AN: Day 3 of Snapetober. This one is a little father/son bonding over pumpkins :) Let me know what you think!

Day 3- Pumpkin Carving

Harry stood just outside Snape's quarters carrying an overly large pumpkin in each arm. It was only then that he realized that he couldn't open the door without the use of his hands, so he aimed a couple of well-placed kicks at it instead.

Less than a moment later, Snape appeared with a scowl in place. "Why in Merlin's name are you kicking my door?"

Harry rolled his eyes and attempted to shrug his shoulders. "Oh, I dunno, maybe because I can't open it myself. Maybe you didn't notice but my hands are full."

"And are you a wizard or not?" Snape asked, pointedly ignoring the pumpkins.

"What? 'Course I am!"

"Are you sure? One would think that a wizard might try leviosa when something is hard to carry."

Now it was Harry's turn to scowl. "Well I didn't think of that, did I?"

"Obviously," Snape replied with a smirk as he pointed his wand at the pumpkins and levitated them from Harry's hands and into their rooms.

Harry followed him inside and shut the door behind him.

Snape put the pumpkins on the kitchen table and then turned to his son.

"What are you doing with these anyway?"

"We're going to carve them," Harry replied as if now Snape was missing the obvious. "Halloween is only a few days away."

When Snape only raised an eyebrow in his direction, Harry jutted his chin out and crossed his arms. "It'll be fun, Dad. I know that's hard for you to understand, but it will be. Besides, I've never carved a pumpkin before, and now that I'm officially adopted and all that, I think it's only fair that you make sure that I experience all the things that I missed out on before."

"Laying it on a bit thick, don't you think?" Snape asked, the corner of his mouth quirking up the tiniest bit.

Harry only shrugged.

"And you don't think that this is an experience better suited for Remus?"

"No."

Snape sighed dramatically and gestured towards the pumpkins. "Let's have at it then."

Harry grinned and walked over to the kitchen drawer, pulling out a couple of knives and a ladle to scoop out the insides with. When he turned around, Snape was pointing his wand at the slightly smaller pumpkin but before he could even utter a spell, Harry shook his head.

"No way! We can't use magic. It would take ten seconds and then it would be over with. There's no fun in that."

"You want to scoop all of that out without magic? Like muggles?"

"Yes. Exactly like muggles." Harry grinned. "And you can't just do triangle eyes and toothy smiles either. That's boring."

"And what do you suggest I do?"

Harry shrugged. "I dunno. Something scary?"

Snape nodded. "Alright, then. Remus's face should do it."

"Da-ad," Harry shook his head but Snape only grinned.

An hour later, the kitchen was a mess with more pulp and seeds on Harry and the table than Harry was certain had even been in the pumpkin to begin with. He looked over to Snape who was of course, as clean as he had been when they started and rolled his eyes.

Snape had taken off his outer robes and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt so they wouldn't get dirty. He had even tied his hair back to keep it out of his face. All of that, added with the look of absolute concentration on his face, had Harry biting his lip to keep from laughing.

He stepped back to get a good look at his pumpkin and smiled. "I think I'm done." Harry had carved X's for the eyes, a triangle nose, and an angry, jagged, frown.

"It looks good," Snape said, then turned his own pumpkin around for Harry to see. He had carved a full moon with several flying bats into his.

Harry's grin grew wider. "They're perfect."

"I suppose," Snape agreed. "Though, with a touch of magic, they could be better. But I understand if you want them to stay perfectly muggle," he added before turning away to begin cleaning up the mess with a quick, "Scourgify."

"Better how?" Harry asked after a moment of hesitation.

Snape smirked then pointed his wand at both pumpkins, muttering a quiet spell that Harry couldn't hear. Suddenly, the pumpkins lit up inside and the bats on Snape's pumpkin began to actually fly around the moon. Then, the jack-o-lantern on Harry's came alive and began to laugh maniacally.

Harry's eyes widened. "Wicked!" He moved closer to his pumpkin to get a better look at it. "Will it do this all the time?"

Snape nodded. "It can, but they tend to sit still until someone walks past them. But the candles inside will automatically light themselves at night and put themselves out during the day."

"Can we put them somewhere will people will see?"

"If you'd like. We can set them outside of our door."

"Yes! Then everyone will know you carved a pumpkin. Your reputation will be ruined."

Snape shrugged. "I think that ship sailed the day I told the world I wanted to adopt you."

Harry smiled before giving Snape a quick one-armed hug. "Thanks, Dad."

"You're very welcome, Harry. Happy Halloween."