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 59 ~ A Young Wizard of Action

Mathias ran through the corridor, down the stairwell and through the common room, bumping into several students as he headed for the Head of House office.

Voldemort was going to kill his parents if he didn't do something about it. Mathias ran to Severus' office, but he wasn't in there. He continued through the passageway until he entered the dungeon corridor. He ran to his father's Potions office and began to bang on the door as hard as he could.

Severus, who was doing some end-of-year grading, looked up with a scowl.

"Who is it?" he roared, pulling out his wand. He hated to be interrupted when he was working, and the fact that whoever was outside his door was trying to pound it off the hinges didn't do anything to improve his temper.

"It's Mathias!" the boy yelled.

Severus used his wand to quickly open the door. His son never acted like this before. Mathias stumbled in and ran up to his desk, the boy's black eyes washing over every inch of the Potions Master as if to make sure he wasn't beaten raw.

"Mathias, what's wrong?" the Potions Master said, a worried look on his face at the boy's condition.

Mathias was panting too hard to speak at first. Severus stood up and walked around his desk. He gently grasped the boy's shoulders and sat him down in the rickety chair, then conjured up a pitcher of cold water and a glass. He poured some water into the glass and handed it to his son.

"Drink that," he said. He backed up and rested against his desk as Mathias drank the water. Then the boy looked at him.

"I…I want you to teach me occlumency," he said, his breath still short.

Severus raised an eyebrow. This was the emergency?

"Occlumency? That's a seventh year spell, Mathias. Why do you need to learn occlumency?" Severus asked him.

"I need to hide my thoughts," the boy said. "It's important, dad."

Severus stared at Mathias. He had called him 'dad'. The wizard swallowed several times. He never thought Mathias would address him that way. He always called him "sir" or "Professor". Never "dad."

Severus had to clear his throat.

"All right, son…what is this about?" he asked the young wizard, trying to be nonchalant as he used the term. Son. What a powerful word.

Mathias looked at him.

"I…I can't tell you that. But it is very important. I need to know how to close my mind so others can't see what I am really thinking or look at my memories. It's a matter of life and death."

Severus' mouth quirked a bit at this. What could an eleven-year-old boy be doing that is a matter of life and death? Then he scowled. He was Hermione's son too…he really could be doing something dangerous.

"I want to know why you want to learn occlumency," Severus said, his eyes glinting at his son now.

Mathias didn't want to tell his father about the vision. But it did concern Voldemort. Suddenly he knew what to say.

"When you were tortured by Voldemort, you said there were conditions to him accepting me. He wants me to join him, doesn't he?" Mathias asked, "When I grow up."

Severus looked at him, then nodded.

"Yes," he replied.

"I don't want to join him. I hate him for what he did to you. He's going to know this if I ever meet him," Mathias said. "I have to hide that from him."

Severus thought about this. Actually, Mathias would be meeting the Dark Lord before he grew up. Lucius and Draco often held small parties where introductions to Voldemort would be made. Sometimes children were asked to attend. The Dark Lord would appraise them. Which meant he'd look into their minds. Severus was certain Voldemort would want to meet the boy. The despot would be glamoured, of course. If Mathias' hatred was apparent, Voldemort might decide the boy was unsuitable, and then…

"Perhaps you are right, Mathias. Perhaps I should be teaching you occlumency now," he said to the boy. "But why were you running like that?"

"I don't know. I…I just got scared I guess," the little wizard lied. "It just came to me kind of suddenly that I needed to protect myself."

Severus nodded.

"I know you do not want to be mixed up with the Dark Lord, Mathias. I am praying that he falls before you reach adulthood, although it doesn't seem as if it will happen unless someone assassinates him…"

Here the wizard faltered.

"But he is very well protected by both his magic and his guards from the inner circle," the wizard finished, sounding frustrated.

Mathias looked at his father.

"You want to kill him, don't you, sir?" Mathias said, reverting to his more formal address. He had used the term 'dad' in his excitement.

Severus looked at the boy, his eyes narrowed. He did have to teach him occlumency, and soon. The boy was too perceptive.

"Yes, I do, Mathias. I want to be free of him. His death is the only way," the wizard replied.

Mathias nodded. Severus looked at him soberly.

"Mathias, don't ever let anyone hear you speak ill of Voldemort," he said to his son. "He has eyes and ears everywhere. Jasmine's father Draco is very close to him. Jasmine most likely reports everything she sees and hears to her father. You have to be careful. Understand me?" Severus asked the boy.

"Yes sir," Mathias said.

The Potions Master looked at him with approval.

"Good. Now tomorrow evening come to this office at eight o'clock. We will begin your occlumency lessons immediately. Tell no one," Severus said, "If people know you can do occlumency, it makes knowing it pointless."

"Yes sir," Mathias said. He looked like he wanted to ask Severus something. Severus frowned at him.

"If you want to say something Mathias, say it," he said snarkily. Hermione would do the same thing…hesitate about asking him a question. It made him crazy sometimes.

"Lord Voldemort hates muggle-borns, right?" Mathias asked him.

"Very much," Severus replied.

"Then it makes sense he would hate a wizard or witch involved with a muggle-born," Mathias continued.

Severus nodded.

"Well, you are involved with mum. Won't that make him hate you too? Couldn't he hurt you because of it?" Mathias asked him.

"The Dark Lord and I have already discussed my relationship with your mother. I told him it was you who suggested I have a relationship with her, and told him I did so to keep you happy and to have a deeper influence over you. He accepted that, although he said he expected me not to enjoy my association with her too much. I am not to develop feelings for her," Severus said honestly.

Mathias looked at him.

"You aren't supposed to love her," the little wizard said.

Severus nodded.

Mathias frowned.

"Do you love her, Professor? Do you love mum?" Mathias asked. He knew the wizard visited Hermione almost every weekend.

Severus sighed.

"Mathias, I am going to be honest with you. I have been through so much in my life that I believe I am incapable of loving a witch the way most wizards can. I live a dangerous life and anyone I showed care for could become a target at any time if I fall from the Dark Lord's favor. I appreciate your mother. She is a brilliant, affectionate woman who I enjoy spending time with on many levels. But I do not love her. I'm sorry," he said softly.

"Does she love you?" Mathias asked him.

"I don't know. I hope not," Severus replied, thinking of the witch gasping in his arms. He pushed the thought away.

Mathias hadn't seen the two of them together yet. He was sure if his mother were in love, he'd be able to tell.

"What if someone tried to hurt her? What would you do?" Mathias asked the wizard, thinking he might abandon Hermione…like he did before. The little wizard scowled at the Potions Master, wondering if he had made a mistake picking him for his mum.

Severus' eyes went hard.

"If anyone tried to do anything to your mother, or you…I would kill them, or die trying to protect both of you," he replied darkly.

"Even if it were Voldemort?" Mathias asked him.

"Yes," the wizard replied, "Even if it were Voldemort himself."

Mathias smirked at him. Severus found it quite annoying.

"Why are you smirking at me like an idiot?" Severus demanded, his nostrils flaring.

Mathias now smiled at him broadly.

"Because I think you do love my mum. Why else would you be willing to die for her?" Mathias replied smugly.

Severus turned red.

"That is 'a sense of responsibility' not 'Love.' They are two very different things," he snorted at the smiling boy.

Mathias stood up, still smiling at the wizard.

"Well, sir…you call it what you want and I'll call it what it is," the boy said.

What? The impertinence of the little scamp!

Severus was sorely tempted to deduct some points but this was a personal visit. He couldn't very well take points from Slytherin because his son said he believes he is in love with his mother. Severus walked bad-temperedly back around his desk and sat down, picking up his quill.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, Mr. Snape," he said by way of dismissal. The Potions Master picked up a parchment in one hand and pretended to study it. Mathias grinned at him.

"Good night, Professor," the boy said, sounding horribly smug.

Severus considered hexing him for a moment. He knew a "kick-in-the-arse" spell that was quite effective.

"Good night," he snapped.

Mathias left, and Severus warded the door.

"Love," he spat, putting down his quill and straightening his papers.

"Preposterous. Ridiculous. The boy has no idea what he's talking about. Severus Snape loves no witch. No witch," he seethed. "I'm incapable of it. Hermione is just a pleasure…"

He paused a moment.

"An addiction," he amended, frowning down at the parchments in front of him. "A brilliant, amber-eyed, curvaceous addiction. That's all."

Severus started working again, his eyebrows furrowed.

They remained furrowed the rest of the evening.

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When Mathias entered the common room, Jasmine was there. He adjusted his vision to see her aura. Jasmine's aura was mostly dark green. She was a very ambitious witch who wanted power and acknowledgement. Her ice blue eyes turned on him, ands she smiled, her aura going noticeably darker. Mathias shifted to her motivational aura. It was such a dark green it was near black.

Weeks ago, Mathias had walked into the common room and saw Jasmine's bright yellow aura as she studied…it was almost as bright as his own, which meant the witch was highly intelligent. As he approached her and she looked up, he saw the yellow aura dim significantly. She was dumbing down. He frowned slightly as he realized she was only pretending not to be able to do her potions work.

He walked up to her.

"Hi Mathias. Are you ready to help me with tonight's assignment?" she had asked him.

Mathias stared at her until she grew uncomfortable.

"No. You're smart enough to do your homework yourself, Jasmine. If you want to stay my friend, you'd better be more honest with me. You've been wasting time I could use to be studying and I don't appreciate it. You're going to stop it now," the wizard said, frowning at her.

Jasmine knew he had her pegged. But how had he found out? Somehow, she knew better than to protest his accusation. Instead, she confessed...sort of.

"I just wanted to spend some time with you. You always spend time with Andreas alone, but never with me," she said glumly.

Mathias looked at her, aware that one day in the future, he would intimately spend time with her. Andreas had been right. The feelings he had towards Jasmine when he returned from the plain of the Dark Lord had faded. But he still knew what was coming.

"It won't always be like that, Jasmine," he said. "But you have to realize right now that Andreas and I are always going to be close and spend time together. You have to either accept that or just leave me alone."

He left the witch sitting at the study table, walking up the stairs and turning down the hall that led to his room.

Jasmine had a feeling that she'd better straighten up if she wanted to continue her association with the young wizard. She had been noticing something different about Mathias. About his eyes and his demeanor. It was as if he knew some secret no one else did. A powerful secret. The witch found it compelling.

So Jasmine stopped playing the damsel in distress and did her own potions work. She still kept her opinions to herself as her grandmother had instructed however, and remained as close to Mathias as she could get without annoying him. The wizard began to study with the witch one night a week however, just him and her. That made Jasmine feel better, though he still spent much more time with Andreas.

Jasmine knew it wouldn't always be that way. All she needed to do was wait a couple of years.

But tonight as Mathias walked toward the witch, he had a purpose, an ulterior motivation of his own.

"Jasmine, you're a member of the 'Young DKV" club aren't you?" he asked her.

"Yes. I'm the secretary and keep the minutes," she replied rather proudly. Then she looked at him. "Why? Are you thinking about joining us?"

She hoped so. But that would mean he'd have to stop hanging around Andreas. Andreas wasn't DKV approved.

Mathias shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe someday. But I'd like to read up on it. Get some background history," the wizard said.

"Oh I have plenty of introductory literature up in my room," Jasmine said happily. "There are a lot of benefits to being a DKV member. You get discounts, free meals, preferential treatment at the better establishments…things like that. Wait here."

Jasmine flounced away.

Mathias' eyes narrowed. He knew the witch would waste no time telling her father that he was interested in the DKV. That would put him in a more positive light. It would be important later on.

The boy knew if he were going to help Andreas kill Voldemort, he'd have to learn all he could about the wizard. Become an expert on him. The boy knew most likely the literature that Jasmine brought him would all be doctored to be positive. But if he knew what the DKV believed about the Dark Lord and his history, Mathias would be better able to move through those circles if he had to, even if he didn't join. He could get the true story of Voldemort from his mother, father and uncles Harry and Ron.

Most of the books with his dark history had been removed from the public shelves and stores, but Mathias knew he could find them in the Restricted Section of the school library. He had heard Hermione talking to Harry about how Dumbledore refused to destroy them when the board, led by Draco requested it, saying the books contained slander and propaganda and the claims against Voldemort in their pages were all misleading and unproven.

Because of what his father went through to make him acceptable and because of his and Andreas' visions, Mathias knew that the Dark Lord was capable of murder on a grand scale. He scowled as Jasmine bounced down the stairs, her arms full of parchments.

If Mathias had his way, and he intended to, there were two murders the Dark Lord would never get a chance to commit.

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A/N: So Mathias didn't tell Severus about seeing him and Hermione murdered by Voldemort. Instead, he asked for occlumency lessons. Pretty smart. I wonder if Severus will tell Hermione? Hmmm. I also wonder if he will tell her Mathias thinks he loves her. lol. I doubt it. Please review.