"Da-a-a-ad-dy!"

All the adults in the room turned as the redheaded boy charged through the open French doors from the garden as if he were pretending to be a bull to his dad's matador.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ron soothed once he recovered from being head-butted in the stomach. He tucked his hand under his son's chin to lift his head. Tears poured down the young boy's face, but that was far from the most noticeable thing about his current appearance. "I won't bother asking what's wrong. Hermione, look what your daughter's done to Hugo!"

Two girls, both a couple of years younger than the boy, a study in light and dark, approached the doors hand in hand. "It was Hugo's fault, Mum! We were playing and he wouldn't leave us alone and then he said mean things," the fairer one said.

"Did not!" the boy argued.

"Did too," retorted the dark haired girl. "You said my daddy was a bad man. You said he only pretended to change sides and if Voldiemutt won he'd be killing Muggles. And you said that Slytherins are all evil and not to be trusted. You said Rose wasn't allowed to play with me. You said all Snapes are bad. You said my daddy has bad blood and so have I."

"So?" Hugo demanded. "It's true. My daddy said so!"

"Mummy says there's no such thing as bad blood," the girl with the straw-gold hair told her brother, casting an occasional glance at Luna Weasley. "Mummy says everyone chooses whether to be good or bad. She says being introvated doesn't make the professor bad. Mummy says I can play with who I like, and I like Sevvie."

Luna nodded. "That's right, Rosie."

Hermione glared at Ron through narrowed eyes, but when she raised her voice, it was to call her husband. "Severus, get in here." She turned to her daughter. "Sevvie, darling, you can't use your magic on someone just because they say ignorant, mean things."

"I didn't do it deliberately, Mummy. He was saying nasty things about Daddy, and I just wanted him to stop."

"I know, dear." Hermione smoothed one of many wayward curls away from her daughter's brow. "But one day you're going to be a very powerful witch. You have to be careful not to let your magic get away from you, even if ignorant little boys repeat mean, nasty lies that their stupid daddies tell them. When you feel the magic building, you have to try to think calm thoughts."

"When someone tries to make you angry by saying something stupid, you should say something clever in return," Severus Snape drawled from where he leaned against the door frame.

His daughter immediately ran to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "What happened?" Severus asked calmly.

"Your daughter did this to my son," Ron blustered, lifting the boy's head so that Severus could see the vivid silver-headed green pustules all over the boy's nose and cheeks.

Severus smirked, waving his wand negligently at the boy. "They'll fade in a week or two."

"That's it?" Ron demanded. "That's all you're going to do?"

"You're right," Severus agreed. He picked his daughter up and spun her around. "Who's her mother's daughter, eh? For spelling the word bigot correctly, and knowing its meaning, how about your mother and I take you and Rose to see the new Pixar film tomorrow?"

"Severus!" Hermione hissed. "She needs to learn."

"I'll discipline my daughter for knowing a bigot when Mr Weasley disciplines his son for being one," Severus replied in a flat tone that brooked no argument.

Luna smiled serenely. "I think by the time his acne clears up, Hugo and his dad will learn their lesson. Because if they keep saying mean things, when Severina gets a wand, the next message might be permanent."