Disclaimer: I would think no one is dumb enough to think I own Harry Potter, but if you do lack that portion of your brain, I am sorry to offend.
Later that night after everyone had gone off to bed, Neville and Harry were still sitting in the common room. Spare parchments, quills and a corked potions bottle was sitting before them. "Well Harry it's now or never. Would you like to do the honors?" Neville asked handing him the potion.
The raven-haired boy simply nodded and uncorked the potion. Picking up small knife, he'd nicked from the kitchens, Harry slowly cut across the palm of his left hand. He poured half the potion onto the parchment and quickly let his blood flow into the silvery liquid. Right before his very eyes, lines and names began to appear. Beside him Neville had done the same thing.
Harry was amazed as he saw him named appear at the bottom of the parchment with a line going up to his parents. Before he could read the names, Neville gasped and Harry turned to see what was wrong. "What's wrong Neville?" Harry asked in concern.
"My grandmother is related to Salazar Slytherin. I'm the ruddy heir of Slytherin. How in the bloody hell did I manage this one? Come on, me little Neville Longbottom who can't go a day without blowing something up. I can't be a Slytherin, what if the others find out? What am I going to do?" Neville slumped in his chair and sighed.
Harry patted the distraught young man's shoulder and tried to reassure him. "It'll be alright Nev. I'm sure you will show your Slytherin side once you come into your heritance. That's when you learn the full extent of your powers and all. Things will work out alright Neville I'm sure of it."
Neville sighed again, and turned to Harry's parchment. "Well Harry what does yours say?" Neville sat up in his seat and waited for Harry to tell him about his family tree.
Harry turned back to his own parchment and looked carefully at it all. Once he had read the lines drawing up to his parents, the shocked boy dropped the parchment as if he had been burned. "No, that can't be. It can't be." Harry stood up and backed away from where they had been sitting.
With a worried looked Neville stood up and moved closer to Harry. "Harry what's wrong? What happened? Come on you can tell me. No matter what it says I won't judge you and we can get though it together. I mean that's what friends are for isn't it. Please Harry tell me what's wrong."
"He's my father. The man, who's hated me all these years, is my father. I can't believe… It's not true… it can't be true… I … he's hated me for years. This can't be right Neville it can't be right. How could Severus Snape be my father?" Harry rambled at the other boy.
Neville gasped in shock and his wide chocolate brown eyes landed on Harry. "Are you sure that's what it read Harry? Are you absolutely sure?" The green-eyed boy could only nodded in response. Neville reached for the fallen parchment, and looked at it for himself. Harry was right the line drawing up from him, was Severus Snape. "Harry what are you going do to?" Neville asked him.
But the green eyed young man had no answer to his friends question.
The next morning found both young men, in their beds, but neither was asleep. They had both spent the night going over what they had learned. Harry was confused, if Snape was his father, then why had the man openly hated him for so many years. Why hadn't he tried to get him away from the abusive Dursleys, why hadn't he told Harry the minute the man knew he was in Hogwarts? Why hadn't Snape said something, why hadn't he said anything? Did the man even know Harry was his son? Did he even care?
Once the Slytherins had gotten ready and headed down to the great hall, the initial shock had worn off. Neville, who had been buttering his toast, turned to Harry. "Are you going to say something to him Harry? I think you should tell him that you know who he really is. I mean he did keep this from you for 6 years now. I would ask him about it, and then find out what really happened. You should at least know the whole story before you decide what you want to do."
"You are right Nev. I just don't know how to bring the subject up. I mean what do you say to the man who's hated you for as long as you can remember and it turns out he's really your father. This is all so surreal." Harry said picking up his toast.
It was that moment that Draco Malfoy stuck his nose into their business. "What are you two talking about? Who's really your father Harry? Why don't you tell the rest of us your little secret?" While Draco spoke he placed more toast and eggs on to Neville's plate much to the other boys distaste.
"Why do you care about Harry's personal life? You never cared before. I thought you would have had your little spies on us all the time and you would have already known what was going on." Neville said to the blonde as he scrapped the food Draco had put on his plate back onto the platters before them.
Draco gave a half hearted glare at the objection of his affection. "Really Neville, I'm not as bad as you think I am. I was simply worried about you. I can worry about you all I want. Now what have you learned?"
"Severus Snape is my father." Harry said with a sigh.
"And you are just now realizing this? I would have though you would learn more about your parents when you learned how they supposedly died. Severus has been waiting for years for you to figure things out. That's part of the reason he never said anything to you about it. Why don't you go see him after Breakfast? We have a free period then and Severus isn't teaching either. It would be best for you to know the truth. And after you talk to him I expect you to join the Slytherin council."
Draco loaded Neville's plate again causing the boy to groan in frustration. "Draco will you stop doing that. I'm not going to eat all the food. You aren't my mother."
"You bloody well should eat it all. You look like a walking stick. Don't you ever eat at home?"Draco said still loading Neville's plate.
"Why do you care what I eat? Draco give me back that jam." Neville said as Draco pulled the jar of jam away from the frowning Neville. Harry stood up and left the great hall leaving his bickering friends at the Slytherin table.
Harry made his way down to the dungeons going over in his head what he wanted to say. When he reached the potion master's door way, the raven-haired young man's first thought was to turn and run the other way. He was surprised when the door opened and Severus Snape eyed him wearily.
"What is it this time Potter? Draco has been giving you a hard time again? Has Pansy been threatening to take you shopping? Ron and Hermione ignoring their golden boy because he's suddenly turned snake? Well don't just stand there Potter, tell me what you want." Severus said.
"My name is not Potter Professor and you should very well know that. I mean I am your son after all. How long were you going to wait before you told me? Were you planning not to tell me at all?" Harry asked a sneer worthy of Malfoy now gracing his face.
"Harry you don't understand. Things were difficult then, times were tough. I protected you the best way I knew how. I gave you to the Potters. They could care for you and love you and protect you better than I could then. You must understand everything before you judge me on what I have done." Severus said slowly, praying the boy might actually take the time to understand his point of view.
"Then my dear old father why don't you tell me. Explain things to me. Make me understand why I have been living a lie my entire life." Harry spat at the man, anger taking over his body.
The potions master sighed. "I will Harry you deserve to know the truth. But right now we both have classes to prepare for. This is can wait until tonight."
"No it can't ruddy wait. I want the truth and I want it now. I'm sick of everyone keeping things from me. What does it matter if I learn it now or later? If I wait then it will give you time to honey coat everything so it seems as if you are the real victim in the whole matter. That is not the case. I am the victim for once in my life I am the victim. And you will not change that for you own means. You will tell me now." By the end of Harry's little speech the boy was steaming with anger. His body was visibly shaking and he was beginning to turn red in the face.
Severus sighed and nodded."Alright Harry. Let me go and fire call Professor Dumbledore. I'll tell him that we are both ill and then we will talk. Go ahead and move into the sitting room. I shall be right there." Severus directed Harry to the sitting room, and moved to fire call the headmaster. When he entered the room, Harry was sitting in an arm chair waiting for him.
"I am not sure where to begin. Though I suppose the beginning is the best place. It was during our 5th year that I met James Potter and Remus Lupin for the first time. Sure I had known them before but it was different this time. The conversation was pleasant, and we seemed to get along well. We became friends of sorts. Remus helped me with charms and transfiguration, and I helped Remus and James with potions. All done in secret of course, if anyone were to find out things would have turned out badly. We meet in Hogsmeade when we could or in the room of requirement.
We even made time for each other during summer break. During our 6th year I fell in love with James. It wasn't until Christmas break that I got the courage to tell him. To my amazement James returned my feelings. And I was on cloud nine. I found someone who understood me and wanted to be with me.
We began to date. We hid our relationship from others, afraid of what they would say if they had found out. To our horror, Sirius found us together in the owlry one night. Things went horribly wrong after that. James could hardly find time to get away and see me because Sirius always knew where he was going. He wasn't upset about the fact that James fancied men; Sirius was upset because he fancied me. I was always a target for Sirius anger but it grew worse after he discovered James and me.
And then he did the unthinkable and lead me to Remus during a transformation. It backed fired on him though. James found out and saved me from being killed and when Remus found out he broke up with Sirius. Remus and James were angry at him for weeks. It was right after that, when James and I found out I was pregnant with you. The war began to escalate and my father forced me to take the dark mark.
James and I went to Dumbledore for protection and the man claimed he could do nothing for us. He threatened James told him if he were to continue his relationship with me, he would be forced to imprison James for aiding a known death eater. Dumbledore also told James that he would make sure I never had the baby. With no other choice and your safety at hand James left me and told me not to contact him again. The rest of the pregnancy was difficult for me.
I was so alone. Remus was the only other person who knew I was pregnant. But with the war escalating, he really had no time to see me. He called when he could, visited once or twice, but there was nothing he could really do. It was so hard for me to stay positive. We were both close to losing our lives during your birth. When I held you in my arms for the first time I knew that everything I had been through was worth it because you were so perfect.
I went to Dumbledore again thinking if I proved that I didn't want my child or myself in danger he would surely help me. I was wrong and he denied me safety again. There were aurors waiting for me at the entrance hall and they took you from my arms. Ripped you away from me and left before I could stop them. Remus told me that you screamed for days, and no one could calm you. They contacted James and gave him custody of you.
From there things are not quite clear, and I've only been able to piece bits of it together. Dumbledore staged a lot of what happened. The prophecy was false, and he killed your parents. He needed a tool, a hero for the wizarding world and you became what he wanted. I tried again to get you back but I was denied because I had taken the dark mark. Dumbledore hid you away and I knew nothing of what happened to you. Dumbledore informed me that I was to be a spy for the light.
I used the death eaters to hide my pain and I became one of them. A heartless bastard hell bent on revenge. I grew to hate your father for being able to be with you even for the short time he was alive. I grew to hate him for taking his love away from me and falling into being a pawn for Dumbledore. It was difficult times for me. When you came to Hogwarts I still had strong feelings of hate and love for him. You looked so much like him. I knew they had cast glamour to make you look more like a Potter rather than a Snape. I had a hard time remembering it was you and not him. I never hated you Harry. Never did I hate you.
I hate what had become of you and my life. But things are different now. You will no longer go to that horrendous house and endure their hatred of you. You are my son and I intend to take full responsibility for you. And nothing Albus can do will stop me. I have full rights of you my child and things are about to change. Mark my words that old man will regret what he did to us." Severus finished his eyes finally landing on his son.
Harry was crying the information swirling inside his overwhelmed mind. So much information and come to him in less than a day and he was having trouble processing it all. But one thing was clear to both men; Dumbledore would pay for what he did to them. He was going pay for tearing their family apart.