Chapter 11

Harry looked around the dorm room, confused for some reason as to why the decorations were red and gold. Of course they're red and gold. They always are, he thought. He didn't get a chance to think about it though, because he saw a shape moving in the shadows.

"Who's there?" he whispered.

There was no answer, but the shape started to move toward him. There wasn't enough light to tell who or what it was, but it seemed both familiar and frightening to Harry. He grabbed his wand from under his pillow and cast lumos. Harry froze in shock and horror.

Uncle Vernon was right next to his bed.

"You can never get away from me, boy," his uncle said as he knocked the wand out of Harry's numb hand. Harry shook his head in denial, his breath coming in short, shallow gasps. No, he can't be here. Hogwarts is the one place I am safe from him. It's my refuge, my home.

Harry backed up against the headboard of the bed as his uncle came closer. "No! Please, don't!" he whispered desperately. He couldn't move as he watched Vernon's hands reach out to him. They seemed to move in agonizing slow motion, as if specifically designed to heighten and intensify Harry's fear.

Harry tried to scream as his uncle's hands closed around his throat, but he couldn't breathe. He struggled feebly, trying in vain to get away from him. He felt himself losing consciousness. I'm dying, he thought despairingly, please let me go! He felt his uncle slap him hard across the face, and realized he could breathe again. He pulled in a deep, heavenly breath of air. He heard someone shouting, and tried to concentrate on what they were saying. He dragged his eyes open (when had he closed them), and saw his father's face above him. Harry shoved away, his eyes darting about the room frantically.

"Derek! Wake up. Look at me." Harry focused on Severus's face, and took another deep, shuddering breath. As he started to calm down, he was embarrassed to see all of his dormmates were awake and watching. He quickly wiped away tears he could feel on his face, and sat up.

"I'm sorry I disturbed you, sir." Harry said quietly.

"Nonsense," Severus said. "I'm your father, Derek. I'm here for you, day or night. Would you like to sleep in your room for the rest of the night, or would you rather sleep here?"

Harry thought about it. If he went with Severus he would want to know what the nightmare was about. Harry almost shuddered at the thought of having to relive that over again. "I'll just stay here. I'll be fine."

Severus looked at him thoughtfully. "Very well. However, I think you should take a Dreamless Sleep potion. Mr. Zabini?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Go to my office and get a vial of Dreamless Sleep potion. Do not touch anything else. I will know if you do." Severus whispered the password to Blaise before he left.

Severus gently turned Harry's head to the side and examined his cheek. Harry could feel it stinging, and realized that Severus must have hit him. His father was running his wand over Harry's cheek gently and whispering a spell.

"I'm sorry I had to hit you, but it was the only I could think of. You wouldn't wake up, and you couldn't breathe-"

"It's okay," Harry said. "It did help."

Severus nodded, and glanced around to see the other boys still watching. He cast a silencing charm around the bed. "Was there anything I needed to know about this nightmare of yours?" he asked.

Harry quickly shook his head. "No, it wasn't a vision or anything, just a regular nightmare."

Severus's eyes narrowed. "What was this 'regular' night mare about?"

"Nothing important. I think I'm just nervous sleeping in the Slytherin dorms." Harry mentally crossed his finger and toes, hoping that Severus would believe him.

Severus started to speak, but was interrupted by the arrival of Blaise. He took the vial and handed it to Harry. He settled himself in his bed before drinking the potion.

"Good night, Derek," his father said.

"Night," Harry said as he drifted to sleep. It must have been his imagination, but, right before he fell asleep, he thought he felt a hand gently smoothing his hair. No, his father wouldn't do that, at least not with other people watching. It was just his imagination . . .

The next morning Harry awoke to an earthquake, or something that felt like one, anyway. He wearily opened his eyes to see Blaise standing over his bed.

"Finally! I thought I was going to have to douse you with cold water to wake you up. I've been trying for about five minutes. You better hurry or we'll be late for breakfast."

Harry quickly retrieved his clothes, and took a shower. After his shower, he made sure no one else was in the room before reapplying the makeup and spell that concealed his scar. He ran a brush through his hair, absently noting how much easier it was now. Harry grabbed his bag, and met Blaise in the common room.

"Well, that was quick," Blaise commented.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Well, I have a tendency to oversleep, so I've had to compensate somehow."

Blaise laughed. They started walking toward the Great Hall.

"So, Derek, I was just wondering. Why hasn't Snape mentioned anything about having a child before now?" Blaise asked a little nervously.

Harry sighed. He hated lying, especially to someone he was beginning to like. "He didn't know until this summer. He and Mum were close a long time ago, but they got into a big argument about something and she left without telling him she was pregnant." Harry took a shuddering breath. "I didn't even know his name until . . . until she died this summer. She had put the information in her will. Once Severus found out about me, he brought me back here to live with him."

Blaise stopped and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "I'm sorry about your mother."

"Thanks."

They walked in silence for a moment before Blaise chuckled quietly. "It's so hard to believe Snape is a father."

Harry grinned. "He doesn't really seem like the fatherly type, does he?"

"Not really." Blaise looked thoughtful as they approached the doors to the Great Hall. "Although, after seeing him with you last night, it is a bit more plausible."

Harry groaned. "I bet Malfoy has told half the school about that by now."

"Don't worry about it. Everyone has nightmares sometimes."

They walked into the Great Hall and Harry tried to ignore all the stares and whispers. They sat well away from Malfoy, about halfway down the table. Harry glanced up at the teachers' table to see his father watching him. He smiled slightly and Severus nodded his head in acknowledgement. Blaise introduced Harry to several of his friends. It seemed that most of Blaise's friends were either a year above or below sixth.

They were almost finished eating when Severus started passing out their class schedules. Harry was glad to see he had three classes with Blaise: Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense. He had Charms and Transfiguration before lunch and Care of Magical Creatures after lunch on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday the classes were longer, so he had Potions before lunch and Defense after lunch.

He and Blaise grabbed their bags and headed out of the Hall. Sam met them at the doors.

"Hi, Derek," She looked at him closely. "How are you?"

"Oh, no," Harry sighed. "Don't tell me you heard about last night, too."

She smiled sympathetically. "Yeah, sorry. I guess you're the main topic right now."

"Why me?" Harry said exasperated. "You're new here, Sam. Why aren't they talking about you?"

"Ah, I think I know the answer to this one. You see, I'm just the daughter of the new professor. You are the long lost son of the dreaded Professor Snape." She lowered he voice ominously on the last part. "As such you rate much higher on the interest scale than I do."

Harry and Blaise laughed. "Thanks, I really needed a laugh."

"Interesting friend you have, Derek," Blaise said. "She's rather clever, for a Griffindor."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "And you're rather friendly, for a Slytherin."

"Okay, okay, enough of the house rivalry garbage," Harry said jokingly. "What class do you have now, Sam?"

"Charms, what about you two?"

"I have Charms, too. Blaise has Arithmacy."

"Yeah, and I better go or I'm going to be late," Blaise waved as he headed to class.

"Bye," Harry and Sam headed toward the Charms classroom. They walked in silence for a moment before Sam spoke.

"So, are you alright? From what I heard the dream you had was pretty bad."

Harry shuddered slightly. "I'm fine. It was just a dream."

She looked at him doubtfully. "Do you want to tell me about it? Whenever I have a nightmare I have to talk to my Mum or someone about it, or I keep dreaming about it."

Harry stopped at the door to the Charms classroom. "No," he said quickly. "I don't want to talk about it. I think it was just a onetime thing, anyway." He hoped it was.

"Okay, but if you don't want to talk about it you could try writing it down instead." Sam headed into the classroom and sat down.

Harry thought about what she said as he sat next to her. That was actually a good idea. He knew he wouldn't be able to talk to anyone about his nightmare, but maybe he could write it down. He might just do that if he had the dream again. Harry frowned in thought. What if one of his dormmates found it and figured out who he really was? That would put his father in danger. No, he couldn't risk writing his dream down. He took a deep breath and tried to focus on the lesson.

A/N Well, I'm back. I know it has been about three years since I have updated this story, and I am really sorry about that. I have been so busy with work, school, and my girls that I haven't had time to sleep, much less write. The good news is I graduated a week and a half ago, so I will have more time to write. I have gone through and revised the previous chapters (I didn't realize how many mistakes I had made). I also made some changes and additions, so you might want to go back and reread them. I probably won't update for another week or two, because I want to go back and read the first five books again to familiarize myself with them again. I have a pretty good memory, but it had been at least three years since I last read them. I hope you enjoy the new chapter, and thanks for sticking with me.