When Harry walked out of the shack he saw Snape standing next to the rowboat he and the Dursleys had used to get to the shack. Snape nodded and stepped into the boat and Harry did the same. Snape broke the silence by saying, "So I take it to mean you wish to know the truth about your parents, Hogwarts, and magic?" Harry nodded and Snape asked, "So which first?"

Harry pondered on his choices and looked, Snape thought, very much like he imagined himself to look when contemplating which potion to use rare ingredients in. Harry finally decided and said, "Magic, I would like to know about that first." He then became silent as he awaited his answer.

He did not have long to wait as Snape pulled out a stick and said, "Magic, is very real." With this he taped the side of his boat with his stick and it began to move of its own accord. Harry naturally gasped but Snape ignored it and continued in the board manner usually held by people patently explaining to a four year old that the cat does not like to have finger paint on it. "This," he said holding his stick, "is a wand and it is used to direct magic. They only however direct magic they hold no magic of their own a muggle or a squib wouldn't be able to make the slightest spark using it. A muggle," Snape said before Harry could ask, "Is a person born without magic. A squib is a muggle born to wizard parents." Harry nodded. "Of course this is just a general overview there is much more to learn but that would take much more time than we have."

Harry again nodded digesting this new information, "How about Hogwarts?"

Snape smiled, it seemed he approved of the order Harry had chosen for explanation. "Hogwarts is a school of magic, your parents both attended as did I. It is considered to be one of the best magical schools in Europe and is highly esteemed." Harry smiled at the mention of his parents. He looked down at the still sealed envelope of his letter and then at Snape who nodded at him to open it. So he did and it read:

Hogwarts School

Of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore

Dear Mr. Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall,

Deputy Headmistress

Harry read the letter, his head spinning slightly. Yeah he had heard Snape say it but the letter made it strangely real. Harry laughed and at Snape's slightly confused look explained, "Its just funny to know that the letter Uncle Vernon was trying so hard to keep from me and I wanted so dearly to get my hands on was simply an acceptance letter." Snape inclined his head slightly and though it didn't show anywhere on his features Harry knew that Snape found it amusing as well.

Harry took a deep breath and just as he was about to speak the boat bumped up against a peer. Snape stood and so did Harry. When they stepped onto solid ground Snape said." Potter this is a lot of information if you wish we can postpone the truth of your parents until after you have had some sleep."

Harry shook his head, "No I need to know… What is the truth about my parents."

Snape looked down at Harry, " I think we should wait to have this conversation until we get to my house." Harry looked at him and Snape answered his unasked question, "Yes, it is that shocking." Harry yet again nodded to show that he understood what had been said and had no objections or questions.

They walked in silence until they got to a clump of bushes. When they got there Snape said, "Grab my arm." He said this in a tone that brooked no room for question or argument so Harry did just that. An instant later Harry felt the most unpleasant of sensations. It was like being pulled into a space far to small for any doll much less a human.

When the terrible sensation passed and Harry was able to move again he noticed they were in a very different location than they were before. The streets were littered with garbage and debris. The sidewalks were in disrepair and many of the houses had boarded up windows. Harry spotted a sign that was falling off its post, which read "Spinners End". Harry began to ask, "What-" however Snape interrupted him as he had been doing since Harry had tried to ask his very first question. "That was just Apparition it is a magical means of moving quickly from one location to another, and as for where we are it is the street that my house is on." Noticing that Harry was noticing the state of the houses around them he added, "I only stay here during the summer holidays the rest of the year I am at Hogwarts so I don't have much use of an expensive house." The sense in this was obviously understood by Harry as he said ah and stopped looking at the dilapidated house next to them as if a mugger was about to jump out of it.

When they arrived at Snape's house Harry thought it looked just like all the other houses down the road but somehow he felt he could tell beforehand which one was Snape's. Though Harry quickly dismissed these thoughts as his imagination. As they stepped inside it was quite clear to Harry that Snape was neither lying about not living here much nor did he entertain guests frequently if at all. The half of the living room immediately after the door seemed fairly unused and not very well maintained as the couch was patched in places and the coffee table had cracks in the legs. The other half was a single armchair next to the fireplace and many, many bookshelves all crammed full of books. After Harry had taken in the state of the living room Snape began walking down a hall on the side of the living room that was in disrepair. He pointed, when Harry caught up with him, through a doorway that didn't have a door and said, "Kitchen," and he then continued walking down the hall. At the next door they got to Snape opened it and said bathroom. Harry poked his head in and came out coughing. It smelled heavily of mildew and fungus. Snape put his head in to see what the problem was and pulled it out quickly with an unpleasant look on his face. He brought out his wand and wordlessly flicked it. Harry then walked into the bathroom, which was now blissfully mildew free, and looked around. It had a sink, mirror, toilet, and a shower with not much room for anything else. It was becoming even more obvious that Snape lived completely alone. When Harry came back out Snape continued on down the hall. When they came upon the next door Snape opened it first and wordlessly flicked his wand. After doing this he said, "This is where you will be sleeping tonight. I will alert you when it is time for breakfast." With that he hastily retreated away.

Harry however wasn't going to let that happen. He walked out of the room and said, "The truth about my parents, you haven't told me yet." Snape turned back and looked at Harry again in that strange way, that odd way which made Harry feel as if his whole life was on display. Before he could stop himself he yelled, "Will you stop that!"

Snape looked at him for a second and said, "Stop what exactly?"

"That… that thing you do when you are looking at me. Its creepy." As Harry said this he began to feel really foolish. Snape wasn't doing anything except look at him… right?

Wrong. Snape smiled, "That 'thing' as you so aptly put it is called legilimency. It allows me to see into your mind, if it weren't for my earlier examination of your thoughts I would have thought quite different of you and the way you were brought up. I, like nearly every other person in our world, believed that you were brought up knowing as much about you and your story as we did. However popular belief is quite wrong."

Harry stood there as if stricken. He was reading my thoughts. He… wait a minute, "What story and what do you mean every other person in our world?"

Snape smirked slightly, "Follow me and I will tell you everything." So Harry did. They walked over to the better portion of the living room and Snape flicked his wand, a duplicate of the chair appeared next to the original. Harry sat on the duplicate. Whatever Snape had to say it must be huge. Snape sat on the original chair took a deep breath and began. "Your parents were killed by a dark wizard whose name we do not say he is referred to as either The Dark Lord or You-Know-Who. He and his followers were killing all who stood against him. He killed your father first, then your mother and then attempted to kill you. However something went wrong and his spell backfired killing him and leaving you with just a scar."

Harry gasped, tears pricking the sides of his eyes, "So that means that they were murdered, they didn't die in a car crash." Harry wasn't sure which story he wanted to believe the one where an evil wizard mercilessly killed them or the one the Dursleys told him that portrayed them as being penniless drunks.

"Correct Mr. Potter. You are the first person to ever survive the killing curse and for that you are famous." By this time Harry was shaking violently he couldn't believe it… it wasn't true. He was just Harry a mediocre child who always messed things up with his freakishness. Harry looked down as he felt something pressing into his hands. It was a cup of hot tea. He took it gratefully and began to drink it shakily. His mind was racing he couldn't be famous especially not for something so stupid.

Harry muttered, "That's a stupid thing to be famous for, I can't even remember it happening." Snape looked slightly uncomfortable, this wasn't the reaction he expected. Harry getting a small bit of optimism asked, "So if the Dursleys lied to me about my parents deaths does that mean they were lying to me when they said that they were penniless drunks?" Harry had a look in his eyes that made it quite clear that he thought this was almost too much to hope for.

"They were far from penniless Mr. Potter as are you and now I think it is time for you to go to bed, we have quite a bit to do tomorrow." Harry nodded and walked slowly back down the hall trying to process all this new information. He fell asleep the second his head hit the pillow.