Secret Snarry Swap: FIC: DNA Is Relative Title: DNA Is Relative Author:drwritermom Other pairings/threesome: Tobias Snape/Eileen Prince (past) Rating: Teen and up Word count: 2657 Content/Warning(s): Medical jargon, cancer, implied past domestic abuse; sorry, no smut Prompter/Prompt: No. 38 from torino10154: Snape has what appears to be a terminal illness. Harry searches for a blood relative who can save him. He must have a second cousin somewhere, right? Summary: Severus Snape has Chronic myelogenous leukemia, a blood cancer rare in wizards. Harry enlists the help of a commercial DNA laboratory to find a compatible donor. Both are shocked by his closest DNA match. A/N: JKR owns the Potterverse. I own nothing of value.
“Honestly, Severus, all you have to do is fill the tube up to the line with your spit.”
“Must you be so vulgar, Harry. It is called saliva. As I have explained to you countless times, I am reluctant to send off a bodily fluid of mine into the magically ignorant hands of Muggles. Who knows where my saliva might end up?”
“Many witches and wizards have had their DNA analyzed by Muggle labs. I have spoken with Kingsley. He confided that there are Squibs deposited in each of the commercial DNA laboratories, who are trained to spot wizarding samples. They are diverted to separate receiving areas in the laboratories, where they are given back-dated labels, before the samples are processed, because magical samples complete the sequencing process much faster than Muggle samples. The results are then siphoned through the Unspeakables, with the Muggle records unretrievable to all but the Squib scientists.”
“And what do you expect the results will show, Harry? I fail to see how my saliva will aid in the search for a peripheral blood stem cell donor.”
“The DNA database will show if you have any living relatives, magical or Muggle, Prince or Snape. The closest of those relatives, we will reach out to, and if they are willing, they’ll be tested to see if any are a suitable match.”
“Even if we find some long lost relatives, we have no guarantee they will be willing to assist me.”
“Severus, I have faith that you have a relative who will help. It is only a blood donation, not the very painful bone marrow donation that used to be the norm for donor stem cells. I have faith in the goodness of humanity in times of need. You need to have faith too, Severus. Until you do, I have faith for us both.”
Severus was growing weary. “If spitting in this tube will cease your endless chatter, I will supply the sample.”
Several minutes later, Harry affixed the label from the DNA testing kit to the vial, and placed it, along with the required paper, in the mailer box included with the test kit. Harry sent it off via Muggle Express Post, to insure it got to the lab expeditiously.
Harry took the time, after the rush of obtaining, then sending out, of the sample, to contemplate the events of the last few months.
Severus Snape had been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a muggle cancer that sporadically occurs in Wizarding folk, three months prior. He had been treated with a combination of Muggle chemotherapy and potions. The treatment had only produced a partial remission. His Healer had explained to Severus and Harry that after irradiating his diseased bone marrow, he would receive a peripheral blood stem cell transplant. This was Snape’s best hope for remission, and Merlin willing, for a cure.
Severus had no living relatives as far as he knew. Both of his parents had cut ties with their respective families when they married. His parents were dead. Harry called upon Hermoine for suggestions as to how to find any of Snape’s remaining relatives. It was she who suggested they try Muggle commercial DNA analysis.
The waiting was excruciating for the couple, but in reality, it only took a week for the analysis to be completed. The results arrived in a thick white envelope, with a ministry seal affixed to the envelope flap. Severus refused to open the envelope. He was a pessimist to his core, and had no expectations that the DNA results would be helpful. He had accepted that he would not escape his inevitable demise; in his mind, he was convinced he had been living on borrowed time since he was revived from his near-fatal envenomation.
Harry had no such reluctance. With trembling hands, he tore open the envelope bearing the information that could save Severus’ life. The Ministry had provided a list of close DNA matches, and the first name was such a shock, that Harry promptly fainted.
Even in his weakened state, Severus managed to successfully cast his Patronus to summon Poppy Pomfrey, as he was in no fit state to revive Harry. She immediately Flooed to their quarters, casting Reenervate upon Harry before levitating him to the sofa.
Severus Accioed the list from Harry’s hand. He carefully strode to his favorite wing-chair. After witnessing Harry’s reaction, Severus thought it prudent that he be seated before perusing the document. It was a most wise decision, as he himself nearly succumbed when he saw the first name on the list - Eileen Prince, maternal match.
Madam Pomfrey saw Snape face blanch, and held her wand in readiness, preparing herself for a repeat performance of Harry’s faint. “May I ask you both, what news has both of you in such a state?”
Harry was still unable to find the words to express his shock. Severus, ever the stoic professor after his near death by Horcrux-infected snake, flat-toned his reply, “My mother lives.”
A little backstory here. Madam Pomfrey did not know the contents of the parchment Severus held with shaking hands, but she did know that Eileen Prince was indeed amongst the living. As a medical professional, she had the duty of care that required that she find Eileen a shelter for battered witches, when she witnessed poorly glamoured bruises around her neck, during a meeting with Eileen Snape, Severus, and Dumbledore that was convened after Severus had been nearly mauled by a transformed werewolf, Remus Lupin.
These shelters, like Muggle battered womens’ shelters, have scrupulous security, with the added protection of Fidelius, being that most witches have wizards for spouses. Severus could not be told by Hogwarts staff where his mother had gone when he left that summer. His father, cruel bastard that he was, told Severus that she was dead. That “death” was the impetus that pushed him to join the Death Eaters.
Severus, well-versed in the art of evasion, noticed that Poppy was silent, and avoiding his gaze, after his proclamation. He realized that this shattering news was not news to his colleague. If he had been healthy, he would have shouted his displeasure at her deception, then hexed her as she ran for the Floo. In his weakened state, he mumbled, “where, and why?”
“Severus, she lives, under Fidelius, in a cottage in Ottery St. Catchpole. She has become a rather fearful woman. She fears that you would never forgive her, although she needed to be hidden to prevent her death at your father’s hands. Just before Voldemort’s attack on the Potters, she was put under Fidelius by Dumbledore, before she could re-establish contact with you. I was her Secret Keeper. We knew that if your role in hiding the Potters were discovered, Voldemort could use her to get to you. We couldn’t allow either of you to take that risk.”
“Poppy, this is really hard to get my head around,” Harry murmured as the whole story seeped into his grey matter. “Do you think she would want to see us? Do you think she would consent to be a stem cell donor?”
“Harry, the question is, can I handle seeing her? This is just too much, Madam! When were you going to tell me that MY. MOTHER. LIVES!?” Severus shouted, before he broke down and sobbed.
Harry rushed over to Severus, kneeling, then taking Snape’s hands, stroking his palms with his thumbs, a gesture that always soothed his soulmate. “Severus, please let Poppy explain. She has taken an oath to protect her patients, clearly your mother remains in Poppy’s care.”
Poppy chose her words carefully. She was not aware that Severus required a stem cell transplant. “As time passed, Eileen Prince, your mother, a domestic violence victim, became convinced that her inability to control your father’s violent outbursts was her fault. She believed that she delivered you into the arms of the Death Eaters by failing to prevent his cruelty and beatings. When you nearly died during the Battle of Hogwarts, her feelings of guilt overwhelmed her. I don’t think you will have a problem getting a blood donation from her, Severus. Indeed, it is my professional opinion, that donating her blood would go far in assuaging her feelings of guilt. I scanned you both, in separate locations, after the Battle of Hogwarts, in case you required more blood than a blood replenisher can generate. She is a compatible donor.
“If you had told me you needed a stem cell donor, I would have put you in contact with her immediately. For what it’s worth, I tried to convince her to contact you after Harry fetched you from the Shrieking Shack, but she was convinced she was beyond forgiveness. She loves you Severus, and you need her as much as she needs you.”
“Does anyone else know, Poppy? Does anyone else know that she lives?” Severus whispered.
“Molly Weasley and Xenophilus Lovegood know that a witch lives among them who has a very troubled past. They look in on her regularly. They are both very fond of her. I think Molly suspects her identity, but she cares for her too much to reveal her suspicion. Xenophilus hasn’t a clue, but surprisingly, he’s the only person who can make her smile. She finds his eccentricities amusing. Besides those two, who Dumbledore and I handpicked, no other person knows. She has a house elf from the Prince Estate who tends to her needs. She is the last Prince, besides yourself.”
“Poppy, I wish to see my mother. I insist that you take us to her. Obviously, you will accompany us, to give her a layman’s explanation of my disease and the transplant and all that it entails.”
“Are you sure you want me present during such a private moment?”
“She knows you better than she knows me, Poppy. When this transplant is done, and I am on the mend, we will be revisiting your silence, with my mother present. There will be no more secrets, am we clear on this?”
“Crystal, Severus.” Poppy conjured a scrap of parchment with Apparition coordinates. “Can you Apparate the two of you there, Harry?” she asked as she handed the parchment to Harry.
“We’ll Floo to The Three Broomsticks and Apparate from there.”
Three Floo trips and two Apparitions later, Harry and Severus perused another parchment scrap, which read “the address of Prince’s Cottage and Badger Rehabilitation Center is 14 Stoat Corner.”
“Badger rehabilitation? There’s a story there,” Harry murmured. Badgers being rehabilitated by a Slytherin, Eileen Prince had reinvented herself indeed.
Harry, being the bolder of the two, given Snape’s infirmity, briskly knocked her cottage door.
Eileen Prince hesitantly opened her front door, peering at Harry with a penetrating gaze. Recognizing the famed “Boy Who Conquered Voldemort” standing on her front stoop, she almost missed the presence of her son, standing silently behind Harry.
Realization dawned on the older witch as she opened the door fully. Dumbstruck, she just stared at her prodigal son, as Harry prudently stepped aside. The very moment Harry moved away from his bondmate, Eileen rushed to Severus, who had opened his arms to her. They embraced for what seemed an eternity as well as an instant, before the two Slytherins realized that they had an audience. Severus dropped his arms, and Eileen took a moment to regroup, before ushering the two men into her cottage.
“So, a Slytherin rehabilitating badgers? How did you stumble into that vocation?” Harry blurted out, at a total loss as to how to greet Snape’s mother, knowing why they had come to visit.
Mother and son turned as one to glare at Harry. “After an almost thirty year absence, and an urgent request to make, you ask my mother about badgers? Are you trying to be a dunderhead, or has that become your default setting for meeting long-lost relations?” Severus sniped.
Eileen was snarked out of her silence. “Severus, dear, a little kindness is in order here. Look at Mister Potter, son, it’s clear to anyone with a brain that your partner here is very nervous, and wants to put me at ease, by asking about my passion project. I think I shall grow quite fond of this young lion.”
Harry blushed, which was definitely noticed by the two Princes. “Mother, I stand chastened. It is the shock, and pleasure, of seeing you alive and well, that has me on edge-”
A very concerned looking Mother took another long look at her clearly ill-appearing son. “Severus, please take a seat on the sofa; Mister Potter, please join him. Poppy has told me the purpose of your visit, and I have already provided a blood specimen to your Healer. How could I refuse, I would do anything to set right the damage you suffered in my insufficient care-”
Severus wore a most pained expression as he pondered an appropriate response. He looked directly into his mother’s amber eyes. “Mother, you could not change my father, because he traumatized you so thoroughly that you couldn’t fight back. You took bodily blows to prevent him from killing me, I know that now, having observed my memories in a pensieve. You did all you possibly could do, please forgive yourself. And Mother, Harry and Albus Dumbledore have both reassured me that the Fates were responsible for my joining the Death Eater ranks. Without my participation, and subsequent spying, Voldemort would be in power. Do not blame yourself for a choice that ultimately defeated him.”
Looking somewhat comforted, Eileen took a seat in the comfy recliner facing the two men. “Poppy Flooed me mere minutes before you two arrived on my doorstep. My blood is a perfect match for the transplant. You need to contact your healer, I think between him and Poppy, you will be receiving your irradiation and transplant in the professor’s healing suite in the Hogwarts infirmary, if you are willing. I thank you for allowing me to speak for you medically, way back when you were an of-age wizard student there.”
“You and Harry are the dearest people to me, you both have my consent to discuss my medical condition, and my medical records. And I need the both of you there, by my side, as I receive treatment, and during recovery. That suite now has rooms for family members. The house elves will gladly look after you as well.”
Severus’ heartfelt declaration had his mother weeping happy tears. She didn’t even try to reign in her relief, joy and fear for her son’s health. “Mother, your tears are affecting me greatly. Please know that I am grateful for your gift of blood, and that I am doubly grateful for the gift of my mum.”
With some effort, Severus rose from the sofa, his mother rose as well, and they met midway in another embrace. Harry joined them, and the three just soaked up the love so obvious in the embrace.
One year later, Hogwarts infirmary
Poppy smiled upon the three Princes in the infirmary consultation room. “I have the best of news for you all. Severus, you are in complete remission. Magical scans, and Muggle tests confirm there is no cancer in your body. Studies in Wixen patients diagnosed with CML have shown that stem cell donation is curative. Magic may not prevent the cancer from occurring, but it does prevent reoccurrence after a successful transplant. Congratulations!
All three thanked the Mediwitch, Harry effusively, Severus and Eileen much more sedately.
In a perfect non sequitur, Eileen pronounced, “I have badgers kits that need tending, so I must dash. Severus, Harry, I expect you both for dinner at seven, sharp!” She rapidly Flooed back home, leaving the remaining three wondering what badgers had to do with remission. “Slytherins” Poppy mumbled. Harry stifled a snort, as Severus grabbed his arm and Apparated the two remaining Princes to their quarters. All was well.