Petunia—Veronica—had no idea that her intervention with Eileen would lead to such rapid change in the Snape household. She didn’t know it at the time, but her words, though spoken in the heat of the moment, had planted something in Eileen that had been buried for far too long: the desire to take control, to finally stop the cycle of silence, fear, and abuse.
Eileen had gone home after their encounter, and the transformation started immediately.
The day after Veronica's unexpected confrontation with Eileen, word spread through the small town of Spinner’s End. Tobias Snape, the long-ignored, abusive drunkard, had received the shock of his life that morning. Eileen had confronted him in a way she never had before, with an iron resolve that left no room for argument.
"I’m not hiding anymore, Tobias," Eileen had said, her voice strong, no longer trembling under the weight of years of humiliation. "I’m not going to pretend that everything is fine when it’s not. If you want to keep your family, you will have to stop drinking. Or I’ll leave. I’ll take Severus and we will leave."
The force of her words struck Tobias like a bolt from the blue. Eileen was done. She was done hiding her magic, done keeping her past buried, done enduring his alcohol-fueled rages. And she was prepared to leave him. The fact that she had threatened to leave with Severus—that struck him hardest of all. His son was his world, no matter how much he messed up.
Eileen wasn’t finished. She had prepared for this moment, her hands steady as she took a vial from her pocket—a potion she had brewed for this very occasion, one designed to sober Tobias up quickly and remove the haze of drunkenness from his system. With a muttered incantation, she forced him to drink it. Tobias had coughed and sputtered, the sharp taste of the potion biting his tongue as it began to work almost immediately, clearing his mind and numbing the effects of the alcohol.
“I’m not going to pretend anymore,” Eileen repeated, her voice cold with resolution. “I’ll help. I’ll use my magic, but only for small things. I’m not going to risk anything more. You want a family? You want to keep us? You need to start changing.”
For the first time in years, Tobias Snape felt the sharp sting of reality. His wife—his magical wife—had finally set a boundary. He wasn’t sure how it would play out, but the fear of losing her and Severus made him reconsider everything. He loved them, despite his faults, despite his anger, and despite his addictions. The thought of losing them—it terrified him more than anything.
What followed was a slow, painful unraveling of old habits. Tobias, with the help of the potions Eileen brewed, began to sober up. He was still far from perfect, still struggling with his demons, but he made small changes. Each day, he drank less, and each day, he worked harder to be a better father and husband. Eileen wasn’t asking for miracles. She wasn’t asking for him to be someone he wasn’t. But she did demand something simple: respect.
Eileen’s small victories at home began to compound. She started to brew potions for the less fortunate witches and wizards in the poor areas of the wizarding world. She would sell them in secret, always careful not to draw attention to herself. But for the first time in years, Eileen felt like she had a purpose outside of survival. She felt useful, confident in a way she hadn’t for a long time. She was contributing to her family’s well-being, and in return, Tobias was starting to change.
It wasn’t perfect, not by any means. There were still moments of tension, still days when the weight of their situation felt almost unbearable. But the pressure lifted, little by little, and Eileen could see the change in Tobias’s eyes. He was trying. For the first time, he was trying for her, and for Severus.
And that made all the difference.
As Veronica sat at home one evening, lost in her thoughts, she wasn’t prepared for the unexpected visit that came knocking at her door.
It was Severus.
Her first instinct was to retreat, to avoid the confrontation, but as he stood there—his face unusually solemn—she couldn’t. She knew this moment would come, and she knew it had to be dealt with. Severus, despite his awkwardness and the constant shadow of his troubled home life, had a sharp mind. He must have overheard the conversations, the whispers of change. He’d seen his father—his changed father—growing quieter, more reflective. And for all the darkness in Severus’s eyes, there was a flicker of something else now, something Veronica couldn’t quite place.
“Petunia,” Severus said, his voice strained as he stood in the doorway. “We need to talk.”
Veronica blinked in surprise. “What about?”
Severus shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “About... my mother.”
Veronica's heart skipped a beat. She had no idea how to respond. What could she say? She wasn’t even sure she should be the one to speak to him about it. But she couldn’t avoid it. Not now.
“I know what you did,” Severus continued, his voice low. “I know you talked to her. She told me. About... everything. About her magic, about the potions. And about you.”
Veronica’s breath caught in her throat. “She told you?”
Severus nodded, his brow furrowed with a mixture of gratitude and confusion. “She’s different now. She’s... happier. And so is Father. He’s not... he’s not the same man he was before. I don’t know how to explain it, but I can see it.”
Veronica stood frozen for a moment. She wasn’t sure how to process Severus’s words. She had never expected him to come to her for validation, for an explanation.
“I didn’t... I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” Veronica said, her voice strained. “I just saw your mother... and I couldn’t stand seeing her like that. I just wanted her to know she could do more. That she could change things.”
Severus looked at her, his face unreadable. “You did change things. You were the spark she needed. I don’t know if you realize it, but what you said to her—it made all the difference. I didn’t think she would ever stop hiding. But she did.”
Veronica swallowed hard. She didn’t know how to feel about this. She didn’t know if she had the right to feel proud.
“What about your father?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly. “Is he really... trying?”
Severus’s expression softened, a shadow of something that could almost have been hope crossing his features. “Yes,” he said quietly. “He’s trying. For her. And for me.”
Veronica felt a strange mix of relief and sadness. It wasn’t the world she had hoped for—where everything was fixed and easy. But it was something. Something real. Tobias Snape, the broken man, was trying. And Eileen—Eileen was finally living for herself, no longer hiding in the shadows of fear.
And Severus... he wasn’t completely lost. Not yet.
It was more than she had dared hope for. For the Snape family, and for herself.
As Severus left, Veronica stood in the doorway, watching him walk away into the dim evening light. The change was small, almost imperceptible to the outside world, but for those who had lived through it—those who had felt the weight of it—it was everything.
She didn’t know if she had helped, not really. But she knew one thing for sure.
Things were changing.
And sometimes, change—no matter how small—is enough.
