Love at detours // Severus Snape

Chapter 13

On Monday, Elena nervously made her way to Snape's office after dinner. She was ready to brew some potions, but she was absolutely not ready to ask Snape for a favor – but she had to. Although, she could also ask Draco if she could go to his house for the holidays. "No, I'll just ask Snape. I don't want to be a burden," she thought and entered his office.

Her Potions professor wasn't there yet, so she decided to do her usual task. Elena accio'd the watering can and started taking care of the plants in his office which were used as potion ingredients. If he had seen her using her wand in his office, she would have most presumably gotten in trouble.

Snape entered the room loudly which startled her so much, that she accidentally kicked down a plant pot – but it didn't break and no soil fell out of it. This was the moment she realized, that she was watering a fake plant for nearly three months now.
Her jaw dropped, and she looked at her teacher, expecting an explanation. To her surprise, she only found an amused smile on her teacher's face.

"Three months... You let me water a fake plant for three months! Why would you do that?", she asked perplexed. Her tone and her facial expression seemed especially funny to Snape, because this was one of the rare times, she actually heard him laugh.
"Did you pour out the water after every time I watered it just for me to continue to make a fool of myself?", she asked, not believing that this was actually the truth. But a slight nod proved, that he actually did exactly what he just said. "I was wondering when you would notice," he answered, a light smirk still on his face.

"That's honestly so embarrassing, Snape! Merlin, why the fuck didn't I notice?", she sighed but then laughed at her own stupidity. "Language, Miss Smith. Five points from Slytherin"
She looked at him, now a bit annoyed. Elena actually thought that this was more of a relaxed situation, more like a chatter between friends. That was also why she did not really think about her choice of words. She scoffed sulky and said: "Five points from Professor Snape!"

He raised an eyebrow at her while she picked up the fake plant and put it back to its original place. "It does not work like that," he stated, and she only shrugged. "It does now. I will keep track of your points", Elena chuckled and tried to check inconspicuously whether the other plants were fakes as well or not. Luckily, only this one plant wasn't real. "You should really work on getting some points; your balance is in the negative!", she said jokingly, and he smirked.

This was extremely untypical for Snape since he normally never was seen smiling or laughing, but maybe he also felt like this was more of a relaxed situation where he didn't have to play the strict professor. That thought made Elena smile – maybe her teacher could also have found a liking in her, too?

Both of them continued to work on their own tasks and enjoyed the silence. There was no reason to, but Elena was nervous the whole time and her heart was beating extremely fast every time she looked at the black-haired man near her. It was like her feelings went crazy, but she couldn't change the situation.

When she finished her usual tasks, she sat down at a chair and fiddled with her fingers, trying to summon the courage to ask for the extra lessons in the holidays. "I heard you were a Legilimens, Professor", she tried approaching the topic. He looked up from the papers on his desk and nodded slightly. Snape instantly knew that she must have gotten that piece of information from Draco and asked himself what she was driving at.

"I really am interested in learning new things and Occlumency, as well as Legilimency, sound fascinating. Is there a slight possibility of you teaching me about those two topics in the holidays?", she asked him and held her breath. What would she do if he didn't agree to teach her? Should she just tell him that she really didn't want to go home? That would be too weird, right? She just did not know.

Snape obviously wasn't oblivious to her home situation. After all, he was the one who helped her get out of it only some months ago. So, he actually suspected, that this was just an excuse to stay at Hogwarts. Why would any student want to spend more time with him than necessary? He knew his reputation – and it normally didn't bother him, but with her, it was a bit different. He hasn't realized why yet. "Do you actually want to learn about these facets of magic or Is this an excuse to be allowed to stay at school during break, Miss Smith?", he asked her with his typical, cold voice.

Elena wasn't quite sure what to answer. She always wanted to learn more since she was excited about the different fields of magic over and over again. Also, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the time she spent with Snape. But maybe it would be a better idea to just stay at Hogwarts without getting taught by Snape, so she could get over her silly teenager crush. After all, she just did not see any future with her feelings towards a professor. But she soon wasn't a student anymore, so maybe she could just wait? "Miss Smith?", Snape interrupted her thoughts and made her blush. Did she just zone out while he was awaiting an answer from her?

"Excuse me, Sir, I was lost in thought. I actually am interested in learning about it," she answered because her feelings took the upper hand. Spending two more weeks with Snape sounded just too nice to decline the offer. Then she realized, that he would have to roam through her mind in order to teach her Occlumency or demonstrate Legilimency. That was the moment she regretted her choice. What if he saw something which she did not want him to see? She regretted every single thought she ever had and every single thing she had ever done in general.

What if he saw in her mind the times she slept with his cloak? Or how often she actually thought about him? And.. Oh no, what if he bumped into the memory of her where she told Draco that she had a crush on Snape? Or worse, what if he witnessed in her mind, how she felt when he was around? Elena wanted to sink into the earth out of shame.

Do people even realize that someone is roaming through her mind? What if Snape already used Legilimency on her, and she just did not know? This thought made her gasp and she instantly asked: "Do people feel it when others use Legilimency on them?"

She nervously awaited his answer. Snape leaned back and seemed to be amused by the worry he was able to hear out of her voice. "People who are skilled in Legilimency can perform it without the target knowing," Snape answered dryly. Elena died a little when she heard him speak those words. Unsurely, she asked him whether he was a skilled Legilimens or not – he just smirked and nodded.

Elena's heart started racing, faster than it already was. What if he already roamed through her mind sometimes? She prayed that he respected her privacy and did not do such a thing – but she actually thought that Snape was the type of person to use Legilimency on unknowing people. "Do not worry, I never used it on students without their knowledge," Snape said when he realized that she actually looked a bit panicked. He actually asked himself why she was that concerned and if he would find the thing she wanted to hide in her mind when they actually practiced Occlumency.

She exhaled audibly when she heard his words and leaned back relieved. "Thank Merlin," she murmured and then looked at the teacher in front of her. "So, will you teach me?", Elena then decided to ask and looked at him expectantly. Snape would never admit that her reaction made him curious about what she was hiding, but he actually was curious now. So, he accepted her request. "Yes, I will inform your father about your stay over the holidays, Miss Smith."

A satisfied smile found its way on Elena's lips, and she looked at him. "Thank you so much, Professor", she said and thought that he was extremely oblivious to the fact how grateful she actually was. Now it was official: She did not have to live with her father ever again – because when she graduated from Hogwarts, she planned to move out in an instant. "Of course", was everything he said before turning his attention back to the essays he was grading.