CHAPTER 10: THE TALE OF TOBIAS AND EILEEN (PART 2)
INT. SNAPE'S HOUSE, SPINNER'S END, COKEWORTH - AFTERNOON (DEC. 24TH, 1963)
As the cold wind blew quietly around the snow covered English town of Cokeworth, the festive atmosphere and the warmth inside Tobias and Eileen's house continued to grow as the Christmas holiday began to unfold. A small Christmas tree stood in the far corner of the main room of the house, decorated with bright sliver tinsel, small, shinning white lights and other brightly colored ornaments. A variety of small, finely wrapped gifts hid underneath the tree as a border collie named Hansel lied slumbering in front of the roaring fireplace. As Eileen was quietly washing dishes in the kitchen, Tobias was sitting in a rocking chair next to a window, gently rocking and cradling 3 year old Severus Snape, who was sleeping peacefully in his father's lap.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Eileen answered the door and soon discovered that it was Tobias's brother Edward, holding a bottle of cranberry juice in his left hand and cradling a couple crudely wrapped gifts under his right arm. After cheerfully greeting Eileen and handing her the gifts, Edward looked over at Tobias and spoke, "Merry Christmas, Tobias."
"Merry Christmas, Edward." said Tobias, looking up at Edward and smiling.
INT. SNAPE'S HOUSE, KITCHEN, SPINNER'S END, COKEWORTH - AFTERNOON (DEC. 24TH, 1963)
There was a small oak table in the center of the kitchen, big enough to seat four people. It was covered by lit candles and a magnificent display of delicious food and drinks. But ever since Tobias's younger sister Daniela married the Honorable Christoper Starvel I a few years ago, Daniela had been hosting luxurious Christmas banquets at their house for both the Snape family and the Prince family. But Edward preferred the small, humble parties that Tobias and Eileen hosted.
"Awe, look at him. He's so adorable, Eileen," said Edward, cooing over Severus Snape as he cradled him on his lap. Severus wasn't quite awake, but awake enough to notice that his uncle was paying attention to him. But Severus was unusually quiet and well behaved for a 3 year old. Though whenever the urge hit him, he could play and misbehave like any other child of his age.
"His birthday is coming up soon," said Eileen with a smile as Edward kept his eyes on Severus, "We were planning on taking him to Adelaide's house on his birthday so that the Prince family can see him."
"Ever since Severus was born, the Prince family has been spoiling him incessantly," said Tobias softly, smiling and watching from his chair at the table, "No child can be more loved and admired then he is right now."
Edward looked at Severus as Severus began clapping his two little hands together quietly for a few seconds then stopped as he smiled, with Edward then looking up at Tobias and grinning in amusement. Edward then helped Severus jump off of his lap and watched as Severus ran off into the main room to play with Hansel.
Edward then looked back at Tobias and spoke, "I've heard, brother, that your business at Snape's Snappy Furnishings has gone a bit sour as of late."
"You heard about that did you? Well, everyone is buying rugs and drapes at the moment for some reason, but there isn't much money in selling those here in Cokeworth," said Tobias, sounding mildly concerned as he talked about his business, "I get most of my money from the furniture I make and sell there. But the rugs and drapes around here are of an unusually superior and high quality, which has been the one thing that's been keeping them coming back and keeping me and Eileen afloat at the moment. No one will buy rugs and drapes at are of an inferior or poor quality."
While Tobias was taking about his business with Edward at the table, Eileen quietly stepped over to the entrance to the main room and watched Severus giggling and play wrestling with Hansel in front of the fireplace. Hansel batted at Severus with one of his paws and whimpered quietly as he was wrestling and play biting with Severus in response. Hansel was making funny snorts and other sounds that amused Severus to no end. Severus grinned at Hansel, giggling and appearing as happy and as bright as any other child of his age. Eileen smiled softly at Severus as she watched, but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel that this would be the very last happy Christmas that Severus would have in a long, long time and for more reasons then she dared to think about.
"This isn't right. We bought the wrong kind of wine for this glorious feast!" said Tobias suddenly and Eileen turned to see what was wrong. Tobias was holding a bottle of wine and looking at it, which to him didn't seem to be the best type of wine to drink on such a special occasion. Tobias often knew which wines and other drinks went well with certain foods and with certain occasions as he was a fancier of wines and spirits, though he often never drank unless it was on a special occasion or if it was a fancy dinner that required a small touch of elegance to go with it, like it did now.
"We can't drink this with such a feast. We need an older vintage!"
"Suppose the wine sellers down the street might have something. I'll go get it," said Edward.
"Oh no, no, no you don't!" said Tobias with a hint of mischief in his voice as he stood up quickly from the table, "I want you to stay here and keep Severus company while I go get the right vintage for this magnificent feast. And besides, you hardly ever get the chance to spend time to enjoy your nephew the way it is!"
"And I have to go mail some special Christmas cards that I forgot to send out." said Eileen with a smile.
"Oh dear, looks like you're going to be alone with Severus for a few minutes, Edward. May God have mercy on your soul." said Tobias, smiling at Eileen as Eileen giggled softly.
"I don't mind. It will be nice to steal some time with Severus away from you and the rest of the family. I get a chance all too rarely."
"Have fun, Edward. We'll be back soon." said Eileen as Tobias and Eileen grabbed their coats and walked to the main room towards the door. And with that, Edward followed them and showed them out the door, which soon closed behind them. Edward then turned back to Severus and playfully sneaked up behind him, grabbing him off Hansel.
"I got you, little boy," said Edward playfully, as he tickled Severus, "And now I'm going to eat you!"
Severus then giggled and began wrestling with his uncle, who was play rolling about the floor with Severus and feign pleading. Hansel was whimpering and barking from the excitement as Severus giggled and playfully pinned his uncle to the ground as Edward spoke, feign pleading towards Hansel, "Oh no, the little old witch is going to eat me. Help me, Hansel, help me, before the little old witch in the gingerbread house tries to eat me...oh, Hansel!"
Edward began feign waving his arms around and then played dead for a few seconds as Severus giggled and lied over the top of him, with Hansel barking and wagging his tail, running about around the pair play wrestling on the floor. As Severus and Edward played happily in the main room, neither was aware of what would happen next for Eileen and Tobias and neither had yet to know that this was to be the last truly happy memory that Severus Snape would have in a long time.
EXT. COKEWORTH, NORTHERN ENGLAND, A STREET - AFTERNOON (DEC. 24TH, 1963):
Out on the street, Eileen and Tobias walked arm to arm next to one another, trying to keep each other warm. Tobias was looking elegant and gentlemanly as he walked down the street with his favorite sword cane and wearing his favorite broad-rimed hat. Eileen was also looking elegant and graceful, wearing her best winter dress and her finest mink stole, looking as radiant and mysterious as Tobias remembered her as when he had first met her years before. Tobias smiled at Eileen and quietly flirted with her as they walked, causing Eileen to crack a small grin or two. Both Tobias and Eileen delighted in the pageantry of looking distinguished and fairly well off as that was just how they were when out and about among the crowds and bustling activity of daily life.
"It's so cold, Tobias. I hope we can get back safely without getting to frostbitten."
"We'll be alright, so long as we stay close to one another and never stray far. I love you, Eileen, and I will go anywhere and spend eternity with you."
"I love you to, Tobias, and I will always love you. And even if I ever fall from your grace, you gave me Severus and have made me quite happy and content for all these years. I couldn't ask for anything more or less than your love and your company."
"I couldn't have said it better myself, my dear." said Tobias with a smile, getting a smile from Eileen in return. Then, just as Tobias and Eileen were turning a corner together, a cold gust of wind blew off Tobias's hat. Eileen watched and waited as Tobias quickly ran after it, with either unaware of the danger that was about to befall upon him on this cold Christmas evening. Tobias's hat had blown across the street and had stopped right next to a building that was being constructed. Unbeknownst to Tobias however, there was a barrel of bricks that was hanging precariously over the spot where Tobias's hat had stopped and that the rope was beginning to fray.
Just as Tobias was grabbing up his hat and brushing it off, Eileen noticed that the rope holding the barrel of bricks was breaking and cried out, "No! Tobias, look out!"
But it was too late to run over and push Tobias out of the way of the falling bricks. Tobias looked up at the falling bricks and then crouched down, bringing his arms up over his head as if trying to protect himself. Without a moment's hesitation, Eileen pulled out her wand and cried, "Vertere Pulveris!" aiming her wand towards the barrage of falling bricks. Upon speaking this spell, the barrel and the falling bricks within it transformed into a cloud of fine white ash that fell down onto Tobias, landing on him and scattering all around him. Eileen had saved Tobias's life but at the cost of showing him that she had been keeping the fact that she was a witch from him for all this time. A sorrowful look shown within Eileen's eyes as she slowly brought down her wand and hid it back within her left sleeve. Tobias looked up at her, unsure of what to say or think of what he had just seen.
Eileen then spoke softly, "Forgive me, my husband, I did not want you to find out like this. But those bricks would have badly injured you or even killed you had I not intervened in time...I...I had to do something to keep you from getting hurt. I'm...I'm sorry."
But nothing Eileen could do or say would stop what was happening before her as she stepped forward to see if Tobias was alright. But Tobias wanted nothing to do with her at the moment. Angered and stunned by what he had seen, all that Tobias wanted to do then was run away as fast as he could. He quickly grabbed up his sword cane a drew out the long blade from within it, pointing it towards Eileen and looking on anxiously.
Eileen slowly brought her hands up defensively and spoke, "Please, my dear. Do not be afraid, I won't hurt you. Please, put that away."
"You're...you're a witch? Why...why didn't you tell me?" said Tobias with an anxious stutter, his eyes glaring wildly.
"My dear, please, let me explain. I was a witch when you first met me long ago and I am still a witch now. I fell in love with you the moment that we first met long ago. But by the time I found out how much you and your family were so against magic, I was pregnant with Severus and then I couldn't leave you, not when I loved you so much. Your parents of course knew that I was a witch, which is the reason why they've been staying away from us for so long. Forgive me, my dear, I did not mean to deceive you like this, but I was afraid of how you would react if you knew."
"Then Severus, he's a half-blood?"
"Yes, my dear, and it is likely that he has strong magical powers, just as I do." said Eileen, keeping her hands up in front of her as she tried to approach Tobias slowly, but Tobias was keeping her at bay with his sword cane. Eileen spoke once more, "It's alright, my dear. There is no need for you to be afraid. With our union we have a chance to end this intolerable hatred that your family has for wizards and witches alike. All you need to do is tell your family that there is no reason to hate magic anymore and that you understand and accept it. I am your wife, Tobias. The very same person you fell in love with on that day long ago. I love you, Tobias, and I will always love you...and I hope that you still love me and accept me...just as I am."
But Tobias continued to step back away from Eileen, keeping his blade on her as he cowered away from her, "You...you stand right where you are. You...you don't come anywhere near me."
"Tobias, please, you mustn't act like this," said Eileen, mildly pleading, "I saved your life by showing you that I was a witch. I love you and I need to know that you're alright."
"No...no I'm not alright. I may never be alright again. You...you better go on home and...and wait for me there. I'll...I'll come back later." said Tobias, and with that, he continued to face Eileen as he began to slowly walk away, keeping his blade on Eileen as he left. He then put the blade back into its sleeve and turned, running off as fast as he could. Eileen watched as Tobias vanished down the street, disappearing into the curtain of fog and falling snow beyond. Eileen brought her hands down to her sides and fell down to her knees as a cold gust of wind blew against her back, blowing her long black hair in the air around her. Eileen began to cry softly, realizing that she had made a horrible mistake by not telling Tobias that she was a witch in the first place. After a few minutes, Eileen went home to where Edward was waiting with Severus, playing with Hansel on the floor. Edward could see that something had happened as Eileen stepped into the house, looking grievingly at him.
"Eileen? What's wrong? Where's Tobias?"
"Edward, forgive me, but you're going to have to leave. Something's come up and I think you shouldn't be here when Tobias returns. You'll have to visit us some other time." said Eileen softly and sadly.
"Did you and Tobias have a falling out or something? What happened?"
"I can't tell you right now. But I have no doubt that you will find out soon enough." said Eileen as she hugged Edward and kissed him on the cheek. She then turned her attention to Severus and picked him up, cradling him in her arms.
After Edward had left, Eileen brought Severus upstairs and placed him in his crib, placing an enchanted saucer-shaped toy with holes in it next to Severus to entertain him with. At the moment Severus touched the object, it instantly began to float up into in the air and then hover at eye level next to him before it started to resonate with soft flute music, glowing a misty blue light as it spun in mid-air. Eileen smiled softly down at Severus, realizing that he had activated the object with his own magical powers, watching him as he began to clap his hands together happily to the music and smile.
Eileen then took Hansel out into the courtyard behind the house and tied him up to his dog house before using her wand to clear off the table in the kitchen. She was preparing herself and the house for what could be a most unpleasant experience when Tobias returned. A couple hours later, Tobias returned, drunk and sobbing. What was meant to be a pleasant and quiet evening with family had turned into a night of arguing and loud yelling. Hansel could hear everything that was happening inside the house and quickly went into his dog house for safety.
The enchanted toy that Severus had been playing with soon stopped and fell back into the crib as Severus stood up in his crib and began crying. Grabbing onto the bars on the side of his crib, Severus could see the shadows of his mother and father back lit on the wall out in the second floor hallway, contorting and moving about in a way that Severus had never seen before. Having never seen his parents argue or fight before, it was hard for Severus to understand what was happening, which made him upset to no end.
From that day forward, the relationship between Eileen and Tobias changed, as did the relationship between Severus and his parents. Not long after finding out that Eileen was a witch, Tobias's business failed and he was forced to sell it to a relative of the Snape family. Tobias now had to teach full time at the local boarding school and was now getting more and more into drinking wine and falling into the occasional drunken stupor. He soon began diving into writing articles and short stories for the local newspaper as well as writing private notes in a small black book that no one, not even Eileen and Severus was allowed to read.
Eileen and Tobias were no longer sleeping in the same room together, which made it ever more clear to Eileen that Tobias was having a hard time coping with the fact that she and their only child was the one thing that Tobias and his family despised the most, so he kept mostly to himself when he was at home. As the years past, Tobias and Eileen continued to maintain a tense and fairly bitter relationship with one another, staying together simply for the sake of needing to raise Severus until he was old enough to fend for himself. Unbeknownst to Eileen and Severus however, Tobias had been in an intimate relationship with two other women ever since Severus was 4 years old.
One of these women was a teacher at the local boarding school that Tobias taught at, a Muggle named Lady Sophia Valantia, who had an estranged squib grandmother and an estranged wizard grandfather. Sophia was teaching at the local boarding school to supplement the meager allowance that she got from her parents since she had yet to marry and have children of her own. Though she was bright and clever, Sophia was without magical powers, which delighted Tobias to no end. Like Eileen, Sophia had black hair and fair skin, but had green eyes, quite beautiful and attractive. Sophia was also half Greek/half French and was from a rich, aristocratic family. Tobias could speak both French and Greek, but Sophia could speak English well enough that speaking either language was unnecessary.
Then, a couple months after meeting Sophia, Tobias's eyes fell upon Josanna Lovegood, a fine and attractive woman with fair skin and long blond-white hair who was married to Narcriesus Lovegood, as Tobias was married to Eileen. Josanna was also a witch and had given birth to Narcriesus's son, Xenophilius, around the same time that Severus was born. Thus Xenophilius and Severus were around the same age at the time Josanna and Tobias had met.
Xenophilius would later marry a witch named Lyla Florin, who in turn gave birth to Xenophilius's daughter, Luna Lovegood. Unbeknownst to either however, Xenophilius would eventually become Severus's half-brother, when Josanna later gave birth to Tobias's illegitimate twins: a boy, Damerius Lovegood-Snape, and a girl, Lorthia Lovegood-Snape. However, Damerius and Lorthia did not go by their biological father's last name, which was why Severus would never know them as his half-brother and half-sister until much later, long after his supposed death in the Boathouse.
Before Josanna gave birth to the twins, Sophia also gave birth to one of Tobias's children, a daughter named Daniela Valantia-Snape, giving Severus a total of 2 half-brothers and 2 half-sisters, including Xenophilius. As was always the case with most of the male descendants of the Snape family, Tobias had passed down his nose to Damerius as well as his clever, keen mind, his eyes and his dark, bedraggled brown hair. Lorthia also inherited Tobias's hair, but also his ears and like her brother, his wit. As for Daniela, she also inherited her father's hair, eyes and keen mind but nothing much else, though you could tell that she was of the Snape lineage. Again, like the twins, Severus would not know of Daniela until sometime after his supposed death.
EXT. SPINNER'S END (SNAPE'S HOUSE), COKEWORTH, NORTHERN ENGLAND - AFTERNOON (AUG. 15TH, 1971)
It was thus, that Severus was growing up isolated and lonely, unaware that he was not his father's only child. During Severus's childhood, other members of his family often treated him better than his own parents normally did, namely his mother's parents, Lethbridge and Cathaline Prince, as well as Tobias's brother Edward, who continued to maintain a fairly peaceful relationship with Severus and Eileen long after finding out that they were magic folk. Of course, Eileen treated Severus pretty much the same after Tobias found out and the relationship between Severus and his mother had changed little.
Though now it included fairly rigorous private lessons in magic, which his mother Eileen was now teaching at her older brother Fitzgerald's house and not at home in Cokeworth. It was during these private lessons, between the ages of 6-10, that Severus had learned Occlumancy from his mother, thus, he was a fairly good Occlumens by time he was to go to Hogwarts in 1971. Severus was indeed a quick learner when it came to learning magic, having inherited his father's wit and sharp mind. Soon, the day came when Severus got his letter from Hogwarts and as was normally the case by this time, Eileen and Tobias were arguing about it.
"I will not send him to that place so that he can learn silly magic tricks!" hissed Tobias from his desk chair, "He's going to the Julian's Boarding School of Art, Music and Business in Yorkshire as I did and that's final. It's one of the finest Boarding Schools in England and if we're lucky, Severus will become a proper business man with a proper job and make proper money. He will not go off to some wretched castle in the middle of nowhere and waste his time learning useless magic spells and potions! I absolutely forbid it!"
"I'm afraid you have no say in this, Tobias," hissed Eileen in return, pulling out her wand and pointing it at Tobias, "And if I were you, I would advise that you hold your tongue about Hogwarts in front of me. I will not sit here and listen to you say anything against Hogwarts! Severus is going to one of the finest schools of magic that this world has to offer and he will learn under one of the finest Headmasters that I have had the pleasure to know. If you won't pay for his things for school then I will!"
"Ha! You're little magic stick does not scare me, Eileen. And with what money will you be using to pay for his things, ehe? I will only pay for the things he needs if he goes to the Boarding School that I want him to go to. Otherwise, I will not be paying for it, not any of it!"
As Tobias and Eileen argued, Severus was in the courtyard behind the house looking at his letter from Hogwarts, which had been delivered to him that morning by a small spotted owl. Severus appeared calm and distracted by his parents arguing inside the house, but on the inside he was excited and overjoyed with the fact that he was finally going to Hogwarts and not to the Boarding School that his father wanted him to go to. Lying in his dog house next to Severus, Hansel was busy crewing on an old ham bone that Severus had given him as a treat. Only Hansel was now 8 or 9 years old and was not as active as he usually was, but remained just as lively and curious as Severus knew him as.
Out of all the people and things in Severus's life, Hansel held a special place in Severus's heart that no other person or animal could fill. Many a times, Hansel had kept close company with Severus, watching over him and protecting him when things ever went sour in the house, which was quite often. Hansel was the closest thing to a friend that he had before meeting Lily Evans not to long ago. Lily Evans lived in a house only 3 or 4 blocks over, a fair-skinned, fiery haired girl that was about the same age as Severus and who Severus had met by a large tree in a grassy, open field not to far from his house. It was a beautiful and fairly clean area of land which sat right up against the Cokewell River, which flowed past the town. It had also become a special place where Lily and Severus would visit, play and spend time alone together. Years later, Lily Evans would marry a wizard and fellow schoolmate named James Potter and would later give birth to James's son, Harry Potter. But for the moment, it was only Lily and Severus, both of which were excited about going to Hogwarts.
"There you are. I was wondering if you would be back here away from your parents," said a familiar voice in front of Severus as he read his letter. Severus looked up and saw that it was Lily Evans, carrying a small bag of delicious looking cookies in her hand.
"And how are you today, Hansel? Keeping Severus company are we?" said Lily, turning her attention on Hansel and kneeling down next to him before opening her bag and giving him half a cookie. Hansel ate it up quickly and then licked Lily on the face as she petted him. Severus looked up and smiled, saying nothing before looking back down at his letter again.
Lily then spoke once more, "You don't seem to happy about getting that letter, Severus. What's the matter? Is your father not going to pay for your school supplies?"
Severus looked up at Lily once more and shook his head, remaining silent and acting more distant then he normally did. Then Lily sat down next to Severus and smiled as she continued, "I can ask my father if he is willing to pay for your things. My fathers' always willing to help a wizard or witch in need. He's always so kind and generous and he never really wants or asks of anything in return."
"I wish your father was my father, Lily." said Severus softly, looking over at Lily and smiling, eying the cookies in Lily's hand, "At least he isn't against magic and going to Hogwarts. I hope that Mother can take me to get my things in Diagon Alley, but I don't know what money she can use to buy them."
"I hope your mother can take you to. It will be a shame if you can't go to school on the Hogwarts Express with me. But if there's a will, there's a way." said Lily as she gave Severus a cookie.
"I can only hope so and I really want to go with you...Lily." said Severus as he took the cookie from Lily's hand and stuffed it in his face. Lily began to laugh at the face Severus had made when he had stuffed the whole cookie in his mouth, bulging his cheeks as though he was a selfish squirrel hoarding a mouth full of nuts. At least Lily's presence was brightening up a normally sorrowful situation and it made Severus secretly happy inside for the time being.
CONTINUED...CHAPTER 11...