Meeting Patronus | A Severus Snape Love Story

Chapter 2 "Potion Master"

Getting accustomed to Hogwarts while also keeping track of your studies was becoming a full-time job, leaving little time for relaxation. As many students know, year six and seven is when shit starts to hit the fan, and everyone is scrambling over NEWTs and applying for jobs and internships for after graduation. Despite this, your first day of classes seem to go smoothly and you only get lost about three times (which is a definite accomplishment in the ginormous monstrosity that is Hogwarts). Your charms professor, Mr. Flitwick, seems to have taken a great liking to you, praising your charms abilities and asking you to assist other students in class. You were shocked to find that a lot of the charms you learned in your fifth year are being taught at Hogwarts a year later, making you slightly ahead. It's a great feeling to be acknowledged by your professor and to be of help to the other students. You quite enjoy teaching others. To your surprise, (or not really) everyone knows you as 'the American', which you don't particularly take to, but you've expected it, nonetheless. Most transfers to Hogwarts come from other European schools, so it's understandable that your vibe and your accent stand out.

Everything seems to be going well, but you've been feeling nervous about your last class of the day: Advanced Potions. You've heard not-so-great things about Professor Snape and potions was always the weakest of all of your subjects, so you're hoping to get through today relatively unscathed.

As you walk to class, adrenaline starting to creep up in you and you pick up your pace. As you turn the corner, suddenly, you bump into someone, dropping your books in hand. You look up at the tall figure and recognize him as the infamous Potions professor. Your heart drops.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" You say, rushing to pick everything up off the floor. He stares down at you with a cold expression on his face. His stature makes you nervously flutter.

"Hi, I'm [y/n] [l/n]! I'm new here. It's nice to meet you, Professor Snape." You smile and extend a handshake. He looks at your hand, maintaining his cold demeanor. He ignores your gesture.

"Oh, the American." He mutters in an unamused tone. "Do watch where you're going in the future." He starts walking past you.

You turn to skip after him. "I actually have your class next and I'm not entirely sure where the classroom is...so... I'll just... follow you..." you say awkwardly. Snape slightly rolls his eyes, letting out an aloof grunt.

A familiar craving creeps up on you as your hands start to shake with nerves from the interaction. Ugh, I'm gonna need it... Inconspicuously, you reach into your pocket and slip the small white pill under your tongue like a tic-tac.

You silently follow behind him, not testing your luck with anymore conversation or questions, even though you have a lot to ask. Quite frankly, he greatly intimidates you and you do not want to get on his bad side. You stare at him, noticing his broad shoulders and long feathery black hair that looks soft to the touch. You're close enough to him to smell his clean and earthy musk; a mix of leather, sandalwood and eucalyptus. Your heart involuntarily skips a beat.

"Get to class, Weasleys" he sternly directs to a set of charming red headed twins lingering in the halls. Their expressions harden at him, but when they both notice you, they smile widely, nodding their heads like gentlemen at you. You smile back at them, letting out a half chuckle at the sight of their bright and friendly faces and continue to walk, following your professor into the classroom. You're already relaxing.

Students pile in as the bell rings. You take an empty seat in the last row, diagonally across Snape's desk. Snape dramatically stands to attention at the front of the classroom, a serious expression painted on his face and a dramatic theatricality in his stance.

"Books out to chapter 10." He commands, turning towards the blackboard. "Who here has brewed Essence of Insanity before?" He writes on the board and turns back to look at the class. No one raises their hand. "Anyone?" he says, sounding bored.

You raise your hand without thinking, as you continue to look down at your textbook. His eyes shoot to you. The silent atmosphere of the class makes your eyes pop up. "Not well." You reply, looking around at your fellow classmates. "But yes, I did it once at my old school."

"Tell me, what are its properties?" he says with a stern expression.

"It's um—"

"Standing." He orders.

You stand, feeling everyone's eyes on you. Snape is obviously a fan of the Socratic method.

"It's green in color. The main ingredients are frog's brains and beetle eyes. It's known to cause mental instability if ingested..."

"Correct. Sit." He barks. A wave of relief washes over you as he moves on. He describes the potion at length.

It startles you when he calls on you again.

"[l/n], you will assist me in the demonstration since you're a clear expert." He says sarcastically. Although you understand his tone, you decide to just take him at his words and happily join him to assist.

You walk to the front of the class, eyes fixed on you again. You stand next to Professor Snape, his presence making you nervous and jittery. You can feel adrenaline making you shake.

"Please demonstrate the first steps."

You pause as your eyes widen. It's been a while since you last made it and it was not your best potion. You definitely feel put on the spot as he and the whole class are now staring at you. You close your eyes and take a deep breath, trying to recall how you did it the first time.

It comes to you. Your grab your wand and direct a grinding spell to mash the frog brains. Snape shoots you a puzzled look.

"What do you think you're doing?" He barks.

You gulp. "Excuse me, Professor?"

"Why did you use your wand instead of grinding it by hand?" he questions in a snappy tone.

You let out a chuckle. "Cause it's more fun that way!" You blurt without thinking. The pills sometimes act as a truth serum. The room goes silent and Professor Snape stares at you.

Shit... did I just say that out loud?  You panic and try to save yourself.

You clear your throat, prompting yourself to be serious. "And...by hand, it's possible to leave chunks un-grated and it's imperative that it's smooth before adding it to the cauldron." You brace to be scolded, but instead, Snape lets out a curious "Hmph" as he lets you carry on to the next steps. He then stops you towards the middle of the potion and demonstrates the more advanced steps. You watch him in awe of his skill and envious of how easily it all comes to him. A true potion's master.

Class goes by pretty quickly after that and before you know it, class is dismissed. Except for you of course.

"[l/n]. A word."

All of the students walk out until you're the only one left in the classroom.

"That was a cute trick back there [l/n], but I can assure you that there will be no cutting corners in my class. I don't know what sort of hooliganry you've participated in at your previous school, but in this class, things are done precisely and properly; no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations. One cannot charm their way through the delicate and subtle science of potions." Snape says in a serious tone.

You smile at your professor, something inside of you making you light up in his presence regardless of how harsh he intends to sound. "Of course, Professor. I can assure you that was not my intention." You say, using your 'charm the professor' voice.

He sits back in his chair, pleased with your politeness and disarmed by your joyful demeanor. "Very well then." He responds. You nod and turn to walk out.

"Um..." he mutters, prompting you to look back at him. He looks as though he is debating on whether to say these next words to you, but to your surprise he does.

"Good...work today, [l/n]." He says hesitantly. Your heart starts to beat faster, unexpectedly. "Let's hope your performance today wasn't a fluke." He nods with a straight face.

Your heart sings with joy at the complement, too distracted by his dark attractiveness to hear his snide after comment. "Thanks, Professor! I hope you have a good evening." You flash him a big smile as you walk out of the classroom.

Shit. I better get studying for potions, like yesterday.