Wizarding World One-Shots!

Mentor (Fem!reader, Severus Snape*)

(*-no real pairing)

You couldn't understand what Professor Snape had against you. You couldn't recall having done anything to warrant it. All you had done was ask for his help. Still, you weren't going to let his standoffish attitude deter you from accomplishing your goal of becoming a Potions Master. Just like him. To that end, you turned to others for help. You were going to prove Snape wrong.

You enlisted the help of your best friend. She tutored you constantly, along with the new Potions professor, Slughorn. He was, by far, one of your favorite teachers, although he was a bit eccentric. But he was no Professor Snape. Snape was who you wanted to prove your worth to. You worked hard, improving your Potion making day after day.

You worked tirelessly until one day, you knew you'd done the best you could. You had managed to brew three of the most difficult potions that students were allowed to brew. Now, you were going to show them to Professor Snape. Once you could catch him anyway. Outside of Defense Against the Dark Arts, you hardly saw the man. But one day, you finally managed to catch up to him. He had stayed later in his classroom than usual.

"Professor Snape?" He looked up in surprise. You almost missed the look since he schooled his features quickly. "Miss Y/L/N, I trust you have a good reason for this interruption?" You nodded and slowly approached his desk. One at a time, you pulled the vials of potions from your bag. "I brewed these to show you." He glanced down before looking at you once again with a raised brow. "And why? I am no longer your Potions professor."

"No you are not. But you told me once that I didn't have the focus or determination to adequately brew these potions safely. I set out to prove you wrong. I worked and studied a long time. I want to be a Potions Master, Professor. And I would be grateful and honored to learn the most advanced potions from you."

Snape sat back in his chair slightly, looking at you so intently you swore he could kill you where you stood with just that look. "Surely you would rather Professor Slughorn teach you?" You automatically shook your head. "No, Professor. Professor Slughorn is a good teacher. Truly he is. But he is not you. I need to learn the best potions from the best Potions Master I know. Please Professor. Just, look at the potions. Then decide. That's all I ask."

Snape merely studied you with his black eyes for a moment. You waited, albeit a bit impatiently. You didn't have any more classes for the day, but your friends were expecting you. Slowly, Snape sat back up fully and pulled the closest vial toward him. After examining the bottle, he carefully uncorked it. You weren't worried about him getting hurt even though they were powerful and potentially dangerous potions. He knew what he was doing. Not to mention, you had antidotes in your bag if necessary.

The classroom was eerily quiet as you waited for him to say something. You needed his approval. After a few moments, Snape looked at you again. "These are...adequate." You felt your heart deflate. Adequate? You'd worked so hard and now you felt defeated. That is, until he spoke again.

"They show promise. Perhaps I was hasty in my judgment of your abilities." You couldn't fight the smile on your lips even if you tried. That was the closest thing to a compliment you would get from him at this point. He hummed to himself before reaching into his desk for a book that looked suspiciously like a journal. "Study the first three potions written in this book. We shall have lessons every Tuesday and Thursday after classes unless I say otherwise." You took the book and nearly ran from the room when he dismissed you with a wave.

*time skip*

Your forehead was slick with sweat and you were pretty certain that if Snape watched you any closer, you'd put too much of one ingredient in and blow up the entire school. You did not want to start being compared to Seamus. Not when your potions work had improved leaps and bounds since you'd begun working with Snape. Very careful, you put exactly 6 drops of the ingredient and began stirring it counterclockwise seven times. Snape had you working on a very precise potion. If you messed up, it would be disaster for everyone. Snape would hate you then.

Actually, working with Professor Snape one-on-one wasn't nearly as bad as in the classroom. He had more patience since he had time to work with you on what you'd messed up on. He still grew irritated easily when you made stupid mistakes, but you had learned how to either ignore it or soothe it in order to correct your mistakes. You'd been working with him for months now and he was finally letting you try one of the more complicated potions in his book.

You finished stirring the potion and took a step back ready for Snape to judge your work. You bit your lip as you waited. Snape took his time examining the potion. You knew you had done the steps correctly, but that didn't necessarily mean the potion was up to his high standards. The minutes waiting for him to say anything felt like an eternity.

When he finally looked at you again, you saw something you never thought you ever would. Not in a million years. Professor Snape was smiling. Well, it looked a lot like a small grimace, but you would take it as a smile from the usually grumpy man. "You have most definitely improved. I would be surprised if you didn't receive full marks on your exams." You nearly jumped up and down in your excitement. "Really? Thank you, Professor!"

"It isn't often that I have to admit that I was wrong. But I was in your case. You have become quite proficient." You felt your chest blooming with pride. You didn't think you'd ever get his approval. And now he was saying that could actually achieve your dream. You wanted to cry, but you kept it bottled up. As soon as he dismissed you, you thanked him again and practically ran to find Hermione. You couldn't wait to tell her and more importantly, you couldn't wait to prove to your new mentor that you could more than live up to his new expectations.