Chapter 5
As Harry squirmed in remembrance, a great silvery Grim dog glided into the room.
"He's awake," the Patronus said.
The moment Severus opened his eyes, the last person he would ever have wanted to see accosted him.
"Snape!" Black practically shrieked, "You're awake!"
Severus managed a weak sneer. "Congratulations, Black. You just stated the obvious. Now can you stop shrieking in my ear and tell me what's going on?"
To his surprise, Black just grinned. "Wait, I promised Harry I would tell him when you woke up. He was really worried, you know."
Severus's sneer slipped from his face. "Harry. Does he know? How is he alive?" he rasped. He attempted to get off the bed but Black pushed him back.
"You're supposed to stay in bed, Snape," he said firmly, "or I won't call Harry. He can talk to you himself about all that."
Severus watched impassively as the mutt sent his Patronus to Harry. Black kept giving him strange, sideways glances, almost as if he was worried about him. Severus ignored it; why would Black be worried about him? Besides, he had bigger problems to worry about. How would Harry react to him? He vaguely remembered the boy calling him "Dad", but would Harry be angry with him? Would he hate him? After all, the last time the two had properly seen each other was the night Harry had been forced to watch him kill Dumbledore. Harry had not seen him when he went to drop off the Sword of Gryffindor in the Forest of Dean, and Severus had barely been conscious in the Shrieking Shack.
Hogwarts, 1997
Filius entered his quarters. "Severus, the castle is under attack! Minerva sent me to find you. We need your help."
So it was time. He looked Filius squarely in the eye, and quietly whispered, "Stupefy".
Granger and Lovegood were outside. He told them to tend to Filius, trying to alleviate his guilt somewhat. He knew where Draco would be. It had all been planned.
Ignoring the battle happening around him, Severus hurried to the Astronomy Tower. Immediately his eyes took in everything; a severely weakened Dumbeldore, Draco Malfoy's shaking hand and two broomsticks…
Harry was here, possibly under his Invisibility Cloak, and now he would have to kill Albus in front of him. His heart clenched painfully for a moment.
"Severus, please," Dumbledore begged.
No, he had to do what needed to be done. His expression hardened and he swept over to Albus, loathing for what the man was making him do etched on his face.
"Avada Kedavra!"
He watched as the life was zapped from his mentor, once and for all. Refusing to ponder on what had just happened, he simply said, "It's over," before dragging Draco with him to make their escape.
As he was running across the ground, a spell shot by, narrowly missing him.
"Run, Draco!" he told at the boy, and turned around to see his attacker. It was Harry.
"He trusted you!" Harry screamed, as yet another spell shot from his wand. Severus could hear the words not spoken as if Harry had shouted them as well: I trusted you.
"Incar – " the boy began, but Severus quickly blocked it.
Behind Harry, Severus could see Amycus Carrow posed ready to hex the boy. Quickly, Severus shot off a spell that knocked Harry off his feet, causing Amycus's Crucio to narrowly miss him. Harry's wand had been blasted from his hand and landed near Severus's feet. He picked it up and walked up to the boy, who was struggling to get on his feet.
Severus just stared at him for a moment, looking into the green eyes, which instead of showing loathing, showed pain and betrayal. He knew that this was one of the last times he would see his son; one of them was sure to end up dead by the end of it. He threw the wand to Harry so that the boy caught it. Green eyes met black.
"Why?" Harry asked quietly.
"Because he told me to," Severus answered, and with that, he left.
The Forest of Dean, 1998
Severus watched from the shadows as Harry followed his Patronus to the pool where he had placed the Sword of Gryffindor. He smiled to himself; perhaps Harry had sensed Lily in the Patronus. Dumbledore had known immediately.
As he reached the pool, Harry looked around, almost directly at the spot where Severus was. But he was disillusioned so the boy couldn't possibly have seen him. He watched as Harry cracked the ice and dove under water. When Harry didn't appear for quite some time, he began to get anxious. It shouldn't have been so difficult; he had made sure of that! He quickly took of his robe, in case he would have to dive in after Harry. Just as he was walking towards the pool, he saw a blur with red hair run past him and jump in. He watched tensely as a few moments later, Ron Weasley came out of the pool with Harry in tow. Severus breathed a sigh of relief, for once grateful for the Weasley boy.
Knowing that it wasn't wise to linger, he decided that Harry would be fine and reluctantly walked further into the forest to disapparate. He still somehow had to tell Harry about the horcrux inside him; he just hoped he got the chance. Harry surely hated him for what he had done, so how was he to get the boy to trust him?
The Present
Severus looked up as the door of the hospital wing creaked open. Who was the young man who walked in, Severus wondered for a moment. He had black hair, which was no longer as messy since it had grown out slightly till it reached the back of his neck. He had faint stubble on his cheeks and he walked with an air of confidence and purpose that Severus had rarely seen in this particular adolescent.
Harry walked over to the bed where the only patient lay. All the others had been moved to St. Mungo's, but Professor McGonagall and himself had decided that it would be safer for Snape to remain at Hogwarts.
He sat down next to the man, on the chair that he had been occupying almost constantly for three weeks.
He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it again. Finally, he blurted out, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"How did you find out?" Snape asked in a raspy voice.
Number 4, Privet Drive, 1996
Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak and his copy of Advanced Potion Making and dumped it in the trunk. It was a few minutes to midnight and he still wasn't packed. Two weeks after arriving back at Privet Drive, he had received a letter from Professor Dumbledore stating that he and Professor Snape would be arriving at midnight tonight to escort him to the Burrow where he would await Sirius's trial.
He grinned at the thought. After the debacle at the Department of Mysteries, many Death Eaters had been caught and it became obvious that Sirius was not part of them. Dumbledore had spoken to the new Minister for Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, who was eager to please now that Dumbledore and Harry were both highly favored once again. A trial had been arranged and if all went well Sirius would be free, and Harry could go stay with him for the rest of the summer!
The doorbell bellow rang and Harry heard Uncle Vernon stomp down the stairs angrily. He quickly hurried down before Uncle Vernon did something he would regret. There was no way Uncle Vernon's standard of 'intimidation' would work on Dumbledore or – Merlin forbid – Snape. Harry had apologized to Snape for the Pensieve incident after getting back from the Ministry and hearing about the Prophesy. Snape had just nodded without looking at him.
He watched grinning as Dumbledore smartly let himself into the house, Snape following close behind. He grinned at his professor as their eyes met, and Harry could tell that despite no outward change in his expression, Snape's eyes brightened when he saw him. Aunt Petunia soon distracted Harry's attention as she came out of the kitchen.
"You!" she gasped, staring at Snape as if he were a ghost.
Snape's lip curled. Harry looked between the two of them. Did they know each other, he wondered.
"What are you doing here, Snape?" she demanded, her attention focused on Snape. Yes, they definitely knew each other.
Before Snape could reply, Dumbledore interrupted, "I have some things to discuss with you, Petunia, if we may adjourn to the living room."
Apparently Aunt Petunia's fear of Dumbledore outweighed her disgust for Snape for she did go into the living room, though continued to give Snape dirty looks throughout.
Later, when Snape and Dumbledore whisked Harry away into the night, he thought to ask Snape, "Sir, how does Aunt Petunia know you?"
"Mr. Potter, I'm afraid I have no time right now to answer inane questions. I merely came with Professor Dumbledore to inform you that the O.W.L board wrote me a letter commending me on your success. You were granted a distinction in Europe in Potions."
Harry stood, stumped. Potions and Defense were the only two classes he was above average in, but this was completely unexpected. Before Harry could say anything, or even thank Snape, he had disapparated away.
Harry felt puzzled, and a little hurt, as he apparated with Dumbledore; surely Snape had not only come to tell him that. However thoughts of Snape were whisked from his mind as he entered the house where Horace Slughorn was supposed to be staying in. He did not remember until the next year.
Number 4, Privet Drive, 1997
Snape had murdered Dumbledore. Right in front of Harry's eyes. Then why couldn't he accept it? Perhaps because it was a bit like accepting the fact that Ron or Hermione had murdered Dumbledore; in other words, confusing and impossible.
Dumbledore had trusted Snape, until the very end. It was Snape he had told Harry to call when he was weak and vulnerable. How could the greatest wizard in the world have been so mistaken about someone he apparently trusted with his life? These were the thoughts swarming around Harry's head, and even now he wasn't sure if he had done the right thing by not telling the Order that Snape was the one who murdered Dumbledore. Harry remembered it well.
"How did he die?" whispered Tonks. "How did it happen?"
"It was a Death Eater," Harry said, monotonously. "He was wearing a mask. I didn't see his face."
The conversation went on somberly until Professor McGonagall thought to ask, "Where did Severus go?"
"'e was runnin' with the Death Eaters last time I saw," said Hagrid.
"He probably had to keep his cover," Lupin said wisely.
Harry didn't trust himself to speak.
"Harry, are you alright?" Sirius asked him later, "You became so pale when Remus started talking about Snape. Look, I never liked the git but Dumbledore trusted him. He must have known something about Snape we didn't know. Dumbledore wasn't the greatest sorcerer in the world for nothing."
Now, as he stood at the entrance of Number 4, Privet Drive, he pondered on that. Had it not been for Snape's last words to him, he probably wouldn't have been so confused. "Because he told me to," Snape had said. Who had told him to? If Snape was a Death Eater, why did he save Harry from that curse? Why had he returned Harry's wand to him? Why had he acted like a father figure to Harry throughout his years at Hogwarts?
As if Lumos had been cast above his head, Harry remembered what had happened last year. He headed for the kitchen where Aunt Petunia was waiting alone while Uncle Vernon finally began loading the trunks in the car once again.
"Aunt Petunia, how did you know Snape when he came here last year?" he asked, having suddenly remembered that crazy scene last year. Perhaps Aunt Petunia to could give him some insight into the puzzle that was Snape, as strange as that sounded.
Aunt Petunia pursed her lips and for a moment Harry thought she wasn't going to answer him. "He was a friend of hers when we were young. He was the one who told her about her abnormality." Aunt Petunia turned away so Harry knew she wasn't going to answer any more questions. But Harry was left with even more to think about now. Snape had been friends with his mother!
The Present
"So that's how you figured it out?" Snape asked incredulously.
"Well, not exactly," Harry admitted, "I mean, it crossed my mind, but I guess it seemed too far-fetched at the time. After looking at your memories, I began to suspect, and then Sirius told me. Though I was actually quite surprised that you told him and not me." Harry could barely conceal the hurt in his voice.
"The mutt figured it out on his own," Severus grumbled. He looked at Harry. "I couldn't have told you. It was not safe, for either of us. I knew what I had to do and Dumbledore assured me that you were safe with your Muggle relatives. I found out the truth when you were eleven. It seemed useless to take you in when you only needed to return for two months every year.
"After seeing your memories during Occlumency lessons, I persuaded Dumbledore to let me join him when he went to visit them. I was not at all happy with the conditions you faced over there, but I cannot bring myself to regret it now."
They both sat, lost in their thoughts for a while, until Severus hesitantly broke the silence, "Are you… disappointed, that I am your father instead of James Potter?"
Harry looked surprised. "No, I knew that James wasn't my father since third year."
Severus blinked. "You did?"
Harry grinned. "Yeah. Besides, I never knew James so it never mattered. I kind of always used to imagine that you were my dad anyway. Now I wish I had imagined that Voldemort drowned in that cauldron the first time instead."
Severus smirked, then suddenly became serious. "How did you defeat him, Harry? Did you allow him to kill you?"
Harry's smile faded from his face as he began to explain how he had defeated the Dark Lord. As he spoke, Severus remembered when Dumbledore had first told him that the boy had to die.
Hogwarts, 1997
"So the boy… the boy must die?" asked Snape quite calmly.
"And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus. That is essential."
"All this time, you have been raising him like a pig for the slaughter. I will not allow it, Dumbledore!"
"Severus, listen to me. There is a chance that Harry will survive."
"What do you mean?"
"Voldemort took Harry's blood, remember. It is my theory that as long as Harry's blood runs through Voldemort's veins, Harry has a chance to survive."
"It's only a theory, Dumbledore," Severus said, coldly, "I do not intend to allow my son to walk to his death based on a theory."
"Even if it means the end of Voldemort, Severus? Harry has gotten so far. And if I know him, he will have set his affairs in order so that it will truly mean the end of Voldemort."
The Present
"Out now, young man," Madam Pomfrey came bustling in an hour later, "You can talk to your father later. He needs rest right now."
"I am fine, Madam," Severus croaked haughtily, "I will leave with Harry."
"Oh no you will not, Severus Snape," Madam Pomfrey said firmly, "Your body is suffering from exhaustion from the whole year. You need your rest."
Harry grinned. "It's no use arguing with her, I should know." He gave Severus's hand a small squeeze. "I'll come by later when you wake up."
Severus grumbled as he allowed Madam Pomfrey to give him a sleeping potion.
"Goodnight, Dad," Harry said softly.
Severus felt a thrill in his heart at the use of the word, 'Dad', just before he fell into a deep sleep.
A/N: I apologize for the delay and hope that this chapter was alright. More details will be given in the next one.
Next up: More from Years 6 and 7 from the points of view of Draco and Ron