Meeting Patronus | A Severus Snape Love Story

Chapter 4 "Don't Fall"

The next Monday is business as usual despite several of your peers showing up to class hungover. You laugh as Deedee, a Hufflepuff acquaintance in your Potions class stumbles in groggily, mistakenly sitting next to you.

"You good, Dee?" you ask, smiling.

"Desk... too... far..." she mumbles, laying her head on the desk. "This is... my seat now..." She turns away, laying on her arms as she rests her eyes.

The icy air nips your cheeks as you take a walk outside after class. Hogwarts is covered in a blanket of white snow as icicles form on the roofs, making the school look like a winter wonderland. You definitely did not have the proper shoes for this weather, still wearing your same white cloth sneakers.

You make your way to the library to get some studying done before dinner. You shuffle, trying to escape the cold, but in the corner of your eye you spot something off into the distance that contrasts with the white snow. It stops you in your tracks as you turn to get a second look. It's a brown deer with huge black eyes, gracefully pacing in the snow. The sight of it reminds you of Snape's Patronus, bringing you back to the memory of that pure white light and the softness of the doe's expression. You smile, entranced by the animal. Then, you start to walk away, eyes still lingering as you step on a patch of black ice and feel yourself falling backwards, bracing yourself to land on the hard pavement.

But to your surprise, the ground never hits you, as you feel a set of hands catch you from behind. You look up to see who it is despite already recognizing his familiar smell: Professor Snape.

Only a few seconds go by, but it feels like the world around you slows down as you feel his strong arms around you, supporting you to stand. Your beanie falls off, releasing your soft and feathery hair around your face. You glance into his eyes, whirlpools of glossy black, as your heart skips a beat at the sight of them. He pauses, his lips slightly parted as he watches your face. Rosy nose and cheeks with sparkling eyes and the pale pink of your beautifully shaped lips.

He breaks the trance, quickly pushing you up to stand on your own. "What did I say about watching where you're going?" he says in an acerbic tone.

"Professor!" you exclaim as you step back, straight into a slush puddle. It soaks through your shoes instantly. Your eyes shoot down to the cold flooding your feet. You look back up at Snape, slightly embarrassed.

Snape has a wide grin that forms into a smile, almost laughing at your misfortune. But you don't care. The world melts away once more as his smile stops time, warming your heart and filling you with his contagious joy. You don't think you've ever seen Snape smile like this before and you're instantly hooked on the sight, wanting his face to stay like that forever. You wish he'd sweep you off your feet, right there, beautiful smile still intact.

He snatches your beanie off the ground, brushing the snow off of it. He walks up to you and puts it onto your head. You feel a mix of swooning and annoyance as he lightly taps your head like you're a small child.

"Come along now, let's get out of the cold." He lightly scoffs, still entertained by your shoe mishap. You follow behind him, every step squishing uncomfortably. He leads you into his office, hanging up his coat and turning on the lights with a swish of his wand. He wears a black turtleneck, fitted to the sides of his lean and muscular figure. You feel yourself blush again. He goes into his back room before appearing in front of you again.

"Take off your shoes." He says monotonously, gesturing with his wand. You shyly comply, shifting your shoes off your feet.

"Put these on." He orders, giving you a clean pair of socks, black and thick with a small green "S" on the corner.

You take your wet socks off, revealing your delicate cold pale toes adorned with dark red nail polish. Snape glances down at your feet, but you don't notice as you lay your wet socks next to your shoes and put the dry ones on. Suddenly, Snape waves his wand to enact the hot-air charm, drying your shoes. You smile, wondering why you didn't think of that.

"Thanks." You say, glancing at his lips, his act of heroism sending flutters through your body.

"Why were you out there all alone?" He asks.

You chuckle. "I can ask the same thing about you!"

"Apparently saving you from cracking your head open on the ice." He responds, tight lipped. "And what are you doing wearing shoes like these in this weather?" he scolds.

"I haven't gotten around to buying boots yet! I've been busy." You sigh. It's not entirely a lie, but the main reason is that you didn't have enough to buy a pair and you hate asking your mom for money.

"Yes, I'm sure the Webb twins keep you far too busy." he says, flatly, shaking his head.

You look at him, slightly surprised. How does he know that you are friends with the twins? Has he been...watching you? Noticing you outside of class? The thought of it makes your heart pound against your chest, blood rushing to your cheeks. You glance down at the socks Severus gave you. If you were a house elf, you'd finally be free from the grip Severus Snape has on your heart. But alas, you're even more captured by him from his act of kindness.

"There, this should get you through the rest of the day." Snape says, tucking his wand away into his pocket. Your shoes are completely dry now, still warm from the hot air. The sensation sends a cozy warmth through your feet and to the rest of your body, like a warm blanket fresh out of the dryer. You look down to Snape's handsome figure as he kneels and reaches over to manually light the fireplace. It seems that Snape sometimes enjoys doing things 'the old-fashioned way'. His hair falls gently in front of his face, his focused gaze on the fire as it spreads along the wood. You could watch him like this forever. The orange flames reflecting off of his dark glossy eyes. His relaxed broad shoulders tapering down into his narrow hips. His peaceful expression. Snape's reputation of a mean and dark man, an energy vampire sent to suck the fun out of the lives of his students; it could not be farther from the truth. In this moment, you see nothing but his light. The same feeling you got when he showed you his Patronus. A soft beauty sings within him, and it seems like you're the only one who recognizes it.

"Thank you." You look deep into his eyes with a serious earnestness. "I truly appreciate you." Looking back in hindsight, you cringe at your word choice. Appreciate you? Not "it", but "You"? You groan, burying your face in your hands.

A couple of days later, you walk into your dorm, ready to nap off the day until dinner, but you notice something on your bed. A pair of beautiful white snow boots laced with silver strings and soft fur lining the top. You think that this must've been mistakenly delivered to you, that is, until you read the small note tucked between the shoes.

Don't fall.

-S

You can't help but audibly burst into a chuckle of disbelief when you read the note. Your eyes travel between the note and the boots. Your eyes start to well up with tears until they uncontrollably start streaming down your face. Your heart swells with love and you put a firm hand to your chest, uncomfortable with the unfamiliar sensation. Is this what it's like? To know someone cares? You wash over with relief that your last remark wasn't interpreted oddly by him, but no truer words have ever been spoken. You do appreciate him. You admire him. Maybe just slightly romantically, but more as mentor, as a friend, as a person.

But if his intentions were for you not to fall, it's not working. You are falling, harder and harder every day. For him.

You rush to your desk to write him back. You want to say how thankful you are, how much this means to you, how much you've grown to admire him just in a short amount of time. But you hold yourself back, not wanting to come off too strong even if all of your emotions are dying to be written on the page. And although it may be weird to write these words to him after only a several of weeks of knowing him, you felt it needed to be said.

Dear S,

I will cherish the boots forever, but not longer than I'll cherish you.

-[y/n]