Loved By You. (A Severus Snape Love Story)

Chapter Sixteen: The Apprentice

I started my apprenticeship with Snape two weeks after our meeting as I was eager to get started but the rest of the students were still to be elected as the process for the other departments were still ongoing.
I would help out with the younger students in my free periods or take time out of other classes to help Snape. A lot of the time there was so much work to be done I would have to stay behind after class for a few hours but Severus refused to let me help out any longer that 7:00, insisting he would finish it all himself in the next hour, but I knew fine well he'd be up after midnight preparing for his classes, marking essays, and making potions. And on top of that he would often receive letters from my grandfather or the Ministry of Magic requesting for a certain potion or ingredient that they had run out of. I quickly began to understand why he was always so moody and looked so tired all the time; he didn't get any sleep. And my suspicions were that even if he had time to sleep, he probably couldn't.

The dynamics between Snape and I balanced each other out perfectly. Where his harsh, scathing tone scared the new first years, I comforted them, complimenting their work and helping out with their potions, giving them confidence. When the deathly quiet sound of nothing but quills scratching on parchment began to stress out the fourth, I took it upon myself to make snide, snarky remarks about the professor causing them all to laugh. At first it was risky I had no right to jeopardise Snape's civility towards me but he quickly came to understand I was only doing it to lighten the mood .and we would have a laugh about it later - well, I would laugh and Snape didn't yell at me, so it was practically the same thing.
Snape's severity and my kindness made for a great balance while teaching. He would keep them in check, making sure every scrap of work that was handed out was finished and I motivated them to want to come into potions, and actually do the work, to maybe realize how fun potions actually is when you're not being scrutinised.

It was last period on Wednesday and I had been taken out of Herbology to help out with the first years. I had to run through the castle so I would make it to the dungeons in time from the astronomy tower. When I arrived Snape was standing at the front of the class and had already begun the lesson, still panting I walked up to the front of the class to join him. He shot me a quick smirk as I took the seat behind his desk but then he instantly turned to face the class again and I could tell he was scowling once more.
Obviously someone had done something wrong as he seemed to be on a rant and it didn't look like he would be stopping any time soon. I tried to pay attention for a while but soon I just drifted off and absentmindedly began sketching. Bored of not having anything to draw I finally settled on the man before me. His back was towards me and I couldn't see his face so I had to draw him entirely from memory. It wasn't entirely accurate as his features were so distinguished and exact but I did the best I could and he turned out to look quite handsome.

It was almost half way through the period when Snape finally stopped talking and let the students get on with their work. They were supposed to be making a Herbicide Potion but after what ever had happened before I arrived Snape had now set them an essay listing all types of cauldrons.
He turned again, his smirk returned, and drifted over towards me.
"Comfy?" He asked, leaning on his desk and looking down on me. It wasn't until then that I realised I was sitting with my feet on his desk, my sketchpad on my lap, finishing off my drawing.
"Oh sorry." I laughed removing my feet. "Do you want me to move?"
"No don't bother, there's some stuff I need to get done for tomorrow." I felt him walk behind me and lean on the back of his chair, looking over my shoulder as I sat admiring my drawing. When I caught him looking I instantly flipped the pad over. I craned my neck around to face him, a smug expression appearing involuntarily on my face.
"Did you want something?" I grinned, holding my pad close to my chest so he could no longer see.
"No, nothing." He smirked walking away, occasionally looking back at me.
I left my quill and parchment on Snape's desk and made my way around the class to check up on the first years. Everyone seemed to be getting on with their work and doing well except once small Ravenclaw girl who had barely written a sentence.
"Is anything wrong?" I asked bending down to her height, only to notice the tears in her eyes. "Why are you crying?"
The girl sniffed and looked up at me, her wide blue eyes brimming with tears, that refused to fall.
"Professor Snape shouted at me." She sobbed.
"I wouldn't worry about it too much, he shouts at everybody." I nodded in understanding. "What did he shout at you about?"
"I was late and I forgot the homework he assigned in my dorm." She continued to sniffle. "I was up all night doing it, I really wanted to impress him, I wrote it over and over again, I was even doing it this morning, I missed breakfast and that's why I forgot it. I never had time to go back to my dorm to get it because I was in Care of Magical Creatures last period and that's why I was late." She explained.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"Lucy, Lucy Weatherfield."
"Well Lucy, why did you want to impress Snape so much anyway."
"I really like potions, it's my favourite subject but Professor Snape just seems to be in a bad mood all the time, I wanted to make him smile."
"Oh Honey, Professors Snape's always been that way, there's nothing you could do to make him smile. But I'll speak to him about why you were late and forgot your homework."
"Thank you." She smiled weakly. "But how come Professor Snape likes you? I thought it was because you were good at potions, if I get good at potions will he like me too?"
"What makes you think he likes me? Because I can assure you he really doesn't."
"He's always a lot nicer to us when you're here, and when the two of you talk he seems sort of happy." I scoffed at her naïve remark.
"I wouldn't call it happy... more civil, we absolutely hated each other, until recently it got too stressful for the both of us and decided to put it to rest. But to be fair that might have something to do with the fact that Dumbledore's my grandfather, anyone else he'd probably make their life hell. I think sometimes he's just happy to have some help, he works really hard you know, it can be stressful for him doing this all the time."
"I understand, so maybe I should just leave him alone is what you're saying."
"Just for now until he can relax a bit." The girl nodded and started on her essay, scribbling at a pace faster than I had ever seen a first year write.