Meeting Patronus | A Severus Snape Love Story

Chapter 16 "Teach me your ways, Severus Snape."

You feel faint walking up to Severus, handing in your Potions final, the last final of hell week. Everything has boiled down to this point. Once you pass the stack of papers to him, your first semester at Hogwarts is complete. Severus looks up at you from the corner of his eye, your eyes fixated nervously on the papers in your hand. He grabs the papers, but your grip is unyielding.

"Problem, Miss [l/n]?" He mutters, aloofly. It shakes you from your fixation.

You clear your throat. "No, sir." You whisper, reluctantly letting go of the papers. He looks at your face, studying your expression, but you don't notice as you look down at the floor and walk back to your seat, putting your head down on your desk to rest quietly before time is up. You just hope you did enough to do well. You'd be crushed, not to mention embarrassed if you failed. You don't think you failed, but this was a tough semester and an even tougher final and your brain is fried at this point. You should be excited, thrilled that all of your finals are complete. But you just feel exhausted. The all-nighters are finally catching up to you. You fall dead asleep right there on your desk. You don't even hear the bell ring, or the happily rowdy students leave the classroom. Severus watches you from his desk for a couple of minutes before going over to check on you. He sits at the desk in front of you, watching you sleep. Your long hair spread over to the desk next to you, your chest gently expanding as you breathe, the curvature of your soft and full lips. He quietly walks back to his desk, deciding you need the rest.

After 30 minutes, your body shocks itself awake. You gasp in a slight panic, unfamiliar of your surroundings as your eyes come back into focus. You look around the room. It's empty. You feel confused. How long was I out? Severus steps back into the classroom from the back room, sipping a cup of earl grey.

"You're awake." He states.

You rub your neck in embarrassment. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long enough. You look terrible." He says, flatly.

Normally you'd have a snide response at his comment, but you look down at your hands. They're still trembling. You make a fist to try to steady. Severus walks over to you.

"Here." He hands you a small vial of deep blue liquid. "I brewed it for you. It'll help with the tremors." He says.

You look into his eyes and smile. "Thank you." You blush.

His lips curl into a small smile. "It's nothing." He says monotonously, making his way to sit back behind his desk.

You uncork the vial and down the whole thing. It tastes sweet and tangy, like blueberry lemonade. Suddenly, you feel a burst of energy inside you, like a second wind. Your hands steady and your mind clears, better than any drug you've taken.

"Wow, what's in this?" you say, surprised at the effects.

"It's a secret." He grins.

You stand and walk towards him, energy buzzing underneath your skin. You haven't felt this good in weeks. He watches you with steady eyes as you make your way around to him, leaning yourself next to him on the desk. Your eyes soften, lips parted slightly. You reach to the collar of his coat, pretending to fix it in an excuse to touch him. A brazen confidence overcomes you.

"You're looking especially handsome today." You smirk, cheekily.

Severus shifts uncomfortably, like he wasn't expecting you to say that. He clears his throat and straightens his back. He feels blood rushing to his face. You're the only one that can make the mean and mighty Professor Snape, blush.

You look at him, color washing over his face. Your heart beats a mile a minute. Is he blushing?

You push back a strand of his black hair from his face and ever so slightly caress his cheek. It's warm to the touch. You want him so bad. His eyes shoot to you as he grabs your hand. It makes your heart skip with excitement and fright. You watch him intently, trying to anticipate his next move. He closes his eyes and flattens your hand to his cheek, holding it there. Your heart melts. You feel the soft prickle of his five o'clock stubble and the heat of his face warms your cold hand. You stay like that a couple of minutes in silence, his eyes still closed. You feel inclined to close your eyes too. Take in the moment with him, but he blinks open and releases your hand.