Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

A/N:

Harry took the letter from his owl's beak and gingerly broke the seal. Just the knowledge that this letter contained his fate was enough to make him want to run away from it, screaming, but he resolutely unfolded the parchment and began to read.

Mr. ?,

Don't even know what to call you now. This is most certainly the strangest day of my life, and yours as well, I'd imagine.

First, thank you for telling me. I hate being ignorant; it's never a good thing for a spy to be. Second, though you have deferred entirely to me in this matter, I don't think it would be wise to make any decisions without your input. Therefore, I will come to your home tomorrow at precicely 2:00 in the afternoon and discuss things with you.

Your mother was a very good friend of mine. I owe her a great debt of gratitude, which I will explain to you later, and now that I remember what she hid from me, my actions were just a small way to repay that kindness. Whether they become more is entirely up to us.

I would ask that, until we have a chance to talk things over, you do not tell anyone else what you have discovered. We must decide what face to put on for the world.

Confused was a good ending for your letter. Consider me to be likewise.

Severus Snape

Harry exhaled forcefully at this news. Snape -- his father! -- was coming to this house the next day. Oh, crap! He had to warn the Dursleys! They were eating dinner just then. He decided to go ahead and get it over with.

Down stairs, Harry entered the kitchen and cleared his throat. "Uncle Vernon?"

"Yes, what is it, boy?" said the Muggle in his usual irritated voice.

"I got a letter from one of my teachers today. He had some questions about a research paper I mailed in, and he's informed me that he'll be here tomorrow at precicely two in the afternoon to discuss the matter. I wondered if you wanted me to take him upstairs to my room or if we should take a stroll through the park?" Harry knew that, despite their less horrible attitude this summer, their intolerance of magic had not lessened, and neither had their reluctance to let the neighborhood in on their dirty little secret. They would give Harry exactly what he wanted, and allow him to take S-his father up to his bedroom. He had no wish for the Dursleys to overhear that conversation.

Vernon choked, but Petunia deigned to be polite. "Your room, please." Well, polite for Petunia, any road.

"Very well. May I get something to eat?"

She waved him toward the ice box, dismissing him. He made himself a sandwich and then headed back up the stairs. Once there, Harry ate the sandwich and then lay down on his bed, thinking. So, Snape wanted to talk to him about those memories. This was bound to be an awkward conversation. There were so many things to consider. Would he want a relationship? Would he want to acknowledge Harry as his son? Given the tone of his response, he didn't think Snape intended to use the information against him.

Unfortunately, the emotional things weren't even the primary concern. Harry being who he was, he knew that, should Snape decide he wanted a relationship with him, he would be at risk of becoming a pawn in Voldemort's games. The bastard wouldn't hesitate to use the father against the son.

Harry sighed and turned off the lamp beside the bed. It would all have to wait until tomorrow. Nothing would be resolved until he actually spoke with his father. His last thought before he fell asleep was that he didn't really mind that Snape was his father.

The next day seemed to fly by like a rogue broomstick. Harry was a nervous wreck, but he didn't want anyone else to know that, so he stayed in his room until fifteen minutes were all that remained of his panicking time. He had already made sure that his room was immaculate, or as immaculate as he could get it with all of Dudley's old and broken toys cluttering one side of the room. He had thrown a couple of old sheets over the piles in order to hide the blasted things somewhat. He'd also borrowed Petunia's good tea service so that he could play the host upstairs. She'd agreed to it, but threatened him with his life if anything untoward should happen to it.

Finally, the clock struck 2:00 and the doorbell rang. Harry went to the door and opened it, revealing the man who had tormented him for five years. His face was carefully devoid of any and all emotions, appearing only very professional. "Hello, Professor. Please, come in. Thank you for coming about that assignment."

Snape raised his eyebrow at him, but went along with it as he entered the Muggle house. "Can't have you failing the class, now can we, Mr. Potter."

"Thank you, sir." Behind him, the Dursleys were all seated on the couch. "If I may, these are my Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia and Dudley, my cousin." Snape nodded politely to them. "I thought we'd go upstairs to my room so we wouldn't disturb anyone. I've made tea, and it's waiting for us."

If Snape was surprised by his son's hosting manner, he hid it well. "Very well, then."

As they trudged up the stairs, Snape was carefully observing the immobile photographs that were strewn all over the walls of the stair well, hoping to get a glimpse of what his son's life had been like to this point, to give himself a starting point. But there were no pictures with Harry in them. Snape's eyes narrowed. Why would there be no pictures of Harry? Not liking the answer he was coming up with, he decided not to ask the question until they were safely beyond the hearing of the Muggles.

They reached the top and there were even more pictures all over the corridor, but again, they depicted a happy family of three, not four. The first bedroom was aparently Harry's. Snape frowned at the five locks on the outside of the door. He looked at Harry, but the boy just shook his head, a finger to his lips to request silence.

Upon entering the room, Harry closed the one lock that was on his side of the door. "Would you mind casting a silencing spell? Dudley likes to eavesdrop on people, and this is likely to intrigue him."

"Very well." He took out his wand. "I hope you plan on explaining a few things. Silencio spatium."

Harry said, "Thanks."

"So, why are there no pictures of you in the house, and why are there more locks outside this room than in it?"

"Don't worry about the locks. They haven't been used since before third year. They left them there, though, just to scare. Not that I'm scared of being locked in. After all, if I'm locked in, then they're locked out." Harry sighed. "So, how do you want to handle this?"

Severus raised an eyebrow at him, but allowed him to change the subject. For now. "I think we should get to know each other, then decide if we wish to acknowledge this -- connection -- publicly. Merlin knows, Albus has been trying to get me to talk to you for years. And I doubt your mother would want us to continue as we have."

Harry asked, "Do you think Mum told Dumbledore about you?"

He shrugged. I don't know. She was well aware of how he played favorites during our school years, and not exactly pleased with the situation. Then there was the fact that she and Potter didn't even allow him into their home after they went under the Fidelius Charm. I doubt she told him."

The young Gryffindor nodded. "I'm beginning to feel that way about him myself. If I'd had more information last year, I might have handled the situation better. That doesn't excuse what I did, but still." He took a deep breath. "Well, I guess I'll start this by appologizing for the way I acted last year. I was horrible to you about Occulmensy and I have no excuse for looking into your Pensive. And I was a right prat the whole year, not just to you. I'm sorry."

Severus looked at his son thoughtfully. "Not something I ever would have expected to hear from you." Harry flushed, but stayed silent. "Still, I can tell how much it cost you to say it. Thank you."

Harry smiled nervously. "So, what do you want to know?"

Severus's mouth twitched. "Everything."

Harry gulped, his eyebrows flying into his hairline. Then his brow furrowed. New information about their relationship or not, this was still the man who had made his life miserable for five years in Potions class. Did he trust him enough to give his entire life story to him? "I don't think I can do that yet. I'm sorry. I want to, but..."

Severus sighed. "Of course. We should stick to school matters for now." Harry nodded. "So, the beginning. How many times were you out of bed in first year?"

Harry grinned. "Promise not to hold any of this against me or any of my friends? It was five years ago." The Potions master nodded. He could let it slide at this point. "Six. Once when Malfoy challenged me to a duel, then didn't show up; he'd told Filch that I'd be there. Then I got James's invisibility cloak for Christmas, and I tried to sneak into the Restricted Section. I found the Mirror of Erised in an abandoned class room while hiding from Filch. I came back the following night with Ron, and then the night after that alone. I walked right past Professor Dumbledore and didn't even notice he was there." Severus snorted at that, but kept his comments to himself otherwise. "The next time was when Hermione and I were sneaking Hagrid's illegal baby dragon out of the castle so it could be taken to the preserve in Romania. He named the bloody thing Norbert! And of course, the final time, you know about. I, Ron and Hermione went after the Philosopher's Stone to keep Voldemort from getting his hands on it. Of course, at the time, we thought it was you who was going to steal it for him. But I was kind of grateful, even then, that it wasn't you."

"Why is that?"

Harry smiled a bit. "You were the only one who didn't fawn over me. I've always hated the attention and favoring that this bloody scar caused me. I've always wanted to be just Harry. I didn't want to have to be the bloody Boy-Who-Lived, and you seemed to dislike that fame as well. I was kind of grateful, especially when it turned out that you had been trying to save me rather than kill me."

Severus smirked. "If I had wanted to kill you, you would be dead."

Harry's smile brightened. "I know that now." He sighed. "It's too bad I didn't inherrit some of your skill with potions. It certainly could have come in handy over the last couple of years."

Severus nodded thoughtfully. "I could teach you in a more private setting, if you wish. Perhaps with more individual instruction, you would do better."

Harry said, "Maybe. Hermione has been trying for years to get me to study harder, but it was hard to be interested in the subject when I knew that even my best efforts would be insulted and belittled."

Severus inclined his head in acknowlegement. "Understandable. If we do decide to let the world know of our relationship, then that will no longer be a problem, I assure you. If not, then you will have to remember that it is only for appearances. Either way, your grades will no longer suffer for the sins of James Potter." He sighed. "I should never have done that in the first place, but if I change it now, there will be questions."

Harry nodded, then decided to change the subject. "Do I have any other living relatives?"

"My mother lives in Sri Lanka, where she moved after the first war. Father was a Death Eater and he died in Azkaban where he belonged. My brother, Sicuta, is one of the foremost Potions Masters in America. He never believed that I was a spy, and when I was aquitted, he moved to New York in protest. I believe he married a few years ago, so there might be a cousin on that side for you, but I don't know. Other than that, there's no one."

"Does your mother feel the same way as Sicuta?"

Severus shook his head. "No. She swore to him and the jury at my trial that I had told her of my plans, which was true. She always knew the truth, because I couldn't stand not to at least tell someone."

Harry sighed. "I can understand that. It must have been hell."

There was knowlege in Harry's eyes that never should have been there, knowlege of just exactly what would be intaled for a spy in Voldemort's ranks. "How much do you see?" He referred to the visions he knew the boy recieved through his scar.

Harry shuddered. "I used to see everything. I've really been practicing hard this summer with the Occulmensy, though, and all I get now are the stronger visions. Crucio and Avada always make it through, but I figure they're exceptions. Before we left Hogwarts, I spelled my trunk with a silencing charm that activates after bed if the noise gets beyond a certain level. I don't want to annoy the Dursleys more than necessary. They're actually being fairly civil this year."

Severus's eyes narrowed at that, but he said nothing. He would have to find out eventually what the Dursleys' story was, but he would have to get Harry to trust him first. "Do you see everyone or only Him?" Had Harry seen him performing as a Death Eater?

The boy shrugged. "I see what he sees. I see you on occasion. I saw it when you convinced him that you hadn't wanted to give up such a good position for spying. I was angry for about three minutes before I realized that you had to say that if you wanted to spy on him." He paused for a moment. "Of course, I won't hesitate to turn you in if I ever find out that you've betrayed Dumbledore, father or not."

Severus grinned. "Good."

Harry grinned back. Maybe this would work out.