It was the middle of November when the first snow came to Hogwarts. The snow dwindled down through the air, came to rest gently upon the ground, soon covering the grass in a layer of whiteness.
Severus reached his hand up, seemingly trying to catch the snowflakes and Astus looked up at the sky, Abraxas standing a bit away and watching them both. Lucius was standing with the two Mentis, pressed into Astus' side.
The man closed his eyes as he let snow fall down on his face, a small and content smile on his face. Abraxas walked closer to them, enjoying the feeling of snow underneath his boots and came to a stop next to them.
"No homework?" he asked.
"You should know that."
"We just arrived, I don't know anything."
"Liar." Astus smiled wider when he said it.
"Seriously."
"No," the raven-haired man replied. "No homework that needs to be done today."
It was Saturday, and the two Malfoys had arrived just a half-hour ago, they were going to spend the night with Astus and Severus before returning to the manor on Sunday evening.
The raven-haired man opened his eyes as Abraxas lifted Severus from him, settling him down on the ground and Lucius took the boy's hand before leading him towards the lake. Astus and Abraxas followed a leisurely pace.
"Tell me something," Abraxas said and looked over at him. "Do you regret coming back in time?"
Astus stopped at that, looking at him before his eyes searched out the sky.
"Almost everyone I knew in my time was dead," he replied. "I know I would've gotten over it, eventually, but… I was the famous one. I killed the Dark Lord. I didn't want that. I wanted to help people, not get a medal and have my picture in the paper."
"Did you have it?"
"Well, I hadn't gotten any medals but people assured me I would. I would appear in papers, give interviews, everything… it's just that I hate fame. Or at least when the fame finds me. This… I like this."
"Being your old teacher's father?"
"I didn't think of it much before I went back. I just wanted to give Severus something more than he had."
Now Severus was running back to them, arms outstretched and Astus lifted him up before walking down to where Lucius was, the blonde man following them.
-o-
Nathaniel was good as a baby-sitter. Astus concluded this as he and Abraxas watched the seventh-year take on Lucius, Severus and Bellatrix in a snowball-fight. He more or less let the children's chunks of snow hit him, and fell down in the snow near the lake. Severus immediately climbed on top of him, and the two men heard laughter.
Astus plopped down in the snow, sick of standing and fell back, arms outstretched.
"What are you doing?" Abraxas asked.
"Acting silly," Astus replied.
"Oh, alright." And with that Abraxas fell down as well, staring up at the sky. "This was much more comfortable."
"Standing is boring."
"And it's tiring for the legs," the blonde added.
Running footsteps, and Lucius landed on his father's stomach. Abraxas yelped, then shrieked as snow was pushed on his bare stomach.
"Lucius!"
The boy laughed as he ran away, then gave out a shriek similar to his father as Abraxas started chasing him. Astus only sighed, continuing his staring up at the sky even as snow began to fall. It seemed like it was going to be a very snowy winter.
Shouts and laughter told him Abraxas had joined the snowball-fight. He sat up and looked over. Nathaniel and Abraxas' backs were turned to him. Unsuspecting an attack from behind. Perhaps they were thinking he was not up for a little game.
Astus grinned.
The children broke down in laughter as the two were bathed in snow, screaming at the coldness. They whipped around and Astus tried his innocent face, finishing it up with cocking his head and said:
"Oh my. It appears the snow fell thicker than I imagined."
"You!" Nathaniel screamed.
"Yes?"
"You little-!" Abraxas shouted, pointing at him.
"Yeees?" There was a sickly sweet tone in his voice, and his grin was no longer looking so innocent. More like a predator looking at his prey. Or perhaps a deranged Dark Lord. Whichever worked just fine.
The two ran towards him in a rage. Astus brought his hands up, snow flying from the ground and right on the men's faces, making them tumble down onto the ground.
Snowball-fights were always funnier when magic was involved.
-o-
Bellatrix found Astus in early December in the library, sneaking through the rows with books and sat down opposite of him, her book bag in her lap. He looked up at her.
"What is it?" he asked, seeing her eyes.
"My parents sent me a letter," she said. "They are going to make me meet the Dark Lord on the holidays. I can't go there."
"What about your aunt and uncle?" Astus asked as he came to sit next to her. "Can't you be with them?"
"Walburga support the Dark Lord. Says the Mudbloods deserve to die, creating a pure world for her children to grow up in," she spat out. "She's nutty. My uncle… I don't know, he doesn't say much about anything."
"Alright," he breathed out. "Alright, we'll fix it. You won't go home."
"But I can't stay here! They'll figure it out, and they'll come and get me." Bellatrix did not want to see Voldemort. She did not want to meet her parents. She knew her sisters were alright; they were too small to meet the Dark Lord and would therefore safe from harm. But she wasn't.
"You won't be here either," he said, and she looked into Astus' deep eyes. They bore no lies to her. "They won't know where you are, because I'm not going to let them find out."
-o-
Having NEWTs along with getting the shelter ready for the children who needed somewhere to be under Christmas to avoid their parents was not all that easy. However, Astus had no choice but doing both. Luckily it was only Transfiguration and Charms in NEWTs but it still left him exhausted at the end of it, and still he had to go and make sure the manor was up to the task of supporting the kids.
So therefore he arrived there with Abraxas, having left Severus with Lucius in his rooms at Hogwarts, where they would not be alone. Stepping into the house they made a throughout check on the rooms, the bathrooms, the sitting room and the kitchen.
"Can these kids cook?" Abraxas asked.
"A few of the older ones can," Astus said. "But I was going to ask you if maybe you can get a house-elf here or something to help them out."
"Sure, I'll get one today already. My house-elves are picky, want to see the place to make sure everything's there."
"I suppose that's a good thing."
"Anything else you require?"
"No, it's pretty much done everything."
Abraxas let the man walk around the house one last time before they could go back to Hogwarts.
"You're either suspicious, or a control-freak," the blonde concluded as Astus locked the house after having one last quick check.
"I've always been suspicious," Astus replied. "Constant vigilance!"
"I suppose someone told you that?"
"Yes, Alastor Moody."
Abraxas muttered under his breath, Astus thought he said, "Should've known it…"
"I'm taking it you know Moody?"
"Yes, he's around the same age as me," the blonde said. "A very… colourful man."
"Crazy," Astus corrected. Abraxas looked at him. "What? He was crazy in my time at least. Or super-paranoid. Is there a difference between those two?"
"Not really."
"Then crazy is shorter to say."
"And he taught you that?"
"Well, usually he was right. Then again, everything in my world got fucked up in the end. Should we be moving back to the school?"
Abraxas nodded, and they both vanished.
-o-
Christmas had come, and instead of going on the train to travel to London Bellatrix was instead seated on Astus' couch, nervously waiting.
She was going to spend her Christmas holiday with the Malfoys and the two Mentis. Astus had accepted Abraxas' invitation and they would stay there the whole holiday.
Bellatrix looked up as Astus entered, it was early morning and for some reason Severus was not very energetic as he usually was.
"He's not getting a cold is he?" the girl asked, worried. She did not have her sisters to worry about here, and she knew they were both in good hands at Walburga and Orion's place. Walburga mostly left the care of children in Orion's hands, and he never protested.
"I had Poppy check him and he's a little feverish," Astus said, sitting down with the boy in his arms. "Nothing that a little sleep won't cure."
Severus snuffled and burrowed in closer to his father, who responded by stroking his black locks. Bellatrix leaned closer, her head almost on Astus' shoulder as she trailed fingers over the child's cheek, smiling as Severus' nose scrunched up at the feeling.
A few minutes later Abraxas arrived, ready to invite them and took Bellatrix's and Astus' bags but not before he had a chance to say hello to the sleepy boy in his friend's arms.
"Cover his mouth so he won't get soot in it," Abraxas advised and then he was off. Bellatrix next, and at the end Astus. He turned the boy's head into his shoulder, threw some Floo powder in and stepped in while saying:
"Malfoy manor."
It still amazed him he had learned to land somewhat gracefully on the other end, but mostly he thought it was because he usually had Severus in his arms; he did not dare falling then.
Severus coughed a few times against Astus' shoulder and he was worried the boy might get sick despite what Poppy had said. He hoisted the child up better and walked over where Lucius was waiting to greet him. The blonde seemed to know though that Severus was not feeling so well and only whispered a few words to the boy, words that the raven-haired man did hear but pretended not to. With that he was satisfied and Severus could take a nap despite it was not even time for lunch.
-o-
Lucius and Bellatrix were out playing in the snow under the supervision of a house-elf while Abraxas went to check on Astus and Severus. The boy had slept until lunch, being able to eat half a portion and then gone back to sleep. Astus had soon walked up to his son, claiming only to check on him.
That was two hours ago, and Abraxas gently pushed open the door to the room where the two was going to live for the Christmas holiday.
Astus was on the bed, Severus tucked in underneath the covers and Astus above, the man gently stroking the child's hair with half-closed eyes. They shifted over to the blonde as he entered.
"Hey," Abraxas said. "You know, he's not going to suddenly disappear even if you left him alone for a bit."
"I know," the raven-haired man said. "I just… I don't know, I didn't want to leave him alone."
The blonde walked up to the bed, looking them both over. Severus' normally pale cheeks were slightly flushed, breaths deep and even though and one fist loosely curled next to his head on the pillow.
"Has his fever worsened?"
"No." Astus brushed his hand over the boy's brow. "He just needs to sleep."
"That's good. You want to be alone with him?"
Astus looked up at the blonde man who twirled a lock of Severus' child around one finger, smiled a bit and said:
"You know me too well."
"Well, you're not the only over-protective parent in this room."
"I'm guessing it hurts your heart to know Lucius is starting school soon."
"I'll survive it somehow."
"Are you going to force him to write letters every day?"
"No way; I'll give him a two-way mirror and pester him every minute I can."
"Sounds like something you would do," Astus said with a chuckle to which Abraxas responded with showing his tongue before leaving the room.
It did not take him long to start stroking Severus' hair again, and even shorter to start thinking about his own experiences with a fever. At Hogwarts, he rarely had them and one visit to Madam Pomfrey cured them.
At the Dursleys it was another affair. Petunia would notice he had a fever, shove some medicine in his hand along with a glass of water before putting him back in the cupboard so he would not get anyone of them sick. He remember lying there in the darkness, his body feeling too hot, the water long gong and he called for more water, more medicine, anything to take the burning feeling away.
Luckily those times had been few as well, and mostly Petunia took him out in the evenings and helped him to have a cool bath. Her hand would lie on his forehead for a moment, the other supporting his neck so he would not get submerged and he remembered those times with fondness. It was the only times she seemed to care for him as who he was; her dead sister's child.
-o-
Lunch was a quiet affair, Severus nearly asleep in Astus' lap and only managing a bit of soup. Not that the man tried to force him very hard. The boy soon fell asleep, head turned to the man's chest while Astus was trying to eat something. He was already thin enough as it was, and not eating would make Abraxas worry, and in turn, the two other children. He did not particularly wish for that.
The blonde man was surprised to see Astus come back down to the first floor after he had put Severus back to bed, and lowered the newspaper he had been reading.
"Where's Lucius and Bellatrix?" he asked, looking around.
"Outside," Abraxas said. "Getting properly wet like normal children, and then probably try to jump on us in their quest to make us wet as well."
"Sounds like a plan alright. Let's hope they won't try it."
"You never know. Ever since Lucius ganged up with that girl and Severus, he does things I never thought he would do."
"Change is good I suppose," the raven-haired one said and seated himself on the couch. "Speaking of which, Severus' fever have lessened. I think he'll be fine tomorrow."
"That's good," Abraxas answered. "Wouldn't want the kid to miss all the fun."
When no answer came, Abraxas looked up from his newspaper and discovered Astus was staring out the window. The blonde man put down the paper on the table in front of him, leaned his elbow on his knee and rested his head on the palm of his hand, watching his friend.
For a moment, Astus looked very old.
"I want him to be a child," the man said after a while. He did not look at Abraxas.
"Really?"
"Yeah… for as long as he can be."
"Why's that?"
"Because… I've never really been one," Astus said. "When a kid has to learn how to cook at the age of three, childhood is pretty much thrown out the window."
"Three? You were three years old when you started to cook?" At the age of three Abraxas had not quite grasped the idea of who was making the cooking. For him it just magically appeared in the dining-hall.
"Just small stuff," the man replied. "Things they knew wouldn't hurt me too much. I didn't reach the stove back then so they'd put me up on a chair in the beginning and let me watch my aunt cook so I could learn."
"Who the hell teach their children to cook for them?"
"I wasn't their kid. I was a free-loader to them," Astus said and looked at Abraxas, smiling a bit. "I guess they thought they had to make me pay them back some way."
"That's wrong on so many levels."
"That was in the past anyway. I don't care. Thanks to them I'm awesome at cooking," Astus said. "Severus won't turn out to be me. I won't let that happen."
"I'm sure you won't."
-o-
As Astus said, Severus was back to his normal self in the morning. So much back to himself the boy even managed to climb up on Astus' bed from his own.
The man woke up, not knowing why until he felt a small hand on his shoulder, then another one by his elbow and finally ticklish hair stroking his cheek where he was lying on his side. He opened his eyes, and Severus grinned down at him.
"Hey there," Astus said with a yawn. "You feeling alright?"
"Feel great."
"That's good." Astus looked over at the time, and groaned. "Sev, it's only five in the morning. Dad needs to sleep more."
"But I'm awake!"
"Yeah, I know, but lie down for a bit with me, okay?"
Severus let himself be pulled underneath the sheets and gazed up at Astus who was closing his eyes again and breaths quickly becoming deeper. One of Severus' hands curled into Astus' hair, held on tightly, his black eyes never leaving his father's face until they closed in sleep.
The time was nine when Abraxas softly knocked on the door and peeked inside. Severus sat up, crawled up from the sheets to the edge of the bed, and the blonde watched carefully as Severus slid down to the floor and then ran up to him. Astus remained on the bed.
"Hey there, sport," Abraxas said and lifted him up, checking his forehead. "Looks like you're fit for fight again."
"Daddy's sleeping."
"Yeah, why don't we let him?" Abraxas said. "Daddy's having a tough time at school."
"School tough?"
"Yeah, sometimes it is," the blonde said even as he gently closed the door to the room, intending to let Astus sleep as long as his body needed to. "You'll see when you get older. But school is also very fun and I don't think you'll have more problem than your father."
"Does daddy have problems?" Severus asked, his eyes showing his worry.
"Well… let's put it this way," Abraxas said as he walked into the bathroom connected to his room, deciding to let Severus wash off quickly; he could get some clothes later, when Astus had woken up. "There's hardly anyone who makes through school without difficulties. You can't be good at everything. Your dad is just one of us."
"Did you have problems?"
"I had my areas," Abraxas said and chuckled as Severus grimaced at the toothbrush that halted the conversation on his part for a few minutes. "But let's have a big breakfast, and bundle you up for some adventures out in the snow, huh?"
-o-
It was closing in on lunch when Astus finally opened his eyes. The room was still dark, as all the curtains covered the windows but here and there strings of light peaked inside. Astus sat up, hair messed up and eyes half-lidded.
Ten minutes later he wobbled down the hall, stomach growling and his brain still half-asleep. Abraxas met him at the end of the stairs, his normally pale cheeks rosy and he grinned at his younger friend.
"You finally got up? Good, we were just about to have some lunch."
"We?"
"Me and the kids. Don't worry; I added warming spells to Severus' clothing so he wouldn't get sick again. He really had a good time."
A blur tackled Astus and he fell back on the steps. Severus crawled up in his lap, clothes cold and wet, making Astus tense up and his eyes widen comically.
"That's cold!"
Severus only giggled.
Lunch was much livelier this time around, Abraxas' making comments about Astus' bed-hair to which Astus got revenge by pulling at the man's blonde hair, making the children laugh at their antics. Bellatrix was much more relaxed here, when knowing nothing could harm her within the wards of the Malfoy grounds.
The raven-haired boy was brought up to the second floor to get properly dressed by Lucius and Bellatrix, leaving the two adults alone at the dining-table.
"You seem tired," Abraxas commented as he finished with the last on his plate. To his dismay, he noticed Astus had only eaten half.
"When I finally get to relax it seems like my body just shuts down," the raven-haired man replied with a shrug.
"It's because you never relax otherwise," Abraxas muttered and stabbed a piece of carrot on his fork.
"Hey, don't be mean to the food."
"I at least eat up all my food."
Astus looked down at his plate with a sigh.
"I wished I could eat more. But I'm not hungry right now."
Abraxas rose up and walked over to him even as they heard the children's laughter.
"I'll let it go for today," he said and hauled Astus up. "If you come out and have a snowball-fight with me."
"What are you, five?"
"You're never too old for a snowball-fight!"
"You are five…" Astus muttered as he let Abraxas drag him out from the dining hall.
-o-
It seemed to Voldemort that it would be impossible to get rid of that Astus Mentis. He was too well-protected, and too observant about everything. He expected an attack all the time, so he was never caught with his guard down. And when he was not at Hogwarts, he usually spent his time at Malfoy Manor, where not even the Dark Lord could come in, or in company of teachers or people who would give him trouble if he tried to attack the boy.
So he tried to ignore the young man, and carry on as usual. It was not as easy as Voldemort hoped it would be but he was not giving up. He was not going to get distracted by the fact he simply could not kill a person he wanted gone.
…
He already was distracted by this, he realized.
Sighing the man leaned back in his chair and glared up at the roof. Was it so hard to get when you were supposed to die? No one, beside Dumbledore perhaps, was this much of an eyesore! He actually had to carefully plan every single little step on the way for this death to come through, and yet he had not been successful!
That, if anything, ate on the Dark Lord's nerves. He, failing to kill one boy? How hard could it actually be?
He had to find away. Astus was a colossal eyesore. And it was giving Voldemort a headache. A severe one. A constant one. Went to bed with a headache, woke up with a headache.
Stupid boy. He was almost as annoying as the headmaster of Hogwarts.
Well…
At least Astus took it easier with the colouring of his robes.
He was still annoying.
-o-
"I'm wondering something."
"And what are you wondering?"
"I'm wondering if Severus has somehow managed to turn my son and dear Bellatrix into very small, hyperactive children."
Astus looked up from his book, and strained to listen. Laughter, yells and running feet could be heard. He then turned his eyes to Abraxas, shrugged and said:
"Even I turn hyper when having eaten too much candy."
"Can't they calm down about that? It's still two days until Christmas."
"They are children, Abraxas. Let them remain children for a little while longer."
"And your excuse?"
"When it comes to candy, I have no self-control whatsoever," Astus stated bluntly.
"You'll eat until you puke?"
"That has happened," the man admitted, "but I don't think I've quite reached that level to let it occur regularly."
"Luckily you can steer Severus away from candy with the promise of some playing with a potions kit. Did you say he was a potions master in the future?"
"One of the best," Astus said with a smile. "I never really liked him, but he was awesome at making potions. Almost every potion at school was made by him."
"That's rather impressive. And to think he's crazy about the subject already."
"At least one thing won't change," the man said. The blonde looked at him. "I mean, I don't think I can see Severus as anything but a potions master."
Before Abraxas could answer, all three children tumbled into the room, Severus running up to his father and climbing up on the couch, wrapping his short arms around Astus' waist.
"Are you having fun?" Astus asked them all, curling one arm around his son's shoulder.
"Tired," Lucius managed.
"I bet," Abraxas said. "The sugar-rush is beginning to fade isn't it?"
The blonde boy sat down next to his father while Bellatrix seated herself at Astus' other side. He looked at them all in turn.
If anyone had told him he would be sitting at Malfoy Manor, awaiting Christmas with Bellatrix Black, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy and his father in the same room as him, he would have told them they were nuts.
Then again, it could be just that he's the crazy one.
Gazing over the room again, he figured he didn't really mind that.
-o-
Severus seemed to get some enjoyment in waking his father up way to early. Astus was not so quick of thinking that was very funny.
Christmas arrived with a boy snuggling up at his back, making him slowly turn only to peer down into Severus' large, dark eyes.
Astus felt too tired to give his son a proper 'Good morning' and instead glanced over at the clock. Five in the morning. Just what in the bloody hell was Severus running on? He grumbled and nestled his face into the pillow again, feeling his son burrow into his chest without a fuss. Good thing Severus was a fast learner.
Otherwise Astus might have been just a tad annoyed.
It wasn't until nine that Abraxas entered the room. Lucius and Bellatrix had been up from eight, Bellatrix still yawning but Lucius running around the manor in his restlessness. Stepping up to the bed the blonde gently sat down, saw even Severus was deep asleep and then he carefully shock Astus' shoulder.
The man groaned and one eye peered open.
"Breakfast is ready," Abraxas whispered. Sleepy and warm arms stretched out, releasing the boy who yawned and blinked his eyes open.
A few minutes later Astus was on his way towards the dining hall, still dressed in his night-clothes, Severus running ahead of him, dressed for the day. Abraxas had gone beforehand.
However, as he was going to take a turn to the right to the dining-hall, the blonde called out from the living-room at the left.
"We're having breakfast in here," Abraxas said as Severus speeded in and Astus joining a few moments later. "Merlin, why aren't you dressed?"
"Didn't feel like it," Astus said and sat down. He had brushed his hair, wasn't that enough? He reached for a steaming cup of tea and dragged his legs up, sitting Indian-style on the couch while watching the children eat by the Christmas tree.
"They're practically vibrating in their seats," Abraxas chuckled and put down his own tea cup. The man was already dressed and showered; rising up early was something he was used to. His clothes were perfect for the day, good-looking yet casual, black slacks with a dark blue shirt, the last two buttons undone and his hair tousled in an annoying refreshing way.
Astus hummed in agreement. He felt awkward in his night-clothes and quickly brushed hair compared to his friend. He dragged at the ends of his shirt, bringing it over his hands and moved so he could rest his head on his knees, his legs pressed against his chest. He was nineteen and could still do this. It made him feel like a child sometimes.
Speaking of children, it seemed like they were waiting to be allowed to open at least one gift. The two men looked at each other, shrugged and Abraxas said:
"Just one. The rest will have to wait."
Wasting no time, the three did just that while Astus snatched a scone from one of the plates and nibbled on it.
"Don't nibble," the blonde said. "Who taught you to eat anyway?"
"No one," Astus said but took a larger bite to satisfy his friend. "All self-taught."
"No wonder you eat so little then. What, no jam on it?"
"Why?"
"Why not? There is plenty to choose from."
That was true, and hesitantly Astus took some strawberry jam and started eating again. The sound of Lucius, Severus and Bellatrix open their gifts were comforting enough for the two men as they sat in silence.
-o-
Astus read about the attack on a small wizard village two days after Christmas. No dead people, but nine critical injured and most homes lost in fires. No doubt the work of You-Know-Who. It was the first time he read it in a newspaper in this time. He never liked saying that. Plain old Voldemort was easier. He didn't get why people got so scared of a name.
"Are you trying to rip the paper apart?"
The man looked up at the blonde who cocked his head to the side. Astus looked down. The newspaper was clenched in his fists and he relaxed them, smoothed out the paper and laid it down on the table.
"Just annoyed," he said and gestured towards the headlines which he knew Abraxas had already read.
"Ah, that. Unnecessary I might add. There was nothing bad with those people."
Astus was glad they were alone in the dining hall. "People don't attack others just because they're bad. Sometimes they attack because they just feel like it."
"I guess you know that better than me," the blonde said.
"Voldemort attack to scare," Astus said. "He likes to scare people. But for some reason, he never scared me. Maybe because I grew up knowing nothing about him until I was eleven. And even though I met him for the first time then, although not in human form, he didn't scare me at all."
"What did he do then?" Abraxas asked.
"I…" What had he felt when he saw Voldemort for the first time? So long ago, on the back of professor Quirrel's head, his gleaming red eyes and hissing voice. What had Astus really felt?
He looked up at the blonde, saw he was waiting for an answer and the truth blurted out loud for the first time:
"I pitied him."
"You what?"
"I felt pity for him. He was clinging onto life so desperately," Astus said. Living as a parasite on another person just to stay in this world… Voldemort was if anything a stubborn man. "He tries to make everyone so scared of him so they can't see how scared he is."
Abraxas stared at the man before him who had a faraway look in his eyes, like he had returned to his past life for a moment.
"Is that what you're guessing?" the Malfoy finally asked the raven-haired man.
"No," Astus said and shook his head. He heard the children laugh, treasured the sound. Turning back to Abraxas, he smiled sadly and continued:
"That's what I know."