FicWad

Disclaimer.
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark or infringement is intended

Darrius is getting older and more unexpected fun happens. Severus remembers his childhood.

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss


March 2005

"Muuuummmmy," shouted Darrius.

"I'll be there in a second, love," replied Jenny.

"Muuuummmy, come see. Dar a good boy," the tyke insisted.

"I'm coming, sweetheart; just a minute." Jenny rose from her seat, her pregnant, five month old tummy, slowing her only slightly.

Jenny entered the bathroom of her Hogwarts home, where her son was jubilantly pointing to his chamber pot.

"Mummy, mummy, Dar a good boy. I go potty. Look. Pooh!" The little boy clapped his hands at his success.

Jenny looked at the offering in the potty and smiled at her little boy, "Darrius was a very good boy, Mummy is very proud."

"Mummy pwoud?" asked Darrius; just to be sure that was a good thing.

"Yes," exclaimed Jenny, as she clapped her hands, making sure he knew that this was much better than wet pants.

"Daddy pwoud?" he asked, because daddy was his best mate and it was important his best mate approved as well.

"When you tell your daddy, he'll be very proud, Darrius. Now, can mummy clean your bottom before we put on your pants?"

"Tell daddy?" asked Darrius, as Jenny wiped his dimpled bottom.

"Of course you can, Darrius, just as soon as he gets home," she replied, before concentrating on cleaning the potty. "Let's put on your pants, Darrius," she called, as her son disappeared.

Jenny left the bathroom and looked around, "Darrius?" she called out once more. Jenny went to his room and the kitchen, before she noticed the front door to the apartments was open.

"Oh, bugger," she exclaimed, as she headed out the door.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, as he took a deep breath. Putting his hands on his hips, he turned back the miscreant Slytherins, who'd been brought to him by Filch.

"I will ask this only once; who thought it was a good idea to spray Hair-Raising Potion over the Gryffindor first years, during their flying lesson?" He looked at the group of Third years in front of him that included Lily.

"Do you truly believe a stunt like that was funny? Was it even worthy of a Slytherin?" he snorted at them, as he crossed his arms. "Well?" he demanded.

The students looked at each other, clearly afraid to speak.

"Sir, it was..." began one skinny lad only to be interrupted.

"We all thought it was a funny idea at the time, Professor," piped in Lily.

"All of you?" he asked, derisively. "You all had a simultaneous malfunction of your upper cranium, and showered broom riding incompetents, with a potion." He shook his head, "Even Hufflepuffs aren't as foolish as to pull a stunt like that. If any of them had fallen and gotten killed, because of your stupidity, you would have been expelled at the very least."

He inhaled through his nose. "Even worse, we'd have lost so many House Points; we would likely never have recouped enough to win the Cup again. Now, as to your punishment..." He trailed off at the sound of an unlikely voice calling him.

"Daddy!" called Darrius, as loud as he could, "Daddy," he shouted again, as he trotted -sans underwear- down the hall towards Severus.

The toddler stopped in front of his father and looked up, "Dar good boy. Dar go potty. Go pooooooh!" he exclaimed loudly, with pride. He grinned up at the shocked face of his daddy.

"Daddy pwoud?" Darius asked, as he grabbed his small penis in one hand. "No?" he asked, his little boy's face falling, as his father hadn't praised him, yet.

Jenny turned the corner and saw father and son staring each other. At the same moment, she saw Lily break into applause, followed by her friends. She heard them say, 'Yeah Darrius,' causing the little boy to jump up and down. As she walked towards them, Severus finally picked up his son.

Severus looked into the gleeful face of his little boy. "Darrius was a very clever boy. I'm very proud. Now, where are your pants?" he asked, seeing Jenny walking slowly towards them, with the baby's clothes.

"He broke out," said Jenny, when she reached them.

"Indeed," replied Severus, as he looked at his son once more.

"Daddy pwoud," announced Darrius to his mother. He then turned to his father, grabbing his long nose in both hands, before kissing it. "I wuv you."

Severus heard tittering behind him; time to put the exhibition to rest. He put his son down for Jenny to dress him.

"Be a good boy and go home with mummy, Darrius. I'll be home shortly,"

Jenny picked the little boy up and, with raised eyebrows, headed back to their apartments.

Darrius waved and called, "Bye Bye," to the students, who waved back.

Severus turned back to the amused Slytherins and waited until they noticed he was watching them.

"As much as your fervent, heartfelt encouragement, in regards to the progress of my son's developing toilet skills, is appreciated; there is still the matter of your punishment." He drew out the last word, enjoying the look of horror spreading over their faces.

"Professor Sprout is in need of fertilizer for her greenhouses. A new shipment has arrived and sits awaiting attention on the dock." He almost smiled, as they grimaced, when they realized what was coming. "You will be putting the dragon dung in manageable sized bags, and then carrying them to the storage shed by the greenhouses. This will be accomplished without the use of your wands. Report to Hagrid tomorrow morning, after breakfast, for your detention."

"But sir, it's Saturday tomorrow," whined a girl, wearing red pigtails; a Weasley offshoot most likely.

"Indeed, Miss Roche, I would never have guessed." He turned on his heel to walk away, but stopped and turned back.

"One last thing," he said, watching as they expected more punishment, "One point each, for complimenting my son."

They watched the black robes disappear down the hall, making sure he was out of earshot.

"It figures," said the skinny boy, "We clap 'cause his kid uses a potty to take a shite and he comes up with a shitty detention."

"Well," said Lily, "It looks like there's a little shite in everyone's lives today and whole lot more tomorrow." She looked up at the boy behind her, "Let's hope it's not raining, or it's gonna be runny shite."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Severus, were you this active with your magic, when you were a bairn?" asked Jenny.

"I don't remember what I did at two, Jenny," he replied, "Perhaps."

"What about when you were older? Did it get stronger or what?" she asked, curious as to what to expect.

Severus sighed and put down his journal. "Magic was not permitted in our home." He glanced at Jenny and saw the questioning look on her face.

"My father did not know my mother was a witch when he married her. It was not well received, when the truth was revealed."

"Didn't they love each other?" she asked.

He shrugged, "Maybe they did, once. I don't know. I saw nothing that could be called love between them. He was the Man of the house. Everything was for his...convenience." He looked over at Jenny, "My father despised magic; or so he said. He equated it with Satanism."

"Didn't your mum explain about everything?" She found it hard to imagine anyone would hate the wonderful things magic offered.

Severus laughed, bitterly. "You believe she was given the opportunity? You've no inkling of what our home was like."

"Did you ever do magic on front of your dad?"

Severus looked into the fire and nodded slowly. "Yes...oh yes. That was a lesson well learnt."

Jenny reached out and took his hand. "Will you tell me about it?"

"I was seven years old and school had just started again, after the summer break. The teacher had given out our readers and History books." He smiled to himself. "I loved reading, even then. I took the books home to put paper dust jackets on the covers - do you remember doing that?"

Jenny smiled and nodded.

He continued. "As I walked home, I ran into the local gang." He looked at her before saying, "Your older brother was part of it."

"Yeah, I know. He got sent to a summer camp for truants once. Go on," she insisted, wanting to understand her husband more.

"Well, the older one started pushing me around, causing my satchel to open and my books to fall out. The history book fell in a puddle, which he took as a sign to step on it and mutilate it." He sighed. "I managed to get it back, but he started pushing me around more, so I took off. My mother was repairing the book using magic, when my father came home."

"Took off?" she prompted, not sure what that meant.

"I ran all the way home to get away from them. I didn't know it at the time, but my father had witnessed the entire event."

"And he didn't help you? He didn't make them stop?" Jenny asked, shocked by the revelation.

Severus shook his head, "No, he just went for his ale at the pub before coming home, as usual. When he got in, he called me into the living room and accused me of being a sissy and a coward. Said a true Snape wouldn't back down when he was threatened. Said I was a useless article and a disgrace, that I'd never be anything more than a stupid, pathetic man."

Severus paused and took a breath, "He kept calling me stupid and useless. Kept saying it was because of my mother. I got so angry; I wanted to hurt him to make him stop. Then, he threatened my mum."

"What happened?"

"The mirror that sat over the fireplace mantle, shattered into smithereens, showering him in glass. He wasn't hurt. His response was to pull out the switch he used to punish me and start beating me, harder than he ever had before." He took in a shuddering breath, "My mother tried to protect me and took some of the beating herself."

"Oh, Severus," said Jenny, acutely aware of his embarrassment. "You never deserved to be treated like that."

"Yes, I did, for I never, ever used magic, in any shape or form, in front of him again. Not even to defend my mother. I was too afraid. He died before I was old enough to care otherwise."

"What about your mum?"

"She...she stopped using magic, too. She gave up."

ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

Jenny took Darrius with her, when she went to visit Madam Pomfrey. The Mediwitch was monitoring her pregnancy and was being cautious, as Jenny was a Muggle woman approaching forty. This was getting old for having a child and required extra vigilance in the antenatal period.

"How are you feeling, Jenny?" she asked, as she cast diagnostic charms over the swelling tummy in front of Jenny.

"Tired," admitted Jenny," Keeping up with the little lord over there is becoming a right chore." She smiled as she admitted," I look forward to going to work for a rest."

"Molly Weasley is child minding for you?" asked Poppy, as she jotted down notes on Jenny's record.

"Yeah, she doesn't seem to have any problems." Jenny wouldn't say it, but it irked her that Molly could handle her son better than she.

"Well, it's not as if she's not had the practise," remarked the older woman, with a smile.

Jenny looked at Darrius, as he sat on a mat on the floor; happily playing with an animated Hippogriph Hagrid had given him for his birthday.

"Poppy, how much magic is normal for a toddler to display?"

"Well, it depends?" Poppy replied.

"On?" asked Jenny.

"Children copy what others do. If the child grows up seeing magic, they tend to think they can do it too, and frequently demonstrate it. If they don't, as in Muggleborn children, then they only show it occasionally." She looked at Jenny watching her son. She saw uncertainty in the mother's face.

"Let's look at it this way, Jenny. How do we learn to speak English?" she asked.

"Well," replied Jenny, "We hear it from our parents and we copy it."

"Exactly," said Poppy, "You learn to speak by listening and copying the sounds you hear your parents and the people around you make. Now, Darrius is surrounded by a few hundred witches and wizards doing magic constantly. It just stands to reason he thinks he can do it and so, his thoughts turn into magic."

Jenny frowned. "I wanted him to go to regular school, like Severus and I did. That's going to be difficult, if he can't control his magic."

"Well, just like you're potty training him, he'll have to learn control." She patted Jenny's hand.

"Well then, everything is fine. Just rest when you can and take it easy on the job; maybe cut back on your work hours," pronounced the Mediwitch.

Jenny hopped off of the examining table and adjusted her clothes. "How is it you can use magic when the baby is in my tummy, but not after?"

Poppy smiled at her, "You are protecting the baby, Jenny. There is nothing stronger than a mother's nurturing love. Just ask Harry Potter."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

April 2005

The students tumbled out of the school to the waiting carriages which would carry them to the Hogsmeade train station to catch the Express home for Easter. Lily looked around for her Head of House, wanting to share some news with him. She saw him ahead, ushering some dawdling first years along.

"If you miss the train, it's a very long walk to Glasgow, Foster." He was looking forward to the peace and quiet of his new house in Braemar. Just having Jenny and Darrius to himself would be a treat.

Lily skipped up behind him, "Professor," she began, startling him. "Sorry, sir. I just got this from my mum this morning. She's getting married this week. Isn't that great?"

"Indeed; have you met the intended?" he asked, surprised that her mother would be the type to marry.

Lily nodded, "Yes, over Christmas. He was very nice to me. I just wanted to let you know."

Severus nodded, "My best wishes to your mother and step-father. Now, hurry on or you'll miss the train." He urged her along with the others, acknowledging her wave with another nod.

As he watched her leave, Severus had a curiously uncomfortable feeling this marriage was not the start of a fairytale life for Lily. He pondered for a moment longer, before pushing it to the back of his mind.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx