Fic: Once Upon A Dream
Title: Once Upon A Dream
Author: Boussole
Prompt: Fairy Tale
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG
Summary: Cruel, snarky Potions Masters don't start out that way. They were once happy(?), carefree young boys as well.
Notes: Many thanks to everyone that pushed me into doing this! And especially Ellie who had to put up with me writing this while we were both on vacation~ If it weren't for you, this would most likely have been abandoned somewhere in southern France! ^-^
Once Upon A Dream
“And they all lived happily ever after. The end,” the woman finished with a gentle smile. She closed the book, holding it loosely in her hands. “And now, it is time for you to go to sleep, young man.”
“Don’t wanna,” the small boy mumbled, setting his face into a determined pout.
“You promised you’d go right to bed after I read you a story, Severus. I’ll have to make Timus sleep elsewhere tonight if you don’t.”
Severus’s eyes opened large and he glanced quickly to the ragged stuffed cat sitting next to his pillow. He struggled internally for a moment before the sound of blankets being shuffled and rearranged was heard. Reemerging, Severus was tucked snuggly under his comforter and already feigning sleep.
Eileen smiled fondly at her child and tucked him in just a little more snuggly. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she stood and left the room, leaving the door open a fraction of an inch. Already slipping off into dreams of large castles with fire breathing dragons and heroic knights, Severus rolled over drawing Timus closer to his side.
~*~*~*~*~
“Now really, Severus. I’d thought you knew better than to start a fight with the other children at school,” Eileen scolded Severus as she placed another bandage over his scrapped knee.
He thought to call her on her own bruises covering her arms and legs but instead argued, “I didn’t start anything! It was Sirius’s fault!”
“Oh really?” Eileen’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “And what did young Mr. Black do that required you to give him a sound knocking?”
“He said I shouldn’t be allowed at primary school with him and James. He said it was because I’m a half-blood.” He winced as she cleaned the cut on his arm with alcohol.
Eileen frowned at the insinuation and made a mental note to have a little chat with Mrs. Black the next morning.
“Silly arguing aside, you still should not have hit him.”
Severus looked at his mother angrily and replied, “He deserved it! He said that you were no better than a muggle because you married one! And I told him you were loads better than any of the rubbish he considered pureblood!”
Eileen hid a small smile and continued with her chiding.
“I still don’t see how this would have started a fist fight.”
At this, Severus dropped his head, becoming rather interested in his shoes.
“Severus,” she said warningly, tilting his head back up, “What did you say?”
Not meeting her eyes, he answered quietly, “I called his mother an inbred cow. He punched me then.”
Sighing, Eileen pulled Severus into her lap and hugged him close.
“Severus,” she said after a moment, “Think of the stories I read to you at night. Think about the warriors and knights-“
“And princes,” Severus piped in.
Eileen smiled. “And princes. Think. How would they have handled what happened today?”
Severus thought about the heroes of the stories he loved to hear so much about. The ones he admired and dreamed of meeting. He thought of the adventures he’d pretended in the gardens, always fighting side by side with his favorite characters. Would they have done as Severus had this morning?
“They wouldn’t have said that about Sirius’s mother,” looking dejected, he answered his own mother’s question. “Even if it is true,” he added in a whisper.
The woman sighed and rolled her eyes heaven ward. At least Severus seemed to understand what he’d done wrong. “I swear, Severus. You’ll be the death of me yet!”
Eileen smiled lovingly at the small boy still sitting in her lap. Leaning in for another hug, she whispered in his ear, “You did get at least one good punch in didn’t you?”
~*~*~*~*~
“All right, Severus, no more games. It’s time for bed. I know you’re in here somewhere.”
Severus covered his mouth with his hands to muffle the laughter that tried to bubble over. He had already won the other three rounds of hide-and-seek he and his mother had played. It was so much easier for Severus to find a hiding place the right size for him than it was for her.
Peaking out from underneath the sofa he saw Eileen facing the other direction, eyeing up the curtains suspiciously.
She whipped around suddenly when Severus was unable to hide his laughter quick enough.
“Aha! I’ve found you!”
Severus groaned and hung his head in defeat. “I almost won!”
His mother smiled at him endearingly as she helped him out from under the sofa.
“You won often enough, so how about I read you any story you’d like? How’s that for a prize?”
Severus voiced his agreement and rushed off to pick out a book and prepare for bed.
Eileen smiled again and rose from the kneeling position she had been in. She winced as her arm gave a twinge of complaint. She had done a better job of hiding her newly acquired bruises with cosmetics lately; Severus didn’t look at her questioningly anymore. He didn’t stop and inspect her before starting a game or when he wanted a hug. He stopped asking her if she was alright, every so often.
She was pulled out of her contemplation by Severus’s shouts for her to hurry. She gave a weak chuckle over the impatience of her son and continued on to his room.
~*~*~*~*~
“Hello Mrs. Bel. I’m here to pick up Severus.” Eileen gave a polite nod to the impatient woman as she opened the door.
Because of the long walk between Severus’s school and home, he was often the last to be picked up for the day. How late he was picked up often depended on how soon Eileen was able to get away from her husband. Seeing his mother, Severus pulled on his cloak and mittens and followed her out into the chilly afternoon.
“I’m sorry I was a little later than usual today, Severus.” Eileen said apologetically, squeezing Severus’s hand lightly.
“Nn,” he shook his head, “It’s alright. I got to finish my coloring project while I waited.” he smiled up at his mother as he said this.
Eileen smiled back, warmly. “Good. I can’t wait to see it. Here, stop for a moment. This is why I was late. I hadn’t quite finished it yet.”
Fishing around in her pocket she pulled out a small package wrapped in green paper. Handing it to the small boy she said, “Happy Birthday, Severus.”
Severus’s eyes went wide as he looked at the gift being handed to him and then to his mother.
“Well, go on! Open it!”
He tore into the paper happily, revealing a long charcoal grey scarf that shimmered faintly. He stared in amazement as he ran his fingers over the beautiful present. Eileen took the scarf out of his hands and wrapped it snuggly around Severus’s neck. The fabric was warm and soft against his face and he smiled in pleasure at the feel of it. Wrapping his arms around his mother he muffled out a thank you.
Eileen gave a small squeak of pain as Severus tightened his hug around her. Stopping, he looked up, questions in his face already.
“Mother? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“It- it’s nothing, Severus. I’m just a little sore from cleaning the house this morning. Nothing to worry about.”
She could tell her excuse had placated Severus for now, but she wondered for how much longer he would be fooled. How much longer he would believe in this fairy tale lie.
“Let’s get going. It’s a bit chilly out and there’s a mug of cocoa with your name on it at home. And perhaps something else has magically appeared in the oven, hmm?”
Grabbing his mother’s hand again in excitement, Severus moved forwards quickly, eager for the cake he knew was awaiting him.
~*~*~*~*~
“-and the enchantment put everyone far and wide into a deep sleep. But-“
“Mother?”
“Yes, Severus?”
“You are a witch, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then why don’t you ever use magic? Or cast spells or enchantments?”
Eileen closed her eyes, a pained expression filling her face.
“Mother?”
“-I suppose… it’s because your father doesn’t particularly like magic. I didn’t tell him I was a witch until after we were married.”
“But why doesn’t he like it? Magic makes things easier. You could help him with your magic.”
“It scares him.”
Severus’s brow wrinkled in confusion.
“He believes I’m stronger than he is because of it,” Eileen clarified.
“So then- that’s why- he-“ Severus glanced at his mother’s swollen and bruised eye.
“Yes,” was the whispered response.
After a few moments of silence, Severus said again “Mother-”
“Yes, Severus?”
“I- I’ll protect you. Like the princes in the stories. I’ll be your prince.”
Eileen smiled gently, “I’d like that Severus.”
~*~*~*~*~
Pressed against his father’s side, Severus could feel the man quiver in agitation. With so many wizards and witches in the house, Tobias was incredibly on edge.
A clean, no nonsense wizard approached him and paused a moment to look down at the young boy Tobias appeared to be comforting. He was playing the good father in front of the Ministry officials overseeing things at the house.
“Ahem. I’m afraid, Mr. Snape, that there is nothing we can do for your wife. At the moment we can’t be certain of what occurred, but by the looks of things she cast the killing curse on herself approximately twenty minutes ago. We will, of course, have her body taken to St. Mungo’s to be further examined, and we’ll send someone over to discuss interment arrangements with you sometime this week.“
Tobias tightened his already vice-like grip on Severus’s causing the young boy to let out a small squeak of pain. The thought of more wizards invading his home did not please him.
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Snape, for your loss.”
The man couldn’t look less sorry, but then again, neither could Tobias. The only one in the room who actually seemed aggrieved was Severus. He clung to his father’s pant leg, afraid to look around. Afraid that he would see her there, in her chair by the fire.
She had sent him to the store to get a special dessert. For finishing the school year with good grades, she’d said. She’d chuckled as he pulled on the grey scarf she’d made for him, despite the warm summer weather. He’d taken to wearing it at every opportunity and it never failed to make Eileen smile.
Severus had returned to see Tobias standing in the doorway to the living room, staring. When he’d looked in himself, he’d seen his mother sitting in her chair with a knitting needle in her hand. Glancing nervously at the man, he ducked under his arm and went to show her the dessert he’d picked out. He stopped when he noticed the item in her hands that he’d thought was a needle.
It was a wand.
Hers.
Glancing at his mother’s face, he went cold at the sight of her blank expression. The warmth that had always radiated out of them at Severus was gone. Her face was slack, relaxed. The creases in her forehead smooth. There was no rise or fall in her chest and her hands lay limp on her knees.
The Ministry had shown up a few moments later after having detected an Unforgivable being cast. Tobias had said nothing, merely pulled Severus to him forcefully, in what looked to be a gesture of comfort.
Underneath the shock and horror Severus felt, a cold hatred was slowly forming. He knew whose fault this was. Tobias had driven his mother to this. He had abused her out of fear. He had refused to let her use magic of any kind. Eileen had been forced to live like a muggle, despite all of the power she had. A Cinderella forced to cook and clean, a slave to the prince she thought she’d found.
And as Severus thought over all of the times Tobias had abused his mother, all of the cruelty he had inflicted upon her, his hate for his father grew. He wanted to avenge his mother’s death, be the prince she had never found. But he knew there was nothing he could do about it. No way he could pay back Tobias exactly what he had given.
Yet.
If Severus could learn to use the power his mother had, that he had, then he could make Tobias fear him. He could make Tobias suffer far worse than Eileen ever had.
Bringing his hands up to the scarf around his neck, Severus gazed once more at his mother. Blinking back the tears that welled up at the sight of her still body, he swore that he would make things right, no matter the cost.
Author: Boussole
Prompt: Fairy Tale
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG
Summary: Cruel, snarky Potions Masters don't start out that way. They were once happy(?), carefree young boys as well.
Notes: Many thanks to everyone that pushed me into doing this! And especially Ellie who had to put up with me writing this while we were both on vacation~ If it weren't for you, this would most likely have been abandoned somewhere in southern France! ^-^
Once Upon A Dream
“And they all lived happily ever after. The end,” the woman finished with a gentle smile. She closed the book, holding it loosely in her hands. “And now, it is time for you to go to sleep, young man.”
“Don’t wanna,” the small boy mumbled, setting his face into a determined pout.
“You promised you’d go right to bed after I read you a story, Severus. I’ll have to make Timus sleep elsewhere tonight if you don’t.”
Severus’s eyes opened large and he glanced quickly to the ragged stuffed cat sitting next to his pillow. He struggled internally for a moment before the sound of blankets being shuffled and rearranged was heard. Reemerging, Severus was tucked snuggly under his comforter and already feigning sleep.
Eileen smiled fondly at her child and tucked him in just a little more snuggly. Placing a kiss on his cheek, she stood and left the room, leaving the door open a fraction of an inch. Already slipping off into dreams of large castles with fire breathing dragons and heroic knights, Severus rolled over drawing Timus closer to his side.
~*~*~*~*~
“Now really, Severus. I’d thought you knew better than to start a fight with the other children at school,” Eileen scolded Severus as she placed another bandage over his scrapped knee.
He thought to call her on her own bruises covering her arms and legs but instead argued, “I didn’t start anything! It was Sirius’s fault!”
“Oh really?” Eileen’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “And what did young Mr. Black do that required you to give him a sound knocking?”
“He said I shouldn’t be allowed at primary school with him and James. He said it was because I’m a half-blood.” He winced as she cleaned the cut on his arm with alcohol.
Eileen frowned at the insinuation and made a mental note to have a little chat with Mrs. Black the next morning.
“Silly arguing aside, you still should not have hit him.”
Severus looked at his mother angrily and replied, “He deserved it! He said that you were no better than a muggle because you married one! And I told him you were loads better than any of the rubbish he considered pureblood!”
Eileen hid a small smile and continued with her chiding.
“I still don’t see how this would have started a fist fight.”
At this, Severus dropped his head, becoming rather interested in his shoes.
“Severus,” she said warningly, tilting his head back up, “What did you say?”
Not meeting her eyes, he answered quietly, “I called his mother an inbred cow. He punched me then.”
Sighing, Eileen pulled Severus into her lap and hugged him close.
“Severus,” she said after a moment, “Think of the stories I read to you at night. Think about the warriors and knights-“
“And princes,” Severus piped in.
Eileen smiled. “And princes. Think. How would they have handled what happened today?”
Severus thought about the heroes of the stories he loved to hear so much about. The ones he admired and dreamed of meeting. He thought of the adventures he’d pretended in the gardens, always fighting side by side with his favorite characters. Would they have done as Severus had this morning?
“They wouldn’t have said that about Sirius’s mother,” looking dejected, he answered his own mother’s question. “Even if it is true,” he added in a whisper.
The woman sighed and rolled her eyes heaven ward. At least Severus seemed to understand what he’d done wrong. “I swear, Severus. You’ll be the death of me yet!”
Eileen smiled lovingly at the small boy still sitting in her lap. Leaning in for another hug, she whispered in his ear, “You did get at least one good punch in didn’t you?”
~*~*~*~*~
“All right, Severus, no more games. It’s time for bed. I know you’re in here somewhere.”
Severus covered his mouth with his hands to muffle the laughter that tried to bubble over. He had already won the other three rounds of hide-and-seek he and his mother had played. It was so much easier for Severus to find a hiding place the right size for him than it was for her.
Peaking out from underneath the sofa he saw Eileen facing the other direction, eyeing up the curtains suspiciously.
She whipped around suddenly when Severus was unable to hide his laughter quick enough.
“Aha! I’ve found you!”
Severus groaned and hung his head in defeat. “I almost won!”
His mother smiled at him endearingly as she helped him out from under the sofa.
“You won often enough, so how about I read you any story you’d like? How’s that for a prize?”
Severus voiced his agreement and rushed off to pick out a book and prepare for bed.
Eileen smiled again and rose from the kneeling position she had been in. She winced as her arm gave a twinge of complaint. She had done a better job of hiding her newly acquired bruises with cosmetics lately; Severus didn’t look at her questioningly anymore. He didn’t stop and inspect her before starting a game or when he wanted a hug. He stopped asking her if she was alright, every so often.
She was pulled out of her contemplation by Severus’s shouts for her to hurry. She gave a weak chuckle over the impatience of her son and continued on to his room.
~*~*~*~*~
“Hello Mrs. Bel. I’m here to pick up Severus.” Eileen gave a polite nod to the impatient woman as she opened the door.
Because of the long walk between Severus’s school and home, he was often the last to be picked up for the day. How late he was picked up often depended on how soon Eileen was able to get away from her husband. Seeing his mother, Severus pulled on his cloak and mittens and followed her out into the chilly afternoon.
“I’m sorry I was a little later than usual today, Severus.” Eileen said apologetically, squeezing Severus’s hand lightly.
“Nn,” he shook his head, “It’s alright. I got to finish my coloring project while I waited.” he smiled up at his mother as he said this.
Eileen smiled back, warmly. “Good. I can’t wait to see it. Here, stop for a moment. This is why I was late. I hadn’t quite finished it yet.”
Fishing around in her pocket she pulled out a small package wrapped in green paper. Handing it to the small boy she said, “Happy Birthday, Severus.”
Severus’s eyes went wide as he looked at the gift being handed to him and then to his mother.
“Well, go on! Open it!”
He tore into the paper happily, revealing a long charcoal grey scarf that shimmered faintly. He stared in amazement as he ran his fingers over the beautiful present. Eileen took the scarf out of his hands and wrapped it snuggly around Severus’s neck. The fabric was warm and soft against his face and he smiled in pleasure at the feel of it. Wrapping his arms around his mother he muffled out a thank you.
Eileen gave a small squeak of pain as Severus tightened his hug around her. Stopping, he looked up, questions in his face already.
“Mother? Are you alright? What’s wrong?”
“It- it’s nothing, Severus. I’m just a little sore from cleaning the house this morning. Nothing to worry about.”
She could tell her excuse had placated Severus for now, but she wondered for how much longer he would be fooled. How much longer he would believe in this fairy tale lie.
“Let’s get going. It’s a bit chilly out and there’s a mug of cocoa with your name on it at home. And perhaps something else has magically appeared in the oven, hmm?”
Grabbing his mother’s hand again in excitement, Severus moved forwards quickly, eager for the cake he knew was awaiting him.
~*~*~*~*~
“-and the enchantment put everyone far and wide into a deep sleep. But-“
“Mother?”
“Yes, Severus?”
“You are a witch, right?”
“Of course.”
“Then why don’t you ever use magic? Or cast spells or enchantments?”
Eileen closed her eyes, a pained expression filling her face.
“Mother?”
“-I suppose… it’s because your father doesn’t particularly like magic. I didn’t tell him I was a witch until after we were married.”
“But why doesn’t he like it? Magic makes things easier. You could help him with your magic.”
“It scares him.”
Severus’s brow wrinkled in confusion.
“He believes I’m stronger than he is because of it,” Eileen clarified.
“So then- that’s why- he-“ Severus glanced at his mother’s swollen and bruised eye.
“Yes,” was the whispered response.
After a few moments of silence, Severus said again “Mother-”
“Yes, Severus?”
“I- I’ll protect you. Like the princes in the stories. I’ll be your prince.”
Eileen smiled gently, “I’d like that Severus.”
~*~*~*~*~
Pressed against his father’s side, Severus could feel the man quiver in agitation. With so many wizards and witches in the house, Tobias was incredibly on edge.
A clean, no nonsense wizard approached him and paused a moment to look down at the young boy Tobias appeared to be comforting. He was playing the good father in front of the Ministry officials overseeing things at the house.
“Ahem. I’m afraid, Mr. Snape, that there is nothing we can do for your wife. At the moment we can’t be certain of what occurred, but by the looks of things she cast the killing curse on herself approximately twenty minutes ago. We will, of course, have her body taken to St. Mungo’s to be further examined, and we’ll send someone over to discuss interment arrangements with you sometime this week.“
Tobias tightened his already vice-like grip on Severus’s causing the young boy to let out a small squeak of pain. The thought of more wizards invading his home did not please him.
“I’m very sorry, Mr. Snape, for your loss.”
The man couldn’t look less sorry, but then again, neither could Tobias. The only one in the room who actually seemed aggrieved was Severus. He clung to his father’s pant leg, afraid to look around. Afraid that he would see her there, in her chair by the fire.
She had sent him to the store to get a special dessert. For finishing the school year with good grades, she’d said. She’d chuckled as he pulled on the grey scarf she’d made for him, despite the warm summer weather. He’d taken to wearing it at every opportunity and it never failed to make Eileen smile.
Severus had returned to see Tobias standing in the doorway to the living room, staring. When he’d looked in himself, he’d seen his mother sitting in her chair with a knitting needle in her hand. Glancing nervously at the man, he ducked under his arm and went to show her the dessert he’d picked out. He stopped when he noticed the item in her hands that he’d thought was a needle.
It was a wand.
Hers.
Glancing at his mother’s face, he went cold at the sight of her blank expression. The warmth that had always radiated out of them at Severus was gone. Her face was slack, relaxed. The creases in her forehead smooth. There was no rise or fall in her chest and her hands lay limp on her knees.
The Ministry had shown up a few moments later after having detected an Unforgivable being cast. Tobias had said nothing, merely pulled Severus to him forcefully, in what looked to be a gesture of comfort.
Underneath the shock and horror Severus felt, a cold hatred was slowly forming. He knew whose fault this was. Tobias had driven his mother to this. He had abused her out of fear. He had refused to let her use magic of any kind. Eileen had been forced to live like a muggle, despite all of the power she had. A Cinderella forced to cook and clean, a slave to the prince she thought she’d found.
And as Severus thought over all of the times Tobias had abused his mother, all of the cruelty he had inflicted upon her, his hate for his father grew. He wanted to avenge his mother’s death, be the prince she had never found. But he knew there was nothing he could do about it. No way he could pay back Tobias exactly what he had given.
Yet.
If Severus could learn to use the power his mother had, that he had, then he could make Tobias fear him. He could make Tobias suffer far worse than Eileen ever had.
Bringing his hands up to the scarf around his neck, Severus gazed once more at his mother. Blinking back the tears that welled up at the sight of her still body, he swore that he would make things right, no matter the cost.