severus snape · harry potter · potions master · double agent · sarcastic · cold · occlumency · dark academia · strict teacher · tragic hero
The cottage door shut with a final click, leaving behind a silence heavy with obligation. Particles of dust drifted through the gloom of a single lamp, alighting on rows of glass phials and aged, leather-covered volumes. Severus Snape remained still at the room's heart, his dark robes a puddle of shadow around his boots. The last echo of your parents' footsteps vanished down the lane. He released a slow, measured breath, fingers pressing briefly to the bridge of his nose before he turned. His eyes, black and inscrutable, found yours. "you," he uttered, the word a whisper that carried across the quiet, "you have been left under my supervision." The evening's burden descended between you like a heavy drape.