Disclaimer: The world and characters of Harry Potter are the intellectual property of J.K Rowling and also seem to belong to Warner Bros for reasons I'm still trying to figure out. This is a work of fanfiction and no copyright infringement is intended.
Eileen Snape (nee Prince)
She was three months pregnant when she got married. If the truth be told the reason for the marriage was that she was three months pregnant.
In fact, in the deepest recesses of her heart, Eileen knew that the reason for the pregnancy in the first place was because she wanted to get married. Marriage meant escape from the dour confinements of the Prince household; a chance to make her own choices, live her own life. So she'd gone to the dance with young Tobias Snape and in the heady aftermath of that night allowed him to do everything her mother had warned her against.
She remembers:
---
Three months. Two months to be certain and one month to pluck up the courage to tell him.
"Tobias."
It's a warm summers evening. The two of them are walking along the tow-path, hand in hand, watching the water trawling sluggishly down the canal.
"Tobias, I'm going to have a child."
He panics, "What, now?"
"No, no. That night…after the dance…"
"Ah."
"I'm-I'm sorry."
She feels genuinely guilty. Guilty for trapping him with the oldest trick of all. Guilty for choosing him, although to be honest, she's hardly had a choice. Eileen Prince is not attractive, and she knows it. Nor is she particularly social; there are few other wizarding families around, and her parents don't like consorting with Muggles. Tobias seems to be the only person interested in her.
He stares at his shoes for a minute. "My child?"
"Yes."
"Well then." He drops to one knee, wincing a little as he hits the cobbles on the tow-path, "In that case Eileen Prince, I would like to ask you to be my wife."
She gives a small smile, thinking now everything will be alright. "Thank you Mr Snape, I accept."
---
Tobias creaks the door open, taking a deep breath before stepping into the small living-room. His father is sitting in an old armchair in front of the fire, reading a newspaper.
"Da?"
Mr Snape grunts. Tobias takes another breath, nervously chewing at his lip. "Eileen Prince. She's…with child."
It seems the politest way to put it.
His father raises an eyebrow. Tobias and Eileen have been walking out for a good few months now. To be honest, he's been expecting this for some time.
"Yours?"
"Wha-oh yes. My child."
"And?"
"Well." Tobias shrugs. "I did the honourable thing."
Mr Snape hauls himself off the armchair and pulls two dirty beer-bottles out of a cupboard, handing one to his son. "She's not a bad girl Tobias, you could do worse."
Tobias gives a smile of relief, "She's a good cook. And clever, knows her letters."
His father nods. Silently, they drink.
---
It's a relatively quiet wedding. Tobias's parents are there, as well as a few friends, ready to watch them marry before moving into Eileen's small house, bought for her by her parents several years ago.
None of the Princes are present at the wedding. Eileen had written to tell them of the event and been promptly disowned. She's not sure if it's Tobias's poverty they object too, or the fact that he's a Muggle. Maybe both.
He carries her over the threshold of the house in her second-hand wedding dress and gives her a quick kiss before setting her down.
"Well Eileen, you're Mrs Snape now."
She feels almost dizzy with happiness.
"The house is a bit small." She murmurs, trying to find the catch in this, wondering why she deserves happiness this great.
"It'll do. Big enough for two." He gives a grin, "Big enough for two and a little one."
They share a quick smile. There's a flash of hope in both faces that seems to say maybe, just maybe, this will actually work.
And it does.
For a month.
---
It starts the night Tobias comes home early. Eileen has only just started the soup, when she hears the door bang and her husband rolls in, breathing unsteadily.
"Tobias?" She frowns. His breath smells of alcohol. "Work finish early?"
He collapses into the chair. "Didn't go."
"What!"
He sighs, running his finger along a crack in the tabletop. "Been made redundant. We were told this morning."
Eileen bites her lip, trying not to look as worried as she feels. "Can't you find another job?"
He staggers into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
That evening Eileen goes down to the cellar where she locked away all evidence that she was a witch. Her wand, the cauldron, the many jars of potions ingredients, her Hogwarts prefect badge.
She thought: I'll tell him. Sometime. Maybe after the child is born.
She tries to convince herself it will still be alright.
---
She remembers the first time he shouted at her. He'd come home earlier than usual that night to find her reading, the cooking not yet started.
"Is this what you do with your time? Wasting all your evenings?"
He'd snatched the book from her hands and thrown it into the sink, on top of the greasy dishwater. She hadn't said a word, just stared at her hands. She knew it was her fault that he was in this position, her fault that his meagre dole money had to pay for two people's livelihood.
"God knows what we're going to do when this child arrives," He was bitter now. "I suppose it is mine."
"There was never anyone else." She says quietly, still staring at her hands.
He apologises the next day. But it is not the last time he's shouted at her.
---
The first time he holds his son in his arms, Tobias's face is covered with the warm glow of fatherhood. He gently strokes the bald little head, amazed that this small bundle in his arms is his creation, his son.
He looks down tenderly at Eileen, poor brave Eileen, who's gone through so much recently. Must be hard on her; a husband without a job, no support from her family.
He promises himself he'll find a job, he'll stop drinking so much, he won't shout at Eileen, he'll be a good husband, a good father.
He breaks every one of those promises.
---
He lets Eileen name the child which is why, he supposes, they ended up with a name like Severus.
"It was my Grandfather's name." She says defensively. She doesn't say that her grandfather was the only member of the family that she really loved, and that he died when she was twelve.
"He's got your eyes." Tobias says. He's, not angry exactly, but slightly irritated that the boy resembles his mother so much. It weakens his claim to fatherhood.
From the room next door the baby begins to cry, in a thin high-pitched reedy voice. Tobias looks across at Eileen.
Eileen stares determinedly back. "He's your child too Tobias."
He sneers, "You wouldn't think so to look at him."
"For God's sake it's not my fault what the wretched boy looks like!"
It's the first time she's ever shouted back at him. He gapes at her and, before the mood is broken, she escapes into the next room and picks up little Severus. It's easy to see why he's been crying, the roof is leaking in the rain and he's been sleeping in a small, gradually increasing, pool of cold water.
She picks him up and rocks him until the cries begin to subside. Severus Snape, he'll always be a Snape now, the only thing he's gained from her are his looks, and she wouldn't wish those on any child.
She looks down at him, and the wide black eyes stare solemnly back at her. He's half of her, whatever his name, and what's more he's likely to be a wizard too. That's something Tobias doesn't know (she'll tell him later, when he's in a better mood).
"You're a wizard Severus." She whispers, rocking him from side to side. "A half-blood." She gives a little smile. She hasn't smiled since her wedding, "My little Half-Blood Prince."