Tobias took his time beginning his little talk, setting down the pretzels and withdrawing a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He lit one up, taking a drag on the cigarette, then blowing the smoke leisurely into the air, where it hovered in a noxious cloud, making Harry cough. He had taken up smoking ever since he'd sobered up, the nicotine relaxed him somewhat and quieted his craving for alcohol. He was dressed in a comfortable blue plaid work shirt and jeans with work boots, his skin tanned from his frequent work out of doors. He was in his late forties, around forty-eight or thereabouts, and he still had a handsome physique and a killer smile, when he cared to use it on the ladies. Yes, Tobias David Snape was still a handsome fellow, one who still drew the eye of the ladies when he strolled down to the waterfront or into the pub.

But his handsome exterior hid a shrewd mind and a selfish heart, one who cared more for his own pleasures first and anyone else's second. He had no tolerance for those who disappointed him either, and had held his son to an impossible standard as a child, despite being less than perfect himself. He eyed the skinny boy sitting near him with undisguised annoyance.

Harry did not catch the look, he was too busy wiping his streaming eyes and coughing from the smoke from Tobias's cigarette. "Smoking is bad for you, sir," he took it upon himself to inform his grandfather of this very important fact. "It can kill you. My dad says smoking can give you asthma and emphysema and cancer and other bad stuff like that."

Tobias raised an eyebrow in disbelief. It was unbelievable, the brat hadn't been here five minutes and he was already trying to lecture him, of all people. Little smartass, quoting diseases at him like a bloody professor! Then again, this was Severus's brat, he shouldn't be surprised at how bright the kid was or how quick he was to point out his elder's shortcomings. Which was something Tobias intended to nip in the bud right now.

"Let me get something straight with you right now, boy," he drawled, removing the cigarette from his teeth and holding it between his fingers languidly. The smoke curled in the air about his head, reminding the youngster of a pair of horns. "What I do in my house is my business, not yours. So if I want to smoke, you just shut your mouth about it, clear? I don't need no little snot telling me what's good for me. Understand?" He gave the child a fierce scowl, one that had always cowed his son when he was this one's age.

Harry shrank back into the couch instinctively. Tobias's stare scared him, it was like a nasty growling dog's. "Yes sir," he replied in a whisper. He didn't understand why his grandpa was angry with him, he was only telling him what his daddy had said about the dangers of smoking. But Harry sensed he better not question the man too closely when he was in this mood, and so he kept quiet. But he wished his grandpa would put the cigarette out, it really bothered his eyes, made them sting badly and tickled his throat too. Plus it smelled nasty!

"Okay. Here are the rules. What I say goes. You do whatever I tell you when I tell you, no backtalk. I don't take attitudes from little brats, so you behave and we won't have a problem. Don't and you'll get your arse whipped with my belt, like your dad used to." He folded his arms over his chest and gave the kid his most intimidating scowl. "Second, you have chores to do around here, you can pick up your room, wash dishes, and dust. Can you cook anything?"

Harry hesitated then said, "I can make cereal and toast. Dad wouldn't let me near the stove or the oven, said I was too little. I know how to make peanut butter and jam sandwiches and tunafish too. I like tuna with onions and celery, only I can't cut them myself, Dad always did that. Oh and I can make coffee too."

"Humph!" Tobias seemed unimpressed. "Good, then you can feed yourself, which is what you'll have to do if I'm not home at night. I work nights three days a week."

"You'll let me stay home by myself?" Harry cried, astonished. "But Dad never did."

Tobias's eyes narrowed. "I'm not your daddy, kid, and I do things my way around here. If I can't get a sitter for you, then you stay home alone, and mind you don't do anything destructive while I'm gone, boy, because if I find anything broken or out of place, I'll wallop you like nobody's business. Got me?"

Harry nodded. Tobias's threats were really beginning to make him nervous. He had rarely been spanked, he could only recall one time his mum had smacked him for drawing on the wall with her best peacock feather quill and magical imprinting ink. The only other times he'd gotten spanked was when he was three and had thrown a toy at Severus in a tantrum, and his daddy had only swatted him four times,and again when he was five and had flown his broom without permission off the property, but not with a belt. Harry shuddered. He didn't even want to think about how that would hurt.

"I don't like kids asking me a lot of pesky questions, so just be quiet and stay outta my way as much as possible. You can go outside as far as the end of the yard, but not across the street, the man there's got a Doberman and it eats brats like you for dessert."

"Oh. I like dogs," Harry said then, recalling how Uncle Matt had a golden retriever named Summer, that he always played with when he visited there.

"Not Butch you won't," Tobias laughed nastily. "So stay clear of him. No touching anything of mine either. If it don't belong to you, keep your hands off it. I hate kids putting their grubby little paws all over my things."

"Am I allowed to watch TV?"

"Yes, as long as I'm not watching it." His grandfather said grudgingly. "What else? Oh yeah, you're to be in bed by eight o'clock sharp, no later. Lights out at nine and if I find you up after that for any other reason except to use the loo, you'll regret it. Is all that clear to you, or do I need to repeat it?" Tobias's tone said that if that were the case Harry was an imbecile.

"No sir, I understand," replied his grandson, though he really wasn't sure if he understood why his grandfather seemed to think he was nothing more than a brat. He never smiles, thought Harry sadly, then recalled Dumbledore saying that perhaps he could make Tobias smile one day. He's my grandpa, why doesn't he like me? I haven't been bad or anything. And he doesn't sound like he likes dad either. He wished his dad were here now, he could make everything better, that was his job, healing and making potions for the hospital.

"Fine. Have you eaten anything yet?"

"No. But Uncle Matt, he's Daddy's partner, he gave me breakfast before he started rounds." The little boy glanced up at Tobias cautiously from beneath his thick dark lashes. "Uh, I am kinda hungry, Grandpa."

Tobias winced at the title, and said gruffly, "Sir will do, Harry. Go into the kitchen and make yourself some lunch if you want. Then go play or whatever, I'm going to take a nap. Oh, one more thing. If the phone rings, don't answer it, that's what the message machine is for. You do know what a phone is, don't you?"

Harry looked insulted. "Yeah, I'm not stupid. Mum had Muggle stuff in our house and I know what a phone and a TV is."

"Good. The last thing is you don't do any magic without permission. Not ever!" Tobias stressed this last with a scintillating glower that made the hairs on the back of Harry's neck prickle. "I'll not have any freaky magic going on in my house. You'll behave like a normal kid, or else."

"Yes sir. No magic," Harry agreed, feeling his heart sink to his shoes. He didn't know how he was going to meet that requirement, since sometimes things just happened around him.

Daddy said it was called accidental magic and wizard kids did that until they learned to control themselves when they were eleven and went to school. It was natural and nothing to be ashamed or afraid of. Except now Harry was afraid. What if he did magic by accident and Tobias got mad? He really didn't want to get spanked with a belt.

I'll just have to try extra hard not to do magic around where he can see it, the little boy vowed. Then he clasped his hands together and prayed that God made his father get well super quick, so he could go home to Aspen Avenue where he belonged, where magic was never forbidden and he didn't need to fear getting beaten either.

He slid off the couch and went into the kitchen which was dingy and the sink was filled with unwashed dishes. The green linoleum was cracked and the table was scuffed. Harry opened the fridge and peered inside it.

There was a half container of milk, some orange juice, several six packs of soda, and some cheese and ham. A half of a loaf of bread was also on the shelf next to some eggs and a slab of bacon.

Harry took out the bread, then looked about for the jam, finding some a moment later upon the door. He took that as well, then went looking for some peanut butter. There was a lone jar in the pantry, next to cans of soup and baked beans and other condiments.

The six-year-old set about making himself a sandwich. At least there was peanut butter and jam to eat. Harry loved it and could have lived off of it, but Severus insisted he eat proper meals, which meant bread, vegetables and meat as well. He wondered briefly if Tobias would be the same, then supposed not. The older man had made it pretty clear that Harry could make whatever he wanted for lunch.

One large peanut butter and jam sandwich later, washed down with a glass of milk, Harry was feeling a bit sleepy himself and decided to go up to his room and take a nap with Inky.

He crawled into bed and kicked off his shoes, snuggling next to Inky and whispering, "I miss you, Daddy. Get well soon." Then he fell asleep, and in his dreams he was back home again, his daddy holding him and smiling, just the two of them, the way it used to be.