AN: Im not entirely sure how often I will update. I am a single mom ten months out of the year and some days I just have to go to bed.
Eileen Prince loved her son. Her husband on the other hand had not. Instead of buying him clothes, Tobias Snape threw her a dishrag, telling her to use her magic to change it into clothes and nappies. And while she was at it, turn his shit to gold. One of his favorite requests to use.
When the beatings started as soon as Severus had been born, she did little to protect herself so that his temper might not fall on their son. He was a quiet baby, learning quickly that if he cried there would be more shouting and if he blended into the walls, his father wouldn't see him through the haze of ale. His raven eyes every watchful. However when Severus was nine there was a certain rough night that changed everything. Eileen had suffered a broken nose, black eye and, what they found out later, a shattered wrist. Severus had turned on his father insisting that he and his mother deserved better.
The shrieking Severus had made when Tobias broke his arm numbed her. After that the bruises migrated between mother and son. Severus was the aim of his rage and bore it silently. And Eileen was both grateful and terrified when her beautiful and protective boy had gotten his Hogwarts letter.
And a mother is always happy when her child finds love, but the feeling she got from the little Evans girl from down the road chilled her. The love her Severus had for her was bright and burning, while Miss Lily had obviously allowed him to follow her for the attention like a puppy.
When Severus was seventeen, of age in the wizarding world, Tobias had enough of her constant shadow and ended up murdering her. As she lay dying, she worried about Severus- how he would deal with it and if he would think ill of her for staying with his monster of a father.
And, as her son would as well twenty-one years later, she expected the light at the end of the tunnel and a throng of people who loved her. What she wasn't expecting was to be facing a brick wall with muffled sounds on the outside. As it turned out, her brilliant boy had surprised her once again, he had commissioned a portrait of her that would take her essence when she passed on. She heard the police, both wizarding and muggle, come by and inquire what had happened. Dumbledore had Severus summoned to give a statement and a positive identification since her wonderful husband was nowhere to be found.
As she was weeping when the long and pale fingers had turned her around, it took her a moment to realize she was no longer looking at bricks, but she was still looking at stone. Severus' eyes were cold and still. No anger or sadness seemed to radiate from him, just the calm and understanding that this was to be expected.
After learning of her sons allegiance to the Dark Lord and his eventual turning to the Order to protect Miss Lily (which she heard didn't work out quite well she had heard) she soon found herself at Hogwarts. She was silent when he raged, often breaking glasses and tearing at books and the tears that fell when he came back from a summons where he had been made to murder or maim. She spoke when he asked for her advice, or when he wanted to hear about her life (which was more or less always under the influence of Firewhiskey). After the first war she had danced. And when the second had raged she wept for her son. And after fleeing Hogwarts, she ran to her other portrait only to find it thrown into the basement before she had made it there.
Weeks went by. May turned to June and June to July with no word of Severus. The portraits at the school had yet to be replaced. The dreary atmosphere of the school remained for the funerals that took place she had learned later.
It was a Sunday when she had finally heard something. At first Eileen had thought she was going round the twist. It had been months of solitude, no indication on who had won or where her brilliant boy was. Muffled voices reached her ears, barely able to make out the genders let alone what they were saying. One was definitely female, the other was male. Was that her Severus? The low base of his voice flew through the walls but it sounded so different. The other was female, young by the pitch.
Eventually the male had started shouting at the female and then a very large thump had followed. Had the man above murdered his companion? Hours passed before she heard anything again.
"That insufferable man! This is what I get for saving his life?" The door had slammed open and made Eileen jump out of her painted skin. "Might as well push him down the stairs and use his wand to play fetch with the squid." The young woman had a great bushy thing on top of her head. 'Was that hair? Dear lord had the girl never heard of a styling charm?' Not that her Severus had ever used one either. Doubt he had even heard of shampoo by the looks of it in the last few years.
"Check the cauldrons Miss Granger, check the pickled things Miss Granger, check the water-heater Miss Granger," the woman, Miss Granger Eileen presumed, muttered in a sing-song voice. Ah so her Severus was still alive, and making people regret saving his life apparently.
"Hello?" she spoke softly. The scuffling had stopped and heard shoes scuff as they turned in a circle. "Great Granger, hearing voices. Probably from hanging out with the dungeon bat too much."
"Right here young lady, in the chair," more confident Eileen spoke more clearly. Miss Granger turned, looked at her and mirrored the shocked wave Eileen was currently giving.