Eileen Prince - Snape's Mother

[charlienana]

after rereading hbp i noticed that the potions book was 50 years old and that riddles diary is about 50 years old.

also in one of the books sirius says that snape knew more about darks arts in his first year that most of the seventh year put together.

What house was she in?

Were snapes mother and Voldemort at school together?

Was she a death eater or a Voldemort supporter?

Is this how Snape knew so much about the dark arts when he joined Hogwarts?

[Nicole]

Despite the title, Snape CANNOT be the HBP discusses many of your questions.

Another one discusses her possession of the potions book: Snape's Potions Book and whether Eileen might have been responsible for any of the notations.

Who else was with Voldemort at Hogwarts? might also be of interest to you.

[Picko]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Despite the title, Snape CANNOT be the HBP discusses many of your questions.

Another one discusses her possession of the potions book: Snape's Potions Book and whether Eileen might have been responsible for any of the notations.

Who else was with Voldemort at Hogwarts? might also be of interest to you.

Thanks for the links. They provide for some interesting reading

I think though, that I'll allow this one to remain open so we can discuss Snape's mother. She must afterall be an interesting character to bring up such an evil ... I mean good ... I mean evil ... I mean intriguing son

Anyway, continue the discussion

[Nicole]

Originally Posted by charlienana

What house was she in?

No idea. Slytherin is the most likely, since house choice seems to run in families. There are plenty of exceptions, though, so it isn't a certainty.

Originally Posted by charlienana

Were snapes mother and Voldemort at school together?

If the potions book Severus had was his mother's first and she bought it new, then yes, Eileen and Tom overlapped at Hogwarts for a few years. If the 50 year references for the potions book and the diary are exact and not estimates by the characters, Eileen was younger than Tom by about three years.

Originally Posted by charlienana

Was she a death eater or a Voldemort supporter?

No idea. I don't recall any canon for either.

Originally Posted by charlienana

Is this how Snape knew so much about the dark arts when he joined Hogwarts?

Possibly Eileen taught some things to her son, or had a book collection into which he delved.

[sheercheek]

I don't think Eileen would have been a Death Eater; just because she was at Hogwarts at the same time as Voldemort (and perhaps in the same house) does not make her a Death Eater. She may have been in his circle of close-knit friends that Dumbledore describes as "forerunners to the death eaters," but there is no evidence that she stayed close to Voldemort after he left school. It took him a while to even acquire death eaters--he first worked in Borgin and Burke's for a while before assembling his "friends."

On a different note, I wonder if Eileen is still alive. If she is, she could provide valuable information both about what Voldemort was like at school as well as how Snape grew up. Personally, I don't think she's still alive; I think she was the only person who ever loved Snape and that her death devastated him so much that he turned to the dark arts.

[Nymphchild]

Perhaps you care to join us in discussing Snape's mother and other of his relatitives in the Snape's Parents therad.

[mugglemom22]

There is a lot of great information about Eileen Prince and her connection to Tom Riddle on another thread called Riddle's Diary and the HBP's potions book- Hidden Clue? A large part of the discussion is about the possibility that Madam Pince is Snape's mom since her name, Irma Pince, is an anagram for I am a Prince. I hope this link works, check it out.

http://www.cosforums.com/showthread.php?t=85367

[folly54]

This thread already discusses most of this topic: Riddle's Diary and the Half-Blood Prince's Potions book - Hidden Clue?

These threads discuss her as well and might interest you:

Irma Pince = Im a Prince?... great-grandmother?... grandmother?... mother?... aunt?

More parallels: Lily, Eileen and Merope

Snape's Parents

Snape, his mother, and Dumbledore's trust

[FuzzyMuffins]

I have a question about Eileen Prince. Did she write ANY of the spells, or was it all Snape's work?

[Lord Godric]

I think people should stop posting that this discussion is located in different threads, seeing how a prefect already said this will stay open, maybe perhaps we could get to the discussion of Eileen Prince.

[sheercheek]

Originally Posted by FuzzyMuffins

I have a question about Eileen Prince. Did she write ANY of the spells, or was it all Snape's work?

We are not exactly sure who it was who "graffiti-d" the book. I think it's Severus because when Hermione says that the writing could be a girl's, Harry says "I just get this feeling it's a bloke, that's all." Also, Snape says to Harry "How dare you use my own spells against me," so we at least know that the spells written in the characteristic handwriting are Snape's invention, and since there isn't a different type of handwriting described, I'm assuming it's all Snape's.

Also, if the theory that Madam Pince is really Eileen, then she would have recognized the book as hers if she had written in it. And judging from her reaction toward Harry when she sees it ("Befouled!" "Besmirched!"...), she did not write in it herself.

[mugglemom22]

Here are some thoughts on Eileen Prince. She and Voldemort did attend Hogwarts at the same time although they may not have been in the same year. Since she did take advanced potions, Eileen may have been good enough to be part of the Slug Club and have closer contact with Tom Riddle. We don't know for sure which house Eileen was in, but Slughorn said that it usually runs in families. If that is true, then she was probably in Slytherin since Snape was sorted into that house.

Another theory goes something like this. Young Severus becomes a death eater vowing to follow Lord Voldemort. Voldemort decides to kill Eileen Prince and Snape finds out about the plan beforehand. Severus goes to Dumbledore, the only wizard Voldemort fears, to plead for his mother's life. Dumbledore agrees to protect Eileen, whose death is faked. She is given a new identity as Irma Pince, Hogwarts librarian. In return for this protection, Snape agrees to become a double agent for Dumbledore and the order. This is the real reason that Dumbledore trusts Snape implicitly. He knows that Severus will never betray his mother, the only person who ever truly loved him. Snape is faithful to the order for selfish reasons, which makes sense.

In the HBP on the lightening struck tower, Dumbledore tells Draco that he and his mother can be hidden more completely than he can imagine. (or words to that effect) It sounds like Dumbledore has experience at hiding someone who is supposed to be dead.

[sheercheek]

hmmm, interesting theory mugglemom... it would make an interesting parallel between Snape and Malfoy. I'm still convinced that Snape is evil, though.

[MadeInIreland]

Does anyone have any canon supporting the theory that Snape had a good relationship with his mom? Who's to say it wasn't a bad relationship. Maybe his mom didnt have a lot of love for him. In his memories it sure seemed like his father didn't. This could be causing a lot of animosity towards Harry, since the only thing that saved Harry was his mother's love, something Snape never had.

[dobbysfriend]

If Eileen was at Hogwarts while Tom Riddle was there, she was probably in Slytherin House as he was. They could have known each other as fellow students. She could have wanted to be a part of his crowd, like the group that follows Draco. Tom was popular while he was at school, and many students would have wanted to be a part of his "friends". She would have had a great interest in the dark arts being in Slytherin, or due to any association with Tom Riddle. She could have passed on her interest in the dark arts to her son, and even introduced him to her old school mate, Tom Riddle.

[dobby_rocks]

Well Jo has said someone loved Snape, but also said she couldn’t imagine Snape in a romantic relationship, so it seems clear that his mother had to have been the one who loved him

I very much his mother was a death eater, I mean she married a muggle.
Even if Eileen was at Hogwarts during Tom’s days, doesn’t mean she was in Slytherin , whose to say all Slytherins have interest in the dark arts.

[chaesar]

how do we know it was Eileen's book ? if it was 50 years old it doesn't mean it's her's

[dobbysfriend]

Originally Posted by chaesar

how do we know it was Eileen's book ? if it was 50 years old it doesn't mean it's her's

Could it have been used when she used it?

[freelantzer]

Originally Posted by mugglemom22

Another theory goes something like this. Young Severus becomes a death eater vowing to follow Lord Voldemort. Voldemort decides to kill Eileen Prince and Snape finds out about the plan beforehand. Severus goes to Dumbledore, the only wizard Voldemort fears, to plead for his mother's life. Dumbledore agrees to protect Eileen, whose death is faked. She is given a new identity as Irma Pince, Hogwarts librarian. In return for this protection, Snape agrees to become a double agent for Dumbledore and the order. This is the real reason that Dumbledore trusts Snape implicitly. He knows that Severus will never betray his mother, the only person who ever truly loved him. Snape is faithful to the order for selfish reasons, which makes sense.

In the HBP on the lightening struck tower, Dumbledore tells Draco that he and his mother can be hidden more completely than he can imagine. (or words to that effect) It sounds like Dumbledore has experience at hiding someone who is supposed to be dead.

You just blew my mind! I had never thought along those lines before, but that theory makes so much sense to me.

[dobbysfriend]

Originally Posted by mugglemom22

Here are some thoughts on Eileen Prince. She and Voldemort did attend Hogwarts at the same time although they may not have been in the same year. Since she did take advanced potions, Eileen may have been good enough to be part of the Slug Club and have closer contact with Tom Riddle. We don't know for sure which house Eileen was in, but Slughorn said that it usually runs in families. If that is true, then she was probably in Slytherin since Snape was sorted into that house.

Another theory goes something like this. Young Severus becomes a death eater vowing to follow Lord Voldemort. Voldemort decides to kill Eileen Prince and Snape finds out about the plan beforehand. Severus goes to Dumbledore, the only wizard Voldemort fears, to plead for his mother's life. Dumbledore agrees to protect Eileen, whose death is faked. She is given a new identity as Irma Pince, Hogwarts librarian. In return for this protection, Snape agrees to become a double agent for Dumbledore and the order. This is the real reason that Dumbledore trusts Snape implicitly. He knows that Severus will never betray his mother, the only person who ever truly loved him. Snape is faithful to the order for selfish reasons, which makes sense.

In the HBP on the lightening struck tower, Dumbledore tells Draco that he and his mother can be hidden more completely than he can imagine. (or words to that effect) It sounds like Dumbledore has experience at hiding someone who is supposed to be dead.

That is a very interesting theory. Maybe Mr. Flich is Tobias Snape.........