After graduation, Severus lived at Voldemort Manor. The Dark Lord was very fond of him, and often pulled him close to indulge in passion during the nights.
Perhaps the only thing Severus could take comfort in was that Eileen had survived. Tobias treated her well; sometimes when Severus returned home, he would see the man looking well-dressed upon his return.
Today, Eileen was in good physical health, and even her mental state was fine, yet a worried frown still lingered between her brows.
"Mother, what is wrong?" Severus finally could not help asking one day. Eileen's eyes turned red. "Severus, how are your studies in magic progressing?"
"Very well."
Severus replied with a steadfast expression. Were these the upheavals their family had always endured?
"Very well, Severus. Leave this place. Run far away, flee to the Wizarding World! A wealthy man bought you when you were three years old!"
Eileen tightly grasped Severus's hand. "All these years, he has been giving Tobias gold bars, ordering him not to harm me or you. You are a wizard now, you must run away, Severus!"
Right now, she was simply a mother worried for her child.
The expression on Severus's face did not change. He gripped Eileen's hand a little tighter, a resolute and murderous intent flashing through his brilliant black eyes. "Mother, I am doing very well now. I am following a wizard in the Wizarding World whose status is on par with Headmaster Dumbledore. He is very powerful, and he treats me very well."
"That is good then, Severus. Do not let down that powerful man. The children of the Prince family are all prodigies in potions!" Tears filled Eileen's eyes, and she made no mention of the fact that she, too, had been "bought."
She did not want her child to break the law because of a Muggle tycoon; it was not worth it. Her child should be a genius of the Wizarding World, a rising new star!
In the Muggle world, money could achieve anything.
Her own life was set in stone, but Severus—he was still young, only eighteen. He must not have his years wasted by a Muggle tycoon!
"You must never kill a Muggle, absolutely never!" Eileen hugged her child, who was now taller and sturdier than her.
Ever since he entered Slytherin, the news her child sent back had always been quite good. He returned in good health every semester, with no bullying or other incidents occurring—until that accident in his fifth year... She had thought...
Merlin be praised!...
Severus's expression had already turned cold. Sometimes, a wizard did not need a spell to kill someone.
A few simple drops of a Euphoria Elixir could cause a middle-aged or elderly Muggle's blood to rush and kill them via cerebral hemorrhage.
Moreover, no trace of foul play could be found.
As a Potions Master, Severus had countless ways to quietly cause a Muggle to die without a spell; he had simply chosen the easiest and fastest method.
It was just gold bars. At worst, he would simply provide for Tobias in the future.
"Eileen!!"
Tobias's voice resounded from downstairs. Eileen's expression turned panicked, and she pushed Severus. "Go quickly, Apparate away! That Muggle tycoon left a contact method, and Tobias has long wanted to sell you out!"
"Mother..." Severus's expression remained calm. Eileen turned her head and saw her son, who had suddenly become unfamiliar, yet possessed an immense sense of security.
"The person I follow is a Dark wizard, and I am now a Dark wizard as well."
Eileen's expression was complex. Several times she opened her mouth to say something, but ultimately let her hands fall down helplessly.
After saying this, Severus silently followed Eileen out of the bedroom. Tobias was shouting loudly.
"Eileen! Severus!?"
He caught sight of Severus, and looked quite surprised. "You're back!"
"Hurry, hurry, hurry, that lord is almost here!"
His expression turned greasy and repulsive, making Severus nauseous.
Severus let out a cold sneer. Seeing Severus's taciturn appearance, Tobias suddenly gave an involuntary shudder.
"Severus Snape! You must remember I am your father! I raised you this big, not for you to glare at me like that!"
"It's time you repaid me!!"
Severus drew his wand, and Tobias's expression turned vicious. "You can't use that magic wooden stick of yours on me! That's illegal!"
"Knock, knock, knock."
A leisurely knocking sound rang out. Joy and greed suddenly burst across Tobias's face, and he dashed over in two steps. Meanwhile, Severus unhurriedly raised his wand, and amidst the abruptly changing expressions of everyone in the room, he calmly uttered a single word.
"Stupefy!"
"Protego Totalum."
An elegant aristocratic tone rang out—it was like the call of a demon from hell, causing Severus's face to turn instantly pale.
"Oh, Severus, your spells are still as sharp as ever."
Eileen and Tobias watched in disbelief as the "Muggle" tycoon's wand-handle cane lightly tapped the floor, conjuring an invisible barrier that deflected their child's attack.
Severus's lips trembled, and with a "thud," he dropped straight to his knees.
"...Master, I didn't know..."
Trembling all over, Lord Voldemort strolled into the cramped little room, looking down at his Potions Master from on high.
"I do not blame you, seeing as I had appeared merely as a Muggle prior to this."
Lord Voldemort said softly. Eileen was practically in despair.
She suddenly rushed forward. Lord Voldemort glanced at her indifferently, and a terrifying, overwhelming pressure swept over them. That cold gaze, reminiscent of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, frightened Eileen into taking a step back, her hands trembling.
"Eileen Prince?" Lord Voldemort asked. When Eileen did not answer, he continued on his own.
"Come to think of it, when the elder Prince passed away, I went there in person. It could be considered giving the Prince family the utmost decency."
"So, Severus, will you come with me?"
Lord Voldemort bypassed Eileen, walked up to Severus, squatted down with a tender expression, knelt on one knee, and reached out his hand to Severus.
"Lord, I..." Severus's lips trembled, unable to utter a single word. Lord Voldemort patiently waited.
After a moment's thought, he added, "I will take your mother as well. Come to think of it, she was my junior at school."
"Slytherin glory forever."
"...Yes... Lord."
Severus tremblingly reached his hand out, and the Dark Lord gently grasped his Potions Master, slowly tightening his grip around the hand resting in his palm.
As for Tobias?
That the Dark Lord didn't hit the Muggle with a Killing Curse was already a mercy; neither Eileen nor Severus uttered another word about him.
Lord Voldemort took his Potions Master away with satisfaction. After pulling Severus up, he cast an indifferent glance at Tobias, frightening the man so badly he slumped onto the floor.
"Oh, a disgusting... Muggle."
His tone was gentle, like a lover's whisper, yet in Tobias's ears, it sounded like a summons from hell.