A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or any character thereof. Only the story line is mine so please don't sue! I don't own anything!

Chapter 42

Severus and Albus entered Minerva's office. Severus walked over to the desk to whisper something to Minerva.

"Molly, Arthur. I'm afraid I have more bad news," said Albus after a couple of minutes.

"More?" they exclaimed.

Albus nodded. "It seems that -"

Just then there was a knock at the door. When it opened, everyone just stared.

In came Fawkes, Harry (who was still limping and covered in blood), Ginny, Ron, and Lockhart.

Albus glanced at McGonagall who looked like she was having issues breathing. Severus wasn't doing much better.

"Ginny!" Mr. And Mrs. Weasley both pulled her into their arms.

Albus, however, (along with Severus and Minerva) watched as Harry limped over and placed the sorting hat, the diary with a big hole in it, the basilisk's tooth, and the sword down on the desk. The phoenix flew over and plopped itself on the Headmaster's shoulder, seemingly proud of itself. He didn't even realize that Fawkes had left his perch.

Mrs. Weasley made to pull Harry into her arms too but he stopped her. "Don't Mrs. Weasley. I'm covered in Basilisk blood and I'm afraid that it might hurt you."

All of the adults in the room gasped, simply unable to say anything (except Lockhart who was staring idly at a moving picture).

The potion's master found his voice first.

"Potter, you need to remove your robes immediately. With that blood on you, you shouldn't even be able to move. It's a paralytic and extremely acidic."

Harry shrugged. "The blood's not hurting me - especially considering the basilisk bit me. I just don't want anyone else to get hurt." He removed the robes slowly, revealing Dudley's four times too big hand me downs.

Everyone looked at him strangely, again, lost for words. Harry just ignored the looks.

Finally Minerva screeched out, "Explain yourselves! Now! From the beginning!"

As Albus listened to Harry explain everything that happened, starting from when he began to hear the dis-embodied voice, he realized with some horror that this was how Voldemort took his steps to remain immortal. That didn't bode well.

At one point there was a desperate look in the boy's eyes. He didn't want Ms. Weasley to be in trouble, so Albus was able to help there, ensuring that she wouldn't be punished.

Eventually he sent Ms. Weasley and her parents off to the infirmary (and to take Lockhart with them), Minerva to wake the elves to prepare a feast, Ron to deliver a letter to the owlery which would free Hagrid, and Severus to inform the other heads of house.

Then he and Harry had a chat.

"First of all Harry, you must have shown me real loyalty down in the chamber. Nothing else would have called Fawkes to you. Thank you."

Harry turned red as he sat down in the chair. His ankle was still hurting him.

"You have some questions?"

Harry nodded. "Riddle said that he and I were alike ..."

"I bet he did," chuckled Albus. "What's really bothering you Harry?"

Harry hesitated for a second then blurted out before he could stop himself, "I'm afraid that I should have been in Slytherin - like the hat originally wanted to place me."

Albus smiled. He thought that was what Harry was referring to. "Yet it put you in Gryffindor. Why do you think it did that?"

Harry thought back to his sorting and looked at the hat that was fidgeting slightly on the desk. "Because ... in a way ... I guess I asked it to."

Albus nodded. "You do have attributes that Salazar would have appreciated. The ability to speak to snakes, your cunningness, and if I may say so - a certain disregard for the rules, but as you go through life you'll see that it's your choices that make you who you are, not your abilities."

"Does that mean that one of my parents could speak to snakes too?"

Albus shook his head. "Unless I'm mistaken, when Voldemort tried to kill you that night, he inadvertently gave you some of his abilities."

"I have some of him inside of me?" asked Harry horrified.

Albus grimaced. "You have some of his abilities, yes." Then the Headmaster smiled. "Now as for whether or not you should have been in Gryffindor, look closely at the sword."

Harry picked it up carefully and saw the name Godric Gryffindor etched below the hilt on the blade. His eyes widened as he looked up at the Headmaster.

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the hat."

Harry beamed.

"Can you walk up to the hospital wing on your ankle?"

Harry nodded.

"Go on then and hurry back down to the feast. You may even see Madam Pomphrey wake Ms. Granger."

Albus conjured a black robe to put over Harry's ... clothes ... if they could be called that.

Harry thanked the Headmaster and as he went to limp out, the door slammed open and in walked Lucius Malfoy - being trailed by Dobby.

Severus took a detour to an empty classroom before he notified the other professors what all had occurred.

He sank down into a chair, in total shock.

Potter killed a basilisk and lived. Hell, he was bit by it and covered in it's blood and was still alive and breathing.

Phoenix tears could account for some of the healing but not all of it. It simply didn't make any sense to him.

'And I knew I was dying but I felt the magic in the air do something and then Fawkes healed me. Fawkes then threw the diary at me and I stabbed it on the chance that the venom would spread through the pages.'

Severus replayed that over in his head. The fact that he had said he could feel the magic in the air had shocked him but even more so had the realization that the time corresponded to when Severus had felt something that made him think the boy was dying.

But why? Why him? Why would he, of all people, feel such a thing?

He had heard of parent's knowing the instant their own children were hurt - especially in the wizarding world.

But Potter was not his.

Lily would not have kept something like that from him.

'But she would if it involved protecting him and the boy,' a voice in the back of his mind said before he could squash it.

Severus counted the months and realized that it would have been exactly nine months since conception that Harry would have been born. He had never really thought to do that before.

He shook his head ruefully. No. Potter was not his. Babies were rarely born exactly nine months from conception and Lily would not have hid his child from him.

Severus managed to squash the protesting voice that time.

All the evidence he should need is in Potters face. The boy is the spitting image of James Potter.

Harry was not his son.

There had to be another reason for his reaction and he would figure it out.

"Tempus," he murmured.

Snape realized that he had been brooding for 20 minutes. He quickly got up and headed towards Pomona's quarters.

"You cost me my servant! Sanguis -"

Dobby pushed his hands forward and Harry watched with wide eyes as Mr. Malfoy went flying down the hall.

"You shall not harm Harry Potter!"

Lucius picked himself up off the floor and before storming away declared, "You'll go out just like your meddlesome parents did and I hope that I'm there this time to see it."

Before Harry could respond, Malfoy was gone.

"Mr. Potter, you need to take a shower to get the rest of the blood off of you. When you get out, I can give you something for your ankle.

Harry grimaced. He was beginning to hate the hospital wing.

After he emerged from the hospital shower, he saw his own robes sitting on a chair. Madam Pomphrey must have had someone retrieve them from his closet.

"Take a seat Mr. Potter and drink this. It will heal your ankle."

Harry took it, grimacing at the taste. A few minutes later, his ankle no longer hurt.

"Thanks Madam Pomphrey!" Harry made to leave when he was stopped.

"Hold on young man. I need to run some tests to make sure that the blood didn't do any lasting harm to you."

He groaned and had to sit through twenty minutes of scans and muttering from the medi-witch before he could join the feast.

It was after the feast. Everyone had gone to bed already. Even though exams were cancelled, O.W.L.'s and N.E.W.T.'s were not.

Albus eyed the potion. He had no idea what he would do if this told him what he thought it would.

Sighing, he added a drop of Harry's blood that he had confiscated to the vial and shook it. He then dumped the contents out onto a piece of parchment.

Harry James Potter

Mother: Lily Marie Evans - Potter

Father: James Cadius Potter

Albus sighed. Now he was going to have to come up with some new theories regarding a lot of things that he had seen happen.

He quickly vanished the vial and paper and headed up to bed.

Deep in the bowels of Gringotts' a parchment activated, waiting to have its orders carried out.

After the final breakfast, Harry walked up to the Headmaster.

"Professor, you got a minute?"

Albus nodded. They went into a side room.

"Sir is there any way at all that I can stay here over the summer? I know you said last year that students couldn't but I promise that I'll stay out of sight."

"I'm sorry Harry. Surely your aunt and uncle would miss you."

"I doubt it sir. They'd probably be disappointed I didn't get eaten."

Albus frowned. He did not like how that sounded. "Harry when your mom died, I invoked a very ancient and very powerful magical ward around your aunt and uncle's home. When she took you in, it sealed it. As long as you reside there at least 2 weeks out of the year, no evil can harm you there."

Harry sighed. At least he knew why he couldn't stay at the castle now. "All right sir. Have a good summer."

"You too Harry."

Albus watched as he headed back towards his friends to catch a carriage.

Severus hadn't had any luck figuring out why he had the reaction that he did and he was at an utter loss to make any sense of everything that had transpired.

Albus had been looking at him oddly but the potion's master had been unable to get anything out of the old coot.

Severus idly wondered if he threatened to take the man's sweets away, if Albus would tell him anything - or just hex him outright.

It was a couple days after school let out when Severus found Albus scolding Peeves. They began walking and talking about the upcoming potions conference that Severus was about to go to. Eventually Severus asked, "So, any children out there?"

Albus coughed. "Excuse me?"

"The Sodalite. There aren't many uses for it."

Albus groaned. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice what I took and no, I don't have any children out there."

Severus smirked. "I'm sure that the people that make your lemon drops will be disappointed to know that."

The Headmaster just rolled his eyes.

As they made their way up to Albus' office, Severus idly wondered whose paternity Albus had questioned.

Suddenly he stopped dead in his tracks.

Surely Albus didn't check Potters blood, though it would explain some of the looks that he had been getting. No. It must have been an older student who was curious or it could have even been for one of his acquaintances at the ministry.

Yes, that had to be it.

After all, no one knew that he had made love to Lily but himself and Lily.

"Severus?"

The potions' master looked up. "Sorry. Was thinking."

Albus merely smiled and they both continued on their way through the castle.