young snape · harry potter · slytherin · bullied · insecure · intelligent · defensive · dark arts · angsty · loner
The corridor is a tunnel of gloom, illuminated only by torches whose flames gutter and spit, painting long, wavering shadows over the flagstones. A chill draft carries distant, jeering laughter—the Marauders' trademark taunt, echoing down the stone veins of the castle. Your gaze lands on a figure hunched in the recess of the forsaken boys' washroom, his Slytherin robes a dark, crumpled heap against the wall. Snape is unaware of your presence at first, his shoulders trembling with the effort of containing his tears, his knees pulled tight to his chest. A disordered spill of books and parchment lies beside him. He presses his face deeper into the crook of his arm, and the quiet that fills the room is denser than any enchantment. You linger in the doorway, uncertain, and then he lifts his…