hugged him one last time. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Remember I'm here if you ever need to talk. Good night, Harry."

"Night, sir."

After he left, Harry sank wearily onto the couch, "Merlin, I hope everyone doesn't react that once we can finally tell people." He hoped Severus didn't notice his attempt to direct the conversation.

"Indeed." Severus gave him a sardonic look that said Harry's diversion did not go unnoticed, as he approached the couch. He winced as he sat down. "I don't think my back could handle many more episodes like that." Harry was relieved when he decided not to mention Remus's suggestion about talking.

Harry sat up. "Would you like me to get you a potion, Professor?"

"No, Harry, I'm fine." He frowned slightly. "Why do you still call me that?"

"You mean Professor?"

Severus nodded.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. It's just habit, I think."

"You can address me more informally if you wish. Of course, once school starts, I ask that you do so in private only and definitely not in class."

Harry chuckled and Severus raised an eyebrow in question. "I was just imagining your reaction if I did do that in class."

"My reaction probably would not be as severe as you would think. After all, if I favor my Slytherins, it stands to reason that I would favor my son even more. Except, of course if you end up back in Gryffindor," he added smirking.

Harry frowned in thought. "When I was sorted in my first year, the hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."

Severus stared at him. "You're joking, of course."

"No, it said I could be great and that Slytherin could help me on the way to greatness, but I had heard that most of Voldemort's followers were in Slytherin. I told it not Slytherin and it put me in Griffindor."

Severus conjured some tea and poured himself a cup. "I never would have guessed that."

"Exactly," Harry said, "and no one else would either. So, what I could do is try to convince the hat to put me in Slytherin this time. It would be perfect. Even Ron and Hermione don't know I was almost in Slytherin. Nobody would ever suspect Derek Snape is really Harry Potter."

Severus smirked. "Why, Harry, that is absolutely . . . Slytherin."

Harry laughed. "From you I'll take that as a compliment."

Severus sighed. "We do need to talk about what happened with your uncle." Harry groaned and walked over to the fire, staring at the flames. "I know you don't want to, but your reaction today tells me that you really need to talk to someone."

Harry turned angrily toward his father. "I don't want to talk about it! Talking won't change anything. I'll still be the pathetic freak who couldn't fight off his muggle uncle." Harry shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see his father's reaction. He hadn't meant to say the last part.

"Harry-" Severus began.

"Please, I just want to forget about it, and get on with my life." Harry begged.

"But Harry you can't-" Severus hissed in pain. "Why now," he growled with frustration. Harry noticed he was holding his left arm.

"Sir?"

"I have to go. There is a Dreamless Sleep potion by your bed. Promise me you will take it before you go to bed," Severus said.

"But-"

"No, Harry, this is not up to discussion."

"Yes, father, I promise."

"We will be continuing this conversation later." Severus said sternly.

Severus collected his robe and mask for a drawer in his bedroom. He gave Harry one look before exiting the rooms. Harry went in his room and sat down on the bed with his stomach clenching in fear. He'll be fine, Harry thought, he's probably done this hundreds of times. He tried to convince himself that this was true, but his kept going over all the things that could go wrong. When he stopped thinking about that he thought about how much he was dreading the conversation to come. His thoughts just kept going back and forth until finally, just to stop himself from thinking, he snatched up the potion and drank it. He quickly undressed and got under the covers. His last thought before he fell asleep was, please come back, Father, I don't want to lose you, too.

A/N I bet no one expected to see another chapter so soon. This chapter just seemed to write itself so I decided to go ahead and post it to make up for the long wait for chapter 7. I hope you like it!