This story was inspired by a character I'm RP'ing on Facebook's MiM RP game.

Beta'd by the wonderful Lady Lanera!

Enjoy!

Any Means Necessary

I really need a new pair of shoes. It's an odd thought to have as one is searching the town to find her missing son, looking up and down each street and double checking all the normal 'best hiding spots.' He's not throwing rubbish into the river, nor is he hiding in the abandoned house missing its front door. My feet are aching as I walk, looking everywhere he and his friend usually play, past a row of houses with 'For Sale' signs in front of them, and under the bridge that leads out of Spinner's End.

It's a horrible stereotype that has mothers panicking and hysterical just because their child didn't return home on time. I've never understood it myself. Not that I don't worry about my baby, but it seems far more likely that my twelve-year-old is off causing mischief with his little girl friend than him being kidnapped and held for ransom because Merlin only knows we have nothing to ransom him for. Ever since the textile mill closed a couple of years ago, work has been scarce. My husband lost his job and has been bouncing between temporary work for quite some time. He hardly has any time off, and we still have hardly anything.

Deciding that I should check with Lily's parents to see if they know where my son is, I head in that direction, my feet aching more with every step. Lily and Severus are practically glued together. Tobias and I have a wager with the Evans's, unknown to the kids of course, about how old they'll be when they get married. It's one of those things we say as a joke, but I'm sure one day I'll be attending Severus and Lily's wedding. Turning a corner, I can see the Evans's house and quickly make my way to it. Today is one of Tobias's few days off. After having a lie-in, the three of us have plans of spending some time together doing and possibly going out for dinner. Severus was up early this morning, of course, so to keep things quiet while his father slept, I sent him outside to play with the understanding he be back by noon for lunch. A glance at my watch tells me it is now one o'clock. My son will most certainly not be having desert tonight.

Knocking on the door of the beautiful yellow house, I wait for either Harry or Rose Evans to answer the door. Their car is gone from the driveway, but hopefully one of them is in the house. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, I continue to wait. I blame my increased heart rate on the exercise. Who knew running after children could be such a good work out?

After a moment, Harry opens the door, wearing a large smile and little else. I raise an eyebrow and my eyes run down over his bare chest only coming to a stop on his low hanging slightly snug jeans. I'll have to see what Tobias thinks of having a foursome some time.

"Have you seen, Severus?" I ask as I drag my eyes back up to meet his.

Harry shakes his head while pulling a shirt over his head. Pity. It was a nice view while it lasted. "Not since this morning. He and Lily said they were going to the park to play. I reminded him he had to be home for lunch. I take it he didn't show up."

I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest. "No." And when I do find him he's going to be put on restriction for a week I add in my head.

"Hmm…" he starts, clearly thinking, I can see the worry in his beautiful green eyes. "Let's take the car. Maybe we'll find them faster that way."

I nod, but narrow my eyes. A quick glance at the driveway confirms my observations. "What car?"

Harry chuckles, good-naturedly, "My car, of course…" Taking a step around me, he freezes as he see his empty driveway. "ROSE!" he bellows back into the house.

It doesn't take long for Rose to make her way outside. She and Harry try to figure out what to do about their stolen car, and I'm patiently waiting for my child to show up so I can shove his nose in a corner and lecture him for an hour or two. Several minutes pass as I try to figure out where Severus could possibly be when I hear Rose give a yell.

"Look! The car!" I look at the approaching vehicle she's pointing at. "It's the car!"

Unable to hide my shock, whoever heard of a stolen automobile being returned to its owners by the thief, I watch as the car pulls into the driveway. My eyes widen in horror as I see who's behind the wheel.

"Tobias!" I yell as he opens the door and steps out.

He barely glances at me before he opens the back door of the car and talks to Harry and Rose who have moved closer to the car. Despite my aching feet, I also move towards the car curious and desperately wanting to hex my husband.

"I've got something that belongs to ya," Tobias says, reaching into the backseat and pulling Lily out by her arm. "Other than the car, I mean."

Lily half heartily struggles against the hand around her upper arm and glares at Tobias when he releases her. Reaching back into the car, Tobias pulls out another child the same way. Severus would not be leaving his room for the rest of the summer. Severus stands next to Lily after his father releases him and sulky crosses his arms. Both children stare angrily at the ground as Tobias closes the car door and hands the keys over to Harry.

"Tobias," I start to say, resisting the urge to smack Severus upside the head for disappearing on me. "What on earth is going on?"

Tobias sighs and looks at the two twelve-year-olds. "Which one of you wants to explain?"

Severus remains still except for a sideways glance at Lily. Lily looks nervously between all the adults and back at Severus.

"Why don't we all go inside and discuss this, where it's cooler. I have a feeling this is going to be quite a long story," Rose says, placing a hand on the back of Lily's neck and pushing her inside. Severus makes no attempt to move until Tobias bends over and whispers something in his ear, motivating him to start walking. Hopefully, it is how his ass is going to be in a sling by tonight.

Once inside and settled into the living room, it is time for explanations. Tobias, who seems to know what has happened, has the kids start.

"All right then… Lily, why don't you start by telling us why you two thought it a good idea to steal your parents' car?"

Harry makes a choking noise while Rose's eyes widen in surprise. Lily looks at Severus, but must have realized coming clean is the only good option at this point. "Severus said he had to be home by noon. But we lost track of time."

"So you stole a car!" Harry exclaims, nearly yelling.

"No, sir!" Severus suddenly speaks up, "We were just going to borrow it for a little while."

Lily nods in agreement. "It's a long walk to Sev's house, and I didn't want him to get in trouble for being late, so I figured I could drive him over there and then drive him back."

"We didn't think anyone would notice," Severus adds quietly with a shrug. "It's not like we haven't driven before."

"You've driven before?' I ask through clenched teeth.

Severus's eyes widen and he quickly looks to his dad for help.

Tobias calmly looks over at me. "I've let him drive the truck down the road a time or two. Not very far and I was always with him."

Harry must have realized I didn't approve of this. So wanting to ward off an argument between my husband and me, he quickly adds, "I've let Lily and Petunia do the same thing. But I never thought one of them would try to do drive on their own."

"Well," Tobias adds, "we must have taught them right cause they managed to make it to our place without crashing. They just hadn't planned on me seeing them."

"You were supposed to be asleep," Severus mumbles and glares at his father as though it is all his fault.

"That's enough, young man," I snap angrily. "Of all the dunderhead things you've ever done….I can't believe…"

"I think it time we go home, Eileen," Tobias interrupts me before I could grab my son and start shaking him.

"Lily," Rose says as we all get up to leave. "I suggest you say bye to Severus, because you won't be leaving your room for quite some time."

Some of my anger melts away at seeing the completely crestfallen look on Severus's face at that comment.

"No!" Lily whines, just as upset over this declaration as Sev, but much more vocal about it. "Mummy, please! I'll do anything! I'll clean the bathroom and…the yard…"

"That's enough," Rose says with a hard edge to her voice that I rarely ever hear her use. "This isn't up for debate, young lady."

"Bye, Lily," Severus says quietly, slowly coming to stand by her. "I'll see you…sometime, I guess."

Lily looks close to tears and is still glaring angrily at her mother, but turns and throws herself at Severus, enveloping him in a hug. "Bye, Sev."

The walk home from the Evans's house is quiet… and painful thanks to my shoes that would be going into the garbage as soon I walk through the door. Severus walks between us, and Tobias keeps a firm hand on his shoulder, as though fearing his son would try to run away. One day I'd like to have a quiet afternoon with my family.

Maybe once I have grandchildren…

Hope you enjoyed the story! Please review and let me know what you think of Eileen.