Severus grimaced as Aurora heaved onto the roots of the oak tree again. He thought portkeying had seemed like the best option to transport his family to the woods by his hometown. Apparently, his unborn child however didn't like the idea seeing as to how Aurora had spent the last five minutes sicking-up. Severus continued to hold her hair back as she seemed to finally empty her stomach of its contents.

"I apologize, Aurora," Severus said sincerely, as his wife sat back on her heals, "I assumed this would be the easiest option for you and the baby."

Still breathing heavily, Aurora shook her head slowly from side to side. "It's alright, I didn't think a simple portkey would cause this either."

Severus ran a hand through her silky straight hair, a motion he knew she enjoyed. His fingers continued to stroke the dark lengths until her breathing was back to normal and she moved to stand. Letting her use his arm to balance herself he wrapped an arm around her waist steady her.

"Feeling better?" Severus asked, once she was upright.

Aurora nodded her head, still a bit pale as a hand rested on her stomach. "Yes, thank you."

Severus nodded and turned his attention away from his wife expecting to see Harry waiting on them. When the three of them had landed Aurora had taken about two steps before dropping to her knees and heaving. Severus had immediately rushed to her side though he knew there was little he could do for her. He'd assumed Harry would stay within sight. But the boy was no where to be seen.

"Merlin's balls!" Severus said angrily, crossing his arms in front of his chest. His eyes narrowed as his scanned the area looking for a glimpse of Harry's blue polo. "Where the blazes did that boy run off to, now? He knows better than to wander off!"

Aurora laid a calming hand on his arm, "Calm down, Severus. He probably just didn't want to see me sicking-up all over the place."

"That's no excuse for him to just vanish, Aurora." Severus snapped at her though his anger was direct more towards his eleven-year-old with messy black hair. Pulling in a deep breath he called out for his son, "Harry!"

"Harry!" Aurora's voice echoed a moment later.

Rustling from a tree about five meters away gained the attention of both parents. Severus's hand went for his wand his fingers clenching it tightly, but confidently. He tucked his wand back into his sleeve as he watched Harry drop from the lowest branch of an oak tree and land unsteadily on his feet before his knees and hands hit the ground.

Looking towards them Harry pushed himself off the ground, obviously unbothered by his landing. Harry grinned widely, and with innocent excitement hurriedly brushed his hands off on his jeans before running towards them.

"Dad, I could see the village from the top of the tree!" Harry relayed to them excitedly. Harry half turned his body from the direction the town was it to his parents then back again. Harry was either not noticing or ignoring the glares he was receiving from his adopted parents.

Both Severus and Aurora where standing with their arms crossed, slightly narrowed eyes focused solely on their son while their lips were turned downwards in a frown. Finally, noticing his parents' looks Harry's smile disappeared and his eyes widened.

"What?" Harry questioned, not understanding why his parents were upset with him.

"How many times do we have to discussing you running off, before it sinks in through that thick skull of yours?" questioned Aurora, her arms remained crossed as she scolded the boy. "We've told you time and time again you are not to go rushing off without telling us where you're going."

"I was just climbing a tree!" Harry pointed out, his voice raising in pitch slightly, as he pointed back to the tree. "I didn't run off anywhere!"

"Did you tell us where you were?" Aurora questioned again, Severus was amused when he realized it was the same tone she had used with Albus the day before.

"I couldn't!" Harry was nearly shouting, "You were throwing up, and dad was with you!"

"Then you should have waited, Harry," Severus joined in sounding stern, but calm. "We had this discussion not two weeks ago. You don't run off, or disappear, or go anywhere for that matter, without telling us. What more is it going to take to make you understand that?"

Harry was looking down at the ground his arms crossed in front of him in a type of shield, while his lower lip was trying, unsuccessfully, to stick out in a pout.

"Look at me, Harry," commanded Severus waiting for his son's eyes to meet his. Eventually, the green eyes, with brows scrunched to gather in a glare, met his own dark ones. "What would have happened Harry if you hadn't heard us calling you and we went searching for you?"

Harry shrugged. His eyes would meet Severus's only briefly before sliding to another location; though, his head never moved. The child seemed unable to meet his gaze for more than a second, as though doing so would be painful.

"Answer me, Harry. What would have happened?"

Harry shrugged, responding, "Could've gotten lost."

"And if you had become lost, how do you think your mother would have taken it?" His frown deepened when Harry shrugged. "She would have worried herself until she was sick, causing unnecessary strain on both her and the baby."

"I get it, Dad. I'm sorry," Harry replied, keeping his eyes fixed on something to the left of Severus's head.

"I'm tired of your apologies, Harry, especially when you continue to repeat the act you are supposedly sorry for."

Harry's eyes glared at the ground. He then grumpily kicked up a cloud of dirt, grumbling under his breath.

"Can we go, Dad?"

"Yes," Severus bit back angrily, clenching his teeth to keep from cuffing the young man upside the head. Without further comment, he turned on his heels, the leaves crunching beneath his feet as he moved through the densely wooded area.

As they neared the edge of the woods minutes later, Severus was met by a sight that could only be appreciated to someone who had once called the grimy town his home. He almost smirked at his wife's scrunched up nose as she took in a lung full of pungent air from the refuse filled river. He'd lived his entire childhood with that smell and scarcely noticed it in his youth. Now, after being away for so many years, the stench even affected him.

"What's that smell?" Harry asked, pinching his nose with his fingers.

"The river," Snape answered simply. "You may as well remove your hand. It won't help, and the smell doesn't go away."

"Wonderful," Aurora mumbled, clearly as unhappy about it as Harry.

Finding the small dirt road that led into the center of small village, Severus steered his family towards it and closer still to the river. The three remained silent, Severus assumed Harry and Aurora were merely being polite as they took in the town he had grown up in.

Many of the Muggles around the Manchester area often wondered how any of the houses on Spinner's End remained standing. The boarded up windows were not enough to stop the theft and vandalism of the area. Most of the homes on the street and many of those on the surrounding roads had been abandoned for years. The houses that were still occupied were in such a state of disrepair that it was difficult to tell them from the ones that hadn't housed a family since the steel mill had closed. Nevertheless, it was not a ghost town yet. On warm summer days and even cold winter ones, children could still be heard playing in the streets and the occasional car drove through, usually on its way to Manchester proper.

Most of the people who lived on or near Spinner's End worked in Manchester. They woke up an extra hour or so early every morning to give themselves plenty of time for the drive. Of course, this meant they arrived home late in the evening. Many complained loudly of the commute to anyone who would listen and even to those who wouldn't. The question often posed to those complaining was: why not move? The answer was usually same. Most of the people still living on Spinner's End had lived there since childhood when the Mill had been open and their little town had been booming.

Severus could not remember a time when his hometown had ever been 'booming,' but he could recall when it looked better than it did now. When he and Lily were children, they would play in the clean park that was now rusting and slowly being swallowed up by the forest. By the time they had graduated from Hogwarts, the town's populations had been reduced by nearly half of what it had been when they were first-years at Hogwarts.

Several blocks past the playground, Snape slowed his footsteps and looked at Harry.

"Would you like to see where your mother used to live?" Severus voice was soft and cautious.

Harry's head snapped up to look at him with large eyes.

"Yes," Harry answered immediately before remembering his manners. "Please."

Severus stopped at the end of the next street, pointing down it and saying, "There. The second one over."

"The yellow one?" Harry asked, dismay creeping into his voice.

"Yes."

Severus could easily understand the child's disappointment. Even he was a bit disturbed by the ruin that had once been his best friend's home. The once pale yellow paint now had a grotesque moldy hue. The small front porch had completely collapsed, leaving the door entirely blocked. The roof on one corner was completely gone, and Severus figured that the entire second floor was now one with the first. That was what typically happened to houses when no one was there to maintain them, though. It wasn't all that surprising.

Severus saw Harry swallow before the young man said, "My mum lived there?"

"It was far nicer then, however," Snape responded with a nod.

"Severus, this entire town seems deserted," Aurora commented quietly.

"So it does." Snape knew his answer was cryptic, and decided he'd been spending too much time around Dumbledore. "Come. It's not much further.

SssssssssS

All the people missing from the streets of the small town were inside the tavern. In some cases whole families were seated at tables, eating food that the Hogwarts' House Elves would have deemed too unsightly. Severus maneuvered his way through the crowd with ease, drawing only minimal attention to himself and his family. Though a few faces he recognized, he continued moving towards a booth in the back corner with determination.

Guiding Harry into the booth first, he slid in afterwards and pulled the table closer to himself, so Aurora could fit comfortably across from them. Several people looked at them after they had been seated and the noise of the tavern softened as a they stared at the family. Soon, however, the noise resumed, but many kept glancing back at their table.

"Severus," Aurora began hesitantly, "this doesn't look like a typical office."

"My father is-"

"Here. That's all of it, I swear!" A thick dirty envelope was thrust into Severus's face, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Severus's face remained impassive even as the large man with the envelope pushed his wife over to sit across from him.

"You seem very trusting of someone you've never met. How can you be sure I'll deliver this to him?" Severus asked, indicating the envelope he was tucking inside his jacket pocket.

The man snorted, a deep nasal grunt that made Snape nearly ask him if he needed a tissue. "Doesn't matter much. I got witnesses sayin' they saw me hand it over to the man sitting at his booth. "

"I see."

"Good. Now let's talk business. It took me longer then I thought to pay this one off, but I've got my eye one this one horse-"

"I don't talk loans," Snape interrupted.

The man sneered, pointing a finger directly at Severus's nose, "Now, listen here, son-"

Whatever feeble threat the man was going to make was replaced by a howl of pain as Severus grabbed the man's hand and twisted it while slamming it down on the table. Severus was aware that every eye in the tavern was now on him.

"It's your turn to listen now," Severus said quietly, not letting up on his grip. "I don't like strangers joining me uninvited for dinner. I especially don't like rude ones who think its acceptable to push my wife. Now, you will apologize to her immediately and leave."

Snape released the man's hand, and the man immediately jumped to his feet. Rubbing his wrist, he took a step backwards glaring.

Snape cleared his throat meaningfully.

"I. . . I apologize, ma'am," the man mumbled quickly to Aurora before turning and quickly leaving the tavern.

The previous noise level quickly resumed, Severus noted, but there were no more brief glances in his direction.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" Aurora demanded.

Harry was looking on wide-eyed. He was in for quite a few surprises before the night was over. Ignoring Aurora's question for the moment, Severus turned first to his son.

"What did you learn from that?"

Harry glanced at Aurora briefly before shrugging his shoulders.

Severus answered, "Never gamble with another man's money. Understand?"

Harry nodded quickly, saying, "Yes, sir."

"Good lad," responded a melodic voice from behind Severus.

Turning his head, he allowed a small smile to tug up at the corner of his lips. "Melody, it's good to see you."

"Teaching him the family business, I see."

Melody's smile hadn't changed at all in the last twelve years, Severus decided. "Something like that. Where is my father anyway?"

"The same place as mine." Melody shrugged, her long strawberry blond curls bouncing off her shoulders. "Playing their weekly poker game in the back."

Severus raised an eyebrow. "It's not Sunday."

Melody copied his expression. "How very observant of you."

"Ever since I can remember, our fathers have played poker every Sunday."

Melody nodded sagely. "Yes, until they all retired about five years ago and decided they could play whenever they damn well pleased."

"I see."

Melody snorted, "Want me to get him for you?"

"Never interrupt a poker game if you value your life. Rule number...I forget what number, but the rule remains."

"Seventeen. Rule number seventeen." Melody turned her attention to Harry. "And just so you know 'Never gamble with another man's money' is rule number five."

Catching his wife's look, Severus decided it was time for introductions. "Aurora, this is Melody. Her father owns the tavern. We practically grew up together here."

"Nice to meet you." Aurora said cordially, extending a hand to the woman.

"Mel, my wife, Aurora, and our son, Harry."

Melody returned the firm handshake then extended the hand to Harry. "Pleasure to meet you, Harry."

Harry took her hand, but Severus saw the uneasiness in his son's eyes.

A sound Severus didn't hear caught Melody's attention, and she glanced away for a moment before smirking. "Want to take care of your father's next appointment, too?"

Severus looked towards the door. A man about his own age entered, looking around nervously. Several people called to him, that he politely nodded or waved to. However, it was obvious his attention was elsewhere. His expression morphed into confusion when he saw Severus sitting at the booth.

"What's his story?"

Melody sighed sadly. "Typical for the most part. John Whicher. He has a job in Manchester. Moved here cause it was cheaper. I don't remember what he does exactly, but he works at the courthouse. Six months ago, his four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She died a month later. He needed to pay the doctors, and a funeral isn't cheap. Not to mention his wife is due to go into labor at any moment."

"How much?"

"About ten-thousand pounds. Not including interest. I'm not sure how much he's paid up yet, though. He's met with Tobias a few times already."

Severus glanced at his son. "Send him over."

Melody nodded. "I'll be back with something for all of you to eat."

"Severus," Aurora said urgently as Mel spoke to the man. "What are you doing?"

"Aurora," Severus replied calmly, "trust me."

"Ex-excuse me, sir." The man cleared his throat. "Melody said-"

"How much do you have, Mr. Whicher?"

"Not enough. I know I said I'd have more for you. . . er Tobias this week, but. . . my wife. It would kill her to lose the baby. I couldn't. . .I can't. . ." Looking away, the man pushed a much thinner envelope towards Severus.

Unlike with the previous man, Severus opened the envelope and counted its contents slowly.

"Remind me, Mr. Whicher. How many payments have you made so far?"

Whicher cleared his throat, "Including this one, four. This is the smallest one, though, I swear! And the next will be bigger!"

Severus pushed the envelope back across the table towards the man. "Use that to decorate the nursery. You've paid in full."

Whicher's eyes got impossibly wide, and Severus wondered if they would pop out. Or worse, if the man would cry. He honestly had no idea what to do if that happened. A sudden image of the full grown man sobbing into his shoulder caused Severus to repress a shudder.

"Leave, Mr. Whicher. Your wife needs you."

"Yes. Yes, of course. I . . .thank you! Thank you, sir."

Severus watched the man leave, and briefly wondered how long it would take for Melody to circulate the news of what just happened. Turning to Harry, he said simply, "Rule number one: always be willing to lend your neighbor a hand."

"Severus?"

"Aurora."

"How exactly are you going to explain that to your father, the loan shark, I believe is the correct term?"

Severus smirked. "Explain what?"

"Here we are." Melody's voice came from somewhere near Severus's right. "Enjoy dinner."

Severus nearly laughed at the looks on Aurora and Harry's faces as they stared at the thick brown lumpy liquid in their bowls. "Try it before you pass judgement."

"What is it?" Aurora asked, jabbing a lump with her fork.

"Beef stew. A dietary staple."

Aurora was still hesitant. Though her pregnancy-related sensitivity to odor probably had something to do with it. Eventually, she popped the forkful of beef into her mouth. Severus almost laughed when her eyes widened in surprise, and she immediately began eating vigorously.

Harry winced before he glanced at his own portion. Wrinkling up his nose, he hesitantly took a bite of the beef stew. He swallowed as if it was poison, taking another a moment later. This time he closed his eyes, nearly choking when a gruff voice suddenly spoke next to him.

"It can't be that bad, boy. Melody has been making stew for the tavern since she was old enough to reach the pot."

"I've seen that pot," Severus stated, watching his father gently sit across from him next to Aurora. "Mel can barely reach it now."

Tobias chuckled. "True." He paused for a moment before continuing. "So, what brings my prodigal son home? And with a family nonetheless." Tobias release a snort. "Well, do you intend on introducing me to the beautiful woman I'm sitting next to? Or the lad?"

"My name is Aurora," she stated, staring at the older man with her eyes flashing in anger. "And the 'lad' is our son, Harry. Any more questions, sir?"

Tobias smirked and looked at Aurora as if appraising her. "I didn't mean to offend you, Aurora. My only intent was to make Severus feel guilty for not even sending a damn letter. And my name is Tobias."

Without warning, Melody was at their table with a tray of drinks. "Not to interrupt the reunion, but I figured you could use a refill."

"Seen either of my appointments come in yet?" Tobias asked as Melody set a pint glass in front of him and Severus. Harry got a glass of chocolate milk, and Aurora's glass held water. Well, either water or Vodka, but Severus didn't think Mel would serve a pregnant woman alcohol.

"I took care of him," Severus said before Melody could respond. He watched her nod before she left the table, leaving him to tell his father what had happened.

"Oh? Teaching my grandson the rules of the business?"

Severus didn't answer. He merely reached into his jacket and took out the dirty envelope full of cash before sliding it across the table to his father. "A John Whicher left an envelope for you."

Tobias looked at the envelope before picking it up. "Oh? Strange . . . Last time I spoke to John, he said he wouldn't be able to finishing paying me for months, and. . . he's always used very tidy envelopes. Not to mention. . ." Tobias paused as he withdrew a crumpled fifty pound note, examining it carefully before indicating the pen marking on the left corner. "I never pegged John as the type to place bets at the horse track."

Severus never broke eye contact with his father.

After a tense moment, Tobias tucked the note back in the envelope and the envelope into his pocket. "Good to know you learned something from me."

Tobias turned his attention to Harry, a wide smile spreading across his face. "So, I'm a grandfather."

Severus felt a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he watched Harry's grin grow almost as large as his grandfather's.

"How old are you?" Tobias asked.

"Eleven. Almost twelve."

Tobias chuckled, "Eleven, huh? Guess I've missed quite a bit. You can catch me up on the way home. Right now though, let find you something more suited to an almost-twelve-year-old's taste."

Melody was at the table almost before Tobias could call her.

"What can I get for you?" Melody asked.

"How about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for the lad. He hasn't developed a taste for stew yet."

Melody turned to Harry, "Do you like grape or strawberry?"

"Umm..." Harry glanced Severus. "I can eat the stew. It shouldn't go to waste."

"No need to worry about that," Tobias said, reaching across the table to take Harry's bowl.

"What would you like, Harry?" Aurora asked softly.

"Could I have strawberry? Please?"

Melody smiled, "Of course."

"So," Tobias said after Melody left, "I'm guessing you go to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, sir."

"Please, Harry, it's Tobias, not sir."

"Yes, Tobias," the young boy said hesitantly. "I'm a second-year Gryffindor."

"Gryffindor, hmm," he replied, nodding slowly. "Lily was in Gryffindor, wasn't she, Severus?"

Severus nodded, as his eyes shifted towards Harry. "Yes."

Harry glanced towards Tobias, but quickly glanced back down at the table when the man looked at him. The young boy's lips were pressed tightly together as if he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"He's Lily's, isn't he?" Tobias asked softly.

Aurora answered before Severus could. "Yes. Severus and I adopted him earlier this year."

Tobias's eyes narrowed in the same way Severus's did when he was faced with a rather perplexing potion. He, however, didn't say anything. He just took a swig of his pint and nodded slowly.

"Well, eat up." He then glanced towards his son as he drank some more of his drink. "Something tells me that we'll have quite some time to catch up on old times."