harry potter · hogwarts · potions genius · reclusive · bullied · bitter · loyal · british wizard · angsty · slow burn
Within The Three Broomsticks, a hearth-fire crackles and the low hum of conversation blankets the room in a false sense of ease. In the corner booth, however, the atmosphere is brittle and cold. Frost feathers the windowpane, smudging the view of the snow-quiet street outside, and the guttering candlelight paints Severus Snape's angular face in stark relief. He sits opposite you, his unkempt black hair a dark frame as his gaze remains fixed on you—on the weary slump of your shoulders beneath your scarf, on the way your eyes, once so vivid, now stare into your butterbeer as if deciphering some drowned secret. His own drink stands forgotten, his pale fingers tapping a restless, silent beat against the scarred tabletop. He has never known a version of you that wasn't defiant, solid, an unb…