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 61 ~ Growing Up Snape

Severus folded his arms and watched his son walk over from the bedroom door and stand in front of his desk, looking at the floor, presumably so Severus wouldn't see him thinking. The Potions Master knew that whatever the story was, it had to be good.

"I'm waiting," Severus said imperiously.

Mathias sighed. There was nothing for it. He had to tell his father the truth. He looked up at his father.

"Well, dad, it's like this, dad…" he said.

Mathias had taken to calling Severus 'dad' quite a bit when he realized his father didn't mind it when they were alone. He hadn't done it in front of his mother yet. The little wizard hoped addressing the Potions Master as dad this time would prompt Severus to be in a more forgiving, familial state of mind. But Severus was always pretty much one way. Snarky. That never changed.

Mathias began to tell Severus what led up to Sybil performing the ritual…how she targeted Andreas and how Andreas had dolls and used the Old Arts to make the witch stop targeting him unfairly. Then he confessed how he helped out, and was the one who thought of giving her a monthly ritual to do.

"So you were the one who told her to cover herself in dragon dung and cut garlic, then dance around a bonfire on the night of a full moon, chanting both your and Andreas' name?" he asked Mathias scowling fiercely.

"Yes, sir," Mathias said.

Severus stared at him.

"Go to your room, Mathias. Tomorrow I will tell you what your punishment will be," the Potions Master said in a strained voice. "Do not come out for any reason until morning."

Mathias nodded and walked back to his father's room to use the loo and drink some water out of the spigot, then obediently went to bed, relieved his father hadn't whipped him. Severus looked like the type who would beat a child…and actually he was. But there were other ways to punish a child, which were a lot worse than a whipping that would wear off in a couple of hours.

The moment Mathias closed his door, Severus bolted for his bedroom, closed the door and put up a silencing charm. Then he broke down into fits of uncontrollable laughter, the rich sound of it filling his bedroom as he dropped to his bed, holding both his forehead and his stomach, then just plain rolled over into his bed. He had never heard anything so hilarious in all his life. His son and Andreas had pulled off quite a prank. Even the antics of the Weasley twins didn't match this.

He could imagine an inebriated Sybil falling for "the spirit of Mbutu" line. She wasn't a very bright witch, but would do almost anything for recognition of her dubious "gifts." Even harass a twelve-year-old boy about his powers…which Severus found rather despicable.

The Potions Master was no angel when it came to his students. He had a track record of causing at least two students a week to collapse in tears because of his brutally honest comments about their work or his appraisal of their mental capabilities. But he would never covet anything a student possessed, or make his or her life miserable because of it.

Sybil had actually brought this on herself when she used her position of authority to try and force information out of Andreas he was not required to give…and in fact could not give because the boy's powers were inherent. Well, at least the Potions Master understood now why Andreas was in Slytherin house. He was a vindictive little bugger.

Andreas was one of his less dunderheaded students, and did quite well in Potions. The Potions Master couldn't remember a single time he had to chastise or dress the boy down. He knew how to conduct himself suitably in the presence of authority. Sybil had overstepped her bounds as a teacher, and personally Severus thought she got what she deserved.

Those two young wizards were brilliant. And the fact that this happened several months ago and the witch still hadn't figured it out was a testament to the fact how dull-witted Sybil Trelawney truly was. Severus had no intention of telling her she was the victim of a prank by two of his Slytherins. She would misconstrue his interest like she always did, thinking he was concerned for her welfare and carried a secret torch for her.

Severus shuddered as he remembered her nude body. Even without the dragon dung, he would have been repulsed. The Potions Master liked meat on his women. If he fucked Sybil, he would probably do himself irreparable damage on all those sharp bones. He shuddered again.

Let the dragonfly lady find out for herself.

As much as the boys' prank tickled him, Severus knew there had to be some punishment for the act, so he didn't give Mathias the message he approved of what they did, though the gods knew he thought the witch deserved it. Some hard work shoveling shit in the Thestral stables for the rest of the week should give Mathias time to think about his actions.

Severus smirked.

He was sure his son would still think their prank had been worth it.

The wizard sat on the edge of his bed for a moment, then collapsed into helpless laughter again.

Mathias and Andreas were devils. Little Slytherin devils who would probably go far.

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The next term started, and Andreas never did pay for his part in the prank on Trelawney. His brother had paid the price for getting caught. And when Sybil's year was up and she didn't receive the powers, she thought she had somehow fallen out of favor with the spirits. She never did figure out it was a prank. If she was angry about the spirits' abandonment, there was nothing she could do. Andreas was beyond her now. He didn't take her advanced course. Mathias never took Divination either.

What he did do, however was raid Hermione's spell library and located quite a few protective and dark spells. He and Andreas practiced them all year until they became quite proficient. They also began practicing dueling, the Room of Requirement providing different scenarios. They were very good, as Gryffindor house found out.

James had ceased targeting Mathias as much as he did after having a heart to heart with his father, but there was still house rivalry that required altercations between Slytherin and Gryffindor. It seemed impossible to sneak attack either Mathias or Andreas. The two wizards seemed to have an uncanny ability to tell when Gryffindors with bad intentions were about. And their hexes were nasty, usually involving extra appendages. The two always worked in tangent as a team. The Gryffindors soon learned it was safer to target other Slytherins.

Jasmine Malfoy continued to hang out with them, and they taught her a few of the lesser spells just to shut her up. But she was proficient with the spells they taught her, and many a Gryffindor found their way to the infirmary with donkey ears, elephant trunks and large fluffy tails. She also continued as the secretary for the Young DKV, though she rarely discussed it with Mathias. He was interested, but he didn't agree with everything she believed.

"We're all descended from muggles, Jasmine. There is no possible way your family line can exist without at least one muggle in it. And Voldemort himself is half-muggle," Mathias would say to her. "And all you purebloods follow him. Now, does that seem right to you?"

Jasmine would doggedly stick to the DKV line of purity, but inwardly she was quite a logical witch and much of what Mathias had to say disturbed her. She asked her father about Voldemort's lineage, and Draco danced around it nicely.

"He is a great wizard and great leader, Jasmine. He had brought us together. His parentage is unfortunate, but he has all the noble qualities of a Pureblood…the only Half-blood that has that distinction. He is showing us a better way, a more righteous way. That is why we follow him. He will help us regain our status and position in the wizarding world, a status and position that has been stolen from us unfairly. We are gaining it back because of him. Remember that and be grateful," the wizard had told her.

Jasmine didn't understand how Voldemort, a half-blood was any different than any other one. He should be considered tainted as the rest of the half-bloods were. She decided it was because he was so powerful that others followed him. Power attracted people and Voldemort knew how to use his. But still, the disparity disturbed her. If Voldemort as a half-blood could be accepted with the full respect of Purebloods, why couldn't others? Why couldn't muggle-borns? If you were going to be one way, be one way about everything.

Jasmine Malfoy was being raised to be a vapid, power-hungry titled vamp. A female predator. A manipulator who would eventually land a very rich husband and follow the Malfoy tradition of being the Lady of an expansive manor. Malfoy women didn't work. They were shallow eye-candy. Beautiful, resourceful, cunning eye-candy.

Jasmine's own mother, Eloise, was deemed too soft and submissive to be a true Malfoy woman. Draco had only married her to bear him children. It was an arranged, loveless marriage. Draco kept her traveling abroad so she didn't influence Jasmine too much. He much preferred his mother to make the proper impressions on his daughter. His wife wasn't very maternal anyway…just material. She loved traveling and was constantly gone. The wizard had a couple of mistresses who had his true affections, if Draco could be said to have true affections.

But Jasmine had a mind, and was quite influenced by Mathias, who saw being an aristocrat who did nothing but lay around having babies, giving servants orders, spending galleons and throwing parties as a waste of a life. He told her that her mind would be totally wasted and she might as well quit Hogwarts now. Graduating would mean nothing if she wasn't going to do anything meaningful with her life.

Mathias' estimation of her future bothered Jasmine. It was assumed she'd be happy with a life like that, not having to lift a finger to do anything. Jasmine couldn't remember the last time Narcissa cast a spell of any type. Her servants even did that for her.

So Jasmine Malfoy was beginning to feel a sense of discontent with a lot of things in her life, present and future. Like every adolescent, she was starting to pull away from the influence of her family and testing her own limits. She still reported everything to her father, but wondered what he did with the information. It seemed so trivial to want to know what students were talking bad about the DKV. They were only students after all

Draco asked a lot of questions about Mathias too, wanting to know if he were showing any special abilities or gifts. Jasmine told him that she thought Mathias and Andreas were probably the toughest wizards in Slytherin, though they weren't bullies. Draco drank this in. But for some reason, she didn't tell him how Mathias talked about the Dark Lord. She didn't want her father to know.

Jasmine really liked Mathias. She had to make him seem acceptable to her father at all costs.

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It was in Mathias' fourth year that things began to go awry. Hermione had been passed over for Department Head, the job going instead to Ichabod Creely, the young wizard who had developed the fire transmutation spell.

It had been a real blow to the witch, and was approved by the council…led by Draco of course. Hermione knew she had been passed over because she was a muggle-born, though Ichabod was quite talented. Still he didn't have the knowledge or background she did. To add insult to injury, Hermione had to teach him the ropes.

Mathias and Andreas were growing up and were quite formidable. Other Slytherins tried to join their friendship, Andreas' color no longer an issue because he was deemed so powerful, but the two wizards took on no more friends besides Jasmine. They were joined in purpose after all. A change had come over Mathias too. Now he was as dark and brooding in demeanor as his father and students often parted when he walked through the corridor, Andreas by his side, his dark eyes solemn.

He had not yet manifested the ability to do magic via the Old Arts, though his other gifts had developed fine. He could read auras, sense danger, glimpse another's future and sometimes listen in on the thoughts of others. The young wizard was also an accomplished Occlumens and proficient in Legilimency, though he really didn't need to use that particular art. He had also developed another gift that even Andreas didn't have.

The wizards discovered this gift when they were dueling in the Room of Requirement, and Andreas blasted Mathias' wand out of his hand.

Grinning wickedly and pointing his wand at the wizard, Andreas said, "And now what will you do, brother?"

Mathias stared at him, preparing to be painfully hexed. The wizards didn't pull punches when they dueled and felt they needed to get used to pain so it wouldn't incapacitate them completely if they did get hit with a hex.

Suddenly Mathias felt himself shift and then he was looking at himself. His image looked dazed. He looked down to see a wand in his black hand and waved it a bit. Then he was back looking at Andreas, who dropped his wand.

"I felt you inside me," the wizard said in a low voice. "You took over my body, Mathias! You are a soul traveler. This is a great gift! Very rare. Very powerful."

"Very scary," Mathias said, feeling himself all over.

It took him several weeks to learn to do it consciously, but Mathias was only able to enter Andreas for a second or two before he went back to his body, returning just in time to keep from falling.

"I'm going to have to make sure I'm sitting down or propped up against a wall to use this power," Mathias said.

"You have to find a way to do it longer," Andreas said, his black eyes glittering. "This is very, very good, my brother. A soul traveler can enter a body at will and control it. You might be able to enter Voldemort."

Mathias shuddered at this.

"And do what? Make him kill himself? I would probably die too," Mathias said.

Andreas looked at him strangely.

"As long as I am alive, you will not die Mathias Snape," he said soberly.

Mathias gave him a small smile.

He wasn't sure that was true.


Mathias was very aware he had a despot to kill and this knowledge affected him. Like his mother, he matured quickly, feeling as if the future of the entire wizarding was resting on his shoulders. The young wizard seldom smiled or spoke much, but when he did he had the same silky inflection as his father. He was growing taller too, and let his hair grow long, refusing to let Hermione tell him how to wear it anymore at the end of his third year. It didn't have the lankness of Severus' hair…because Severus didn't take care of his as Mathias did. It was black and silky. The wizard was starting to attract witches as well. But he wasn't interested.

Jasmine was however, and her icy stare sent many witches hurrying away in the opposite direction when they gathered in little groups and made eyes at Mathias as he passed. The three of them were known as "The Dark Trio," a name dubbed them surprisingly by Dumbledore. They reminded him somewhat of Harry, Ron and Hermione in their closeness. But he had no illusions that this group was golden. He knew they were Slytherins through and through. No Gryffindor leanings here.

Mathias threw himself into excelling at whatever he put his hand to. He was a very talented brewer and Severus often let him make elixirs even seventh years weren't allowed to handle. It was because the boy was as meticulous as his father, and like his mother had an almost photographic memory when it came to facts. He rarely made mistakes, his hands as steady and sure as his father's as he chopped and mashed and stirred. Severus would watch him work with pride. Mathias would be an exemplary Potions Master one day, if that was what he chose to pursue. His spell work was equally developed. Neither Severus nor Hermione knew that both Andreas and Mathias could cast Unforgivables.

Mathias came home for the summer at the end of his third year…and Andreas came with him. While Hermione was at work, the boys used her lab…which was shielded from the Ministry due to the nature of her work. She sometimes did experiments with Unforgivables and needed to be able to work without Aurors appearing every time she cast a spell.

Both Mathias and Andreas were able to cast the Killing Curse quickly, because they had a very deep hatred of Voldemort and only needed to think of him for the power to emerge. They had to work on the Crucio curse quite a bit, because you had to want to cause pain and neither wizard was cruel by nature. The wizards had to use nifflers and at first it was difficult to torture and kill them…but there was a higher purpose to what they were doing and they soon were able to handle it without remorse. They were hardened.

Towards the end of his fourth year, Severus called Mathias into his office. The teenager came in and sat down quietly. Severus studied him. Gods, the resemblance was amazing.

"Mathias, you are going to need your Occlumency skills. We have been invited to a gathering being held at Malfoy Manor this weekend. You are to be presented to the Dark Lord and evaluated for suitability," the Potions Master said. "I assume there is no need to tell you how important this is."

Mathias shook his head, his dark eyes glittering.

"No sir. I understand," he said in his soft voice. "Is that all sir?"

Severus nodded.

Mathias stood and left his office, his robes billowing slightly as he did so.

Severus shook his head. The boy was so much like him. He had become so dark and somber. There was a dangerous feel to him.

The Potions Master hoped Mathias could pass the Dark Lord's evaluation.

If he couldn't, most likely neither of them would live to see another term at Hogwarts.

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A/N: This was a transitional chapter. I needed to move through some years to get the story going. Mathias, Jasmine and Andreas are growing up and changing. The boys have become quite formidable. "The Dark Trio" lol. This evaluation by Voldemort sounds very scary. Wonder if Jasmine is going to be evaluated too? Well, we'll see. Please review.

A/N/N: On another note the poetry book drive for the sale of "The First Rivers We Cross" didn't go as well as I hoped but I want to thank those who did purchase copies. Every little bit helps and I did add it to what I had and took care of most of one main bill this morning so am very appreciative. Thank you so much. ***