Title: Just a Dream
Character: Tobias Snape
Name: Slytherin Head/Monse
*Warning - Child abuse. Read at your own risk.
"Freaks! I don't want to see either of you in this house. From this point onward, you're both dead to me!"
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
With a loud gasp, he quickly sat up in bed. He could fell his heart beating wildly within his rib cage. The cold sweat running down his back made his clothes stick to his body, chilling him down to the bone. Onyx eyes swept around the room, trying to adjust to the darkness. All of his concentration was on controlling his breathing. With one last deep breath, he threw himself back onto the bed, an arm across his eyes.
That had been the most vivid dream he had ever had. He could still clearly see the fear and sadness in the small boy's eyes. And the woman – the woman hadn't batted an eye as she forced the child away from the house. She had seemed familiar, but he couldn't place her face with a name. The hatred in her eyes had not been lost though. They had burned into his soul trying to convey how much she hated him.
"Just a dream," he said to himself. "It was just a dream."
Propping himself up on one elbow, he turned to reach for the small lamp he kept near his bed. Turning it on, he looked at his clock and saw it was a quarter to four, he had woken up with enough time to eat breakfast and get ready for work. Perhaps, after a long day at the docks, he would forget about the dream and go on with his life.
Running a tired hand over his eyes, he got up and headed for the kitchen to make himself some eggs, toast and bacon. Turning the lights on, he began to get started on his meal. It was as elaborate as he could manage, but it helped to keep him going until he could get some lunch from the local pub. Not to mention that it was better than what most of his work buddies could do. Half of them couldn't even boil an egg let alone make toasted bread. Yet, they were the ones with the families. They had a wife and children to go home to. While he, only had a empty house to welcome him.
Ever since Myrtle had died, he had never thought about getting married. She had taken his heart with her to the grave. That had been over ten years ago.
Now, at the age of twenty-four, Tobias Snape was simply trying to make it out on his own. His parents had moved to the States five years previously after his father's company had been transferred there. He hadn't wanted to move away, so they left him with their home in Spinner's End to live in.
He supposed life wasn't bad. He no longer had to worry about his mother nagging at him every time he came home drunk silly. Neither did he have his father breathing down his neck to join the Royal Navy since Tobias refused to join him at his company.
Tobias was allowed to do what ever he wanted, whenever he wanted. Had Myrtle still been alive, he suppose he would be happily married to her now. But, he couldn't see himself with anyone; much less be a father to someone. He knew he had a nasty temper, it was an unfortunate Snape trait. He wasn't sure if he would be able to keep it under control with a child pushing his buttons twenty-four hours a day until the day they grew up and left the house.
Again, the boy from his dreams rose to his mind. Even if it had been a dream, he felt guilty that it was because of him that the boy had looked so sad – so afraid.
The smell of something burning slammed him back to Earth as he saw that the bacon was turning into a fossil. 'So much for being able to cook a decent breakfast,' he wearily thought to himself. Salvaging his meal he sat down at the table and began eating. His mind kept drifting back to his dream, no matter how much he tried to think about something else.
He recalled the last words he had said to them – freaks. They certainly looked normal enough. So, why would he be calling them such a thing?
A better question was: Why would he get married and have children, if he was going to hate his family?
Not knowing the answer, he shook his head in order to clear it and focused on finishing his meal before it got cold. Once done, he washed his dishes and made his way upstairs to get ready for work.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
"Watch out!"
Tobias quickly moved aside as one of the cargo boxes hit the side of the port. His mind had been wandering and he missed the signal he had gotten to move out of the docking area. Looking at the splintered wood from where the container had hit, he was more than glad that he had reacted fast enough to move away. A hit like that could have either crippled him or killed him.
"Snape! What the hell do you think you're doing?" his boss yelled, as he quickly made his way towards him to look at the damage that was made.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me," Tobias easily lied. He knew what was wrong with him. It had been that dream again. His mind had brought forth the image of the small boy once again and Tobias had drifted off wondering how much of an evil git he had been to the boy.
"Well, figure it out soon or else!" his boss shouted at him before turning back around and shouting at everyone to get back to work.
Tobias swept the sweat from his brow and pushed his lanky locks away from his face. Looking at his fellow co-workers he simply nodded at them and went back to work.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
"You filthy abomination! Why can't you be like normal boys?"
"Don't call him that, you git!"
"Shut your mouth, woman! I'm the one who works like a dog to give you and this freak a roof over your heads and food to eat!"
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
Once again, his dream had woken him up. This time he had physically hurt the woman. As soon as he had exclaimed that he was the one working to take care of them, he had smacked her across the room. Looking at his left hand with disgust, he could almost feel the heat in it, as if he had truly hit the woman in real life.
Bile rose to his mouth, making him quickly dash to the loo. How was it that just the thought of hurting a woman made him spill his stomach; yet in his dream he hadn't even given it a second thought before lashing out?
After making sure that he wasn't about to throw up again, he flushed the toilet and turned the shower on. He felt disgusted at himself for dreaming up such things, the only thing he could think of, was to wash away the filth from his body. Discarding his night clothes, he quickly stepped beneath the hot jets of water and allowed them to run down his body. He didn't bother turning down the water, even though the heat was making his skin turn red, Tobias felt as if he was somehow punishing himself for hurting the woman in his dreams.
Only the reminder that he hadn't actually hurt her kept him from running to the kitchen and cutting off his own hand.
"Just a dream," he repeated the mantra to himself. "It was just a dream."
Leaning his forehead against the wall, he closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind. He had never been one to have a clear head, there was always something there, be it an important meeting or just chores he had to do. But this time, he focused on just the hot water pouring down his body and the sound of it as it hit the floor. After a couple of minutes, he was once again calm. Closing off the water, he towelled himself dry and picked out a clean set of work clothes. He didn't think he would be able to go back to sleep.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
"So let me get this straight, Snape. You've been having some crazy dreams about a wife and a kid, where you're calling them names and hitting them?"
A barely audible 'yes' came from where Tobias was resting his head against the table. He was at the local pub with one of his closest friend's having lunch, but he hadn't had much of an appetite as of late. It had been a week since he's started having the dreams and they were driving him crazy. He needed to talk to someone about them. Stephen was the only one out of all his friends that he trusted. He knew the man wouldn't call him crazy or tell him to lay off the bottle for a while.
Tobias could feel the man's eyes on the back of his head, he knew Stephen was weighing his words carefully. "The woman in your dreams, have you ever seen her?"
"Yes."
He heard Stephen sighing heavily at his response. Yes, he knew he'd seen the woman before, but he didn't know from where. She was definitely not someone who lived in Spinner's End.
"Tobias, look at me,please," Stephen asked him. Once Tobias has made eye contact with him he said, "Why don't you stay a couple of days at my house? Julie wont mind and the kids love having you around."
"How's that going to help me?" Tobias asked surly.
"It might not, but it might help to keep your mind off these dreams. I think you just need a break from your solitary life as a bachelor. Besides, the kids have been asking for their Uncle Tobi."
A small smile made its way across Tobias' face at the last comment. "Fine, if Julie wont mind, then I'll spend at least the weekend with you lot."
Paying for their meal, they made their way back to the port. Tobias feeling a little better at having told someone about his dreams.
Looking up at the sky, he noticed how much darker it looked. It was the middle of October and he knew that soon, his hours at the port were going to go down, since they didn't like working too much at night. He'd have to see about getting a part time job at the town Mill, if he wanted enough money to pay for the gas bills and new clothes for the winter.
"Listen, Tobias," Stephen said as they got closer to the port. "Don't think the worse of yourself, got it? Just because you dream of being a total git to that woman and the boy, doesn't mean it's real. Raising kids is a tough job, tougher than our own paying jobs. No parent automatically becomes a pro at raising their kids. We have to work hard to teach them what's right and what's not. The trick is to never doubt yourself. The second you start doing that, you'll start failing your children...I guess what I'm trying to say is, just because you'll think you'll be a horrible dad, doesn't mean you will be one. You just have to suck up that stubborn pride of yours and ask for help when you need it."
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
His vision was blurry, making him struggle to walk in a straight line. He had been drinking again, just like the day before and the day before that. Drinking was his only way to forget about his freaky family.
Stumbling through the house, he made his way towards the sitting room. He didn't want to waste his energy in trying to make it to his bedroom. Walking into the room, he saw a small boy laying on his stomach on the floor. A book was open in front of him, and from the moving pictures, Tobias could tell it was one of those freak books. His lip curled in disgust at the sight of the boy and the book.
'Unnatural,' he thought to himself. 'What five-year-old reads for fun?'
Clenching his hands into fist, he quickly made his way to the boy and grabbed a hand full of his hair. The action had scared the boy enough for him to scream in fright. Tobias ignored the crying boy as he threw him onto the couch, almost knocking the boy onto the wall that separated the room from the kitchen.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tobias shouted at the small frighten boy.
"N-n-not-nothing, daddy," the boy said as he tried to keep the tears from spilling down his face. Tobias hated boys who cried, it made them weak; and it made him angry.
"What did I tell you about doing weird stuff around the house?"
"I was only reading!" the little boy said trying to defend himself.
Tobias simply snarled as he quickly took off his belt and struck the child. "Normal boys don't sit read books! They play outside with other normal boys. STOP THAT SNIVELLING!"
"TOBIAS!" a woman's shriek made him stop from hitting the boy. "You monster! What in the hell do you think you're doing? He didn't do anything!"
Tobias watched as the woman crossed the room and carefully picked up the crying child. He could see blood from where the buckle had hit flesh, and felt a sickening satisfaction at the thought that it might just teach the boy to be normal.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
His mind was clearing up as he felt a cool cloth against his face. He didn't dare to move though, afraid that his stomach might betrayed him.
"Was it that dream again?" he heard Stephen ask him.
Tobias' response was throwing up again.
"I'll take that as a yes," Stephen wearily said as he tried to help his friend. "Why didn't you tell me your dreams where this bad?"
Taking a shuddering breath, Tobias waiting before responding, "They hadn't been this bad before."
"I see." After a couple of minute it seemed Stephen deemed it safe enough to move Tobias. "Let's get you cleaned up, Julie is already making you some peppermint tea."
Tobias could only let his friend help him to stand up, since his legs felt like lead. By the time they made it back to the kitchen, Tobias was feeling completely drained. But again, the fear of sleeping outweighed the need to rest.
"Here you are, dear," Julie said as she placed a cup of tea in front of Tobias. "It's still very hot, so make sure you don't burn yourself."
"Thanks," Tobias murmured. He took the cup in his hands, letting it warm them up before he gently blew on it too cool it down and taking a sip. He watched as Stephen lead the twins back to bed while Julie pulled a chair up next to his. She draped an arm across his thin frame pulling him into a small hug. "Want to tell me about it?" she asked.
He was so deep in his thoughts that he was taken by surprise when he felt a hand brushing against his cheeks. It was then that he noticed he had started crying. He figured Julie didn't really know about his dreams. Tobias didn't know how he would explain them to her, after all, she was a mother herself and might kick him out for dreaming about beating children.
While he was contemplating on how to explain his dreams, Stephen made his way back and took the seat on the other side of Tobias. "Okay, mate, what happened this time?"
Tobias couldn't help draw in within himself, his arms wrapping around his middle. "I hit the kid with my belt buckle," he said quietly.
He felt as Julie's small hands brush away his hair from way from his face. "It was just a dream, Tobias," she said quietly. " I know you would never hit a child in real life."
"How do you know that?" Tobias asked, his voice filling with anger, frustration – fear. "How do you know I would never truly hurt a child? I've never been around them long enough for them to anger me?"
"Because, I know you," she said wrapping her arm more firmly across his back. "Yes, you can be git at time, but that's only when people are stupid enough to get in your way when you're obviously mad. But I've seen that anger disappear as soon as you see a small child just having fun. You've never noticed this, but, you always get this far away expression on your face whenever you're watching the twins. These dreams, maybe they're a warning."
"A warning?" Tobias asked in confusion. "Are you saying that these dreams are somehow telling me what my future is going to be like? Maybe I'm just going crazy! I mean, why would I dream about books with moving pictures in them?"
"What did you say," Stephen asked in almost a whisper.
Tobias hesitated before answering, "The boy in my dream was reading a book. But the pictures in the book were moving."
He could feel them having a silent conversation over his head and wondered if they thought him crazy. Of course they did. He didn't know may people who dreamed about moving books. At least an adult, a child might have those sorts of dreams, but he was far from being a child, no matter what his mother said.
After a long silence Julie said, "Why don't you finish your tea and we'll talk about this some more later in the morning?"
Tobias simply nodded his head and quickly finished his cold tea. Without a word to them he made his way back to the guest room where he was staying. He wasn't going to fall asleep, he never could after one of those dreams. As soon as he head the other two enter their room, he changed into his day clothes and left the house through the window in his room. For all he knew, they would probably call the cops on him and have him sent to an asylum.
Maybe he just needed to get away from Spinner's End.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
January 12th, 1960
The dreams had finally stopped. It seemed he had been right about getting away from Spinner's End for a while. A couple of weeks after he had left Stephen's house, his dreams began to lessen. They weren't as vivid as before and he didn't have them as often either.
It had been a week since he had dreamed of the boy and his mother. Perhaps he had just been working too hard.
Walking down the road to his home with groceries in hand, he saw a figure standing outside his door. Slowing down, he saw it was Julie, she was alone though, neither Stephen nor the twins were with her.
As soon as he was within ear-shot of her, she said, "I see the town gossip was right for once," before slapping him across the face.
"What the ruddy hell was that for?" Tobias demanded as he gently touched his cheek. Small as she was, she could pack quite a hit.
"That, was for leaving without telling anyone." When he was facing her again, she slapped him once more. "And that, well, that was for being a git."
Tobias could only stare at her with his mouth open. He expected this sort of behaviour from Stephen, but not from sweet, gentle Julie. For once in his life, he was absolutely speechless. Closing his mouth he looked around at everyone who was watching them, sending them a glare, before bending down to retrieve his fallen groceries.
Quickly picking his things up, he moved past Julie and opened the door. Julie followed him and gently closed the door behind her. As he set about putting everything away, she sat down at the kitchen table and took out some books from her bag.
"I take it you stopped having those dreams." It wasn't a question.
"How did you know?" he asked her as he poured two glasses of water from the tap.
Julie gave him an annoyed look as he took his seat across from her and handed her the glass. "If you had simply gone back to bed like I had told you to, I would have explained everything in the morning. Why did you leave like that! Do you have any idea who worried Stephen and I were?"
Shame filled his gut as he realized he should have at least left them with a note. But he couldn't bare the idea of being sent to an asylum.
Not meeting her eyes, he decided to tell her the truth. "I was scared."
"Scared! Scared of what?"
"Scared that you and Stephen would send my to the loony bin!"
There was a long silence as Tobias watched Julie trying to control her anger. He could tell it was taking all of her strength not to reach over and slap him again. His cheek still stung from her previous two hits and becoming her personal punching bag was definitely not on his 'things to do' list.
"Merlin save me from stubborn male pride!"
Merlin?
"You, Tobias Snape, are worse than my father!"
"I'm sorry?" he said lamely.
She shook her head before opening one of the books in front of her. "Take a good look at this," she said as she pushed it in front of him.
Tobias slowly took the book and looked down at it. What he saw made him almost pass out cold.
The drawings in the book were moving. There was a woman who was demonstrating how to hit a ball with a small bat. Another, was a man flying on a broom and he was swirling between three hoops. The last picture was of a small winged ball that was flying rapidly around the pages.
Just like in his dreams.
He could feel the colour draining from his face as he continued to look at the book. Suddenly, he got up, rushed to one of the drawers and pulled out a knife. Before he could even properly hold the knife, it was turned into a pair of bright yellow socks with penguins on them.
Tobias could only look at Julie in horror as he held the socks in his hands. She was doing everything the people in his dreams would do. How was it all possible?
"I'm a witch," Julie said calmly. Motioning for him to take a seat, he did so but tried to keep as much distance from her as he could without leaving the house.
"That morning when we found you gone, was when I was going to explain everything to you."
Tobias still didn't say anything, but continued to listen to her.
Julie took that as her cue to keep talking. "What I was going to tell you, is that someone in your family has Seer blood and passed it down to you."
"Seer?"
"Someone who can look into the future. A fortune teller, if you will... Those dreams you were having, were glimpses of the future."
"But they stopped," Tobias said. "I haven't had them in more than a week."
"It doesn't matter, you still had them, your mind still showed you more and more glimpses of what your future holds. Until it was sure that you had enough information to make a decision."
"And what decision is that?" he asked in barely a whisper.
With a small sigh, Julie said, "I'm not sure, but I get the feeling that you'll know soon enough."
"Aren't all witches 'Seers'?" Tobias asked.
"No, not all magic folk can look into the future. Those are rare to find, especially now days."
Both of them were quiet before Tobias said, "Does Stephen know about..."
"Yes, mother and father didn't want me to marry him without him knowing about us. Mother especially; she didn't want Stephen to resent me for not telling him...People sometimes act violent against that which scares them. They didn't want him to beat me, hoping that it would kill the magic in me."
Tobias thought about how he acted in his dreams. He wondered if his dream self acted the way he did because he was afraid of the child and woman. He didn't blame his dream self though, magic was scary. After all, in a matter of seconds Julie had turned his knife into a pair of socks. But perhaps – perhaps if he saw more magic and got used to it, it wouldn't scare him.
"But these dreams don't mean I'm going to have a-a-a wizard for a son, does it?"
"I'm not entirely sure, Tobias. Maybe not now, but perhaps in the future, you might."
Thinking it over carefully, he came to a decision.
"Listen, Julie..."
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
A month later
"...after you add the newt eyes, the potion has to simmer slowly for two hours."
"This paste is way better than the stuff you buy at the drug store. Why doesn't the Ministry allow it to be sold to Muggles?"
"Because, people would become greedy and want more. They don't know how hard it is to get all of the ingredients ready or how dangerous brewing a potion is. The slightest mistake could cost you your life. Not to mention, that Muggles would want to brew them themselves, but they can't."
"Why is that?" Tobias asked.
They were in Stephen's home, Julie was showing Tobias how she made the burnt paste that she had used on the twins when they had accidentally touched the stove and burnt themselves. Ever since they had found out he was a Seer, Tobias had been trying to learn all he could about Julie's world. He had also talked to Stephen about what it was like living with someone who could do magic.
In a month's time, Tobias had learned about the Ministry of Magic and how it protects the wizarding world. They had told him about Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; and the four houses that were founded by four powerful witches and wizards hundreds of years ago. They had also told him about the discrimination of people who were not pureblood. Julie herself was a half-blood, her mother being a pureblood witch and her father a Muggle.
They had told him that it wasn't blood that made the wizard or witch, but their skills. There were many Muggle-borns who were smarter and stronger than most purebloods.
Julie made sure that the fire underneath the cauldron was correct, before answering Tobias. "The reason why Muggles can't brew, is because they don't have the means of acquiring the ingredients needed to make each potion. Where do you think they would get Dragon's blood or Unicorn hair?"
Tobias could feel the colour drain from his face at the mention of dragons. "Dragons?" he said timidly.
"Dragons!" Julie said with a smile on her face. "But don't worry, there's none here in the country. It's illegal to raise dragons in the United Kingdom."
"And the unicorns?"
"The only herd known to us is in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts."
Tobias took a moment to take in this new piece of information. He continued watching as Julie took the cauldron off the fire and let the paste cool off.
"Could brew?" Tobias asked nervously after a couple of minutes.
"Sure!" Julie exclaimed after a moment, before she summoned another cauldron. Tobias flinched a bit, but he was no longer ducking each time she cast a spell. "We'll brew a Calming Potion, just go clean your hands while I get everything set."
They set about brewing for the next three hours, Stephen came during this session and simply smiled as he made two sandwiches for the twins.
Tobias could sense him smiling and said, "Wipe that ruddy smile off your face, Williams, it's not as simple as you think!"
This caused both Julie and Stephen to laugh hearty at this. "Sorry, mate, but I've never seen you concentrate on something so hard that isn't some pretty lass at the pub."
Soon, Stephen had two glares being sent his way. One from Tobias and the other from his wife. Deciding to leave before questions were asked, he hurriedly put the sandwiches on a plate and left the room.
It was slow work, but in the end, they found that Tobias could brew. Though, the more complex the potion became, the less likely he would be able to brew it since it required magic he could not perform. Julie had told him he didn't have enough magic to handle a wand, something that had disappointed him a bit. He had been contemplating being able to cast the same spells he had seen Julie perform.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
As he walked back to his house he kept reciting the ingredients to the Headache Potion, Julie wanted him to try next. She had given him the steps and had told him to try and memorize all of them. She wanted him to learn what each one of them was needed for.
He was so deep in thought that he nearly jumped out of his skin when someone had touched his shoulder and called his name.
Calming his heart down, he turned to look at the person and found himself looking at a young girl. She seemed a couple of years younger than him. But had bags underneath her eyes and she looked sickly pale, as if she hadn't stepped out into the sun in ages.
"Tobias?" she asked again.
"Yes?"
"You don't remember me do you? It's me, Eileen Prince."
Before he could respond the small bundle in her arms gave a small cry. It made Tobias' heart stop.
"Shhhh. Sev', mummy's here. Don't cry. Please, don't cry."
Tobias looked as she tried to calm the crying baby in her arms and quickly escorted her to his home. He didn't need the whole town to know of his business.
Once they were inside he started the fire in order to warm them up. "Is he hungry?" Tobias asked her.
"I–I'm not sure."
Refraining from rolling his eyes he took the bag that was hanging from her shoulder and began to look for a bottle, he had milk he could give the child. He was sure the baby was hungry since that's how Julie's bunch used to cry whenever he babysat them after they were born.
Warming up some milk, he waited until it was just the right temperature, then took the small baby from Eileen. She seemed relieved that he knew what to do. Ignoring her, he took a seat in his small sitting room near the fire and gave the bottle to the baby. The small tyke seemed almost starved. It made Tobias wonder when the last time Eileen had fed him was.
Eileen timidly came out from the kitchen and took a seat on the small comforter that was next to where Tobias was sitting with the baby. "Severus is yours," she said, "he's a month old, born on January ninth. They told me he's small for his age, but that if his papa is strong, then he will grow up to be like him too."
Tobias simply nodded as he watched his son greedily drink from the bottle. He had no doubt the boy was his. The jet black hair was as silky as his, and he could tell that the boy had had the unfortunate luck to inherit his nose as well. Tobias could tell his son would take a lot after him.
"Why are you here?" he finally asked Eileen.
"My parents have disowned me," she said quietly.
"What?" Tobias asked sharply.
"They do not approve of the father of my baby. So, they disowned me. I came here, hoping that you would be able to help us."
Tobias quickly looked up at this. Flash backs of his dreams rushed through his mind. He didn't want that to become true. He didn't want to hurt the child that was now asleep in his arms.
Time, he needed time to think about things, and perhaps talk to Stephen and Julie as well. For now, he would allow her and Severus to stay with him. He could sleep in the guest bedroom while they took his. It was more comfortable for them and not to mention the bed was bigger.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
The next day he had gotten up early and quickly made his way to Stephen's house. He didn't think Eileen could cook so he needed to be back before her and the baby woke up.
Almost out of breath, he knocked loudly on the Williams' home waiting for one of them to wake up before the children did.
It didn't take long though and before long, Julie was at the door, her hair a complete mess and robe hastily tossed on.
"Tobias? What in the world? Do you have any idea what time it is?" she demanded as she led him into the house.
"It's five in the morning, now hush and listen to me." Once he was sure that he had her complete attention, he told her about Eileen and how she had showed up yesterday at his house with a baby in hand. He explained to her that it had been Eileen whom he had been dreaming of all this time. When he was finally done, he found himself nursing a cup of strong tea and munching on toast, while Julie took in everything he had told her.
"I knew Eileen," she said after awhile. "We were both at Hogwarts, but she was in Slytherin and I was in Ravenclaw, though we were three years apart. Her family isn't like the Malfoys or the Blacks, but the name Prince still holds a lot of respect in our community. So, of course, the family is going to kick her out; they don't want what little image they have left tarnished by a single mother. Especially a single mother who sired a half-blood."
"What if – what if I take the baby and release her of all responsibilities?" Tobias asked.
At Julie's raised eye-brow he decided to elaborate. "Listen, when I got together with her, with Eileen... I was absolutely drunk off my arse. I was lonely and so was she; so what did we do? We kept each other company for the night. But in all honesty, she's not my type. I can't see anything good coming out of me marrying her or just living with her. So, what I was thinking is, what if I take in Severus and raise him myself? Allow Eileen to go back with her family without having to take care of a baby."
"And what will you do if they don't allow her to go back?"
Tobias was quiet before he answered, "Then I'll rent them a small flat here and support them, but I refuse to live with her."
"You're not even willing to give each other a chance?" Julie asked, curiosity laced in her voice.
Shaking his head, Tobias answered, "Listen, I'd rather take care of Severus alone than live with her. She couldn't even tell why he was crying when I found them outside my home yesterday! How will I be able to take care of both her and the baby if I have to focus on making sure all her needs are met as well as the baby's?"
"But what will you do with Severus while you're at work?"
"Mrs. Brant's daughter just returned from school and is taking a year off to spend time with her mum. I'm sure Miss Brant wouldn't mind earning some money while taking care of my son. She's good with kids, I've heard her brother talking about how good she takes care of his kids. I'll quit my job at the port and move to the Mill. I'll earn more than enough and have more flexible hours."
"It seems you've really thought about this, Tobi," Julie said. Standing up, she took his empty cup and plate and placed them in the sink. "I'll help too, after all, we owe you for all the times you looked after the boys. Just, please promise me that if you ever need any help, you'll come to us. We're your friends and nothing would make us happier than to help you. Okay?"
Tobias nodded his head in agreement, stood up and gave Julie a big hug. "I need to get going. I'm not sure Eileen has ever cooked a meal in her entire life."
With a small laugh, Julie walked him to the door, giving him one last hug before watching him go.
O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O*O
As soon as Tobias was inside his home, his ears were assaulted by the loud cries of his son. Rushing to his room, he saw Eileen desperately trying to get the baby to quiet down. With a weary sigh he stepped into the room and took the baby from her.
"Why haven't you changed him?" he angrily asked her. It was obvious as the sun was bright that Severus needed a change. So why hadn't she done so?
"I've never done it!" she yelled at him. He could tell she was frustrated, but at this moment he didn't care. The one that was the most frustrated was probably his son. Tobias expertly cleaned him before leaving the room and coming back with a damped towel. He didn't have anything to wash Severus in, so for now a 'sponge' bath was all he could give him.
Soon the room was being filled with the happy cooing of the baby as he thanked his papa for changing his dipper. Tobias finished changing the smiling little boy into a fresh pair of clothes and made his way to the kitchen to cook them a meal.
When she had finally finished her meal, Tobias told her of his plan. He knew he was making the right decision when her faced brightened up with joy.
"So, I can go back, without the boy?" she asked.
He pushed away the annoyance he felt at her curt way of addressing her son, but it just further proved to him that the three of them would never be happy together. If she were to stay, then his visions would become reality. "If your family will have you, then, yes. If not, then I'll rent a room for you to stay in until you can fend for yourself."
Tobias looked at her as she smiled widely. He was confused when her smile suddenly disappeared. "What's wrong," he asked. "Do you not think your family will take you back?"
Shaking her head she said, "It's not that...There's something I need to tell you, Tobias. You probably wont believe me. But...I'm a witch...and that means that Severus also has magic."
"I know," Tobias said bluntly. "I know who you are and what this child in my arms will one day become. If you're fearing that I will mistreat him, then I promise you that I wont. I will love him, and care for him until the day I die. What you have to promise me, is that you'll never seek him out. The only time you will see him, is if he himself wants to know you. But if you leave this house, without him, then I will make sure you never get to see him ever again. Do you understand me?"
He watched as she thought about everything carefully. The idea of returning to her family was too big for her, he knew she would agree to his terms.
After awhile she said, "Agreed." They shook hands and she quickly left for the Ministry to get the right paper work so that everything would become official.
After two hours it was just Tobias and a sleeping Severus inside the house. He had allowed Eileen to hold Severus for the last time before she left. As she held the baby, she told him that his papa loved him very much and that his mummy would miss him. Eileen had then handed the small boy back to Tobias and left without looking back.
Julie had quickly dropped by and had transfigured a crate into a crib so that Tobias didn't have to worry about where he would buy one. As well as giving him some of the old clothes the twins no longer used. They would be useful until Tobias could go out and buy new things for his son.
As he laid on his bed, with Severus sleeping quietly on top of his chest, he wondered if he had saved them all from the awful future his dreams had shown him.
He knew more about magic and the world in which Severus would one day take part in. Magic no longer scared him. Now, what scared him the most was whether or not he would be able to raise his son correctly. Would he be upset if Severus wasn't into sports as he was? Or would he be proud at how smart he'd be before he starts Hogwarts?
Oddly enough, he didn't want his visions to show him what the answers are.
He wants to experience them first hand.
He made a silent promise to always be there for his son. Standing behind him during his first steps. Hugging him when he utters his first word and encouraging him to talk more. Holding his hand on his first day of school, just to show him there was nothing to be scared of. And sending him off on the train to Hogwarts, even though it would break his heart to be away from him for so long.
But all of that was in the future.
There was time to enjoy every minute he spent with his son.
Because he'd always be there to love him.
Always be there to catch him when he falls.
His son would always have him, no matter what.
Always.