Severus Snape was rarely impressed by his students. He was more concerned with who the student was, or who he perceived them to be.
Never was Snape swayed by who was the best looking boy of the year or which girl was destined to go on to fame and fortune.

That was ever so apparent not only during class, but with grades.

On one particular afternoon, right after his final class, he was at his desk reading over his 5th year students' essays. With an eye for perfection and a quill quick to make notes, criticize and dock points; Snape was consumed in his work. The classroom was very dark, lit only by two candles at each side of his desk. While the paper being graded was well lit, Snape's malcontent face was cast in shadow. The professor had a good number of essays done, but also a fair amount left, and he was trying to finish so the work wouldn't add up when he received the 2nd year essays next class.

For what seemed like hours in the dark, Severus persevered with his work. He was on the final page when he was thrown off task. Looking up from the paper and angry that someone was disturbing him, he icy said for the person to, "Enter.".

"Close the door," Snape said as he put his face back into his grading, not seeing who entered, but noticing the great new darkness when the door was closed.

"Are you professor Snape?" a female voice asked, no older than sixteen.
"Yes, I am. And who are you to disturb me?" He said, tone cold and solid as stone and lifting his head slowly to see who was there.

"I'm very sorry, sir. I'm a new student, and Headmaster Dumbledore said to talk to you about entering your class."

Snape could only see that a girl was standing there with her arms at her sides.

"And, did Headmaster say that I would admit you?"
"Well, no, sir. He said to talk to you about allowing me into your class. See; I really love potions and-"
"Enough."

Snape cut her off mid sentence. He tried to look at her, but alas, the dark was a bit too much for him.

"I do not tolerate those who favor special treatment. If I allow you to enter my class you will be responsible for catching up and immediately working, do you understand?" Snape asked.
"Of course, yes, sir."
"Professor Dumbledore said to give you this," The girl said and put a piece of paper on Snape's desk.

It was a transfer slip. It had the girls name, year and blank spaces for her classes. In the candlelight, Prof. Snape could see she had already signed into transfiguration, defense against the dark arts, and divination, with still a few slots left for classes. Grudgingly, he signed his name, name of class and time.

"You're Robyn Gardner?" Snape asked.
"Yes, Professor," she said.

Snape handed the slip back to the girl and told her to be off and that he would expect her in class ready to take up work like she was always there. With an air of confidence and some anticipation, she readily agreed and walked out of the classroom, shutting the door and cutting out sunlight once more to leave the potions master at work.

Today was not a good day for Professor Snape's potions classes. No, after finishing up his essays last night, and having a hard time with his earlier classes, Snape was in even more a sour and bitter mood than usual. There, in the back row of the class, sat Robyn among her Gryffindor kin.
Students grimaced and a few brave souls dared outwardly moan their feeling of a doomed class. Snape turned sharply to face his students and hissed out directions.

"Books open to page 392. I want three pages of notes on the text in chapters 2 and 3 and I want it by classes end," Snape said in a low snarl.

Quickly and as quietly as possible the students pulled up their books and got right to their work, some relaxing that their teaching wasn't having a fit. Snape walked briskly around the room to be sure that each and every head was in a book and that all hands were turning pages and taking down notes. He knew which students would fail miserably and which would (by the pure grace of his own favoritism) pass by just a hair. Walking up and down and through the rows, Snape was finally halted when he came to an unfamiliar head.

He stood next to Robyn (since it was unbeknownst she was the girl form the afternoon before) and waited for her to feel his presence and look up. It took her some time, Professor Snape could she was enamored in her work and seemed to be doing a great deal in compressed time; but she did look up.

"Is there anything wrong, Professor?" She asked as her eyes met his face.

Snape was near silenced. He managed to mutter an answer and walked back to his deal, relieving Robyn of his presence and allowing her to continue her work.

As he sat down the Professor was truly dumbfounded. The girl had deep, dark red hair that went right past her shoulders and shiny green eyes, almost to the match of emeralds. Snape put his face into a book to hide his expression of awe. She looked like Lily. Lily Evans. The only main differences were that this girl had rounder eyes and was a bit shorter than the late Lily, and instead of being overtly pretty, she was just pretty.

Every few moments, Severus would disguise his peering at the Gardner girl as making sure the class was in check, even being so bold as to stroll around the room to get a better look. From the back she was exactly like Lily. Never in all his years as a teacher had he come across a more spitting image. True; he had seen girls with a similar airs about them, and even some with red hair (the Weasley girl being in that category) but never did he see such a replica. It was almost like looking back in time. Snape almost expected to see a near-copy of himself sitting with the Slytherins.

Snape went back to his seat to wait out the rest of the class. He tried to read a book and grade other papers, but it was no use. His mind darted back to the girl sitting just a few rows in front of him, her face so familiarly in a book.

There was relief when the class finally ended, but Snape couldn't leave his feelings alone. So before she left, Snape quickly walked up to Robyn and in his monotone (which he tried to use to overcompensate for his minor shock) he said, "I need to know where you are at potions wise. See me after your final class."

"Of course, Professor," Robyn said with a innocent smile and from there collected her things and left the classroom, leaving Snape alone.

For the final classes of the day, Snape just doled out work and kept to his own thoughts, waiting to see if this could really be a Lily herself.