Chapter 5: First term

Severus honestly didn’t find most of his classes to be much of a challenge. He learned a lot in Charms and Astronomy. For that reason, he decided to think that two out of seven wasn’t bad. He hated Transfigurations because it was more difficult than he felt it should be, plus he didn’t see many practical uses for it in real life. Between the spectrum of liking and disliking were where the other classes fell. Those he didn’t enjoy so much were a challenge, but not because he found them to be difficult, but more because he found it annoying to attend them. He’d stupidly expected to at least learn something in potions class, but found himself correcting Slughorn on a few points from time to time. At least the elderly professor seemed to find it amusing.

Severus may have perhaps enjoyed all the classes more if he could skip two grades and attend the third year subjects with Heather and Raislen. He’d already surpassed the first year level in his solitary studies or learning with his mother. He didn’t connect with those students in his own year, and there were also the four Gryffindor Gits with whom to contend. Duel was more the word if one wanted to be accurate. At least fighting four to one gave Severus practice in using some of the hexes he found most fascinating. When reading about them in his mother’s favorite dark arts books and studying how to cast them just in case whilst passing his days at Grandfather Princes, he hadn’t expected anyone to present themselves and beg to be hexed so soon. The prats really hated him, as if he’d done something personal to them by simply attending Hogwarts in their same year!

He went from dreading the sight of them because he knew what heckling then hexing was to come to almost looking forward to the challenge depending on his mood. To be fair, if one could be fair in such a situation, he’d begin the hexing first sometimes, but he knew it would happen no matter what and if he struck first, the bullying ended faster. The Gryffindor Gits as Heather and Raislen called them, loved to make him uncomfortable, to watch him squirm. Striking back was his only way of taking control, taking his power in the situation. Ignoring them did not work, as he’d tried that a few times with no success.

His Grandma Snape used to say that ignoring something or someone made it go away eventually, but she was incorrect. The Gryffindor Gits only persisted more strongly when ignored, as if they considered it to be some wordless subtle challenge Severus had thrown down. Oddly enough he could even hate the Gryffindor gits more for making him think of his Snape grandparents.

Why not add one more offense to the long and ever growing list of offenses that was all their fault? Severus missed his Snape grandparents and he knew his Mum did too, but Eileen feared for their safety, so stayed away. She told them she feared association with them after Tobias’s death would put them in danger. Though her friend Jean assured her that Voldemort hadn’t shown any interest in learning who Tobias’s family was for whatever reason, she wouldn’t risk the grandparents. They treated her like a daughter, and losing them after losing Tobias hurt her as much as it hurt Severus, but she said to do otherwise and put them at risk would be selfish.

“I couldn’t live with myself if I got them killed too,” she told Severus more than once.

This caused him to wonder if she believed she’d gotten his father killed simply for asking him to dash out to the potions shop. She hadn’t known Voldemort would be there or that he would notice that Tobias was a Muggle. Tobias would not have advertised the fact, after all. He wasn’t stupid.

He was well aware that while some wizards were kind enough to Muggles, others were anything but. He’d met Grandfather Prince, after all, when helping Eileen to pack her things. Grandfather Prince, rather than supporting Eileen’s wedding to a Muggle, disowned her only taking her back grudgingly when Tobias was killed.

Of course Severus didn’t blame his mum and the idea that she blamed herself made him sick to his stomach. Still the thought of asking her about it felt even worse so he never did. She promised they could visit the grandparents when Voldemort was dead and it was safe to do so. This made him long for Voldemort’s death even more than he longed for the death of Grandfather Prince.

During those early days living with said Grandfather the longing was equally distributed between the two. With Voldemort dead, Tobias would be at least somewhat avenged, and the world could be safe again. Eileen was certain that Voldemort would make a mistake sooner or later that would either cause his own followers to turn on him or lead the Ministry to his door, but it had not happened yet.

Without a safe world, he was not free to see his father’s parents, and the only family he had was his Mum and his dreadful grandfather Prince. His Mum was enough, but he knew she needed support as well. Things were hard for her after Tobias’s death as much as they were for Severus. His father’s parents were all they had left of Tobias and they didn’t even have them. As they were far nicer than grandfather Prince, it just wasn’t fair.

They were warm and kind and whenever he thought of them, hugs and pie and cookies and fresh baked bread came to mind along with the friendly laugh of his grandfather as he patted Severus on the shoulder. They were kind, yes, but helpless against wizards and magic. They could be killed so easily. They wouldn’t stand a chance. So for this reason, Severus knew that his mum was right to keep away from them, even if doing so removed all connections to Tobias Snape from them both and left them with no one to turn to but a cold bigoted wizard who hated about everything and everyone that wasn’t him.

For this reason, when Raislen invited Severus to come to Westcraven manor for a few days of the Christmas holiday he was eager. Eager yet still reluctant to leave his mum alone with Grandfather Prince during the holidays. Though he wanted to see Raislen’s huge library more than anything, in the end he couldn’t abandon his mother even for a few days. Raislen assured him that he’d be home in time for actual Christmas, but Severus still couldn’t do it. The Westcraven library was the family pride. For centuries each generation traveled far and wide on their family vacations, seeking out ancient, rare and interesting books to add to the vast and ever growing collection.

Severus only loved a few things in the world, those being his mum and books. Though the books were practically calling to him, his mum won out. Raislen promised to bring more unique books to share when he returned to Hogwarts, and Severus eagerly promised the same. His Mum had some brilliant dark arts tomes, and hopefully Raislen wouldn’t already have at least one of them. Though Severus would miss the two friends he’d made, he was eager to see Eileen again.

When she met him at Platform nine and three-quarters, he eagerly told her about Heather and Raislen before he spoke of anything else. He was proud that third year Slytherins treated him like one of them. Well except for the embarrassing fact that they called him Kid or The Kid, but he didn’t tell Eileen that. He didn’t bring up the bullies until she asked if anyone had been mean to him. Something in her tense expression told him that she’d understand, and the words spilled out of him. He spoke in a rush of the Gryffindor gits, how they ganged up on him and hated him simply for his interest in the dark arts. She gave a slight nod, but mostly listened without commenting. When he bragged of holding his own against them thanks to her instruction in Dark Arts, she gave a proud smile and hugged him.

“That’s what I wanted. That’s why I taught you so young. People are mean, and I didn’t want my baby being hurt. Mummy is proud of her boy for being such a good fighter.”

Severus felt his face breaking into a happy grin.

“Love you, Mum! Thanks… And thanks for teaching me.”

“I had to make sure you were prepared…It’s what any good parent does, and what your father would’ve wanted.”

“I…”Severus hesitated.

“I thought you were making me ready in case HE came to kill us too.”

Both knew well that HE was Voldemort, and neither needed to say it.

Eileen stared into space, and gave her head a slight shake, one hand still resting distractedly on Severus’s shoulder.

“No…If he came for us, I doubt anything we did could matter. I was more thinking of other random, dreadful people in the world who could give you problems.

“Were prats mean to you when you attended Hogwarts too,” Severus asked and she nodded.

“There shall always be prats who are mean to anyone who is different. But you must remember, my dark little Pumpkin, that different is better. We don’t think like the rest so therefore we can rise above them.”

Severus nodded. That felt good even if they hadn’t risen quite yet. Well he supposed they had, they’d just fallen again with Tobias’s death.

Though the Prince manor was a grim cold affair, Eileen always did her best to warm it up for the holidays. Grandfather Prince only allowed a few decorations along with a stately Christmas tree. They weren’t allowed to put on any of the ornaments Eileen had brought from the house on Spinner’s End, though.

Those ornaments were familiar and full of happier Christmas’s, but Grandfather Prince claimed they were eyesores so Eileen tucked them away, promising that Severus could have them when he grew up and had his own family. She still owned the house on Spinner’s End, and promised to give it to him when he was ready to move out on his own. She professed to be in no hurry, but he was in a hurry to get away from Grandfather Prince and to help her to do so as well as soon as he grew up and could begin making money.