Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Harry Potter or any of the copy rights, though I wish. The only character that is mine is the lovely Violet Evans.

She stood outside the door willing herself to move forward. The engravings carved on the door were ancient runes she had yet to learn. Her hand caressed the copper handle ready to walk through the old oak door. She turned the knob carefully and pushed the old rickety door open. As she stepped on the threshold the floor beneath her creaked under the newly added weight. She took in the scene that met her behind the door as she stared in awe at the plethora of books that covered every inch of the walls. A noise sounded in a far off room and a far off voice yelled "Who's there?" A tall bat like man emerged to yell at the intruder but stopped dead. "Miss Evans, how may I help you?" Violet Evans looked at her professor for a moment and said "Professor, I'd like to ask you a question." Her wildly curly red hair shone in the light and her forest green eyes met the professor's black ones. "About what, may I ask?" Violet took a sharp breath and said "A person from your past." His breath caught as he looked at his student, but regardless he nodded. "First and foremost, I'd like to tell you a story about my father's childhood. His name was Joshua, Joshua Evans. He had two younger sisters. One was fifteen years younger than him and the other was seventeen years younger." Taking a deep breath she continued. "From the age of eleven to the age of seventeen he walked these halls as a student. When he was seventeen his youngest sister was born. She too walked these very halls and was exceptionally bright. She had a friend, a very anti-social friend. Her friend was an outcast and constantly made fun of while at school. She, being a true Gryffindor, always defended him. Professor I do believe you know both of these children; Little Severus Snape and Lovely Lily Evans. Professor, what was my Aunt Lily like?" Severus stared at the seventeen year old. It was his fifth year of being Hogwarts' Potions master and the twenty-six year old had been very curious about the vibrant Violet Evans. He looked at her for a long while before saying "She was my best friend; always jumping about, always happy. She was incredibly intelligent; you're very like her you know." He smiled fondly at the fiery haired young woman standing in front of him. Violet remembered going to her Aunt's house after her father had died; her mother left when she was around two. When her father died baby Harry had just been born, her father defied Voldemort five times and the Death Eaters had finally caught up to them. Severus took another breath and said "Violet, you must know something. Back then things were very dark. Voldemort had a hold of the ministry and all who defied him died." He paced as he continued. "Your aunt was very brave. She was one of the only muggle borns that would dare to stand her ground against Voldemort. She always spoke her mind and always counted her blessings. She and I grew apart, or were really pushed apart, in our fifth year of school." Violet walked over to her professor and said "Professor, I'm sorry I shouldn't have brought up this painful subject. There's just so much that I don't know. I don't know where I'm going to go after school this summer; I don't know what's going to happen to me. I just wanted to know about my family. I'm sorry." Severus looked at the girl that resembled his first love so much and for the first time he didn't see Lily he saw Violet. He saw the new forest green of her eyes, the difference of her curls, the way her figure curved just right, the ways she was different from Lily. He saw her face and his heart sped up. He never dreamed he would see her as anything other than a replica of Lily. He stood up and took her face in his hands and said "You can always come to me, my door is always open. I will always answer your questions." He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close to his chest. This took Violet by surprise but regardless she wrapped her arms around her professor and whispered "Thank You." Finally, she let go. She let go of everything she had ever bottled up, she wept right where she stood. When she finally stepped back she saw that she had soaked Severus' robes. Laughing she apologized over and over again. Severus grabbed her shoulders and said "Violet, do you ever stop thinking about everyone else and think about yourself?" Her smile answered his question. "You have to think about yourself once in a while Violet. Don't let everyone else rule what you do. You're your own person." Violet's blush was enough for Severus to say "Aren't violets supposed to be purple?" Violet smirked and said "Aren't dungeon bats supposed to be anti-social?" "Good, for an amateur." A few seconds later Violet realized it was time for class and people were due to come in at any time. She hurried to her desk so no one saw anything suspicious. As she watched the professor teach she paid more attention than usual but more to the teacher than the actual lesson. She couldn't take her eyes off of him. His lips were so full and his dark brown eyes were so deep and wonderfully warm. Everyone saw him as the dungeon bat but she saw him as her dark knight, but she wouldn't dare tell him that. He saw her as a student, at least that's what she thought. He thought she was wonderful. He thought nothing could compare to her beauty, her eyes captivated him whenever their eyes met. In the midst of the class, the only time their eyes met, Severus dropped a vial of crushed dragon's teeth. The shock of the bat-like professor dropping and breaking a vial when he stressed so much not to, was a jaw-dropping once in a life time experience. Severus snapped at the class to get back to work as he bent down to pick up the dropped ingredients. Violet ran over to help him and whispered "Sorry." As her hair fell into her eyes. He looked at her and said "Don't you dare worry, it wasn't your fault. It was my stupidity." The rest of the class stood there watching wide-eyed as the hated Slytherin dungeon bat spoke gently to Gryffindor's Golden Girl. Severus cleaned up the mess and whispered in Violet's ear "Stay after please." Then got up and addressed the class "Now you see why I always caution you on being careful with ingredients. We are all lucky that was just dragon teeth and not something completely lethal, now get back to work."