"What are you two doing?" Alec asked as he approached the whispering twins who appeared to be plotting a new prank.

"Nothing," they answered simultaneously and attempted to sound innocent.

"Let me rephrase that. Who are you going to prank?" Alec lifted an eyebrow as he started at the two red heads.

"When you do that you-"

"Look a lot like Snape and it-"

"Makes us feel like-"

"Confessing our pranking plans"

"Therefore we will tell-"

"You that we are pranking-"

"Percy." They finished in unison.

"Ah. Percy again? What did he do this time?" Alec questioned.

"He reported a Lee to a Prefect-"

"When he came in five minutes-"

"After curfew began. We are now"

"Attempting to find our-"

"Rule-loving-brother"

"How do you plan to do that from here?" Alec asked curiously. The twins shared a glance and nodded together. They pulled out a slip of old tattered parchment and gestured for Alec to move closer. Alec moved forward and looked at the item in their hands.

"We solemnly swear that we are up to no good." They both recited together.

The parchment began to change. Lines formed everywhere and at the top it said The Marauders Map.

"This map-" One twin began before Alec interrupted.

"Shows where everyone is in the castle," Alec finished as he examined the map. He quickly located the space that said Fred Weasley, George Weasley and Alec Snape. The Ravenclaw was glad to note that the map said Alec Snape rather than Harry Potter.

"How did you know what it does?" One twin asked.

"My Godfather told me about this map," Alec replied.

"Who is your Godfather?" The other twin asked.

"Sirius Black," Alec replied with a smirk.

"What!?" Twin exclamations erupted from the two red-heads.

"You heard me. His name is Sirius Black a.k.a. Padfoot." The twins exchanged shocked glances.

"Do you know who Moony,-"

"Wormtail and Prongs are?"

"Moony is my Godfather's good friend Remus Lupin. Wormtail is Peter Pettigrew and Prongs was James Potter," Alec informed the twins. "You two can meet Moony and Padfoot if you'd like. They should already be on their way to see Madam Pomfrey right now."

"Lead the way" They chorused and all three headed towards the infirmary.

"Hi Sirius, hi Remus," Alec greeted as they entered the hospital wing. Remus downed a potion and both men looked over to the new arrivals.

"Hey kiddo," Sirius greeted and gave his godson a light hug. "Who are your friends?"

"One of them is Fred and the other is George. I'm still working on telling the difference." Alec supplied as he sat on a vacant chair.

"We humbly present-"

"You with the-"

"Marauders Map" They finished simultaneously.

Sirius's eyes widened as the twins held out the map for him to take. He muttered the words to activate the map and briefly examined it before deactivating.

"How did you get this? Filch confiscated it from us in the end of seventh year. Nothing we did for him was enough to get it back even though he never knew exactly what it did." Sirius asked the twins who immediately grinned.

"We snatched it from his desk first-"

"Year when his back was turned. It-"

"Took us a day or two to-"

"Guess the right password."

"Incredible," Remus remarked as he took the map from Sirius' hands. "Can we hold onto this for a while? We promise to return it to you."

"Sure. Anything for the Marauders." They proclaimed together. The bell sounded for lunch break to be over. The three students said goodbye and headed towards their classes.

Madam Pomfrey came back to check Remus over before the two men left. With the aid of the Wolfsbane potion, Remus was not nearly as injured from the recent full moon. Sirius pressured Remus into getting this check up just to make sure everything was fine. Madam Pomfrey knew him well therefore she agreed to give the lycanthrope a brief exam after his recent transformation. Once she was satisfied that Remus was healthy, she dismissed them and went back to her paperwork.

"I wonder what name he shows up under," Sirius mumbled aloud as they walked towards the kitchens for a snack.

"Who?" Remus asked.

"Alec. I just wondered if he shows up as Alec Snape or his other name." Rumors had a way of spreading rapidly around the castle and it was best not to mention specific names out loud.

Remus pulled out the map as Sirius tickled the pear to gain entrance to the kitchens. The house elves swooped on them and offered plenty of food and drinks. Sirius began eating while Remus searched the map for Alec's name.

"There it is. It says Alec Snape. Most likely because that is his new legal name. It appears that Alec is in potions class rig--" Remus trailed off. He stood suddenly and pulled Sirius up with him.

"Wha-?" Sirius muttered as he tried to swallow the food in his mouth. After he accomplished this, he turned towards Remus who was frantically pulling him towards the dungeons. "What is wrong with you Moony? I was hungry!"

"Look at the map!" Remus shoved it in the ex-convict's hands as they rushed towards the dungeons.

"Where on the map?"

"Dungeons. Near Snape's room."

Sirius cursed loudly and picked up his pace.

..............................

Potions class was another typical lesson with brief instructions before getting right to work. As usual, halfway through class someone would mess up their potion and the Professor would yell briefly before dismissing the student to clean up. Today, a Hufflepuff girl managed to botch her assignment and was sent to clean up the sticky potions substance spread all over her hands. As she exited the classroom, a rat slipped in unnoticed.

................................

"I am going to kill that sniveling little rat!" Sirius ranted as they entered the dungeons.

"Be quiet Sirius! You are going to inform him that we know he's here if you insist on shouting." Remus instructed. "You are not going to kill him either. You have just been released from prison and you'd better not end up there again!" They arrived at the location where the rat had last appeared on the Map and didn't see him. Remus pulled out the map and quickly scanned for Pettigrew's name.

"Where is he?" The ex-convict demanded as he glanced furiously around.

"He is in the potions class and it looks like Snape knows. You'd better run and get Dumbledore." Sirius took off running again. "Padfoot runs faster!" Remus added and Sirius stopped momentarily to change into his animagus form, and then took off again to the Headmaster's office. Remus attempted to enter the classroom but he had no luck. Snape had warded the room strongly and the Headmaster would have to disable the wards.

.......................................

Alec and Lisa just finished their potions when a soft pop sounded behind them. The knife on the table used for chopping ingredients was snatched and Lisa was pulled backwards. The glass vial she was holding dropped and shattered. Instantly, the class turned to see what happened. A short and slightly chubby man was holding a knife to Lisa and a wand in his other hand.

"Pettigrew," Severus spat and had his wand out in an instant but could not curse the rat unless he risked hitting Lisa.

"S-Snape," Peter stuttered as he held Lisa like a shield.

"What are you doing here of all places?" Snape asked snidely as he assessed the situation.

"Bl-black is coming to k-kill me," The rat stammered out.

"What led you to that conclusion?" Severus sneered at the rat animagus.

"I-I heard him sh-shouting just now," The balding man replied nervously as he felt around his pocket for something.

"Damn mutt has no sense of discreetness," Severus muttered angrily. "What do you want then?" He snapped.

"W-ward the room first," Peter ordered as bravely as he could even though he was terrified of Snape.

Severus glanced around the room before resting momentarily on Alec's green eyes. "And if I don't?"

Pettigrew caught the look Snape shared briefly with Alec and made the assumption that this boy was more than a student to him. Alec, who hadn't moved since Pettigrew grabbed Lisa, was suddenly pulled backwards.

"What is your name boy?" Alec winced as Peter dug his long nails in his arm.

"Alec," came the short reply.

"Alec what?" Peter demanded since this boy obviously meant something to the potions master and wanted to know why.

Alec glanced up at his father, who was still holding his wand but didn't dare shoot off any curses at Pettigrew unless risking hitting either student, and replied, "Alec Snape."

Peter let out a short laugh. "I never thought you would ever have a kid." Pettigrew unknowingly repeated nearly the exact same thing that Sirius Black first said to the Potions master when he found about Alec.

A few shouts were heard down the hall. "Hurry up and ward the room or they get hurt." Pettigrew threatened as he tightened his hold on Alec and Lisa. Snape reluctantly complied and the room was warded temporarily to keep others out. The Headmaster however would have no problem disabling the wards once he arrived.

"N-now toss your wand on the ground," The rat animagus insisted as he briefly let go of Lisa to dig through his pockets again. Severus slowly placed his wand on the ground near his feet to have easy access to it. Pettigrew finally pulled an old rusty bottle cap out of a pocket and grabbed Lisa's arm once again to keep his hold on her. He noted that Snape's wand was out of his hands and decided it was time to leave. Pettigrew was lifting his wand to tap the bottle cap in activation when Severus realized what the rat had. His hand swiftly went down to retrieve his wand in an attempt to accio the portkey but it was too late and Pettigrew disappeared with Lisa and his son. Just after they vanished, the wards came down because the Headmaster had arrived. He along with several others instantly burst into the room.

"Severus?" Albus questioned the man who was staring at the space where Alec last was.

"He's gone. I should have protected him better. It's my fault. That rat knew Alec meant something to me when I foolishly shared a glance with my son," Severus replied in a distraught tone as he gazed continuously at the spot.

"It is not your fault Severus. We will find them. Now can you tell me what occurred here?"

........................

The three landed in a deserted hallway of an old dusty house. Lisa slipped and twisted her ankle which caused her to cry out. Alec was immediately by her side and attempted to comfort her.

"What are you going to do now?" Alec asked the rat animagus who was getting up from the filthy floor.

"I-I'm leaving. Good luck getting home," The balding man replied rudely. He proceeded to turn into a rat and was escaping through a hole in the wall. Alec was not about to let him get away and pulled out his wand to stun the creature. The rat was unable to avoid the spell and fell over unmoving but alive. Alec stuffed the rat into a pocket until he was able to hand the animagus over to the proper authorities.

Lisa massaged her ankle a bit, "What now?" She asked quietly.

"I don't know. I think this house is warded and we might need to be outside in order for my dad to trace our location." Alec surmised. "Do you think you can walk?"

Lisa slowly got to her feet and swayed slightly before regaining her balance. Alec held out his arm to steady her as she took a tentative step. She winced slightly but was determined to walk. They slowly made their way towards a door that hopefully led to an exit. After trying several doors, they finally found the one that opened to the outdoors. Outside, a large green lawn was seriously overgrown and past the grass was a forest of trees.

"I hate forests," Lisa declared. "Let's stay away from that." Alec nodded in agreement. They stood there for a short time, hoping that someone would come soon but no one arrived. A howl was heard to the left of them and both students turned towards the sound. They couldn't make out the creature who howled but they could see a shape moving slowly towards them through the thick grass.

"We should head back into the house now," Alec suggested as they moved backwards.

"Will they still be able to track us if we are inside?" Lisa questioned fearfully.

"I don't know but I'd rather be inside then some animal's next meal," Alec responded as he tried the door. It would not open. He tried every unlocking charm he knew but nothing helped.

"If we can't get back inside then we should hide elsewhere but I don't know where we could hide," Alec said aloud as he glanced around. The animal was slowly stalking towards them and they didn't have much time to think.

"Let's find a tree to climb. If we are lucky then that thing won't be able to get us up there," Lisa suggested.

"That means we have to head towards the forest," Alec pointed out as he assisted Lisa down the lawn towards the first trees that were located about 15 feet behind them. They made their way to the forest and searched for a tree that they would be able to climb. They spotted one that would have to work because they already could catch a glimpse of the animal that was stalking them. It was a large wolf and it had black fur along with sharp looking claws and teeth. Lisa grabbed onto a branch while Alec attempted to help shove her up and out of the reach of the animal. She made it safely into the tree and Alec was pulling himself upwards when the wolf knocked him down.

The gray eyes of the wolf creature stared into the young boy's terrified gaze. Alec's hand searched frantically around himself searching for the wand that had slipped from his grasp when he fell, but he couldn't find it anywhere. Shouts were heard in the distance and the wolf paused turned and his head to the side with his ears perked up.

Lisa shot red sparks in the air to alert people of their relative location. She then fired off a stinging hex to distract the wild animal from devouring her friend. The animal growled as it felt the sting and Alec took the momentary distraction to kick at the beast. The wolf wasn't expecting it and slipped down the slight hill they were on. When it regained its balance, it sprung forward to attack.

Alec had just picked up his wand and wasn't quick enough to avoid the wolves jaws that nipped his arm. The boy cried out in pain and attempted to stun the animal. The beast avoided the light but the young boy was quick to fire off another curse that managed to hit its mark. It was a cutting hex that nicked the wolf's hind leg. The beast became very agitated and leapt onto Alec, who tumbled down the small hill.

Lisa cast several spells at the wolf since she wasn't at risk of hitting Alec. The animal evaded the spells and was intent on going after the fallen boy. Alec was attempting to sit up but was having no luck. He had hit his head on a rock while sliding down and was currently dizzy. He pushed aside the wooziness and searched for his wand but came up empty handed. The wolf was about to attack when a large black cat appeared out of nowhere. Alec recognized his father in his animagus form and knew that help had arrived.

The panther's ears were pressed far back and it hissed menacingly at the wolf who growled back. The cat's paw swiftly swatted the muzzle of the other beast before the wolf could react. It howled in pain as three long deep scratches were visible by the blood leaking from them. The wolf attacked and the fight was on. Neither was winning because they were evenly matched. The wolf's claws managed to swipe Severus' snout in a similar manner as the large cat did earlier to the wolf. Both animals were sporting scratches in various places that were bleeding freely. The wolf was becoming frustrated and leapt again and managed to get a hold on the black cat's neck. The panther was thrown down the hill once the wolf put all of its weight into the last attack.

The wolf's victory did not last long because it was once again attacked but not by the panther, which was slowly standing again. This time is was a large black dog that resembled the Grimm. The dog joined the fight but the wolf was much too tired to continue. The animal chose that moment to retreat and took in the opposite direction of the house. Sirius chased after the wolf to assure that it left before running back and transforming into his natural state.

Severus had already transformed back and was holding Alec in his arms. The young boy had watched the whole fight and feared for his father's life when the wolf managed to throw the panther down. He was reassured that things would be okay when Sirius arrived to help fight off the wild beast. Once Sirius had obtained the attention of the wolf, Severus transformed back and hugged Alec tightly until others arrived to take them back to Hogwarts for treatment.

................................

Light slowly filtered through Alec's tired eyes and he went to roll away from the light but let out a gasp of pain as he moved his left arm. He slowly opened his eyes and saw his father's bandaged form sleeping in the bed next to his. The potion's master had several bandages along his arms and three partially healed claw marks along the side of his face, all from the wolf's attack.

Alec slowly moved into a sitting position and made note not to move his arm too much. His left arm had a white bandage covering it where the wolf had managed to nip him. He wasn't concerned much with his own injuries though because he was intent on getting to his father's side. He slowly sat up and had to pause to get rid of the slight dizzy spell before making it to his feet. Once he managed that, he crept across to his father's bed and pulled himself up on it. He pulled the covers over them both and snuggled next to the man him. Obviously the potion's master was under the influence of a potion or else he would have woken when Alec crawled in. Alec yawned before dozing back off to sleep, safely in his father's arms which unconsciously tightened around him.

....................................

Sometime later, Alec woke to the feeling of a light hand stroking in his hair. He burrowed his face into his father's side wishing to go back to sleep but it was too late. A soft chuckling was heard from his father when he mumbled about going back to sleep.

"Alec," Severus whispered in his ear. Alec stirred lightly. "You need to get up. Poppy will need to change your bandage soon and you need to eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Alec mumbled but his stomach decided it was and growled.

Another quiet laugh from his father, "I know you are comfortable but you need to eat."

"Fine, fine," Alec replied as he moved into a sitting position. Madam Pomfrey came in and got set to work on changing all of their bandages. Luckily for them the wolf was not a werewolf, therefore neither would be infected. The Potions Master grumbled about being treated like a child when he was perfectly capable of doing it for himself but the nurse steadily ignored him and kept to her work.

After their bandages had been replaced with fresh ones, they ate their lunch. It was fairly late in the afternoon and students would be in their class currently, which explained the quiet hallways. Right as they finished their light meal, the Headmaster walked in.

"Good afternoon," He greeted as he pulled up a chair between their beds. Madam Pomfrey had sent Alec back to his own bed before changing their bandages.

"Good afternoon sir," Alec replied as he reached for his glass of water.

"How are you feeling?" The older man asked.

"Better," Alec said as he placed his glass back down after sipping it.

The Headmaster looked expectantly at Severus, waiting for a reply on how he was feeling. "I am fine Headmaster. Do no be concerned for me," Severus replied after a moment.

"I will always be concerned for your welfare," The headmaster's blue eyes twinkled. Severus just scowled lightly at him.

"Alec can you tell me what happened after you disappeared?" Albus asked the younger boy sitting before him.

"We landed in this dusty room and Pettigrew was going to just leave us there. He changed into his animagus form and was about to escape when I stunned him. I think he forgot to take away our wands and figured we'd let him get away. I stuffed him in my cloak pocket. Did you find him?" Alec asked.

"We did. The stunner had worn off in the hospital wing and he tried to run again. He is currently in the Ministry's custody and awaiting a trail." Albus informed him.

"Good. Anyways, I figured we would need to step outside because there were most likely wards on the house preventing you from finding us." Alec stated.

"That was indeed true. Your father was not thrilled when the tracking pendant you wear could not tell him your location. He continuously watched it until he received a signal." Alec smiled over at his father.

"Lisa and I stepped outside but then we heard a howl from the forest but when we tried to get back inside the wards had locked us out. The wolf began stalking towards us so we decided to climb a tree to get out of its reach. We made our way to the trees in the opposite direction of the wolf but it was hard finding a tree that we'd be able to climb since they were all tall. Anyways we finally found one and I had lifted Lisa up and was climbing up myself when the wolf knocked me down. I lost my wand momentarily and I had just grabbed it when the wolf bit me. I hit it with a cutting curse and it knocked me down again but this time I went down the hill. I think I hit my head on a rock or something because I was really dizzy. Right after that was when my dad arrived." Alec finished his story.

Severus went on to finish his tale of how he fought the wolf and how Black came to finish the battle. Once the Headmaster heard everything, he bid them a good day and popped a lemon drop in his mouth as he left.

...........................

The following day, Alec awoke to hearing two voices talking quietly nearby. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly sat up. "Hey guys," Alec greeted his two best friends.

Lisa immediately jumped up and hugged him, then proceeded to cry. Alec rubbed her back slightly awkwardly, trying to figure out why she suddenly burst into tears.

"Lisa? What's wrong?" Alec questioned the distraught girl.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry for not helping you out there. I-I just froze when the wolf attacked. Then I didn't want to hit you so I didn't risk casting anything! I only hit it with that stupid stinging charm because I had an open shot. I'm so sorry for not doing anything to help you and now you're hurt!" Lisa cried.

"No. Don't think that! You did help me. You alerted the adults where we were. And don't worry about me. I will be fine in a few days," Alec assured her. She relaxed slightly, having forgotten that she did help in some way.

"So... When can you leave?" Josh asked to break to quietness that descended on the room.

"Today, I think." He replied. "Have I missed much schoolwork?"

Lisa jumped right in, eager to inform him of what he needed to catch up on. Alec couldn't help but smile as Lisa went on, giving detailed instructions of the lessons that he missed.

........................................

Alec, Lisa and Josh sat down at their table for the leaving feast which arrived too soon for their liking. Exams were finally over and summer break had arrived which meant that everyone would be heading back home. The hall was currently decked out in silver and green because the Slytherin house had won the cup again. They were celebrating over at their table but they were not the only ones. Ravenclaw house had won the Quidditch cup for the first time in a very long while. The final Quidditch match had taken place two weeks earlier and Alec managed to once again catch the snitch before the opposite team's seeker.

The Headmaster gave a quick speech at the end of the feast before dismissing everyone to bed since students had to get up early to take the train back home. Alec had wanted to ride the train but he and his father would be flooing to Snape Manor later in the afternoon.

Alec said goodbye to his friends before they boarded the horseless carriages that would take them to the train. Alec headed back to his room but stopped to pet Asphodel first. After petting Asp, as he nicknamed the cat, Alec headed to his room to start his homework. He'd rather get it finished as soon as possible to avoid doing it later in vacation.

Severus planned to take Alec somewhere special for the holidays but he had not revealed the location just yet. They would floo home and leave the next day. Severus was very tight-lipped on the whole trip and never once gave into Alec's pleading. They would only be gone for two weeks since Alec wanted to make Lisa and Josh's birthday party. Both her and Josh had summer birthdays in July. Lisa's was on the 9th while Josh's birthday was on the 12th.

Alec continued to work on his homework and managed to finish two essays out of six. His father arrived later in the afternoon after having finished closing everything in the potions lab. He came in and was holding a jar labeled Gillyweed. The ingredient's name sounded familiar but Alec couldn't think of what it was for. He wanted to look it up in his Herbology book to see why his father brought it but Severus announced that they would be leaving in five minutes. Alec placed his homework into his trunk which he had packed up the night before. Once everything was stowed away, he pulled his feather-light trunk next to the fireplace. Severus came in moments later with his own trunk floating behind him. The Headmaster had kindly opened their fireplace to the floo network temporarily so they would be able to floo from their quarters.

They flooed to Snape Manor and Alec headed to his room. Binky had welcomed them home and made sure their trunks were placed in their rooms. There was no use in unpacking since they would be leaving again tomorrow and it was easier to take the trunk since everything he owned was already stored away in there. Alec vigorously worked on his homework and managed to complete one more essay and was halfway through yet another one when he had to stop for dinner. They ate the food Binky served them before retiring for the night.

The next morning, Alec woke up and realized this would be their first trip together. Alec had never really been on vacation anywhere since he always ended up being stuck with Mrs. Figg when the Dursleys went places. He showered and dressed quickly before leaving his room in search of his father. The excited boy found the older man sipping a cup of coffee at the dining table.

"When do we leave?" Alec asked excitedly.

Severus checked the time on the pocket watch that Alec gave him for Christmas. "The portkey will activate in five minutes. Binky!" he called.

"Yes Master Snape?" Binky asked after appearing.

"Grab the trunk in my room along with the one in my son's room and bring them down here," Severus commanded. The creature nodded and popped away. The house elf reappeared with both trunks and waited for her master's next command.

"We will be on vacation for two weeks. Keep the house clean as usual. Dismissed."

"Yes Master Snape." The elf replied before disappearing.

Severus shrunk both trunks and placed them in a secure pocket. Alec noticed when his father stood, that for once, he wasn't wearing all black or robes. The potions master had on black slacks with a dark blue shirt. Severus noticed the stare and raised an eyebrow.

"We are heading to a small town that is inhabited by muggles. We can not wear robes and I don't believe they would be appropriate for the weather. Grab onto the vial," Severus instructed as he held out the empty potions vial which had been turned into a portkey. Moments later, both father and son were swept away from their manor only to land next to a rock in a place far from their home.

When Alec landed, he immediately looked around them and gasped. They had landed on the beach and for the first time in his life, Alec got to see the ocean.

"I take it you approve of our destination?" Severus asked his awestruck son. Alec turned to him and gave him a big hug.

"Thank you so much for bringing me here! I have always wanted to see the ocean. Thank you, thank you!" Alec replied overjoyed.

"We will come back to the ocean later but first we will dine at the local café for breakfast." Severus said.

Alec stared at the oceans water which appeared to go on for endless miles. He turned away from the beautiful sight and followed after his father with a large smile on his face.