"Chrysanthemum." Severus Snape x reader fanfiction.

Dance in the dark.

* reminder that reader is of age in this book.

The day started off like any other day, normal and lagging as each class seemed to tick by slower and slower as the afternoon progressed. It was raining again, the sky flooded with dark clouds so thick it almost looked as if it were 9 pm in the evening instead of just barely past noon. It was coming up on potions and while you weren't exactly dreading it, you weren't all too excited to attend either. There was a strangeness surrounding you and Severus these days that you still couldn't quite place your finger on. There were moments where you felt the burning, raging desire to slap him across his smug face. But then again, there were also moments where the both of you said not a single word, gazing into one another's eyes and leaning in for a gentle touch or kiss.

God, you had almost forgotten. You had kissed him. You had actually kissed your potions professor and for just a second, you could feel the anxiety bubbling up in the pit of your stomach. Why him? Why Severus? You could only imagine just what was running through his boggled mind as well as your own. It made absolutely no sense, but it didn't feel as wrong as it probably should've to you. The corridors were busy with students shuffling in between classes, the squeak of their wet soaked shoes echoing in a disjointed fit of unsettling noise. You pushed your way through and meandered down to the damp dungeons, hesitant to step inside the room once you had reached it.

Thankfully, you weren't the first to arrive. You took in a deep breath and entered, taking your place at your normal seat toward the front and placing your textbooks down in front of you. Severus sat silently at his desk, not once tearing his gaze away from the parchment held between his fingers. The chatter between students was low and hushed, causing you to glance around with a subtle hint of curiosity peeking through the depths of your bright hues.

You couldn't quite make out what was said, but something in particular seemed to stick out to you under the guise of a harsh whisper. "I don't know, but I heard he was taken in for questioning just the other day!"

Both students rather quickly caught wind of your eavesdropping and immediately turned to glare right back, clearly not in the mood for your lack of subtlety. You flashed a half hearted, apologetic smile and turned back to the front of the classroom, reaching a hand up to tuck a frew stray locks of hair behind your ear.

"They think he could be a death eater. You know, one of the dark lord's followers..."

"You think he's really back like they say?"

You tried your best to block out the rest of their conversation as you almost hoped the lesson would begin already. You needed something else, something less controversial, to focus on. And as if answering your prayers, Severus sat the parchment off to the side and stood from behind his desk, slowly making his way around to pull the down the white sheet for the overhead projector.

The small chatter dissipated into silence as everyone turned their attention to Snape, who flipped open the pages of his own copy of Advanced Potions and cast his eyes around the filled room with quietly energetic anticipation. You kept your own eyes down as your fingertips ran along the spine of your book until you could easily have memorized each little scratch or tear in the seam of the binding.

"Today, you will be researching and preparing what is called an auxilium serum, a potion that is often used in treating bodily pain and acute illnesses."

His large fingertip dragged along a certain line within his book before he reached to whip out his wand from inside his cloak — a quick flick and the projector switched on, flashing an image of scribbled ingredients and a sketch of what seemed to be some sort of flower. Something about the flower felt awfully familiar to you, until it hit you like a ton of flying bricks and had you reeling within the confines of your seat. The curling petals, the volume of the bloom, the colors...