Year 3 Part 2 (chapter 12)
Word count: 1.6k
Warning: Mentions of death, execution and werewolves
Severus sighs. It's only the first day of school, and the half-giant has already messed up.
He's currently in the Hospital Wing, listening to Draco's complaints and whimpers. His parents are on their way, which only means more as well as louder complaints from the boy... Great.
Y/L/N is sitting on a chair next to Draco's bed as she tries to comfort him. Severus can tell that the girl knows Draco isn't in that much pain - she's just being polite and helping her friend.
"Stop whining, your father will be here soon" Severus says in irritation.
The boy groans. "And wait until he hears about this! He will get Hagrid fired! And his bloody chicken executed!" he exclaims, sounding like a drama queen.
That makes Severus raise an eyebrow. "Chicken? You seem to be in need of glasses. Hippogriffs are much larger than chickens, as well as more dangerous" he points out which makes Draco glare at his Godfather.
Just then, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy enter the Hospital Wing. "My boy! Are you all right, Draco?" Narcissa asks with worry in her voice as she runs towards her son, grabbing his hand.
Lucius scowls. "It was that blasted half-giant, wasn't it? I can't believe Dumbledore hired him! That old man isn't fit to run this school" he says through gritted teeth, sounding furious as he taps the floor with his cane.
He then notices the girl sitting next to his son's bed. "Ms. Y/L/N" Lucius says as he greets her.
Y/L/N immediately rises from her seat. "Hello, Mr. Malfoy, Mrs. Malfoy. It's a pleasure to see you" she says as she bows, giving them a shy smile.
Narcissa smiles back. "Likewise. And no need to be so formal, please call me Narcissa. You are my son's best friend after all" she points out as she chuckles.
That surprises Severus. He knew that the two young teenagers were friends, but he didn't know they were best friends. Now that he thinks of it, they do always sit next to each other.
"Mother..." Draco pouts, probably embarrassed with his mother wanting to be on first name basis with his friend.
"Well, then it's only fair if you call me Y/N" the girl says, still smiling at the woman.
"Now, Cissy, if you are done with stealing Draco's friend, we may leave to press charges against Rubeus Hagrid and his hippogriff" Lucius states, wrinkling his nose. His wife playfully hits his arm.
"See you on Christmas, Draco. Ms. Y/L/N, Severus" Lucius says, bidding the three of them goodbye as he and Narcissa take their leave.
Severus can't help but think about what will happen to Rubeus and his pet hippogriff... Well, he just hopes that there will be no more incidents.
--
Two days later, Severus decides to go for a stroll in the halls. He has just finished brewing Wolfsbane Potion for Lupin...
Albus gave him the task, of course. They can't have a werewolf teacher not being able to somewhat control himself during the full moon, right?
As he's walking, he suddenly hears crying. Confused, he decides to figure out where it's coming from.
Once he gets closer, he spots Y/L/N and Lupin outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom. Lupin seems to be comforting the girl with a hand on her shoulder.
She must have been the one he heard crying... What happened?
When she nods at Lupin and turns to leave, wiping off her tears with her sleeve, Severus approaches his colleague.
"Ah, Severus. Good to see you" Lupin says as he greets the man.
The Potions Master growls. "I just saw Ms. Y/L/N with tears in her eyes... What in Merlin's name happened?" he demands.
Lupin chuckles a bit. "She just got upset. You see, I'm teaching the third-years about Boggarts, and hers made her quite sad. I took her aside to make sure that she was okay, of course" he explains.
Severus nods. He wonders what the girl's Boggart was.
"Very well. As long as nothing happens to my Slytherins..." he warns.
Lupin smiles. "I assure you, Severus, that your Slytherins are safe in my hands. I just can't help but wonder - you didn't seem this angry when Draco Malfoy got injured" he points out.
"Where are you getting at, Lupin? I care about all my Slytherins. I just happen to know that Mr. Malfoy was fine, his injuries weren't as bad as he made them seem" Severus states, raising an eyebrow.
"Right. If you say so, Severus. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to get back to teaching my class" the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher says before he enters the classroom.
Deciding not to think further about his words, Severus walks in the direction where Y/L/N went. As his pace is quick, he doesn't have to go that far before he spots her.
She spots him, too. "Oh, hi, professor" Y/L/N says, giving him a sad smile. Her eyes are quite red.
"Ms. Y/L/N. If you will be so kind to follow me" he says before gesturing with a finger for her to follow him.
Nodding, she follows behind him as they enter the Potions classroom. Severus takes his seat by the teacher's desk. He then levitates a chair in front of him.
"Sit down" he orders, though rather gently. She immediately does as he says.
"Now, what happened in Defence Against the Dark Arts class?" he questions.
Y/L/N sighs. "It's rather silly. We are learning about Boggarts, and mine just made me upset" she explains, chuckling a bit.
Severus frowns. "It isn't silly if it made you this upset. Now, if you don't mind me asking, what was your Boggart?" he asks as gently as he can, trying not to upset her further.
She sniffles. "It was my father... telling me that I'm not good enough, that he doesn't love me, that my mother would be disappointed in me if she was still alive..." she reveals, voice cracking.
Severus' face softens a bit at that. He still doesn't know how her mother died, but that's something to worry about another day.
"I hope you realise that's not true, Y/L/N. Your father obviously loves you, he would be a fool not to. As for your mother, I'm sure she would be very proud to have you as her daughter" he says, looking sincere.
He almost regrets saying anything when she starts crying, covering her face with her hands. He slightly panics, not knowing what to do - how do you comfort someone?
He decides to rise from his seat, hurrying towards her before crouching down next to her. He puts one hand on her shoulder and grabs her hand with his other one.
Y/L/N immediately stops crying as she instead starts to blush.
Noticing her flustered face, Severus quickly lets go of her hand as she's probably uncomfortable, perhaps even disgusted with her Head of House holding her hand.
He clears his throat. "I apologise if I upset you further, Y/L/N. That wasn't my intention. I however meant everything I said - your mother would be so proud of you, I'm sure of it" Severus tells her as gently as possible.
He then hands her a handkerchief. The girl smiles. "Thank you, professor. I really appreciate it" she says as she takes the offered handkerchief, gently wiping off her tears.
As she's about to hand it back, he shakes his head. "No need to. You may keep it, if you wish to" he states.
The girl looks at the green handkerchief with the initials 'S.S', smiling as she nods.
"Thank you, I will keep it close" she says as she still admires the item in her hand.
"So... Any interesting Boggarts?" he questions her curiously.
That makes Y/L/N giggle. "Well... Neville Longbottom's certainly was" she states.
He smirks. "Is that so? Let me guess... It was me?" he asks rather smugly.
He has made the boy shed tears quite often, so that wouldn't be strange.
The girl nods. "Yes... When he used Riddikulus, he made the Boggart wear his grandmother's clothes which was a green dress as well as a hat with a vulture on top" she explains, trying her best to stop giggling.
Severus growls. That better not change the way the students see their Potions Master... Well, at least she's not upset anymore.
"And Draco? Potter?" he questions.
Y/L/N shrugs. "I don't know, it hadn't been their turn yet when I left" she says.
Severus nods at that. How unfortunate, he would have loved to know. He bets that Draco's Boggart is him disappointing Lucius. As for Potter... That would most likely be the Dark Lord.
Seeing what time it is, Y/L/N slowly rises from her seat. "I should probably go back to class now. Thank you so much for cheering me up, sir. You always manage to put a smile on my face" she admits, looking at him shyly.
Severus blinks a few times. No one has ever said that to him before. He would almost think that she's lying - surely, no one would ever smile because of Severus Snape, right?
He can however tell that she's indeed telling the truth. Legilimency really comes in handy sometimes.
He nods at her. "Of course. Like I said in your first year, you may always come to me if you wish to speak with me" he reminds her.
That makes Y/L/N give him a bright smile. "Thank you, professor. See you tomorrow" she says as she waves before leaving the classroom.
Once she has left, Severus is in deep thought. Her words made him realise something - Y/N Y/L/N puts a smile on his face as well.
Of course, he only does that when no one is around. But he does smile every day - because of her.
