Prince

Though his throat was being choked and he could barely breathe, distorted laughter still burst uncontrollably from Snape's throat.

He flung away the Wand in his hand, threw back his head, and slammed it into the man's nose.

A sickening crack rang out.

"Ah..."

The man screamed in agony. Blood instantly gushed out, staining his face and collar red.

"You—you're courting death!"

A flicker of incredulous fear flashed through the man's eyes, only to be replaced by even fiercer rage.

His fists rained down on Snape.

Yet Snape whimpered even more wildly, gripping the man's shoulders tightly as they grappled and crashed to the floor.

Their bodies rolled across the floorboards with heavy thuds.

In the struggle, Snape sank his teeth into the man's neck, biting deeply into the flesh.

"Ah... Hiss..."

The man howled in pain, clawing at Snape's hair with both hands in an attempt to pull him away.

But Snape was like a hunting beast, clamped down tight and refusing to let go.

A thick, hot, fishy liquid flooded Snape's mouth and nose, carrying a harsh metallic taste.

The taste of blood spread through his mouth, scorching every nerve as if it had ignited an inextinguishable fire.

"Urgh... urgh..."

The man's movements grew weaker and weaker, the color draining from his face.

Snape released his bite.

With one hand, the man desperately tried to cover the wound on his neck. His feet twitched helplessly against the floor, horrible rasping sounds coming from his throat, while his black eyes brimmed with pleading.

The fire was about to go out.

The woman huddled in the corner, staring at the two figures on the floor in terror. Both hands covered her mouth, and her eyes were filled with tears.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she rushed upstairs in a panic.

When she appeared in the sitting room again, she had a stick in her hand.

She had found the Wand, somewhat dry and rough from lack of use.

"Pant... pant..."

Snape knelt off to one side, his chest heaving violently as blood dripped from his chin onto the floor.

Eileen's face was pale as paper. Trembling, she raised her Wand and pointed it at the two people on the floor, a flash of resolve and terror in her eyes.

The dim yellow light was glaring.

A brilliant green light flashed.

Tobias Snape stopped moving.

Eileen's face turned even paler.

She collapsed onto the floor and remained motionless for a long while, staring blankly at everything before her.

It seemed that only after the lingering warmth had nearly faded did she finally open her hoarse throat and say, "Go back to your bedroom."

Snape dragged his heavy body upstairs, his numb hands clutching the banister. Every step was agonizingly difficult.

The sky gradually sank into darkness, and he sat alone in his pitch-black bedroom.

Before coming back, he had only wanted to find himself a reason never to return; after opening the door, he had thought of teaching Tobias a lesson; during the fight, he had wanted desperately to hurt him.

But in that instant, he had thought Eileen's Wand was pointed at him.

His mind was a mess. One moment, he thought of the lively crackle of firecrackers during Spring Festival; the next, he thought of the snow-covered statue in Godric's Hollow at Christmas.

One moment, he thought of the figure falling backward atop Hogwarts' Astronomy Tower; the next, he thought of the Malfoy family of three huddled together amid the ruins after the final battle.

He even thought of Merope Riddle, stumbling toward the orphanage on New Year's Eve...

Snape did not know how he had fallen asleep, or whether he had slept at all.

When he opened his eyes the next morning, his mind felt utterly clear, as though a thin mist had finally dispersed. It seemed he was simply himself now.

On the bedside table beside him, he saw his Wand.

After washing up and tidying himself, he hesitantly went downstairs.

The sitting room was exceptionally neat.

The stains on the floor and walls had vanished. It looked even cleaner than he remembered, as if nothing from the night before had happened.

Eileen sat in a wooden chair, mending clothes as usual in the early morning sunlight.

Her Wand lay beside her.

Hearing the stairs creak, Eileen looked up. Her hair seemed to have been combed.

"I'll make you something to eat."

"No need. I'll do it myself."

Seeing that she wanted to stand, Snape quickly headed for the kitchen.

"I mean it. I'll do it myself."

He toasted several slices of bread in a frying pan, cut some hard cheese, and carried them out on a tray.

"Um... Mum, have something too."

Eileen picked up a piece of toast and took small bites.

"You've put on weight." She looked Snape over carefully for a while.

Snape noticed that her fingers were rough and callused, as if they had endured years of hard labor.

"I had an uncle," Eileen suddenly said. "Your great-uncle on my side."

When he said nothing, she continued, "Xialan Prince. You never met him—"

"You don't need to. You don't need to find him," Snape interrupted. "After term starts, I'll go to the Headmaster—Dumbledore—and ask him to arrange a job for you at the school."

"But—"

"—He'll agree. I'll talk to him."

"Xialan died when you were five."

"He... huh...?"

In the morning light, Eileen's pale face seemed to gain a trace of color.

She continued in one breath, "After I ran away from home—with a bag of Galleons—and married him, Xialan and I never had any contact again.

"Until the year you turned five, when a Ministry of Magic employee came and told me he had died.

"Xialan donated his magical instruments, his house, and some personal belongings inside it to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.

"But in his will, he said, 'Even if you refuse to admit it, you are the last Prince.' He chose to leave the Prince family's underground vault at Gringotts to me..."

Snape was a little confused. "Have you gone to see it all these years?"

"No," Eileen said calmly.

"Why not?" Snape asked blankly. He had never known his family even had a vault at Gringotts.

"He didn't like magic." This time, she said it at a normal volume.

"Did he know about this?" Snape suddenly felt a little curious.

Eileen gently shook her head. "The Ministry of Magic employee came while he was away."

Snape did not give it much thought. After all, he knew the Weasley family vault was empty enough for Goblins to hold a dance in it.

As for the Prince family, they were neither one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight nor any other distinguished old family. What could he possibly expect?

Eileen seemed to see what he was thinking and softly said, "I think there should be some gold inside. Let's go take a look tomorrow."

"Sure—" Snape answered casually. He picked up the empty plate with one hand and took the mending tools from the table with the other. "—Stop fussing with these. Get some rest."