"Father, no, don't!" Severus screamed in desperation, getting up and grabbing Tobias's arm.
Tobias, however, was able to easily shake his small son off his arm.
Severus fell down to the floor. All he could now do was look on in horror as his father drifted closer and closer to Lucius, the knife still in his hand.
Eileen, meanwhile, just stood there, completely frozen in place.
It had been quite a while since Severus had seen his father looking this murderous.
And it had been quite a while Severus had seen his father so angry that he had grabbed a knife with the intention of using it as a weapon.
It had happened the first time Severus had done some accidental magic. They had been sitting around the table for dinner when Tobias had suddenly began to yell at Eileen for burning the meat.
It was not often they had meat for dinner, and it had looked and tasted just fine to Severus. His father, however, was impossible to please.
At one point in his tirade, Tobias had grabbed his knife and had then waved it threateningly at Eileen.
Severus had been truly worried about his mother's safety, especially when Tobias had stood up, the knife still in his hand.
Tobias had then began to make his way towards his wife. But before he could reach her, his chair had suddenly moved from its position on the floor and had struck him in the back of his legs.
The impact had caused Tobias to fall down to the floor, roaring in both pain and anger.
Tobias had then directed his attention to his son.
"You did that, you freak, didn't you!" Tobias had bellowed. "How dare you use your filthy magic against me, as if you were better than me! Well, I'm not going to tolerate that taint of yours, boy!"
Tobias had then grabbed the knife from off the floor before getting to his feet. Then, knife in hand, he had charged at his small son.
Severus had done the only thing that he could think of. He had ran. He had ran around the house until he had finally been able to find a place to hide.
He had not came out of his hiding place until the afternoon of the next day, and that was only because he had been desperately hungry.
Fortunately, his father had not said anything as he had hesitantly sat down at the table.
From that day on, however, Severus had always been careful to control his anger whenever his father was near.
At the current moment, though, it was neither Severus nor his mother that was being threatened with a knife.
It was Lucius.
To the aristocratic wizard's credit, however, he didn't run. He didn't even flinch. Instead, he just stood there, waiting for the coming assault.
Severus noticed that Lucius was no longer smirking. At the same time, though, the older boy didn't look to be afraid or worried. In fact, there was an almost calm expression on his face, as if this was something that happened to him on a regular basis.
Severus also noticed the way that Lucius held himself. He was not holding himself in the way that anyone would instinctively do so if they were about to be attacked.
No, Lucius was holding himself like someone who had been struck before. He was ready for the assault coming his way.
But who in the world could have possibly attacked Lucius sometime in the past? He was Lucius Malfoy, King of the Purebloods. He was from an ancient, noble, and wealthy family. It didn't make any sense.
Yet, even though Severus was not regularly physically abused by his father, he had received enough beatings to know the signs.
And by the way that Lucius was holding himself, he most definitely had been abused before, clearly more than just once or twice.
It wasn't something you could hide in your body language. It was an unconscious thing. It was an instinct that couldn't be stopped.
Most people would not have made much out of the way that Lucius was holding himself, but Severus was able to see what they would have missed because they didn't understand it like he did.
Lucius did not react until the last possible moment. Just when Tobias was about ready to bring the knife down on him, the teenage boy lashed out faster than the eye could blink. He grabbed for Tobias's wrists.
A struggle then ensured between Tobias and Lucius, as both fought for control of the knife.
Tobias was larger and physically stronger than Lucius, but he was also slightly drunk.
And Lucius was clearly stronger and more of a fighter than most people would probably ever give him credit for. Until recently, Severus had been one of those people.
Do something! a voice inside Severus's head screamed as he continued to watch the struggle between his father and his classmate.
But what could he do? He was so small and so physically weak. If he tried to interfere, he would probably get hurt himself. He would probably cause more harm than good.
Eventually, both Tobias and Lucius ended up on the floor, both of them still fighting for possession of the knife.
Finally, though, Lucius managed to get the upper-hand. He managed to wrap his hand firmly around the knife's hilt. He then used the knife to slash at Tobias's arm.
It was enough to get Tobias to release his grip on Lucius. Tobias, in fact, pulled himself away from the teenage boy.
Tobias then shakily made his way back to his feet, breathing heavily.
Lucius did the same, but with much more confidence and a lot less trembling.
From his place still on the floor, Severus looked over at his father. The cut on Tobias's arm was not deep, but it clearly needed attention.
Severus then looked over at Lucius. The older boy was just standing there, breathing ever so slightly. It was clear to Severus, however, that Lucius was poised and ready for another assault if one was to come.
Tobias, however, did not seem eager to continue to fight. He was not yet that drunk.
Severus then heard sudden movement. It was his mother, making her way over to Tobias.
"Come, Tobias," Eileen spoke, "let me go clean up that wound so that I can bandage it up."
"What are you, a Muggle?" Lucius snarled at Eileen. "Use your wand, your filthy Blood-Traitor. Or did this Muggle drain you of all your magic?"
Eileen looked at Lucius for a moment, the expression on her face unreadable. But then, she turned her attention back to her husband. She pulled out her wand and used it to heal the cut on Tobias's arm.
Tobias looked at Eileen with an almost dazed expression in his eyes as she healed him.
"Let me help you to your bed," Eileen then said to her husband. "A little bit of rest will do you some good."
"Do you know how to perform the Memory Charm?" Lucius asked Eileen.
"What?"
"Do you know how to perform the Memory Charm?" Lucius repeated, his voice clearly reflecting his annoyance. "I don't care what your husband does to you, but I do care about Severus. I don't want him getting hurt later because that Muggle of yours is angry at me."
Severus looked at Lucius with a newfound fondness. The younger boy was not used to anyone being concerned over his well-being.
"I would perform the Memory Charm myself," Lucius continued. "However, I'm still underage, and your husband is not worth any hassle from the Ministry."
"I'll take care of it," Eileen promised.
"See to it that you do," Lucius sneered. "I will be checking up on Severus regularly to make sure that things aren't more horrible than they already are. And if I ever see that Severus is hurt in any way, there will be severe consequences."
A part of Severus wanted to feel insulted that someone actually thought that he needed a babysitter to protect him. But another part of him was touched and grateful that someone actually cared enough about him to want to check up on him.
Tobias, meanwhile, didn't protest as his wife led him out the kitchen. Perhaps he was drunker than Severus had thought. But then again, Tobias usually got angrier with the more alcohol that he drank.
Perhaps he was just in a state of shock.
Whatever was going on, though, Severus wasn't going to complain. He was just glad that his father wasn't even angrier than he had been before he had tried to attack Lucius.
And speaking of Lucius.
Now that Tobias and Eileen were out of the room, Lucius had once again directed his attention to the boy he had come all this way to see.
Severus Snape.