Disclaimer: I own very little.

A/N: This whole chapter is NEW CONTENT.

Fathers and Sons

Chapter 6:

Settling In

Michael's first impression of the Snape Manor was that it was large. Of course, it was nowhere as enormous as Hogwarts, and Michael had a feeling that it wasn't even nearly as big as some other family houses of Pureblood families, but it was still too large for only two men, even with the sudden addition of a teenager. He suspected it would take him more than one day to get it explored to his satisfaction -- provided, of course, that such a thing would be allowed. With Snape as one of his parents, he wasn't too hopeful about exploring. The Potions Master hated it, after all.

"If the house-elves have followed my instructions, there should be a room prepared for you in the second floor," Snape said as they made their way inside. "I'll show you the way there, as well as to the kitchen and the closest bathroom. The rest of the house you can discover to yourself, should you want to."

Now, Michael couldn't quite conceal his surprise. "You mean I actually am allowed to look around?" he asked.

"But of course. A healthy dose of curiosity has never killed anyone -- not when it's kept within certain limits, at least. Rest assured that if there is a place in this house you are not permitted to enter, it will be warded accordingly. As long as you are around on mealtimes and go to sleep at a reasonable hour, you are free to wander around to your heart's content."

For a moment Michael was quiet, not knowing what to say. Finally, he managed to say, "Thank you, Professor Snape."

"Oh, for goodness' sake," sighed Snape in exasperation. "Do not call me that outside the classroom. I'm not asking you to call me Father, but for both of our sake, at least call me by my first name."

"That goes for me, too, Michael," said Lupin, who until then had remained silent. "Only for me the 'Professor' isn't applicable at all anymore."

Michael nodded slowly. "Okay, then, Remus... Severus." Maybe one day he actually could call them Father. However, that day was not now. It was hard enough to call them by their first names, never mind anything so meaningful.

He was silent as he followed Snape -- that is, Severus -- down a couple of corridors and then into a stairway. Remus trailed after him, all the time seeming half sad, half overjoyed. It was definitely a strange impression.

"This," said Severus rather dramatically as he stopped in front of a door, "is your room." He then opened the door, revealing the room in question for them to see.

Michael's first thought was that he was seeing things. The room wasn't that strange -- by Wizarding standards, anyway -- but he simply couldn't believe that such a thing could be found in a house under the name of Snape. For one thing, it was very light-coloured. The walls were a pearl grey shade that somehow managed to look pure and refreshing instead of boring or depressing, and the long curtains framing the large windows were white as snow. Everything else was a slightly tinted white or light grey colour, except for the drapes on the four-poster bed, which were deep blue. His trunk, Michael noticed, had found its way there already, sitting at the end of his bed.

"This used to be my room when I was young," Severus said. "If you want to change something, by all means, do so. I can show you a couple of storerooms to look into in case you want to change the furniture."

"Thank you," Michael said, "but I think I'd rather find them by myself." And, he realized, he did want to find them. If such a room could be found in the Snape Manor, as Severus' old room, even, who knew what other surprises the building hid?

Once the initial tour of the Manor was done with, Michael was left on his own. He immediately decided to start exploring. After all, he was still a Marauder, even if his Marauder parent had been the patient Remus instead of the reckless James.

His mind thus made, he set off. It would have been easy to start from the corridor along which his own room was situated. However, he decided to retain some kind of an order even in independent exploration -- after all, he might miss something interesting otherwise. Therefore, he headed down to the basement first.

None of the rooms in the basement held much surprises, all having obviously been out of use for ages. There wasn't dust anywhere -- thanks to the house-elves, no doubt -- but the rooms still held the air of lack of use. Michael strongly suspected he was the first human being to walk in the old storerooms and shadowy corridors in decades. The large laboratory, however, would undoubtedly soon be revived into frequent use. Maybe Severus would even let him brew something there.

Close to the laboratory, however, he found a small room that seemed even more forgotten than the others. He was about to move on when his eye caught something in the far corner. Closer inspection revealed this to be an old school trunk with the initials 'SS' attached to it. His curiosity rising to entirely new heights, Michael started to work on opening the trunk.

After some time he managed to open the lid. Feeling oddly like an intruder, he started to go through the old school things of his father. He tried to be surprised as he discovered that the History of Magic books where the same ones that were used in his class. Some of the others were also the same as his books, some simply earlier editions, but there were some that he had never even heard of before. Many of them, he suspected, were something Hermione would love to get her hands on. Opening a nearby Transfiguration book, he started to read, interested in seeing how things had changed in a couple of decades.

His sense of time gone the moment he opened the book, Michael was startled as a house-elf suddenly popped into being next to him. "Young Master Snape," the little creature said with a squeaky voice, "it is being dinner time. Young Master Snape's fathers are being waiting."

Quickly marking the page he had reached, Michael set the book on top of the trunk, determined to return there later. There was still a lot to be read -- and he hadn't even looked through the whole trunk yet.

The dinner was a tense affair to say the least. None of them dared to say much like fearing it might ruin everything. Remus in particular seemed wary, like a wild animal ready to leap, gazing between his son and husband. The two in question stayed distantly polite, trying to push off the confrontation they suspected was going to happen sooner or later.

At some point, however, Severus looked critically at Michael for sooner than was probably necessary. Then he said, "We are going to get you new clothes. Those are an absolute disgrace."

Michael glanced down at what he had on. They were Dudley's old clothes, like was almost everything he owned aside from his school robes. He didn't like them, and had to silently agree with his father, but some little devil inside him made him disagree. "And what exactly is wrong with my clothes?" he asked sharply.

"Well, for one thing, they don't fit," Severus said. "For another, they are ugly as hell. And, for a third thing, I very much doubt you chose them yourself, and it is my firm opinion that a young man of your age should be able to decide on their own clothing. Of course, they are also Muggle," he then added, "but that alone isn't enough of a reason to change them."

Michael prepared to give a sharp retort. These men had already turned his life upside down; he definitely wasn't going to let them change everything, even if the thing changed was one he loathed. Remus must have detected the sparkle of rebellion inside him, however, as he stepped in to prevent a true row between them.

"I think we are all in need of new clothes," he said calmly. "If you are going to force Michael to get a new wardrobe, Severus, I think you can do the same for yourself. Some more colour wouldn't kill you, you know -- and nobody has yet managed to die of Muggle-style clothing, either."

The onyx eyes flashed, but Severus didn't hesitate. "As soon as I see you in something else than brown or Gryffindor red," the Potions Master said. "Very well. First thing tomorrow we shall head for Diagon Alley and get new clothes for us all."

Michael blinked, a bit surprised at the quick decision. He didn't try to protest, though. The mere thought of seeing Severus in Muggle clothes that may not be entirely black was enough to push off any disagreements he may have had.

...Never mind that he was curious to see exactly how Remus was going to talk Severus into actually buying something like that.

Next chapter:

More exploration -- and shopping.