Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Trials and Travels	By : sneakylillady Category: Twilight Series > Crossovers Views: 3591 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or make any money from this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Trials and Travels
- 2-New Beginnings
- 1
- 2
Gifts and Odd Places

Opening quote
A very small degree of hope is sufficient to cause the birth of love.
Henri B. Stendhal

The only gift he could give her for her wedding was his silence. She would never know how much he had loved her through all these years and how much heartache she was causing him by marrying that ostentatious fool of an Auror. She deserved so much better than that – even though he doubted that he qualified either, even in his own opinion.

Eileen Prince had met Tobias Snape during a Witches conference she had been supposed to attend. As the first day was dedicated to administrative details, she soon became bored and decided it was much more in the interest of furthering her education if she strolled through London and saw both Magical and Muggle sights. After enjoying a cup of coffee in a small Leicester Square café, she walked swiftly back the way she had come. Thinking of all the things she had to tell her friends, she turned a corner and unexpectedly found herself tripping over small boxes flying everywhere on the sidewalk, not to mention the jewelry spilling from them in brilliant splashes of rainbow colored reflections of the watery sunlight she’d been so happy about a minute ago. Appalled, she froze in midstep and waited til all the clattering and tinkling had died down. She was shocked that she could have conceivably caused this mayhem, feeling wrapped in a bubble of silence suddenly. As she slowly took stock of her surroundings, she realised she was not the only one taken aback. The young man she’d run into in her haste had the same incredulous look on his face hers must show as well. Before he had time to start shouting at her, she gave the wand underneath her clothes a quick flick and while she stumbled over words of apology most of the boxes and jewels were reunited and sat around them in haphazard stacks. When they had both finished their awkward apologies and she’d helped him put the boxes back on the tray he’d used to carry them, a certain camaraderie had been established and they’d agreed to walk by the Thames the following evening after supper. Eileen’s heart fluttered as she thought of Tobias’ American accent and the fresh impressions she could glean from him. She felt very naïve and uncertain as she’d never travelled much, having spent all of her growing up years either in Hogwarts or with her family in Manchester.
In time they would date more often, despite the distance – he was working in London as a jewellers assistant (even though the dropped boxes had contained only fake jewelry. Lucky coincidence) and she still lived with her parents and siblings in Manchester. Eventually Eileen told Tobias she was a witch and he took it in stride after the first incredulity and then astonishment as she proved her assertion. Her parents did not approve. After all, she came from a pureblood family and marrying a Muggle had not been in their plan for her. But her brothers liked Tobias and accepted him with no strings attached. It saddened Eileen that both their parents would miss her wedding – her parents had stubbornly refused to attend and Tobias was estranged from his parents in the US anyway. But her brothers and all her and Tobias’ friends had saved the day, creating a sweet memory she treasured until her last breath. They rented a small flat in London and for a time they were sincerely happy. Eileen had started working in a small shop on Diagon Alley and Tobias succeeded in becoming the Jeweller’s partner after a couple of years. And then, very unexpectedly, she had missed her always puncutal period. After a quick spell to check, she was sure she was pregnant and for the whole day before she told Tobias, she felt wrapped in a cocoon of utter happiness.
That night turned into the first of their subsequent continuous fights. Of course she’d have to stop working when the baby came and Tobias was furious when she refused to get an abortion, insisting that right now they could not afford to lose her income. But Eileen simply went about her daily routine, avoiding him when she could and hoped he would see reason in time. She couldn’t ask her parents to support them a little and her brothers were still studying themselves and would not be able to help. As the baby grew inside her and she finally felt the first fluttering butterfly nudges, this was the only thing that kept her going. Tobias refused to touch her anymore and their conversations consisted of “Pass the salt, please.” and similar short exchanges that left her frustrated, lonely and angry as hell. Often enough her emotions would get the better of her and their screaming matches made it impossible to have a normal relationship any longer. More and more Tobias spent the evenings (and sometimes nights) elsewhere. When she was alone, she would gently hold the child growing inside her and tell him she would always love him.
After long painful labor that she spent completely alone, Eileen gave birth to a small baby boy with a shock of black hair that made his already light complexion pale further still. Tobias refused to visit her at the hospital and would not help her when she packed up small Severus and made her way home supported only by her youngest brother.
In the months to come, Tobias made her beg for every penny to feed her and his son, and when she tried to get him to hold Severus, he would silently turn away and walk out the door. Except for those occasions when his anger took over and they yelled at each other while the baby screamed at the top of his lungs. None of their neighbors would even look at them anymore, much less talk to either of them and Eileen hated every second of taking Severus out for walks and later to play.
When he turned 2, she found a daycare place for him, as much as it hurt to leave him there 5 days a week, morning to evening, but by then Tobias drank away most of his wages and she needed the money to keep her child and herself alive. Her brothers had both finished their studies, but one of them returned to Wales to work in their parents’ vicinity and the other moved to Scotland after he fell for and married a Scottish witch. She was alone with her son most of the time, until one night when Severus was 3 ½, Tobias returned from yet another drunken jaunt and informed her in slurred syllables that he’d had a vasectomy and would now demand his marital rights again. After that first rather violent return to her bed, he abused her repeatedly every other day, leaving her sore and desperate. She came close to throwing in the towel a few times, but as she didn’t want to lose her little boy, she stayed and returned to avoiding her husband as much as humanly possible.
By the time Severus was 7, she’d taught him to stay out of his father’s way and not expect even a kind word from him. In the following years, she became sickly and her only fights with Tobias were over their son and his future. Shortly before Severus turned 11, Eileen Snape died in her sleep, exhausted beyond her years, leaving a bewildered boy behind whose father decided that that Hogwarts letter was a godsend after all, in spite of his utter and complete disgust with the wizarding world by then. Getting rid of the obnoxious silent child of his counted for more than actually raising his son himself.

Severus Snape’s 7 years in Hogwarts were punctuated only by his summer visits to his taciturn grandparents as his father refused to accept him back at his home. The only highlights worth mentioning were the times spent with his uncles during Christmas holidays and the hopes he had as far as Lily Evans was concerned – until James Potter began paying attention to her and succeeded in winning her heart eventually. That’s when Severus lost heart. He was still Lily’s friend, as far as she permitted that, but the rest of his time he spent learning things and meeting people that fed the dark side of his soul until he felt that he’d crossed the point of no return. To everyone’s (except Lily’s) surprise he attended the Evans/Potter wedding, keeping in the background and doing his level best to remain invisible. His only spoken words were his congratulations (bitter words, those, nearly suffocating him as he spoke them) to Lily. He gave her a thin silver necklace with a pendant shaped like a Lily that would bloom in the spring and summer – starting on his birthday, but the significance of that only Lily would notice – and turning into the crystal shape of a lily bud for the rest of the year as long as she wore it. Silently he shook James’ hand and left, feeling as if his heart were being sliced in two and as if a great burden had been lifted at the same time.

When he walked to the Tube, he made a decision. In the few instants that his father had spoken of his family, he’d only mentioned his parents a few times and where they had lived before he left. Upon entering his flat, he carefully put all his Potions equipment into his trunk, muttered a few spells to put the rest of his possessions into another and brewed one last cup of tea before he left with trunks in tow. At “Witches and Wizards abroad” he rented a cubbyhole for a year. He was sure that after 12 months, he’d know where he would continue his so far not very satisfactory existence and if not, he could still extend the contract. WWA had had an ingenious idea as to making use of magic and space. They’d enchanted a wall of cubbyholes to contain shrunken possessions that were of no current use to their owners. At low cost they could be rented and it only took one spell to shrink everyone’s property to the same size. Miss Ollivander handed over the return key to Severus, explaining to him that as soon as he touched it, it would (painlessly) implant itself into the web between his thumb and first finger so he couldn’t possibly lose it. Upon death or disability of its owner it would detach and apparate to the next of kin the owner had had to name in the contract. She also explained how to change said next of kin with a simple spell. He left with only a small black leather bag and apparated to a dark parking lot next to Heathrow airport.

As he boarded the plane early the next morning, he realised it was unlikely he’d ever see Lily again, but then he’d made up his mind and was on his way to a new life, all his own. Maybe he’d be able to ignore that dark side of himself there and forget what he’d left behind. As soon as they were over the sea, his arm suddenly burned and in panic he nearly ran to the bathroom to lock himself in. He shoved the sleeve up, his heart beating in his throat, only remembering now the Dark Mark there and what it would mean if he left the Dark Lord’s reach. But the pain had gone – and so had the Mark that had dominated his nocturnal thoughts with all its implications, ever since he’d received it. He was unsure of whether to laugh or cry and returned to his seat in a turmoil of emotions. Soon the strain he’d been under took its toll and he fell into a deep and dreamless sleep until the stewardess woke him for the descent to JFK, NYC, USA.
- 1
- 2
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Trials and Travels