Snape had known that the Mirror of Erised was somewhere inside the Hogwarts castle but recently he had heard rumors where it might be.

Deep in the night he had snuck out of the Slytherin dorm to the suspected room. As he opened the door, he thought he had heard footsteps.

Just being paranoid, he thought.

He looked around the empty room and the rumors were definitely true. There was the mirror. Hesistant, he took a deep breath as stopped in front of the mirror. He looked in the mirror. He saw many things that he didn't quite understand. He was expecting to see only Lily, but instead he saw her and that boy, James Potter, both by his side. He was hoping the mirror removed his confusion between the two, but all it did was make it even worse.

After a moment or two, he heard a great intake of air. But it wasn't him. And no one else was here either. He glanced around, suspiciously, and left without another thought.