Six months later…..

Severus looked on in confusion as Alex listlessly played with Jupiter in the corner of Severus’ potions lab. Severus had had to spend the morning brewing some potions that were needed urgently at St. Mungo’s. Contrary to his usual behaviour Alex had kept close to Severus’ feet and refused to let his father out of his sight. Alex had come a long way in the eleven months that he’d been living with Severus and that was precisely the reason why Severus was so confused.

The only thing that they were doing today that was out of the ordinary was that Alex and Severus would be attending Draco Malfoy’s third birthday party that afternoon. Severus could have hit himself; that was obviously what Alex was having problems with. Shaking his head softly he added the last ingredient, stirred clockwise twelve times and then lowered the flames under the cauldron, knowing that the potion needed to be left to simmer for two hours. He tidied everything away, cleaning everything meticulously before making his way over to his son.

“Alex? Shall we go and have some lunch? Then we can go and get ready for Draco’s party.”

Alex sighed reluctantly but got up all the same. “’kay Daddy.”

“What’s the matter Alex? Do you not want to go to the party?”

Alex hesitated before he shook his head but he still refused to speak.

“What’s the matter? You normally love going to the manor and seeing Draco. Have you had an argument with Draco?”

Alex shook his head. “No daddy. Lots of people there.”

“Yes there will be lots of people there. If its one thing the Malfoy’s do well, its to throw lavish parties. Why are you worried about there being lots of people?”

“Aunt ‘Cissa said lots of Draco’s friends.”

Severus suddenly understood and could sympathise with his son’s fears. “Ah, you’re afraid that with Draco’s English friends there he will abandon you?”

Alex nodded.

“I can reassure you that that will not be the case. I have a fair notion of who will be attending and besides, you Mr Zabini will be there so you have one friend besides Draco. Are you happier now?”

Alex gave his first smile of the day. “Yes. Thank you daddy.”

“That’s quite alright. Now, let’s go and get you and Jupiter fed.”

Three hours later saw both the Snape males stood outside the wrought-iron gates of Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Both of them were dressed in their best robes and in the hand that wasn’t clutching Severus’ Alex carried a brightly wrapped gift. Severus placed a hand on the gates which swung open upon recognising his magickal signature and the two of them started the walk up the drive to the manor itself. When they reached the solid oak doors they swung open to reveal one of the Malfoy family house-elves wearing a pillowcase.

“Master Snape and young master Snape. If masters would follow Dobby he be taking you to Master Malfoy and Master Draco.”

Severus squeezed Alex’s hand before they followed the elf into the dark interior of Malfoy manor. Several minutes of walking later and they entered the huge and airy ballroom that was currently packed with people. Looking around, Severus was unsurprised by many of the guests. Nicholas and Peony Parkinson with their daughter Pansy, Victor and Elizabeth Crabbe with their son Vincent, Grant and Bronwyn Goyle with their son Gregory and Maeve Bulstrode with her daughter Millicent. As he watched he could see that even at the tender age of three the children had been unfortunate in the blood running through their veins. Already it was clear that none of the children had inherited their best features from their parents.

He caught sight of Cornelius Fudge, a Junior Minister at the Ministry who was trying to become the new Minister of Magick. At the sight of him Severus quickly steered Alex towards a corner where the Delacour’s and Zabini’s had gathered. Severus greeted the adults whilst Alex smiled at Fleur before gabbling away ten to the dozen with Blaise. Severus exchanged small talk with Cygnus Delacour and Niccolo Zabini only to break the conversation when they were joined by the three Malfoy’s. Severus shook hands with Lucius and kissed Narcissa on the cheek as Alex handed over the brightly wrapped present.

“Happy birthday Draco.”

“Thank you.”

Severus smiled down at his godson. “Are you enjoying your party Draco?”

“Yes Uncle Sev.” He looked imploringly at his godfather, the Zabini’s and his parents. “Can Alex ‘n Blaise come ‘n play?”

All the adults nodded their consent before Narcissa spoke. “Make sure that you play with the other children though Draco dear. You’ve avoided them all since they got here and followed me and your father around. You have to be polite.”

“But mama!” Draco whined before he was silenced by a look from his father.

“Draconis, that is not behaviour befitting a Malfoy, particularly in public” Lucius reprimanded.

Draco looked suitably chastened “Sorry father.” The reprieve only lasted momentarily. “But papa, Crabbe ‘n Goyle are boring, Millie’s alright but Pansy just follows me around.”

Lucius tried to suppress his laughter but wasn’t entirely successful. “Be that as it may child, we have appearances to maintain. It won’t be for much longer.”

With that the adults looked on indulgently as the three boys ran off into the crowds, probably to find a safe place to hide and play away from the other children. Lucius groaned as he saw Cornelius Fudge approaching the group.

“Oh wonderful, just what we need; that fool trying to ingratiate himself with us. Why did we invite him again?”

Narcissa laid a calming hand on her husbands arm. “Calm down Luc. You know why we invited him. if he becomes Minister of Magick then he is insipid and weak enough that he can be manipulated and bribed as to the best course of action.”

“You are right as always my dear. Come, let us go and meet the bumbling idiot.”

With that the blonde couple glided away, looking every inch the glamorous, aristocratic pureblood couple that they were.

Severus smirked at the sight of the Malfoy lord at work.

Lord Lucius Malfoy was a purely political animal and already wielded considerable power with the Ministry of Magick. Even when he had been a student at Hogwarts he had proved to be a charismatic and authoritative leader and had swiftly risen to the head of Slytherin house. Many of the attendees of the party that afternoon Severus recognised as being followers of Lucius from their school days, although there were several notable absences. One surprise addition however, was that of Narcissa’s older sister Andromeda with her metamorphagus daughter Nymphadora, although without her muggle husband Ted Tonks.

A short while later Severus managed to corner Lucius and drag him to the blonde’s office.

“Sev? What’s all this about?” The blonde Slytherin asked whilst pouring himself and Severus a glass of scotch. “This is my son’s birthday party.”

“Which is why there are only nine children here.” Severus sniped back sarcastically.

“Yes well, these are the children of the adults I could trust. I don’t want simply anybody hanging around my son and godson. Crabbe and Goyle do anything I say, the Parkinson’s look to me for guidance and Bulstrode senior is in Azkaban after the Dementors kiss so Maeve is head of the family and she never took the mark. Too many of our old colleagues and housemates still support the Dark Lord.”

Severus stopped dead, shocked at Lucius’ words and not knowing what to say. Instead he simply took a deep gulp of his scotch and felt his heart speed up with anxiety. Lucius’ smooth baritone broke into his thoughts sounding highly amused.

“Let me guess Sev, you were thinking that I was a nice loyal servant of the Dark Lord and was merely waiting for the best time to bring him back.” One look at Severus’ face told him everything. “You did think that. Sit down Sev and I’ll explain everything to you.”

He waited until Severus had settled himself into one of the wingback chairs before he did the same himself after pouring them both some more scotch.

“You were not Dumbledore’s only spy within the Dark Lord’s ranks Sev. I know you think you were but you weren’t. I spied for Dumbledore as well. Oh, I was not a spy for as long as you which was why I was in Azkaban for longer than you following the end of the war. Neither did I join the Dark Lord for the same reasons as you. Although I did join in accordance with my father’s wishes.”

Severus nodded here as he remembered Abraxas Malfoy before he died.

“I admit that I do still agree with the Dark Lord’s belief that magick should be limited to pure-bloods. It’s too dangerous to continue teaching muggle-borns magick. They don’t have the same exposure to magick that we do and when they graduate many of them simply retreat into the muggle world. There is also the fact that all that violence and torture is distasteful and frightfully messy. However, the last straw came when he threatened my family. Narcissa was already pregnant with Draco when we were both called. We hadn’t told the Dark Lord she was expecting but her bitch of a sister Bellatrix told him. He crucio-ed both me and her incessantly. Narcissa almost miscarried and she never completely recovered physically. Then that madman had the impudence to suggest that she could be a brood-mare for him. The gall of it! Besides, I haven’t been able to prove it but I have my suspicions that the Dark Lord, with his agenda of pureblood supremacy isn’t a pureblood after all. A Malfoy never bows to anyone, especially a mudblood. I went to Dumbledore and offered my services. Then, as you did, I did my duties and was never suspected.”

Severus momentarily lost his composure and sat looking completely gobsmacked before he tossed back the scotch, coughing and spluttering as it burned down his throat.

“I can’t believe it. I never would have suspected you.”

“Precisely. Who would ever suspect me, the epitome of a pure-blooded wizard, to be a spy for the light, for Dumbledore himself? It is for that reason alone that there are few children here. The rest of our housemates with children not yet at Hogwarts; the Flint’s, Nott’s, Avery’s and Macnair – they are all still loyal to the Dark Lord although they do not declare their allegiance openly.”

Severus smirked. “It seems there is some logic there after all. What of the others? Why people like Cornelius Fudge and other junior ministers at the ministry?”

Here Lucius’ gaze turned predatory. “With the right backing and enough funding I can put a minister in power that, for the right things, is willing to do as I wish. With him in place it will be easy to place people loyal to myself and those closest to me in positions of importance. For instance, say the Department of Child Welfare?” Here he arched an eyebrow at Severus.

The dark-haired man smiled in gratitude. “Thank you Luc. Should you ever need anything you will have my support.”

Lucius merely inclined his head. “Now, I suppose we should remove ourselves to the ballroom. With any luck most of the attendants of this infernal party will have dispersed.”

Severus just laughed and the two men went to find their wayward sons.

A month and a half later…….

Severus was woken up abnormally by a hyper toddler. Alex sat up from his perch next to Severus’ stomach wearing his snitch covered pyjamas and clutching Blackie tightly.

“Alex, what are you doing up this early? It’s six am.”

“It’s my birthday!”

“I know it’s your birthday little one, but it’s also very early. Why don’t you and Blackie come under the covers and get some more sleep?”

Alex concentrated hard for several minutes, furrows etched into his forehead, as if weighing up the pros and cons. Eventually, the appeal of getting to sleep with daddy won out and he crawled under the covers Severus was holding open for him. Even a year after his adoption, getting an adults undivided attention and unlimited affection was still a novelty. Severus tucked the blankets around the tiny body, pressed a kiss to his sons head and then curled himself around his son. As he lay there just staring at his son Severus smiled as he heard his son’s breathing even out as he fell asleep again and he just lay there for a while, not ready to fall asleep just yet.

He couldn’t believe that it had been a year since he adopted Alex. It was exactly a year to the day that the Dursley’s had signed the guardianship papers giving him guardianship over Alex, allowing him to walk away with an heir to the Snape family and leaving behind the life of Harry James Potter.

Severus, after several long discussions with Albus, Minerva and his grandparents, had decided that it was easier to leave Alex’s birthday the same as it had been when he was Harry James Potter, the 31st July. This year, after a whole year as Severus’ son, they had arranged a huge party for him at the villa. They had considered holding the party at Hogwarts but had eventually decided that Italy and the villa was the most central location. All of the family would be attending including Alex’s godparents and the two latest additions to the Principessa family; Lucretia, daughter of Ciceron and Adriana had been born on 28th October whilst Belladonna, daughter of Bellerophon and Petra had been born on 4th November. Both Blaise and Alex had been excited to hear that there would be more children in the family but had both been terribly disappointed to discover that instead of the boys they were hoping for the parents to be were both expecting girls. Severus smiled to himself as he remembered the devastation on the two boys faces when they had been told nine months ago. As he thought of the party the next day Severus grimaced slightly and shut his eyes, knowing that he needed to get some sleep so that he wasn’t a completely grumpy git the next day when surrounded by children.

He managed an extra two hours sleep before waking at eight-thirty to find Alex sleeping peacefully. Wanting to sort several things out before Alex woke up he eased himself out of the bed, moving Alex’s head from its pillow on his arm to the actual pillow and tucking him back in. he dressed swiftly but left off his robes and, slipped his wand into his holster before easing the door open and sliding the door open so that he could slip downstairs. Upon entering the kitchen he crossed over to his grandmother and kissed her on the cheek.

“Good morning. What are you making?”

“I’m just making some more bread to go with the honey Alex and I made. There’s fresh fruit and I’ll cook the hot food once Alex is awake. He is still asleep isn’t he?”

Severus nodded. “He’s still asleep. He woke me at six am but I managed to persuade him to go back to sleep. It’s lucky really as I still need to wrap a couple of presents and put up some decorations. Where should I put them?”

“Why don’t you put them up in here my boy? That way we can enjoy them whilst we eat breakfast.” With that Albus strode into the room, resplendent in his purple moon and star robes, with Minerva at his side.

Minerva moved to help Lucrezia whilst Albus spoke to Severus.

“Why don’t I start on those charms whilst you wrap those presents for my grandson?”

Even as Severus nodded and made his way out of the kitchen and down to his potions lab Albus was already waving his wand and murmuring incantations making streamers appear from his wand and a banner that proclaimed ‘Happy 3rd Birthday Alex!’

In his lab Severus drew a large box out of a heavily warded cupboard along with several books and some new pyjamas, these with tiny cauldrons and snakes on them. Setting them an even distance apart on his workbench he tapped each of the presents with his wand and incanted a short spell that Narcissa had taught him. The blonde witch had commented that if Severus was as useless as Lucius at wrapping presents then he was in great need of learning the charm. With the presents wrapped he murmured a levitation charm and made his way back to the kitchen, the presents following him in a line.

As he entered the kitchen it was as if he’d entered a completely different room; the table was almost sagging under the weight of all the food and presents, whilst there were streamers and banners everywhere in addition to the banner.

He heard movements from upstairs and knew that Alex was awake. A flick of his wand sent the line of presents to join the stack on the table. They heard the stairs creak and then the light patter of stockinged feet on the wooden floorboards followed by a slightly tousled head poking its head through the open doorway. Severus opened his arms in encouragement, smiling as his son ran across the room and practically jumper into his lap.

Severus hugged his son close and pressed a kiss into the black hair. “Happy birthday my raven. Did you sleep well?”

“Mm-hmm. Your bed’s warm and comfy but you left!” He accused, pouting excessively.

“Yes well, someone had to wrap your birthday presents. You do want presents don’t you?”

Sadly, even a year later, the eight months living with the Dursley’s had made a deep impact and Alex was still amazed when he received presents. He smiled shyly and gratefully as he received the congratulations and well-wishes from his grandparents and great-grandparents.

Following a long, leisurely breakfast attention was turned to the sizeable stack of presents. In accordance with his fathers wishes Alex opened the presents from his grandparents and great-grandparents first. As his confidence grew and he was secure in the knowledge that the presents were his and they wouldn’t be taken from him he happily tore into the stack. Within thirty minutes he had a sizeable stack of new clothes, art equipment, games and books. Among his favourites were a book of illustrated Italian fairy tales from Antonio and Lucrezia, whilst from his grandpa Albus and grandma Minerva he had received a set of robes that were green and covered in dancing baby unicorns. Once he had made the rounds of thank you’s and kisses he climbed back into Severus’ lap to discover even more presents in front of him.

“Daddy?” Alex asked, eyes wide in surprise.

“These are your birthday presents from me little one. You can open them all except these two.”

Alex nodded before he ripped into the presents, exclaiming in delight over the pyjamas and the new books he’d received. Once he’d opened them he stared at the two presents that were placed in front of him. One looked like it was a book but he was intrigued by the big box. With Severus’ encouragement he reached out and tore open the paper on the smaller present. The paper slid off to reveal a book entitled ‘My First Potions Book’. He looked wildly at his daddy; if he’d got that then was the box holding what he thought it did? He needed no further encouragement and tore off the paper to reveal a brightly coloured box. The brightly coloured letters on the side of the box proclaimed ‘My First Potions Set’.

He flung himself at Severus.

“Thank you daddy, thank you, thank you! Can we make one?”

He hardly waited for an answer before he grabbed Severus clutching his book and dragged him out of the room hardly waiting for Severus to pick up the box. Severus didn’t complain, overjoyed that the one great passion he had was shared by the most important person in his life. He was also more than grateful that he had an excuse to spend even more time with his son doing something they both enjoyed and found fascinating.