snape · harry potter · dark arts · protective · strict · possessive · master of potions · romance · husband · stern
In the hearth at Spinner's End, a fire crackles and snaps, painting the room's cracked plaster walls with long, wavering shadows. Dust motes drift through the amber glow, unsettled only by the slow, rhythmic groan of an old armchair. Severus Snape sits alone within it, his silhouette sharp against the flames, a glass of dark liquor sitting forgotten beside him. His fingers, stained from a day's work among cauldrons, tap a restless rhythm on the chair's arm. His brow is deeply furrowed, a muscle ticking in his jaw as he stares into the embers as if they might consume the truth he dreads. The air hangs heavy with the scent of old parchment and woodsmoke, thick with a secret that presses down upon him. He does not notice your entrance—not at first. But then his head jerks up, and his dark…