Three months later…..

By the time the end of October came around Alex had completely settled to life in Italy. Alex had taken to learning the Italian language like a duck to water and knew as many words as he did in English. Severus had found that, in teaching Alex, his Italian had returned at a rate of knots and he was now as fluent as he ever had been. As magick wasn’t used extensively on the estate Severus would take Alex to Via Luna once a fortnight in order to further acquaint him with the concept of magick and the magickal world. He had to acknowledge that seeing the delight on the toddlers face had made him realise just how much he took magick for granted and how wondrous the wizarding world was.

Draco and Alex were well on the way to becoming firm friends and they visited each other once a week, alternating between the villa and Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Whilst Alex got on with his Italian cousins they were all a lot older than him and were very boisterous, Blaise being the one exception. He could cope for a few hours but after that he would retreat to the relative safety of Severus. Although Severus was nowhere near as straight-laced or as cold as his Hogwarts demeanour neither was he the most approachable member of the family and the same applied to Lucius. Severus knew that both Alex and Draco were going to be relying on he and Lucius that evening in order to provide a shield from the exuberance of the older children. They had all been invited to a party hosted by Actaeon and Leonidas Salieri in celebration of All Hallows Eve.

Severus loved the irony that a child birthed by Lily Potter was being raised by Severus Snape and was celebrating the years end as well as the demise of Voldemort by a boy who had been his brother when in all probability it was Alex who defeated Voldemort. He also found it suitably ironic that he, whom James Potter hated with a vengeance, had adopted his son and Lucius Malfoy, whom James hated almost as much, was Alex’s godfather. He smiled evilly only for Lucius to laugh as he entered the room.

“I know that look Sev. That was the look you got when you were up to something with those bloody Gryffindors.”

Severus sneered “The Marauders? Just thinking on the delicious irony of it all”

Lucius merely raised one perfect blonde eyebrow and drawled lazily “Do tell”

“I was just thinking about the look on James Potter’s face when he realised that the son he abandoned for being “dark” has been adopted by and thus become a Snape with a Malfoy both as his closest friend and as his godparents”

The two of them smirked before they caught each others eye and burst into gales of laughter, which was how Narcissa found them. The two little boys clinging to her hands looked up in bewilderment, having never seen their daddies act like that, and she smiled back at them reassuringly

“Don’t worry boys, I’m sure they’ll be back to normal in a minute.”

She was right of course because as soon as Severus and Lucius realised that they had an audience they calmed down, just in time for Narcissa to hand each man a child.

“Right, here are your sons, they are your responsibility for the next two hours. I need to go and get ready for this evening and I need to go back to the manor. Their costumes are laid out upstairs on their beds, as are your own. They’ve had a nap so I suggest your think of something to do with them. Alex has also been asking why we are celebrating All Hallows Eve Severus. I thought I’d let you answer.”

With that final comment Narcissa glided out of the room and minutes later they heard a softly spoken but clear “Malfoy Manor” followed by the sound of the floo activating

The two men looked at each other, completely at a loss for what to do until Lucius spoke up

“Why don’t we take them for a ride? We could do with the exercise and then we can explain the significance of the holiday while we get them sorted. What are they dressing as and what in Merlin’s name did Cissa mean when she said our costumes were upstairs as well?!” the blonde demanded

Severus smiled wryly as he replied “I do believe its your wife’s intention that we dress up for this party as well. Now, lets go for a ride and then we can come back and talk to them.”

Forty five minutes later the quartet returned from their ride sweaty and pleasantly exhausted. Once inside the two men took the children into separate bathrooms in order to speed up the process and also so that each man could explain the significance of the holiday to their son in their own way. Whilst Lucius took care of Draco in the guest bathroom, Severus hustled Alex into the bathroom that the two of them shared at the villa. The cream and terracotta shades the room was painted in contrasted strikingly with the two males raven black hair as Severus leant over Alex in order to wash his hair.

“I hear you were asking Narcissa about why there was a party tonight my raven”

Alex nodded “’taeon and Leon called it Halloween but Aunt Cissy called it something’ diff’rent. Sow-somethin’”

“Samhain” Severus gently corrected the pronunciation

“Sow-sow. S’wheen.” Alex looked up proudly at his slightly mangled pronunciation of the word.

Severus barely managed to keep a straight face at the still mangled pronunciation but still rather impressive attempt by a two and a half year old. “Do you know what Samhain is little one?”

Alex shook his head like a dog in reply, spraying water around the room and all over Severus.

“Well, let’s get you dried off and I’ll start explaining.” Severus swaddled Alex in a bath towel and as he towelled him off he started talking. “What most people, like Actaeon and Leonidas, refer to as Halloween some of us know as Samhain. There are eight festivals in the year as practised by the old religions. Now, your grandma and grandpa don’t celebrate these holidays but your Uncle Lucius and Aunt Cissy do and so do I, as I spent a lot of time with them when I was younger. Now, Samhain is the most important festival because it is the beginning of the new year. It is also one of the days when the veil between the worlds of the dead and the living are thinnest. This means that the spirits of the dead are able to return to their loved ones. In addition, it is the time when the Wild Hunt begins so the Horned God rides alongside his hounds to collect the souls that linger and those that are unwary. Did you understand any of that little one?”

Alex’s forehead creased in a frown “Little bit”

“Well, even understanding just a little bit is very well done. Now, shall we go and get you ready for the party and then you and Draco can play while Uncle Lucius and I change. Lets go and get you dressed.” As he spoke he was walking into the nursery and stopped when he saw the outfit laid out for Alex.

Laid out on the rocking chair was a pair of black trousers, black shirt and shoes as well as a black cape with a jagged edge and a little black hood with tiny pointed ears. The outfit was that of a tiny bat. Narcissa wanted him to dress his son as a baby bat. Merlin knows only what Narcissa had left for Draco let alone what she expected him and Lucius to wear. With a wry smile he dressed Alex and took him downstairs to meet Draco. He smiled as the vision that greeted him as he walked into the library was that of Lucius sat with Draco dressed as a kitten in grey shirt and trousers complete with tail, ears and whiskers. They deposited the two children on the floor with several books and strict instructions not to move whilst they went to go and change.

Fifteen minutes later and the two of them were back downstairs resplendent in their costumes for the party. Lucius looked elegant as ever, dressed as a vampire, in a dark grey pair of trousers and tailcoat, cream shirt, dove grey waistcoat and a cream silk cravat. The whole ensemble was topped off with Lucius’ ever-present cane, his wand hidden within the hilt, and a charm that created the illusion of a pair of vampiric fangs. Severus, by contrast, was dressed as a battle-hardened warrior, resplendent in a beaten and battered breast-plate and a huge pair of wings laid flat against his back. He wore leather trousers, dragon-hide boots with a dagger sheathed in them and a black silk shirt. Sheathed along one hip was a sword, the scabbard of which was as beaten and battered as his breast-plate. As they walked into the library, Alex and Draco looked up with shock, their faces registering their surprise at seeing their daddies dressed like that. Their jaws dropped even further as Narcissa joined them dressed in ice-blue and white satin with a white fur trim and a crystal embedded tiara. If any British witch or wizard had seen them they would have been shocked to see Narcissa Malfoy, known Pureblood, dressed as Jadis the White Witch from the Chronicles of Narnia, a distinctive Muggle creation.

Laughing slightly at the look on the two boys faces Narcissa gently urged them up and started guiding them towards the apparition point on the estate, the two older gentleman trailing behind. Once there, Severus picked up Alex whilst Lucius scooped up Draco and placed an arm around Narcissa’s waist before the pair of Snape’s and the trio of Malfoy’s apparated towards their destination.

Several hours later and Severus had finally managed to get Alex to sleep. Although the toddler was normally one of the most obedient children in the world when it came to his bedtime, that didn’t take into account the sheer volume of sugar the child had consumed in the space of the afternoon. Severus was thanking the gods that he only had to deal with Alex; he didn’t have to deal with Draco when hyper on sugar. It had taken four stories before Alex was sleepy enough to even think about laying down and trying to go to sleep. It had gotten to the stage that Severus was seriously considering summoning a mild sleeping potion in an attempt get the child to sleep. He made his way to the study and poured himself a large glass of wine and settled himself with a new potions text. The afternoon had been an extreme test of his patience as he was well-known for not tolerating parties for long periods of time.

He enjoyed parties, especially when they were with his family, he just couldn’t stand them when he all of the children in attendance were high on sugar. He and Lucius had spent most of the time hiding in the corner and trying to continue intelligent conversation, occasionally joined by various males of the Principessa extended family, most notably Octavian Salieri. As the afternoon had progressed they had been joined by Alex and Draco who had hidden behind the tablecloth of their fathers table and played whilst safely hidden. The older children had become more and more hyper and excitable as the afternoon had worn on and the mountains of sugar consumed had grown. The children had played a majority of games that were proving popular in muggle culture such as bobbing for apples and trick-or-treating around the nearby houses. With Alex and Draco being several years younger they tired easily despite their afternoon naps and they were very happy to sit and play with their toys.

As Severus replayed the day, exhaustion gradually caught up with him and he started to doze off in the chair, not bothering to go upstairs and into his room. Some time later he woke up with a start as he heard a sharp cry followed by muffled sobbing. He immediately realised that it was Alex and took the stairs two at a time, running down the corridor and through the open door of the nursery. Alex was sat up in the crib his black eyes pooling with moisture and silvery tear tracks trailing down his cheeks. Severus didn’t waste any time in moving across the room and scooping Alex up into his arms and taking him through into Severus’ room.

“Now, what was the nightmare about this time? Was it about your cupboard again, like last time?”

Alex shook his head and buried his face in Severus’ neck and Severus sighed before pressing a kiss into the black mop of hair

“I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what it was about my raven. Did something happen today? Did one of the older children tell you and Draco a ghost story? Is that what scared you? Is it anything to do with the Dursley’s?

Alex shook his head and simply mumbled something that Severus failed to understand. Severus sat down on his bed and pried Alex away from his shoulder, sitting him on his lap facing Severus so that he could see into his son’s eyes. He gently slid a hand underneath Alex’s chin and tilted his chin up slightly

“Come on Alex, you need to tell me what happened. What was your dream about?”

Alex sniffled slightly and then opened his mouth to start talking “There was an evil man daddy and lots of screams and light.”

Severus looked confused ‘Evil man, I’d assume that was Voldemort, lots of screams and light. I don’t understand what he could be dreaming about.’ He looked thoughtful for a moment and then spoke to Alex “Alex, I can help you but you need to let me do something. Will you let me look at the memory? It won’t hurt at all and you just need to look me in the eye. Will you do that for me?”

Alex nodded and locked his eyes onto his father. Severus reinforced his own occlumency shields before he slowly entered Alex’s mind, sliding past the already partially formed shields Alex had as a natural occlumens. The talent of occlumency and legilimency was one that was enjoyed by the Cavallo bloodline that had passed down to both Severus and Alex. Slowly, he slid through Alex’s mind, careful not to cause any harm or disturbance to his son’s mind. Then, he saw it, the memory of what had caused Alex to have his nightmare; an evil cackle that definitely belonged to Voldemort, a woman screaming, two ominous uttered words and flashes of green light. Alex was dreaming of the night that he and his twin brother had been attacked by Voldemort. Equally as slowly, he withdrew from Alex’s mind and focused on his son.

“Alex, I know that your dream was very nasty and scary but you have to understand that the man in your dreams is never going to hurt you. I will never let him and neither will your grandparents or your godparents. I promise. It was just a nasty dream. You’re safe at home and nothing is going to hurt you. Why don’t you sleep in here with daddy tonight and I’ll keep all the nasty dreams away?”

Alex nodded and Severus laid him down in the bed, drawing the tiny head onto his chest as he lay down himself. He knew that he had merely avoided the problem but he also knew it was impossible to explain to a two and a half year old that he had been killed by a crazy evil wizard that wanted to kill him. If Alex continued having the dreams then he would reconsider his decision but for the moment he would let his son continue in blissful ignorance.