Dear readers,

another chapter for you to enjoy. Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, favoriting and/or following my story. You are truly awesome. ;)

Have a nice late Sunday,

Vani12

Chapter 15 – Heartbreaks can be caused by your mum's lies, I!

Kitchen, Prince Cottage, Cornwall, December 1978

Severus chuckled to himself as he accioed a chopping board and a sharp knife to chop the vegetables. He loved to cook, although he knew that it sounded weird for a Potions Master. Sure, cutting volatile ingredients into tiny bits and adding them to your potion in the right order sounded a lot like going through with your cooking recipe, but creating healing potions and cooking a delicious meal were to totally different arts. Hell, his mum who was a genius with potions and one of the key reasons for Prince Potions recent creativity in creating new potions had been rubbish in the kitchen until she decided to go into a cooking curse some years ago. She couldn't turn her creativity behind a cauldron into creativity in pans and pots and only managed to cook delicious meals with a lot of concentration, dedication, and love. Well, some of her horrendous cooking experiments might have been created due to her depression, unhappiness, and longing to create potions again. In retrospective, Severus suspected that Eileen hadn't felt the love and passion for cooking for an abusive bastard of a husband who had only given her enough money to cook simple, awkwardly mixed together dishes. Money had always been tight, thus Eileen had had to stretch the meat and balanced veggies in their meals. Besides that, she had always seemed so depressed while cooking and Severus had felt that she had missed her old life in the Wizarding world terribly. All her creativity, spark of life and happiness had been snuffed by her abusive asshole of a husband.

Severus couldn't be cross with her that she had decided to close herself off of all emotions and only function like a robot in these circumstances. Sure, on her good days when Tobias had been away on one of his alcohol and gambling filled trips in the Manchester bars, Eileen had managed to entertain Severus with fabulous stories of Hogwarts and cook him a delicious meal, Chicken Tikka Masala, one of his favorite meals till today because it reminded him of beautiful days spent exchanging tales of magical places, creating potions recipes and chilling in front of the TV watching one silly comedy in the arms of his mum. On these days, Severus had felt truly loved by his mum and optimistic about their futures. Sometimes, he had prayed to Merlin before bed to free them from Tobias and grant them a life full of magic, happiness, and love. Severus shook his head. He shouldn't be reminiscing about his unhappy childhood and his mum's past depression. Merlin, he shouldn't think about his mum on his honeymoon anyway. Yeah, he loved his mum and had learned to forgive her for staying with the abusive ass Tobias for so long thanks to his therapy, but she really shouldn't be a topic on his honeymoon. Shaking off his haunted past, Severus focused his mind on happier thoughts. He would spoil his beautiful wife with the best ratatouille of her life and make love to her for the rest of the day.

He still couldn't fathom his blissful happiness. Sometimes, he awakened from horrible nightmares where Olivia was attacked by a dark figure and hurt badly. He would be glued to the spot with some spell, unable to protect his love and forced to watch her wither in pain while a haunting voice mocked him for his weakness. Every time, his dreams were hunted by a vision of losing his beautiful wife and being unable to keep her safe, he startled awake with a heart-wrenching sob, searched frantically for the body of Olivia beside him, embraced her tightly and tried to slow down his hammering heartbeat. Olivia would move closer to him, soothe him with gentle caresses on his back and whisper sweet nothingness and reassuring phrases – "It was only a bad dream, love", "I will never leave you", "I will always love you" – in his ear. She would tuck his sweat-plastered locks behind his ear, kiss him gently on the lips and be there for him. Salazar, Olivia was the light of his life and he was in bliss every minute he could spend with her. Thus, he vowed to never hurt her or diminish the spark in her eyes. He would always strive for making her happy, feel loved and protected. Severus scolded his buzzing thoughts to concentrate on his task at hand for now. Olivia loved his ratatouille with rice and was famished after their rounds of passionate lovemaking. He should really up his game and enchant her with her favorite meal in some minutes.

Hence, the Prince heir looked around in their light, homey kitchen for his herbs and veggies. They had designed their kitchen according to their wishes when they decided to turn Prince Cottage into their home in Great Britain last summer. Olivia loved to let her creativity run wild in interior design and decorate every square meter of their home. She always managed to surprise him with her keen eye for colors, materials and tasteful decoration. They were both driven by the desire to turn Prince Cottage into a modern, friendly and light-flooded home where they could chill out after stressful terms at University and spend lovely days. Thus, they had decided to paint the walls as well as the ceiling in a light lilac in their open kitchen and lay out a warm oak vinyl floor. With the help of some nifty home design spells, they had removed a wall and installed huge light grey mirror finish windows in their new spacious living-eating-area. They had transfigured the old white country house kitchen into a stylish light grey mirror finish kitchen whose highlight was undoubtedly the kitchen island in the middle of their open kitchen where a warm oak worktop provided space to chop ingredients and hosted their cooker. On one side of the island, they had room to store their cutlery, pans, and pots, on the other side of the island, they had room to stow away their china in three display cabinets.

They had chosen to install a high-grade steel exhaust hood above the cooker and a light grey mirror finish kitchen unit for the fridge, baking oven and storing of food on the right side of the kitchen island. Behind the kitchen island, two light grey mirror finish floor units were placed that hosted a high-steel sink, dishwasher, and bin system as well as cupboards for Olivia's beloved Tupperware, electric devices and cooking utensils. On top of the first floor unit, they stored their coffee machine and tea cooking area, whereas they stowed pots with fresh herbs from their herbs garden on top of the second floor unit. Above the second floor unit hung a light grey mirror finish wall cupboard with three glass doors where they stored their glasses and cooking books. Severus inhaled the scent of the fresh rosemary, thyme, sage, and basil. He loved to stand behind the cooker and gaze on the beautiful outline of their patio and garden. Olivia had created a lovely garden full of rose bushes, hydrangea, chrysanthemums, and honeyworts as well as cherry and apple trees that were kept in order by a house-elf whenever Severus and Olivia weren't at Prince Cottage. Severus loved to relax on their patio lounge furniture with his beautiful wife resting on his chest and cuddling him like her favorite teddy bear under a sky full of stars.

Strangely enough, he also enjoyed hosting a relaxed barbecue for their close friends and family on their rattan patio furniture filled with laughter, entertaining stories, and delicious meals. At Hogwarts, he had loathed social events and spending time with his friends lounging around in the Slytherin Common Room. He had always feared that the Marauders would make fun of his worn-down clothes, hex his foods or bully him with cutting insults. In Slytherin, he had always felt out of place in a room full of snobby Pure-bloods who talked boastfully about their newest racing brooms, their luxury vacation trips or their parents' cruel regime over their house-elves. Sure, Regulus had always tried to make him feel accepted by engaging him in a debate about the newest defense spells or the rights of magical beings in the Magical world as well as testing his skills at Wizarding chess, but Severus could feel the pitiful gazes of some rich girls, the cruel smirks of some bratty dunderheads as well as the mocking glances of some wannabe heirs at the back of his skull. He had always felt uneasy in the company of his peers and only his new-found status as the Prince heir, improved clothes, hygiene, and self-esteem as well as romance to Olivia Fawley had turned him into some kind of a new admired and respected young academic with potential. Sure, his Slytherin yearmates had still labeled him as the awkward, moody Half-blood who had managed to invent potions and create new dark spells, but they had respected him more for his accomplishments in Dueling and Potions. Some had thought that they could lure him to the dark side and turn him into a promising asset for the effort of their Dark Lord. But thankfully, Olivia and Regulus had rescued him from a dire fate as one of Voldemort's killing and torturing lackeys.

Severus shook his head again in disbelief. Salazar, he had really been some reckless, depressed and love-sick fool in his teens until he had fallen hard for Olivia. He searched the storage cupboard that kept a cool temperature thanks to some nifty charm for his veggies – onions, zucchinis, eggplants, sweet pepper, tomatoes, and garlic – but noticed with a groan that he hadn't stored any zucchinis and eggplants. He scolded himself in his thoughts, "Merlin, how daft can I be to promise my famished wife a ratatouille when I don't have all needed vegetables? Classic. How am I going to spoil her now? I could summon a Prince house-elf to ask him to buy some vegetables in a near store or gather something from my mum's greenhouse, but I don't want to pester them with my demands now. They have worked hard enough for our wedding and I can't summon them every time I forget to buy something. Hence, I will have to apparate to mum myself." He let out an audible sigh, send his Patronus with his message – "I'm at mum's fetching some eggplants and zucchinis for our ratatouille. I will be back in a heartbeat. Love, Severus" – to Olivia, accioed his coat and concentrated on the location of the greenhouse at Prince Manor.

As a legitimate heir, he could apparate in any place of the lavish Prince Manor because its family magic recognized his signature. He had signed in Liv into the wards and given her permission to apparate in and out of the old Manor because she belonged to his family now and would be the mother of his future children. In the distant future, they would inherit Prince Manor with its beautiful garden, spacious greenhouses, and old-money interior design. Sure, his mum had tried her hand at updating the interior design of the Manor in her wing and giving it a more modern touch, but his grandparents had been set on their classical, sophisticated interior design. Thus, the Manor screamed old-money, history and wealth in every pore of its walls. Severus still couldn't believe that he belonged to the wealthy, estimated Prince dynasty because he had always had to live with little money and in a tiny, down-ridden working-class shack. Don't get him wrong, he didn't have anything against hard-working people and admired families for making do with little budget, but he loathed abusive alcoholics like Tobias.

Severus opened his eyes and breathed in the earthy scent of his mother's greenhouse. He guessed that she had stocked it with vegetables, herbs, and fruits to always have fresh, healthy and pesticide-free food at hand. After she had reunited with her parents, she had strived for finding a balance in her potions work and coming to terms with her romance gone bad. Severus suspected that working in nature with plants and trees, dirtying her hands with earth and nurturing something with her magic, was some kind of therapy for her that mended the deep scars in her soul. His mum tended with so much love to her vegetables and fruits, always having a sparkle in her eyes and a content smile on her lips, that it warmed his heart to see her so happy working magic. Eileen Prince was guilt-ridden by her decision to stop practicing magic, stay in a marriage with an abusive alcoholic for so long and give in to her world of despair, violence, and depression without giving a fight and protecting her son. Severus knew that her failures as a mum hunted her in her sleep and that she would always carry them as deep regrets. Hell, sometimes he wanted to vent at his mum for being the passive victim in her marriage for so long and letting him grow up in an environment of fear, screams, and beatings, but his therapy sessions and their joined family therapy helped him to see things from her perspective and acknowledge the love she felt for him.

Eileen Prince would never be a first candidate for mum of the year but he nevertheless loved her to pieces and couldn't imagine a life without her. He knew first hand that mistakes, fears, self-esteem issues, and regrets were only human and forgiveness one of the most admired virtues. But he had chosen to forgive his mum for her past mistakes, love her demons and virtues as well as move on to a happy future because she would always be his mum - the woman who had nurtured him with her love as a babe, read stories to him as a boy and taught him everything she knew in Potions. Severus scanned the greenhouse for the zucchinis and eggplants, discover them to his left and harvested them with some simple charm. He only needed two medium-sized zucchinis and one medium-sized eggplant for his ratatouille and stored them into a transfigured paper bag. He looked with a smile on his face at the ripe vegetables and fruits. His mum really was a genius when it came to gardening spells and nurturing plants in a healthy way - pesticide-free and environmentally sustainable. Everything gleamed in the most natural colors and screamed passion for Herbology. Severus knew that his mum had developed some of the gardening spells herself, registered them at the Ministry and strived for using a minimum of water and natural potions. He smiled like a silly goon. He was so proud of everything his mum had accomplished after her return to the Wizarding world, how hard she worked at improving her mental and physical health, making amends with her family and repairing their strained relationship.

Sometimes, when he observed how easily she handled wandless spells nowadays, how focussed she worked on potions and how effortless she moved through the Wizarding world with a self-confident walk, he nearly sobbed out of happiness. Secretly, he loved the most how tightly she hugged him, how easily she told him "I love you" and how naturally she could laugh with Olivia. He knew that he sounded like a little boy who would give everything for some blissful hours with his loving mum, but Severus didn't care what some dunderheaded male peer would think about his close, affectionate relationship with his mum. They could brand him a "mummy's boy" as long as they liked if it meant that he had a healthy, based on trust, honesty and unconditional love, relationship with his mum. Severus knew that he had promised to return to Liv as soon as possible and if he was being honest he longed to kiss her lips again and admire her beauty in her silver slip dress. But he felt strangely nostalgic today and it sounded rude in his mind if he popped into Prince Manor to harvest some vegetables of his mum's greenhouse without saying hello to her.

Olivia and he had been moved to tears by her touching speech at their wedding, although he could sense that his mum had been strangely melancholic on his wedding day. Sometimes, it almost seemed like she missed someone at her side and was bombarded with painful memories. Severus suspected that she was feeling lonely and missing a special someone at her side who could love her unconditionally and make her happy. Merlin, Severus wished that this special someone would pop into the picture. His mum was only in her late thirties and she deserved to have some happiness in her life. He had noticed that she wore an expensive-looking amber ring and medallion since she had returned to the Wizarding world, but whenever he asked about it her eyes turned misty and she only answered in a broken voice that she had lost someone special to her a long time ago. Severus guessed that she had lost contact with her first love and wished that he knew more to arrange a meeting between them. His mum was clearly in pain and filled with regrets about this mystery man and he could only assume that he might also feel deeply for her and be inclined to clean the air between them. Perhaps, he would also long to reconnect again and give their love a second chance. But playing Armor wasn't Severus style and every time he tried to pry his mum for more about this mystery man, she would start to occlude and change the topic. He knew that she was especially lonely in the days before Christmas and stressed-out with planning their perfect family Christmas dinner at Prince Manor, thus he decided to surprise her with a short visit and cheer her up with a Butterfly Charm.

Hence, he concentrated his mental eye on the image of the hall in front of the living room at Prince Manor, because he suspected that his mum was busy making the finishing touches on her Christmas recipes. In a blink of an eye, he appeared in the art-decorated hall and approached the living room with a Soundless Spell under his steps. He wanted to surprise his mum after all and not spoil his fun. As he approached the room on tip-toes, he suddenly heard deep male laughter. His mum had male company? Perhaps a colleague from work or an old school friend from Hogwarts? She had reacquainted with some of them and loved to catch up. Severus smirked hopefully. With some luck, it even was the mystery man and they were enjoying a cozy tea-time date. He didn't want to ruin everything for his mum by barging into the room like some nosy, crazed dunderhead. Sure, he heard the alarm bells shrill in his head to check this man out, get a glimpse at him and sneak into his mind to make sure that his intentions were noble and he wasn't such an abusive bastard as Tobias, but he wouldn't overstep his mum's privacy like that. She might not have the best track record with men, but he trusted her improved character judgment and new self-esteem to make a sound choice. Plus, she seemed to really like the man judging by her natural laughter. A tiny voice inside his head screamed at him to stay for some minutes and await if his mum still squealed in happiness, but he felt like a Peeping Tom and a little queasy by imaging his mum snogging a man like a teenager on their couch. Thus, he decided with a smile on his lips to return to his waiting wife.

But before he had imagined their beautiful kitchen in his mind, he heard his mum's panicked voice – "He will hate me. He will never be able to forgive me, Orion. I will lose him." Orion? His mum was enjoying a cozy date with Orion Black on her couch? Severus didn't even know that the two had been friends. Orion had always observed him with a strange look in his eyes whenever he had visited Regulus at Grimmauld Place and had only asked after his spell creations and work in Potions. He had guessed that Regulus' dad didn't like him because he was only an impoverished Half-blood, but when he had voiced his uneasy feelings regarding his dad to Regulus, he had only chuckled at him and answered in a bitter voice that his dad acted cold to most strangers and buried his emotions behind a thick barrier due to a broken heart. Could his mum have broken Orion's heart? Could he be the mystery Mr. X? Severus didn't know but he shuddered to think that he would be forced to spend Christmas dinners with Sirius Black in the future and be some kind of step-brother to him. Merlin help him if he would be forced to play nice with his past bully.

Besides that, who was this mystery "he" that would hate her forever? His mum sounded distraught when she uttered these words. And judging by the pitiful sobs and Orion's mumbled soothing words, he could detect that his mum was terrified of losing one of her loved ones. But who could it be? The only males that mattered deeply to her where her dad and him. And he couldn't imagine a reason why his granddad or he could ever hate her. His granddad loved Eileen to pieces, she would always be his little princess and he would always love her. Nothing could destroy this love. And his mum must know that he would never hate her. He loved her with her flaws and strengths and would never cast her out of his life. What had brought up these irrational fears in his mum's mind? He wanted to barge into the living room, comfort his mum and reassure her that he could never hate her when he heard Orion's deep baritone – "Eileen, my love. He will never hate you. He is our son. We will explain everything to him and start fresh as a family." "Our son?" Severus froze. "Do I have an elder brother I'm not aware of? Did my mum bear Orion a son out of wedlock shortly after Hogwarts and give him up for adoption? Did couldn't be true! Surely, she would have uttered something to me, if I had an elder brother. What were these two talking about?" Severus mind tried to find a logic explanation for "our son", but his mind came up blank whenever he tried to make sense of these words.

After some minutes, his mum raised her voice and screamed in a heart-wrenching tone, "Orion, you don't know Severus like I do. He will never forgive me that I have hidden his true identity from him. He will hate me! I let him grow up with an abusive Muggle as a dad while his real dad built up a successful enterprise in the Wizarding world. Merlin, Severus is a Black." His heart stopped. He lost the function of his hands and let his paper bag with the zucchinis and eggplant fall with a loud crash on the marble floor. He felt light-headed. His mind kept replaying the words "Severus", "real dad", "a Black". A panicked voice screamed in his head, "No, this can't be right! I must have misunderstood something. Perhaps, I'm only having an insane dream. Orion Black can't be my biological dad. I don't look anything like him! Mum would have never lied to me my whole life. She has promised in family therapy to always be honest with me. I'm not a Black! I'm a Half-blood with the misfortune of inheriting half of my genes from the bastard Tobias Snape. My birth name is Severus Tobias Snape for Merlin's sake! I don't know what trick my mind is playing on me, but it isn't funny.

"And what if it is true? Mum raised me hidden away in the Muggle world, lied about my true paternity and cuckold the Muggle bastard Tobias because she had gotten pregnant by the married Black heir? Salazar, Sirius would be my brother by blood! No, this can't be right. Mum would never betray me like this! She loves me. She wouldn't deny me to know my true roots and grow up with my real dad." Severus started to pull on his dark locks. He wanted to shut up his inner voice. He slithered down on the ground and noticed in blurry colors, how Orion Black rushed out of the living room with a bewildered look in his eyes. When he spotted him on the ground, a deep pain reflected in his sapphire eyes, Regulus' familiar eyes. He approached him in fast steps, hunched down in front of him and grabbed his frantic pulling hands. When he gazed in his sapphire eyes and felt his calming touch on his back, he knew without a doubt that Orion Black was his biological dad. His mum had lied to him. His whole life was a lie, he was some joke. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how his mum covered her mouth in shock and started to sob uncontrollably. But he didn't care. He felt numb and only registered like a robot how Orion Black forced him into an awkward embrace. He wanted to scream and wrench himself away from his strong arms but he was too exhausted to act. After some minutes in this hug, his heart shattered into million pieces and a deep-red, boiling anger rushed through his veins. How could his mum do this to him? He loathed her.