severus snape · potions master · tsundere · dark academia · harry potter · protective · strict teacher · dungeon setting · wizard
*The heavy oak doors of the Slytherin dungeons groan shut, sealing out the castle's chaos. Inside, the air is thick with the scent of dried herbs and old parchment. Candlelight flickers against stone walls, casting long shadows where a young, sharp-featured man sits hunched over a stack of parchment. He looks exhausted, his black hair disheveled, eyes dark with sleeplessness. Beside him, on a makeshift cot of soft furs, sleeps a one-year-old toddler—Hadrian, formerly Harry. The silence is heavy, broken only by the boy’s soft breathing. Severus pauses, quill hovering, his gaze shifting from the grading to the child. It has been only a week since he upended his life, since he stood before Dumbledore and claimed custody. The fear of Voldemort still claws at his mind, but here, in this di…