-Malfoy Manor, Wiltshire, England, 11 August 1976
Wiltshire is in the south-west of England, and one of Britain's most powerful families: the Malfoy family manor is located there.
Malfoy Manor is a huge and gloomy mansion.
The current owner is Abraxas Malfoy, one of the most powerful and richest people in Britain today.
And although the British magical world is currently in a bloody storm due to Voldemort and his death eaters, the Malfoy's were as calm as ever as if the war that was going on in the shadows of the country did not affect them in the slightest.
Today, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa Black were quietly enjoying their breakfast in each other's company.
A few moments later, Malfoy and Black's royal owls arrived to deliver today's correspondence to both of them.
They both took their correspondence and began to read quietly and elegantly like typical nobles.
Narcissa read some letters she had first, while Lucius went on to read the news in today's paper first, as all Malfoy's used to do.
The most important thing for a Malfoy was to always be informed so that he wouldn't be taken by surprise, he always had to be aware of everything.
That was what Abraxas Malfoy taught his son Lucius.
After a while, Lucius finished reading the newspaper and began to read a letter from his father.
It was then that Narcissa noticed his face frown and his eyes widen in surprise.
Something rather unusual for a Malfoy who was always refined, no matter the situation.
"Lucius, is everything alright, what happened?" asked Narcissa, knowing it must be something very important for him to react like this.
Lucius seemed to react to what Narcissa said and quickly recovered, returning to his elegant and calm posture.
Then, without replying, he took the letter from his father and passed it to Narcissa calmly.
Narcissa took the letter in confusion and began to read.
After a while, her eyes widened in shock.
"This can't be true!" she muttered, but Lucius heard her.
"I agree with you..., but apparently our dear Severus has been doing quite a few things since he finished his fifth year at Hogwarts..." Lucius said calmly as he took his cup of tea and sipped it elegantly and calmly, almost making it seem as if he didn't care in the slightest about the situation.
But Narcissa knew him and she knew that he was just as surprised as she was.
They both knew that Severus was a half-blood.
Although he didn't usually talk about it as he was ashamed of his situation, all they knew was that he was a relative of a wizarding house.
They both knew that since every Slytherin usually went through a background check and although Severus had no history in the magical world, he was a half-blood.
Severus may never have had an inheritance test, but Slytherin had their methods of knowing if someone was a pureblood, half-blood or muggle-born.
Severus was clearly a half-blood and everyone thought he never said anything about his house because he was ashamed of his situation.
Now Lucius and Narcissa knew the reason.
They hadn't suspected anything a few weeks ago the moment they read "Severus Prince" in the news, they never thought it was the "Severus" they knew.
But if Abraxas Malfoy was saying that Severus Snape really did become the Prince heir, then they knew it was true.
Apparently, Abraxas had found a small, old announcement about a young girl named Eileen Prince marrying a Muggle named Tobias Snape and later an announcement saying that she had given birth to a son.
Severus' mother, Eileen Snape, formerly known as Eileen Prince had been erased from the magical world and her family tree, so no one thought that his mother was in fact the daughter of the former Lord Prince.
But if there's one thing the Malfoy's are good at, it's finding things out and gathering information by various means...
Usually money.
And the Malfoy's clearly succeeded as they found out all about the Prince, even the things that Prince had buried with great care...
Like a disinherited daughter who had supposedly...
Died.
"Looks like that littlesmart somehow kept a secret like this and now inherited his legacy," Lucius commented, he didn't know whether to be angry or proud of how well Severus had gone unnoticed all this time.
"Merlin..., I never expected this to happen..." sighed Narcissa with a headache, she was happy for Severus, but the Princes were a family that supported the Ministry.
Although they knew that the Prince had recently adopted a neutral attitude to the whole current conflict.
"Yes, I must say it took me by surprise myself. It seems the Ministry didn't take too well the neutrality of the Prince's, otherwise, that article wouldn't have reached my father so quickly..." Lucius replied.
He knew that Severus had managed to piss off some important people in the Ministry and now they were taking revenge behind the scenes with little tricks.
'Classic...' thought Lucius.
"Lucius, what does your father pretend to do now?"
"Oh, I'm sure he's already thinking about how to benefit from all this, and I'm sure it must be something he needs my help with..." he answered.
"Otherwise he would just wait for me to find out on my own that Severus Prince was my dear friend..." Lucius added.
"Looks like it's going to be a... complicated conversation," Narcissa said.
" It will be, I don't doubt it, but there's not much I can do about it. Now all that remains is to wait and see how my father decides to proceed..."
"But knowing him, he may want Severus to enlist the Prince family in the cause, leaving his state of neutrality in the matter, so that he can gain even more favour with the Dark Lord..."
"I know, you don't need to say anymore," Narcissa sighed worriedly.
'In Merlin's name, Severus, I thought I shouldn't worry!' complained Narcissa internally.
"You don't have to worry so much, Narcissa, my father never included Severus as part of the Death Eaters and now he probably won't say anything to the Dark Lord until he is sure that Severus will be part of his followers" commented Lucius trying to calm her.
"Lucius, if this information has reached your father, it will not take much time before it reaches others and many Death Eaters know about Severus, if they tell the Dark Lord about him, he will be very unhappy and not only Severus is at risk, but your father as well for not mentioning him sooner," Narcissa informed him.
She knew that Severus had just dropped a bloody bomb on the entire magical world that would make a huge explosion.
'Damn it, Severus, didn't you tell me you wouldn't do anything to put yourself in danger?' complained Narcissa.
'If you want to overcome or impress Lily, this wasn't the way Severus!' Narcissa growled in her head again.
She naturally didn't approve of Severus' love for that mudblood.
But she could never get Severus to see sense about it, Severus' devotion to the mudblood Evans was unwavering.
Though from Narcissa's perspective, the Evans girl treated him like a house elf who did whatever she asked and pursued her constantly.
When Narcissa discovered that Severus and Evans were no longer friends, she was very happy for her friend.
But when she discovered the reason behind it all, she nearly threw up from how much her stomach churned with anger, disgust, disappointment, sadness, and worry.
The news that Snape had practically begged the bloody mudblood had reached her, he had gone so far as to wait for her outside Gryffindor tower for many hours, enduring taunts and insults from everyone.
He had lost all decorum as a Slytherin, he was a disgrace to his house.
Even though Narcissa was disappointed and angry with Severus for this, she didn't blame him, she knew that in his eyes the mudblood was everything.
If there was something Severus had ever shown any real interest in it was her, the dark arts and potions, nothing else really entered his eyes.
And if there was one to blame it was the little mudblood Evans, she was convinced it was all her fault.
The only thing the mudblood Evans did right was to keep Severus away from her constant manipulations.
Narcissa still smirked at the fact that he had begged her forgiveness and she hadn't forgiven him.
She knew that Severus had always instantly forgiven her no matter the situation and usually even he ended up apologising or changing the subject even though Evans had been the one who had said or done the wrong thing.
All because he didn't want to lose that mudblood Evans and he was a despicable git for being so hopelessly in love with her.
But Narcissa couldn't help but admire Severus's mind despite all that, the cunning he had, his ability to learn and see things from such a different perspective than others, he was quite unique.
And above all, he was a great friend who, unlike all other men, never took an interest in her or wanted to approach her with ulterior motives.
As Narcissa thought about all this, Lucius processed it all for a few moments.
This news had shaken him deeply and he hadn't been able to finish processing all the consequences of the whole thing.
It was then that Lucius quickly found the positive side to all of this.
'Hmm, if my father fails to convince Severus and loses the Dark Lord's favour, it will be my time to act quickly to re-establish the Malfoy name in the eyes of the Dark Lord and then I could be the next head sooner than I had planned...' thought Lucius with a faint smile that confused Narcissa.
"Don't worry, this situation may benefit us, for now, it's best to stay out of it and be spectators. I won't go to my father, he will have to deal with this issue, but it doesn't affect us, so you can rest assured," Lucius commented.
He already planned to use this golden opportunity to the fullest.
'My father has already lived a long and full life as head of Malfoy house, it's time for a new generation to replace him...' thought Lucius with stars in his eyes and a faint smile.
While Narcissa was still worried about Severus.
She quickly picked up a letter and began to write to him angrily.
'You'd better explain yourself to me!' growled Narcissa.
Lucius, on the other hand, was not worried about Severus.
He had come to appreciate Severus and share like-minded thoughts, the little Slytherin was great company and over time they had come to get on very well and trust each other.
But still, they were both Slytherins and he knew Severus understood that he wouldn't risk his head for him, any more than he expected him to.
It was a golden rule between them and it kept their friendship going.
They both benefited from each other and when the opportunity arose they supported each other, and if it was a problematic situation, each had to handle the situation in their own way.
As with Potter and his group, Lucius never intervened because it was up to Severus to overcome those problems, but he helped him integrate into Slytherin and gain contacts that would allow him to move on.
Just as young Severus had helped him in more than one situation with his incredible ideas and accurate recommendations.
It was the perfect relationship, and even though Severus was in love with a mudblood, Lucius hadn't decided to intervene.
It was Severus' problem and he knew that the bloody idiot wouldn't react well if he said anything against her, so Lucius never mentioned her so as not to anger his friend.
But certainly, he was very happy to know that the friendship between Severus and the mudblood was over.
Although he was pissed off and disgusted by the situation and the way Severus reacted, but it was certainly made up for by the fact that Evans was no longer in Severus' life.
-Prince Manor, 11 August 1976
Today Severus was up early to organize both the Prince Potions factory and the newly created Skywalker Industries.
Severus had spent the last few weeks very busy on one particular project.
But he had finally completed it.
He had created the first droid on this planet, even though it was pretty basic, it had all the functions that Severus currently needed it to have.
It took much longer than he thought it would, as it was not easy to create every piece of technology from scratch.
In fact, he had to thank his ability as an Oclumen this time, thanks to his occlumency he was able to remember perfectly part by part what he had to do, otherwise, it would have taken him much longer.
But now that he had managed to create one, it was only a matter of time before Skywalker Industri began to create the technology he wanted.
So far he hadn't started any major technology projects because Severus didn't trust anyone to do the work, but with droids, he would not have to worry.
Skywalker was going to be a techno-cop, but that didn't mean he was going to introduce everything he created to this world.
No... Severus would only create a few basic things to make a lot of money so he could continue to privately create the technology he needed just for himself.
These days were quite exhausting for him, Severus had to talk and negotiate constantly with many people he did not know and did not care to know.
But it was important to obtain more income to advance even faster in his projects.
Another thing that was tiring Severus was that he had not stopped receiving letters from owls from many noble houses or wizards who wanted something.
Many important wizards from different parts of the wizarding world approached him for business.
Yes... he sometimes regretted being Lord Prince.
"Huh, Narcissa?" wondered Severus, seeing a letter that had arrived from his friend.
He took the letter and read it intrigued.
'So the Ministry wants to play this way...'
'Well..., I should have guessed from the politicians, Obi Wan always told me to watch out for them...'
'Even Padme was quite a danger when she got serious' Severus thought with a smile as he reminded Padme and the debt she owed as a senator.
Back to the letter, Narcissa wasn't at all happy with Severus, he got a lot of complaints from her and she asked him for a good explanation as to why he acted like a...
"Gryffindor?"
'I can't deny that a part of me was offended by that comparative.'
'But I also can't explain to Narcissa that I can now take on the problems that come with being Lord Prince'
'No one would believe that in less than two months someone would change so much.'
But even so, Severus tried to explain to her that she didn't have to worry about him, it wouldn't be easy to convince her, but it was all he could do.
Currently, the situation in Britain was getting worse every day, Voldemort and his followers were becoming more aggressive.
The situation was critical and both sides wanted all the support they could get, so his position as head of the Prince's was a dangerous one if he had no way to defend himself.
Even though many houses adopted a Neutral attitude to everything that was going on, gradually the pressure was getting to the point where they had to unite on one side.
After answering Narcissa's letter, he also saw that he had received one from Lucius.
He didn't say much, he just congratulated him for inheriting a fortune like the Prince's, even joking about how he 'kept' the secret hidden for so long.
Severus went on to read a few more letters and went on to see the progress of his new technology industry.
At Skywalker Industries, things were currently going very well even though it was a new company.
Severus was already making good money.
A few days ago, he introduced the new portable computers with very advanced software for the people of this planet.
But because it was so easy to use, people could now have access to a small computer to do all kinds of things.
And this was clearly a success.
Severus had been careful to make all the programs on the computer very simple to use but useful so that everyone could access it.
He even made sure to create a tutorial for those who had never seen a computer before, which explained everything steps by step.
And in just a few days after being on the market, the computer became a success, earning Skywalker Industries a huge amount of money every day.
Many companies wanted to copy Severus' idea, but no one could replicate the programs he had created because they were made with technology too advanced for anyone on this planet to understand.
Even though the external part of the computer was quite simple to copy, a good computer without all the programs he had added was useless.
Skywalker Industri's computer became the most desirable financial tool and began to be mass produced and sold all over the world.
Skywalker Industries also made and saved a lot of money thanks to the metal smelters they had acquired some time ago.
The best thing about having their own metal smelters was that they didn't have to buy the materials they needed to make the computers from others.
"Severus, we're back," Hermione announced as always did when she entered Prince Manor.
Severus got up quietly and went to greet Draco and Hermione.
"I see you're back early today, so, did you bring what I asked for?" said Severus without bothering to ask them where they went, he never asked such things.
"Yes, this time it was easy we got everything," replied Hermione handing him a magical bag with everything he had told them to buy.
Severus nodded.
"Severus, this... I was planning on doing some things, would you mind if Hermione replaced me today at the magic practice?" asked Draco.
"Sure, but tomorrow will be double time, I still have a lot of questions that you have to answer," Severus said and Draco nodded.
Hermione looked at Draco angrily since he never asked her if she could replace him.
'Idiot, I may as well have plans for the day' Hermione complained mentally, but said nothing, she would discuss it privately with Draco later.
Lately, the two of them had had several problems and disagreements.
It almost seemed as if Draco had slowly returned to his old attitude towards her.
Hermione knew it had to do with him finally getting used to this time and no longer needing to be around her to feel more secure and calm.
She wasn't going to deny that it hurt and annoyed her a little that it was like this, but she knew she couldn't hold him back, he was moving on with his life in this time and she had to do the same.
"Hermione," Severus called to her.
"Yes?"
"After we eat we start," Severus said quietly and left to continue with his things.
The instant he was gone, Hermione stared at Draco.
And he just grinned unabashedly.
"You know, if you want me to do something for you, you should ask me first, that was very rude," Hermione said rather irritated.
"Oh, please Hermione, if you love magic practice with Severus," said Draco.
"What's more, I see it as me doing you a favour," he added.
"You...!" Hermione was furious now.
"Hey, I gave you more time to talk like an Eclectus all you want. We both know Severus is the only one who really listens to you when you talk that much" said Draco jokingly.
'This bastard!' thought Hermione angrily.
'Lily pays attention to me too' she groaned internally but didn't say so.
"You're such an idiot!"
"I only have good intentions" smirked Draco.
Hermione rolled her eyes at Draco's cheek.
-Prince Manor, 14 August 1976
Hermione studied Draco and Severus who were sitting across from her.
Severus as usual was reading something while Draco looked at her bored.
Draco ran his hand through his now black hair and his grey eyes met hers warily and he sighed deeply.
" Alright let's get this over quickly, what do you want Hermione?"
"I agree with Draco on this, why did you ask the three of us to get together?" asked Severus putting aside the papers he was reading to stare with his dark eyes at Hermione.
"Alright, if we're supposed to be family, shouldn't we know things about each other?" asked Hermione staring at the two of them so as not to miss their reactions.
"Huh, so much trouble for that?" complained Draco.
"I'm serious, Draco. If we're supposed to be siblings, we're going to need to know the simple things about each other, don't you think?" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"And Severus as our cousin should be aware of some things as well," she added.
"That's true..., I promised to integrate the two of you as my distant cousins, and not knowing anything about each other can be problematic once we are at Hogwarts. Many will ask questions about our relationship" nodded Severus with a sigh.
He'd rather not waste time on this, but talking and clearing some things up now would save him trouble later.
Hermione was slightly surprised, however, she was extremely pleased that Severus had come to the same conclusion she had come to a few days ago.
"Well, then... we should just get to know each other a little, shouldn't we?" said Draco, he had expected Severus to refuse, but since he didn't refuse, he had no choice now.
Besides, he could also admit that this actually makes sense, it had happened to them before when they had talked to Lily.
Hermione and Draco just had to avoid talking about anything too personal, but that wouldn't work forever.
Even Severus knew that in order for this to work and not bring him any more trouble, they needed to get to know each other and get some things straight.
Draco and Hermione would have to exclude a lot of things from their lives, though.
"Great...the first thing is to know our family history and how it relates to Severus and the Prince," Hermione said and frowned, crossing her legs under her.
This was something they would have to be very careful about.
After talking about this for a few moments, the three of them came to an agreement and created a convincing backstory.
"Now what?" Draco asked bored.
"What else do you guys want to know?" asked Hermione.
'Nothing' Severus and Draco thought but didn't say.
Hermione looked at them and rolled her eyes knowing what they were thinking.
She shrugged, blowing a loose curl from her eyes, and waited quietly for one of them to say something,
"Well let's get this over with, tell us what you have in mind, Hermione," Severus said.
"Hmm, how about we just say a few things about us, anything we can use to mention in case we get asked questions?" she suggested.
"This is silly," Draco complained.
"Yes, but neither you nor I suggested anything, so we get this done and finished," said Severus causing Draco to frown but nod in agreement, while Hermione only chuckled lightly.
Severus and Draco watched Hermione laugh and she froze with a blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Right, tell me both of you when your birthday is," Severus said downplaying Hermione's amusement.
"That's a good start, I'm sixteen and seventeen next September 19th" nodded Hermione.
" Sure..., I'm 16 and will be 17 on the 5th of June," said Draco bored.
"I'm 16 and I will be 17 on the 9th of January, now let's move on..."
And so the three of them spent some time telling each other some basic things to know about each other before they entered Hogwarts.
-Ministry of Magic Britain, 21 August 1976
The third week of August was the day Hermione and Draco Prince were to meet personally with the Headmaster of Hogwarts for their house selection.
Draco hadn't told Hermione, but his insides were in knots by the time they arrived at the Ministry for the sorting.
And no, it wasn't just because they were going to meet Albus Dumbledore.
It was because Draco was a Slytherin, it was part of who he was, but he knew that the moment he became a Slytherin he wouldn't be able to stay with Hermione.
Draco would cut his tongue out before admitting it, but he still needed her.
Things had gotten a lot better for the two of them since they'd arrived, but they were both lonely at this time.
Well... sure Severus knew about it, but he couldn't relate to what they'd been through.
Besides, Severus wasn't interested in getting close to them, in these two months even though their relationship had improved a lot, he was still quite lonely.
Lily on the other hand was the opposite, since she knew that they were alone, she wanted to integrate them by all means.
No doubt Lily was a great help for both of them to feel more comfortable during this time.
If Draco had been asked before if he would go to a Muggle's house, he would laugh at that, but things had changed, and in times of need... blood no longer mattered.
Besides, to Draco, Lily was much more tolerable than Hermione, and that earned her a lot of points.
Draco took a lazy breath as he made his way to the front of the Ministry room where they would be selected, he could feel Hermione's eyes boring into the back of his head.
He turned his head to give her a bored look but didn't when he saw how she was biting her nails from nervousness and anticipation of what would happen.
Draco was the first of the two to be classified and he expected that for Hermione it would look like he was going to be classified in the house he was supposed to be in.
Though he could also be wrong and her nervousness was just about seeing Dumbledore again.
Even though the old man was a total manipulator, he never had any malicious intentions...
Draco even admired him a little for everything he did and how he did it.
'Yeah, no doubt Dumbledore was more Slytherin or Ravenclaw than Gryffindor' thought Draco with a sigh.
"Are you ready?" asked Hermione as they both stood in front of the door to the room where Dumbledore was waiting for them.
Draco took a deep breath and nodded.
She saw him give him a long look but knocked on the door.
"Come in," said a voice, but it wasn't Dumbledore's.
No...
Hermione could recognise that voice.
It was Professor McGonagall's.
When she opened the door and they both walked in first.
Hermione stared at Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall standing next to him.
She saw them look at her and Draco with intrigue, suspicion, and caution.
There was no sign of this on their faces, but Hermione could see it in their eyes.
'Maybe because of our surname like Prince?' thought Hermione.
Dumbledore already knew that Severus was the new Prince heir and that the two of them were his 'distant cousins'.
Hermione knew that the Headmaster would have a lot of doubts but it was nothing new that something like the Prince situation would happen, it was just weird with Severus being involved.
That was why she wanted to be sorted back into Gryffindor, she wasn't blind to the blind bias and favouritism Dumbledore showed to Gryffindor house.
But that could be an advantage as it was a way to gain his trust, it was difficult being cousins to Severus Prince the greatest enemy of the Marauders, Dumbledore's favourites, but it was possible being in Gryffindor.
"Please take a seat," said the headmaster kindly.
Dumbledore looked much younger and that made them feel quite strange.
He was the Headmaster they had known for years, but there was something slightly different about him.
Draco was the first to settle into one of the two empty chairs.
Hermione did the same, they had already agreed that with Severus knowing about them being from the future was enough, and they weren't going to comment on this any further.
But they still had to gain Dumbledore's trust and support along with the Order.
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Draco Prince and Miss Hermione Prince," Dumbledore said with a smile.
"I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, but you should know that already, I trust Severus has kept you up to date with everything you need to know about Hogwarts," he added.
"Well, Severus helped us with a lot of things, but he's not the type to talk a lot..." replied Hermione.
"If we have anyone to thank for telling us all about Hogwarts, it's a young witch we met recently," she added, causing Dumbledore's eyes to widen slightly in curiosity.
"Oh, I see. May I know the name of this young witch?" asked the Headmaster intrigued.
"Lily Evans, she even helped us to get ready for the exams and integrate a little better" Hermione replied, she had already expected him to ask, it was her intention for him to know this.
When Hermione said that name, a glint appeared in Dumbledore's eyes but it was only for a few seconds.
While McGonagall's eyes did widen, she couldn't quite conceal her surprise.
"Well... am I not surprised, Miss Evans is always willing to help, especially if they are future classmates. You should know that you were both lucky to cross paths with one of the most outstanding students at Hogwarts," said McGonagall proud of her student.
Hermione smiled slightly at that, McGonagall was the same way with her.
"So young Miss Evans..., a very lovely and brilliant young lady no doubt," nodded Dumbledore his gaze was no longer as wary as before, but there was still intrigue and doubt.
"So... what do you think if we start?" asked the Headmaster.
Draco and Hermione both nodded quickly.
Draco was the first, he had decided not to participate in the conversation with Dumbledore, it was extremely awkward for him and he trusted that Hermione knew what she was doing, so just like when they met Severus, he was mostly a spectator.
McGonagall's lips twisted upwards as she held the Sorting Hat to the young wizard's head.
She was intrigued to know the houses of these two mysterious young wizards who had recently arrived in Britain as Severus' cousins and furthermore had met Lily Evans.
'Here we go' thought Draco feeling the cloth of the hat lowered over his head.
Albus Dumbledore was not as old as some people thought, that is, he was not 200 years old.
He was, however, old, he was already 96 years old.
He had already lived for many years and had experienced things that most people still alive could not remember from memory.
He had also defeated one of the most formidable wizards in the history of the magical world, earning him the respect of the entire magical community as the most powerful white wizard.
But Albus was no longer on his best days, he was now a withered, old, and wise man who only hoped to live a quiet and peaceful life at Hogwarts, where he cherished his fondest memories.
But life did not grant him that luxury.
First, a young girl named Myrtle was killed by a basilisk and a young half-giant was expelled for what Albus knew for certain was not his misdeed.
And now he was about to witness the start of another war led by one of his own alumni who was also leading other alumni who were also at Hogwarts.
It seemed that Dumbledore's dream would not be fulfilled after all.
But still, he rejoices in the little things that happen in his life, in the lives of his students, at Hogwarts, and in the magical world.
Today was one of those moments.
Dumbledore just smiled and looked intrigued at the two young Prince students who were being selected for their future houses.
The Ministry had personally told Albus about Severus becoming the new Prince heir.
It was a great surprise for him to know this and, although he was shocked, surprised, and a little intrigued, he was mostly relieved and happy for young Severus.
He thought that the young man might now have a different life, he was not blind, he knew all that Severus had been through at home with his Muggle father.
Dumbledore also knew of Severus' potential from the day he entered Hogwarts.
But he also knew that Severus Snape was a very complex young man who had been through many things that made him very unstable.
He understood this completely and knew that the boy was quite similar to the old student he had at Hogwarts, a young man Albus had distrusted years before.
Both were intelligent and talented, far surpassing the other students, but they were also very drawn to the Dark Arts, to the point of loving it as if it were their refuge from the real world.
They were both half-bloods with a complicated and sad family history, who hated and despised Muggles because of their Muggle parents, this made the hatred and darkness grow inside their hearts beyond what was possible to remedy.
But they also had their differences.
One was handsome, dashing, sociable, and used his charisma to achieve many of his goals.
Whereas in Severus' case it was different, his appearance did him no favours and his attitudes less so, so he preferred the loneliness of his books for social bonding.
Albus didn't know which was worse, someone who sought to use others whom he considered inferior or someone who simply wanted to be alone while seeing others as inferior.
One became a dark lord who sought blood purity along with his "followers" as an excuse to seek to achieve his desired goals.
His darkness led him down the path of power and domination of others.
Whereas Severus could be even worse, he could end up wanting to kill Muggles and wizards alike if the darkness consumed him.
His darkness could lead him to want to destroy everything without caring about anyone or anything.
But Severus had something that his former student and current Dark Lord did not and that was love.
And it was the kind of love that was only seen in very special situations.
Dumbledore knew that young Severus' feelings were so strong that if he had to use the darkest and most horrible methods to keep the one he loved alive, he would do it without any conscience.
And that scared him because Dumbledore knew that sooner or later Severus and Lily's personalities and very different ideals would clash and no one would know what would happen to Severus.
He wasn't worried about Lily, he knew that the young woman was an angel.
What frightened him was the fact that Severus was a bomb, one that no one could control and a very dangerous one at that.
And although Severus was obviously a brilliant young man, his mental state depended on one person and that sooner or later would bring chaos.
In fact, what Albus knew would happen sooner or later did happen.
Severus and Lily ended up separating, and young Severus didn't seem to take it well from what he saw in his fifth year.
And now that Voldemort was becoming more and more powerful, with a terrifying charisma that interested wizards all over the world and was looking for young wizards to join him in some kind of mad attempt to cleanse the world of Muggles, Dumbledore could not trust or worry about an unstable bombshell that depended on a single person.
He had to prepare the next generation that would fight and stop Voldemort.
And Severus was not part of them, as his aims were not directed against the Dark Lord, but on his side.
Still, he was glad to know that he had not yet gone over to the dark side after his separation from Lily and that he had been able to move on with his life by obtaining his family inheritance.
That would give him new goals.
It was a relief to Dumbledore to know that Severus had adopted a neutral position as the Prince heir.
The Ministry might not like this, but Albus knew better than anyone that this was the most that could be expected of Severus, he would not be another ally of the Dark Lord to worry about, at least for now.
And now that Albus knew that his two distant cousins had met Lily Evans and had adopted a good relationship with the young witch, he was sure that these two young people could be the key to many things to come.
Now it only remained to wait and see how things would develop at Hogwarts, since Dumbledore presumed that these two young people had not mentioned their meeting with Lily to Severus.
And Lily probably didn't know that her childhood friend was the cousin of the two young Prince half siblings either.
'Hmm... So many possible scenarios...' Dumbledore thought with a smile, the things he couldn't fully anticipate were the ones he liked the most.
