𝔸𝕝𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕋𝕚𝕞𝕖

To Scheme and Plot

Impatient for a response, Eileen screams again, "Speak, you little rat!" Eileen slams Severus forcefully against the wall when he still doesn't reply. If she noticed how hard Severus' head hit the sturdy material behind him, Eileen paid no notice.

"I d-don't know what you're t-talking about!" Severus cries out, trying to ignore the intense and pressured pain ringing through his ears. "I was good to her like you commanded, Mother!"

"You think you're so sly, don't you? You don't lie nearly as well as your father! You're good for nothing, Severus!" Eileen drops Severus, not flinching an inch when his tiny, fragile frame slams against the hardwood flooring. He tries not to cringe when her cold sneer lands on him, and she speaks more calmly. "I have no choice but to ground you, Severus. A week down there should do you good."

"A-a week? Mother, please, not for that long!" Severus pleads with Eileen, sitting on his knees and making a grab of the hem of her dress.

Severus was used to what Eileen deemed as groundings and timeouts, but he was only locked in the basement for a few days at most. If it was that much, he could handle the basement's horrors. He could the cold darkness during sunny days, even if they were rare this time of year. The bugs crawling in the wall's cracks were acceptable, as was the horrid stench. He only had a thin, worn-out blanket for comfort, which was okay. But seven whole days?

Eileen ignores her son's begging. She never much cared for Severus' tears, ignoring his bubbling emotions even when he was a baby. Instead, she grips Severus by his ear and drags him to the door to his own personal hell.

Swishing the heavy metal door open with her wand and an incantation, Eileen stares at Severus with a brutal look. A sadistic joy fills her features as she says, "You better hope I get an owl from the Ramsays before your week is up."

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April 19th, 1967

You'd been letting your brain stew possible schemes and scenarios for weeks. You've thought of a few ways to deal with Eileen and help Severus, but as it is, you're only seven, and you can't do everything yourself.

Which is where your mother will come in.

Since your last playdate with Severus, you'd been planting seeds in Rosamund's brain. Little things here and there since you aren't entirely sure how much, if any, abuse Severus is dealt, but your mother needs to look at Eileen with a clear vision regardless.

"Hey, mum, can I ask you something?" You call out to Rosamund. The two of you are in the backyard, with you sitting under your prized tree and Rosamund admiring her floral garden a few feet away.

Rosamund stands up straight and faces you, her lips growing into that angelic smile of hers. For a moment, you forget what you were going to plant in her head today, finding yourself getting lost in Rosamund's gaze. It's filled with so much love for you that it takes you off guard. While you had good, loving parents in your past life, your first mother was never necessarily outward with her affections, so for Rosamund to shower you with so much of it... Well, it gets to you now and then.

But just as it distracts you, that love reminds you of your earlier mission. Honestly, it's quite rude of you to forget when you know someone who needs such immense love more than you do.

Rosamund nods and sits next to you on the grassy ground. You wait until she's comfortable when you ask, "What was Mrs. Snape like when you were at Hogwarts?"

"Eileen?" Rosamund pauses, tilting her head as the memories come back to her. "Well, she was a bit... I suppose it's hard to explain her personality. Eileen had always been a hard girl to befriend; she made that clear to everyone—even our housemates and other purebloods. I always thought we wouldn't have been friends if not for our shared love of potions. But, whenever I pressed the matter, Eileen would scold me and tell me never to make that assumption again."

"Was she cold?" You prod. "Sometimes she feels that way, but then she compliments me with a smile. I don't know why, but it catches me off guard whenever I see her."

Rosamund laughs at that, and the twinkle in her eye tells you that your words remind her of something. Seeing such happiness and fondness of Rosamund's school life with Eileen makes you feel guilty, but you know better than anyone how people can change for the worse. You want so badly to be wrong about Eileen and how she treats Severus, but you can't deny what you saw whenever Eileen thought you and Rosamund weren't paying attention.

"A bit, I suppose. She often spoke shortly with people, and with a blunt tongue at that, but she didn't mean any harm. You have to understand, Arden, some pureblooded families instill a certain... Lifestyle in their children. Eileen was raised to speak firmly and with elegance. Since infancy, it was instilled in her to stay on her best behavior and only associate with those suitable to the Prince family. She was the only daughter of her bloodline, after all, and if she shamed her family, it'd have been the death of her."

Draco Malfoy came to mind when you heard Rosamund's explanation. It made perfect sense to you, and you wonder if Eileen's treatment of Severus stemmed from how she was raised. Furthermore...

"I hope your parents didn't do the same." You say, sadness leaking through your tone.

"Oh! Oh, no, love. My family has always been different." Rosamund babbles to dissuade your train of thought. "While my parents expected me to behave gracefully, they understood I was just a child. And whenever I made mistakes, they'd tell me that was a part of growing up."

"So... Mrs. Snape's parents didn't understand that?"

"It's complicated." Rosamund sighs.

It's to be expected, after all. While Rosamund knows (or thinks) you're a genius of your age, you're still her little girl. You know she won't divulge everything she knows about Eileen and her family, but you must make some headway.

"I don't think Mrs. Snape understands it either." You admit, subtly glancing at Rosamund's expression for a reaction when you add, "Or perhaps she just forgot what it was like."

Rosamund's eyebrows furrow. As you suspected, she has yet to notice how Eileen treats her son, but this is good. It'll help open Rosamund's eyes the next time she sees Eileen and Severus. "What do you mean?"

'Perfect. All I have to do now is play my part of the observant child.'

"It's nothing, Mum." You say, making your tongue speak quickly as you avert your gaze.

When Rosamund wraps an arm around your shoulder and nudges you, you force yourself not to smile, knowing today's plan is succeeding thus far. "It's okay, love. You can tell me," she says, her gesture and tone nothing but comforting and warm.

"Well... She's hard on Severus, is all. But it's like you said. She expects Severus to be his absolute best for the honor of her and Mr. Snape's family names. Isn't that it?"

When you finish that part of your act, you see something flash through Rosamund's face, but it isn't a happy expression filled with fond memories this time. Instead, it's a combination of things, and you feel fortunate that you picked up on it before Rosamund hid it. You saw worry, a smidgen of horror, and... A sense of protectiveness. It takes you a moment to deduce what the latter is aimed toward, but you're quick enough to conclude it. Rosamund either recalled a time when Eileen was cruel during her schooldays—or she was the victim of such cruelty.

"Arden," Rosamund says sternly, her face hardened with a hint of determination. "I need you to tell me exactly why you feel that way."

And so you obey your mother with due diligence, repeating to her all the times you noticed Eileen's mistreatment of Severus. You speak with added innocence, occasionally defending Eileen for some of it—but you get the point across. The one thing you omit is what happened during your last playdate. It'd all be for nothing if Rosamund thinks Severus is making it all up.

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