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Chapter 47

He settled into an easy life. He rented a flat near the ministry. He enjoyed Sunday dinners at Hammersmith with his parents and met Minerva at least once a month whenever their busy schedules permitted.

Tom interviewed for a secretarial position at the magical law department, part of the Wizengamot. It was menial work but it was expected that any wizard or witch with aspirations to a seat in the Wizengamot needed to at least work as a secretary for five years. Tom planned to stay for two years and then be promoted to a law writing team for one the Wizengamot wizards. He was a rising star at the ministry. Many wizards at the department were impressed by his intelligence and quick problem solving skills. He quickly learned that Minerva was correct. These people were bigoted and infantilized muggles. He was asked about his origins three months into working there. Arcturus Black approached him. Black did not work there but was fond of visiting Mr. Longbottom who worked as part of the Wizengamot.

"You should have dinner with us. My son and his new wife will be in to have dinner. You could bring a girl or let me know. I have a cousin. She fancies herself in love with an undesirable wizard, a muggle supporter. A Weasley boy. Now that I think about it, she's already taken and has a newborn son. No matter, my boy. We may yet find you a pureblood witch." The man said

Tom looked at him quietly, "Longbottom tells me you are a Prince." The man continued saying.

"Not exactly. I am a half-blood. My mother is muggle born and my father is a half-blood as well. His mother was a Prince." Tom replied.

The man's demeanor changed. "I see. Have a nice day. Mr. Snape."

Tom saw as the older man walked away. There were no more dinner invitations. Tom did not mind. He was not on the prowl for a wife and found the dinners tedious. He could network as much as he wanted during work hours.

He ran late for Sunday dinner. He found his parents at the table. "We thought you were not going to make it."

"Ran late. I was reading some papers." He sat down and ate.

"Your father and I have something to tell you." His mother said.

Tom nodded, "we've decided to travel." She continued. Tom nodded. "How long?"

"A few years." His father replied.

"Why?" Tom asked. He was confused.

"We're tired. Everyone knows who we are. Your mother and I have to alter our appearance every day. People have noticed that we are not aging. It takes time and concentration to keep up the glamours. We've tried potions and they have horrible side effects. My research is not conclusive as of yet. Everyone tries to be younger, not older." His father said tiredly. He looked closer to his thirties than the supposed fifties.

"We want you to come with us. You love to travel. It will fun. We will have many adventures." His mother said with a smile.

"No." Tom did not have to think it twice. It was not his plan. He had his life here. His job and Minerva.

His father understood. "We will write to you and come for the holidays and birthdays."

Tom nodded, "when do you leave?"

"I have to tie up some loose ends at the university and then we'll go to Argentina. A week maybe."

They made plans to schedule a visit in which he would go to Buenos Aires for his birthday which would happen in a month.

Tom left home with a smile. "Now, it is you who will need to write every week." He hugged his mother goodbye.

Tom felt bittersweet about their decision to travel but understood the reason behind it. The man made his way back to his flat. His father paid for half a year of it. Tom did not see the need to give him the money back. His mother would have insisted that he did.

He read some files and cases for a bit and then fell asleep. He dreamed of courtrooms and concentration camps. He woke up startled and shook his head. Tom spent the whole week consumed with work.

He saw Minerva that Saturday. They usually met at Hogsmeade but Tom insisted on meeting at the Leaky Cauldron, "We have to do Christmas shopping." He said and cajoled her into going with him.

"Are you staying in the castle this year?" He asked her as they travelled through muggle London. Tom insisted in buying some books for his mum.

"No, I'm taking Malcolm and Robert home from Hogwarts. We are spending it home." She said distractedly.

"I'm going to Argentina. My parents have decided to travel the world." He said as they crossed a busy street.

Minerva remained quiet for a while. Tom looked at her, "what is it?"

"Tom, there are rumors about your father." She said quietly.

"What sort of rumors?" Tom asked with a frown.

"There's a tea shop." She pointed to a nearby place. They walked to it in a hurry.

Tom ordered coffee while Minerva settled for tea. "Tell me."

"A wizard came forth just before you came back. He claims your father tortured him and at least three other wizards the day Grindelwald fell." Minerva said quickly.

"Lies, my father was with Dumbledore. We were all there." Tom laughed.

Minerva frowned and sweetened her tea. "Tom, he claims that it happened at night. He is one of the wizards that the Ministry found all those years ago."

Tom knew exactly who Minerva talked about. "I see. Minerva, how have you acquired this information?"

She had the decency to blush. "I heard a conversation between Dumbledore and your father. He came to the castle last week and talked to the headmaster. Dumbledore advised him to travel."

Tom understood that there was definite proof of his father's involvement then. He had not heard anything at the ministry.

"Thank you Minnie. I have to go." He said and kissed her cheek. "I will owl you later."

He left the shop and apparated to the ministry's entrance. He made his way to the magical law enforcement office. He fashioned a key with his wand. Tom picked up a few tricks traveling. He reviewed the open criminal cases against fellow wizards.

"Severus Tobias Snape, suspected of attempted murder…" Tom stopped reading. They were accusing of raping and killing three witches and torturing a wizard for an extended period of time. These were lies. There were descriptions of each case and then a last page with notes. "Alibi given, sworn testimony from ministry officials as well as sworn testimony from Albus Dumbledore. Next steps, question wife? Son? Order to question Mr. Snape and examine his wand."

Tom had read enough. He left the ministry and apparated home.

His father was in the living room reading a book. "Care to explain why you have not told me that there is an inquiry for your arrest?" He said as introduction.

His father set the book down, "I had hoped that Albus' intervention would be enough. Your mother was correct. It is best for us to leave now.

"Dad, this is madness. I need you to explain."

"We should wait for your mother." His father said calmly.

Tom thought about yelling. They were so frustrating, the both of them. He waited for half an hour and then his mother entered their home.

"I bought you oranges. They were a bit pricey." She saw him. "Oh you're here sweetheart."

"He knows about the inquiry." His father said.

"Oh." His mother articulated.

Tom was furious, "why do you keep lying to me?" it was a silent fury. He learned it from his father.

"We did not lie." His father intoned just as softly.

"We omitted some information for your own good." His mother softened.

"Same as lying in my book. Explain, what is all of this?" he asked.

"Your mother and I decided to leave the wizarding world after the incident." His father began to explain.

"It was a decision a long time coming. It is not our timeline. We tried to fit in. I forced your mother to accept the manor but it was all for naught."

Tom nodded, "we waited until you were done with Hogwarts." His mother said. "You traveled and then it started."

"I got owls from Albus, different Blacks, Rosiers, Rowles, Crouchs, Longbottom, even Potter reached out. They wanted all sort of favors and invitations to socialize came every week." His father said. "There is only so many times you can refuse these people. The threats began, first from Rosier and then the Blacks. Arcturus invited me over to start a political faction, a party of sorts of purebloods. Potter wanted to do the same but his views are far more charitable."

"We wanted nothing to do with it but Harfhang convinced us to have dinner. And then we realized there were changes to this timeline. Something was off." His mother said.

"Harfang was the person we've had most contact with outside of you. He presented us his three daughters and only son Algie." His father frowned. "The Harfang from our timeline had three daughters and two sons. One of them which should have been born five years ago. He was to be the grandfather of one of your mother's dearest friends and father to a war hero. Now he does not exist."

"What does any of that have to do with you?" Tom asked exasperated. He did not care one fig about the family lives.

"The first anomaly we noticed was Minerva." His mother said gently.

"What about Minnie?" Tom asked.

"Our Minerva was younger. We were surprised to see her boarding the train your first year. Then my mother died, effectively canceling me. We've also looked into Hermione's family. Her great aunts have all disappeared and her maternal grandfather did not come to England after the war. He remained in France got himself a wife. She had their first child, a boy. It was supposed to be your grandmother."

"I fail to see how this has anything to do with the inquiry." Tom insisted.

"We have changed the timeline. Bad things happen to wizards who meddle with time." His mother replied, "We thought we were safe, but at least three people have ceased to exist because of us and two have been born before their times."

"Who is the other person?" Tom asked.

"The witch responsible for your mother's arm." His father began, "young Bellatrix Lestrange. Third year Slytherin."

Tom frowned, "Druella's daughter? She's a sweet girl."

"Did you meet her?" His mother asked.

"She was about seven or eight years old." He said honestly. Druella welcomed him into her home that time. It was the last time he'd ever gone there.

"It is important. The timeline was terribly altered by our presence. We do not know what will happen next. We were too concerned with that aspect and then the veiled threats came forth. This so called wizard came forth with the pureblood supports. Albus has meddled as much as he can but the results do not look so promising." His father insisted.

"They are not after you. They have nothing on you but they do have things on your father. He was a spy for them during this war and the fact that our backgrounds are not clear or sealed for that matter. We have to leave, put distance between us and them. We cannot ask you to the same but you have to understand that we have to go." His mother said gently.

"They will find you. They will know once you are out of the country that you have traveled to Argentina. In fact, they will ask me about you. The next steps are to question me or mum." Tom replied quickly.

His father nodded, "we have to." He looked at his mother.

His mum looked at him with the saddest eyes she'd seen. "They need to forget about us for a time. It does not mean that we will stop writing to you. We designed something to communicate."

"Your father reconstructed it and bettered it. We have the other one. We will write each other and you have vacation time. Not for the first years but later, once it all dies down." His mother rushed out.

Tom understood, "When will you do it? Minerva knows that you are planning to travel."

His father smiled, "Albus, the old fox."

"We will fake our deaths three days from now. A lorry accident. They will call you from the muggle relations office once they see our bodies and wands. Do not worry, those will be decoys, perfect replicas of our own. It will be our bodies, your mother and I will drink a potion. It is a modification of the draught of the living dead. We will not be asleep; we will be conscious. We will be the only casualties." His father said clearly.

Tom listened to the plan carefully, "You will take us to the manor. Once there we will leave through muggle ways. We will modify our appearance, a beard and short hair for me, your mother will color her hair blond and change her eye color. You will have a burial for us. Close casket, Albus and maybe Minerva."

"I cannot lie to Minerva so much." Tom said openly.

His mother nodded, "we trust her if you do."

"We will not go to Argentina. Your mother and I will go to the colonies, as west as possible. We will find one of those little towns and stay there for a few months. We plan to make our way down until we reach Argentina, a few months or years in each country. We will write to you, through both muggle and wizard avenues." His father said.

They went through the last details of the operations. Tom stayed with them that night. He knew that it was for the best and he definitely knew that he could not lie to Minerva that much. She knew almost everything. He would tell her everything once his parents went away.

He woke up the next morning and went down to have some tea. He found his father nursing a cup of coffee. "What will happen with Atria?" He asked as Atria pranced around the kitchen.

"Your mother has accepted to leave her here with you." His father explained.

"I cannot take care of a cat." Tom said while sitting in front of his father.

"Give her to Minerva. She is fond of her if I recall correctly." He said and drank a bit more.

"Do you think it will work?" Tom asked him in all honesty.

"It will. We have to try it for now. We have overstayed our welcome here. It is best that they forget about me. Your mother was correct. We needed to stay under the radar but I had to go back. You and I are that way, magic feels different. It's a thrill." Tom never heard his father speak to him as an equal.

"It feels different. As if there is electricity and a sense of peace and power, a thrill." Tom whispered.

His father nodded, "I must ask you something. Never be so seduced by that power. It will not be a good thing. Power will not make Minerva love you like you want her to love you. It will not make people agree intrinsically with your views."

Tom looked at him, studied him, "What exactly was your role in your timeline?"

His father looked at him. "I was a spy."

"A double agent?" Tom asked him.

The older man shook his head, "I was at Hogwarts when the Dark Lord rose and gained a following. It was the first war. I grew up in Manchester, my witch mother did not tell my muggle father that she had magic. It was the topic of constant fights. It did not help that I was magical as well. They fought day and night. I grew resentful of them. I often went to a little park near our house. It divided the good part and the bad part in town. I met a girl who could do magic. She was muggle born. We were best friends. I could not wait for my letter to arrive and I was the happiest when it did."

"Hogwarts was my dream. I would show my friend everything. Imagine my surprise when she was sorted in Gryffindor and I was in Slytherin. We remained friends until the end of our fifth year. I had a number of nemeses at Hogwarts. There was a nasty incident after one of our O.W.L.S. She tried to defend me. I was humiliated. I called her a mudblood. She never forgave me. I begged but we knew it was the end. You see, I had begun to make associations that were not to her liking. She told me she could not make more excuses for me. I grew resentful of her. I loved her, I desired her, I wanted her to be mine. I wanted her to love me, as much as I loved her. So when the invitation to join the Dark Lord I did not hesitate. I thought it would solve everything. I would be powerful; I would teach my muggle father. I would teach those boys at Hogwarts. I would teach my friend that I could be better. I took the mark."

"Your tattoo?" Tom asked.

His father smiled sadly and looked at it. "Yes, it is ever fixed, I did not go away, not even when I killed him. It is a reminder of that fateful mistake. My fellow Death Eaters were fanatics, purebloods who believed in blood supremacy. I knew better. I wanted power. I wanted knowledge. I wanted everyone to know that I was smart, talented and better than everyone else. I worked for him. I spied, I developed potions, spells and gained recognition among the ranks. I was twenty when the Dark Lord asked me to ask for a teaching post at Hogwarts. I overheard a prophecy."

"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies …"

"I told it to my master. I was sure to be elevated to the ranks and I was when the unconceivable happened. He targeted my friend's son. She married one of my school nemesis. I immediately begged him to spare her. He promised he would." His father snorted.

Tom was oddly captured by this tale. He kept seeing Minerva with a small child. His father continued speaking, "I went to Albus, I told him everything and begged him to protect them all."

"You saved them." Tom said carefully.

"They were betrayed by a friend. He killed them but the baby survived." His father looked impossibly sad.

"I swore to protect the boy. He grew up to be your mother's best friend. I despised him but could not bear to look into his eyes. He had my friend's eyes, the greenest, most beautiful eyes." His father smiled happily.

Tom frowned, "You speak of her as if in love with her."

The older man chuckled, "I believe your mother cured me of that."

"My friend remains my biggest regret. She died because of me. There is nothing more hateful than hurting the ones you love." His father said.

"Why are you telling me all of this? You have been so secretive of your lifetime." Tom was very curious.

"Your mother and I will go away. We will not be next to you anymore." The man replied.

"Dad, you were not with me the last five years when I was away." Tom said honestly. He did not see why they needed to have this conversation yet again.

"No, but it was different. You were away, you were safe. There is a pack of wolves looking to tear you apart now. Tom, you are to stay and I am scared. I never want you to make my mistakes. So promise me, be careful and do not let power consume you. Tom, you have to be strong."

Tom looked at his father and nodded, "I made an unbreakable vow. I will keep it."

His father stood up and touched his shoulder. "There is no need to tell your mother that you know about all of this."

He went away and left the cup on the sink. Tom finished his cup of tea and then left for his flat.

He spent the next two days working as if nothing happened. He carried the small mirror on his robes and felt it grow hot. He knew it was them. It was time.