Disclaimer: You know the drill: I own nothing. Sad, but true. :-)
Prologue
He could smell her fragrance as she leaned over to inspect her brewing potion. It was sweet, calming. She was probably born with that fragrance, and that's how her parents chose her name.
Lily.
He peeked over at her out of the corner of his eye. She chewed on some strands of her red hair as she measured out the correct amount of toadstool and sprinkled it into her cauldron.
He thought she was beautiful.
He thought she was smart.
But how smart could she be, to get herself entangled with that insufferable Potter?
"Oh, wonderful, Lily! Wonderful!" Professor Slughorn exclaimed, cheeks and ears turning pink with excitement. "You have a natural talent for Potions, and I'm sure you'll pass your NEWT with flying colors!" Slughorn peered into Snape's cauldron, gave him a curt nod, and scurried over to Peter Pettigrew's table where a strange, pink fog was emerging from his cauldron.
Mudblood! Snape thought to himself, as Lily concentrated on grinding some pomegranate seeds. But really, only a small part of him wanted to call her that. She may be muggle-born, but was as bright as any pureblood. Possibly brighter. Plus, she was one of the select few who truly appreciated the fine art of potion making. She was perfect. But he had to call her mudblood, had to use that defense mechanism. Otherwise, he would fall.
Truth was, he had already fallen.
Fallen hard.
But she was entangled with that insufferable Potter!
And that simply would not do.
He made some notes in the margins of his textbook. He scrunched up his nose, deep in thought, and brought it closer to the book to block wandering eyes from his new spell. The tips of his greasy hair skimmed the pages, leaving the faint trace of oil. A wizard could only take so much, could only stand so much, and then he had to fight back. And fight back he would! He would make them all pay; make them all regret the day they heard of Severus Snape!