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To many, Defense Against the Dark Arts was perhaps the worst class possible at Hogwarts now, what with Professor Snape being the teacher. The only students who enjoyed the class were the Slytherins, as Snape was their Head of House and biased towards them. But, there was perhaps one other who enjoyed Defense Against the Dark Arts as much as the Slytherins—a particularly studious Ravenclaw by the name of Kaitlee Stevens. She was the stereotypical bookworm, spending a lot of her nights at the library until closing time.
For a girl of sixteen, she looked much older. She was very youthful with doe-brown eyes and very dark, very straight hair. But there was something about her that not many people knew about: She was in a relationship with someone nobody would approve of. It would sound like the worst match possible to anyone, but not to Kaitlee.
Everyone was gathered in the Great Hall for dinner, chatting away about teacher changes or complaining about the excessive amount of homework they had to complete by the following day. Kaitlee remained quiet, one of her legs bounced under the table. She knew where he would be, he wasn't present in the Great Hall. He'd come down earlier to eat but left very quickly. He's probably busy failing everyone except the Slytherins, and me of course.
Knowing that nobody would miss her, for she was always quiet during meals in the Hall, Kaitlee gathered her things and slipped away. She made a mental map of what hallways to take. She also made sure to keep on guard in case of Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. The last thing she needed was for Filch to come running and catch her.
After a successful walk, Kaitlee finally reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. With her heart racing, she opened the door. The classroom itself was empty, but not his office, which was located up the small stairwell at the back of the room.
Kaitlee's footsteps echoed in the silent classroom. She kept her excitement contained, maintaining composure. With each step up to his office, she knew what was coming: the quality alone time she so desperately craved from him.
She didn't bother to knock; the door was slightly ajar, like he was expecting her. Of course he is. This has become habit. Timidly with her fingers, Kaitlee gave the door a shove. It opened more, just enough to allow her to squeeze her slim body through. She closed the door behind her, ensuring some security.
Her mood instantly brightened at seeing Professor Snape. When most viewed him as a strict, Goth-like teacher, Kaitlee saw him as something opposite. She'd seen a hard shell that could be broken with some quality attention its way. She'd seen a broken man who needed some light in his life. She'd thought it'd been impossible to break open the shell at first, but Kaitlee hadn't given up, and within half a year, the cold shell was broken.
"Failing more students?" Kaitlee asked teasingly. She rarely greeted him with a simple "hello" after they started seeing each other.
"No one saw you?" Snape didn't look up from his papers he was currently grading.
"Of course not." Kaitlee tossed her head. "Don't sound like you don't trust me."
"You can come in; you don't have to stand there."
Kaitlee's cheeks reddened. She crossed around the desk to peek over Snape's shoulder at the papers. The current one he was on, the student had awful handwriting.
"Your day was tolerable?" she asked him.
"It always is towards the end when you come around." Though he didn't say it with much emotion, Kaitlee knew he meant it.
She felt him relax when she threw her arms around him. She was his sedative, the one thing that could calm him and get him through the long school day. She sometimes wondered how this came to be, how they were pulling this off in secret.
Something caught Kaitlee's eyes. She swore she saw something on one of Snape's forearms. She leaned in closer, but Snape caught her prying. He wiggled the sleeve down, preventing her from seeing it. Kaitlee sighed through her nostrils. I guess he hasn't told me everything about himself.
"Did you want anything in particular?" Snape asked after a long minute.
"No, I just dropped by to visit." She rested her head against his. "Say, can you bump up my grade more?"
"I thought you said you were here to visit only."
"It just came to mind now, I swear."
"You're already doing well, Kaitlee."
"Is that without you playing favorites?"
"Yes."
"Come on, don't you want me to succeed?"
"You are without my help."
"Something's wrong with you. You sound off." She noticed his voice sounded strained.
"It's stress."
"I gathered that much. What is it, Severus?" The name still felt foreign on Kaitlee's lips. She'd almost let his name slip a few times when she talked in class. Those times she'd almost made people suspect. "You can tell me."
"Not this I can't."
"You told me about Lily, and it almost killed you to do so. This shouldn't be as painful as that."
"It's nothing that concerns you."
"I think it does. We're together. I'm here for you."
"I think it's time you left, Ms. Stevens. Shut the door on your way out."
Kaitlee recoiled. Clearly Snape wanted her gone if he addressed her like that. He hadn't done this for quite some time, ended the visit early. Normally there were a few embraces, long conversations, and a few kisses before she headed back to turn in for the night.
Feeling a bit hurt, she pecked him quickly on the cheek before leaving. What had she done to deserve that? You pried too much and backed him into a corner, her conscience told her. Congratulations, you just built a wedge between you and Severus. Good luck trying to remove it.
As Kaitlee made her way slowly out of the classroom, heading for the Ravenclaw common room, she couldn't help but ponder if this relationship was worth fighting for. It had seemed like it in the beginning, but what had just happened, it baffled her. What was Snape keeping from her? Why couldn't she know about it?
What did this mean for their future as a couple?
**Full disclosure: yet another one of the few requests that I did. Oh, yes, and let me tell you something, I had the hardest time with this. Snape doesn't scream warm, fuzzy, rainbows and kittens. So, I made the best of it.
This was requested by destinedtobeme many, many moons ago.**
