"C'mon. Let's get this thing on you," Tobias Snape said gruffly.
He picked up his small son's Halloween costume and turned it over in his hands. He was not sure what a grindylow was meant to be, and the shapeless garment did little to enlighten him. He privately suspected his wife had made the thing up, but he did not really care.
"Come over here, Russ," he repeated when the child did not move.
He refused to call the boy by his given name. What had the woman been thinking, giving him a damned ridiculous name like Severus? It sounded snooty to Tobias's ears. But then, his wife was a snob. Still, he was in a rare good mood this evening. They were going to the fancy dress party at the Cokeworth community center. There would be free booze, and probably one or two attractive women. It might be a good night.
Reluctantly, his son slid off the bed and approached Tobias. He stood still and silent as his father stuffed his skinny arms down the sleeves, then turned him to fasten the ties in the back. His mother had made a cap to go with the costume, and Tobias tugged it over the boy's head, securing it under his chin, then sat back to judge the effect.
"You look like a damn girl in a frock and a bonnet," he scowled. "I suppose it's too late to put something else together."
Severus's lip trembled, and his father's frown deepened. "It's nothing to bloody cry about," he snapped.
But it was too late. In seconds, the child was wailing. His mother came into the room and hovered in the doorway.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"How should I know?" Tobias growled. "He cries like a fucking girl all the goddamn time. He looks like one, too, in that bloody bonnet."
He reached over and yanked the thing off the boy's head, ripping some of his hair out in the process. There was a brilliant flash of light, and searing pain blazed across Tobias's chest. He gave a startled cry. The acrid scent of burning hair filled the air.
When his vision cleared, there was a large hole burnt straight through his best shirt, exposing a bare, reddened expanse of his chest.
With a roar, Tobias rounded on his wife, grabbing her by the hair.
"Did you do that, witch?" he demanded, rage masking his fear at the sudden, unexpected attack. She had not tried anything like that in years.
"No!" she cried. "No, I didn't. I swear!"
He shoved her away from him and turned back to look at the boy staring up at him, wide-eyed and fearful.
"You," he hissed. "You did it, didn't you?"
Tobias's hand flashed out, catching the child on the side of the head and knocking him to the floor.
"You're a freak, just like your mother. I should have known," he spat. "If you ever try a thing like that on me again, I'll make you wish you'd never been born. D'you understand me?"
The boy said nothing. He looked too frightened to cry. Wetness soaked through the front of his costume, spreading in a wide stain.
"Oh, for fuck's sake!" his father roared. He glared at his wife, still cowering in the corner. "Your freak son's pissed himself. Get him cleaned up. We leave in ten minutes. I have to change my shirt."
He stormed to his own room, and stood in front of the wardrobe shaking, breathing hard as the fear threatened to choke him. They both had it. Those weird abilities. He would have to be on his guard more than ever now. If they ever banded together - Tobias would just have to ensure that they were both too frightened to even think about using their powers against him.