BRIGHT-EYED AND CURIOUS
Disclaimer: This is an unauthorised tribute to the works of JK Rowling who, with her publishers and licensees, owns the characters and situations elaborated herein.
This is canon-compatible to OotP only. Thanks to all my reviewers and to my previewers, Bellegeste and Cecelle.
"Have you nothing better to do than to harass me with your continued presence?"
"I want to ask you about what you said," Hermione answered.
"You're as nosy as a Niffler," Snape said. "This discussion is closed."
"No, it isn't. You can't tell me you've secretly loved me for ages and then refuse to say how long."
"I never mentioned love."
"Your meaning was perfectly clear. I want to know. You couldn't have fancied me when I was eleven." She hoped not!
Exposure had removed his ability to intimidate her by threats or sarcasm and he had no more duties or outstanding tasks to hide behind. Classes were finished, paperwork completed, desks tidied. There was no need to patrol the corridors today and not enough time before the feast to start another potion.
"Please," she added.
He sat down at his desk and opened it to straighten the neat piles of papers.
"Certainly not, although I did notice you, even then; so bright-eyed and curious, and far too busy mothering Longbottom to be nervous on your own account. You were as caring as a sister and I thought how lucky he was. My mother died young and I never had a sister."
"Oh." She digested this. "I wish I'd known someone liked me. Nobody did, you know. They said I was too bossy and Ron even called me a nightmare once."
"That day you cried in the toilets for hours until Quirrell's troll found you?"
She stared.
"You knew?" The teachers hadn't queried the lie that had got Ron and Harry out of trouble. She'd thought they believed her.
"I've seen enough of screaming and sobbing to know which reddens the eyes. Besides, you were neither stupid nor vain enough to go after a troll single-handed." Not then, before associating with Potter had made her reckless.
"Did Professor McGonagall know too?"
He shrugged.
"We find enough to argue about without prying into each other's House."
"When did you stop seeing a sister and start wanting –" She couldn't bring herself to say girlfriend, wife, lover. "Something else?"
"Sometime in the last year. I'm not sure."
"I still don't understand. If you liked me, then why were you still so –"
"Insulting? Cruel? Rude?"
"The worst you ever said was that you saw no difference in my teeth."
"I would see none if they grew the length of the corridor. Do you think I want you for your teeth?" he said.
"It hurt."
"Do you think you have not often hurt me?"
"I wasn't hurting someone I cared about! I mean –"
"Enough." He rose abruptly and strode to the door. "This raking up of grievances and memories serves no purpose. Please feel free to rummage around in my private desk if you've any further need to satisfy your curiosity. The wards will set automatically when you close the door behind you. Don't forget."
"I won't, Professor," she said. "I won't forget you."
But he was already too far to hear.
A/N Canon doesn't specify whether Snape had siblings, though some have interpreted one of his Occlumency memories (ch 26, "Seen and Unforeseen", when Harry followed him back into his mind) to suggest he did.