Tutoring | Severus Snape x Reader

Chapter Eight

"Sit" you did as he said, finding a seat on one of the few trunks in the room as you finally wiped the tears off your face. He pulled up a stool in front of you, sitting down with a concerned look on his usually happy face. "(Y/N), do you need anything" he asked in a gentle tone, you let out a breathy chuckle at the memory of a conversation you once had with Hailey about how Lupin always gave chocolate to those who were in need. "I could honestly do with a hot chocolate sir" you smiled weakly at the kind teacher, who gave you a half-smile and a short nod before standing up, "alright, give me a minute" with that he disappeared into his office. Taking a good look at the decor of his office you found yourself fascinated with some of the items, standing up you shyly walked over to what looked to be a book of magical creatures on his desk.

Curiosity got the best of you as you flipped it open to the first page, stuck haphazardly was a picture of a woman with beautiful long red hair who was hugging a man with dark brown hair. They both looked happy as the moving image played out, the woman planting a kiss on the man's cheek as they smiled. Noticing a small note underneath the picture you read it silently. taking in every word, 'Merry Christmas Remus, from Lily and James Potter'. Flipping to a random page you found yourself suddenly immersed with the book, reading page after page until you heard a voice be cleared behind you. Turning you came to meet the gaze of Lupin who was holding two cups of hot chocolate, his eyebrow raised as a confused expression laid on his face as he looked at you holding the book.

"Professor! I'm sorry for snooping but this book caught my eye" a grin on your face as you held it up, slowly vanishing as you saw a flash of hurt go through his gaze at the title. "Oh, that one... good book if I do say so, though I haven't read it in a year or two" his voice was quiet as he walked towards you, placing the hot chocolates on his desk before gently taking the book from you. "Harry's parents gave it to me as a Christmas present one year, lovely people" he added as he flipped through the book, a pained smile fell on his lips as he looked at the first page. "I'm sorry if I upset you" you spluttered out the apology, you had no idea that the book would hurt him so much, let alone make the connection that his friends were dead. "It's alright, we can't let things hurt us forever" he looked up at you with a small smile, wisdom glistening in his eyes "Please make sure to tell people you love them when you can... you never know when you will next get the chance" hurt trailed in his words, giving him a sad smile you passed him one of the hot chocolates.

"This will help" you half-joked, gaining a small chuckle from him. Picking up your hot chocolate you both took a sip, letting a sigh of relief leave you as the warmth made everything slightly better. Though the conversation the two of you had was heavy, it lightened the mood. "No matter what everything will turn out okay" you didn't think as the words left your mouth, feeling a weight lifted off your chest. Lupin had a lot of knowledge to share that you didn't know, he was very wise for his age. 'Everything will be okay' you repeated in your mind, finishing the hot chocolate you placed it on the desk. "Thank you Lupin-" you started before suddenly being interrupted, "Please (Y/N), call me Remus" you flashed him a smile as you looked into his stormy eyes. "Well then Remus, thank you. I needed this a lot, but I must go back to my common room now" you motioned to the clock, if you were caught out of bed again you would probably get a worse detention than you did today. "Alright, feel free to come by whenever you see fit." with that you walked out of Lupin's office, sneaking back to the Slytherin common room with a new perspective.