Wonderful Chapter 34
More Trick Than Treat
Halloween came and Eileen thought of staying home that evening, but Tobias had been acting very good the last few days. It seemed as if he were looking forward to taking Severus out trick or treating. He had not made anymore fuss over her fixing their son's wizard costume. The witch had told her son not to protest if the muggles said he was just a plain ordinary wizard or Merlin; Muggles didn't know who Dumbledore was.
"Those people who took me knew who he was," the boy reminded.
"Well those are different kinds of muggles," Ele explained. "Most muggles don't know the difference. They're not supposed to know."
"I know, statute of secrecy." Sev knew what he must say around muggles. "There's no such thing as magic. witches and wizards are make believe," he droned out. "But Mum, on Halloween even muggles believe in all sorts of magical things."
"No Severus, they pretend to believe in all sorts of magical things. If they saw real magic even tonight, they wouldn't believe their own eyes."
"Muggles are awfully stupid aren't they Mum?"
Having married one she couldn't say that they were stupid. She had been the stupid one in falling for Toby's charms. "They aren't stupid Sev, they just can't understand magic."
"Well that's stupid."
Eileen had just finished the last touches of the costume, so she didn't argue with her son. "Now off with you Professor Dumbledore."
Severus flourished his fake wand and imagined the sorts of spells he would cast when he was a trained wizard.
"Now you behave yourself with Dad tonight."
"Will he?"
The mother ignored her son's question. She hoped both of them would behave. All that day Severus could 'pretend' to be a 'real' wizard, so he was as happy as he could be. Eileen didn't know why Toby was very happy that day as well. He had left for work in a very good mood. Because her son and husband were happy, Eileen was happy. She was beginning to believe in the possibility that the Snapes could be a happy family again. She didn't even know that Toby had already broken his word, and it was well past that dream.
When Ele left for work that night it still seemed all possible to her, Toby came home smiling, thought she did not know the real reason why. He waited till she was gone to get what was making him so happy. "BOY!" Toby's voice made Severus stop short and skid a few feet on his sox as he was still running around the house playing grown up wizard. "LET'S GO!"
Peeking from behind the banister atop the stairs Sev asked, "Let's go what?"
"Let's go what he asks," Toby said to himself as he climbed the stairs, then asking in return, "Where'd you think you daft boy? What have you been whining about all week."
The little boy chewed on the side of his lower lip before answering, "Halloween."
"So now that it's here you ask where we're going?"
"Wasn't sure you were really going to take me."
"Not take you, I've been waiting for today too."
"You were?" Severus was amazed. His eyes went wide. Had his father really been waiting to spend time with him? He didn't know that it wasn't spending time that Toby had been looking forward to. It was what had been 'stashed' in his son's closet that he was interested in. It wouldn't bring that much money, but Tobias felt like he could be making important connections for a bigger plan he had in mind. He had already told certain people he'd be dropping by that night.
"So, let's go get ready," Toby said when he reached the top of the stairs.
"I am ready," Severus declared.
"We both need one more thing.""We do."
"Something to put all that candy in."
"Oh yeah." Kids in other neighborhoods may have gotten plastic pre-formed jack-o-lanterns to but their candy in, but down at Spinner's End kids used pillowcases. Severus ran to his room to get his. He was followed by Tobias who went to get his, it was in his son's closet. "Why are you bringing that Dad?"
"I'm going to be giving some people we visit a treat."
A furrow grew on the boy's face. "You're supposed to get treats when you go to the houses. I don't think chopped up leaves would be much of a treat. You're supposed to give candy."
"This is grown up candy." The skeptical look was not leaving the boy's face. If that was what grown ups considered a treat, he wasn't sure he wanted to grow up. He had a feeling his father was up to something, but what that was he didn't understand. As they were going out the door, Toby said, "Now listen, this, grown up candy is supposed to be a secret, a surprise, so don't go blabbing to everyone about it. Only special people are supposed to get it."
The boy shrugged. "Whatever." He really didn't care. All he wanted was kid candy anyway. Feeling emboldened by his father's sudden interest in trick-or-treating Sev asked. "Can we go over to Victoria Lane? They give out better candy over there."
"S'pose we can make our way over that way," Toby agreed. "We have to go around here first."
Severus wasn't going to argue this point; as long as they made their way around to the 'good' neighborhoods. Outside Spinner's End at dusk was quiet. There weren't any other kids trick-or-treating there; those kids knew the better places to get free candy, that and the fact that most houses on the street didn't give out candy anyway. Toby and Sev's first stop was not that far away from their house which was the last on the street. "I don't think they're - - "
Toby didn't let his son finish his statement. " - - Don't worry, this is one of those special houses. We're giving a treat here, not getting one." During the last few days when Eileen was at work, Tobias had been busy breaking up the 'grown up candy' into smaller packages for easier distribution. He had also sampled quite a bit of it. He reached into his pillowcase, pulled out several bags, and replaced them in his son's pillowcase. "You bring these up there and they'll give you something in return."
"I thought you said we weren't getting anything at the special houses."
"You're not. What they give you is for me. You bring it right back here."
"Okay," the tone in Severus' voice showed he was not really enthused about this new way of trick-or-treating. The little wizard skipped up to the steps and up to the door. On knocking, the child was greeted less than enthusiastically.
"We're not giving out candy here," the woman who answered the door in her dressing gown said above the cry of various children throwing things about the room behind her.
"My Dad said - - " was all Severus could get out of his mouth.
"Who the hell is your Dad to tell you to come to my door when we didn't put the light on for you little neighbor'ood rats."
"Uh-uh - - " Sev was thinking what to say while trying to figure out why this rude lady deserved any kind of treat. While his son was stuttering, Toby was putting his face in his hand in a show of aggravation. The lady happened to see who was waiting out on the sidewalk.
"You Toby's kid?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you say that in the first place." She opened the door wider. "You got the stuff?"
"Stuff?" Severus regained a bit of composure. "Oh right." He handed the lady the bags of chopped up leaves. She reached into the middle of her shirt to pull a twenty out of her bra, and after further searching dug out a ten. Both bills were handed to the boy who held them by the smallest bit of their corners and as far away from himself as possible. Then the lady slammed the door shut. The boy looked confused, but wanted to get off of that stoop as quick as possible. "I didn't like that Dad."
"You don't have to like it," Toby said as he snatched the money out of his son's hand and shoved it into a pocket. "You just have to do as your told."
Now the young wizard really wasn't liking the way Halloween was starting off. Severus was beginning to put two and two together. If they didn't get some candy soon, he'd think that his father was only interested in getting money for those bags of funny tea. The next road over Tobias let Severus actually trick-or-treat at a half a dozen houses who were giving candy away before there was a second house that was going to receive 'grown up' candy. "Here now," Toby gave the boy four bags this time. "Remember to let them know who you are, tell them your Toby's boy."
Severus nodded and skipped up to the door of the brick house. He knocked. When the door opened a rather foul smell proceeded the rather foul man who opened the door. The man looked at Sev with the same skeptical scowl that the woman from the first house had. "What you want kid?"
"I'm supposed to tell you that I'm Toby's boy."
The man half smiled and laughed without opening his mouth. The ha ha ha's were snort snort snorts out of his nostrils. "Leave it to Toby to think up something this sneaky."
Not really knowing, Severus was becoming more convinced that what his father was asking him to do was not completely on the up and up. With a shaking hand he shoved the bags of pot at the man. The man told the boy to "Wait here." Then he came back with Toby's money. The man handed the boy three twenties then took a ten and stuck it in a pocket on his Halloween costume. "You keep that for yourself. Don't think Toby would give you a share for doing such a good job."
Severus still didn't understand what all of this was about, but he like the idea that he had a secret from his father. He didn't have to tell Toby the man had given him the extra ten. He went back to where his father was waiting and handed him the money. "If those are treats," the boy asked, "why are they giving us money?"
"Never you mind," was all Toby answered. He knew Severus was a bright kid. This was probably the only time he was going to get away with using him to cover his activities. The boy would begin to ask his mother questions like, 'what's grown up candy?' or something to that effect if the father kept this up. In the next few blocks Toby let Sev go to nearly all of the houses. He was getting quite a haul. Toby hoped that would keep the boy quiet when they went to the next house for a 'buy.' This house had other kids gathered at the stoop. "Wait," were the instructions.
Making sure no other kids were anywhere near this house Toby sent Sev up with the same instructions as the last place. Severus was surprised that this man didn't look as scuzzy as the first two people to be treated by his father. The man opened the door all ready to give out candy like Severus was any other trick-or-treater. He had even asked, "well what have we got here, is it Merlin?"
Sev remembered his mother's admonition not to argue with muggles about the difference between Merlin and Dumbledore and nodded before informing he was 'Toby's boy.'
"Oh." The man looked a bit surprised, as if he had expected something different than a tiny kid out for Halloween. "Uh here." The man handed Severus a couple of candy bars and said, "Umm tell your dad, Toby's your dad?" Sev nodded. "Tell your dad I changed my mind." Weather the man had felt he were being set up, or if he had a genuine change of heart at seeing Snape use his son in such a despicable manner, he was not buying.
The little boy ran back to where his father was waiting. "Where's the money?"
"That man said to tell you he changed his mind."
"Where's the bag?"
The boy's head swung as he looked left and right trying to remember what he had done with the bag his father had given him. "I think I dropped it."
"You THINK you dropped it?" Bad Toby was getting ready to make an appearance. "Well you best find where you dropped it before I drop all of this." Toby held up Severus' pillowcase of Halloween treats threatening to dump it out. He looked around in fear that some other kids might show up soon. "NOW!"
Severus jumped dropping the second pillowcase with the candy the man at this house had given him, and ran back to the porch where he thought he dropped the bag. The boy was down on his hands and knees searching when the man who lived in the house opened the door again. The man asked "What are you doing?"
"Looking."
The man seemed truly concerned for the boy. "Looking for what?"
"I dropped it." Sev looked frantic.
"Dropped what the candy I gave you?"
"No the other stuff. The grown up candy you didn't want."
The man's expression looked as if he were going to be sick. He went out and helped the boy look. It didn't take long for him to see it between the porch and a straggly shrub. "Her it is." The man picked it up, but didn't give it back to the boy. He took Severus by the hand and walked back to Toby. "Take this." The man shoved the bag of drugs into Tobias' chest. "And don't come back here."
"That's not what you said yesterday," Toby said as the man walked back to his house.
The man turned back to say, "Well that was a mistake."
Toby made a 'pish' like hiss behind the man. "Someone else will be more than happy to buy it." The man kept walking. Toby shoved the candy back into his son's hands. "That's a man with no balls." Severus wasn't sure that was an accurate statement.
The next thing Sev did surprised Toby. He asked, "Can we go home now?"
Toby looked almost disgusted at the boy. "I thought you wanted to go to that fancy neighborhood and get the fancy candy they give out there?"
"I did."
"Oh, I see. You're going to be like ball-less and change your mind."
"Dad - - " Severus looked up at his father with a look that would have killed any other father if their son had looked at them like that. "What we're doing is wrong isn't it?"
"You figured that out did you?" Toby said this in a mocking tone. "These people are waiting, so you can either go home on your own, or, you can keep doing what we've been doing and I'll take you over to Victoria Lane." Toby really didn't want to be the one going to the doors. That would look a bit suspicious. The cover of Severus trick-or-treating was just too good to not try and convince the boy to continue. "Come on Sevvy, don't be a coward."
Now the boy's eyes were not sad, they blazed with inner anger. A full scowl was on his face. He would show his dad who the coward was, and it wasn't him.
tbc
