Chapter Fourteen – What Are Families For?
Severus chuckles as he opens the doors to his potion's lab allowing Aldwyn to whizz past him with his arms spread wide. He watches Aldwyn spin around taking in the grandeur of the dank dungeon-like room. Large glass jars line the walls holding various potion ingredients, some of indescribable parts while others resemble body parts of small animals or humans, Aldwyn isn't too sure, but he marvels at them all the same. Marvolo steps through the door a second later, hand brushing casually against Severus's waist in teasing before he walks over to their son.
As soon as they had all finished conversing in the ritual room, Marvolo had asked Aldwyn if there was anything he wanted to do for the rest of their day and he had been pleasantly surprised when Avada green eyes had pleaded with him to practice brewing some potions. One glance at Severus's ecstatic expression and his mind had been made up before he had considered the request. Besides, Aldwyn's squeal of delight had been worth it.
Aldwyn runs over to one of the potion benches, struggling to climb up onto one of the high stools, eyes sparkling in anticipation as he watches impatiently for Severus to close the door and for his parents to make their way over to him. He bounces in his seat, body vibrating at the prospect of spending quality time with his Papa and Father over something he knew they both enjoyed. He watches as Severus pulls a 'Potions for Beginners' tome from one of the many bookshelves, slim potion-stained fingers sifting through the pages, eyes scanning the potions for something in particular.
"Aha, I think this one should be fine for a first brew. What do you say, Aldwyn? Do you think you can manage this one?" Severus questions, placing the book on the table and sliding it over so Aldwyn can read the ingredients list, methodology, and short description of what the potion would do once brewed correctly. Aldwyn's eyes scan the page, lighting up in recognition. He glances back up at Severus, an eager expression shaping his features.
"We learnt this potion last year, didn't we?"
Severus nods his head, ruffling Aldwyn's hair in silent praise.
"You did indeed. Now, would you like to gather the ingredients you are going to need from the potion store? Your father and I are going to be a little ways down working on some potions for the infirmary."
Aldwyn nods his head. Jumping down from his stool, he almost trips in his haste to gather his ingredients and in a second he is back. Marvolo shakes his head in exasperated fondness when Aldwyn grabs his book and scampers back off. Severus chuckles.
"He reminds me of myself when I first began to understand the arts of potions, so eager to learn and prove that I could do it."
Marvolo nods his head, wrapping an arm around Severus's waist he leads his partner over towards their own brewing station.
"I believe this ritual may have unlocked some hidden passions our son possessed as well. He certainly seems more interested in potions than he did before."
"That may have been my own fault. He could have had this passion when he started at Hogwarts, but I fear I may have squashed it to dust during his first lesson. I was not the nicest professor to the Gryffindor students, but Aldwyn received the brute of my disdain."
Marvolo turns Severus to face him, placing a hand under his chin to guide him into looking up into his eyes, he smiles gently at the potion's master. He couldn't resist brushing a chaste kiss to Severus's pouting lips either. Raising his other hand, Marvolo strokes Severus's cheeks with the back of his fingers.
"I do believe you are underestimating our son's capacity to forgive one so deserving, Sev. Aldwyn doesn't hold your behaviour towards him against you. He has forgiven you for it all and is proud to call you his Papa. He loves you dearly Severus and I can't say that I blame him. You are wonderful with him. Severus, my love, don't sell yourself short. You are here for him now and you can teach him everything he could possibly wish to know about potions."
Severus kisses Marvolo back, a subtle brush of lips before they are broken apart by Aldwyn running back across the laboratory, arms ladled down with all the ingredients his potion required. They watch in silence as Aldwyn carefully fills his cauldron with water, setting the heat on a low boil. Turning his gaze down to the text, Aldwyn reads through the steps before nodding to himself. Severus smiles gently.
Aldwyn remains unaware of his father and papa watching as he picks up the wormwood and using all his strength, slowly begins to crush it into a fine powder. As soon as he hears the water beginning to boil gently, Aldwyn tucks his hair behind his ear trying to keep it out of his face, he adds the crushed concoction to his cauldron, stirring the liquid anticlockwise. He chops the Valerian into thin 3mm strips trying to get them as equal as possible before he drops them into the cauldron as well. He turns the heat on high and watches in satisfaction as the potion turns a soft brown.
Sighing, Aldwyn tucks his hair back behind his ear when he leans over the textbook, wishing he had a band to tie his hair back with so it wouldn't keep obstructing his vision. Aldwyn grimaces when he picks up his Flobberworm, juicing it until he has two measures of its mucus. Shivering at the feeling of the slime sticking to his hands, Aldwyn is quick to drop it into the bubbling liquid, vigorously stirring it being mindful not to spill any on his work surface. He turns the heat back down to low and continues to stir the potion.
Wiping his hands on a spare rag, Aldwyn picks up another knife and sets about chopping the Sopophorous bean into quarters. Dropping it into the cauldron just as it turns a vivid shade of green. He stirs the mixture clockwise quickly, giggling when small sparks crackle in the air around him. It hadn't done that the last time he had tried to brew the potion. He drips the stirring rod once he was finished, reaching up to tuck his hair behind his ear again when a pair of hands carefully drag through his hair.
Startling, Aldwyn glances over his shoulder to see Severus standing behind him, a gentle smile on his lips as he gazes down at his son. He gestures back towards the ingredients, not wishing for his son's potion to become unstable because he had been distracted by his Papa's actions. He watches as Aldwyn adds his asphodel petals to his mortar and grinds them into a fine powder, as he continues to manipulate Aldwyn's hair.
While Aldwyn is adding the newly powdered asphodel petals with a dash of essences of nettle to his cauldron, Severus brushes his fingers through Aldwyn's hair, dragging it back and secures it to the base of his neck with one of his own leather hair ties. He checks the tightness of the band, ensuring that it wasn't tight enough to pull Aldwyn's hair uncomfortably, but tight enough to secure his hair out of his face. Smiling he drops a kiss on Aldwyn's head, resting his hands on the boy's shoulders as he stands content in watching Aldwyn finish the last steps of his potion.
Aldwyn rises the heat once again, stirring slowly clockwise this time before waving his wand over the cauldron to finish it off. Grinning down at the purple liquid, Aldwyn turns off the heat completely and, grabbing his dragonhide gloves, lifts the bubbling cauldron off the stove to all it to cool down before he can bottle it up. He glances over his shoulder, his grin widening when he sees Severus and Marvolo standing behind him, watching him work. Raising a hand, he strokes it over the tie carefully.
"I thought it would be easier for you to brew if your hair was tied back."
"Thank you, Papa."
"You are most welcome, Snakelet. If you wish, we could always cut it back to how you had it before so it won't keep bothering you."
Aldwyn shakes his head, giggling when his hair tickles the back of his neck, he tilts his head back leaning it against Severus's stomach.
"No, I like my hair like this. It isn't as untameable now. I will just have to buy my own hair tie so I can keep brewing with you, Papa."
"You can have this one. It is one of the ones Marvolo gifted me when I first joined his ranks back when I was seventeen." Severus smiles, jumping a little when arms drape around his neck, hooking together over his abdomen, being mindful of Aldwyn. Glancing over his shoulder, Severus isn't surprised to see Marvolo's smirking face as Aldwyn giggles up at them.
"Why Severus, I didn't know you cared so much about me even back then. I am flattered that you kept my gift."
"Of course, I did Marvolo. When the Dark Lord presents you with a personalised, hand-crafted gift you make sure to treasure it. I was delighted and surprised when you informed me that you had not only made the bands yourself but also charmed them to withstand any potion fumes. I have kept them with me ever since." Severus responds with a teasing smirk of his own and Aldwyn can't help but notice that his papa's hair was tied back with a leather band much like the one he had put in Aldwyn's hair. He gingerly runs a finger along the tie, looking from his Papa to his father.
"I can't take this if it is so special to you Papa. Father did make it, especially for you."
"He did, Snakelet, and I would like for you to have one of them. Not only will it never disintegrate or corrode away from the potion fumes we will most likely be brewing in the future, but I will not allow you to dip into your trust fund to purchase a tie when I can provide you with one."
Aldwyn smiles sheepishly, not used to being mothered by anyone, but he likes the feeling that washes over him at Severus's firm voice. He nods his head, hugging his papa. He relents to keeping the leather hair band, he grins knowing that he is going to treasure it just like his papa had. It was essentially his first real present from someone who hadn't felt obliged to gift him something. Severus had just wanted to give it to him.
"Thank you, Papa. I will treasure it."
"I know you will, Snakelet. Now, how about we check this potion hmmm?"
It is dark. That is the first coherent thought to enter Aldwyn's clouded mind. Completely pitch black and he doesn't like it. It preludes his vision every which way making it virtually impossible for him to verify where he is. It makes it difficult for his muddled mind to figure out how on Mother Earth did he manage to get wherever it was he finds himself. Especially since the last thing he remembered was the comfort of his father's bedroom, strong arms wrapping around him from both sides as he drifted off to sleep.
What was most disconcerting, however, is the immense pain that is coursing through his body; sharp shooting pains running mercilessly through the back of his head, the feeling of his body being set on fire. Panic begins to settle in as Aldwyn tries to calm himself down, his muscles clenching causing more pain to flare as fiery needles continue to assault his already exhausted body. He hadn't felt this bad since the beginning of the summer.
Suddenly a small crack of light appears along the floor as if spilling in from underneath a small door. His eyes squint as they try to focus on his surroundings, blinking rapidly behind wire-framed glasses in the now dimly lit room, if the confined space could even be named as such.
His heart flutters to a grinding halt in his chest before it begins to beat at an alarmingly rapid pace as green eyes flicker from side to side. A small crib-like structure sits innocently against the far wall, holey blankets lie scrunched up on the blood-stained, filthy mattress. A small shelf spanning wall to wall filled with cleaning supplies sits just above where a pillow should be. Tiny soldiers, horses, broken crayons, and other discarded or broken toys litter the available space. A childish sigh hanging proudly on the back of the door declares the small, cramped space to be 'Harry's Room'.
Aldwyn almost releases a sob of despair as his surroundings quickly become the all too familiar layout of his first bedroom, the cupboard under the stairs. Seconds pass, seconds where Aldwyn tries to gather his jumbled thoughts, and get his breathing under control when a sounds echoes through the hall. His overtly obese cousin was jumping up and down on the stairs just above his head again. His movements and heavy footing causing plaster, sawdust, and an assortment of insects to rain down upon the small boy as he throws his hands above his head.
He feels the small ticklish legs of spiders crawling up and down his arms, legs, and face though he does his best to ignore them as he is almost certain that they are attempting to make themselves at home upon his unwashed body, weaving their webs within his birds-nest hair.
Aldwyn feels more than his eleven years as he listens to his cousin's cruel laughter seeming to penetrate the creaking floorboards louder than he remembers. Taunting Aldwyn as a foreboding shiver travels down his spine. Though he still cannot help himself but wonder how the whale had not yet fallen through the floor. He has to admit that he hadn't, no doubt he would be blamed for the incident if Dudley's large frame didn't squash him to death in the process.
Bringing his small, bony knees as close to his chest as possible, Aldwyn wraps his arms around his shins before dropping his chin down to rest upon the joints. Squeezing his eyes shut. An impending sense of dread washes over the small wizard filling his chest so much that it is verging on painful, pulling uncomfortably as he shivers more insistently. Aldwyn tries to convince himself that nothing is amiss. That everything he is witnessing is just a bad dream; that he is still safe in bed at Riddle Manor with his papa and father sleeping by his sides. He will wake up soon and be surrounded by that warmth, that feeling of love and safety he had come to adore.
His inner thoughts are broken however when the banging above his head abruptly stops, small footsteps scurrying back up the stairs and Aldwyn tracks them. He listens to the retreating steps, placing the figure to be heading toward Dudley's first bedroom. He tenses further when the sound of newer, additional footsteps lumber down the stairs at an uneven pace. The rickety staircase creaks under the increased weight making Aldwyn's breath accelerate. His eyes widen in terror when the footsteps bypass the living room and halt directly outside his cupboard door. He shakes his head in denial.
Aldwyn feels his entire body seize with terror. He can't move, can't speak, and can't really comprehend anything about what is happening around him. He barely registers the sound of the deadbolt pulling back, nor does he hear the small cupboard door being thrown open, the sound echoing down the empty hall. All the young wizard can do is clutch his hands to his ears, crossing his arms desperately over his face to try to ward off any unwanted violence; his voice breaking the unbearable silence as he peaks out from behind his protective shield at the red face of his uncle.
"Please. Please don't. I'll be good, I'll be good. I promise!" His uncle doesn't listen to his pleas.
"Now you little freak, you are going to get what you deserve for going to that freakish school of yours!"
The only thing which breaks Aldwyn out of his fear-stricken thoughts is when his small frame is unceremoniously thrown onto the floor of Dudley's second bedroom. He doesn't recall how he had gotten here, how his uncle had dragged him up the stairs. He can't fight back when he feels those disgusting meaty hands viciously grabbing his own and dragging him across the floor. He can't fight back when he feels a sharp piece of rope being secured around his wrists. Being tied much too tight and pulled until his hands are bound above his head, just like they had been several times before.
The ropes burn, cutting into the delicate flesh of his wrists as Aldwyn fights and squirms as hard as he can to break free of his restraints, adrenaline forcing his movements to become almost frantic. Unwillingly, tears spring to his eyes as he twists his body around as much as his binds will allow. Until he is trapped under the looking form of his uncle locking his legs in place. A vindictive smile shapes his features causing Aldwyn to swallow.
Vernon sneers down at his bound nephew, watching in delight as the small child trembles on the floor at his feet. He holds a long leather belt loosely in his hands, experimentally swinging it through the air as he places a well-aimed kick to Aldwyn's abdomen. He smirks when the boy cries out in pain, unable to withhold the noise.
"So, you think you can run away from me, do you?" His uncle's voice is devoid of every emotion but loathing as it breaks through his cries speaking over his whimpers without a care. Vernon places another solid kick to Aldwyn's ribs making them shift painfully, straining under the immense pressure.
"Do you really think that a freak like you deserves to be loved? To have a family?"
This time Vernon tightens his grip on the belt, bringing it down in a wide arch before it slashes against Aldwyn's thinly covered back. The sickening sound of leather hitting skin pulls a disturbing smile from the overweight man as he grins down at the defenceless child whimpering on the floor at his mercy.
"You are nothing but a freak! Freaks don't deserve clothes, don't deserve to be fed, don't deserve to have a family!"
His uncle mercilessly brings the belt down repeatedly, raining slashes upon slashes against the heavily abused back and chest of Aldwyn. Tears now streamed down the child's face, his hands continuously pulling desperately at the ropes binding him under his uncle's vicious attacks.
"You burden my family with your freakish nature and then run off with those other freaks? Have them torture my perfectly normal family because we gave you exactly what you deserved!"
Another slash catches Aldwyn's ribs drawing a loud, pain-filled scream from cracked lips, his hands, by now were red raw from rope burn. The skin being violently torn away by the tight ropes. His clothes lay in tatters around his shivering form. He can already feel the welts, cuts, and bruises forming across his back and chest, along the top of his arms, and down his legs. His tears steam in rapid succession down his cheeks, missing with the blood covering his form before they drip to the floor.
He feels cold all over, so alone. The darkness once again closes in around him, surrounding him as his uncle's malicious laughter fills the now pitch-black space. His mouth forms words that won't reach his own ears, his throat protesting the movements. He knows he is pleading, trying desperately to stop the tirade of abuse he can still feel raining down upon his broken form.
"Papa, father, please. Help."
Severus wakes with a start. His years of working as a spy for his Lord and subsequently Dumbledore having taught him to wake up at the smallest indications of distress. He had become an extremely light sleeper as a result. Casting a quiet Tempus, Severus wipes a hand down his face, blinking rapidly when the bright red figures appear in front of him informing him that it was just 06:39 in the morning. A time he realises he would never usually wake up at, meaning that something else had drawn him from his slumber. A noise or movement from within the room.
Deciding to lie still for a moment more, Severus strains his senses in order to discern what had awoken him when he feels the tell-tale signs of people lying in the bed with him. Both still sleeping if their breathing was any indication. He smiles. The events of the previous evening fluttered through his mind reminding him that he finally had the family he had been craving since he was a young child.
It was almost unbelievable. Marvolo had not only asked him to enter a courtship with him. He had asked Severus to become Aldwyn's papa and shown him evidence that he had actually been the boy's biological father from the very beginning. He had a son who he could love, cherish, and protect, just like he always dreamt. Thinking of Aldwyn, Severus slowly and carefully pushes himself to sit up, leaning back against the headboard, trying not to wake the members of his family. He glances down at the small figure tucked between Marvolo and himself, a frown quickly tugging at his lips.
Aldwyn is fidgeting in his sleep, his eyebrows furrowing as his eyes constantly flicker behind closed eyelids as if searching for something. His fists clench around the duvet cover and Severus instantly knows that this is what had woken him up. Something wasn't right.
Continuing to observe his son, Severus feels his heart clenching when Aldwyn curls in on himself, his breathing picking up as his small, frail frame begins to shake in what Severus assumes to be fear. Becoming distressed at Aldwyn being trapped within a terrifying nightmare, no doubt about his time with the muggles, Severus quickly flicks on the bedside lamp earning a quiet protest from his bedfellow. Severus watches anxiously, his gaze flickering from Marvolo back to Aldwyn. He waits as Marvolo's brown eyes slowly open, letting his sight adjust to the sudden light before he pulls himself up.
Glancing around the room trying to discern the reason behind his early rising, Marvolo locks gazes with Severus and offers his partner a tired smile which is returned instantly, if a little stiff. Recognising the signs of stress on Severus's face, Marvolo turns his attention fully to Severus.
"My dear Sev, are you alright?"
The potion master nods his head, reaching a hand across the bed he tucks a strand of hair behind Marvolo's ear, slipping his other hand into Marvolo's squeezing the appendage and asking for a small amount of comfort. He shifts his gaze back down to Aldwyn who is now shifting in his sleep, quiet whimpers escaping his lips.
Following the other's concerned gaze, Marvolo frowns down at his son's slight thrashing and the small, terrified noises now reaching his ears. Distress begins to fill his gut when he catches sight of Aldwyn's tear-stained face, his features the perfect picture of pain and horror.
Turning his attention back to Severus, Marvolo is surprised to find his eyes wide, face paler than usual, and panic-stricken. Hating to see such an expression on his partner's face, Marvolo shifts over, pulling himself and Severus closer to their son, offering him some much-needed comfort. He rests his free hand on Aldwyn's head, stroking his soft midnight locks away from his sweat-covered forehead. His eyes narrow, mouth thinning when a terrified scream breaks free of his son's lips resulting in Severus tightening his grip around his hand.
"No, please… I'm sorry." Aldwyn's words are soft. A stark contrast from his scream of pain, but his voice is no less pain-ridden, no less hoarse as he continues to plead with his tormentor. Aldwyn thrashes more, pulling his trembling hands towards his chest in what Marvolo presumes to be a defensive manoeuvre to ward off further attacks.
"Freaks don't deserve a family… don't deserve to be loved…" His words are defeated. His parents don't know what to do, their hearts tug painfully as they watch their son. The tone of Aldwyn's voice brings tears to Severus's eyes, he could also remember the resignation he felt thinking that he would never find a place for him to belong. That he would never find people who would care for him.
"Snakelet?"
Aldwyn's soft murmurs halt for a second, his violent thrashing calming down as his eyes flutter more rapidly behind his eyelids, searching for something or someone within the darkness. Searching for the source of the voice calling to him.
"Snakelet? Wake up for me little one." Marvolo cards a shaking hand through his son's hair, once, twice, thrice trying to coax a reaction from the still-sleeping child. He releases a deep breath; a breath he doesn't know he has been holding when Aldwyn leans into his touch instead of flinching away as he had first feared. Maybe he was closer to waking than they had thought.
"Come on, Little one. You are home; you are safe."
Severus watches Marvolo in awe. He decides to follow his lead. Reaching forwards slowly, Severus wraps his hand around Aldwyn's shaking fist, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles across the taunt, white knuckles. His voice is soft, gentle, and coaxing.
"Please Snakelet. We need you to wake up for us."
Marvolo and Severus watch as their son's eyes flicker some more, fighting to open. Fighting to rid himself of the tormentor, but the nightmare holds tight, forcing him to relive some of his worse memories of his life with the muggles. They renew their efforts, carding hands through Aldwyn's hair, rubbing his back and sides soothingly, and holding his hands as they try to reach their terrified son.
"Aldwyn, sweetie. You are safe. You are home. Father and Papa are here with you, Snakelet. No one is going to hurt you anymore. You need to wake up for us now."
Marvolo's breath catches in his throat at the thick emotions coating Severus's voice when he leans over Aldwyn's prone form, muttering softly into his ear. He startles to notice silent tears streaming down Severus's cheeks as he continues to coax their son into awakening. His heart swells in appreciation for the man, wrapping his arm around Severus's waist he continues to run his hand through Aldwyn's hair.
"Come on, Aldwyn. Our precious little boy. You are so loved Snakelet. Your papa and I love you so much, little one. Wake up for us."
Bright green eyes peel open slowly, blinking constantly at the bright light filling the room. Glancing around at his surroundings before he focuses on the worried faces of his parents. Fresh tears spill down his cheeks as he looks from Severus to Marvolo and back again, a sob forcing its way past his lips. They were still here with him. His parents hadn't left him; hadn't given him back to the Dursleys.
Another sob falls from his throat when he feels a warm hand carding through his hair comfortingly while another strokes the back of his knuckles just outside his range of vision. Looking back up at his parents, Aldwyn sniffles, trying to stop his tears.
"I'm sorry." Aldwyn winces at how hoarse his voice sounds, how much his throat hurts when he manages to choke his words out. He wonders just how loud he had been to wake both his parents up in the early hours of the morning. Closing his eyes in pain, he waits for the berating he is sure he is going to receive now.
"Whatever are you apologising for, Snakelet? You have done absolutely nothing wrong." Marvolo's voice is barely above a whisper as he guides Aldwyn to sit up, resting the boy back against himself and Severus. He tucks the covers back around his legs comfortably. Wrapping his arm tighter around Severus, Marvolo sandwiches Aldwyn between them both.
"But I woke you both up. The Dursleys never liked it when I used to wake them up, Vernon would always shout at me and hurt me. I'm sorry." Despite his timid voice and hesitant body language, Aldwyn still leans into his parents' warmth, tightening his grip on Severus's hand. He is quick to search out his Father's hand to hold as well. Taking a moment to bask in the affection cloaking him, Aldwyn sighs. He felt exceedingly tired now.
"You will never have to apologise for having a nightmare, son. If you ever need us, morning, or night then you are more than welcome to come and find us. We are here for you, Snakelet."
"In fact, we insist you seek us out, Aldwyn."
Aldwyn looks frantically between his parents, looking as if he were trying to convince himself of the truth between their statements. It isn't that he didn't believe his Papa, but he had never been allowed to just disturb anyone because of a simple nightmare before. He hadn't even been allowed to bother Petunia if he had a broken bone. He opens his mouth to protest but before he can utter a word Severus cuts him off, voice firm but gentle.
"Even if you have to wake one or both of us up in the middle of the night. This is what we are here for, Aldwyn. Your father and I are here to help you, care for you, and love you. Do you know why?"
Aldwyn shakes his head, eyes dropping to stare at his hands which are being held tight, caressed by his parents' grasp. He wonders just how Severus knew exactly what he had been thinking. He turns to glance up at his father, then his papa.
"It is because we love you unconditionally, Aldwyn. You are our whole world, and we would be devastated if something were to happen to you. We are nothing like those despicable muggles who called themselves your family. We are your family, your father, me, and the Malfoys, and you are never going to have to deal with something like this again on your own. We all want you to feel happy here, Aldwyn. Safe and loved because you are precious to us, Snakelet." Marvolo finishes for Severus.
Aldwyn blushes, ducking his head when his father chuckles at his expression. He couldn't help it though, he suddenly felt overwhelmed, a warmth spreading through his chest as more tears form in the corner of his eyes. Twisting around, Aldwyn launches himself at his parents, wrapping his arms around their necks, face buried in their shoulders.
"I love you a lot as well, Papa, Father." Aldwyn laughs breathlessly when two sets of strong arms wrap around his small frame in return, gathering him into their chests. He feels secure as they hold him in a protective embrace. Sighing happily, Aldwyn nuzzles further into their warmth, loving the feeling of acceptance bubbling in his chest.
"How are you feeling now, Snakelet?"
"Much better, thank you, Papa."
"Do you feel like you may be able to get a little more sleep?" Marvolo mutters, dropping a kiss to Aldwyn's hair while Severus places one on his cheek drawing a quiet giggle from the young wizard. He pulls back from their embrace, and turning back around, he tucks his legs underneath the covers again. Pondering his father's question for a second, Aldwyn slips his hands back into his father's and papa's before nodding his head.
"I think so. You will stay with me though, right? In case I have another nightmare?"
In answer. Severus and Marvolo slide down the mattress, lying under the duvet. They pull Aldwyn down with them not releasing their hold on his hands. Giggling once more when Marvolo wraps an arm around his torso, curving his hand around Severus's waist enough to pull the two into his chest. Severus responds by wrapping his arm around Marvolo's back, enclosing their son between their bodies in a comforting hug. Snuggling between his parents, Aldwyn can feel his eyes slipping closed as the bedside lamp clicks off.