Life and Its Mysteries

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Chapter 16

“You live in a muggle area?” Severus questioned Hermione as they stepped into the elevator of her apartment building.

“I do,” Hermione replied with a nod. “Why do you think I asked you to wear muggle attire?”

It made sense, Severus thought to himself. He looked at the mirror on his side, as he stared at himself for a brief moment. He was wearing a grey shirt, black jeans, and a dark blue denim jacket. Last time he wore a full attire of muggle clothing was, a long time ago. Not being able to recall exactly when.

“There are a lot of wizards and witches that live in muggle areas here in New York City. It’s not uncommon really. In fact, it’s easier to blend in here than in any other muggle population. This city does have its share of diverse people.”

“Some of them weird,” Severus added.

“True,” Hermione agreed.

If people knew she was trying to perform magic of some sort on a daily basis, they would think that she was weird. Heck, her neighbor down the hall was a weird man. He always rummaged through the garbage bags at the end of the night. Hermione didn’t want to know what he was looking for, nor did she bother asking.

“So, is this your first time here?” she asked.

Severus shook his head. “I’ve actually been here a few times, but never in muggle areas. I had to attend potion symposiums. I even had the chance to go to the Ministry once. Quite fascinating really as it is beneath Central Park without millions of people knowing.”

Hermione went silent, not saying a word. She was reminded of her job, and of Bill. For the briefest moment, she had forgotten about the pain and loss of her best friend.

Dark eye bags had formed underneath her eyes as she kept on crying on the plane earlier. She refused to take a calming potion that Severus had offered her. There was a need for her to get her emotions and pain out, and not letting them be trapped within her. In any second or minute, she was about to inform Tobi of Bill’s death. She still wasn’t ready for it, not knowing exactly what to say.

When Severus saw Hermione look down at her feet, he took hold of her hand and moved to stand right next to her. “I’m here Petal,” he whispered softly into her ear. “I will support you in any way that I can.”

“I know,” she said softly. She then lifted her head up and looked at him. “I’m just nervous and worried. I don’t know what to say. He may only be four years old, but he understands things better than anyone his age.”

“Just tell him the truth then. Bill died sacrificing his life for others. Keeping the… bad guys away from the good guys. I’m trying to speak in the words that a four year old will understand.”

The corner of Hermione’s lip lifted just a bit. “He was a hero, just like Batman. Tobi loves Batman and pretends to be him. Thank you Sev, you do make things easier for me. I’m sure that he’d be happy to actually meet you. You do act like Batman yourself.”

Just then, the elevator doors slid open on Hermione’s floor.

“Lead the way,” Severus told her as he pressed his hand on the door-open button.

As Hermione lead the way to her apartment, Severus himself couldn’t help but feel worried as well. He kept his calm as best as he could, while it was Hermione that became very emotional. In reality, he was probably more worried than Hermione. It wasn’t just about telling Tobi about Bill being dead, but also, Severus was going to meet his son for the very first time.

How was Tobi really going to react? Severus wasn’t too good with children. Well, he only dealt with kids as young as eleven years old. Disciplining and scaring students at Hogwarts was what he did. He couldn’t exactly remember when his last encounter was with a younger one.

A little voice inside him spoke, telling him that he could be a caring and loving father. It couldn’t be hard to try. After all, it wasn’t hard to fall in love with Hermione. He had the capacity to love, and that is what mattered. He was no monster. It was then he made a promise to himself, and that was to never be like his father.

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“Guess whose home?” Hermione said aloud as she walked into her apartment. She let go of Severus’s hand and moved forward a few steps. She saw Tobi run out of his room, dashing towards her.

“Mummy!” Tobi exclaimed happily as he jumped into his Mummy’s arms.

“I missed you baby!” Hermione said as she showered him with happy kisses, fighting within herself so as not to cry. “Did you miss Mummy?”

Tobi nodded. His eyes were quick. There a few feet behind Hermione, he saw a man standing there. He knew exactly who it was. With his little finger, he pointed at him. Suddenly, he hid his face in his Mummy’s neck, shy.

“Why Tobi?” Hermione turned her head and looked at Severus. “Do you know who that is?”

“Is Daddy,” he said softly, only for Hermione to hear.

“That’s right. He is your Daddy.”

Severus felt his stomach tie in knots as he stood still. His face was soft as he frowned. He was touched that he boy knew exactly who he was at first sight.

“Say hello,” Hermione told Tobi.

Hesitantly, Tobi looked back at Severus. Black eyes met black ones for the first time. On his face, he had a mix of a frown and a pout.

Severus slightly started to walk towards the both of them, not wanting Tobi to feel uncomfortable. “Hello Tobias,” he said in his silky soft voice. He wasn’t too sure what else to say.

Again, Tobi hid his face in the crook of Hermione’s neck. This made Severus stop his approach.

“Won’t you say hi to Daddy? I thought that you wanted to brew potions with him? You don’t have to be so shy.”

Tobi pulled back, and looked at Hermione. His attention was no longer focused on Severus. “I want to pway catch with Uncle Bill?”

Hermione looked at Tobi with sad and teary eyes. She then turned to Severus next, and then looked around the room, noticing Beth standing at the kitchen door. The woman too looked very sad, and seemed as if she too had been crying. Hermione had called her the day before, regarding the news. She told Beth to keep the news to herself, because it was Hermione that wanted to inform Tobi herself.

“Pway!” Tobi grouched. “You pwomised Mummy! You pwomised!”

Hermione didn’t say anything. With Tobi on her hip, she carried him to the couch and made him stand on it. “I need you to listen to Mummy and be a big boy now,” she told her son.

“Why Mummy?” Tobi said in a softer tone. He looked at Hermione’s eyes, knowing that there was something important. ‘Big boy’ meant that he had to listen carefully and not play.

Hermione sat herself down on the coffee table as she sighed. “You’re Uncle Bill isn’t going to be able to play catch with you anymore,” she said getting straight to the point. “He isn’t coming back pumpkin.”

“Why?” Tobi asked as he frowned. “Never bweak pwomises Mummy.”

“I know, I know…” Hermione said softly. She and Bill, or any of her co-workers did break their promises with Tobi. What they said went, never upsetting the little boy. “He-he got hurt at work.”

“Hospital!” Tobi exclaimed. “Me can visit Mummy and then me can give potions to make painfuls go away. Me always do that with you.”

“And that is why I’m so proud of you,” she said softly, cupping his little face with one hand. “But, he isn’t in the hospital. The bad guys got to him. Still, Uncle Bill died a hero fighting against the bad guys.”

“Monsters kill Uncle Bill?...” Tobi asked with a shaky voice. His eyes started to fill.

“The monster is also dead,” Hermione explained.

Tobi lowered his head and sniffled. “Who play catch with me now?” he asked. He wanted his Uncle Bill and no one else.

“Daddy’s here-“

“No!” Tobi screamed as he scrambled his little self out from the couch. He was crying out loud when he ran towards his room.

“Tobias!” Hermione said aloud as she went after him, shutting the door behind her.

Beth approached Severus slowly with a small smile on her face. “Good to finally meet you Professor Snape.”

“Beth, I presume?” he asked with an arched brow.

Beth nodded. “Tobi was very close to Mr. Hicks amongst Ms. Granger’s other co-workers.”

“So I’ve been told,” Severus said as he looked at the shut door.

“Her bedroom is through there,” Beth said her hand extending towards the other door. “Is there anything you would like in particular for dinner sir? Chinese? Pizza? Well, maybe pizza is best, since Tobi loves pepperoni. He’ll eat it everyday if he can. Hopefully he’ll eat it later.”

“I have no complaints with pizza,” Severus said. He grabbed his bag and walked towards Hermione’s room. As he did, he could hear Tobi’s cries. He hoped that Tobi would get over Bill’s death soon. It wasn’t right for a child so young to mourn.

Tomorrow was going to be another day. He hoped that things wouldn’t get worse for either Tobi, Hermione or anyone. It was Bill’s funeral, and he wasn’t looking forward to it.

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AN – Hope you liked/loved the update. Sorry it took awhile to post. Been really busy and trying to get my muses to work. Review!