Unknown past

Marriet found Lily Evans after searching about half the train.

She went about asking her the same way she did Severus.

Lily initially tried to stop Marriet. Marriet followed the instructions given by Bellatrix to the tee. That is, she followed around Lily till they reached her parents. Lily had no choice but to drop her off at Snape's home. It was all the better too, as this time around, Snape just apparated back home in order to dissuade Marriet from following him home.

So, when he answered door after an hour, he is shocked to find Marriet at the door.

She looked very frightened as she stood in the door way and peered up at him.

Severus looked half ready to throw her out.

Before he can do that, Eileen intervened.

"Who's this Severus?" she asked, looking the girl up and down.

Severus turned a surprised glance at her.

His mother's voice is a lot stronger than what it usually is.

He wondered if it's a good thing for her to see one more person from wizarding world. Even so, he had to send Marriet away.

His father will be home in the evening, Severus could only imagine ensuing chaos.

His mother intervened just as he grabbed Marriet's arm.

"Come in, Ms.." Eileen invited Marriet.

"Dolcow, Mam. Marriet Dolcow." answered Marriet in her usually monotone.

"Severus, don't stand there. Close the door, draw up some tea for Ms. Dolcow." she ordered him before walking to the dining table.

" Welcome, Miss Dolcow. Are you a friend of severus's ? " Eileeen asked.

"No, Mam. I am his sister." Marriet answered. Bella advised her to say so.

"Is that so?" Eileen looked over the girl.

"Yes Mam." Eileen answered, still standing awkwardly besides her trunk.

Severus intervened at this moment.

" Miss Dolcow , I informed you time and again, you are not.." before he could continue, Eileen stopped him by raising a hand.

Severus stopped talking from shock. This is very very forthcoming for his mother, definitely more than any thing he has seen or remembered from past. Eileen was practically a living corpse at this time in the past.

"I do not remember giving birth to a girl." she informed Marriet.

Marriet did not answer. After all, she never quite got the hang of sarcasm and leading sentences.

Eileen stared at her expectantly.

When it became clear Marriet is not going to answer unless she poses a question, she spoke again.

"How did you know Severus is your brother, Ms. Dolcow?"

"Profesor Slughorn told me, Mam." Marriet answered.

"How did you know our address?" Eileen asked.

"Lily Evans's father dropped me off here, Mam."

"Isn't he a muggle?" Eileen asked, it was more like a question to her self, but Marriet answered any way.

"Yes, Mam."

"Why are you here, Miss Dolcow?" Eileen asked.

"I am here to spend holidays with Severus, Mam."

"very well. Severus, take her to your room and set her up." she ordered Severus.

"In our home, you have to work to earn your food, Ms. Dolcow. Once you place your trunk, you may come back here and start preparations for lunch. I assume you know how to cook?" Eileen asked her.

"Yes mam." Marriet asked.

Severus is so shocked from what transpired, he just moved automatically to do his mother's bidding.

Marriet followed him.

She tugged at his sleeve just as he was about to move in to the hall way.

"How do I stop the voices?" Marriet asked.

She had been hearing the voices asking her to come to Riddle from the time she entered this house.

"What voices?" Severus asked, surprised.

"you don't hear them?" Marriet asked Severus.

"No." Severus answered frowning.

He was surprised to find his mother wearing her coat and gloves when he came out. His mother stopped going out about three years ago, when she deemed him old enough to manage diagon alley shopping by him self.

Eileen looked skittish and frightened as she took her first step outside in years.

She winced as the day lighted up around her.

"we are going to the forest." she told Severus needlessly.

Severus already could see this from the path she took.

He followed her wordlessly.

"Look for black spots in swirling pattern." Eileen told him.

Severus looked at her like she's gone mad.

"Mother! The ice lizards are extinct."

"No, they are not." Eileeen told him with unshakable conviction.

Severus did not answer back.

If his mother thought them alive and available, he is going to allow her to think so. He is just grateful she is coming out and moving around.

They did not find any black swirling patterns in snow. He had no idea how she did it, his mother did find five ice lizards. She put them in her bucket in snow, tied a cloth around the bucket. Severus couldn't understand how she accomplished this feat for the life of him.

By the time they returned, it's an hour past sun down.

They both looked at the scene in front of Spinner's end, froze in their tracks.

His father is there, staring down at one Marriet Dolcow.

For few seconds, no one moved.

Then Tobias Snape followed Marriet's gaze, looked at his wife and son.

His wife, who refused to step one foot out of home how much ever he may abuse her.

His wife, who did not even go to hospital when he broke her thigh bone, ventured out side.

There's a flicker of surprise his face, but he suppressed it fast. Severus suddenly wondered if his mind art skills are more from his father than his mother. Either way, Severus is impressed with his fathers ability to gain control. He did not remember his father being this rational any time.

"Where did you go, Woman?" he asked Eileen suspiciously.

"To get ice for your drink, Tobias." His mother replied with out missing a beat.

Severus did not display any part of the surprise he felt on his face.

"No wonky business, Aye" he wagged a finger at her threateningly, then walked in, jostling Marriet in the process.

Severus winced.

That must have hurt. His father's a big man, all muscle and impressive height. He is no half-giant, but he is not all that far off either. Marriet did not display any visible reaction to the use of force. Severus automatically filed away that fact. Being on look out for abused children is so ingrained in to his being now, there's no way he would miss one, unless he was in denial about it.

Eileen motioned Marriet to follow her to the kitchen.

"Ms. Dolcow, Listen to what I am saying carefully. I want you to keep my husband entertained for half an hour, while I will have a chat with Severus in his room. You must under no circumstances let him enter Severus's room. Do you understand?" Eileen asked in low voice.

Marriet nodded in answer. She is good at following instructions.

"He has his lunch first, you can serve him the one you made. After that, he has his drinks, you can put some of ice we brought in a glass, and you pour liquor from that bottle. Do you get it?" Eileen asked.

Marriet repeated the instructions back to Eileen. After she did it two more times, and another billow from Tobias about not receiving dinner, Eileen sent Marriet out with Tobias's dinner.

She made an excuse of closing the creaky window, dragged Severus in to his room by his arm.

Severus Snape is bewildered by the events of the day. He tried his best not to show it, and tried to go along with them. Hopefully, this madness will soon prove to be a dream, dispel it self in to nothing.

Eileen entered his room, motioned him to close it magically.

Severus rose his eyebrows.

He is almost feeling like accusing his mother of being an impostor, even though it is clear from her mannerisms that she is Eileen her self. He closed the door, magically tightened it with more charms than needed. His mother brought the ice bucket from under her robes, pulled out the little containers with ice lizards. She started tying them around to Severus's Cot, packing some ice around each corner.

Severus had the niggling feeling this is supposed to be some thing bad, but for the life of him he couldn't remember what it is.

Eileen finished all corners, and put one lizard with ice in to the oil lamp hanging above.

Severus remembered what the ritual is about just as his mother held his arm to force him to sit on the cot.

It is to remove the magic from a magical person as if it has never existed in them in the first place.

He blanched and made to pull away.

Eileen hissed, pulled him in to the cot any way.

"Don't go out, you silly boy." she snapped at him.

"Mother! You can't take away my magic." Snape exclaimed in horror. He knew his mother is crazy, he will let go of her ignoring her magic. He drew line at his own magic and decisions, there is no way in hell he is going to willingly sit through a ritual that removes his magic.

"of course, I am not going to take your magic away. Now pull those robes in, make sure no single part of you is outside the barrier." she snapped at him.

She said it with such conviction, Severus tentatively pulled his robes in, sat crouched with his knees touching his mothers.

Eileen placed a finger on the ice lizard on oil lamp, uttered an incantation. Severus did not know that incantation. He wondered how obscure this spell is even he, the master of dark arts did not recognize it.

Snape could immediately feel his magic being dampened. It's as if the voices of the world melted away. Severus had never felt such emptiness inside or around him. Even with all the grief he went through after Lily's death.

He opened his mouth to voice his doubts again, but his mother snapped at him to stay silent.

He is so surprised by her behavior he compiled immediately.

"We have very little time boy, you will not ask any questions till I am finished." Eileen told him in an authoritative voice.

Snape did not make any gesture in acquiesce or denial.

"This ritual is called king's tent. It's purpose is to facilitate negotiation between two opposing magical parties, as no magic is possible with in these boundaries. I will expound on that later, when I have time. Before that, I need to tell you a story, I have very little time to do that." She paused there as if gathering her strength for saying what she is about to.

"When I went to school, I met a very handsome and charming boy. His name is Tom Morvolo Riddle. He told me he loved me. I, being the stupid little girl I am, believed him. You see, he was charming. So very charming." his mother told him urgently, as if trying to convince him of her innocence. Severus needed no prompting there. He had personal experience with how charming this man can be.

Severus patted his mother's arm, motioned her to continue. Inside, He is reeling. He had no idea his mother knew dark lord personally. Worse yet, dark lord seduced his mother. Suddenly his father did not seem all that bad. He may not be a good man, but he is some one Severus can endure.

"We Princes have the world's fore most dark arts library. You see, he was interested in dark arts. Purely academic interest, of course." Eileen snorted as she said the last word.

"He asked me of a single book. A book that has information on how to make Horcruxes. He said, the princes must have it. After all, rumor said princes have a copy of every book that's ever went to Ministry of Mysteries department. The truth is far worse.

You see, what we have is far more than world's fore most dark library. Princes hold more knowledge than department of mysteries. We have a copy of every dark art ever made, inconsequential or all destroying.

Compared to some of the other dark arts we know of and practiced in times unknown, a Horcrux is nothing. I know what you think of me, but I am no stranger to death. Not just as a witness, but as a perpetrator.

During that time, Muggle war was happening, death is waiting for every one at every corner. Furthermore, he only had academic interest. He said so.

I was such a fool.

I gave him a copy of the book. I did not think much of it. Then, one fine day, a muggle born girl died. I started to suspect then.

I demanded the book back, he gave it back to me. Then, As I turned my back, he erased my memory. I, already being suspicious, took a potion to keep my memories despite erasing.

He tried to make it look like he never took the book from me.

I played along. How ever, he was smart. He realized some thing is wrong.

I tried pulling away from him. I did it slowly, letting him probe mind when ever he wanted, showing him naught but what he wished to see. He proposed when we graduated.

I accepted, gave him an wrong address, slipped away from him. I truly thought I won. After all, he is a half blood, slytherin's heir or not my father wouldn't even think of meeting him.

Then,Then, the.." His mother stopped there to wipe her eyes and clear her throat.

What ever happened next was traumatic to her. Severus patted her arm, waited in stony silence. He did not trust his voice any more. It is his mother who gave Voldemort his greatest weapon. He shuddered to think how worse it would have been if dark lord gotten in to prince inheritance.

His mother, his unresponsive and sweet mother tricked him. Severus couldn't have felt more proud if he tried. He never suspected his mother had it in her. She must have been one formidable witch.

His mother gathered her self and continued.

"He cast a second charm on me. It's called siren song. It makes a person completely and totally subservient to him. The more time you spend resisting, the more obsequious you become. You have to know Severus, his magic is incomparable.

I am by no means a slouch when it comes to mind arts. Even so, I couldn't resist the song's influence. Soon, I turned to drinking as that is the only substance that gave even a minor relief. But my father made sure no magical establishment will sell me alcohol.

I had to turn to muggle establishments. It is there I met your father." His mother's face brightened, at the same time, showed some of her disgust.

"He is a godsend. You see, he is a damper." she said, as if she expected Severus to understand what it is.

She explained after seeing his perplexity.

"A damper is a child born of a long line of squibs. They have such resistance to any thing magical, it used to be said they can even survive the killing curse. Though I never heard of any such instances. How ever, dampers generously took part in witch hunts in the fifteenth century.

It is assumed they are hunted to extinction. Either your father came about through a line of freak accidents, or they did not all die then. Seeing as you are magical, I am going to assume he is not as full blooded damper.

As long as I stayed with him, I could at least avoid the full blown effect siren-song had on my mind. But, Tom is powerful. I can only imagine he grew more powerful. While the siren-song's effect on me remains less than it's full strength till to day, I can not say the same for your father.

Even if he is a damper, he can not fully escape the magic that's applied to him as long as this has been. It calls to me, incessantly to go back to him. It forces your father to do every thing he can save kill me to force me out."

She paused there, stared at him expectantly. Severus could only assume he needs to say some thing.

He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact his mother's responsible for Voldemort's existence.

"Why now?" He asked after some time. Why after all this time indeed? Why not tell him the first time?

His mother withdrew some thing else from under her robes.

Severus gaped at her when he realized it's his little black book where has written down the events of entire time line.

He assumed he need not place any charms on it while it stays home. After all, he did not have any death eater friends dropping by, his father and mother both will not be interested in it.

Evidently, he's been wrong.

So, Severus just nodded his head and waited for her to continue.

"He made the siren-song for prince name. You an never take the prince name in this life, on this land.

While I am born a prince, as long as your father does not throw me out, the enticement can not successfully work on me.

Over the time, Tom Riddle would have assumed I am dead.

It's hard to resist siren-song for even more than five minutes. You are already eligible for vaults and manor, but, I have to ritually pass on the owner ship of the library to you.

After all, it's our pride. Severus, Please, Please believe me when I say I don't have any way other than this."

His mother paused again. Severus readied him self for another heart rending truth. Eileen Snape is insisting on being full of surprises to day.

"I must die before your majority. There is no other way to close the library. It will only give you relief till your child reaches majority, at which time it will automatically pass on to him, but for now, it is the only way." Eileen rambled out before Severus can say any thing else.

"you mustn't Mother. You mustn't. Why is it I can do the impossible, but still can't save you?" Severus cried out.

"Please Severus! I have to be responsible for my actions. You can not fathom the kind of destruction that can occur provided Abyss falls in to wrong hands. You have seen the destruction Riddle is capable of. You know as well as any he needs to be stopped by any means. I may be incapable accomplishing that task, I must do my part. Please understand me. I am glad this time around, I can say good bye." Eileen reached out and hugged him.

Severus couldn't stop his tears.

"You must understand Severus, I will always, always love you. You are the most precious thing in my life, and you will always be. I am proud of the man you have become. Never ever forget that. You did your duty. A mother never can ask for more. I love you, son." she whispered in to his ears.

The lizards still have some time left over. Severus opened his mouth to tell his mother that he loved her too.

It is at this particular moment there is a thud on the door.

"Come on out, you bitch. How dare you do wonky business in my house after I said no!" bellowed Tobias snape.

Severus made to move, but his mother held his hand.

"I still have some thing to say." she told him.

Severus sat back down.

"I love you Severus. Initially, when I married a damper, I was absolutely sure I wouldn't become pregnant, or will give birth to a magical child. I am thankful for you. Do not forget your are beloved."

Severus looked at his mother with damp eyes.

There was a sound of something sliding down, then a crash.

Severus assumed the crash is Marriet.

He flew out of the door before his mother can stop him or warn him. He knew that sound way too intimately. It is the sound of clean up. It is the sound that comes just before a sadist breaks his play thing. It is the sound of covering up a crime with even bigger one, for dead men do not speak. Severus is all to well acquainted with the sound. He had to hear it all too many times last year. It is the sound he dreaded, for you will never know whether the child comes back or not even if you were able to save him physically.

His father will kill Marriet, if he did not act immediately.

Despite the girl being a dunderhead, he couldn't let one of his students get hurt.

The scene he arrived at couldn't have been more horrific.

Marriet is on the floor with her head bleeding, curled in to a ball.

His father is kicking at her.

"No" Severus cried as he lunged at his father.

His father side stepped him, as Severus covered and pulled Marriet to safety, his father loomed over him.

Tobias raised a hand as if to slap Severus.

The next moment, there's a knife protruding from his heart.

Tobias's eyes widened as he looked at he Knife.

Then, he turned his disbelieving eyes to Eileen.

"Mother!" Severus gasped as he saw his mother with Marriet's wand in her hand.

She summoned the knife in Tobias's heart.

Severus knew in that moment what she is going to do.

He still jumped forward all the same.

His mother spoke of a single incantation as she plunged the knife in to her heart.

"For my son."

She fell, vanishing the knife, magically making the blood of both Tobias and herself fall on Snape's head, giving him the most powerful protection he knew. Magic washed over him, telling him it's building a impregnable fort around him.

Yet, in that moment Severus Snape felt most vulnerable.