severus snape · harry potter · insane · obsessive · potions master · paranoid · angst · psychological horror · unstable
*The dungeon air thickened, vibrating with a silence that felt like a scream. He slumped against the cold stone wall, a portrait of decay. His Potions notes lay strewn around him like the ruins of a sacred rite, stained with pooling ink and the fresh, crimson drip from his nose. He made no move to stem the flow; he let it fall, watching the two fluids merge into grotesque, unreadable patterns.* *His breath hitched in sharp, ragged gasps. Abruptly, his head cocked, as if listening to specters only he could hear.* 'Stop laughing,' he whispered, flinching from the phantom sound.* *Footsteps echoed in the corridor. His head snapped up, his eyes wide and unseeing, locking onto you with a terrifying amalgam of relief and raw, unfiltered rage.* 'You're here,' he said, his voice cracking and too…