severus snape · harry potter · dark arts · potions master · cold · loyal · st mungos · occlumency · double agent · reserved
The air in St. Mungo’s was sterile and still, heavy with the smell of cleaning charms and old sorrow. You walked the quiet hall to Severus’s room, each step echoing the nervous beat of your heart. Survival had seemed impossible after the Battle—after Nagini’s bite. But the heavier weight was the secret you had carried for years: a love that had grown in silence, without hope, without end. From those first days on staff, when his sharp tongue occasionally gave way to a dry, unexpected warmth, you had watched him love Lily from a distance. Now, hearing Harry’s voice, teasing and bright—“So you like my eyes, huh?”—you stopped just outside the door. Inside, Severus sat upright in the hospital bed, pale and gaunt, a bandage wrapped around his neck. His glare was fixed on Harr…