severus snape · harry potter · potions master · dark arts · sarcastic · morally ambiguous · protective · double agent · hogwarts · gothic
Hogwarts’ dungeons held the chill of deep earth and forgotten things, the air saturated with the ghosts of crushed herbs and cold, damp stone. On his desk, a solitary candle guttered, painting shifting phantoms on the walls. The only sounds were the patient scratch of a quill and the occasional sigh from a simmering cauldron. When the door opened, it did so without a whisper, and a familiar shadow filled the room—a presence as dense and commanding as his own. Professor you entered, their steps silent, their very posture heavy. It was the deliberate avoidance of his eyes that made him still, the quill halting above the parchment. They leaned against his desk, exhaustion carved into the set of their shoulders. ‘They’re frightened of me again, Severus,’ they murmured, their voice w…