How can one minor change affect the future?
One morning, Severus Snape wakes up to find an infant on his doorstep with only a note to explain its appearance. A friend of his - one that had gone missing after Hogwarts and presumed dead - was begging him to care for her daughter, a girl who had caught the attention of the Dark Lord.
Unbeknownst to him, he has just been entrusted with the responsibility of raising the daughter of Poseidon, a child whose powers transcends that of Heracles; a child who has been fated to either save Olympus . . . or destroy it. A child like this being raised and taught by a cold and emotionally reserved man, who knows the Dark Arts and potion-making like the back of his hand, could have a less than favorable outcome.
After eleven years of being isolated from the wizarding world, Evangeline is starting her first day at Hogwarts, and is about to make a shocking discovery.
[Chapters are between two to five thousand words long.]
This story can be found on Wattpad and Fanfiction.Net. I am new to Tumblr and am open to constructive criticism and feedback.
Chapter One - The Girl Left on the Doorstep
The stars shone bright in the inky black sky above Cokeworth, Britain. The full moon illuminated the uninviting streets that were filled with rows upon rows of dilapidated houses, in a soft, silvery sheen. A murky river flowed nearby, mountains of trash piled up on its banks. A lack of streetlights combined with the moon’s light gave Spinner’s End an eerie glow, enhancing the depressive aura surrounding the street.
However, as the moon began to descend, another aura filled the streets. Fear.
A young woman hidden by a dark cloak moved with a sense of urgency and caution as she peered around every corner, checking to see that no one was there. Or at least, no Death Eaters were.
In her arms, wrapped tightly in soft blankets, was a fragile life - her newborn daughter, Persephone.
Somehow in some way, Voldemort had discovered that Cassandra was carrying the child of Poseidon, a powerful and formidable sea god. Months ago, her mother had cornered her, ordering her to give up her child to the Dark Lord as the child would be of use to him. Unsurprisingly, Cassandra said no.
Throughout her pregnancy, Cassandra did the best she could to ward off the Death Eaters. Countless spells, charms, jinxes, hexes, and curses were used, but they were relentless. In the back of her mind, she knows she can’t keep this up for long. At some point, the Death Eaters will catch her, and they will take her daughter and place her into the Dark Lord’s clammy hands.
Cassandra had decided to make a drastic and highly risky decision. She was entrusting her daughter, the child Voldemort wishes to brainwash, to Severus Snape.
At this very moment, she stands at his door, her mind racing and her heart beating a mile per minute as she clutches her precious child. Cassandra wonders if she’s doing the right thing; if her baby would be happy, if she’d be safe, in the hands of Severus Snape, a man who is not only cold and withdrawn, but is a Death Eater himself. To others, it would look as though she was handing her child over to the enemy.
But that’s not what she’s doing. Not in the slightest.
Cassandra takes a deep breath, pressing her lips together as the tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked down at her daughter, who slept peacefully in her arms. She took a good, long look. Cassandra’s eyes studied Persephone’s face - her chubby cheeks, olive skin, and the faint black hairs on her head. She kissed her daughter’s forehead, and sniffed her, savoring that newborn baby smell.
A small smile flashed across Cassandra’s face. “You’re in good hands, sweetie,” she murmured, a mixture of happiness and sadness in her tone. “Severus may be cold and distant, but he’s a good man. All he needs is a bit of love.”
Cassandra knelt down, gently placing Persephone in a wicker basket. She adjusted the blankets, making sure she was comfortable. Persephone yawned, her pacifier falling out of her mouth. Without the comfort of her pacifier, Persephone began to squirm and whine.
"Go back to sleep," she caressed her daughter's cheeks, staring into her eyes. "In the morning, you will wake up, and find yourself somewhere strange. You might find it scary, but be strong for me." Persephone looked up at her, her small hands reaching up to feel her mother's cheeks for one last time; she whined, feeling concerned about the tear escaping her mother's eyes.
"It's okay. I'm okay," Cassandra chokes back a sob. She leans down, pressing her forehead against her child's. "Brave the storm, Persephone. . . don't ever let it break you."
With a final kiss on Persephone’s forehead, Cassandra set a diaper bag filled with essentials by the basket and left, hoping that her daughter will live a good life and that this was the right choice.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The morning started off normal for Snape. He woke up and forced himself to get out of bed to slink downstairs and make himself a cup of tea. As he thought about his miserable past and solitary existence, he became startled by a baby’s wail.
A baby? In Spinner’s End?
Snape followed the sound, and it led him to his doorstep. For a few seconds, he stared at the wicker basket, and the hungry life that wriggled inside it, demanding nourishment. Snape looked up and down the desolate streets, trying to spot a sign of anyone. Who in the world could have left this baby? And why on his doorstep?
Reluctantly, Snape picked up the wicker basket and duffle bag, bringing them inside. He set the basket on his threadbare sofa and started rummaging through the bag. The baby’s crying was starting to get on his nerves and he just very much wanted it to stop.
This is not how I want my morning to go, he thought to himself with a bitter sneer, grabbing a bottle and formula. Despite urgently wanting the baby to stop crying, Snape was meticulous as he could be when making her bottle, getting the measurements and temperature right.
“Alright, alright,” Snape grumbled, shaking the bottle to mix the ingredients as he made his way over to the infant.
Having never held a baby and knowing how fragile they are, Snape wasn’t willing to try to hold her. He knelt before the basket and carefully placed the bottle in her mouth, lifting it just enough so that the milk would slide down her throat but not enough for it to enter her lungs. The baby's cries immediately stopped once her lips wrapped around the bottle, greedily drinking every last drop.
After a few minutes, Snape removed the bottle, relieved the crying was gone, but he knew it would return and the child would be demanding something else.
“Who in the name of Merlin left you to me?” Snape muttered, looking down at the infant and studying her features. At his words, the girl looked up at him, her eyes wide with innate curiosity.
Her eyes were a reflection of the sea itself. They were pale green, but there were specks of a soft blue mixed in. Snape had never been to the beach before, but looking in this little girl’s eyes, all he can see is the rippling water glittering underneath a warm sun, and he can hear the roar as the waves crash against the shore, only to be pulled back and thrown again against the sand.
The girl stared at him, her ocean eyes filled with curiosity and her mouth partially open. Her small hands opened and closed in slow movements. Then she smiled - her lips curling into a smirk, one filled with joy.
Snape blinked in surprise, causing the infant to giggle and kick her feet. Hesitantly, Snape reached out to lightly caress her cheek - it was soft and squishy, as he predicted - but as he did that, the girl grabbed his finger and held on firmly. He wasn’t sure if he should pull back or let the child hold onto his finger. In the end, he decided to let her hold on. Even though it felt weird.
Snape watched as she held on tight, her small fingers gently moving across his hand and tracing the lines. The wizard couldn’t help but see the cuteness in all of this. The girl looked like a little angel.
“Who would ever leave you with me?” he asked himself in a soft, gentle voice, his hand slowly moving to cup her cheek. The girl smiled a toothless, joyful grin, and she leaned into his touch. A faint smile appeared on Snape’s face, and his eyes softened at the girl. “Who could ever get rid of you?”
His gaze was captured by something white poking from underneath the baby’s blankets. With one hand as his other caressed the girl’s cheek, he picked it up and saw it was a letter with his name written on it.
Snape glared at it for a moment, wondering what pathetic excuse this girl’s parents thought was acceptable when they abandoned her on his doorstep. He thought about throwing it away and avoiding the frustration, but decided against it. The fact that there was a chance he knew the person who had abandoned this girl was already irritating him.
In quick fashion, Snape removed his hand from the girl’s cheek to open the letter and went back to caressing her face, which kept her calm for the moment.
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from each other. I know I must be asking too much of you, but I am desperate. This girl that I left on your doorstep is my daughter, Persephone. She is a month old, and I’m sure as you know, is wanted by the Dark Lord.
Yes, I know you’re a Death Eater. Yes, I know you’re in the Dark Lord’s inner circle, but I also know that you will do what is right.
I can’t ask Sirius to take her because he knows where Lily and James are, and I don’t want to put them or their boy at risk. I know we had our differences, and you have every right to refuse, but I am desperate, Severus. I am begging you with every fiber of my being to look after Persephone. I am asking you, specifically, because I feel you are the most worthy to have her. Not only are you the most intelligent, formidable, and complicated wizard I have ever known, but I believe you are braver than you think. You’ve been through so much torment and yet you’re still standing, and I know you asked Dumbledore to hide Lily and her family despite knowing what the Dark Lord would do to you if you asked such a thing, so I know you are not completely loyal to him. You are my only hope to protect my daughter. Please, I beg of you, keep her safe.
Snape was stunned. . . and a bit flattered.
He read the note a second time, and this time he noticed the droplets on the paper. Tears. Cassandra had been crying when she wrote this. While the two rarely interacted and she was as rebellious as her brother, Sirius, Snape knew her to be an independent and kind woman, who never allowed anyone to solve her problems.
Her desperation and trust in him permeated the letter, screaming that she had no other options and feared for her child’s life. He was truly her only hope.
Snape looked at Persephone, who had fallen asleep, her head laying against his hand. Glancing between her and the letter, he chose to keep Persephone. Cassandra had done so much for him that it’d be wrong to not accept the one request she asked of him - even if it is a big one.
He carefully picked up the young girl, cradling her against his chest. A faint smile grew on his face as the girl nuzzled against him, her small hand grabbing onto his shirt. Snape couldn’t deny how cute she was, and he had a feeling that if there were more moments like this, he could grow to love being a father.
Snape knew the Dark Lord wanted Persephone. The reason why, not so much. Be that as it may, he knew that it would look suspicious if he suddenly adopted an infant with the same age, sex, and name as the one the Death Eaters were looking for. After much thought and consideration, he decided to fake the child’s death.
After he managed to make the wizards and witches believe that a Black child had died in a fire along with her mother, Snape carefully changed Persephone’s appearance and spun a lie that he had produced a child from a drunk one-night-stand. A lie that was a bit hard to believe, but one that couldn’t be disproven.
Almost every decision that he made after that was done ensuring his daughter’s safety. As long as he was alive, no harm would come to Evangeline Lily Snape-Prince.
