Eileen Snape nee Prince.
A name she was reduced to, because of the brat who was eying her with disgust now. She had told him of the pregnancy, relishing in the faces he made, sad lost puppy face he made.
Severus was trying hard to hide, but he was still a child, an open book to her if not others.
The truth was that Eileen was not a sadist, or a child abuser, but the boy initiated such intense feeling and memories, it took all her reserves to quench the need to hurt him. Every time she looked at the boy, she was reminded of her father. Severus face structure was so like him that made Eileen flinch every time when he was smaller. Maybe it was because of that, when his nose broke, Eileen sighed in relief and made no attempt to fix it correctly.
Her father, whome Eileen feared after years had passed from his passing. She still wondered how he managed to capture her mother and break the bond between the Black Lord and her. Her father, who missed no opportunity to remind her that she was unwanted and they wanted a "boy".
Eileen desperatly yearned for a girl who would inherit her mothers looks. Something precious and kind to love and cherish, not the helish boy fate saw fit to leave instead. Why Tara hadn't managed to come to this world?
Eileen was not a halfwit, she knew damn well why. The little girl had no chance if Severus had his blood in his vains.
She could remember his voice, his soft murmers promising power and independence from her father. Back then,She never believed in the tales telling he was responsible for that mudblood disappearance. She was three or four years his junior, she would know if such a thing occured.
The fact was that Eileen was a coward still. Even now that her father was a decaying mess in soil, she dared going back to the wizarding world and their views of women. Oh, how liberating it was for a freshly out of Hogwarts student to be introduced to Muggle world! She often sneaked into their world, participting in their opera, concerts and theater. Things she couldn't dream to do so in Wixen world. She danced with whom she pleased, befriended whom she pleased and laughed without the burden of "shaming her family name".
And when her father deemed it the time to wed her off with a strict contract to "bear at least one male heir" for the Prince line, like she was cattle and sheep and not a human, she thought she knew enough to make do in muggle world.
She didn't last that much.
Without money, there was no theater and chic restaurants for her, only daily labour and filth and doing every stupid task without her wand because of stupid " policy".
And one day, she met Tobias. The stoic war veteran who told the most fascinating tales about anything and everything.
It was just her luck to see him again around that time, too.
To this day, she knew not what happened at that day on 1959, she knew it was sexual in nature, invoking sex magic and all that rot. She did not feel like being exclusive, or monogamous. Tobias was just a muggle she dallied with in her free time. She was trying to make enough money to start a bussiness, a potion one.
There was drinks, some runes drawn with blood and dancing and having fun.
Fun as in sex.
But sex magic was not all that happened that night, the night she had with him. There were two muggles brought for entertainment. They usually imperiod them, made them dance and do stupid thing to have a laugh and that was that. It was done in every pureblood family once a year before the stupid laws of muggles safty were passed.
She wished it was that.
When she woke up, it was well past noon, and she was naked and covered in blood. In fact all of the five people present were.
She could only see the two muggles mutilated forms, their dead eyes and mouthes hung open in a silent scream.
She never had apparated so fast in her life!
She had been invited to join the knights, which she had rejected several times. She was busy making ends meet and juggling Tobias.
After that night, came the threats to join the cause, or "else". She was scared out of her wits.She checked and re-checked her wand, but she could not be certain until she could show it to its maker, a deed she was unable to. What if it showed she had cast the unforgivables? There were always ways to erase the spells cast from one's wand. What if the threats were real and there was indeed a memory of her killing those poor sods?
The rest of the story went badly.
How unlucky one could be, to find out you were pregnant with twins when you were about to leave the country? How unlucky she was to find out if she did abort, there was a good chance she died too?( fuck the purebloods and their idea of pure! Why they couldn't at least marry a half-blood once in 2 generations?)
So, she chose the coward way again, disapearing into muggle world, cutting all contact with wizards of any kind until further notice. She was not ready to join a bloody political movement, neither was to be sent in Azkaban because of murder. And raising children single-handedly? It was when Tobias came in handy too, because in those days, a women could not have a child out of wedlock, be it muggle or witch.
There was a good chance her children were magicless, so she could resume her life- which was surprisingly good- with Tobias. Beside the rate of magical babies born of a union between a witch and a muggle, the ritual they did that night was dark. And dark magic did not benefited anyone but the initiate castor, who was not her. If anything , it would rub the child born out of it (weakened it to the point they could not manage a wand), or if she was with child at the time made sure they were magicless.She removed the thought of magic and locked it the furtest south in her mind.
Her carful plan was ruined when she lost her doughter, then obliterated when she saw her "son".
Tobias wanted a doughter like her, he had seen too many soldiers tearing each other apart and kill another at the drop of a hat. A girl was a safe option for them both.
But it was a boy.
A boy,The ever perfect replica of his high-cheeck bones and soft hair with her father's face structure. Everything she ran from, everything she loathed.
She feared for her life, for her freedom from Azkaban, oddly enough for the boy.
She became numb, fell into the deepest despair. Muggles called it post partum syndrom, but what did they know? She could swear she exhausted every possible way to know if the boy was his or Tobias, it always showed Tobias but…
She knew of dark dark rituals done in order to hide the parentage of the child until tested with blood of the sire. The blood she did not have access to.
The boy was calm, nerdish like he was. so She desperatly hoped he was just magicless, that would confirm he was Tobias's.
Then came the spiral into worst. The boy was magic.
The years after that, were not ones she was willing to recall on her own volition. She mostly fought with him, decided to leave, was reminded of why whe was here in the first place and then took refuge in her mind, the only thing that was hers.
She almost hated magic now. Magic that enabled his father become rich selling potions(and his head and ego to inflate, to want an heir to safegaurd his empire). Magic that made her a possible murderor without her knowing . Magic that ruined the life she built with Tobias and turned the man she came to almost love to a raging lunatic.
Wasn't it funny that the boy's parentage hang between worse and the worst? One was a drunk violent muggle, another a charming dark soulless bastard.
She knew she disliked the boy for more than him being magic. His possible parentage, the fact he could train and enjoy its wonders while Eileen had to hide. Eileen had been disinherited upon marrying Tobias, but she knew her father would not close his eyes on a precious "boy". A male heir, halfblood if he was.
Everything was ready for the boy, everything Eileen wanted. Becoming her father's- The Prince- heir and then Lord. Using every kind of magic he pleased. Was she petty?
She knew she was.
But for one thing.
The boy could say all he wanted, but she had done what she could. He must be thankful she didn't turn baby-him to … if Dumbledore even suspected his parentage.. if he knew he could be his…
Eileen was aware he had gone further in dark magic than even Blacks dimmed proper. Would he used the boy for sacrificial rituals to gain more power?
Tobias could only hit and starve him. So what? It was not like he was being cruciod or burned with incendio. Severus could get past it if he was not such a ninny. She had been placed under crucio a couple times herself. They said it built resistance.
Speaking of him…
Severus had gone into Hufflepuff, gained the trust of powerful light families , spread the rumour that he had"perception" ( as if he had, she was his mother, she would know). Just look at his new clothes and new clean chubby face of his!
He was the epitome of slytherin. Going into Puffs made everyone close their eyes at his ambitions and power hungriness. Gaining allies from first year? not even he was that power hungry! And light ones too! Mayhap to avert the watchful eyes of headmaster? To say ( hey look at me! I am an adorable little bunny! Look at my cute face and light magical friends!). sometimes she wondered if he knew, if he suspected and in contact with him…
And Resistance…
Now, after years of being away from magic, the simplest spells made her head hurt. She thought about the things Tobias would do if this child was magical too and she shuddered.
This girl was inocent. Not a blood from that monster was in her vains.
So she started playing with simple spells again. just in case.
She was loath to admit that the idea of another child, another go at this sham of a life came from Severus, when he started writing her. It somehow warmed her heart. Maybe there was a chance for them to be a family again. maybe even if the boy was his, he had some straight bones in his body. Whatever he had done, he had certainly rescued those two kids at his own expense, even Rita bloody Skeeter said so.
There must be kindness in him.
And if he had it in him, why not Tobias?
When she told Tobias she was with child, a doughter this time, at first he had done nothing. But then he slowly came around. He even came to an appointment to hear baby's heart.
She had done the decent thing and gone to Saint Mungo. They said she was 95% squib.
Fuck that 5% uncertainty!
So she decided to go and meet other expectant mothers for stress relief and ranting, the thing she had not done the other time around. If Severus could find friends, why couldn't she?
It was at this meetings, talking, ranting about why their husbands feet stink and how eating pickles and choclate together made perfect sense that she found out.
Margaret west, a beautiful kind soul, in her first month of second trimaster, with a smile that riveled aphrodite. Husband dead, dating a guy who was stoic, but funny. Met her at odd times, worked in an office nearby hers. A tall,smirky snarky much older man who had dark eyes and hair.
Named Tobias.
As much as she wanted to begrudge him his happiness, she couldn't. she had saddled him with the brat, and magic had wrecked his life time and time again. he was not an alcoholic when she met her, so maybe it was her fault too.
She also couldn't shake the feelings that he would leave for Margaret, an ordinary life. And with her baby doughter who was not magical.
Leaving her with Severus.
Or he would just leave her, taking both of the kids.
Tobias thought he could beat the magic out of Severus, and he would go an get an honest job someday. He certainly loved him to some degree.
And maybe it was all her mind, playing tricks on her. Not every Tobias could be her husband, cheating on her with a young widow.
Her heart did a flip she was not sure it was because of the baby, or the betrayed feeling she had. Eileen had remained loyal against her nature, she had not left him in his darkest moments of rage, tolerated the verbal lashings and beatings, his bad temper, and now this?
It was the last straw.
One thing she could not tolerate, was cheating. And when she was giving them another chance, the threat of being find by the knights was low and Severus was growing up finally.( he was such a volatile mess the last two years she was bewildered how this new development happened).
So she had to make a choice, either investigate and confront Tobias, or the cowards way.
She chose the second, like always.
Thus came the invitation. She needed to know if Severus was going to be a good helping hand in raising his sister or not. The rest she would think as the plan proceeds.
After all, they had a full week test her theories.
{ The Sylwan Scandle
By meredith willcokson
It was not a week ago when the shocking news of the Break wracked the foundation of the society. The Black-Sylwan wedding that was to be held this spring, was called off at the latest moment possible. We, Journalists of the good old daily prophit were as baffled by the news as you dear readers.
Many rumours told of the bride, or the grooms infertility, or infidality. Both were firmly rejected not by Lord Orion Black- the current seat holder- but the Supreme Patriah of the house, Lord Arcturus, the only one with the Veto right in the whole family, and still a powerful vote among the dark families of wizengamot.
When yesterday the news of PREVIOUS Lord Sylwan being stripped of his tiltles and losing his seats hit the papers, We finally found out the reason behind the canceling of the ROYAL wedding of the century.
……}
Regulus was just getting into juicy bits when Orion saw fit to step inside and with a deep frown, acciod the paper to himself.
"Father still has more than a foot in the game, I see"
Regulus did not understand fully what was said and done, but from snippets kreacher told him, it was actually Severus who convinced grandfather to cancel the wedding. Of course he wasn't dumb enough to point it out, unlike Sirius he knew when to keep silent.
It warmed him that his friend- now he thought of him as the closest confidant and dare say brother- jumped head first into the fire pit of Sylwans, because Regulus told him things. He had trusted Regulus on a level no-one even his grandfather –who was sweet on him, well as sweet as a Black could get- had ever.
He had written him so many things, asked him all types of silly, and serious questions and found him to be an intelligent- if not humble or patient- pen pal. He knew more of Hogwarts than his own brother had bothered telling him.
Severus had carefully told him the enviroment of Hogwarts, the houses and each teacher's favourites. Who was best if you wanted to get marks, or who was a landing hand. That Puffs were not simpltons, Ravenclaws did not have every answer and Gryffs were not that brave. They were mostly physically brave but emotionally? They had a long way to go.
He had told the stigma of being in Slytherin, that the House was harsh, but you could find life long allies there. That just relying on Blood was stupid, He was a halfblood and was both the youngest seeker and had the gift of perception.
Regulus agreed on the matters of halfbloods, and that intermarring was dumb, when you could find a match easily from another magical community, say Italy, or germany. Severus did not behave like he was special because of his status, nor wore kid gloves dealing with him. They argued and debated rationally, and Reg thought his Gran would approve (if he didn't he would have done something by now).
His parents… Orion was angry, more than he was most days and mother was furious. He had stuck to his room and krecher delivered his meals.
He was happy for Andy, the man was a creep. Now he even didn't see a problem if Andy married a halfblood or mudblood for that. She could marry a kelpie and reg would congratulate her on her choice as long as it wasn't Sylwan.
Now the problem with the M word…
He had forbade Kreacher to address Severus as Mudblood. He could only go so far before his parents found out. He still planned to go to Slytherin, but he would fight tooth and nail to keep Severus. Even find a blood binding ritual if he must.
Severus was not a lazy one, but his schedule was far too busy for a first year. Quidich, remaining top of his year, investigating Sylwan, taking care of his pet Phonix ( he was NOT jealous!). his friends.
Yet he had time dedicated to him. He would curse and nag and drag his feet, but he never left a letter un answered. Unlike Sirius, who had found a replacment as soon as he left for Hogwarts. Was he lying when he told Reg that he would never leave him behind? That he would never let harm come to his lil brother?
At least Severus did not lie. He didn't say he could protect him against bullies, or always be there for him or wipe his tears, but he promised he would listen.
Regulus could respect that, work with that.
He shuffled the wrinkled letter between his fingers. He had a mystery letter delievered to him by an anonymous owl. He had searched it, had Kreacher search it and it only had one sentence.
There's a secret about your friend, that will mean his life will end
For better or worse It will be your choice.
Regulus wished that Severus would have told him where he lived, or like most students, stood at castle during easter. His parents were useless and Grandfather was out of the coutry doing merlin knew what! He was a nervous mess. He had no doubt it would be either about Sirius or Severus. But which one?
As much as he resented his brother, he was his first friend.
Severus on the other hand, was his closest- who he was kidding with?- his best friend.
What was this secret? Who was the person behind the threat?
Was it all a prank? Was it real?
And if it was, why HE was being threatened? What he had to offer?
What would be the price?
Chapter End Notes
Regulus: Kreacher, please don't use the M word about Severus, he is my friend.
Kreacher: kreacher will. Aster Regulus. Aster udblood Severus is OK?
Regulus: I didn't mean don't use the letter M! Don't call him a mudblood!
Kreacher: yes master. Is master severus not mudblood is alright?
Regulus: don't call him mud blood at all!
Kreacher: Is master who shall not be named OK?
Kreacher: master you know who I am talking about?
Regulus stares at the ceiling, wondering why he bothers at all.