Because of the distance, the Floo Network sent him to two other destinations before he arrived at Melody's living room in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. But it only took about five minutes for him to arrive, and he stepped from the fireplace and dusted himself off. The living room was one of those rooms that looked like it had come straight off the pages of some home decorating magazine, it had a printed sofa done in pink and cream flowers, a matching area rug and cherry furnishings, complete with white Victorian style table lamps, throw pillows, and a bouquet of fresh flowers upon the polished cherrywood coffetable.

Mia was huddled on the sofa, sniffling softly, but she stopped crying when she saw him and ran to him instead, throwing her little arms about him and burying her face in his shirt.

"There now, Mia, it's all right. I'm here," he murmured, picking her up and holding her close. From nearby he could hear the sounds of voices raised in a dreadful quarrel.

A part of him flinched, recalling those long ago days of his childhood, listening to his parents screaming at each other while he was huddled under a thin blanket, shivering with cold and fear. He patted Mia's back soothingly, whispering reassurances, vowing that the horrors of his childhood would not be repeated. "Mia, sweetie, are you all right?"

She lifted her dark head from his shoulder, her beautiful hazel eyes wet with tears and said quietly, "I am now that you're here, Sev. You can make my daddy dump Kendra and fall in love with Mom again, right?"

"Uh . . .I'll do my best," he agreed, not wanting to give the girl false hope. It was then he caught sight of the red mark on her cheek. "Merlin, child! Did your father do that to you, Mia?"

She nodded. "I told him I didn't want Kendra for a new mommy when I already had one and he told me to knock off the attitude and he smacked me."

Severus's blood boiled. How dare Devon strike Mia that way? The child was only five, far too young to comprehend adult relationships. He had no tolerance for men who knocked about women and children, especially not his relatives. Devon had exposed his daughter to his infidelity at a very young age, which was inexcusable in Severus's eyes, and now he dared to threaten the child with the loss of her mother because he wanted to shack up with his current mistress, then grew angry when the child objected to it! The sheer gall of the man made Severus want to throttle the bounder.

"Did your mother see him do that?" Severus queried gently.

Mia nodded. "She slapped him then and said if he touched me again he was a dead man. Then daddy said she better watch it, or else he'd have her arrested."

"He's the one who ought to be arrested!" growled her cousin. "Mia, love, I'm going to take you over to your grandma's house, all right? She'll watch you while I take care of this problem with your dad and mum."

"How will we get there? You don't have a car, Sev."

"We'll do it the wizard way, with magic."

Mia smiled, she loved doing things with magic, since she too was a witch, the only one on her side of the family to have inherited the Prince magic. "Neat! How are we going to do it?"

"It's called Apparition, Mia and it's something only adult wizards and witches can do. It's sort of like wishing yourself somewhere and appearing there," he explained, trying to put it in terms the child could comprehend.

Mia's eyes grew round with wonder. "Wow!"

"Indeed," he smiled quietly at the child's enthusiasm. "Now, I want you to close your eyes and count to three. You'll feel a bit strange, like something's squeezing you tightly, but don't be afraid, it only lasts a minute and then you'll be at your grandmother's. Are you ready?"

She nodded, nestling trustingly into his arms.

Severus concentrated picturing Aurelia's front porch in his mind's eye. Then he Apparated away in a searing blue flash.

They appeared a moment later upon Aurelia's front porch, and Mia blinked and whispered in awe, "Holy cow, Sev! That's so cool."

"Do you feel sick or dizzy?" he asked, for those were common side effects of first time Apparitioners.

Mia shook her head. "No, why? I feel great. Can we do that again?"

"Yes, but not now, child." He knocked on the door and Aurelia answered it.

"Severus, great Merlin! What brings you here this evening?"

"Mia." Snape replied brusquely. He told Aurelia what had happened as soon as they were inside, setting Mia down and letting her go play or watch TV.

"I don't want her to see anything she shouldn't when I go confront Devon, Aunt Relia," he explained in hushed tones.

"I understand, Severus," Aurelia reassured him. "I nearly called the police last time, when he threatened to knock Melody into next week."

"He threatened to hit Mel?" Severus's face was like a thundercloud.

Aurelia nodded gravely. "I told her then she should leave him and she filed for a divorce. That could be why he's turned up here today, since he's not usually here on Fridays."

Severus looked like he was about to explode. But he managed to reign his temper in, at least for now. "Wish me luck, Aunt Relia."

"Luck, hell Sev, I hope you kick the bastard's ass good."

At that the Potions Master gave a thin smile, then he Apparated to the Barry residence.

• * * * * *

He arrived there just in time to catch Devon's hand before it connected with Melody's face.

The dark-haired businessman in the chic three piece suit was not expecting another man to appear out of thin air, much less a furious one who grabbed his wrist in one unrelentingly firm grip. Devon cried out, both in pain and surprise.

"Where the hell did you come from, buddy?" Devon shouted. "What are you doing in my house?"

"That should be obvious," drawled Severus. "I'm going to teach you a lesson about how to treat a lady, since your father never bothered. And it's one you won't like at all."

"Oh yeah? Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Sev! My God, where did you come from?" cried Melody, glaring daggers at her husband.

"Across the ocean," answered the Potions Master dryly. Then he spun on Devon and picked him up by his shirt collar. "Do you know what your problem is, Barry? You think women are there to serve you, so you treat them like dirt. Well, not my cousin, you miserable excuse for a piece of shit." Severus slammed the other man up against the wall. His one hand twisted in Devon's collar, nearly strangling the younger man.

Devon choked and tried to speak, but all that came out of his mouth was a bunch of nonsense syllables. Severus's dark eyes burned into the other man with the force of a thousand suns, making the stock broker tremble with fear. He had no idea who this tall stranger was, but the way he was looking at Devon made the Muggle fear for his life.

"Listen to me, you slimy bastard, and listen good. This is the last time you will ever lay a hand on your child or your wife. You will leave this house with your whore or whatever you call her and never come back, nor attempt to contact Mia again. As of this moment, you have no daughter any longer, for you gave up that right when you struck her and threatened to take her away from her mother. Nod if you understand me."

He loosened his grip a fraction, and a very red-faced Devon nodded, his blue eyes blazing.

"And before you even think about calling the police on me, remember two things." Severus lifted a finger. "One, you left a very nice bruise on Mia's face that will get you brought up on charges in any court in the country, and two," he brought up a second finger and jabbed it into the other man's chest. "I can break every bone in your damn body and rip out your tongue before you can blink twice. As quickly as this."

And with that, Severus drew back his fist and punched the astonished Devon right in the jaw.

The other man's head snapped back against the wall and blood flew everywhere. He cringed, obviously having no stomach for an adult male opponent, which did not surprise the Potions Master. His kind rarely did, they preferred smaller helpless prey.

"That's for hitting Mia," spat the angry wizard.

"Y-you can't do this," sputtered Devon, one hand covering his swollen jaw. Blood was dripping down his expensive Saville Row suit. "My attorney and I will sue your ass for assault, you Mafia thug."

Severus smirked coldly. "Do that, Barry, and I promise you won't be around to see another sunrise. At least not as a human being."

"What? You're-you're insane! Mel, who is this creep? Where'd you find him, cruising the boardwalk down at Atlantic City?"

"He's my cousin, Devon. And he doesn't like men who cheat on their wives."

"Like I give a good damn what he likes. I'll do as I damn well please and you can shove it up your ass, buddy!" blustered Devon.

"Oh? Shall I show you what I'm capable of, you son of a bitch?" Severus drew his wand and chanted a quick shape alteration spell.

One minute Devon was standing there, nursing a bloody lip and the next he was a tiny mouse, trembling and shivering upon the floor.

"I think that form suits you better than your other one, Barry. A rodent for a coward and a bastard. Or you could be a spider, or a gnat, and discover what it means to be helpless. How do you like it?"

Severus stamped a foot on the floor, making the quivering mouse jump and squeak in horror. "I could step on you, like the stinking cowardly rodent you are, Barry, and who would know?"

Devon the Mouse began to shake in terror and run in circles, panicking utterly.

"Ah, it's not so fun now when you're at somebody else's mercy, is it?"

Severus pointed his wand again and the mouse became a man once more.

Devon stared up at the tall wizard, his eyes bulging in terror. "Please, please, I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt me, mister!"

Severus sneered at him. "Begging already, you gutless bootlicking whoremaster? Stand up, coward, and act like a man."

"What are you?" quivered the other man.

"Melody's payback," answered Severus, then he hauled the trembling man up by his collar and slugged him twice, once in the eye and once in the nose. "And that's for making my cousin's life a misery." Devon yelped like a whipped cur.

"Please! Please!" whimpered Melody's husband. "I'll leave, I'll do whatever you want, just don't kill me."

"I wouldn't waste my time," snorted the Potions Master. Then he leaned in and hissed, very softly, in the other's face. "But I can and will make your life very unpleasant if you ever dare return here to take Mia or hurt Melody. And make no mistake, Barry, if you do-I will know. And I will come for you, and then you can kiss your human shape goodbye! Got me?"

"Yes! Yes! Just let me go."

Severus spat at him before dragging him by the collar to the door and tossing him out of it with a well placed kick to the rear. "Run, coward! And remember what I said. If you come back-I'll be waiting! And one more thing, since you took so much pleasure out of cheating on your wife, I think it only fair she get some payback." Then he pointed his wand again and cast a spell that withered the other man's penis and scrotum to one that was about the size of the mouse he had been. After that, he cast a mind-altering spell on the cringing man, making it so Devon could not speak about what had happened to anyone.

Then he dusted off his hands and went back inside. "Mel, I think I took care of your rodent problem. You all right?"

His cousin was looking at him with the same hero-worshipping expression she'd given him when she was eight and he had beaten up a local bully. "Fine, Sev. Just a little shaken. Thanks. And where is Mia?"

"I brought her over to Relia's. She's seen enough violence for one day."

Melody heaved a sigh. "Thank God. I was afraid she was going to go missing, after what Devon threatened earlier. How did you know to come here, Sev?"

Severus smiled. "A little bird told me, Mel. Come on, let's go and sit down and have a cup of tea." He gently touched the fist sized bruise on Mel's heart-shaped face. "Bastard!"

"I never thought he'd go this far, Sev. He's never been one to get physical before, at least not that way. This was the first time he ever actually hit me."

"First and last by my reckoning." He led her into the kitchen and removed a small emergency potion kit from inside the pocket of his shirt. "Let's get you cleaned up. You don't want Mia seeing you like this."

He ran a washcloth under some warm water in the kitchen sink and gently washed her face with it. Melody closed her eyes, tears seeping from under her closed lids. "I was so stupid, Sev! I should've left him years ago, when I first found out he was cheating on me with the girl from his office. But I thought it was just a fling, he swore it wouldn't ever happen again, and I believed him. Until six months later, when I found a woman's earring inside his jacket pocket. Mia was just a year then, and I was afraid to leave then, afraid I'd look like a quitter and I wasn't ready to give up my job and become a stay-at-home mom then. So I turned a blind eye and hoped he'd change, like he promised."

"His kind always say that, Mel," said Severus knowingly. "My bastard father used to swear he'd never touch a drop of alcohol after my mother threatened to leave him a few times in the early years of their marriage and he went right back to the bottle the first chance he got. He never meant what he said, his promises were nothing but piss and sand. Worthless. Much like Devon's."

"Exactly like Devon's," Melody sniffled, taking the napkin her cousin handed her and blowing her nose. "Won't you get in trouble for uh, magicking him like that?"

Severus smirked. "No. Who's he going to tell? I made sure he couldn't speak of it to anyone. You won't have to worry about him again, Mel. I think I scared him so bad he'll have nightmares for the rest of his miserable life." He uncapped the small jar of murtlap essence salve. "Look up," he ordered, and gently applied the blue salve under her eye and to her cheekbone. "In ten minutes that bruise and swelling will be a memory."

"You should've been a doctor instead of a wizard, Sev," remarked Melody.

The Potions Master gave her a rare smile. "I thought about it once or twice. But getting a Healer Mastery was an extra three years of studying and I was too impatient. So I became a Potions Master instead, though I know more about healing remedies than most in my field." He recapped the salve. "Which is a good thing too, considering how many near-death experiences my son has had. That boy draws trouble to him like a magnet."

"How is Harry, Sev?"

"Just getting over a nasty cold and mad as blazes at me right now," confessed the professor.

"Why? Are you being a drill sergeant again, Severus?"

"He thinks so. But it's for his own good, Mel." He spent the next forty minutes telling Melody everything that had happened in the past two weeks, happy to confide in someone who was also a parent and who would understand where he was coming from.

When he was finished, Melody said, "You make a better parent than I do, Sev. Least you don't allow your child to associate with an immoral asshole just cause he happens to be her father."

"Mel, everyone makes mistakes. I'm no exception, believe me. But what's done is done and all you can do is live with it. He's gone now and you and Mia can start over, she's young enough to not be too damaged by what he did, and now you've got a second chance. Don't waste it. Because they're too rare for that."

"You'd know, wouldn't you?"

Severus nodded. "Experience is a damn good teacher, Mel. Provided you survive it."

"How'd you get so wise, Sev?"

"I was born that way," he answered, and she laughed. "I'd better go and get Mia and let your mother know you're all right."

"I'm surprised she hasn't called yet."

"I told her not to. I said I'd come over as soon as I'd thrashed Devon into a pulp."

"You admitted you were going to beat up my husband to my mother, Sev?"

"Actually, she told me to do it," chuckled the wizard. "Go kick his ass good, were her exact words. That was one order I didn't mind obeying at all."

Melody rose to her feet and hugged him. "Thanks, big brother."

"Anytime, little sister." He examined her face critically. "Good as new. Wait here and I'll be back with your baby in five minutes."

He was as good as his word, returning with a sleeping Mia in five minutes. He handed the little girl to her mother, who took her into her room to put her to bed.

Once the child was tucked in, Melody came back into the kitchen to finish her cup of tea and Severus took one look at her and asked her if she wanted him to spend the night.

Melody smiled gratefully at him. "If it's not too much trouble, Sev, I'd really appreciate it."

"It isn't," he answered, yawning. Then he cast a few protection wards about the house before going to sleep in the guest room.

The next morning he awoke intending to return to Hogwarts, only to find Neil at the door, apparently Mia had woken up and saw him getting the paper and told him Severus was visiting. The young wizard somehow managed to talk the Potions Master into giving him an impromptu lesson on Advanced Emotion-Enhancing Elixirs, which lasted over half the morning and by that time he was starving and Aurelia invited him to go out to eat with them at a local restaurant called Applebees. Neil also managed to extract a promise that the Snapes would return over the summer to the Jersey shore and Severus retrieved his owl from Aurelia's house.

By the time he Flooed back to Hogwarts it was dusk and he found a parchment from Remus on his desk.

Sev,

Come and see me immediately. I had an incident today with Harry and we need to discuss it.

Moony

Severus groaned and wondered what the hell trouble his son had gotten into now.