Severus gazed at the curled-up figure beneath the elm tree, watching the slow movement of her breathing. Lily had fallen asleep in the summer sun, her sundress tucked around her and her copper hair softly blowing in the breeze. He edged slightly closer, so he was just a metre away. Then he sat, and pulled his tattered sketchbook from his bag. The opportunity was too perfect. He'd always wanted a drawing of her, but normally she would never sit down long enough for him to capture her true beauty. His heart beat faster as he studied her. His homeroom angel. Without looking down at the paper, he began to make soft strokes with the pencil, gradually blocking in the flowing curves of Lily's body.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been working when he heard her speak.
"Your tongue sticks out when you're focused. It looks kind of silly." His eyes met her green ones and he shivered, almost dropping his pencil. She was looking at him curiously. How had he not noticed when she woke? "I've seen you around somewhere... It's Severus, right? Severus Snape? You're in my homeroom." He nodded, still too nervous to speak. "You don't say much, do you?" Her disappointed look forced him to swallow the lump in his throat and attempt communication.
"I-I uh-" She raised an eyebrow and he tried again. "I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have started drawing you without your permission." At his words, Lily's face broke into a friendly smile.
"Hey, it's okay. I don't mind at all, it's kind of cute actually." His mouth went dry and his face went red. She thought he was cute? No one thought he was cute. His sallow complexion and permanent scowl, most girls avoided him completely. His heart was in his throat as he tried to laugh it off, and he nearly choked, making her giggle. It was music to his ears. "Can I see it?" She asked, bringing him down to earth with a bump. He glanced at his sketch. It was nowhere near finished, looking more like a smudged mess of lines than anything else at this point.
"Um, it's not really finished..." As he spoke, the bell rang and Lily pouted.
"Well damn, I really wanted to see it. Hmmm..." Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Give me your phone." Snape blinked, but silently handed over his mobile to the beautiful girl in front of him. She typed something in, before handing it back to him. "Now," she said, getting back into her previous position and closing her eyes, "Take a picture." He fumbled, nearly dropping his phone, but did as she asked. Around them, students weaved their way to classes, but in between Snape and Lily there was a perfect oasis of calm. Once he was done, she sprang up and looked over his shoulder at the photo. "Perfect! Now you can finish the drawing whenever. And my number is in there, so send me a picture of the finished work." She stooped to pick up her bag and looked up at him, smiling slightly. "Or, y'know. Just message me for whatever."
"Thanks", he mumbled, still in shock. She passed by him, squeezing his arm gently as she went.
"No problem. See you round Sev." He watched her walking away, not looking back, and he knew.
He was in love.