SNAPE, severus

HISTORY

On January 9th in the cold mid-evening hours Severus Tobias Snape was brought into this world. Born in a small town just outside of London it wasn't long before the word got out. It was said that after a long and meticulously kept line of pureblooded tradition, Eileen Prince married a muggle. This ultimately would lead to the widespread disapproval of both her family and the majority of her friends. At the time she thought that she was in love, but it was only later that she found out that she had been terribly wrong. She married for love and that was all that mattered, that was what she had to keep reminding herself as her mother and her father insisted that she hold her head lower than the rest of them because it took a special type of pureblood to 'love' a muggle.

It all begun one bright autumn day, when the summer sun hadn't disappeared long behind the cloud cover of the approaching winter. A young woman with long sleek black hair had been walking down the street, her strut spoke of high breeding and the pampering of an upper class upbringing. Her face was not yet lined and her pale skin gleamed in the sunlight of the day, she did not yet hold that ghastly glow to her that she would soon gain in old age. She was young, she was pretty, yet somehow she looked frail treading lightly on the sidewalk as if one misstep would shatter her whole being. Black eyes glittered vibrantly in their sockets as she peered around the populated street. She walked with such purpose and arrogance that even to this day it is a surprise that he had the guts to approach her - HER, the beauty that had taken that small misstep in the street that bright autumn day. It had all happened simultaneously. The scruffy looking, but rather clean-cut, laborer had been skipping across the paved sidewalks, no doubt on his way to the pub for an afternoon drink, when he encountered that same woman. At first glance the black eyes were entrancing, they held his own hazel green gaze like some sort of intoxicating poison. Years later he would admit to the moment as having been 'witched' into the whole thing. Yes, there were spells and potions that helped the onslaught of love, but neither had been employed that day by a younger Eileen Prince. It had been the workings of fate that had trapped them into such mortal doom at that precise moment. Seconds later the fall had come, Eileen had tripped over a stray pebble pushed in front of her, perhaps by the force of luck, and taken a great fall directly into the arms of the unsuspecting laborer that just happened to be on sight at the time. Tobias Snape had caught his unabashed soon-to-be-bride in his hands in an instant, and it was all almost purely accidental. Later he would continue to recount the events in his head and he would realize that he didn't even know how he caught, the feat now seemed nearly impossible being that they had been a good few feet apart at the time.

That same fall enabled the impoverished young laborer to ask the higher class princess out to lunch that same day. From there on things begun to look up, quickly they had fallen in love on a whim as people often do. Eileen almost saw the situation as a way to get back at her parents for her more than unusually harsh upbringing centered around that same pureblood obsession. And than there was Tobias's chance to gain riches and fame by the bucket for he was going to marry into a fortune right? But it would be a fortune unseen for the moment they uttered 'I do,' Eileen's father decided that he didn't and all chance of a dowry or support for the rest of their lives had gone out the door. Of course Tobias knew nothing of the old family prejudices or of his wife's mysterious talents, that did not come until later. Feelings came to a climax after their marriage, when Eileen admitted to Tobias that her parents had a prejudice against his heritage - that being English, Russian, and Hungarian. She told him that her parents had wanted her to marry into more wealth and that poverty didn't suit her at all - in their minds. That was around the time that things begun to escalate, by means of getting even worse that is. It was not long after that night that Eileen admitted this prejudice to Tobias that she also announced that she was pregnant with Severus. Nine grueling months later filled with tears, harsh words, and a lot of alcohol guzzling on Tobias's part, Severus Adamus Snape was born on January the ninth. Born in a lonely back alley during the ambulance ride to the hospital, Severus would not met his father until a week later when the man showed up drunk as could be on the front steps of the house.

The family took a spiral downwards for the worst after Severus was born. Already short on money, having been knocked from the family fortune, Eileen found herself desperate just to make it by. Tobias on the other hand had taken to a life of hard drinking and compulsive gambling which was quickly wittling away any chance that the family had for saving money. It wasn't long before Tobias would become abusive taking out the family's financial problems on both his wife and a young Severus.

Since the family's financial problems had taken a turn for the worst, they ended up selling most of their worldly possessions. They were forced to move into a smaller neighborhood and a shack-like house in the slums of London - ie: Spinner's End. Being dejected to such an environment only made family matters worse, as Tobias begun to blame Severus even more for their financial situation. He often accused him of eating into their savings that were meant for bills and taxes. Throughout these times Severus was known to retreat outside for the company of fresh air to quell the uneasy feelings that his father gave him. During this time he became accustomed to walking down to the muggle park and watching the children playing on the slides and the swings with their watchful parents nearby. It was on one of these very occasions that he spied the Evans's family out for a day at the park. At the time Severus did not know much about the small red head that played so energetically in the sandbox with her sister, but he had a feeling that someday he would introduce himself to her. He was constantly watching and waiting, observing the people in the park as well as those on the sidewalk from a hidden clump of bushes.

Severus lived a very unpleasant life the first eleven years, he was constantly dodging his father's curses, and punches. Since he was old enough to remember he could recall the reasons why he wanted to leave home and start a new life. To keep himself busy he buried his nose in his grandfather's spell books - the only few remaining relics that had been taken from Eileen's parent's house before she had fled that night when she decided to run off and marry Tobias. His only consolation were contained in the stories that his mother told him about the wizarding world and the discussions he shared with his new red-headed friend - Lily Evans. For years he awaited that moment when he would receive that letter and reveal to his father what he really was. He held an eagerness in his soul all those years that only accumulated as time grew closer, this eagerness for the things that were to come. He knew that at Hogwarts he would be accepted and perhaps finally he would find salvation there from the black eyes and bloody lips that he had known at home. There would be no one to protect at Hogwarts, and he could finally spend more time with Lily there too.

Finally when the letter arrived the truth was broken to Tobias, who at the moment had been rather drunk. He was now convinced that both his son and his wife had gone crazy, rather than ridding them of his presence the letter had only made him more anger. It was his house and they were to live up to his rules, and that was not to include some 'stupid' bantering about 'magical wizard things and schools.' Despite Tobias's disgust, Eileen for once put her foot down and fought for Severus's chance. She explained the issue to Tobias and after much bloodshed between all involved parties it was decided that Severus would attend if only to 'rid' them of him for about seven months out of the year. For as Tobias saw it, it was one less mouth to feed, thus more alcohol for him. So Severus attended Hogwarts and begrudgingly came home during his summer breaks, but avoided going home for the holidays. His Hogwarts years were mainly uneventful despite trying to dodge James Potter and the marauders during daily run-ins with them. Severus remained close friends with Lily Evans until his fifth year when one of his snide comments posed in her direction ignited a heated argument. After that they never spoke again. Nothing Severus said to her could change her mind, despite all his pleading and apologies. Years later Lily Evans would marry James Potter, and Severus still found himself bitter over the issue. In his anger he made a mistake and happened to tell Lord Voldemort about the prophecy that he heard while awaiting his interview for a position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite his assumption he had not heard the entire prophecy before he was caught eavesdropping and he was thrown out of the area. Voldemort decided that the prophecy surrounding the boy who would defeat him involved Lily Potter and her unborn son Harry. With this idea in his mind he decided that he must eliminate Lily Potter and her family. Once Severus heard of this news he went straight to Dumbledore and pleaded with him to save Lily's life. Dumbledore did not say that he could help Severus save Lily's life, and in the end he was not able to. Instead Dumbledore secured Severus's undying allegiance in order to help him do whatever it took to defeat the Dark Lord and avenge Lily's death. In the end the Dark Lord met his untimely demise and Severus found himself stagnant in his decision to work against the dark forces. For over a decade he would remain in waiting just in case the Dark Lord ever saw it fit to rise again.

Within recent years this potential uprising has become a reality. Now with the Dark Lord in control, Severus still serves beneath him under the guise of a loyal follower. He has secured Voldemort's trust after having murdered Dumbledore last year as per the Dark Lord's request. Currently he serves as Headmaster of Hogwarts awaiting and anticipating the next necessary move in this large game of chest that he may have to make.