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 64 ~ Returning to Hogwarts

Severus and Mathias appeared in Severus' bedroom. The Potions Master silently strode into the study, followed by his son and pointed to the armchair in front of the fireplace, which was unlit.

"Sit down," he said imperiously.

Mathias pulled at his collar.

"Dad, can't I go and take these robes off first? They're killing me," Mathias complained.

"Your robes killing you are the least of your problems, boy. Unfasten the damn collar and sit down now!" Severus roared at him, his face twisted in anger.

Mathias quickly dropped in the chair and unfastened his collar and the next fastener. Severus pulled open his desktop drawer and took out parchment, then picked up a quill and inkbottle, carried them over to where Mathias was sitting and set them down on the small table between the two chairs.

"Start writing," he said to the boy.

Mathias looked up at him, then shifted the armchair around so he was facing the small table. He picked up the quill, dipped it in the ink and started writing. Severus walked over to his liquor cabinet and fixed himself a large firewhiskey, then returned to the other armchair and sat down, watching his son write.

Mathias had really taken a chance with Voldemort. The Potions Master suspected the boy had been disrespectful on purpose. He figured the Dark Lord withheld himself simply because he truly wanted Mathias in his inner circle. What a perfect position that would be for an assassination. Severus never qualified for inner circle security because he worked at Hogwarts and could not put in the time required. If he had been Voldemort's bodyguard, he might have found a way to kill him long ago.

The wizard took a sip of his firewhiskey and grimaced slightly as the welcome fire of it burned his throat, then looked at his son speculatively as he wrote line after line. Mathias had very neat handwriting, like his mother. Severus wrote dragonscratch for the most part unless he was placing notes on the board for his class. As a Potions Master creating new elixirs, he made his own notes purposely hard to read so his processes would be difficult to steal.

Mathias wrote two neat columns of spells. Just as Severus thought he had finished, Mathias flipped the parchment over and continued writing. Severus' eyebrows rose. He had to have listed over one hundred spells on the parchment already.

Finally, Mathias finished and handed the parchment to his father. Severus read it over and paled at some of the spells. His eyes shifted to his son and back to the parchment. Most of the spells were decidedly offensive. The boy knew enough dark spells to hold an army at bay. Severus put the parchment down.

"Mathias…my gods," he began in a rather choked voice, "You can really do all of these spells? Or do you just have a basic knowledge of them?"

Mathias looked at him.

"I can do every one," he replied.

"There are over two hundred spells listed here. When did you start learning these?" his father inquired.

"My first year. Andreas helped me," Mathias said.

Severus' eyebrows rose.

"So Andreas can cast these spells as well?" Severus asked him.

"Yes sir. He is very talented," Mathias replied rather proudly.

Severus sat there silently for a moment. It occurred to him that his teenage son might be able to outduel him. With a repertoire of spells like this, he could probably outduel most adult wizards. Then, there were the Unforgivables. It had been quite a shock to learn Mathias was capable of casting them.

"How did you manage to learn to cast Unforgivables without detection?" Severus asked him curiously. That was quite an accomplishment.

"I used mum's lab," the boy replied.

Of course. Hermione's lab was shielded so she wouldn't attract Aurors when she worked.

Severus studied his son for a couple of minutes, saying nothing. Mathias shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. Finally, Severus spoke.

"Mathias, why do you feel the need to learn so many spells?" he asked him.

Mathias shrugged.

"I guess I just like collecting spells. I probably got it from mum," the boy lied.

Severus looked at him, then stood up abruptly. He started to leave the room.

"Dad, where are you going?" Mathias asked him.

Severus turned to him, his nostrils flared.

"To get the veritaserum," he replied.

Mathias sprang from the chair.

"No…don't do that, Dad. I'll tell you the truth…I swear," the boy pleaded.

Severus stared at him a moment then slowly walked back to the armchair and sat down. Relieved, Mathias returned to his seat.

"Now tell me," Severus said. "Everything."

And Mathias did just that, excluding his soul journey and use of the Old Arts. He wanted to keep that a secret still. But he told enough of it in such a convincing way that Severus believed him. The Potions Master already knew Andreas had powerful divination ability, and paled when Mathias related the mass murder scene at the Ministry and in the streets and homes. Also the death of Andreas' people, and lastly, he shared his own vision of the grisly scene he witnessed of both Severus and Hermione being killed by the Dark Lord. Finally he told his father about the pact that he and Andreas made to kill Voldemort when they came of age.

Severus stared at his son in amazement.

"How long has it been since you witnessed these visions, Mathias?" Severus asked him.

"It was in my first year," Mathias said.

Severus scowled.

"You kept this a secret from us for almost four years?" Severus said, his face in a snarl now.

"I didn't see what telling anyone about it would do. I was only eleven, Dad and a first year. Either you wouldn't have believed me, or would have been worried for all this time. I worried enough for everyone. But I started learning spells because the future can be changed. I plan to change it. Andreas and I are going to find a way to kill Voldemort before I take the Mark," Mathias said. "Once I renounce you and mum, that is when he kills you both. I can't do that. I won't do that," the boy declared adamantly.

Severus' snarl faded away as he looked at his son. What a courageous, resourceful boy he was. Then he thought of something.

"Does Jasmine know of your plans?" Severus asked him.

Mathias gave his father a look as if he were stark, raving nutters.

"So she could blab it to her dad? No. But we did teach her a couple of spells and how to duel a bit. But nothing major. Just to make her feel a part of it. Plus it was fun hexing her," Mathias said, smirking a bit. "She'd be furious and chase us around shooting spells at us. It was great."

Severus couldn't help smirking a bit. It seemed there was still some youthful exuberance in his son, though one couldn't tell by looking at the boy. Well, this explained his abrupt change of demeanor. He had the wizarding world on his shoulders too. And the boy had kept it to himself for years.

Severus made a decision.

"Mathias, you, Andreas and I are going to go to Dumbledore, and Andreas is going to show him his vision. Is there a time frame for this that you know of?" Severus asked his son.

"I think it happens after I turn eighteen," Mathias said.

Severus nodded.

"Well, we are going to take this to Dumbledore and Andreas will share his vision with both of us. If this is a possibility, the Order needs to prepare for it…have a contingency plan of some type. As for your goal of killing Voldemort, you are aligned with me now. You, Andreas and I will start training immediately. You both need to know how to duel with a deatheater and how to fight one. I will also familiarize you with the Dark Lord's stronghold, though I don't see how Andreas will be able to enter it, being that he is black. Though he is talented and would be an excellent addition to the Dark Lord's ranks, because of racism, he is excluded from consideration," Severus said.

"He'll get in," Mathias said, "I don't know how right now, but we have three years to figure it out."

Severus nodded.

"We can't tell mum about this," Mathias said to his father.

"No, we can't," Severus agreed. "She'd kill us before the Dark Lord would."

Mathias nodded. His mother would forbid it. Or attempt to. Hermione would know she couldn't stop them, but her knowing what they planned would make for a lot of unnecessary tension in the household. It was better and kinder she didn't know their plans. Contemplating the loss of both her lover and her son would be too much for the witch.

Mathias studied his father.

"So you aren't angry at me, Dad?" he asked the Potions Master.

Severus looked at him steadily.

"Being angry at you, Mathias would not change the situation. You already know the spells. I would have preferred that you came to me early on, but then again…you are a Slytherin, and Slytherins are known for keeping important information secret until they can utilize it. I also was quite closed-mouthed at your age. As for your desire to kill Voldemort, I understand it, as I do your desire not to serve him. Yet, as his bodyguard you would have a better opportunity to kill him, but I fear if we wait that long, the vision will come to pass and thousands will die. We want to avoid that."

"And I want to avoid you and mum being killed," Mathias thought to himself.

True, the death of thousands was a terrible thought, but Mathias was rather selfish in his thinking. It was the possible death of his parents that was foremost in his mind as a reason to kill Voldemort.

"All right, Mathias, you may return to Slytherin house and inform Andreas of our plans. Do you think he will take it well?" Severus asked him.

"He'll deal with it. Andreas is cool that way," Mathias responded. "He'll probably like the idea of dueling with you and learning how to fight deatheaters."

"Good," Severus said as he watched Mathias rise.

"I'll see you later, Dad," the boy said, giving his father a rare smile.

"Goodbye son," Severus replied.

Mathias walked to the study wall and pulled the torch, opening the private entrance and exiting.

Severus pulled out his wand and lit a fire in the fireplace, staring into the flames. He had no idea what a treasure he tried to make Hermione rid herself of fifteen years ago. He was glad the witch had her own convictions and kept Mathias. Outside of Hermione herself, he was a source of great pride for the Potions Master. Imagine, holding all that in for almost four years and preparing himself to do battle with the most evil wizard in existence. And he had shown no fear of Voldemort today. He was already challenging the wizard. Severus would have to rein him in. Though occlumency might hide his thoughts, it did not hide his actions. Voldemort would not be so controlled next time. But the next time Mathias would be in his presence would be three years from now.

That was plenty of time for change.

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Jasmine returned to Hogwarts that evening. Although it was the weekend, she decided to leave the Manor. She was angry with her father and upset about the day's events. Lord Voldemort was not the pillar of hope that everyone imagined him to be…not in her estimation. Any wizard who would put a claim on a witch's virginity simply because he had the power to do so, had no morals. And a wizard who would kill someone's pet without any consideration was someone without a heart.

She walked into the common room to see a group of Slytherin girls gathered around a pretty, redheaded seventh year, Carla Moonswood. They were chattering animatedly. Jasmine drew closer to hear what was going on.

"Yes! Lord Voldemort wants me as his consort. Me! Can you imagine? The most powerful wizard in the world wants me. And he is soooo handsome. I turn eighteen next week," Carla gushed. "I know it's going to be wonderful."

Jasmine's eyebrows went up as she heard this. She pushed through the crowd of witches.

"You want to be the Dark Lord's consort?" she asked Carla, amazed.

Carla looked at Jasmine as if she were a fool.

"Of course I want to be his consort. That will raise my status considerably," she replied. "And I will have my choice of wizards afterwards, when he releases me, because I will always have the Dark Lord's favor, and most wizards covet that. That gives me a lot of power, Jasmine. A lot of power."

"But what about choice? Doesn't choice matter?" Jasmine asked her. "What if you didn't want to shag him? You'd still have to."

Carla smirked at her.

"But I don't have that problem, Jasmine. I do want to shag him. Why should I give it away to some young wizard for nothing, when I can give myself to the Dark Lord and get something out of it? Gods," the witch said, scowling at the witch, "All I have to do is make sure I don't shag anyone in the next week and I'm in the clear. Voldemort won't touch me if I'm not a virgin. So I have to break up with Georgie. He's going to be broken-hearted…but how can he compete with the Dark Lord?"

The other witches murmured agreement, and they all started talking again. Jasmine stared at Carla as she told everyone she would give them details when she came back. They all tittered with excitement. Jasmine shook her head and exited the common room, walking slowly up the stairs.

Carla thought being a consort to Voldemort was a wonderful opportunity. Jasmine shuddered as she remembered how cold his touch was. As if he were dead or something. And her father went along with it. But then again, Malfoy men always considered the women of their family to be tools they could use to manipulate others. And the women were trained to be that way. Her own grandmother was slowly molding her into that kind of witch. One whose entire life would be manipulation, breeding, ordering house elves around and throwing useless parties. Suddenly a life of privilege seemed as if it would be a life of luxurious incarceration.

Jasmine Malfoy was starting to see life as it really was, and she found she didn't like what she was seeing. She had always believed her father worked with Voldemort, but today she saw he was nothing more than a servant, and a frightened servant at that. But disobedience was not a Malfoy woman's trait. They were obedient, if cunning, finding ways around the orders they were given by the men but still coming out on top.

The witch entered her room, warded her door and removed her robes. She fell on the bed, her eyes filling with tears. Her whole world was falling apart and she saw that she was nothing but a pawn to her father. He had said he would be rewarded greatly when she became Voldemort's consort. He was nothing more than a pimp. He was prostituting her in exchange for the Dark Lord's favor and she had no choice in the matter. She couldn't run away. Her father would find her. Besides, she had no place to go.

Jasmine flipped over to her back and looked up at the ceiling, tears streaming from her eyes. Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to be the Dark Lord's consort. He might let her go early if she made a bad showing. She sniffed and wiped her tears away.

She was lucky. Carla Moonswood was going to be with him next week and promised to tell everyone what it was like. She could find out how the wizard was…then she'd have three years to figure out what to do.

One thing was for sure, however. She wouldn't target Mathias like her father wanted any longer. Actually, she was quite uncomfortable reporting on his actions anyway, though she made sure they were all positive. She never let her father know the young wizard didn't agree with the DKV line. Jasmine scowled. After seeing how Voldemort was, she wasn't sure the DKV knew what he really was about. It seemed as if they all were being misled about him.

Jasmine suddenly realized why the parties her father threw were so selective. It wasn't because only the best of wizarding society were given the privilege to meet with the wizard, but to keep the truth about the Dark Lord's cruel, lascivious ways from the public eye. She doubted the DKV knew about his bevy of consorts. She and Mathias as well as the other students were evaluated only because they were the children of inner circle members. Most joined the DKV through the organization and were not handpicked, so didn't meet him personally. All they knew about him was what they were told or what they'd read.

Jasmine stared at the ceiling. If the DKV was so wrong about their leader, then they could be wrong about their attitudes toward muggle-borns and half-bloods. Mathias was a half-blood, but a powerful wizard, and highly intelligent. He acted better than most purebloods. And Andreas, although he was black, had very good qualities and was a loyal friend to Mathias. He was also smart and gifted in magic. He was no different than anyone else in actuality. His color didn't seem to make a real difference at all. Jasmine found that her dislike of the wizard was more because of his closeness to Mathias than his skin color or character. She was jealous, plain and simple.

Now the witch rolled to her side, thinking again of becoming Voldemort's consort. She always knew that she was meant to use sex as a weapon, and thought that her first sexual experience would be one based on personal gain, rather than passion, but nothing like this. Gods, what a mess she was in.

She wouldn't let anyone know she had been chosen to be Voldemort's consort. True, it would elevate her status in Slytherin house, but she didn't want to share the information. She had a feeling Mathias wouldn't think it was such an honor. She knew he wouldn't. She cared what he thought about her, and knew he wouldn't respect her if he knew she intended on following through with Voldemort's plans for her, choice or no choice. Though Jasmine wanted to talk to someone about her situation, she didn't know whom she could talk to without it getting back to Voldemort.

This was just the kind of information the DKV looked for. Someone speaking against the Dark Lord. The witch was sure it would be hushed up from the general membership, but would get to Voldemort somehow. That would be very bad and bring shame to her father…not that she cared right now. Jasmine realized she couldn't count on his support concerning this. Her grandmother would be no help either. She probably would be thrilled Jasmine was chosen. Voldemort was powerful, and Narcissa appreciated power.

Jasmine sighed and closed her eyes. Her head was starting to hurt.

She tried to sleep, but sleep just wouldn't come.

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A/N: Interesting talk between Mathias and Severus. Now they are aligned in purpose, and plan to keep Hermione out of the loop. A little insight into Jasmine's thought processes, too. Seems she is seeing things in a new light. It has to be hard to realize her entire belief system is faulty and her father isn't the wizard she believed he was. Anyway, please review.