I fell in love with her, because in her own special way, she was just as broken as I was. She was an angel, but her white wings were dirty, her halo full of cracks. She was a gorgeous ruin, an elegant tragedy. She was the loveliest of flowers, beautiful yet so fragile it was heartbreaking. And I didn't deserve her, I've always known that. I did not deserve her caresses, her kisses, her light, her love. No, I deserved none of that.

I started working on my papers for the next class; it would be long before any of these knuckleheads were finished with their tests. Luckily, no one dared make the faintest of noises, let alone attempt to cheat in his classroom. It was all a routine, a painfully slow and withering routine that I had come to accept. They would all finish by the end of the class, hand over their tests that I would unfortunately have to correct afterwards and as always, most of the Ravenclaws would do relatively well and the Hufflepuffs, well the Hufflepuffs would do mediocre. That was what they were after all, pathetically mediocre.

So I simply continued with my task, writing word after word until my hands were sore from all the writing and my fingers smudged with ink. Suddenly, a Hufflepuff rose from her seat and slowly walked up to my desk. Sure that she wished to ask some ridiculous question, I didn't even bother to raise my head and instead waited for her to speak. But the girl remained silent, handing me her notebook gingerly as if she expected me to bite if she approached any further. Silly girl.

Curious, I did her the favor of raising my gaze to meet hers but yet again she didn't utter a word as she held the notebook in her dainty fingers. I raised an eyebrow at her, surely she could not be finished. I personally made sure the test would be close to impossible to answer, Felix Felicis was a delicate matter to handle. Yet here she was handing me her paper whilst everyone else was struggling.

"Are you done, Miss Bellerose?" I spoke calmly, but apparently my tone was not enough to reassure her I had no intention of harming her. Silly, silly girl. She was still standing there like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

"Yes, professor." she finally spoke up. Her voice was a sweet, melodic sound still but I couldn't help but notice the hint of fear in her few words. Merlin, was she that afraid of me?

"This soon? You still have a lot of time in case you wish to revisit your answers."

"There is no need, sir. Thank you." she answered me with unexpected confidence and smiled at me sweetly. How strange a girl, a few moments ago she was trembling in my very presence and now she was smiling at me, brightly enough to light up the darkness of my classroom. How strange indeed.

"Good then. You may return to your seat." I suddenly found myself at loss of words, why I did not know. It was something I could only describe as a daze, an odd feeling that fogged my mind. She flashed me one last smile, before returning to her seat with small, silent steps only such a petite creature could ever make.

I found it hard to concentrate on my work after that, no matter how hard I tried so instead I decided to correct her paper. I stole a few glances towards her as she opened her textbook. Why was I so surprised she finished early anyways? And of course, her paper was excellent as always. The youngest Bellerose girl excelled in my class, always knowing the correct answer.

No, she was nothing like that annoying know-it-all Granger, of course. That would be insufferable. Miss Bellerose's only flaw would be that she cared too much. She was soft and let people push her around far too easily. It wouldn't be long until everyone discovered that fatal flaw and benefited from her weakness. But at the end of the day, she was still a Hufflepuff, what would you expect?

Soon I dismissed the class after they were all finished, relieved that there would be no more lessons for the day. But to my dismay, a knock on the classroom door suggested I was not as alone as I thought.

I scoffed, "You may come in." I continued collecting my books.

"Professor Snape? I'm sorry, am I bothering sir?" the girl walked in with her typical youthful, and innocent air and the room lightened up once again.

"Is there something I could assist you with, Miss Bellerose?" I allowed my tone to relax, for some reason I did not find her presence as unpleasant as that of any other student.

That smile appeared on her lips again - Merlin, why was this girl always smiling? It made me uneasy to say the least, people that were so bright always did. Perhaps I even envied her; her sweetness and light were a sign of happiness. A happiness I would never have.

"May I ask you something, sir?" her voice was barely above a whisper, but a faint smile still played on her lips.

"Go on, Miss Bellerose."

Regarding my rather stiff tone, her gaze fell to the floor and she locked her eyes there, too nervous to meet mine. "Do you perhaps...erm...find yourself in need of an assistant?" she finished with a smile.

"I beg your pardon?" I must have heard wrong. Was she truly asking me this? Why on earth would this young lady ever wish to be my assistant? Surely this was some kind of joke.

"Well sir, I have been thinking about taking an apprenticeship for quite some time now."

Skeptical, I decided to believe her words. She seemed honest enough anyways. Perhaps I could - no, it wouldn't be needed, the girl was being truthful, I did not have to read her thoughts to see that. But that did not answer my question as to why she would ever ask me. "I am sure plenty of the other professors in this school would gladly take you as their apprentice. A good student is always valued, Miss Bellerose. And from what I know, you seem to be on good terms with everyone."

"Yes, that is true sir. But you see I do not hold the same interest for every class. Potions has always been one of my favorites." she insisted.

"And what would be your other favorites?" I raised a suspicious eyebrow.

"Herbology is a great love of mine and divination, perhaps." she answered plainly.

I rose from my seat and walked around my desk, using the hard edge to support my back. "Then why not turn to Professor Sprout?" It certainly made more sense than asking me for such thing.

She giggled, a girlish sound yet it was not nearly as annoying as any other girl's. "I wish I could sir, but I fear the position is already taken by another student in the 7th."

"What about Professor Trelawney then? Is the position taken there as well?"

"No, sir. But with Professor Firenze being in charge of half of the classes, her duties are not nearly enough to ask of an assistant. Besides, divination is not a core class." she finished yet with an anxious, yet hopeful grin.

"I see." I dragged my feet back around the desk and took my seat. After a few seconds of thought, I cleared my voice and turned my gaze back at the girl. "Well Miss Bellerose, I will be honest with you. I had never considered the possibility of having an apprentice, and I am most certainly not in need of one." I could see the girl's face dropping at my words. "But I will give it some consideration. You should go now, your friends will be waiting for you."

"Thank you, sir." she soon disappeared after giving me the warmest smile I received in too long a time.