By the next morning, the entire wizarding world had been made aware of the murder of Tobias Snape, the father of the Prince grandchildren at the hands of the same dark wizards who attacked the Malfoy wedding party. The Daily Prophet was now convinced that the self-titled evil Slytherin heir was attempting to destroy the legitimate Prince family. The purebloods frowned upon the attack, while the rest of the wizarding masses were offended because the muggle father of the Prince grandchildren had been killed to set an example. Either way for whichever of those reasons, the wizarding world baying for blood.
Minister of Magic Eugenia Jenkins swiftly reacted and gave a firm directive that the Aurors be permitted the use of lethal force in the capture and efforts to destroy the vicious organization responsible for much death and chaos. But that wasn't the only new implementation of security announced. With the imminent cure of hundreds of werewolves, a new task force was to be assembled.
As hundreds of animagus wolves were about to come into play, there would be dozens of animagus entering the Ministry of Magic as security or so to speak watch dogs. They were to be trained in the art of tracking and identification, becoming a lesser type of Auror, but more like the common branch of the muggle police force versus the Auror's being something akin to Detectives/S.W.A.T.
The general wizarding masses were pleased as they felt that the Ministry of Magic was doing all in its power to incorporate the former werewolves. Why even the purebloods felt that it was finally time that there be a regular police force to protect them from the muggles. And since some of the former werewolves had lived among muggles, who better than them to protect the purebloods?
Early Sunday morning the haggard middle-aged wizard with spectacles hanging off the bridge of his pale nose, Barnabas Cuffe yawned in his office. He'd been awoken at a ridiculously early hour with an urgent request from Gringotts.
Gringotts Bank itself requested that the front cover of the Sunday morning edition be given to them. Naturally, the editor of the Daily Prophet, Cuffe couldn't agree given the announcements of yesterday by the ministry. The readers were expecting a follow-up this morning. But Cuffe had been ordered by the owner of the Daily Prophet to hear them out. And hear them out he shall as he wasn't given any other choice.
Cuffe arose at hearing the sound of several footsteps and to his shock he plopped back down in his previous seat. At the helm of the goblin party wasn't just any ordinary goblin, but an elderly goblin with sharp eyes. Four guards with spears stood behind him as two other younger goblins each carried what appeared like a very large scroll.
Cuffe moves to stand again, but the wrinkled, long-nailed hand of Grok Gringotts gestures for him to remain seated. Grok Gringotts seats himself before him and says, "Editor Cuffe, we at Gringotts Bank have come to make a request of yourself."
"Sir Gringotts, I would be most honored," Cuffe carefully explained as light-colored eyes remained somber. "But our loyal readers at present are awaiting a follow-up on the ministry's announcement of yesterday and that on the tragic murder of Tobias Snape."
"We are not requesting that you write about anything else, Editor Cuffe," Grok said causing Cuffe to slowly nod his head.
"And what exactly is Gringotts bringing to the table that has to do with either of these topics?" Cuffe asked as his eyes sparkled with curiosity. He could smell a scandal, but he just didn't know of how imminent proportions.
Grok gestures to one of the goblins to begin unfurling their scroll. The scroll magically unfurls all around the room with the end laying on the top of Cuffe's desk. Cuffe glances at the bottom of the scroll to recognize the family names at the very bottom of the family tree. The Prince children were the last names on the scroll with the names above them being that of their mother and father, Tobias Snape and Eileen Prince. Though three generations above a certain male name was blurred out, not that Cuffe noticed.
Cuffe's licked his now dry lips as the goblin holding the start of the scroll approached and held it up for him to see. At the very top of the scroll it read, "Godric Gryffindor & 2nd wife, Messalina Snape."
"For reasons unknown to us the children of Godric Gryffindor's second marriage retained their mothers' surname," Grok explained as Cuffe's eyes trembled in understanding. "We believe it might have to prevent any problems of inheritance with his children of his first wife as he remarried rather late in his elder years.
Tobias Snape, a squib was the last of the Snape line and now his children, Rowan and Severus Prince carry the last of Godric Gryffindor's line."
Cuffe physically reeled at the startling revelation as Grok continues, "Now Editor Cuffe, if you would so kindly stare at the name of Tobias Snape's mother, what does her maiden name read as?"
Cuffe's eyes dart back to the scroll before him that reads, "Camilla Hufflepuffe." Cuffe's entire body trembles as the goblins unfurl the second scroll as before. Once more at the bottom of the list are the same names as before Tobias Snape and his children.
"Camilla Hufflepuffe was the only child born to a long line of male squibs that can be traced all the way back to the second son of Helga Hufflepuff," Grok calmly explained as the top of the scroll was shown to Editor Cuffe.
"Though the second son all but vanished from history since he was a squib, he still retained most of his surname with that minor letter edition at the end of his surname to claim a French heritage so to speak. It was a means of protection to offer to his children and descendants. And it was most wise on his part considering that every single following generation only had a single son that would be born to the Hufflepuffe family until Camilla Hufflepuffe, who was the first ever daughter born unto them."
Cuffe numbly flops back against his seat as he croaks, "Then Tobias Snape's children, Rowan and Severus Prince carry the last of the Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff's lines?"
"That is indeed correct," Grok said as he interlocked his long fingers and rested them on his lap. "Thru their father, they carry these two founders' lines which were thought long ago to have vanished from the world."
"Then Gringotts wishes for me to announce the Prince children's heritage and declare the vile murder of a prized squib descendant of not one, but two founder lines?" Said, Cuffe as his voice trembled from barely repressed excitement.
"The Prince family at present is already under attack and the Prince children have been viewed with scorn for being the heirs to Salazar Slytherin. But they are not Salazar's heirs but of two other founders as well! They deserve the wizarding world's protection with these mad men on the loose who killed their father," Grok smoothly said as a glint of cunning could be seen in his eyes.
"No doubt that is exactly why he was killed considering the political clout Tobias Snape would have wielded had he chosen to reveal himself to the wizarding world despite his being a squib. But not only that given that his two children were born as a wizard and witch, he could have easily gone on to create more children had he married another witch. It is an utter shame that the purebloods missed out on connecting their families to such a valuable bloodline."
Cuffe eyes widen at the implications as his mind races and his lips twitch into an evil little smile. "I understand, Grok Gringotts," Cuffe said. "I shall be sure to make the wizarding world become aware of the evil travesty that has occurred."
"Then we understand each other," Grok Gringotts said in satisfaction. "I cannot allow you to retain a copy of the family scrolls entrusted to us, Editor Cuffe. But I can permit you to jot down some of the family names on both sides of the list."
However, what Grok Gringotts didn't mention was that the scrolls weren't created out of kindness nor entrusted to them. No, they were created in case the goblins were to ever have their revenge on the descendants of the founders. And how these came into their possession is a story for another day.
Cuffe but all grabs his quill as he begins to hastily copy the top ten names on top of each family tree and the bottom ten names of the family tree. The minute he set his quill down the scrolls magically rolled themselves back up. The two scrolls lay neatly in the arms of the two goblins as Grok Gringotts rose to his feet.
"I look forward to this Sunday morning's edition," Grok said with a head nod, before departing from Editor Cuffe's office.
It had been several years since Cuffe had personally written an article, but that's just what he did. By the time the morning printer members had arrived, there was a new front page waiting for them. And boy did it cause the masses to scream in shock and break things. Why it was an even more startling revelation than that of the Prince's admitting their own family legacy. For it was Godric Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff lines!
The wizarding world was even more horrified as even the purebloods were calling out for vengeance due to the death of the squib known as Tobias Snape. But more importantly, the Prince family's entire value had increased tenfold. The two Prince heirs did not just carry two incredible family lines but a total of four! And out of those four bloodlines, three of them were the founder's lines. Suddenly, the Prince heirs had become the most valuable family to become intertwined with via marriage.
This was exactly what Reginald didn't want, but he was willing to make the sacrifice to earn even a smidgeon of protection for his grandchildren. And besides, this would also aid in avenging the father of his grandchildren. A brute or not, the man had repented in the end. And Tobias Snapes' death should at least count for some good in regard to his own children.