Sasha sat by the lake with her book but she wasn't reading. She was watching him again. He was a Slytherin like her, but two years older. He didn't know she watched him because she was sure he didn't know she existed. She had been watching though, for the last four years in fact, since she had started at Hogwarts, two years behind him.

It had started when she noticed him in the common room. He was so odd that he was kind of impossible not to notice. He was always alone, and almost always had his long nose in a book, with that greasy looking long black hair covering his face like a curtain. Nobody else had seemed to notice him at all, which puzzled her.

She had figured out quickly that he was not a popular person, and not just to the other houses but in Slytherin as well. For some reason if anyone paid him much attention at all it was as a target. There were a few Slytherin boys like Avery and Mulciber who would occasionally associate with him, but it was usually when they were going to do something nasty to someone and needed ideas. Sometimes Lucius Malfoy, the Slytherin Head Boy would talk to him as well, but as far as Sasha could tell, that was mostly to ask him for favors and send him on errands.

The worst thing as far as she was concerned, was the apparent grudge held against him by a group of Gryffindor boys from his year. They were constantly harassing and hexing him every chance they got. It seemed their greatest goal in life was the utter and total humiliation of this boy, Severus Snape.

The combination of his intriguing appearance and the sympathy that Sasha couldn't help but feel for this lonely quiet person had developed over the years into a rather spectacular crush. She didn't dare tell anyone, naturally, that she had a made a hobby of watching the school outcast. Only her best friend Adrianne knew her secret, and though she did occasionally tease her for it, she wasn't cruel.

Today, he was sitting in one of his usual spots by a tree, and he appeared to be making notes in his potions book.

Always alone. Wish I could find a reason to talk to you and then you'd have some company she thought sadly. She may be a Slytherin, but she wasn't heartless.

"Snape!" It was Potter and his gang again. Lovely.

Like sharks picking up the scent of blood, a gaggle of students stopped what they were doing to come over and watch.

Before Severus could get to his feet and have his wand ready to defend himself, Potter disarmed him. This was going to get ugly.

Sasha jumped as a hand grabbed her shoulder. It was Adrianne. "Come on, you don't want to see this" she said. "Let's go inside."

"Why does he do that? Why do they do that?" she stammered, the usual rage growing.

The object of her affection was being dangled upside down again.

"They're Gryffindors and he's a Slytherin, plus he's… well he's different. Not everybody finds that as attractive as you do I'm afraid. C'mon, let's go."

Sasha stood up but didn't walk with Adri. "What if they try to take his trousers off again? I can't just walk away and let them keep doing this shite."

"Oh yes, that's right, what every sixteen year old boy wants is to be rescued in front of a quarter of the school by a fourteen year old girl while his nemesis is removing his trousers" Adrianne quipped, rolling her eyes.

Sasha knew she had a point, but when she looked over and saw Potter drop him hard twice only to suspend him again with a bleeding and probably broken nose she decided she'd had enough. Too many times had she seen this sort of garbage happen to him over the years, and it just wasn't right.

She drew her wand "Expelliarmus!" Potter's wand flew from his hand, and unfortunately Severus crashed to the ground once again. At least now he had time to snatch his own wand off the ground.

Potter spun towards Sasha, glaring. "Got yourself a filthy Slytherin girlfriend do you Snivellus?" he asked nastily. "Why don't you mind your own business" he spat at her.

A boy in his gang who Sasha knew to be called Lupin grabbed Potter's sleeve and whispered something to him. Another one of their group had retrieved his wand and handed it to him.

"You're lucky I don't hex girls" Potter said, before he turned and stalked off with his chuckling mates.

Severus had his wand raised to throw a curse at his tormentor's back, but apparently thought better of it and started to walk towards the castle instead. He stopped on his way past Sasha and gave her a curious (and frankly irritated) look before he continued on.

Adrianne snickered. "Aw, no thank you?"

He turned and glared at her, then kept walking.

"Oh Adri shut up!" Sasha said, giving her friend a swat. "Let him be. He'll be headed for the hospital wing I imagine. Damn arrogant Gryffindor pigs" she grumbled. "Do you think he hates me for doing that?"

Adrianne laughed. "I don't know. He didn't hex you, that's a start." An evil grin slowly formed on her face. "You know, this could be your chance to finally talk to him. You could go to the hospital wing and check on him… introduce yourself…"

Sasha's eyes got wide. "Are you mad? What shall I say? 'Oh hello I'm the fourth year who just embarrassed you even more in front of a load of people, how're you feeling?' Would that do?"

Adri laughed harder. "Sure! It's better than just slinking back into nonexistence and watching him from afar again. He's only here for one more year then you'll never see him again and after all this time I can't believe you would want to waste what could be your only opportunity to at least talk to him."

She had a point. Sasha hadn't really ever thought about that. Would she really go through her entire school career being totally arse over teacups for him and never even get to speak to him? That just wouldn't do at all. Four years was long enough, and Adri was right, she only had a year and a half left now. That wasn't a very long time for the torrid love affair she'd always imagined.

"You're right" she said. "Let's go."

He was in fact in the hospital wing when they got there. Madam Pomfrey had apparently fixed his nose, and was now running her wand over his left wrist.

"What can I do for you girls?" she asked, not looking up from her task.

Her patient did look however, and leveled another fierce glare in their direction.

Sasha swallowed. "Well, we just wanted…" His look was so full of venom that she felt like melting into the floor. Maybe this was a mistake, but she was in it now, so she decided to follow it through. "We wanted to see if Severus was all right."

Much to her relief, his glare softened and become a look of extreme confusion instead. Confusion was better than hatred. Adrianne elbowed her in the ribs.

Madam Pomfrey stared at them for a few seconds, looking very surprised, then a little smile appeared on her face. "Oh he'll be right as rain in just a moment. Had a broken nose and a sprained wrist, but we're nearly done here."

Severus himself didn't say a word; he just kept staring at Sasha like she'd grown horns or something. She smiled at him, hoping that it might help. It just made him look even more confused.

She looked at Adrianne, wondering if they should just go, but Adri gave her a shove towards the bed he was sitting on and she nearly stumbled into Madam Pomfrey.

Glaring at Adrianne, Sasha sat down on the bed next to him and watched. Madam Pomfrey was still wearing that strange little smile, and Severus was blushing furiously.

Once his wrist was declared healed, and he was given his instructions on keeping it that way, he was told he could go. Madam Pomfrey walked away from them quickly, and Sasha thought she heard her chuckling softly. She put a hand on Adrianne's shoulder and steered her out of the room with her.

"Um… so…." Sasha wasn't sure what the hell she should say, and she wondered why the Matron had taken Adri out with her when she certainly could have used some moral support.

He gave her a wary look, and she sighed.

"Sorry if I was out of line out there" she said quietly. "I know you didn't need any help, I just can't stand that Potter and his lot. I couldn't resist the chance to knock him down a peg." She knew how the pride of boys worked, and she wasn't actually lying to him, just adjusting the truth to make it a little easier for him to swallow.

It seemed to work. He nodded. "It's all right" he said. "I can't blame you for that."

"I'm Sasha Innes" she said, and held out her hand.

He looked at it like it might bite him, but after a few awkward seconds he shook it briefly. "I know" he said. "Fourth year. I'm Severus Snape."

She grinned. "I know. Sixth year."

He smirked.

"I feel we as Slytherins should stick together anyway" she said. "It just makes good sense."

Severus said nothing, and she knew that he probably was thinking that she seemed to be the only Slytherin who had ever cared much for "sticking together" with him. The others didn't seem to pay him much mind unless they needed something.

"Well, I should go and find my friend" she said, though she really didn't want the moment to end, he seemed decidedly un-chatty. "I'll see you around I'm sure." She stood up to go.

"Yes, see you around" he said, much to her surprise, and when she turned to look at him again he actually gave her a little half smile.

Sasha found Adrianne outside, and as soon as they met up Adri had just as much to tell as Sasha did.

"That was hilarious!" she gushed. "You wouldn't believe what Madam Pomfrey told me. She said he's in there all the time with various wounds from those bloody Gryffindors. Besides that though, I found out why she was acting so strange in there. She thought that if you'd come to see him you must fancy him." Adri grinned evilly. "Of course I told her you did in fact fancy the pants right off him and she thought that was fantastic."

"Adri!" Sasha smacked her arm.

"She said that it's a shame to see him so lonely all the time and she hopes you two get together so he'll quit being such a sourpuss. I told her you disarmed Potter and she asked me to thank you from her personally because she can't abide bullies. So, there's that anyway."

Sasha sighed and shook her head. "You're awful."

"Naturally" Adrianne snickered. "Anyway, never mind that, how did it go?"

"Not bad I suppose. He sort of smiled at me a little, and I got to shake his hand. That was nice, finally getting to touch him after four whole years of nothing but torturous watching."

Adri clapped her hands excitedly. "Good for you Sasha! Now we just have to wait till Potter lands him in the hospital wing again and maybe you can get a date."

As it turned out, the next time Sasha met up with Severus it was his turn to rescue her. Apparently a few of the Gryffindor girls had witnessed her disarming James Potter in defense of Severus and they decided it to be a declaration of war.

"Just who do you think you are anyway? Typical slimy Slytherin sticking up for your slimy friend, as if he doesn't deserve what he gets. I suppose you're up to your eyeballs in the dark arts as well are you?" A slightly chubby blonde had her wand up to Sasha's throat in the stairwell on the way to the potions classroom.

Sasha knew if she reached for her own wand she would get herself cursed for sure. She hadn't been expecting the attack, or she would have been better prepared.

"Oh I suppose he deserves to be harassed just because James Potter has a vendetta and everybody knows Potter's omnipotent so his word is gold" she snapped, rolling her eyes.

The blonde looked to her friends, obviously confused. "What's that mean?" she asked furiously. "Don't you dare talk about James like that!"

Sasha heard a low snicker from behind her.

"What's so funny freak?" the girl asked nastily.

Sasha risked a glance and saw it was Severus. He came to her side and had his wand drawn so fast it shocked her, as well as the Gryffindor girls. They found themselves in what Sasha's father would have called a Mexican standoff.

"Lower your wand and I'll lower mine" he hissed. "I don't like hexing girls but I will if I have to."

The blonde glared daggers at him but she lowered her wand. She and her friends scurried up the stairs, obviously afraid now that it wasn't just Sasha by herself.

"Thanks" she said. Feeling bold, she stood on her tiptoes to give him a little smooch on the cheek. He smelled nice, a bit like tea tree oil.

His normally pale face was instantly red, and he looked a bit sick. She hoped she hadn't scared him by being too forward, but she couldn't forget Adri's warning about wasting too much time.

"Y..you're welcome" he stuttered a little, before regaining his composure. "Like you said, as Slytherins we should stick together. I can't believe at their age they don't know what omnipotent means" he sneered. "Even for Gryffindors that's rather pathetic."

She grinned. "Yes it is. Well, I'd better get to potions class before I'm late or Slughorn will have my hide."

He nodded. "Of course." He looked at his feet, then back up to her. "If you should have any more trouble with those girls, or anyone… let me know. I'd like to help."

"Oh I'm not worried about them. They caught me by surprise today but that won't happen again" she said, smiling wickedly. "I'm more worried about potions class honestly; I'm a complete disgrace at potions and with only a few weeks left in the year I'm afraid I don't have much hope of improving."

Severus met her eyes for a moment. She thought she could get lost in those black pools. "I could tutor you if you'd like" he offered quietly. "Potions are my best subject."

Oh this is too good to be true she thought, biting her lip to keep from grinning. "That would be great Severus, thank you."

He smirked, but it wasn't unkindly. "Meet me in the common room tonight an hour before dinner. We'll go over what you need to work on" he said.

Sasha reached out and grabbed his hand for a second, giving it a little squeeze. "Thanks! I'll be there" she said, before she took off at a run down the stairs to slip into Slughorn's class before she was late.

Severus was waiting in the common room with his collection of potions books stuffed into his schoolbag when she arrived. She was a little bit late because she had been feeling a bit nauseous from nerves and she needed a pep talk from Adrianne. The thought of being tutored in her worst subject from the boy she had adored for all these years had her completely petrified. Of course it was also an excellent opportunity to get to know him better, and it was an exciting thought… The more she thought about it the sicker she seemed to feel. She couldn't believe she'd plucked up the courage to peck his cheek earlier. The memory made her dizzy.

He looked up to see her come in and she felt her knees going wobbly. "Sorry I'm late" she said, hating how her voice squeaked.

Severus shrugged. "It doesn't matter" he said. "Nobody's ever in here much this time of night, so I thought it would be quiet enough to get something done. I brought some books. What are you working on now?"

She sat down next to him on the black leather sofa. "He's got us on sleeping potions this week. Mine didn't work, as usual."

Sasha noticed the amused little smile that flickered on his lips. "Well we'll see if we can fix that eh? I can show you how to make a draught that could knock out a fully grown mountain troll for a week with one drop."

She laughed. "Fantastic, I'll give some to Slughorn. He can't fail me if he's out cold for the rest of the term."

Her tutor chuckled, and her heart started to beat faster. I made him laugh she thought.

"Slughorn's not so bad" he said. "He doesn't hold failure against anyone but he doesn't have time for those who give in to it. If you pay attention to what I show you I can have you in the Slug Club in no time."

By dinnertime she was totally convinced that he was right. He copied down a recipe for her that he promised would get her a more than satisfactory sleeping draught complete with extra side notes that were not included in any of the instruction books. He said they were things he had discovered on his own in his efforts to achieve a more perfect brew, and he told her that she was the only person who knew about any of them other than himself. She was pleased with the idea of finally getting ahead in potions class, but more than that she was completely thrilled that her crush had shared his own secret notes with her.

"Thanks Severus. I'm sure there's more you could be doing with your time than walking a fourth year through her potions."

He shrugged, thinking to himself that he was glad she didn't know that in truth all he would have been doing was re-reading one of his books or re-working hexes alone in his room.

"Well it's time to get up to dinner" she commented. "You should come and sit with Adri and me."

His eyes widened with apparent surprise and she felt silly.

"I know you probably don't want to be seen with a couple of fourth years…"

Severus spoke up quickly "No I don't mind." Inwardly he cursed himself for sounding too eager. "Your friend though, will she?" he asked.

Sasha laughed. "Nope. Adri's got a big mouth at times but she's all right. She's a good one to know. Slytherin as it gets is our Adrianne, which is what I love best about her."

Much to her delight he walked to dinner with her and did in fact sit down next to her at the Slytherin table. Adrianne wasn't there yet, and when she came and plopped down next to Sasha she didn't realize that she very nearly landed in Severus' lap. He slid out of the way just in time.

"So how did it go?" Adri asked eagerly.

Sasha's eyes were as wide as the plates on the table. "Merlin's bloody beard Adri you almost sat on Severus."

Adrianne turned around slowly, and seeing him there, looking at her like she was completely stark raving mad, she burst into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

His eyes narrowed, and leaning around her, he said to Sasha "I think I might go and sit with Avery, but I'll see you tomorrow night and we'll get started with that sleeping potion."

Sasha shot Adri a furious look and her laughing friend went on emergency damage control. "Oh hey, don't go because I'm a complete idiot. Sorry I almost sat on you I guess I should pay more attention." She hopped up and went to sit on the other side of Sasha. To make room for herself there she shoved her friend closer to Severus.

He still looked irritated (and a little uneasy) but at least he didn't get up. Neither he nor Sasha said hardly two words all through dinner, in spite of Adri continually elbowing her in the ribs to get her to say something.

Afterwards he quietly said goodnight to Sasha and once again cast a suspicious and slightly disgusted look at Adrianne and then he headed off to the Slytherin boys' dormitory.

Finally able to interrogate Sasha as she'd been waiting to Adrianne heaved an impatient sigh. "Well that was a disaster, but how did it go earlier? Did he talk to you at all then at least?"

Sasha glared at her. "Well obviously. How do you think I managed to get him sitting here? It was fine till you scared him off, and then he clammed right up and didn't hardly even eat anything. You're not making this any easier for me you know!"

Adri laughed. "Yeah we can't be putting him off his feed he hasn't got any weight to spare has he? Nearly disappears when he turns sideways as it is. Did you get a kiss?"

Sasha snorted. "Are you serious? I consider it a triumph that I can talk to him now without feeling like I could be sick on his shoes. He's tutoring me in potions, and believe it or not there isn't much call for kissing in that subject unfortunately. I think he's really going to help my grade though, anyway."

"Your grade? Honestly girl you get the boy you've been obsessing over for years alone and you're thinking about your bloody potions grade? You should've been snogging him silly. Honestly I worry about you Sasha. Where's your Slytherin ambition?"

Sasha sighed. As much as she would have liked to have spent that hour snogging the object of her affection she had a feeling that it was going to take a bit more time and effort to get to that point, if she ever did at all.

"Adri I can't exactly just jump on him can I? Besides, compared to what I was doing before, staring at him and wishing for a chance to even say hello, I think I'm doing pretty well now. Believe me I'm not giving up, but even if it never goes any farther than having him teaching me potions it's still better than nothing."