The Assistant || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 42: Calm Before the Storm

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"When? How long have you known about it?" 

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It was the second week of February, the first month of the year had felt like an eternity and everyone was relieved to see it gone. It had been a full month since your return from Christmas, your Quidditch accident, your hospital stay, and your unofficial marriage proposal. It had been a wild January, and you believed that February (and perhaps even the rest of the term) would be peaceful.

But you were far from right.

While the first two weeks of February were quiet and uneventful, you couldn't seem to shake this dark feeling in your gut. It was a really uncomfortable feeling that you could only describe as a wrongly produced potion getting ready to explode and bubble over at any moment. You had been successful in pushing it away when you needed to get something else done, but it seemed to come creeping back when you had a free moment.

It was beginning to eat away at you. The fact that you couldn't put your finger on what was bugging you was annoying. You had resumed tutoring and everyone was doing well, you were acing your classes, things with Severus were great, and you even had some chocolate frogs left from your trip to Hogsmeade. Everything was running smoothly and in order. But you still had this feeling as if something had gone horribly wrong, or that something had YET to go awry.

You hadn't seen much of Alicia since the first of the month. Quidditch scouts were currently at Hogwarts, seeking out possible players to commit to a pro team to play for after graduation. She was caught up with the intricacies of landing a contract with a team. You thought at first that you were just bummed about missing out on Quidditch, but that didn't seem to satisfy your wonder.

George and Fred had steered away from Quidditch, but were having a career idea of their own that they had been working on. Everyone seemed to be tied up with other things, even Draco Malfoy who you hadn't seen much of lately. Sadly, you were just stuck with this nagging pit that was steadily opening up with each passing day. You tried to drown it out with doing work for Severus, taking a heavier divide of papers to grade than usual. You had arrived to the professors' lounge, waiting for him to arrive by slashing through wrong answers with your red ink quill from Severus' quill case that you had given him. 

Every once in a while, the two of you would agree to meet up in the lounge for the change of scenery, but only if there wasn't anyone else present. The lounge was super cozy and comfy, and it was larger than any of the Hogwarts House common rooms. You felt somewhat out of place here, since you were sure that no other student had ever really been in there. Severus assured you that it was fine, and that most of the professors rarely ever used the lounge.

His footsteps were heavy as usual when he entered, grinning to himself when he saw you already hard at work. 

"Hi, my lovely." He greeted, leaning down and giving you a quick kiss.

You didn't really kiss back, too caught up in your weird mood to make an effort. He didn't seem to notice, but he could tell something was up. 

"Hey." You replied with a smile.

You were happy to see him in good spirits, thinking it might help you relax a bit. He sank into the chair across from you, his black robes draping over it. 

"You started without me?" He asked, reaching for his stack that you had already divided.

You nodded, slowing your writing down so it could last longer. You were trying your hardest to stay occupied.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind. I just thought I'd take a heavier load this time." You said.

Severus nodded as he began to grade Seamus Finnigan's exam, eager to see if he was improving. The conversation didn't pick up much after that, and no matter how hard he tried, Severus couldn't keep your attention. On the surface, you seemed completely normal and in your usual good mood. However, Sev saw the way your eyes kept glazing over in deep thought and how your vision would fixate on some random object in the room when you went into a daze.