Love's Sorrow - Snape X Reader

Love's Sorrow

    As the new assistant potions professor, you found yourself grading a particularly large stack of papers one night. "This has to be one of the most tedious tasks ever...", you thought. However, you didn't mind it so much, because it meant you had an excuse to stop in and see your favorite person later that evening to drop them off. You two had gotten along far better than everyone thought possible during your short time at Hogwarts.

    A few hours had passed and you finally finished. You looked up at the clock and wondered if it would be too late to stop by. It was closing in on midnight. However, you knew that he was up fairly late. You often wonder if that man ever even slept at all. You grabbed the stack of papers and made your way across the hall to his quarters. You noticed that the door was slightly ajar and could see him sitting in an arm chair reading a book. The candlelight was flickering, lighting up the features of his face quite nicely. You stood in the doorway observing the man for a moment quietly without saying anything. He seemed so at peace, quite the opposite of his normal demeanor during the day. You hadn't really thought about how handsome he was before, but seeing him like this now made you smile. A voice snapped you out of your own internal thoughts, "Are you going to just stand in the doorway or are you going to come in?" "Sorry!", you said quickly. "I was thinking about something, and I lost track of what I was doing." "What were you thinking about?", he asked. "Oh..Um...Nothing", you said walking past him, setting the stack of papers down on his desk. "I honestly just came to drop these off." "Thank you for grading those, I know what a tedious task it can be", he said. "It was no trouble at all. What were you reading?", you asked walking over to where he was sitting. "If you must know, it's a novel", he said. "What about?", you asked smiling. "Nothing important", he said quietly. "Let me see!", you said, grabbing the book from his hand. "Give me that back!", he snapped. "Oooooo it's a romance novel", you teased him. "So what of it, I'll have you know it is a classic", he said quickly. "I'm just messing with you", you said, handing him the book back. You could have sworn you saw a slight shade of pink on his cheeks. "Maybe we could read together sometime, I do enjoy reading myself", you said, smiling at him. "Perhaps...", he said quietly. "Well..I will leave you be, goodnight Severus", you smiled and quickly left the room. "Goodnight..", he replied quietly. Severus could feel his heart beating a lot quicker than normal. Why had she made him so nervous just then. They spend countless hours everyday teaching together, and he had never felt nervous around her before...why tonight?

    A few moments later he heard faint music coming from across the hall. Curious, he got up from his chair, walked across the hallway to your quarters, and listened closely at your door. It was almost like he had no control over his body, as he reached up and knocked lightly on your door. "Why did I just do that...", he thought. The music stopped playing and you opened the door slowly not expecting to see Severus standing in front of you. "Oh! I didn't expect to see you again tonight. What's up? I hope I didn't bother you with my playing", you laughed. "Oh...Well...No...I was just wondering the music was coming from..I..uh..I didn't know you played the piano?", he said nervously. "Oh...Well..yeah! I just haven't had much inspiration to play lately", you smiled softly, opening the door the rest of the way to reveal your near quarters. You had bookshelves lining both sides of the room. Severus wondered how long it had taken you to collect so many. He glanced around your room. He had never actually been over to your quarters before. In the corner of the room, he noticed the piano you must have been playing. It appeared to be very old. It was probably something that had been passed down in your family. Severus stood frozen in your doorway, unsure of what to do next. "Would you like to come in?", you asked smiling, stepping back allowing room for him to step inside. He remained silent, as he stepped quietly inside. "So..What were you playing?", he asked quietly awaiting your answer. "It's a piece called 'Love's Sorrow', come I'll show you", you smiled. He remained still for a moment. "Come on, I'm not going to bite. Why do you seem so nervous?", you asked. Truthfully, he had no clue why he was so nervous. He was alone with you all the time, and he never felt like this before.

    You walked over to the piano and took a seat on the bench. Severus followed you to the piano and stood next to you. "You can sit down", you said laughing at him, moving over to give him space to sit next to you. He smirked slightly and took a seat next to you. He watched you begin to play. You seemed so graceful. He wondered how long you had been playing, because he had to admit you were quite good at it. He realized he had been staring at you for quite some time and nervously turned away from you. When he turned his arm grazed yours and his heart began to race again. He hadn't even realized you stopped playing. "Not too bad?", you asked looking up at him smiling. "Oh..yes you are quite talented. How long have you been playing for?", he asked you. "Oh..hmm...well about 15 years or so now", you smiled at him. "Would you like to try?", you asked him. "I don't know...", he said quietly. "You can help me", you said smiling. You looked down at his hand that laid on his lap and reached out to grab one. Your fingers gently brushed the top of his hand and reached around to lift it up to the keys. Your touch had felt like electricity to him, and he resisted the urge to flinch when you touched his hand so gently. His heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. You gently placed his hand on the keys. "Here..just follow my lead. You can play these notes", you smiled at him. You placed your hands back on the keys and began to play again. You couldn't help but enjoy how close you were to him in this moment. When the song finished the two of you sat there in silence. Neither wanting to get up and end the moment. "It's getting late...", Severus said nervously, getting up quickly almost bumping his knee. "I should probably head back to my room", he said. "Alright...goodnight Severus....", you said smiling at him. "Goodnight (Y/N)...", he said walking over to the doorway. He paused in the doorway for a brief moment. "You can come read with me tomorrow night..if you would like..", he said quietly before leaving the room.

You smiled to yourself as he left the room. "I would love too...", you said quietly.