Thursday November 25th Thanksgiving Day

Flynn residence

Poconos, PA

The adults were awake early on Thanksgiving morning to put the turkey in the oven and finish making the rest of the side dishes and the appetizers. They also made breakfast for everyone, which consisted of waffles, eggs, toast, and bacon. Severus thanked God that Simon behaved himself at breakfast and didn't start a fight with any of the children and actually ate Jenna's waffles without complaining.

Trina, Drake's little sister, was twelve that year and had started Hogwarts last fall. She informed Severus that Lupin was an awesome Headmaster and she was Sorted into Slytherin, like Drake had been. "Our Head of House is Professor Seramela Raven, and she's our Potions Mistress too. Just like you used to be, Severus."

"Ah, yes, Seramela was one of my brightest students," Severus said, sounding pleased. "You wouldn't have known her, Arista, since she graduated the year you came to Hogwarts. But I had recommended her for her Potions Mastery and I'm glad to see she completed it. That's an extra two years of study and the Potions Mastery exam is one of the toughest the Ministry gives out."

"As bad as the Healer Medical Boards?" his daughter asked.

"Almost, but since I've never taken those, I can't really say. But you passed them with flying colors, my girl, so they couldn't have been too hard."

"Like she does everything," put in Drake, smiling at his wife fondly.

"You aren't any slouch yourself, Mr. Lockwood. Who graduated with honors at the Academy? And won the Combat Prize for lasting five rounds against Colin?"

Drake blushed. "I got lucky. In round six, Colin kicked my butt."

"Most trainees barely make it to three," Severus pointed out. "Don't be so modest, Drake. The only one of his students to ever go a full seven rounds with him was Flick."

"And yourself, Severus," Colin acknowledged.

"You weren't using Hunter techniques with me, Colin," Severus protested. "Since I don't know martial arts."

"Sev, buddy, in a straight magical duel, you fought me to a draw and nearly knocked me on my ass. That's impressive, Director, especially considering you never went in for any formal Defense training like I did."

Severus shrugged. "I had my training in a bit different school, is all," he alluded, meaning the school of the Death Eaters and spies. He knew the adults would get his meaning even if the kids didn't.

"What kind of school?" asked Marietta.

"Real life," answered Gavin.

Severus arched an eyebrow. His son was too sharp by half. Then he changed the subject, not wanting to dwell on his past. Soon, after Gavin and Trina had washed the dishes, they sent the kids outside to play with Scout and feed the deer while the adults cooked.

Arista volunteered to help, but Severus and Jenna shooed her out of the kitchen and told her to go and take a walk with Drake. With their busy schedules as Healer and Hunter, they knew the couple rarely got time to spend together, just relaxing.

"Okay, Dad. We'll leave the master chefs in peace," the auburn-haired young woman laughed, kissing him on the cheek. "I'll take Drake to my favorite meadow and we can feed the deer and stuff."

"Sounds good to me," her husband said, giving her a pointed look.

Severus and Jenna just rolled their eyes. "Newlyweds!" muttered the Potions Master.

Arista and Drake departed two minutes later, their pockets stuffed with cereal, holding hands and grinning at each other.

Severus rolled up his sleeves and put on an apron. "All right. What are we doing first? The candied yam casserole, the cranberry relish, or the lasagna?"

"Lasagna, Sev. I waited for you to make it, since you know Amelia's recipe back to front."

The lasagna was an Amarotti specialty which Amelia, his late wife, had taught him how to make when they were first dating. And no one made it as good as Severus.

"Good thing I made the sauce ahead," he remarked, summoning the ricotta and ground beef from the fridge.

* * * * * *

He had almost finished the last layer of lasagna when Amy came in holding a crying Sevvy. "Simon pushed him when we were feeding the deer and knocked him down and scared all the deer away," she reported. "He's mean!"

"Mean!" echoed her brother, tears streaking his little face.

"C'mere, baby," Jenna picked up her son and examined him. "You're okay, kiddo. Just dirty. Colin, can you get him a new outfit?"

"Sure thing." He took Sevvy to get changed.

"Mom, I'm thirsty," Amy said.

"You know where the juice boxes are," her mother said, trying to mash the yams.

"Excuse me," Severus said, removing his apron. "I'll be back after I have a talk with Simon." He departed the kitchen, his face grim.

"Ooo, Uncle Sev's mad," Amy said, smirking. "Simon's gonna get it now."

"Amy, you shouldn't gloat when someone's in trouble," reproved Jenna, inserting the straw in the juice box and handing it back to her daughter.

"But he deserves it, Mom! He pushed Sevvy for nothing."

"I know, the kid's got issues. But you still shouldn't be happy he got in trouble. Now why don't you go and play with Trina and Marietta?"

"Okay." She ran outside, just in time to catch her uncle dragging a reluctant Simon inside by the ear.

After delivering a stern lecture about pushing toddlers, Severus put him in time out for ten minutes. Simon whined, then shut up when Severus told him he'd be there for another five. Then he returned to the kitchen to finish preparing his lasagna.

"I apologize for that," he said to Jenna in an undertone. "Simon's never been with other children before and he's a spoiled little brat, wants his own way all the time. Is Sevvy all right?"

"Fine. He wasn't hurt, Sev, just scared, I think. He's gotten hurt worse falling down off the sofa." Jenna waved away his apology.

Soon Colin returned with Sevvy, who wanted to "help" Mom and Uncle Sev in the kitchen. They gave him a plastic bowl and spoon and some leftover lasagna noodles and let him pretend to "cook" them.

"Can I get up now?" whined Simon from the den. "It's been ten minutes, Severus."

Severus checked his watch. It had been, so he called, "Yes. Just remember what I said, young man."

Simon didn't bother to acknowledge him, he just got up and ran out the sliding glass door into the yard.

Severus stepped over little Sevvy and bent to put the pan of lasagna in the large double oven. Then he checked on the turkey, which was browning nicely. He turned to snag the baster off of the counter, leaving the oven door open as he did so.

A curious Sevvy looked up, spied the turkey and trotted over, wanting to touch the sizzling bird. His little hand was just reaching out to touch the turkey when Snape turned back and caught him.

"Colin Severus! Don't touch!" he yelled, grabbing the two-year-old's hand just in time. "That's hot!"

"Hot?" Sevvy's face crinkled.

"Yes. Hot. Don't touch," Snape reproved, then picked him up and put him down away from the stove. He resumed basting the turkey.

Only to find Sevvy at his elbow yet again. "I touch it now."

"No! Hot! You want to burn your fingers off?" Snape scolded, taking the little boy's hand and swatting it.

Sevvy's face crinkled up and he began to howl. "Ow! Mean, Uncle Sev!"

"Oh, for God's sake, Colin Severus!" Jenna cried. "Colin, do something with him, won't you?"

Colin picked up the wailing Sevvy, who immediately buried his head in his father's shoulder, sobbing about mean Uncle Sev. "He spanked my hand, Daddy!"

Colin sat down and put his son in his lap. "Did you touch something you weren't supposed to, young man?" he asked sternly.

"Uh-huh," Sevvy sniffled.

"Uncle Sev told you not to touch the oven because it's hot and you didn't listen. Little boys who don't listen get their hands smacked. Now quit crying, he didn't hit you that hard, Sevvy."

"It hurted!" his son insisted.

"Well, don't touch the oven next time. Uncle Sev's not mean, he doesn't want you to get hurt, son." his father said, patting his back. "Little drama queen," he muttered. "Reminds me of my sister Felicity." Just then Trina and Marietta entered the kitchen, coming in to get drinks. "Would you take this scamp outside please, girls?" Colin asked. "Before he catches his hair on fire or something."

"Sure, Colin," Trina said, then took Sevvy from him. "Why don't we go and see Surra's kittens, Sevvy?"

"Yay! Kitties!"

They left, going out to the shed to see Surra's newest litter of kittens, Sevvy informing the girls about how he'd been bad and mean Uncle Sev had spanked his hand.

"You're never gonna live that one down, Sev," laughed Jenna.

Severus snorted. "Better a smacked hand than a burned one. He'll have forgotten all about it come dinner."

"No doubt. Besides, this isn't the first time he's gotten smacked on the hand," Colin sighed. "Kid touches something he shouldn't every second."

"Like his father," Jenna shot back impishly.

"His mom isn't any angel either," her husband grinned, then bent and kissed Jenna lightly.

"A match made in heaven," smirked Snape.

"Shut up, Sev!" they chorused. "Look who's talking."

"Me?" Severus feigned innocence. "I'm a saint, Flynn."

Colin snorted. "That'll be the day, Snape."

"Compared to that spoiled brat Simon I was," Severus confided, laughing.

"So's Lucifer," Jenna remarked.

It was true, for in the next fifteen minutes, all the children came in with complaints of how beastly Simon was being. He'd thrown a stick at Gavin, argued with Trina, and called Amy a dumb idiot. Severus went out to lecture him twice more, warning him that if he kept up this behavior he'd spend the afternoon in his room. "And you've lost your present from the Flynns too, unless I see a major attitude adjustment."

"Don't care," Severus heard the kid mutter rebelliously as he went by. Child, you're really begging for a swat on the backside, thought the Director as he returned to his interrupted cranberry relish.

Colin looked up from where he was grating orange peel for the relish. "That kid needs a major attitude adjustment, Sev."

Severus nodded. "Definitely. That's what comes of spoiling your child rotten. They think the world and everyone in it exists to serve them."

"Not in my house," the blond Hunter said. "Or yours either, huh, Sev?"

"No. We had that battle already."

Jenna looked at him askance. "Then his parents gave you permission to discipline the little pain?"

"No," Severus smirked. "Leo did. He told me "Sev, the kid's been spoiled rotten, and could use a good dose of Snape discipline, so feel free." So I did."

"If it were me, I'd discipline the brat with a wooden spoon to his behind," remarked Colin.

"Oh, sure you would," his wife coughed. "I've yet to see you use a spoon on your own kids, tough guy, let alone somebody else's."

"If they behaved like that one did, I'd be summoning it right out of the drawer," Colin argued. "A good couple of swats and I used to shape up real quick and not sass my mom. Right, Sev?" He slanted a meaningful look at the Director.

"My mother never used a spoon, Flynn." Snape admitted wryly. "But after a trip over her knee I was in no hurry to misbehave again."

"Oh? Then you weren't a perfect child, were you, Sev?" Jenna teased.

The Potions Master chuckled. "Regrettably, no. I tried, though."

"Sure you did. Tried your mother's patience to no end," Colin said knowingly, then laughed when Severus shot him a dirty look.

"I was probably better behaved than you were, Colin."

"Sev, a monkey was better behaved than he was," Jenna remarked, snickering. "We grew up together, so I know."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black, Jennika Flynn," Colin objected. "Trouble followed you like a shadow too."

"Yeah, and its name was Colin Sean Flynn. Keep dreaming, hon." She turned back to Severus. "Seriously, Sev, if you're going to spank him, I wouldn't use a spoon. Colin's mom worked her way up to that."

"The thought has crossed my mind more than once," Severus sighed. "But I'll only use it as a last resort. So far I've managed to keep him in line with fifteen minutes in time out."

"Not for long," Colin predicted.

"One can hope," was all Snape replied. He continued mashing cranberries in a dish. "I think yesterday was a real shock to him, considering he'd never been told no or made to do anything he didn't want to before then."

"I don't understand how people can raise their children like that," Colin said in disgust. "Don't they realize they're creating a monster?"

"No. They think they're being wonderful," Severus sneered.

"Wonderfully stupid," Jenna commented. "I never realized until I had kids just how much work it was disciplining them. I give my mom a lot of credit, because between my sister, me, and Colin the Terror, she had her hands full. My dad worked full time, so he didn't have to deal with us brats all day like Mom did. Sometimes I wonder how she did it."

"I wonder the same thing," Severus admitted. "Gavin's a lot like I was at his age, and there are times I long to throttle him. Then again, my mother always said if I wasn't careful, I'd end up with kids just like me." He made a face. "I think this is her way of getting back at me for all the stunts I pulled when I was a kid."

"Like what?" Colin asked, his blue eyed alight with curiosity. His friend rarely discussed his childhood and he was dying to hear about it.

"I don't want to bore you, Flynn," Severus began, trying to distract him.

"No, you're not getting away so easily, Sev. Spill it. What's one of the worst things you ever did and got punished for as a kid?"

"Flynn, come on . . ."

"Tell, Snape!" Jenna urged.

"Very well," he sighed. Then he leveled a stern glare at her. "But turnabout's fair play."

"Deal. Now fess up."

He set the cranberries aside and leaned against the counter. "All right. I've told you before that when I was ten, my mother basically divorced my bastard father and moved with me to Spinner's End. That was where I met Lily Evans, my best friend, a Muggleborn witch. We were the same age, and like a pair of mischievous twins. Our mothers became good friends too, and treated us like each other's children."

Snape smiled reminiscently, recalling a bright-eyed redheaded little girl and a shy dark-haired boy, who did everything together, including get into trouble. "Once, before we went to Hogwarts, Lily and I were making a potion in my basement. We weren't supposed to, my mother had told me I wasn't to try anything like that unless she was there to supervise, but of course we chose to forget about that little rule . . .By mistake we added the wrong number of porcupine quills to the solution and it exploded." Severus recalled, wincing. "All over. We were lucky we didn't blow up my house. The neighbors nearly called the police, they thought we'd set off a bomb."

He could recall Lily crying, "Oh no! Sev, we're in so much trouble . . .your mum's gonna kill us!"

"Well, I am. Don't worry, Lil, I'll say it was my idea . . ."

"I told my mother it was my fault, but Lily insisted it was both of ours. She refused to let me take the blame for her. My mother was not happy. She'd just returned from a long day at work and found her potions lab a wreck. It looked like a bloody bomb had hit it." The Director shook his head ruefully. "She made us clean the whole thing up, then she told me I ought to be spanked for disobeying her number one rule and making potions by myself. I knew I was in real trouble then, for Mum almost never smacked me. And then Lily jumped up and says, "Mrs. Snape, if you spank Sev you might as well spank me too, since I'm to blame as much as he is. Fair's fair. But we're really sorry."

"And did she?"

"Yes. Though she went a little easier on Lily than me, I think. Afterwards, once we'd stopped crying and she had hugged us, my mother said, "Severus, you have a very good friend there, make sure you hold onto her. Now don't ever make me repeat this lesson again, young man." I never did. I was sore for a good hour after she was done, but I felt worse because Lily got in trouble too. But Lily said it was deserved and it wasn't any worse than her own mum would've given her. My mother was right, Lily was the best friend I ever had growing up. We were like two peas in a pod, as Mrs. Evans used to say."

Colin was laughing quietly. "God, but that brings back memories, huh, Jen? We were just like you two as kids. Got scolded and smacked right along with hugs and presents. Remember the Skyrocket?"

Jenna flushed. "Oh God! Your cousin Ryan's broom?" She began to laugh. "I still can't believe we were so stupid!"

Severus's nose was twitching eagerly. "Spill it, Jenna. What crazy thing did you do?"

"I can't . . ." she was laughing so hard she nearly upset her casserole. "Colin, tell him."

"Okay. Well, back when we were kids, the Skyrocket was the top racing broom in the US. My cousin Ryan, who was twelve, had just gotten one for Christmas, and man, was I jealous. I was nine, Jenna was eight, and we'd been begging our parents for one for months. They said no, it was too fast and too dangerous. So when Ryan comes over and starts showing off all his moves on it, I was ready to kill him. Then he told me I couldn't ride it, that I was a little baby."

"Big mistake. Them's fighting words in the Flynn vocabulary." Jenna put in.

"In the Stanislav one too, hon," Colin reminded. "Anyway, I was real put out that I couldn't ride that Skyrocket. And Ryan was an ass, kept bragging about how fast it was and how awesome it was and he was the best flyer in the family. Well, I wasn't gonna let the twerp say that and not do something about it. So Jenna and I decided to steal the broom and go fly it at midnight." The Hunter shook his head. "Holy God, but we were dumb. Flying at night's the most dangerous thing, especially for two little kids and a racing broom. But I was determined to prove that I was a grown-up and better than Ryan, so I snitched the Skyrocket and Jenna covered for me."

"Then we snuck out to the shed and we flew it," Jenna continued. "It was really fast, and we nearly crashed into the trees because we didn't know how to control it. I nearly fell off when Colin flipped it upside down."

"It was a mistake," her husband insisted. "She still won't believe me. I never intended for that to happen. We were having a blast, until Ryan woke up and saw his broom was missing and raised holy hell. Of course, we were caught red handed, and there was nothing we could do about it. My parents were furious. My dad practically yanked us off the broom by our ears."

"Ouch," Severus winced.

Colin rubbed his ear, chuckling. "By the time he got done with me, my ear wasn't the only thing I had to cry over. I think he gave me twelve with the spoon that time, which was the worst spanking I ever recall. Jen, too."

"And we got grounded too and we weren't allowed to ride a normal broom for a month," Jenna recalled. "Insane, right? We were lucky Colin's parents didn't have a heart attack when they saw us, zigzagging in and out of the trees in the moonlight, totally out of control, some thirty feet up. And neither of us knew how to do Cushioning Charms."

Snape shivered. "Between the four of us, we were lucky we made it to adulthood."

Then he moved over and started making the gravy for the turkey, carefully stirring it and adding the drippings from the pan and some extra flour. At least the children seemed to be behaving themselves. There hadn't been any complaints about Simon in over half-an-hour.

He should have known it was the calm before the storm.

Afterwards, Snape cursed himself for not checking what the boy had packed in his trunk, but he'd been in a hurry to get to the Flynns, and he never suspected Simon of smuggling anything like fireworks in among his clothes.

That was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak.

* * * * * *

Simon had never been so bored in all of his life. After his third scolding by Severus, he'd decided not to play with the other children anymore and gone off to explore the backyard. Trina and Marietta had gone to visit the kittens again and Gavin was off somewhere with Scout, so that left only the babies Amy and Sevvy for Simon to play with. At first he wasn't going to bother with them, but then he realized just how very boring it was trying to play outside by yourself, especially when there were no slides or jungle gym or swings like there were in his own yard. Who wanted to look at stupid kittens that couldn't do anything yet or feed the deer? And Gavin thought he was a whiny brat and Scout might look cool, but Simon bet he couldn't track anything except his food dish. His dad had said the magehounds' reputations were overrated.

He glanced over at Amy and Sevvy, who seemed to be watching a caterpillar crawling along the sidewalk. Stupid country hicks, he thought, echoing something he'd heard his father say. What do they do for fun around here, watch the grass grow?

Then he recalled the fireworks he'd packed in his trunk, the special ones his mother had purchased from Alivans Light Spectacular. They were for the Fourth of July, but there had been so many in the closet that Simon knew she'd never miss ten or so. Besides, whoever said you could only shoot fireworks off at the Fourth of July?

The eight-year-old grinned. Now there'd be some real excitement around here. Fireworks made a holiday memorable, all right. Or so said his mother. And God knew this Thanksgiving needed something memorable, the rebellious child thought. He closed his eyes, recalling his dad performing a summoning charm. "Accio fireworks!" he whispered and concentrated as hard as he could.

Nothing happened.

Angrily, the boy stamped his foot and tried again.

"Accio fireworks!"

This time five fireworks appeared at his feet with a pop. He'd been hoping for the whole ten, but five was just as good for now. Simon grinned proudly. This was the first piece of actual magic he'd ever performed and he thought his dad would be proud of it. "My son the Summoner!" he'd say, and tell all his friends how brilliant his son was. "A regular Merlin Ambrosius!"

"Now let's have some fun," Simon muttered to himself, then walked over to the two Flynn children, the fireworks tucked under his jacket.

"Hey. You wanna play Fourth of July?"

Amy looked up at him. "What's that?" she asked warily. Something in the older kid's manner told her he was trouble, but she was getting kind of bored playing with Sevvy.

"It's when you go to picnics and shoot off fireworks, of course!" sneered Simon. "Who doesn't know about Fourth of July?"

"I know what it is," Amy told him angrily. "I just don't know how to play it."

"Me not know either," Sevvy added, looking at Simon in awe. He'd never had a Big Kid offer to play with him before, except his sister, and she didn't count.

"I'll teach you," Simon whispered. "Come over here, near the woods." He didn't want anyone from the house to see what he was doing.

The Flynn kids tagged after him like puppies. Simon halted some ten feet away from the house, just near the edge of the property line and removed the fireworks from his jacket.

"Are we gonna have a picnic, Simon?" inquired Amy. "I can ask Mom for juice boxes and cookies."

"Cookies?" Sevvy repeated eagerly. "Where?"

"Later," Simon waved her off irritably. "That comes after we do the fireworks. Don't you dumb babies know anything?"

"What a firework, Amy?"

"Wait and see," Simon ordered, setting them up in the grass. Then he drew out a pack of matches from his pocket. He'd snitched them from the Flynns' fireplace when he was in time out in the den.

"Simon!" cried Amy. "Those are matches! You're not supposed to play with them. My mom said so."

"Matches bad," Sevvy added. "No touch, else get spanked."

Simon sneered at him. "That's only if you're a baby, Sevvy. Big kids like me play with matches all the time," he lied. "Now shut up and watch."

Amy looked uneasy. "Simon, matches make fire. Fire is bad, my daddy said so. Maybe we shouldn't play this game."

"Huh! Well if that isn't like a girl! Crybaby coward!"

"Am not!" Amy snapped. "Okay, let's see your dumb old fireworks!"

Simon rubbed his hands together. "Move away a little. You're too close." He waited until Amy and Sevvy had moved back about two feet. Then he lit a match and touched it to one firework.

It began to smoke and sputter. He quickly lit the rest of them and backed off, smirking in forbidden delight.

The first firework shot off into the air with a loud screech, before exploding into a cloud of green flame that became a dragon breathing fire.

Sevvy screamed in terror, covering his ears. "Loud! I scared, Amy!" He grabbed his sister around the waist and clung to her, sobbing. "Sevvy's ears hurt!"

"Ow!" Amy was crying too, for they had been too near the firework when it had gone off and the noise was dreadful. "I don't like this game anymore, Simon!"

Then the other four went off.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

* * * * * *

At the sound of the explosions, the adults all jerked up as if shot.

"What the bloody hell was THAT?" cried Severus, dropping the spoon he was mixing the mashed potatoes with.

"Trouble," answered Colin, getting up and running to the door.

"It came from outside!" Jenna cried, racing outside and down the steps to the backyard, followed by her husband and her friend. "Oh good God, Colin! The woods are on fire!"

"Jenna, where are the kids?" Colin asked, looking about frantically for them. "If a necromancer got through . . ."

Then he spotted Marietta and Trina standing by the door of the shed. But where were Amy, Sevvy, Gavin, and Simon? How had a necromancer managed to get past the wards?

Snape was already moving down the stairs, wand out. He suspected this was no necromancer's work, he'd recognized the five plumes and the colored smoke rising into the air for fireworks. "Gavin!" he shouted. "Where are you?"

"Here, Dad!" came his son's voice from the other end of the yard, followed by Scout's warning bark. "Hey, the woods are burning. What the hell?"

"Can you put it out?"

Gavin was a firecaller and had mastery over fire. "Yeah. Give me a sec." He concentrated, touching the flames with his mind and willing them to go out.

They did so immediately.

Severus breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard the terrified screams of the children and bolted towards the woods.

He was followed an instant later by the two Hunters.

They came upon the remains of five fireworks still smoking and Sevvy and Amy holding each other and howling their little heads off. Jenna immediately scooped up her son and Colin his daughter, asking them if they were hurt.

"I'm calling Arista," Jenna said, and raced back to the house cradling a hysterical Sevvy. Colin caught up with her a moment later, trying to make sense of Amy's words through her sobs. The only words he caught were, " . . .playing a game . . .Simon . . .matches . . ."

Severus's eyes fixed on the blond-haired boy standing near the maple tree, covering his ears with his hands. He could tell the kid was the one who had instigated this, he could spot a guilty rule-breaker in two minutes thanks to his years of teaching. And Simon was as guilty as Peter Pettigrew. He inspected the kid swiftly to make sure he wasn't injured, and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the child was unharmed.

He advanced on the kid, his hands clenched into fists.

"Simon Anthony Rivers! Who said you could bloody play with FIREWORKS?"

Simon shrank back against the tree, suddenly terrified of this tall menacing wizard. Snape's eyes were black with rage and he was practically spitting his words. He loomed over the boy like an avenging angel.

"Well? Answer me!"

Simon gulped. Then he said, in a very small, very scared voice, "My–my mom gave them to me."

"Your mom gave you fireworks?" Snape repeated in disbelief. "No parent does that, not even ones like yours. Even they have some sense. Where did you get them, Simon?"

"F-from the closet."

"And what in God's name did you think you were doing playing with them?" asked Severus silkily, fighting to keep from strangling the kid.

"I-I was bored!" whined Simon. "I-I just wanted–!"

"Wanted to what?" bellowed Severus. "Wanted to set the entire forest on fire? Wanted to burn yourself to a crisp? Wanted to kill Amy and Sevvy? Tell me, Simon! Was that what you bloody wanted?"

He reached out and plucked the boy off of the ground, shaking him hard.

"N-No! It w-was a game!" the boy wailed.

"A game! Good God, boy! Playing with fire's no game, don't you know that? Didn't your bloody parents teach you anything? Do you have any idea what could've happened?"

"I-I just wanted to h-have fun! It was boring!"

"It was boring," Severus repeated in a deadly soft tone. "Mr. Rivers, people could have died because you were bored. You could have been killed or hurt, blinded or burned, do you know that? Or Amy and Sevvy could have! You're old enough to know better, damn it!"

"They were only fireworks. It was an accident," the child whimpered, hoping to make Severus quit looking at him with such fury.

Snape gave him another shake. "That so-called accident could have killed somebody, young man! You don't seem to appreciate the seriousness of the situation, but by the time I'm finished with you, you damn well will!" Then he tossed the kid over his shoulder and marched back into the house, ignoring the boy's protests to put him down.

On the way to the guest bedroom upstairs, he passed by the kitchen where Arista was soothing and healing the shaken Flynn children. His heart twisted at what could have been a tragedy due to one spoiled selfish brat, and he resolved to impress upon the rebellious child the foolishness of his actions if it was the last thing he did.

Once he reached the spare room, which Simon shared with Gavin, he set the child on his feet. "No more excuses, boy," he snapped when Simon opened his mouth. "Nothing you could say excuses what you did today. I'm ashamed to call you my relation, do you know that? Where are the rest of the damn fireworks?"

Simon gaped at him. How had Severus known there were more? "In my trunk." He pointed to the shiny new trunk with his name inscribed on it in gold.

Severus opened it and confiscated the forbidden items. "These will remain with me until you return home, where I will then give them to your parents, after I tell them the mischief you caused with them."

"But they're mine!"

"Not another word, Simon!" Snape growled. "Corner. Now. I'll be back in five minutes to give you the rest of your punishment."

Simon obeyed, standing in the corner was almost a routine now. He nervously wondered what Severus meant by the rest of his punishment. Wasn't a lecture and time out enough? He really hadn't known the fireworks were going to cause such trouble. They never had before when his father lit them off. And how could Severus say he was ashamed to have Simon as his relative? He was a Rivers and everyone liked a Rivers, his father said so. There's nothing better than a Rivers, son! Except Severus had said he was ashamed of him, and for some reason that bothered the child. He squirmed. He didn't like it when Severus yelled at him. It made him feel bad . . .and that was not something he was accustomed to feeling.

When the man returned Simon would tell him he was sorry and that would be it. His mother and father had always forgiven him when he'd said that. Surely Severus would too.

Meanwhile, Severus was pacing up and down in the hallway, trying to calm himself down before going back into the bedroom. You can't punish him when you're this angry, Snape. You'll do more harm than good. He wanted to teach the kid a lesson, not scar him for life. So he concentrated on breathing in and out, ten times. Then ten more, until he had gotten his temper back under control. He mentally cursed Simon's irresponsible parents, for if they'd bothered to teach the boy rules and consequences and proper behavior, he wouldn't have to do this. But they hadn't, and now he had to correct the child, unpleasant as it was going to be for both of them.

He drew a deep breath. All right, Snape. Let's get this over and done with.

He opened the door to the bedroom.

Simon looked up when Severus entered. The older wizard didn't look quite as angry as he'd been previously. "Severus? I'm sorry for what I did."

"Are you really?" Severus peered sharply at the boy, looking him right in the eyes. To his surprise, the boy did indeed seem to regret his actions a little. "And well you should be, but that's not enough to get you out of a well deserved spanking, young man."

Simon froze. He suddenly recalled Sevvy's little voice, telling him little boys who played with matches got spanked. He'd never been spanked in his life. "No! I said I was sorry!"

"Sorry isn't enough," Severus told him firmly. "Not for this." Then he caught the boy before he could run away, sat down, and flipped him over his knee.

Severus gave him a total of twelve spanks, hard enough to sting sharply for a time, but nothing more.

Yet from the way Simon howled, you'd have thought he was getting branded by a hot iron. The boy wriggled and kicked, trying in vain to escape, but Snape held him firmly until the punishment was over. Then he stood Simon up and went to hug him, as Eileen Snape had always done after she'd punished young Sev that way. The hug had always meant that all was forgiven between them and his mother still loved him.

But Simon was in shock at the way the punishment had hurt and he was not willing to forgive Snape for doing that to him. He jerked away from the older man's arms and sobbed, "Go away! I HATE you, Severus! I want my mom!" He threw himself on the bed, bawling hysterically.

Snape hesitated, then sighed and patted the child on the back before getting to his feet. "Remember this, please, and don't ever play with fireworks again, Mr. Rivers. Or else I'll spank you with a spoon next. D'you hear me?"

"Y-yes! Now go away!" Simon had no idea what that last meant, but he did know he never wanted another spanking from Snape. It had hurt way too much. He wished he'd never seen any fireworks ever.

"You're to stay in here until dinner time, Simon," Snape said, wincing at the kid's cries. Had he really hurt the boy that much? He hadn't thought so, but still . . .It was deserved, Severus, you know that. And it's not like you used a belt or a stick. The kid's just overreacting. He turned and left the room, wishing like hell he'd never agreed to Leo's request. Later, when Simon had calmed, he would return and talk to the kid about his behavior, Severus thought wearily. This was turning out to be the worst Thanksgiving ever.

He bumped into Gavin on the stairs. "Holy God, Dad. What'd you do, cut off an arm? We could hear him all the way downstairs."

"No. I turned him over my knee and smacked his behind twelve times."

"About time." Gavin said. "And he's carrying on like that? Poor coddled darling."

"Gavin!" Severus rebuked sharply. "I'd wager you wouldn't be laughing if I'd just done that to you."

"No, sir, but I wouldn't be acting like I'd been murdered either, not over a few smacks. Ferrous used to whip my butt with a damn belt and I never made such a fuss. Now that really hurt."

Severus put an arm about his son. "I know, but this is the first time that kid there has ever gotten punished like that, so he's very upset. Don't tease him over it."

"I wasn't going to," Gavin said sharply. "Even I'm not that mean. I was just going to get my Windstorm."

"Wait a bit, son," advised his father. "Let him calm down, then get your broom. Or I can summon it for you," he added as Gavin's face fell. "Accio Windstorm!"

The broom appeared in Snape's hand and he handed it to Gavin. "Here. You can fly until dinnertime, but come in when I call you."

"Okay, Dad. Thanks!" Then Gavin turned and bounded down the stairs. Snape followed a bit more slowly, rubbing his left leg slightly.

Arista was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, and she gave him a hug and whispered, "Don't worry, Dad. He'll forgive you. He knows he deserved it."

Snape returned her hug. Arista was so intuitive it was scary sometimes. "Humph! Like I care what he thinks about me, the little brat."

Arista eyed him knowingly. "You care, Dad. Even if he is a brat, I know you hated doing that to him. But maybe now he'll shape up, like Colin says."

"That'd take a miracle, Arista."

She smiled at him. "Miracles do happen, Dad. C'mon. Come and have some crab claws and Chardonnay. It'll make you feel better. It's Thanksgiving after all."

He smiled at her. "I'm thankful you're my daughter, Arista. And thankful that kid upstairs isn't my son. Because I'd be dead of heart failure." Then he had no more time to think about Simon, for Trish and Flick had walked in the door and he was too busy hugging his other daughter and her husband to worry about an eight-year-old's injured feelings.

* * * * * *

Eventually, Simon stopped crying and lifted his head from the pillow. He could hear the rest of the family downstairs, talking and laughing and he felt even more lonely and wretched than ever. This day had gone from bad to worse and Simon wished he were anywhere but here. He couldn't believe Severus had actually spanked him. No one had ever dared to lay a hand on the Rivers prince in anger until then. All the house elves and nannies he'd ever had would never have dreamed of punishing him like that. The worst they'd ever done was threaten to tell his parents and he had told them to go ahead, because he knew all his parents would do was scold him for two minutes and then give him the new toy or whatever they'd bought for him. Both the Rivers were often away from home for long stretches of time on business, and they felt guilty for leaving their son so long. They tried to make up for it by giving him whatever he wanted and spoiling him, not realizing they were actually harming the boy with their indulgent behavior.

The boy sat up cautiously, wincing at the sting in his bottom. He had never realized a hand could hurt so much, but what was even worse was that Snape had not accepted his apology, saying it was not enough. It had always been before. Why was this time different? Of course, he'd never played with fireworks at home before. Would his father have gotten as angry as the Director had if he discovered Simon lighting them off? The boy shivered. He'd never seen an adult as mad as Severus had been, for his parents never got angry with him.

"Do you have any idea what could've happened?" Severus's voice echoed in his head. "Mr. Rivers, people could have died because you were bored. You could have been killed or hurt, blinded or burned, do you know that? Or Amy and Sevvy could have! You're old enough to know better, damn it!"

For a moment it had almost seemed as if Severus cared about him, pointing out how badly he could've gotten hurt if the firework had exploded. Simon had never thought of that before. But if that were so, then how could Snape have punished him like that? No, Severus didn't care for him, even if he was a distant cousin. If he really cared about me, he wouldn't have spanked me. It was strange, but for some odd reason Simon found himself caring what Severus thought of him. He was the Director of DHI and the position commanded a great deal of respect. Snape also had the reputation of being something of a hero, one who had fought dark wizards and dragonslayers and been named a friend to bronze dragons.

When Simon had first learned he'd be spending Thanksgiving with the Director he'd been excited and eager to meet the famous Severus Snape. He'd pictured Snape living in some mansion with loads of house elves, surrounded by wealth. Thus when he'd seen the house on Lily Lane, it had been a rude awakening to discover the Slayer of Lucius Malfoy lived like an ordinary person. One who cooked and cleaned just like a house elf. It was bizarre. Simon had never known a person who was rich that didn't flaunt their wealth or status.

Until he met Severus, who not only dressed like an ordinary man, he treated Simon like an ordinary child, one who needed both punishment and praise. No one had ever done that before. Always he'd been the prince, whose whim was law. Except in Snape's house, where the Director held him responsible for his own actions.

Actions which had led to the older wizard saying he was ashamed to claim Simon as his cousin. The little boy winced, recalling the man's face when he'd said that. It had been filled with disappointment and anger. It made him regret what he'd done, for the first time ever. But not enough to acknowledge that Snape had been right to spank him.

I'll make him sorry he ever did that. The way I made my mom sorry the time she told me I couldn't have a Firebolt. That had been the only time his doting mother had refused to get him anything, and he'd been in a raging fury, throwing a colossal fit, but his mother had told him the racing broom was too dangerous and had stood her ground. So Simon decided to make her sorry she'd ever decided that and he'd pretended to run away, going into the woods bordering the estate and hiding for several hours. They'd found him eventually, with the help of the house elves. And his mother had been tearily grateful and had given him a Nimbus 2003.

More laughter drifted up from downstairs and Simon imagined the rest of the kids and the adults gathered about the table, eating sweets and drinking butterbeer and having a good time, the way his parents always did at their fancy parties.

Suddenly, he was angry. It wasn't fair. Why was he stuck up here, in this crummy room, forbidden to join the party? Just because he'd lit off fireworks? Severus had already punished him with that damn spanking, he thought rebelliously. It wasn't as if anything really bad had happened. No one had gotten hurt. But they could have, his conscience reminded him.

Simon smothered the little voice under a wave of hurt pride. I'll make Severus sorry he ever punished me. I'll run away and see how he feels then. It'll serve him right.

He went over to his trunk and opened it, pulling on a soft griffindown sweater colored a bright cranberry, it had been a parting gift from his mother, who had heard that it snowed a lot up in Pennsylvania. She'd been right, for while Simon had been brooding, snow had been falling outside, until now the lawn and woods were covered in a thick six-inch blanket of the stuff.

The boy quickly pulled on a hat and mittens, but decided to forego his coat. He wasn't going to go far, just across the lawn and into the woods, and hide for an hour or two, just long enough to scare Snape and the others the way he'd done his mother. He quickly undid the latch on the window, then crawled out of it and onto the large maple branch that brushed up against the side of the house.

The tree was slippery with snow and the boy scraped his knees a bit, but he ignored the stinging pain and kept climbing down until he'd reached the ground. Then he set off across the yard, running swiftly into the woods, while all around him the snow swirled, covering his tracks.

Simon had been running for ten minutes before he found a fallen log and decided to rest. He was getting tired and the snow was turning icy and making him shiver despite his sweater and mittens. He sat down and wrapped his arms about himself. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea, he thought uneasily. Last time he'd done this, it had been summer and warm.

He squinted through the spitting flakes, trying to see the twinkling lights of the Flynns' house.

To his horror, all he could make out was snow.

He jumped to his feet and started to walk back the way he'd come. At least he thought it was the way back. The snow was falling so swiftly it was hard to tell. Where were the lights? Where was the house? He couldn't find them. This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to get lost, only pretend to.

Panicking, he rushed off in darkness, searching for the vanished house, never realizing he was going in the opposite direction entirely.

* * * * * *

Severus was enjoying being with his friends and relatives immensely, so much so that an hour had gone by before he knew it. Jenna was removing another tray of bacon-wrapped scallops and mini quiches from the oven, even though all her guests claimed they couldn't eat another bite.

"If I eat any more, I won't have room for dinner," Flick told the petite Hunter, grinning. "I'm not an elephant, you know."

"But you snore like one," teased his wife, her blond hair shimmering like watered gold in soft glow of the magical lights.

Everyone laughed, and Flick pretended to be insulted. "Now Trish darlin', that was supposed to be a secret."

"From who, Flick? The deaf people?" quipped his wife. "Because they're the only ones who aren't bothered by it."

Drake and Arista burst out laughing. "That's telling him, Trish!" said the auburn-haired Healer, who was pregnant with her first child.

Flick made a face at her. "She's your daughter all right, Sev. Got that snappy Snape tongue."

"I know. It's a problem I can't correct now," Severus said, laughing. "So you're just going to have to live with it, I'm afraid." Speaking of children, he recalled he hadn't been up to check on Simon in awhile. The child must have calmed down by now, he reasoned, enough so he'd listen to Severus when he explained why he'd felt it necessary to discipline like that and perhaps accept the hug he'd refused before. He rose to his feet. "Speaking of children, I'd better go and check on our resident problem child."

Snape climbed the stairs rapidly, wondering if perhaps the child had fallen asleep, he'd certainly been upset enough to exhaust himself emotionally. He tapped lightly on the door. "Simon? May I come in? I'd like to talk to you."

There was no answer.

Severus sighed. Damn kid was probably still sulking. Or maybe he'd fallen asleep. He turned the knob and entered the bedroom.

He cast a glance at the bed, expecting to see the little boy curled up asleep. Instead he saw the bed was empty and a gusty wind was blowing through the partially open window. Severus ran to the window and peered out into the snowy night. Dear God in heaven. That fool kid's climbed out the window and run away. In a blasted snowstorm.

Fear clenched his stomach, for he knew all too well how dangerous it was to wander about in a snowstorm, there had been many such during his tenure at Hogwarts, and every so often he'd been called out on search and rescue missions to find students gone missing on the grounds, who'd gotten caught in the freak storms that sometimes blew in off the Highland peaks, and become lost in the snow.

He shuddered just imagining the child lost in this, and the temperature was dropping rapidly as twilight became night. What was that idiot kid thinking? He wondered angrily. Hasn't he gotten in enough trouble today? Does nothing faze the damn child? Then he recalled the way he'd left the boy, sobbing bitterly into his pillow. He had intended to return after a few minutes so he could talk to the child, but then Trish had arrived and he had gotten caught up in a discussion on a case with Flick and Arista had pressed a glass of wine on him and some appetizers and before he knew it, he'd forgotten all about his troublemaking charge.

But how in hell was I to know he'd run away? Especially in a bloody snowstorm? argued the logical part of his mind. He probably figured you hated him, especially after the spanking you gave him, whispered the compassionate part of his mind. He's a child and they don't think logically. He was crying for his mother last you knew, Severus, and he decided to go and find her. Crazy kid! Better get Scout and see if you can find him, because the last thing you need is for the heir to the Rivers empire to freeze to death on your watch.

Severus turned and made his way back downstairs, his jaw clenched grimly.

Arista sensed something was wrong and glanced up at him. "Dad? What's the matter?"

"Simon's gone missing. Somewhere out there in this blizzard." Severus answered, his dark eyes bright with worry. "Scout! I need your nose, boy."

He held out a shirt of the child's, and the magehound came over and sniffed it obediently.

Severus quickly pulled on his coat and gloves and scarf, speaking a warming charm as he did so. Then he attached an extra long lead to Scout's collar before going to the door and releasing the magehound. "Search, Scout!"

The golden dog threw back his head and bayed. Then he sprang off the porch, followed by Severus.

"Hang on, I'll help you look," Colin called, pulling on his own coat and boots.

"Me too. I've done snow rescues before," said Flick.

The two men split up, each taking a section of the yard, calling for the missing child, while Severus followed the magehound across the yard and into the woods.

Gavin shook his head and whispered to Marietta. "How stupid can you get? Going out in a storm like this?"

"And he says girls are dumb!" Marietta rolled her eyes. "And he was already in trouble before with Uncle Sev for the fireworks."

"Just wait till my dad finds him. He'll be lucky if Dad doesn't paddle his butt again for making him worry so much," Gavin predicted.

"Then you think Uncle Sev will find him?" asked Amy, who was petting Ember.

"He's got Scout," answered Gavin. "Scout can find anybody. He's got the best nose in America." He shook his head in disgust. "Merlin, but that kid sure knows how to ruin a holiday."

The others silently agreed with him.

Well, did you think Severus was fair?

And will they find Simon in time?