The Assistant || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 3: A Rocky Start

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"I'm sorry...again."

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The first day as Professor Snape's assistant was less than exciting...and the first two weeks weren't exactly smooth sailing either. 

Professor Snape gave you a hand-written copy of his schedule for the week (adapted and edited to comply with your Quidditch practices) on the Sunday evening of your first real week. It was pretty straightforward, and nothing seemed too complicated. The only day that was excluded from any work was Sunday, meaning your Saturdays were usually going to be booked.

Even so, you had accepted your new job.

In all honesty, you were just a little bit excited about it. It was something that you could be proud of and flourish in. Not to mention that you were hand picked for this.

That excitement, however, faded when you began proving to be a real klutz of an assistant. It only seemed to happen when Professor Snape was actually around. Potions tutoring had started with no issues. You had begun with a few students, and you were outstanding in that regard. But when you were doing something one-on-one with Snape, it was like witnessing a car accident.

Just to name a few, you had spilled his tea (or coffee, depending on how bad his morning was going), knocked over cauldrons (both empty and not), and basically anything else that you could dream up. He made you so nervous that you were screwing up royally. That was also a side effect of the Professor Snape Effect. It also didn't help that he wasn't very patient, and he had a temper that could blow at the drop of a hat.

And he doesn't miss any error.

Professor Snape, still not on board with having a Potions assistant, was extra bitter at the fact that he had a student by his side basically all day, six days a week. This also didn't help your nerves knowing that he didn't want you there.

It was Wednesday at 4:30 PM, meaning you would be helping Snape reorganize and tidy his classroom. Potions could often get messy, so it was almost a daily necessity to reconstruct the room to Professor Snape's liking after the school day was over. He had given you a set of tasks to complete. It was mainly housekeeping things because he figured you couldn't possibly mess that up.

But you proved him wrong once again.

A glass vial that was set too close to the edge of one of his shelves caught you elbow as you walked by it. It fell to the floor with a clatter, the bits of glass exploding all over the floor. The orange liquid that spilled and leaked from the broken container was none other than Pepperup. Its use was to treat the common cold, with the short term side effect of steam blowing out of the consumer's ears. 

Thankfully, the potion is only effective if ingested, so you weren't in any immediate harm...other than the fact that your shoes were probably stained for good.

Snape's head snapped in the direction of the sound from where he stood over a cauldron. His eyes went dull with annoyance and his fiery wit surfaced. Based on Professor Snape's expression, he didn't even have to drink Pepperup for smoke to blow out of his ears.

"You're supposed to drink Pepperup Potion, Miss [L/N], not use it to polish your shoes," He snarled. "That's the second potion you've dropped this week."

It was true. Just two days earlier you had mistakenly knocked over a container of Drowsiness Draught which, unlike the Pepperup, only needs to be in contact with the taker's skin to be effective. Let's just say, you didn't remember much after you spilled it all over the front of your robes. You immediately set down the crate of Flobberworms that you were carrying, feeling pressure from Snape's burning stare.