Chapter 7 - Priscilla's Story
When Harry and Hermione entered the living room, Samantha was crying on Alexander's shoulder, who was calming her down. Priscilla was at the other end of the room looking slightly angry.
"Samantha, why are you crying?" Harry asked.
"Because I hate you!" she yelled.
Harry gasped. He had not expected such an answer. "Your father already hates me," he said. "Isn't that enough? What have I done to you?"
"What have you done to me?" she asked through tears. "You ruined my life!"
"What are you talking about?" Harry yelled.
"How can you be so stupid?" she yelled through tears, sprang to her feet and ran out of the house. Harry immediately went after her. He wanted to understand what her problem was.
"Harry! Leave her alone!" Alexander called; however, did not get any reaction from Harry. He groaned and went after both of them. He had to support his sister.
Hermione was unsure of what she should do. She looked at Priscilla hoping to get an answer.
"Stay here," Priscilla said. "Do you want tea, while we wait for Harry?" she asked as if nothing had happened.
"No," Hermione said.
"I will make it anyway," she smiled. Hermione thought that she had learned from Snape to shield her emotion.
"I guess that I should go away," Hermione said. "Your husband ordered us to leave the house and never come back."
"Well, Harry should better do so, but Severus will learn to tolerate you. Or you do not want a relationship with Alexander anymore?"
Hermione wondered whether Alexander had told his parents everything.
"Everything has changed only for better," Hermione said. She loved the Wizarding World and deeply in her heart did not want to marry a Muggle. Now she knew that Alexander was a Potions Master. He must be very good for Snape to let him work in the field. "Do you think Professor Snape will let us be together?" Hermione was concerned.
"He is, luckily, not a professor anymore. Call him Severus," she laughed. "And he has no say in this. It is your and Alexander's choice. We had agreed long ago that our children may marry who they love, not who they should love."
"It is hard to believe that Severus," it was very strange for Hermione to call him by his first name, "would give such freedom to his children."
"He does not act the same with his children as he does around other people. He wanted them to be happy."
"And are you both happy?" Hermione asked. She did not expect an honest answer. She just wanted to hear how she responded.
Priscilla laughed. "Do you think that it is not possible to be happy with a man like him?" she asked.
"I'm not saying that."
"But you are wondering," Priscilla said. "That's natural. However, you know only the worst of him. Yes, we are happy now. When we were young it was different. We had to go through a lot."
"How did you get together?" Hermione was interested.
"Oh!" Priscilla smiled. "I doubt that Severus would accept it, if I told you so much about us, but he will not know if you won't tell anyone." She winked.
"I won't," Hermione assured her. She was indeed very interested how Snape got together with a woman like her. Hermione doubted that he deserved her; however, Priscilla was right, Hermione did not know the best of Severus Snape."
"I was from a noble pure-blood family, sorted into Slytherin. My family expected all the best from me, including a good and respectable marriage. Just as I got out of Hogwarts, I had to attend all the respectable events to find a suitable husband. I was young and did not want to get married yet. I was not that concerned about status either. At Hogwarts, I had known many nice boys form unrespectable families. However, I knew that I could not make a wrong choice. I did not want to be disowned like Andromedra Black was.
"I attended all events that I was supposed to, but never looked for a husband. I turned down all pure-bloods who were sent to me. I could always find some fault in them and claim that they were not good enough. When a year passed, my parents became concerned. I was their only child and they had to make sure that I did not do something stupid. Then, a ball in the Malfoy Manor was organized. All the respectable pure-blood families were there, all the Death Eaters were there as well. My parents told me to choose someone at the ball, or they would choose themselves.
"Of course, I did not fancy anyone there. I had to come up with some way to get more time. That was when I noticed him - a man all in black sitting alone in the corner, observing everyone with smirk on his face and not enjoying the night. I knew Severus form Hogwarts. He was two years older, but we were in the same crowd, which believed in the Dark Lord and made gatherings to talk about how they could help him. I hated that, but I did not want to disappoint my family by not participating. All that I knew about him was that he was a pure-blood, as I thought at that time, a Death Eater and friendly with Lucius Malfoy. Those were qualities which my parents wanted. I knew that he was the worst match at the ball. My plan was that I would claim that I was in love with him and wait until my parents found out that he was poor and forbid me to marry him.
"My parents had given me an account in Gringotts so I simply paid him for pretending that we were a couple. However, while spending time with him, I got interested. I could charm men quickly, but not him. He was not interested at all. He came to dates as if to work. Step by step, I understood that I liked conversations with him. He was very knowledgeable, always had something to tell, but not personal, of course. I started loving his insults. I thought that I should learn form him to get rid of men later. And I got fascinated by his secrecy. I wanted to understand him.
"Just as I got interested in him, my parents found out everything and forbid me to meet with him. Everything happened just as I had planned; however, I was not happy. We started meeting secretly afterwards. Both of us knew that there was no future for us, but it was not important. I knew that I would become bored with him, just as him and I hooked up. Severus, in his turn, was depressed. As I found out later, it was because his love had just given birth to Harry and he realised that he had lost her forever. He did not mind taking as much as I offered. He was not a desirable man so he knew not to miss a chance. It was a relationship without any bindings.
"Then, I got pregnant. It was a nightmare. Severus was definitely not the one I wanted to have kids with. I knew that he was losing his head because of me and I slowly was losing interest. At first I wanted to get rid of the child, but when a healer told that I was with twins I could not do that. When I told my parents, they went totally crazy. I was thrown out of the house and they pretended that they did not have a daughter anymore. When I told Severus, he simply disappeared. I feared that it would be hard with twins, but I was ready to take the challenge. Then, he came back. He took up another job to support us and rented a house on the outskirts of London. He wanted to keep our relationship a secret. Severus was starting to doubt the motives of the Death Eaters and wanted to back out. He knew that if he did something like that, we would be in danger. It became especially clear after he had became a spy and everyone wanted to test his loyalty. I felt quite isolated, but it was only until the twins were born.
"Later, we had a normal family. He used to come home to me quite often from Hogwarts. When the kids were older, I hired a neighbour Muggle as a nanny and got a job. I modelled clothes for Madam Malkin, and was quite satisfied. I was surprised myself that I did not miss my old life and the high society. I had been tired of pretence and standards. Finally, I felt free.
"However, everything changed when Harry entered his first school year. Severus became very tense. He returned home rarely, always was troubled. Then he found out that Voldemort was coming back. He was terrified and told me to leave the country. He did not want the kids at Hogwarts. I decided that it could be for the better. There we would not have to hide. The kids would finally be able to have more friends; I would have a better career. I chose Paris. It was a place full of opportunities where I could express myself, and Beauxbatons Academy was not a bad choice for kids. Life actually did become better. When Severus visited us, he was not so tense and careful.
"Then, Voldemort truly came back. He had to spy again. He told me that it was not safe for him to come to us anymore. Rare correspondence was all that he could risk. The children took it badly. They did not believe that he would ever come back. They were jealous, thinking that he loved Harry more than them. I had opened a fashion business for witches. Things were going great. I was meeting many people. Once I met Philippe, and we started an affair. Severus had stopped writing. I felt alone and wanted love. I started doubting that he would come back as well. No one knew how long it would take to banish the Dark Lord. I married Philippe, whom even my parent would find respectable, and Lucy was born.
"I should have been happy; however, I missed Severus. He is harsh, stern, rough, has all the qualities that can get on your nerves quickly and then you do not want to see him again; however, when you get to know him, it is not possible to forget. God, how I missed him! The hardest time for me was when Severus came back. I desired him, but could not have him. I was not happy with Philippe anymore even though he had few flaws. The passionate and unpredictable relationship with Severus was what I missed. I should have left Philippe; however, I knew that passion with Severus would end soon and then quarrels would start, while I could have a steady relationship with Philippe. One night, someone of the former Death Eaters broke into our house and Philippe was killed while saving my children. Sometimes I blame myself for his death. If I had left him earlier, then he would not have suffered knowing that I had not lost interest in Severus and would be alive."
"You could not know," Hermione said.
"I know, but that doesn't make it easier," Priscilla told her.
They both heard heavy footsteps. Hermione flinched. She should have been away.
"What are you still doing here?" Snape asked angrily.
"Hermione is waiting for Harry," Priscilla said.
"And why would she be waiting for him here?" he snapped.
Snape did not have to wait long for an explanation. The door was flung open and a very angry Samantha entered the room and immediately went upstairs. Shortly after her, a quarrelling Harry and Alexander entered.
"She does not want to speak with you!" Alexander yelled.
"I have to know why she hates me!" Harry yelled in return.
"Shut up!" Snape said and both guys obeyed. "She hates you because you are Harry Potter. That's enough in this family."
"No!" Harry protested.
"Yes, it is," Snape snapped. "Now get out and never try to speak to my daughter again!"
"You are not my professor anymore so don't boss me around!" Harry retorted.
"Did you forget that I don't mind Obliviating you?" Snape sneered.
"I won't allow you!" Harry resisted and took his wand out of a pocket.
"Harry, let's go, please!" Hermione said and tried to push him out of the house. However, Harry resisted..
"I am better with a wand! Do not forget it, Potter!" Snape snapped and held his wand pointing right between Harry's eyes.
"Severus," Priscilla said. "Let Hermione deal with him."
"Harry, compose yourself!" Hermione said.
Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. The one who was knocking immediately opened the door, indicating that he was a frequent and welcome guest. A good looking guy entered and Harry and Hermione recognised him as a famous French Quidditch player Pierre. They both gasped, realising that he was Samantha's boyfriend and she was attending Quidditch games instead of basketball.
"Have I come at a wrong time?" Pierre asked with a strong French accent and his eyes bolted around the room.
"No," Snape shook hands with him, and almost smiled, "our guests were leaving."
Snape seized an opportunity when Harry was confused, pushed him out of the house and shut the door into his face.
"Samantha is in her room," Snape told Pierre who went upstairs.
"Well, this was quite the day!" Snape told his wife.
"Unexpected," she sighed.
"I hope that Potter will be clever enough not to return, but what are we going to do with Granger? As I understood Alexander has found something in her."
"We have agreed not to intervene," Priscilla reminded.
"I know, but this unacceptable!" Snape yelled.
"Just because you don't like her?" she sneered.
"Not only. This relationship is unsafe. That is basically an exposure of our family. We cannot hope that they will live in a secret as we did," Snape reasoned.
"Let's wait and see," Priscilla sighed. "Maybe she has changed her mind already. You are not the most desirable father-in-law," she chuckled.
"And why is that?" Snape raised an eyebrow and then suddenly laughed.
Meanwhile, Harry was still fussing about the situation.
"She does not want to speak with me, but I have to understand how I managed to ruin her life without even knowing her!" Harry turned around and looked back at the house as if trying to read the answer in the roses.
"She is Snape's daughter. Snape hates you and influenced his kids as well. Remember that he had left his family because he had to keep an eye on you," Hermione told.
"But I'm not at fault!" sparks of anger flashed from Harry's eyes.
"Do not judge her, better leave her alone," Hermione advised knowing that Harry would not take her advice at normal circumstances; however, she doubted that he would want to return to Snape's house ever again. She was not sure if she wanted that either.
"This is not fair!" he groaned.
"I know, Harry. I know," Hermione soothed him.
