The Potions Master (Severus Snape One-Shots/Short Stories)

The Most Precious Gift

He was so close she could feel the warmth of his body penetate the thin, smooth fabric of her robe, heating up the sensitive skin of her back underneath. Inevitably, the hand with which she was stirring the gently bubbling potion began to tremble ever so slightly.

"Now," Professor Snape's silky voice drawled in stern reprimand." What exactly do you think you're doing? "

She forced herself to take a soothing deep breath before answering.

"Brewing Felix Felicis, sir. "

He snorted. "And in what book is it written that this potion is supposed to be of gooey consistency? Also, I don't recall it being mentioned anywhere that it should smell like rotten eggs."

Silence laid over the gloomy room as a dozen eyes were trained on the girl who, with every torturous second, seemed to only shrink in her seat.

The blush that crept over her terrified face was as deep in color as the Gryffindor crest. "But," she stammered. "I have done everything just like you said."

"Huh." He leaned even closer, snatching a small vial from her desk, rolling it back and forth in his slender fingers, pretending to inspect it. "And when exactly did I say to add powdered wormwood?"

"I... I..."

He completely ignored her desperate attempt at coming up with an answer. "Never, Ms. Winters. Perhaps you should spend less time daydreaming in my class and focus more on the task at hand. Maybe then you might be capable of doing something right for a change."

Quiet chuckles from the other students made the Potions Master spin around at once. He narrowed his eyes dangerously as he hissed, "Silence!"

His order was met with immediate obedience. Not one Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff even dared to look up from their cauldrons.

When he was certain that everyone had gone back to their assignments, Professor Snape leaned back down, his hands resting on the wooden table on either side of the girl.

"Five points from Ravenclaw for your incompetence to follow the simplest of instructions." His voice had become so low and so threatening that she flinched. "And an additional five points for your obvious lack of attention. One can only wonder as to what has your mind so distracted as of late."

"You."

That Faye had not intended to speak that out loud was only too apparent by the way she slapped her hands over her mouth as soon as the word had tumbled out of it.

Time seemed to be frozen. Not a sound was to be heard, not even a breath, as every single soul in this room was holding it.

That is, until a clumsy, blonde boy in the back row dropped the glass jar he had been holding. With a deafening blast it burst into thousands of tiny fragments as it hit the floor.

Under normal circumstances, Professor Snape would have punished this mishap immediately with detention, scolding the Hufflepuff for his carelessness and venting his anger for the noisy interruption. Not today though. His mouth didn't twitch in irritation nor was there the usual spark of anger in his eyes. In fact, one could have gotten the impression that he was actually grateful for the loud disturbance, as it seemed to break the leaden veil of disbelief that had kept the entire class in a paralyzing stronghold.

Excruciatingly slowly, the Potions Master straightened himself, his black cloak rustling softly as his arms brushed against his sides.

"Excuse me?" His quiet snarl echoed from the ancient castle walls.

At first, Faye didn't do as much as blink. She resembled an inanimate object whose sole purpose consisted of being physically present, and nothing more. Then though, as a panicked expression distorted her features, she did the most reasonable thing her anxious mind could think of in that moment. Hastily, she gathered the parchments and books that were scattered about her workplace, and clutching them tightly to her chest, she started for the door. Escape, so it seemed, was the only option to dodge even more embarrassment.