The Assistant || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 1: An Extra Hand

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"An assistant? That isn't necessary." 

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Another splitting headache was beginning to creep its way into the front of Snape's skull as he looked over at the overwhelming mound of tests he still had yet to grade. He had been at this for hours, and he had barely made a dent in the pile of papers just waiting to be assessed. He felt himself growing ill (much more than usual) the longer he sat in working silence.

He had never been particularly fast when it came to grading. He always made sure that he carefully reviewed each student's answers before giving them a final grade. He didn't ever want to admit that he had mistakenly marked an answer wrong when it was correct...and he definitely didn't want to award any points when the answer was unmistakably incorrect.

This made the grading process long and tedious. Grading students' work wasn't the only thing overcrowding his schedule. As head of the Slytherin house, he had to be sure he knew what was going on at all times. He took pride in his house, and he was always determined to be aware of the students' behavior within his house...as well as students' behavior in other houses.

Then there were the students who required extra help within their Potions class. As much as it annoyed him, Snape understood that not all students would be as quick to catch on as others. Snape wasn't very keen on tutoring students. He offered outside help where he could, which was difficult with all of the millions of other things he needed to do. His tutoring often proved unsuccessful anyways, because the students that needed help were too frightened of him to really retain anything from extra lessons. The students would often help each other out, but even they could only do so much since they were all still learning.

These things always put a damper on his day and robbed him of precious time that he could be using elsewhere, but he didn't need any help. Professor Snape was perfectly capable of doing everything on his own. At least, until he was told he wasn't.

A light knocking alerted Snape that someone was at his door. Snape let out a faint grumble from being interrupted, but verbally allowed the visitor access inside of his empty classroom. It was none other than Hogwarts' headmaster Dumbledore.

"Good evening, Severus," The old wizard greeted. "Grading this late, I see?"

Not wanting to give a rude impression to his authority figure, Severus set down his quill and looked to him. He didn't even realize that it was well into the night at this point.

"Yes. I have several tests yet to be graded." He answered plainly, hoping this encounter wouldn't take very long.

Dumbledore's gaze fixed on the heavy stack of papers on Professor Snape's desk. Little did the overworked professor know, that was the very reason he was being paid a visit. Dumbledore, however, was always a sucker for some small chit chat before getting down to business.

"How are the first year students this year?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

Snape's expression remained as usual -- stone cold and serious. On the inside, though, he just wished Dumbledore would get on with it so he could get back to his grading. 

"Fairly average I would say. A few are excelling and some are behind everyone else. " He replied.

Dumbledore was looking intently at Snape over his half-moon glasses. Dumbledore was very methodical. He studied Professor Snape's dark eyes, noting how tired he looked. The Potions professor was in a bad way, but too prideful to admit it...or even see it for himself.

"That is to be expected, which is precisely why I'm here," Dumbledore moved on, knowing that Snape wasn't in the mood to talk. "Severus, I know you are not going to care for this, but I am assigning you a helper."

Severus' blood went cold at the sound of that. An assistant? Surely Albus was kidding. Snape's mind immediately went to the thought of an elf. The elves meant well, but some of them were downright pesky and annoying. He wasn't sure he could handle that in the long run.

"An assistant? That isn't necessary." Professor Snape countered back.

He didn't need help. He didn't want help. Based on the way Dumbledore didn't budge, it looked like Snape didn't have much of a choice.

"I see the way you overwork. It's only for your benefit. It doesn't have to be a permanent arrangement. Just until you get control over yourself again. You need the extra hand," He commanded. "I won't assign you just any student, of course. I'm sure you have some requirements to meet your needs."

Student? A student assistant? 

While he wasn't too stoked for that idea either, it was a step up from an obnoxious elf. Severus let out a sigh. He knew that he wasn't getting out of this one. He didn't even bother trying to think of a student for the job. He didn't have a say in that regard. Instead, he pondered on what sort of characteristics he wanted his assistant to have.

"They need to be an older student. Someone who's been through at least the first two years of Potions to understand how my classes work," Snape explained. "They also need to have an excellent understanding of the class, and they need to have performed well in my class. Not to mention, a somewhat flexible schedule to work around."

Dumbledore came up with a suggestion quickly. Almost a little too quickly. He nodded, a triumphant grin appearing on his face. Turns out it wasn't such a challenge to get Snape to give in after all. It didn't take long for Dumbledore to suggest (more like assign) a student to be under Professor Snape's wing until further notice.

"That settles it. [Y/N] [L/N]." Dumbledore announced.

Severus' heart did a little jump. Never in a million years would he have guessed that name would come out of Dumbledore's mouth. Not that Snape was against you or anything. You did check all the boxes on Snape's list of requirements. 

You were a sixth year (not a seventh, only because you had to repeat your second year), and performed incredibly well in your first five years of Potions (not counting the extra year due to being held back, although you performed well that year too). So much so that you were currently in Advanced Potions and doing very well. You were a proud [Y/H] member, a Chaser on your House's Quidditch team, and easy enough to get along with. 

He didn't realize it yet, but Snape was...rather fond of you. He admired your work ethic and appreciated the fact that you never harassed him. He found you interesting, but he always contributed it to the fact that you hadn't ever gotten in trouble with him

"I will let her know that she will be joining you tomorrow morning as your Potions assistant. I advise that you are ready to brief her and are prepared to teach what you expect from her." Dumbledore said, heading for the door.

Before he could ask anything else, Dumbledore was gone and Professor Snape was left at his desk. His night had surely taken a quick 180. He still wasn't ready to admit he needed an assistant, but one thing was for sure.

His whole world was about to change.