Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

To Love Another	By : ImaginaRya Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Het - Male/Female Views: 2841 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter franchise is owned by JK Rowling. This is a fanwork that receives no money, nor claims any ownership of anything involved besides the plot of the budding romance of Snape and an OC. And that is for my own personal pleasure.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
An hour passed trying to track down the elusive trickster Lily Evans, but to no avail. Severus had a sinking suspicion that she and her stupid boyfriend had snuck off for inappropriate reasons, which made his stomach lurch. It was becoming harder and harder to ignore them as a couple; the happy look on Lily's face when she gazed upon James; his arm always around her in some way; the way they were constantly sneaking around only proved more and more their relationship was growing more physical. Mood growing dark, Severus began all but dragging Anthea around, forgetting about her and their date in his determination to find Lily. He grew less and less concerned with the charm keeping his hand in Anthea's, and more concerned with finally putting a stop to the sickening feeling in his gut. He didn't know what would happen if he found Lily in a compromising position, and refused to believe she would ever do anything vulgar.

His quest was halted quite literally by Anthea. She firmly dug her heels in the ground and was almost pulled over by Severus as he continued to go without thinking about her. Bewildered by being held back, he finally recalled he wasn't alone, and was being quite rude. "Oh, Anthea... I'm sorry..." he said, looking sheepish as he started to realize his actions. She looked to be on the verge of tears, her eyes slightly watering, but was making a great effort to keep them back and remain calm.

"You've been dragging me around for over an hour, Severus. I'm tired, and we wont find her. We're supposed to meet up at the Hog's Head for butter beer later. Can't we just relax and behave normally?" Anthea asked, looking at their bound hands rather than his face. She didn't think she could be ignored by someone holding her hand, but she was wrong, and it had stung. She knew he was caught up on Lily, as did the whole school, but she had hoped he'd realize he was on a date. She supposed he wouldn't care about that, though, and had to will herself not to be angry or begrudging towards him. She didn't understand his relationship with Lily, and wasn't in a place to make assumptions or demands to cater more to her.

"I never got the book I was wanting," she added, mumbling to herself. It was awkward, the way they were standing. They were standing barely inside a small alleyway between two shops. Severus was trying to see if the elusive couple was hiding behind the buildings, but Anthea had stopped before he could go down it. Students were passing by, casting looks at the paused odd couple and whispering. Hogwarts rather liked gossip.

Severus nodded, warily eyeing the small crowd on the road. "Okay, you lead," he muttered. He still wanted to find Lily, and was growing tense. All her eagerness to shove him off on some strange girl had been building up an annoyance inside. His frustration was reaching boiling point with her damn spell and disappearance. Coupled with the looming distaste he carried for Lily's relationship, he was feeling highly on edge. He could understand how he hurt Anthea's feelings, but he didn't comprehend how she had them in the first place. She was physically attractive, but he knew nothing of her. She was just another student in the sidelines, never taking any sort of stage. She wasn't as boastful as some other Ravenclaws, nor as stuck up it seemed, but that hardly showed anything about her.

Severus brooded more on his thoughts as she timidly led him back to Tomes and Scrolls, the silence between them terse after she finally snapped at him. Honestly, she wasn't even that tired, physically speaking. She was tired of being ignored. Many other Ravenclaws ignored her. She was quiet, and it wasn't that they didn't get along, or that she was bullied. She never made the effort to talk to them, so they didn't make the effort to talk to her. The houses were quite divided at Hogwarts, so she didn't particularly expect the others to reach out to her. Why did she try to reach out to a Slytherin of all people? She and Dinora were no longer truly friends, but she could have found anyone else to talk to. A nice Ravenclaw boy, or a sweet Hufflepuff. She couldn't fathom how Severus Snape had drawn her attention. He had made an effort to be polite to her because Lily had asked him too, she was sure. He was usually rude, behavior she could tell was a front to deal with the bullying he had dealt with through the years. She wasn't really surprised by his rudeness; she was more surprised she had expected differently. Without Lily breathing down his neck, she couldn't expect him to put up a kind front. Lily was always the forefront of his thoughts, and Anthea was truly realizing she wouldn't be able to change that.

The two were internally fuming, a stark contrast to their clasped hands. Their fingers curled naturally around each other, unnoticed by the flustered couple. Severus remained silent as Anthea rapidly read the book spines. The store had rearranged slightly since her last visit, and she was finding it difficult to find the section she was looking for. She huffed as another case proved to be lacking what she was searching for. Agitated, Severus tugged on her hand. "What is it you are looking for? I'll help you find it," he offered, though his voice was tight and his pull rough. She frowned at him, a flash of fire lighting her face briefly at the rough treatment. She glared at him for a moment, lips tightly sealed, before unpursing them to answer.

"It's a potions book. Odila Ostensen's Natural Brews for the Not Naturally Gifted." She mumbled, face red. Severus raised his brows at her, shocked. While it was an obscure title, he knew it to be a tome consulted to build potion skills if one did not have the inborn talent. He'd read a bit of it once himself, in Slughorn's office, and found it full of things he'd already thought of but hadn't made it to the potions textbooks they used in class; alternative ways to prepare ingredients, common and safe substitutes for harder-to-find creatures, and other such shortcuts. He wondered why in Merlin's name Anthea would require such a text. She was doing fine in her potions class, albeit very by the book. Slughorn hardly paid her any attention, though he paid very few any mind at all.

Anthea could see the surprise and wonder on his face, and averted her eyes. "I like potions a great deal. Its the most useful subject I've seen, and the most interesting. But I'm not... inventive in it. I'm bland, as was written back on my last essay. I want to improve, to be as good at it as you," she admitted, tensing as she waited for laughter. It was unheard of for a Ravenclaw to need help in a subject, but there she was, looking for a cheat book. She felt ashamed after she voiced her reason out loud, and embarrassed. She did hear a slight chuckle, and bit her lip, trying to to cry. She had only been openly mocked once before, and it marked the fallout with Dinora.

"If you wanted help, you could have asked me, instead of buying a rubbish book. Its a lot cheaper and easier, at least," he said, smiling. It was strange how her simple confession and embarrassment had calmed him down enough to smile, let alone joke. It was endearing that she cared that much about it, and admired his strength in the art. He knew it wasn't the easiest subject. It was arguably one of the hardest, but that was why he so enjoyed it: it was a challenge he excelled at.

Anthea eyed him warily. His mood had been sour for a while, and the sudden change of demeanor had been startling. She wasn't sure what to make of it, but his smile was warm and genuine, so she felt less mocked and more accepted, and ventured a small smile back. The tensity melted between them.

"You wouldn't mind helping me?" she asked, shy smile threatening to fade. Severus lightly squeezed her hand. "Not at all."

Their hearts had warmed towards each other slightly. Severus was oddly excited about the prospect of tutoring, and Anthea was happy he agreed to tutor her. The browsed Tomes and Scrolls leisurely, occasionally leafing through a book, and both made a couple of purchases before strolling back outside. They felt a little more at ease, though still quiet, as they continued walking outside.

"Do you have a favorite color?" Anthea asked out of the blue as they leisurely walked outside of Hogsmeade. It was still a couple of hours until the carriages would leave for the end of the trip, and a while yet until they were to meet with Lily and James. Severus glanced at her, brow raised, before trying to think of a response.

"Red, I'd have to say. Laugh all you want that a Slytherin likes red, but it's a strong color. It's passionate," he explained, his face threatening to turn the color he had named. "Why? And what is yours?" he asked, amused by her smile at his response.

"When is your birthday? And my favorite color happens to be blue, with no affiliation to my house. I always liked blue. It was the color of my Dad's eyes, and Mum's birthstone," she mused, pointedly ignoring part of his question. She smiled fondly, eyes misty for a moment before shaking her head slightly. "I didn't expect red," she admitted, giving him a cheeky grin, but Severus had still caught on to her use of a past tense.

"Again, why? Its in January, so it's still a few months away. That sounds very sentimental. Might I ask why you say it was the color of your father's eyes?" he asked, sounding as light as possible. She smiled sadly, letting out a little laugh. "He died, when I was eleven. It was just before school, actually. He was a good man, a good wizard, but he crossed some bad wizards. They never found him," she said, voice soft and distant. She stopped walking, and Severus halted as well.

"I'm sorry for your loss... I shouldn't have brought it up, I apologize," he said, caught off guard by her open response, but she shook her head. "It's fine, really. I'm proud of him for being brave against cruel wizards. They killed him for marrying a muggle, for marrying my Mum," she said, giving even further insight to her past. She paused a moment, her eyes starting to water as sadness and anger threatened to overwhelm her. She mumbled an apology, turning slightly away to wipe at her eyes. Without thinking, Severus pulled her towards him and embraced her with one arm, their hands still connected. While he had never, ever, been a hugger, something about Anthea's revelation and subsequent threat of emotion overwhelming her made him reach out. Anthea didn't know how to react for a moment, but timidly wrapped her arm around him in turn. A long moment passed between them, the sun rapidly sinking, before it was interrupted by loud giggling.

Severus and Anthea pulled back from each other quickly, turning to see a highly amused Lily Evans dragging along a flustered James Potter.

"Oh, how adorable!" Lily cooed as she approached the red-faced couple, despite James's protests. He was clearly uncomfortable intruding on their moment, mostly due to actually overhearing some of the conversation unlike the chatty Lily. He tried to whisper to her to get her to leave, but she chose to ignore him, far too happy with her plan coming together to care about propriety. She took Anthea's arm and led her and Severus back towards Hogsmeade, James muttering darkly as he followed.

"By the way, lovebirds, the charm only lasted an hour," she said with a cheeky grin as Severus and Anthea looked at her with wide eyes. Severus's annoyance came quickly back to him, and Anthea was feeling more than bothered as well. James had managed to recapture Lily and take her off Anthea's arm before they reached the Hog's Head, and the quartet took a booth together, one couple on each side. It was awkwardly quiet, and Severus and Anthea were still bothered about the interruption of a private moment.

"So, how was your day in Hogsmeade, you two? Have a good time on your date?" Lily asked, sounding as motherly as ever.

"It was incredibly awkward and forceful, finally redeemed and then interrupted at the most inopportune moment. I'd say it went splendidly," Severus all but snarled, voice calm but tone biting. Anthea flinched at his harsh words initially, until she realized he admitted it was starting to go well. She allowed herself a small smile at his sarcasm. Lily, however, looked slighted, and her jaw fell open.

"Severus...!" she exclaimed, offended. James stood abruptly.

"Listen, ingrate, it's only for Lily that I've laid off. She's been nothing but kind to you, even finding some obviously deranged woman to agree to date the sorry excuse for a wizard you are, but I'll be damned--" James started to rant, but Anthea cut in.

"How dare you speak to Severus or myself in such a manner! Lily might be trying to be kind, but she has been pushy and inconsiderate all week towards me and towards Severus. It was unnecessary and unwanted, and you will not be rude on top of that. Besides, Severus is a brilliant wizard and potioneer, and I am hardly deranged for recognizing and admiring that fact, one you would do well to respect," Anthea unfurled all her fury and frustration at James. His insults had been too much to bear, and she finally snapped.

The whole pub grew silent, eyes on the disruptive booth. James stared at the usually quiet girl in awe, at a loss for words. Severus was stunned. No one had ever defended him in such a way, without insults being thrown about from both sides. James recovered quickly from the shock, however, and gave a snide retort.

"Brilliant wizard? As if. Inventive, yeah, but what sort of wizard is he? All the makes are dark spells fit for only Death Eaters, like his pathetic friends. He's going to join them too, and be no better than those Death Eaters that killed your father. Hell, he'd probably kill you if Voldemort asked. He's a coward and had to have a girl fight for him like usual," he sneered. Anthea went white, and started to tremble.

"You don't know what you are talking about..." she started to stutter, while Lily began to berate James for being too cruel. Anthea quickly left the scene, running outside while tears stung her cheeks. She hadn't told anyone about her father, and she wasn't from an affluent family that would have made news with a death; casualties of the war rarely did. There were too many. She approached a carriage and climbed in, ignoring her name being called. Severus caught up to her, though, and slid in the carriage with her.

"He's a liar, Severus," she said quietly, voice broken from her sobs. She wasn't used to cruel people. Severus sat opposite her, looking quite pained. He was used to James being a bully, and was enraged that Anthea had gotten caught up in it. He couldn't help but feel guilty, however, at some of the truth in James's words. He would never kill her. Not even on order. But, he couldn't deny that he wanted to become a Death Eater, to join affluent ranks of wizards and serve the Dark Lord. He made curses and hexes and some were dangerous. They were part of the Dark Arts that so enthralled him.

"Not entirely. Perhaps we should talk everything out, and clear up what was said. It'll be a while to Hogwarts," he said, and let the carriage take off towards the school.
- 5
- 6
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To Love Another