AN: I apologize for the long overdue lateness of this chapter. It was difficult to finally hash out, but I hope you enjoy it!
CHAPTER FIVE
Tension hung thickly in the air by the time Tobias Snape arrived home. Remus had just finished drying the last of the sparse flatware and was spelling the plates back to their proper shelves when the old man came limping into the kitchen, arms full of bagged groceries.
"What're YOU doing in my house?" he demanded of Dumbledore, who stood up swiftly.
"It's been a very long time since I've seen you, Mr. Snape." Dumbledore stated simply.
Harry felt the hair prickle at the back of his neck; Tobias slammed the groceries down on the table.
"I told ye never to come back!"
"Perhaps you should sit down, Mr. Snape?" Remus suggested.
"I'll sit down when I'm damned good and ready to!" Tobias ground out slowly through clenched teeth. "Tell me why yer here, an' get out!"
"Severus should join us first." Albus suggested, never once taking his eyes off of Snape's father.
"Is tha' what yer so concerned about? Think I'm gonna get drunk and knock Potter here about?" Tobias scoffed. His large hands fumbled in his overcoat pocket for his cigarettes, and trembled with rage as he brought one to his lips and lit it. "I don't go about knocking sense inte other people's brats."
"The thought had crossed my mind," Dumbledore replied honestly. "I must confess that Severus led me to believe that you were dead, Mr. Snape. Some years ago."
"Boy's always had a knack fer lyin'. Did my best te try an' curb that." The old muggle shrugged and blew out a puff of smoke. "But I can't say that he wasn' close te tellin' ye the truth. 'S how I got this gait."
Before any of the three wizards present could inquire further about Tobias' handicap, Snape appeared in the doorway. He was still rather pale, black eyes dull and staring at his father. Wordlessly, he crossed the distance to where the groceries sat on the table, and began unpacking the bags. Harry couldn't decide if the Professor was purposefully ignoring the tension in the room, or if he was truly oblivious to it. Snape made his way towards the kitchen sink, and both Remus and Harry moved aside to give him space, watching in silence as the wizard began to carefully wash the vegetables he had removed from the grocery bags.
"Yer being rude, boy." Tobias growled.
Snape ignored him, and removed a cutting board from a cabinet. He then set about chopping vegetables.
"Severus, why don't you join us at the table? Have a seat?" Albus asked softly.
Snape shook his head, and continued about his set task. Once the carrots and turnips and parsnips had been chopped, he removed a large pot from a lower cabinet, and set it on the stove. Water was added to the pot, followed quickly by the vegetables and fat trimmed from what appeared to be lamb. The contents were set to heat, and Snape retrieved a skillet.
Slowly, Dumbledore moved towards Snape, until he was close enough to put his wizened hands on Snape's shoulders. "Severus, sit down."
Snape turned around, and Harry was surprised to see the difference in the wizard's heights. The Slytherin was forced to look up at an angle to meet Dumbledore's eyes "What do you want from me now, Dumbledore?"
"The truth." Albus stated. "Please sit."
Once they had all taken to seats around the table, it was Tobias who spoke. "Tell 'em, boy. No lies, neither."
Severus glared at his father briefly, then turned his gaze to the tabletop. "The day I graduated... I... came here, to get a few of my mother's belongings. To take with me. To Lucius'." He took a shaky breath. "I had my bag packed and laying by fireplace, and Lucius was telling me to hurry up. Then..."
Tobias let out a puff of smoke. "I came home. Made the mistake of grabbing the boy by the wrist when he tried te run."
Unconsciously, Snape rubbed his left forearm, where Harry knew the Dark Mark to be. "I thought he was going to kill me. I... don't even remember most of what happened. I turned, and I think... I think I shouted. Then there was blood. Everywhere."
Tobias nodded. "Hurt worse than a whiskey hangover. Almost passed out, I did. But not 'fore that girly friend of yers told ye to finish me off."
Harry bit his tongue, trying not to laugh at Tobias' description of Lucius Malfoy.
"I was in shock. Lucius must've thought he would eventually bleed to death anyway, because the next thing I remember, I was at Malfoy manor, and he was telling me to undress so I wouldn't drip blood on the carpet." The professor looked up at Dumbledore, black eyes pleading. "I honestly thought I had killed him. I didn't learn the truth until after... that night. When He..."
Dumbledore nodded. "I remember."
Snape nodded, but Tobias spoke. "I was just about te go te work tha' night. Imagine my surprise te open the door an' see 'im drunk as a skunk an' out on the stoop!" He barked a laugh and shook his head, smiling maliciously at the dark-haired wizard. "Threw up all over the rug when I brought 'im inside."
A slight flush of embarrassment rose in Snape's cheeks. "Is that really necessary?"
"'S truth." Tobias let out another puff of smoke, and chuckled darkly. "Ye were really sick, I almost took ye to a hospital. Kept askin' me fer someone named Ivan, or Evan, or..."
"Evans?" Harry chimed. "You were asking for my mum?"
"Evans?" Tobias looked thoughtful. "Wasn't that the name of that..."
"SHUT UP!" Snape snarled, standing up so quickly that he almost fell over. "I don't want to think about that! It's bad enough to be discussing THIS!"
Tobias stood up as well, and towered over his son, who seemed to shrink back.
"Gentlemen!" Albus interrupted, standing up as well. "We're almost finished here, I believe. If you could just answer one last question, Severus?"
Snape hung his head, and sank back down slowly into the chair.
"Is there anything, anything at all, that you feel will impair your ability to tutor Mr. Potter this summer?"
After a long moment, Snape looked up, his gaze catching Harry's. "No."
"You will not hold the past against Harry?"
"No."
Dumbledore nodded. "Very well, then, now that that's been settled... I had best get going. I've a long journey ahead of me tonight."
As the Headmaster started to leave, Snape looked as though he wanted to follow. His onyx-eyed gaze followed Dumbledore towards the doorway, and seemed to watch through the wall as the older wizard left, shutting the door loudly behind him.
"I'll finish making the stew," Remus announced, resuming Snape's position near the stove.
Snape didn't argue, just simply sat still, disbelieving.
Tobias huffed, and limped towards the stairs without a word.
"Er..." Harry started, trying to break the silence. "I know that you were friends. With my mum that is."
Remus turned his head slightly, watching Harry and Snape out of the corner of his eye.
Snape barely moved, his eyes unblinking. "Whoever told you that lied to you."
"No, I'm sure it's the truth. Aunt Petunia -"
"DON'T. Say that name around me." Snape hissed.
"But -"
Snape focused on Harry more clearly, fire in his eyes. "Mr. Potter, that MUGGLE set into motion things that your tiny little mind can barely comprehend. She will lie, and cheat, and stop at nothing to make herself feel superior to those around her. SHE might have believed that your mother and I were friends, and at one time in my life, I might have believed her. But I was there the day that your mother decided to stop talking to me, and would you like to know what she said?" Snape didn't give him the chance to reply. "She said that none of her friends could understand why she even talked to me."
Harry swallowed thickly, digesting the bitterness in Snape's voice.
"So you can see, Mr. Potter, that your mother and I were childhood acquaintances. And I can guarantee you that your AUNT and I were childhood enemies."
As Snape stared him down, Harry could do nothing but ask the question that had been weighing on his mind since Tobias recalled the story. "Then why did you ask for my mother that night when you came back here?"
Snape's face seemed twisted in pain. "I wasn't asking for your MOTHER," he spat. "I was asking for hers!"
- TBC