Work title: Pumpkin King

Author: DoraRussel

Beta-Reader: typingkeys11

Category: Gen, F/F, F/M

Fandom: Harry Potter — J. K. Rowling

Relationship: Hermione Granger Severus Snape Original Female Character(s), Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, Original Female Character/Original Female Character

Characters: Hermione Granger, Severus Snape, Original Female Character(s), Original Muggle Character(s)

Additional Tags: Romantic Fluff, Songfic, Girl's Love, Femslash, Lesbian Character, Family Dinners, Meeting the Parents, Established Hermione Granger/Severus Snape, POV Alternating, Parent Severus Snape, Protective Parent Severus Snape, Good Parent Hermione Granger, Pumpkins, Jack-O'-Lanterns, Spinner's End (Harry Potter), Prompt Fic, Ominous October, Ominousoctober22, Facebook: Severo Snape Fanfictions

Summary: This Halloween, the Snape couple welcomes their daughter's partner for dinner. Hermione welcomes them cordially; Severus on the other hand... Well, we'll find out in a few moments what's really bothering him…

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or any of the related characters. The Harry Potter series is created by JK Rowling and owned by Warner Bros. This fanfiction is intended for entertainment only. I am not making any profit from this story. All rights of the original Harry Potter story belong to Warner Bros.

Initial note: I hope you are comfortable enough, 'cause not only is this my first English one-shot, but I also need to thank some people before I present "Pumpkin King" to you.

I'd like to truly thank typingkeys11 for all her suggestions and corrections. Thank you for having had the patience to help me!

SlytherInsight221 and littleminx921, you two were so sweet, having my back with the summary and other details of this story, that I just couldn't let you out of my "thank you list".

YaoiIsLife99, of course I wouldn't be satisfied to just drag you to my crazy ideas in Portuguese, I'd also have to drag you to my crazy ideas in English. Thanks for your honesty, that's one of the many things I love about you.

Ouch, it seems we ended up getting a little sentimental over here…

Before I let you go to the story, one last thing: this story was written as a response to two different challenges: "Ominous October Trick or Treat Prompts" hosted by Potions and Parchment and HP Fanworks Central, using one of their Treat prompts: "taking family photos"; and to the "Trick or Treat Challenge" hosted by Severo Snape Fanfictions, using "Spinner's End" as the place, "candle, pumpkin and Jack-O'-Lantern" as the items.

One last thing: for this story to be valid on this second challenge, it is mandatory that all of the prompts used are marked in bold, so don't be surprised by that. And this story has more than one point of view, so keep that in mind as you were reading it.


You're such a strange girl

I think you come from another world

You're such a strange girl

I really don't understand a word

You're such a strange girl

The way you look like you do

You're such a strange girl

I want to be with you

I think I'm falling

I think I'm falling in

I think I'm falling in love with you (1)

I take another quick glance at the piece of paper on my hand, recognizing Eileen's curved handwriting: Spinner's End, no. 1307. I check the sign above me and the street is correct, but why can't I find the number 1307? I'm in the exact spot where it was supposed to be, between 1306 and 1308. So why isn't it here?

There is heavy smoke in the sky, I almost can't see beyond it and the distinctive sound of metal against metal helps me identify why. On the end of the street, where the sound's coming, I can see a large building with a cheesy slogan "Serving our best to always keep serving", written in an old — and probably initially white — painting, now yellow and almost entirely peeled off.

Spinner's End isn't the kind of street you would like to walk after the sun goes down, this I'm certain of. Even though it isn't night, the sun is completely covered by heavy clouds and a dense factory smoke. And, of course, there isn't a damn living soul walking by. Why does this feel like a scary movie scenario?

Sighing heavily, I shake my head in an attempt to get rid of this weird and baseless sensation. Reaching for my mobile phone on my jacket's pocket, opening my contact list and clicking on Eileen's number. On the second ring, I heard her sweet voice answering,

"Cass?"

"Hi, love. I'm already here but I can't find the number 1307. It's on Spinner's End, right?

"Wait where you are, I'm going to find you."

I can hear the sounds of her pacing so I stay still, at the old and cracked stoned floor of the sidewalk, watching quizzically the space where 1307 should have been, based on simple logic.

"Okay, I'm waiting," I answered her in a vague tone.

A few seconds pass and right in front of me, the numbers 1306 and 1308 starts moving to the side; no, they are actually sliding to the sides… almost like that Bible's passage at the Old Testament, when Moses opens the Red Sea to his folk — Lord, I'm absolutely sure that the ground itself is moving to open space to something. And then, on the free space between those two houses, a brand new building starts to get shaping, forming from the absolute nothing a house, elegantly shaped in what looks like the old Tudor's architecture style. Eileen is opening the front door of that exactly new house. Slowly, I lower the mobile from my ear, opening my mouth in complete disbelief.

How the hell did that house appear from nowhere?

While Eileen starts walking in my direction, I feel my heart skipping a beat. Lord, she looks so beautiful today and how does she manage to give me that giant smile?

The memory of our conversation from last week hits me right before she gets close. And yet the moment I breath her soft and unique cologne, citrus fruits combined with some sweet scent I can't identify, I forget my own name, having enough strength left to only suppress a long moan that's trying to leave my lips. Between the memory of our eerie conversation about magic being a real, factual thing and her addictive cologne's smell, I'm so dumbstruck that I can't move to meet her on her way to me. I just stand there, watching her — and the house behind her —, unable to think straight.

"Hey, you!"

I swallow hard, moisturizing my dry lips with the tip of my tongue, holding both of my hands on my back in a desperate attempt to stop their sweating.

"Hi, beautiful," although I try to smile back, I can feel a grimace forming on my features. She doesn't seem to care at all, stopping right in front of me.

"For a second, I thought I had freaked you out enough that you wouldn't come to dinner," her eyes fell to the ground and only now I take a closer look at Eileen: her body language shows the insecurity I clearly hear in her voice.

Acting purely on instinct, as I usually do when she is involved, I close the space between us by pulling and holding her into my arms. I drown in her scent and feel my heart beating faster as her arms finally encircle my waist, returning the hug with the same intensity.

"I won't lie to you: you're the first girl I date that I'm really scared of meeting the parents," I say in a playful tone, although both of us know that it's kind of — mostly — true.

She ends the hug and all insecurities are gone now. Even though her tone is serious, she is already smiling again to me when she says:

"Mum is a Muggleborn… I mean, my mum's heritage is the same as yours. Non-magical or as the Magic World calls it, muggle. And my father's family is also non-magical, so you don't need to worry at all. The Snape's are a non-magical-friendly-family." Eileen explained while reaching for one of my hands, pulling me towards the house.

"And uh… what about…?" I indicated with a nod our fingers entwined.

"Oh, us? There isn't the same kind of Muggle prejudice towards queer people in the Magical World." she gives a brief shrug of her shoulders, discarding my worries in such an easy way that I feel like a huge weight was taken off my back.

She opens the front door and gestures for me to enter first. Of all my past relationships, every single one of my ex's families were prejudiced. Some more, others less, but they were always prejudiced people.

And now that I've found the girl of my dreams, whose family is apparently prejudice-free…

If I haven't actually lost my sanity, Magic is as real as the sound of metal hitting metal, coming from the factory down the street. As I weigh the pros and cons, I conclude that magic and magical-being are the least of my problems. Well... I hope I am right about that.

Leaving all my worries behind, I take the final step to the house; Eileen does the same, closing the front door behind us.

I've been hiding for so long

These feelings, they're not gone

Could I tell anyone?

Afraid of what they'll say

So I push them away

I'm acting so strange

They're so pretty, it hurts

I'm not talking 'bout boys

I'm talking 'bout girls

They're so pretty with their button-up shirts (2)

x-x-x

"Do you really think it's safe?"

"Safe…? What do you mean?"

"Don't be silly, you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Right, I do know what you're talking about, I just don't get what your point is. Care to elaborate?"

A long and annoyed sigh after, he answered, "The problem isn't their gender and you know that."

"Oh, so now we have problems with blood status?" The woman's tone escalates while she questions him, a playful smirk suddenly appearing on her lips.

"Woman, stop playing silly games with me!"

"Okay! I'm sorry, love. You know I just can't resist teasing you…" She lifts her hands up in the air, even though she can't stop giggling "What are you truly concerned about?" It's clear she's trying to be serious about it — and failed miserably, but hey, what matters is the intention, right?

The man arches an eyebrow in response and huffs heavily. Crosses his arms tightly and finally answers, "Eileen is too young to be in any kind of romantic relationship, that's my concern."

The woman tries — she really does try — to keep her serious facade, nodding in acknowledgment when he finishes his brief and furious statement, but in a couple of seconds her giggles start again, stronger than before, quickly turning into a loud laughter, bringing tears to her eyes. The man's annoyance grows visibly faster, enough to make him roll his eyes in response. He stands up straight, moving across their living room, getting closer to one of the windows where he can spot two girls hugging in his front yard. His daughter and who he pressumes is her so-called girlfriend.

"Severus, Eileen just turned twenty-one a couple months ago, for Circe's sake!" After a few minutes of hysterical laughter, the high pitched woman's voice draws the man's attention away from the couple's interaction, "Although this is her first serious relationship, we know she has had some other important romantic people in her life before."

The man finally turns to look at his wife, his demeanor still very tense. They sustain their gaze on each other for a long time, almost like they were having a mental argument through their eye connection.

It's the man who breaks the silence with a tone almost pleading, "Why can't she wait to date when I die, Hermione? It was difficult enough having to control myself from cursing those who had crossed the line with my…"

"Your what?"

"My baby, our baby, for Merlin's sake!" With a loud sound, the man throws himself in a leather armchair, his body finally giving in to all of the stiffness that was holding him together. His hands cradle his head, making him look like someone who just lost a battle.

"Oh, love… she will continue to be our baby, Severus. Always," the woman gets closer, kneeling in front of him, "We dealt with the bullies pretty well, except that time when you poisoned that poor boy…". She offers him a smirk along with a falsely concerned tone, before continuing, "She is not a defenseless kid anymore, love. We need to let her make her own choices and if she chooses badly, we need to be the ones who'll support her and hold her through all the bad things."

The woman stands up and like a dance very well-known by them, he opens space for her to sit on his lap. She leans over, resting her head on his shoulder while he starts caressing her brown curls.

They sat in silence for a moment. The man was clearly having a serious argument in his own head while the woman was concentrating on drawing invisible lines on her husband's chest. Before they realize it, a knock on the wooden door is heard.

"Mum? Dad? Cass is here!"

They exchange a brief glance. It's the woman who answers, "Wait for us in the living room, sweetie. We'll be right there."

"Okay."

The woman hesitantly leaves her husband's lap and when she is up, she gives a meaningful look straight into her husband's eyes, "Promise me you won't treat her girlfriend badly."

The man makes the most offended expression he can manage, raising his eyebrows and putting both hands on his chest. When he finally takes a breath to answer, the woman says first, "Drop the act, Severus. C'mon, I'm waiting." Her posture lets clear she's nowhere near the teasing mood of before. She has her arms crossed in front of her chest, narrows big and tough brown eyes, frowning like she meant it.

"Fine," the man also gets up, moving closer and at a dangerous speed to his wife, like a prey preparing to attack it. He lowers his head near one of her ears and purrs in a lascivious tone "But I'm going to make sure this girl knows Eileen has parents who really care about her, love." And then leaves the woman breathless and unable to say anything back.

Light reflects from your shadow

It is more than I thought could exist

You move through the room

Like breathing was easy

If someone believed me

They would be

As in love with you as I am (3)

x-x-x

So far, everything went pretty good. Mum appears to enjoy chatting with Cass. I couldn't have expected less: a Bookworm and a Librarian are two sides of the same coin, after all. On the other hand, Dad is very quiet. Quieter than usual, I mean. I keep catching him staring at Cass with that arched eyebrow, so characteristic of his complex personality. And I could swear that, while we were drinking Aunt Molly's apple cider, he tried to use Legilimency on Cass.

Dinner went seamlessly, too. Not a single incident happened and I couldn't be happier about it. Mum keeps giving me smiles and winks, making it clear she liked Cass very much. Dad is still very quiet, although the scares Cass got while we were answering some of her questions about Magic, made him hide a smile or two behind his napkin.

"Is everybody satisfied?" Mum asks as everybody finishes their food.

"Yes, Mum. Thanks, dinner was delicious!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Snape! Your gravy was one of the best I've had!"

"Oh, sweetie. I'm happy you liked it."

"Dinner was delectable as always, love," Dad says, looking straight into my Mum's eyes, making her blush.

Cass and I share a brief glance and before I can say anything to her, Dad's voice draws my attention back to him, "Shall we?" He's looking at me with a knowing-smirk and I can't suppress a grin from forming on my lips in response.

"Can Cass participate too, Dad?" I am a little afraid of his answer. To my surprise, his smirk grows larger and I instantly know that, whatever this smirk means, isn't a good thing at all.

"Of course your girlfriend can join us this year, Eileen." Without waiting, Dad turns away and starts walking to our backyard.

I take a quick look at Mum, trying to understand what Dad's smirk could possibly mean, but she is not looking at me. Her attention is on gathering and taking all the stuff from the dining room to the kitchen.

"Join him in what, exactly?" Cass asks and my attention drives back to her. She's using her funny tone but her eyes are shining in a strange way, almost like…

"Are you scared?" I ask, unable to restrain my own smirk which, I know without looking in mirror, is quite similar to my Dad's.

"Me? Oh, please…" She answers in a playful way but I know her better. I check on mum and she is already leaving the dining room with the dishes, so I get closer to Cass, resting my hands on her tights before saying,

"Every Halloween, Dad and I decorate pumpkins while he tells a Halloween story," I can see her pupils growing larger, although I can't be certain if it is because of our proximity or what I'm saying to her — or how I am saying to her, "The story part probably won't happen. It has been years since the last time he told me one, so you have nothing to be afraid of." I give a slow squeeze on her thigh, watching her swallow hard and licks her lips subconsciously.

"I'm… not afraid…" She says in a shaky way and now I'm the one who's affected. She's just so beautiful when her neck starts getting red, going all the way up to her cheeks.

But before I can lean even closer to capture Cass' lips with mine and finally kiss her in the way I've wanted to do all evening, my dad's voice breaks the moment,

"Are you girls coming or not?" His tone is loud and far away, probably already in our backyard. I can identify annoyance in his tone, yet it is me who sighs heavily, feeling almost incapable of moving away from Cass.

"One second!" I answer loudly, giving one last squeeze on her thigh and a quick kiss, before finally moving away and getting up.

Now Cass is the one smirking at me and when we hold hands to go meet my dad, I wait for the right moment to get close enough to whisper,

"Let's see who'll have the last laugh of the night, Little Pumpkin." When I open the back door for her, my smile grows bigger as I spot that vivid blush on her cheeks again.

You look so pretty and I love this view

Don't bother looking down

We're not going that way

At least I know, I am here to say

We fell in love in October

That's why, I love fall

Looking at the stars

Admiring from afar

(My girl, my girl, my girl) (4)

x-x-x

You got me checking my mirror

You make me feel like I'm on the run

Where'd you hide the gun?

The kitchen knife in your hand

Are you the poison, are you the cure?

I'm not so sure

I'm shackled, there is no way out

I can't escape

When you turn out the lights

You make me feel like it's Halloween (Halloween)

It's Halloween (Halloween)

When you skulk 'round the house

You make me feel like it's Halloween (Halloween)

It's Halloween (Halloween) (5)

Okay, I shouldn't be scared anymore, should I?

Eileen's mum was very gentle and we had a great connection. Her dad was kind of creepy, staring and keeping his mouth shut most of the time, but I could see he had fun with my reactions when we were chatting about magical stuff. Even though I feel I should be mad because he was clearly making fun of me, I just can't. I mean, suddenly all of those previous conversations I had with Eileen about this specific topic sounded too real to not freak out about so it's okay that at least someone was having a good time.

After the teasing way Eileen tempts me at the back door, it takes me a while to concentrate enough to focus on the backyard area. Mr. Snape is lighting candle after candle, but not with matches of a lighter. No. He's using his wand, making gracious waves in the air that magically lit them on fire.

If I wasn't as scared as I am now, I'd be completely flabbergasted by it. C'mon, clearly the man is a male, dark, and Gothic version of the Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, for fucks sake!

Okay, focus Cassiopeia, focus. It's just candles, isn't it?

I give a hard squeeze on Eileen's hand, swallowing hard as Mr. Snape turns to us, again with that weird stare and he's looking straight at me. Almost like…

"It's okay, Pumpkin. Sorry I teased you just now," Eileen's voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned my face to look at her.

She's a little taller than I am. Her black, curly hair is tied in a beautiful braid today, falling over her left shoulder. I can't even think straight about what was bothering me before she started speaking, so I give a brief shrug and answer,

"It's okay, Boo. No need to worry about it." I give another gentle squeeze on her hand.

We keep walking until we reach a large wooden table. Mr. Snape rapidly tucks his wand somewhere inside his coat's sleeve and I try not to stare — at least not too much.

There are three large pumpkins over the table and I assume it is one for each of us. Beyond that, there's also a collection of several types of candles, knives and spoons — and what I think it's gardening tools. I can't tell for sure.

Eileen lets go of my hand, taking a few steps further to get to her own pumpkin. I take another quick glance at my own pumpkin, disguising a sigh. I can't remember the last time I decorated a pumpkin for Halloween — or anything related to it, to be honest.

"I assume you do know how to properly clean a pumpkin before anything else, Miss Hunt?" A deep, tenor's voice snaps me back to reality and I can't ignore the shiver that runs down my spine.

I lift my head to where Mr. Snape is and his smirk makes me feel even more scared.

Oh Lord, why did you give me a creepy father-in-law? Well, I guess everything was too perfect to be true…

"Yes, Sir, I do. Although it has been quite a few years since my last time, I think it's like riding a bike, uh?" I try a joke — it usually does the job —, but he neither smiles back nor expresses anything beyond a grimace.

"Dad!" Eileen gets both our attention and while I feel less scared knowing she's only a few steps away, her father just rolls his eyes and gives a hard sigh in response.

In an awkward silence, we start working on our pumpkins. Suddenly the fear gives away to a strange nuisance.

x-x-x

There are few who'd deny, at what I do I am the best

For my talents are renowned far and wide

When it comes to surprises in the moonlit night

I excel without ever even trying

With the slightest little effort of my ghostlike charms

I have seen grown men give out a shriek

With the wave of my hand, and a well-placed moan

I have swept the very bravest off their feet (6)

What a nerve on her! If she had "shushed" me, I think it would have hurt less than being scolded by my own offspring!

A quarter of an hour has passed and the silence between the three of them has become unbearable. Even though he is in a crappy mood, he asks out loud,

"Jack-O'-Lantern or Lady in Red?"

Eileen's first look to him is as cold as ice, but he doesn't retreat; she's clearly as fierce as her own mother, but in the end we all know how much the whole Snape family loves a challenge.

Less than a minute later, the daughter sighs and asks her girlfriend,

"Which one do you want to hear, Pumpkin?"

"Oh, Pumpkin it is? Very interesting," Severus thinks to himself, watching the girls carefully.

"Well, I'm pretty sure your Jack-O'-Lantern story is the same as the one I know, so…"

"The same? Not at all!"

Miss Hunt finally lifts her head from her pumpkin, placing the gardening trowel she was using near the other tools,

"How so?"

They were talking as if he wasn't present; instead of making him angrier, it actually amuses him watching them arguing over something as frivolous as a Halloween tale. Suddenly, an idea snaps his brain: Hermione and he, even after almost twenty years of living together, having built a home from scratch, raising their lovely daughter, and all the others dozen things they had accomplished together — this, Jack-O'-Lantern arguing is exactly the kind of subject that Hermione and him would spend hours arguing about, passionately disagreeing with each other, until…

"Okay everybody, it's family photo time! Say 'cheese'!"

Before his brain can grasp the meaning of his wife's words, he hears a loud: Click!

x-x-x

One year later

"Hey, Severus, take a look at this one!"

Cass passes a photograph to her father-in-law. They are alone in the living room, having a glass of wine while Eileen is getting dressed and Hermione is studying at the house's library.

The man takes a long look at the photograph, slowly sipping his glass. His usual smirk appears when he remembers the precise moment that photograph was taken.

"Why did you look so scared on this one? It's like you are about to throw up…" Cass asks over his shoulder.

Severus turns to look at his daughter-in-law and gives the photograph back, before answering in a quizzical tone,

"That was the exact moment I understood you two really loved each other. By now you can get to the rest of the answer by yourself, I'm sure of that." He takes a large sip of his wine, walking to his armchair by the fireplace.

Cass is left alone with the photograph, an understanding murmur escaping through her lips while she takes another look at the picture; she can't control her smile from growing when she sees her younger self smudging meaty orange flesh from her pumpkin onto Eileen's cheek. Even though she has been living in familiar terms with magic for the last year, it still leaves her flabbergasted to see photographs that move, portraying the exact moment they were taken. Severus' face, once again, grabs her attention: the man is as pale as a ghost in this picture; that's when she clicked the dots in her head.

"Severus, are you still afraid?"

"Oh, silly girl… I am not afraid. I was never afraid. I was… definitely surprised, you could say that," he looks over the armchair, "Even though it sounds unreasonable, I hadn't thought Eileen was ever going to find what her mother and I have. I didn't think anyone could, to be honest."

Cass finds a seat next to Severus, drinking from her glass in a bid to give him space to open his heart. They have had several conversations over the last year, about various subjects, but she hadn't seen him so focused as she was seeing him now.

"I suppose no parent is ready to acknowledge how grown up their offspring are. But that was only one of the reasons. The other one was that the kind of love you two shared, as I and Hermione do too, it isn't just an ordinary kind of feeling…"

"Pumpkin? Dad?"

Cass and Severus turn their heads to the stairs: Eileen is dressed in a black, long dress, high heels and her hair is up in the old Victory rolls style. Cass gets up, promptly ready to meet her loved one — but her attention quickly turns to her father-in-law.

"Severus, I…"

"Go, we'll talk about that another time," the man offers an amused smile to her, before continuing in a pretend serious tone "And take care of my little girl, or…"

"Dad!"

It's the glass of wine that hides the amusement on the man's lips.

Well, I live with snakes and lizards

And other things that go bump in the night

'Cause to me everyday is Halloween

I have given up hiding and started to fight

I have started to fight

Well anytime, any place, anywhere that I go

All the people seem to stop and stare

They say, "Why are you dressed like it's Halloween?

You look so absurd, you look so obscene!"

Oh, why can't I live a life for me?

Why should I take the abuse that's served?

Why can't they see they're just like me?

It's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world

Well, I let their teeny minds think

That they're dealing with someone who is over the brink

And I dress this way just to keep them at bay

'Cause Halloween is everyday, hey (7)


(1) Lyrics of the song "The Perfect Girl", from Mareux, released in 2021.

(2) Lyrics of the song "girls", from girls in red, released in 2019.

(3) Lyrics of the song "Angels", from The xx, released in 2012.

(4) Lyrics of the song "We fell in love in october", from girls in red, released in 2018.

(5) Lyrics of the song "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween", from Muse, released in 2022.

(6) Lyrics of the song "Jack's Lament", from Danny Elfman, released in 1993. The reason for this one is mainly because Jack's egocentrism is something I can picture reflecting on this specific personification I described to Severus' behavior.

(7) Lyrics of the song "Everyday Is Halloween", from Ministry, released in 1987. To all my fellow weirdos on the other side of the screen, who feel outsiders in our "normal" society, I want to give just one tiny piece of advice: please, stop trying to fit in and start putting all your energy into being your true self.

Final notes: To whomever read until here, I want to thank you very much! If you feel so, let me know what you think about this story.