Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OC is entirely my own.

R.I.P. Alan Rickman
(1946 - 2016)
We'll love you 'always.'

Chapter 3: She Walks Alone

It had been nearly a month since school had started, and Severus had already found his nerves on edge more times than he wished. The students were a bunch of dunderheads , in his opinion; messing up potions left and right, and their essays were atrocious. But that wasn't what bothered him the most.

No, not in the least.

Ever since his first night at the staff table in the Great Hall, he had been bothered.

Haunted, actually, would be a better word for it.

Haunted by green eyes that did not belong to his beloved Lily. But green eyes that belonged to a student. Saddened, soft emerald green orbs haunted his days and his nights.

Severus exhaled harshly, as his fifth year OWL students wandered into the classroom on the first Monday in October. This Slytherin/Gryffindor group had been quite troublesome for him, over the course of the last four weeks. Constant bickering and name calling; sabotaging each other's potions; and the worst was the small duel that nearly broke out between two boys.

He watched as they lumbered in and took their seats, divided by House perfectly down the center of the room. Then his midnight orbs focused in on the last student to enter through the door; the one who haunted him so.

Eva Rose Harrison.

She was on the smaller side of the fifth years; not quite a woman yet, but definitely not a child anymore. Her dark brown hair hung limply around her tiny heart shaped face. Her eyes focused on the ground in front of her, never daring to glance around. Her nose was long and thin, and her downturned lips were dusty rose in color. She was as pale as he was, and just as thin as he was at that age.

He watched her pick at her food during mealtimes in the Great Hall. Sitting all alone at the very end of the Slytherin table. He never saw her conversing with others in her House; or anyone for that matter. She was quiet in class, but always answered correctly when called upon and her potions nearly perfect every time.

She sat in the library, studying alone.

She sat beneath the large willow by the lake, alone.

She walked the corridors alone.

She always walked alone.

Severus was roused from his thoughts as the clock chimed nine, signaling for his class to begin. It was a relativity easy potion that he had them producing today. For most of them anyway.

"I think it appropriate to remind you that next June you will be sitting an important examination, during which you will prove how much you have learned about the composition and use of magical potions," Severus began. His arms folded across his chest, as his dark eyes scanned the room.

"One of the potions that may be on the exam is the Shrinking Solution," Severus continued, as he flicked his wand towards the chalkboard, spelling the chalk to write out the directions. "The directions are on the board and in your book on page 254. Begin."

"But sir," a Gryffindor boy spoke up. "That's a third year potion!"

"Quiet," Severus snarled, as he quickly rounded on the blonde haired boy. "Mr. Stebbins, I am fully aware that this is a third year potion, but that does not mean that it will excluded from the test. The OWLs will be testing your knowledge for all five years that you have been in this class. Turn to page 254." Severus swept towards his desk and gracefully seated himself behind it.

"And Gryffindors," Severus stated, as he plucked a feather from his red inkwell. "Note five points being taken for your classmates outburst." The students trimmed in gold and red groaned, as they moved to collect their ingredients from the storage cupboard.

For several minutes, Severus concentrated on the parchment before him; but every now and then, he caught himself glancing up at the little Slytherin in the back. There was an odd number in this class, and as such, no one wanted to work with the girl.

She worked alone.

But Severus preferred it this way...secretly he enjoyed watching her brew.

Every cut, every measurement was perfectly done. Her stirring movements were graceful, and her timing was spot on.

Sighing quietly, Severus pushed back his chair and rose to begin making his rounds around the room.

"Ms. Enderson," he snarled. "Your caterpillars are not crushed finely enough. Five points taken."

"Mr. Allington," Severus hissed, as he passed by another workbench. "You are suppose to stir the potion clockwise, not counter-clockwise. Five points taken." The class continued on in that fashion until there were only ten minutes left.

With a snarl, Severus directed them to start finishing up, and to bottle and place a vial of their potion on his desk. Students scrambled about, hurrying here and there in order to finish up in time. Severus stood at the front of the classroom; his arms crossed over his black clad chest.

He watched Miss Harrison closely, as she carefully ladled her potion into the small vial. Her handwriting was delicate; always in cursive, but with beautiful swirls and accents, looking like it was something out of the eighteenth century.

A fit of giggles from the opposite side of the room broke his concentration.

"Ms. Montgomery, Ms. Simmons," Severus growled in the girls' direction. "If you don't..."

"Watch where you're goin' Mudblood," a boy's voice snarled, causing Severus to stop dead in his tracks. He whirled around quickly, to find one of his own Slytherin, Mr. Welter, pushing Miss Harrison away from his person.

"WELTER!" Severus shouted, as he stalked towards them. The whole room went silence as he slowed his pace to a stop in front of the dark haired boy, and glared down at him. "What was that I heard?"

His soft threatening voice caused the boy to falter, "Nothing, sir."

"Are you quite sure about that Mr. Welter?" Severus asked quietly. "I thought I heard the word 'Mudblood' leave your lips."

"I..."

"Ten points from Slytherin," Severus barked, as he turned away for the boy to stalk back to his desk.

"But sir!"

Severus whirled back around in a fury of black. "Shall we make it twenty, Welter? Or perhaps a detention on top of it?"

"N...no, sir?" Welter stuttered, his posture shrinking dramatically.

"Let me warn you all now," Severus snarled softly. "If I hear anyone use that word in my presence, they will be serving a detention with me worse than one scrubbing bedpans for Mr. Filch."

As Severus turned back towards his desk, listening closely to the students as they scrambled towards the exit, he sighed heavily, wondering if the day could get any worse.

But it wouldn't be just one bad day this month for him...this month would become his nightmare...

A/N: Hello everyone...I had this chapter ready to go last week, but in light of Alan's passing last Thursday, a part of me couldn't even look at my fanfiction projects at the moment. He's been a part of my life for a long time...

At the age of 5, I first heard this magnificent voice in 'Die Hard.' Yes, you read that correctly...I was five when I first saw 'Die Hard.' I had been sick that weekend, and my dad was home alone with me on a Saturday night, as my mom visited with a friend. Dad had gone down to the library and rented 'Back to the Future' for me, and 'Die Hard' for himself (in which he told me that I couldn't watch it). As I went to bed that night, I waited, knowing my dad never stayed awake ten minutesor so into a movie that late at night, before carefully sneaking back downstairs to the kitchen. I managed to watch the entire movie without dad waking and before mom came home.

Fast forward eight years, and thanks to my dad, once again, I got to hear that voice once more. 'Galaxy Quest' had just hit the theaters, and the two of us went to see it.

In the twenty-five years in which I have seen his films, like many, I fell in love with the characters he played.

From the soft, spoken Colonel Brandon of Sense and Sensibility...to the sophisticated, yet deadly Hans Gruber of Die Hard.

From the arrogant Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves...to the 'Voice of God,' Metraton, in Dogma.

And of course, to the sarcastic yet loyal Severus Snape of Harry Potter...and so many more.

There wasn't a movie that I didn't love him in.

And yet, it wasn't just the characters that I fell in love with.

I greatly admired Alan for his kindness, generosity and wit. It's something that many people lack in the world.

When I received the text early that morning informing me of his passing, I knew that a part of my childhood, and even my adulthood, was now gone forever. Cancer has taken so many wonderful people from us...family, friends and even those we admire most.

My prayers not only go out to his wife, siblings and family; but his colleagues and close friends during this difficult time.

Rest in Peace Alan Rickman...
You may be gone, but you will never be forgotten...
You will always be in our hearts...

Thank you to all of you who have continued to follow this story. It means so much to me :)

A special thanks to victoria cullen33, theimpossiblegrrl, Amarenima Redwood, HarukaJKGG, Batfreak02 and Lady Jensen for their wonderful reviews!