Dancing in the Dark - A Severus Snape Love Story

18 | Helping Hands

The damp smell of the Potions classroom was always one of my favourite scents.

Perhaps I romanticized it over the years, but it truly did bring me so much comfort. Maybe it was the way it stayed the same all year round, consistency within an ever changing landscape. Or maybe it was how the warm, musky smell of Severus cut through the chilly air like a warm embrace whenever he glided past.

I used to get butterflies whenever Snape loomed over my shoulder, monitoring my every move as I made my way through Potions class every year.

They're nothing compared to the fireworks I feel inside every time he looks at me now.

Severus kept his word on teaching me all that he could and provided me with every complex book he had on the subject of potions. But he would not help me brew anything until I was ready. I had to study the chosen recipe carefully, be able to recite each step off by heart and understand how each ingredient would react based off of its own characteristics.

Today I was reading up on the Polyjuice Potion.

This infamous potion was one I often dreamt of brewing when I was still a student, the prospect of turning into someone else for a while was very enticing in my teenage angst years.

However, I clearly didn't understand what it would take to successfully brew it. As it turns out, this particular potion was incredibly difficult and time consuming to make. The longer I studied, the more complex it seemed to become. My notes grew furious as I discovered more and more information on this complicated potion.

A distinct discomfort began settling within me. My eyes grew heavy, the words began to appear fuzzy and I found myself repeatedly reading the same paragraphs over and over again. Looking at my watch I realized I had been studying this potion for a good three hours now.

Deciding to take a break, I pushed the chair back from Snape's desk and closed my eyes for a moment.

A few minutes later, I heard the door to the Potions classroom open.

I sighed with relief, Severus had run out to do some errands but promised to check up on me once he was done. Perhaps what I had discovered would be enough to begin brewing. I ran over in my head what I had learned so far to recite back to Snape.

His footsteps grew closer and closer, finally the stopped next to me. I ran my hand down his arm in greeting and grabbed his hand. "Boy am I happy to see you." I smiled. Opening my eyes, I looked up at my love.

Only to find I was holding Dumbledore's hand.

"And I you, Miss Cross." The old wizard chuckled. I immediately released his hand and sat up straight. "I'm so sorry sir, I thought you were Severus." I said, refusing to look anywhere but at my feet.

"It's quite alright my dear, it was a lovely hello. I believe we could all stand to show one another a little more warmth." He said thoughtfully. I gave a small smile and finally found the courage to look up at the man. "Is there something you need from me sir? Severus is still out."

Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, I was hoping to catch you both. I'm here to extend a formal invitation to both you and Severus for my annual Christmas party. I trust you'll both be able to make it?" He said, looking hopefully over his half-moon glasses.

"Yes, of course sir. We'd both be happy to join." I said, pleasantly surprised at this offer.

"Excellent! Though you may find some difficulty in convincing Severus. I've invited him every year and have yet to see him show up." Dumbledore sighed.

"I'm pretty sure I can change his mind, sir. Leave it with me." I said, smiling to myself as I thought of all the things I could do to coax Snape into saying yes.