Hearts are Blind (Severus Snape X OC)

Hook, Line and Sinker

They were thrown to the floor from the blast. He felt the heat scorch his back and singe his hair, as he covered the girl with his body. He thought she screamed, but he couldn't be sure; the noise from the explosion had momentarily deafened him. In just a minute it was over, but the table and surrounding area was a mess. Snape learned this when he lifted his head to look behind him. That's when he also realized the back of his robes were on fire and so were several chairs and tables. He quickly stripped the outer robes off, glancing at Lucinda as he did so. She was still partially covering her head, but now she was peeking out from under her arms with terrified eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked a little breathlessly.

Lucinda pointed. "Fire—" she croaked. "Y-You're still on fire!"

Severus nearly jumped out of his skin. He hadn't even noticed the embers had quickly burned all of the way through his robes and were making their way through the next layer. He undid the countless buttons that stretched from his neck to his waist in record time, and then peeled the black fabric from his shoulders.

Lucinda watched him in shock. First, because of the seriousness of the situation. She hadn't thought this would happen—never would have imagined professor Snape could end up hurt because of it. But before her guilt could even start to sink in, her attention was unexpectedly consumed by the man who was standing in front of her. He'd undone the tight line of buttons that ran the length of his neck and down the middle of his torso, and it was at that moment that Lucinda saw the first glimpse of the white beneath. Like a black-shelled egg, cracked and peeled away to expose the silken white inside, Snape pulled the dark, frock coat away from his throat, down along his sternum and then back off of his shoulders. In reality, he'd done it very quickly, distracted by the prospect of burns to his back, but Lucinda didn't see it that way. She saw it slowed down. She saw it with eyes that never blinked.

The man's snowy, white undershirt burst forth like the fresh petals of a white rose, just opened. After so many times that she'd seen him cloaked in his solid black (literally and figuratively), the dark and menacing way he usually carried himself, she couldn't help but stare at this seemingly untouched version of him; a version most people probably never saw. Even as an undershirt, though, he still wore it tailored and fitted against his chest and torso, with more buttons down his front. The sleeves were also rather trim against his arms, rather than billowy or flowing, like some others might be.

The girl's eyes trailed down. She tried to swallow the tightness in her throat. She'd never seen the entirety of his slacks, either. His robes and coat always concealed everything but the knees down, so she never had any reason to linger anywhere above... Now she saw that his shirt was tucked neatly in the black slacks, which came up to what she imagined was just below his navel. She tried to swallow again and thought she might choke. He was actually thinner than she thought. She'd hugged him in the past, but the many layers must have been deceiving. For some reason, seeing him exposed such as this, he seemed much younger. He seemed his age. There was even an air of innocence about him... All at once, it overwhelmed her and sent her into a state of regret and bewildering sadness.

"I swear to Merlin, I am going to take one-hundred bloody points from your House!" The man was spitting, as he put out the flaming chairs and tables (and a bit of the ceiling, as well). He'd left her there on the floor, while he went to repair some of the more pressing damages and dangers to the room. She seemed to be in shock, anyway. She'd stayed silent and just gaped at him dumbly, as if she couldn't believe her potion had actually exploded. He had warned the stupid girl not to continue and did she listen? No! She'd actually tried to deceive him! What a piece of work, this girl was!

Since she was obviously in shock—and obviously not harmed—Snape had taken it upon himself to just ignore her and get started on the clean up. All of her extra ingredients were destroyed, along with her cauldron and, regrettably, her notes, as well. He glanced over his shoulder at the girl (she just stared, eyes wide and chin shaking slightly). She wasn't going to be happy about her notes... Even though he knew she'd been so reckless and careless about the precautions, he also knew how much joy it had given her over the past month. This Everlasting Elixir (even though he still wasn't completely convinced that that's what she was honestly trying to make) was her beacon in the darkness of her daily life. It didn't take a genius to see that she was unhappy outside of his classroom... and after everything that went on today, he wasn't sure if she had another beacon strong enough to chase away her darkest shadows that were left.