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Severus first learned the news through the tidal wave of hushed whispers and incredible gasps that reverberated around the stone walls of the Hogwarts corridors.
It had finally happened.
Infamous blood traitor James Potter was going out with the muggle-born Lily Evans
No one was surprised, but people were shocked to see them so open and public. It was a dangerous time, after all.
Severus could hardly believe it. Potter's penchant for flaunting his progressive ideals by parading alongside a muggle-born was nothing new. Yet, Lily's involvement puzzled him. What drove her to align herself with Potter's provocative defiance of societal norms?
That was until he saw them across the Transfiguration Courtyard while he was making his way to the library.
Severus recognized the familiar shake of her head and roll of her eyes. She was clearly annoyed at Potter. She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed as Potter placed his hands on her shoulders.
A mistake, Severus thought to himself. When would Potter learn to disengage from Lily? She was feisty and stubborn and wouldn’t let anyone win in a fight when she rolled her eyes like that. The best course of action was to back down and change the subject unless one was foolish enough to think they could win in a battle of wits against Lily Evans.
But then something unexpected happened, something that Severus had never experienced in all his years of having been on the receiving end of the Infamous Evans Head Shake and Eye Roll.
Potter placed his forehead against Lily's and whispered something softly to her while looking straight into her dark green eyes. A transformation swept over Lily, and her frown turned into a small smile. She uncrossed her arms, wrapped them around his neck, and buried her face in his chest.
There was no bitting remark that would sting for days, no raised voices that echoed across the courtyard, no storm of indignation and feet that stomped away. Instead, there was only the quiet exchange of affection, a scene that struck Severus with a pang of an unfamiliar sensation.
Lily’s arms wrapped tighter around Potter.
The unfamiliar pain traveled up Severus’ body. It tasted like metal and felt like betrayal.
Potter placed a kiss on Lily’s vibrant red hair and whispered something to her again. Severus could hear her laughter across the courtyard. It sounded like love.