In Your Father's Eyes

Chapter Seven: Tricks-Or-Treats

In their adorable matching costumes Snape and Harry walked hand in hand down the streets of muggle London. Severus thought that it was smart to go trick-or-treating around muggle London so as to avoid anyone he knew, although he didn't know very many people, a lot of people knew him and definitely knew Harry. 

Since Snape had taken in Harry the whole wizarding world had found out about where the small child was now. The scandal was all over every wizard newspaper, how Harry Potter the boy who lived had a living father. Not the father that everyone had thought he had, not James Potter. How Lily, the perfect mother, had actually had an affair with her childhood best friend. Of course Severus was aware of all of the things people were saying about him but to know that he had a son and to finally be able to spend a holiday with him, even if it was just Halloween, was the greatest thing that ever happened to him. And he regretted none of it. 

Severus took Harry to about ten houses before they saw someone they knew. Snape had been sure they were far eniugh from Number 4 Privet Drive that there was no possibility of seeing Petunia or her bratty child. But sure enough there they were just a few houses down the street.

"Harry why don't we go-" Snape began to speak to Harry but without looking away from Petunia and Dudley 

Harry jumped when he saw his aunt and cousin and quickly hid behind his father, like he had the last time they encountered his aunt. 

"Don't worry Harry. They can't hurt you now." Severus said crouching down to be eye level with his son. He could see the fear in Harry's large eyes. Nothing made him feel worse than seeing that look in his son's eyes.

"P-p-pwonise?" Harry muttered, shaking only slightly.

"Yes Harry. I promise." Snape hugged his son, "No one will ever harm you. Not while I'm around."

Harry smiled but still felt unsafe. "I wanna go home now. Pwease" 

"Are you sure Harry?" Snape asked picking up his son in his arms.

Harry looked into his pillow sack full of candy. This stash looked like enough to last him until Christmas. "Yes. I'm sure" The young boy nodded his head to confirm.

"Alright then. Home it is." Snape said and he began to walk away in the opposite direction of Petunia and Dudley. 

"Daddy!" Harry cried. "I dwopped my mask! Go back! Go back!" 

Harry began struggling in his father's arms. He finally got free and ran back down the street to go find his mask. Severus chased his son but he was not nearly as fast as the young child. 

"Harry!" Snape ran down the crowded street after the child trying to get him to slow down and also trying not to lose sight of Harry. "Harry get back here please!" 

Severus lost Harry somewhere in the heard of people. He saw many small children in costumes and parents with them but he could not find his small son. 

"Dudders!" Snape heard a familiar voice call out. "Dudders what are yo- Good Heavens!" 

Snape ran in the direction of the voice. The voice of Petunia Dursley. A voice Severus was not very happy to hear. He followed the voice until he finally found where it was coming from. At the end of the street he could see a rather plump young boy holding on to a small Robin by the cape. Severus dashed over to his son's rescue. 

"Let go of my son!" Severus yelled at the bigger child. He pushed the child back, causing the child to let go of Harry's cape. He scooped up Harry in his arms and realised he was crying. 

"Don't touch my son!" Petunia ran over to Dudley and pulled him behind her back. "Keep your monster away from my little Dudders!" 

Snape took a step closer to Petunia and she took a step back. Dudley peered out from behind her. "The only monster here is you. And you're turning your son into one too!" 

"You're a wicked man!" Petunia shouted, "You always have been. You got my sister involved and turned her wicked and created a wicked thing you call a child!" 

Severus had felt many emotions in his life. Fear, pain, sadness, and now that he had Harry, great happiness too, but never had he felt such anger before. 

"YOU NEVER EVER COME NEAR MY SON AGAIN!" Snape snapped at the woman. Cradling Harry in his arms he stormed off in the opposite direction of Petunia. His mind racing with anger. How badly he had wanted to hex her. He then remembered Harry was crying. He stopped at a bus stop bench and set his son down. 

"I'm so sorry Harry." Snape began. He sat down next to Harry and looked at him but his son was looking away. "I should have never let Dudley go near you. I'm sorry." 

Snape reached his arm out to hug Harry. The boy still looking away flinched. "Pwease don't hit me!" 

He withdrew his arm. Sitting there he wanted to burst into tears. His heart broke. How could his own son fear him? Snape knew what that felt like and he couldn't believe that his child felt the same way. 

"Harry," Harry still didn't look at him, "Harry please look at me." 

Harry looked at his father. Tears still swelling up in his puffy little eyes. 

"Harry, I want you to listen to me very carefully now, I would never hurt you. You are the greatest thing to ever happen to me. You're my whole world Harry." Although he would never admit it tears started to swell in Snape's eyes too. 

"Uncle Vernon does when he get's angwey" Harry mumbled. He wrapped his small arms around his father's torso and squeezed as tightly as he could. "I wuv you Daddy." 

When they returned home Harry dumped his bag of candy on the floor to sort through the good candies and the gross ones. He had never had a lot of the candies since Dudley never shared his candy, not even the gross ones.

Once Harry decided if the candy he had acquired was gross or good, based on the look of the wrapper he sorted it and found that only a few pieces were considered good Halloween candy. The young boy sighed.

Harry wanted to try one of the candies in the pretty wrapping. He picked a yellow candy that was twisted into a golden wrapping. He popped the candy into his mouth. He immediately spit it out onto the floor. The candy stuck to the rug.

"Yucky!" The boy cried sticking out his tongue.

Snape who had been making tea in the kitchen laughed and walked into the room. "What was yucky?"

"A candy!" Harry cried picking up the butterscotch from the rug and carrying it over to his father. He stuck the candy in his face so that he would be able to see how gross the candy was.

"Okay someone's not a fan of butterscotch then." Snape laughed. Throw the candy away then and try another candy. But only one."

"Otay!" Harry said he dropped the butterscotch into the bin and ran back to his candies on the floor. This time he did not pick one in a pretty golden wrapper. This time he picked one in an ugly brown and silver wrapper that said Hersey's.

Harry liked this candy. It was soft and sweet. He had never had chocolate before because chocolates, among others, were Dudley's favourite candies. 

Harry found another Hersey's candy. He took it to his father who was now sitting on the couch sipping tea. "Yummy!" Harry mumbled though he was still chewing the other piece and was hard to understand. He gave the candy to Severus.  

They ate candies and played with toys late into the night. Well late for Harry. By ten thirty the small child was finally calm and curled into his father's lap. As the small boy fell asleep Snape wished him sweet dreams. Harry responded, "I mean it Daddy. I wuv you." 

And that was the greatest treat Severus could ever wish for.