Her eyes. You see them too. Those green, almond-shaped eyes. To this day, you still have trouble looking away when you see them. They're captivating. But when it comes to Potter, you will look anywhere but his eyes.
You'll complain about him to anyone who will listen: arrogant, conceited, disrespectful, just like his father. And you hate him just like his father. And he hates you. Just like his father.
But you know what the other teachers say, especially when you begin your tirades. He's a good boy. Brave. Loyal. Smart. Dependable.
No one says it. Dumbledore merely implies it. But you know. They see him as the best kind of person.
Just like his mother.
You try to ignore it, to deny it. But you can't forever. He is his mother's child. That hatred searing into you is not coming from Potter Sr.'s eyes, but from Lily's. They are Lily's eyes that see the depravity, the despicableness that you have fallen into. They are Lily's eyes that hate what you have become.
Dumbledore is wrong. You do not see what you expect to see. You see what you hope to see.
You see his father in him because you cannot see his mother in him.
His father hated you from the beginning, and for no good reason.
But it didn't matter. You hated him too. He was the horrible one. He was the despicable one.
Lily…Lily hated you for a reason. Because you…you couldn't get past your prejudices or overcome the peer pressure.
You pushed her away. You threw her away. With one word, one mistake.
Mudblood…
Seeing that hatred in those deep green orbs breaks you, it kills you.
Because, most of all, you deserve it.
And you just cannot hate her eyes.