Lucy O'Brian: A character of my own and a girl who's always in high spirits. Practically a squib, Lucy has trouble fitting in, and met Severus in kindergarten during their elementary years. After being accepted to Hogwarts and realizing her minimum abilities in magic, Lucy turned to the smartest (and only) boy she knew for guidance…
Severus Snape: JK Rowling's brilliant creation. A quiet and intelligent teenager (or teacher), Severus rarely shows his softer side, unless in the company of Lucy O'Brian, who he feels he can connect with at times due to their long history…
Claire Judicory: Another character of my own devious doing, Claire is much like Severus in many ways. She is quiet, easily annoyed, and does not like to be bothered. She despises her own veela heritage and wishes for nothing more than boys to ignore her existence in anything other than classes.
: A time switch, mostly from the Marauder Era to the present time (before Dumbledore's murder).
'Blackblackblack': Thinking.
A flower untouched by bitter winds…As Severus sat in his empty classroom, arms folded across his chest as he examined his various jars. A snake that ate itself…a turtle without it's shell…He rose to his feet smoothly, taking long, sweeping strides towards those jars that frightened so many in his classes. This was the year…the year he would kill the man who had given him so many chances. Defend the boy who Narcissa had trusted him with. Possibly rekindle the flame of before with his Lucius-swept love… Finally, he found himself stopping in front of a purple filled jar, a bright pink butterfly suspended in the middle.
This was (obviously) one of the less frightening bottles of nothingness that the man owned, and he purposely kept it far from the rest of the class. Severus could safely say he felt this very thing a weakness, if nothing else. He raised a heavy arm, picking up the considerably lighter jar and examining it. It was dusty…that wouldn't do. The Potion's Master sighed and wiped it of its excess dirt, smiling a bit at the effect.
This had been her favorite.
His first suspender potion…
Severus set it back down, folding his arms and drawing back a dark curtain to look down upon the Grounds where children played and laughed with each other. For the briefest moment, he blinked, and his vision changed completely…
There she sat, plain as day, beneath the great oak tree. There was that ever-present smile…that bewildered and amused look that always seemed to crawl onto her features when he was around. Her blue-framed glasses slid down her nose irritably before she shoved them back up, choppy red hair falling into her sapphire orbs. Robes cascaded around her small form, a red and gold scarf tight against her neck to protect her from the bitter cold. The uniformed skirt blew lightly against her pale legs, even as she sat, and her hair was only held back by the red ribbon in her already fiery hair. A button-up shirt hugged her chest, tie hanging loosely around her neck as she laughed yet again.
Such was the visage of Lucy O'Brian, and what a lovely sight it was. Severus could never forget it, and his vision of the memory only widened as he was sucked into reminisces.
There he was, lanky and thin as he sat in front of the girl. His own green and silver scarf clung to his neck, gloves covering spidery fingers as they clenched to his wand. Severus gave it a swift 'swish' and watched as the results shot up in dazzling reaction. His greasy bangs vaguely held in front of his black eyes before he flicked them out with a toss of his head. Sparks danced about the two of them, and for a moment, Severus didn't care what everyone around them thought…A Slytherin and a Gryffindor. Such was meant to be if it made him happy…those times came rarely enough as it was.
Just to see her smile. To hear that laugh that brightened up not only her face, but also the entire area. Several of the sparks fell to the icy ground, the snow around them melting at its hot touch before the girl began to rise to stand. Lucy giggled and pressed her back against the bark, using it as leverage to slide herself up. It worked, and afterwards she held out her own pale hand to help him up. She wore no gloves, and Severus wondered why for a moment…
But then he discovered a solution to her issue of chill. He took her offered hand and used it to help him stand. All the while never breaking eye contact with her vibrant blues…well done, Severus, well done. "Cold?" He asked softly, wishing to be kind to the clearly chilled girl. She shook her head, but he knew otherwise. Her family wasn't exactly the shiniest shilling in the bag.
"No, I'm fine." She reassured him, flashing that lovely smile yet again. Those pink lips…kind eyes that were always willing to take in his bottled up pain…
And then it was spoiled.
"OI! Luce!" A piercing, yet devilish, voice rang throughout the Grounds, and Severus found himself grimacing at the approaching gang. The Marauders. The most handsome of the group waved at the pair of them, or rather, at Lucy. Sirius Black broke into a trot while James and Lupin remained engaged in their obvious discussion of something Quidditch related. The blood traitor smiled at Lucy, but sneered in the direction of Severus. "What're you doing' here, Snivellus?" He snickered, but quickly ceased. Wondering why, Severus looked to Lucy, and noticed that she was giving him a harsh stare.
"What do you want, Sirius..?" She asked quietly, raising her eyebrow and sighed in exasperation. Snape couldn't really blame her. The way Sirius hounded her…it was disgusting. You would think she was a veela, for god's sake! Severus shook away these thoughts as soon as a perverse notion crept in…
'She's as gorgeous as a veela…'"Hogsmeade is coming up…Do you want to go with me?" Ah, another offer. Severus smirked, knowing full well Lucy's answer before she even gave it. First there was the apologetic sigh, then the nervous smile. "A-Actually, Sirius…Someone's already asked me. And I've…well, I said yes." He watched as that arrogant smirk faded from the Black's lips, his own widening in cruel sadism.
"Who?" His voice was broken, hurt, almost. But yet it still held that 'superior' air to it that Lucy simply didn't like. Severus' black eyes instantly switched to the redhead, wondering who /indeed/ had asked her. It was a different guy each time, and some were even made up…Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen her at Hogsmeade before.
'Maybe she's waiting for someone to ask her…a certain someone…'Nonsense.
Lucy sighed and smiled a little, glancing in Snape's direction before responding and pointing. "He did."
His dark eyes widened before he looked to Sirius, instantly seeing the anger begin to fill the fourth year's face. "You chose…/him/ over me?" Lucy nodded yet again, beginning to chew on her lower lip in apology yet again. "Sirius…Severus doesn't treat me like an object to be claimed…you're a good friend, but you wouldn't be a good boyfriend…" Severus was beyond words as Lucy took his hand, beginning to walk off in dignity.
And then it happened.
The moment that Severus would never forget…
The first time he had attacked someone for reasons other than his own.
"Fine then! You filthy little Squib! Crawl off to your tutor!" Lucy had frozen. Her hand had fallen from Snape's, and for the first time in a long time, Severus had watched the smile completely disappear from her lips. Lucy had never been very good at magic…Her charms backfired, her potions exploded, her plants screamed and bit her. Even if she'd had the heart to, she wouldn't have been able to fight back. But Severus could. And he did.
In a flash, his wand was out yet again, and aimed straight at Sirius' throat. "Take it back." He growled in that eerily soft voice, freeze as cold as the ice around them. Lucy calmly turned, resting a hand on Severus' arm with sorrow lacing her actions. "Please…Severus, don't-"
"Stay out of it, O'Brian." He didn't know what possessed him to say it, but it was out. And it was harsh…the rest of the Marauders were flocking fast, and his only ally was brimming with tears. Severus dropped his dueling wand and roughly grabbed her hand, dragging her off from the painful sight of the cruel Gryffindors.
Weren't they supposed to be nice?
Understanding?
Not jealous and needy.
He ran and ran, the panting girl at his side as they took to the castle, not bothering to listen to the cries of rage behind them. Fierce winds pushed against their skin, straining it…And finally, they were in the castle, and before Severus knew it, in a broom cupboard…And as fast as they had ran, they had fallen into each other's arms, locked in a tight embrace.
Severus could still feel her shuddering against his form. The way she felt within his grasp. Snape had always felt himself a small teenager, frail and thin…and yet when she was in his arms he felt as strong as any other athlete. As wise as any sage. As brave as any lion. He listened, uninterrupting, to her words of detest, of regret for angering him or Sirius, of fear about what the Marauders would do to avenge their friend's 'humiliation'…
He found himself stroking her red hair, whispering gentle words of reassurance. "Don't worry…I'll be fine. Pettigrew can barely hold his wand, Potter's head is too large for him to cast a spell that won't hit his forehead, and Black will be far too busy in the mirror." Lupin was never a problem. He was the quiet, kind one of the bunch. And he was probably lecturing Sirius about the cold insult he had just dealt her.
Lucy nodded, and Severus felt her small arms around his chest, her head nestled so perfectly beneath his chin…
'Do it…you've been waiting for an opportunity to actually ask her for years! Kiss her…tell her what you feel…Do it, Severus!'
Oh, how he wished he'd have listened to that nagging voice in the back of his head for once.