I rolled my eyes.

"Miss Altman." Severus smirked.

"What is it?" I asked without a beat.

He raised an eyebrow. "Would you not rather find out, Miss Altman?"

"No." I snapped.

Severus frowned at me. He took a deep breath in. His nostrils flared as he sighed deeply from his lungs. "The Elixir to Induce Euphoria."

I stood up, whispers coming from the students.

Severus had an intense gaze on me.

I walked up to the front of the classroom.

Severus handed me a vial.

I glared at him and drank.

He scowled in return. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like singing!" I shouted at him, smiling.

The class started laughing.

I began singing.

"You may return to your seat, Miss Altman and please stop that infernal noise." Severus told me.

He sighed as I went back to the table.

Severus watched me from the front of the room. "Now, you have one hour to complete this potion. You must brew correctly. This shall be on your exams."

I finished brewing my potion and Severus was checking all the cauldrons.

I heard someone sigh behind me. "At least your potion brewing is satisfactory. It is a shame that you must annoy me so to give you detention."

The Potions Master towered over me, looking into my cauldron.

"Didn't you get enough payback today?" I snarled.

Severus coughed, shooting me an icy glare. "Miss Altman, what you like to regard as payback from me is simply teaching the students."

"Are you ok from yesterday?"

He gave me a look of surprise that I'd even asked.

Severus sighed. "Yes, thank you. I am fine."

His eyes lingered on me for a long moment before sighing loudly and continuing on to the next table.

After class,

Severus had watched me for the remainder of class since he checked my potion.

"Miss Altman, a word?"

I dreaded going to talk to Severus after the students left.

"What, sir?"

Obsidian orbs looked into mine. "Tell me, Miss Altman. Why do you ask if I am ok?"

"It's the polite thing to do, Professor." I countered.

Severus drew in a sharp breath, his eyes never leaving mine. I heard his lungs hiss as he sighed the breath out slowly. "I suppose you are correct. Perhaps I have been..."

He paused, sighing again. "Perhaps I have been overanalyzing this."

"Overanalyzing what?"

Severus stood from his desk. "My suspicions."

"Your suspicions?"

He circled the desk, placing his arms across his chest. The graceful movement stirred his robes elegantly as he turned toward me. "I would like to hear your thoughts upon this matter, Miss Altman."

Severus moved closer to me, until his breath was on me. His shoulders rose and he sighed, the air pushing from his lungs as his shoulders fell again. I felt the wind of the breath blow slightly in my hair. "I would like to hear them very much."

"Just what do you suspect is going on here?"

"You..." Severus spoke gently compared to his usual growl. "Are in love with me, Miss Altman. That is what I suspect." His nostrils flared as he inhaled, his gaze penetrating through me.

Severus sighed. "Tell me, is this true?"

I looked at him in awe. "I do care about you. But I care about most people."

The black haired man seemed interested. "You care about me?"

"Yes, of course." I responded. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You could have died, sir. That would've been terrible."

He sighed. "Perhaps to you it would have been terrible, Miss Altman. To the students, no. They would have been overjoyed if I had indeed...died."

"I'm sure I'm not the only person who cares about you or even likes you."

"You are incorrect." Severus looked at me. "Are you admitting to liking me in addition, as well?"

I shrugged. "You're definitely not as bad as they make you out to be."

Severus heaved a deep sigh, returning to his desk and sitting down. "You may leave, Miss Altman."

"Is this what you wanted to see me about tonight?"

Severus coughed deeply, frowning at me. He took a deep breath and sighed from his lungs. "Yes."

"Maybe we could talk more later?" I asked nicely. "If you want?"

"Perhaps..." He stared at me.

Severus drank some water from a goblet at his desk and took a deep breath. "You could come to assist me with some tasks. I am seeking an apprentice, Miss Altman."

His dark eyes seemed to pierce through me. "You appear to perform sufficiently in my class."

Severus sighed. "I shall see you this evening."

"I hope you feel better, sir."

"Nonsense, child. It was nothing you did wrong." Severus scolded me. "A very potent, very toxic ingredient fell and shattered from one of my tables. The vapors are enough to entail a harsh cough. It scorches the lungs with continuous inhalation of the fumes."

"It sounds serious." I said worriedly.

He sighed deeply. "I promise you I am fine, Miss Altman."

"All right." I said, unsure.

Severus rolled his eyes. "Please. Trust me."

I nodded and left the classroom.

The Potions Master gazed at the closed door after I left.

A deep breath was taken in. Severus sighed dramatically from his lungs. The sound echoed off of the walls of the empty classroom as the breath moved through his hooked nose and flared nostrils, exiting from his lungs quickly.