Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, scenarios, or concepts from the Harry Potter universe. Much of the wandlore in this chapter is referenced directly from the information on Pottermore.
As the weeks rolled on through the Summer, Eileen Snape had finally landed a job at Slug and Jiggers Apothecary in Diagon Alley. At first, she required her son's help to get there via side-along Apparition. A week or so into her tenure there, however, the woman finally mustered the courage to try it herself after Severus gave her a few refreshers on the motions to go through, and to always follow the Three D's. With a renewed faith in herself as a witch, Eileen was able to work at the Potion Shop four days a week, and the money she was bringing in was able to sustain them somewhat comfortably.
One of the things that seemed to heal the damaged witch's heart the most was her trip to Ollivander's with her son at her side. The old wandmaker seemed shocked to see Eileen again after so long.
"Miss Eileen Prince...has it been 27 years since last I saw you..?"
Hearing her maiden name prompted Eileen to wish to correct Mr. Ollivander out of instinct to her now estranged husband, but...somehow, it sounded right, walking back into the magical world, ready to take another wand, being addressed by her old name.
"It has, sir." she bowed humbly, before turning to Severus. "Though, I believe you have had the pleasure of selling a wand to my son."
"Your son...oh!" he marvelled, looking at the young Slytherin. "Mr...Snape was it? Forgive me...I knew there was something familiar about you when I met you...I hadn't realized that you had a son, Miss Prince." The wandmaker gently made his way around the counter, giving Severus a bit more attention. "As I recall...Ebony. 13 ½ inches, with a dragon heartstring core. Particularly adept in many forms of magic, yet unyielding in its owner's beliefs."
Severus nodded absentmindedly, not wanting to turn this into a discussion about himself, more concerned with helping his mother obtain a new wand.
"I'd be more impressed if you could remember mine, sir." Eileen spoke with a shy smile. "After all these years I've been away from the wizarding world...I fear I don't even remember it."
"Hm...as I recall, yours was...Rowan. 8 ¾ inches, with a unicorn hair as its core. I noted then that it was a wand of supreme protection and an affinity for the side of light...defensive charms were its specialty. What happened to it, if you don't mind my asking..?"
Upon hearing the nature of her wand, Eileen bowed her head in shame. "Protective...what a laugh...I couldn't protect myself, or my son…"
Severus interrupted her by placing a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. "Stop right there, Mum. Don't even start going down that path again. We're here for a reason." He turned to Mr. Ollivander. "Sir, we're here to get a new wand for my mother because she had forsaken magic for personal reasons. Needless to say, those reasons aren't...in the picture anymore. Can you help her find a new match..?"
"I believe we can. Let us first try this one...Cypress, 10 inches exactly, with a hair from the same unicorn as your previous wand, Miss Prince…"
And so, Ollivander went through at least two dozen wands, each failure causing Eileen's despair to grow that perhaps nothing would match her anymore, that Tobias had broken her.
Disappointment turned into triumph for Eileen and Severus both, however, when she was handed a beautiful wand crafted from a rich, hazel wood, which seemed to have a slight twist above its handle. The moment the wand touched her fingers, a gentle, azure light seemed to pour forth from the tip.
"Astounding...curious indeed…" The old wizard whispered with a bemused expression. "Most of the times I've dealt with finding a suitable replacement for a lost or broken wand, oftentimes the answer lies in something similar to its predecessor. Either a match in the wood or the core. But this wand...Hazel, measuring at 11 ½ inches, contains a phoenix tailfeather. Slightly springy in terms of its flexibility...And it's noticeably longer than your old wand as well…"
Eileen seemed fascinated by the wandmaker's explanation, equally entranced the the light still shining from its tip.
"The intriguing thing about this combination is that hazel wands are well-known for their almost symbiotic relationship with their owners. Their emotional health is often the catalyst for their magic. And as such...if its owner dies, the wand tends to lose some of itself with them, and in the case of a core of unicorn hair, the wand simply ceases to function. One can think of the three cores we use as a trinity. Phoenix feather often is associated with birth, unicorn hair for life, and dragon heartstring for death. Naturally, there are numerous additional cores that other wandmakers like to experiment with, but my family has always found this trinity to be the most telling way to gauge a witch or wizard's potential.
"The abnormality here is that...this is the only wand of its kind. Of course, every wand is special and unique, but this one is the only hazel wand I have ever crafted, let alone heard about, to accept a phoenix feather as its core. To be honest, I'm unsure of what potential it holds...though I can assure you, that it's a wand of unmatched quality, capable of casting all manner of spells with immense power, provided you stay in-tune with your heart. Until today, I kept it as a curiosity. I'm glad to see that it can take its place out in the world. Keep it close, Miss Prince...it would not shock me to see this wand perform extraordinary things..."
After purchasing his mother's new wand, Severus bid her farewell as she crossed the bustling street of Diagon Alley to start her work day at the apothecary, while he rounded a corner to apparate back to Spinner's End…
As for Severus, he had finally settled into a routine during the Summer. Almost all of his free time went into transforming the inside of the Snape household in Spinner's End, and after a great deal of work, it was finally an abode worthy of a witch and her teenage son.
The stench of alcohol and tobacco, which had been an ever-present cloak over the home while Tobias resided there, was finally purged by extensive use of the scouring charm. The brown carpeting, long-ruined from numerous spilled bottles and general lack of upkeep, was entirely replaced by a sensible cedar, hardwood floor.
The wallpaper throughout the house, which was stained and peeling off, had been removed and thrown away. Severus insisted upon painting the walls himself, and the entirety of the living areas were painted with a mixture of olive green and urban gray. Save for one room.
The third bedroom upstairs, which served as a cluttered mess of a storage room for Tobias' horde of football collectibles, had finally been cleaned out and a soft, full-sized bed was put inside. Unlike everything else, this room had been painted red, as he had no plans for any particular guests but one..
It took a great deal of courage for Severus to ask Lily to stay the night for the first time, as until this Summer, she'd never even set foot in the house, let alone spent any significant time there. That was by his own design. For many years, the Snape Household at Spinner's End was a place of misery and regret, and even though he had transformed it into a proper wizarding home, he was still nervous, fearful that it wouldn't meet the standards that Lily had at the Evans' home.
"I think it's brilliant…" Lily had told him when she set foot in her guest room the first time. His heart was still fluttering at the memory...when she pulled him onto the bed and they engaged in another passionate series of kisses.
The reality was that Lily was his girlfriend, despite her knowing so much of his sullied, former life. In fact, it almost served in his favor. She knew of his mistakes, and still forgave him, because of everything he had demonstrated to her in his memories and testimonies of the past.
For all of the dreaming and fantasizing that he had done, wondering what life with Lily's affections would have been like, it was surprisingly similar to how it had always been. Their conversations had been like a delicate waltz back and forth on a ballroom floor. They would talk...discuss life, engage in playful banter, and just spend time basking in the other's presence. That's how it had always been before the days of his obsession with the Dark Arts. And that's how it was now, just with an emphasis on their physical forms of affection.
The Summer Holidays had dragged on through to the middle of July, and one such night with his beloved was spent upstairs at Spinner's End.
"I wonder if this always could have happened…" Severus sighed. They were cuddling on the bed in her guest room, looking out the open window to the starry sky. "If I could have had this the first time...had I known what was truly important to me…"
"I dunno…" Lily yawned, rubbing her tired eyes. "But...for what it's worth, I'm glad things turned out the way they did."
They had been laying on the bed with his back to her, and she gently placed an arm around his chest, stroking it absentmindedly. "Not because you had to endure so much pain, of course...but...I don't think I would have ever liked you quite as much if you hadn't transformed into this…" she paused, trying to search for the word. "This...hero."
Severus scoffed. "A hero...hardly. Heroes die and sacrifice themselves like fools…" He turned back to look over his shoulder and into her eyes. "Kind of like you...well...the other you."
Lily's lips formed a sleepy grin. "A fool, am I..? Well...perhaps. But...being a hero has its perks as well...don't you think?" she kissed his cheek and sighed happily.
"Ask me once I actually earn that title…" he droned with exhaustion, caressing her hand in his before drifting off to sleep next to her.
The next morning, Severus awoke with a start, hearing a loud tapping on the window.
"Really..?" he groaned, the sight of the owl on the other side of his window obscured by the blinding sunlight behind it.
"Mmmhm...it's early, don't you think..?" Lily shook her head as she started to stir, equally annoyed that their pleasant sleep had been disrupted by an owl clutching a rather large envelope at what seemed entirely too early an hour for mail.
"Alright, alright, I'm coming, you beast…" Severus snapped, getting out of bed and opening the window in order to let the owl fly inside.
By this point, Lily had already adjusted so she was lounging on the bed, holding her head up. She reached for the brown-feathered owl and gently stroked its head. "It's from Hogwarts, Sev…" She noted the school emblem on the back of the envelope. "Do you think it's your O.W.L.s?" she asked rather excitedly.
"No…" he shook his head, sitting back down on the bed next to her. "The Ministry handles those, but I imagine we'll be seeing those soon." he turned to the owl, placing a knut in its beak. "Off you go...honestly, I think I'd prefer a raven…"
Sensing the boy's rude remark, the owl nipped at his finger before accepting the payment and flying away before Severus could curse it into oblivion, which sent Lily into a fit of giggles. "You deserved that one, Sev!"
"Bloody bird…" he mumbled in defeat before taking the letter into his hands. There was something odd about it. The envelope felt strangely heavy, like there was something moving around inside. He dropped it instantly, making for his wand.
"Sev?! What's wrong?" Lily asked in surprise, reaching down for the envelope.
"Don't touch that!" he bellowed, stopping her before she could pick it up. "There's no telling what's inside there…"
"Seriously, Sev, it's from Hogwarts! Stop acting like the whole bloody world is a deathtrap when the problems haven't really come to a head yet..." Lily huffed in frustration, ignoring his protest and ripping it open at one end. She held it up, and a shiny, metal piece of jewelry clanged onto the floor.
Immediately, their eyes locked onto it...silver and green...Lily's eyes lit up and she grinned, while Severus let out a groan, all of the caution out of his voice gone, and in its place, sheer annoyance.
"No...please...for Merlin's sake, I specifically told them not to…"
Lily picked it up off the floor, letting its metal surface shine brilliantly in the sunlight. "It's a Prefect Badge!"
"Gods, why?!" he pounded his fist into the plush bed before sliding the enclosed letter out of the envelope still in Lily's hands. "Who's responsible for…" he trailed off into silence before his frustrations grew. He recognized that neat, deliberate handwriting anywhere. "Do me a favor...and read this. My head might explode if I do it myself…" Severus huffed, handing it to Lily.
The redheaded girl took a moment to run a hand through her long, messy hair before obliging her boyfriend.
"Dear Mr. Snape,
I hope this letter finds you in good spirits, and that your Summer holiday has been treating you well. Firstly, I would once again like to thank you for the character and heroism you showed in the final two weeks at Hogwarts. Your efforts to halt the malevolent behavior of several of your housemates was admirable, and would serve as a shining example for the rest in your house, who may not have had the courage to stand up as you have. In these darkest of times, we often look to our peers if we do not have the answers.
"It is with this fact in mind that I have taken it upon myself to forego a certain rule regarding two Prefects per House, and if your recent behavior is any indication, it will serve as a message that not all in Slytherin House believe in the false ideals of a certain wizard who darkens our world with worse news each passing day. This appointment of a third Slytherin Prefect also comes as a recommendation from your Head of House, Professor Horace Slughorn."
Severus rolled his eyes. "Of course Slughorn would shirk his duties as a House Head and just let me do all the work for him.
Lily just shook her head, unable to take the smile off her face as she continued to read.
"Naturally, a Prefect's list of responsibilities is quite vast, as I'm sure your friend, Miss Evans, will attest to."
She perked her head up at the last sentence. "Girlfriend." she corrected, before continuing. "Upon receiving your O.W.L. results from the Ministry of Magic, we will expect you to hand in the finalized list of N.E.W.T. level courses you will be signing up for, keeping in mind the requirements that each Professor has set with the students in their advanced classes. Given your unusual status as a third Prefect of Slytherin House, I will have a slightly different set of expectations for you, and will be happy to shed light on those expectations following the Start-of-Term Feast. I do have a particular likeness for Sugar Quills."
Lily stopped for a moment, looking back up. "I'm pretty sure that's his way of telling you-"
"His office password, I know." Severus interrupted with a snort. "Honestly, even this far back, he was this obsessed with his sweets."
"As always, I do wish you the best on your time off, and I hope your holidays have given you clarity on what the...the heart needs to flourish in the sun, rather than wilt in the shadows…Until September, stay true. Albus Dumbledore."
"Why does that man insist on being so obvious about being vague? It's by far his worst feature, his art of beating around the bush when I know that he's likely the one responsible." Severus moaned in defeat, resting his head on Lily's lap, looking up into her eyes. "So even in this life, I'm stuck doing Dumbledore's bidding. Nowhere in that letter was I even given a choice of this most unusual position."
"Well…" Lily looked down at him, caressing his tired face. "Look on the bright side...us Prefects get our own bathroom…"
In all her years of knowing Severus, Lily had never seen him turn so red in her life.
Author's Note: This is a very different style of writing a chapter than I have done before, by necessity mostly. I covered most of the major events I wanted to hit during the first month and a half of summer following Lily and Sev becoming a couple. Once the Hogwarts schoolyear starts anew, I believe I'll be shifting back to my traditional style of focusing on one major thing at a time. Summers are tricky to handle, as there's no school, and very little can be done until Severus and Lily are of age and the trace is broken. So this chapter, and the one to follow, are likely going to seem a bit jarring, but rest assured, it's not going to be a permanent shift.
The first major thing I wanted was to continue Eileen Snape's development as a character. We will see more of her as time goes on, and the scene at Ollivander's, when she obtains a new wand is a very important one that I deliberately set knowing what's ahead.
Regarding something that I've seen a lot of "Back in Time" stories cover, most notably, His Greatest Wish. Many times I've seen Severus and Eileen forsake the name Snape and become Princes. As far as Eileen is concerned, I've considered that as an idea, and even incorporated what may blossom into such a plot point in Ollivander's quirk of speaking to her by her maiden name. If she takes the name Prince again, she will be the only one, as I have no desire in seeing the name Severus Prince in another fanfiction with the others that have done it better than I could.
The other reason I do not desire to go too far into the whole Prince vs Snape last name ordeal is because numerous people seem to be of the mindset that the Prince line is absurdly wealthy and influential in the Wizarding World, when I've seen very little evidence of that. They're a pure-blood family, yes, but not all pure-bloods are aristocratic nobles who have estates big enough for their own zip code, or a pool filled with Golden Galleons ready to dive in like Scrooge McDuck. I'm still trying to get my thoughts straight on what I want to do regarding the Prince family line, but I doubt there's going to be a Gringotts Vault filled with huge piles of money waiting on the other side for Eileen even if she does change her name back.
And yes, Severus is a Prefect. I couldn't resist shafting him with that big boat anchor of a responsibility going into sixth year. But as Lily says...it does have its perks.
More Severus/Lily to come in the next (and probably final) Summer chapter, as well as a trip to Diagon Alley, and a disturbing article from the Daily Prophet. As always, thank you for your support, the favorites, the follows, and most importantly, the reviews! I can't stress enough, it means everything to me to see what you enjoy in writing, to hear your own theories, or your own desires/concerns as to what's to come. PLEASE review if you can, I really do enjoy them.