Severus Snape wrapped his tattered cloak closer around himself, shivering in the chilly October air. His greasy black hair whipped about his face as he patrolled the corridors of Hogwarts, scanning the darkness for wayward students and snogging couples. Finding neither, he trudged up the spiral staircase that led to the Astronomy Tower, mind preoccupied with recent rumours of the Dark Lord's plans to recruit Hogwarts students to join his forces.
Being a half-blood, Severus knew that he'd have to work twice as hard as any of his housemates to have such an honour bestowed upon him. He would have to find some strength, some talent, that set him apart from everyone else. Perhaps he could practise brewing poisons... The Death Eaters would find that useful, wouldn't they? And he could brush up on his duelling ability - real duelling, of course, not the namby-pamby nonsense taught by that muggle-loving fool, Dumbledore. He smirked to himself, thinking of his latest creation, Sectumsempra, a deadly spell that could rip his victims' bodies to shreds. Severus often dreamt of casting it on one of those loathsome Marauders, watching them beg for mercy as they bled to death. Perhaps, in the Dark Lord's service, he would get the chance to make those dreams a reality.
He was jolted out of his thoughts by the sound of a bright, tinkling laugh - her laugh. But why on Earth would she be up on the Tower? What was she thinking, loitering there in the middle of the night? Didn't she realise how dangerous it was? Just the other night, Severus' housemates had been bragging about an ancient hex they had discovered. What if one of them ran into her and decided to try it out?
The young wizard quickened his pace, his heartbeat drumming in his ears to match his footsteps. Finally, he reached the topmost stair, and the view that awaited him made him wish he had never ventured near.
Lily was sitting cross-legged against the tower's parapet, flaming locks of hair dancing around her face as she beamed brightly at the boy beside her. And the boy beside her, with his smug smile, stupid spectacles, and hideous hair that he couldn't seem to stop messing with, was none other than James Potter.
He looked away for a moment, repulsed by the sight of the girl he'd loved for years in the company of a boy he'd despised for nearly as long. But unable to resist his sick, masochistic urge to know what was going on between them, he soon turned towards the pair of Gryffindors again.
Potter was talking animatedly, his hands gesturing wildly as if he were recounting a truly awe-inspiring tale. Lily certainly seemed awed by it - her eyes were wide, her lips parted, and her attention focused solely upon the hazel-eyed lad. Perhaps she was just in awe of him, rather than his undoubtedly idiotic stories, but Severus refused to accept that possibility. Instead, he pulled out his wand and cast an undetectable amplifying charm over the couple, reassuring his conscience that he was only protecting Lily from that conceited, conniving scoundrel.
"That can't be true, James!" Lily was exclaiming disbelievingly. Right. James. He'd forgotten, perhaps intentionally, how she called that swine James these days.
"It is!" Potter replied, pretending to be wounded by her scepticism. "Would I lie to you, Evans?"
"Lily," she corrected him, as if on impulse.
So she allowed him to call her Lily. Furthermore, she wanted him to call her Lily. The thought made him want to attack Potter, to place his hands on that good-for-nothing's throat, and squeeze until he couldn't breathe. Severus knew they were mates now, had been ever since Potter had somehow manipulated her into trusting him at the beginning of their sixth year, but their friendship continued to shock the seventeen-year-old Slytherin every time he saw it. How could Lily make a complete 360-degree turn like this? How could she adore Potter so after despising him for years?
But she never really despised him, whispered an unwelcome voice in Severus' mind. Well, maybe not, but she'd certainly thought him childish and arrogant and borderline cruel, hadn't she?
She also thought him courageous and endearing and hilarious, the voice reminded him. He could always make her laugh, even when she was furious, in a way you never could.
Fuming, Severus shut out the pesky little voice and focused on Potter and Lily again. Unfortunately, what he spotted only confirmed his mind's taunts. Lily's head was thrown back, tears gathering in her stunning emerald eyes as she laughed uproariously at something Potter had just said.
When her laughter eventually subsided, she asked, enthralled, "And you got away with it?"
"Yup!" The bespectacled brat replied, puffing his chest out proudly. "Filch knew we'd done it, but he didn't have a shred of evidence."
"But you know, jokes aside, that's some pretty impressive magic," Lily mused, much to Potter's delight.
"Is that a compliment?" He asked, faux-scandalised. "Does Lily Evans finally see some good in me?"
Severus hoped Lily would shut him down with her typical scathing sarcasm, but as usual, his hopes weren't realised. Instead, the charming redhead swatted Potter's arm and replied casually, "Don't be silly, you know I already think you're the most brilliant bloke in all of Hogwarts."
Severus felt as if he'd been punched in the gut. Potter, meanwhile, seemed just as flabbergasted, but in a completely different way. He blinked repeatedly, his hands ruffling his curly black mop as his face formed an expression of utter incredulity. Then, slowly, his lips turned upwards into a gigantic grin, and he leaned hesitantly towards her.
No, no, no! Severus screamed within his head. For once, his prayers were answered, because Potter seemed to think better of his disastrous intentions, and jerked back at the last second. Before Severus could breathe a sigh of relief, however, something far, far worse happened.
Lily's eyelashes fluttered, her lips puckered, and her head tilted upwards.
And then she was kissing Potter, and it was the most painful moment of Severus' existence, but he couldn't for the life of him bring himself to look away and end it. He watched as Lily, his Lily, pulled Potter closer, burrowing her long, ink-stained fingers in the incorrigible hair she'd once claimed to hate. He watched Potter's hands clutch at her waist - how dare he touch her like that - and run up her sides to cup her flushed cheeks. He watched and watched and watched, rage and envy and raw agony pulsing through his veins, as they kissed, blissfully ignorant of the pain they were causing him.
After what felt like eons of this torture, they broke apart, identical smiles upon their glowing faces. Then, grinning cheekily, Lily asked, "Go out with me, Potter?"
Potter nodded dumbly, clearly too far over the moon to form words. In lieu of a reply, he landed another smooch on her lips, fast yet firm.
"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Lily giggled (giggled! She never giggled!), as soon as he pulled away.
"Yes!" Potter exclaimed, nodding again as if he couldn't quite believe that Lily Evans had just asked him on a date. "Wholly, absolutely, undoubtedly, one hundred percent, yes!"
Lily's smile grew impossibly wider, and she stood up, dusting imaginary dirt off her robes.
"Well, I'd better get back to the Common Room now. Pick me up at the Entrance Hall on Saturday morning, yeah?"
Giving Potter a quick peck on the cheek, she strode towards the stairwell in which Severus was currently hidden. Before she could spot him, a discovery which would doubtless make her detest him even more, he scurried down the steps, silent as a scouting niffler.
Then, he raced through the magnificent castle, soon finding a secluded alcove in which he promptly hid. Lily passed by him a mere minute later, a dreamy look upon her handsome face. Exhaling heavily, he sunk down onto the ice-cold marble floor, trying in vain to process everything he'd seen, heard and felt within the last half hour.
The first emotion that sprung to his mind was betrayal. He could no longer pretend that Lily was simply naive, and had been misled by her so-called friends in Gryffindor. No, it was clear as crystal that she had willingly spent the evening with, kissed, and even asked out the brute who had tormented Severus for so many years. She had torn his heart apart at the end of their fifth year, and now she was callously rubbing salt in the everlasting wound. And it burned, far worse than a physical injury ever could. It burned.
But despite her treachery, he couldn't bring himself to feel even the slightest hint of hatred towards Lily. Despite her dirty Muggle roots, her loyalty to her even dirtier Mudblood friends, and her feelings for that disgusting blood traitor, Severus could never hate her. No, his deceitful heart would always remember her, always forgive her wrongs, always pine for her. There was no point fighting it, he realised. He, Severus Snape, would always love Lily Evans. Always.