𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 | ꜱᴇᴠᴇʀᴜꜱ ꜱɴᴀᴘᴇ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ ᴏɴᴇ-ꜱʜᴏᴛꜱ

ᴛᴀʟᴇ ᴏɴᴇ: ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ꜰᴏʀ ʏᴏᴜ

"I believe we didn't have a chance to meet before, my name is Y/N Y/L/N," a fifth-year Y/H/H student said with a polite smile as she extended her hand to greet him. She crouched down, giving him the book he had dropped when they arrived.

The sixth-year Slytherin was sitting on the grass, his back rested on a big oak tree in the Hogwarts Grounds. A quill in his hands, as he just picked it up from the ground. His appearance was messed up, from being held up in the air and tossed down violently. There was some dirt on his robes, and his face was red — it was about to be bruised, she knew that.

"My name is Severus Snape, and no, I don't think we did,"  he said, his voice still holding the impact they caused on him — irritation, and powerlessness, "and if you too came here to mock me, I suggest you leave immediately."

She sighed with a smile, brushing off dirt from his robes. "Now, why would I do such a thing?"  she asked, her voice showing honesty. "Those idiots are a pain in the arse, doing everything to impress the redhead. Especially the git with the glasses."

The words she spoke caused both agreement and nervousness in Snape. She had just now noticed the wand that has been lying in the grass a metre or two behind him. At that, she stood up and went to fetch it.

"I believe this is also yours,"  she said softly, handing him the wand, which luckily wasn't broken. He was tired of going to Ollivander's and getting a new wand every time he encountered the Marauders.

"Congratulations on the marvellous conclusion,"  he said, sarcasm and irritation dripping from his words.

"I would appreciate it if you could lower the sarcasm, I'm trying to help you,"  Y/N said, "You don't deserve any of this."

That caused a pang of hope to Severus's mind — maybe there is someone who thinks better of him than everyone. In fact, maybe there is someone who thinks better of him than himself...

"Of course I do. After all, I'm just a greasy Slytherin who they mock and torture whenever they want,"  he said, striking Y/N right into the heart.

"Hey,"  she said, as if he had offended her instead of himself, "I've heard otherwise — I've heard Severus Snape is a talented young Slytherin wizard who will one day be more powerful than all of them combined."

A slight shade of pink appeared on his cheeks, but it was almost invisible to anyone. Her words hung in the air, unexpected and full of conviction. Severus blinked, momentarily stunned. He'd expected another layer of mockery, or at best, empty words meant to comfort. But this — this felt different. Real.

He turned his head slightly to look at her, brow furrowed in disbelief. "What are you on about?"

She met his gaze, unwavering. "I mean it, Severus. You're brilliant. They're just too stupid to see it."

Severus looked away quickly, the weight of her words almost too much to bear. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I?"  she countered. "They might think they're better than you because they've got the popularity or the bravado, but you... you've got something far more valuable."

"And what's that?"  he asked, the bitterness still clinging to his voice, but there was a flicker of curiosity there too.

"Power,"  she said simply, a small smirk appearing on her lips. "Real power. And the drive to be better. Those fools' peak is here, in their school days. They'll fade away eventually, but you — you're going to make your mark on this world."