chapter title is a bit on the nose but whatever

also we've reached 50 chapters! tell me what's your fave arc or anything else you like from this fic! :3

Lord Voldemort couldn't take his eyes away from the sight in front of him.

As Severus Prince's new form solidified, he noted how the young man looked pale as he was, perhaps a bit gangly but his features didn't differ much from the old body. When Severus tried to reach for his robes, the Dark Lord blinked before taking the clothes and helped him step out of the large cauldron. He then banished the unwanted items into the nearby stone chamber that was initially for the basilisk, but left unused.

Nagini slithered close as they went to sit in the gardens, and Lord Voldemort grimaced as the pain at the stump of his left arm throbbed.

"Let me," Severus spoke and he took out one of the many wands he had from his arm holster. Under the moonlight, the Dark Lord realized it was the same wand that once bathed in Caradoc Dearborn's blood, and wondered what Severus would do to his injury.

He certainly didn't expect for the young man to use the blood that ran down his wound to create a set of rune signs onto his own left hand whilst chanting, "Accipio quae tua sunt ac tua mea." Briefly frowning at the meaning of the words, a sudden flash of light then blinded him for a while before he looked down and was utterly surprised at what he witnessed.

The bleeding stump was now on Severus' left arm.

"W- What…" he uttered out in complete astonishment, blinking hard as he stared up at Severus. "W- What did you do?!" From the corner of his eyes, he saw Nagini too had tilted her head in utmost curiosity at the sudden change.

The young man only smiled weakly. "What would the Death Eaters say if they were to see you having a different hand? That their Dark Lord could be harmed and such?" He shook his head, "You are supposed to be an untouchable figure for them. Keep up the act; it's the only way to have their utmost trust."

Lord Voldemort admitted Severus Prince had a point and thus, when Severus held his injured arm out to him, he simply gripped his yew wand tightly before creating a silver hand for the young man. As he worked meticulously on making the suitable replacement, a fond smile crept into his face.

Thanks to the regenerative potion, Severus Prince truly had become his heir.

Severus looked at Eileen Prince's portrait solemnly, blinking his tears away at its unmoving state.

It had been three days since he got his new body and he had to practice using his limbs again to make sure his movements were not awkward if he were to appear again in public. He had been eager to see his mother's painting came to life after his recovery, only for his hopes to come crashing down.

"Forgive us, Severus," his grandfather's portrait said gravely. Beside him, Lux Prince cried her heart out while the other members of the Prince family bowed their heads in silence.

Severus averted their gaze. "…Why?" he croaked out.

"All Princes would have their portraits drawn magically the moment this manor could sense their magical core," Felix explained, "the same went for Eileen. But when we disowned her for… for marrying that Muggle-" he spat the last word "-I had burnt off her portrait. This mansion too, had removed all her presence, including her magical aura."

"When we restored her painting before our death, we… we hadn't taken account for her to not put her presence back into this place, even when you invited her," his grandfather continued, "Perhaps she really thought we had dismissed her for good, merely had come here under your graces."

Severus took time to process the new information. It hadn't seemed far-fetched, considering his own portrait also hummed faintly with his magical aura when he touched it. Running his fingers slowly against the soft canvas, he tried hard to feel anything from Eileen's painting much to no avail.

But as he looked at the frozen onyx eyes, Severus was also happy that her portrait didn't move. Because in the end, Eileen Prince really had valued the Muggle life compared to her actual heritage, even as it led to her death. Taking his own painting, he then went to his room.

His movements were pretty much like a young child's, and Severus almost sighed audibly as he lied on his bed. He looked at the portrait's dour expression before taking his beech wand and tapped the canvas until it flipped like a book.

As Severus observed the changes on the drawings, he felt a tear ran down the corner of his eyes when he pondered for the umpteenth time of what could have happen if Eileen Prince swallowed her pride away and had the courage to return to where she truly belong.

Septimus Prince wondered what it really took to be brave.

He stood by in the living room, watching closely as Severus tried to walk around the place. He was to help the young man if he fell or get him back to his room when he was done for the day.

The Princes all now knew of the young man's Horcruxes, seeing that he had hid a portion of his soul inside Eileen's portrait a few days later. But instead of admonishing Severus for dabbling into such Dark Arts, they only felt glad that their family didn't die out as feared when the whole family tree went grey after the unfortunate incident. And following such tragedy, a few changes were implemented; mainly that no sudden loud noises were to happen in the manor.

Staring at Severus' gloved left hand, Septimus pondered on what drove the young man to live on. Was it to prove that he was stoic as his name implied? Did Severus continue to live only due to his loyalty bond? He had witnessed a few times where Severus would lie down on the floor, unmoved with wide eyes that glazed over and despite everything, Septimus wished for a kindred spirit, one that understood his struggles.

After sending Severus to his room, Septimus gazed at the mirror and ran his fingers along the rope marks around his neck, his mind kept wandering to a single thought.

What could have been if he was to live on? His cousin, Claude had been the one bringing the Prince bloodline to the current heir but as he looked at Severus' numerous achievements, Septimus greatly wished he hadn't sent his parents into an early death with his experiments. That was his greatest secret that he once told Miranda Selwyn, who then exposed it to everyone in Hogwarts during their final year after a fight.

It had felt right to do the deed back then after holding it for a few years, because as much as his Uncle Titus and Aunt Meredith told him over and over that it wasn't his fault, it really was just that. That he really had been the blackest sheep of the Prince family, even more so than Eileen Prince was.

Blinking his tears away, the lonesome ghost then vanished to his haunting place in the gardens.

Death stood quietly in the shadows, observing as its Master's soul looked at himself in the mirror, narrowing its red eyes at the bullet injuries that marred the translucent spirit. The faint marks of Fiendfyre's aftereffects and the old wounds he endured over the years were also present; making the soul looked more tragic than what the body showed.

And the Dark Angel knew that despite having a new body, Severus Prince still felt tainted with the numerous wounds he had as if he was undeserving to have it.

"You know, it is considered brave to ask for help," Death spoke and revealed itself behind its Master after putting up a silencing spell around the bedroom.

The young soul only snorted. "And then what? Have you mock me on my back for… for these?!" he hissed angrily as he gestured at the gunshot wounds, which were bleeding down his incorporeal robes.

The Grim Reaper blinked. "I have seen worse," was all it said and Severus shirked slightly, looking away as if humbled by the statement.

"I want nothing more to relieve you from the burdens of life, but you made your choice to remain in this world," it continued as it traced the wound near the young man's heart, "and as long as your soul is still bound to those objects, I can't do my job."

At that, Severus sighed. "I… I just want to live," he whispered. "But I don't- can't- find the drive for it anymore."

"Are you saying that your friend won't miss you?" Death queried, "What of your family? The basilisk? Tom Riddle?"

"I- All this time, I live for my mother!" Severus shouted. "I just… I want her to have a good life, but why did she reject it again and again? When did I go wrong?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself? There's the Resurrection Stone-"

"That thing is a nightmare; color me surprised that Cadmus Peverell managed to last long with his wife. And… and I don't want to see her break down over seeing my wounds, thank you very much."

If it were to have any eyebrows, Death would have raised them but it was also proud of his resistance to the magical black gemstone. Many had gone mad in wishes to be with their loved ones, however as much as Severus Prince wanted to be in the afterlife, it was nothing more than a wistful thought.

"If you really don't want to live, then be regretful of those murders you did," it deadpanned.

"Tough luck on that one," Severus grumbled and the Grim Reaper laughed, to which it then stopped when the young man continued, "Though, does the Taking Spell can be used on souls too?"

Death simply hummed, impressed with his endless curiosity. "Anything is possible as long as one had the thought of it." Under its breath, it went on, "that's what the Elder Wand is for, anyway."

And so, when its Master asked of Tobias Snape's soul, Death merely smiled.

It was near the end of May, and Francesca Zabini narrowed her eyes at the letter she was about to send away.

Per her boyfriend's words, she had applied for the Potions Mistress (and professor) position in Hogwarts, though she didn't want to be the Head of Slytherin House. Some of them still knew her as the flirtatious girl who would seduce anyone without a care and she wanted to forget that part of her past. She wanted to remain loyal to Severus Snape, and hoped that he would consider getting a job there too.

Though, perhaps she shouldn't wish for it; the Defense against the Dark Arts position was still cursed as ever and she didn't want to imagine what fate might befall Severus if he were to be the subject's professor.

"Mira," Francesca called and her snowy owl flapped its wings before holding its right leg out to her. Smiling, she then tied the letter and sent the bird to its way before looking at another parchment on her table. She banished the item away and after saying a quick goodbye to Vindictus Viridian, she went to Malfoy Manor using the Portkey necklace Severus had given her.

Her heart thumped heavily in her chest as she knocked on the mahogany doors, steeling herself to be brave for what happened next.

She would get the Dark Mark by the great Lord Voldemort himself.

It was no brainer to see who would win the war, with many other creatures also began to join the Dark Lord to ensure their own safety. Though his methods were quite questionable, Francesca believed the powerful wizard only wanted the best for wizarding Britain and to protect the magical beings from the dangerous Muggles. After all, the destruction caused by the Second World War still haunted them to this day.

"Come in," someone spoke from the other side and when she opened the doors, she was surprised to see Severus Snape, who blinked at her appearance.

"…What are you doing here?" he asked.

At a loss for words, Francesca stared at his gloved left hand and after silently querying with her eyes, she was about to roll the arm sleeve upward when he winced, "Uh, don't press too hard at the wrist; I accidentally cut myself there."

She briefly frowned at the request but still, she heeded his words and furrowed at his forearm, which was pale but still unmarked.

"…Is that what you're here for?" Severus questioned. When she didn't answer, he laughed in slight amusement. "You don't necessarily have to get the Mark to be part of the Death Eaters," he said, "Why don't you wait until later?"

"Later?" she repeated, finally finding her voice.

"Did you apply to be Hogwarts' Potions Mistress?"

She nodded.

"Good." Severus smiled at her, and continued when he noted her confusion, "Um, don't take this the wrong way, Francesca; but the Dark Lord didn't want anyone to get caught while spying on Dumbledore's group, much less one stationed at Hogwarts. McGonagall was Dumbledore's right-hand once; I'd imagine she would quickly alert him if you were to strut into the school with a Dark Mark on your arm and besides, I… I don't want them to send you to Azkaban too."

At that, Francesca's dark eyes glinted in relief. Her boyfriend really cared for her! When Severus led her to the gardens, she smiled fondly and leant slightly into his embrace. How she wished she had been friends with him much earlier, but what they had at the moment was also memorable on its own and she didn't want to jinx it.

They went to rest under a huge tree and simply basked under the tree's shadow as wind gently breezed by the place.

"How long till your studies are finished?" he asked after a while.

"Just two more weeks, like I told you before," Francesca said with a playful roll of her eyes.

Severus only chuckled. "You will do great, dear," he said before giving her a quick kiss on her forehead.

"I want you to be there too," she subtly pouted.

"And just who would brew potions for the Dark Lord?"

"I can do most of them, thank you very much."

"But not as potent as mine."

"…True."

The two then laughed, and as Francesca felt her eyes slowly droop whilst watching Severus held her hand with his gloved one, she smiled.

All was well at the moment.

Meanwhile, Minerva McGonagall was thinking hard on whether to accept Francesca Zabini's letter or not. The other letter that made its way on her desk in Hogwarts was from Sybil Trelawney for the Divination post and as much as she wanted to remove the ridiculous subject, it had been part of the school's syllabus ever since the Founders' era.

But Potions… the Order of the Phoenix could use having a new competent Potions Master since Lily Evans-Potter was now heavily pregnant and could not assist the group with her potions until about two or three months later. And besides, Vindictus Viridian also had been a good teacher for such delicate Mastery.

With that in mind, Minerva began to write a return letter to Miss Zabini.

Accipio quae tua sunt ac tua mea (the Taking Spell's incantation) = I take what is yours, and yours of mine.

at least that's what Google Translate said lmao