A/N: Dedicated to my beta Azzie(Inkfire)!
Strange Impulses:
Chapter Two: What Changed?
Severus stepped out of his office to find the Potter brat waiting miserably by the door. A sudden urge to say something reassuring to the boy nearly overwhelmed him, and he had to shake his head sharply to get rid of the notion.
What happened to me last night? What changed?
"Come here." he ordered the boy, hardly knowing what he was saying or why. Potter shuffled closer, now looking confused as well as scared.
"Look at me." What am I saying?
Potter looked up, trembling as he met the feared Potions Master's gaze. But something in their depths stopped him from looking away. Something had changed. The usual boiling hatred wasn't there anymore. Instead, he saw something like...compassion. As if his professor actually, in that moment, cared about him, his well-being, his happiness.
What happened to him? He was fine last night. What changed?
"Erm...Professor?" He didn't really expect a reply, nor did he get one. Well, he wasn't surprised.
"Professor...are...are you...okay?" he asked hesitantly.
Snape blinked, and the intensity in his gaze was gone, but the strange sense of compassion was still there. "I am fine, Potter. You should be more concerned about yourself."
That sounded more like the Potions Master they were both familiar with. Both breathed a sigh of relief. Neither of them knew what had changed, but it scared both of them.