[7 Days until Hogwarts begins - 5 days until Sev has to go to Hogwarts]
Severus never really understood the phrase "there is a thin line between love and hate". It always sounded like something people would say to excuse their behavior, but now, after reading Lily's letter for the third time he finally understands.
He has loved Lily for as long as he has known her; he loved the way she took to magic when they first met as small children, the way that she refused to allow the differences in their upbringing and then later differences in Hogwarts house to separate them, he even loved her as she broke his heart when she walked away from him those many years ago when he let his pride get in the way of accepting her help and lashed out at her.
He even loves her still, but now, now he also hates her.
He hates that she never told him that she forgave him, that she let him agonize over the loss of her friendship for years!
He hates that when she found out the truth; she had been spelled not to approach him and to remember the hurt he had caused, that she didn't immediately let him know.
He hates that she kept his son, his SON! from him and that she allowed the man who bullied him for years to claim him as his own.
He hates that she performed a ritual without understanding the consequences.
He absolutely hates that she bound in secrecy, the only two people that could have ensured that Harrison was protected after Lily and Potter died.
Above all, he hates that he believes her.
—Meanwhile—
Harrison has finished reading the short letter from the previous King and looks over at his dad and immediately stands up in worry as he sees wetness on his dad's face. "Dad…" he begins only to be interrupted by Ragnock.
"Prince Harrison, forgive me for intruding but I would suggest giving your father a few moments as the letter left to him from your mother is quite a bit longer than the one left to you and if our suspicions are correct about the contents of your mothers' letter it is best, we give him a bit of time to get his thoughts organized".
Harry looks at his dad and then to Ragnock "what do you mean? What suspicions?"
Ragnock gestures to a small table and chair set that hadn't been there before, Harry was almost sure. "Why don't we sit down, and I'll explain, and then you can ask any questions you may have".
"Okay," after one more glance towards Severus he moves to a chair and sits down, focusing his gaze on Ragnock and Griphook as they too sit down.
"In the Will your mother mentioned the letter that Professor Snape is currently reading. Contained within that letter we suspect is the explanation for how it came to be that you are biologically his son" Ragnock pauses a moment in thought. "As we know from your father's own words and from Healer Radrig's tests, Professor Snape never had intimate relations with your mother, and he has not been Obliviated".
Harry nods but then asks, "what exactly is that last thing?"
Griphook clears his throat "Obliviate, in general terms, means to forget or to wipe from existence. In this instance, it would mean that someone would cast the Obliviate spell onto another person and would essentially erase a memory or memories from that person. This would result in that person not remembering that something had happened."
"That's horrible!" Harry gasped "why would anyone do that to someone?!"
"It can be, yes" Griphook acknowledged "as is the case with any spell that is twisted to be used for more nefarious means".
"What do you mean? How is it twisted?"
Griphook sighs "it is the nature of man and beast to bend things to our will. In this case, the Obliviate spell was originally created by a renowned Mind-Healer to assist patients that had suffered immense trauma. They would use the spell to temporarily mute those memories so that they could deal with them a bit at a time. Unfortunately, as things go, someone decided that using the spell to erase memories of misdeeds was a perfectly okay thing to do. It became quite popular amongst the seedier side of the Wizarding World".
"Oh, that's horrible" Harry says sadly "is there no way to prevent a spell from being used in any way other than its intended form?"
Ragnock and Griphook exchange a glance before Ragnock replies "unfortunately no, there is not, but it would be interesting if there were. I imagine it may be similar to placing intention-based wards on a property, where anyone or thing with ill intent would be prohibited from acting".
"That's someone magic can do? Could that kind of ward have been placed on my Aunt's home to make sure they treated me well" Harry asked not sure what answer he wanted?
"It becomes a bit trickier in the non-magical areas of the world, as while there is magic in everything some wards require more active magic to be near them to keep them strong" Ragnock explained. "As you were the only magical living in or near your Aunt's residence the wards would have needed you to be constantly there in order to keep them strong, and as soon as you left for more than a couple of days they would weaken to the point of needing to be repaired or restructured".
"Oh, okay, so if my Aunt's house was in a magical district then the magic of the district would help to keep the wards strong?"
Ragnock nods, "yes as districts or even family homes such as Potter Manor or Longbottom Manor have had so many magicals in residence or nearby that magic has soaked into the very walls and floors which in turn help to keep the wards strong".
Harry begins to ask another question when Severus abruptly stands up and stalks over to stand in front of the walls on the opposite side of the office to where Harry and the Goblins are sitting. He notices that his dad has the letter from his mum in one hand and the other hand is constantly flexing closed and then open. He can't help but keep an eye on that hand as he slowly stands up and takes a step forward "Dad…?"
At the sound of his son's tremulous voice, Severus sags against the wall as he closes his eyes. I have a son, and my son needs his father right now, not the hurt little boy, he tells himself as he takes a deep breath, while pushing away from the wall so that he can turn around. "Harrison are you…" he begins to say only to notice that his son is staring at his still tightly clenched hand. Severus purposefully relaxes his hand and then takes the steps needed to bring him in front of his son, where he lowers himself to a knee so that they are closer to eye level.
Harry shakes his head slightly and blinks at his dad who is now directly in front of him before lowering his eyes to stare at a button on Severus' robe.
"Harrison" Severus says as he gently places a finger under his son's chin and lifts until their eyes meet "I hope in time you will come to realize that I will never, ever, physically hurt you." His lip quirks a little at the corner "I'd like to be able to claim that I'll never emotionally hurt you either, however, I'm new to this whole dad thing and I also know what I am like, and I'm sure if you've inherited anything from me, it will be my temper" he says as he gently pokes a finger into Harry's tummy causing the young boy to giggle slightly in shock. "What I can promise is that I will always love you and that I will do my absolute best to always be there for you. Any time you do something against the rules whether at home or in school your punishment will never result in physical harm. Okay?"
Harry nods and smiles a little "okay".
"Now, I'm too old to continue to kneel here so why don't we join Ragnock and Griphook at the table and you can catch me up on what I have missed," Severus said as he stands and guides Harry to the table.
Harry sits down and launches into a brief (to him) recap of what he and the Goblins had been discussing while waiting for Severus to finish reading the letter from Lily.
"I see, and did you have any other questions about what you discussed? Was there anything else you didn't understand?" Severus asked.
"Umm, no, I think I got it all, but umm…" Harry trails off not sure if he should ask.
Severus reaches over and places his hand on his son's shoulder, squeezing gently. "Just ask, if we can answer we will".
Harry chews on his bottom lip for a moment before taking a deep breath and blurting out "are you mad at me because of what mum did?"
Severus takes a moment to ensure he understands and then moves his hand to Harry's chair pulling it closer to him so that he can wrap an arm around his son's shoulders, pulling him close. "No, never. You are not at fault for any of this and I hope you can believe that".
Harry sags into Severus and whispers "you were crying and then you looked so angry".
Severus rests his head gently against his son's as he replies, "the information in Lily's letter made me sad and yes, also angry, but I was never angry at you". He pulls away a bit to meet Harry's eyes and clearly enunciates "You. Are. Not. At. Fault. And I will never blame you for what your mother did or didn't do".
Harry's eyes well up with tears for a moment before he closes his eyes and takes in several deep breaths. Once he's gotten control of himself, he nods as he opens his eyes and leans back into his dad.
Severus sighs and hugs Harry close while turning to look at the Goblins seated across from them. "I am sure you are curious as to what Lily's letter had to say, while I won't get into the more personal details, I think there are a few things you should definitely be made aware of. First, Lily stated that she was placed under several compulsions to not speak to me and to relive the hurt feelings she experienced after our initial parting of ways, each time she saw me. She discovered this as a part of the cleansing ritual all Unspeakable recruits go through. She did not indicate that she ever identified the person or persons responsible".
Severus pauses as he fights back the hurt and anger the next part brings him "second, she and Potter performed a ritual that would call forth the required material to ensure a pregnancy. The ritual stated that it would use the material of someone that loved and was loved by one of the participants in the ritual. She did not mention the ritual by name, only that she found it in a book that Unspeakables had".
Griphook looks as though he wants to ask a question but upon Ragnock tapping a single nail on the table he stops and gestures for Severus to continue.
"Third, they performed a blood adoption directly after Harrison's birth. The witnesses to the blood adoption were Andromeda Tonks and Augusta Longbottom. It was not known to Lily whether Mrs. Tonks or Lady Longbottom knew that I was Harrison's father. And lastly, both women were placed under a secrecy pact so that even if they did suspect they wouldn't be able to tell me or to even help Harrison until he or I released them from the pact".
The occupants of the office sat in silence for several minutes after the revelations until Ragnock spoke up "I know that there is still much to do before you and Harrison have to depart for Hogwarts, but it is now just gone 6 PM and I think at this point you both are exhausted and there are things that Griphook and I need to take care of. Would you object to breaking for the day and resuming our talks tomorrow afternoon, say at 2 PM?"
Severus looked down at his son and could see how drawn and tired he looked, not to mention he could see that he was still fighting to hold back tears he was sure he desperately needed to shed. Looking back to Ragnock he nodded his head "I think that would be a good idea, I will take Harrison home so that we can rest, and we will return tomorrow as you suggested".
"Very well," Ragnock agreed as they all stood. "I assume you will be taking him somewhere other than Hogwarts?"
"Yes, I have a home that not even the Headmaster knows of and my house-elf monitors the floo on the off chance he tries to contact me there".
The Goblins nod in acceptance. Griphook gestures to the door and it gently swings open where a guard can be seen waiting. "Please follow the guard and he can take you to a room where you can apparate or use the floo. Upon your return tomorrow please notify the guard at the door that you are here to see me, and they will immediately escort you back".
Severus nods as he guides Harrison out the door, "thank you both, we will see you tomorrow".
Harry and Severus are guided to a room that was host to a circular indentation in the center and a fireplace on the far wall.
Severus turns to face Harry "now Harrison there are several modes of transportation in the Wizarding World, one of which is called Floo Travel. It will seem very weird and possibly frightening at first, but I'll be with you the entire time, okay?"
Harry nods though it was obvious he was confused "what is a floo?"
"That is a good question, the easiest explanation is that we use a magically charged material called floo powder that can be cast into a fireplace that will then allow us to travel via that fireplace to any other fireplace on the Floo Network" Severus explained.
"But the fire will burn us!"
"Be calm Harrison" Severus shushed him. "The floo powder changes the flame into a magical one that does not burn, you can always tell if that floo powder worked if the flames turn green. Once they turn green you state your destination and any password that is required and then step into the flames."
Here, he pauses to see if Harrison has any questions before continuing "the best thing to do is to step forward and then keep walking as this will help to prevent you from falling down when you exit the other fireplace".
"And, you promise it won't hurt?" Harry asks tremulously.
"Traveling by floo does not hurt, it may make you feel a bit queasy, and again there is the risk of falling when you exit if you aren't able to stay steady on your feet. But that is why we will do this together so that I can help you along the way" Severus tries to reassure.
Harry nods "okay" though you can still hear he is uncertain.
Severus smiles "very good, then let me get some floo powder and I'll guide you through it again". So saying he grabs a small handful of the powder and tosses it into the flames, upon contact they turn bright emerald green.
Harry gasps as the color changes and he notices that there seems to be no more heat coming from the fireplace.
"Now we speak our destination, and, in this case, there is a password," Severus says as he guides Harry forward and says clearly "Asphodel Garden, Hollyhock". Looking at Harry again he says quietly while firmly guiding him forward "now take a deep breath, close your eyes if you wish and take 4 steps forward".
Harry does as instructed, squeezing his eyes tightly shut as he walks forward and feels a deep almost squeezing pressure before he hears a woosh of the flames and then silence but for the ticking of a clock.
"You can open your eyes now son" he hears Severus say. Slowly blinking his eyes open he sees that he is in a room with a lot of books and some comfy-looking old chairs. "Welcome home".
Upon hearing these words Harry cannot hold it in anymore as he launches himself as his dad and buries his head into his dad's waist as he cries out his uncertainty and exhaustion until he passes out from said exhaustion.
Severus sat with a glass of whiskey in his hand staring into the flames of the fire. The last two days had been filled with so many revelations and moving parts that he wasn't even sure he'd had a moment to really acknowledge how his life had changed so drastically. If someone had told him that he'd find out a man he thought he could trust would place a young magical with magic-hating people to raise, that that young magical was in fact his biological son, and that that son was the future King of Magical Great Britain… well, he'd imagine he would have escorted them directly to St. Mungos to have the committed to the Janus Thickey Ward.
Thinking back over the last few hours he tried to determine whether there was anything else that needed addressing this day. After he brought his son home Harrison finally succumbed to the exhaustion he had been fighting and cried himself to sleep. Severus carried him to one of his guest rooms, or now he guessed his son's room, and put him to bed, transfiguring his clothes into some comfortable pajamas.
Being that it was half past 6 PM he figured he would let him sleep for another hour before trying to get him to eat a bit of food before bedtime. In the meantime, he'd give himself some time to just be and not think about anything but breathing for the next hour, he had plenty of time after his son was in bed for the night to wallow in his anger and hurt, but until then he needed to stay strong.
Tomorrow morning, he would begin making plans for what needed to be accomplished over the next several days, especially as so many things needed to be done before he had to leave for Hogwarts.