Severus Snape

That masquerade ball was nothing more than another event he didn't want to attend, but his mother insisted, and he only agreed after inviting Lily Evans.

Perhaps the night wouldn't be so bad if he could dance with her. But Lily wouldn't stop talking about James Potter. Severus suggested they dance together, and although she refused, he convinced her with one condition: if a girl rejected him, she would dance with him. Determined to fail, he approached a girl who was turning down invitations. An ethereal figure in a white dress and a matching mask. He expected a "no," but what he received was an extended hand.

The waltz began, and for the first time in a long while, Severus Snape felt comfortable, as if the world weren't waiting for him to make a mistake.
"You don't seem like someone who enjoys these kinds of events."
"I don't," Severus replied honestly.
"Then why did you come?"
"Obligation; perhaps something akin to a punishment."
"And am I part of the punishment, Severus?"
"I don't know yet," he answered, surprisingly, without a hint of sarcasm.

She gave him a genuine smile, as if she felt no need to impress anyone.
"By the way, since it seems you know me, shouldn't you at least tell me your name?"
"I only know what you show... and it isn't much. Besides, you would know my name if you paid more attention to your surroundings instead of just analyzing coldly."

At the end of the dance, she left, but not before winking at him, leaving him bewildered. The next day, Severus couldn't get the stranger in the white dress out of his head. It wasn't love, that much was clear, for he loved only Lily, but there was something about her that had shaken him more than he wanted to admit.
Lost in his thoughts, as he turned a corner in a hallway, he bumped into a girl; obviously, he wouldn't apologize despite being the one at fault.
"You should pay more attention to your surroundings."
He wasn't surprised by the fact that she scolded him, but rather that it was the same voice and gaze as the mysterious girl from the ball.

Could it be a coincidence? Magic? Destiny?