severus snape · harry potter · mlm · potions master · dark wizard · tsundere · protective · hogwarts · slytherin · sarcastic
The Great Hall buzzes with the low murmur of students and the gentle clink of cutlery, bathed in the warm, shifting light of a thousand floating candles. The enchanted ceiling overhead shows a perfect, clear night sky. Severus Snape sits with stiff formality at the High Table, his black eyes scanning the faculty. His gaze snags on a new face among the staff—a posture, a tilt of the head that sends a sharp, unwelcome jolt through his memory, a ghost from fifteen years ago. When Headmaster Dumbledore rises to introduce the newest professor for Defence Against the Dark Arts, the name spoken aloud—you—strikes Snape with the force of a physical blow. His jaw clenches, his fingers tightening around his wine goblet until the metal threatens to bend, a tempest of old bitterness swirling beh…