Don't say a word against my father!

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Being the son of a respected man was always something that brought me joy. My father was a very well-known man. He had spent most of his life protecting the greatest wizards of the last generation before mine. Harry Potter. He was always visiting our house, especially with his friends. My father always checked on him, asking if he and his family needed anything.

Though my father was good to him and my mother, many thought ill of him. Old students of his held grudges against him even until adulthood. Their own children were warned to keep away from me. They were afraid I would befriend them and invite them over for supper. Then, they would meet my father and that would just be horrific.

They rightfully had grudges against my father. He was a bit cruel when he taught at Hogwarts. Students at school would approach me and saw him inside of me. Some hated me, saying I was only known because my father was famous. When I was younger, I couldn't care less. However, as I got older, it did bother me.

Robert Bennet nudged me and I dropped all my books in the hallway. Many students laughed and I sighed. Robert and his sister, Marianne, laughed and joined the rest of their friends from Gryffindor.

You'd think they'd stop bullying me. We were in our third year and already 13 years old. Amber, my close friend, bent down and helped me pick up my books. Her short brown hair seemed to glow in the sunlight. She gave me a shake of the head and side-smiled.

"You should hold your books tightly in these halls, Severus. Robert and his friends always hang out here. It's by the Gryffindor common room, you know."

I shrugged. "I suppose I should. One of these days I'm going to hex that git."

Amber shook her head and smiled. "You know what people would say about you if you did, Severus."

"Oh, yes. They would say, 'Isn't that the son of the great Severus Snape?' What a bloody disgrace to his father's name and house!' Codswallop!" I laughed.

Amber laughed too. "They would write to your parents right away. You'd be expelled in an hour."

"In a second!"

"Always bragging about your own name again, are you?"

We turned and saw Robert. He stood behind us with Marianne. "Ever heard of minding your own business, Bennet?"

"Well, aren't we rude today, Snape?" Robert smirked.

"Don't you have anyone else to bother with your horrible breath, Bennet?" Amber spat.

Robert pointed his finger at her and frowned. "You, mudblood, shut up. No one's talking to you."

I clutched my wand and pointed it at him. "Take that back."

Robert laughed. "Or what? You may be a master at potions, Snape, but you're not the best at spells. Horrilble, in fact."

"Master this!"

I waved my wand at him. He stumbled back, expecting something to happen. "I almost felt something. Was anything supposed to happen?"

Marianne scoffed. "I suppose it's in your blood, isn't it? I'll bet your father was horrible at spells too. You're so much like him, aren't you?"

Amber held my arm and shook her hand. "Severus, stop. They're not worth it and you know it."

Robert smirked at her. "Always begging for peace and love. Just like a Hufflepuff."

Amber lowered her eyes. "No. W-We value..."

Robert raised an eyebrow. "What was that, Puff?"

Amber quickly yanked out her wand and waved it. "We value loyalty!"

Marianne gasped as Robert's tongue swelled up and was suddenly attached to the top of his mouth. They ran off in fear and Amber smirked.

"So much for them not being worth it." I said, shaking my head at her.

"Oh, come off it. You enjoyed it as much as I did!"

Suddenly, we froze when he heard someone clear their throat from behind. I slowly turned and saw my godfather and herbology professor.

"I hope you had a good laugh from that, you two. Because I'm sure your parents won't, especially yours, Tobias." Professor Longbottom said, folding his arms.

He was the only one who called me by my second name. Everyone else called me by my last name or just plain 'Sev'. Amber was the only person, aside from my parents at times, who called me Severus.

"Sorry, sir." Amber said, shrinking in her shoulders.

"Now, I want you both to go back to your dormitories. During the Christmas break, I want you think on what you've done. I will not inform your parents of this little incident, but I will not give you another chance. Understand?"

We nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

Christmas break. I was too excited to get home. I missed my parents and I knew that Amber's parents missed her. I headed down to the dungeons to enter my common room and get some rest. I walked in and most people were sitting in the main room on the couches.

"Oi, Severus, come over here and give me a hand!"

I turned and noticed Bastian. He was a second year and was horrible at potions. I was sort of his tutor and assisted him several times. Except, this time, he didn't need assistance with a potion. I walked over and he stared at me with his emerald eyes. His hair was dark and jet black.

His skin was pale and he was a pureblood. One of the nicest I've ever met.

"I have a small favor. Do you have a minute?" he asked, shyly.

I shrugged. "Sure."

I sat down next to him and he bit his lip before speaking. "I...there's this...well, I was wondering if I could get your...father's..."

I raised an eyebrow. "My father's what?"

He cringed a bit. "His...autograph."

Perhaps it wasn't a good thing, but I laughed. He smiled a bit and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I just really would like it and I just thought-"

"No, no, don't worry. I'll speak with him and see what I can do, alright?" I asked, patting him on the back.

He sighed with relief. "Thanks for understanding, Sev."

We went into our rooms and I laid down in my bed, staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes, I got up from bed and stared in the mirror for a bit. With a sigh, I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

"Just like your father." I sighed.

I grabbed my trunk as the train arrived at the station. Walking out of the train, I looked around and smiled when I spotted my mum. She ran over and hugged me tightly.

She pulled away and gave me a scan. "Welcome back home! Your father will be glad to know that you're already back."

"Is he not here with you?" I asked.

She shook her head. "Oh, no, he had work to do at the ministry. But, come, let's head home and we'll get you settled."

She held my hand and we apparated home. The house looked the same. The walls were a bit aged but you could still tell it was a royal blue color. The smell of sweet tea filled the house and I smiled.

Mum rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a tea pot and two small cups. I put my satchel down and stretched my arms. She sat down at the table and poured us some tea.

"So, how's school been?"

I sat down. "Very well, Mum. How are you and dad?"

"Oh, things are going well. We just got-"

She stopped when she heard the front door open. I looked up and saw my father walk in. He dropped a suitcase on the floor when he saw me.

"Well, if isn't the man himself."

I got up and approached him. "Father."

We embraced each other and he closed the door. "How was the journey back? Not too dull, I hope."

Shaking my head, I smiled. "No, it wasn't. Amber was there to make me laugh."

Mum gasped and smiled. "Oh, Amber. How is she, by the way?"

"She's well, Mum. Just excited to be going back home."

Dad walked over to the kitchen and gave Mum a small kiss. He sat down at the table as she poured him some tea. I grabbed my satchel and looked over at Mum.

"I'm going to put my things upstairs, alright?"

Mum nodded and waved me off. I hurried upstairs to my room. Slowly, as I walked through the hallway, I opened my door and stepped in. The room was untouched. My bed was made, no doubt Mum made it, and the window was closed. I usually had it open, but the cold weather must've made Mum close it.

I dropped my trunk and satchel down and jumped into bed. I let out a deep exhale and smiled to myself, glad to be home. My parents voices were muffled, but I could recognize who was speaking. Remembering that tea Mum made, I hurried back down to join them.

As I came down the stairs, I could hear them arguing a bit.

"I didn't have a choice, can't you see?" Dad asked.

"Severus, you could've asked to come early. Your own son was coming home. Surely Kingsley would understand."

"I wanted to come early, Arabella, but there was much paperwork to be done and I had to get it done. I had already put it off long enough."

"Put if off? Were you too busy with something else to get it done before?"

"Are you really going to get so angry about this?"

I could tell that he himself was getting as angry as Mum. I hurried into view and they stopped talking. I sat down at the table and Mum cleared her throat. Before anyone could speak, the phone rang and Dad went to go answer it.

He brushed his frock and answered it. "Yes?"

Mum looked over at me and smiled. "Would you like anything?"

I shook my head as I rested my elbows on the table. "Oh, no thank you, Mum."

"Come now, you should eat something. It's been a long trip. How about some of your favorite oatmeal?"

I couldn't resist that offer. I shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, that'd be nice. Thanks."

Mum stood up and poured me a glass of tea. The teapot was now empty and she placed it back on the table. Dad spoke on the phone for a bit while she got up. I looked at him and back at Mum.

"So, is everything...okay?" I asked.

Mum sipped her tea and nodded. "Yes, yes."

Dad hung up and returned to the table. Mum looked up at him. "Who was that?"

He sat across from her and I sat beside her. Dad took a sip from his tea and replied, "Arthur Weasley."

Mum's face brightened. "Oh, good. Are they coming back?"

I grimaced. "They've been gone?"

Father nodded. "Yes, they've been on vacation in Romania to visit Charlie. You remember him, of course."

I nodded. "Aye. How is he doing?"

"Well, it's a bit soon to know for sure. I suppose we could drop by and visit them once they return." Father said.

"But, dear, isn't that a bit unexpected? They might be exhausted form the journey back." Mum suggested.

"He called and asked us to, dear."

The table was silent again and Dad finished his tea. I started to chuckle a bit and Dad looked at me a bit coldly.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

I looked at him and shrugged a bit. "Couples, I suppose. Just the way you talk."

"Couples? Maybe someday you'll look and the mirror and have a snicker or two." Father said.

Mum gave him a look. "Come on, Severus. You're just tired."

A loud crash of thunder filled the sky and I jumped. Mum looked out the window and gasped quietly. Mum always loved the rain. She was quite entertained by it. I liked it too, so I suppose I got it from her. I just liked how dark the sky looked with all the different shades of gray. She waved her wand and more tea appeared in the pot. Carefully, she picked it up and walked over to Dad to pour him some more.

He shook his head. "No, don't bother."

She grimaced. "But, Severus, you always drink two cups of tea in the morning."

"Well, today, I'm not in the mood for another cup of tea, so the next time you feel the need to generalize you can say I almost have two cups of tea everyday."

She stared at him, coldly. I sipped my tea and looked away, awkwardly. Mum walked back to her seat with the pot, calmly.

"Thank you, Severus. Maybe next time, I won't say anything at all. It's not like the doctor told you to drink two cups."

I grimaced. "Doctor? Father, are you ill?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine. Just eat your breakfast."

He stared at Mum with his dark eyes as she entered the kitchen. With a wave of her wand, she prepared a delicious oatmeal. She gave it to me and handed me a spoon. Dad reached over and grabbed the teapot, realizing the tea was cold.

Mum raised an eyebrow. "Should've taken it when I offered it to you. There's more in the kitchen."

"I'll just have some milk."

He entered the kitchen and opened the fridge, taking out the carton. He raised it to his lips and I widened my eyes. Mum hated lots of things, but one thing she hated above all was when you drank from the carton of milk.

"Would you like a glass, sweetheart?" she asked, quietly, looking at him.

He ignored her and continued drinking. She got up and took one out from the cupboard. He ignored her again as she held it out in front of him.

"I'm fine, thank you."

She went to the sink and rinsed the glass before drying it and putting it away.

"Are your hands dirty, Arabella?" he asked her, suddenly.

She paused and looked at him. "Excuse me?"

"I was only wondering why you would be washing a clean glass."

She shook her head. "I don't know what sort of poison is flowing through your veins this evening, bur keep it to yourself."

I stared at them, not having touched my oatmeal. Mum looked at me and shook her head. "Sorry about this. Maybe I should close the blinds like you do during the day, Severus. Maybe it'll set the mood better for you."

He stared at her. "Excuse me?"

"You know what? Maybe you should go outside and take a walk. Cool yourself down a bit."

"Should I?"

"Yes, I think you should."

She started washing the dishes angrily and Dad scoffed at her. God, I hate when they fight. It's unbearable.

"You know what? I think I will and while I'm gone, you can call your father and let him know that I'm gone because when I go out for that walk, I'll just keep walking and walking. You won't see me ever again, maybe. And, you can let daddy know that that putrid half-blood, greasy-haired git that you married with his mood-swings, depression, and anxiety problems is out of the picture."

"I feel really sorry for you right now." Mum said as she roughly scrubbed the plates.

"The man you married who squanders the family name and gave you sleepless nights is gone. Oh, wouldn't that be a relief? No more sleepless nights, no more Death Eaters, no more nightmares, no more Severus Snape. Wouldn't that be a dream?" Dad continued.

"Severus, get out of this house right now before you say something really, really stupid and hurtful." Mum said, as she turned the faucet on.

"Oh, there she goes." Dad applauded. "When the man lets you down, you just shut him out. Shut him out. Who wouldn't feel sorry for me? For almost 15 years, I've been here with you. With you."

Mum stopped and turned to look at him. "With me. And, what have I done? I have stayed awake when you had a nightmare, I welcomed your sister with open arms, and I had to help you clean up every single bit of your past with the Death Eaters. When everyone else was telling me to leave you because they thought you were still loyal to the Dark Lord...where was I? I was right here. By your side."

They were staring at each other in silence, but they weren't finished. They kept going.

Dad scoffed. "I've been spending my life with you. In a coffin."

Mum's face went pale. "A coffin, Severus?"

He paused. "A coffin."

"Are you sure you want to be saying that, Severus?"

"I was sure the day I married you. I just didn't have the courage to say it."

They both spoke quietly but with pure anger and bitterness. Mum shook her head and looked as thought she would cry.

"How would your mother see you right now?" Mum asked, shaking her head.

Now, it was father's turn to turn pale. "How dare you.."

I stood up and pointed at him. "How dare you?"

They stared at me but Dad looked the most surprised. I stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind me. I could hear Mum call me from behind. They stopped at the front door and watched me climb into my treehouse. Mum hugged herself and looked at Dad.

"What's become of us?"

He blinked and shook his head. "What's become of me?"

He stared at her for a moment and put his hand on her shoulder. Then, he went inside, leaving her alone.