Embers | S. Black

4.

May, 1975 - June 1976

Amara and Severus walked through the abandoned corridors of the 7th floor, they had been looking for a place to study for their upcoming exams but found the library full of 5th years studying vigorously for their OWLs.

"What about the tree by the lake?" suggested Severus

"No, it'll be dark by the time we actually get there." she responded slightly frustrated at the situation, "Sev, do you think OWLs are really that bad, I mean you saw the Library, they were all glued to their books. Kind of a scary sight if I ever saw one" She asked worriedly

Severus laughed softly, "Trust me, first we'll have to survive Mcgonagall's exam before we even think about OWLs."

"Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if she turned us into rats if we fail-'' Amara began to joke, but was cut off when a large door with an intricate design began forming on the wall beside them.

The pair looked at each other with confused looks for a few moments before turning their attention to the door. Slowly, they moved toward it, simultaneously looking around the empty corridor to see if anyone else had seen the door appear. When Amara opened the door, her face turned to one of astonishment. Inside was exactly what they needed. A large library filled with hundreds of books on shelves, two chairs sitting on opposite sides of a wooden table.

"What is this room?" asked Amara looking around at the various books

"I don't know, but i'm not complaining" Severus said, equally as mesmerized

They sat for about an hour studying. Amara was in the middle of testing Severus on the transfiguration concepts, but he seemed distracted.

"Okay, that's the fourth question you've gotten wrong in a row. What's wrong?" she asked him, closing her book

"Nothing, I mean - I don't know - it's just - it's Lily. I don't think she notices me." he said woefully, looking down so his hair was in his eyes

"Of course she notices you, you're friends." she tried, but he sat silently in the same position, "But, you haven't stopped talking about Lily for the last four years. I know she's my best friend, but you really need to just get over her." Amara said, rolling her eyes. Every time they got together to study, they ended up talking about Lily and it was starting to frustrate her.

"Easy for you to say, you're constantly getting propositioned by guys." He said accusingly

"Propositioned? What are we in the 1920s? Anyway, that's simply not true and you know it. Sirius just likes to mess around, as for the other guys, there were only two. I would hardly say it was constant" She responded, pompously, a small smirk playing on her lips.

Chuckling, Severus said, "yeah, well, I don't think I could just forget about her. It's not that easy." his face hanging low again.

"Obviously," she drawled, referring to his constant complaining. Amara looked at him for a moment before an idea formed in her mind. She stood up from her chair and walked to the side of the table, "stand up" he looked at her with a confused look, "come on, stand up" he rose from his own chair and walked to stand in front of her. She looked up at his dark eyes, put her hand on his cheek and leaned in. Severus was surprised at first, but gave in when he felt her breath on his lips. They moved synchronously together. Their eyes closed, his hands on her hip, hers on his cheek and neck. It wasn't a long kiss, but it wasn't short either.

"If that doesn't make you forget her, I don't know what will," she said, pulling away, trying to keep the situation light. Amara didn't want the kiss to become a big deal between them, rather, she just wanted him to shut up about Lily already, "come on, I think if we leave now we can still make it to dinner" she said checking her watch

But Severus stood stunned, he was still trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. At the mention of leaving, he grabbed her hand and pulled her back. Staring into her eyes, and then initiating another kiss. This became their new habit when studying in the secret room for the next year. Of course, Severus never stopped loving Lily through all of it, and Amara knew this, but the moments they shared together were easy and light; neither seemed to deem it as anything serious

Suddenly, everything changed. Amara was in Hagrid's shack asking him questions to supplement her studying for the Care of Magical Creature's OWL, when suddenly the door burst open. Lily's long red hair flowed behind her as her equally red face, now full of tears, appeared at the massive entrance. Amara instantly got up from her seat and began to ask her what was wrong, guiding her to sit, while Hagrid began making tea in the massive cauldron above the fire. After Lily told Amara the story, her blood was boiling. Her face red with anger, heart thumping loudly and rapidly. She waited until Lily was calm enough to walk back to the dormitories, and then set off to find Severus.

She strut through the great hall when she found him. Her eyes fiery, nostrils flaring, and her feet moving faster than she could think. Grabbing him by his robes, she pulled him out of his seat and yelled, "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Maybe you should ask your little Gryffindor friends since they seem to have all the answers," he said annoyed by her outburst.

"Oh, don't even try to make excuses right now. This is not about any of them and you know it," she said looking at the Slytherin table that had been watching her, "you should choose your friends more wisely, Severus, or else you won't have any left," she warned, referring to his recent befriending of the pure-blood Slytherins. They stared at each other, both feeling extreme emotions until finally, she pushed past him and whispered "arsehole" in his ear, before leaving the great hall.

    Amara awoke startled. She pushed her hair out of her face and turned to look at the clock on her wall. She sighed, remembering her dream. The events of her years in school played out perfectly in her subconscious. It was hard to relive, even if it was just in her mind.

A/N: Hello!! First of all, I want to thank all of my readers, I hope you liked this chapter! I know it's short, but I really wanted to give a little flashback into Amara's school days and the actual background/history between Snape and Amara (;

Second, I've been trying to come up with an updating schedule. Since I started working again and I'm studying for the LSAT, I really need my life to be structured and scheduled, so I've decided that I'll update either Wednesday's or Friday's.