A/N: Okay, don't kill me, loves. I was all on target to include the letter that you're all dying for in this chapter when, well, this happened and the bunny decided it'd be better for the next section. Also, my lovely beta, DaughterOfAres, agreed with that bunny and said this was the perfect place to end this chapter. So, blame the bunny and DaughterOfAres. Enjoy.

Blast from the Past

As the twenty-one-year-old man stood outside the battered black door with young Harrison in his arms, Snape quickly found himself realizing why being at this very cottage was such a bad idea. The last time he had seen him was when he was ten years old, and that certainly hadn't been a happy memory that day. Though, he rarely could recall a time in his childhood where he was truly happy without Lily being around. His heart briefly ached at his thinking of her. How could it be possible, after all that had happened, that he'd move on from the beautiful redhead he had given his soul to? What would change?

Sighing quietly, Snape knocked against the door once more and shifted his weight slightly. Maybe the man wasn't home. Or perhaps he had the wrong address, he thought momentarily. That was possible after all, since all his information had come from a directory he had run across by chance. Sensing that he was making the young child just as edgy, he swallowed back his nervousness and forced himself to remain standing in front of the closed door like an idiot, unable to leave his spot.

As time passed by slowly, the childhood memories quickly bubbled up to the surface again. This time, he didn't even attempt to fight it. After all, it wasn't as if he had anything better to do as he waited for the bastard to get off his fat arse and answer the door.

The scene rapidly faded from darkness to reveal the sitting room of the neglected Snape home. A thin, sour-faced woman—his mother—appeared out of the fading darkness with the scowl that was always on her face these days.

"I can't believe you, Tobias!" hissed Snape's mother, glaring at her husband. "One thing. That's all I asked for. One damn thing! And you couldn't even manage that!"

The hook-nosed, blue-eyed, shaggy brown-haired man glared back at his wife murderously. "Oh, well, 'scuse me, Princess Eileen!" Snape's father drawled with dripping venom in his voice, as his hands were raised above his head. "Yer lowly peasant of a husband forgot the milk. Off with my head then clearly."

"I can do without your sarcasm, Tobias Avery!"

His father scoffed, shaking his head. "Only my mother gets to call me that, and ya ain't her, El."

"No?" His mother raised a challenging eyebrow. "Sure feels like it some days."

"Hardy-har. Yer hilarious. Truly." His father then rolled his eyes and scuffed the floor with his boot. He muttered something low and under his breath then before he shook his head again. "It's fuckin' milk, El. Nothin' for ya to go all batshit crazy over. I'll get some tomorrow after work. God." Turning away from his wife, he headed towards the ratty old armchair across the room.

"Like I haven't heard that all damn week," Snape's mother snidely remarked.

"I've been busy, Eileen!"

"Yeah, I know. You've been busy drinking with the guys again," she said through clenched teeth before she pointedly turned away from her husband with crossed arms. "I ask you to do one thing for us, one simple thing, and you can't even manage that without disappointing us."

"That's me! The big ol' disappointment in yer life," growled Snape's father, throwing his hands up into the air as he sat in his chair. "Honestly. It's one thing after another with ya. Do this. Do that. Blah, blah, blah. That's all ya do anymore. Bitch about me." His voice rose higher then. "It's fuckin' milk, El! Milk! No one has ever died over not havin' it."

Her nostrils flared as her eyes darkened instantly. "It's not about the damn milk, you jackarse! It's about you, once again, letting us down."

"Fine! Then I'll get the damn milk!" Tobias yelled, hopping up mad out of his chair. "Happy now, ya damn harpy?!"

"Of course not!" she screamed back, glaring daggers at her husband. "I haven't been happy since our son was born!"

The ten-year-old Snape, who had been standing in the doorway throughout his parents' entire fight, whirled around instantly at hearing his mother's words and fled to his room, slamming the door shut behind him. When he heard the quiet knock on his door a few moments later, the young boy turned his back and curled up in his bed under the covers, desperately wishing he was anywhere but there. All his parents ever did anymore was fight. Even Lily had started to notice and was asking him about it every day they saw each other nowadays, something he dreaded horribly.

"Son?" his father quietly said, gently knocking against the door.

The little boy sniffled under the covers, swiping angrily at the traitorous tears that splashed his cheeks. He was being stupid, and he knew it. Deep down in his heart, he knew that his mother didn't mean it the way it sounded. She told him every night how much she loved her little boy and how glad she was to have him in her life. Yet, the sting of her anger-filled words remained.

When he felt his father's hand on his shoulder, he squeezed his eyes even tighter, wishing all this was a horrible nightmare that he could wake up from. He didn't want his dad to leave again. Not on the eve of his tenth birthday at least. Couldn't his mum kick his dad out some other day instead?

His father gently pulled the covers back from Severus's head and sighed softly. Rubbing the boy's back tenderly a few moments afterwards, his father gave him a soft somber smile.

"Hey, it's okay, lad," his father quietly said. "It ain't the end. Just the beginning, you know?"

"But you're going away again," little Severus whispered. He hated these nights most especially, because he was always afraid that one day his father wouldn't come back.

"Just 'til the morning, my little Prince." The ten-year-old instantly wrinkled his nose up at that, which caused his father to chuckle quietly. "Now, listen to me. Yer mum didn't mean that just now. She's just got a stick up her arse about something, and, well, we both know it's best for me to go elsewhere for the night, don't we, Severus?" The young boy reluctantly nodded. His father then gently leaned forward and kissed his son's forehead, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately. "I'll be here first thing tomorrow mornin', and then we can celebrate yer birthday properly."

The little boy's eyes lit up quickly. "You promise?"

His father held out a pinkie with his familiar charming smirk. "I pinkie promise, Severus."

The twenty-one-year-old Snape closed his eyes instantly, hearing his father's long ago promise still echoing in his mind. This was a mistake. Drawing in a slow breath, he turned away with Harrison and headed back down the sidewalk away from the door. Like his mother had said long ago, all his father would do is let them down again.

"Severus?" a low voice asked behind him. "That you, son?"

A part of Snape wanted to keep walking, but the part in control forced him to stop in mid step for half a moment. His eyes slowly dropped to Harrison, who was staring up at him curiously.

"I shouldn't have come here," Snape quietly said, refusing to turn around.

"Yet ya did," Tobias replied just as equally soft as Snape had, his blue eyes flicking down to the small child in Snape's arms. "Come on inside, son. I'll put a spot of tea on for ya."

Snape's nostrils flared briefly before he whirled around with Harrison and glared at his father.

"Don't act like everything's fine!" he shouted at Tobias. "Like we're all close with one another. We both know better than that."

"Do we?" Tobias quietly said with a shrug. He then ran a hand through his shaggy brown hair and sighed when Snape didn't respond. "Ya don't know the whole story, Severus."

"I know enough, Dad," he snapped.

His father scoffed instantly and rolled his eyes. "Do ya now? Well, go on then. What do ya know exactly? Hmm?"

The young man stared his father down. Years of pent-up anger rushed to the forefront of his mind. Now was his chance to get out all the hurt, all the anger, all the disappointment his father had caused. This was his one chance in a lifetime, and he couldn't let it go to waste. Not this time.

"I know that you broke a promise to your son, to me!" He then took several threatening steps closer towards his father. "I know that you abandoned your wife and child, tossed us aside like yesterday's news!"

Tobias instantly held up a finger, his eyes glistening in anger. "Now, you just wait one minute, young man!" he growled. "I may be a lot of things, but I never tossed either of you aside like that."

"You abandoned us! Abandoned ME on my tenth birthday!"

"Ya ever think that maybe it wasn't my choice, Severus!" Tobias yelled back.

The young man clenched his jaw tightly but took one step back from his father. Had he ever considered that others might have played a role in his father abandoning them on his birthday? Yeah, he'd admit, that it had crossed his mind once or twice over the years. However, he had never seriously considered it, because that scenario had always seemed so improbable. After all, why would anyone keep Tobias from his family? It didn't make sense.

Snape shook his head a moment later. He needed to clear his mind and think. Turning back around, he continued down the long sidewalk towards the cobblestone street of Spinner's End.

"Where are you gonna go? Yer mum's?" Snape kept walking away from his father. "We both know ya haven't been there since Roger's been in her life."

He stopped instantly and whirled back around. He could sense that he was likely making poor Harrison sick with all the stopping and going, but, damn it, he couldn't help it.

"Excuse me?" Snape snarled, glaring at the older man.

"Ya heard me just fine," Tobias replied. "Ya ain't gonna go to yer mum's, and we both know it."

Snape clenched his teeth once more and growled, "You don't know me."

"And you don't know me either, son," Tobias stated firmly, holding his son's intense glare. "So, come inside and let's get to know one another again. Before it's too late for that."

"What the hell do you mean by that?"

His father sighed quietly, closing his eyes as his shoulders slumped. The man clearly didn't want to fight anymore. All the previous anger had been replaced by fatigue and regret.

"We both know, son, that those lights off in the distance ain't the result of some fool playin' around with fireworks." A loud boom in the distance then echoed around them followed by another flash of light. A flash of green light, Snape noted a moment later with uneasy apprehension. His father was unfortunately right. There was no way those lights were fireworks. No, it had to be the result of curses and the like. "Please, son. Let me help ya, and, if yer willing to listen, I'll explain all of it." His father's blue eyes then darted off to the distant lights before they fell on him again. "Just give me a chance."

Snape glanced off then at the greenish snake-like smoke rising high above the old mill, his gut contracting at the realizations that other Death Eaters were in Cokeworth with him. He held Harrison closer to him before he slowly dipped his head forward in acceptance. Silently, he followed his father into the cottage, wondering silently what he had just gotten himself into.

Barely noticing the door closing behind them, Snape headed further into the unknown room towards a shelf above the lit fireplace. Surprise quickly passed over his features as he found himself staring at a dozen-or-so old photos from his childhood. His parents' wedding photo was prominently displayed right next to a photo of his parents holding his baby self in their arms for a family photo.

"I'll just get that tea for ya, then, and something for the lad, too," Tobias quietly mumbled as he walked past into a nearby room.

It wasn't until he felt Harrison start to fuss in his arms that he replied his thanks quietly. Turning away reluctantly from the photos soon after, he walked over to a nearby sofa and sat down, setting Harrison beside him. His eyes, however, quickly returned to the photographs. Why would his father have those pictures on his mantelpiece? It didn't make sense.

Several minutes passed by silently as Snape waited. With his attention elsewhere, he didn't notice that the toddler next to him was currently sucking on his robes until Harrison drooled on Snape's hand. The young man instantly made a sound of disgust and pulled his hand back. What was it with this child that he had to put everything in his damn mouth? Of course this action only caused the poor toddler to wail at the loss. Snape groaned quietly and hung his head moments afterwards.

Tobias softly chuckled as he reentered the room with a small glass and bowl in hand. "Poor thing's teething." He flashed a smile towards Snape. "Not to worry, though, son. This should do the trick. Applesauce always worked with you after all."

Snape blinked in surprise, feeling his initial anger rapidly dissipating again. How was it possible that the man who had abandoned his wife and child at a drop of a hat like they were nothing one day could still remember something as insignificant as that?

"What?" Tobias asked, staring at him in confusion.

So many questions rushed through Snape's mind, then. From experience he knew that children, especially younger ones, tended to misunderstand things constantly, and unfortunately he had been young at the time his father abandoned them. But he just could not wrap his head around it now. He had been so certain for years that his father was a heartless son of a bitch who didn't give a damn about anyone but himself. However, sitting before the man now and seeing that the man was actually nothing like that—it only led Snape to question everything he had thought he knew. Was it possible that he had been wrong all this time? A voice in the back of his mind screamed 'No!' emphatically. The man had abandoned his wife and child, left them to the wolves in fact. That was not something a good father did, a good man did.

Snape shook his head, though, and grabbed the offered spoon and bowl of applesauce. Silently, he held the spoon out to Harrison, who briefly quieted down before he started wailing again. When Tobias instantly started to chuckle loudly, Snape frowned and glanced at his father.

"What?"

"Nothing," Tobias said through chuckles, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Snape turned back and tried to ignore his annoyance with the man. "Go on. Take the spoon. It's okay." With each of Tobias's laughs behind him, Snape felt his jaw clench even tighter. Just what the hell did the man find so funny? The boy was screaming like a damn banshee. "Take the spoon, Harrison," Snape repeated firmly. However, the toddler only continued to scream bloody murder at him. Finally, losing his patience with the boy, he gently grabbed Harrison's little hands that had been flailing in the air and curled them around the spoon. "There. Now, put it in your mouth and eat. You'll feel better then." The spoon promptly clattered onto Harrison's lap, leaving a wet gooey mess. Snape sighed and closed his eyes, realizing what his father had been laughing about. The boy was too young to be holding a spoon yet. He likely still was helped. Cleaning the spoon off, he scooped up some more applesauce from the bowl before he quickly yet carefully fed Harrison the gooey food.

"Take it that the lad's mum was in charge of feeding time, huh, Severus?"

Snape felt the instant punch to his gut at the reference to Lily, but he pushed past his emotions. "Actually, I just recently . . . discovered that" he drew in a sharp breath "I'm a father."

"What do ya mean, 'Just recently discovered?" his father asked slowly, clearly skeptical.

The lie tasted horribly in his mouth as he said it. "He's the result of an, uh, encounter I had with a . . ." he cleared his throat, resisting the urge to tug on his collar as he suddenly felt hot "courtesan."

"What?!" Tobias yelled.

Unable to hold back his temper, he snapped back at his father, "Oh, like you have any grounds to be upset considering."

"Just what the hell does that mean?" Tobias growled, glaring back at him.

"You walked out on us, Dad!"

"No."

"Yes! You walked out on us. Walked out on me." Snape scoffed, shaking his head. "You couldn't do it on any other day. No, you had to do it on my tenth birthday. After you promised you would be there."

"Now, you listen here, Severus—"

"No. You listen. You walked out on us. You left Mum to pick up the pieces. To fix your mistake yet again. You left her with a ten-year-old boy who was devastated because his father broke yet another promise of his. You left us there to rot, Dad! Don't deny it. You, like the coward you are, walked out and left your wife and child to fend for themselves. You didn't give a damn about us. So don't start acting like you do now!"

Tobias took several steps back, the anger vanishing from his face and being replaced by sheer horror. "Is that what ya thought? That I didn't give a damn about ya two?"

"Oh, please," Snape drawled, rolling his eyes.

"No. Listen to me, Severus," Tobias pleaded, his body screaming that he needed his son to listen as if his life depended on it. "I wrote yer mum every day. I sent money after—after it was done. I went to the old house even to see her, but she had already moved in with Roger by that time, I guess. I tried to find you as well, but I couldn't." His father's eyes softened. "Son, ya have to believe me. If I could've, I'd have been there. I'm sorry that I wasn't, and I know that nothing I do now will make up for it, but please . . . believe me when I say that I didn't walk out willingly on you."

Snape glanced at Harrison, avoiding his father's pain-filled blue eyes. He didn't want to believe the man's lies anymore. Yet he knew that deep down there was a reason he had come here and sought the man out. If he were honest with himself, he'd say it was because all of his memories of his father before the man left were somewhat good. When his parents weren't arguing, that was.

"Then, where were you?" Snape asked quietly, slowly glancing back at his father.

"I can't answer that," Tobias replied barely above a whisper.

Quickly, Snape grabbed Harrison and moved to stand up. "Then we have nothing more to discuss," he spat out, wondering why he had come in the first place.

"No. Wait. Please, Severus!" Tobias begged once more. "Just wait."

Snape paused for half a moment, rubbing Harrison's back gently.

"I can't tell ya tonight because, well, shit, son, it's the first time I seen ya in years."

"And who's to blame for that, Dad?"

"Just give me a day, okay? Just until morning and then I'll tell ya everything ya wanna know."

"I gave you until morning that day as well," Snape reminded sharply.

"I can't tell ya everything. Not tonight. Not without you walking out that door with the lad and hating me even more."

Snape bit his cheek to keep his sharp tongue quiet, letting his curiosity win temporarily.

"I'll tell you everything you wanna know tomorrow. I will. Just give me until morning."

"Why? Why do you need until the morning to tell me the truth?"

"Because the truth is worse than what you've thought all these years, son." Tobias met his son's eyes. "Please believe me when I say that I didn't willingly abandon you. I meant my promise, Severus. I meant every damn word of it. Hell, I'll even take a damn lie detector if ya want."

Snape held his father's blue eyes for several moments. Every part of his father screamed that the man was telling the truth. Whether that was the truth his father believed or it was the actual truth was anyone's guess at this point. There was strong evidence for both theories after all. Finally, unable to find anything that pointed him to the conclusion his father was lying, he bowed his head and closed his eyes in acceptance. He would give Tobias until the morning. For now at least.

"Thank you, son."