"Black Eyes"
Chapter I
Severus Snape made his way down the narrow spiral staircase to the dungeons of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. His signature black robe whipped out behind him with each broad stride as he peered from underneath his thick, dark eyelashes at students rushing by him. Potions with the sixth years again, Snape inwardly groaned. Even though potions were his forte, his strong hatred for the Gryffindors made it a grueling day-to-day experience.
He twitched the top of his thin lip into a snarl as he noticed two figures standing in front of his classroom door at the bottom of the gloomy staircase. They seemed to be talking casually and neither of them was wearing a uniform. Severus opened his mouth to deduct house points for loitering in his doorway and not wearing a uniform, but he hesitated when he noticed that the figure to the right looked more mature than the other sixth years.
His pace slowed to a crawl and he tilted his head to the side in an attempt to get a better glimpse of who it could be. A flash of red hair ignited when the light from the high window sill and sawn on it. He saw the perfectly sculpted face of Lily Potter. She noticed him and smiled flawlessly. He couldn't believe it. He stopped moving altogether and grabbed at the flesh on top of his heart. Lily Potter, the love of his life, standing so casually in front of him like she used to all those years ago, before Voldemort took her life at the tip of his vile wand.
"Severus," she said as her eyes twinkled at the sight of him. His heart skipped a beat and his head became heavy. How could she be there? Was he going mad? He tried to process all of these emotions screaming out at him and trying to suck him in. His hand hit the railing of the staircase. The sensation steadied his thin, pale form and his eyes snapped shut. He was barely aware that his body had collapsed to the floor in a crouched position. He squeezed his eyes tightly and after a few more seconds, he opened them. She was gone. He lifted his head so slowly that the muscles at the back of his neck strained to hold up the weight. Everything felt weak, like a thousand-ton boulder had hit him and was holding him down.
Suddenly, he noticed he was not alone. His potions class was scattered around the staircase staring at his crumpled form in shock. He tried to regain composure as he stood up to his full height and glared at his class. He straightened his now dust -covered robes and fixed his dark eyes on the frightened students.
"Go. To. Class." His said so menacingly that it sent his students rushing off to the classroom with startled looks on their faces. When there was no one left in the foyer, he collapsed once again to the floor and lost consciousness.