Chapter 1.
Lily Evans long auburn hair glimmered in the vivid rays of the source of light that dwelled in the pale blue sky. She sat on the warm and soft grass underneath the common oak tree, her thin fingers flipping through the pages of her Advanced Potion-Making book. Her eyes never left the pages but her ears listened attentively to the others who ran around her, enjoying that beautiful fall afternoon of the first day of school.
Suddenly something hit the ground next to her in a soft thud. She jumped slightly as her eyes peered around her surroundings to see what had landed next to her. It was a quaffle. She rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Evans! Mind tossing that back our way? Lupin's throwing skills aren't up to par!" shouted the remarkably popular James Potter sitting upon his prized possession: a broomstick. Lily's stunning eyes shot a quick glance at the waving Potter as his unkempt hair rustled in the light breeze, and she scooped up the quaffle and threw it back with great agility. James caught it as Sirius darted over to him, nearly knocking him off his broom. Lily rolled her green eyes as the two boys shoved each other around playfully, calling each other names.
"Immature gits," she murmured under her breath casually. She looked away from the boys and continued her studying before the class she had later that afternoon, her eyebrows furrowing at the knowledge she took in.
All around, everyone was enjoying the afternoon. Lily seemed to be the only one not paying attention to the aliveness of free spirit and fun that circled her. But, there was one other that was paying attention without the fun involved; from a safe distance he scowled at his fellow students as they cherished the pleasant weather. His dark straggly hair shielded his face like a veil, and his dark eyes squinted in a glare. They scanned the courtyard over and over, a look of disgust playing on his pale face. Those deep dark eyes still scanned the courtyard when a figure caught his stare. It was a young lady with long glistening ginger hair just sitting beneath the slight shade of an oak tree. In her lap was a book. He attempted to move closer to get a better glimpse at this female but realised that a window was separating him from the outside world. He rolled his eyes and went straight back to staring at her. One slender hand moved to her face and brushed away the gleaming lock that framed her face so perfectly and his eyes never took off her. She looked so recognisable to him, but he couldn't quite place the face with a name. She looked up as three boys approached her. He recognised the boys as Potter, Black, and Lupin. He scowled. Why were they approaching the mysterious girl?
She stood up and faced the boys; her slender body looking frail next to Potter whose body was shaped with muscles. She grasped her hair with both hands and tied it with a ponytail holder and his face fell. It was Lily Evans. He looked away with utter disgust and briskly marched off to his next class, Advanced Potions.
He hadn't known it was Lily. She looked so different than when he saw her before summer break. Her hair was shorter then and she looked less womanly than she did in present time. Her body developed with some slight curves and she looked mature, yet, beautiful…
He shuttered. He placed the thoughts and images of that so-called perfect Gryffindor in the very back of his mind. She was just another one of those stupid stuck-up girls from that house that he loathed greatly.
He came up to the desolate classroom in the dungeons and leaned against the wall, his heavy books tucked beneath his fairly feeble arm. He secretly desired he was stronger, but for what reason he couldn't fathom. That was another thought he always placed in the depths of his mind. He sometimes hated what he thought and seemed embarrassed by them as if someone would find out. He knew damn well no one would ever want to know him any better than what they saw him as: a lonesome seemingly unclean being who lurked in the shadows of Hogwarts hallways with a snarl constantly on his pale face.
At that moment, students were pouring into the hallway like a fresh deposit of water streaming from a faucet. Students glanced at him, but didn't dare look twice nor stare for too long. They kept a safe distance from him, and kept with their conversations with each other. He looked away from the joyful faces and stared at the stone floor aimlessly.
"Good afternoon, Severus! Glad to see you again," spoke a cheerful voice that he only recognised as Professor Slughorn's. Severus slowly raised his head to glance at a beaming Professor.
"Hullo, Professor," he answered dryly. Professor Slughorn unlocked the gloomy door to the potions classroom and the students pushed in through the wide doorway. They all took their seats, still chattering amongst themselves, their voices echoing off the dungeon walls.
"Welcome back to Potions, students! This year, I'm happy to announce, you've reached Advanced Potions. The level of difficulty has increased but I am positive if you have made it thus far you will succeed in this class." He paused briefly granting the students an opportunity to whisper to each other. "At this moment, I'd like to pair you up with your partners for the first semester." Much of the students groaned; all were eager to choose their own partners.
He paired them off, one group at a time; each student groaning for none got their partners they wished for. Lily Evans and Severus Snape were conveniently the last two to be paired off, and unfortunately with each other.
Professor Slughorn ordered them all to rearrange their seats to sit next to their new partners. Lily shook her head and then rubbed it gently at the sides, as if caressing a headache. Her hair fell over her shoulders, creating a silky blanket. Severus noticed she wasn't about to get up and move anytime soon so he reluctantly stood up and shuffled his feet towards her desk. He heaved a sigh and his face fell into an expression of sheer dislike when Lily glanced up at him. Her perfect complexion and her almond shaped emerald eyes looked at him eagerly as he sat beside her. Lily Evans, the know-it-all pretty girl, noticed his uneasiness around her.
"I know we both don't want to be partners, trust me, I wouldn't have been your partner even if my life depended on it." He shot a dangerous glance at her and she continued, "but let us just push aside our indifferences in this class and just work together?"
"Well, Evans, I assure you I'd rather be with that thick-headed git called Potter rather than with dirty blood," it was her turn to shoot the nasty glance and he suppressed a smirk as her face showed affliction and fury. "But just for this class, and this semester, will we work together. I will agree." She looked away, her ginger hair framing her face that now was red with anger as she had allowed him to call her dirty blood and hadn't even done anything about it. She frowned and was disgusted with herself. Being head girl, she shouldn't allow such things to happen, but for that moment her mind failed. Her ears defied her. Her heart raced. His long shaggy hair fell in soft wisps that covered parts of his face, creating the mystery that always surrounded him. His eyes didn't show emotion, as they never had, but she noticed a different spark to the cruel Slytherin that now sat beside her. His eyes seemed softer. They were still dark and deep, and mysterious beyond all things, but they stared at her differently. They almost seemed compassionate. Lily didn't dare think another thought, as how could the evil insensitive Severus Snape have the slight bit of compassion in his cold heart.
Professor Slughorn lectured them to a dull bore the entire period and when the bell rang all the students raced out the classroom eager to head off to their next class. Lily and Severus were the last to leave, but James waited for Lily by the door. Severus and Lily peered at each other, seeing who would make the first move to exit the class. They didn't move.
"Just go, stop being such a prat," Lily stated hastily. Severus raised an eyebrow in alarm.
"I do believe you should go first. The inflated ego is waiting outside the door for you," he stated casually as James peered in for a moment. She glared at him and walked briskly out the door greeting James. Severus followed closely behind the two.
"So, Evans, I was hoping… Maybe you'd like to join me on our next Hogsmeade trip?" James, the most popular and outgoing boy in school, asked Lily shyly. Lily slightly turned her head to meet with his eyes.
"If I don't have much schoolwork, I would be delighted to," she answered cheerfully. James grinned and put his arm around her shoulder, and she did not fight it off, as she would have done in earlier years. They walked out of the dungeons together, chattering about school, and Severus stopped dead in his tracks and wished he could have thrown his bulky schoolbooks at Potter's head, for what reason he couldn't yet fathom.