Hadrian was putting on his jacket and making sure he had everything he needed. Wand? Check. Lordship rings? Camouflaged. Emergency portkeys? Ready to be used. Bottomless bag for his kids candy? You bet.
He left his bedroom and made his way downstairs to the living room where his children were waiting to go out for the one thing all kids cared about Halloween for. Trick or Treating.
Hadrian remembered the first time he went Trick or Treating. He was much older than his kids, being 19. He hadn't had the chance when he stayed at the Dursley's and all his other Halloweens were spent in Hogwarts, where he tried his hardest to forget what day it was and what it represented.
To most people, Halloween was a fun day to celebrate the spooky tropes and for kids to dress up and get candy. To witches and wizards, Samhain was the one day of the year where the veil between the realms of the living and the dead was at its weakest. Some people would participate in rituals where they would pray to those they had lost.
But to Hadrian it had a different meaning. This day was the day where his entire life changed forever.
On October 31st 1991, the Dark Lord Voldemort invaded the Potter's cottage at Godric's Hollow. He murdered both of Hadrian's parents and attempted to kill Hadrian himself. But the curse rebounded and struck Voldemort himself, leaving Hadrian with a prominent lightning shaped scar on his forehead. Making him the only person to survive being struck by the killing curse. The Boy-Who-Lived.
Hadrian used to hate this day. While everyone else was celebrating he was grieving. Grieving over the loss of his parents, over the life he should have lived.
However that changed in his sixth year at Hogwarts. When that dreaded day had arrived, Daphne had decided that she was going to make sure Hadrian no longer saw this day as one of sadness, but rather one of happiness.
And boy did she.
They made love to each other for the first time that night in the Room of Requirement.
Ever since that day, Hadrian now looked upon this day with indifference. It was just another holiday in his book.
However he must admit, he had been feeling more positive about this day in recent years. The reason for that was a simple one. He was now a father.
Being a parent and seeing the joy on his children's faces as they filled their buckets full of candy, and the joy they had while dressing up in costumes, how could he not enjoy that?
He entered the living room.
"Alright, is everyone ready?" He asked.
Three people were waiting for him. Two of them in costumes.
The first was his son, James. James had been on a superhero kick recently and had requested to dress as his favorite superhero for Halloween. So, James stood there with a red cape, a blue shirt with an iconic red and yellow "S", and blue pants that had fake trucks designed on them.
His daughter, Lily, was dressed up as her favorite princess. Well technically queen. She wore a light blue dress with sparkling white stars and her hair had been dyed with a color changing charm to blonde.
And finally there was his wife. Daphne Potter was wearing red trainers, black leggings, a red and black checked skirt and a white shirt, she also had a black jacket ready for the cold.
Both his kids smiled up at him, clutching their plastic buckets that were decorated to look like pumpkins.
"Yeah! I can't wait to get all that candy!"
"Ooo, I hope I get some with peanut butter in them."
"Me too, and some with caramel!"
"Yummy!"
Hadrian felt a smile appear on his face seeing his children excited for sweet, sugary goodness.
"Ok, you two, here's the rules." Daphne began, kneeling down to her children's level.
"You two will stay with an adult at all times."
Both kids nodded their heads.
"You will be gracious to the other children and not push to the front of the line."
Lily nodded while James didn't seem like he agreed.
Daphne looked his way. "James…"
"Yeah, yeah, no cutting." The boy eventually agreed with a groan.
"Good. We will only be doing shops in Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade and the houses in Godric's Hollow. If your buckets fill up during that time, your father has a bot bag for you to store your candy in."
"Wait," James spoke up. "How will we know who's candy is who's? Won't it get mixed up?"
Hadrian conceded that his son had a good point. Daphne did too since she seemed to be thinking of a solution.
"Ok, James, you bring your candy to your mom and Lily will bring her candy to me." Hadrian decreed.
Both kids looked at each other before nodding in agreement.
"Ok, now that that's settled, one last rule." Daphne said. A large, sweet smile gracing her face.
"You two have as much fun as you can out there. And show everyone that you two are the cutest little kids around!"
There it was. Daphne had been telling her husband she was looking forward to seeing her children in their Halloween costumes and gushed about how adorable they would look. He was wondering how long it would take before she dropped the responsible adult facade and caved in to her true feelings.
Turns out not long. They hadn't even left the house yet.
Lily giggled while James rolled his eyes, but with no real annoyance.
"Mooom, don't call me cute! I'm Superman! Superman isn't cute!"
"Of course, my mistake." Daphne patted her son on the head.
"You go and show them that you're the most handsomest savior in the world."
James smiled and put his hands on his hips in the iconic Superman pose.
Daphne giggled and kissed both her children on the cheeks. Rising to her feet she pulled out her wand and summoned a white diamond shaped crystal that fell onto her palm.
It was a recording crystal, used for taking photos or recording videos. The wizarding world's equivalent to muggle cameras.
The little crystal began floating in the air.
"Now, give me a big smile!"
"Ugh, seriously?" James groaned.
Hadrian walked behind his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Family photo." He said.
James sighed but faced the crystal and put on a fake smile.
"Harry, move out the way. This is for the kids!"
Well, great to know he was wanted. Hadrian moved away from his children and stood beside his wife.
Lily had wrapped a hand around her brother's waist smiling widely at the crystal. James looked down at his little sister and smiled for real. He copied her and looked at the crystal. A click notified everyone that the picture was taken.
The crystal lowered itself to just above both of Daphne's palms. She pressed her finger just in front of the crystal and an image appeared, projected by the crystal.
Daphne squealed at the picture of her two children.
"Aw, it's just as cute as last year's."
"Mom, can we get going now?" James asked, starting to get impatient.
Hadrian chuckled. "Alright, Daph, I think it's time we let the kids loose."
Daphne conceded and shut off the crystal. It fell onto her palm and she placed it in her pocket.
"Yay! Candy time!" Both children yelled.
They rushed out the door with both parents following with smiles on their faces.
It wasn't too long into their time at Diagon Alley that the Potter's found their first set of familiar faces.
"Scorp!" James yelled, waving at his best friend.
"James!" Scorpius replied, running over.
Scorpius was dressed up as a mad scientist. His blond hair was sticking out in all directions and he was wearing goggles over his eyes. He had a white lab coat covering his light blue shirt and brown pants.
"Hello, Scorpius." Hadrian greeted his nephew.
Scorpius smiled up at Hadrian and Daphne. His smile reminded Hadrian of his mother. Despite looking like a carbon copy of his father, there were certain aspects of Scorpius that were purely his mother's. His smile was one of them. It was just as uplifting and infectious.
"Hello, Uncle Harry, Auntie Daphy."
"Hello, Scorpius." Daphne greeted, pulling her nephew into a hug which he immediately returned.
"Where are your parents?" She asked once she pulled away.
Scorpius pointed behind himself. "They're over there."
Sure enough, walking up to them were the young boys' parents. The Malfoys.
Both of them were dressed up, like they were heading to a formal event rather than accompanying their son on his trick or treating.
"Daphne!" Mrs Malfoy greeted her sister.
"Hello, Tori." Daphne greeted, hugging her sister.
"How are you feeling today?"
"Fine, fine." Astoria waved off.
Hadrian knew Daphne wasn't just asking out of politeness. She was genuinely concerned about her sister and her curse. Thankfully it seemed that she had been granted an easy day today.
"If I feel off, Draco is gonna continue taking Scorpius while I head home. I'm not letting this ruin my son's trick or treating." Astoria informed her sister.
Daphne nodded, agreeing with her sister's plan.
Astoria turned her attention to her brother in law.
"Hello, Harry." She began making her towards him, arms opening for a hug.
Hadrian smiled and carefully accepted her embrace. "Hey, Tori."
Astoria let out a sigh as she felt his embrace. "You too? I'm not made of glass! Besides, this is one of my good days."
"Sorry, sorry." Hadrian chuckled and tightened his hold on her a bit.
"That better?"
"Much."
He didn't mean to treat her like this. Part of what Astoria liked about him was that he didn't treat her like a charity case. He didn't let his knowledge of her curse change how he acted around her. Even after all this time he still saw her as the same rambunctious, cheerful, funny girl he had met all those years ago and treated her as such.
But ever since the birth of her son, he couldn't help but change how he treated her.
Astoria was the unfortunate victim of a blood curse. One that had been in the Greengrass family for generations. Centuries ago someone had a grudge against the Greengrass' and had cursed their family to have a curse that would sporadically appear. The curse caused the victim to be weak most of the time, their magic wasn't very strong and their lives were unfairly short.
The last person to have the curse before Astoria was her and Daphne's uncle, Jonathan. He had passed when Daphne was four, missing Astoria's birth by a couple of days.
When Daphne had been born, her parents were delighted to find she didn't have the curse. Especially her father. But when Astoria was born and the signs started to appear, her parents began treating her in her own words, "Like a glass doll that could break at any moment."
Astoria had made her feelings on the matter quite clear, she was going to live her life to the fullest, curse be damned. If she was going to die early, then why waste her life moping around? She was going to enjoy her time no matter how short it may be.
That time had been shortened even further with the birth of her son, Scorpius.
Astoria had been told that if she were to have children it would take a large toll on her and would accelerate the curse. So from an early age, the doctors and her parents had been making sure she realized that having children of her own wasn't a possibility.
But Astoria wasn't going to let them stop her. One thing Hadrian realized early on about the Greengrass sisters was that once they made their minds up about something, good luck with changing their minds.
Astoria had always loved kids, probably because she was still one herself. And like every girl, she imagined one day having a family of her own. Something that seemed more possible after her marriage to Draco Malfoy.
Draco's parents weren't too happy when they found out about Astoria's situation when it came to having children. Lucius especially since he wanted the Malfoy line to continue. Draco had gotten into a huge shouting match with his father about this, yelling about how he wasn't going to put his wife's life in danger for something like that.
But Astoria knew Draco wanted children of his own. Even if he didn't say it. So when she announced her pregnancy there were mixed feelings. Everyone was happy, but those that knew about her curse also realized what this meant for her.
There was the possibility that Astoria could've died from childbirth given how weak she normally was. But thankfully she pulled through and gave birth to Scorpius without any complications. Besides her own.
Astoria had a white streak in her dirty blonde hair. When Hadrian had first met her it was barely noticeable but over the years as her curse intensified it had begun to spread. And it noticeably grew after her delivery of Scorpius.
She was also noticeably weaker than before, even on her good days. It was plain to see that Scorpius' birth had taken its toll on her. But she still never let that stop her. She still kept trying to live her life as much as she could.
Hadrian admired that about her. Even while facing a scary situation like this, she still pushed on.
Hadrian released her and turned his attention to the last member of the Malfoy family present.
"Draco."
"Hadrian."
The two shook hands, and Hadrian gave a smirk.
"A bit overdressed for trick or treating aren't you?"
"Oh, that's my husband's fault." Astoria but in.
""A Malfoy must keep up appearances" and all that."
"Astoria…" Malfoy sighed.
"Can't let loose for one day, can't you?" Hadrian asked.
It may seem odd to outsiders to see Hadrian Potter and Draco Malfoy being civil with each other, but the two had buried the hatchet a long time ago.
Draco and Astoria had begun dating 4 years after The Battle of Hogwarts. The two had been meeting each other before that, as they had become friends. Draco being captivated by Astoria's radiating brightness and infectious joy of life. There was also the fact that she didn't treat him with the same scorn and disgust as everyone else did.
He saw her as the one bright light in his world of darkness.
It wasn't until they announced their engagement that Hadrian decided that he and Draco should be at the very least civil with one another. After all, they were going to be brothers.
Thankfully the two were able to be more than civil, through the many trials they had faced since, the two now actually saw each other as genuine friends. Though they still took shots at the other it was more friendly teasing than anything.
The fact that their children got along so well also contributed.
Speaking of their children, they were now comparing their haul of chocolate and candy with each other.
The two families joined up with each other and continued on trick or treating together.
They eventually parted ways when the Potters headed to Godric's Hollow. The Malfoys were heading back home since Astoria was feeling faint.
Hadrian walked away from his family and went to a different destination than the many houses.
His destination was the cemetery.
Once entering he took a path he had begun to get familiar with since he took it on this day every year.
He stopped in front of two gravestones. Both of them had a bouquet of flowers leaned against them. The flowers were under a stasis charm remaining the same as they were when he placed them there about 10 years ago.
James Charlus Potter
March 21st 1970 - October 31st 1991
Honor Thy Blood
Lily Marie Potter
January 30th 1970 - October 31st 1991
Honor Thy Blood
He knelt down and bowed his head, silent as he gave his respects.
He used to talk to them, tell them about his life, but now he just stayed silent in their presence.
He lifted his head up when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Daphne and their children.
James and Lily had never visited their grandparents graves. Hadrian wanted to wait until they were older before introducing this part of their family's history to them. But since they were here now…
"Hey, come on over." Hadrian beckoned his children.
They cautiously approached their father, not because they were scared of him but rather of the setting they were in.
Lily was looking around the cemetery, probably fearing that some ghosts would pop out and surprise her. She inherited her mother's fear of poltergeists.
Hadrian took her hand and gave both her and James a reassuring smile.
"I want you two to meet some people who are very important to me. This is my mom and dad. Your grandparents."
"Grandparents? Like Mommy's mommy and daddy?" Lily asked.
"Yes, but these are my mommy and daddy."
Both children stared at the gravestones, reading what was written on them.
"What happened?" Lily asked. "Why are they just stones?"
Hadrian and Daphne looked at each other, was it time to introduce the concept of death to Lily? James already had a surface level understanding of it due to him watching superhero cartoons, but Lily hadn't experienced anything yet.
Daphne approached her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"They're not stones, these stones are here so we can remember them."
"But, why would we forget them?" The girl innocently asked.
"We won't. But they're gone now, so we have these stones to remember when they were here with us."
Lily looked only more confused.
"But why are they gone? Do they not like us?" Lily ended her question with a sad tone, looking hurt at the thought that her grandparents wouldn't like her.
Both parents were quick to reassure her that wasn't the case.
"Oh no, Flower, no. They loved us. But…" Hadrian paused, thinking how to word this.
"They're dead." James spoke bluntly.
"James!" Daphne scolded.
"What? It's true." He defended.
"Dead? What does that mean?" Lily asked.
Hadrian sighed. This wasn't how he imagined his Halloween going.
"When someone dies they leave our world and go to a different one." Hadrian began.
"That world is The Realm of the Dead." Daphne took over. "And on this night, the veil between our world and their world is at its weakest. So witches and wizards around the world pray to their lost loved ones. And sometimes, if you're lucky, it's said you can feel their presence."
Daphne's tale left her children in awe.
"Can we do that?" Lily asked.
"It's a bit late for that now." Daphne answered. "But maybe next year if you want."
Both children nodded. Then looked back at the gravestones.
"I wish I could've met them." James said.
Hadrian walked over to his son and gave him a side hug.
"Trust me, Buddy. They already know you. And they love you."
The family of four stood in front of the graves in silence for a few more minutes. With the two children hoping that they would one day get to feel their grandparents' presence.
"What are you doing?" Hadrian asked his wife. The family had returned home from their candy capturing crusade. Both the children had been put to bed and just Hadrian and Daphne were awake.
When Hadrian walked into the kitchen he wasn't expecting to see his wife sitting at the table with her feet propped up and eating a chocolate bar.
"Just checking to make sure my children's candy is safe. Like a good mother."
"Oh, and does that chocolate bar pass the safety test?"
"I don't know," Daphne gave the chocolate bar a pondering look. "I think I might need more data." She took another bite.
Hadrian chuckled, taking a seat across from her, digging his own hand into the large pile of sugary treats his children had collected. He pulled out a bag of MM's. Neat.
He opened the bag and threw one into his mouth, letting the chocolate ease his stress away.
"Didn't think I'd be explaining to my kids why they've never met their other set of grandparents today."
Daphne gave a sympathetic look, moving her feet off the table and taking his hand.
"It was bound to happen someday."
"I know. But I was hoping to hold off on it for a little longer." Hadrian admitted. He had another MM.
"I'm sure you're happy. The kids will want to do a Samhain Ritual next year."
Daphne gave a small smile. "A little bit, yeah."
Hadrian laughed.
The two sat in silence. They didn't need to speak, not after all they'd been through together. Just being in each other's company was all they needed.
"Chocolate is a really good healer." Hadrian said, emptying his bag after eating the last piece.
"It is," Daphne agreed, crumbling her wrapper and throwing it in the garbage. She stood up, still holding her husband's hand and lightly tugged.
Receiving her message, Hadrian stood up.
Daphne continued to lead her husband out of the kitchen, walking backwards and maintaining eye contact.
"And you know, they say chocolate is a very good source for boosting one's… happiness."
Hadrian smirked and raised his eyebrow. He could see the look in his wife's eyes. He loved seeing it.
"Oh, really?"
"Really." She whispered, pulling him into her. Their bodies touching, she wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss.
Despite the dour note near the end, Hadrian felt this was another successful Halloween.
