Prologue
The day was one of those sunny winter days when not a single cloud can be seen in the sky. And yet it was so cold one could turn into a literal snowman in seconds.
For most families that didn't matter. Beautiful coloured flames were happily playing in hundreds of hearths spread throughout the small village. But one particular household was almost as freezing cold on the inside as was the weather on the outside. For the simple reason that the man in the house hadn't been able to afford wood for the fireplace.
But while the family may not have been the wealthiest, that didn't mean it was not one of the happiest in town. They were expecting a baby.
"No, Eileen, you cannot keep them," the old woman said forcefully as tears of anger and frustration streamed down the young mother's face. "The children will be ridiculed and outcast, but more importantly - twins in this family are a danger to our world."
"They are not even part of your family!" Eileen shouted.
"Yes, they are, dear," her mother replied in compassionate voice. It was hard for her too. "But one of them will have to go. We cannot risk destroying -"
"But we can sacrifice the life of in innocent newborn?!"
A small pause followed the accusation.
"It is what the family has done for centuries. You know perfectly well your father once had a twin brother," Elvyra Prince insisted after a few long tense seconds.
It went on like this for over an hour until the younger witch was too exhausted to keep arguing with her mother and instead promised to do her bidding. Of course, that was not going to be the case. Eileen Snape was not religious, nor was she one to believe in fudge and babble. And although a witch, she had never believed in family curses. Not to mention the one in her family was dating from so long back in time it might very well have been made up by some infuriated hen divorcing her husband.
And thus began the story of the two Snape twins that were one.
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AN: English is not my native language and I don't have a beta (and on top of that this is my first published work). So if you spot any mistakes or are willing to be a beta, do contact me :)
Bonus summary: If you're not yet sure if this fic is worth your time, here is some additional information about it to help you make a decision:
This story is canon compliant for the most part (what I mean by that is that most events from JKR's books do happen, though with the "small" addition of another character). From Harry's perspective the story will be the same at least until Fourth Year. From ours - it will be very different. The Snape twins will have to share with each other everything they do in order to keep their cover. That proves to be counterproductive when they begin to work for opposite sides of war.