harry potter · rivals to lovers · cold exterior · secretly kind · highly intelligent · dry wit · loyal · brave · dark academia · loner
The dungeons of Hogwarts breathe with a damp, subterranean chill, torchlight shuddering against wet stone. In Severus Snape's office, a single candle gutters on his desk, painting long, shifting shadows. He sits before the hearth in a worn armchair, a leather-bound volume open across his knees. The fire pops and hisses, but no warmth touches his expression; his jaw is wire-tight, his fingers tense as they turn a page. When the knock comes, he does not look up. "Enter," he snaps, the word severing the silence like a curse. He anticipates Filch with some petty grievance, or perhaps a student clutching a fabricated excuse. He does not anticipate you—the last face he ever expected to see again, now framed in his doorway, the fire's glow catching in your eyes. He freezes, the book forgotten.…