Meanwhile, back in Spinner's End the effects of his visit were quick to take effect. The boy's dark brown eyes clouded before turning a deep black as though someone had squirted ink in them, a small serpent-like scar appeared on his forehead on the previously unblemished baby soft skin. His whole demeanour changed, the previously happy smiling child was now sullen and unhappy.
The change in his parents was equally quick to take effect as his mother picked herself up and moved to comfort her son as though in a trance, though she still comforted him, gone was the gentle warmth that defined her personality and she tended to him as one dead to the world.
Tobias meanwhile seemed oblivious to his family and walked straight past them, driven by a sudden inexplicable desire driving him towards the local pub where he drowned his sorrows and soon forgot about his young wife and son before returning home blind drunk.
The effects of Voldermort's visit were also felt by the wider community. It was as though Spinner's End and the surrounding area had been cursed with bad luck, as a dark cloud seemed to constantly loom over the street. The once prosperous mill that employed many locals found that business gradually dried up, leading to the owners laying off many of the staff and affecting the mood of the remaining workers, Tobias Snape included. The area slowly became more run down as more families abandoned Spinner's End in search of work and the Snape home became more run down as all thoughts of fixing up the family home disappeared from Tobias's mind.
The increasing lack of work only served to blacken Tobias's mood and drive him to spend more time at the pub, spending much of his money getting blind drunk until he staggered home late. A direct result of this was that he became increasingly short-tempered with his wife and son and it did not take much to cause him to lash out at them.
Eileen in turn became increasingly withdrawn into her own little world, tending to her son's basic needs without thought or feeling neglecting the finer points such as keeping him clean and well clothed and fed not that she had much choice in such matters, as she was never left with much money from her husband. She became more reclusive, venturing out only when absolutely necessary to run errands and buy groceries.
The one thing that brought her out of this trance-like state Severus noted growing up, was when he mentioned anything to do with magic. She would smile fondly at him, her eyes would light up and she would sit him down and tell him stories of her childhood growing up with magic and attending school in a magical castle.
He was entranced by this world of magic and the idea of escaping his gloomy life in Cokesworth and he treasured those rare moments when he glimpsed the real person behind his Mum and sometimes if he was really lucky and his father was not around she would even retrieve the old school trunk that she'd carefully hidden and show him the contents, a world of hidden treasures including her books, robes, gobstones and perhaps most importantly a real wand.
These moments made him more determined to become a powerful wizard. He clung to the dream of leaving the dreary world of Cokesworth and going to Hogwarts, a magical world far away from his father. He felt that surely when he learned to utilise his magic he would be able to bring back the smile to his mother's face and maybe even learn how to heal her.
Unfortunately, his father's reaction was the complete opposite and he learned early on that mentioning anything remotely to do with magic was a sure way to get a sound thrashing either with his fists or more likely the sting of his belt tanning his hide.
Of course, the effect on the Snape family was not lost on the community. Neighbours who had once stopped to coo and admire the baby and chat to the happy young couple soon noticed the change and started going out of their way to avoid them like the plague. As their behaviour became increasingly strange and withdrawn whispered rumours soon began to fly, Tobias became well known for his increasingly aggressive and drunken manner at the local pub, leading many to speculate at how he treated his wife and son, deducing that the boy must be abused yet no one intervened, choosing instead to avoid the family.
And so in this manner, Severus Snape grew up into a lonely boy deprived and neglected. Rejected and mocked by the other children, looked down on by the adults and overlooked at school he was left to his own devices more often than not and spent much of his free time away from the depressing atmosphere of the house as soon as he was old enough. His was a lonely existence, he couldn't wait till he was old enough to leave Spinner's End and would often hang around the local park or library, or at the playground provided it was empty of children to make fun of him. So far, Voldermort's experiment was proceeding as planned but there was one thing he had not counted for one thing which may yet save the young boy.
Love
Reviews:
James Birdsong:
Thank you, I'm glad you think so
