The Elvin Consequence
Chapter Twelve
"You go and get dressed and I will get the door." Severus said getting up and heading through to the living room.
As predicted it was Albus Dumbledore who disturbed their morning together. Severus allowed him inside and had given him a cup of tea by the time that Harry came back down stairs.
"Harry" The headmaster greeted.
"Albus, what can I do for you today?" Harry asked cheerily.
"You care needed, the Order needs you. Voldemort is …"
"I don't want to hear it." Harry said simply, interrupting the elderly wizard.
"This is your responsibility, your birth right! How can you claim not to care?"
"Easily, if you knew what I did then you wouldn't ask me to do anything like what you ask of me now."
"And what is it that you think you know Harry?" Dumbledore asked watching Harry extremely carefully.
"I do not think that you should divulge any information you wouldn't be happy sharing with the wizarding public." Severus advised.
"I know Sev, which is why I'm not telling him anything, but he needs to be very clear on the fact that I won't have anything to do with Voldemort."
"You will be considered a coward for this Harry, besides that do you really think that Voldemort will just leave you alone, he wants you dead!"
"I have my own way of dealing with that but from now on you can be sure that Voldemort is your problem not mine."
Speechless Dumbledore put down his half drunk cup of tea and left in disgust. He couldn't quite comprehend what it was that Harry had said.
"What is you ingenious plan for getting rid of the Dark Lord then?" Severus asked once the headmaster had left them alone.
"Don't you worry Sev, you'll see, by next week we won't have to worry about Voldemort any more, I assure you."
On the Tuesday of that week when Severus was back at Hogwarts Harry wrapped himself up in black robes and a black cloak that belonged to Severus and he set off to Riddle Manor where he knew Voldemort to be.
He was fortunate enough that he no longer looked like Harry Potter. No scar, no glasses, different hair and he was taller. He apparated directly into the grounds of riddle Manor where immediately four masked Deatheater's came to escort him inside to meet Voldemort.
He had his cloak drawn up around his face as he was taken inside and thrown down at the feet of Voldemort who was looking haggard and hideous as he always did.
"Lower your hood and state your name stranger." Voldemort demanded his tone severe and icy cold.
"First I will offer you my wand to show you that I mean no harm to you and secondly I offer assurance that I only ask one thing of you." Harry said as he lowered his wand and placed it on the ground before Voldemort. His heat beat had increased radically with nerves as he knelt before his father.
"I accept this, now lower your hood and state your name!" Voldemort said with impatience.
Harry lowered his hood and said: "I am Harry potter and I mean you no harm, I lay down my wand to you." He said, he could hear his heart hammering and he was sure that Voldemort would be able to as well.
"Yes" Voldemort said taking in the appearance of Harry Potter and almost recognizing certain things about him. "You said that you had something to ask of me." Tom sounded almost curious now rather than evil, it was not a tone of voice that Harry had expected to hear from the Dark Lord.
"I want you yourself to look at my blood and tell me who my father is." Harry said, he was almost tripping over his own words as he spoke them.
"Is this some sort of trick, tell me now why I should just not kill you Harry Potter." Voldemort said out raged standing now and glaring down at Harry who remained on the floor before him.
"Because I would not be here, alone, if this were a trick, if you are not my father as I suspect that you are then I will give you my life willingly to do as you wish with."
"And if I am, which I suspect that I am not?" Voldemort asked mockingly.
"Then I walk away, I don't expect you to care or to act fatherly, I just want to be left alone without anyone trying to kill me."
"It is an odd request to lay down ones like for Potter but I will honour your stupidity at this point if only to amuse myself and to later take your life. I agree to your terms."
Harry withdrew a knife from within the folds of his robe and made a long cut across the palm of his hand. He then offered his now injured hand to the Dark Lord. Tom withdrew his wand and cast the appropriate spell. Silence descended as everyone in the room waited for the result.
"What does it say?" Harry asked, his confidence faltering as he realised that if Severus was wrong then he would die tonight. The silence lingered a little longer, only the sounds of breathing could be heard.
"It says that … you are my son"
The room at once erupted with noise, only Harry and Tom stayed silent as the Deatheater's spoke amongst themselves at this astonishing revelation.
"SILENCE!" Voldemort bellowed, "Leave us now."
"But Master …" One of the Deatheater's protested.
"NOW!" Voldemort shouted and their were no more complaints. "How did this come about?" Tom demanded his tone had not changed in spite of this revelation, just Harry had predicted, he was still a heartless bastard.
"When you decimated the Elvin people you raped an Elvin woman, she fell pregnant with me, the night you fell was also the night she was murdered with the rest of the Elvin people that escaped originally, I was put in the place of Harry Potter who you did kill." After a pause Harry continued, "I don't want anything from you, I just want to be left alone. Go have your war but I will not be apart of it, also I will make sure no one else knows who I am, only my mater and I, do what you will to your Deatheater's."
"May I ask who your mate is, if I am truly to leave you be then I will ensure that he is not harmed either."
"My Elvin side chose Severus Snape; I also wish no harm to come to Draco Malfoy. He is a friend, do you agree?"
"I agree, I honour your wishes and you will now walk away."
"Did you want nothing else of me in return?" Harry asked unsure.
"The Knowledge that I have a son is enough, knowing that he hates me because of my actions binds me to honour his terms, now walk away." Voldemort said, his tone still harsh and unforgiving as ever and Harry took his wand and walked away having learnt something new about Voldemort.
Severus turned up late on Wednesday evening; Harry had been training for his first Quidditch match with the Montrose Magpies all day and had been just about to go to bed when Severus burst into their bedroom looking enraged.
"You stupid boy! You could have got yourself killed, how could you have been so stupid?"
It took a moment for Harry to realise what on earth is was that Severus was going on about. The older man strode across the room and grabbed Harry, practically shaking him. "Did you even think of what might have happened to you, did you even think at all?"
Severus let go of Harry almost in tears and finally Harry spoke. "I did it for us, I did it so Voldemort wouldn't hurt us ever again and it worked."
"I could have lost you!" Severus said in despair, and for the first time Harry felt a rush of love and warmth from Severus, it was so strong that it hit Harry with such force that he fell to his knees gasping for breath. At once Severus was by his side. "What is it Harry, what's wrong?"
Harry simply turned towards Severus smiling brightly and kissed him. "I love you too." The Elf said happily and he fell into the older mans arms and that was where they stayed for at least an hour just holding each other. Severus stayed the night with Harry and left early to make his morning classes.
Harry couldn't have been happier, Voldemort wasn't going to bother him, he had Severus, he had a lovely home, a great job which he was good at and loved, and above all he was free from Hogwarts and Albus Dumbledore.
That next Saturday the Montrose Magpies played their first match with Harry as their seeker. They won easily by ninety points.
From that point on the fan mail began to pour in, despite no longer being their saviour everybody still loved him.
By the time Christmas rolled around Severus had officially retired from his teaching position at Hogwarts, as much as he enjoyed it he preferred to enjoy Harry more frequently instead.
Draco came and stayed with them that Christmas in the spare bedroom downstairs. Oliver Wood joined him as, surprisingly enough, his boyfriend.
Also that Christmas Severus decided to propose to Harry who said yes, provided that they wait until Harry was at least twenty. That evening Harry wrote to Voldemort, informing him that he was due to get married and it was probably best that he not show up considering the circumstances.
Voldemort never replied.
Two weeks after the school year had officially ended at Hogwarts a full scale war broke out at Hogwarts. Harry kept a close eye on things, watching from the distance as his old friends fought.
He had not thought to protect them but then he realised that he just didn't care.
The war ended three days after it had begun, the headline the day after was:
MANY DEAD! BOY-WHO-LIVED ABSENT FROM BATTLE!
Harry threw away the article without reading it. Severus later retrieved it to find out who had lived and who had died. The list of the dead was lengthy and included:
Albus Dumbledore
Neville Longbottom
Luna Lovegood
Percy Weasley
Colin Creevey
Dean Thomas
Parvati Patil
Tonks
Rubeus Hagrid
And Ginny Weasley
Severus found himself disgusted at the fact that Dumbledore had allowed children who had not even graduated from Hogwarts to fight in such a gruesome battle.
Severus did not tell Harry that Ron and Hermione had survived and he did not tell him that Voldemort was dead; he assumed that if Harry wanted to know he could find out himself.
"On the same day as the newspaper article a letter arrived for Harry from Thomas Marvolo Riddle. At first Harry wasn't going to open it but then curiosity got the better of him.
My son
I am dead if you have received this. I cannot say that I am sorry for what I have done for I am not. I fought for what I believed in and to do so no matter what is courageous not evil.
I do not regret that you came into world only the circumstances in which it came about. Remember that no matter what you are my son; you are the heir of Slytherin. TMR.
Harry kept this letter but he did so without letting Severus know. He had never had anything of the sort from a parent before and he treasured it.