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Chapter 21Severus and the rather large brood of Weasleys walked quietly up to their destination. Severus had wanted to object to the twins and Charlie's presence but he swallowed his objection. They had, after all, been dreaming about this day for far longer than he had. He could not, in faith, refuse them their right to be present.
They had unanimously decided to omit Percy, Ginny, Molly and Arthur. Percy needed no explanation or debate. Ginny was not only underage but she also didn't know enough about Harry's home life to be present without revealing truths that Harry clearly did not want her knowing. Her mum and dad had shielded her for a large part of the revelations that the rest of the family had had when they met Harry. The adults were equally easy to rule out since they were tied by a little thing called morality which the men in Severus' party all seemed to lack, at least when it came to these muggles. Severus didn't know exactly what they would do tonight but he was damned if he would let some overly moral Gryffindor stop him from inflicting a just punishment.
They approached the door in the dark, smirks on every face. The family could be heard in the sitting room: the boy complaining about needing some new muggle item, the woman placating her "Duddykins" and the man clearly ignoring them both. Severus decided to let himself in—they were, after all, family. He nearly snorted at that thought.
The Weasleys all filed in after him, surrounding him in a semi circle as he stood in the doorway looking into the sitting room. They didn't want to miss a minute of this. "Greetings, muggles" Severus hissed in his most deadly voice. Ron and Charlie nearly shivered at the tone themselves before they recalled that, for once, it was not directed at them.
"What are you doing here? You're a freak, like him, aren't you? You're not welcome here." Anger and hatred poured off the man. There was a darkness in him that was almost palpable. Severus tried desperately to block out the stream of memories that the muggle was unconsciously projecting of the many times he had beaten Harry. He had such strong mind magic abilities that it was difficult to turn off the low level of legilimency that he had running nearly constantly. It twisted Severus' stomach in knots, simply being near the man. He reigned in his revulsion though. He had a job to do.
Severus gave a loud sigh. "Muggles can be tedious, can't they?" The Weasley boys all gave identical evil grins. They had no idea what Severus was seeing projected from the man's memories. "Let's say I skip all of the introductions and move straight on to the point of this little tête à tête. I tire of your existence. If you wish to continue living your wretched little lives you will do as I tell you."
The woman nodded eagerly, clearly ready to acquiesce to any demands he may have. The boy looked terrified and about to wet himself. The man looked furious but he did not object anymore.
"Here are custody papers. You will sign over any rights you may have claimed over Harry Potter immediately."
"But…but…you can't take him from us" the man sputtered indignantly. "He's needed here." The anger and hatred were touched with a thread of desire that even the Weasleys could sense, regardless of their lack of abilities with mind magic. The man projected his emotions strongly, more so than most wizards or muggles. There was no doubt as to his intentions.
"Yes, I've heard about how you…need your nephew" Severus said silkily, glancing disdainfully at the man's cock. "Sign the papers."
"Are you his lover, is that it? I've heard that he had a lover that was a lot older than him. I'll not let you do this. The boy is mine for another year." The man's face turned pale as he realized what he had said and quickly tried to recover. "My darling Petunia would miss the poor dear so. You just can't take him away from her. You know she loves him as another son. Such a dear, sweet boy."
Severus took a quick step forward, standing within inches of the fat muggle's face before he had even noticed that the Potions Master had started moving. Severus reached out a hand and grabbed the muggle's balls tightly in his fist and squeezed until his knuckles turned white from the pressure. Sweat poured down the man's face as he tried to remain standing. "You will sign the papers. Now. I am Harry's father and I find myself ill pleased with your loving care of my son. I will brook no more arguments. You will sign the paper or you will be dead." He gave a vicious twist before letting his vice-like grip go. He stepped aside and pointed to the papers again.
"But…but…the old man. He said the boy's father was dead. He told us so!" The muggle was sounding desperate.
"Clearly he lied."
This seemed explanation enough to Severus so he waited patiently for the man to move to the table and sign the papers. When it was evident that the man had no intention of doing anything, Severus snapped. "I must have been unclear in my earlier statements" Severus said as he accepted a long, sharp knife from Bill. He stepped closer once again and quickly thrust the knife down, stopping less than an inch away from the man's cock which was clearly in danger of being removed. "Sign it or I will slit you from balls to throat. Is that clear enough for you?"
"Vernon! Sign the damn papers! It's just for the freak anyway. Give him to the wretched man!"
Vernon shakily stepped forward and bent to sign the papers. When he finished he stood again, looking warily at Severus and the gang of red heads that stood in the doorway. Severus motioned to Petunia who also bent to sign the papers. Upon the completion of her signature the scroll bound itself tightly and then vanished.
"What just happened?" The woman's voice rang out unnaturally high and shaky.
"The contract was finished. It has gone to one of my safes in the manor to be brought forth upon need,"
Severus turned to leave. As much as he wanted to kill them all he knew that he couldn't. If he used magic on the muggles he could end up in Azkaban. He couldn't risk giving Dumbledore such wonderful leverage. They were in a dangerous enough spot as it was. He quickly walked out of the room, the Weasleys following closely. They all had similar looks of disappointment on their faces, although they each understood. Severus had explained the "rules" to them before they had even left. They knew they could not use magic at all if they wanted to keep Harry safe.
Severus stopped suddenly as he walked down the hallway.
"What is it Severus?" Bill asked softly.
Severus reached out a shaky hand and touched the wall lightly. One of his first conversations with his son ran through his head with chilling accuracy. "The cupboard under the stairs. This is what he meant, isn't it? Merlin, a cupboard. A bloody cupboard."
"Yes. That was his old room. I've never seen the inside but the twins said it's even smaller inside than it looks from the outside."
Severus reached out slowly to undo the locks on the door and he pushed the tiny door open with trepidation. The sight that greeted him made his heart twist and his breath catch. The cupboard couldn't house a toddler comfortably, much less a nearly eleven-year-old boy. His house elves had better rooms than this. Hell, mistreated house elves had better rooms.
Cobwebs filled the corners and a thick layer of dust covered everything. A small shelf was stocked with various cleaning supplies and a few broken toys and two crayon stubs. A tiny cot filled the majority of the cupboard. Even as a ten year old, even knowing how tiny Harry had been, Severus could clearly tell that his son couldn't have possibly been able to even lay straight on the cot, much less stand upright in the cupboard.
He started shaking almost violently. His anger and his despair warred with each other. Part of him wanted desperately to sit down and cry like a child. A larger part of him wanted to return to the living room and use every single dark curse he had ever learned on them, one after another, until he had eviscerated any sign of their wretched existence from the earth. He turned toward the room again. Bill reached out to stop him but one look at the Potions Master's face made him decide against it.
The other Weasleys quickly got out of Severus' way as he strode back to the room he had just vacated. The muggles had evidently decided that they were safe from any harm since the wizards had yet to actually hurt any of them. The fat muggle tried to bluster a bit of bravery to show that he wasn't intimidated by Severus' dark countenance but it was an ill thought out plan, and in fact put his precious bits in even greater danger than they had ever been in before. Petunia and Dudley huddled in the corner, clearly terrified.
"Back for some help with the freak? He can be hard to bring to line. Have you enjoyed the boy yet? So lovely, isn't he? I tell you, that boy can bring some life to a man's bed" the fat muggle chuckled stupidly.
Severus had reached his breaking point. He reached out his hand and with a small amount of wandless magic removed the muggle's clothing and then he ripped the man's balls from his body with his bare hand. The naked muggle opened his mouth in a silent scream and collapsed to the floor in shock, convulsing. Severus looked down at his blood-covered hand for a moment, in a shock of his own. Well…that had been…enjoyable. Who knew it could feel so good to castrate a gloating child-rapist?
He turned again and quickly left the room. Bill smirked triumphantly. Ron looked a bit ill but pleased. Charlie had carefully averted his eyes from the scene but he looked content. The twins were quite green but they nodded solemnly at Severus as he passed them again.
The six men quickly left the house and activated the portkey to return them to the manor. Severus actually stumbled when they arrived and then sank to the ground. Bill stepped over to him and knelt down behind him, putting his arms around Snape's shaking shoulders. The other Weasleys stood a bit apart, discussing the trip quietly as they averted their eyes from the scene of their broken professor.
"He's safe now. You can keep him safe. He'll never have to go back there again" Bill whispered quietly.
"Merlin. How did my boy survive such a man?" Severus whispered hoarsely.
"He's safe now" Bill continued to whisper. He didn't know what else to do. He knew that Severus was in shock. He had learned too much, too quickly.
"I have failed him, haven't I? I left him with that monster…" Severus trailed off, completely broken. His shoulders started to shake harder with silent sobs. He was a complete failure as a father. How could he have left his child there? The man had been loathsome, his violence and his perverse sexual desire roiling off of him in waves so thick that it had been difficult for Severus to breath while he was there. He had been nauseated by being in the man's presence for a matter of minutes. His child had been there for fifteen years, struggling through his beatings, enduring the man's rapes. He shuddered violently, barely resisting the urge to gag. He now understood perfectly his son's reaction in Dumbledore's office when he had learned the truth.
"Shh. You did nothing wrong. You need to remember that it was Dumbledore that did this, Dumbledore that kept you from him. Now you know about Harry and you'll keep him safe. You are a good father" he said firmly. "You are doing a good job. No one can take him from you now. And the muggle can never hurt him again, even if he could get within ten miles of him."
Severus finally nodded and started to calm, leaning heavily into Bill's arms as Bill continued to whisper calming words to him. After a few more minutes he seemed to collect himself and finally stood with Bill's assistance. The other Weasleys approached slowly and didn't mention anything that they had just seen. They were all floored by the Potion Master's open showing of pain. They were more shocked by his tears than they had been by his violent castration of the muggle. After all, he had merely put into effect what each of them had dreamed about for the last six years. They had known that Severus had not always been firmly on the side of the light and one does not become a Death Eater through goodness and purity.
They quietly entered the house. Charlie and the twins looked around, curious at their surroundings, but did not speak. They knew that now was not the time. "Mindy" Severus called softly. She appeared in front of his almost immediately, taking in the sight of her bloody and broken master with solemn eyes. "Can you show our guests to my study? Show them where the drinks are. They can prepare what they want for themselves." She nodded and turned to take the young men down the hallway.
"Are you coming, sir?" Ron asked softly.
"I wish to check on my son first. I will follow shortly." They all nodded and followed Mindy toward the study and alcohol while Severus and Bill made their way toward Harry's room. They arrived to find an empty bed. Severus felt his heart stop for a moment before Bill tugged him toward Hermione's room.
"No doubt they're in here. He was all excited about that new book, remember? They probably fell asleep talking about it." He quietly opened the door and immediately spotted two still forms on the large bed. Harry was curled up in a tight ball on the side closest to the door and Hermione was stretched out on her side facing him but a few feet away from him. A small pile of books lay between them.
Severus let out a shaky breath and stepped closer to his son. He reached out a shaking hand to touch his son's hair lightly and simply stood there for a few minutes stroking the silky hair. Tears streamed down his face. Bill finally stepped in and lightly pushed him back. He bent down and scooped Harry into his arms to carry him to bed. Harry tensed momentarily and then almost immediately relaxed and leaned in towards the warmth of his lover, sighing lightly. Bill carried him to his own room and gently tucked him into bed. Harry's eyes fluttered for a moment but he remained in a deep sleep.
Bill and Severus locked eyes for a brief moment and then they both turned to leave Harry's rooms. They walked in near silence to the study to join the other Weasleys in a much-needed drink or two.
Ron met them at the door with large glasses of whiskey. Clearly, he and his brothers had already enjoyed quite a few drinks themselves. Severus downed his in one swift motion. Bill looked at his drink for a moment and then looked at his pale brothers and did the same. George rushed to pour the two men more whiskey.
"Well. That's finally done." Fred finally said. Severus was marginally surprised to note that the twins were deadly serious for once and they had been for the entire evening once they heard their destination. Severus quickly swallowed his second drink.
"Merlin it feels good knowing the bastard can't touch him again" Charlie said, anger bleeding into his words. Severus let out a choked sob and poured himself another glass. Bill helped him sit on the sofa and then sat down close to him, offering silent comfort.
"I'm so sorry. I don't know what…" Severus said quietly.
"It's alright" Bill said immediately, cutting him off. "We've had six years to deal with this. You've had less than a week. We understand. You look how each of us has felt for a large part of the last six years." Red heads nodded solemnly at their oldest brother's words. They knew they would never be able to laugh about any of this. They could never find true joy in the events of the evening although they did find some satisfaction. And they sure as hell would never mock Severus for his reaction. Gods knew they had had similar reactions over the years. They had each turned to the other multiple times for comfort when it all became too much.
Ron quickly started to pour everyone another round. They all needed to get good and sloshed after the events of the evening. Severus met his eyes when he was handed a new drink. "Thank you" he rasped out. Ron nodded. Severus didn't need to tell him that he was thanking him for more than just another drink, although that was clearly appreciated as well. Severus was offering his heartfelt gratitude to the boy for his love and protection of his son.
The men sat long into the night, finishing bottle after bottle of liquor. Finally, the twins took their portkey back to their apartment and Charlie decided to go with him rather than return alone to the dragon colony. No one wanted to be alone that night. They couldn't stay the night at the manor or else Harry would know that they had all gone to the Dursleys together. They never intended for him to find out any details of what had happened. They knew that Harry would be upset, regardless of the fact that the muggle deserved much, much worse than he had gotten.
Ron, Bill and Severus stumbled up the stairs, offering assistance to each other when needed. They finally made it to their rooms and Severus and Bill watched Ron open the door to Hermione's room and throw himself onto her bed fully clothed, clearly passing out before he even hit the pillow. Hermione looked up, startled, but upon seeing her professor and Bill in the doorway and taking in Ron's state of inebriation she nodded her understanding and lay back down to sleep. She didn't know exactly what had happened but she doubted that she wanted to know. She understood though, that Ron was scared to be alone tonight and needed her comfort. She slid the books aside and she curled up beside him, offering her love and friendship as best she could.
Severus and Bill closed the door softly and met each other's gaze for a long moment that spoke volumes. They both knew that everything had changed between them tonight and neither one seemed to regret it. Severus was finally at peace with Bill's relationship with his son. He finally saw Bill as a man and not a misbehaving student and as his almost son-in-law. He knew, without a doubt, that Bill would always be a part of his and Harry's lives. Without another word they parted and made their way into their bedrooms to try to find some sleep.