Title: Emerald Eyes
Author: Cave Nymph
Summary: Snape makes a discovery during Occulmency lessons and must decide where to go from there.
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or locations from Harry Potter they are the property of J.K. Rowling, I am merely playing with them a little, I will return them when I'm done – honest
Warnings: mild reference to child abuse

A/N: this in my first attempt at fanfiction, so please be gentle with me. This fic is un-beta'd

The rich brown liquid swirled in the glass as he sat by the fire contemplating - well alright, he could admit it, if only to himself, he was brooding - he tried to figure out where it had all gone wrong.
'The eyes, it's always those damn eyes' seemed like he had been haunted by those eyes all his life.
But that wasn't right, he loved those eyes, always had, ever since he was a little boy. 'Potter! It's all Potter's fault.' The eyes haunt him, but the blame lies squarely on Potter's shoulders - Potter's and Black's. They took the most important thing in his life away!
Ahh who was he kidding – she left because of him – his mistakes! Hisdesire to make sure no other wizarding child would ever have to go through what he did, and now he had failed again! Another child raised by muggles and beaten and locked away in a dark dank cupboard! 'no! don't think about that! Not now, not here!'
Everyday in class he saw those eyes, at first he had been blinded to them by how much the rest of the face looked like his most hated enemy. But he couldn't ignore it any longer.
'Harry Potter is an abused child, and no one seems to care! No one is doing anything about it. Albus you old fool – what are you doing to that boy? That child? You keep sending him back there – year after year – to be abused again and again….'
He could almost feel HER eyes staring at him in reproach for failing to protect her son. For letting him be abused, he had to do something! Anything! He had to protect Potter even if it meant stealing him away from Hogwarts and Albus - Bloody - have-a-lemon-drop-my-boy – Dumbledore!
His eyes called to him, in every class, in every Occlumency lesson, those damn green orbs staring at him in defiance, and anger, but haunted by such unimaginable pain. His Eyes – HER Eyes! He would always be haunted by those damn Emerald Eyes!