Eileen Prince

Eileen Snape (née Prince) was a witch. She was married to Tobias Snape, a Muggle, and was mother to Severus Snape.

Early life
Eileen Prince was born into the Pure-blood Prince family. According to an old Daily Prophet clipping found by Hermione Granger, when Eileen was in her fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she was captain of the school Gobstones Team. It is unknown exactly when Eileen began attending Hogwarts, but, based on the description of a copy of the sixth-year Potions textbook Advanced Potion-Making owned by her son as being "nearly fifty years old" in December 1996, it is possible that she started sometime in the early 1940s, if the book was bought new and then handed down. The House into which she was sorted is also unknown, although, given her son's desire to be sorted into Slytherin, it is possible she was one herself, or that Slytherin was the traditional house of the Prince family. Eileen may be like Andromeda Tonks, a pure-blood Slytherin who married a Muggle-born due to a change in belief in blood purity.

Family
Eileen married Tobias Snape, a Muggle, and lived with him in a terraced house on Spinner's End. On January 9th, 1960, she gave birth to a son, Severus. Life in the Snape home was tumultuous, as Severus informed his friend, Lily Evans, that his parents were constantly arguing. Given that Eileen's son was described as not looking "well cared for" at age eleven, it is also possible that she and her husband were neglectful parents, abjectly poor, or both. Tobias does seem to have been aware of the fact that Eileen was a witch, having been described by their son as not liking anything, least of all magic. Eileen accompanied her eleven-year-old son to Platform 9¾ for the first time on September 1st, 1971, an event later watched in a Pensieve by Harry Potter.

Physical description
At age fifteen, Eileen is described as having been thin, pale, and sullen-looking, with a long face and thick eyebrows. In 1971, as an adult woman, she was thin, sallow, and sour-looking, bearing a strong resemblance to her son.

Behind the scenes

 * Severus Snape took his nickname, the Half-Blood Prince, from his mother's maiden name combined with his own blood status of half-blood.
 * When Harry Potter accidentally entered Severus Snape's mind during an Occlumency lesson, he saw a memory in which a hook-nosed man was yelling at a frightened woman, while a little boy with dark hair — Severus — cried in the corner. The woman is generally presumed to have been Eileen, and the memory may be evidence that their relationship was abusive.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
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