Daddy Dearest - (No Update, Edit)

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 26 ~ The Invitation

Albus Dumbledore was present in the main hall when a fifth-year Hufflepuff attempted to surreptiously cast a hex on Mathias, and the spell bounced back, making the student grow a rather long, unkempt beard. The student, who was incidentally a witch, screamed in horror and fled. Albus thought the hex was punishment enough and took no further action against the witch.

Mathias, for his part, acted as if nothing had happened as he headed for the dungeon corridor. Albus quickly caught up to the boy. Mathias looked up and his black eyes widened. He had never interacted with the Headmaster before. He stopped.

Albus looked down at him, his blue eyes twinkling merrily behind his half-moon glasses.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Granger. Do you mind if I walk with you for a bit?" Albus asked the boy.

"No sir," Mathias said, and the pair began to walk down the corridor.

"Mr. Granger, I notice you are wearing a repelling spell with a little extra kick," the Headmaster observed.

Mathias got a cold feeling in his belly. The repelling spell was quite advanced for a first year. Generally he removed it when he went to class, then reapplied it when he had to move through the castle. Most students wouldn't risk hexing him in a classroom. But the Headmaster knew he had such a powerful spell on him, this could mean trouble.

"Yes sir. I need it to keep from getting hexed. Everyone blames me for the antler hex that happened a couple of months ago and are trying to get even," Mathias explained.

Albus didn't even comment on the strength of the spell. He was Hermione's son after all. Advanced knowledge was to be expected.

"It must be difficult being targeted," the Headmaster mused.

"Yes sir. I wouldn't mind it so much if so many students weren't after me all the time. I can handle the usual stuff, Gryffindors and all that. But it feels like the whole school is after me," Mathias replied.

"I see," Albus said, then he stopped walking.

"Thank you for sparing a little of your time with me, Mr. Granger," Albus said, "Have a good afternoon."

"Yes sir," Mathias replied, then watched as the thin, tall wizard strode back up the dungeon corridor.

The Headmaster was supposed to be the most powerful wizard in the wizarding world, or close to it. But he seemed so…nice. The young wizard guessed if he could go toe to toe with Voldemort, there wasn't any need to be rude. At least the wizard wasn't stuck up about his strength. Mathias thought that was admirable, even if he was a Gryffindor.

He headed to Potions.

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Albus called in all three heads of Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor and told them in no uncertain terms that the mass attacks on Mathias Granger were to be brought to an end immediately. He understood the occasional hex between houses, but felt this unified effort on the parts of their charges was far out of line.

The Head of Houses grudgingly agreed. They had no choice. The mass attacks against Mathias stopped, and after a week or two, he ceased wearing the repelling charm. This didn't mean however the sneak attacks from James and his cronies ended. Mathias was their "victim of choice." But the boy stayed vigilant as Severus had directed and avoided all of their attempts to catch him off-guard. However, James wasn't as lucky.

Mathias managed to hit James with an "itchium crotchus" spell from behind as they headed for Herbology without being observed. The beautiful thing about the spell was that it started very slowly, and Mathias watched with hooded eyes as the wizard began to squirm uncomfortably, swiveling his hips…then pushing up close to the counters so no one could see him scratching. Then the scratching became more frantic and was impossible to hide as the boy began to bounce around, upsetting several plants.

"What in the world is going on here?" Madam Sprout demanded as James frantically scratched at his groin.

"I'm itching," James said, stating the obvious. All the Slytherins were laughing hysterically.

"Looks like you need a good wash, Potter," Jasmine called as James scratched at himself maniacally.

"Off to the infirmary Mr. Potter," Madam Sprout said, looking directly at Mathias, who remained straight-faced. Pomona was sure he did it, simply because he wasn't laughing like the other Slytherins. That boy was nothing but trouble.

Luckily for James, Poppy was able to stop the itching, but his balls were red and uncomfortable from all the scratching, and he walked a bit gap-legged for the next day and a half, much to the Slytherins delight.

Everyone knew Mathias had done it. But also knew he would never admit that he did.

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The Christmas holidays were fast approaching. Mathias was doing well in his classes, but looking forward to going home and spending time with his mother. He missed Hermione, nagging and all. He knew she'd be quizzing him to find out just how much he'd learned, but that was fine. Every quiz she gave him would be out of love. His grandparents weren't going to be in London this Christmas. As a present, Mr. Granger surprised his wife with a two-week trip to Hawaii. So, most likely he would spend Christmas with his mother and have a nice supper at home.

He started thinking about what Professor Snape would be doing for Christmas. He was always in the dungeons, and he didn't really seem to associate with that many people. He suspected the wizard didn't have any family. Curious, he asked an older student what the Professor did during the holiday.

"As far as I know, he stays here in the dungeons," the older boy replied. "Why?"

"I just wanted to know," Mathias said obliquely.

Mathias really liked Professor Snape, though he was very sarcastic and snarky most of the time. He wasn't a very friendly wizard, but could be counted on to give good advice and to look out for his Slytherins. He was also brilliant. Mathias suspected he was almost as smart as his mother was. He was definitely smarter when it came to Potions. He seemed to know everything.

The boy wondered when the last time the wizard had Christmas dinner. A real sit-down dinner with family.

Then he got an idea. He owled Hermione and asked her if he could have a friend over for Christmas dinner during the holidays, a fellow Slytherin. He purposely didn't put down a name.

Hermione owled him back saying she would be delighted to share Christmas dinner with one of his friends. Mathias smirked at this. Now, if only the Professor would agree to come eat with them. It would be so cool to have his favorite teacher at his house. Justice Forall was out of the picture now. Mathias was glad of it. He didn't like Justice very much, though he was a little sad that his mother didn't have anyone and he was away at school. She had to get lonely. He didn't like the idea of his mother being unhappy. At least the Auror made her smile now and then.

Now, he liked Professor Snape. But he didn't think his mother would be interested in the wizard very much as a boyfriend. She seemed to have a grudge against him from when she was his student. Plus, the Potions Master, although brilliant, wasn't very good-looking because of his lank hair and big nose. Personally Mathias liked the way Professor Snape looked, kind of predatory and a little dangerous, like a hawk on the hunt. He might not be handsome, but the wizard was very graceful when he walked, and quiet too. He could walk up on an unsuspecting student and he would never know until the Professor said something. Severus had crept up on Mathias on several occasions. Luckily, he hadn't been doing anything bad.

Justice had been very handsome, and Mathias knew witches liked wizards who were physically attractive. Mathias thought his mother would do better with an intelligent wizard than a handsome one. They would have things to talk about that way. Interesting things. She wouldn't get bored with someone smart. But he couldn't pick whom his mother liked. If he could, she would like Professor Snape.

On the evening before the students left for holiday, Mathias cranked up his courage and walked to the Professor's Head of House office. He took a seat outside, since there was a student with the wizard. He waited patiently until the witch left, closing the door behind her. After waiting a moment, Mathias knocked.

"Come in," answered Severus.

Mathias pushed open the door and entered.

"Good evening, Mr. Granger. Ready to go home?" the Professor asked him. He seemed to be in a good mood. Severus was always in a good mood when the students left the castle and he could have some peace.

"Yes, sir. I'm looking forward to spending some time with my mother. She's there by herself most of the time, so I know she'll be happy to see me," he said.

"Yes, I imagine she will be," Severus replied.

Yes, Hermione spent far too much time alone most likely, with that blasted pensieve.

"Now, how can I help you, Mr. Granger?" the Professor said.

The boy took a deep breath.

"I…I wanted to invite you to my house for Christmas dinner. Mum already said it was all right," the boy said quickly. "She cooks really good, Professor."

Severus looked at the boy in astonishment.

"You want me to come to Christmas dinner at your house, Mr. Granger?" he repeated, his eyes leveled on the boy. "If you don't mind me asking, why?"

Mathias squirmed around in his seat a little. He didn't want to tell the Professor he liked him. That sounded so lame and too personal. He furrowed his brow in thought as Severus looked at him with a slightly amused expression on his face. Imagine, the boy wanted him to come to his house. Extraordinary.

"Well," Mathias said slowly, "I kind of asked around about what you do for the holidays, and was told that you always stay here at Hogwarts. I thought you might like to have a home-cooked meal. It's just me and my mum, and there's plenty, and like I said, she already said yes."

Severus looked at him thoughtfully.

"Did you tell your mother that it was me you were inviting to Christmas dinner?" Severus asked him, highly doubting that he did. There was no way Hermione would invite him to dinner, particularly after their last confrontation.

"I told her I was inviting a fellow Slytherin. She was fine with it," Mathias replied, trying to sound above board.

He suspected his mum wouldn't let Professor Snape come if she knew it was him, which was why he hadn't told her. When he went home, he would do his best not to talk about the dinner at all. His mother was usually preoccupied with something or the other. Her mind was always working, so he was rather confident that he could avoid naming Professor Snape, at least until the last minute, when it would be too late. Hermione could yell at him later.

"Did you now," Professor Snape replied, still looking thoughtful.

Hm. It really had been quite a while since Severus had a home cooked Christmas dinner. And the idea of Hermione's shock at him walking through the door for supper appealed to him very much. Who knew? Maybe he could get hold of that damned pensieve somehow. Plus, the witch had practically set herself up for this. She hadn't asked the boy exactly whom he was inviting. It was just too delicious to resist.

"I think I will take you up on your offer, Mr. Granger. But I warn you, I am a picky eater. I hope your mother's cooking is up to par," he said to the boy.

Mathias grinned ear to ear.

"That's great, Professor. You'll enjoy it, I promise," the boy said enthusiastically. How cool was this? His Potions Professor having dinner with him. Excellent.

Severus looked at him, his dark eyes glinting.

"Now, Mr. Granger…what time is supper?"

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A/N: Ah. Mathias, you little devil. Hermione is in for quite a shock Christmas day. And the "itchium crotchus" spell was one made up by a reviewer quite a while ago. I don't remember who it was, but please make yourself known. Actually, she threatened me with this spell because of a story to be exact. Lolol. Anyway, please review.