Snape was standing behind his desk in the potions room on the day before winter break began. The floor was wet from his last class' boots; the students had just come inside from their flying lesson. I walked in, my bag over my shoulder and sat down at one of the tables. I pulled out my potions notes and textbooks and began to study. Snape turned around and looked at me, "What are you doing here, Evans?"
"Sorry, professor. I need to study." I said, not looking up from my books. He walked over and shut the book underneath me. "Can't you take this somewhere else?"
"No, I can't." I opened the book again. Snape snatched the book off of the table and threw it into a pile on his desk "Evans, I'm not giving you a choice to use my room for your foolish studies. I suggest you take your things and leave."
"Professor," I looked up at him over the rims of my glasses "I need you to understand something. If I don't do some studying right now, my friend is going to be in danger. He was attacked, and I don't think that anyone is going to do anything about it. But... okay," I started to pack up my things "I'll leave." I stood up and flung my bag back over my shoulder, walking past Snape's desk to retrieve my other textbook. His eyes followed me around the room and to the door.
"What are you expecting to learn from those texts?" he asked me just as I reached the doorway
I paused, "I don't know, sir. Something to protect him."
He walked up behind me and locked the door before I had a chance to get my hand on the knob. I sighed and dropped my bag "I know you're mad at me. I know I screwed up a lot of things this year, and last year...and the year before." I tilted my head up towards him, he was looking back at me with a softer expression than usual "I could really use your help, professor."
"Normally I don't give private tutoring. But, I suppose I could use these next couple weeks without the common rabble of students to teach you a few things." he leaned down and picked up my bag, handing it back to me "Are you staying for the winter holiday, Mr. Evans?"
I nodded "I am sir, yes."
"What about your friend?"
"I don't believe he's staying. I think he is having Mallory over for Christmas."
Snape grabbed his robe hanging next to the door and slipped it on, unlocking the door and opening it out into the hallway "Meet me back here tomorrow at noon." he said to me before he briskly walked past and departed into the dungeons.
I clutched my bag and headed upstairs to the courtyard. Trent and Mallory were standing with a large group of students waiting for the carriages to take them down to the train depot. Mallory turned around when I came up behind them and smiled
"Oliver, I'm going to miss you!" she gave me a hug and held onto me tightly
"It's just for a couple weeks." I said chuckling "Besides, you'll have Trent to keep you company. I'm sure he has lots planned for you guys to do over the holidays."
"You can say that again!" Trent jokingly slapped my back "I'm going to get to show her the country. Mum and dad just adopted a new horse, so we will probably do some riding as well."
"I've never ridden a horse before. I'm a little nervous, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun." she leaned into Trent as he put his arms around her, "What do you have planned for your time here, Oliver?" he asked
"Actually, I think I'm going to spend some time with professor Snape."
"Oh yeah?" he smirked "Doin' what?"
"Don't you worry about that. I'm hoping he can give me some advice, maybe help me with some of my studies. That's all."
The sound of professor McGonagall's voice boomed over the crowd of students, directing them all down the hill to the carriages. Trent and Mallory waved goodbye as they walked down with the rest of the waiting students, their feet leaving tracks behind in the snow. I stood out in the courtyard for a while. I watched the snow blow across the ground and swirl with the wind. The sun was hiding behind a sky full of white puffy clouds. My face grew cold as the wind blew against it, blowing my scarf gracefully over my shoulder. I took a deep breath and smiled, heading back inside.
The halls were quiet and bare. I could feel the chilly wind pushing its way inside through the windows near the courtyard entrance. I pulled off my scarf and hat, tucking them into the pockets of my robes. I decided to go to the great hall to warm up a bit before heading back to the common room for the evening.
As I entered the great hall, I saw the normally packed tables sitting rather empty. A few students collected at the Hufflepuff table, sipping tea and looking through their textbooks. The Slytherin table was all but deserted; only a few goblets were left from breakfast that morning. I took a seat in the middle of the benches, pulling out a piece of parchment and my quill.
"Do you mind if I join you?" a familiar voice said from behind me. I looked up to see Gregory holding his books against his chest, his tie loosely draped around his neck.
"I don't see why not," I replied "Spending the holidays here at school, then?"
"Yeah, I have some...erm...work to catch up on." he set his books on the table and sat down next to me "Sorry again about breaking your bones and what not."
"It's okay, really. That's just what happens sometimes." I looked up from my parchment "By the way, I meant to ask you. I didn't see you at the ball with Mallory, she was really excited to go. What happened?"
"Oh," he squirmed "Yeah. I was sort of busy doing something else. I apologized to her already and she didn't seem too upset. Heard she was dancing with some other Slytherin bloke by the end of the evening anyway."
"What were you doing?" I asked, dipping my quill
"I can't really say. I'm not supposed to talk about it."
I rolled my eyes "Okay, whatever."
"Look, I want to tell you. It's just...I'd get in a lot of serious trouble if I tell anyone." he picked up one of his books and turned to a page towards the center "I've been falling behind on Defense Against the Dark Arts, real bad. So after I failed my last exam, I decided to ask someone for help."
"I haven't had a class yet this year, but I've heard that the professor shadowing Leighton is pretty laughable," I said. Gregory nodded in agreement, "All I can say is I was training that evening with someone." he said quietly
"Who would have even been able to train you? Everyone was supposed to be at the ball..." I stopped to think for a second. I was remembering now that I didn't recall seeing Snape anywhere in the great hall that evening "Wait a second...Snape was tutoring you?"
"You can't say anything. He's really a great teacher, he's shown me a lot and I'm starting to get a lot closer to a passable grade on my OWLs."
"So that means you were with him the night he was attacked! That's great! You must have seen or heard something."
"Not... no, not really..."
"Come on, if you were with him most of the evening, you had to have seen someone or something out of place. Did anyone come by? Did you see anyone in the halls? Did you..." I noticed Gregory's face had fallen and his shoulders had slumped down. I narrowed my eyes "Wait a second...you didn't."
"It's not what you think!" he said abruptly
"You bastard!" I stood up and glared at him "What did you do to him?!"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down!" the group of students at the Hufflepuff table curiously looked in our direction "I didn't do it on purpose." he grabbed my arm and pulled me back down to the seat "I messed up a spell I was trying to learn and it hit Snape. I didn't know what to do, so I took off to try and find help. How else do you think anyone found you two?"
My jaw dropped, I didn't even know how to respond. "You told them it was you, then? Why did Dumbledore have to pull me aside to see if I knew anything?"
"I didn't actually tell them that it was my fault. I just mentioned there was weird noises coming from the dungeons."
"I can't believe you. He almost died," I rubbed my temple "You do realize I have to report this."
"No, you don't. I already apologized, and don't you think I feel bad enough? It was an accident. You'll end up getting him in trouble for helping me privately."
"I'm not going to sit here and talk about this, Gregory." I stood again and grabbed my stuff "I don't want to see you anywhere near him during this break. Go off and attempt to kill someone else, would you?" I stormed out of the great hall, leaving Gregory behind
The next morning I woke late, the sun had already risen above the rolling hills outside Hogwarts. The lake had a light amber tint to the water when I opened the curtains in the dormitory. I pulled on my jeans and sweatshirt and headed downstairs. The common room was empty; everyone had already awoken and gotten ready for their days. I sat down on the sofa in front of the grand fireplace and waited for noon to arrive.
When the time finally came, I walked to the potions classroom through the empty corridors of the dungeons. I went up and knocked on the door, hearing the shuffling of papers and the sound of a chair being dragged across the floor. Snape opened the door, he was in relatively more casual attire than usual. A solid black, long sleeve turtleneck with a white undershirt poking out of the top. "Are you ready to begin, Mr. Evans?"
"Yes, professor." I entered the room and sat my books on the back table. He had pushed all of the stations off to the sides to leave an aisle in the middle of the room. Snape pulled out his wand and motioned for me to stand at one end of the aisle. "You are wanting to learn how to protect yourself, and those around you from some of the most dangerous and explicit spells and curses known to man?" he asked sternly
"Yes, professor." I took out my wand, raising it to the side "Just tell me what I need to do."
He walked behind me, taking my wrist in his hand "I want you to cast 'Protego'" he said, his face just inches from mine. Continuing to hold my wrist, he made a flicking motion toward the center of the room "Protego".
"Like this?" I moved my hand in the same way Snape had just instructed
"Good, Evans." he said letting go of me and walking to the other end of the aisle. "Now let's see how you cast it." He held his arm high above his head in the starting position, "Flipendo" a burst of light came from the end of his wand, I quickly moved my wand and said "Protego!" the end of my wand illuminated with a soft yellow glow, stopping the spell Snape had just casted from hitting me. I held my stance for a moment, and let my wand down; the yellow dissipated. Snape pushed the hair out of his face, going back to his starting stance. "Now, cast 'Fumos'."
I gripped my wand tightly as I wound it backward, aiming it to the center of the room, "Fumos!" I shouted. Suddenly, a dark smoke began to appear from my wand, filling the entire room. I saw a bright light come from where Snape was standing and head straight towards me; but it never reached me.
A few moments passed, and the smoke began to settle. I saw the silhouette of Snape standing directly across from me start to form. I saw his eyes first become visible through the smoke; they had a tender glow radiating from them. I felt myself close my own eyes, imagining myself dancing in the smoky room with him. I heard the sounds of his shoes hitting the ground as he came closer to me.
I felt the touch of his hand trace up my arm and then to the side of my face. I opened my eyes and gazed back into his; I could feel his breath against my skin every time he exhaled. He outlined my lip with his thumb, tilting my chin ever so slightly upwards. He slowly leaned his face closer to mine; his nose brushing gently against my own. I felt his arm wrap around my back, pulling our bodies closer together.
"Professor..." I whispered, the smoke falling and fading around us
"You have...so much talent," he said quietly, "I cannot wait to see the things that you do." I buried my face into his neck, feeling his grasp around my back tighten.
The silence was suddenly broken when a faint knock at the door sounded. I gasped, pushing myself out of his arms. Snape fixed his collar and answered the door; Gregory was standing there, his books tucked under his right arm "Am I too early for our session?" he said casually
"A shade." Snape scowled, slamming the door in Gregory's face. He came back over to me and furrowed his brow "I think it's time for you to leave."
"Okay..." I said, softly. I watched Snape turn and sit at his desk, pulling out a stack of papers. I quietly gathered my things, and left the potions room. Gregory was leaning up against the wall as I exited. He picked himself up "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." he said to me as I walked past
"I thought I told you to stay away from here." I snapped
"Yeah, well I'm not going to give up my only chance at passing the OWLs." he said, turning to go into the classroom
I stopped in my tracks and spun around, grabbing the back of his shirt. I pulled his face to mine and snarled "If you do anything like that again, I'm going to end you, Fallin." his eyes widened to the size of golf balls as he shook his head in agreement. I let him go, and he quickly scrambled inside.
The following days I continued to meet professor Snape for our private lessons. We started each with a quick duel, practising the new protection spells that he made me perfect. When the sessions would come to an end, he would have me cast "Fumos". Each time I did, the room would fill with smoke, and he would take me in his arms and caress me. I grew used to feeling his embrace at the end of each afternoon.
We began to spend longer and longer together in the potions room; originally he dismissed me at fourteen hundred hours. By the end of week two, I wasn't leaving the classroom until nearly supper time. Switching between learning Defense Against the Dark Arts and making potions, I came to understand what true genius Snape had hidden inside of him. I think I even saw him crack a smile the other day when I added the right amount of powdered root of asphodel to my Draught of Living Death.
"You aren't to ever use a potion of this strength against someone unless you have exhausted all other options." Snape said, stirring my cauldron "And if you have this on your person, make sure you always carry a bezoar with you as well."
"Yes, professor." I leaned back in my chair at the workstation "I have a question, sir."
"What is it, Mr. Evans?"
"Will we be able to continue these sessions once classes have resumed next week?"
Snape sighed softly, turning to face me "No. We will not." I nodded sadly, wiping the table clean with an old rag. "But I want you in my Masters Potions class starting first week back."
I looked up in astonishment, dropping the rag and running over to him; throwing my arms around his shoulders and my face into his chest. He tensed up for a second, holding his hands up and away from me. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around me and he held me tightly. He rested his chin on the top of my head as I took out my wand and said, "Fumos.".