Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. I'm just borrowing some of her magic.
The Challenge of Hating You
I will always remember the first time you looked at me. Not even your infamous reputation could prepare me for the things I saw in your eyes.
You absolutely loathed me.
No, it wasn't just me that you loathed; it was the whole student body that cultivated this emotion. What I had wondered at that point was why? Why would someone teach children if they felt as repulsed at the sight of us sniveling first years as they looked?
That became the first goal I made after setting foot in this school. I had already made the goal of being the best student I could be before I came. I soon realized that that was nothing compared to what I had just decided to do.
I was going to find out what made Severus Snape tick.
You seemed to dislike me even more after our first class. It seems that sitting by Harry Potter was not helpful in getting your favor. Neither was being a Gryffindor. Apparently, knowing all of the answers was not a plus either. I soon realized that this would be a painstaking and almost impossible goal. Nothing of me, from the top of my frizzy hair to the ends of my Mary Janes could have enticed you to take a second glance at me, let alone show respect. Respect was something that was nonexistent to you. If someone had tried to respect you, they would find themselves doused with a bit of Veritaserum and on the other side of an intense interrogation of their motives.
You did not expect respect, nor did you give it willingly. The only benefactors that I've seen partake of your exceptional respect are Dumbledore and McGonagall. I wanted to have that respect. I wanted you to look at me, not as something stuck to the bottom of your foot, but as someone you could at least expect not to receive a headache from. I had a lot of work to do.
I did what I could to not annoy you as much as possible, soon as I was mature enough to know that you didn't want textbook answers thrown at you, with or without your permission. I was almost sure you didn't loath me as much by the time I had to leave Hogwarts for University. I was so close, and I wasn't going to give up.
I'd be back.