Meh… Not much to say… -sweatdrops- ran out of ideas on what to write for a whiles… and been a lil' busy with parties and whatnot…

Snape: -twitches at readers- I envy you people and your innocence… during one of the parties Rikku had her first huge bottle of energy soda… -hugs knees- Horrible … nightmarish visions…

-Pats Snape's back-It's called life, Snape. –Shot- What?! I couldn't help it! … Le sighs … anyway, I'm gonna try to get an updating schedule soon… n.n It's funny… usually I'm shakin' my computer in blind rage because some of my favorite stories haven't been updated in months…. Yet I can't even update just as soon! –Feels bad-

Snape: Let this be a lesson to you then… -rolls eyes- Or whatever crummy example you American's fail to show on your telephants…

… Uh, Snape…? I think you mean 'Televisions'…

Snape: That's what I said. Telephants.

… Okie dokie… -waves- By the way, as I mentioned earlier, Harry Potter and it's characters don't belong to me!

Snape: But this story does… -finds lots of ideas for 'RoaP' on comp- … A very long story….

n.n

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Eventually though, James stopped, noticing that Snape was smirking. "What's there to smile about," He said sharply. Snape waved his hand and covered his mouth with the other, "Don't mind me. Go on. You were talking about slipping annoying little notes into Lily's books, I think." At the time, Snape had entirely forgotten James' spiteful attitude towards him due to the awkward lecture that James had attempted. Thus, he was surprised when a powerful blow to his gut forced him backwards and off his chair.

Snape gasped as he tried to regain his breath as quickly as he could. He coughed loudly as James stood over him with a wand in his hand. "Think you're so smart, eh? Think that Lily actually likes you? Ha! She's probably only hanging out with you because she's too kind to ignore a wimp!" Snape pressed his hand to the spot where he'd been hit as if it would make it feel any better. After a few moments of a short pause and a triumphant wait for James, the bespectacled boy turned to leave.

"Can't even get up to help yourself. You're such a … coward"

Snape looked up to the other boy as he left, a cold glare following him until he was no longer in the library.

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Snape muttered quietly to himself as he gripped a chair for support. Unfortunately, his recent visit with Potter attracted a lot of attention from the other students in the library. Some giggled and others just stared at him.

"Did you see that?"

"What'd I tell you? James is way too proud to let anybody get a hold of Lily!"

"But I thought that she didn't like him?"

Growling, the dark haired boy collected his books and papers and headed back to the Slytherin common room. He passed by James and his friends while heading there, the other boy's wide grins boreing themselves against the back of his head. Just as he turned another corner, Sam ran into him.

"Whoops! My bad! Sorry," Sam said loud enough for other people to hear. At first it made Snape wonder what he was doing, until Sam took hold of the front of his uniform and pulled him into a big bear hug. "Oh! Snape, it's you! My bestest buddy! How've you been? Want to come with me to our secret special spot?!" Before Snape could respond in any way, Sam abruptly pulled him away from the curious bystanders.

Snape struggled to pull himself free from Sam's grip, but the other boy proved to be surprisingly stronger. He didn't stop until he was in front of the lake, near the Forbidden Forest. Sam took a deep breath of air and exhaled it as though he'd just ran a mile. "Whoo! Glad we got outta there before anything else could happen!" He released Snape, apologizing constantly as the other boy started to cough harshly.

Snape brushed off his robes and grumbled. "What the hell was that back there?"

Plopping down on the grass, Sam just waved a hand to the lake ahead of him, earning a wave back by an enormous tentacle from Hogwart's giant squid. It took a few moments for Sam to answer. He seemed to be staring at the water's edge nervously as though trying to think of something to say.

"Um… would you believe me if I said that I just … saw James pick on you?..."

Snape looked at Sam in disbelief. "No, I won't. You were nowhere near the library last I checked."

Sam clutched the grass with his hands tightly. "I'm a … uh … fast runner! And … and … I got a little scared of what James would do to you… so I tried to find a teacher… but then you came out and I heard James plotting something and …"

It was pretty obvious to any idiot that Sam was lying. Snape crossed his arms over his chest, guessing that Sam wouldn't tell him what brought him to act so strangely back in the school. He settled himself on a tree stump a little ways away from Sam but still close enough to touch the lake.

Even more silence ensued between them, as they did nothing but stare at the water. Snape found it somewhat relaxing, though he tensed up a bit should Sam abruptly break the peacefulness with some sort of random outburst. Most people with Sam's excited personality did that.

Surprisingly, Sam didn't speak for a while. He just stared at the water as if that were the only thing to do. After what seemed a few minutes, he stood up and brushed his pants off. "Eh, well…" He looked up at Snape, smiling, "Guess the other reason I pulled you outta there was cuz' I hate people treating my friends that way…"

Snape's eyes widened at that word. '…Friends…?' He thought curiously as he glanced back at the water. Sam picked up a few flat rocks and tossed them onto the water, each successfully skipping an amazingly long distance. "I think that Lily thinks the same with you. She's really special like that… noticing even the smallest detail in someone's personality, whether it be good or bad, and judging them by it…" His eyes looked at Snape, realizing that the boy looked rather stiff. "Uh…sorry!" Sam said apologetically, waving his hands in front of him. "Didn't mean for this to get all mushy or anything! Just talking aloud!"

Snape shook his head gently, ridding himself of the daze he was in due to Sam's words. He slung his bag over his shoulder and stood up. Approaching Sam and stepping beside him, Snape rested a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"Thank you…" He whispered before trudging back to Hogwarts.

Sam smiled as he watched Snape leave. However, as soon as he was sure that the other boy had gone away, Sam lowered his eyes to the ground as a man in a black cloak partly emerged from the Forbidden Forest.

"Well… you satisfied now?"

The man chuckled slightly, obviously amused. "Quite, really… That boy, Severus Snape, has an interest in Lily… how useful…"

Sam didn't look up as he quietly gulped. The man stayed in the shadows of a large tree, leaning back on its trunk. "Just as you predicted… I expected no better from the descendant of a Seer." He said as though to praise Sam.

Sam just picked up his books and brushed invisible dust from his robes, avoiding looking the hooded man in the eyes. "Try to find a different way to get Snape to join you besides hurting Lily… please?" The man hardly suppressed a snort like giggle as he held a gloved hand up to cover his mouth. "It's not my decision… it's my master's. I am merely acting as his messenger…" He prepared to sink back into the woods, "Keep in mind, should you interfere with his matters by telling Snape anything… Let's just say that you and your brother will be hit with rather dire consequences…"

Sam gripped his books tightly as the man left, his quiet laughter echoing throughout the woods. With a sigh, he loosened his grip, once more lowering his eyes to the ground. "Sorry, Snape…" he muttered sadly, "But it's either you or my brother… nothing personal…"

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Snape hardly ate anything for dinner that night. Every now and then, when he would look up, he would see Potter and his friends pointing fingers and laughing at him. Growling, Snape tried to look at something else instead of the boys who teased him since his first day at Hogwarts.

He tilted his head back to look at the banquet hall's ceiling above. It was a clear starry sky with a white crescent moon lighting up most of the magical ceiling with it's faint light. The other Slytherin's laughed and spoke to one another loudly and full of pride, a common trait among many a Slytherin. One girl practically shrieked with laughter as she and her friends formed a tight circle and talked about … well … whatever girls talked about.

Everything was way too noisy for Snape's liking. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to think of some excuse he could use so that he could leave this place, and go to the library where it was quiet. He didn't notice Lily settle herself next to him, with a plate covered in whipped cream and apple cobbler.

"Hi, Severus! How are you today?"

Startled, Snape jumped up suddenly noticing the girl seated next to him. Lily gently stuck her fork into her desert, oblivious to the whispers and shouts of outrage of other Slytherins. They were not pleased with a Gryffindor sitting on an all Slytherin table.

Snape nervously looked down on his empty plate, unsure of what to do or say. He hated being next to Lily. He always felt vulnerable and weak due to her always-smiling face. Lily nibbled on the food on her fork as she continued to speak. "I heard what James did to you… I wanted to apologize for it so, I'm sorry. James is just a dumb boy… No offense to you of course! Or any other boy! I mean… Gah! I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't judge other people or anything! I just-"

"You don't have to apologize…"

Lily turned her head to Snape, seeing that he was facing her as well. "You don't have to apologize," Snape said again, his pale cheeks suddenly turning a bright pink, "James is extremely self centered and seems to think that he may do whatever he wishes to anyone, unlike you! I-I mean … You're so kind and gentle. The complete opposite of him!"

In the back of his mind, Snape slapped a hand over his forehead. 'Nice…' He turned his gaze back to his empty plate, avoiding Lily's emerald green eyes. She blushed a little too, also looking at her plate. Curiously, Snape looked back at Lily, noticing that her curly hair was covering her face. This was among one of the many things he hated about girls with long hair. When they turned their head and their hair would rebelliously cover the side of their face, shielding them from view.

'But with Lily …' Snape thought to himself, tilting his head slightly as he reached out his hand to gently touch her shoulder, 'I can tell that she doesn't like someone like me. She's probably thinking how much of an idiot I am because I'm not like the boys she normally hangs out with…'

Suddenly Lily swung her head around to face him, whipping Snape's face with her long hair. "Oh! Snape! I'm so sorry!" She said, holding her hands up to her face. Most of the students who were watching the two, laughed loudly. The girl with the shriek like laughter practically clutched her gut as if in deep pain.

Snape slapped a hand over his face and batted with the other for Lily to leave him alone. He stood up suddenly, wanting only to get out of the room as fast as possible. Ignoring Lily's pleads for him to stay, he bolted as fast as he could past the other students and to the abandoned girl's bathroom he regularly visited when he wanted to be alone.

Just as he burst through the door, Snape tripped over his feet and fell to the floor. He landed on his hands and knees and panted heavily as he stayed in that position, trembling all the while. It took him a little while before he finally sat himself up to a kneeling position, and placed a hand over his chest to help calm himself down. Picking up his regular composure, Snape managed to stand, though he still had to lean on his knees for support. Snape took hold of a sink's edge and checked himself in the mirror to see the damage.

Of course it wasn't much, after all Lily had just whipped his face with her hair. But when he looked at the mirror, he noticed that his face was a deep scarlet red. Snape touched his reflection in the mirror, angrily cursing both he and Lily.

Why Lily?

Why did she have to be the one to make Snape feel this way?

Hell, Why did he feel this way?

These questions seemed to pour into Snape's mind as he continued to stare coldly at his reflection. He thought back to the first time he met Lily, hoping that maybe he'd find the answer that way.

The first thing that came to mind was her eyes. Why did her eyes have to be such a deep green color? One could easily lose himself just by spending a few moments in her gaze. It was as if Lily's eyes could penetrate one like an arrow, but at the same time soothe them like a mother would her child.

And her smile! Why did she have to have such a welcoming and gentle smile?! Whenever she smiled, Snape always felt so warm, almost comforted by it. It was a unique smile hardly worn by anyone. Everyone but Lily would mostly wear a sneer or a sarcastic smirk on his or her faces. Lily's smile was a true and noble one.

Worst of all, just Lily.

Lily. Always smiling. Always being herself. Never afraid of talking to strangers. Always seeing the good in them and judging them based on that. The best and worst quality that Snape both feared and loved about her.

A particular thought crossed Snape's mind as he pondered the girl. 'If that were true… if she truly only judged people based on their good qualities… if she truly had the ability to see the good first…. Then what did she see when she first saw me…?' Snape gripped the sink.

Why did this bother him so much more than the rest?!

Sighing, he released his grip on the sink and sank back down onto the floor, bringing his knees back up to his chest. Closing his eyes, this thought stayed on his mind until he fell asleep.

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Yeah… That's all I got… -sweatdrop- Please review, 'kay?

Snape: Good for you…