Chapter 70: Visiting The Grangers
{A/N: Sorry for the delay, sister had a birthday and took a good deal of planing and secrecy...and then the actual celebration...}
My Thanks To All My Readers And Reviewers...Enjoy-S.S
The Snape Residence, London, England, Muggle World...
Phaeron had been secretly looking forward to this year's Christmas Holiday. It was the first time he and his mother would be able to share in the festivities with his father. Though they couldn't really enjoy it as much as any family, having Severus there was enough for Phaeron. The raven haired boy had even thought it was worth it to be dressed in a long sleeve white dress shirt with a ridiculous green/black diamond sweater vest, black trousers, and shiny dress shoes more heavily polished than Draco Malfoy's at a dinner party in his honor. He wore a silver wrist watch on his right arm and his hair was slicked back and relatively neat looking. A green tie had been around his neck and tucked neatly behind his sweater vest. He looked every bit the premiere idiot his muggle grandparents had wanted in a grandchild. Phaeron only agreed to be on his best behavior because Hermione had told him the story of how Severus had been forced to dress up for their wedding, she even had the pictures to prove it. It was how she always got her son to comply with visiting her parents this way.
The young raven haired Slytherin emerged from his bedroom and ventured into the sitting room, where his mother had come out dressed in a traditional woman's suit complete with the lengthy business skirt and blazer. She had chosen the color beige for the occasion and wore stockings identical to the suit's color. Her usually bushy brown hair had been pulled back into a bun like always and she wore a rather stern look upon her face. Every year The Snapes managed to look like just another regular muggle family, despite being adept in magic and literature from both worlds. They made the trip to The Green Garden suburbs to visit Hermione's parents.
Phaeron had not liked playing muggle when it came to visiting his mother's parents. It always meant he was under a tremendous amount of pressure to keep his magic in check and the mundane holiday festivities were not to his liking. Still, he behaved like every bit the proper little boy. Even when his grandfather took in a little too much egg-nog with brandy and started talking about his deceased father and how if the man was alive he would "put a hurt on him" for impregnating his daughter while she was still a student and too young to even plan for her future.
Mr. John Reyes Granger felt that his daughter was taken advantage of by her former Potions Professor and was furious with the school for allowing it. It did little to quell the man's temper about the whole ordeal even when it was explained that what Snape did saved his little girl's life and that the man died a hero ensuring the despot "Voldemor" or whatever didn't live to take over both the wizarding and non magical worlds.
Mrs. Jean Mildred Granger, had not thought too highly of Severus Snape either but she didn't want to lose her only daughter or their only grand child because of it. Wither she or John liked it or not this Professor Snape bloke had been Phaeron's biological father. The boy was the spitting image of him with a few of Hermione's better traits mixed in here and there. Despite her earlier misgivings, Jean came around to accepting Severus Snape as her deceased son-in-law, she found that he had not been such a bad man if he had been extraordinarily gifted as Hermione repeatedly said that he was and he did have a job as a professor in a prestigious magical school, not to mention he had given his entire life savings to ensure Hermione and Phaeron would be well taken care of wither he was alive or not.
The man had been her husband for all intents and purposes, so that was another plus.
Jean had begun to think that it might have been nice to have met this Severus Snape at least once. When Hermione finally broke down and told her how Severus had died it broke the older woman's heart. This Severus bloke had risked his life to save so many people, her daughter included and met his end in a very violent and bloody fashion dying in Hermione's arms. After hearing what her daughter went through and knowing all too well that this was the reason Phaeron was growing up without a father, Jean was willing to let her slight irritation at his daughter's sudden marriage go.
Phaeron had enjoyed spending time with his grandmother. He tolerated his grandfather up until the man had a little too much to drink and let the boy know how he really felt about the man that impregnated his gifted little girl. The raven haired boy sighed and looked up at his mother. He was as mentally prepared to see his maternal grandparents as he was ever going to be.
"All set?" asked Hermione trying to sound as delighted for this time as he was suppose to.
"I'm ready mother." said Phaeron steeling himself for the inevitable fallout.
They left the flat and apparated to her parents neighborhood. From there they hailed a cab and took it to the Granger residence. Phaeron had been silent the entire trip. Hermione had been no better with her mind wondering back to Severus and how he was fairing having another day being imprisoned.
She hoped that she would be able to get him home soon. The separation was becoming even more unbearable now that she knew Severus was still very much alive and could be brought back. Her need for him had increased tenfold and it was a more than just physical longing. There were moments during the early days of their marriage that Severus' company had been all she had craved.
"We're here mother." said Phaeron in an unenthusiastic tone not so unlike his father's pulling the witch from her thoughts.
Hermione paid the fare and she stepped out of the cab along with her son.
Her parents house had been one that you'd expect two retired dentists to share. A two bedroom structure with a nice paint job a large dark blue front door, a short but well maintained porch, a path for lush green for a lawn with various colorful flowers blooming up the stone walkway. To be the parents of a legendary witch, who had also been a war-hero by all accounts, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were definitely plain in comparison. Sometimes it astounded Phaeron that his mother, who had been a very formidable, ambitious, and highly driven witch could come from such mundane people.
Hermione knocked on the door with Phaeron at her side, he looked so much like a young muggle Severus, she couldn't help but smile and hope that this evening went well enough.
The large blue door opened and Hermione found herself face to face with her father.
"Herms." he said with a smile on his face as he looked upon his daughter.
"Hello Daddy." said Hermione. "It's good to see you."
The smile faded some when Mr. Granger's brown eyes shifted toward his eleven year old grandson. It wasn't hard to see that the man still held contempt for the Professor that had impregnated his only daughter. Phaeron had looked even more like the bastard than he had when he was a baby. Part of Mr. Granger felt sorry for the boy.
"You look well, Ronnie." said Mr. Granger, outright refusing to address his grandson by the strange wizarding name. Of course he couldn't actually pronounce it to save his life.
"John are they here yet?" called the voice of Mrs. Granger from inside.
"Yeah Jean they're here." replied Mr. Granger in return.
He moved aside and let them enter the house. Mrs. Granger came out of the kitchen with a powdered sugar covered apron on over a blue cotton dress with small white flowers printed all over. Her long brown hair at her shoulders as she made her way toward her only daughter and grandson. She smiled seeing how much young Phaeron had begun to look even more like the brave man that gave his life to save her daughter and less like the daughter that had given him life.
"He looks so handsome." remarked Mrs. Granger pulling her reluctant daughter into a hug.
"Indeed." replied Hermione tussling Phaeron's raven hair. "I think he looks more like his father every day."
Phaeron gave her a small smile and proceeded to let his grandmother pull him into an invading hug.
"So handsome." she said letting him go with a smile.
He returned her smile and made his way toward the many books they kept lining the shelves for all who had an interest, of course they had mainly been his mother's books from her youth spent with her family, she had read an awful lot. Phaeron didn't seem to mind. His father's private collection vastly outweighed her's by the thousands it seemed.
The young Slytherin couldn't exactly say where he had gotten his unquenchable thirst for knowledge, both his parents could have easily been in Ravenclaw house back at Hogwarts and both parents gave said Ravenclaws a run for their money in the N.E.W.T.S. and O.W.L.S department making Slytherin and Gryffindor the talk of their respective graduation years. Phaeron smiled as his small pale index finger traveled across the shelve stroking the large thick spines of the books stacked neatly in their proper places.
There was no doubt that his graduation year Slytherin house would get the most attention for the first time since his father had attended Hogwarts, he was determined to surpass everyone on the respective exams. For now the ambitious first year sighed thinking about his father. Severus Snape was no angel but he was defiantly good enough to have had some type of normal life after all he had suffered in his youth. Phaeron wondered what the snarky wizard was going to do for the holiday. What could he do? Being bound and separated from his living body did not bode well for one even on the most basic of days.
The day progressed to holiday cheer being spread though neither Phaeron nor Hermione felt very cheerful. Their minds going back to Snape and how to bring him home with whatever tome they needed to find. Dinner time had been a bust as Mr. Granger had a few too many egg-nog and rum shots and ended up bad mouthing Snape once again for impregnating his little girl when she was simply a student trying to get an education and then going off half-cocked and getting himself killed so that she would have to shoulder the weight of responsibility alone.
Phaeron had not liked Mr. Granger's drunkenness. It reminded him a lot of his father's unfortunate time with Tobias Snape. Both men seemed to take to the drink far too much thought Mr. Granger's words would be the only bad thing about his ventures.
The raven haired boy glared at his grandfather.
"A-And w-what a-are you s-staring at boy?" asked Mr. Granger. "D-Don't l-l-ike the w-way I sp-eak a-bout th-at n-no g-go-od f-fath-er o-of y-yo-urs?"
Phaeron said nothing as he got to his feet and left the table. Hermione had done the same glaring at her dad as she did with rage beyond her normal threshold.
"MY HUSBAND WAS A GOOD MAN...AND PHAERON HAPPENS TO LOVE HIS FATHER VERY MUCH." she said annoyed. "HAD HE NOT BEEN MURDERED THAN HE SURELY WOULD HAVE BEEN THERE FOR US!"
Mr. Granger concentrated on his words to make them sound more clear.
"H-herms...he took advantage of you...he... teacher." he managed.
"He saved my life." replied Hermione. "And Phaeron was the best thing that ever happened to me...if I had not been pregnant with him then you never would have had a daughter."
Both Jean and John froze knowing all too well what she was implying.
"Herms." began her mother. "You and Ronnie both know that your father didn't mean anything by what he said...We are always going to love our grandson and we are very thankful for what Severus has done for you...saving your life."
Hermione sighed.
"Mom it's been a long day." she said. "I think Daddy should get some rest, Merlin knows Phaeron and I could use some."
"I think that's best." replied Mrs. Granger not wishing for anymore conflict.
"Me too." replied Hermione.
She glared murderously at her father and turned her attention to hugging her mother goodbye. Phaeron bid farewell to his grandmother then he and Hermione disapparated back toward their flat. Phaeron had been pondering his mother's words to his drunken muggle grandfather. His father had been murdered? She said it with such conviction that the boy could hardly ignore the implications. His father never said anything to him about what happened that day nor did his mother for that matter. He was more than sure she had instructed the Malfoys to keep that bit of information to themselves as well.
Phaeron continued to think on this.
His father was a spy for the Order of Phoenix, He was a good man and a powerful dark wizard that placed himself in the surest of harm to ensure that everyone could be safe from that despot Voldemort...For him to have been nearly murdered...it brought more questions than answers to the curious mind of an eleven year old boy.
Hermione did not seem to not the slight change in her son upon learning this new information. In fact, she had been so caught up in disproving her father's slander against her late husband, that she had not paid any attention to the fact that she let slip dangerous information especially where her young son was concerned. The boy concluded he was being kept in the dark about a lot of the goings-ons of the second wizarding war and it wasn't just due to his age.
The Snapes' Residence, London, England, Muggle World...
Snape had been waiting when they returned. He spent some time talking with Phaeron about potions and various mixing qualities of each substance he had not tried yet. Phaeron had enjoyed his father's company for whatever it was worth and had gone to bed with Snape telling him a few amusing anecdotes about Lucius Malfoy and Hermione Granger the twelve year old girl who burst into Hogwarts and took charge of Gryffindor house in the blink of an eye.
Hermione rolled her eyes and defended herself through the tale.
Eventually Phaeron fell asleep despite himself. Hermione ventured into her room and slipped into her night down. Snape climbed in bed beside her. She fell asleep as well listening to the sound of his voice dreaming of a way to reverse what had been done and bring the dour wizard home with her and Phaeron for good.
Neither Hermione nor Phaeron mentioned what happened at her parents house. They simply wanted to get as much rest a possible before they ventured to Malfoy Manor as per the tradition since Phaeron's birth. The raven haired wizard always looked forward to visiting his Godparents. Likewise The Malfoys always looked forward to having the Snapes over. It was their way of holding on to Severus with Phaeron growing to look so much like him. Some times it was the only thing that kept Lucius going.
He had missed his little brother a great deal and had not been alone in that regard.