Snape x Hufflepuff!Reader - Special (pt 2)

- Time Skip brought to you by Hermione’s time turner -

It was a few weeks later that we arrived on yet another potions lesson that was, once again, as entertaining as the previously mentioned. Jennifer was, as always, five minutes late, and Snape must have gotten tired of it, as he has started to take one point for every minute late she is. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you add it all up… well let’s just say Jen started coming to classes earlier.

During this lesson, the planned potion to make was to be the Amortentia potion which we’d learnt about last week. Unfortunately, up until now, it had been brewing and we’d only be able to smell it for the first time today. It was something I was looking forward to a great deal.

Professor Snape had been calling us up one at a time to see what it smelt like to each person, then telling us to go back to our seats and, without telling anyone, writing down on our parchment what each of us thought it smelt like. We were to hand them in at the end of the lesson. It was a very simple task considering the amount of homework we usually get.

After Devon going up and staring at me strangely after his turn, and the Jennifer telling me it smelt like sunshine, ginger and scented candles, I was strangely nervous for my turn. What if it smelt like something I thought I hated?

“Miss (Last). If you will.” Snape’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I walked up to the cauldron. “Just lean over the steam and record what it smells like.” I nodded and lent over.

A warm feeling flooded my veins. My eyes closed as I focused on figuring out the scents. It was…

Nothing?

I lent over again, trying to focus further, but still not noticing much of a change.

“Professor? I don’t smell anything.” I said in a quiet, meek voice, so none of the other students could hear. He looked at me as if I was being ludicrously silly. He lent over and sniffed, before looking incredibly confused.

“Miss Parkins, could you come over here.” Jen got up and walked up to us. “Smell it again.” Jen looked confused but did as she was asked. “Is it still the same scent as what you wrote down?”

“Yes Professor.” He motioned to go back to her seat. I lent over and tried again, but there was still no change. Snape grabbed and empty vile from his desk and filled it with the potion.

“Take this outside, smell it and then come straight back and tell me if it worked.” He said handing me the vile. I nodded and walked towards the door.

When I got outside, I took a huge breath of air, absorbing the smell of grass, sunshine and the wind, then removed the cap from the love potion. The scent came tumbling over the edge in wisps of smoke. The smell of the Potions classroom, of it’s cold, still air and chemicals was the first thing to hit me. Second was the faint smell I was getting in the class, the smell of ink, ink from books and parchment (or whatever you want). And lastly, the one I was most surprised to find mixed in there, was the scent of dusty clothes, of potions, chemicals and cauldron cleaners. The scent, I realised, was the scent of Professor Severus Snape.

‘Why… why is that in there!! I- I don’t! No, I couldn’t?’ I stood panicking and attempting to calm myself down. ‘Oh my gosh. Do I- do I… am I in love with him?’ Struggling with my thoughts I walk/stumbled back down the stairs, only to get so lost in my mind I didn’t notice myself trip, nor the arms that managed to catch me before I could actually hurt myself until I was suspended in mid air.

“P-Professor! I-I’m so sorry! T-thank you for catching me.” I was stuck between my toes hanging off the step two up from where I should be to stand up and Snape holding me with my face basically squished into his chest and his arms holding me up between my shoulders and elbows. Needless to say, it was not the most comfortable position.

“Don’t apologise for falling, theres no point. I’m going to lift you up now.” With surprising strength, he hoisted me up, after moving his hands to get a better grip, so I was standing upright on the step just in front of him. Even with the added hight, I was still only just at eye level.

“(First), I believe you should go back to class.”

“Yes, Professor.” But my legs wouldn’t move.

“(First).”

“Yes Professor?”

“I need that love potion from you before you go.”

“Okay. Here you are.” The hand holding the potion lifted itself up until it was between the two of our bodies. His hand lifted to grab it, and when it reached the vile of liquid cupid, it hovered there, resting under mine and grabbing the potion at the same time.

“Professor?”

“Yes?”

“Is it ok if I just tell you what it smelt like instead of writing it down?” Snape stood there for a moment, about to respond when the door behind him began to open. The squeaking sound snapped me back into reality, as it apparently did to him as well, and I dropped the vile into his hand before thanking him again and running back toward the class. Students began to pour out of the class and I briefly heard them telling Snape that their parchments were on his desk. I quickly scribbled down the scents of mine and threw it on his desk before ducking out with the last of the students, avoiding Snape’s unusually disappointed gaze.

I realised later, that I had not had time to think of a lie to write down, and ended up writing exactly what I smelt, the Potions classroom, ink and Professor Snape.

-

Later that same day, I was called back to the classroom in the dungeons. I didn’t know why I would be called back, but I was praying with every part of me, that he hadn’t read through the assignments yet. But after knocking on the old door and, after being invited and stepping in, I saw him sitting there with a piece of parchment in his hands, I knew he had. His expression was angry, frustrated, confused and something else I couldn’t quite place.

“Sit down.” His voice was drawn out and low as usual as he motioned to a chair in front of his desk. “Drink this.” He pushed a cup of tea towards me. I guess there would be something other then tea in it, but I knew it wouldn’t harm me in an way, so I took a sip. After a very long second of silence, he spoke again.

“What is your name and how old are you?”

“(First) (Middle?) (Last) and I am (16- born first half of the year/17- born second half).” The words came out of my mouth automatically, shocking me. ‘Why a truth potion?’

“You remember what you wrote down for the scents of the Amortentia potion correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Is that really what you smelt in the potion?”

“Yes, sir.” I felt my face heat up and I looked away. He was quiet for a moment.

“Are you telling me, (First), that the love potion smelt like me?” I blushed more and looked up to answer before turning away again.

“Yes.” My voice quiet and meek. He was quiet again and I was afraid to look up.

“Well then. Usually this kind of thing is admitted as a prank, but seeming as you can’t lie… I should punish you in some way but, honestly I don’t really want too.” I looked up a little, shocked by it. “Tell me what you really feel about me, and I’ll decide from there.”

“I- I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you. I always look forward to your lessons, you don’t anger or frustrate me like the other students seem to be. You intrigue me, you’re so interesting. I catch myself looking for you at meals, I unconsciously notice you whenever you walk past. I think you’re kinder then you let on. I think you’re brilliant.” I finished my spiel and waited, both horrified and embarrassed at everything that just came out of my mouth.

“You know, a teacher and a student really shouldn’t be in a relationship. However, I had to test the potions scent myself at some point and it smelt of you. Though, like I said we-” He was about to continue when a rather large bird appeared, dropping a letter on Snape’s desk in-between us, before flying out again. Snape looked at it and read whom it was from, before opening it up. It must have been very short, because he was done reading it almost instantly, now leaning his head on his palm while he turned it around so I could see it. In bright yellowish green ink, on cream parchment were the words;

Oh just kiss her already!!

- Headmaster Dumbledore

In curly handwriting. I blushed beat red again and hid my face in my hands, wanting to curl up in a ball and disappear. I heard the scraping of a chair and assumed Professor Snape was getting up to walk away. But instead, I felt a breath on my cheek. It would have taken the next century to realise what had happened had nobody spoken to me.

“I think I might feel the same, but you are not allowed to tell a single soul about this.”

Had I looked up and not been star struck by everything that had just happened, I would have been able to see the ever cold Professor Snape with a light blush on his face.

Too bad I was stuck in the realisation that’d just been kissed on the cheek.