"He's so weird," he heard her and her friends whisper. "Way different than the others."
"He just doesn't fit in," another said. "He doesn't belong in Slytherin."
"What do you think, Erika?" one asked her.
He waited through her silence, strangely finding himself hoping that she wouldn't agree.
"I think he's okay," she said.
"You're different than the other Slytherins," she said, sitting in a chair beside him.
"Don't remind me," he snapped.
She smiled at him. "I think different is a good thing."
"Why do you insist on bugging me so much?" he asked as she sat down next to him, again.
She smiled. "You look like you could use a friend. And I want to be your friend." He stared at her in shock.
"If anyone asked, would you tell them I was your friend?" he asked her.
She looked at him. "I hate to say it, but I'm not really sure," she said, frowning.
"Would you talk me to me about everything?" she asked.
"Not everything," he said, after thinking for a moment.
"I wish you would," she said, sighing.
"Am I your best friend?" she asked.
He thought for a moment. "Maybe." Her smile made his answer worth it.
"How did your career discussion go?" he asked.
She sighed. "Vector's still insisting that I can't be a writer, that young witches and wizards have no use for 'fictional nonsense," she said, using air-quotes. "It's so stupid. Why can't I be a writer? It makes no sense."
"Beats me, Erika. But at least she's not telling you that you should be a Potions teacher," he said, snorting.
"Well, based on your people skills, I can't imagine why you wouldn't make a wonderful teacher," Erika said sarcastically.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Erika," he said.
"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're amazing in Potions. You might not be cut out for a Potions teacher, but you should definitely do something with Potions. You'd make an amazing Potions Master," she said. He blushed under her praise.
He noticed the gleam in her eyes as soon as she sat down. "Who's the new boy?" he asked.
She blushed. "Oh...no one you know too well," she said.
She was crying when she came into the common room that night. And instead of sitting down next to him, she ran straight up to the girl's dorms. Everyone stared after her for a moment, and then turned back to what they were doing. He ran to the foot of the stairs, cursing the founders distrust in boys.
"Erika!" he shouted. "Erika!"
"Go away!" she shouted back down. "Leave me alone!" He could hear her sobs.
"Don't make me come up there, Erika!" he yelled.
"You…can't…" she said.
"Just watch me," he muttered. And then, despite knowing exactly what would happen, he began climbing the stairs. Almost immediately, the stairs turned into a slide and he tumbled back down, inciting the laughter of everyone in the common room. She rushed down the stairs, crouching beside him, still sniffling.
"Are you okay, Severus?" she asked.
"Nothing's hurt but my pride," he said. She smiled.
"It's worth it to see you smile, though." Her smile doubled in size. "What happened?"
"Nothing a little time with you can't fix," she said, making him blush. "Severus, you're the greatest friend I've ever had." She hugged him, making him blush a deeper shade of red.
"Do you think of me as a girl, or just a friend?" she asked.
"I think of you as both a girl and a friend," he said.
"So...like a girlfriend?" she asked.
"No! I mean...well...what I mean is..." he stammered, blushing. She laughed.
"So...do you want to or not?" he asked, nervously. He was beginning to worry she might say no. He didn't know if he could take it.
"Of course I'll go to the dance with you!" she said, smiling. He breathed a sigh of relief. "As friends, right?"
His heart sunk in his chest, but he didn't let it show. "Yea, of course. Just as friends," he said.
"Have you kissed a girl yet?" she asked.
"Ki-kissed?" he stuttered. "Uh…well…I mean…you see…"
"Ooh, I see. You've never kissed a girl before and you don't just want to admit it 'cause you think I won't think your some big, strong man anymore," she said, smirking.
"I have too, kissed a girl," he mumbled, crossing his arm.
She laughed. "You don't have to pretend for me, Severus, I don't think any less of you for it. Truth is…well, I haven't really kissed a boy before either," she said. He could hardly believe it, after all the boyfriends she talked about having. "Cross my heart."
Soon after, he realized the common room was empty of everyone except them.
"Alright, I'd best be off to bed then, Severus," she said, standing and stretching. "Night."
"Night," he said, standing as well. His eyes were closed as he stretched, so he didn't see it coming until it was too late.
His eyes flew open as he felt her lips brush his. She smiled at him like the cat that got the cream. And then she was walking away, up the stairs to the girl's rooms.
"So they make fun of you because you're a half blood?" she asked.
"Yes, I suppose that's why," he said.
"Well, if it's any consolations, you'll always be my prince," she said, leaning back against him. Some idiot (genius, he thought) had taken out the second chair in the common room. So she had found it fitting to share his chair, sitting on his lap. Not that he really minded.
He chuckled. "Yes, of course. Your half-blood prince," he said, smirking.
"Are they teasing you again? We could hang out after the test, you know...they'd be more likely to leave you alone if I was there," she said. It was only moments before their OWLS would begin.
"No, I'll be fine," he said, his pride not allowing him to accept. "You can go celebrate with your friends. I'll just review by the lake. But I'll see you in the common room later?"
"Definitely. I bet the chair will still be gone. I guess we'll just have to share again," she said, smirking. He blushed deep red.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you. I swear, if I had known what James was going to do-" she protested.
"That doesn't matter now," he said, walking away.
"We're not as close as we were before," she said, looking rather sad. The other chair was miraculously back.
"I guess you're never as close to the friends who let you down," he said, rather meanly.
She looked close to tears. He was about to apologize, something he almost never did, when suddenly she stood, angrily wiping away tears. "I don't need to take this. I wanted to be your friend." And then she stormed away.
She didn't know he was there. He was sure she didn't know he was eavesdropping.
"Erika, please tell me you're not still friends with that awful Snape boy," one of the girls was asking.
Yes, he silently pleaded, Please tell them you are.
She laughed cruelly. "No, of course not. Why would I ever be friends with him?" she said, shattering his heart. He ran away, refusing to admit that the sting in his eyes was tears.
"You're different than the others," the boy said, sitting down beside a girl in his year. She glared at him. He watched as history seemed to repeat itself before his very eyes, with only a few differences. He found himself hoping that their lives would turn out differently.
He left the common room, unable to deal with the reminders of his past. He found himself wandering the halls, wondering how he could have let a girl like Erika get away.
Years later, he heard by word of mouth that the two students in the common room that day had been married. He wondered what had happened to Erika, the girl who had been his friend even though he was 'different.' The girl from the common room.