A/N: Hopefully that wasn't too long of a wait for you. :) For those of you who were interested in seeing how Lucius fares after Narcissa destroyed Riddle's Horcrux, Snapeswidow has now put her fic "Narcissa's Revenge" up over on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) under her screenname. I'd link it here, but FFnet hates hyperlinks for some reason. Please send her some of that awesome love you show me, will you? Enjoy.

Three Drops Worth

Glancing down at the little imp who had fallen asleep on him as he, his father, and Harrison were now back at Hogwarts in his rooms, Severus felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards slightly. He'd admit that the brat was rather adorable at times. He brushed back Harrison's hair gently and snorted when the young toddler pressed himself more against Severus's hand.

"Precious, ain't he?" Tobias remarked quietly, careful not to wake Harrison.

Severus's hand flinched back from the boy instantly, as if he had been scalded by hot water. His eyes darted to his father, the smile falling from his face. "I suppose if you like that sort of thing," he replied with a shrug.

Tobias snorted in reply. "Who are ya tryin' to fool there, son? Me? Because it ain't gonna work. I know you love the boy."

"I don't love him," Severus stated defensively, ignoring the pounding in his ears that said otherwise. He couldn't love the boy already. Not after such a short time passing.

"Well, if ya don't love him, then I'll just tell the truth when I'm—"

"No!" he cried, forgetting entirely about the sleeping boy cuddled against him. When he heard the soft fearful whimper a moment later, he cringed and glanced down, calmly rubbing the boy's back. "It's all right, Harrison," Severus whispered. "All is well. Go back to sleep."

"Yeah, you clearly don't give a damn about the boy at all, do ya, Severus?" Tobias drawled a moment later, his lip twitching slightly as he looked on amused.

Severus glared, clenching his jaw. This was all his father's fault.

"Anyway," Tobias began, "speakin' about later, what should I say?"

Pulling Harrison further up onto his lap as the boy continued to whimper softly, Severus frowned and maintained his death glare on his father. Didn't the man see that he had scared the boy? When the young toddler threw his arms around Severus's neck a moment later and clutched desperately at him, he tensed briefly before he relaxed into Harrison's embrace.

"Concerning what exactly?" Severus replied, rubbing small circles against the boy's back in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

"About Harrison, son." His father then gave him a knowing look. "What do ya want me to tell them when they ask about the boy?"

"What do I want you to tell them?" he repeated with a confused look.

"Come on, son. Let's be real, huh?" Tobias sighed quietly, scratching his chin. "It's one thing to have a kid ya know nothin' about dumped onto yer doorstep one day. It's another to snatch one. So, let's be real. That boy, cute as he may be, ain't yers."

"Yes, he is!"

"No, son. He ain't," Tobias said sadly. "I may have been outta yer life for almost twelve years, but there ain't no way El would've allowed ya to go through life without knowin' the birds and the bees and the consequences of pollenatin' the flowers. She'd have drilled it into yer head regardless of Roger bein' in her life or not."

"Well, she didn't," Severus lied, feeling the guilty tug in his chest at the mentioning of his mother. "She was all about Roger. I didn't even matter to her anymore." He watched his father's eyes close and continued, his voice steady and delivering the necessary tone to convey full belief in his lie. "So, once I was out on my own, I frequented lots of places . . . had lots of women, Dad. So many women, in fact, that sometimes I didn't know what to do with all of them. A regular ladies man."

Tobias crossed his arms instantly, clearly not believing his son one bit.

"Is that right?" The older man then shrugged. "What's yer favorite way then, son?"

Severus's mouth dropped, his lips the only thing keeping his mouth from falling completely open. His father couldn't be serious. Vaguely, he felt Harrison pull back from him to look up at him.

"Mine's—well, shit—that's gotta be Wicked Witch. Yer mother always liked that the best. Said she could really feel me . . . if ya get my drift. Somethin' that was just between her and me, ya know?"

Severus didn't even try to keep his mouth closed this time. His jaw dropped, and he stared horrified at his father. Was his father honestly telling him . . . that?

Harrison giggled instantly, his green eyes with tiny specks of brown sparkling in the soft light of the dungeons.

"Are you honestly asking me what kind of sexual positions I enjoy? That's madness."

"And that, dear son, is being evasive and refusin' to answer a question. The number one tell of a liar," Tobias drawled, clearly happy with himself. "Answerin' a question with another question." His smirk grew. "So, let's try this again, shall we?"

"There's nothing to tell," Severus answered through grit teeth, angry with himself.

"Bullshit." His father scoffed, his hand running through his shaggy brown hair before he shook his head. "If I'm gonna lie for ya later to the police, the least ya can do is tell me what the hell is goin' on. The truth this time."

"I never asked you to lie for me."

"Ya didn't need to." Tobias locked eyes with him. "A father will always do his damnedest to protect his son. No matter what, Severus."

He couldn't shake the feeling of instant guilt that washed over him as a result of his father's fierce declaration. He knew in his heart that his father meant every word of it.

"Please, son. I don't think I'm askin' too much here really. Just an honest answer as to why you've got the boy. That's it."

Severus glanced away, closing his eyes. "You won't believe me."

"Try me." Tobias then gave a loud laugh. "I mean, shit, son. If it weren't for yer mum, I'd never have believed that witches and wizards were real either. Would I have?"

"You won't understand," Severus said quietly, his eyes remaining downcast. He felt like a little boy explaining to his father how the figurine had broken all over again.

"I'm smarter than I look, son," Tobias replied gently. "If ya took the boy 'cause ya panicked or whatever, I'll understand. We all make mistakes. Some stupider than others."

"I didn't take him, Dad." He lifted his head slowly, turning towards the older man. "Harrison was given to me. I'm being honest about that." He swallowed, knowing that he had to tell his father the whole story. He cast a quick nonverbal Muffliato over the room to keep their conversation private. "His parents were murdered, and his only other remaining relative—a maternal aunt—she hated his mother, thought she was a freak because of his mother's magical talents. I couldn't let the boy grow up in an environment where he likely would be subjected to such hatred on a daily basis. I—he needed a home, one where he'd be loved. One that he should've grown up in with his parents."

"You knew Harrison's mother?"

"Yes. She was a neighbor of ours in Cokeworth, Lily Evans." Severus then frowned. Had his father ever met Lily? He didn't think so. "She may have come after you left actually." He shook his head a moment later. "Or if she did, it was likely when you and Mum were fighting all the time."

"I'm sorry, Sev," Tobias apologized, reaching out towards his son before letting his hand drop to his side. "You deserved better. You and yer mum." His hands came up and covered his face prior to his letting out a regretful sigh. "I should've gotten that damn milk like yer mum asked."

"You couldn't have known what would've happened. No one could." Not even his future self . . . wherever the hell he was currently.

"Maybe. But I've had twelve years with nothin' better to do than dwell on all my past mistakes, son. So, yer gonna have to humor me for a bit and understand me when I say I could've done better."

"We all could have, but that's the nature of regrets and mistakes, though."

"Yeah." Tobias shrugged. "So, yer raisin' the boy as yer own out of some sort of tribute to his mother? Did ya love her or somethin'?"

"Or something," Severus replied honestly. His future self had been correct in that. He didn't love Lily as he thought he had. In fact, with the sting of her letter still being felt, he actually felt little towards her but pain. Regretful of her death, yes, but he hadn't been the one to kill her. The Dark Lord had. And it seemed, judging by Dumbledore's actions earlier in the week, that there had been another couple who fit the Prophecy, which gave Severus all the more reason to start to forgive himself. It wasn't as if he had went to the Dark Lord and said, 'The Prophecy must refer to the Potters. Kill them, my Lord.' He had made a mistake, a grave one that he was making up for now.

"Does anyone know that the boy wasn't killed with his parents?" his father asked suddenly.

Severus's eyes narrowed as he thought for a moment. Did anyone besides himself know the truth? Narcissa knew that Harrison had been an orphan, yes, but Severus's Obliviate had taken care of that. And Dumbledore certainly wasn't letting anything on—at least not verbally, which truthfully just confused (and scared) the hell out of Severus beyond belief.

"I don't think so. But even if they did somehow, I covered my tracks with him." When his father's eyes narrowed on him, he sighed. "I took him to a woman I know who used magic to mask his true identity in case anyone starts poking their noses into it. After she did it, I made her forget. She said before that, though, it shouldn't hurt him, but it should make things easier for him to get a fresh start and get away from all the pain. I mean, I will tell him when he's older about his parents. He deserves that."

"All right then." Tobias gave a curt nod. "I'll tell them that the boy was stayin' with me. After all, the only one who can prove that I'm lying is Chloe, and, well, we read what happened to her."

Severus closed his eyes instantly. It had been a punch to his gut when he had read that article on the young Auror in the Daily Prophet. He had thought that just maybe she'd have found some way to survive, to escape Death's door one more time. But it hadn't happened.

"Are you certain no other Auror has been to your home?"

"Positive. It was only Chloe."

Then, all they needed to do was make the Auror who was coming later believe the lie. Which was obviously easier said than done. He then ended his spell.

"Ya don't suppose this guy is just gonna ignore the whole inspectin' thing and lock me up again, do ya?" The fear was evident in his father's voice.

Severus shook his head. "No. From what Professor Dumbledore told me earlier, the Auror will come here, make certain we are telling the truth of why you came here, and then decide what the best course to go from here is." He left unsaid how some parents would feel if they learned there was a convicted Muggle murderer, regardless if it was the truth or not, under the same roof as their children. He didn't need to darken his father's doorstep any more than it already was.

"Ah." Tobias then gave a sad chuckle. "Ya ain't still upset 'cause I chose this, right? Cause takin' the easy way just ain't me, son, and that's what it'd be if I just went along with the whole 'I'm dead' thing."

"It would've been a fresh start," Severus replied stubbornly.

"Yeah, maybe." Tobias shrugged. "At least until someone recognized me."

Severus's eyes dropped to Harrison instantly. So far, only McGonagall had seen Harrison, and she hadn't recognized him. Or at least if she did recognize him as being James and Lily's son, she didn't mention it or let it show. He brushed back Harrison's hair affectionately. He wasn't an idiot. He knew that he'd always run the risk of someone recognizing the boy. All it'd take was one photo, one memory, and it'd be all over. A seed of doubt always turned into a forest after a bit.

"Poor lad. His hair's actin' all like yers used to."

Severus turned towards his father before he looked back down at the toddler. The usually messy hair was lying a bit flatter today. His brows knitted together. Was Harrison already starting to become more like him? He didn't want the poor kid to lose everything he had received from his parents. But he also didn't want to be thrown into Azkaban for kidnapping either.

"Except the little waves," Tobias added a moment later.

Severus nodded hesitantly.

"He's gonna need a cut for sure soon. I take it ya can do that with just a wave of yer wand?"

Holding back a quiet laugh, Severus glanced at his father. "If magic were that easy, Dad, we wouldn't need to hold classes for the little brats."

"Ya know what I mean," Tobias replied. "And, hell, ya and yer mum always made it look easy."

"I assure you that it requires a lot of discipline and practice."

His father shrugged. "I wouldn't know, thanks to dear old Dad."

Severus felt his good mood lessen instantly. Would things have been better if his grandfather had allowed Tobias to attend Hogwarts? They'd certainly have been different. He then sighed, pushing the thought aside. What ifs were only going to drive him mad.

"We should probably get the lad to bed for the rest of his nap, don't ya think?"

Picking Harrison up carefully into his arms, he carried the small boy into the spare room filled with various stuffed animals that the Hogwarts' house elves had left for Harrison. He placed the sleeping toddler into the wooden crib. Brushing back Harrison's long dark hair once more (something he had been doing a lot of lately), he smiled down at the young boy before he grabbed the fluffy teddy bear from the shelf above the crib and went to situate it in Harrison's tiny arms.

"Uh, son," Tobias said hesitantly, rubbing at the back of his neck.

"What?" Severus glanced at his father, noting the older man's pained look.

"No teddy bear."

Severus held the bear just out of Harrison's reach and stared at Tobias. "Why not?"

"Because yer mum would have my head," he replied honestly. When Severus seemed even more confused, Tobias gave a faint smile. "Yer mum always thought it'd be safer if we waited till ya were older, like walkin' and stuff, before ya slept with anythin' in yer crib. She'd always slap my hands when I tried to put somethin' in yer crib, sayin' I was tryin' to kill ya. So, let's be safe, yeah?" Tobias asked, grabbing the teddy bear from Severus and putting it back up onto the shelf.

"What's he supposed to sleep with then?"

"Nothing. At least not till he's older."

Severus glanced back into the crib and sighed. It seemed so bare. No teddy bears in the little boy's arms. No blanket pulled up to his chin. It was like he was basically showing the world he couldn't provide for the young boy already. That the child would grow up the same way he had.

"Uh-oh. I know that look," Tobias remarked quietly. "What are ya thinkin' about now?"

"He deserves better," Severus said with a sigh, closing his eyes.

"Huh?" Tobias then scoffed, shaking his head. "Son, stop. Yer doin' good here. Ya clearly love the boy. Uh-uh-uh," he said, wagging a finger at Severus who opened his mouth to argue. "Don't even try it. Ya love him. That bear was further proof of it. So, stop tryin' to kid yerself and say that ya don't. Because that's shit, and ya know it."

"But—"

"Flesh and blood don't make a family, Severus. Not a true one at least. Ya understand me?" Tobias didn't even wait for him to respond before he continued. "What makes a family is the effort and love ya put into it. I mean, hell, anyone can father a child. It ain't that complicated really. Just a matter of matchin' the parts up." Severus winced at his father's bluntness. "It takes a father, however, to step up and put his child before his own needs, his own desires, regardless of blood relation or not to the child. So, listen to me when I say that ya need to let that thinkin' go. Yer his father now."

"I know that," Severus stated with a frown. "But look at him."

"I am. He's happy. Or as happy as a toddler can be at least." Tobias shrugged. "And he knows he's loved. Which wasn't that the point ya were makin' earlier, that ya wanted the boy to feel loved?"

"He's just lying there, though, alone."

Tobias grinned faintly, gently clapping his son on the shoulder. "He ain't alone, Sev. Yer here." He gave his son a warm smile when Severus glanced at him. "Here. Let me tell ya story." He motioned towards the chair besides Harrison's crib. "So, when you were just young lad, not much older than him, I had to watch over ya some nights, cause yer mum had a double shift or some such thing like that. I sat beside ya, not wantin' nothin' to happen to my boy. I kept lookin' over at ya, thinkin' the same things ya probably are. About how sad ya had to be. That I was failin' with ya." His father shook his head, though, running a hand through his shaggy brown hair.

"It's all a pile of horseshit, son," Tobias explained. "I wasn't failin' because ya were in that big crib with nothin' around ya. I mean, ya had toys. Christ, I spent a whole paycheck on ya once. Bought ya this little jumpin' thing. You'd play in it for hours, jumpin' around like ya were a damn astronaut on the moon." Tobias chuckled as he recalled that time. "But every time I had to put you down in that crib and sit with you on those nights, there'd be this little voice tellin' me that I was failin' . . . that ya deserved a better life. One full of toys and all yer heart's desires . . . everythin' and anythin' that'd make ya happy. Took me a bit to realize ya didn't need all of that at that age. All ya needed was a captive audience really. Someone who was there, lookin' over ya, lovin' ya. That's all they really care about at this age, son. And yer showin' him that ya do. So, don't keep beatin' yerself up. Yer doin' good."

Later in the afternoon, there was a loud knock against the door to Severus's rooms. He glanced at his father instantly and caught Tobias's brief flicker of doubt. He hesitated for a moment until he caught Tobias's head bob. Once he saw that, he rose and opened the door, revealing two Aurors.

The older of the two Aurors had a dark brown beard that was just beginning to show signs of grey. Instead of aging the olive-skinned man, though, the short, well-trimmed goatee gave him a steely look of sophistication. Silver streaks were speckled about his temples. And his brown eyes, so dark the pupils were nearly invisible, appeared to stare straight through a person.

The other Auror, however, was a younger black man. His eyes were dark as well, but held a bit of a friendlier look to them. He wore a single gold hoop earring in his left ear and a blue crown-styled kufi cap upon his bald head.

"Professor Snape, I presume?" asked the Auror with a goatee.

"Yes." Severus then stepped aside, allowing them inside before closing the door.

"I'm Auror Rigotti," stated the older Auror before he motioned towards his younger counterpart. "And this is my partner, Auror Shacklebolt."

Severus dipped his head respectfully towards both of them.

"Nice to meet ya both," Tobias chimed in, trying to hide his nervousness.

"I believe you know the drill already, Mister Snape," Auror Rigotti brusquely said, motioning towards his partner to do something.

When Tobias forced a thin smile and headed for a nearby chair, Severus looked on in mild puzzlement. What drill exactly was there? His eyes narrowed when he caught Shacklebolt pull out a glass bottle of a clear-colored potion from his robes.

"Veritaserum?" Severus asked, his eyes darting to his father.

"Very good, Professor," Rigotti replied, nodding again to Shacklebolt.

Tobias must have then noticed his son's look of outrage. "It's fine, son. Doesn't even hurt."

They were going to give Tobias the most powerful Truth Serum?

"It was a condition of your father's release," Rigotti explained a moment later, noticing Severus's horrified look.

"You agreed to it?" Severus barked at his father. How stupid could that man be? Regardless of the fact that the man had no actual knowledge of magic besides that it existed, he'd have thought that his father would have at least had enough self-preservation in his body to not agree to something he didn't know about. For all Tobias could have known, it was poison.

"Course I did." Tobias then gave him the familiar 'Everything is going to be all right' look. "I don't have nothin' to hide, Severus."

"Go ahead, Kingsley," Rigotti cut in.

Severus looked on, unable to stop his father from taking three drops worth of Veritaserum mixed into a glass of water. His heart instantly raced, drowning out everything else. He would be joining his father in Azkaban when this was over. He just knew it.

"What is your full name?" Shacklebolt asked, a quill and pad of paper appearing next to him.

"Tobias Avery Snape," Severus's father answered devoid of all emotion, his blue eyes glazed over as a result of the potion. The quill quickly set off to writing down Tobias's answers.

"Where were you born?"

"Cokeworth."

"Do you have any children?"

"Yes. A son."

"And who is your son?"

"Severus Tobias Snape."

Severus noticed Shacklebolt's eyes quickly dart to Rigotti's a moment later before Shacklebolt received another nod to continue.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

The moment Severus heard the question, he tensed, his head snapping towards Shacklebolt. Even Rigotti seemed to be taken back by the question.

Tobias seemed to hesitate briefly. It was clear that he wasn't fighting against the potion. Instead, he seemed to just be hesitating as he thought on it before he answered. "I don't know."

"Do you dislike non-magical people?"

"No."

"Do you dislike magical people, then?"

"No."

"Do you believe you are responsible for the attack on the pub twelve years ago in Cokeworth?"

"No," Tobias replied instantly.

Rigotti and Shacklebolt shared a quick look before Shacklebolt continued.

"Why do you not know if you killed anyone?"

"After the man talkin' shit about my wife and son drew a knife on me, I don't remember anythin' else. Not until I had people pointin' sticks at me, sayin' I was under arrest."

Severus felt a sliver of hope rise up in him. There was no way his father could ever beat the Veritaserum. Severus himself had difficulties fighting against it sometimes. Tobias had to be telling the truth. Even the Aurors had to see that.

"Do you know what this is?" Shacklebolt asked after pulling out another bottle from his robes. This time the bottle was bigger and filled with a bright orange liquid.

Tobias glanced at the bottle and stared at it for a moment before he replied. "Yes."

Rigotti and Shacklebolt tensed instantly before they recovered quickly. Severus's heart dropped the moment he heard his father's answer. This didn't bode well for them at all.

"What is it?" Shacklebolt asked.

"Some kind of magical potion."

Severus's eyes narrowed before he understood his father's answer. To Tobias, it was just a potion. But if he knew the specific one . . .

"All right." Shacklebolt sighed before he asked, "What does this potion do then?"

Tobias paused again before he answered. "I don't know."

"Have you ever seen this potion before?" Shacklebolt asked, his eyes darting to Rigotti.

"No."

Severus caught Shacklebolt's lip tremble slightly as if he were about to smile before the Auror nodded and continued his line of questioning.

"Have you been in contact with your son before last week?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"I wrote him every day since I was sentenced," Tobias answered emotionlessly. "I would give the letters to Chloe to send."

"Did you see your son before last week?"

"Yes."

Severus's eyes narrowed even more. It was impossible for his father to lie. So, how was it possible that Tobias was telling the truth about seeing Severus when Severus knew without a doubt that he hadn't seen his father before then?

"How?" Shacklebolt inquired.

"I received a package in the post from my wife awhile back that had a photo album of our boy in it. So, I would look at it from time to time. Read the clippin's she'd put in it. Like the one that said he'd started teachin' at that fancy school of his."

Shacklebolt nodded before he glanced towards Rigotti, who held up two fingers and gave a slight nod in return to the unspoken question.

"What happened after your son showed up on your doorstep?" the Auror asked calmly.

"Me bein' gone for so long had hurt him deep, so we fought. He wanted to leave once he saw me, sayin' it was a mistake comin'. After twelve or so years of not seein' him and then him just showin' up, I didn't want him to go, so I practically begged him inside. Pointed out the funny lights off in the distance that even I knew weren't fireworks. All I could think of was losin' him again. And I couldn't do it. Shit, to get him to show up on my doorstep, the bastard who abandoned him all those years ago, somethin' was up . . . and my boy had come to me. He had come to me, so I took the chance. A desperate man wantin' to do some good with his boy. To make up for all the other shit I'd done."

Severus closed his eyes, hearing the regret in his father's words. The man truly did want to do better. Without a doubt, he could see that. Did the others see it, too, he wondered.

"So, I led him inside to talk. Which we did." Tobias paused for a moment. "Sorta."

Severus caught the instant look between the two Aurors and sighed inwardly. However, before any of them could continue, loud sharp cries of a young child erupted from the spare room. Harrison had woken up from his nap.

Without batting an eye, knowing that if he had it'd have looked suspicious, Severus stood. "If you'll forgive me," he stated quietly turning towards the spare room.

He had hoped that the young boy would have slept through the whole thing, but that hadn't been the case unfortunately. He caught the slight nod of approval from Rigotti and quickly headed off to retrieve Harrison from his crib.

A moment later, Severus found Harrison squirming and shrieking in his crib, clearly mad at the world and letting everyone know it, too. He instinctively grabbed the crying boy, holding Harrison against his chest soon after. As he held him, he couldn't help but recall his future self saying that he'd learn how to care for the child. And there he was, doing just that.

"What's wrong, brat?" Severus asked, raising a brow at Harrison. "Is someone not getting enough attention right now?" he mocked.

Instead of continuing his screams of bloody murder, though, Harrison went silent and calmly rested his head against Severus's shoulder not long after he had been picked up.

The moment this happened, Severus felt a flicker of something, something he had been feeling a lot lately strangely enough, appear inside himself. He gently rubbed the little boy's back in response, feeling that flicker grow. Little Harrison was quickly becoming his little brat. Would he find more things his future self was correct about as time passed? His eyes then lowered back onto Harrison. It certainly was beginning to look like that would be the case. He found himself wondering for a moment if everything his future self had divulged would come true if would truly be a bad thing. He quickly came to the decision that it wouldn't be. Perhaps it would be, in fact, better actually. After all, he had tasted darkness for most of his life. Perhaps now it was time to try the light.

"Come on, brat," Severus said quietly with a semi-affectionate tone, turning towards the door. "Let's go see if your idiot grandfather talked his way into Azkaban yet." When Harrison giggled instantly, Severus couldn't stop the smile from reaching his lips.

When he and Harrison returned to the sitting area again a few moments later, Severus found his father stretching, as if he had just woken from a long nap.

"This must be the son that Professor Dumbledore was telling us about," Rigotti said with a jerk of his head towards Harrison.

Severus nodded slowly, his hand instinctively pressing the little boy further into his chest as if to protect him from the Auror. "Yes." He then drew in a breath before he glanced towards the toddler, finding Harrison's green eyes speckled with hints of brown staring back at him. "This is Harrison."

"Ain't he the cutest goddamn baby you ever saw?" Tobias cut in with a loud laugh. "He's gonna be a heartbreaker when he grows up. I just know it."

The two Aurors smiled pleasantly in return.

"Well, how'd I do?" asked Tobias soon after, looking at both Aurors. "Am I goin' back?"

Rigotti sighed and gave a quiet laugh. "Unfortunately, Tobias, you did knowingly break the terms of your release by admitting to contacting your son. However, seeing as how those terms are pointless," Rigotti drawled with a half-shrug, "we'll call it even and say house arrest here at the castle with your son and grandson. How's that?"

Severus's brows furrowed briefly. "Forgive me, but . . . why do you believe the terms are pointless?" he asked curiously. He must have missed something while he was off in the other room with Harrison, because what the Auror was saying didn't make a bit of sense to him.

"It's all right." The Auror then smiled towards him, as Shacklebolt looked on silently. "When Professor Dumbledore informed us about your father being here to settle things with the Ministry, Kingsley and I naturally looked over your father's case. So, we looked at the evidence again, since neither of us had been involved with it. It was Kingsley there who noticed the glass fragments and a bit of tiny orange liquid on a fragment in a crime scene photo from the pub."

"So, you then believe my father to be innocent?"

"We do." Rigotti shook his head. "A case of severe accidental magic is one thing. We've seen more than our fair share of that over the years. But looking at the evidence, it just didn't support it. Not when there was photographic evidence that indicated the presence of an unstable potion known for its destructive qualities. In fact, the further we dug into your father's case, the more uncertain we became of his guilt. I'm certain I don't need to tell you this, but you're not exactly a well-liked man, Tobias."

Tobias shrugged in response. "Yeah, I may have ticked off more than my fair share of people."

"A gross understatement," Rigotti replied with a laugh before he continued. "Anyway, it became clear during our rereading of his file that there were obvious missteps taken in your father's case on behalf of the Ministry. So, when we came here today, we wanted to see if our theory of someone framing your father was probable. Judging by the fact your father couldn't identify the potion used, I'd say that would be more than probable at this point."

"Wait. What does that mean?" Tobias asked, frowning and scratching his head quietly.

"It means, Mister Snape," Shacklebolt answered, "that we are reopening the investigation of the pub bombing you were convicted of twelve years ago."

"But if he was framed, then . . ." Severus's voice trailed off when he caught Rigotti's smile.

"Then it means we've got to tread carefully until we have all our ducks in a row, yes. Which is why we're going to recommend that he be punished for his breaking the terms of his release." Severus's eyes closed. "Whomever it was that wanted Tobias out of the way, they clearly had deep pockets to get Aurors and other Ministry officials to look the other way and convict an innocent man. So, we're not going to take any chances and tip them off. So, for a bit, things have to remain the same, I'm afraid."

Tobias groaned, his shoulders sagging.

"Thankfully, though, you're at Hogwarts," Rigotti continued, giving Tobias a sympathetic smile. "And the only ones who know you're here currently are your son, Headmaster Dumbledore, and us. Which means Shacklebolt and I have some wiggle room to give you a bit more freedom, while still making it appear that you're locked away."

"Meanin' what exactly?"

"Meaning that you may remain here with your son and grandson, Tobias, while we find the ones responsible for framing you. If we're lucky, it shouldn't take more than a year. There was quite a bit of evidence in the files that would cast a good size of doubt in your favor. However, if we could find out who exactly would frame you and why, it would make the process go a lot quicker."

Severus couldn't stop the words from tumbling out of his mouth. "Roger Stephenson." He caught Tobias's head jerk towards him, as well as the others'.

"Who's Roger Stephenson?" Rigotti inquired.

"Son, don't. Roger doesn't have a thing to do with this. I mean, he may be a git needin' a good pop in the nose, but . . . He wouldn't have the balls or brains for this."

Severus shook his head, though, brushing off his father's words. He needed to get this out there. Though, he didn't really have a clue why.

"A man my father worked with over at the mill before it closed down. Once my father was out of the picture, Roger swooped in. They moved in together fairly quickly." It was starting to become easier to breathe. "He has a history of threats and . . . violence." He knew he should elaborate on what sorts of violence, but he couldn't. Not with his father right there. "I've not seen my mother nor heard from her since I left home, which if you knew her at all you would know is quite abnormal for her. He has something to do with this. I'm certain of it."

"Do you have a last known address for her?" Severus and Tobias both nodded. "All right. Well, then write it down, and we'll check it out." Severus quickly did, handing it to the Auror. "If we find anything, we'll let you know." Shacklebolt and Rigotti then bowed their heads before they calmly walked out and left.

"It can't be him, son. It's gotta be someone else. Not when that bastard's alone with yer mum."