Hi and welcome! Very excited to introduce my Severus Snape series. This is going to be a long thing because there will be multiple books. The first The Mermaid Song is set during Years 5-7 of Severus' time at Hogwarts.

I'm going to be trying to stick to canon as much as possible apart from the fact Snape is going to be in a relationship for the majority of it. The reason I feel I can do this is it isn't exactly stated the love he had for Lily was that he was in love with her. Sure he probably had a thing for her at school but I believe she was simply the only good thing in his life, probably until the day he died.

Which is why I am giving him a chance at a bit more happiness in my book series. There is a reason my books are rated M, especially all the ones after this one so be warned.

Warnings for this book: Strong language, a little violence and sex

Thank you to anyone who checks this out and even more so if you reviewed.

Stay Beautiful x

Chapter 1

Standing behind the door, listening to the loud din coming from the Great Hall, Sapphire tried to keep herself calm. Trying to convince herself this was for the best, and more importantly her decision, she took a deep and calming breath. Since Sapphire had been seven years old her mother and father (mostly her mother) had arranged for private tutors and when it came time for her to join all the other children at Hogwarts, her mother had refused. She claimed her daughter would accomplish more with one on one training.

The girls mother had been right to a degree, she did excel in most of her studies (some that was not taught at Hogwarts) and one she absolutely had no luck at. Well, she was adequate but she didn't seem to be truly able to grasp certain things about the subject to actually make her blossom. Sapphire was unsure if she simply had no talent in it or her tutor for that subject was just bad at teaching it.

After four years after the girl would have left for school, she had put her foot down. She was lonely. Only interacting with tutors and her parents was driving her crazy. She loved her mother, but she was scared she might start resenting the woman due to her disparaging loneliness. So she did the only thing she could think of, she ran to her father and after one tear filled conversation later she had been enrolled at Hogwarts.

Now though, she was stood outside the door that led to the head table waiting to be sorted. She had to wait until after the current first years were sorted into their respective houses before she would be introduced. Sapphire didn't relish the idea of everyone staring at her like she was some spectacle but she didn't have a choice. One small downside to getting her own way, she decided.

The door opened, interrupting her musings, and she saw the face of Professor McGonagall. The woman ushered her out and up the dais to the unstable looking three pronged stool where a ratty looking hat sat. Picking up the hat the stern looking woman motioned for her to sit down. Clearly she had been introduced before the woman had retrieved her.

All eyes were upon her as she sat and she tried to ignore it, and the few wolf whistles, as the hat was placed upon her head. Surely that couldn't be hygienic, she thought. Starting slightly at the humming which seemed to be coming from the hat itself she waited patiently as it seemed to be sifting through her head which she also thought was slightly invasive. It didn't take long however for the object to call her a house.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" it yelled and one of the tables to the right cheered. Sapphire smiled, mostly because the hat had been removed and she felt much cleaner now, and made her way over to her new house. The older students seemed to make space further up the long table so she didn't have to sit with the first years, to which she was thankful for.

The feast began and everyone immediately started introducing themselves. To Sapphire's relief all her house mates seemed very friendly, one in particular who she seemed to get along with immensely. His name was Ryan McDonald and her mother would have hated him. Though she hated everyone who wasn't a pureblood, even half-bloods. Her father was the complete opposite - he liked everyone and everything. Sapphire didn't even know how they had managed to stay together because whilst it started as an arranged marriage the two had fallen madly in love with each other.

Sapphire guessed it was because underneath that biased and stuck up exterior her mother was rather a warm individual, at least to those she loved. To those she didn't, she could be a very cold woman.

Ryan was a muggle born but Sapphire didn't care, she took after her father in that department. As long as someone was nice she didn't understand the need to ostracize someone for who their parents were. Ryan was a good looking guy, blond hair that flopped into his brown eyes with high cheekbones and a very beautiful smile. His personality was something that drew Sapphire in from their first introduction, he was just bubbly and very positive that immediately calmed her shaking nerves.

After the feast ended her new friend, Ryan, showed her the way down to the common room which was in the dungeons. It was slightly chilly but nothing too unbearable. The Hufflepuff common room had a very warm and friendly aura and as the girl looked around she found herself smiling. Yes, she felt she could be very happy here.

The first two days of her classes passed quickly. Sapphire didn't attempt to talk to her fellow students, focusing on adapting to the new style of teaching. She wasn't used to group classes but one on one and it was all very strange. Ryan was a big help but she found herself settling in fine.

Her first History of Magic class was a huge let down, due to the ghost of a teacher with the terribly boring voice, but it was a success in the fact she had made a new friend. A very pretty and smart girl by the name of Lily Evans. Sapphire found herself in love with the girls hair, she had always loved red hair.

"I love your hair." she had told her, causing the taller girl to laugh.

"Thank you. I love yours too." And Lily did. It was a golden brown that fell in many waves. The only way she could describe it was by comparing it to the sea, or more the waves from the sea. "How come you started so late? Hogwarts doesn't really get transfers."

"I was home schooled. Eventually I just got sick of it and lonely to be honest, and there is only so much of my mother I can take before I want to strangle her." Sapphire explained causing the red head to huff out a laugh in understanding.

"That's how I feel about my sister. I love her but, spending too much time with her just leads to arguments." Lily confided.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she doesn't really understand the whole 'magic' thing."

"Ah, Muggle born?" Lily nodded apprehensively, wondering how the other girl would react but she didn't. She simply smiled and carried on the conversation making Lily's body sag in relief. She had only just met the new girl but she really liked her, she got a good vibe from the girl and didn't want it to be cut short because she was a pureblood fanatic.

Being kind, at the end of the day after dinner Lily introduced Sapphire to two of her friends Marlene McKinnon and Alice Smith, thankful they all seemed to get along. Alice seemed to get on with Sapphire more than Marlene did, in fact more than Lily did but that was fine. Lily was just happy to have a new friend in their group, especially someone who seemed so genuine and kind.

Weaving through the rows of shelves in the library James Potter scoured the books, looking for some very specific ones. Grabbing each one he spotted he made his way back to one of the desks his friends had occupied. Clearly they had not returned from their own trips.

Dropping the pile on the table, James winced before peaking over his shoulder to check Madam Pince (the library's mistress and bodyguard) wasn't about to rain fire down on him for the noise. Seeing he was in the clear he sat down and began sorting through the books.

"I'm back." Looking up, James saw his two friends, Peter and Sirius, return with their own books. If anybody saw them they would be shocked, because to an outsider it looked like a trio of students diligently studying. James guessed they were, but not for class. No, this was a... sort of extra credit assignment. One they would not be gaining credit from any professor, but another friend.

"This is going to take a while." James stated, though he wasn't talking about reading the said books. No, that would be the easy part. Completing what they wanted to accomplish wasn't going to be an easy feat and the boys weren't stupid enough to pretend otherwise. What they planned wasn't safe, they could become severely injured or get into some very bad trouble.

James didn't see either of those things as obstacles though, because he liked to believe his one main strength was the love and loyalty he had towards his friends. If he had a friend in need, nothing would stop him from trying to help them, or in this instance nothing would stop him from trying to make his friends life just a little easier.

"Yeah, might take a while but it'll be worth it." Sirius responded with a grin, which made James and Peter smile back.

"Definitely." And with that the boys all cracked open the books all on the subject 'Animagi'.

By Thursday morning Severus Snape had had just about enough of the new girl. She hadn't done anything personally to him, he hadn't even spoken to her. Hell, this would be their first class together but he'd heard enough about her. Or should he say he's heard enough of her from his dorm mates.

Severus wasn't blind, he was aware the the new girl was beautiful but that didn't mean it had to be discussed at length multiple times this week. Though, Severus was smart enough to realise that reason alone wasn't what annoyed him, it was the way they spoke. He had gotten used to his dorm mates objectifying the girls of Hogwarts, it didn't bother him like it used to, but the new girl seemed to have lit something within them to renew their vigor in their imaginations towards her. He actually felt sorry the girl by some of the things they had said, especially knowing how much Lily enjoyed the girls company.

Lily had claimed she was a very sweet girl, very smart, kind and gentle. The ultimate Hufflepuff, he scoffed. Though he guessed he couldn't say much, that also described Lily though that girl had a terrible temper once it was released. He couldn't say that about the new comer as he didn't know her.

That was until Thursday morning when Care of Magical Creatures rolled around and he found her in his class. By then end of it he didn't think he could even imagine her being angry at anyone or anything. In fact he found her slightly annoying, she was way too happy of a person for him to spend much time with her without wanting to strangle her.

Sadly for him, he had been partnered up with her in class and she tried to talk his ear off. Something he immediately found suspicious. Apart from Lily and Regulus, people just didn't like being around him as a rule. So her pleasure at being partnered with him was strange, though it made much more sense when she blathered on about how Lily had spoken of him and she was happy to meet another of Lily's friends.

Seeing her up close he could understand why all of the male population seemed infatuated with her. She was very beautiful, if annoying, with golden brown hair falling down her back in waves, bright blue round eyes, soft pale skin with hints of pink that gave her a rosy look. She was small though, not that that mattered. Though it has become a thing of talk for his dorm mates, and he didn't really want to think about what they had said about that whilst the girl was stood right beside him.

The only positive about her overly positive nature was that she had a nice voice. If her voice had been slightly higher he may have had to silence her, it would have given him a migraine. By the end of class Sapphire had apparently decided they were friends much to Severus' bemusement. He had barely spoken to her at all, he had just let her keep going on about whatever it was she wanted. Though he had to wonder if she was only trying to be his friend because of Lily. That seemed much more plausible.

"Bye, Severus!" she waved enthusiastically as they all left for their next class. He just shook his head, what a weird girl. Bringing it up with Lily at lunch was a mistake. The red head had gotten much amusement from his retelling of the event than she should have the right to. He didn't understand what she found so funny.

"Maybe she just likes you." Lily giggled. "I mean, she likes everyone, Sev."

"She's annoying." he deadpanned.

"Oh come on! You have to admit she's nice."

"She may be nice, and she probably is, but she talks way too much." Severus complained.

"She does that when she's nervous." Lily explained.

"Why would she be nervous to talk to me?"

"Because she might like you." Lily smirked but rolled her eyes and carried on talking when her friend gave her a dark look. "I told her we've been friends since before Hogwarts, and she apparently got this idea in her mind if you didn't like her I wouldn't. She just wanted to make a good impression but obviously got too nervous and, well, kept talking."

"Oh." Lily smiled kindly as Severus seemed to shrink. He hadn't thought of that as a possibility, but why would we? As long as she calmed down and didn't talk his ear off in future he figured he could put up with her for Lily's sake.

After a week of research James felt like maybe it was time. He wasn't sure if attempting to become an Animagi was going to work right now but he had to try. Keeping this from Remus was difficult. He didn't like keeping secrets from his friends but he felt like this one was necessary. What they were doing would help him but Remus would just admonish them for doing something so reckless. He wouldn't want them to get in trouble for him, but the others didn't see it that way. Quite the opposite in fact. They were very willing to get in trouble for their fellow Marauder. Their brother.

James, Sirius and Peter had waited until Remus went to one of the Prefect meetings before gathering up and hiding before attempting to transform for the first time. Three hours later and nothing, but what did James expect? If he had managed it the first time round he would have been very surprised. He was brilliant at Transfiguration, but he wasn't infallible. He wasn't a prodigy.

He was tired now, and Peter looked ready to pass out though he didn't blame the guy. "Next time." James said positively. His other strength, his willingness to not quit something. Though he was sure maybe some people would just call it being stubborn.

Sapphire spent her weekend with Ryan, who she considered to be her best friend, though she did meet up with Alice for a short while who had whined all about her crush on Frank Longbottom who was in the year above.

Alice had pointed him out during lunch on the Monday but ended up a blushing mess when Sapphire teased her that she had good taste in men based on the look of him. At the end of the day Sapphire made her way to the library, smiling when she spotted Severus sat surrounded by books. Sitting opposite him she quietly greeted the dark haired boy who simply looked at her.

She kept the talking to a minimum, because she was in the library, but found it a little frustrating that this guy barely spoke to her. Though, maybe it would have been best had he stayed silent she soon found out.

"Look, you don't need to suck up to me to be friends with Lily." he told her, clearly annoyed. "She'll be friends with you no matter what I think. She has her own mind, I don't control her. So please can you leave me alone, I don't appreciate being used just to make your life easier and if you hadn't noticed I don't particularly enjoy your company. So again please, leave me alone."

Severus hadn't even lifted his head as he spoke, but he felt bad about lying to her. At least about not enjoying her company. Whilst she talked a little too much for his liking she wasn't bad company, and Lily was right she was nice but he didn't relish the idea she was only talking to him to ensure he didn't complain to Lily and then Lily stopped speaking to her.

"I actually just wanted to be your friend. You seemed nice. I'm sorry for bothering you." Sapphire whispered and when Severus lifted his head he was startled to see tears welling up in her eyes before she grabbed her bag and fled the room.

Great, he thought, so first she makes him feel guilty (though that was his own damn fault) and second, he knew he'd have Lily out for his blood if she found out he'd made the new girl cry. Well, this year wasn't starting off well he thought sarcastically, grabbing his own things and removing himself from the library himself. He would study in his dorm, that way no red head could possibly get to him.