Chapter 3
James couldn’t take it anymore, he doesn’t know how long he’ll last before he loses his mind with Binns’ long lectures and the clock's annoying tick, it was mocking him for moving so damn slow.
He rechecked the clock on the wall again for the nth time and there was still an hour before this suffering class ends. He sighed and thumped his head on top of his book lightly.
“Stop that James, you’ve been doing that for the past hour, can’t you at least pretend that you’re listening.”
“But Moons, how can I pretend when he isn’t even doing an effort in making it interesting to me.”
James complained
“Must you be self-centered?”
“I’m not, I’m just stating facts since half of the class is also bored as well.”
Remus just sign and gave up on James as he continued to write notes as to what the professor was saying.
James thought why did he even join this class—oh right, Lily, but she is on the other side of the room, far away from James because once she saw him, she decided to sit farthest from him.
Apparently Snape calling Lily a mudblood was James’s fault, even though it was from the Slytherin’s mouth the insult had come from.
James looked at the other side of the room, where a hunched woman with jet-black hair covering her face sat while writing.
James took a quick look at her hunched figure before averting his gaze. He couldn’t tease her anymore after his best friend went too far, James was too ashamed to look her in the eye, he didn’t want any of that event to happen. He decided to stop calling her by that awful name and just ignore the witch.
It was weird, he doesn’t remember the day he fell in love with Lily or what she looked like when he first met her.
But he remembers the day he met Snape, the glare, the tattered clothes, the frown, the insults, what book she was reading, the way she smirked when the hat shouted her house, how she smiled excitedly at the sights of cherries in their first feast—yes James remembers that because he was observing her for being the odd one out of their group in the train and not because of something else—how she was not practically worshipping the ground he walks on when all his life people were throwing their selves for him and his approval.
Not her and Lily though, but Lily was different she was kind, warm, and caring, she only hated him after he started teasing her friend—which by the way James did for her own good because he think that the girl is evil—.
while Snape never really trusted anybody from the start, she was cold and ruthless at her words, it was like she didn’t know love, if Lily was the light, she was the darkness.
The bell had finally rung ending their class
He wanted to vent his frustration to quidditch that weekend, unfortunately, the Ravenclaws got permission to practice first at the field and he was not really in the mood to hang out with his friends or prank someone, so being left with no choice he decided to shift that afternoon and roam the forest.
What he did not expect to find in his little adventure was a sitting figure Infront of a pond. Now James never really paid much attention to other people without his interest, and never really looked perfectly at people other than his friends and Lily, but this lonely figure had caught his attention.
Her hair was black as ebony, and her skin as white as the snow around. James took a step back when realizes who it was.
“Who’s there?” Snape shouted.
James of course did not reply as he was in his Animagus form, but he did not move as well for he did not know what to do or what Snape will do.
“Come out before I find you myself and hex you into oblivion. “ She threatened.
James decided to just come out before he gets hit by a jink if she decides to just throw spells randomly around the place, she wouldn’t hurt an animal now would she?—James internally gulped.
“Oh... it’s just a bloody stag.” She said to herself and let out a sigh of relief. Snape lowered her wand and pocketed it again and held out a hand.
James was confused. Was Severina Snape actually holding up her hand for him to come!? James was getting a bit nervous. Did she want to hurt him? But if she did she wouldn’t have pocketed her wand and instead throw a spell at him, was she really being kind to an animal?
“Come here, I’m not going to hurt you, I’m sorry I scared you. I was just being paranoid again.” She told James, but he backed away.
She looked hurt. James look at her face and observed her more, the lips that threw insults and formed sneers at him, were red as her favorite cherry—probably because she kept biting them when she was reading. Her eyes were an endless dark pool filled with sadness, regret, and exhaustion for some reason. James was only now noticing that she a bit pretty without a vat of goo or potions poured over her.
“I guess you don’t like me too, huh?” she whispered to herself as she lowered her hand and went back to sit again, but James heard her.
Has James finally gone mad!? THE Severina Snape was talking in a soothing voice and was sincere, was this a trap to get him to be close to her?
“Look at me, deprived of socialization that I’m talking to a deer.” Exasperated the witch as she picks up her book and started reading again, ignoring James as she continues her activity.
James flinched, he couldn’t get over his shock, this was the first time she has seen the woman show some humanity.
Was this the true Severina? Is this why Lily was friends with her? But why was she so mean to others? Was this because of James and his friends? Was she really a dark person apart from reading dark books?
James is having a bit of a crisis but the look hurt of the Slytherin made him feel guilty and he swiftly remembered the scared look on her face in the Shack and decided to come close to her. If she did hurt him anyway James can just push her with his antlers.
James nudged her arm and she smiled and stroked his head; Snape smiled at him and was touching him! And he thought that it was a bit pretty sight and feeling, his knees felt like giving up so he lay down beside her.
“Well, it seems like I was wrong then…” She talked some more and complimented James, James is once again shocked at receiving a compliment from this woman. She rambled on some more and James just listen to her soothing voice until the sun had started to set and decided to leave.
After she left and James changed his form staring at the way direction she just went, decided to finally go back and rethink what just happened.
“Where have you been prongs, you’ve been gone all day, Sirius was looking for you.” Peter stated as he entered their dorm.
“Just somewhere in the forest, taking a walk, I’m a bit tired, so I’ll go ahead and sleep first and skip dinner,” James said wistfully and close the curtains, leaving his friend a bit confused and curious.