Snape sat in the Slytherin stalls watching the quiddich match between Gryffindor and his fellow snakes. He stared over towards the Gryffindor stand with his eyes transfixed on one particular witch.
He watched as Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger whispered into her ear, he saw them laugh, smile and point towards the field. As Potter caught the snitch the stand erupted in cheers, the girl who had his full attention jumped up and down with Longbottom, full of glee, holding each other's arms as they bounced.
"What happens to be so intriguing over there?" Lucius Malfoy smirked, knowing only to well that Severus' eyes were transfixed on Lilliana Valance.
"Nothing, I'm just keeping my eye on Potters... friends." Snape lied, turning his attention away from the red head and rising from his bench. "Does the snake require a bit of taming? Don't think I'm too foolish to see that she is the double of your beloved." Malfoy smirked.
Snape glared at him but gave him a small smile, trying his best not to blow his own cover. "I am but a man... and a man can admire a female without it meaning anything can he not?"
Snape walked back towards the castle, angry at his own words. He hated having to pretend being something he wasn't, lying to cover his tracks.. to protect himself and one boy from an almost certain death.
He stopped in his tracks as the girl he had been unable to take his eyes off all day passed by him, she turned around and her eyes bore a hole deep in his soul. Only she wasn't looking at him, she was looking past him at Harry.
'Why does this not surprise me.' He smirked to himself, well? What was the point of behaving like he was jealous? especially when he had made it clear to himself that he wasn't.
〰〰〰〰〰〰
"Severus, may I have a word?" Dumbledore smiled as he came across his colleague, "What is it about Albus? Can I not get a moments peace!" Snape scowled, folding his robes across his chest dramatically.
"It's about our conversation last night, and no you cannot get a moments peace so follow me and shut your cake hole." Dumbledore chuckled over his half moon spectacles before spinning around and swishing away with his usual sass.
Snape followed the headmaster begrudgingly, glaring at the students who rushed past with gormless looks upon their spotty teenage faces.
"Make this quick, I have a class to attend to Albus." Snape demanded Cooley, scoffing as the headmaster took a seat.
"I'm worried about you Severus, Minerva mentioned in passing that you seemed stressed by the presence of Miss Valance. I assumed that our 'words' last night were merely you rebelling and quite possibly experiencing some form of surprise in her likeness but it seems to run a lot deeper."
Snape took his forehead in his hands and inhaled sharply, before straightening himself out. "Albus, everything I said last night is true. You are up to something and I don't know what it is but I will find out!" Snape sighed.
"I know that this has come as quite a surprise to you, seeing a girl that looks a little bit like Lily but I can assure you that this has nothing to do with me." Dumbledore insisted, truly worried about the change he had seen in his oldest friend.
"A little bit like her?! She looks exactly like her Albus..." Snape growled, trying to defend his assumptions of foul play. "Her hair is darker, and Lily's cheekbones were less pronounced. Even Lily's lips were different from those of Miss Valance Dear boy..." The headmaster smiled gently, rising from his seat to place a hand on Snape's shoulder.
Snape's tense shoulders relaxed slightly and he took a deep breath, "how did I teach her Albus?" He asked desperately, as though the task was climbing the highest of mountains. "The same way you teach all of the others dear boy!" Dumbledore chuckled playfully, Snape smirked at Albus knowingly in response. "Bat like it is."
〰〰〰〰〰
Seamus was cleaning up the mess he had caused in the potions classroom while Snape mumbled obscenities under his breath. All the other students seemed to have their potions bubbling away nicely.
He took a step closer towards Liliana and admired her handy work. "I think that your draft is near completion Miss Valance." He drawled, making the girl jump out of her skin. "Oh! Erm... I was just searching for an empty vial... do you have one Professor Snape?" She asked politely.
"Of course I have one you stupid girl, I have a whole bloody cupboard full!" He scowled.
"May I have one please, sir?" Lilliana smiled up at him, awaiting an answer.
"No."
"What? Why? What will I do with the potion?" She pleaded, watching as the potion masters eyes narrowed. "What you will do Miss Valance is make sure that the next time you attend my class you have all the required items on your person. Ask one of your fellow students for a spare vial.. use your initiative."
He dismissed the class and went to the great hall for dinner. His hopes for peace and quiet dashed when Professor McGonagall eyed him cautiously, that only ever meant one thing... "Severus..." she began, "how is Miss Valance coming along in potions?"
Snape looked at her with a confusion all over his weathered and sallow face. "She seems to be of a decent standard, why do you ask?" He replied. "Well, given that she has no experience in the subject whatsoever I assumed that she might have stumbled a little.."
"What do you mean no experience? Are you implying that the girls a muggle?" Snape asked curiously. "No, she is a half blood Severus. It's just that.. she grew up in the muggle world." McGonagall replied honestly, Snape noticed an awkwardness in the witch he had never seen before.
"You're making no sense Minerva, why would a wizard bring up his half blood daughter in the muggle world?!" Snape scowled. "I have no idea Severus, maybe the girl's mother wanted to stay there?" Minerva suggested, the most awful of feelings taking over her as she knew more than she let on.
'A half blood? With NO magical experience. And yet she just sails through potions class.. why is she so knowledgable? And why can't I be free of her addictive powers?' Snape groaned to himself as he watched her across the hall. He noticed how her smile lit up the Gryffindor table, the hormonal 6th and 7th year boys fawning over her unnaturally beguiling beauty.
The way Potter flirted with her shamelessly brought back such painful memories, it was as though James Potter was seducing Lily all over again.
'It's not the same... SHE could never be Lily. She's merely a pathetic excuse for a lookalike.'
YOU ARE READING
How You Remind Me (Snape / OC)
Fanfiction*Soundtrack Story* The girl looked just like Lily, how was the dreaded dungeon bat supposed to cope with the new Gryffindor? Was Albus Dumbledore up to his old tricks? Or was there more to it? Either way, Severus Snape was struggling to cope... "I...
