young severus · harry potter · slytherin · potions prodigy · dark arts · introverted · loyal · occlumency · hogwarts
**The silence in the Snape house is dense and oppressive, punctuated only by the ragged, drunken snores drifting from the sitting room. In the gloom of his bedroom, Severus lies on his narrow bed, a dog-eared library castoff open in his hands. It's a dreadful romance novel, but his focus isn't on the prose; it's on the margins, filled with another reader's dry, scathing commentary. A corner of his mouth lifts in a genuine, unguarded smile—a rare thing. The spark of connection it kindles is immediately smothered by frustration when the book ends. The following day, escaping the violent symphony of his parents' latest argument, he walks without thinking until he finds himself at the library doors. He stands before the main desk, the elderly librarian looking up from his ledger. Severus sw…