Chapter 6- Father Christmas

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Severus forced himself to keep a steady pace, although his natural inclination was to slow as he approached his father's bedchamber. As a child, he had all but dragged his feet in order to postpone an interview with his sire. When he matured, he realised Tobias gained pleasure from his hesitance and vowed never to provide that satisfaction again.

"Come in, boy."

The raspy command induced Severus to linger in the doorway. From his bed, Tobias made a huffing sound. Was it amusement? The son took his time noting all the changes time and illness had wrought.

"I look almost as ugly as you now, don't I?"

His father's tone was wry instead of bitter. Must be the potion talking. Inwardly relieved at the man's comparative docility, Severus answered, "We will never resemble one another."

"Thankfully. If you didn't have my father's greasy hair and pointy ears, I'd think your mother made a cuckold of me."

Severus stepped into the room and sat in the chair furthest from the bed. He repressed the urge to touch his ear. Even if wizards did not favour long hair as a rule, he would have allowed his to grow to cover what his father had always ridiculed.

Not everyone thought his ears 'abnormal' or 'freakishly elfish', however. Eris was fond of tracing his skin with her lips and tongue, breathily calling the shape sexy. The memory caused him to smirk.

"Like the idea of another father, eh? Too bad for both of us it isn't true."

Severus' eyes narrowed in warning. "Mother has always been faithful. I doubt you can say the same."

Tobias' gaze shifted to the side. What was he trying to hide? The son waited until his father glanced back and then delved into his mind, finding memories that shocked.

-

In a smoky tavern, a woman clutched Tobias' sleeve, pleading, "Don't you understand, it doesn't matter if we're both married, we can still be together."

"No we can't." Face twisted with angry disbelief, the young man pried her hand off and stepped back, saying, "Damn that witch to hell, I don't want you, Claudia."

The scene changed abruptly.

Tobias slammed the front door and stalked to the kitchen, demanding of his mother-in-law, "Where is she?"

"The library."

The door was ajar. He kicked it open, enjoying the alarm and distaste on his normally stoic father-in-law's face. Tobias yanked his wide-eyed wife out of her chair and pulled her toward the door.

"What do you think you are doing?" demanded the wizard rising from his chair. His face was red with indignation.

Tobias' features were distorted by a sneer. "If you're lucky, old man, I'll be making you a grandfather."

-

Severus cut off the connection before he was forced to witness even more disturbing images. Lying against his pillows, his father laughed unpleasantly. "Why stop there? Is the thought of your sainted mother copulating with a filthy Muggle too upsetting? What twists your knickers tighter, I wonder. The fact that she did it more than once or that she enjoyed it?"

Upper lip curling, Severus retorted, "I am not half as troubled as you are. Tell me, Father, are you ashamed of your feelings for your wife?"

"I never had feelings," Tobias shot back. "I was entranced by a witch."

"She stopped giving you the potion and you still chose to stay."

"Eileen tricked me."

Severus looked into eyes black as his own and said, "You fooled yourself." His father shook his head weakly, but an image drawn up from the recess of memory told a different tale.

-

Tobias prowled around the cellar lab. He picked things up and examining them curiously, asking, "This Potions Master thing you talked about. What good will it do us?"

Eileen stirred a cauldron. "I could teach at Hogwarts."

"Teacher pay is shite. You'd make more selling soap at craft fairs. Will it teach you to transform lead into gold?"

"No."

"Gain power?"

"Probably not."

Tobias strolled over and slid his hands around his pregnant wife's waist. "Then I say forget about it and think of something else to make our dreams come true."

Eileen's expression was a mixture of joy and pain. "My dream already came true."

-

Severus jerked his eyes away from his father's gaze. The ambition he'd heard in Tobias' voice was eerily familiar. He scowled. "You expected my mother to wave her magic wand and give you a life of luxury. When she did not, you spent the rest of your life making her miserable for it."

"She made my life misery!"

"No, you made your life a misery." Severus rose and looked down his nose at the pathetic creature on the bed. "You were too lazy to work for what you wanted. You preferred to drink and blame your wife and child for...what exactly, Father? Depriving you of the life you believed a handsome face entitled you to become accustomed to?"

"Get out!"

"I will leave, and I will not return." Severus bent over the bed, his voice a deadly whisper. "I did not come here seeking reconciliation. You have been nothing but a bane in my life. I came for Mother. She deserves kindness at this hour, and if you wish to have anyone mourn your passing, Father, I would see that she gets it."

"Get OUT!"

Severus closed the door silently, knowing it would further enrage.

"What did you say to him?"

He turned to face his mother. The cat she was holding wriggled free and ran up the stairs to the attic. Severus exhaled sharply. "The truth."

"Eileen!"

It was painful to watch his mother's face soften, to know that she still cared for a man who deserved only loathing. He said, "Go. I will be in my room, and I do not wish to be disturbed."

She smiled slightly and reached for the door handle.

He strode to the staircase.

Inside the attic bedroom, Eris was waiting. She wrapped her arms around him. "Are you all right? I was afraid he'd say something vile to hurt..."

"He cannot hurt me," Severus interjected. "I ceased caring about that man's opinion long ago. I spoke to him only for Mother's sake, I assure you." He raised his hand to brush back her hair and was astounded to see his fingers trembling. It was a reaction to the heat of argument. That was the only rational explanation.

"Oh, Severus."

For some unfathomable reason, he could not abide that note of sympathy in her voice. He did not require a shoulder to cry on—he would not be pitied. Severus lowered his mouth to Eris'. If she wanted to make him feel better, he knew exactly how she could do it. His kisses were not tender, but his partner did not complain about his voracity. Her lips and body moved against his in eager acceptance. He swirled his tongue between her teeth. She pressed closer.

Severus lifted Eris and carried her to the bed, enjoying the way her fingers tugged at the fastenings of his clothing. He returned the favour, determined to feel skin against skin as soon as possible.

"I love you," she said on a moan. He hoarsely returned the sentiment before continuing his exploration. Severus did not want to think about his parents. He didn't want to think at all. He needed only to feel Eris' hair sliding through his fingers and across his skin, her hands rousing him to passion. He wanted nothing more than to immerse himself in her body and her love and forget all else.

-

When Severus finally awoke on Christmas Eve, the sun was streaming through the windows and his eyelids felt glued together. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and gazed at Eris. She was curled on her side, sound asleep. There were shadows beneath her eyes. He felt smug and remorseful at the same time.

After pulling up the duvet to cover his partner, he headed for the lavatory. Inside, Severus looked up at the showerhead that was no longer a potential source of injury and chuckled. Necessity really was the mother of invention. He engaged the hot water charm and counted showering with Eris without pain worth the cost of decreased water pressure.

In the kitchen, he greeted his mother and sat at the table, reaching for the Daily Prophet. It was folded so crisply, Severus knew it had not been read. Before his apprenticeship, such an occurrence had been a rare pleasure. His mother usually received the Prophet second hand, from a friend. "Thank you for the paper."

Eileen smiled, but did not meet his gaze more than briefly. He supposed she was embarrassed over his discoveries about her past. She served him coffee along with a plate of eggs and sausages before sitting down with a cup of tea.

Severus offered his mother the unwanted Arts section, smiling fleetingly in response to her dry thanks. He read an article detailing yet another 'mysterious death' and felt his respect for the press drop to a new low. There was nothing mysterious about any of the deaths reported repeatedly. They were executions, carried out by those loyal to Lord Voldemort.

When he finished breakfast, Severus carried his plate to the sink. His mother lifted a brow when he began clearing the dishes, but did not stand. He snickered inwardly. If she had enquired, he would have claimed Christmas spirit.

"What would you like to do today?" asked Eileen, when the kitchen was set to rights and silence hung in the air.

Severus answered, "I would like us to brew a potion together."

Her eyes looked unusually bright. "Any particular one, dear?"

His mother's tone reminded him of Christmases long ago, when she would sit on his bed and ask which of the few gifts he would like to open first. He had taken her caring for granted then. Severus did so no longer. A smile flickered across his face. "The Draught of Peace."

"That's a difficult potion," she replied with a faint smile.

He nodded. "Are your skills too rusty for the challenge?"

Eileen's smile widened, displaying the slightly crooked teeth she normally concealed. "I weigh ingredients exactly and crush them precisely every time I make a batch of soap." She frowned. "I don't have any powdered moonstone, though, and that cannot be substituted, if I am not mistaken."

Severus looked down at his fingernails. They were much improved since Eris had taken charge of his manicure. She claimed to enjoy pampering him, so he allowed it, since he enjoyed being pampered. He said off-handed, "I brought the ingredients."

"Oh." After a heavy pause, his mother asked, "How do you intend to use the draught?"

"Not to send Father into an irreversible sleep." He dropped the sarcasm to add, "I thought a solution to calm anxiety and soothe agitation would be beneficial to have on hand when he...is no longer with you."

Eileen said in a small voice, "That was very thoughtful of you, Severus. I'm sure the draught will be a comfort in trying times."

He nodded and excused himself to go upstairs and retrieve the ingredients. On the way, he heard his father call out, "Eileen, is that you? I'm bored. Come read to me."

Severus' lips curled as he performed a nonverbal muting charm. For the next few hours, his mother was going to be free of her parasitical spouse. Relishing the silence that fell, he continued up the steps.

He had opened the trunk and lifted out the box containing his stores of ingredients when a sleepy voice asked, "What are you and Eileen going to brew?"

Severus crossed over to the bed, placing the intricately carved box on the floor before leaning down to kiss his partner. "The Draught of Peace. Mother feared I was going to drop extra hellebore into the cauldron and aid Father in reaching eternal slumber, but I reassured her I intended it for medicinal purposes only."

Eris arched her back like a cat as she stretched and smiled. "You're a good son." She pulled him down for another kiss. "And a wonderful lover."

He shook his head. "An inconsiderate one, to keep you awake all night."

She giggled. "Are you saying that wasn't an early Christmas present?"

"Yours to me, perhaps."

"It was mutual, and I loved it." Eris sat up and hugged him close. "I love you."

He smiled against her hair. "Our feelings are mutual." Severus drew back and asked, "Are you hungry? What shall I leave for you in the kitchen?"

Eris said laughingly, "Anything edible will be fine, but if it's tuna, be sure to crack the door to the downstairs lav. I'll need those brushing/flossing mints under the sink."

Severus kissed her cheek. "Thank you." He meant the words in more ways than he could enumerate.

She blew him a kiss. "I'll see you later, love."

-

His mother was examining a cauldron when he joined her in the cellar. "I haven't brewed a potion in months, not since the Draught of Docility. I wanted to make sure it had been cleaned properly." She nodded toward the brass scales on a worktable. "If you'd like to begin, I'll give this another scrub just to be sure."

"I will assemble the ingredients," he said, placing his box on the wooden table he had utilised so many times in the past. Severus opened the lid and began removing jars and vials.

Eileen finished her task and eyed his stores appreciatively. "What a grand selection you have. Mandrake root, salamander wool, boomslang skin—some of the items are very costly." She lifted a jar for closer examination. "Was this box a present from Eris?"

He fixed his gaze on the container filled with lacewing flies. "Yes."

"She must have loved you very much."

His posture stiffened. "I prefer not to speak of it."

"Very well, shall I measure out the dried nettles?"

Severus nodded and conjured a flame beneath the cauldron. They worked together harmoniously, making succinct comments now and then. He admired the way his mother lowered the flames with a wave of her fingers and was unerringly meticulous in her work. Time passed pleasantly. They exchanged looks of satisfaction when silvery vapours rose from the cauldron. Eileen handed him a flagon. He filled it and chuckled when she affixed a soap label on the side.

A yowl-scream impelled Severus to plunk down the flagon and head for the stairs. In the kitchen, Epis meowed frantically, her ears flattened against the side of her head. He rushed toward her. She turned and darted out of the room. His heart jolted. "Mother! Come quickly!"

"I'm here, son."

They followed the Siamese up to Tobias' room. When Severus opened the door, his father was shaking his head in wonder. "The cat pushed through a gap in the door, took one look at me and bolted. That is the smartest animal I ever..." He broke off to close his eyes and gasp for breath. Faintly, he said, "I...I'm not feeling well, Eileen. Don't leave me."

She rushed to her husband's side, kneeling on the floor to hold his hand. "I won't."

Severus backed away. "I will go prepare tea."

Out in the corridor, his partner's eyes were dilated with fear. He scooped her up and began petting her soothingly. "He is still alive. I am to make tea, which Father will likely make Mother drink before it passes his lips." He brushed a kiss across the top of her head, murmuring, "I would never choose such a mundane way to poison."

After delivering the tea tray, he sat in the library with Epis on his lap and read a tome on the rise and fall of potions making in the Roman Empire. Occasionally he would read a passage aloud, but the text was rather dull, overall. It merely served its purpose to keep his mind off the couple upstairs. His partner helped too, simply by being there.

When the sun began to set, he tapped on the door of his father's chamber. Eileen opened it, her face taut with the strain of Tobias' failing health. Severus cleared his throat. "I am going out for a short walk to see the lights and purchase dinner. Does Father still enjoy Chinese?"

Inside the room, his father called, "Want to feed the condemned man his last meal, eh? Don't get anything spicy, or any of those damned fortune cookies. I already know my future."

Eileen patted Severus' arm. "Thank you."

He inclined his head and left the house with a Disillusionment charmed companion. She stayed close behind him, blending into his cloak, invisible to the last-minute shoppers around them. Privately, Severus acknowledged that the fairy lights strung from streetlights and around shop windows were a festive sight. He would never go so far as to exclaim over them like his partner, but they had a simple appeal.

Surprisingly, he was not the only customer of the Happy Wok. Standing in the queue, he debated what to order until Eris whispered, "The Peking style set dinner looks good, and there should be enough food if...for some reason...your mum doesn't want to cook tomorrow."

He took her advice. The seaweed did not entice, but the thought of spare ribs and Satay chicken, along with prawns and several other dishes made his stomach rumble.

They returned to Spinner's End and fixed two trays. Severus refrained from adding spicy Szechuen-style beef to his father's plate and delivered it to his mother.

"Did the boy get any sweet-and-sour pork? I don't want anything but sweet-and-sour pork."

Severus rolled his eyes. His tone was sardonic, "Yes, Father. Happy Christmas."

His mother smiled. "Happy Christmas, dear." She shut the door on Tobias' 'Bah! Humbug!'

Irritating his father put Severus in the holiday mood. He whistled a carol on his way up the stairs.

"God Rest Ye Merry Hippogriffs? I've always liked that one too!" said Eris as he closed the door. She waved him over to a table set with porcelain and silver and decorated with a touch of greenery. "If you'll pour the wine, I'll light the candles."

Dinner was enjoyable and the gift exchange afterwards even more so. With Catrin Ap Meurig's aid, Eris had given him a vial of powdered horn of a bicorn and a pair of dragon hide gloves. He watched her open a small box and smiled when she exclaimed over the silver ring inside, "A Celtic love-knot, how romantic!"

"Supposedly the knot symbolises lovers' lives intertwining and becoming one."

"It's beautiful."

He shrugged. "It is not a diamond."

"I don't want diamonds."

Severus was touched that she meant it. He lifted her hand to kiss it, palm and back.

Eris traced the love knot with a fingertip. "The letter Rhys arranged to send my mother from South Africa should have arrived by now. I hope she finally understands that I'm happy with my choice and I'm not coming back."

He tried to say lightly, "Do not be surprised if we get a letter from Tom saying he is off to Johannesburg."

Her blue eyes were rueful. "Knowing they haven't given up the search makes me happy and sad all at once. Is that mental?"

"No. It is perfectly understandable." To change the subject, he snapped his fingers, saying, "I forgot something." He opened the trunk and held out a small gift. "For Epis."

"Catnip?"

"Open and see."

She unfastened the paper and lifted out the pendant dangling from a sapphire blue ribbon. It was a perfect match for the other tag, except that on the back of this silver oval was engraved, Companion of Severus Snape.

"I do not own you, and you belong with me, not to me, so I thought companion a fitting description. Do you like it?"

Eris responded by throwing herself into his arms and kissing him breathless.

-

In the middle of the night, a knock on the door brought Severus bolting upright. Eris sat up and caressed his cheek. "Answer it while I transform." By rote, he pulled on trousers and a shirt.

His mother's face was pale, her gaze dull. "He's gone. Tobias is gone."

Severus put his arms around his mother and felt her quivering. "Let me bring you a Draught."

"After I make arrangements," she said tonelessly. "Tobias had it all planned out. I have only to walk to the call box and phone the Muggle authorities."

A cold chill travelled down his spine. "Not a...burial?" She nodded. He shook his head. "Mother, no, not that. Rumours of Inferi walking the earth are not old wives' tales. They are true."

The mention of corpses bewitched to do a Dark wizard's bidding caused Eileen to shudder. "No, I couldn't bear it. Muggles have another custom that will suffice."

Severus had heard of cremation. He did not look forward to seeing an urn with his father's ashes grace the mantel in the parlour, but it was far better than possibly facing the man's corpse one day.

"Will you...sit with him...while I make the call?"

He asked, "Would you not prefer me to make the call instead?" His stomach twisted when she shook her head. Swallowing hard, he nodded. By concentrating on taking one step at a time, he made it to his father's door. Gritting his teeth, Severus forced himself to take the final steps into the room.

"Mew."

He sat in the same chair he had before, absently stroking the feline purring her distress on his behalf. Severus contemplated the shell that had once affected his life so greatly and experienced a total absence of emotion. He felt no satisfaction that Tobias would leech off his wife no longer. No pleasure that the sneering voice was silenced forever. There was no sadness that he had never had a relationship with his father other than adversarial. He felt no wistful regret that they had not reconciled at the end.

"Mew?"

The enquiring sound brought his gaze down to blue, almond-shaped eyes. "I feel nothing," he said, one corner of his mouth tilting upwards when she rubbed her nose against his hand. He resumed petting her, staring at Tobias' corpse, waiting for Muggles to arrive and cart it out of the house.

-

Hours later, when his mother was resting after taking a full-strength draught, Severus returned to his bed. He lay on his side, Eris' warmth pressed against his back, her body shaking with silent tears, fingers stroking him much the same way he had done to her earlier. His throat ached, his eyes burned, and his chest hurt as though a great weight was placed upon it.

Severus rigidly stared into the darkness and fought back moisture that threatened to spill down his face. He would not cry. He felt nothing.

-

Christmas Day was spent clearing out Tobias' chamber. Severus placed a box of mementoes in his mother's room and locomotered several more to the attics. While the widow rested, Eris transfigured the furniture into a style Eileen had once admired. By the time they were through, all traces of his father had vanished.

Mother admired 'his' spellwork and then rushed from the room in tears.

Two days later, he stood by his mother's side during a Muggle memorial service. The small group of Tobias' associates from various local drinking establishments offered their condolences and consistently praised 'Toby' for being a generous mate. Severus endured them in silence for Eileen's sake.

Eris' comforting presence made the days bearable, yet Severus breathed a sigh of relief when the day came to return to Wales. After the trunk was packed and his partner resumed her Animagus form, he went to say goodbye to his mother.

"Come in, dear."

Eileen looked thin and frail, lying in bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress and said, "You must visit me in Wales."

She clasped his hand. "I would like that." When he bent down to kiss her cheek, his mother said, "I hesitated whether or not to broach the subject, but feel I must." He looked down at her in concern. She half smiled. "I will be proud to be your Secret Keeper."

He drew back sharply. "What do you mean?"

Unexpectedly, his mother's cheeks became tinted with pink. She pointed. "Do you see that ceiling fixture?"

His gaze went to the only feminine touch in the room. A mini chandelier held an illumination orb suspended over the centre of the chamber. Teardrop shaped crystal accents dangled from the Italianate scrollwork. He frowned. "Yes."

"This room is directly beneath the attics. I heard nothing, but those crystals did not shake themselves, dear. Either you brought a poltergeist with you, or a partner."

Severus opened his mouth, but could not speak. How had that fixture not crashed to the floor, and how in Merlin's name had the woman slept?

"I didn't want to embarrass you, son. I'm glad that you have someone who loves you so much. I won't worry about you being lonely, and I know Eris will take good care of you."

He abruptly realised the true reason his mother had not met his gaze in the kitchen Christmas Eve. Now Severus was the one to avoid eye contact. He looked down at the fingers holding his and said gruffly, "She does."

After he performed the ritual spell to make Eileen his Secret Keeper, Severus said his farewell and headed for the door.

"Give Eris my best, and... about the chandelier... I consider that part of our secret."

He paused in the doorway to say with heartfelt appreciation, "Thank you, Mother."

-


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A/N: "Father Christmas, Father Christmas , He's the meanest man in the whole wide world, in the whole wide world , you can feel it!" LOL. Urchins sing that to Scrooge in the musical from the seventies (I just learnt that, doing a google to be sure I had the words right, since I've only seen the Albert Finney/film version on cable. :D ) Couldn't help but sing it this week, especially the end, "We should all send Father Christmas, on his merry Christmas way!" There's something about Christmas chapters. My Moonlight one is even longer, so I guess I'm the type who goes all out at the holidays. The readers whose reviews made going all out to write a story a joy last chap were...…♥ 40/16 cat cupcakeswirl die Loreley Dipper ElspethBates Emmas PadawonFNP GraceRichie Libeku Taganashi Machiavelli Jr MollyCoddles NazgulGirl Silverlake Slipknot-3113sunny9847 and The Ravishing Enchantress