Just Like Old Times

[krisy]

It was evening when Lily made her way down to the Great Hall from her private chambers for dinner. It had been an chaotic day to say the least. She got assigned to teach Care of Magical Creatures while Hagrid was away on Order business for the week. She was more than a bit surprised when she was sitting in her office and an owl delivered a furry looking book and dropped it on her desk. It was bound with a leather strap and being the curious Gryffindor she was flicked her wand and made the strap vanish.

With a look of surprise she jumped out of her seat, knocking it over as eyes popped out of the book and started after her. It fell of the desk and began chasing her about the room. This is ridiculous! I’m a grown witch and have been in countless duels yet a book is getting the better of me. She flicked her wand again as a white beam of light shot out and hit the book and it stopped dead in it’s tracks, stunned. Cautiously Lily approached it and read the words on the spine: The Monster Book of Monsters. Of course leave it to Hagrid… She thought as she threw it down her desk and rebounded it.

Her classes that day didn’t get much better. Her fourth year Hufflpuff and Ravenclaw class were studying Blast-Ended Skrewts. They were quite temperamental and rather large at about 3 feet. It was hard enough keeping the students calm and keeping the Skrewts under control. Hagrid of course wouldn’t have had any problem with such creatures. He was half giant and could handle it a lot better than a mere witch. That lesson had left her robes scorched and her hair fell loosely from it’s hair tie. She was grateful that the fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin class were only reviewing what they went over at the end of the year before which happened to be Unicorns. The most eventful thing that happened in that class was a duel that broke out between a couple of Gryffindor’s and Slytherin’s. All of whom Lily assigned detention with their Heads of House.

But now Lily was sitting comfortably at the staff table. A hot cup of tea in her hands. Her robes were still singed and she was sure her hair still looked a mess. She didn’t care. She just need to relax. And that first couple sips of tea did it for her. She knew it was going to be a long week. Lily was wondering if she were really up to this task… But of course she wouldn’t admit defeat.

The Great Hall started to fill up rapidly as sixth o’clock came around. And the peacefulness of the hall disappeared and a headache started to form. Perhaps a trip to the Hospital Wing was in order for a headache potion from Madam Pomfrey.

[snape]

Severus much preferred to have small dinners in his chambers rather than the atrocious affairs that were usually held in the Great Hall. It was expected of him to show up for meal times though otherwise the other Professors (or Merlin forbid Headmaster Dumbledore) would wonder what had happened to him. He valued his privacy above all other things and the thought of someone entering his quarters without his express permission was enough to make him balk. So of course Snape always made sure he was present for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That didn't mean he had to consume anything there though...

Occasionally he picked at his food to give students and teachers alike the impression that he ate, although he could have cared less about appearances. He knew some of the rumors about him so there were days when he just drank from his mug, letting them speculate that he was a Vampire. Then there were the times when he just didn't do anything except read or stare out over the Great Hall with an impassive look upon his features.

Snape came into the room at around six, just when the students were starting to. He had learned long ago how to filter out the usual chattering and laughter so he wasn't effected by it at all. He walked briskly towards the staff table, his gaze zeroing in on an all too familiar redheaded woman: Lily Evans. Just the thought of her alone was enough to steal his breath away. A slight smirk curled his lips as he approached her. He then sat down in his usual seat and watched as his mug automatically filled with his favorite tea (the House-Elves knew him well around here). He took a small swig, hoping that the drink would help boost his nerves. Severus was never sure how he should act around Lily; her presence caused him to revert back to his teenaged-self, which wasn't necessarily a good thing...

"Evening Lily."

His dark eyes glanced over at her and he frowned for a moment. He had always been sort of good at reading her facial expressions. They had been best friends ever since the age of eight or nine so he had learned what to do over time. That was Severus's true talent. He gleaned a lot from the outside because most people weren't expert Occlumens like himself. He didn't even have to use Legilimency; not that he would invade another's mind willy-nilly. He had a certain respect for personal boundaries for obvious reasons. He therefore turned his full attention to Lily as he sensed (or felt) that something was wrong.

"Are you alright?"

[krisy]

Lily looked meekly down at her plate, her fork pushing around it’s contents. She was only awaken from her thoughts as a voice called out to her. “What’s that?” She said looking wilding around up at Severus. “Oh,” Lily said slightly before giving him a strained smile. “Good evening Severus.” She was happy to have him there. It was nice to have another Professor of her age in the vicinity. Many of the other professors were much older then she and had taught while she was a student herself. The first couple of staff meetings were odd. Her senior colleagues were able to make her feel like a child at times. Her new job wasn’t turning out to be everything she wanted it to be. She wondered how Severus did it after all of these years.

“I’m alright I suppose.” A sigh escaped from her lips as a lock of red hair fell loosely in front of her face, causing her to tuck it behind her ear. She ran a hand over her weary face and looked at him and gave him a pitiful grin. “I’m starting to doubt my abilities as a teacher. My first day hasn’t turned out quite the way I was hoping…” A saddened look appeared on her face; she averted her eyes down at her plate. “I see that the Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry is still going strong. I assigned a couple of your Slytherins detention along with the Gryffindor’s with McGonagall. Of course if you don’t have time to hold a few detentions I can do it for you.” Lily said, wanting to start being the voice of authority to her students. She couldn’t start letting them push her around.

“Also I was almost conquered by those lovely creatures Hagrid has… And that blasted book he assigned!” Groaning she pulled the tie from her hair, letting the long tresses fall around her shoulders. "Sev, I survived a war! These little oversight shouldn’t be happening to me.” She knew that she looked defeated. She was sure her hair stilled looked atrocious, and her robes were still singed. Frustrated she rested her head on her hands.

[snape]

After a moment or two, Severus turned his attention back to his plate of food since there wasn't anything better to do. He pushed a few of the items around with his fork before spearing a piece of broccoli and bringing it to his lips. If the House-Elves knew him well enough to serve him his favorite tea then perhaps they had also learned that he didn't like the heavily sauced or spiced foods that was usually served... The first bite he took was actually pretty good and he couldn't help but to smirk once more in response.

He knew something was wrong just from the strain Lily was showing; the heavy sighs she breathed; and from the fact that she hadn't even been paying attention to anything around her until Snape had actually said her name. There was a kind of weariness in her features which caused him to raise an eyebrow. School had barely started and she was already feeling the pressure. It probably wasn't a good sign... He nodded his head slowly when she finally spoke.

"Mm... It's never easy on the first few days, even for me." And he had been at Hogwarts far longer than the redhead. "Heh. Detentions already? I'm surprised. I feel sure I can manage them on my own though."

He remembered back in their Hogwarts days that unlike Lupin (who had been a Prefect during their sixth and seventh years), Lily hadn't been afraid to punish the other students based on what they had done. However, she wasn't necessarily a harsh person... He had expected her to give some of the students second chances and whatnot, especially when it concerned the bloody Gryffindors. Most Professors around Hogwarts seemed to favor their own houses and Severus was no exception to this; he treated Slytherin better than most, but he didn't exactly coddle them either. Everyone had their own place in the world and it was time that they learned it while they were still young so that they could play their role better in the future.

He chuckled slightly at her next words. "I never thought that I would hear you curse about a book." He shook his head. "Teaching isn't as serious as a war, Lily. You'll fall into it eventually. You just need to decide what you want the students to think about you. Do you want them to walk all over you because you're weak or do you want to stand up for yourself?"

Severus glanced over at her and sighed. She looked defeated. Her hair was everywhere and her head was resting on her hands. He didn't really know what else to tell her; he was never very good with advice... He went back to his meal and decided to cut off a small piece of steak to see if it would taste as good as the broccoli had. He was once again pleasantly surprised. He would have to go down to the kitchens later to thank the House-Elves and make it worthwhile for them to keep giving him special treatment.

"You know... I've been thinking... We really haven't talked much in a while... How are things on your end going? Aside from the usual school stuff, I mean."

[krisy]

“You would think that this Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry would stop at some point. It’s completely ridiculous and childish.” Lily had always tried to be nonbiased when dealing with them. It was sometimes it was more difficult then others. They always seemed to rub her the wrong way. The Gryffindor’s weren’t much better. Everyone treated them differently, but Lily was witness to the fact that they could be just as bad as the Slytherins. James and Sirius were the first to pop into her head. They bullied and torment other students just as well as any Slytherin. Since they were known as Gryffindors no one thought anything of it. The Weasley twins reminded her a lot of James and Sirius. She had heard a lot about them from Harry and they didn’t seem to be as bad as James and his crew. The Weasley’s pranks were probably better, but they didn’t seemed set out to torture anyone.

Lily scrunched up her nose and turned towards him. “I normally wouldn’t curse about a book, but Severus it attacked me! I absolutely adore Hagrid, don’t get me wrong but really…Perhaps a standard textbook would have been better.” She picked up her fork again twirling it around in the pasta that filled her plate.

One thing that was good about being at Hogwarts was the fact that she wouldn’t have to cook every night. It wasn’t that she was a bad cook. In fact she loved cooking, but it was nice to be served for a change.

She listened to his coaxing voice that flew around her like velvet. It was a voice that Lily had missed over the last fourteen years. “Why would I want them to walk all over me?” She asked in astonishment. “That wouldn’t even make any sense Severus. Of course I don’t want them to walk all over me! I don’t want them to fear me like they fear y-” She stopped, her eyes wide as heat flooded her cheeks. She looked away from him and down at the students who were talking excitedly about their first days back. She turned to face him again, giving him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.”

She shrugged her shoulders halfheartedly, suddenly looking surly. “Things could always be better.” Her body straightened as she took a sip of her tea, suddenly whishing that she had a glass of wine in her hand instead. “I didn’t think that my marriage would fall apart. I thought we were meant to last. Apparently I was just being naïve.” Her mind went to all the fights James and herself had suffered over the years. Some of course were insignificant. Others were much more serious. James had reverted back to his childish ways not long after the twins were born and the war was over.

He was never the disciplinarian when it came to Harry. James treated that boy as if the world revolved around him. While the other children never received such treatment. “I would be lying if I said I’m not happy about it. It’s nice to be away from him. I don’t feel as weighed down as I use too. It saddens me though that Harry chose to live with his father and not me. It doesn’t surprise me though.” She shook her head silently, and turned her green eyes to him. “How are things with you Sev?”

[snape]

Snape shook his head again. He doubted the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor would ever stop. Perhaps a major event could change the way things were or maybe some kind of miracle, but until then Hogwarts was the same as it had always been. After a few more bites from his plate, he pushed the rest of it away with a slight purse in his lips. He once again took a small sip of tea before turning his full attention to the redhead. He raised an eyebrow at her second comment, but didn't respond to it because he had nothing to say. He was just as fond of Hagrid as most people were; however, the half-giant went about teaching in an odd way that the Potions Master found difficult to agree with.

"I don’t want them to fear me like they fear y-" Lily stopped herself before finishing the sentence, but Severus knew what she meant. The students didn't necessarily fear him (okay, so maybe a few of them might, but that's not the point!)... They respected him. He had taught them long ago what he expected in his classroom and what the consequences were if his rules were not obeyed. He had spent years building up his reputation in Hogwarts. It wasn't the best one in the world, but it worked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that.” She was quick to apologize, sending him a small smile as a peace offering. He merely shrugged his shoulders.

"It's okay, I get that all the time." He gave her a rare grin. "Good to know that all of my hard work is finally paying off."

Severus tilted his head some as he listened to Lily speak. He frowned a bit at her words; he hadn't been really aware that her marriage had fallen apart until she actually said something about it. He wasn't sure what to think at first. Should he be happy because that meant bloody Potter was out of the way for good and she was finally free for the taking? Or should he feel something else...? Surprisingly, it was the latter. She had children and it was always a sorry sight to see a family break up like that, but at least it was better than the alternative. He inadvertently thought of Tobias and scowled.

"I'm sorry. I had no idea. I didn't mean to dredge up any bad memories for you..." He was glad for the subject change. "Oh, I'm fine. Same stuff different day, you know?" He paused for a bit, not sure what else to say again. He was at a complete loss. "Just been working a lot, like I usually do."

[krisy]

Lily’s grin only widened when she saw his. It was a sight that even she rarely saw. Even when they were children his smile took her by surprise. “Yes, by what I hear you’ve been doing a good job at it.” Her pale hand found its way into her disheveled hair. Her shoulders shrugged as she sighed deeply.

“Don’t be sorry. I think I saw it coming a few years ago. I just thought everything would get better… This isn’t something I wanted for my children or myself. I can only hope that it’s a blessing in disguise. That it will all get better from here.” She needed to remain positive with the situation. Not only for her sake, but for the sake of Shendeth and Harry. Eventually she would adjust to living a life of solitude and having to worry about one less person.

Lily beamed at him, “I’m sure it’s rough being a Head of House and the potions professor, and here I am complaining about some silly classes I’m substituting.” A small laugh emanated from her lips, as she reached to touch his arm lightly. “I know you’ve been working here for a while now, but it’s still hard to see you as a professor. If I remember correctly you were never very fond of children.” She focused her attention back on her tea sipping the remaining liquid from the cup.

“You were always astonishingly good at potions so I can’t say that I’m surprised. I always suspected that you would be working in the research department at the Ministry or St. Mungos.”

[snape]

"Mm... Yes... I've always been rather good at brewing Potions... I'm just not all too confident about my teaching abilities..."

It wasn't in Snape's nature to want to pass on his talents to the next generation and he was under the belief that most teenagers lacked the necessary concentration and patience to work behind the cauldron for long periods of time... As a matter of fact it was his firm belief that Potions ought to stop at third year, only continuing with the best and brightest of the lot. He dreaded the idea of having some of his students in OWL-level and NEWTs were just as bad, if not worse. Still, there were exceptions to every rule and a few of the young witches and wizards had shown some promising signs in his class, but he was no Slughorn. He wasn't about to single them out for any reason; good or bad.

He just nodded his head again when Lily spoke of her divorce. "It's better than the alternative, I guess. At least you didn't attempt to stay with him any longer than you had to after you realized that it wouldn't work out."

Severus wished he could say the same thing about his mother... If she had been a little more courageous and willing to stand up not only for herself but for him as well then maybe things would have worked out better. He didn't know for sure though so it did no good to focus on it now. Both of his parents had died long ago. He chuckled at Lily's next words, once again glad for the subject change since he usually found himself thinking about the past whenever the redhead was around him. It was nice to focus on the present for a change.

"It's not that I don't like kids..." He said slowly. "It's just teaching hormonal teenagers the finer arts of Potion-Making that make me balk. Most don't have the necessary requirements to get into my NEWT-level class; hell, if I were in charge, a lot of them probably wouldn't even make it to their OWLs either."

Snape felt a little uncomfortable talking about this matter. In truth, he wasn't the type of man who liked children; many had the tendency to annoy him. Even when he had been a youth himself, the other kids in the neighborhood had been a rambunctious lot who hated him just as much as he did them. Of course it only got worse at Hogwarts with the Marauders, but there had been some who were better than the rest. Namely Lily Evans and surprisingly Remus Lupin had been and still was a likely candidate. Children only seemed interested in playing games and having fun or chasing after the object of their affection. Severus wasn't all too happy with his roll here at Hogwarts, but he had long ago forgot how to complain.

For instance, he didn't know how to reward or even discipline properly. Subtracting house points and adding on detentions had little effect usually. He was glad that he was only a piece of their lives; that most of them weren't relying on him for parental advice or anything like that because he had none to give.

"Dumbledore asked me to step in so I did and before I knew it the years were just flying by." He snorted somewhat. "I do research in my spare time, like when I'm not at Hogwarts or have nothing better to do." He paused for a moment before studying the redhead before him. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

[krisy]

Lily smirked, lightly biting her lower lip. “You don’t think you’re being a bit harsh do you Sev? I mean they’re just kids. We don’t all have the brilliance with potions like you do. If it weren‘t for you being my potions partner for the first few years I‘m sure I would have been just as bad as your students. You were a very good teacher to me. Even better then Professor Slughorn.” She said with a small nod as she turned back to her food and picking at her favorite bits.

It was true. Severus always seemed to know tricks that Slughorn himself wasn’t even privy too. It had helped her a lot, even earning herself a spot in the ‘Slug Club’. She wasn’t sure if it was her skill in potions or charms that landed her such admiration from the Professor.

She didn’t particularly enjoy the attention. She was nothing like James who would of relished such things. Slughorn did seem to have a lot of connections with various types of people. After graduation he put a good word in with the Auror department for her, landing her a spot there. She had completed her training as an Auror, but after becoming pregnant and going into hiding it wasn’t something she had returned too.

After the divorce from James it was something she thought of going back too. He worked there though, and it would be just to weird to work with your ex-husband. Not to mention the fact that James could be grudging if he were in the mood, or if something didn’t go his way.

“I came to Hogwarts to be a substitute professor. Hopefully I’ll be able to stick it out.” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. “It’ll be good for me to be here. I’ll be able to spend more time with Harry and Shendeth and keep a close eye on them. Harry’s been a bit of a trouble maker, though Shendeth was rarely one to cause problems. “If it doesn’t work here I’ll apply myself at St. Mungo’s or something.”

[snape]

Severus shook his head somewhat. Of course he knew that he was being too harsh on them sometimes... He was expecting a group of hormonal teenagers to act like adults, which was a rather impossible feat, apparently. He didn't want anything to go wrong at the same time either though. He could just imagine himself explaining an explosion now or the fact that he had to send someone to the Hospital Wing in a matchbox.

"Perhaps." He conceded with a simple shrug of his shoulders. "Yeah, but one-on-one teaching is a lot easier to handle than a whole classroom that I have to watch for the slightest mistake."

The older students weren't as bad as some of the younger ones. They at least had a good head on their shoulders and most of them cared enough to get a passing grade; some were downright obsessive about Potions though, as Severus had been (and still was in a way). He pondered over his situation for a long moment in silence. Maybe what he needed was a second teacher to take over the first, second, and third years for him. It would have to be someone who was good with kids; who knew how to treat them properly and had the necessary patience to deal with them. Snape only had one of those requirements, but it tended to wane out quickly with children. It was easy to focus on a brew because it didn't talk back...

Severus nodded his head once more as he heard Lily's reason for returning to Hogwarts. It made sense. Of course she would want to be close to her children; she always struck him as the motherly type. "I'm sure you'll do fine" He sent her a small smile. "How are your kids doing anyway?"

[krisy]

“I can imagine.” Lily said as she thought about the idea of a couple dozen incompetent students working with potentially dangerous ingredients. The slightest slip up could destroy the whole potions classroom along with its students. The idea of it put her on edge. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to substitute potions anytime soon. She was having a hard enough time with the few Care of Magical Creature classes she had. While she was quite astute with potions, she could see herself becoming paranoid watching students as they carelessly threw various ingredients into their bowling cauldrons.

“Thanks.” She replied, her fork still playing with the food on her plate. It was something that she herself had scolded her children for doing. “They’re alright I suppose.” She took a minute to consider this. She wasn’t precisely sure how Shendeth was coping. Harry’s loathing of her as of late was quite obvious, and Saphira…she had no idea where Saphira was. “Shendeth is stoic. I don’t think he’d come to me even if he needed someone to talk too. His persona resembles yours quite a bit.” Along with many other things… Lily thought the last bit as her face paled with shame. She tried to brush it off as she continued. “Harry has been quite apparent with his feelings. Not that I can blame him I suppose. James and I put on a good front for a few years.” She wasn’t sure if she could bear talking about her youngest child, who had disappeared without at trace.

She decided to shift the conversation. “What about you? Did you ever marry or have any kids?” She asked, though she assumed she already knew the answer to both questions. It just seemed like the polite thing to do. She was always certain, even after Sev and she ceased being friends. That if he chose another path they would have ended up together, but now looking back at it she wondered if he would have wanted the same thing. If he were that kind of man.

[snape]

"Hm... Yes... Shendeth is a lot different than Harry now that I think about it..."

The two boys were supposed to be twins and yet they had ended up in rival houses. A similar thing had happened to the Patil sisters, but one was Gryffindor while the other was Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff (he couldn't really remember which at the moment). He supposed that all siblings had their differences so he pushed the little anomaly out of his mind. When the conversation shifted to him once more, Snape grew a bit uncomfortable. He never much liked to talk about his private life even when there wasn't much for him to say. He snorted at the idea of marriage and having his own children; sure, he had entertained it once or twice as young man perhaps, but now he knew better.

"Not hardly..."

He shook his head slightly as he eyed Lily for a moment. She had always been the one for him so Severus had waited for her and he would keep on waiting if he had to. He was a patient and simple man; he honestly believed that if they just built up their friendship back to its former glory that he would then be a happy man. Sex was immaterial in his opinion; then again, he didn't know much about it. Sadly he was a total virgin when it came to such matters... He would have thought that after all these years she would have noticed by now, but apparently not.

"You know... I've only been interested in one girl my whole life... I was attracted to her in my youth and I still am today. I've waited this long; I can wait longer if I have to."

[krisy]

Lily frowned at his last statement. She thought she had known Severus well, but never knew that he had any love interest. Her mind once again slipped back to their school days trying to think of anyone who Severus could of possibly been interested in. Lucinda Talkalot and Emma Vanity where the only Slytherins that came to mind. She couldn’t remember if Severus ever hung around with them after their friendship had ended. In fact she didn’t know where they were now. If they were married or not and not knowing didn’t bother her in the slightest. What she remembered of them wasn’t very pleasant. Like her many encounters with the Slytherin house.

The only girl she could ever remember him being close friends with was her. Surely his interest wouldn’t of been her. There was nothing fabulous about her. In her eyes she was plain and mildly intelligent. Their drunken fling 14 years ago was just a fluke. It was something that she barely remembered, but had haunted her throughout the years. No, it couldn’t be her. Severus would of said something long ago if it had. Then she remembered that Severus wasn’t like James. Severus wasn’t one to openly say or show how he felt. He was still very much an enigma to her even after all of these years.

Her emerald eyes found his and she smirked mischievously. “Well Severus, are you going to tell me who this mystery lady is? Do I know her? I’m very good at playing matchmaker you know.”

[snape]

No, Severus had never been the type to say or show how he felt. He guarded his emotions jealously because he learned from others (mainly his filthy Muggle father and the Marauders) that expressing himself was frowned upon. He had protected his true self from everyone, even Lily. She had seen glimmers of it; however, the wholeness of Snape had yet to be revealed to her. He was a mystery and that was the way he liked things to be. After all of this time he had grown accustomed to it. He was nicer and kinder around the redhead, but he was still a Slytherin. He didn't think his sarcasm or cynicism would ever completely depart his personality. It was a part of him just like every other piece that he held close deep beneath the shields.

His heart and his soul were buried in there as well as his modes/settings. He could become a Death Eater, a Professor, an Order member, or a Spy quicker than he was able to snap his own fingers. Severus wasn't stupid either... He knew that he was fractured; that he had broken up his personality long ago so that he might survive the hardships of his home life and childhood; that he would probably go insane if he didn't keep track of his boxes on a near-constant basis... Even though he was aware of his condition, he didn't have a name for it nor was he completely sure what to do about it. His mental state posed a problem for any relationship that Snape had, whether it was just business, friends, or something more. He distanced himself from everyone because that was the only way he could stay safe inside; not to mention the fact that he had no idea what to do with affection anyhow. Snape couldn't help chuckling at the question Lily posed next.

The idea of her matchmaking people together was a pretty funny thought. Trying to picture her doing it for the two of them was enough to increase his mirth. A smile tugged at his lips, but he hid it behind his mug of tea. "You know her." Severus said, deciding to play a little game of his own. "She was in our year back during our time here at Hogwarts." He pretended to think for a moment as he rubbed at his chin. "Let's see... She lived pretty close to me in my youth at Spinner's End and we met at a park. She's a Muggleborn and didn't know anything about Magic, but I knew what she was so I told her everything. We were best friends for a long time and then we kind of drifted apart after I said something stupid, which I still regret. We went our separate paths for many years... But now we're kind of together again... or at least in the same place at the same time."

Snape paused for a minute or two, letting this sink in before he continued: "It might be kind of hard to play matchmaker with yourself, Lily."

[krisy]

With every word he spoke, she felt the heat rise in her cheeks. It was hard to believe what she was hearing. As a teenager she had always wanted him to say such things to her. Perhaps not in the roundabout about way he was saying it now, but still it warmed her heart. She wondered if she should be feeling this way. It had been years since they were really good friends. The war and life had changed them both so much over the years. She wasn’t sure if she could return such feelings. She was a grown woman, newly divorced with three kids. A relationship was the last thing on her mind.

But this was Severus. Her Sev. Obviously a changed man if he could tell her now how he felt. His previous words now stuck in her head. I've only been interested in one girl my whole life... I was attracted to her in my youth and I still am today. I've waited this long; I can wait longer if I have to. Severus had been attracted to her…was attracted to her. She wondered now, if they had both been more open with their feelings in their youth if it would have changed their future. Maybe they would have been together or maybe the fates would have kept them apart.

A sly smile formed as her green eyes looked up at him. “Is that so Sev?” She bit her bottom lip, her face still a deep shade of red. She realized how ridiculous she most of looked. She was blushing as if she were some school girl who was just told an inappropriate joke. She wondered if any of the students had noticed. She could only hope that hadn’t, as she turned her back further to them. “You never told me you fancied me Sev…” She muttered and looked down at her lap. A lock of red hair fell into her face. “It wouldn’t be that hard, you know? Playing matchmaker with myself. The hardest part is always finding to willing individuals. I think that I already have that.”