From his work desk in the room, Severus heard the rustling of paper- coming directly from Y/N's box. A genuine smile caressed his face and he draped the blanket over his shoulders to check the portal. Inside the box lay a slip of paper with little d...
❝ Okay, so, this chapter was actually funny as hell to write and I really want to say why. In order to get the dialogue and actions correct for the parts in this chapter that sync with the movie, I watched a clip on youtube to see the full interaction for a reference. I've done this several times, including the chapter where Hagrid cheers Hermione up and the chapter earlier on where Hermione is attacked by the troll. The parts with Sev in them are always harder to recreate in the story, because we all know that Severus had the best of protective intentions for Harry- but the movie and books' perspective makes it seem like he's an asshole. So, while watching the clip where Mrs. Norris is petrified, I had to try and guess at what Sev's real intentions were, underneath the spite he is portrayed as. The very first time I watched the clip, I was paying SO close attention to Sev's word choice and expressions, really trying to get into his head to see how he REALLY felt about the matter- and once I figured it out I seriously couldn't stop laughing. (Also, the look that Albus, Minnie, and Sev give Gilderoy in the beginning is a priceless work of art.) At first, it was easy to tell Severus was concerned for the children; something was petrified and there was blood writing on the walls, who wouldn't be worried for the poor kids? So, he moves forward to come to Harry's defense about him being in the wrong place at the wrong time- then realizes that he wasn't at dinner and while Harry would likely never do this, didn't trust the James in him and had to point it out anyway- mostly hoping Harry would come up with a reasonable excuse to put the accusation to rest. When they learned Gilderoy was behind it, Severus's harsh expression softened at once in relief, but then he realized it was Gilderoy Lockfart talking and that he already hated the dude which was making Harry's alibi all the more interesting. Hermione was trying to explain what they were doing but paused in worry- and Sev is IMMEDIATELY worried again, you can even hear the concern in his voice as he asks Granger to continue, desperately hoping she'll tell the truth so he can help in some way. When Harry lies and says he wasn't hungry, Sev raises an eyebrow like "rlly? I'm trying to help you, small child" and turns to Dumbledore who replies "Innocent until proven guilty" and Sev gives him this blatantly obvious look that said "srsly? Harry is obviously hiding something we could be helping him with. You want to sit back and let this child figure it out for himself? ffs" and makes the most hilarious side eye ever. The quick half-assed meme I made below is how I perceive Sev to think of this whole situation LOL.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
And it is with this all that I have drawn the conclusion that Severus and Minerva are the best teachers ever, and while Albus was great, he could have given Harry a LOT more help but simply avoided doing so (which clearly drives Sev mad and we already know it makes Minerva insane). Maybe it was the man's thirst for drama. Enjoy the chapter! ❞
