Life and Its Mysteries

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Chapter 17



Severus sighed to himself as he cleaned up the dining table, throwing the boxes of takeaway in the trash bin. He glanced up at the wall clock, and it was almost midnight. He had taken it upon himself to do the chores as best as he could since Hermione had given Beth sometime off right after the funeral yesterday.



The funeral had gone well, but it didn’t do so well with either Hermione or Tobi. Hermione as always, tried her best to put up a strong face in front of Tobi, but yesterday, her strength had failed. She was a crying wreck, and she was even unable to tend to their son, who didn’t want to be with anyone.



Tobi on the other hand was a different story. He no longer was cried during the day of the funeral. He seemed like a grouch and was angry at everyone and the world. He even heard him argue with Beth when she tried to put his Batman cloak on him. He didn’t want to wear it, and hated it as it was. That wasn’t a good sign.



Once, he even tried to approach and talk to Tobi, when there wasn’t much success with anyone else.



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Severus kept his eyes at the buffet table as he remained seated on the living room sofa with Hermione at his side. He saw two little girls, in black dresses, skipping towards the table. They were the daughters of Joshua, Daisy and Dianne. They both lifted the table cloth slightly, and began talking to Tobi who remained hidden there for quite some time.



“Let’s go outside and play Tobi,” seven year old Daisy asked.



“Daddy bought us new dowwies and you can come and pway pwincess with us,” Dianne said with a small smile. She was a year older than Tobi. “We’ll have fun again!”



“Did you bring your Batman toy?” Daisy asked. “Let’s play Batman and Princess again.”



“No!” Tobi growled. “I hate pwincesses and I hate Batman! Leave me awone!” He glared at both the girls, not caring at the moment about them.



“But I thought-“



“Never mind,” Daisy sighed as she pulled on her sister’s arm. She knew better, knowing that Tobi wanted to be alone. She stood up, along with her sister, bringing the table cloth down.



With teary eyes, Dianne looked at the table cloth, wishing that Tobi would come out and play. It was always fun when the three of them were together. Her glance her glance did not break off from the table until her sister had successfully dragged her out.



Severus knew that something bad must have been said as he watched the teary eyed Dianne walk away. He excused himself from Hermione, who was currently talking to Joshua at the moment. He was going to talk to his son, and try to have an actual conversation with the boy. Nervousness coursed through his veins, as he walked to the buffet table.



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“I think he’s going to have a little chat with Tobi,” Joshua told Hermione as they both watched Severus walk.



“No one can get through to Tobi. I tried bribing him somewhat the whole day,” Hermione told him as she sniffled into the tissue in her hand. “And it hasn’t worked. If it’s anyone that can get through to him, it’ll be Severus that’s for sure. He’s been under that table too long.”



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“Hey Tobias,” Severus greeted him as he knelt down on the floor, lifting up the cloth. “Do you mind if I join you for a bit?”



Tobias, who was wearing an all black suit just like his father, just scowled at Severus, huffing as he crossed his arms over his chest.



Severus didn’t say anything and just took the silence as an invitation. After all, Tobi didn’t say ‘No.’ Just before he entered; he grabbed a plate that he had recently filled with finger foods and pastries, bringing it with him as he too sat beneath the table.



“Not hungwy!” Tobi said firmly as he looked at Severus. His Mummy, Beth, and his Uncles have been trying to make him eat, but neither of them could. He didn’t want to eat.



“Fine with me,” Severus said as he bit into a chocolate filled pastry. He too loved chocolate just like Tobi. Most probably, his son did catch his sweet tooth in his genes since Hermione didn’t actually have one. She just liked eating them from time to time. Maybe he could bait Tobi to eat.



“Don’t you want to go outside and play with the girls?” Severus asked softly.



Tobi shook his head.



“What about playing baseball for a little bit with your Uncles?”



“I hate baseball and I hate Batman!”



Severus thought for a moment, not wanting to touch on the topic of Bill. “Well, sadly, I am not too good with baseball. I thought I was going to ask you to teach me a thing on two on it. Daddy doesn’t play too much of it in England,” he said softly. He then realized he used the ‘Daddy’ word for the first time.



“Reawwy?” Tobi asked curiously. “What you pway in Engwand?”



“Well, cricket really more popular there,” Severus replied with a smile. He was pleased that Tobi and he were engaging in an actual discussion. “Instead of hitting with a baseball bat, we use a cricket bat. And then-“



“You meany!” Tobi said with anger. “You’s a big buwwy!”



Severus stopped speaking right away, and was shocked as he looked at his teary eyed son. What in the hell did he do or say?



“Hitting cwickets for sporty stuff is wrong! I will tell on you!” With that, Tobi crawled out from under the table, crying and running to find someone familiar amongst the crowd.



Severus’s mouth gaped open when he realized what had just happened. Hitting crickets?! Tobi had misunderstood, but then again, he was only four years old and knew nothing of cricket. Now, he was worried that he son actually did hate him. He sighed to himself and crawled out from beneath the table.



“What did you tell him?” Joshua asked as he approached Severus.



Severus frowned as he looked at Tobi, who was crying in Hermione’s arms. He felt guilty, knowing that he caused his son to cry. In a way, it wasn’t his fault either, but merely a misunderstanding. “He thinks that the sport cricket involves hitting the little buggers with a bat,” he replied.



Joshua just laughed and patted Severus on the shoulder. “You should really be into baseball then, not cricket.”



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Another sigh had escaped Severus’s lips as he walked towards Hermione’s bedroom. He had started out on the wrong foot with his son, and wondered how he could make things right. Tobi hadn’t spoken a word to him since then, and refused to even look at him. What was he going to do? Things were not going well between them.



Thankfully, Hermione was already sound asleep on the bed when he had entered the room. She hadn’t had a decent night’s rest since their arrival, and it was taking its toll on her. It seemed as if her tears never stopped. Earlier, he had slipped her a sleeping potion in her drink so as to let her sleep well for the night.



Slowly, he had slipped into bed, spooning himself behind Hermione. He pulled her close to him, and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair. Softly, he planted a small kiss at the back of her head, and closed his eyes. His nose still remained in her curls. Soon enough, Severus had fallen asleep.



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Severus slowly opened his eyes as he had been awakened by a loud sound. He remained silent for a brief moment as his still sleepy brain tried to register what he was hearing. Suddenly, he jumped out of bed when it occurred to him that it was Tobi crying from the other room.



As soon as Severus opened the lights in Tobi’s room, he saw his son crying in the middle of the bed. Many tears were streaking down his red cheeks as he was clutching onto his blanket.



“Dadeee!” Tobi cried out loud when he saw his father standing at the door. “Monsterrr!”



Severus immediately went to his son, and carried him in his arms. It was a nightmare, and he knew it must have been because of the ‘monster’ that killed Bill. Hermione never mentioned to him that Tobi would have nightmares recently.



“Monsterrr!” Tobi said again. The word muffled against the side of Severus’s neck. His little hands had a death grip on his Daddy’s white shirt, as he shivered in fear.



“Hush Tobi, hush…” Severus said softly as he gently bounced and rocked the boy in his arms. He started to walk back and forth across the room, trying the calm him with comforting words. “There are no monsters. Daddy’s here.” Saying those simple words to his son made his heart leap with happiness.



“No! No!” Tobi fussed when Severus started to sit down on the bed.



Again, Severus continued to walk across the room. When he didn’t know what to say anymore, he started to hum a tune to the song ‘Father and Son.’ He couldn’t quite remember the lyrics all too well, but thought that it would also be calming to hear.



Eventually, Tobi’s cries did quiet down. After some time, only a small hiccup could be heard from him on occasion. It was then Severus knew that he was already sleeping again.



With a last glance on the bed, Severus decided that it was best to bring Tobi with him to the other room and sleep with him and Hermione. He didn’t want him to have a recurring nightmare since it seemed like he didn’t want to be on his bed earlier.



When he was back on Hermione’s bed, Severus kept Tobi sprawled on his chest. He took a quick glance at Hermione who was still in a peaceful slumber. He pulled the blankets against him, making sure that Tobi kept warm. As he gently stroked his son’s soft black hair, he smiled at himself. Maybe things between him and Tobi were going to fall into place after all.



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AN – I hope you enjoyed reading the chap because, I enjoyed writing it. It has a little bit of sweetness, drama and humor in it. Review!