"Baby, will you stop reading for a minute?" Madeline complained, pouting and leaning her head against Severus' shoulder.
He grinned, but kept his eyes on his Potions' book. "I can't... You know I want to become a Potions Master."
The girl moaned, bored. "You already know more about the subject than Slughorn does…" she said, rolling her eyes. The Slytherin shot her an amused look. "Do you really believe so?"
"Sev." She sighed, "I know so. You've taught me more than he ever did."
"That's because I know how to deal with you."
Madeline smirked, and planted a kiss on his cheek, "That's true." She said.
The two young students were spending their Sunday morning in the Castle's library. They were sure they wouldn't find anyone there; kids usually overslept on Sundays. That was the reason they had taken advantage of the situation.
Madeline kept studying Severus' features as the boy continued reading about some weird, exotic Potion. He was changing, she noticed. He was, in a way, becoming manlier. His jaw was getting sharper, his cheekbones higher. His body was turning from skinny to lean. She raised a hand to brush his hair.
"Stop staring." He whispered.
She laughed lightly. "Why? I don't know what to do!". He shook his head, and sighed. Madeline admired his ability to remain concentrated on something, even when he had distractions. She was the distraction, in that particular moment. But she didn't mind his ignoring her. She liked challenges.
The long and winding road
That leads to your door
Will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here
Lead me to you door
She sang in a low voice, and he couldn't help but turn to look at her. "What's that?"
"What do you mean?" she asked, eyes opened wide. "It's a Beatles' song."
He raised an eyebrow, "Nice one." He muttered after some time.
"Isn't it?" she smiled.
"D'you want to go to breakfast?" he asked then.
"Don't you have to finish reading that?" she inquired.
He threw her an incredulous look. "Yeah, but I can't go on when you stare at me like that."
"Like what?"
The side of his mouth twitched, and there was amusement in his onyx eyes. "So Slytherin of you." He muttered.
She pretended to be offended, "How dare you!?" she exclaimed. "Take it back!"
Severus laughed imperceptibly, "Never." And leaned in to kiss her on the jaw.
She turned and let their lips connect. It was a brief contact, and Severus pouted when she interrupted it.
"I know why you're doing this… And you're only validating the cause… Snake." He whispered against her ear, and she shivered. She smiled, then. She liked when he teased her just like she did with him.
"Let's go to breakfast, babe." She said, suddenly. She was rather hungry, in all honesty.
"Alright", he agreed, stood up, picked up his book and followed her out of the deserted library.
As they were walking towards the Great Hall they spotted some sleepy kids doing the same. Madeline greeted Amos Diggory a good morning when he saw the older boy going back to Hufflepuff Common Room.
Severus told her about what he had read, and even asked her to brew something together the following weekend. She agreed with a smile on her face.
"You know, earlier I was thinking you should cut your hair a bit." She said, "Maybe I could help you with that…" she suggested, looking at him with wishful eyes.
He knitted his brows, "Why would I cut them? Boys wear it like this these days."
"Oh come on, Sev! Like you care about trends!" she said, and he couldn't deny that. "Plus, they almost reach your shoulders! I would only cut them a bit… Shorten them to the chin, more or less."
He shrugged, "Fine… I don't care, do what you want."
She cheered then, "Thank you, love."
He shot her an amused look, and when they entered the Great Hall, they wished each other a good day, and moved towards their respective House tables.
The Marauders weren't there. They probably were still sleeping, considered that they had spent Saturday night playing wizard poker and drinking Rum.
Alice, Frank, Marlene and Lily, on the other hand, were chatting animatedly over their porridges at the Gryffindor table.
"Good morning, Mads!" they all exclaimed, as she sat down next to them.
"Morning, darlings." She replied with a smile on her face. Alice and Frank resumed talking to Marlene about Quidditch. She was in the Gryffindor team with Frank, and Al was a big fan of the game.
Lily didn't care much about it, like Madeline, so she turned to speak with the girl.
"So… You and Snape?" asked Lily, raising an eyebrow.
Madeline almost chocked on her pumpkin' juice. "Me and Snape… What?"
Lily rolled her eyes, "Come on, Mads! You know what I'm asking! Are you two dating?"
The blonde girl looked at her curiously. "Not really… We're friends, I guess. Why?"
Lily shrugged, "You know why. We've already talked about that. I'm only afraid he will hurt your feelings."
The expression in Madeline's eyes softened at that. "Well, thank you Lils. You're a good friend…" she murmured. "Even if, to be honest, I've always thought heartbreaks are inevitable in life…"
She raised her eyes to look at Severus, and was surprised when she caught him staring back at Lily and her.
His onyx eyes continued shifting from hers to Lily's face. Madeline couldn't help but feel annoyed by that fact. Severus and she had not talked about the redhead Gryffindor for some time…
Madeline vividly remembered he had once told her Lily would be his "Only love" forever. Lots of things had happened since then, though. In that moment, she knew she had to ask Severus about what he felt for Lily Evans. She momentarily thought it was a shame she didn't know Legilimency. Occlumency was certainly useful to her… But being a Legilimens, like Severus, would have made her life… Easier?
Madeline shook those thoughts away as she came to the conclusion that she wasn't just the type to toy with people like that.
Severus moved his eyes back to his breakfast, but Madeline didn't stop staring at him. That's why she was able to catch the confusion and surprise in his expression when a big, black owl dropped a letter in front of him.
It was indeed a weird thing. From what she knew, Severus never received any mail.
She looked at him as he opened the letter. She saw a little object falling out of it, but the boy was quick in taking it and putting it into his pocket; then, he started reading. His eyes couldn't hide his sadness. Or maybe she knew him so well she was the only one who could see that.
Severus' jaw clenched, and a minute later the letter was set on fire, turning into ashes in no more than five seconds.
"What do you think, Mads?"
Frank's voice brought her back to reality. "Oh, I'm sorry, what?"
Alice smirked, "What do you think about this year's Quidditch tournament? Do we have a chance? The Ravenclaws are going strong."
Madeline shrugged, "James and Sirius are pretty sure we could win anyway. I don't really know, guys."
Frank laughed, "James… Such an incurable optimist."
"Yeah… Isn't he?" Madeline agreed.
The conversation with her friends went on 'till the end of breakfast, but Madeline's mind continued travelling back to the letter Severus had received.

She intercepted him as he was walking back to Slytherin Common Room.
She took his arm and smiled at him. "Hey, love, d'you want to take a walk by the Lake?"
He raised his eyebrows at that. "I thought you had to do your homework"
"That's true, but I know something has shaken you." She admitted, "And I want to be with you."
Severus sighed, "You don't have to, Madeline..."
She laughed then. "You sound so formal when you say my name, Professor Snape" she joked.
He shrugged, and smirked. "Calling you Mads makes me think of Black and Potter." He said.
"Well, call me what you want... Even if I would prefer love, baby, darling or sweetheart."
Severus took a step in her direction and was about to whisper something in her ear when some Ravenclaw kids walked by them, staring. The boy took a step back. Madeline knew she was quite reserved.
"Black Lake then? Alright for me... It's not like I can deny you anything..."
She grinned, then. "See you at the Castle entrance. I'm going to grab my cloak. It's cold outside."
He nodded and observed her as she walked rapidly towards Gryffindor Tower. He went to his dormitory to grab his cloak too, and minutes later they met again and exited the Castle together.
Madeline looked radiant as the sun reflected on her blonde hair and fair skin. They started walking along the side of the Lake. It was a nice winter day.
"What did you tell your friends this time?" He asked.
She rolled her eyes, "That I was coming out to breathe some fresh air. They had just woken up…" she said, laughing. "Anyway, they're not really that obsessed with me, you know..."
He snorted, "Yeah, sure."
Madeline shot him an annoyed look, but he knew she was just pretending.
"Will you tell me about the letter?" She asked after some time, crossing her arms.
He hesitated. "It's... Nothing, really."
"Seeeev..." she chanted, raising an eyebrow.
"I don't want to ruin this day." He muttered.
"You can't keep hurtful things inside of you and pretend they don't exist. This thing you do... It will kill you." She said, pointing her blue eyes towards the cloudless sky.
He seemed to think about that for a bit, but he eventually answered. "My mother wrote to me... She said she was worried about me..." he laughed an empty laugh, "Guilt's eating her up... But she's lost to me, now."
Madeline stayed silent for a bit. "You should forgive her, Severus." She stated, throwing side glances at him.
He halted in his steps. "How can you say that?" He asked, his tone of voice turning colder.
She turned to look at him. "She hurt you, I know. But you cling to the bad things in your life far too much... Try to see the good around you." She explained.
"The good?" He repeated, dumbfounded. "Madeline, you're the only good thing that's happened to me in years… Years, do you understand?"
She saw some desperation in his onyx eyes. "You had Lily, before."
Severus shook his head. "I used to think so too. But we grew apart as we grew old... I only now realize that Hogwarts... The same place we used to dream about together, as children... It has changed us..." he stared at some birds, which were flying near them. "I'll always be fond of her. She's the first friend I've ever had..."
The words stuck in his throat.
"You once told me she would be your only love, forever..."
He laughed. "You remember that?" Then, a sparkle of understanding and amusement shone in his eyes. "Wait, are you... Jealous?"
Madeline grinned. "What is that thing on your face, Severus Snape?" She said, approaching him slowly. "You're not satisfied, are you?"
"Of course I am. It's funny to see you like this."
She smiled, "Idiot." She stated, "Do you still love her, or not?" She asked then. She just had to know.
"Yeah, yeah I do. I'll always be in debt with her, and she'll always stay in my heart... But… I love her in a different way, now..."
"I understand what you mean. It's what I feel for my friends."
Severus coughed, probably not liking the comparison. "I guess..." he commented.
They resumed walking, then. He kept his eyes on his feet, and continued thinking about Madeline's jealousy towards Lily.
"She sent you something... Your mother... What was it?" The Gryffindor girl suddenly said, breaking his train of thoughts.
Severus knitted his brows. "How do you...?" he shook his head, then. He knew Madeline noticed everything. "It's a ring. It belonged to her father. My mother comes from a noble Pureblood family. She's a Prince." He said, and the girl immediately recognized the name, and nodded. "It's a precious heirloom... And she wanted me to have it."
Madeline hummed in understanding. "But why did she send it to you today of all days?" she asked, confused.
Severus blushed a bit. She knew then that he was hiding something from her.
"Oh... Well..."
Madeline raised an eyebrow. "Why, Sev?"
Severus inhaled deeply. "Because today's my birthday." He muttered.
Madeline shot him a surprised look; her bright, blue eyes opened wide and her mouth did the same.
Severus swallowed, "I'm seventeen, today."
"You're of age." She replied.
"Yeah, yeah that's true, I'm of age..."
Madeline said nothing and Severus took a step in her direction. "I'm sorry for not telling you but... I didn't know how, and I didn't think it was important, and I didn't want you to buy me a gift, and..."
The girl interrupted his rambling by running in his arms and hugging him tightly. Her hands entwined behind his neck, forcing him to bend a little.
Severus hugged her back, and put his face in the crook of her neck. His safe place.
"Happy birthday, love." She whispered against his ear, and then started leaving wet kisses against his soft skin.
He moaned lightly. "I definitely am happy I've told you now..." he whispered.
She laughed, "You're a stupid boy. Not telling me about your birthday! That's ridiculous."
"Yeah, I guess so..."
"You're of age, Sev! We should get drunk!"
He smiled, "I'm happy like this, but thank you."
He kissed her again, and let his tongue trail her lips slowly before entering her mouth.
She separated from him some minutes after. "I really mean it, you know... You should forgive your mother. It will make you live better, love. There's no sense in dwell on hatred... Some day you'll regret it..."
"You say so very often... In your opinion, some day, I'll regret a lot of things..."
"I only want to help you seeing things differently..." she caressed his hair, and pecked his cheek. "And I want you to stop tormenting yourself... Because, for now, that has only led you to bad things."
"Madeline... there's no changing what I am."
"You're a fool, Severus, that's what you are." She said, and gently pushed him away to resume her walking. "Let's not discuss about this anymore... I love this place..." she whispered, looking around herself. "Let's enjoy this beautiful day, okay?"
He nodded, and reached the girl to take her hand in his. "Okay, love" he softly said, and Madeline stare at him longingly, before smiling at him.

Hello darlings!
I must admit I don't particularly like this chapter... Sometimes I think my Severus is reaaaally out of character and I hate that! But then again, he's only a kid at this stage of the story... So maybe it is understandable... ?
When we're young things are so different, right?
Anyway, I definitely am finding solace in writing this story. If you're reading this, please leave a comment! The lack of feedback in really putting me down...
All my love as always. X