Disclaimer: "If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended,

That you did but slumber'd here while these visions did appear.

And this weak and idle theme is no more yielding then a dream."

-Midsummer's Night Dream

"Enter stranger, but take heed

of what awaits the sin of greed.

For those who take but do not earn

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors,

A treasure that was never yours-

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more the treasure there."

A Treasure Never Yours

by: Erised

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

- Carl W. Buecher

Severus Snape watched as the waves lapped against the banks of the lake. The sun was barely beginning to rise over the horizon filling the sky with beautiful shades of red and gold. It was early morning and the school had not awakened yet. Snape liked it this way; it was quiet. The morning breeze ruffled his hair and blew it over his features barely touching them. He ignored his wild hair and the rest of his appearance, which was more disheveled then usual. He was paler too.

"Professor?"

It was Carolyn Cole, the Prefect of his house, Slytherin. She was a cold looking girl and known for her temper. She was direct, even with him whom she nursed a crush for.

"Professor, the Headmaster asked if you were feeling well or did you wish a substitute to take your classes?"

He sighed and turned and regarded her with his coldest stare. Carolyn took a step back and shifted uneasily. He commanded the silence around them and held it for a moment longer. "Tell the Headmaster, I am ill."

Carolyn correctly assumed that was all she was going to get from him. She turned and traveled back to the school.

Snape was left with a free day and a mind too full to relax. He wasn't ill but there was a deep restless in his soul. He didn't understand it and it made him moody.

But he was lying to himself and he knew it. He knew exactly why he stood there fiercely determined to keep all his energies focused on the waves. He was trying to forget, but it was hard to do so and he doubted he ever would. He wasn't strong enough to forget.

He began to walk the length of the shore, looking for a place to think. He found a slope to his liking and laid against it. He had to forget, it was the only way to remain sane. He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to overrule the memories. He cursed himself. Why couldn't he forget? He couldn't release himself from the memory. It was a constant reminder of his past failures. A thorn in his side but it was also something he needed. Truth was he needed the memory and accepted the pain. Why? Because he needed her.

She was 14 now and her black hair had probably turned light brown, like her mother's. He bet it turned red in the sun. She probably excelled in her studies and bit her nails when she was nervous and played with her hair when she was trying to remember something. She probably looked like her mother; pale olive skin that made her gray eyes glow. She probably wore a grin that made you worry she was up to something.

Or, Snape thought bitterly, she looked like her father- Silas Malfoy, but he doubted she had changed that much. Instead, he wanted to think of her as his little salvation, a five-year-old toddler laughed and played with holy innocence. The little angel that had waves of ebony curls circling around her pale, fat face. He wanted to remember the laughing toddler he could sweep into his arms and pretend that they were child and father.

She would forever be his Alchemy. She was forever the child that he saved that night, forever the hidden treasure that while he cherished it, it was never his.

He stood and threw a rock into the lake. The ripples from the impact grew and lapped against the shore only to reverse and travel towards the center again. He watched as the two other rocks caused the same effect. He studied the waves, the inconsistencies and variants that made each one different. He watched as one affected the other and smooth out, returning to the pristine order. He liked to watch the water because of that. It was orderly, and the secrets that were kept underneath the water always stayed there. They never seemed to affect the order. He wished his life was that structured.

He heard the students begin to shuffle to their first classes. Hagrid came out of his hut, waved, and disappeared into the school. It reminded him that this was now and Alchemy belonged to the past, his past. Tossing the last of his stones into the lake, Snape turned and entered the castle.

He had been unaware that Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall had been watching him. McGonagall spoke. "Do you think he's well?"

"I don't know what you mean by well."

"Well by Snape's standards."

"He is becoming more reclusive then usual." Dumbledore considered this. Then turned back to his desk to study the most recent letters from Minister Fudge. McGonagall kept watching the school grounds. Dumbledore looked up, amused by her concern. "He's battling his own demons Minerva. Give him time. This is his battle, not ours."

"Everyone can use a Calvary, Albus." She said softly.