Severus Dominicus Prince (born Severus Tobias Snape; January 9, 1960) was a half-blood wizard and prominent Potioneer from the United Kingdom. The son of Eileen Prince and her Muggle husband, Tobias Snape, Severus was cursed with a childhood filled with pain and suffering due to his father's alcoholism and abusiveness and his mother's unwillingness to stand up for him; the only light in his life was Lily Evans, a Muggle-born Witch who lived nearby. The two became best friends and Severus fell deeply in love with Lily, and he taught her everything he knew about the magical world. In 1971, Severus began attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was Sorted in Gryffindor, the same house as Lily.