Lifeline

{ chapter 5 }

You must have been asleep for quite a while, the sun was now starting to set. You awoke to madam Pomfrey bringing you your dinner on a tray, you took it and put it on the table beside you. Your appetite had gone and your head was still pounding. *knock knock* Madam Pomfrey approached the door and opened it to reveal a seemingly fed up professor Snape. " ahh Severus." She greeted," Poppy." He replied shallowly. She guided him in towards your bed, he looked you up and down." I need to tend to some other patients before we can talk about miss L/N's situation, keep an eye on her if you will, I won't be a minute." Snape rolled his eyes unimpressed, and she swiftly walked away.

You were left looking at each other in silence for a short period of time, not uncomfortable silence though, in fact you felt surprisingly comfortable considering you were holding eye contact with Severus Snape himself . You decided to break the silence ," Thank you professor." He continued to look at you, no reply. You took a breath, "And I'm sorry for disrespecting you how I did, it was a mistake." No answer, your heart sank. Well he can't say i didn't try. He turned towards the window next to you and pulled the curtains apart to reveal the most majestic sunset you had ever seen. It framed the castle beautifully and painted everything with a golden glow. The light covered his face and you could see his every feature lit up perfectly. Wow, he is so handsome. You had only ever seen him in the darkness of his classroom or in the dim lighting of the great hall. Seeing him like this took your breath away.

He turned his gaze back at you, " You're forgiven." You snapped out of the bubble of admiration you were momentarily trapped in, "Does this mean you are not mad at me anymore Professor ?" you asked hopefully. He looked back towards the sunset, " I never was." The overwhelming weight of guilt levitated off your shoulders instantly, it meant the world knowing that he had not held anything against you. "Sir, can I talk to you about something?" He closed the curtains abruptly, hiding the sunset away as if your speaking had interrupted a private moment of reflection for him. Oops ! You were sat up fully now, your legs dangling off the edge of the bed as you patted the left side of it asking him to sit down next to you. After a moment of hesitation on his behalf, he began to move towards you and sat down on your right. Wow he really doesn't like being told what to do!

You smirked and turned your body towards him. " My my miss L/N, I know you seem to have a habit of not doing so, but you should really watch where you are going." He hummed, sweeping your hair to the side of your face to reveal the patched up cut on your forehead. Still referring to when I walked into him? Clearly hasn't quite let that go. His face remained emotionless as he continued to examine your wound tenderly. Him actually being concerned about you caught you completely off guard, he did add a snarky comment during it all but either way you appreciated the overall message.

His completely un-phased facial expressions made it hard for you to see clearly, but you could still tell he somewhat cared deep down . He can't fool me, there must be a soft spot in there somewhere! His gentle hand traced your face, caused a surge of warmth to travel up your spine making you lightly blush. He raised an eyebrow after seeing you nervously look away from him."Now, what are you insistent on talking to me about?" He questioned. You spoke in a soft tone where he could just about hear you say," Do you really think I'm a brat?" You had been wanting to ask that from the first time he called you it. You did give him many reasons to think you were, but it still hurt to hear it, especially from him.

"Why do you ask miss L/N?" Now seeming to only be playing with your hair and no longer looking at your injury. " Because my parents call me that, no matter what I do they always find something to complain about or insult me for, just knowing you might think of me in the same way hurts...Professor." He laid down the peice of hair he had of yours intertwined between his fingers and looked at you still straight-faced, but with empathetic eyes. " I know I'm not in a place to tell you what you can or can't call me but-" he placed a soft finger on your lips to shush you, " You are a very advanced and talented witch Miss L/N and you never fail to impress even me with your knowledge, but if you don't wish to be called that I suggest sorting out your attitude" you nodded, " Especially. Towards. Me." You exchanged smirks as he took your soft hair back into his fingers.

Madam pomfrey could then be heard walking down the hallway towards you both. "Taking good care of our patient Severus?" She exclaimed. Snape shot up from the bed and brushed himself off transforming back to his usual cold self. " Indeed." You caught madam pomfrey's eye, you were still blushing massively. "Oh deary me miss L/N, you seem to be all flushed and red in the face! Lay down and rest." Snape looked at you trying not to react, the corners of his lips lifted into a smirk until you shot him a look as if to say 'stop it!' " Severus please follow me, you must fill out a quick witness form if you will." She walked off, Snape took one last glimpse of you and followed, leaving you to do nothing more than simply sleep.