I promise I will get back Mauraders in Time as soon as my muse returns from vacation. Right now this story plot is not going away. So please review and I will post the next drabble.
-Emma
June 1959 - February 1960
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She felt like such a fool. She was young and in love. And thought that her love was reciprocated.
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But Charlus had played her like a fiddle. Wooed her, made her feel special, like she was the most beautiful woman ever was. With him she was a somebody.
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Oh she knew she didn't have the classic beautiful looks like most other girls, but she was powerful in magic and smart. For what she lacked in looks, she made up with smarts.
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Her parents never disillusioned her that she wasn't ever a pretty child. But she was their only child. And therefore spoiled to an extent. Poor little plain rich girl people would say. She would show them when Charlus proposed.
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She was wrong.
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She believed him when he said that he loved her. That there was nobody else.
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And then the rumors started. How Charlus was paying court to Dorea Black. A beautiful, powerful witch in her own right. With a fortune to boot! Looks, wealth, and power were a strong motivation for a young man.
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He told her that he was just doing what his family wanted. That in the end it didn't matter. He would marry her and only her.
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Hah! She was such a fool.
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Her parents took her to Greece for a graduation present. He promised to ask her parents for her hand upon her return.
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"Poor little plain rich girl. You didn't actually think he cared about you?" Dorea sneered at her when she came to see him.
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Instead of a ring, she returned to find him married. He belonged to another. Married to Dorea Black. Lady Dorea Potter nee Black now.
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Poor little plain rich girl.
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And what was worse, was that she, Eileen Prince was pregnant with Charlus's child. Oh how Dorea croaked when she discovered! A child out of wedlock! The scandal it would cause.
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Charlus soothed her tears and said nothing would change. He still loved her.
Then her parents found out. They gave her forty-eight hours to leave the house. The only home she had ever known. They yelled and spit at her that she was a disgrace. A disappointment. How she would bring shame. With a few of her precious things she left in tears running down the road to the muggle town.
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Charlus gave her money at first, for room, board, and food. He said he would visit and take care of her and the baby.
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She soon bitterly discovered his promises were empty. He couldn't and wouldn't divorce Dorea.
Nor was he able to take a second wife according to the Potter charter.
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And then she got news that Dorea was pregnant. "Oh a son! To have an heir!" Charlus crowed.
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She could be his mistress, but Eileen refused to live under the same roof as Dorea. Dorea would be the lady of the house. The wife. She had the power and could make her life more miserable. No, she would rather stay where she was. The people in the town were at least kind even if they were muggles.
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As the months went on, Charlus came less and less. And Eileen was alone.
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Pregnant and poor, Eileen buckled up and found a job at a seamstress shop. The woman, Rebecca, was kind. She fussed and cared for Eileen with love that she had never received from her own parents.
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And then the rent was due and the landlord wanted more money than she got as wages. Charlus was too busy preparing for his legitimate heir to deal with his pregnant mistress. A proper son to carry the Potter name.
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Rebecca moved by Eileen's plight, insisted she move to her own house, Spinner's End.
I warned her what I was. And yet, I was surprised once again by the kindness of one woman. Rebecca was from a long line of squibs!
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And suddenly, I didn't feel so alone anymore.
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Soon July passed and Rebecca's son returned home from the army. A handsome young man by the name of Tobias Snape.
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September came and Tobias began working at the local mill. He began trying to court Eileen.
But she couldn't. She loved Charlus. He would come for her. She knew he would. Charlus was just busy. She would continue writing to him though.
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Her heartache remained, but she tried to focus on the future. She already loved her child. Her son.
Yes, it was a son. A boy. Rebecca had taken her to the doctor and she had found out the gender of the child she carried. A boy! She had to admit, muggles were so clever!
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Out of wedlock or not this baby would be declared by magic as Charlus's true heir. She got the last say over Dorea. In the end she, Eileen Prince had the upper hand.
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But the she grew fearful. She had yet to tell Charlus that it was a boy. She almost was afraid to. Would he take the child away? Her baby boy and his heir?
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October passed slowly with still no sign from Charlus. If she did the math correctly, Dorea would be due in March. Three months after her.
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Tobias was persistent and yet becoming her rock. He was with her every step of the way. Through the expecting mother classes, to the shopping for baby items. Tobias was with her every step of the way. She cared about him, but she wasn't ready to move on. She was grateful that Tobias understood that.
She never did get to tell him in person as her letters went unresponded. November passed. So did December.
Rebecca, Tobias, and Eileen rang in the new year at Spinner's End in laughter with friends from town. The time came for the baby to be born and Charlus never showed. Instead beside her the whole time was Tobias, kind, caring, sweet Tobias and his mother. He held her hand and whispered encouragement, while Rebecca wiped her forehead with a cool cloth.
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On January 6, 1960, Severus Sebastian Tobias Prince-Potter was born.
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Afterwards, as she held Severus for the first time, her baby boy, she truly smiled for the first time in months. Tobias had asked her to marry him and offered for Severus to take his last name. She told him she would think about it.
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Yes, they would be just fine. A family of four.
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Two months later...
Even though she still hadn't heard from Charlus, she was managing as a single mother. Tobias and Rebecca were so good to her. Every day after work Tobias would come home and spend time with her and Severus.
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She was now well enough to go around and do daily things again. It was time to visit Charlus.