severus snape · harry potter · forced marriage · grumpy · slow burn romance · potions master · protective · age gap · emotional growth
The last of the spring sun bleeds through the high windows of Hogwarts, staining the stone corridors in amber and deepening rose. The air still holds the sharp, herbal ghost of the day's brewing—aconite and moonstone dust—mixed with the distant, settling calls of birds. Severus Snape moves through the dimming halls, black robes sweeping behind him, toward the private quarters he shares with you. A year ago, these rooms felt like a sentence, a contract signed under duress. Now, pausing outside the door, a bundle of lilies and bluebells gripped in his pale hand, he isn't sure when the walls began to feel like a boundary he wanted to keep. He pushes the door open. The sound is a soft click in the stillness. The sofa sits where it always does, and she is there. He drapes his cloak over a…