A Father's Sin

Chapter 9---Greasy Bastard

Harry awoke to his second morning in the hospital wing with the rather strange feeling that he was being watched. He stayed perfectly still, hoping that whoever it was would give themselves away. After a minute, he nearly smiled when two familiar voices started talking in hushed tones from next to the bed.

"Come on Hermione!" Ron's voice pleaded, and there was an odd squeaking sound that Harry imagined came from Ron's shoes as he bounced up and down impatiently.

"I said no, Ron. He'll tell you when he wakes up if he wants to," Hermione answered curtly, and Harry could nearly hear her crossing her arms in stubborn refusal.

"Oh, come on! I already guessed part of it!" he persisted, and Harry cracked open his eyes to watch the two. Hermione was seated in one of the hospital chairs, legs and arms both crossed as she did her best to look resolute. Ron was standing in front of her, and he really was bouncing on his heels.

"Then you can guess the rest of it! I'm not saying a word," Hermione persisted, and Ron sunk his shoulders.

"Just a clue then? A little, tiny, reaaaaly itsy-bitsy clue?" Ron pleaded, and Harry couldn't stop himself from laughing. In the next instant, Ron was sprawled on the floor and Hermione had to latch onto the other chair to keep from falling backward. Sitting up against his pillows, Harry watched with a half-smile as the two collected themselves, each still pale and wide-eyes with surprise. Harry stretched and yawned briefly, glad that much of the pain in his muscles had gone away.

"Bloody hell...don't do that!" Ron pleaded, struggling to slow his racing heart. Then Ron blinked suddenly and sat up, staring at him in amazement. "It really is you, isn't it?" he said in disbelief. "You even sound different...."

"Yeah," Harry replied, nervously running a hand back through his hair.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked suddenly, and Harry shrugged. He was actually feeling better, had been ever since Dumbledore's visit the previous day. Afterward it had felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, some of the confusion and fuzziness muddling his thoughts finally cast aside.

"Better. Madam Pomfrey won't let me go 'til tomorrow, though," he answered, cringing slightly at the memory of the woman's angry lecture on not wandering around in the rain. "Thank you, for finding me down in the tunnel," he added, and his two friends looked away in embarrassment.

"The map was Ron's idea, really..." Hermione muttered, and Ron gave her a friendly shove on the shoulder.

"So? I wouldn't have even known it was Harry if you hadn't told me," Ron replied, and Hermione stared down at her feet nervously. "So...um...what happened?!" Ron asked uneasily, though his voice rose in disbelief toward the end.

"How much do you know?" Harry asked, running a hand back through his hair again. He couldn't seem to stop doing that, it still felt so strange....

"Just that you're...um...a Serpent's Child, really...because of the tattoo," Ron added, and Harry nodded, absently tracing a finger over the Mark.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want too...." Hermione added, nervously playing with her hands. Harry gave a small smile, leaning heavily back against the pillows.

"It's alright, Hermione. Dumbledore came and spoke to me yesterday, I think I've finally accepted it...sort of, anyway," Harry said. It was still painful to think about, but at least he was no longer denying it.

"Ok then, so...what on earth happened to you?! I mean...not that the new look's bad or anything, it just kinda reminds me of..." Ron said quickly, his words dying off toward the last.

"Snape?" Harry offered, and Ron turned beat red, suddenly fiddling with the edge of his robes.

"Well...yeah," Ron said as he looked away, and Harry smiled slightly at his friend's nervousness.

"Professor Snape is my father, Ron," Harry replied, and Ron froze, mouth frozen wide with a reply. Slowly, Ron turned to face him, eyes wide and mouth still open.

"Did you just say...that Snape is your father?" Ron asked calmly, and Harry nodded, unable to keep his lips from twitching into an amused smile. Hermione had her head turned to the side, obviously struggling against a smile herself. "Holy...you can't be serious....You? Snape's son?!" Ron said, turning to pace beside the bed. He was shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "But..." he began, and then flopped down in the chair. "Oh hell..."he muttered.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Ron...." Harry said, casting his eyes down in apology.

"Nah...it's cool," Ron managed to mutter. He was blatantly staring at Harry now, turning his head this way and that to look at him. "But Snape?! I'm sorry, Harry, but that's just...freaky. Really freaky...."

"Now that's and understatement," Harry replied, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms loosely.

"Y'know what I mean....You're nice, and he's...well....."

"A greasy bastard?" Harry offered, and Ron's face reddened a second time.

"I didn't say it! I did not say it!" Ron protested, shaking his head vigorously.

"It's alright, Ron. I may not know exactly how to feel about him, but he is a greasy bastard," Harry replied, casting a gaze to the hands folded in his lap.

"Have you two...talked?" Hermione asked warily, casting him a questioning gaze. Harry looked up and shook his head, cringing slightly at the thought.

"No...the last time Snape 'talked' to me was just before I escaped from him down the tunnel. I tried to tell him about...you know...and he sort of flipped out, thought I was mocking him or something I guess," Harry said softly, sliding further down against the pillows.

"So that's why you ran off..." Ron muttered, and after a moment, raised his eyes to meet Harry's own indifferent gaze. "Listen, I'll try my best to get used to this all...but it's gonna be tough," he said, and Harry gave him a thankful smile.

"I know, and thank you," he said, and then sat up a little straighter, his eyes flashing mischievously. "Now...about that wart of Draco's..." he began.....