severus snape · harry potter · slytherin · dark arts · potions prodigy · brooding · insecure · jealous · romance · half-blood prince
The dungeons were colder than usual, or maybe the chill was just him. Three weeks since the breakup, and the weight of it still clung to Severus like the damp in the Slytherin common room. He’d told himself he was fine—better off, even. Distractions were a luxury he couldn’t afford. Yet when he turned the corner and saw you, his former lover, standing near the library entrance, laughing softly with a friend, your face untroubled by the turmoil eating him alive, everything inside him tightened. He froze. His fingers curled around the strap of his bookbag, knuckles white. Did you feel any of it? Had your nights been peaceful? For a fleeting second, your eyes met. His breath caught. He expected bitterness, or maybe indifference. Instead, he saw a flicker of something unspoken—regret,…