It was Halloween at last, and Harry was going trick-or-treating with his dad, Ron, Blaise, the twins, and Violetta, Blaise's sister. For a costume, Harry wanted to be a Dragon Tamer, like Dagger from the circus, so Severus transfigured an old outfit of Harry's into leather pants and a vest and a gold cape. He transfigured a pot into a helmet too and shrank a pair of his own boots to fit Harry's feet. He even bought a small belt with a fake dagger, a baton, and a pretend whip.

"But what about my hair, Dad? I want it long and in braids like Dagger had."

So Sev cast a charm that would force grow Harry's hair until it was long enough for him to braid and gave him a fake earring too. Harry put the Chinese fireball dragon in his pocket, picked up his pillowcase, which had a featherlight charm on it, so that no matter how much sweets Harry received, the bag would not be too heavy for him to carry, and they were off to the Burrow to fetch Ron.

Ron was very impressed with Harry's costume, he was dressed as a Firecaster, which had been a wizard who could summon fire at will back during the Middle Ages, and there were still some around, but the talent was dying out. Firecasters traditionally wore deep crimson robes with flames on the hem, sleeves and front and a black skullcap and a ruby pendant and they carried a staff with a dragon's head on it.

Molly had transfigured a stick into the dragon-head staff, and Fred and George did the robes, Ron reported. The twins were dressed as jesters, complete with bells and fool sticks, which performed a variety of harmless pranks when someone touched one. Violetta was a harem girl, much to the twins delight. Severus raised an eyebrow at her costume, but said nothing, it was not his place to comment on what other parents allowed their children to do, though Violetta reassured him that she was wearing a flesh-toned body suit underneath the wispy pants and top. Blaise was dressed as a Hippogriff Rider, with a blue spangled cape, white pants and a billowy white shirt plus a feathered cap, and a whistle about his neck.

Severus wasn't dressed as anything, he was wearing his normal white hospital robe with the caduceus on the front, and the pin with his last name, which was what he wore to work almost everyday. Harry had tried to get him to dress up, but Severus said it wasn't necessary. "Trick-or-treating is for kids, not adults. Muggles will think I'm a wizard anyhow, wearing my hospital whites and carrying my wand."

They would visit Tobias later on in the afternoon, Harry had already helped decorate his house, putting cobwebs around the trees and fake headstones in the flowerbeds and Tobias had allowed him to paint creepy faces on the windows in washable paint and he'd made a dummy and hung it from the big tree and called it the Hanged Man. The three had also carved jack-o-lanterns and ate pumpkin seeds afterwards, toasted with lots of salt.

So early in the afternoon, Severus shepherded the children all over the nearby wizarding community and the Muggle shops and residences as well, until Ron and Harry were tired and starting to whine that their feet hurt and the twins were tired of playing pranks and Violetta was tired of telling Blaise to quit blowing the darn whistle in her ear.

Maria's daughter had a spitfire temper and she snarled at her little brother, "If you don't quit blowing that blasted whistle in my ear, fratellino, I'm going to transfigure it into a stick and beat you with it, capice?"

Blaise ducked her swat and ran to hide behind Severus. "Healer Sev, Violetta's being mean to me."

"And you're being annoying on purpose, young man," Severus frowned down at him sternly. "Now, I'll have that whistle, Mr. Zabini. You'll get it back when you go home." He held out his hand for the whistle, which Blaise reluctantly surrendered to him.

Blaise stuck out his tongue at his sister, who smirked at him. Then they decided to go to one last house before heading back home.

Halloween was a major holiday among wizards and Muggles alike, and the hospital was throwing its annual Halloween bash that same evening, which Severus had been invited to, but he almost never attended since Lily had died. Usually he was home with his son, making hot apple cider and donuts and telling Harry scary stories. Severus had considered going this year, but then he remembered that Tobias would be expecting them that evening for dinner and decided it would be better to spend time with his family, he wasn't much for social events lately.

Once the last house had been visited, Severus led his weary bunch of children back to his house, where they were then picked up by their parents via Apparition or the Floo Network.

Harry was busy examining all the loot he'd gotten, though he wasn't allowed to eat any sweets unless Severus had first inspected them magically. "I think I got lots more than last year, Dad!" he told his father, dividing all the candy into different piles-one for chocolate, one for sour sweets, one for magical sweets, and one for Muggle sweets.

Severus just rolled his eyes at that declaration, for the last thing his child needed was more sugar. Still, it was a holiday, and so he allowed Harry to choose three pieces of candy to eat after supper. Then, after he had inspected all of the sweets to make certain they were safe to eat, he placed them in a large bowl and put it on top of the refrigerator, out of Harry's reach. He knew better than to leave the bowl where his son could eat from it freely, and that way he could use the sweets as rewards when Harry completed chores or as dessert.

Sev changed into Muggle attire before calling Harry and telling him to get ready to leave to go to Spinner's End.

"Okay, Dad! Lemme get Inky and the Halloween card I made for Grandpa." Harry tore down the hall to his bedroom, where he snatched up the stuffed panther and the Halloween card he'd made before racing back into the den and running over to his father.

Severus picked him up, then Apparated to Spinner's End.

They found Tobias sitting on the porch wearing his old Marine sergeant uniform. Harry ran up and gave him the card, which Tobias said would go on the corkboard next to the other drawings Harry had made for him. "Cool costume, Grandpa!"

"It was the best costume I could come up with on short notice," he told his grandson, who thought the uniform was wicked.

Severus thought he was going to fall over, for who would've guessed Tobias enjoyed Halloween enough to wear a costume? "I didn't know you still had that uniform, Dad."

"I had your mother cast a preserving spell on it, but I never thought I'd fit in it again." Tobias laughed. "Not bad for twenty-eight years later."

"Were you really a soldier, Grandpa?" asked Harry curiously, examining Tobias's rank lapels and pins with interest.

"Yes, once upon a time I was, minnow. I used to be a sergeant in the Royal Marines, way back when, until I met your grandmother and resigned once we were married, since she didn't want to be the wife of a soldier and be made to travel all over the country." Tobias explained, lifting his small grandson onto his lap.

"Did you ever fight in a war?"

"No, the big one had already been fought, that's World War II, by the time I joined the service, and that's one reason why I made sergeant at only nineteen, since we had a shortage of men due to losing so many during the last war. Plus, the Marines know command material when they see it."

"They took one look at you and said, now here's a tough, nasty, hard-arsed, perfectionist son-of-a-gun, which is just what we need, huh, Dad?" Severus remarked dryly.

Tobias nodded proudly. "Yup, that's pretty much what they said, and it's what they got too."

"Did you ever shoot a gun, Grandpa?"

"Yes, but only at targets and practice dummies, I never fired a gun at a person. When we practiced maneuvers, we used blanks, though I used to be a top marksman." He removed his sidearm from its holster, it wasn't loaded, the ammunition was in his belt pouch. "This is not a toy, Harry. You are never to touch this unless I'm with you, understand? It's not to be played with."

"That gun is like my wand, Harry," Severus put in, sitting on the other chair opposite the two. "You don't lay a finger on it without permission, little boy. Or else you'll be in serious trouble."

"Like time-out for life and a spanking?" Harry guessed.

Severus nodded gravely. "Yes, and your grandfather would be giving you the spanking, so if I were you, I'd keep my hands off it. A gun is very dangerous and can kill someone in the wrong hands. So look but don't touch."

Harry promised he'd never touch the revolver. It looked neat, but he didn't want to risk being in time-out for life nor spanked by Tobias, for Tobias's spankings hurt like the dickens.

Tobias slipped the revolver back in his holster, and said, "It's starting to get late, why don't we all go inside and have a bite to eat? Before the trick-or-treaters arrive and we have to hand out some more chocolate bars."

So they went inside to the kitchen, where Tobias had a salad and roast beef sandwiches and macaroni and cheese. They all ate heartily, and Severus made hot spiced cider and had picked up a box of donuts for dessert.

Harry had a small mug of cider and was allowed one chocolate cream donut plus the three treats from his trick-or-treating haul. Severus was sure he was going to regret that later, when it came time to put the child to sleep, but right then he couldn't resist those pleading emerald eyes.

Dusk had fallen now and the older kids were out wandering the neighborhood trick-or-treating. For awhile, Tobias was kept busy handing out chocolate, until Severus volunteered for a bit, along with Harry, who was still wearing his Dragon Tamer costume.

Some of the teen girls squealed when they saw him and declared he was too cute.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not cute, I'm scary! I'm a Dragon Tamer, don't they know anything?"

Severus chuckled and said, "All teenage girls think boys your age are cute, Harry. At least they didn't try and pinch your cheek."

"Ugh! I'd of thrown the chocolate in their face if they did that!" his son declared disgustedly. "That's girl stuff!"

"Then it's a good thing you never knew your grandmother, scamp. Because she'd of kissed you or pinched your cheek every time she saw you."

"But that's different, Dad. Grandmas are allowed to do that. Like mums. But nobody else is," Harry stated firmly. Then he ran to the door again as the doorbell rang and more kids arrived.

By nine o'clock, though most of the trick-or-treaters had gone home, and Tobias said it was a good thing too, for he was nearly out of chocolate bars. The tray by the door held only six or seven and that was it. Harry was growing drowsy by then as well, and Sev made him change out of his costume finally and into pajamas.

He was trying to coax the somewhat cranky child into listening to a bedtime story before Apparating home so he could just put Harry to bed when they arrived, when the doorbell rang again.

"I'll get it!" yelled Harry, and he slipped off the couch and raced towards the door.

"Hold it, minnow," Tobias caught Harry by the shoulder. "This late at night, I get the door, not you. Go fetch the chocolate."

So Harry went to pick up the tray while Tobias, still in his uniform, answered the door to this lone trick-or-treater.

He opened the door and saw, by the porch light, a rather tall teenager in a black robe with a very scary iron mask. Tobias wondered what movie that was from, for it looked like some kind of horror flick castoff.

"Trick-or-treat," said the masked figure, and Tobias could've sworn the voice was more mature than a teenage boy's.

"You're out late tonight, lad. Half a moment, my grandson's bringing the chocolate."

"Oh? But that's not the treat I'm after, Muggle," hissed the iron-masked intruder, and then he pointed his wand directly at Tobias.

Harry, who had just started to take a chocolate bar off the tray to give to the kid at the door, caught sight of the familiar black robe and mask and froze.

Then he threw the chocolate at the Death Eater and screamed, "Daddy! The masked men are here! They've found us!" Then he turned and bolted back towards the den, utterly terrified.

Harry's scream brought Severus in an instant, but before he could hex the Death Eater at the door, five more masked figures appeared in the yard and Apparated inside.

"Harry! Stay behind me!" Severus ordered, and snarled a binding spell. How the hell did they find us here? He wondered as the spell bounced off the other's shield. Unless they had someone watching and we were followed. Damn it all to hell!

Harry obeyed, coming to hide behind his father, whimpering and sniffling. Last time the masked men had come, they had left his father badly hurt, but this time-this time they meant killing.

Severus quickly cast the Patronus Charm, sending his silver doe out to get help from the Aurors, who should have been somewhere nearby patrolling, as was usual on Halloween night. The doe bounded away through the wall and then Severus turned to face his newest opponent, who just happened to be Dolohov, the one who had nearly killed him before.

Meanwhile, Tobias, no fool, reacted with the reflexes honed into him by the Marines, and karate chopped the Death Eater on the porch, making him scream and drop his wand, which Tobias stepped on and broke.

Tobias's eyes flashed and he promptly punched the masked invader hard in the stomach. The Death Eater doubled over, retching in agony, for the ex-sergeant had not pulled his blow. These were the people who had harmed his son, and Tobias was not minded to be merciful.

He pushed the Death Eater off the porch, but more masked figures were Apparating in from out of the air and Tobias quickly slammed the door and locked it, not knowing such measures were futile. He whirled around, drawing his gun and shoving a clip into it all in one smooth motion, instinct taking over.

In the den, Severus was defending himself against three opponents, the fourth, unknown to him, had slipped around behind him and grabbed Harry by the wrist, dragging the little boy out from behind Severus and holding him fast.

"Daddy! Help! The bad man's got me!"

Harry's scream pierced Severus's heart like a sword thrust, and he spun around to see his worst nightmare made flesh-Harry in the hands of his enemy, helpless and vulnerable.

"Be still, you little whelp!" snarled the Death Eater, whose voice Severus recognized as the suave cultured tones of none other than Lucius Malfoy. "Surprise, Snape! Did you really think you could avoid us forever?"

Severus hesitated. If he tried to hex Malfoy, Harry could get caught in the crossfire. "Let my son go, Lucius. It's me you want, not him."

"On the contrary, Snape. I want you dead, true, but I also want you to suffer first. And what better way to do that then to kidnap your precious son and put him to the question?" Lucius sneered. "Putting him to the question" was a euphemism for torture in Death Eater parlance. Harry struggled hard, biting down on the pale hand that held him. Lucius swore and struck the boy hard across the face. "You little savage! That'll teach you!"

"Bastard!" Severus cried, just as Harry began to sob. But before he could attack Lucius, the other three Death Eaters trained their wands on him, and he was forced to dodge their hexes, using Shield Charms and Anti-Repelling Charms.

Lucius chuckled and held tighter to his prize, who was still struggling like a greased pig, much to his irritation. Which was probably why he never noticed Tobias, who crept up on him from the hallway.

Tobias's heart was in his throat as he beheld the evil wizard holding his grandson in his arms. He knew he would only get one chance to free Harry from the Death Eater's dark embrace.

The ex-sergeant was quick to scope out the terrain before he aimed the revolver at the Death Eater, making sure that Harry was not going to be in the way of his shot. Then he fired.

The bullet sped directly to where he'd been aiming, Lucius's wicked cruel heart.

The Death Eater staggered as the sudden sharp agony hit him, and he released Harry, who tumbled to the ground.

"Run, Harry!" Tobias yelled, trying to get his grandson out of the line of fire.

Harry picked himself up, shaken and crying softly, but he knew better than to disobey Tobias when he used that tone, and he ran quickly up the stairs.

Severus had heard the report of the revolver, and knew that it meant his father had joined him in battle. Without turning around, he called, "Dad? Where's Harry?"

"Safe."

Severus breathed again. "You all right?"

"Fine, Sev. I've got your back," answered the elder Snape. Then he stuck his arm around the side of the den entrance and fired at another Death Eater who was pointing a wand at his son.

That one caught a bullet in the abdomen and crumpled with a choked scream, blood blossoming over his robes in a crimson rush.

Severus cast yet another Stunning Hex at Goyle, and this time the burly Death Eater could not block in time and fell, like a rock, to the floor. "Care to test your luck again, Dolohov?"

"My pleasure, you slimeball! Eat this, Healer!" And he sent a barrage of fiery missiles at Severus, who quickly conjured a Reflective Shield, making the fire darts bounce away harmlessly.

Tobias was lifting the revolver again to fire, when the front door was suddenly blown apart and five more Death Eaters entered. The ex-sergeant was knocked off his feet by the blast, but managed to fire one last round before an incoming Death Eater slammed him with a sheet of purple lightning.

Harry, watching in fascinated horror from the top of the stairs, saw his grandfather crumple to the ground, the purple lightning sparking over him, and screamed.

"Grandpa! Nooo!"

The Death Eater who had cast the lightning looked up at the small boy and laughed. "One less Muggle in the world, boy!"

Then he started up the stairs towards Harry.

The little boy glared down at the masked figure and for the first time felt not fear, but a terrible burning rage. This man had hurt his grandfather, maybe even killed him. "Go away! I wish you were DEAD!" he screamed, and for the third time in his life, his magic responded to his need and red fire shot from his hands, knocking the Death Eater down the stairs to lie in a crumpled heap, his head hitting the ground with a snap.

Severus knew he was outnumbered, he heard Harry's scream and knew with a sudden sinking despair that something had happened to Tobias, but he couldn't afford to let his concentration slip while dueling Dolohov. Goddamn it Padfoot and Moony! Where the hell are you? My Patronus should've contacted someone by now! "Incendio!" he chanted, and a fireball exploded from his wand, catching the gloating Dolohov unaware for once and setting his robes aflame.

Screaming, the dark wizard stepped back, beating at his robes in a frenzy, and Severus disarmed him and cast an Incarcerus Charm, tying up the Death Eater neatly.

Then he spun about to face more dark wizards coming in through the back door, but before he could cut loose with a gust of wind charm, Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore arrived.

"About time you got here, Black! What took you so long?" Severus shouted, dodging a Paralyzing Jinx.

"We thought you were home, so we went there first by mistake," answered Sirius, pointing his wand and the Death Eater who faced him suddenly became a tiny little bug, which the Auror stepped on. "And that's how we deal with termites where I come from!" he declared, his eyes bright with battle fever.

Remus ducked another's Withering Curse and sent back an Ice Storm in return, freezing the two who were trying to get into the den.

And Dumbledore remained in the yard, fighting those who had Apparated in at Lucius's signal, dueling the five other dark wizards with quick easy motions of his wand.

The dark wizards had thought the old man easy prey, but they soon learned differently, as Dumbledore blocked all their hexes and responded with spells of his own that they never learned how to counter. His normally placid face was set in a terrible fierce mask and his blue eyes were cold as ice in winter.

This was the second time the lives of the man he considered a surrogate son and the child he regarded as his grandson were threatened and he was not about to let them go unpunished. He lifted his hands and a rolling boom of thunder rang out, slamming into the knot of dark wizards before him, stunning some and knocking over others.

Inside the house, Sirius had just disarmed another opponent, calling out to Sev as he did so, "Y'know, Snape, if you wanted to throw a party, all you had to do was call us. Why bother hanging out with these losers?"

"They came uninvited," drawled Severus, stunning the last dark wizard who was coming in through the kitchen window.

The loud crack of thunder shook the house, and Remus glanced up in alarm and cried, "What the bloody hell was that?"

Sirius smiled grimly, "That, Moony, was the wrath of Albus Dumbledore. I'll bet you any amount of money that the only one left standing out there is him."

Harry, who had been crouched on the stairs, feeling weak and sick after his magic had attacked the dark wizard, now got to his feet and charged down the stairs, yelling, "Uncle Sirius! You gotta help my grandpa! The masked man hurt him with purple lightning!"

He threw himself into the Auror's arms, crying hysterically.

"Harry, are you okay?" Sirius asked, hugging the boy tightly.

"Yes, but Grandpa's over there!" he pointed towards a shadowy corner of the hallway, where Tobias lay still and unmoving.

Sirius stepped over the Death Eater lying on the floor and called, "Severus! You'd better get over here. It's your father!"

Severus came at a run through the kitchen, face pale and drawn, to kneel down beside his stricken parent. "Dad?" He gently lifted Tobias's head from the floor, there was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. "Merlin help me!" he whispered in horrified disbelief. "He's not breathing!"