Sincerely yours I Severus Snape - A Harry Potter Fanfiction

The secret

A/N: Just a quick recommendation: If you need something to read between the publishing days, I have another story you might like. It is called Shadows in the Dark. There aren't many chapters yet but I am working on it as well. Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Ps. Is anyone else watching Eurovision? If you are, what are you favourites?

Mary was sitting on the edge of her bed, face covered in her sweaty hands. It was quiet. Completely quiet. Except for the sound of Mary's beating heart, echoing loudly, like a battle drum, in every corner of her aching body.

BANG

BANG

BANG

How could she be so stupid?

BANG

BANG

BANG

Why did she say it out loud?

BANG

BANG

BANG

Does he know?

"Does he know?" Mary whispered, unaware of the sleeping Slytherin's surrounding her. The light coming from the fireplace located in the common area shone through the arched entryway, urging Mary to leave the Girls' Dormitory.

"Does he know?" repeated Mary, her voice carrying in the night air as a silent hiss. A singular tear rolled down Mary's cheek, reflecting the memory of the previous hours and the way their weight hung heavily on Mary's chest.

"Mary?" a whisper coming behind Mary pulled her back to the present. Quickly, Mary tried to wipe the tears off her face, hiding all the evidence of her struggles.

"Yeah?" Mary replied, twisting her back so that she could see Clary's face. The girl was lying under the covers, only her open blue-grey eyes revealing the fact that she was actually awake.

"What's wrong?"

Mary didn't know what to say. She was still in shock. Noticing the troubled expression on Mary's face, Clary got up and sat on the edge of Mary's bed. Carefully, she took Mary's hand in hers and placed her other hand on top of it.

"What happened?" Clary asked and looked deeply into Mary's green eyes. "I didn't see you coming back. Did something happen with Snape?"

Mary sniffed as she let out a sarcastic laughter.

"I assume that is a yes", said Clary.

"Yeah", snorted Mary, placing her hands on her knees, trying to stop her legs from shaking. "I almost said it. Don't know he guessed it anyway."

Clary stared at Mary, a confused expression on her face. Clary had no clue what Mary was talking about. Mary sniffed again and wiped her nose.

"Turns out you were right. Both of you were", she said. Her eyes had once again wandered to her feet, trying to avoid the curious gaze of Clary's light eyes. Mary held her breath, unsure if she wanted to continue. To say it aloud. Because she knew that the moment, she would say it out loud, would make it true.

"I have a crush on him."

Mary's voice was heavy as she spoke. She explained everything that had happened in the Snape's classroom, how she had denied her feelings for him for a while, how she had been subconsciously pushing him away so that she wouldn't have to face the truth. The two girls remained quiet for a while, Clary nodding to herself as she pondered on Mary's words.

"I'm sorry", said Mary, breaking the serene silence capturing the Girls' Dormitory. Clary, who's eyes had been fixated somewhere far away, turned them back to Mary. Even though she had forgiven Mary, and she understood Mary couldn't control her feeling, she found it all still quite overwhelming. She didn't know how to be around Mary. So, given the situation, Clary came to a conclusion that the best thing to do was to just nod and squeeze Mary's hand.

"I understand", she whispered after holding Mary's hand for a couple of minutes. "What are you going to do?"

Mary threw herself back on her bed, slamming the pillow over her face.

"I don't know", she said, her voice being muffled by the pillow. Clary sighed, shook her head, and laid down next to her.

"Are you going to tell him?" Clary asked as she turned her face towards Mary, her brown locks tickling Clary's cheek.

The moment Mary heard Clary's question, she threw the pillow away and shot up, turning to look at Clary as if she had suggested that they should go and thrash the Headmaster's office.

"No! Never!" she hissed, lowering herself over Clary's body, "you have to understand, Snape can never know." The seriousness of Mary's voice sent shivers down Clary's spine. Of course, it was reasonable to not want the Potions Master finding out Mary's feeling for him.

"Clary?" Mary said, grabbing the girl's shoulder, "you got it, right? Don't tell him."

"Yeah, okay, I got it", Clary said.

"Don't ever tell him. No matter what happens, you won't tell him", Mary continued.

"I won't tell him."

"Promise me."

"I promise."

Mary and Clary stared into each other's eyes for a moment, until Mary got up and motioned Clary to get back to her own bed.

"I'm fine", Mary assured, crawling back to her own bed, as Clary glanced at her with worry-filled eyes.

"Okay, if you say so", muttered Clary before pulling the covers over her slender body.

Mary, who was still sitting on her bed, wiped her face a couple of times before laying her body on the bed. On that moment she remembered that she had thrown her pillow out of the bed, but she was too tired to care.

"I'll get it tomorrow", she mumbled before she closed her moss-green eyes and fell asleep.

****

On the morning of Saturday 23rd of February, Mary opened her eyes, meeting those of Clary Smith, her Slytherin comrade. As Mary stared into Clary's blue-grey eyes, their fellow Slytherin, Alison Murphy, yawned and crawled out of her bed. As she stood up and started making her way towards the cupboard located near her bed, she tripped into Mary's pillow and fell to the floor.

"What the...", the young Slytherin mumbled, rubbing her head as she tried to get up from the floor. Mary and Clary, startled by the rumble of Alison falling down, turned their heads towards the black-haired Slytherin.

"Are you alright, Ali?" asked Clary, getting up from her bed and giving her hand to the fallen Slytherin. Ali, who gladly grabbed Clary's hand, nodded, and pointed the pillow on the floor.

"I'm okay", she sighed, "I'm just wondering who's pillow that is."

Mary's cheeks turned red as Clary turned her pale gaze to her.

"It's mine", Mary admitted, quickly getting up and grabbing the pillow from the floor. Ali looked at Clary, a confused expression on her face, as Mary placed the pillow back to her bed.

"Hold on", Ali mumbled, a realization washing over her face. "I thought I heard something weird last night. I thought I was just dreaming." Mary's heart skipped a beat as she spun around to look at Ali. The possibility of not only Clary, but also Alison knowing that Mary had feelings for Professor Snape was terrifying. Clary might be able to keep a secret, as she had promised Mary last night, but what about Alison?

"What... What did you hear?" Mary asked, her heart beating heavily in her chest. The seconds felt like hours as Mary waited for Alison to response. A witty grin spread across Alison's face as she opened her mouth.

"Oh, was there something I shouldn't have heard?" she asked. Mary tried her best to remain calm, to not reveal Ali that inside, she was about to lose her mind. With great effort, Mary managed to smirk and laugh jokingly.

"Maybe... How much did you hear?" she said, a wide fake smile on her lips.

"Disappointing, but I believe I missed the tea. I heard some mumbling about Professor Snape and then you made Clary promise something, but that's all", the dark-haired Slytherin explained, giving Mary a "how disappointing" look. A relief washed over Mary's body. Her secret was safe.