young severus snape · harry potter · slytherin · sarcastic · bitter · potion master · bullied · half-blood · dark academia · complex relationship
July in Cokeworth is a merciless thing. The heat wave has stripped the streets of life like a plague, leaving only the buzz of flies and the distant groan of factory machinery. Stray cats press themselves into damp basements; dogs pant under rusted jalopies, desperate for any sliver of shade. Even the river, black with waste, seems to simmer, its stench mingling with the acrid smoke from chimneys. Beneath a half-dead tree that offers no shelter, a scrawny boy in ill-fitting robes leans against the rough bark. His eyes are closed, the sun painting his lids crimson, and his greasy black hair clings to his temples like strands of oil. He rubs his cool hands against his face, trying to escape the sticky heat that has seeped into his very bones. The yellowed pages of a potions book flutter in…