Heart-shaped Box

instant crush

A/N: I introduce to you: the appearance of Professor Snape!

"And we will never be alone again

'Cause it doesn't happen every day

Kinda counted on you being a friend

Can I give it up or give it away?

Now I thought about what I wanna say

But I never really know where to go

So I chained myself to a friend"

Instant Crush – Julian Casablancas ft. Daft Punk

On Friday, we have our first Potions class. It's one of the few classes we have with Slytherin, and is taught by Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin.

Currently, I'm fucking up big time. I've been assigned to work together with Neville, whom I like very much as a person, but the both of us aren't exactly good at Potions, apparently. While being abroad, I'd never taken Potions classes, simply because I couldn't with my program. I thought this might work, however, but boy, was I wrong!

"Errr... Neville... Isn't the potion supposed to look 'a bright, vibrant green'?" I ask him cautiously as I'm staring into our cauldron. When Neville moves to stand beside me and take a look at the cauldron, taking a break from cutting a strange fruit, I can see him gulp, eyes growing wide.

"Yes..." He mutters, glancing over to me briefly.

"Oh, okay..." I mutter back, staring at our potion in despair. It was a dark blue.

"How the hell did you guys manage to fuck up that badly?" Ron asks bluntly, having overheard our conversation.

"You're not helping, Ron." I snap, flashing him a glare.

"Wait, did you even look at the instructions?" Hermione asks, moving to stand besides Neville. Meanwhile, the potion is bubbling heavily.

"Of course we did!" I exclaim, while Neville stumbles over his words.

"Then why is it like that?" Ron asks, eyes wide as he stares at the potion.

"Shouldn't you be watching your own potion instead, Ron? It's nearly boiling over!" Hermione exclaims, making Ron rush over to it. Neville too rushes off to God-knows-where, leaving me alone with Hermione and our disaster. Speaking of which, when I look down at it, my eyes get wide.

"WATCH OUT!" I yell, quickly pushing Hermione out of the way.

"BANG!" Our cauldron explodes, blue liquid splashing everywhere. I squeeze my eyes shut, feeling the entire content of the cauldron drop down on me. FUCK.

"ALISTAIR! You're getting yourself burned!" Hermione yells worriedly. When I open my eyes, I can feel the pain flare through my body, the only thing preventing me from screaming my lip, which I'm biting on as hard as I can.

"FUCK!" I curse loudly. This hurts like a bitch! I'd had some stupid accidents before, but this really, REALLY hurt.

"Alistair, oh no! Are you okay-"

"NEVILLE. Don't. Come. Any. Closer!" I exclaim, the look in my eyes alone enough to keep him from touching me.

"Nitwits! Everyone, out! Class dismissed!" Snape suddenly yells, effectively clearing the classroom in seconds.

"Are you okay, Miss Leroy?" He asks once everyone is gone, shutting the door with a flick of his wand.

"No." I bring out through my teeth, still trying not to scream, and now not to cry as well. Another flick of his wand makes the potion disappear. When I look down at my body, I find myself covered in burns. Well, that explains the pain. Snape grumbles something I don't even hear underneath his breath, then moves to retrieve something from a closet.

"You should be more careful. Potions is a class that requires your full attention." He says when he walks over to me.

"I know. I'm sorry." I mutter softly.

"Don't be. I'm not the one covered in burns." I scoff at his comment, but relax slightly, nonetheless. I'd expected him to get angry at me, not be this... understanding? He opens the tiny box he holds in his hands, revealing a kind of ointment. He grabs a chair, then gently pushes down on my shoulders. Surprised, I allow him to touch me, obeying and sitting down.

For a moment, his dark eyes meet mine. Then, he looks away, moving to grab a chair, putting that one opposite mine. Snape sits down on it, grabbing the tiny box.

"It's to heal the burns." He explains when he sees me looking at it intently. I relax at that, and he puts some of it on his hand. I hold back a gasp when his hand touches my arm, but feel a rush of electricity run through my body, then into the room. Snape glances up at me for a moment, but doesn't comment on it, starting to rub the ointment in. I relax more and more under his hands that are being surprisingly gentle but strong, the ointment chasing the pain away, a soothing warmth appearing instead. He slowly works his way up my arms. Suddenly, his hand moves up, caressing my cheek, dark eyes meeting mine for a moment. My heart skips a beat, and I have to remind myself he's only doing it because I have burns on my face as well. It's surprising just how gentle he can be, while he appears so menacing during class.

"You should look out for yourself, instead of saving others like Miss Granger." He mutters after a moment. When I open my eyes at that, they immediately meet his. He'd been staring at me, his fingers currently busy on a tiny burn behind my ear.

"I always help others first." I state, very surprised by his comment. How could you put yourself first, then others?

"And why is that, Miss Leroy?" He asks. For a moment, his fingers distract me when they move down to my neck, but I force myself to focus on his words.

"Because I don't want people getting hurt because of me." I answer, as if it's obvious.

"Typical Gryffindor." He mutters it underneath his breath, making me huff in annoyance. I open my mouth to say something, but his fingers dart down to the neckline of my shirt, causing the words to get caught in my throat. I remain silent after that. When he's done doing the part of my chest that didn't get saved by my shirt, he closes the box and stands up, leaving me sitting there, eyes wide.

"You can go now. The burns should be better on Monday, but if you feel pain, don't hesitate to come to me." Snape speaks up from where he's putting the ointment away.

"Alright. Thank you, Professor." I manage to bring out. He turns to look at me at that, seeming surprised.

"You're welcome. Next time, I suggest you be more careful in my class, Miss Leroy."

"Will do, Professor. Bye." I answer, throwing him a smile before making my way out of the classroom.