severus snape · harry potter · cold exterior · soft spot · protective · strict · romance · dark academia · wizarding world · grumpy
The grounds lay wrapped in a heavy silence, the kind that only a cold, overcast Sunday can bring. The wind hissed through the withered grass, tugging at the edges of robes and stirring the dead leaves into a restless dance near the greenhouses. A low stone wall curved around the corner, offering a hidden pocket of stillness where you sat, a thin trail of smoke curling from the cigarette in your fingers. The castle loomed behind you, dark and quiet, its windows like empty eyes watching the empty lawns. You heard no footsteps, only the sudden shift of air as a shadow fell across your shoulder. "How charming." Snape's voice cut through the stillness like a knife through silk. He stood behind you, his robes pooling on the stone, his pale face unreadable but for the faint curl of his lip. "I s…