It didn't take long for Severus, speaking in parsaltongue, to find the exit of the cavern. The small entrance was hardly big enough for a full grown man and was located at the top of the cavern. Severus had to have his father give him a boost up in order to reach the exit. With a few words, that didn't sound very magical when translated, the ‘door' slid open, allowing Severus to pull himself the rest of the way up. He quickly looked around, determining that they were in the garden - the unattended garden - of the cottage deep within the woods surrounding the Riddle Mansion. Scouting the general area and determining it was safe, Severus returned to the secret entrance and helped pull everyone out of cavern and was forced to lie down on the ground and stretch his arms down as far as possible in order to reach his father's outstretch hands.

--------

Tobias had not had a work out like this in years. Boosting everyone else up through the carven exit had been the easy part, but using only his son's arms to climb up was not easy. He felt his muscles throb and burn as he heaved himself up. He was incredibly relieved when he felt another set of arms grab a hold of him to help pull him out. As soon as he was seated on the ground he clenched and unclenched his hands in an attempt to ward away the stinging numbness. He nodded his thanks to Sirius who had been the one to help him up. It was times like this that he felt extremely old.

Grunting a bit as he stood up, Tobias dusted off his hands and surveyed everyone around him in the noon day sun. They were filthy, and he was sure he didn't look much better. Everyone was coated in a couple layers of dirt from the cave. Many had dried blood caked on to various parts of their body. Eileen's legs, which were bare from the knee down, were almost black from silt.

Severus cleared his throat before speaking. He felt as relieved as the next person, but he knew they were not out of the woods yet. The Dark Lord must have realized their absence by now and was most definitely looking for them. "We can probably stay here for the night, but we should leave as soon as possible tomorrow morning. The Dark Lord probably set up some sort of tracking device around this area as well to alert him to the use of magic, so we should probably avoid using it as much as possible."

"Does he know about this cottage?" asked Moody gruffly as his magical eye scanned the area.

Severus nodded. "In a way. He knows it exists, but has never had a use for it. As far as I know he's never even been here."

"Personally," Eileen spoke up in a light casual tone, "I would like a nice place to rest for the night. Not to mention a place to clean up."

"I doubt this place has running water, darling." Tobias said slightly amused as he watched his wife attempt to brush off her ‘borrowed' clothing.

"Let's see if we can even get inside this place first," Serenity spoke up as she gestured to the back door of the run down cottage.

Careful to avoid the overgrowth that surrounded the small house, the tired group made their way to the door. The cottage didn't look unusual as far as cottages go. It was small, made of wood, probably had a leaky roof, and, due to disuse had various vines and plants growing along its outer walls. Sirius made it to the door first and tried to open it, but it was securely locked.

"Great," sighed Sirius, sounding annoyed. "Now what?"

"Its probably just some silly muggle lock." Eileen spoke with annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest. "Just cast Ala..."

"No magic, remember," Severus interrupted his mother with far more then annoyance in his voice as he glared at her.

Eileen glared back at her son, arms still crossed.

"Umm...I think I can open it," Ron spoke up from behind the group of adults that had crowded around the locked door. His ears burned red as everyone swiveled around to stare at him.

"Well then don't just stand there boy! Get to it!" Moody practically shouted, but it was obvious from the way his mouth turned up at the corners that he didn't believe Ron could open the door.

Ron approached the door, and knelt down in front of the lock and with drew a paperclip and a few other pieces of garbage from with his pants pocket. Though it took him longer than it would Fred and George, Ron soon had picked the lock and the door swung open with a loud creek. Turning back around to face his attentive audience, Ron smiled from ear to ear.

"Finally got Fred and George to teach you how to pick a lock, I see," said Harry, who was still standing next to Severus, in an amused tone with a large smile on his face as well.

Ron shrugged, still smiling.

Hermione shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, but couldn't contain her smile. "Boys," was all she said, sounding exasperated.

This caused Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny to explode in laughter. The adults just looked on, some in amusement, others in confusion, and one with indifference.

The inside of the cottage didn't look much better then the outside. Layers of dust coated everything, causing Sirius to sneeze when he entered. Cobwebs were in the corners and the curtains had been eaten away by moths. Despite the lack of cleanliness, however, it was a fairly nice looking sitting room they entered. It was equipped with a large couch, three comfy-looking armchairs, and a small coffee table all situated around the fireplace. From their position they could see a small hallway with two doors and the small kitchen, which in place of a sink had a pump and bucket.

"I think I'll sleep outside," said Ron in a squeaky voice as he watched a spider crawl across the large round table which served to separate the kitchen from the sitting room.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her brother, but no one else seemed to pay any attention to him.

"I'll go take a look at the bedrooms," began Severus making his way towards the hall.

"Wait!" commanded Tobias in a firm tone that stopped Severus in his tracks. Tobias waited until his son had turned back around to face him before continuing. "We need to find food and gather some wood to start a fire." Turning his attention to Harry, Tobias softened his tone marginally. "Do you remember how to collect firewood?"

Harry thought back to their camping trip for a moment, before smiling a little bit. "Yes, sir."

Tobias allowed the corners of his mouth in lift up in a small smile with pride. "Very good, boy. Take your friends, make sure you stay close to the cottage and keep a look out. Anything suspicious and you come back here immediately. Check in back here in fifteen minutes even if you haven't gathered much wood. Understand?"

"Yes, sir," replied Harry. He was still a bit upset at his father, but knowing that Tobias trusted him still made him feel good. With his friends close behind him, he headed out the door in search of firewood.

Tobias watched his youngest son and his friends go before turning to face everyone else once again. Surveying the group he mentally ran through the list of what needed to be done and who was best suited for the job. When he spoke, his tone was just as firm and commanding as had been before he spoken to Harry. "Serenity, Sirius, start looking over the cottage. Find something to get rid of some of the dust. See if you can't find some blankets and such for us to use to sleep on."

Serenity half glanced at Severus and raised an eyebrow briefly before turning her attention back to Tobias and answering in a quietly respectful tone. "Yes, sir."

Tobias nodded to Serenity and turned a piercing gaze to Sirius obviously awaiting his reply as well.

Sirius refused to meet Tobias's eyes and instead gazed angrily at a point on the wall, but mumbled an agreement as he followed behind Serenity and disappeared down the hall into one of the rooms. He was not some bloody house-elf!

Tobias nearly cringed. He was not used to being treated with such disrespect. If his sons ever acted that way... Tobias let the thought trail off. His sons would never behave that way. Severus had learned at a very young age that he didn't tolerate disrespect and Harry was a fast learner as well. Finally tearing his eyes from the door Sirius had disappeared behind, Tobias turned his attention back to those left in the sitting room with him. Though they all tried to hide it, he could clearly see the looks of amusement on all their faces.

Resisting the urge to clear his throat, Tobias spoke to Eileen and Moody next. "I don't want to know how or what exactly you do, but set up a few surprises in case any uninvited guests may arrive." Tobias had to repress a shiver at the feral looks that came over both Moody's and Eileen's faces. They looked like two kids who had been given free reign of a candy store - one that held a side collection of sharp and pointy objects.

Both nodded and headed outside, already in deep conversation about what sort of surprises their friends may enjoy.

"Does that disturb you as much as it does me?" asked Severus after watching his mother and Mad-Eye leave.

Tobias turned to face his son with a half smirk on his face. "Probably. Come on, we need to see if we can find something to eat." Tobias headed towards the door Severus following behind him.

.......................

Severus could not believe their luck. He and his father were on their way back to the cottage after less then two hours of looking for food. They had discovered a small pond overpopulated with fish. The fish practically jumped out of the water and onto the shore for them. He and his father both carried enough fish for everyone and though Severus was sure he would never get the smell out of his cloths he was more relaxed now then he had been since they were captured. He and Tobias were discussing the best way to prepare the fish when they walked through the front door of their temporary abode, but their conversation died off when they heard shouts and saw the scene before them.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny where slouched back against the couch being yelled at, alternately, by Serenity and Eileen. Sirius and Moody were sitting at the large table watching the scene with no small amount of amusement. Severus raised an eyebrow and looked at his father with a questioning, yet amused, look. Tobias shrugged and turned back to listen to Eileen and Serenity.

"Two hours!" Serenity shrieked, with her arms gesturing widely. "Twenty minutes I could understand, but two hours! What were we supposed to think? You could have been hurt or captured or..." Serenity didn't get to finish before being interrupted by Eileen.

"Don't even think about opening your mouth, young lady." In stark contrast to Serenity, Eileen voice was low and dangerous as she stood relatively motionless with her arms crossed, her long fingers tapping against her arm. Her eyes held anger, but otherwise she seemed emotionless. Ginny, who was about to attempt to defend herself and her friends from the tongue lashing they were receiving, closed her mouth with a snap at Eileen's command and crossed her own arms over her chest with a glare. "You wandered too far away, getting yourself caught in a trap we were setting up incase of attack. It's a wonder you didn't get hurt. Not to mention..."

This time it was Eileen who was interrupted by a now very upset Tobias. He handed the line of fish to his son and was now standing between Serenity and Eileen clearly angry. "What happened?" Tobias asked between gritted teeth as he stared down and the four teens on the couch.

Harry was seated on the edge staring angrily off to the side, avoiding everyone's eyes and seemingly oblivious to what was going on. Ron was seated next to him slouched with his head down and arms crossed in the stereotypical teenage style, clearly thinking about how unfair this was. Ginny was seated next to him arms also crossed but instead of looking down was glaring angrily at all of them. Hermione was seated on the other end of the couch with her head propped up on her hand, looking as though she was seething, yet bored, and at any moment was going to stand up and bring the house down with her shouting.

None of the teens seemed to take notice of his question and hardly even blinked. Tobias almost growled. He had a pretty good idea of what happened from what he heard Eileen and Serenity yelling about, but wanted to hear the whole story from the kids. Tobias's voice took on a hard commanding quality, "Stand up! Now!"

This got their attention and with the exception of Harry, the teens began shifting in their seats obviously debating whether or not they wanted to obey his command. Harry remained unmoved, ignoring his father completely.

Tobias's teeth were set on edge and he was sorely tempted just to grab each of them and take them over his knees for a sound spanking. He stepped forward to Ron first and pulled him up off the couch, so he was standing in front of him. He then pulled Ginny up though she tried to yank her arm out of his grasp. Hermione was next, and if she had known how close Tobias was to tanning her backside, she probably wouldn't have sat back down after he pulled her up. However, Tobias merely pulled her up again, with a small shake, and whispered something in her ear that made her stay standing though she glared furiously at him. Walking to the other end of the couch Tobias pulled Harry up and gave him a warning look before releasing his arm and stepping back to observe the kids again.

"Now," Tobias's voice was low and dangerous as he looked at the now standing teens in front of him. "Look at me."

Very slowly, each of the kids looked up at him, still looking angry and defiant.

"Harry, tell me exactly what happened after I sent you to collect firewood."

Harry, was finding it more and more difficult to remain angry under his father's glare. He swallowed hard, but remained quiet. He didn't know how to explain to his dad that he and his friends had carelessly forgot about checking back in. How they had been so distracted by talking and what recently happened that they had accidentally strayed too far away from the cottage and consequently right into the trap Eileen and Moody had set up. No matter how he might try to explain it, his dad would just jump to the same conclusion as Serenity and his mother. It wasn't fair! They were just trying to help! Before he realized that his dad had moved, Tobias was standing inches away glaring down at him.

"When I tell you to do something, I expect you to listen." Tobias's voice was quite, barely a whisper, but was deadly. "Don't make me tell you again."

"We were late coming back from collecting firewood and we accidentally walked into one of the traps they were setting up." Harry whispered and nodded his head towards Eileen as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Tobias stepped back so he could survey the teens once more. His next question was directed at Serenity, who along with Eileen had retreated back a few steps watching Tobias deal with the four children.

"How late were they?" Tobias asked turning his head slightly in Serenity's direction waiting her reply.

"About two hours. They just walked through the door a few minutes before you did." Serenity answered in a neutral tone still glaring at the four teenagers. She had started questioning and yelling at them the second Eileen and Moody had escorted them through the door. She had been surprised when Eileen moved to her side and began giving them a piece of her mind as well. Sirius had tried to defend them but a couple of glares had sent him scurrying back.

"Two hours." Repeated Tobias in a low, angry voice, when he spoke next in was in a yell that caused all four teens to jump slightly. "Two bloody hours! What were you thinking? How could you be so foolish? I gave you one simple task with explicate directions and yet you can't seem to do as you are told. What do I have to do to make you see the gravity of our situation?" Though the question was rhetorical Tobias paused to calm himself and glare at the children for a moment.

Severus, who had silently moved over to the table were Sirius and Moody were sitting, had to repress a shudder. The last time his father had used that tone on him, he was grounded for a month and forbidden from...well from just about everything really. Before sitting down he had grabbed a now clean knife from the kitchen counter and was now preparing the fish they would be eating for supper, while listening to his father chew out the teens.

"So how many times were you on the receiving end of that?" Sirius asked Severus quietly, yet with a conspicuous air about him. He seemed highly amused as he, too, picked up a knife and began copying Severus's movements with another fish.

"Too many to count," was Severus's equally quite reply. He heard Moody snort as he said this and half smirked.

"Go! Go now!" shouted Tobias as he pointed in the general direction of the hall.

All at once the four teens began to protest. Tobias could only hear bit and pieces of what they were saying, but got the general idea of their complaints. Feeling his anger rise, Tobias bellowed, "SILENCE!"

The effect was immediate. All four teens stopped talking and their eyes grew wide. Silence engulfed the cottage, making the sounds of a distant bird appallingly clear. After a couple of minutes of tense silence Tobias spoke breathing heavily, his voice was steady and quite, but with harsh undertones. "You will each find a corner and remain there until I say otherwise. You will do so quietly and without complaint. Once you are in a corner you will remain standing there quietly. Now, go!"

For a moment it appeared as though none of them would heed Tobias's orders, but very slowly, with bowed heads and angry glares at the floor, the four teenagers slowly made their way to separate corners of the living room. Once the four teenagers were standing quietly with their noses in corners, Tobias closed his eyes and took a tired deep breath while messaging his forehead with one hand. After a moment he lowered his hand and opened his eyes before turning around to face the rest of the adults in the room.

As he assumed, they were all watching him with various looks on their faces. Moody looked highly amused as did Sirius, though Tobias wasn't exactly sure what they found so funny about his son putting himself and his friends in danger. Serenity looked angry still but he was sure the anger was directed more at the children she kept shouting glares at. Eileen looked indifferent, as usual. Only Severus wasn't watching him. Tobias was sure his son wasn't ignoring what was going on, but he was pretending to. He continued to clean the fish, just as his father had taught him many years before, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him. Helping to ease the embarrassment and humiliation his brother and friends were most likely experiencing from being made to stand in a corner.

Tobias walked over to the table and took the forgotten knife out of Sirius's hand before sitting down at the table and picking up the fish Sirius had been mutilating and began cleaning it. Slowly, everyone began moving around again and talking.

Harry stood in his corner fuming silently. How could his dad treat him like this in front of his friends! He shifted his wait from one foot to another. There was nothing that could make this day worse than it already was. First his...mother -he now understood why Severus hated referring to her as such- had placed him under ‘Imperio.' Now he was in trouble with his dad, who he was still mad at for letting his mother place him under the unforgivable curse. It just wasn't fair.

.........................

About an hour later, dinner was almost done and the four teenagers were still standing in their corners. Tobias almost felt bad for leaving them there for so long, but he felt it was a good punishment and standing for an hour would hardly kill them. Standing in the kitchen, he called the four children over to him. Severus was behind him cooking, and Serenity, Sirius, Moody, and Eileen were in the living room discussing... something or another. As the now calm, though slightly embarrassed children entered the kitchen, they sat down at the table.

"Did I tell you that you could sit down?" Tobias questioned with only the slightest hint of a warning in his voice.

Tobias received four tired ‘no sir's in response as each of them stood up from the table refusing to look anywhere except the floor.

"I'm very disappointed in all of you," Tobias spoke calmly and quietly. "I gave you the task of collecting firewood because I thought you were all old enough and mature enough to follow my directions." Tobias paused for a moment to allow his words to sink in before continuing. "Apparently I was wrong." Tobias paused again; he could see the guilt beginning to eat away at his son as well as the boy's friends. "Today you proved - not only to me, but everyone else as well- that you cannot be trusted to follow directions even for your own safety. I want each of you to give me a reason as to why you should have followed my directions."

The entire house seemed to be eerily silent as Tobias awaited an answer from one of the teens. When none was forth coming, he addressed the youngest of the group. "Miss Weasley, please tell me why you should have followed directions."

Ginny took a deep breath and swallowed before answering in a soft voice. "Because you didn't know where we were and we could have gotten hurt, sir."

Tobias nodded, his voice remaining calm and soft yet slightly stern. "Very good. Miss Granger?"

"We don't even have our wands, so if we had been attacked we wouldn't have been able to defend ourselves, sir." Hermione raised her head to look at Tobias as she spoke in a small voice.

Tobias nodded at Hermione, "Very good." Then he turned his attention to Ron. "Mr. Weasley?"

Ron shrugged and kept his eyes on the floor. "I don't know. Ginny and Hermione pretty much covered it."

"I'm sure you can think of one more reason, Mr. Weasley." Tobias allowed some annoyance to color his voice, but still remained calm. "Why wasn't it a good idea on your part to wander around in an unknown forest?"

Ron shrugged again before answering; finally bringing his eyes up off the floor. "We may have gotten lost, sir?"

"Is that a question or an answer, Mr. Weasley?" The annoyance was gone from his voice, making it once again quiet and stern.

"An answer sir," said Ron with a bit more confidence.

"Very good," nodded Tobias. "Harry?"

Harry looked up at his dad. He was still a little upset over the whole ‘Imperio' thing, but realized also that this was not about that. This was about him disobeying his dad and putting himself and his friends in danger. Harry began hesitantly, afraid of what his dad and friends would say at what he felt was a good, honest, answer. "Because, sir, you gave us those directions for our own safety and you have more experience in these types of situations; therefore, we should have trusted your judgment and done as you said."

Tobias tried not to smile at his son's answer, but could feel the corners of his mouth curl up slightly with pride. "Very good, son." Tobias's voice was soft, but held a proud note to it.

Turning to all of the teens, Tobias spoke steadily and calmly after studying them for a moment. "This is about the time I would ground each of you for the rest of the summer." Tobias watched amused as all four heads snapped up to gape at him. "However, our current situation is hardly suitable for that, so the four of you will clean the kitchen tonight, after dinner, and go to bed immediately after, without complaint. Understand?"

Tobias studied each teen carefully as they all said a quiet, ‘yes, sir.'

In a much lighter, more casual tone that made the corners of Harry's mouth lift slightly, Tobias ended his scolding. "Good, now sit down, it's time to eat."

Within minutes, all the occupants of the cottage were sitting around the table eating dinner and talking, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened.