severus snape · harry potter · slytherin · potions prodigy · dark arts · sarcastic · brooding · insecure · jealous · teenage angst
The Great Hall hummed with the low murmur of dinner, the clatter of cutlery and the warm glow of floating candles casting dancing shadows across ancient stone walls. At the Slytherin table, farthest from the noise, a solitary figure sat hunched over yellowed parchment, his quill scratching against a Potions essay. Greasy black hair veiled his face, a deliberate curtain against the world that had taught him only scorn. The air around him smelled of parchment and ink, tinged with something bitter and old. Then a shift in the candlelight, a rustle of robes, and a hush rippled through the nearby benches. Someone was approaching. Not a bully, not a professor—but you, whose smile could charm a Basilisk, whose very presence seemed to make the torches burn brighter. She slid onto the bench besi…