Chapter 7

"Tell me, Severus, do you remember the name Harry Potter?" At that, the Potion master's gaze sharpened.

"Harry Potter died during a family vacation," Severus answered. "Why are you bringing up that name?"

"Is that what they told you?" Lord Slytherin gave a mirthless laugh. "Did you ever see the body?"

"No, the boy was lost at sea," Severus answered while his frown deepened. "Lord Slytherin, what does Harry Potter have to do with you? He died more than a decade ago."

"I am Harry Potter." He confessed as he pulled his hood back to reveal a face with a jagged scar running diagonally across it. Severus's eyes widened as he noted the green eyes, but these eyes looked weary. Like they had seen the end of life itself. Lord Slytherin continued. "I am Harry Potter, but not the Harry Potter you knew. I am from another reality. One that closely mirrored this one up until my 7th birthday."

Harry's voice dropped as he started the tale. "As you know, Lily and James Potter had their first child in their 7th year. It was a shotgun wedding organized by James' parents when the pregnancy was found out. To stay in their good graces and in the will, he convinced Lily to name their firstborn after his father. As both were Head Boy and Girl, they were already living in privacy from the other students. The Headmaster arranged for them to keep their badges even after the pregnancy scandal. He arranged for Lily to receive tutors once she started showing, and Fleamont was born a month before their NEWTS."

Severus frowned as he thought back to his 7th year and how he had started to see less and less of Lily in their classes. He was still sceptical but asked Lord Slytherin to continue his explanation.

"From what I know, I was likely conceived during their Graduation celebration because both were drunk and horny. Lily was less than pleased to find out that she was pregnant so soon again, and had quite a few times when I was younger blamed my existence as being the reason she had to put her dreams on hold. She doted on Fleamont, while I was... tolerated. Present, but hardly noticed. James only saw me as an extra mouth to feed and never liked it when I called him father like Fleamont."

"I didn't think anyone knew or cared that I existed. At least I thought so until Fleamont's 5th birthday party. It's a bit fuzzy since I was still young, but I remember you finding me crying in that closet upstairs." Severus nodded. "James had locked me in there because he didn't want to deal with me at his son's party."

"I remember. The Headmaster dragged me there under the guise that I needed to get out more. As if I wanted to see James Potter's smug face." Severus grumbled, which caused Harry to smirk.

"Either way, I don't remember what was said, but I knew you held me on your hip while you tore James a new one. I don't think I've ever seen him that unnerved before."

"After that, I was glad you came to visit every few months to check up on me. Fleamont was such a spoilt brat and wasn't happy on those days as he got less attention. I never actually got to thank you for that."

"Up until my seventh birthday, both realities mirrored each other. However, in this reality, Fleamont got very sick when he was eight, and I was the perfect donor match. James even joked that I was finally good for something, while Lily just stayed silent. I became my brother's donor. Blood, marrow. They just kept taking and taking. Until they finally took this Harry's heart when Fleamont was ten. Albus Dumbledore helped you know. He's the one who found the Healers willing to the organ transfer. The ritual they used was definitely dark. Upon entering this reality, I gained the memories of this version of myself. They didn't even use any sedatives because, and I quote, "The brat is going to die anyway."

"In fact, the boating accident was likely a cover-up so that you wouldn't dig deeper because in my reality, you never stopped searching for me."

"What happened in your reality?" Severus asked, almost afraid to know.

"My 7th came and went. Fleamont did not get sick, but he did get more demanding, saying that he didn't want to see my face. Things came to a head on my 8th birthday when you gave me a book as a present. Fleamont joked that it was a useless paperweight since I was too stupid to learn how to read. In truth, my parents never saw the need to teach me how to read or write. The whole thing ended with you, James, and Lily getting into a shouting match, and you cursing James with a donkey tail. After that, you got banned from the estate, and I wasn't allowed to associate with you anymore."

"After that, my parents decided they didn't want me around anymore and dumped me at my aunt and uncle's house. The Dursleys were less than pleased about having to take care of me. Lily told them she'd pay them for my necessities, but Vernon hated me because I had magic that made me unnatural. What I didn't know at the time was that they planned for me to stay with the Dursleys forever or until they kicked me out at 18. Dumbledore had removed my name from the Book years before at James and Lily's behest, as they didn't want to pay tuition for me to receive an education. No one knew at the time."

"Tuney?! They left you with that bitch?!" Severus uttered.

"I mean, Aunt Petunia wasn't so bad. She made me cook and clean and all that to 'earn my keep,' but we got along without fighting due to our shared hatred of mom. Vernon was a whole other situation. He despised me. Taught my cousin to despise me as well. He'd have Dudley beat me up so that he could claim that it was just boys roughhousing instead of abuse. After my 9th birthday, when I accidentally turned his car pink, he sold me to some sketchy research group. A Muggle research group."

"I'm sorry, what?" Severus asked as his brows rose and his fingers clenched in the sheets that had pooled around him.

"Yeah, Vernon kept pocketing the money Lily sent, if she remembered, even though I didn't live there anymore. At first, it was just clinical drug trials I was forced to participate in at the institute. Then my accidental magic flared up when they tried to force me to take injections to observe different drug interactions. That's when they found out about magic."

"Suddenly, I was their new favorite lab toy," he hissed low and dangerous while his fists clenched.

"You started searching for me when I didn't show up for my first year at Hogwarts. I was 13 when you finally managed to track down the lab and get me out. But by then it was already too late. A lot of Muggles in high positions now knew magic existed, and they tried to exploit it. They kidnapped children from Muggleborn parents or those they suspected of having Magic. Gradually, the existence of the Magical communities became known to the Muggle populace as a whole. As you imagine, chaos broke loose. Religious organizations began branding us as heretics, demanding our extermination. Some taking it into their own hands to be rid of us. Civil unrest, then civil war, as the world learned of all the international magical communities. The cullings began, and when we fought back, they ultimately launched nukes. Decimating not just us but also making the planet entirely unlivable for any future generations."

"That isn't everything, is it?" Severus asked.

"It's everything you need to know," Harry stated. "I don't think I am ready to tell you the rest just yet."

"Okay,"

"Okay? That's it?" Harry blinked.

"I am not going to force you to tell me if you are not ready," Severus stated. "Everyone has their secrets."

"You should rest," Harry stated as he started to pull the blankets up over Severus when the other started to protest. "I would like you to join me for dinner later, that is, if you are feeling well enough. My Healers told me that some of the bone fractures are hardest to heal as they were broken with Dark spells."

When Lord Slytherin stepped out of the chambers where Severus was residing, two of his subordinates were waiting for him. "Travers, Healer Prancher." First, he looked towards Travers, who bowed before delivering his news.

"My Lord, unfortunately, your warning about Black arrived too late. He had already paid a visit to the cells under the guise of a worried friend. When I arrived, the two guards that had been keeping watch over that section had been killed, and James Potter and Albus Dumbledore were nowhere to be found."

"Send out your best trackers," he ordered. "I want them found, dead or alive."

"Already on it, My Lord," Travers answered. He was dismissed afterwards, and then Harry turned to Healer Prancher.

"There is good news and bad news, My Lord," The Healer stated. "The good news is that Master Snape seems to be responding to the treatments we have in place to heal the injuries caused by the dark spells. The bad news is that I am worried about a previous injury he had suffered. The injury is on his right calf and is affecting the muscle tissue there significantly. I've observed that the dark curse he was afflicted with there is causing repeated damage to his Achilles tendon, making it near impossible to Apparate over long distances. There are signs of treatments being applied, very likely by Master Snape himself, though the underlying curse wasn't discovered, and the pain he is experiencing would then likely be attributed to the aftereffects of the injury."

"He can't Apparate?" Lord Slytherin's brows rose.

"Not over long distances, no." The Healer stated. "As you know, Apparition requires the wizard in question to have a good center of balance to avoid splinching themselves. Attempting it with an injured Achilles tendon is not recommended."

'Was that the reason Severus was caught by Potter and Black?' Harry thought while asking, "Is there a cure?"

"For this particular curse?" Healer Prancher adjusted his glasses while looking nervous. "Yes, but it requires the venom of a Silver-backed Scorpion found only in the Hungarian Magical Nature reserve. Considering how the Boszorkányság Minisztériuma feels about most of Europe's Ministries, it would be near impossible to ask for it."

"I will think of something," Lord Slytherin stated as he dismissed the Healer. Silently, he walked towards his own rooms, which were right next to Severus's. Harry smirked; he had given Severus the Queen's chambers for a reason. If the man found out, he hoped it would show just how serious he was about courting him.

Meanwhile, at the Potter estate, former Lady Potter, now again just Lily Evans, was losing it. She had thrown two vases at her son, who accompanied her home, after he confessed the full length of his involvement in hiding his father's affair.