Note: I don't usually do disclaimers, BUT I'm going to leave one here so that no one decides to complain later: this story (as implied by its title) is a teen romance story THEREFORE we'll see teenagers kissing and talking about sex (even doing it in a few years in the future).

September 1st 2011

Hogwarts Great Hall

Slytherin table

Gianah had been one of the first students to arrive, sitting at the mostly empty Slytherin table in the Great Hall, excited about being back at the castle for her second year, and daring a glimpse at a group of boys that sat a few meters away from her.

Stephen was there already, having flooed from home with his parents and sisters.

Sophie currently sat at the Ravenclaw table with her eyes on a book, a plate of small sandwiches in front of her with a glass of orange juice – dinner hadn't started yet, but Gianah had realised months ago that the rules weren't the same for Sophie Snape as they were for the rest of the students.

Lily-Rose sat at the Gryffindor table between her two future boyfriends – and if Sirius and Teddy sat an inch closer to her, she'd be sitting on both their laps.

Gianah smiled at their cuteness, the way those two loved her friend was heart-warming.

She shot another glance at the group of boys down the Slytherin table and felt her smile die as her eyes met the green ones of her nemesis.

"All alone?" Stephen mouthed, finishing in an exaggerated pout, clearly mocking her.

Gianah glared at him and cast a silent stinging hex under the table towards his knee.

He jumped a bit when it hit him and returned her glare, his hand going under the table to touch his hurting knee.

She knew he was certainly going to retaliate later, but she couldn't care less – whatever he had in mind, she could do it worse in return.

The loud sounds of voices and footsteps suddenly coming through the double doors let Gianah know that Tiana Nott was about to show up alongside the others that had come by train.

The train. She mentally scoffed.

That was something Gianah had rode once and refused to do so again. She saw no point in riding a train for six hours when they could just floo and apparate.

Yes, she was aware of the huge magical disturbance if all students did either of those things at the same time, but still... millennia of studies and the best they had come up with was a six-hour long steam-train ride?

Gianah refused to be a part of that, she had flooed to her brother's place in Hogsmeade that morning, had lunch with him and his family, and ridden a thestral carriage to the castle.

"Gigi!" exclaimed Tiana Nott, walking towards the Slytherin table, shooting glances at the Gryffindor's and not seeing who she expected to see.

"Hi, Ti!" Gianah replied, hugging her friend when the girl sat beside her, "She hasn't arrived yet," she offered, "Lily said Lynne will floo from her house."

"Oh," Tiana whispered, failing to hide her disappointment, "How did you arrive?"

"By carriage. I refuse to ride a train for six hours when I can just ride a carriage for fifteen minutes."

"I like the train," Tiana shrugged, "It's fun!"

"We have very different understandings of the word fun. Now, tell me, what were you up to the past three weeks?"

"Oh, so much fun! As you know, parents and I spent most of it at the Zabinis' vineyard in Italy."

"Did you see more of Enzo Zabini?" Gianah asked with a sly smile.

"Ooh, yes," Tiana nodded, "He's not my type, but even I can see that he's bloody fit; it's a pity he's going to Beauxbatons instead of coming here, being gorgeous and a fourth-year, he could certainly put Stephen in his place," she glanced down the quickly filling up table at where the aforementioned boy sat.

"Ugh, please," Gianah scowled, "Let's not start talking about him," she rolled her eyes, refusing to look his way, thinning her lips as she heard a group of housemates laugh of something the headmaster's son had said.

"What? Not talk about Stephen Snape?" exclaimed Brittany Bailey, a good-looking blonde from fourth year that sat across from them, "Let's, please, talk about him! How can you not want a piece of that, Weasley?"

Gianah made gagging sounds, "How can you want it?"

"He's gorgeous! That black hair and those green eyes? Mmm... have you seen Prof. Nicholas? Stephen will grow up to be exactly like him and I'd love me a piece of that!" she looked at the high table.

"I heard he'll be teaching Transfiguration this year," said Jill Rachford, one of Bailey's friends.

"Yes! I know something soft I'd like to transfigure hard," Brittany giggled alongside her two fourth-year friends.

Gianah shared a face of disgust with Tiana and refused to address Bailey's crude comment. She did, however, glanced from Stephen to Nicholas – yes, she had to admit that he'd be as gorgeous as his older brother, but that didn't change who he was, and she hated who he was.

"Good looks aren't everything, Bailey," Gianah finally said, "Snape is detestable. I'm glad this past Summer vacation I didn't have to suffer his presence for one single day."

The three fourth-year girls across the table turned to look at her for a couple of silent seconds in surprise.

"You've seen him outside of school?" asked Alyne Alden, sitting between Brittany and Jill, "Why?"

Gianah looked at her with an annoyed eye, "I'm forced to see him outside school; my brother is married to his sister."

"Oooh, yes," nodded Brittany, "I forgot – she's beautiful, his sister. Lady Malfoy. I see her and your brother nearly every week in the social columns of the Prophet, and she also writes for the Witch Weekly."

"Yes," Gianah continued dryly, "That's why I usually see Lily and him during the breaks. This summer, however, I was blessedly spared of his odious presence; only Lily and Lynne spent a week in Italy with me."

"And we had a sleepover at the Zabinis'," added Tiana, remembering their fun night of movies and games with a bottle of lightly fermented Moscato grape juice.

"Oh, yes!" laughed Gianah, "That was so much fun!"

"Lynne," said Jill, glancing at the Gryffindor table, "she's your cousin, right?"

"Right."

"But you and the Snape twins aren't related," continued Brittany.

"No," Gianah frowned, explaining their families as if it was obvious: "Lily and her brother are Delacour-Peverell Snape, I'm Black-Weasley, and Lynne is Weasley-Snape."

"So you and Stephen aren't blood-related," concluded Jill, something clearly on her mind.

"No. It's bad enough having him for an acquaintance!" Gianah said, shooting him an angry glance.

"Hmm," said Alyne, "So that means you and him could–"

"NO!" Gianah interrupted her, looking horrified, "Of course not! I hate him!"

Jill giggled, "You'll find out there's a thin line between love and hate, Miss Weasley. As you grow older and wiser–"

"You're fourteen, Rachford," Gianah stated in a monotone.

"Older and wiser than you!" the girl retorted with an offended glare, "As I was saying: love is hate's best friend."

"That doesn't make any sense," Gianah shook her head, exchanging a look with Tiana where they both silently agreed that was bullshit.

"Well, I'm just saying as I see it," shrugged Jill.

"See what? There's nothing to be seen," scowled Gianah.

"Well," replied Brittany, "Let's just say I'd love for Stephen to hate me as much as he hates you."

Tiana gaped beside her friend, seeming to understand what the older girl meant.

Gianah fidgeted in her seat, uncomfortable with what she was implying, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think," whispered Tiana, "She's saying Stephen has a crush on you."

Gianah's head snapped towards the boy in question and found his green eyes already on her; her surprised blue eyes stared into his confused ones for nearly a minute until their strange exchange was broken by Headmaster Severus Snape's voice welcoming everyone for another year.

Stephen frowned at Gianah's sudden blushing face and averting eyes – she had already glared at him and hexed him as per usual, but she'd never blushed and averted her eyes before, whenever they entered their staring battles, she'd stare at him until one of them blinked out of sheer necessity.

Dinner appeared in front of them and the usual sounds of dinner filled the Great Hall.

Stephen kept glancing at her from time to time throughout dinner, but she didn't look at him again, her blue eyes focused on her plate and her friends.

What the hell is happening here? He asked himself.

Why had she stared at him with such surprise and uncharacteristic coyness?

It was like she'd never seen me before.

It had been three months since he had last seen her, and her him. Stephen would never admit it out loud but seeing Gianah and teasing her enough to get her to hex him within minutes of them setting eyes on each other filled him with satisfaction – something that had him frowning and wondering if that meant he was a masochist.

I don't think so. He continued rationalising. I don't really like it when others hex me... can I be a masochist for pretty girls' hexes? He glanced at Gianah. She's very pretty, graceful even– wait, what?

He froze up, surprised by the path taken by his own thoughts; he had to stop paying attention to her. Beautiful or not, his earlier need to annoy Gianah and her answering hex made it clear their feelings for each other hadn't changed over Summer: she still hated him, and he her.

"Hi, Stephen," a soft and sweet voice spoke nearby, pulling him out of his musings.

Stephen looked up at the gorgeous fourth-year girl that had unexpectedly sat beside him and gave her an unsure:

"Hi?"

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," she was saying with a smile, "But I know who you are, of course," she ran her hand up his arm.

"Bailey," Stephen said, recognising her and returning her smile, "You're Brittany Bailey, right?"

She looked pleasantly surprised, "Yes, so you've noticed me?" she asked, charmingly putting a lock of blond hair behind her ear.

"Of course," he winked at her, covering his nerves with the charm he knew he had in spades, "How could I not? A beautiful girl like you."

Brittany giggled and her hand ran up his arm again and stopped at his shirt collar, "Good to know, Stephen– because I've noticed you too," her voice had gone down a bit, clearly meaning something more than just 'notice'.

Stephen's whole body was taken by a new unknown feeling; he shivered and warmed up all over. Her hand moving from his collar to his skin, her fingertips caressing him just under his Adam's apple.

"So..." she continued breathily, "I guess I'll see you later, in the common room corridor?"

Stephen nodded, unable to find his voice, wondering if she meant what he thought she did.

She leaned closer and nibbled on his earlobe, whispering: "It's a date," then she went back to her friends.

"You're staring, Gigi," whispered Tiana, a hand on her friend's arm.

"What?" Gianah asked, not looking at her friend.

"You're staring at them– at Stephen and Brittany," said Jill with an arched eyebrow.

"No, I'm not!" Gianah scoffed, immediately lowering her eyes to her empty plate, trying to decipher why the delicious roast turkey she'd eaten felt like gravel in her stomach all of a sudden, "I wasn't staring at them."

"Well, I was," said Tiana, as if that was the obvious thing to have been done, "I can't believe Bailey is into Stephen!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Ti!" Gianah rolled her eyes, "She's older than him, she can't possibly want him like that!"

"So, you didn't see her letting him know she's up for a snog later?" asked Jill, a curious look on her face.

Gianah's head snapped up at her, "What?" she whispered.

Before Jill replied, Brittany was standing behind her and Alyne, poking her friends' shoulders and signalling them to follow her.

Jill gave one last look at Gianah and stood up, following Brittany and whispering something in her ear on their way to the door.

The blond Slytherin looked back at Gianah and shrugged.

The redhead stared at her mostly emptying plate and felt her appetite vanish. After sending her plate to the kitchens, Gianah folded her arms on the table, feeling cold all of a sudden.

She looked towards the right, where Stephen laughed with his friends again; his smug smile intensifying the feeling of uneasiness in her stomach, it irradiated upwards and made her lungs feel strangely shorter.

"Gigi? Are you alright?" she heard Tiana's soft voice.

"I– yes, of course," Gianah replied dismissively, while inside she whispered incredulously to herself: No, I'm not alright – and I don't know why!

Meanwhile, at the Ravenclaw table

Sophie savoured her dessert while stealing glances at the Herbology teacher sitting at the high table; she had never before wondered how it would feel to be a fork, but she wished she were one right then – more specifically the dessert fork that looked fragile and dainty in her professor's large strong hands, the one that slid between his soft-looking lips and deposited sweet deliciousness onto his tongue.

Prof. Longbottom caught her staring again and smiled at her, and she couldn't stop her own lips from forming a smile in return.

She'd missed him – only she hadn't realised how much until she saw him walk into the Great Hall earlier that evening; it was like a piece of her had been missing during the Summer break and now it was finally back in her body and breathing was suddenly easier; just looking at Neville, having his blue eyes meet hers from time to time – despite briefly – brought her a sense of belonging that had her wanting to giggle like some lovesick girl in a regency novel.

"Be a little more obvious, why don't you?" Lynne said, sitting beside Sophie and startling her.

"What?" Sophie averted her eyes, resuming eating her pudding, "I have no idea what you mean."

"Of course you don't," Lynne snorted, "It's fine. But if you want your secret to be safe, you'd better stop drooling."

"I wasn't–"

"Yes, you were, auntie."

Sophie shot her another annoyed glare before looking at the high table again, but Neville wasn't sitting there anymore – he was walking towards her!

"Does he have a death wish?" Lynne whispered, frowning, "If Grandpa Sev could see the way he's looking at you, he'd be deader than Voldemort."

"Shush, Lynne!" ordered Sophie, sitting up straight and touching her hair, nervously.

"You look gorgeous, auntie, don't worry," whispered Lynne.

Sophie glared at her niece but didn't say anything, for Neville had stopped near them.

"Evening, Miss Snape. Miss Weasley-Snape," he greeted them both with a smile.

"Professor, it was a lovely feast, was it not?" Sophie said, making conversation, and ignoring Lynne's amused snort.

"Excellent, as always, Miss Snape," he said with a curt nod, "If possible, I'd like to speak to you about what I have planned for this year's classes; I'll need you to take on more responsibilities, that is if you're still interested in assisting me in the greenhouses–"

"I'm interested!" Sophie nearly shouted.

"Oh, good," Neville blushed at her eagerness, "I've already let your mother know I would like to talk to you in my office in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, yes," she glanced at the high table and her mother was looking right at them with a small smile, "If she's allowed it, I'll be there, professor."

"See you then," he nodded once more at them and left.

"You're so doomed, auntie."

"Shut up, Lynne."

15 minutes later

Sophie knocked on the door of the Herbology professor's office on the second floor.

"Come on in," she heard his voice from inside and opened the door to let herself in.

"Ah, Miss Snape, please take a seat," Neville motioned one of the chairs in front of his desk and Sophie promptly sat down.

"I don't know if you know," he continued, sitting across from her on the other side of the mahogany desk, his hands folded on top of some papers, "But Prof. McGonagall is no longer working in the castle."

"Yes, professor, I'm aware. My brother Nicholas is the new Transfiguration teacher."

"Yes. And I was appointed the new Head of Gryffindor House."

She smiled sweetly at him, "Congratulations, professor."

"Thank you, Miss Snape," he returned her smile, and their eyes met, staying connected for a moment.

"Yes," Neville cleared his throat, realising he had been staring at her in silence for Merlin-knew how long, "Well, while that's a nice title to have, it comes with many responsibilities. That's why I will need your help in the greenhouses more so than last year."

"Of course, sir, I'll do my very best to help you," she scooted forward in her chair, but stopped herself from leaning forward, knowing it would make her look too eager – no matter how eager to get closer to him she truly felt.

Neville stood up, moving to the front of the desk, as if feeling the need to be closer to her as much as she felt she had to be closer to him.

He stood near her and leaned back on his table, his bum resting on the hard table top, his arms crossed as he looked down at her and continued:

"I'll give you a list of all the new specimens I have brought to the greenhouses and their watering and nurturing schedules. I have a lot of seedlings that will need especial attention in the coming months; the seedling stage is, as you already know, the most important to make sure they grow into healthy adult plants."

Sophie nodded, supressing a sigh as his voice filled her ears and his scent reached her nose; he kept on speaking but she failed to pay attention to the words; he was so close, she couldn't stop her eyes from quickly running up and down his body.

Neville had uncrossed his arms and rested his hands on his sides, gripping the tabletop. Sophie looked at his long fingers – longer and thicker than hers – then up to his broad shoulders, and down his torso, taking note of his belt buckle and powerful thighs – which made her suddenly realise his crotch was at eye-level!

She quickly looked up into his blue eyes, knowing her cheeks had to be bright red, but hoping he hadn't noticed the way she had just shamelessly ogled him while he was certainly saying something very important.

"So," Neville was smiling at her, "I'll see you tomorrow at five?"

"Oh," she blinked, forcing her lust-filled mind to focus on him again, "O-of course, sir. Which– erm, which greenhouse again?"

"One," Neville said, pulling away from the table and standing up straight, one hand being stretched in her direction.

Sophie immediately put her hand on his and stood up, looking up at his face, her heart pounding in her ears. They had never stood so close before; he was more than a head taller than her, she had to tilt her head back to be able to look into his eyes – his gorgeous sky-blue eyes.

She frowned at what she could see in them right then; the kindness of minutes ago was suddenly gone, giving place to a hard and troubled darker gaze – Sophie worried he had misunderstood her silence from before as aloofness.

"Professor, is everything alright? Have I done something to offend you?"

"No, Miss Snape," he replied, looking down at her small hand still resting on his and seeming to get even sadder; he slowly rubbed his thumb over her knuckles, looking torn all of a sudden.

"Professor?"

He seemed to finally give into what was eating him inside and moved her hand slowly up, looking into her eyes for any sign of refusal.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles.

Sophie trembled, the warmth of his lips moved from her fingers up her arm.

Just as slowly as he had raised her hand, Neville lowered it and let out a heavy sigh as he turned his back on her and sat back on his chair, not looking at her again.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Snape," he said, eyes on his papers.

Sophie stood frozen in place for a couple of seconds, still too shaken by the simple but sensual feeling of his mouth on her knuckles.

"I– I'll see you then," she managed to reply, walking to the door, softly saying: "Have a good night, professor."

"You too, Miss Snape."

Back to the Great Hall

It didn't take long after dessert had been served for Stephen to walk out of the Hall.

Gianah watched him leave their table amidst catcalls from his friends and pats on his back; she sat looking at her half-eaten dessert and knew she wouldn't be able to finish it – her stomach rebelling against the food she had already eaten, even though it hadn't been much.

"I think I'll go to the dorm, Ti," she said, already standing up.

"Oh, ok," Tiana frowned, seeing something wasn't right with her friend, "I'll sit with Lynne and the others, if you don't mind."

"Yes, of course, stay. I bet you miss Lynne," she offered her a smile.

"Yes, I do," Tiana blushed, glancing at the redhead in question.

Gianah watched her nearly run to the Gryffindor table and walked out of the Great Hall, going slowly to the dungeons, still confused by what she was feeling inside.

She had never cared if girls looked at Stephen before, she had no reason to care – she didn't like him.

At all.

Stephen had always been a nuisance, constantly around when she spent time with Lily and Lynne – nothing but the stupid brother of one of her best friends.

His presence had never been anything but irritating; his opinions were purposely obnoxious – he made sure to never agree to anything she ever said and always found reason to annoy her.

She fiercely disliked him.

Right?

Gianah closed her eyes briefly, opening them to glance around the corridors that led to the dungeons, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling cold and fragile, her heart pounding and her mind confused.

Could she be... jealous?

Nah. She quickly dismissed that thought, turning into the common room corridor, Why would I be jealous? I don't like–

"Stephen," she heard herself whisper as she raised her head to say the password to the hidden common room entrance only to see two shadows in a hidden corner behind a gargoyle: Stephen was pushing Brittany Bailey against the stone walls, his mouth fused with the blonde's and his hands around her waist, while she buried her manicured fingers in his dark hair.

"Told you, Weasley," she heard Jill Rachford's smug voice from somewhere behind her.

"That's... disgusting," Gianah quickly replied, "I never thought Bailey had such low self-esteem."

Jill gasped, "Are you jealous?"

"What?" Gianah scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous!" she turned and walked into the common room, going to the girls' 2nd year dorm.

How dare Rachford say I'm jealous? She huffed as she brushed her teeth.

Of course I'm not! I hate him! If Bailey wants to kiss his stupid mouth and run her hands all over his stupid hair–

She spat out the tooth paste and stared at her reflection in the mirror above the sink.

His lemon-scented soft-looking stupid hair– fuck, since when did she know how his hair smelled?

Her bottom lip trembled as she obsessively replayed the scene in her mind – Stephen's mouth on Brittany's, the blonde's hands fisting in his dark locks.

They think he has a crush on you. Tiana had said.

I don't care, I hate him. Gianah told her reflection.

...there's a thin line between love and hate. She recalled Jill saying.

Gianah closed her eyes, her heart pounding again (had it once slowed down after dinner?), her feelings all over the place – unnamed ones, unknown ones; all she knew was they made her want to go out there and pull Stephen away from Brittany and punch him and then her!

But... why?

She went to bed, lying under the covers and staring at the large window that overlooked the bottom of the Great Lake, wishing she could either find the reason of her pain or drown it in those waters.

When she, obviously, didn't find any answers in the Lake's greenish waters, she turned to the other side and closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to take her as she grabbed onto the only certainty she still had: she hated Stephen more than ever.

Note: Poor poor Gianah, ooohh my heart breaks for her, but I LIVE for this kind of drama. Ugh! It hurts so good. And Sophie and Neville? *wipes drool* those two are so wickedly delicious. Things are definitely getting hotter around here. That "eventual smut" is coming!