New story about Snape reflecting on his past. No character pairings. Enjoy!
ALL RIGHTS TO ROWLING! I OWN NOTHING!
"Detention Ms. Granger. Mr. Longbottom will not learn if you continue to whisper directions into his ear."
"Yes Sir."
Snape could make anyone flinch with his icy glare, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to petrify The Gryffindor girl. Even though you would never hear him say it, Granger was one of his favorite students. She was intelligent, kind, and would not hesitate to help someone. This reminded him all to much of Lily Evans - his first friend.
"Report here at six. Do not be late."
"Yes sir."
Class continued, and Snape noticed that Granger's hand no longer shot up at every question he asked. Not that he would call on her anyway, he just felt bad for squishing her enthusiasm.
The day flew by quickly, and it was now ten til six, and he still didn't anything for Granger to do. He couldn't make her copy textbooks because she probably already had them memorized. She couldn't do lines, because she would obviously not find that as a suitable punishment. There was a knock on the door. Snape glanced at the clock and groaned. Of course she was early.
"Come in." He drawled, unlocking the door with a flick of his wand. Granger walked in with her bag, haired pulled back, and casual clothes. She was prepared for anything.
Suddenly, he knew what she could do. "There are cauldrons in the back. You may leave when you are finished."
He watched the girl nod, and walk into the storage cabinet in the far side of the classroom. Only a moment later, she returned with a smirk on her face.
"I am finished Professor."
"I do believe I made it quite clear that you were to clean all the cauldrons Ms. Granger. You'd think a know-it-all like yourself could figure that out."
"Oh I am quite sure they are clean." With that same smirk on her face, she grabbed her bag and slid out the door.
Snape snarled. The only way Granger could clean those that fast would be with magic. But that was a fifth year charm. Yet this was Granger we were talking about. He strode across the room and triple checked each cauldron, determined to find one that wasn't perfectly clean. There was none.
Then for the first time in many years, Snape felt lonely. Granger had found the loophole. just like Lily had done to Slughorn many years ago. Snape had never said she couldn't use magic, and he certainly didn't expect her to know the charm.
He remembered how he and Lily laughed till there sides hurt on the expression on Slughorn's face. He missed Lily's laugh. Her bone crushing hugs, and most of all, her friendship. Lost in thoughts, he wondered how it could have been if he had just held his tongue.