It's a cold morning in late November and the students are all a buzz with the impending holiday break. The other professors seem annoyed with the distractions of holiday plans in their lessons but you don't mind it. As the last student files into their seat you begin an elaborate discussion about the various muggle holiday traditions, which of course is accompanied by a sampling of different foods and drinks for each holiday. As per usual there's always that one student who despises muggle studies and can't just sit and enjoy the class and today they are really getting to you.

They degrade the holidays and the traditions, as well as the people who celebrate them, then they start on you with the personal attacks. It's not like this hasn't happened to you before but today it just seems so much worse because you were really looking forward to having such a fun class today.

You dismiss class early and race to the teachers quarters with tears streaming from your face. They aren't usually this mean but for some reason they just couldn't dig deep enough today. You turn the corner towards your room and smack face first right into someone's chest.

"It would be wise to watch where you're going."

You look up to see the cold eyes of Severus Snape staring down at you. Chills run down your spine as you take a step backwards.

"Severus, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you there," you say through withheld sobs.

"Obviously not."

His eyes look over your face closely, as if he's following the trails of the tears that you shed.

"Severus, I really must be going."

He steps to the side, causing his long robe to rustle against his leg. You are relieved that he didn't question or mock your tear stained face, the last thing you need right now is to be interrogated by him. Severus stops just before he rounds the corner and you turn to find him looking at you.

"Send him to me for detention."

With that said he was gone. He wasn't staring at your tears, he was reading your thoughts. He knows all about what happened to you and why you are crying. Severus Snape just offered to help you, maybe he's not such a bad person after all.

The Next Day

You haven't seen Snape since your encounter yesterday, which is off because he's usually around for dinner. It's your night to walk around the grounds in search for students out doing who knows what. So you grab your cloak off the hook beside the door and head out of the castle near the humid greenhouse.

The clouds hang low in the sky and look like little wisps of smoke in front of the almost fully risen moon. You clutch your wand in your hand and pull your cloak close to keep out the brisk November air.

Everything seems to be in order as you make your way towards the lake. That is, until you see someone standing by the water.

"Who's there," you call towards the dark silhouette. They turn around and your heart skips a beat, there before you stands Severus Snape.

"Severus? What are you doing out here?"

"I don't believe that that is any of your business, Professor."

He walks toward you, stopping about a foot in front of you before speaking again.

"I took care of him, he won't bother you again."

"Why are you doing this for me?"

"I'm not doing anything for you. However, I know how those words can hurt."

And with a dramatic swish of his cape he pushed by you without another glance.

You had heard rumors about him and that girl Lily but they were never anything more than rumors. Or so you thought until now

-Snapes POV at lake-

Snape's cold eyes stared at the water in disgust, not at it but at the arrogance of the child he just dealt with. It brings back a memory of many years ago when he was just about at this spot walking slowly around the lake, contemplating just slinking in the glassy, black water and never coming out. that day had hit him really hard, literally and figuratively.

The mark Potter left on his eye would surely cause some commotion in the common room later but at this point he didn't care. He couldn't go to Madame Pomfrey without ratting out Potter and even as much as he despised him, Snape wasn't that kind of person.

So there he was, walking alone with his dark shades covering his now surely black eye. He stopped and stared at the dark water, it really would be so much easier to just drift away.

A rustle in the bushes behind him disrupts his thoughts. He points his wand towards them, "who's there?"

"Severus? Is that you?"

A moment later, Professor McGonagall steps towards him.

"What are you doing out here at this hour?"

"I just needed to clear my head, I will head back to the castle."

"That would be wise, I will walk back with you. No one should say anything to you about being late then."

"Thank you," he mumbled.

"I must ask Severus, why are you wearing

those sunglasses now? The sun has most set behind the mountains."

"No reason."

"Now Severus, Lily came to me today and told me what happened. She even told me that I would probably find you here. She's very worried about you."

Snape pulled his glasses off of his face and stuffed them in his pocket.

"Oh Severus, you need to go see Madame Pomfrey."

"I can't, then he will really get in trouble. I just want this to be over with."

"Severus what he did to you is expressly forbidden. However, I understand how you feel. I am going to take you to Madame Pomfrey but nothing will be said about our encounter. He will have no idea that I talked to you about it."

"Why are you being so nice to me? I'm a Slytherin."

"I don't care what you are, no one

deserves to be treated that way Severus. No one. Now let's go get you fixed up."

"Thank you, Professor."

Now all these years later that lake still looks just as appealing to drift off into. Maybe if he wasn't so keen on helping you out, he would do just that.