Severus Snape had always hated the way he looked. Not because he was ugly; he was too young to have a perception of beauty, much less of ugliness. No, he hated the way he looked because he looked exactly like his father.
Tobias Snape had never been a handsome man, nor was he a decent one. But he'd feigned the appearance of being a decent man for just long enough to make Eileen Prince, a pureblooded witch with a bright future, fall for him. She was attracted to his quiet mysteriousness, but most of all she'd been drawn to his difference.
And Eileen had certainly wanted something, or someone, different. Growing up with strict, proud parents who constantly reminded her of her responsibility to marry someone on her level—a pureblooded wizard—did not sit well with her fiercely independent nature, and she'd struggled to break free of the confines of her family. And so, to prove a point, she'd thrown her life away.
Eileen had met Tobias on a quiet Tuesday evening in a dirty muggle bar. She often frequented muggle stores and pubs, quietly observing them as if they were a different species—which, according to her parents, they were. But Eileen did not look down on muggles; instead, she wondered how different her life would be if she did not have to constantly cope with the triple responsibility of being a witch, a pureblood, and a Prince.
That particular Tuesday night, she'd been sitting at a shrouded table in the back of the bar, sipping the muggle drink called beer and thinking how bland it tasted compared to her preferred drink of firewhiskey, when he walked in.
He was silent and inconspicuous, and she briefly wondered if he were disguising the secret of magic like she was. But something in his manner told her that he was actually a muggle.
She smiled. The alcohol running through her veins gave her the courage, or perhaps the foolishness, to walk over and strike up a conversation with him.
He was withdrawn and mysterious. She liked him. But most of all, she liked the thought of shocking her parents by telling them that she'd been with a muggle.
And so, employing all her powers of seduction, she got him. But she also got something she hadn't planned on: a baby.
She'd shown up at her parents' house a month later, crying and distraught. It wasn't the fiery, rebellious entrance she'd imagined so many times, and she did not even feel any joy at the sight of her parents' distraught faces. She was frightened; they were horrified.
Her father tracked Tobias down and paid him profusely to marry her. Mr. Prince did not do this out of love, but rather out of fear at the scandal the story would cause if it got out, and out of the threat to his reputation. And then, once the money had exchanged hands and the Princes felt confident that the story could no longer escape, they'd promptly disowned their daughter and proceeded to act as if she'd never existed.
And so Eileen Prince became Eileen Snape. She traded in her crown for a lifetime of abuse.
For Tobias, money in his pocket for the first time in his life, quickly had become abusive. She came to realize that those inky black eyes did not contain shyness, but fury. At first, the abuse was verbal. She was deemed a whore, a slut, and other unspeakable names. But for awhile the baby growing inside her kept her safe from physical blows.
And then Severus was born. A name worthy of a Prince, but stern like a Snape.
He was not even a few weeks old before the abuse turned physical.
And so, Severus grew up with a father who didn't love him and a mother who was afraid to. Tobias always looked on Severus with either indifference or disdain, depending on how much alcohol he'd consumed. His son's small, innocent face, which so uncannily resembled his own, proved a constant reminder of his own wasted life. Severus was still young enough to do great things; Tobias had squandered every chance he'd had to be great, and this made him bitter.
The first time Severus remembered being compared to his father was when the Snapes, who were constantly on the run, moved to Spinner's End and lived in a house which was hardly more than a shack and much less than a home.
Eileen let Severus run free, wanting him out of the house as much as possible because any love she showed him was rewarded with blows. And so she did not show love, which made her no longer capable of loving.
Snape wandered about the small, shabby town, a small boy bearing a big burden. He ignored the constant flow of gossip concerning his father. Until one day, the gossip extended to him, too.
"That Snape is no good, that's for sure."
"And have you seen his son? Nasty, dirty boy, looks just like his father."
"He'll probably turn out just like his father, too. The apple never falls far from the tree."
Just like his father. The words echoed through his brain, making him feel physically ill. He'd always known he looked like his father, and he could do nothing about it. But he was determined to change his fate, to not end up like his father. This at least he could control.
And he knew what would save him: the magic.
He had no control over it. It burst out of him unbidden, and he couldn't stop it. But it was there.
The first time had been when Tobias had come home particularly drunk and in a rampant frenzy. Snape had crouched in the corner of the filthy room, helpless, wishing himself somewhere, anywhere, else. And then, when his father had raised his hand to strike his mother, Severus felt fiery anger boil out of him. There was a loud bang, a flash of light, and Tobias had flown through the air, being knocked out instantly as his head hit the dirt floor with a sickening thud.
Thankfully, Tobias was too drunk to remember what had happened, but Eileen had been terrified. Severus still remembered the fear in her eyes, the franticness of her motions, as she'd sat him down and told him all about the magic. This knowledge gave Severus power over his father. Tobias had no idea about the magic surging through his wife's and son's veins, or that they were special; fearing his reaction, Eileen had never told him about her past. And now the magic meant nothing to her; she could no longer return to the life she'd once so desperately wanted to escape.
So Severus, lonely and proud, wandered aimlessly around Spinner's End, his mind filled with thoughts of the wizards' school Hogwarts and all the ways he'd learn to use his magic when his letter came, as he was sure it would. And once he'd learn all there was to know about magic, he thought that no one would be able to hurt him again.
He stumbled to an old playground which was usually abandoned, which he did sometimes when he was particularly bored. He liked to sit on one of the rusty swings and scuff his feet on the asphalt absentmindedly as he wondered which Hogwarts house he'd be placed in.
But today, the playground wasn't deserted. Two girls were there, one swinging and one standing. They seemed to be arguing about something. The redheaded girl was swinging higher and higher, her laughs wafting through the air, propelled by the motion of the swing. The other girl was motionless, watching her sister intently as if disproving of the fun she was having. She had tightly plaited hair and even more tightly crossed arms. Severus had never seen such a sour expression on the face of someone so young, except perhaps on his own.
Although curious as to why the sour-faced girl was so angry, the girl with the fiery hair grabbed his attention. He was too young to realize that she was beautiful, but he felt drawn to her nonetheless.
And then, with a gale of laughter, the girl jumped off the swing, and it was way too high…He was sure she would crumple on the asphalt, seriously injured; but instead of falling, she landed gently on her tiptoes like a fairy, giggling at the horrified look on her stern sister's face.
And Severus knew she had the magic, too. He confidently strode up to her and began talking to her, about the magic.
Over the next few months, the black-haired boy and the redheaded girl became inseparable. She liked him because he gave her a whole new world; he liked her because of her emerald eyes and contagious laugh and beautiful soul. Only as he grew older would he realize he loved her. But not for a long while yet. Not really until she was dead.
And so Severus was happy for the first time, believing that the magic which had brought him and the girl together would save him from ending up like his father.
But Severus Snape was wrong. It was not the magic in his blood that would save him. It was the love in his heart, the love for Lily Evans.