A Ghost's Tale - by Healer Pomfrey

4 – The Truth

Lily chuckled. "No Sev, I'm one hundred percent sure that Harry is your son, because I never even slept with anyone else but you. He can't be anyone else's son. However, as long as the charms I put on Harry aren't reversed, not even a paternity potion will be able to tell the truth."

"Oh," the Potions Master replied unintelligently. 'That might be of course. Lily has always been brilliant at Charms.' "Very well then, when do you think we can try to reverse your charms?"

Lily let out a sigh. "That's of course up to Poppy; however, I'd think Harry should be well enough in a few days' time."

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During the next few days, Harry remained very ill, and Lily used the time to get acquainted with Poppy's way of leading the hospital wing. In the evenings, she spent much time with Severus in his quarters, knowing that Poppy would be there for Harry if he needed her.

"Lily, where are you going to stay during the nights?" Severus asked on the first evening, throwing his former wife a questioning look. "You won't stay in a Gryffindor dormitory with your son, will you?"

"Definitely not," Lily chuckled. "I don't want Harry to become teased because of having his mother with him at all times. Since I don't need a bed but only a dark corner to rest during the night, I'll probably remain in Poppy's office. I'm sure there will be many adequate places in the castle."

Severus cleared his throat. "You could always stay here with me, Lily. You know that I still love you and that I only insisted on separating because I hoped it would be safer for you," he said in a soft, silky voice, looking fondly at the ghost. "I've been missing you every day these ten years," he added in a very small voice, more to himself.

"Thank you, Sev, I'd love to remain here with you," Lily replied softly, gently brushing a kiss against the man's forehead. "I never loved anyone else but you... and our son of course."

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By the time Poppy finally deemed Harry well enough, so that they could reverse the charms Lily had cast on him before he was even born, Lily had already taught Poppy, Severus and Minerva the counter spells.

Harry woke up seeing his mother, Madam Pomfrey, his Head of House and the Slytherin Head, who according to his mother was his father, stand around his bed.

"What?" he asked lazily, struggling to sit up quickly.

"Easy, sweetie," Poppy said gently, pushing him back into a lying position, before Lily explained that they were going to reverse the charms she had placed on him, so that he wouldn't look as if he was James' son anymore.

"Will I look very differently?" Harry queried, throwing his mother an anxious look.

"I don't think so, sweetie. You'll probably look like a mixture of Professor Snape and me, and since Professor Snape has the same hair colour as James had, you probably won't look completely different," Lily replied soothingly.

"In the worst case you'll have your mother's hair and your father's eyes, but anyhow I'm sure you're going to look very handsome," his Head of House said gently, causing Harry to roll his eyes.

"Very well then, go on, or is there anything else I need to know?"

"It might hurt a bit, but I'm right here. I will not cast the spell together with the others but watch you, and I'm going to spell a pain relieving potion into your stomach as soon as I notice or you tell me that you're in pain," Poppy promised and nodded at the others to begin.

While Minerva and Severus waved her wands, Lily used her right hand to cast the counter spells to the multiple charms she had partly invented herself to keep her baby safe. 'Thank God Poppy is there for Harry,' she mused, knowing immediately that Harry was in a great amount of pain as his body stretched several inches. By the time they finished casting the last spell, Poppy had given the boy a sleeping potion to reduce the stress he was under.

"Oh my, he looks really handsome," Minerva said, looking at the child in amazement, causing Lily to frown.

'His face is scrunched in pain,' was the only thing she could see as she worriedly glanced at her colleague.

"Harry is all right, Lily. Of course it hurts, because his body seems to be taking on Severus' body structure. He has grown at least five inches. I have already given him the strongest pain reliever I dare, so there is nothing else we can do at the moment. That's why I put him to sleep. However, look at his features. He kept your eyes and your nose, but other than that he looks like Severus."

"That's true," Lily said happily, glancing curiously at her former husband.

"You really fooled us here, Lily," Severus said evenly, unable to take his eyes from the boy, who undeniably was his child.

"Well, I believe you're in for some bonding time with your son," Poppy said gently. "He'll probably still be in pain for the rest of the day, but if you promise to take good care of him, you may take him with you into your quarters, provided that you call me immediately if he experiences any problems that Lily can't solve due to being a ghost."

"We promise," Lily reassured her quickly, and Severus scooped the boy in his arms and carried him to the dungeons, glad that Lily talked all the time and efficiently kept his thoughts from going haywire.

Back in his quarters, Severus laid the boy on his own bed, before he called Cicero, his personal house-elf, and asked him to add a room for the boy next to his own bedroom.

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When Harry's mind slowly turned back to awareness, he found himself in a small, unknown room, his mother's ghost was hovering next to his bed, and the Potions Master was sitting on the edge of his bed. Both adults were deeply engrossed in a conversation, apparently revolving around himself.

"Hello," Harry said in a small voice, causing Lily and Severus to turn around, facing him in concern.

"How are you feeling, sweetie?" Lily asked in concern.

"Fine," Harry mumbled, uncertainly glancing at the Potions Master.

"I'm sorry, son," Severus said in a soft voice, "for not knowing that you're my son."

"It's all right, sir. It's not your fault. I'm glad to finally know the truth though," Harry replied in a small voice. 'He doesn't seem to mind me being his son,' he mused, throwing his mother an unsure look. "Sir?" A sudden thought penetrated his mind. "How would you have named me if you had known?"

Severus threw the boy a surprised look, before he let his eyes wander to his former wife.

"We would have chosen a different name, that's for sure, sweetie."

"You'd probably be Alexander Severus Snape," Severus finally replied, raising an eyebrow at the boy that was undeniably his own blood and flesh.

"I'd love that," Harry mumbled as a small smile began to play on his lips.

"Well, provided that your father officially accepts you as his son, he can change your name, if both of you want that," Lily suggested, smiling at her two boys.

"Of course we can do that," Severus said absentmindedly.

"All right, and if you're at it, you could change his godparents," Lily said firmly.

"Who do you suggest?" Severus queried, quirking an eyebrow.

"Minerva and Poppy?" Lily suggested.

"Very well. The question is if Harry wants to know the whole school that Harry Potter is a Snape, or if he wants to take on a completely new identity, where no one knows him as the famous Harry Potter."

"I'd love that, sir," Harry said thoughtfully. "I'd love to tell Hermione and Neville the truth though. Ron would despise me anyway because of being your son, but I'd love to keep Hermione and Neville as friends, even if I'd probably be sorted into Slytherin this time."

Seeing his father's unbelieving look, he quickly explained how the Sorting Hat had wanted to place him in Slytherin before.

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During the following four weeks, Severus and Harry slowly became used to living together and being father and son. Even if Lily was a ghost, her presence helped the two former enemies to get along better than they could have dreamed of. Severus noticed soon that Harry was not at all like James Potter.

One day, Harry woke up and lazily enjoyed the sight out of the magical window in his room that showed the view onto the lake that was bathed in the rays of the late morning sun. An instant later, his father entered his room.

"Good morning, Alexander. Your mother has already gone to the hospital wing to try some ghost magic with Madam Pomfrey. I thought you could assist me brewing some potions for the hospital wing, after breakfast and only if you're up to it of course."

"I'd love that," Harry replied, smiling. 'Maybe brewing potions is not so bad, if he doesn't breathe into my neck waiting for me to make mistakes all the time,' he mused and quickly scrambled out of bed, following the professor into his small kitchen for breakfast.

After an animated conversation about several teachers and students at Hogwarts, Severus led his son into his private potions lab. "Since you're my son now, I expect you to excel at Potions, although I probably won't ever give you best marks for your work," he sternly told the boy, quirking an eyebrow at the child, before he set up a cauldron in order to properly teach his son.

"That's all right," Harry replied eagerly, unsurely adding a hardly audible, "Dad."

By the end of the holidays, Harry AKA Alexander was able to flawlessly brew the easiest Healing potions used in the hospital wing just by himself.

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On the first of September, Dumbledore informed the school that Harry Potter would be continuing his studies at a small private school in Germany and introduced the new second year student as Alexander Snape, before he was sorted before the new first years.

"Slytherin!" the Hat shouted into the hall, and Harry/Alexander smiled as he walked over to the Slytherin table, glancing around the Hall to take in other people's reactions. While Ron wore a disgusted expression, Hermione and Neville were enthusiastically clapping their hands. McGonagall gave him an encouraging nod, Pomfrey looked at him in appreciation, Severus gave the impression of being very proud, and Lily was smiling at her son, hovering at the very back of the Hall next to the wall closest to the Slytherin table.

'It's great to have friends and a real family,' Harry/Alexander thought as he took a seat between Draco and Blaise, who willingly made space for him, ready to become his new friends.

The End

I'm not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes or help me to correct them.

All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.