The Summer of 1972

"Well, I'll... see you in September, Sev. Have a nice holiday! And don't forget to write!"

"Yeah. Of course."

She hugged him one last time and sprinted toward the other end of the platform.

In his spot, Severus stood straight with one hand on the handle of his trunk, staring after her. She moved quickly and a bit clumsily, bumping into an elderly man, muttering a quick apology, and continuing her run. The man fixed his robes, dusted some invisible dust off of them, and threw a hand over his grandson's shoulder.

Severus recognised him. It was that Mancunian he'd met before Christmas. The man recognised him too. For he smiled and moved closer. His grandson had disapparated by himself.

"Hello there, kido. Planning again on babbling to muggles, are you?"

Severus took the man's extended hand and shook it hesitantly. "Something like that," he replied.

"Name's Charles Prewett," the man stated.

"Snape," replied Severus. He didn't quite know what to do with his hands now. Or his feet. Or his eyes. So he set on staring at his shoes.

"Haven't heard the name."

"Yeah. Probably not. My mother was a Prince."

Mr Prewett raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Ah, yes, yes, we heard she married a muggle. It was big news."

Severus searched the man's eyes for any indication that he was mocking him or his mother, but there was none. The Slytherin relaxed a bit. He himself didn't approve of his mother's choices, she'd married a dirty muggle, after all. But he would not stand for others insulting her.

"Not good ones, though, was it? Well, erm... It was nice talking to you, sir," said Severus.

Mr Prewett snorted loudly. "You don't think I came for a chat, do you?" The question made the boy raise his eyebrows. Yes, actually, that was exactly what he'd thought. "Come now, boy, let's get you home." And before Severus knew what was happening, he was standing in front of his house, alone. A scan of the grounds had revealed no sign of the other wizard. He must have disapparated before Severus' world had stopped spinning. Not for the first time he wondered why the wizard was helping him and what he expected to receive in return. Severus didn't have much to give, after all.

He knocked on the front door. There was thumping inside. Something was knocked over. A curse word. Well, Severus sighed, back home.

The first thing Eileen did when she got home an hour later that day was lock both wands away, against her children's desperate protests. The second thing she did was give Severus her copy of Advanced Potion-Making, as per his request. The third thing she did was deny Seuthes giving him her copy of The Dark Arts Outsmarted. He'd seemed a bit too excited about that book for her tastes. The fourth thing she did was scold him and make him stop complaining. The fifth thing she did was force him to help her prepare dinner.

Needless to say, Seuthes was pissed. His wand was taken away, his wish was not granted, and he was forced to do house-elf work, when every self-respecting wizard would just prepare the food with a few flicks of their wand. All the while, Russ was sitting comfortably in their bedroom, reading his book. And Tobias was lazing around with his nose in a newspaper.

At least we're having dinner, Seuthes thought. An actual meal, enough to feed all four of them. His mother had surprisingly listened to them and managed to find a job at a kiosk near the school, so with both adults working, the Snapes were doing much better than in previous years. It hadn't done much for Eileen's mental state but at least she was now willing to talk. Somewhat.

She didn't talk much during supper. She did talk much after that. Seuthes was curled in his bed, clutching at the covers and trying to go to sleep. Russ was sitting beside him, head rested on the cold wall, eyes squinting in an attempt to read the tiny script of his book in the dark. And through the wooden floor or the wooden door — or maybe both — they could hear the shouts coming from the ground floor:

"Yes! Yes, I did, you idiot man! Because they need them!"

"Jesus Christ, why d'you have to be so fucking stupid, woman!"

"Stupid?!-"

"YES!"

Eileen's voice died down after that, but she must've still been replying because her husband's answers didn't cease. Seuthes squeezed his eyes tight, Russ closed the book and slowly placed it on the floor.

"...I don't want you raising mooncalves in my house, d'you hear me!"

"...Told you to burn all your freaky stuff months ago!"

"...I do not. have. a drinking. problem!"

The sound of breaking glass made both brothers wince. Bottle after bottle, glass after glass, they listened as objects shattered all too close, much too loudly. Neither of them slept that night.

Severus had been woken up by his brother's screams. Sev had been soaking in sweat, kicking and turning in his sleep, but hadn't awoken even after having been nudged multiple times. And since the sunlight was already peaking through the dusty window, Severus decided there was no point in trying to go back to sleep.

He glanced at the boy beside him. His brother was breathing evenly now and appeared almost peaceful. So he slowly pushed the covers aside, careful not to wake him, and pulled open the door. The hall was dark. It had stayed that way, day and night, ever since some muggle scum had thrown a rock at the only window there, and Tobias had decided the best thing to do was to cover it with boards. Severus glanced at his parents' room. The door was closed, it was quiet. Still keeping his eyes on the door, he crept slowly toward the staircase and descended into the living room.

Peeking inside the cupboard, where he'd spent so many hours brewing before he'd gone to Hogwarts, left him sorely disappointed. Gone were the potions ingredients, the different rods, flasks, vials and measuring cups. Instead, the shelves were filled with bottles — full and empty — glasses, plates, spoons, forks and knives. Severus scanned the space. His heart skipped a beat, when he recognised a silver shine. Behind an old pan, covered in cobwebs, and a box filled with God-only-knows-what, disguised as a cooking pot, stood his mother's cauldron. The squeak of a small grey mouse distracted him, but only for a second. His focus was straight back to the cauldron and his attempts to soundlessly reach it and pull it out.

He did have a cauldron of his own, sure. But he had mindlessly put it in his school trunk and forgotten to take it out once he'd got home. And anyway, even if he had taken it out, where would he put it? His room? That was a ridiculous idea, a good option only if one was suicidal, for Severus was absolutely sure he'd be skinned alive if his father so much as caught a glimpse of it. Years ago, this might've been different. But as things stood at present times, one could never be too careful with magical artefacts at Number 2, Spinner's End.

This would still be a problem even with his mother's cauldron. What with the cupboard now serving a normal muggle function such as storing long forgotten utensils, dishes and other things that would be much more fitting for a yard sale of antiques, than for their intended purpose. Tobias was bound to open it once in a while when he needed something from it. This would be a problem, but a fixable one. Severus only needed the cauldron to brew a new batch of Elixir to Induce Euphoria. In the second week of the summer holidays he'd discovered that his mother hadn't taken any of his brew, but he had since made sure she took it regularly, and they were soon going to exhaust the last of their stock. But not only was he missing a suitable place where he'd be able to prepare the potion undisturbed, he was also missing the required ingredients. Which was perhaps the main reason why he found the lack of stock in the cupboard so disheartening. He'd either have to convince his mother to buy some, or he'd have to make the Elixir with alternative ingredients, which would then lead to questionable results at best.

The next few days he spent with his nose in Herbology books, studying the properties of different plants, and looking for any that he might be able to find in the muggle world. So far he had (or at least hoped he had) discovered that Shrivelfig was used in the Elixir due to its medicinal properties. A perhaps good replacement for it would be English Lavender, since it was used to slow the activity of the nervous system, improve one's mood, and reduce anxiety. Sopophorous beans by the looks of it served to inebriate the drinker, a bit like alcohol or drugs. Severus supposed he wouldn't have much difficulty finding a replacement for this one. Wormwood, that was a bit confusing. He couldn't find its properties listed anywhere, so he tried to look at the different potions it was used in and guess from there. It had only made the situation worse as it was used in both the Draught of Living Death which put you in a deep slumber, and the Vitamix Potion which gave you a burst of energy. Maybe he'd just have to experiment. That left the Porcupine quills. Severus had used those on many occasions, and had even shown them to Lily that time he'd shown her the Hair-Raising Potion. They had this weird thing about them that made you peaceful and reduced pain. So when the potion pulled your hair upward, you didn't feel anything except maybe itching, and that only if the potion was imperfect. Lavender covered those properties as well, but if it wasn't enough, Severus planned on trying Rosemary instead.

Of course, there was no guarantee it would work at all. Neither of the ingredients he could use right now had magical properties as far as he knew. Or maybe they did and muggles just never realised because they were always blind for the obvious? Anyway, even if he could make a potion with those herbs, the chance that it would end up being what Severus wanted it to be was very, very, very slim. Still worth a try, though. Not like he had much else to do around here with Lily across the country.

On the 4th of August the government announced a state of emergency. Severus didn't know what that was about and frankly, he didn't care. He went on with his life as usual, as did everyone else in the house. Sev was reading a muggle Biology book. Or at least that's what he'd been doing yesterday, according to his memories. The day before, he'd been looking up sound in a Physics textbook and before that he'd spent a few days buried in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2. He had apparently found a loophole in their mother's veto on Dark Arts books by asking for Charms books instead. Which often contained not-so-pure charms and some knowledge that could easily be part of the Defence curriculum.

Eileen was still going to the kiosk Monday to Saturday. Once she got home she would either read, knit, or sometimes go back to drawing meaningless patterns on a piece of paper.

Tobias was also working. He visited the pub two-three times a week, sometimes more. And late at night his sons would hear him shout that he did not. have. a drinking problem. From time to time his wife had these bursts of energy, when she would argue with him and shout back. And evidently he didn't like it because he would break her again and she'd need a few days to start talking. Severus didn't like to interfere. There was nothing he could do, other than take care of his mother, make sure she took her potion every day, and occasionally suggest that she move out, away from here, somewhere safe. These propositions never seemed to reach her ears.

Sev went about it differently. He would often stand beside his mother, facing the older man and shouting back at the top of his lungs. And whatever Severus tried, it never stopped his brother from this stupidity. Sev just couldn't understand that standing up only made matters worse.

Severus' first attempt to brew the improvised Elixir was unsuccessful to say the least. More precisely, it was disastrous. Late at night, some time in the middle of August, he snuck down into the cupboard and pulled out the disguised cauldron. It only took half an hour for the mixture in it to start bubbling dangerously and, not knowing what else to do, he poured the cauldron's contents on the floor just as they were about to explode. Which prevented a big explosion and the possible melting of the cauldron, but also resulted in him having to clean the entire floor and everything the mixture had touched.

"That's your way of staying out of the way, huh?" asked Sev and threw another soaked rag on the pile. Severus had woken him up and asked for help.

"I'm not the one wincing every time something touches my right side," replied Severus. Indeed, he'd managed to avoid his father pretty well thus far.

"Yeah, well, you will be, if you keep this up. It's only a matter of time until Father catches you and there isn't even any point in what you're doing. When will it penetrate your thick head that you can't make the Elixir with none of the ingredients you need!"

"Keep your voice down, you idiot!" Severus hissed. "And to answer your ridiculous statement — what I'm doing is much more sane than what you are doing. Provoking Father causes damage."

Sev didn't answer. He took the pile of dirty rags and carried it to the sink, then returned for another round of absorbing the mess from the floor. After a moment, he said:

"Standing aside and watching idly is perhaps the worst thing you can do. It makes him think he can do whatever he wants without consequences, so he keeps doing it."

It wasn't the first time they were having this conversation and it wasn't going to be the last. Neither brother ever relented and over the time it evolved and evolved, until the shouts at night were not only the ones between Tobias and Eileen, but between their kids as well. And it was stupid because their goal was the same, their beliefs were the same, they were more or less the same. They were both trying to do the same thing but in divergent ways, and instead of making things better, it made them worse.

The letter from Hogwarts came the following day. One might assume this would be a welcome distraction from the tense situation of the last couple of weeks. It wasn't. Honoured only with a quick glance, it served no other purpose than to lay at the bottom of the hearth, awaiting the time when it was going to be lit on fire.

The days were busy and incredibly trying. Particularly so when two members of the Snape family shared a room. It was as though the air itself became thicker, harder to breathe, charged and ready to magnify the building explosion. Only with Eileen the brothers didn't always feel like they were about to snap. Not always, yes, but there were times when both felt that way. She could be unbelievably stubborn and that could be unbelievably frustrating when she just would not accept any of her sons' suggestions. She would not, for any reason on Earth, leave her husband. That was what she'd told them numerous times and what her children agreed was absolutely senseless. She would not, for any reason on Earth, try to stay out of her husband's way. That was what she'd told them numerous times and what the brothers had different opinions on. And she would not, for any reason on Earth, encourage her husband's behaviour. That she'd told Tobias one time when he once again insisted he did not. have. a drinking problem. Here, all three of them were in agreement.

Tobias, for one, wasn't enjoying his home life. He himself had more than once voiced his wish to leave these ungrateful freaks rot and watch from afar as they struggled to make ends meet. Not that they didn't struggle as it was. But then he'd remember that the house was his and make damn sure everyone else knew it as well.

Eileen... She was not exactly enjoying her life either, but she was happy that she could spend some time with her children. Not that she'd ever say that. There was this old lady at the kiosk that always talked about how she wished her husband was alive to see their daughters graduate from university. The younger mother wasn't proud of this, but at times she felt jealous. Why couldn't she have a loving husband and two happy children that would rush to hug their parents every time they came home. Why couldn't she have a steady income and not worry if they were going to have something on the table in the evening? Why couldn't she be the muggle, blissfully unaware of the growing threat to everyone in Britain. Because although she didn't participate and, frankly, didn't even know what this was all about, she'd heard of the attacks on seemingly random wizards and witches. She'd heard of Him, though she didn't know who He was, and could only hope it would all pass before her kids became old enough to be targeted.

Severus had heard snippets of it too. Close to the end of last year, he'd often caught whispers about weird things happening around the country, but he wasn't curious enough to dig into it further. What interested him most was his mother's health and his Potions project. Unsurprisingly (but nonetheless disappointing), he had not been able to create anything with magical properties whatsoever. He was determined, though, that he would keep trying until he was successful. And he'd promised to himself that the first thing he'd do once he reached Hogwarts was brew a batch of the Elixir to Induce Euphoria and send it home via an owl. Sadly, by the looks of things, his mother would need it.

Seuthes, on the other hand, was still of the opinion that Eileen's problem would be solved if he somehow managed to separate her from his father. It was the only solution he could see and at times he'd almost been successful but then Tobias would shout at them all that if anyone wanted to leave, they were free to do so, followed right after by dud jokes about them living in a cardboard box on the street. It wasn't far from their current situation anyway. Perhaps to escape the dark reality, perhaps for some other reason, Seuthes was engrossed in his study of how magic actually worked. Why, for example, did one need to both have a wand, move it in a specific way, and chant a word for it to work? And why did some people not need to do that? And why did some get to have magical abilities but others didn't? His best guess was that muggles were just stupid and didn't know they actually could use magic. That would explain why Lily was a witch. She was smart, she'd figured it out. But then, some of his classmates were even dumber than muggles. Not to mention sqiubs were a thing. How stupid did one have to be to have magical parents and not realise they could do magic?

Sadly, answers to those questions he didn't find. He still thought his little research had been at least somewhat useful. He'd found new things he wanted to know and was fairly certain there was a book somewhere at Hogwarts that held some answers. Or, if that turned out not to be true, he could always ask Professor Flitwick. The man had to be a Charms Professor for a reason, right?

One could say the summer went by quickly, unnoticed, all too soon. But to do so they would have to be either lying, ignorant or simply anencephalic. Maybe even a combination of both because such a statement was a light-year away from the truth.

These last two months had been perhaps the worst in his life. That thought haunted Seuthes day and night, every morning at breakfast, every afternoon when he heard the creak of the front door and the heavy steps that would follow, every evening when he'd go to his room, close the door, and pray to whomever was willing to listen that no shouts reached his ears, no screams and no sounds of shattering glass. Seldom there was anyone who listened. Or maybe there was and they were just playing some wicked game, torturing the little boy even in his sleep, the only time when he would otherwise be able to savour the peace and quiet in this house he hated from the bottom of his heart.

Perhaps this was the Prince Curse. This was what the words "dangerous, dark world" spoke of. Because could the world get any darker?

It seemed like an impossible mission. One thing was keeping his and Russ' spirits. In just a few days they were going to go back to Hogwarts, see Lily, talk to her, listen to her endless babbling that sometimes seemed quite exhausting as she talked and talked... But an hour or two later, when she'd already gone somewhere else, they'd wish she'd just kept talking. Because the time spent with Lily was the best part of their day and everything else felt like pointless torture.

But Seuthes had to admit that at the moment he'd be happy even if he had to talk to Hagrid or Dumbledore. Hell, maybe even meeting Black and Potter would be better than spending time in this dreadful house. Either way, he couldn't wait for the school year to finally start.

It was the sort of excitement you'd see in children's eyes before Christmas. He was almost as eager to reach Hogwarts as he'd been last year and that was something he would never have guessed was possible after seeing how horrible it had gone last time. But maybe this time it would be different. After the fiasco with Wilkes and Lestrange last Spring, some of his housemates seemed less hostile toward him. And after all, what did it matter that he was a half-blood? He still had magical blood. And he still hated muggles. In fact he loathed muggles. More than any pure-blood ever could.