The air was crisp and the leaves on the trees were orange, yellow and red. Six year old Harry Potter came inside the house with his school pack, thinking deeply.

As he walked into the kitchen and set his pack down, Snape looked up warily from where he was standing. A Potter thinking was never a good sign. He steeled himself for the inevitable question of permission that Snape was sure he'd regret later. He wasn't disappointed.

"Professor," Harry started carefully as he bit his lip. "I was wondering," he trailed off, looking up shyly.

"Yes? What is it," Snape intoned with long patience as he poured the usual glass of milk for the boy and pushed across the table towards him. If he didn't ask, Potter would just clam up until later and he'd have to go through all of this again.

"Well everyone at school has been talking about Halloween," Harry pulled out a chair at the table and climbed onto it. "And everyone's doing something that day and I want to do it too. So can I?" Harry reached out for the glass and took a sip, his childish eyes looking brightly up at Snape.

"It would depend on what this *something* were," Snape said dryly, the humor only apparent to him. He pulled out a chair and sat across from the boy, folding his arms, ready to hear about this new occurrence.

Harry swallowed and put his glass down on the table. "Well everyone dresses up for school in costumes, and then- and then after school they all go out and visit other houses, they knock and stuff, and people give them treats- So can I?"

Snape furrowed his brow, not really sure... "Are you certain that that is what they do?"

"Ahum," Harry nodded enthusiastically. "The teachers even talked about it at school and everything. Michael said he's dressing up as a Ninja Turtle, and his little brother's dressing up as a pirate."

Harry breathed in, "AndIreallywannago," he said in one breath.

Snape looked forwards, and then looked sideways. "I suppose," he said carefully. If he flat out refused Harry would no doubt run to Hoppity and he was secretly glad that the brat had decided to ask him first instead of her. It seemed like such a strange Muggle tradition though. "Why exactly do classes visit homes?"

"No, not classes, everyone visits, they knock and the people give them treats," Harry answered, his face crinkled up a little. "See, all the children go home after school, and then they leave and knock on homes in their costumes, and they get sweets!"

It was starting to sound like a bad idea... He wished otherwise, but he had already given his permission. He sat back. "You may go, only if I accompany you."

Harry smiled and picked up his glass of milk and swallowed some, smiling very self satisfactory. “Ok, as long as I get to go.”

---

The next morning, Snape found Harry down in the front room, laid out on the floor looking at a magazine, kicking his legs back and forth as he hummed, a habit he no doubt developed from Hoppity, or perhaps one of his childish friends during this repeat period of his life.

"Potter, what are you looking at," Snape asked as he came into the room and realized that the object Harry was looking at was really some sort of catalogue.

Harry looked up and stilled his legs, "Halloween costumes," he answered. "I have to pick-" he stopped and looked down as if remembering something. "Well I was thinking about what I was going to make," he said, trying to have a nonchalant attitude as he sat up and began to close the magazine. Snape found himself frowning soundly. No doubt the boy was going through that 'doesn't want to be a bother' stage again and felt that he was being ungrateful by assuming that he would get a costume from the store, deciding that he would have to make do with whatever was in his closet.

He had planned to work in his lab this morning, but it wasn’t anything he could put off until later, or another day. Snape strode to the only chair in the room and sat down purposefully. "Give it here," he said as he settled himself and motioned with his hand for the magazine. "If you are to participate in this event you will need to buy a costume."

Harry's smile was payment enough. He quickly got up and handed Snape the magazine, leaning over the armrest of the chair and watching as Snape opened the thin, flimsy book and perused it.

"There are adult costumes too?" Snape asked, surprised at the pictures. There were many children dressed up in garish costumes, but there were also many adults. One man was dressed up in something... red and Snape looked at it in wonderment before sighting a woman in a maid's outfit, and another in a skimpy witch's outfit. He looked discreetly before turning the page.

"Yeah, my teacher's dressing up, but she won't tell us as what."

"The answer is "yes", Harry, not "yeah"," Snape corrected him.

"Yes, sir," Harry answered dutifully before animatedly continuing a mile a minute, "And I know that Michael’s mum and dad are dressing up too, Michael's dad's taking them treating, and he's going as a cowboy-"

A cowboy?

"-And Michael’s mum's going something she won't tell us, but says that will make his dad really happy," Snape started. "And all the parents are dressing up to hand out candy at their houses, and take their kids treating, but they don't have to if they don't wanna-"

"Want to, Harry," Snape corrected tiredly before realizing something. "Will I be expected to "dress up" as well?"

"Well," Harry said, not meeting his eyes, “Like I said, you don't hafta if you don't wanna."

Snape sighed at Harry’s slipping into colloquial, and went back to looking through the magazine. "Perhaps, Harry what outfit did you wish?"

"I didn't actually know, I was just looking in it to see if I liked anything. It was Hoppity's idea, they are showing some things they’re selling."

He had thought about being a Wizard, but that wouldn't be very fun as he actually was one. He didn’t want to be a pirate if Michael’s little brother was one, and he didn't like the Ninja Turtles enough to be one either. He didn't want to be anything evil, and all the dinosaur and dragon costumes either looked really fake or babyish.

“It says here that this is not the complete list of costumes available,” Snape noted, reading a blurb under a selection of men in unfortunate hospital gowns.

"It's a catalogue for a store, actually. I’ve seen the store, it's on the way to school, and right now they have a giant pumpkin standing in front of it."

"Perhaps the costume you want will be at the store," Snape suggested tentatively. Harry glanced up quickly, his eyes questioning. "We have time to visit it, perhaps now, if you don't have anything pressing?" Snape asked him.

“No, sir,” Harry answered readily, his eyes shining a little.

"Go get your grey shirt," Snape instructed him. The weather was getting colder and it would be best if the boy wore the warm, long sleeved shirt out of the house. Harry ran to obey, his footsteps resounding on the main stairs as he clamored up them. A few short moments, and he could be heard clamoring down them as well. Harry stopped at the foot of the stairs and hurriedly tried to pull his shirt on over his head. Seeing his slight difficulty, Snape reached over and helped to tug it down.

"Where are you going?" Hoppity asked upon seeing them ready to leave the house.

"Potter needs a Halloween costume, and we are going to go buy one now," Snape informed her as he pocketed the car keys.

Hoppity beamed at them, not even bothering to correct Snape on Harry’s name because she was so pleased at their errand. "Oh goody, well have a good time! Maybe you could spend lunch together too," she exclaimed happily. Snape was not surprised that she decided not to come along, she always liked them to "bond" and with an opportunity like this she would leave them alone.

---

The costume shop was filled with Halloween decorations, and things screaming, laughing evilly and making other ghoulish sounds. As they walked in a commotion of sound, lights and movements started signaling their arrival. When Harry passed a small gravestone near the floor, it lit up and started screaming.

“Ahhhhh!!!” the gravestone wailed. Harry backed up, and passed it to make it scream again.

"Harry," Snape chided, and the little boy looked up with a guilty smile before following him into the store. "Do not wander off," Snape told him sternly before leading them past the decorations, and down a crowded aisle full of Halloween toys to the back of the store where all the costumes were.

"See if you like something, Harry, and DON'T wander off," Snape reminded him again. The last thing he wanted was to have to search the store full of screaming decorations for a pint sized Potter amongst the spider webs, rubber ghouls, and scarecrows, and buckets, and who knew what else.

Harry muttered his assent, and looked up at a wall completely covered with costumes. It was a very tall wall, and Harry was sure that the tallest person in the world would need a ladder to get to some of them. Head pieces lined the top, all sorts of wigs and full facial masks depicting ghoulish creatures, and even some normal ones that were made ghoulish because they were people’s faces. Lots of other people were looking at the wall too, and Harry made sure that he would be able to find his guardian again if he wandered off, before turning his full attention to the wall.

He looked at the pictures on the packages, and even on the ones that hung up by themselves. There were lots of Muggle witch outfits, and animal outfits, and superheroes, Princess outfits, and lots that Harry didn't even recognize. He studied them for awhile.

What should he be?

He turned to make sure that his guardian was still in sight. Snape was nearby in front of a row of facial decorations, and had reached out to play with a pair of rubber vampire fangs. Feeling secure, Harry breathed out, and turned back to The Wall.

It was then that he spotted it a little ways away, a silver jumpsuit, a ray gun. It was from his favourite video game, the super cool one that had the boy hero in space that did jumps and stuff, and always saved the day! Johnny Sprocket!

Snape looked back at Harry, and noticed that the boy was starting up at the wall in rapture, his eyes quite fixed on what appeared to be a silver jumpsuit. What it was, Snape had no clue. He walked over, wondering perhaps if the boy had decided on his costume yet.

"Well, have you decided?"

Harry licked his lips and answered, "Yes, that one. I want to be Johnny Sprocket!"

Snape walked nearer to the wall, and spotted the package that Harry pointed out. He reached up, and pulled it from the wall to look at it. On the front was a picture of the actual character and a picture of a child wearing the costume inside. They were noticeably different.

"Here, Potter," Snape said gruffly as he handed the package down to the little boy, who grabbed it and studied it closely.

"It doesn't look very much like it," he remarked carefully, "But that's okay, everyone will know who I am."

"Perhaps we can do a little better." Snape walked a little ways down, circumnavigating a mother and her small child as Harry followed, before pulling a space man's helmet off of a shelf. He handed it to Harry.

"Johnny Rocket doesn't wear a space helmet," Harry informed him, not taking the plastic helmet. Snape placed it back on the shelf.

"What kind of spaceman doesn't wear a helmet?" Snape scoffed.

"A thirty century one," Harry answered as if by rote.

"Brat. Well, if you are so knowledgeable, then tell me of a way to make your costume more real."

Harry smirked before putting an angelic expression on his face. "Johnny Sprocket has a working ray gun, if I could get one that zapped people-"

"Which you won't," Snape quickly answered.

"Just a little spark," Harry tried, but Snape's face was unchanging. Harry shifted a little before continuing, "Well he's got a real utility belt with ropes, and exploding stuff, and the one on the costume's painted on."

"Yes, I believe that a utility belt could be attempted, sans the exploding bits..."

"...And his hair's green."

Harry was rewarded with a blink, and Snape quickly looked back at the package to verify.

"It sticks up more than yours, amazing," Snape jarred. Harry stuck his tongue out. "You'd do best to keep that in your mouth unless you want it to be in a potion," Snape threatened idly. Harry knew that he'd never do it, but decided not to risk it just the same.

"A potion might work well for my hair..." Harry suggested.

"I suggest you just leave it as it is, hair potions have the affect of changing every hair, and I can't see explaining why you have teal eyelashes..."

"It's green..." Harry muttered, before speaking up, "And teal eyelashes would be cool!"

Snape deigned to answer.

They found a belt on part of another costume, and some paint to make the badge look more real, and after browsing some of the other things in the shop (Snape was a little curious, naturally), they made their way to the checkout with the costume bits and a few other things besides.

"Yeah, they don't usually get things right," Harry was chatting animatedly as they passed through the checkout. The checkout girl gave a knowing grin at Snape as she rung up their purchases. "But really, it would be scary if they did cause then all the characters would be real, and walking around, and that'd be just scary... of course that's probably because they're just not used to it, cause I've seen some real costumes and I wasn't scared at all..."

Snape paid, and they left with their purchases in tow. He was having the oddest craving for fish and chips.

Sadly, he knew that there were no fish and chips to be had anywhere. He also knew better than to try to find anything similar based on his last unfortunate event of trying a fish burger.

They ended up having lunch at a small restaurant, and he had a roast beef sandwich and chips, which ended up being quite satisfactory, if different than what he wanted. Harry happily devoured chicken strips, chips and juice, and Snape allowed him to have a small desert, reminding himself to make sure that the boy had an extra serving of vegetables for dinner.

---

Halloween

Today was the day, Halloween. School had ended a short time ago and Harry was ready. He came downstairs dressed in his costume, and holding his pillow case.

"What, pray tell, is your bedding doing off of your bed?" Snape said, raising one eyebrow.

"I need something to put all the candy in, Michael said that some of the bigger kids always use pillow cases, and fill them up."

Snape eyed the large bag, almost dragging on the floor due to Harry's short stature. "Yes, the bigger kids, not you. Go back upstairs and replace your pillow, I will find something suitable."

Harry pouted, but did as he was told, dreading what “suitable” object Snape would find.

When he came back, Snape was holding one of his middle to smaller cauldrons, and wiping the handle with a rag.

Harry looked at it dubiously, he knew for certain that it was real. "But that'll be heavy," he complained.

Snape seemed unmoved. "Yes, but you will have the best quality candy collector. Pewter, 26 standard size 3, with a rounded bottom," he said smartly, and he pushed the cauldron into the small boy’s shiny spaceman arms.

It was much smaller than Harry’d of liked, he would have wanted something just as big as his pillow case. “But it doesn’t match my costume,” he said. He thought that it looked rather silly for a spaceman to be holding a cauldron.

“Nonsense, I saw several plastic cauldron buckets at the store for the explicit purpose of collecting candy during Halloween, right next to all the absurd pumpkin ones.”

Harry still wasn’t convinced, but Snape gave him that look, and he knew better than to try to push it so he set the cauldron next to the door.

Hoppity came out of the kitchen wearing a butterfly outfit, blue, with an antennae hat on her frizzy head. She was pulling the largest bowl of candy Harry had ever seen across the floor on a sheet.

Snape had long got used to the ridiculous things she often did but even so, Harry caught the pained look he gave at the wall, and they way he swallowed as if stopping a particularly nasty remark aimed at her behaviour.

Hoppity turned around, and started pushing the bowl with her foot across the wooden part of the floor.

“Wow, that’s a lot of sweets,” Harry said, his eyes wide at the amount. He could be happy just by eating some of that, except he really wanted to go out trick or treating, and see what it was like.

“Yes, well, they'll expect lots of candy and I don’t want to run out," Hoppity said pleasantly as she maneuvered the huge bowl of candy next to a chair that had been conveniently placed near the door. Her antennae wiggled as she stood up. "Oh, this is going to be so fun," she jumped slightly with excitement, clapping her hands together.

"Quite," Snape answered dryly as he turned away and fastened a black cape with red lining around his shoulders.

“Oh, you’re dressing up?” Harry asked, slightly amazed. He hadn’t noticed it before because Snape was wearing the usual white shirt and black trousers combination, but his hair was slightly more limp than usual and his skin was a bit more paler. Alright, now that he had noticed it seemed a lot more paler.

“If I am to gallivant about, I might as well fit in,” Snape replied.

Harry wasn’t sure what Snape was going as, but he thought he might perhaps know. “So… what are you?”

Snape peered down at the boy contemptuously. “I see that more Defense Against the Dark Arts classes are in order once you get back to Hogwarts,” he said a little irked. “I am a vampire.”

“Oh, right.” Harry shifted around a little, eager to be off collecting treats. "Is it time to go yet?" he asked impatiently.

“We’ll go when your friends get here,” Snape replied, but he needn’t have bothered for just then Harry heard familiar voices outside, and opened the door. He then ran out excitedly upon spotting his friend with his family walking up the drive, the littlest one being pulled in some sort of small wagon.

“Hey Harry!” Snape heard a child call out as Potter went dashing up the few feet to where they were approaching. No doubt it had been his friend. The trio plus Harry continued up to the front door where Snape greeted them.

“Hey Severus!” Michael’s dad called out. “Ready to hit some houses?”

Hit houses? “I suppose,” he answered carefully, noting the strange outfit their neighbor was wearing. It was green and matched Harry’s playmate’s costume. He faintly recognized it as that strange green doll the boy had left at their house once by accident. "I was lead to believe that you were going as a cowboy."

"Well, I realized that I needed a costume that hid my head... see they won't know you're an adult if you wear a mask." He moved his own plastic pumpkin bucket in front of his costume. Snape barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “So, we’re ninja turtles! Hey, if you wanted to get some candy too I bet we could find a sheet somewhere and poke some eyeholes real quick-”

“No thank you, that won’t be necessary,” Snape quickly replied.

Hoppity spotted the new arrivals, and exclaimed over their costumes, giving them each a handful of candy, even the father despite the fact that his mask wasn’t on yet.

Snape watched as the littlest one sitting in the wagon received his share into his empty orange bucket. That reminded him… he went to pick up the cauldron and handed it to Harry, who did not look overjoyed to see it.

“Wow, cool bucket!” Harry’s friend exclaimed upon seeing it in his friend’s grasp, and Snape smirked. The boy knocked on it with his knuckles, “Wow it isn’t even plastic!”

“I believe we should start now,” Snape said to distract Harry’s friend from examining the real cauldron too closely. As expected, the boys immediately concurred.

"Goodbye! Have a good time, bring back lots of candy!" Hoppity sang as they left the front door, and started down their walk to the pavement of the street.

Snape placed his fake vampire teeth on, and followed the troupe. He practiced a ghoulish smile. There, no one would recognize him like that. There were only a couple of other people out walking door to door in costumes, and Snape once again questioned the validity of this practice.

"Come on, dudes, let's go get some totally awesome candy," Michael’s dad said as pulled down his mask to cover his face.

"Daaad," Michael complained, "That's not how Raphael talks, that's Michelangelo."

“Okay guys, when they answer the door remember to say ‘Trick or Treat’!” Michael’s dad stopped the wagon halfway up the drive, and picked Michael’s little brother up out of it, and they all then walked to the door.

Snape watched as they went right up to the first house and rang the bell. Snape could hardly believe that they were actually doing this. It was strange, and improper.

"Don't forget to say thank you," Michael’s dad said behind his mask as he held out his bucket. “And if you get a Mars bar, don’t eat it! I’ll trade you for it.”

A woman approached the door. "Trick or treat!" the boys chorused disjointedly, joined by what Snape was amused to hear was a falsetto voice from Michael’s dad. And then the woman behind the door opened it, and dropped handfuls of candy into their buckets, beaming at them all.

“Thank you,” they chorused and then it was over, they walked back down the drive, the father plopped his youngest son back onto the wagon, and they walked over to the next house, and up the drive. This house had several white things hanging from the trees, perhaps handkerchiefs. Snape took a couple of steps nearer to one of them, and realized that it had a face drawn on. A poor approximation of a ghost then.

This time Harry rang the bell, and Snape was quite surprised at who answered it. An elderly Wizard with blue robes, and silver moons and stars stood at the door. His beard was light grey, and very thick and long. Snape startled as the Wizard opened his mouth, "Mom!" was called out in a child's voice, and Snape embarrassingly realized that it was only a child in a costume standing on a floor that was surprisingly higher than the top step outside the house. It was a very strange reminder though.

They received their candy, the required happy “Thank you” was uttered, and they moved on. They did this all down the block, going from house to house, and receiving treats. Usually the people giving treats were dressed up, sometimes they weren’t, but there was always someone at the door with a big bowl or bag of sweets to give to the wandering visitors.

When they had been to several houses, Snape decided that they had interposed on their neighbors’ generosity enough for one day.

“I think we’ve enough now,” he stated.

"But we've only been to 5 houses!" Harry cried disappointedly.

"It was closer to 10, but you have enough treats to last you quite awhile."

"No, only ten minutes," Harry complained bitterly.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Snape muttered under his breath.

"Aw, come on, Harry's Dad," Dave said, kiddingly, persuasively as he lifted his mask up. “It’s Halloween! This is the only time kids can go out and get as much candy as they can, and then eat it all without their moms telling them they can’t. All the rest of the year they have to eat their Brussels sprouts, and string beans, and spinach,” he made a face, which the boys mimicked, ”But today’s their day to run around the neighborhood, and eat as much candy as they want, and get stomachaches. It’s still afternoon, and the people in their houses are waiting to have these precious boys visit them. Come on, it won’t hurt anything to stay out for awhile more.”

“Yeah, come on Harry’s dad,” Michael said beseechingly. Harry matched his expression, and Snape felt his resolve waver. He didn’t really want to ruin this family’s fun, and he could always confiscate the candy later, or perhaps it would be good if Harry were able to have as much candy as he liked for once. Do something normal, even if it was in the wrong country.

“Oh, all right,” he said a little peevishly.

“Yeah!” the boys yelled happily.

“Good. I was starting to get worried because I don’t think we’ve gotten any Mars bars yet...” Michael’s dad trailed off, and he dug into his bucket.

They turned to go to the next house when Michael’s dad spotted someone, and started to wave. “Hey, buddy!” he called out, and a man dressed in a ninja outfit turned around. He had a little girl with him, dressed in a bright blue Cinderella dress complete with a fur cloak, a sparkly wand, and a sparkly tiara on top of her braided hair. She was holding quite a large pillow case already filled with a bit of candy.

“Hey Kia!” he called out. “Wow, what are you guys doing over here?”

“Hey, buddy!” the man called back as they quickly approached each other, and greeted each other like best friends. “We just decided to start in this neighborhood, and work back to where you live, hoping we’d bump into you.”

“Yeah, we’re going all day and all night!” the girl exclaimed.

“Wow, that’s totally awesome,” Michael’s dad said using his “Ninja Turtle speak.

“Daaaaad,” Michael started but didn’t get to continue this time.

“Why don’t you guys hang out with us for awhile?” Michael’s dad asked.

“Yeah that would be great!” his friend replied.

“Umm, you already know Michael and Benny, but this is Harry and his father, they live right next door to us,” Michael’s said, introducing them. “Severus, and Harry, this is Kia and her father.”

Snape reached out and shook the Ninja’s hand and then the girl’s. “Hello.”

“Hi,” they said back, smiling widely.

“Alright, time for more candy!” Michael called, to which Harry whole heartedly seconded.

There was new energy in their trick or treating pace now. The next house they visited a witch dressed all in black answered the door. She had long black fingernails, and a wide brim hat, and her outfit was unlike any witch’s Snape had ever seen in the Wizarding community, yet after being immersed in the Muggle culture he knew what she was supposed to be. She gave all the children (and the two adults - Snape was amused to see that their new Ninja companion had brought a pillow case, and held it out too) packets of candy, and then they were on their way once again.

A witch... it was amazing how mixed up Muggles got things.

Snape followed closely behind Harry, his eye glanced down into the cauldron full of sweets.

"Wait," Snape said and the group stopped. He reached into Harry's cauldron full of candy, searching for something... he thought he saw, there. He pulled out what looked like an eyeball, but was really a hard candy and a poor approximation in any case.

"Haha," Michael’s dad was laughing, "Funny the things they hand out these days, huh?"

"Indeed," Snape answered as they all moved to continue on. He should have stayed at the house, and handed out real lizards’ eyes and the like. It would have been a real scream.

They started for the next house but Kia and Michael’s dads stopped in the middle of the road as the children continued on in view. The fathers had placed their candy collectors on the ground, and now had their ninja swords drawn, and seemed to be engaging in a mock battle. Snape snorted, sometimes he felt like the only chaperone in the group.

---

It had been over an hour, and Harry's caldron was approaching the full line. Kia and her dad had left their group a little while ago, planning to go to another neighborhood, and get as many houses as they could.

It was starting to get slightly dark. "Perhaps it's time to turn back?" Snape suggested as they walked down to the end of a dead end.

“No, I want to keep going,” Harry whined.

Snape looked at Harry’s full cauldron, and frowned at the boy. "You have enough sweets to satisfy even Albus," he chastened. “I think that we should end now.”

"No way, we've got to keep going until we get a Mars bar," Michael’s dad said distractedly as he rummaged through his bucket, "June will kill me if I don't come home with a Mars bar, after I didn't get them to pass out at home..."

"Why don't you just go BUY some," Snape said ironically.

"It's more fun this way," Michael’s dad grinned back.

Michael’s little brother was sitting in the wagon, quite tired after walking around for over an hour. "I wan go home!" he shrieked.

"Oh well, I guess it is time to head back, here Benny, have some candy. We'll start back and on the way we'll go to a couple of houses and maybe we'll get lucky."

And indeed, they had been mostly home when Michael’s dad made them go up to a particular house, "I've got a good feeling about this one," he said as he pulled his littlest son in his wagon up the drive. A man dressed as Frankenstein answered their “trick or treat” with large handfuls of chocolates.

"Yes!" Michael’s dad cried upon looking in his bucket afterwards, "A mars bar! Okay kids, let's go home."

They parted at Harry's house, and Harry and Snape entered, quite worn out. Hoppity was still sitting at the door, the huge bowl of candy noticeably smaller.

"Hey, welcome back! Did you get lots of candy?"

"Yeah," Harry answered a little tiredly. The house was bright after walking around outside and all he wanted to do was see what kind of candy he had, and maybe watch something really fun and spooky on the telly.

Snape slumped on the couch, a black and white horror show already on. "Potter, bring those sweets here," Snape commanded as he motioned for the cauldron.

Harry sat the cauldron full of candy next to Snape, and when Snape began pawning into it he said cheekily, "You should have just worn a mask like Michael’s dad if you wanted some."

"Hush," Snape replied as he pulled out a Mars bar. "I should at least discover what all the fuss over this is."

Snape appeared done with the cauldron, so Harry sat up on the couch and pulled it over to him. He was going to fill himself up with sweets, and they all looked so good.

On the telly, a woman started babbling about zombies. Harry opened some chocolate and dug in.

"If you should get nightmares from this, it will not be my fault, so don't come crying to me," Snape warned, eying the chocolates.

Harry just smiled in response and leaned back in the couch, sitting with his guardian and munching on sweets, fully intending to do everything he could to give himself silly nightmares about mummies and goblins, and things that go bump in the night.