Chapter 10: Princeps

Something was off about this new Snape in Gestalt's mind, much as it was when Half-Breed entered. He seemed highly alert, even by Snape standards, despite having a relaxed appearance. The new Snape looked around the room before turning his full attention to the group of Snapes present.

"It is an honor to meet you all," the new Snape said, bowing his head.

Half-Breed nodded back. "You seem strong."

"You can tell?"

"I can sense it."

"As I can with you," the new Snape said serenely. He looked at the basket full of name tags and took one. "Is there something to write on this."

"It'll fill out your name on its own," Caretaker explained. "Magic."

"... I was warned of this." The new Snape put the nametag on, and the name 'Princeps' appeared. He looked down to read it. "I see..."

"So," Obscurial began, "what's your story?"

"To begin," Princeps said, sitting down beside Half-Breed, "are you familiar with multi-versal theory?"

"I've already told them," Half-Breed explained. "You from one of those types, then?"

Princeps nodded. "I might be the furthest removed from Gestalt compared to everyone else here."

"That so?" Half-Breed turned in his seat and leaned against the counter. "You a non-human?"

"No," Princeps explained, "but Earth doesn't exist where I'm from."

"... come again?" Healer asked.

"You're all familiar with a certain movie series," Princeps continued. "I believe it to be called 'Star Wars'."

"... oh, for fuck's sake," Gestalt said with a tired groan.

"To summarize, my world is somewhat similar to what you would be familiar with." Princeps raised one hand, and a bottle of whiskey leapt off the shelf and onto the counter.

"NO MAGIC!" Obscurial shouted, snatching the bottle back.

"I'm sorry?" Princeps had a calm but confused expression on his face.

"He has a thing about magic," Caretaker explained. Turning to Obscurial, he said, "I can take over for a bit. You should go check and see if the new guy's coming."

Obscurial glared at Princeps before storming off and through one of the side doors.

Caretaker took Obscurial's place and took the bottle of whiskey, pouring Princeps a glass. "So, you're... a Jedi, then?"

"Technically," Princeps said as he took a sip. "I was trained in the Slytherin Temple, which has Sith roots... I won't complicate my explanations. To keep everything simple, I was involved in bringing Voldemort down."

Gestalt could sense that Princeps was withholding some information. "And your name?" he asked, gesturing to the nametag.

"... my Sith title," Princeps confessed. "It was given to me when I joined Voldemort."

"And-"

"Lily?" Princeps asked, as though he already knew the question. "She... we had a difficult relationship, ever since my first defection. And everything became more complicated after I helped her with Harry."

"What do you mean?" Panther asked.

"Being one of the few people in the galaxy with knowledge of cloning technology... her request was disturbing." Princeps drained the entirety of the whiskey in his glass. "... apart from that, we eventually reconciled. And after that, we grew closer."

"Any children?" Lycan asked, now having recovered.

"A daughter," Princeps answered. "We named her Delphine."

"That's odd," Panther commented. "Most of us have two daughters."

"You're fortunate," Princeps said with a smile. "If only I were..." His voice trailed off as he turned his head toward the door, an action matched by Half-Breed.

Gestalt soon felt the same presence as they did, and another Severus Snape walked through the door.