The Death Debt

Chapter 5

For a moment it's as if the entire world rocked into a standstill, freezing in place as this giant of a man stepped inside the house and closed the door behind him. Sirius can only stand there helplessly, caught between Snape and his mother, and the man who must be his father.

Well, fuck it. Sirius walked forward, stuck his hand out, and said, "Hi, I'm Sirius Black. S-Sev invited me to stay for the holiday."

One dark brow inched upward in an expression that was so distinctly Snapeish Sirius had to repress a giggle. Mr Snape took his hand and shook it with a firm pump. "Where the fuck are your shoes?"

"Oh, uh..." Sirius looked down at his socked feet. "I seem to have misplaced them?"

Mr Snape snorted and with a quick glance at the rest of him - the expensive coat, the dirt staining the knees of his trousers, the flakes of dried blood still clinging to his upper lip - told him everything he needed to know. "That sometimes happens around here." His pale blue eyes swiveled to his son. "Mind telling me what you think you're doing?"

Snape lifted his head defiantly, still holding onto his prize. "Power is out."

"I can see that."

"I'm going to make sure the bill is paid."

"The office is closed. It's not getting paid tonight. I'll take care of it in the morning." Mr Snape held out his hand and his son hesitated, clutching the crumpled notes tightly to his chest for a moment, before morosely stepping forward and placing them in his father's hand.

Mr Snape placed the money in his pocket and smiled again. "There's no use in sitting around here in the dark. Let's go out to eat."

"Excellent! Let me change clothes!" Mr Snape's wife said and started for the stairs. His son, however, immediately protested, "I've got soup on the stove-"

"And who wants any of that?" Mr Snape snidely remarked, which Sirius couldn't help but laugh at.

Snape looked like he had just sucked on a lemon. "We need to pay the electricity bill."

"And it will be paid."

"Not if you spend every last bit of it on fine dining!"

"I told you I'll pay it in the morning." Mr Snape's voice came out low and dark.

Snape finally stopped his squawking. He went back into the kitchen and Sirius once more heard the pots and pans banging. The racket was so loud he wondered if Snape was slinging them against the walls.

Sirius stood awkwardly in the living room, alone with Mr Snape while the man eyed him up and down. "You can borrow an old pair of work boots," he announced and headed over to a small closet, pulling out a pair of ragged, steel-toed boots. "Try those on for size."

Sirius sat down on the couch and the broken springs sagged underneath his weight. "A little big, but better than being too small."

Mr Snape just continued to watch him. It made Sirius feel a little like a bug underneath a microscope. "You study hocus pocus at that school with my son." It wasn't a question, but rather a statement.

"The technical term is 'higgledy wiggledy,'" Sirius quipped, prompting a laugh out of the man.

Mr Snape reached into his back pocket and pulled out a crumpled box of cigarettes. He offered one to Sirius before taking one out for himself.

Of course Sirius had smoked cigarettes before, whenever he could get his hands on them, and had even managed to sneak a few of his father's cigars out of his study on occasion, but having Mr Snape offer him - a sixteen year old boy he had just met - a fag felt almost illicit and dangerous. His heart gave a little thump when he took the cigarette from his hand. This... this was cool.