Introduction:
Severus Snape meets a woman in Muggle London. As the years pass by, he slowly starts to fall in love with her. What will happen when he finds out who she's related to?
This is a request from BuckeyeGirl2002. Thank you for your request!
Y/M/N means your mother's name.
I hope you enjoy!
Published: 9/4/2022 ———————————————
Word count: 2k
Warning: Mentions of death and murder
It's a rainy day in Muggle London. Severus Snape, the Potions Master of Hogwarts, has decided to go to this area in order to get away from everything - teaching, Death Eaters, nightmares...
He never seems to be able to catch a break. Maybe he will here where nobody knows him.
He notices a bookshop in the distance. He decides to stroll over there and heads inside in order to get away from the rain.
As he enters, he takes a deep breath. He already feels so much better. He's however startled when somebody approaches.
"Oh, I apologise, sir. I didn't mean to frighten you" the person says, looking apologetic.
Severus takes a look at them. It's a young woman, around his age. She must be the owner of the shop.
He clears his throat. "No need to apologise, I was merely lost in thought. I hope you don't mind me staying in here seeking shelter from the rain" he tells her, hoping she won't kick him out. He rather likes it here, and who knows - maybe he will buy a book or two.
The woman offers him a friendly smile. "Of course not, sir. Would you like a cup of tea?" she offers.
"Tea would indeed be nice" he mutters.
She gestures for him to follow her to a sitting area. It looks quite cozy with two armchairs and a small coffee table.
As he sits down, she leaves the front of the shop to brew some tea for them. A few minutes later, she returns with two cups.
"Here you go, would you like some sugar?" she asks as she grabs the small bowl of sugar.
Severus merely shakes his head as he blows on his tea, trying not to burn his tongue. She copies him, the two of them enjoying their hot drink in comfortable silence.
After a while, the woman decides to speak. "By the way, nice to meet you, sir. My name is Y/N Y/L/N" she tells him.
Severus takes a sip before answering her. "Pleasure to meet you as well. My name is Severus Snape" he replies, seeing no harm in telling her.
She smiles at him. "So, Mr. Snape, what do you do for a living? If you don't mind me asking" she says, looking at him curiously.
He sighs. "I'm a teacher. I decided to take a break by going for a trip to London. How lucky I was that the weather is so beautiful as it is" he sarcastically says, looking out the window to see it still raining.
She chuckles. "Well, a little rain shouldn't stop your small vacation. Do you like to read? You may read any book in my shop if you would like" she offers.
Severus nods. "Thank you... I have been looking for a new book anyway" he states.
He rises from his seat and looks at the many bookshelves to find a book to read. To his luck, he finds one that he hasn't read before. That usually doesn't happen as he has read almost every book that exists in the English language.
He hums as he grabs it. "I have never read this one before" he mutters as he reads the back of it.
Y/L/N peeps at the book. "Oh, I love that one! I promise you won't regret reading it" she tells him.
Nodding, he retreats to his armchair and starts reading. He occasionally answers her questions and sips his tea.
He suddenly realises that he has been there for a few hours when the rain finally stops and customers start to show up.
He immediately closes the book and clears his throat. "I apologise for taking your time..." he says as he rises from his seat, ready to leave.
Y/L/N smiles at him as she grabs the two empty cups. "Don't worry, Mr. Snape. I rather enjoyed your company" she confesses, her cheeks a little red.
"So did I" he admits, his own cheeks slowly turning pink.
As more and more customers enter the shop, Severus decides that now is the time to leave.
"Anyway, this book was rather interesting. I would like to buy it" he says as he searches his pocket for some money.
To his horror, he realises that he only brought Galleons with him. How stupid could he be?! He knew that he was going to MUGGLE London!
Apparently, he's just as much of a dunderhead as his students...
As he sees Y/L/N talking to another customer, he tries his best to put the book back on the shelf sneakily. However, she immediately notices.
"Mr. Snape, did you not want the book?" she questions, looking confused.
Severus sighs. "I did, but... I realise that I forgot my wallet at home..." he tells her, hoping she will believe him and let him leave without any more questions.
Her next words surprise him, though.
"Oh... Well, you can have it. For free" she whispers, clearly not wanting her other customers to hear. They might just demand free books as well.
He raises an eyebrow at her. "Really? Are you sure?" he asks, feeling unsure about this. Is she truly fine with him taking the book for free?
She nods, smiling at him. "Of course. I really did enjoy your company today... If you want and have time, you can come back and return the book. You may borrow another book next time" she says, chuckling a bit.
The corners of his lips slowly turn upwards. "If that's the case, then... I'll be back for another book soon. And thank you, Ms. Y/L/N" he says.
"I'll look forward to it! You may call me Y/N" she states.
"Well, Y/N... You may call me Severus" he mutters. He almost winces when he notices an older lady cooing at them.
He clears his throat. "I'll see you again, Y/N" he tells her as he quickly leaves. As he does so, he can hear Y/N giggling while she helps her customers.
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It's been a few years. Severus always visits Y/N's bookshop whenever he has time. He often uses the excuse that he needs a new book - which isn't the case most of the time as he has read almost all the books she sells, but still.
During these years, he has slowly started to fall in love with the Muggle woman. She has been so kind to him.
Besides, he thinks that she's... really beautiful. Whenever they are together, he can't seem to keep his eyes off of her. Especially not her lips...
Right now, Severus feels stressed more than ever. Not too long ago, the Order found out that the Dark Lord didn't kill all of his Muggle family members when he was young.
It turns out that his father had a much younger sister who wasn't there that night... And that woman has a daughter - the Dark Lord's cousin.
The Order has talked about finding the Muggle woman in order to hide her from him. They fear he might be looking for her so he can create yet another Horcrux...
They can't let that happen. Plus, they know for a fact that he wishes to end his entire Muggle family. His aunt is presumed dead, but the cousin is alive somewhere.
The only question is - where is she? And who is she?
As the stress is slowly getting to him, Severus decides to pay Y/N a visit. However, when he arrives, he doesn't see her. Instead, he spots an older man.
"Hello, sir. How may I help you?" the man asks.
"Well... I'm looking for Y/N Y/L/N, the owner of this shop. Is she not here today?" Severus questions.
The man gives a sad smile. "Unfortunately, she isn't. She hasn't been here for a while. I'm merely here until she returns" he states.
Severus blinks a few times. "She isn't here...? Where is she? When is she coming back?" he asks, almost sounding desperate.
"I wish I could tell you, but the truth is... I don't know. She didn't tell me that" the man says, sighing.
Defeated, Severus turns around. However, just as he's about to leave, a thought crosses his mind. But it isn't a pleasant one.
"If you don't mind me asking... Do you know if she has always had the same last name?" Severus asks, fearing the answer.
"She has. However, her mother didn't. She was a very nice lady, I knew her during our younger days" he reveals, smiling at the memory of Y/N's mother.
"What was her last name?" Severus asks, sounding a little impatient.
"Ah, her last name was Riddle. Y/M/N Riddle. I remember that one of her older brothers killed the other brother and their parents. It was a tragic story. Y/M/N was very young and was visiting her aunt at that time. After what happened, she lived with her ever since" the man explains.
Severus widens his eyes. His worst fear is true... Y/N's mother was a Riddle! Y/N is the Dark Lord's mysterious cousin!
But if she isn't here, then... Could the Dark Lord already have found her? Is she already dead?
He leaves the shop in a hurry and apparates to Hogsmeade. He quickly approaches Hogwarts and enters the castle, running towards the Headmaster's office... Only the old fool isn't there.
Growling, Severus decides to pay the members of the Order a visit. He enters Grimmauld Place, being out of breath.
"Ah, Severus. Is everything okay?" Remus Lupin asks, raising an eyebrow at the Potions Master who's out of breath.
"Where... Where is... Dumbledore...? I need... to talk... to him" Severus manages to say.
He doesn't care that the others see him like this - out of breath and probably sweating from running back and forth. All that matters right now is Y/N. Is she okay? Is she alive?
Finally, the Headmaster decides to show up. "Severus. Is everything okay?" he calmly asks.
Severus balls his hands into fists. "No, everything is NOT okay! I know who the Dark Lord's cousin is! We must hurry, she could already be dead-!" he exclaims just as Dumbledore stops him.
"We know, Severus. She's here. We decided to put her into hiding here where she would be safe. I must have forgotten to tell you" the old man says, his eyes sparkling.
Severus stares at him, dumbfounded. They knew... And they didn't tell him?!
"Where?" he demands.
"The room next to yours-" Dumbledore simply says just as Severus runs up the stairs.
He immediately opens the door, not even thinking of knocking. And there she is - Y/N Y/L/N. She's safe.
"Severus-!" Y/N exclaims. She however barely gets to finish her sentence as he hugs her tightly. She immediately hugs him back.
"I thought I lost you... I thought you were dead" he whispers, not daring to let go of her.
She rests her head on his shoulder. "I'm okay, I promise" she assures him.
He sighs. "So... You know everything? What I am? And what's going on in our world?" he slowly asks.
She nods. "I do. I must admit, I didn't believe them at first when they asked me to come with them. But they showed me something - some sort of memory. It was enough to convince me that they were telling the truth" she explains.
She then sighs. "I had no idea that one of my uncles had a child... My mother didn't either. She at least never told me. I can't believe I have a crazy and dangerous cousin... He made our uncle kill our other uncle as well as our grandparents..." she whispers, shuddering at the thought.
Severus squeezes her shoulders. "I'm sorry that you are involved in this..." he whispers.
She looks up at him, offering him a reassuring smile. "Well, at least you can tell me anything now. You don't need to hide anything since I know that you are a wizard" she says.
Giving a small smile, he hugs her even tighter than before. "I just hope that we will both survive this, because... Because I have fallen for you" he admits. He feels her intertwining their fingers.
"I have fallen for you too, Severus. And both of us will survive, I just know it" she assures him.
And she's right. The Dark Lord never found her, and Severus survived Nagini's attack. After the war, Y/N and Severus live happily ever after together.
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Author's note:
There will be a part two on 12/26/2022!
The next one shot "Arousal Potion" (LM) *smut* will be published on 9/5/2022!