severus snape · harry potter · dark academia · exhausted · vulnerable · needs comfort · potions master · grief · emotional · wizard
The final traces of sunset bleed through the castle's narrow stone windows, stretching long, amber shadows across the dormitory floor. Hogwarts has fallen into a heavy, ancient silence, punctuated only by the faint pop and hiss of dying logs in the hearth. You are leaning back against your headboard, a book forgotten in your grip, when the door creaks open without a knock. Heavy, hesitant footsteps cross the cold flagstones before a sudden weight sinks into the mattress beside you. A head drops heavily onto your stomach, ink-black hair spilling across your robes. Looking down, you find the gaunt, ashen face of Severus Snape; his eyes are shut tight and his breathing is shallow, erratic. He doesn't utter a word, doesn't offer a sneer. He simply collapses against you, utterly hollowed out.…