A/N: Okay, this is the first of the two stories i will allow you to preview. If you like this over the Erebus Riddle story, then go to my profile and vote for it. When the poll closes, the story with the highes votes wins and will be continued.

Disclaimer: Still not mine.

Prologue

The little boy opened his eyes to find himself overlooking the most wondrous sight he'd ever seen. There were numerous tents of different colours standing erect on the lavish green grass, their flags waving merrily in the breeze. He could even see a couple of people taller than his Patri walking around while juggling balls in the air. Children that were mostly around his age were running in and out of the tents, looks of ecstasy and pure joy etched on their faces. And right in the middle of all these was the largest wheel he had ever seen in his life. It had red, blue, green and even yellow bubbles hanging from it as it went round and round and round. Even from where he was, he could hear shouts of joy and laughter.

Turning his attention to the man in which whose arms he was being carried, he gave a huge smile that made his green eyes twinkle. Upon seeing the toothy smile the child was giving him, the man smiled back in delight. Taking the hand of the light haired woman beside him, the three of them made their way down to the Annual Summer Festival.

Their first stop once they made it down from the Apparition point was the tent with brilliant green and orange stripes. The inside of the tent was magically transformed to mimic the environment of that of a Muggle Zoo. However the animals inside were far different from the ones found in Muggle zoos nor were the animals placed inside barbaric cages. As a matter of fact, the creatures that could do no harm were found roaming around the vicinity. But of course creatures that were far more aggressive had shields surrounding them, separating them from the many visitors.

A baby Niffler made its way towards them and the little boy in the man's arms begged to be lowered down. Once the little boy was on the ground, the Niffler nudged its wet nose on the boy's outstretched hands, making him squeal in delight. Bowtruckles could be seen guarding the nearest tree while Kneazles tentatively examined the bowl of milk that was placed before them. After the little boy's brief encounter with the Niffler, he started dragging both the man and the woman deeper into the enchanted tent.

The first creature they saw that was within a protective shield was a brown coloured Hippogriff that seemed to be dozing with its head on its legs. After the Hippogriff, the threesome then proceeded to the large tank on the other side of the tent that contained many deep sea creatures including a dozen or so snarling Gryndylows.

They stayed in the Creatures Tent until a fully grown Firecrab's flame nearly landed on the little boy. It took a couple of minutes to soothe the hysterical child and the tent attendants to give the child free stuffed animals as an apology. After that incident, they moved on to have their lunch inside a tent that served food in different colours. There was blue pumpkin juice, yellow spaghetti, purple steak and many more that seemed to take the earlier incident out of the little boy's mind.

But the highlight of the day was when they finally made it to the gigantic multi-coloured Ferris wheel that looked even bigger up close. The little boy craned his neck so as to see the top of the wheel but it seemed to stretch on to the heavens above.

"How high is it?" asked the boy, tugging at the light haired woman's dress. The woman bent down to the same level as the child and said in a friendly voice, "I don't know angel, I believe it goes as high as a little boy's imagination."

"That high!" exclaimed the toddler in awe, looking up at the wheel again. The woman took hold of the still staring boy and led him to the witch that was standing by the ticket booth. Once they were in line, the man lifted the boy in his arms again and they waited patiently (as patiently as an excited toddler could) for their turn in the ride.

"Are you ready kiddo?" the man asked, an amused look on his face.

The boy in his arms started jumping up and down in excitement and the man gave out a laugh at the toddler's antics, wondering how he managed to prevent the boy from falling from his arms. The line soon dwindled down and they were ushered inside a blue coloured bubble. A few minutes later, the little boy and the man found themselves climbing higher and higher until the people below them were nothing more than pinpricks on a sea of green. As the ride started to descend to the point where the people could now be distinguished, the boy stood on the man's lap and waved enthusiastically at the woman taking pictures of them.

The ride lasted for approximately three more full revolutions before coming to a full stop. The boy got out of the bubble they were in and ran towards the woman he had been waving at earlier. The woman released a soft 'oomph' as the little boy ran straight into her open arms.

"Mama, mama, did you see me?" asked the boy, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

The woman the placed a hand on the boy's small shoulders hoping, to no avail, to stop him from bouncing. "Yes I did angel. But then you went so high up, I lost sight of you."

"But... but…but did you… but did you see me waving?" The boy's constant bouncing was making both the man and woman laugh in amusement.

"Angel if you don't control yourself, Patri here will have to feed you one of his nasty potions," whispered the woman to the boy's ears.

That made the boy stop at once, pouting at the direction of the man, his hands placed on his hips, making him look much more like a spoiled prince. "Nwo poton!" the boy exclaimed, shaking his head.

The man mimed trying to uncork a potion vial and moved towards the boy whose eyes were now staring widely at him. The boy, shaking his head, made a dash to hide behind his 'mama'.

"Nwo poton," cried the boy, his laughter muffled by the woman's dress.

"But there's a little boy here who has too much energy for his own good," said the man, trying to get to the boy. The woman laughed as the little boy revolved around her, using her as a shield to get away from his 'Patri'.

"Nwo boy here. Nwo boy here!" shouted the boy.

"But I just saw him," said the man, following the boy.

"Nwo! Nwo boy!" The little boy released his hold on the woman's dress and ran from the man, his childish laughter ringing above all the noise in the festival.

"There he is," the man chased after the laughing boy and pretty soon he had him on his shoulders, carrying him as if he were a sack of potatoes.

The woman soon joined the two laughing boys, and they continued going around the festival until the sun set and the moon finally rose in the sky. By the time they arrived home, the little boy was perched on the man's arms sleeping peacefully. The man led his charge up several flights of steps and through a number of corridors before settling the young boy in a room that had a comfortable four poster bed in the shape of a miniature pirate ship. Tucking the boy into the warm folds of the blanket, he brushed a few stray hair from the boy's face and kissed his forehead before leaving the night light open.

He was about to get out of the room when a small, sleepy voice came from the boy he'd just tucked in. "Night, Patri. Night, Mama."

The man turned to look towards the door and found that the woman, his wife, was leaning on the doorframe. The woman walked into the room and gave the boy a goodnight kiss.

"Goodnight my angel, sweet dreams" she said softly, making the boy smile.

"Goodnight kiddo," said the man, now standing by the door, waiting for his wife to leave the room.

Once they were both gone, the boy opened his eyes and turned to his side. Today had been the happiest he'd ever been in his short life; he was with the people who loved him for who he was and he never wanted for it to end. No longer able to fight off the lull of sleep, the little boy of three closed his eyes and for the first time in a very long time, he had a good dream.

But shouldn't he have known then that sometimes, things were just too good to be true?

A couple of hours later, after the man had tucked the little boy, he entered the room that was right beside the child's room to find that his wife was already in her pyjamas, lying prop on their bed reading a book.

"He enjoyed this week, didn't he, love?" asked the woman, lowering her book to look at her husband.

"He did; we all did," replied the man, tossing his Muggle clothing on the floor which vanished before they could even reach the carpeted floor. Pulling on a pair of dark blue pyjamas, he joined his wife on the bed.

"How I wish we could do this to him everyday," said the woman sadly, curling into her husband's lean arms.

The man pulled his wife closer and kissed the top of her head. "I know love. He deserves so much more."

They stayed that way, snuggled up in each others' arms when loud knockings woke them up. The man bolted out of the bed immediately and reached out for his night robe. His wife, however, went to the next room to check on the young boy.

The man grabbed his wand from the bedside table and cautiously went down the stairs. Once he was in the hall, he heard someone shouting and knew immediately who had come to disturb them at such an ungodly hour. Bracing himself, he made his way to the front door.

"I know you've got him in there Snivellus! Give me back my son!" said the voice of James Potter.

"And why pray should I do that Potter? You've totally ruined our night," replied the snide voice of Severus Snape.

"I don't give a damn if you were shagging that woman of yours, but you give me back my son this instance!" boomed James' voice as he continued pounding on Severus' magically locked door.

"What if he doesn't want to go back to you?" said Severus angrily.

"GIVE HIM BACK TO ME BEFORE I BLAST YOUR BLASTED DOOR!" screamed James, his pounding on the door increasing with each word.

"James Richard Potter, you stop that racket this instance." ordered a voice from behind Severus. Severus turned around to find his wife of three years standing by the stairs looking extremely irate, holding a terrified looking boy in her arms. The boy, whose earlier clothes had been magically transformed into a pair of bottle green pyjamas that had little dragons flying on it, was clinging tightly onto the woman; burying his tear-strewed face into her neck.

"Penelope I have every right to make as much racket as I want to when someone kidnaps my son!" said James.

Penelope Snape marched to stand beside her husband, "And we have just as much right to take our godchild away from you when we feel that he's not being treated fairly!"

But before the Snapes could prepare themselves for what happened next, their front door was blasted into bits, sending shards of wood flying their way. Fortunately, Severus had managed to conjure a shield before the sharp pieces of wood could inflict more damage on them. Once the dust and rubble had settled down, James Potter appeared looking as if the whole world had somehow wronged him.

"And as an Auror, I have all the rights to raid a Death Eater's home." He stared maliciously at the two Snapes inside the shield.

"How dare you!" roared Severus, getting to his feet and pointed his wand straight at his rival's chest. A jet of red sparks erupted from his wand, sending James Potter flying across the floor.

James stood up and shook himself, striding towards his son who had fallen from Penelope's arms during the blasting of the door and was currently hiding behind the couch. He grabbed the little boy's hand before Severus or Penelope could react.

The boy screamed and tried to wriggle out of his father's strong grip. "No!" he cried. "Me no wana go!"

"Shut up, boy!" barked James, shaking his son vigorously.

"Let him go, James. You're hurting him." cried Penelope, moving towards father and son.

"You stay out of this Penelope!" said James, turning towards her. "I will never allow a Snape to touch a Potter."

"You should be a shamed of yourself Potter," snarled Severus, his wand still pointed towards James.

"Why should I be ashamed, Snivellus?" asked James. "It wasn't me who took a boy from his home when his family wasn't there."

"You know very well why we took him," said Severus coolly. "You're not fit to be his father."

"And what makes you think you two would be any better?" snapped James. "Last I heard you were still in contact with your Death Eater buddies."

"At least if we had a child, we wouldn't wait a week to go and look for him nor would we ever beat him up until he bleeds." Penelope retorted.

James' whole countenance darkened immediately and said, "What I do with my children is done of your business."

"Children?" asked Severus incredulously. "I doubt you've even laid a single finger on your arrogant son Joshua! The boy is so much like you."

"I believe it is only Harry who gets to be caned repeatedly just by looking the way he does or be subjected to various hexes that have lacerated his skin to the point that most of them would leave a permanent mark on the young boy's body!"

The whole room was filled with so much tension, you could have scooped it up with a spoon. James' eyes narrowed towards his former classmate and said with gritted teeth, "As I said before, Snivellus, what I do to my children in none of your business."

He turned to leave, pulling a still struggling Harry when a soft gentle voice spoke up.

"Why are you doing this, James? Lily would never have wanted to see this being done upon her son," said Penelope taking a small step forward, changing her tact.

James spun around, a look of hatred etched on his youthful face. "Your Ravenclaw crap won't work on me, Penny. It might have for Snivellus there, but not me. And don't you dare talk like you know what Lily wanted for him"

"But I know she'd be heartbroken seeing the two people she loved the most acting like this," Penelope said calmly while Severus remained rigid at her side, wand at a ready in case James tried to do something stupid again.

"NWO! NWO! PATRI! Pwease," screamed Harry trying to reach for Severus' outstretched arm.

"It wasn't Harry's fault what happened to Lily," said Penelope, who was trying her hardest not to break down upon hearing the young boy's heart-wrenching pleas. "You can't blame an innocent child."

"I can blame who ever I want to blame!" growled James.

"And you think punishing your own son would make things all better?" she asked incredulously.

"It's his fault! His fault that his mother is now a vegetable in St. Mungo's because she was unable to protect herself! His fault that Lily nearly died giving birth to him! His fault that his brother will never know his mother! AND HIS FAULT I CAN NO LONGER TOUCH HER –" he screamed but Penelope had slapped him hard across the cheek before he could finish his tirade.

"How could you, James Potter? How could you blame your own son for the things that he had no control over? And all you think about is Joshua. What about Harry? Is he not your son too? Does he not deserve your concern that he cannot be with his mother as well?" uttered Penelope, you could see that she was trying her hardest not to lose her control while in the presence of the young boy.

"I don't have to explain myself to the two of you," said James after he got over the shock of being slapped by the former Ravenclaw, now the wife of his rival. He roughly hauled his youngest son off the ground and carried him out of the house.

"If you two ever come close to my family again, I will not hesitate to have you arrested! GODparents or not," threatened James, his wand pointed at the Snapes and heaving the flaying boy in his arms.

"Patri!" screamed Harry. "Me no wana go! PATRI! MAMA! Pwease…. No wana…."

Severus and Penelope watched helplessly as their beloved boy got carried away, back into the care of his abusive father. Penelope turned to her husband, falling into his arms and cried her heart out. It wouldn't be for a very long time until the Snapes got to see their godchild again. But right then they swore that if they ever got the chance to free the innocent boy from the life he was now living, they would no longer stand and watch, but they would fight till he was safe in their arms once more.