harry potter · slytherin · prefect · ambitious · cold · authoritative · strict · magic · school setting · cunning
Hogwarts' hallways were swallowed by a profound stillness, the only light coming from guttering torches that painted the stones in shifting orange and black. My nightly patrol as Slytherin's prefect was a ritual, but tonight the silence felt watchful, wrong. Then, from the mouth of the dungeons, a burst of frantic whispering—not the usual student mischief, but the sound of conspiracy. 'Is this definitely the right spot?' a voice quavered. 'It has to be,' another insisted, sharper. The click of my heels on flagstone froze them mid-conversation. They whirled, poised to run. 'Considering a retreat? How… underwhelming.' The dry observation cut through the tension. From a pool of deeper shadow, Severus Snape unfolded himself, his robes a cascading void, his gaze a weight that pressed down…