Author's Note: I meant to update a couple of days ago, but I've been horribly sick this past week and am finally feeling decent, although not completely better. That last chapter was actually written on a day when I was pretty ill, so I'm surprised it turned out all right. As for my regular updates schedule, I hope to aim to update a couple of times a week. So, those of you who are always eager for the next chapter, don't worry. It's never a long wait. If you can wait less than 5 days, you'll survive! Anyway, my continued thanks to you loyal, dear readers!

Chapter Forty-Four

With a resounding pop, two men suddenly appeared in the abandoned master bedroom in a small house on Spinner's End. The older one looked shaken and immediately thrust himself away from the younger one.

"What the- what are you doing?" Tobias demanded, gazing upon his son with great apprehension. "What the bloody hell was that?"

"That," Severus stated harshly, "is none of your concern, Father. It was simply the fastest means of getting us here."

"You couldn't have warned me, perhaps? That's the problem with people like you... always doing these magical things unexpectedly and scaring the shit out of regular people like me."

"Shut up," Severus said firmly, no room for argument in his voice. "If you have such a problem with magic, Father, then why did you marry Mum in the first place?"

"I- I didn't know she was a witch," Tobias protested.

"I have a hard time believing Mum wouldn't have been honest with you pretty early on," Severus stated.

"Believe what you want, but that's neither here nor there now," Tobias spat bitterly. He gazed around the familiar room and scowled. "Why have you brought me here?"

Severus ignored his father's question and instead asked, "Are you still working?"

"What?" Tobias questioned, not expecting this. "What does- ?"

"Just answer the question, Father," Severus said witheringly.

Shaking his head, Tobias replied, "Haven't worked in a couple of weeks now."

"Wonderful," Severus muttered sarcastically. "Of course, I'm not surprised," he said more loudly. "You can't very well afford your flat if you have no job, and I daresay your bad habit would have drained whatever small amount you had saved, if you even had sense to save."

"If you're simply going to insult me, Severus, you'd just as soon stop wasting your time. You think I haven't thought these things already?"

Severus wasn't convinced. "Well, but your actions, I would say you haven't. Now, you are going to take this," he said, pulling another vial out of his pocket. "It will knock you out for several hours, and judging by the looks of you, the first thing you need is decent sleep, without being under the effects of alcohol. You will not leave this room until tomorrow morning."

Tobias glared skeptically at his son. "And what's to stop me from leaving? Are you telling me you're keeping me prisoner in my own home?"

"This is no longer your home, seeing as you gave up the responsibility to care for it and its inhabitants a year ago," Severus said coldly. "And if you want to believe you're my prisoner, then so be it. I have been accused of much worse. Now, take this."

Tobias eyed the potion warily. "No," he said, stepping back. "You can't make me."

Stepping closer, Severus whispered dangerously, "Oh, believe me, Father. I can... and I shall."

With a flick of his wand, Severus magically bound his father and then forced the liquid down his throat. Tobias tried to fight, but the struggle was meagre and pointless. Within seconds, Tobias's body went slack as the effects of the sleeping potion took over. Severus levitated his father's body to the bed and dropped him onto the mattress, perhaps not as gently as he could have. Satisfied the older man wouldn't be waking up for several hours, Severus left the room and locked the door. He warded the room to let him know if Tobias tried to escape, whether through the window or by prying the door open.

Severus went to his bedroom, which was nextdoor, and closed himself in. He slumped onto the bed and sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Was it foolish to bring his father back to his home? Things would be different now, though. Severus was of age, and mentally, he was much older than seventeen. As a grown man, Severus had the confidence to deal with his father, who really was only a few years older than him. Looking back, he knew he had been too young before to handle the problems of both of his parents, and so, that had been further cause for him to seek the companionship of his Death Eater friends in those days. With no real family and with the eventual loss of Lily's friendship, he had slipped into the abyss of darkness, but somehow, he had found his way back to the light... and he had a feeling it was still a long journey ahead.

Severus knew he was doing the right thing by helping his father, and he prayed he would have the patience to deal with the stubborn man. With his mother, things had been different. While she had been dependent on him, she had been the victim, not the abuser. Severus knew what it was to be on both sides, and the abuser had almost always been a victim at one point in his or her life. He was determined to break the damaged man out of his father.

x x x x x

The following morning, Severus was rudely awakened by banging coming from the room nextdoor. With a groan and tiredly rubbing the fogginess from his eyes, Severus left his bed and made his way to the door. He could hear his father's vehement protestations as he made his way down the hall.

"What d'you think you're doing?" Tobias demanded, pounding on the door. "Severus, you can't keep me in here like this!"

"I have no intention of doing so," Severus said smoothly, which must have caught Tobias off-guard, for only silence came. "Stand back from the door, Father," Severus instructed.

"What- what are you gonna do?" Tobias asked warily.

Sighing, Severus said, "Just do as I say."

Severus unlocked and unwarded the door, finding Tobias looking like a caged animal. Wasting no time, Tobias tried to push his way past Severus, but Severus used his magical advantage, and Tobias came in contact with an invisible barrier. Falling to the floor, Tobias immediately stood and crossed his arms.

"You could let me use the damn loo," he muttered sulkily.

"How was I supposed to know what you would try?" Severus posed. "Fine, go to the bathroom, and I strongly suggest you take a shower afterward." He crinkled his nose at the stale odor of day old alcohol emanating off his father.

Tobias had the audacity to look affronted, but he didn't say anything. Severus released the spell keeping Tobias from leaving and watched as the other man left the room. He groaned to himself, wondering what he had gotten himself into. Tobias was worse than a little kid, and Severus was quickly beginning to wonder if he had the patience to deal with him.

While his father showered, Severus went back to his room and quickly changed clothes. He hadn't bothered with changing after the tiring end of yesterday, so with fresh clothes on his back, he went downstairs to the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on. He wasn't about to over-indulge Tobias with anything fancy, so Severus decided his usual dry toast would be good enough for his father if it was good enough for him.

A few minutes later, Tobias came down the stairs, remarking that he thought he had smelled coffee and breakfast cooking. Severus greeted him with a noncommittal grunt and motioned for him to take a seat. Once the toast and coffee were served, Severus dropped into the chair across from his father and stared into his coffee cup.

"Severus," Tobias said evenly.

"What?" Severus asked, still refusing to meet his eye.

"I suppose... I ought to thank you, despite the fact you took me against my will."

Severus was about to protest, but as he gazed up at his father, Tobias held a hand to silence him for a moment. "Wait," Tobias said, "I don't mean to sound accusatory. What I mean to say is... if you hadn't done, I probably wouldn't have come, so you did the right thing."

Severus shook his head and lifted the cup to his thin lips, taking a slow sip. The coffee was old and slightly burnt, leaving a sour aftertaste.

"I'm not so sure I did the right thing," Severus mumbled.

He pointedly looked away from Tobias, focusing his dark eyes anywhere but at the man he called Father.

"I can go," Tobias said simply. "As I told you before, your kindness was too much for me. I would understand if you changed your mind." As Tobias spoke, his deep voice cracked, and Severus felt a small sting in the heart.

Damn it, why?! Why does he have to say it that way? How can I possibly throw him out on the street now that I've already more than gotten my feet wet with this whole messy situation?

Severus took a few minutes to berate himself, but being a better man than Tobias, Severus finally willed himself to keep his gaze on his father, and he stated firmly, "No, Father. You will stay."

And I will be the better man. I won't be like you, Father. I won't treat you as you've treated me. I won't be... the man I used to be.

Incredulous, Tobias croaked, "And what will you have me do?"

"I don't trust your judgment. You will go to rehab and clean up for good, and you will stay there until you're truly sober. I have school starting in another month, so I trust you to be self-sufficient again by that time, but this house will not be yours. You will return to your flat, which I will find a way to keep for you in the meantime, and you will get another job. When I'm at school, we won't have any contact. It's safest that way. You're a Muggle... nonmagical folk... and there are wizards out there, Father, who if they knew you were related to me, could possibly do you real harm. If you live in the flat, I will do what I can to protect the place. If you lose it because of your failing, then you risk exposing yourself to those who will kill you... if you don't find a way to kill yourself first, and believe me, by the way you're going, you're going to end up dead if you don't change soon.

"If, by Christmas, when I return, you are still sober, I will consider... letting you return to Spinner's End. I will trust your judgment enough to believe you when you say you want a relationship with me, and for your sake, I hope you never go back to your old ways. If you do, Father, you and I will never speak again. Is that plainly clear?"

Tobias's grey eyes were large with shock at the words Severus had uttered. He nodded mutely, then asked, his voice unusually meek, "There are... evil wizards who mean me harm?"

"Yes," Severus said, sighing. "Contrary to what you might think about magical people, Father, they aren't all out to do you ill, but just like 'regular people,' as you call them, magical folk come in two varieties: good and evil. There is a magical war on the horizon, and it's going to be a rough next few years."

"How do you know?"

"It is enough that I know," Severus said repressively, the weight of his foreknowledge pulling him down as he gave thought to the events her knew might come to pass.

"All right, then," Tobias sighed. "Let's... go to this rehab facility. I hope you know what you're doing, because I sure don't."

"I hope so, too," Severus said grimly.