Prologue

Every self-respecting muggle would tell you that January 9th, 1960 was a perfectly normal day, nothing out of the ordinary. Every wizard would too, though there were very few traits the two groups' definitions of 'normal' shared.

The only exceptions to this observation were Tobias and Eileen Snape and, of course, the other 293,216 couples who also welcomed a child to the world that day. Unlike most of them, however, Eileen was not happy. She was trying to be, but was failing spectacularly, for she knew what having twins meant in her family. She knew even before the Ministry sent their letter, kindly reminding her about the Prince Curse and her 'duty toward our society'. She knew even before her mother stormed through the door, wearing a pained yet demanding expression on her face. She knew, and she didn't like it. One of the twins had to go.

"It's what the family has done for centuries, Eileen," Elvyra Prince's words haunted her again.

Centuries. That was perhaps what infuriated her so. For centuries children had been murdered 'to protect the world', and yet no-one knew how the Curse had come to be. It might very well have been a story made up by an infuriated hen divorcing her husband.

Eileen was not even a Prince anymore, for Merlin's sake! And yet, Prince blood ran in her veins, and Prince blood pumped in her children's hearts. But Eileen Snape refused to sacrifice her son just because of some thirteen words spread around by word of mouth. She refused. And she was going to do everything in her power to keep her kids safe. Even if that meant that one of them would be dead for the world outside.

The year was 1961. An unhealthy-looking woman was walking down a deserted street, a toddler joggling by her side. Gloomy houses flanked the road on both sides. With the sun already approaching the horizon, their long shadows loomed over the little boy and his mother like wraiths covered in long black mantles. From time to time those ghosts would whisper, the hissing of the wind only loud enough to make you look frantically around, to check if there is someone following you, and then realise you have finally gone insane just like the rest of the street's inhabitants.

Spinner's End was not a welcoming street. Once upon a time, there had been little kids running up and down the road, their loud hoots ringing in the air from dawn till dusk. But those kids were grown up now. Some of them had left the town in search for a better place to stay. Theirs were the houses that now stood dark and empty, stripped of all furniture by the wretched villagers who lived in the neighbouring dwellings. Others had tried to do the same. But they'd been met by invectives and forced to return back to the place they had so eagerly been trying to escape.

Such was the case of Tobias Snape — a tall man, thin but strong, with brunet unkempt hair and a slightly hooked nose. In the early 1950s he had gone to Manchester, looking for a job and a place to stay. A healthy man in the bloom of youth, one might think he wouldn't have a hard time achieving a dream as simple as this, but fate had its twisted ways and soon enough Tobias had found himself back in his childhood home. However, because as we just mentioned, fate had its twisted ways, a young woman had gone with him this time. A woman carried away by a summer love story in Manchester, craving for more and blindly following her future husband to the place where years later she would breathe her last breath.

Right now she was gripping tightly her son's shoulder, lest he ride off toward the slippery locals. The two walked in silence, determined to reach the safety of their home as soon as possible. Well... Eileen walked in silence. Her son was pointing at almost everything his gaze happened to land upon, humming sounds only he could understand. At last, they reached a small house near the end of the village. In stark contrast to the other houses, this one had most of its windows intact. Most, but not all, because one of the windows had been boarded up last year, when a group of yobs had pelted it with rocks and had run away before Eileen could see their faces. Shoving a hand in the pocket of her coat, the woman fetched the key to the front door.

The house was old and dilapidated. The paint was peeling off, the door was only just holding on its hinges and one of the windows stayed slightly open all year long for it was impossible to close it. Tobias had inherited the building from his parents after they'd both died in the Manchester Blitz in December of 1940. Judging by the state of everything in the house, it was reasonable to assume it had never been repaired since. The man kept it almost like a relic of his past with all the furniture not having been replaced for more than twenty years. Whether that was because of lack of will or lack of money, Eileen didn't know. What she did know was that ever since she'd moved in in the house, they'd struggled to put food on the table, let alone think of something insignificant like their comfort. The only thing they'd ever bought was a new mattress after their children had been born and that was mostly due to Eileen's mother's strong insistence and financial support.

There was absolutely nothing abnormal about the house, with the exception of one of the walls in the living room, which had been magically extended so that one or the other of the brothers could hide there if need be.

"Seuthes!" Eileen called, waving a hand toward the hearth. Or next to it, as it turned out, for the wall split in two as if by magic and a little boy (looking every bit like the first one) waddled out of the crevice.

The boy inspected the room, his little brows drawn together in confusion. Then he spotted his mother and ran toward her (if you could call that a run), hands outstretched, tears streaming down his face, and clung to her skirt, burying his face in it. Eileen patted his head affectionately and lifted him with one arm, her other still holding Severus' shoulder. She then placed both her children on the armchair and knelt on the floor in front of them.

"Severus," she prompted, carefully turning the boy's head so that their eyes could meet.

Today Eileen Snape had gone to the Ministry of Magic to report the death of her second son. The clerk had been most sympathetic, even offering a handkerchief, and when Eileen had politely declined the offer, the man had brushed his own tears with it. Of course, Eileen's second son was not dead. Why, he was sitting in front of her right this moment! But the Ministry couldn't know that. No-one could ever know that. No-one could know because people were cruel. People were scared and they were ready to act upon their fears. And nothing scared them more than words — empty words at that, Eileen was certain. There was not a shred of doubt in her mind that once people found out about her secret, they wouldn't stop until her children were dead for fear that the kids would bring destruction to not only the Wizarding World, but the Muggle one as well.

The Prince family was well respected among the pure-blooded wizards. Up until Eileen had married a muggle, they had been about the same class as the Prewetts - not as elite as the Blacks or the Malfoys, but certainly better off than the Weasleys. Now, though, the only thing anyone ever mentioned about the Princes was in one way or another connected to the Family Curse - 'It shall be a dangerous, dark world, when the twins become of age'.

Careful to remember any details about Severus' memory of the day, Eileen focused her attention on Seuthes, and projected the images to him. It was incredible how different the world looked through her son's eyes. They had seen the same things, listened to the same sounds, walked the same streets. And yet they hadn't. The exasperation Eileen had felt throughout the short trip to the Ministry was replaced with excitement. The jealousy she'd felt while looking at the numerous shop windows, filled with things she would never be able to afford, was instead curiosity. Even the sky seemed brighter in little Severus' mind.

For the rest of their lives, these Legilimency sessions would become an irrevocable ritual performed at the end of each day. It was the only way to keep them identical, the only way to keep them safe.

"Severus, go to your room," Eileen said in a stern voice.

An uneven noise of steps could be heard coming from outside as Tobias walked down the flooded street, and came to a stop at what must have been the small gate to their plot.

"What about you?" he returned but his mother sent him such a murderous glare that he averted his eyes and, sparing one last look at the living room, went up the stairs.

His brother was already in their room. He'd been studying a Potions book when Severus had left him there, but was now sitting on the bed, knees bent between his elbows, hands covering his ears. The other boy followed his example.

Even with their palms muffling the sound, they could still distinguish their mother's pleas for Tobias to stay downstairs until he could think rationally.

A loud crash made both boys jump and then the heavy footsteps of someone going up the stairs — the two searched for a place to hide, looking around frantically, and finding nowhere to darkle. The desk was made of a few simple planks with four wobbly legs holding it above the ground — nothing that could shelter either of them from their father's sight. The bed was... though very comfortable, in reality made of two mattresses on top of each other, thus leaving no room under it. There was no wardrobe, their few clothes and books were organised in a single drawer the boys could not fit inside.

The door flung open, clashing against the wall, and shaking dangerously.

"Where's ma' boys!" Tobias roared, putting a massive hand on the doorframe.

The brothers exchanged frightened glances. Then the man released his grip on the door and, without the support of his hand, lost his footing and thumped to the ground.

For a moment everyone stood there, frozen in their spots. Then Tobias got to his feet and proceeded to lurch down the corridor as if that had been his original destination, leaving the two boys to stare after him.

"Go get the salve," Severus turned to his brother.

"What for?"

Severus gave him a calculating look but decided not to comment on Seuthes' stupidity, and instead answered with, "Mother."

"Severus, look at me," his mother ordered. Severus snapped his eyes away from Seuthes, whose back was still aching from his father's thrashing two days prior. "Your brother's going to be fine. I'm taking care of him, and what you have to do is go to school."

Her tone left no room for argument, so the boy opened the front door begrudgingly, and stepped outside. He didn't want to go, he hated school. All he ever did there was hide from his classmates, who seemed to be on a personal mission to turn his life into the ninth circle of hell, and were doing a damn good job at it. He was no match for any of the boys in his class. They were all well-fed and strong and he... He was happy if he managed to snatch an apple from a nearby fruit stand without anyone noticing him. So every break he would be forced to practise his running and dive-rolling. He was becoming quite good at it.

As he walked toward the bridge that led to the other side of the town, Severus thought back to the conversation he and his brother had had the previous day.

Seuthes was lying on their shared mattress, his face buried in the pillow, his back bare so that the balm applied there could do its work. Severus sat cautiously on the foot of the bed. "Why did y' go out, Sev?"

There was a long pause before his brother replied. "Because I 'ad to make sure... There's a girl like us, Russ. I followed 'er down the street. She's magic, I saw it." His words were slightly muffled against the pillow, but the meaning rang loud and clear in Severus' ears. They were not alone.

He still thought it quite reckless that Seuthes would go out, when the number one rule in their house was that the two of them could never be outside together. His father had been very upset when he'd found him on the street on his way home after a visit to the pub. It hadn't ended well.

It's all in the past now, Severus reasoned, repeating what his mother often said at times like this. Right now, all he needed to do was honour his brother's sacrifice by finding the mysterious girl that was soon to be his friend. After all, she would hardly want to hang out with muggles, when she could hang out with a wizard, now would she? With a confidence he'd never felt before Severus pushed open the gates that led to the schoolyard, and stepped through. He had a mission to accomplish.

He failed.

His confidence had been ill-placed, for nothing had actually changed and he'd been too preoccupied with trying to escape his classmates' clutches, leaving him with no time to look for the redheaded girl. Two weeks passed before an opportune moment to speak with her arose, by which time both Severus and Seuthes had become witnesses to small acts of accidental magic that meant for certain that she was a witch. The pebbles around her would hover slightly above the ground, the trees would bend toward her as she passed by them.

The twins usually took turns on who would go out each day. It was usually a burden, going out, for it had never been a pleasant experience. But ever since Seuthes' discovery, their fights had turned from who would have the privilege of staying home, to who would have the privilege of going to school. Not that they ever had any say on the matter, it was their mother who always dispensed justice.

Luckily for him, it was Severus' turn on that sunny Tuesday at the end of May, when the redhead slipped out of the school, accompanied by another girl who seemed a few years older, and headed toward a playground Severus had never been to before. He followed them, keeping out of sight as best he could.

He reached the playground a minute after them, and found a good spot behind a bush, from where he could see the two girls already clambering on the swings.

"Tuney, watch this!" Lily exclaimed, for that was the witch's name. Two weeks of spying had told Severus at least that much. "I'm going to fly!"

She started moving her legs and torso faster, the swing went higher and higher, and if Snape had had a clear view of the girls' faces, he would've seen the older one's expression morph into one of horror. "Lily, don't do it!"

But Lily was already flying, as she'd put it, the way she was moving reminding Severus of a leaf dancing through the air.

The girl then fixed her attention on the bush behind which Snape was hiding, determined to show her sister another one of her tricks despite the older girl's obvious dislike for them.

"How do you do it?" Tuney asked, and Severus could swear there was a tinge of jealousy in her voice.

He knew the answer better than Lily did. "It's obvious, isn't it?" he said, hopping out of his hiding place, and clearly startling both girls. The older one shrieked and ran away from him. She wasn't important anyway, but her reaction made him pause for a second, and a bit of colour crept up his neck to paint his cheeks pink.

"What's obvious?" asked Lily.

Severus glanced nervously at Tuney, who was clinging to one of the swing's poles, and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "I know what you are."

"What do you mean?"

"You're..." He hesitated, and glanced around again, even though he already knew that no-one could hear him. "You're a witch."

Lily didn't take too kindly to these words, but a few days later his brother managed to convince her to bring a cooking pot with her, so that he could show her what he really meant. "Meet me at the big tree by the river tomorrow," Seuthes had instructed, so that was where Severus sat now, waiting for her to join him.

"Hullo," Lily greeted when she was close enough that he could hear.

"Hi." Snape's response was awkward, and he didn't quite know what to do with his hands or his eyes, so he picked a blade of grass and started twisting it between his fingers. "Erm... You've got the pot?"

Lily nodded. Eyes wide with childish impatience, she stared at him expectantly. Severus took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Okay, so... We've got t' go somewhere we won't be seen."

The girl's eyes now narrowed in suspicion. "Why?"

"Mother says nobody's t' know I'm a wizard— You're safe, though, you're a witch, so you can know. But no-one else."

Lily looked around, trying to decide where they wouldn't be spotted. The area around them was normally desolate, but there wasn't much cover, and the tree was in direct view of the bridge. "So where are we going then?"

It was a ten-minute walk up the hill and in the forest bordering the village. They followed the river until they reached a small clearing, where the previous day Seuthes had arranged a couple of stones in a circle, and had collected a stack of sticks, ready to fuel the fire Severus was about to light in a minute.

Lily stood awkwardly behind him, as he fought against the wind to light up a match. "What are we doing here exactly?"

"Hair-Raising Potion," Snape replied, adding an exclamation of 'Finally!' when at last he managed to produce a flame.

The girl crossed her arms over her chest, looking down her nose at him. "Do you mean to tell me," she said accusingly, almost derisively, "that wizards actually make potions in cooking pots?"

Severus chuckled, his eyes shining with a humorous glint as he painted an imaginary picture of the Apothecary he'd seen in Diagon Alley selling muggle cooking pots in place of the various types of cauldrons.

"'Course not," he said. "It's really much like muggles describe it, cauldrons and all."

"I don't like that word, what does it mean? You called my sister that, and she got upset, but wouldn't tell me what it means. Muggle."

"Oh, that. I doubt she actually knew what it means. It's just someone who's not magical."

"Oh."

There was a long silence as Severus started taking the jars of ingredients out of his bag, and ordering them in the very specific way he liked them. For the past two years his mother had been teaching him and Seuthes some of the more basic brewing techniques, mainly ones used in healing potions, as those were the potions they usually needed, although another reason was that she didn't actually have a very broad knowledge on the subject. For his demonstration Severus had chosen the Hair-Raising Potion, mainly because it was easier and there was no chance of him messing it up. Plus, it had an almost instantaneous effect.

"So where's your cauldron then? Do you have one?"

"My mother does." But she doesn't know about your existence, and she doesn't know I'm brewing outside. "She only uses it when she teaches me Potions and when Father..." Somehow Severus thought it wouldn't be a good idea to discuss his home situation. "Well, when she teaches me Potions."

Lily stared at him knowingly, a tinge of sympathy colouring her features. She'd heard stories about the people on the other side of the river, but she'd always thought her parents were just exaggerating. To Severus' immense relief, she said nothing.

"The cauldron's pretty big, though; a pot's easier to carry... Er... could you get us some water?"

The girl glanced at the mug in his hand, and crossed the distance to the river to fulfil his request. This all was beginning to seem exciting. "Is this dangerous then?" she asked, as she watched him place the pot above the fire, and carefully pour the water inside.

"Ah, no. And I'm even planning on making you drink it." He grinned at her, and she smiled back, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Only if you drink some first," she teased.

Severus turned to the improvised cauldron, and dropped two Billywid stings into the boiling water. "You add those first," he explained, catching the girl looking curiously over his shoulder. "And then two stirs anti-clockwise and one clockwise. Do you want to do it?"

Twenty minutes later the two kids were sitting on the ground, a pot with a disgusting looking green mixture between them. It wasn't perfect, but considering they hadn't had a cauldron and had used a campfire to heat the water... Severus wouldn't say it, but he was very proud of their concoction.

"I'm not touching that," Lily declared, and grimaced theatrically to prove her point.

"There's no going back now," Snape laughed as he filled the mug with the mixture. Taking a sip, he too grimaced at the taste.

"How is it?"

"You can stomach it," reported Severus and handed her the drink.

Following his example, Lily took a sip. At first nothing happened. Lily was about to proclaim him a liar, when suddenly their heads began to itch and a moment later the boy's hair began to raise, as did hers a few seconds later.

"We look like Einstein," Severus exclaimed between giggles, pointing at the girl's head. He couldn't remember ever laughing this much in his long life.

"Actually, I'd rather say you look more like Jimi Hendrix."

And so, a friendship, a tentative one at first but growing increasingly stronger as time went on, formed between them. And it made the twins' lives not only bearable, but dare they say, even enjoyable.

It was in the early hours of the day one Monday at the end of July that a brown owl landed on the windowsill of the twins' room, and started knocking with its beak. By some sheer luck neither Eileen, nor Tobias was up yet, or else things wouldn't have gone the way they did. Seuthes tossed his blanket aside and wobbled to the window to let the bird inside, then carefully took the package it was carrying, and brought it to the bed so that Severus too could see.

As it turned out, the package was addressed to Severus Snape, so without much thought the boy snatched it, and a moment later was staring with wide eyes at the long black wand in his hand. In his other hand he was holding a letter from his grandmother, stating that the wand had been property of one George Edgor Prince.

"Well?" Seuthes prompted, and his eyes too were glued to the magical wood. "Does it recognise you? Can you control it?"

But Severus didn't show any signs of having heard him. In that moment the only thing on his mind was how perfect the wand felt in his hand.

Owls continued flying against their window for the next few days, each bringing a different set of books with lists of charms and hexes, and instructions on how to perform them. The last parcel was different. It contained a single tome, which even by itself weighed twice as much as the previous packages. It was a leather book that looked at least a hundred years old, the title of which read Curses and Counter-Curses. An accompanying note advised them not to let their mother see the book, or else it might never see the light of day again.

Elvyra Prince, while not on good terms with her daughter, was determined not to let her grandson go to Hogwarts unprepared like some ignorant muggle-born.

As the twins' eleventh birthday drew closer, more and more worries began to pop up in Eileen's head whenever she thought of their going to Hogwarts. The biggest obstacle was Tobias who was vehemently opposed to them ever setting foot in a magical school. He, for better or for worse, was imprisoned for robbery in the second week of November, and wouldn't be released until the same time the following year. So that obstacle was out. That only left a thousand others.

For one, she was growing increasingly concerned about someone on the staff, or even one of the students, being a Legilimens. What her sons used to exchange memories was Legilimency, not Occlumency, and a very weak form of it at that. So it was that one afternoon on the first days of winter she handed them a book titled Guard Your Mind, and then proceeded to watch as they struggled for months to grasp the concepts described inside. By mid April, however, they'd become competent enough that her amateur skills in Legilimency weren't enough for her to easily pick through their heads. Which still wasn't ideal, but was the best she could do. The rest they'd have to do on their own.

Late November, 1970

"Severus," he heard someone in the distance call his name and turned abruptly to face whomever had spoken, but quickly regretted it as he spotted the bright red hair amongst the crowd of people. "No, wait!" the girl yelled when he turned to leave and for some unknown reason he listened.

Lily moved closer. A few of the muggles were now staring at them, and Severus wished the ground would swallow him whole.

"What?" he asked rather coolly when the girl finally reached him. "If you've come to say something about my father, you can save your breath."

Lily stared at him in shock. "About... About your father?" she breathed as though it hadn't even occurred to her to talk about him. "Severus, you should know by now I don't care who your parents are. Come." She grabbed his arm and dragged him to the gate and then in the direction of the bridge and the tree they'd so often met under. "Why would you think I'd want to say something about your father?!" she asked angrily when the two of them were away from prying eyes.

Severus shrugged. "Everyone does since they arrested him. And I know what your family thinks about mine."

"No, you don't. You only know what Petunia thinks about you," Lily argued. Severus was not convinced.

"Yeah. And because they're all so fond of me you've dragged me here so nobody would see that we're together."

His friend averted her gaze. "Okay. But I don't judge you by what your father's done. And I never will, alright?"

A slight smile graced Severus' lips, "Pinky promise?"

Lily grinned back and the two crossed their pinkies. "Pinky promise," she confirmed.

"Pinky promises are to be taken very seriously," Severus informed her, doing his best to keep his voice neutral. "It's almost like an Unbreakable Vow."

"A what?"

"Unbreakable Vow. I don't know how exactly you make the Vow but if you break it, you die," he explained.

"Ah. Yeah. Yeah, pretty close to the pinky promise, then," Lily laughed heartily, and Severus found himself unable to hold his own giggles.

The only thing left for Eileen to take care of now was figure out a way to send both of her children to Hogwarts. More precisely, she needed to figure out how to extract her solution to the problem from her mother's clutches.

After carefully instructing him what to do and what to say, on January 9th she apparated in front of Elvyra's house alongside with Seuthes.

"Eileen," her mother said coolly once she appeared at the door.

"Mother."

"I should say I am very surprised to see you and not nearly as pleased."

"Ever the charmer." The younger witch pulled her son in front of her, and placed two hands on his shoulders. "I have a request."

"Whatever gave you the impression that I would be inclined to help?"

"I thought, perhaps, you would be more civil if the request didn't come from me," said Eileen, her voice like cold water on a winter night. "In case you don't remember, it's Severus' birthday today, and he's been wanting to meet you."

Ten minutes later, Seuthes was sitting on his grandmother's couch, pleasantly surprised by the warmth she treated him with after seeing how cold she'd acted toward his mother. Despite the cool invitation Eileen had received to join them inside, she'd chosen to apparate back home, informing them that she would collect her son at five o'clock.

"So, you wanted to see me, hm?" Elvyra asked as she set a cup in front of Seuthes. A flying kettle immediately came over to the table to fill it with tea.

"I wanted to learn more about magic. Mum's told me all sorts of stuff, but I've never seen it."

The witch looked at him sharply, though it wasn't necessarily reproachingly. "Haven't you been practising the spells I sent you?"

"Oh, I have. I meant objects and stuff. Like, she mentioned once that you had this trunk where you could fit an entire room!"

Elvyra nodded, and without warning sprang to her feet, returning a second later with a miniature looking trunk in her hand. With a flick of her wand, and a muttered spell, she turned it back to its original size. "You know, if we told your mother this was your birthday present, she won't be able to refuse it, and you'll be able to bring it home with you. How 'bout that, hm?"

Seuthes grinned at her. In part because of the present, and in part because he'd managed to accomplish his task this easily.

The trunk was, obviously, not an ordinary one. It had two compartments, but the second one could only be revealed and opened by a spell. It was also big enough to fit some furniture, and to serve as a temporary living space. It was the perfect thing to bring to Hogwarts, for the first compartment was exactly what one would expect to find when they opened a trunk and therefore no-one would question what was inside it.

Mission successful, at exactly one past five Seuthes arrived back home.

Winter turned to spring, spring to summer, and at the end of July Lily and Severus received their Hogwarts letters.

On August 4th Eileen brought Severus to Diagon Alley for his school supplies. They got a robe from Madam Malkin's, a wand from Olivander — Reed wood, Horned Serpent Horn, ten inches, flexible —, a cauldron and potions supplies from Potter's Potent 'Pothecary. The latter had mentioned that his son too would start school this September.

Then it was the last day of August, and Seuthes and Lily were for the last time sitting together under their tree.

"Just imagine next summer," said Seuthes. He was half-lying on the grass, only his arms lifting him above the ground. "Just picture all the things we'd be able to do!"

"Yeah," said Lily. But something about the way she said it left the boy beside her with an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.

AN: For anyone curious (and also because it's hinted at in future chapters) about the reed wand, here's some information about it, coming from the Harry Potter Wiki:

Notes on wands made of reed wood: "Reed wands are best suited to those who are bold and are eloquent speakers, and prove to be very protective friends."

Notes on Horned Serpent horn wand core: "The wands made from this core were exceptionally powerful. They were also sensitive to Parseltongue and warn its owner of danger by emitting a low musical tone."

Ollivander's words on wand length: "In my experience, longer wands might suit taller wizards, but they tend to be drawn to bigger personalities, and those of a more spacious and dramatic style of magic."

Now an actual AN, though: English is not my native language and I don't have a Beta, so mistakes are bound to happen. If you spot any of them, or are willing to be a Beta, please don't hesitate to let me know. Thank you for giving the story a try!