Chapter 14

"Peter, come in. Its going to rain soon." A very formidable looking Mrs Pettigrew came out to the backyard to find her four year old son covered in mud.

"What have you done, Peter?" she said in an exasperated voice. "Now I'll have to wash it all over again. You are simply good for nothing."

Peter cowered in fright as his mother held on to his hand firmly and led him inside the house.

~*~

Never a day went by when little Peter Pettigrew did not wish to run away. Away from his mother. Away from his life. His father abandoned his mother and his little son for another woman in the same village two years ago and Peter never saw him again. It was assumed that he had moved to another village. Though Peter adjusted to this new situation soon, his mother didn't. The happy, smiling Mrs Pettigrew had turned into a bitter woman who didn't even care about her son.It didn't help, either, that Mr Pettigrew did not leave a single penny for them. Mrs Pettigrew had to rebuild her life from the scratch.

~*~

"Never a moment's rest for me," Mrs Pettigrew muttered under her breath, her hand still gripping Peter's very tightly.

"Mum, it hurts," Peter whined, tears welling up in his eyes.

Mrs Pettigrew kneeled down onto the floor and sviveled Peter around so that he came face to face with her.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" she said, mockingly. "Well, you just have to put up with it. Now go and get ready for supper."

"Is it cabbage soup again?" Peter asked in a rare moment of courage but quickly lost his nerve when his mother shot him a baleful glance.

"You will eat whatever is put on your plate," she said, scornfully. "Do you understand?|

"Yes, Mum," Peter answered, his voice barely a whisper.

"Good. Now get going or else I will not hesitate to starve you," Mrs Pettigrew said and marched inside the kitchen.

Chapter 13

"Hello," Severus said, looking up at an elderly gentleman at the toy stall. This time, he had accompanied Tobias to the market and was wandering around when he spotted the gentleman looking around.

"Hello, young man," the man replied, smiling. "And what brings you to the market today?"

Severus smiled back. "My Dada brought me here," he replied. "My Mama has fever and Dada and me want to help her."

The man patted Severus' head. "How old are you?" he asked.

"I'm four," Severus replied, proudly.

"You are an old 4-year-old," the man laughed.

Severus didn't understand what the man meant but laughed along with him, nevertheless.

"And what are you buying from here?" Severus asked.

"Nothing," the man replied. "I was just looking around at these colourful toys. I used to buy so many of them for my son."

"Where's he?" Severus asked. "Can he be my friend?"

The man laughed again. "I don't know where he is right now," he replied. "And he must have grown up by now."

"He doesn't stay with you?" Severus was incredulous. He couldn't imagine his life without Eileen and Tobias.

"No," the gentleman sighed. "I don't know where we went wrong. But he doesn't stay with us anymore. His mother died soon after he left and I'm completely alone now."

Severus felt sad for the old gentleman and slipped his little hand into the man's and gave it a small squeeze.

"You can be my friend," Severus said, smiling.

The man smiled back at him. "So, my little friend, what is your name?" he asked, returning the squeeze.

"Severus," Severus replied. "But everyone calls me Sev. So, you can call me that as well."

"Of course," the man said. "I'll call you Sev then. So Sev, choose something from here."

Severus hesitated, not knowing whether his father would approve or not.

"Well, nothing," he replied. "Dada's already bought me a ball."

"So choose another one," the man insisted. "A bigger one than the one your Dada bought you."

Just as Severus looked up to choose a ball, he felt a strong pair of hands around his waist.

"What are you doing here, Sev? Didn't I tell you not to leave my side?" Tobias said, picking his son up in his arms. The man whom Severus was chatting with had entered the shop to ask for some more toys.

"Dada, look!" Severus exclaimed. "I have a new friend!"

Tobias laughed.

"You always seem to make some new friends whenever you visit the market," Tobias said, still laughing. "Who's it this time?"

Severus wriggled out of his father's arms and dragged him towards his new friend. He tugged at the gentleman's coat.

"Dad," Tobias whispered, shocked, as he came face to face with his son's new friend.

Chapter 12

"Prove it," Tom sneered at Dumbledore. "Prove it that you are a wizard."

Dumbledore did not flinch at Tom's steely gaze. Instead, he kept staring at the boy intently.

Suddenly, the wardrobe in Tom's room burst into flames. Tom jumped up, startled.

"There's something in your wardrobe, Tom," Dumbledore said. "What's it?"

Tom went up and opened the wardrobe, surprised that the flames didn't affect him at all. He removed a collection of toys and trinkets and spread them out on the bed.

"Thievery isn't tolerated at Hogwarts, Tom," Dumbledore explained gently. "There'll be punishments for that. Detentions."

Tom just stared at Dumbledore, not saying a word. Dumbledore, though, was unaffected by the seemingly tense atmosphere in the room.

"So, come on, Tom," Dumbledore said, getting up from the chair. "We've got to get going now. Loads of things to buy."

Tom, though, was rooted to his spot. He looked at Dumbledore haughtily.

"I can manage it alone," he said. "I'm not scared of anything. Or anyone."

"Okay, Tom," Dumbledore said. "Here's your book list and ticket to the Hogwarts Express. You'll get everything you need at Diagon Alley."

Dumbledore then gave him the directions to Diagon Alley and started to leave when Tom stopped him.

"I haven't got any money to buy these stuff," he said.

"Oh! Don't worry, Tom," Dumbledore said. "Hogwarts has a fund for students like you. Just show this note to the shopkeepers."

Saying so, Dumbledore hastily scribbled a note and gave it to Tom who pocketed it. Dumbledore had barely made his way to the door when Tom stopped him again.

"I can talk to snakes too," Tom announced. "Is it normal for people like us?"

Dumbledore was shocked but did not allow it to reflect on his face. He merely walked out of the room without saying a word.

~*~

Tom was fascinated by the sights and sounds of Diagon Alley. He first entered Ollivanders and bought his wand, something for which he was very eager. Elated at acquiring his wand, Tom made his way to Madam Malkin's for his robes.

Very soon, he finished his shopping and paused in front of Eeylops. He wished he could buy himself an owl but he wasn't sure whether the Hogwarts fund will allow him to. And besides, he wasn't sure whether Nagini would accept it. He couldn't help feeling humiliated at the fact that he had to use the school fund to buy his school stuff.

"But, don't worry, Nagini," he whispered to her. She slithered around in the bag where Tom had hidden her. "One day, you and me will own this world."

Chapter 11

It was a sulky Severus on the breakfast table one sunny day. He picked up a piece of toast and started eating it, without a word of greeting to his parents.

"Good morning, Sev," Eileen greeted the four-year old. Severus merely grunted. Eileen, though, was unperturbed. She took the half nibbled toast from him and started to butter it. Severus, however, snatched it back and chomped on it, furiously.

What's the matter, sweetheart?" Eileen was alarmed at her normally cheerful son's behaviour. Severus didn't reply.

Tobias put down his newspaper and glared at him, angrily.

"Answer your mother, Severus," he said. Severus cowered. His father rarely got angry with him.

"I want to go to school," he finally replied in a small voice. "All the other kids in Spinner's End are going. Why can't I?"

"That's because your mother wants to home-school you, Sev," Tobias replied.

"But why?" Severus persisted. "Even Petunia and Lily are going."

Severus had grown quite close to the two sisters, preferring Petunia to Lily. His conversations with Lily always ended up in a fight and Petunia normally supported little Severus. Severus also managed to sneak in some forbidden treats, like chocolates, past his ever-watchful mother with some help from Petunia. Lily often threatened to tell on them but Petunia and Severus always bullied her into submission.

"Sev, Lily and Petunia's parents can afford to send them to school," Eileen said, softly. Tobias, though, looked pained. Eileen ran a reassuring hand on his back and smiled at Severus.

"But, don't you worry," she said. "I'll teach you much more than those schools. Right, Tobias?"

Tobias smiled back at her.

"Right you are, Leen," he replied, winking at her. "And it'll be fun as well."

"What is it?" Severus asked, his eyes glinting with excitement. "Tell me....tell me!"

Tobias and Eileen, seeing that their son's mini tantrum had finally died down, sighed with relief.

"You'll find that out tomorrow, champ," Tobias said, picking his son up in his arms and swung him over his shoulder. "Now let's go and hit some goals!"

Severus squeled with unguarded happiness. "Let's go, Daddy!"

"Have your breakfast first, both of you!," she called out but they were already out of earshot.

"Boys!" Eileen muttered to herself as she cleared the plates away.

Chapter 10

A few years later

Dark clouds circled the sky threatning to burst. Lightning streaked through the clouds and the thunder claps drowned every other sound. Mrs Cook and Mrs Bailey hurriedly started to pack up their things. They had thought that it was a good day for a picnic and had brought the children to the nearby mountains. They had trekked for a while before coming to a stop behind a cave. They were just starting to open their picnic baskets for lunch when the weather played truant.

"Let's get the children," Mrs Cook said, stuffing everything in the bags. 'Where are they?"

"Must be playing nearby," Mrs Bailey replied, looking around. "There's Tom."

"Tom," Mrs Cook called out. Tom walked up to them and looked at her questioningly. "Where are your friends?"

"I have no friends," Tom replied, automatically. Mrs Cook sighed. "Where are your companions, Tom?" she asked again.

"Over there," he replied, pointing over his shoulder. They looked all around but couldn't find any of them.

"Inside the cave," Tom said, condescendingly. The two ladies rushed over to the entrance of the cave and found it closed. They looked at Tom, horrified.

"Are they really in there?" Mrs Bailey finally found her voice. Tom nodded.

"But how?" Mrs Bailey whispered.

"No idea," Tom replied. "Now are you going to continue chatting with me or try getting them out?"

Saying so, Tom walked away, completely unaware of the fact that he was being watched intently.

~*~

The man made his way to the orphanage building, amidst the rain and thunder. He came to a stop in front of the door and knocked. Mrs Cook opened the door and was taken aback on seeing the strange looking man at the door. Nevertheless, she ushered him in.

"Whom do you want to meet, sir?" she asked him politely.

"I believe that there's a boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle staying here," the man replied. "I've come to meet him."

"Tom?" Mrs Cook was surprised. He never had any visitors up till now. She eyed the man suspiciously.

"And why do you want to meet him, sir?" she asked him, forcing herself to be polite.

"I've come to take him away," the man said. "To a school."

"A school?" she enquired, skeptically. The man nodded and produced a parchment. Mrs Cook looked at it and nodded.

"Very well," she said. "The last room to your left. And oh...I haven't asked you your name, sir."

The man stopped and turned to face Mrs Cook. He smiled.

"Albus Dumbledore," he replied.

Chapter 9

Eileen had mixed feelings on the day Severus took his first steps. On one hand, she was thrilled but she was also aware that he'll be a lot more mischievious now. Even so, she encouraged Severus to walk and very soon, he began running around in the house, exasperating Eileen to no end. Tobias bought him a ball and father and son spent every evening playing ball in their little backyard.

"Be careful, Sev," Tobias warned as they played ball one evening. "Don't break anything or else your mother won't spare either of us."

"Dada, ball..." Severus yelled happily and kicked the ball hard. Eileen was just coming out to the backyard with three glasses of juice for each of them.

SEV!" Eileen and Tobias screamed at the same time. Fortunately, the ball missed the tray narrowly and both of them heaved a huge sigh of relief.

Eileen set the tray on the table and picked Severus up. She handed him a small glass of juice and watched him gulp it down eagerly.

"C'mon," she said after Severus had finished. "Let's get you to bed early tonight. I'll take you to the market with me tomorrow."

"Great,' Tobias nodded. "Just be careful, Leen. You know how he is"

Excited with the prospect of another outing, Severus did not protest when Eileen and Tobias tucked him into his bed.

~*~

"Mama, ball!" Severus said, pointing to a shiny red ball in a toy shop. Eileen, though, kept on walking, holding his hand tightly.

"We don't want a ball, Sev," she told him firmly. "Daddy's already bought you one."

Severus pursed his lips, ready to throw a wicked tantrum but Eileen ignored him. Put out at being ignored by his mother, Severus continued walking, less enthusiastic than before.

Soon, they reached the market. Eileen looked sharply at Severus, warning him to stick close to her. Severus, though, had other plans. Just when Eileen got busy purchasing necessities for the house, Severus slipped past her and walked away.

"Petunia," Severus heard a voice and started walking towards it. He saw a girl, not more than two-years old, holding the hand of her sister.

'Petunia," her mother was saying. "Hold on to Lily. Don't let her slip by like last time."

Severus walked up to the two girls and held out his hand. He smiled at them, happy to find someone to play with. The girl named Lily smiled back at him and took his hand. Petunia, sensing that Severus had slipped past his parents, as Lily had done once before, pulled Severus close to them, lest he got hurt by anyone.

"Sweet?" Petunia asked Severus, holding out a small wrapped toffee. She smiled at him and Severus took the toffee from her hand. Lily, indignant that her sister had given the toffee to the new boy rather than her, smacked Severus hard on his cheek and snatched the toffee away.

Tears welled up in Severus' eyes but he fought them back, not wanting to cry in front of his new friends. Petunia, though, admonished her sister and gave Severus another toffee. Severus, immediately deciding that he liked Petunia more, stuck his tongue out at Lily. Lily, though, was unfazed and stuck her tongue out at him too.

Just then, their mother came up to their little group.

"Let's go, girls," she said. "I've finished."

Just then, she noticed Severus standing with her daughters. Knowing that Severus was either lost or had slipped past his parents, she decided to stay back till his mother came for him.

A strangled cry of "Severus!" ripped through the market and Eileen, frantic with worry, came to a stop in front of Petunia, Lily, their mother and to her immense surprise and relief, Severus.

Lily and Petunia's mother went up to Eileen and patted her, trying to calm her down.

"Don't worry, dear," she said. "Your son is safe. He was playing with my girls."

"Thank you," Eileen managed to say. "Thank you so much, Mrs..."

"Evans," the woman said. "And this is Petunia and Lily," she added, gesturing towards her daughters.

Exchanging addresses with Mrs Evans and promising to meet up very soon, Eileen and Severus made their way out of the market while Petunia waved them goodbye. Severus turned around for one last look at his new friends and noticing Lily staring back at him, stuck his tongue out at her once again.

Chapter 8

"Are you even listening to me, Toby?" an exhausted Eileen asked her husband one night as they prepared to go to bed. Tobias, bouncing a still enthusiatic Severus on his stomach, didn't pay any heed to his wife.

Toby, listen to me!" Eileen said, shaking him by his shoulders. "Sev's becoming impossible to handle. He's becoming more and more mischievious with each passing day."

"Mmm hmmm..." Tobias said, still not looking at Eileen. He tickled Severus under his chin and both of them burst out into peals of laughter. They were just starting a pillow fight when Eileen had had enough. She picked Severus up and plonked him on the other side of the bed, next to her but far away from Tobias.

"Dada..." Severus wailed, clearly upset at being separated from his father. He tried to cross over to Tobias but was blocked by Eileen.

"Enough Sev!" Eileen said, firmly. She then turned to face Tobias, keeping a restraining hand on Severus who was still struggling vainly to get to his father.

"Leave him, Leen," Tobias said, reaching over to Severus who, joyfully stretched his hands towards Tobias. But Eileen was quicker. She immediately smacked Tobias' hands away. "What has he done now?" Tobias finally asked.

"Elizabeth had come visiting...." Eileen started.

~*~

Earlier in the morning, Elizabeth had dropped in to meet Eileen and Severus. Happy on seeing her old friend, Eileen thanked her stars that Severus was asleep.

The two friends wasted no time in catching up with each other's lives. Elizabeth was happy to know that Eileen's relationship with Tobias had improved greatly after Severus' birth.

Eileen and Elizabeth were busy chatting when they heard a sharp cry. Eileen groaned inwardly on realizing that Severus had woken up.

"Oh great!" Elizabeth said. "I'll get to meet little Severus now. Didn't want to disturb his sleep."

"I'll bring him out," Elizabeth said and got up. Just as she was about to enter her bedroom, Severus came crawling out, searching for Eileen.

"Mama..." he cried and crawled towards her. Eileen picked him up and made her way to the couch and resumed her talks with Elizabeth. Severus, though, eyed Elizabeth warily.

Elizabeth reached out and tickled Severus. Now smiling, Severus immediately leapt on to Elizabeth's lap and started to tug at her pearl necklace.

"Sev, no!" Eileen said, horrified. Elizabeth, though, waved her off. She unclasped her necklace and gave it to Severus who immediately started trying to remove the pearls.

"Its fake," Elizabeth whispered to a skeptical Eileen. Eileen wasn't convinced but didn't say anything.

"I'll rustle up some sandwiches for us," Eileen said and went to the kitchen while her best friend joined her son in his games. Eileen returned, a moment later, with some delicious looking sandwiches and a bottle of ketchup.

Severus was immediately attracted to the red bottle of ketchup and, leaving the necklace aside, started to make his way to the table. Unbeknowst to the two ladies, he sat underneath the table, trying to figure out a way to get hold of the bottle when, by a stroke of dumb luck, Eileen dropped it.

It was all that Severus needed. He lunged for the plastic bottle, got hold of it and crawled away as fast as his little hands and feet allowed him to. Eileen ran behind him all the way to their bedroom, followed by an amused Elizabeth.

Severus crawled underneath the bed, far away from Eileen's grasp and started fiddling with the bottle. He finally managed to unstopper it and looked at it, curiously.

"Come out right now, Severus Snape!" Eileen yelled, peering down at her son who was still under the bed.

Startled out of his reverie, Severus squeezed the bottle and a stream of ketchup hit Eileen squarely on her face. Eyes twinkling with excitement at this discovery, Severus aimed the bottle at Eileen and squeezed again. This time, he got her dress. Elizabeth joined Severus in his laughter while Eileen pulled him out.

"Now you've had it, Sev," she said. "Now you've really had it."

~*~

"So what, Leen?" Tobias said. "He's a kid. I'd be surprised if he wouldn't have done all this."

"But don't we need to teach him a little discipline?" Eileen asked, incredulous about the fact that Tobias was openly supporting Severus.

Tobias sighed. "He has to grow up one day, Leen," he said, reaching over to pick up a now sleepy Severus. He stroked his little head all the while as he patted him to sleep. "Let him enjoy his innocent, carefree days for now."