Snarry One Shots

The Letters That Changed Everything

Summary: Severus Snape learns that he has a son. Harry Potter learns that he is not an orphan.

Ships: SeverusSnapexHarryPotter (THIS IS NOT A SHIP ONE SHOT SNAPE IS HARRY'S PARENT)

All credit goes to OUATlover2000 on Ao3

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On October 31st 1992, Harry Potter was sitting in the Great Hall, eating lunch with his housemates when he received a letter that changed everything.

Harry took the letter from his snowy owl- Hedwig- and began to open it. He doesn't get letters, apart from Hagrid asking him for tea, or his favorite professor inviting him down to the potions lab to help brew. But an actual letter? It was in an envelope and everything!

"Who wrote to you?" His best friend Draco Malfoy asked. "That's a pureblood family crest."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "I dunno, the only purebloods I know are in this room. I suppose we better find out then." Then he carefully pulled the letter from the envelope.

My Darling Harry,

If you're reading this letter, then I am dead. I'm so sorry, my love. I have this letter- and one other- charmed to be delivered 11 years after my death, in the hope that you survive. I do hope that you've managed to have a normal and happy life Harry, I only ever wanted what was best for you. But I fear that James and I will not survive this war, and we are the only ones that know the truth, and you guys deserve the truth. I'm sorry love, I can be such a babbler. I suppose I'd better just rip the plaster off, hmm? (It's a muggle term, if you don't already know.)

Here goes nothing. James Potter is not your father, nor was he the man I am in love with. Don't get me wrong Harry, I do love him, but I am not in love with him, and the feeling was mutual. We only married to goad Voldemort, as ridiculous as that sounds. His followers would not stop attempting to force James to join their cause, and they hated muggles and muggle-borns, so we got married. Since it was loveless... again, I shouldn't say loveless, James and I had love for each other, regardless, we were both seeing other people outside of our 'marriage'.

The man that I was seeing- your father- he is a spy for our cause, and once I found out I was pregnant with you, I knew what I had to do.

I could not risk Voldemort finding out that he has a son, much less a son with a muggleborn as myself. So I lied to him. I told him that James and I were starting to develop feelings and that I had slept with him, and that I was pregnant with James' child- I really hope someone has had 'the talk' with you by now. Oh Merlin.

Back on topic, okay. We had a couple of contingency plans should James and I pass during the war. So whether Sirius and Remus raised you, or the Longbottom's, or even the Weasley's- they were only a last resort because they have their hands full with their 7th child on the way, but I knew they would do right by you, of course- off topic again, I'm a mess. No matter who might have raised you, you and your father deserve to have a relationship.

Merlin I hope you both survive this war.

Now, let me tell you about your father. We grew up in the same neighborhood, we were friends even before Hogwarts, he's the one that told me I was a witch, funnily enough. It was nice, knowing someone that was like me. My own sister hated me for my magic, it killed me as a child, but your father? He always stood up for me, he may have taken it a bit too far sometimes- for instance he nearly dropped part of a tree on her when she insulted me, my knight in shining armor.