The Snapes
The Statute of Secrecy is upheld for a reason. Unfortunately, not all muggles take well to the news of witchcraft. Even if one was to ignore the formerly revered practice of witch hunting and murder, the simple dismissal of witchcraft and wizardry as ‘devil worshipping’ was enough for the introduction of witchkind protection measures.
Hence, the Statute of Secrecy. Of course, not all witches nor wizards directly followed the Statute. And as such, they often faced the consequences. And if they didn’t, their children would. In the Advanced Guide to Potion Making*, an example was the Gaunt and Riddle family. In this Advanced Guide, it is Eileen Prince and her son Severus.
Tobias Snape, a muggle man, was the object of all of Eileen Prince’s affection. Unlike Merope Gaunt, her affections were well received and quite obviously reciprocated. If only she’d known how temperamental her lover could be.
There are a great many dangers that arise from breaking the Statute of Secrecy. For Eileen, she did not break it until her son had been born.
Severus was a quiet child, intuitive and curious. His father had encouraged his curiousity and had continuously encouraged his son to always asked questions. They do say that it is our biggest supporters who hurt us the most. Tobias Snape was most unfortunately present for the first incident of his son’s accidental magic. Like a butterfly exploding from a cocoon, morphing into an entirely new being, Tobias Snape became a new man.
Eileen was not capable of protecting her son; it is simply a fact. She did not shrug off his accidental magic. She explaining the Wizarding World in great detail. And was promptly punched in the face.
Eileen hid her own magic around Tobias at first. Long after he’d grown up and joined his own little family of sorts, Severus would never understand why she didn’t just hide it all along.
But she didn’t hide. She’d transfigure spoons into butterflies to appease little Severus and cover the bruises from Tobias with makeup. She’d encourage Severus to play outside or to go read in the library after spelling her hair blonde. When he got back home and it was black again, Severus didn’t question it.
He’d only been slapped a few times by his father, when his rage got too much to bear.
When Severus exclaimed to his father about how cool butterflies were and how he wished he could fly just like they did, he hadn’t expected any consequences. When he jumped in joy and was promptly swung into the air, giggling in joy, Severus didn’t expect to learn what his mother was truly hiding. He didn’t expect to become an expert liar, just like she was.
Tobias loved Eileen. A punch or a slap was all he could bring himself to do to her. But Severus was a freak. A by-product of her weirdness. And he had to be fixed.
By the age of six, Severus didn’t smile anymore. When he turned eight, he’d grown bitter and resentful. Though, the teachers never really seemed to notice. If they did, they’d never say much about it.
The library was his hiding place. Books were the perfect escape from his father and his anger. Once he’d read through nearly every interesting fantasy he could get his hands on in the library, he’d taken to stealing the books from his mother’s office and reading them instead.
She had a rather large collection. And each was about magic.
A guide to spells, how they were created and what each spell needed. Severus kept that one, figuring it would be useful in the future, though he didn’t realise just how useful it’d be. Then there was a simple guide to potions and potion making. As he poured over each potion making book, he begun to crave that idea of creation. The idea that any healing or transformation potion could simply be made if one understood the contents. He didn’t keep that book. He didn’t need to.
Once he’d memorised it cover to cover, to a point where he could practically read it in his sleep, Severus picked out a few others. His mother’s collection was extensive. She was a Prince, afterall. A Noble House, according to the books he’d read. Not that it stood for much anymore. Not after she’d been disowned, and left practically penniless. But nonetheless, her collection of books on Dark magic was extensive.
There was something about dark magic that enticed him. Whether it was the dire need for revenge against his cruel father — the desire to curse him just as cruelly as he struck Severus — or the plain curiousity he’d grown up with, he didn’t know. But it came to him easier than light magic did. And surely that was a sign, if anything.
So Severus learnt. He learnt all he could in his little hiding spot, ignoring the fact that he was alone in all aspects that mattered. His mother would never know the true cruelty of his father and Severus would learn to come to terms with it.
Until he met Lily. His first ever friend, who taught him that it was okay to want more. A complex friendship, one that wavered and snapped. But one that they learnt to fix. A friendship that had been structured weakly on a need for allies but had been repurposed from a simple allyship to family.
The Severus of his youth, riddled with vengeance and fury would not entirely let go of his anger. No, instead he would repurpose it into protection for his loved ones. He would become a saviour of the Wizarding World, escape the clutches of his father and not trade one prison for another.
He’d learn the true meaning of love, and its power. And he’d learn how differentiate the different types of love, all of which he’d never once seen as a child but would be swamped by as an adult.
His story, often ignored, is just as crucial to the defeat of Voldemort as any of his loved ones. And how desperately they’d fight for it to be just as valued. If little Severus could see him now, laughing easily with no fear of judgement. Oh, what a beautiful future he’d have.
When all is said and done, Severus Snape would be more than his mistakes and his trauma. A silent spectator of his parents ‘love’ to a silent victim of his father’s rage. All to become a crucial part of the silent downfall of Voldemort.
And such is the tale of Severus Snape.
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*An Advanced Guide to Potion Making: The Stronger Love Potion