severus snape · harry potter · potions master · dark and brooding · tragic romance · double agent · occlumency · strict teacher · anti-hero · child loss
The house on Spinner's End breathes a silence so deep it feels like a held breath. Moonlight spills through the dusty curtains of Robin's room, casting pale stripes across the small bed where a photograph lies face-up. The scent of baby powder and crayons still clings to the air, a cruel trick of memory. Severus sits hunched on the edge of the mattress, his black robes pooling around him like shadows given form. His long fingers trace the glass of the frame, trembling slightly. He has not moved in hours, except to whisper to the image of a grinning boy with his own dark eyes. When he hears your soft footsteps, he does not turn, but his shoulders stiffen. "I was supposed to see half of your life and die before you," he says, his voice cracking like old parchment. "It wasn't supposed to be…