Love is Chaos Part 2 of A Light in the Dark (Severus Snape x OC)

Chapter 5: Bruises in Remembrance

Warning... dirtiness ahead. About time, right? Enjoy. :)

Severus didn't sleep well that night, tossing and turning, alone in bed, buried beneath the weight of his thoughts. He kept focusing on what had happened only hours prior.

Had he hurt Laura? Had he been a monster?

He had no idea what he had done while in his trance, only that he had grabbed Laura's wrists hard, trapping her against the bed, most likely leaving bruises in remembrance.

Severus scanned the great hall the next morning through exhausted eyes, trying to find Laura somewhere in the room, but she was no where to be found. He didn't see her at lunch, either, forcing worries to creep into his mind, realizing Laura was most likely avoiding him. It was early afternoon by the time he could find her, and he eventually did, realizing she was in the potions room.

Severus almost went into the room, but stopped, lingering outside the door when he heard voices.

"Neville, you will get this," Laura said. "It just takes practice."

"I'll never get it!" Severus heard Neville yell in defeat.

"Of course... it's Longbottom Laura's tutoring," Severus thought with an eyeroll. Severus felt irritated, knowing that Neville didn't have much talent with potions. Severus had a rather short temper when it came to students having trouble grasping concepts.

"Neville, listen: you will get this," Laura told him. "It is about practice. It's not easy, but you'll get better at making these potions."

"Were you ever bad at potions?" Neville asked. "Were you ever bad at anything?"

Severus listened closely, curious of Laura's response. "I've been terrible at a number of things and some things, I started terribly at, but got better with practice, just like you will. You have to practice to get better."

Severus heard Neville sigh. "The only thing I was ever good at was when I made Snape wear my grandmother's clothes."

Severus froze, recalling when he became the laughingstock of Hogwarts when Neville was in his third year. "I'm sorry... what did you say?" Laura asked. "Professor Snape wore your grandmother's... clothes?"

"No!" Neville exclaimed. "My boggart was Snape," Neville admitted. "I... I pictured Snape wearing my grandmother's clothing to make him less scary."

"Oh," Laura said quietly. Silence filled the room for a few minutes with Severus standing outside, curious if their conversation would continue. "Professor Snape was really your boggart?" Laura asked, cutting through the silence.

"He threatened to kill my toad," Neville said quietly. "And he's always so mean to me. I don't know what I did wrong."

Severus huffed in annoyance, not liking where this conversation was going. Severus stepped into the doorway. "Professor Morellis," Severus called out calmly, making Neville nearly jump out of his skin at the site of Severus standing there. It took everything in Severus not to smirk over Neville's fear.

"I really am an asshole," Severus thought.

"Yes, Professor Snape?" Laura asked quietly.

"I need to speak to you about lessons for tomorrow," Severus told her. "Are you available this afternoon?"

Laura didn't say anything for a moment, staring Severus down. He couldn't help but feel worried.

Would she say no? Had she given up on him?