HP: A Misdirected Cycle

Arlina Catherine Cavendish doesn't know how to continue down the long road of life:

My dear friend will quietly grow old;

The family member within my reach will point a sword at me;

The one I pursue in love will give me everything I crave, only to abandon me for the sake of his own desires.

When I smile, a curse clings to me like a maggot to bone;

When I cry, loneliness is an old friend who has stayed for years.

When everything is wiped clean and returned to the beginning, what should I choose?

Severus Snape remembers only the two happiest moments of his life:

The first was in 1969, when he met a red-haired girl with emerald-green eyes;

The other came before that, in the summer of 1968. When he was in dire straits, Catherine Cavendish reached out to help him, and he met a mysterious professor who looked very young.

Then everything turned to bubbles one night in 1981. From that moment on, he no longer had a best friend;

And Catherine vanished before his eyes, taking the secrets he was too ashamed to speak of to the grave.

If we meet again, will I still recognize your eyes?

This is a story born within a Mobius strip, about two encounters between an unpopular-looking boy with an equally unappealing personality, and an eccentric, unconventional, "young" Slytherin. "Every meeting in this world is a reunion after a long separation." It's a story about love and being loved.

Content warning: The professor has his appearance from the original work. There are author additions and OOC. Please don't read if that's not your thing!

Pairing: Professor × original female protagonist Arlina Cavendish. Both are Slytherins. No bashing of any house or character.

The heroine has an East Asian appearance due to her ancestral heritage. A curse has kept her looking 17. She dislikes exercise and going out. Her complexion is pale, and becomes deathly white when she's unwell. She is 162.5 cm tall. On the surface, she's easygoing and a little spacey, but in truth she's fiercely protective of those she cares about and never lets an insult go unanswered. She loves studying charms and potions, is pure-blood, and hates following others or obeying orders. She secretly considers herself superior, is lazy, and likes partners with Hufflepuff-like qualities. She also has a hidden mad-scientist streak and thinks in ways unlike ordinary people. She's a frequent user of the Unforgivable Curses.

Wand: Ebony, thestral tail hair core, nine and three-quarter inches, very flexible.

All credit goes to Ms. Rowling and Harry Potter; any shortcomings belong to the foolish author. The characters' appearances and wand lore are based on Pottermore. Everyone is welcome to chat in the comments!

Check out the author's upcoming novel, HP: Stars and Violets, starring Sirius Black, with a revenge arc in preparation.

Theme: Staying true to your beliefs is the soul's true salvation