A/N: Seriously. Over 1,000 hits, 8 favorites, and 33 alerts already? o_o; Thanks for all your support, guys. It's what keeps me going!

As for the delay… My email got hacked, and my beta didn't feel well for a while. (Always wishing you the best, Ahny-love.) But as always, I apologize for the delay.

I'm still looking for a Harry Potter Characterization Beta… Any volunteers?

Disclaimer: I own HP, see! I have all seven books! Oh, you're asking about the idea? No, I don't own that. But my own characters are mine.

If Only You Knew

Written by Fenikkusu

Beta'd by Ahny (Coffee Cat)

Chapter 2: Mane (Morning)

"Dada!" A chubby one-year-old exclaimed as I walked into the room. He raised his arms, and I picked him up, chuckling. The boy giggled as I placed him on my hip.

"But, little one," I said, "I'm not your father. James is."

"No! Not Dada! You are!" The child whined, pulling on my hair. I winced; the toddler's grip was stronger than I thought. The pain faded away as the boy giggled again. "Dada's face funny!"

Before I was able to retort, I heard a voice. "You're here already!" I turned to my left to see a beautiful woman with bright green eyes and red hair. She smiled and pressed a kiss to my cheek, causing a faint blush to spread across them both. "I'm sorry this is so last minute, but James had Auror duties, and I have to visit Dumbled—" I placed my free hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. The child shouldn't see what the Old Fool is planning, regardless. If James were to come home and see his sworn enemy cradling his son…" I ended my statement with a sneer.

The woman nodded and added, "I'm positive he won't. You know he's never home anyway. Probably going to drink after the mission is over, with the rest of the Marauders." Her usually vibrant green eyes clouded over with an unknown emotion. She spoke again as I tightened my grip on her shoulder. "I should go." She turned to the child in my arms. "Honey, be good for your Patronus, all right?"

"Yuh huh! Bye, Mama!" The child waved as the woman walked out the door. The baby turned huge green eyes to me, silently asking what I would do next. I wondered about that as well. I chose to walk over to the couch and sit down, placing the boy in my lap. He quieted and began to stare at me with those emerald eyes again. "Dada, me want play!"

"I want to play, child. Proper grammar," I whispered with a smile.

"Whas gamma?"

I sighed. "Never mind."

"'Kay!" The toddler stood up and pressed a sloppy kiss to my cheek. "Love you, Dada."

After a few moments of silence, I replied. "Love you too, scamp."

Severus Snape woke up with no recollection of what happened after he collapsed in his office. He did find himself on a comfortable feather bed and no longer in any pain, though. The man immediately rolled up the sleeve of his left arm and gasped. He couldn't feel the dark magic that usually radiated from the tattoo, and the Dark Mark was a pale red color.

What on earth happened last night? The Headmaster placed a shaky palm on his forehead. And what a dream. That was no ordinary one, either. I'll probably have to contact the Domina Mentis. Snape cast a tempus and dully noted the time as three in the morning. With a groan, the man slowly maneuvered himself off of the bed and re-transfigured it back into its original form.

He tried to gather the rest his thoughts, to no avail. Perhaps… The Headmaster glanced up at the largest portrait hanging above his desk. "Albus?" In an instant, the seemingly endless darkness faded away to reveal the former Headmaster.

"Ah, Severus. I'm glad to see that you're awake! How are you feeling?" the portrait inquired, taking a good look at the man.

"Better than I had last night."

Dumbledore's eyes softened. "Yes, yes, that was the talk amongst all the portraits! I assume a suspension is in order?"

Snape snarled, "That's the least of his problems." Dumbledore had to agree. Severus took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Regardless. Did you see who tended to my injuries last night?"

"Yes. It was that new student… Vincent Evans, was it?" The older wizard's eyebrows creased in thought. "Brilliant as well. He used electricity to counter the after-effects of the Cruciatus." Noticing the pensive look on Snape's face, Dumbledore asked, "Whatever is the matter, Severus?"

"The chance of him being one of us is slim."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Ah, but the chance is still there! You didn't think that the Heads of House were the only ones, did you?"

"Albus, Elemental magic is forbidden by the Ministry," Snape retorted.

"But Severus, you forget who the Ministry belongs to, now," Dumbledore replied in a soft tone. The spy averted his gaze; the former Headmaster had a point. "You should talk to him if you're so concerned, Severus. But in my opinion…" the older one trailed off for a few moments, "he was taught by a wonderful professor."

Snape turned back to the portrait, eyes narrowing. "You're not telling me everything."

Dumbledore laughed again, "Where would all the fun be if I did? You really should get to know the boy. He might even be related to Lily! He does share her last name." Dumbledore's expression turned serious. "Now is there anything else you wanted to ask me about? You look unusually flushed."

The current Headmaster sat on the chair in front of his desk. He placed his elbows on the desk and head in his upturned hands. "The dreams have resurfaced, Albus. The Domina Mentis said this couldn't happen," Severus whispered into his palms, his form slouching forward. "Lily was there, and the late Potter called me his father. Could this be because of his death? Haven't I been haunted enough?"

"Severus, there is nothing you could have done for the boy. You couldn't have checked up on him, for your cover would have been shattered. You still have an image to keep," Dumbledore said, attempting to placate the former Death Eater.

"But why weren't the other members of the Order looking after him? I've failed Lily, Albus! Again! I've killed her, and I've killed her son as well." Albus had no answer to that. Severus buried his head in his hands, trying to will the images in his mind away. Even being a Master Occulmens didn't stop the visions from flashing before his eyes.

"Love you, Dada." Snape shivered at the thought. Love? What in the world was the young Potter talking about? And what was this about a 'Dada?' He was certainly not the boy's father. The brat looked nothing like him. James' spitting image, he thought with a weak sneer.

Dumbledore's blue eyes lost their sparkle before he began to speak, "Bring the Domina Mentis to Hogwarts. I'd love to speak to her myself, actually. I'll leave you to it!"

Severus nodded slowly, and Dumbledore faded away. It took the Headmaster some time to pick himself up and move to the other side of the desk. After conjuring a piece of parchment and a quill, he began to write.

Vincent woke up to darkness. A quick tempus told him it was five in the morning. No one's gonna be up at this time… I hope. Just to make sure, the teenager slowly peeled back the canopy of his bed. The other seventh-year Slytherin boys were still fast asleep, evidenced by the snoring coming from each of the beds. Even Malfoy, whose bed was next to Vincent's, wasn't an exception to that.

Vincent snickered, He'd kill me if I let anyone else know about his sleeping habits. Since he couldn't fall back asleep, the new student slid out of bed and tip-toed to the seventh-year bathroom. A lazy wave of his right hand sealed the room and immobilized the talking mirrors. He stood in front of one mirror, his eyes widening considerably at his appearance.

Long black hair spilled over his shoulders. Vincent raised a shaking hand and ran it through the locks. His hair was soft and actually manageable compared to that mop he'd been sporting for the majority of his life. His hand ran over his own face, feeling the high cheek bones and longer nose. His skin didn't have the bronze tone acquired from Quidditch training; instead, a healthy white was splashed over his skin. Glasses no longer sat on his face, since there wasn't a need for the correctional lenses anymore.

The student leaned forward to get a better look at his eyes. They weren't the brilliant emerald upon which everyone commented. Now they were some shade of hazel mixed in with blue, resembling an incoming storm.

"Keiichi has good taste," Vincent muttered to himself as he leaned back. "Right, almost forgot." Vincent pressed the right side of his hair up to reveal unblemished skin. "Didn't think Muggle concealer would actually be useful."

After a few minutes of just staring at himself, Vincent asked his reflection, "Wait a sec. Didn't McGonagall say I looked like a boy she used to know? A Slytherin?" He paused, taking some time to think. "I can't for the life of me figure out who it is! Whatever." He shrugged and reapplied the makeup, whispering a spell to make sure the concealer wouldn't come off easily.

So far, so good. This new identity stuff wasn't so hard to pull off. He just needed to be careful. Keiichi said it would be difficult not to revert back to his former identity's mannerisms and such. Vincent worried the inside of his cheeks with his teeth.

No, he wouldn't blow his cover. Not after all the training he did. Vincent nodded to his reflection and returned to the dormitory to feign sleep.

Two hours later, Vincent found himself in the Great Hall. He stuck himself on the end of the Slytherin table near the door for a few reasons. The first was that he still got stares from the rest of the houses. Second, he wanted to get out of the Great Hall as soon as possible. Third, he didn't want to be near the staff table if Snape showed up. Thankfully, Snape was nowhere to be found. The other staff members sat there eating as if nothing was wrong.

They used to panic when Dumbledore wasn't here, Vincent thought with a snort. I wonder how Snape is. At that moment, something landed on his head. Looking up, the student caught sight of a tiny barn owl with a letter attached to its leg.

"Oh. Hello," Vincent said as he untied the rolled parchment from the animal. The barn owl hooted and hopped down onto the table, staring up at Vincent with wide black eyes. Vincent pushed his plate to the bird before opening the letter.

Mr. Evans,

Meet me in my office tomorrow, at seven o'clock in the evening.

Headmaster Severus Snape

Vincent rolled his eyes, "I didn't even get a thank you! Cheap bastard." He glanced to his left to see the owl pecking at the breakfast food. "Erm… I guess you can tell him I'm showing up?" The barn owl shook his head and pecked at the bottom of the letter. It took Vincent some time to notice there was a postscript.

P.S. The owl is yours to keep, as I suspect you did not have one at your previous institution.

"Well, what do ya know," Vincent commented as he looked at the bird. His expression fell for a few moments as he remembered Hedwig. She was in her cage at the time of the fire, and most likely she didn't make it out alive. His expression fell, but a sharp pain on his right hand caused his thoughts to scatter. "Ow!" Vincent glared at the bird after it pecked at him. It continued to stare at the boy.

"You need a name. How about Jareth?" The barn owl looked pleased. "Can you thank him for me, at least?" The newly dubbed Jareth nodded before flying out of the Great Hall. I never thought Snape would give me a gift. But he doesn't know I'm Harry Potter, so… His thoughts trailed off as the other students began to get up. Time for the first Defense Against the Dark Arts class of the year. Usually he'd be excited, but with another glance at staff table, Vincent sighed. This wouldn't turn out well.

Severus Snape was organizing papers in his office when the hearth behind him flared to life. "Excuse me, Headmaster?" a quiet voice echoed from the fireplace. "May I come through?"

"Certainly," the man said as he stood up from his desk. When he turned to the fireplace, he saw a young woman sporting a soft smile. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Tamiya." The girl bowed from her waist, long black hair slipping over her shoulders. The simple white kimono littered with pink cherry blossoms also flowed with the bow.

"It's an honor, Headmaster, but call me Kiseki, kay?" the woman said as she stood back up. She smiled as he led her to the chair that sat right in front of his desk. Kiseki sat down and folded her pale hands neatly into her lap.

"Do you need me to show you to your rooms?" Snape asked as he walked around the desk, back to his own high-backed chair.

She shook her head, "Nah. Thanks for thinking of me, though!" Kiseki giggled and leaned forward, unnerving the man. "So… how've you been, huh? You're being way too tense! It's like I'm one of your students."

Snape raised an eyebrow, "Oh?"

Kiseki pouted and crossed her arms. "I've my master degrees in both Holy and Healing Magic for over a decade each. So technically, I'm your colleague. I did go to school with you, after all."

A hint of a smile crossed the Headmaster's lips. "You're correct, Miss Tamiya."

Kiseki rolled her eyes and threw her hands up. "You love pissing me off, just like when we were kids. You haven't changed a bit!" Snape's smile widened a tad, causing Kiseki to return one of her own. The girl lowered her arms. "Anyway, what's this problem that you're having with your dreams? I'm sure we can figure out what's wrong." She smirked as she reached for her wand. "I am the Mistress of Mind Magic, after all."