CHAPTER ONE
Severus Snape, a seventh year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, ran trippingly down the corridor, holding a small book out in front of him as he went.
"Lily!" he called. "Lily!"
A lithe redhead in the group of students in front of Severus turned around and faced him.
"Severus?" she asked, puzzled.
The greasy-haired, awkward seventeen-year-old stumbled toward her. She tossed her wavy red hair over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"What is it, Severus?" she prompted.
"Um, you—you dropped this," Severus stammered, holding the small book toward Lily.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "My datebook! Thank you, Severus!" she smiled at him, then turned back and joined her group of friends, which included James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black, all of whom exchanged suspicious glances with Severus.
"Certainly," Severus said softly, his eyes still on Lily as she laughed and talked vivaciously with her friends.
Later that day, Severus retreated to the refuge of his room in Slytherin House. Tossing his books down on his bed, Severus made sure he was alone before reaching under the mattress to retrieve a large blue notebook. It was the book given to him by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore six years earlier. Dumbledore had taken a special interest in the young Severus, who had few, if any, friends at Hogwarts.
"A journal, Severus," Dumbledore had said when he gave him the book. "For your thoughts, your aspirations. Write them down here."
Dumbledore knew Severus had trouble making friends and getting socially involved like the other students. He thought that perhaps Severus could find solace in a journal. And so he made a ritual of writing in his diary. And every time the pages ran out, Severus would find, the next morning, 20 new pages would have appeared. For seven years, Severus poured his heart into his diary, filling it with every thought, every anxiety, every wish that he couldn't and wouldn't reveal to another living soul. And today, he had something new to add. Quickly, he found a quill and some ink and began to write.
Dear Diary,
I have never before spoken of love on these pages, and I donot know if I am in love, but I do know that I have never felt this way before about another person. Her name is Lily Evans, and I believe I have loved her since I first saw her as she came off the Hogwarts Ezpress six years ago. Of course, I did not know that then. But I do now.
I always watch her in class, in the corridor, in the Great Hall. She is in Gryffindor, but that changes nothing about the way I feel about her. Unlike many of her friends, she has always been very kind to me and talked to me when no one else would. Once, my school satchel broke open in the corridor, and while her friends stood around and laughed, Lily helped me gather my things together. She has a compassionate and loving nature, which is why I can't understand why she runs about with those gits Potter and Black and Lupin. They nearly killed me once and don't seem to care. Always getting away with things because Dumbledore likes them better than other students. But Lily isn't like them, not in that way.
I have decided I will tell her how I feel. Maybe if she knows that I love her, she'll stop going with that lousy James Potter. Everyone says they are together, but we'll see how things are when I talk to Lily.
Severus
* * * * * *
Harry closed the book and looked up at Ron and Hermione. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what had happened with his parents at Hogwarts. He couldn't imagine that, as Snape's diary described this incident, they were just two years older than Harry and his friends. But still, he had a gnawing curiosity he had to satisfy.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all of them 15 years old, had just begun their fifth year at Hogwarts. The three were best friends, so it was normal that they were all three involved in finding out more about Harry's past.
Hermione glanced out the window.
"It's getting light outside. Perhaps we should go," she suggested. They had been in Snape's office all night, reading Snape's diary. The account of his final year as a student at Hogwarts took up at least half of the book, but the first half mostly bored them. Snape complained about how idiotic the other students at Hogwarts were, and how he couldn't wait to leave and get out into the real wizarding world. He thought that most of his teachers were dull prats afraid to really teach him about the Dark Arts, which he longed for more than anything else. But beginning his seventh year at Hogwarts, Severus Snape's attentions turned mostly to Lily Evans.
"Yes, we should go," Harry suggested.
"Should we take the diary?" Ron asked.
Harry looked at him pensively.
"Does Snape still write in it?" he said, flipping through the pages, searching for a recent entry. But strangely, the dates of the diary ended during Snape's final year at Hogwarts.
"I don't think he'll miss it," Ron said, grabbing the diary. "He just had it in this chest here," he indicated the empty wooden box. "Didn't even bother to put a protective charm on it or anything!"
"Maybe he wants to forget about it," said Hermione.
"Well, then let's take it!" Ron said, putting the notebook under his shirt.
Suddenly, the doorknob began to turn. Harry glanced at the Marauder's Map, and to his horror, he saw a black dot marked SNAPE standing just on the other side of the door to the room containing the three dots labeled HARRY, RON, and HERMIONE.
"Quick!" Harry hissed, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak. "Get under here!" Ron and Hermione hurried toward Harry and the three of them disappeared under James Potter's cloak just as Snape opened the door.
A grown-up version of the greasy-haired kind angled into the room, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. It was still before 6 o'clock in the morning, but Snape liked to get some work done in the early hours. He sensed someone had invaded his office and quickly began to check to make sure things were still in order. He hastily opened his prized cabinet to make sure his essential potions were all accounted for, and, finding them all present, let out a small sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione crouched uncomfortably together under the cloak. Their discomfort was compounded by the feeling that they were spying on Snape, as well as the fear that he would soon discover them.
Ron began to gesture toward the door, which Snape had left open. Hermione vehemently shook her had in opposition, but Harry just shrugged. It was worth a try, he supposed. Besides, he didn't want to hang around to witness Snape's private moments. Hermione rolled her eyes and almost said something to protest, but finally assented.
Slowly, the three of them edged toward the door, attempting to make as little noise as possible as Snape furiously searched the remainder of his office for missing possessions. It was not easy to do, considering the cloak now had to cover three fifteen-year-olds. But finally, they crept out into the corridor, and once they turned the corner, Harry slipped off the cloak, and they made a run for Gryffindor Tower.
Back in his office, Snape noticed something that was not his, lying on the floor. To him, it looked like nothing more than a piece of parchment. But Snape had seen this piece of parchment before, and he knew who it belonged to.
"Potter," he sneered.
Severus Snape, a seventh year student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, ran trippingly down the corridor, holding a small book out in front of him as he went.
"Lily!" he called. "Lily!"
A lithe redhead in the group of students in front of Severus turned around and faced him.
"Severus?" she asked, puzzled.
The greasy-haired, awkward seventeen-year-old stumbled toward her. She tossed her wavy red hair over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.
"What is it, Severus?" she prompted.
"Um, you—you dropped this," Severus stammered, holding the small book toward Lily.
"Oh!" she exclaimed. "My datebook! Thank you, Severus!" she smiled at him, then turned back and joined her group of friends, which included James Potter, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black, all of whom exchanged suspicious glances with Severus.
"Certainly," Severus said softly, his eyes still on Lily as she laughed and talked vivaciously with her friends.
Later that day, Severus retreated to the refuge of his room in Slytherin House. Tossing his books down on his bed, Severus made sure he was alone before reaching under the mattress to retrieve a large blue notebook. It was the book given to him by Headmaster Albus Dumbledore six years earlier. Dumbledore had taken a special interest in the young Severus, who had few, if any, friends at Hogwarts.
"A journal, Severus," Dumbledore had said when he gave him the book. "For your thoughts, your aspirations. Write them down here."
Dumbledore knew Severus had trouble making friends and getting socially involved like the other students. He thought that perhaps Severus could find solace in a journal. And so he made a ritual of writing in his diary. And every time the pages ran out, Severus would find, the next morning, 20 new pages would have appeared. For seven years, Severus poured his heart into his diary, filling it with every thought, every anxiety, every wish that he couldn't and wouldn't reveal to another living soul. And today, he had something new to add. Quickly, he found a quill and some ink and began to write.
Dear Diary,
I have never before spoken of love on these pages, and I donot know if I am in love, but I do know that I have never felt this way before about another person. Her name is Lily Evans, and I believe I have loved her since I first saw her as she came off the Hogwarts Ezpress six years ago. Of course, I did not know that then. But I do now.
I always watch her in class, in the corridor, in the Great Hall. She is in Gryffindor, but that changes nothing about the way I feel about her. Unlike many of her friends, she has always been very kind to me and talked to me when no one else would. Once, my school satchel broke open in the corridor, and while her friends stood around and laughed, Lily helped me gather my things together. She has a compassionate and loving nature, which is why I can't understand why she runs about with those gits Potter and Black and Lupin. They nearly killed me once and don't seem to care. Always getting away with things because Dumbledore likes them better than other students. But Lily isn't like them, not in that way.
I have decided I will tell her how I feel. Maybe if she knows that I love her, she'll stop going with that lousy James Potter. Everyone says they are together, but we'll see how things are when I talk to Lily.
Severus
* * * * * *
Harry closed the book and looked up at Ron and Hermione. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know what had happened with his parents at Hogwarts. He couldn't imagine that, as Snape's diary described this incident, they were just two years older than Harry and his friends. But still, he had a gnawing curiosity he had to satisfy.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione, all of them 15 years old, had just begun their fifth year at Hogwarts. The three were best friends, so it was normal that they were all three involved in finding out more about Harry's past.
Hermione glanced out the window.
"It's getting light outside. Perhaps we should go," she suggested. They had been in Snape's office all night, reading Snape's diary. The account of his final year as a student at Hogwarts took up at least half of the book, but the first half mostly bored them. Snape complained about how idiotic the other students at Hogwarts were, and how he couldn't wait to leave and get out into the real wizarding world. He thought that most of his teachers were dull prats afraid to really teach him about the Dark Arts, which he longed for more than anything else. But beginning his seventh year at Hogwarts, Severus Snape's attentions turned mostly to Lily Evans.
"Yes, we should go," Harry suggested.
"Should we take the diary?" Ron asked.
Harry looked at him pensively.
"Does Snape still write in it?" he said, flipping through the pages, searching for a recent entry. But strangely, the dates of the diary ended during Snape's final year at Hogwarts.
"I don't think he'll miss it," Ron said, grabbing the diary. "He just had it in this chest here," he indicated the empty wooden box. "Didn't even bother to put a protective charm on it or anything!"
"Maybe he wants to forget about it," said Hermione.
"Well, then let's take it!" Ron said, putting the notebook under his shirt.
Suddenly, the doorknob began to turn. Harry glanced at the Marauder's Map, and to his horror, he saw a black dot marked SNAPE standing just on the other side of the door to the room containing the three dots labeled HARRY, RON, and HERMIONE.
"Quick!" Harry hissed, pulling out the Invisibility Cloak. "Get under here!" Ron and Hermione hurried toward Harry and the three of them disappeared under James Potter's cloak just as Snape opened the door.
A grown-up version of the greasy-haired kind angled into the room, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. It was still before 6 o'clock in the morning, but Snape liked to get some work done in the early hours. He sensed someone had invaded his office and quickly began to check to make sure things were still in order. He hastily opened his prized cabinet to make sure his essential potions were all accounted for, and, finding them all present, let out a small sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, Harry, Ron, and Hermione crouched uncomfortably together under the cloak. Their discomfort was compounded by the feeling that they were spying on Snape, as well as the fear that he would soon discover them.
Ron began to gesture toward the door, which Snape had left open. Hermione vehemently shook her had in opposition, but Harry just shrugged. It was worth a try, he supposed. Besides, he didn't want to hang around to witness Snape's private moments. Hermione rolled her eyes and almost said something to protest, but finally assented.
Slowly, the three of them edged toward the door, attempting to make as little noise as possible as Snape furiously searched the remainder of his office for missing possessions. It was not easy to do, considering the cloak now had to cover three fifteen-year-olds. But finally, they crept out into the corridor, and once they turned the corner, Harry slipped off the cloak, and they made a run for Gryffindor Tower.
Back in his office, Snape noticed something that was not his, lying on the floor. To him, it looked like nothing more than a piece of parchment. But Snape had seen this piece of parchment before, and he knew who it belonged to.
"Potter," he sneered.