Mettle

Stepping out onto her bedroom's balcony in her shift, Eileen felt the press of muggy air on her skin and had her lungs leaded by its' oppressiveness. Her eyes rising to the waxing gibbous moon, they fell just as quickly to the ground it shined upon. The grass, even in the late night, she knew was the emerald green that would feel soft beneath your toes. The kind that made you wish summer stretched forever and forever on...

But it was half over now.

She thought of Severus inside, he was tossing in her bed now. Her mother had forced the boy to take his own room at the beginning of summer, stating at six and a half he was too big to be sharing a bed with his mother. He'd pitched a fit. Part of Eileen had been warmed that Severus felt so deeply for her. Was happy that the thought of sleeping just a room over affected him so, but it also scared her because she was forced to wonder if she hadn't made him too attached to her.

Her mother hadn't let him get away with it, though, she made him take his own room despite Eileen's own weakness that lead her to murmur that she didn't mind sharing for a little while longer.

"If he doesn't learn to sleep alone now, how's he ever going to function in society, Eileen?"

She flinched at the memory of the words. That was the last thing she wanted, for her son to fail to function in society. Her Severus was such a bright boy! He had to do well...he had to. Someone had to make up for the shame she'd brought the Prince line - or so her mother had mentioned once or twice since she came home to her. Eileen knew her mother liked having her more than not having her, but it didn't change the embarrassment she was made to feel in the company of her peers.

Eileen knew almost everyone of her year at Hogwarts (and below and above) had followed respectable paths. Yes, there had been the rumor Harbin Zabini married his girlfriend, Blanche Davis - of Eileen's year - as soon as she finished her schooling because she was pregnant, and maybe people liked to whisper about the Crabbe heir having a bit of a sleeping draught addiction. But both failures were so easily swept beneath the rug considering the lives they lead.

The Zabini's girl, Glinda, was perfectly exquisite - or so Eileen's mother said. And Crabbe was married, had a son and worked for Abraxas Malfoy, all of which were quite good for a man with as dull a wit as he. If anything, his mild addiction seemed more like something to pity than to gossip about. After all, what man from time to time didn't grow too fond of something? If not sleeping draughts, it was alcohol or if they were a particularly pious man, it might be food they indulged too much in.

Eileen, though...

She'd not just done the stint in the muggle world, like Walburga Black had, but she'd actually worked and married there. She'd birthed a son there! In the respectable pureblood circles, she really was something of a shame. She knew mothers like Druella Black, Blanche Zabini, Anna Wilkins, and so many others warned their daughters against Eileen's course. Look what it'd done to her, after all. She lived like a recluse in her mother's home with a son that no one knew beyond his besotted grandmother's good word.

"Mummy?" a little voiced called from the bed in her room.

Jumping, Eileen twisted a lock of her hair between her fingers and called back, "I'm right here, my love."

A few moments later, her son was tucked against her side. His hair was matted against his face and when she pushed it back, it was damp. The nightmares always did leave him soaked in sweat.

Smiling at him in the fair moonlight, she asked, "Why are you awake, hm? Shouldn't you be trying to catch up on some sleep?"

"I don't like sleeping alone, it's scarier when I wake up."

Sighing, the woman squeezed her son close and said, "We'll buy you a cat - or better yet, how about a dog? I hear that they're excellent bed companions."

"No dogs," her son declared, "They smell."

Laughing softly, Eileen bent down to bestow his crown a kiss and said with finality, "It's a cat you'll be getting, then."

"I like the name Boots," Severus offered around a yawn. "May we find a cat with white paws?"

Gently guiding her son back to her bed, she heard herself agree in a tired mutter, "Yes, we can."

Soon enough, they were beneath her sheets for a second time that night. Her son settled himself with his head on her shoulder and she closed her eyes only after she laid an arm across him. Soon, they were both far into the darkness known as exhaustion.

-v-v-v-v-v-

"Granny, what do you think of Boots?"

Eileen's mother studied the scruffy creature close before giving an approving nod of her head. "He's a fine tomcat," she told her grandson.

Beaming Severus turned to the little creature and cooed, "Here that? Granny likes you!"

"That she does," Eileen agreed distractedly, "Severus, lovely, why don't you go set up a spot for his dish in the kitchen?"

His dark eyes glittered with excitement. "Sure, Mum!" And with his cat still tucked beneath his chin, the boy trotted off to complete the task.

There was silence between daughter and mother. It was not a good silence, no peace lay in it, nor was there kindness; in fact, it was heavy with an argument. After a long, long minute, the older woman hissed, "Boots? You let my grandson give it a common name?"

"Actually, mother, the cat's name is Sir Knight Boot E. the Third, but we agreed that was too much a mouthful and decided we'd introduce him to you as Boots. Though, I suppose we could have done a better job of giving him a nickname...How does Boo tickle your fancy?" Eileen bit out with a caustic edge.

Meeting her daughter's gaze, the old woman sneered. "Are you being snarky with me, young lady?"

"What if I am?"

Eileen's mother made a derisive noise in the back of her throat and changed topic, "He's almost seven."

"Mother, he's just turned six!" the younger argued.

Turning to face her daughter face on, the older woman declared, "I think it's time we see if we can't get him acquainted with the right sort again."

Crossing her arms, Eileen laughed mockingly. "Really? You do, do you? Remember how that went, Mother!?"

"Listen, I've been talking with Crabbe - his boy's nearly the same age and gets on quite well with the Malfoy's heir – Lucius. I'm sure he can do the same with Sev-"

The younger threw up her hands. "No! My son is too smart for any daft lads, like those Crabbes produce! Maybe a Malfoy can suffer their company, but let's face it, Mother! Yes, Malfoys are clever, but they are not prodigies! Severus, I, father were such! We can barely suffer the regular sort, an idiot is unbearable!"

Blinking, but undeterred, her mother fired off another name. "How about the Carrows? Abbas - he was two years ahead of you - he's quite interested in getting his daughter and son meeting the right kind, such as your son. The girl's a bit old, but the boy-"

"Sociopaths. They are sociopaths mother, all of them! I remember Abbas very well, do you know he used to loiter by the girls dorm? In the middle of the night? Mother, I don't know what fantasies he had running through his head, but I can tell you now they were far from kind and probably twelve kinds of perverted and sadistic!"

Face twisted from her irritation, the old woman hissed, "The Blacks aren't going to let their sons anywhere near yours after last time, and there are very few who are interested in letting their children near Severus when the Blacks won't! Eileen, you cannot be this picky! Severus will do with meeting anyone at this point! He just needs to start making acquaintances, I don't expect them to be best mates!"

"Mother, stop this! It's ridiculous, all right? Let me find him a child his age. I've told you about Quincy's son several times but you always brush it off like that's not even possible!" Eileen yelled, her face a terrible hue of rouge.

Standing her ground, her mother countered, "It's not! He's a damn half-blood! If you start socializing Severus with them, he'll never move away from them! He might even start befriending mudbloods, Eileen! Mudbloods! Do you want him to be a shame to the Prince line as well?"

A beat of quiet fell between the two women after the last stand.

"Maybe he doesn't have to be a part of the Prince line at all," Eileen proclaimed in a voice just a tad too loud to be a whisper. "Maybe, Severus and I could take our leave right here. I know a bit of Italian, my potions skills are good enough to support us. I could take us to Italy and then you could forget you ever had a daughter or grandson. Better yet, we could forget you!"

Hands clasped over her mouth, Eileen's mother looked several times smaller. She appeared as what she was, an aging woman, small, and one of the last wonders of a different time. Grabbing her daughter's arm, she pleaded, "Don't. Don't do that to me, Eileen. Don't take Severus, don't take my last chance!"

Anger evaporating at the crystalizing of tears in her mother's eyes, Eileen felt her shoulders slump as she relented. "I won't," she said, "Just...let me take him to see Quincy's boy, please? You never know, Mother, they might absolutely loath each other!"

Her mother gave a watery chuckled and enveloped her in a rare, close hug. "Oh, sometimes...Sometimes Eileen you really manage to frighten me. I don't know what I would do if you took Severus away."

"Does that mean you approve of my plan?" the younger inquired, having not forgotten her wish for her boy to meet her friend's son.

Letting her go, the woman gave a sad nod. "It is," she concurred. "I don't have much of a choice, though, do I?"

"He's my son, not yours," Eileen explained.

A bit of a smile perked the corners of her mother's lips. "Figuring that out now, are you?" she teased.

"Yes, I am." The young woman smirked back.

-v-v-v-v-v-

In a room with walls of wood paneling, a couple, woman and two little boys breathed life into it with upbeat talk and occasional fits of laughter. The boys were on the ground racing cars on a toy track while Eileen, Quincy, and his wife chatted over some tea.

"Hey, Sev'rus!" Quirinus said, "Let's play checkers."

Her son, for his part made a scoffing noise and declared, "Chess is more fun, you know! Mum's taught me, d'you have the pieces for it?"

The towheaded boy looked to his father. "Daddy?" he inquired.

Smiling at his son, Quincy said, "Check the closet in the hall."

"Okay!"

And the boys scampered off together.

Turning to Eileen, Quincy's wife remarked, "He's a sharp one, isn't he?"

"I suppose so," she agreed under the wide, unblinking eyes of the woman.

The other woman smiled even wider and commented, "Quirinus is a bright child too, he's reading already!"

"My, that's wonderful!" Eileen agreed.

Quincy, from between them, cleared his throat and shouted, "Do you boys need help over there?"

"No, Daddy!" Quirinus called back.

There was a sound of a crash, followed by Severus yelling, "That was just the broom! We found the pieces too!"

All of them relaxing, the adult shared a grin as they boys came running back and began to set up their sides of the chessboard. "Do yours move?" Severus inquired as he finished lining up his pawns.

"Daddy?" Quirinus deferred.

Laughing, despite the odd look his wife was giving Eileen's son, Quincy replied, "Not like you're thinking, Severus. You'll have to move them yourself."

"That's fine," he concluded as they finished setting up the game. "Quirinus, even though white's suppose to go first, I'll get you move first."

The boy stared at the pieces for a moment, and then complained, "I don't know how to play!"

"Just move a piece and I'll tell you if you're doing it wrong," Severus replied.

Sticking his tongue out between his teeth, the boy went for the king, but Eileen's son shook his head and told him, "You can't do that. Besides, you want to keep that safe."

Sending his new friend a nod, the boy went for a pawn instead. Watching carefully as she and Quirinus's parents chat idly about the royal family, Eileen immediately noted how Severus's hand went to his head and he curled in on himself. Standing up, she murmured, "Severus, love?"

Eyes half-lidded, his gaze met hers and she knew. Severus was seeing something awful and there was no way to stop it. Getting on he knees beside her son, she asked, "Are you having one of your headaches?"

His face swirled with confusion before he understood. Then, he was nodding and reaching for her. Picking him up, she turned to Quincy and his wife and tutted, "He has headaches sometimes, and they're really quite awful. We haven't figure out why yet...But I do know he needs a nice dark room to lay down in and rest."

Quincy gave a curious cock of his head. "Sure. I suppose we'll have to pick up this play date at another time, eh?"

"Yes, I think we shall," Eileen agreed. She felt better about the day, though, at the very least she would not have to cross this child off the list of the few she was willing to let her dear Severus near.

Tiny fingernails suddenly pierced the skin on the back of her neck sharply. Gasping, Eileen heard her son begin to murmur, "Dark lord. He's got to know..."

"No, Severus," she hissed into her boy's hair as she hurried for the door.

Following close, Quincy questioned, "Neither of you are looking too well, should I get your mother?"

"I'm not a little girl," Eileen snapped as Severus's fingers dug deeper into her flesh. "Oh - Quincy, I don't - thank you for worrying, I'll be in touch soon..." and with that, she stepped out of his home and disapparated without a care for neighbors or passerby.

Severus was her priority. He always would be.

-v-v-v-v-v-

Tucking Severus beneath her blankets, Eileen sat beside her feverish looking child and asked, "What did you see, my love?"

Her son looked up at her with his lip wobbling and told her, "He died 'cause of the Dark Lord too - 'cept instead of getting bitten by his snake, the Dark Lord made him try and kill the green-eyed boy, but Quirinus couldn't, y'see. So, he blistered and burned up like he was on fire until he was just dead."

Feeling quite a bit more terrified, Eileen realized that this "Dark Lord" was very much a reoccurring theme in her son's seeings. She wondered, did he see deaths only linked to his cause, or did he see them all? She hated the thought, but she almost wanted to test it. Maybe she should take him to a muggle park to socialize with unmagical children. She did not want to start another vision, but she wanted – needed -to know what set them off and how to stop them.

"Do you know who the Dark Lord actually is, my love? Maybe his name?" Eileen asked rather nonsensically as she smoothed the blankets around son. She didn't really care if he did know, Eileen just wanted to keep him talking a little longer - put her heart at ease just as much as his own. She needed to know he was still alive and well and he needed to know she was real and not those scary sights he saw.

Her son gave a tired shake of his head, "No, Mummy, but I will eventually, won't I?"

Eileen paused in her fretting. Meeting cauldron black eyes, she questioned in a deceptively light tone, "What do you mean, my love?"

"Well, I'm going to meet him someday, right? Or at least it feels pretty sure that I will. I die 'cause of him, Quirinus dies 'cause of him, so does Regulus an' Sirius an' - an' I don't know...a lot of people," he finished.

Clenching the duvet between her fingers, Eileen asked, "Don't think you could avoid it, now? I mean, you know who he is and surely-"

"It feels very set, mum. Everything tells me it ought to happen that way or - or maybe the green-eyed boy I like and hate won't be there, and I can't have that because then things won't be how they're supposed to be," Severus told her.

Clutching her son's face, she made him meet her gaze as she growled, "You'll stay away from that Dark Lord, Severus Snape! You hear me? If you dare go near him I'll do more than spank you, understand?"

Face paling with his fear, he grabbed at her hands and agreed. "Please, I will, let me go, Mummy!"

"Alright," Eileen replied as she let her grip slacken and her hands fall away. She knew somewhere in the back of her mind that the threat wouldn't be enough later, when it actually mattered, but for now...

For now it was enough of a promise from a little boy. However, someday she'll have to find something stronger.

Eileen feared greatly for her son, the thought of him dying was terrible enough. But she had to wonder, why did he witness what he did if he wasn't allowed to change them? What could fate possibly want from her boy if not to change things? Was it because she did something wrong?

She was beginning to doubt her mother. Surely, she had to do something for her son to get puzzle pieces of the future through gruesome deaths of his compatriots. Eileen must have had a wrong thought or made a bad choice somewhere along the line, because Severus couldn't have! He was just a bitty boy. Hardly capable of comprehending why one boy would get all the fortune and another nothing, he only knew fair as equal and had yet to understand the nuances of tradition.

Had she deviated from some set plan? Was Eileen's son paying for her mistakes? Was fate scaring her son onto the path where Quirinus burned outside a fire, where little Regulus died before his brother? Where Sirius's demise was met somewhere inside the ministry and then, where Severus's was a god-awful end thrust upon him by sharp teeth of a snake?

Despite her best efforts, Eileen had to take the blame. Severus was just a boy, after all, and this would not be the first story of an innocent being inflicted with unwarranted evils due to the sins of another.

How do you feel about this chapter? It's quite long, yeah? I hope you liked all that happened in it!

To my reviewers, 2sidedstoryteller29995, Alyssialui, Bela013, The Dark One Rising, Sarah AB, Saint Snape, Dixie.f.9. and Emma C.C.S.; thank you all!

Also! You know what would be super appreciated? If you went and checked out my fic "Vanished" it's about Astoria, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis and several other Slytherins during the events of the last book while at Hogwarts.

Thank you for reading, please review!

EDITED: 6/27/15