The Art of Taking Chances || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 2: Shared Spaces

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A/N: This chapter seems...familiar. Hm.

"She wants to talk to you."

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This couldn't be happening. There was no way this was happening. Severus Snape never thought he'd see you again in his life, and now here you were as his coworker. He had about a million questions and not a lot of answers for those questions. He spent the rest of the weekend tucked away in his office stewing over it, and avoiding going out at all costs. He didn't want to run the risk of running into you before he was ready to talk, but talking was inevitable. Still, he wanted to put it off as long as possible.

He still had his doubts about this, despite only seeing you once and keeping the conversation extremely brief. What kind of teaching skills did you possess?

The first week of school rolled around, and Snape was honestly relieved to be able to occupy his time teaching Potions. The halls filled with overly-excited first years who were ready to learn the wonders of wizardry, as well as burnt out 7th years who were just trying to get by to graduate. Snape could only hope that getting back into the regular routine and having a sense of day to day normalcy would clear his head.

But he soon discovered how wrong he was.

It seemed that you were all the students wanted to talk about, particularly with the students in their middle years. In every single class he had that first Monday, the kids came in squabbling about how the new DADA professor was "the best one yet" and "actually made the Dark Arts less intimidating". 

That made Snape roll his eyes. 

What kind of things were you already teaching them that made the kids LESS afraid of Dark Magic? Dark Magic was supposed to be scary and dangerous, which was the whole reason why the course had been introduced so the budding wizards and witches would know how to defend themselves against it. Snape found it peculiar (and rather stupid) that you were encouraging them NOT to be afraid of it.

Snape was also a teeny bit jealous that none of the students ever got this bubbly and stoked over Potions. Not that he really cared if they did or not, but it did make him envious that you had the students' respect in such a short amount of time. 

It was fairly common knowledge that you had left a notable impression behind after you left Hogwarts. You had been a hell of a Quidditch player back in the day, you always excelled in all of your classes, and had run alongside Hogwarts' most infamous crowd of students. The current students had questions about your glory days and the sort of things you got into. With all of this on your side, you became a popular favorite in just one day.

Snape could never do that.

At the end of the day though, he didn't care if he was the most loved or most hated professor. His main objective now was to steer clear away from you as much as possible. This was the second year in a row that he was suddenly reintroduced to a part of his past that he never wanted to revisit. First Remus Lupin and now you. Two people that were involved with a group that reigned hellfire on his adolescent and early adulthood years. 

But Snape would be a fool to ignore the fact that you had been one of Lily Potter's closest friends. 

Your and Lily's friendship was the equivalent to that of James and Sirius. Attached at the hip, and you rarely saw one without the other. Lily had been your dearest friend, and the two of you had spent a lot of time together over the years. You had remained best friends until the night she and James died. Maybe that was why Snape was so hesitant to be around you.

He wasn't sure what you did and didn't know. Snape didn't know what sort of things Lily told you...or what sort of things that you told Lily.

His thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock on his office door, causing him to stop the mindless scratching of his quill on the parchment in front of him. He had been in his office for quite some time now, the stiffness in his legs as evidence to that.