Silent Treatment - Severus Snape x OC

eight

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‹ MiraaChe ‹ has posted a new chapter!- ͙۪۪̥˚

┊❛ welcome to chapter eight❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌

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In the next Potions class, the familiar hum of bubbling cauldrons and the scent of various ingredients filled the air. The Slytherin and Gryffindor students were quietly working, each at their own desk, following Severus precise instructions. The atmosphere was heavy with concentration, though an undercurrent of tension lingered.

Severus stood at the front of the class, his expression as cold and calculating as ever, his black eyes sweeping over the students. His gaze inevitably flicked to Ariana, sitting in the middle of the room next to Leo. She was focused on her potion, her brows furrowed in concentration as she stirred the bubbling liquid in front of her. For once, she wasn't talking or teasing; she seemed unusually intent on getting the potion just right.

The silence, however, didn't last.

Ariana leaned over to Leo, whispering under her breath, "What are the odds Snape's going to deduct points today? I mean, it's practically his hobby."

Leo snorted quietly, shaking his head. "He'll find a reason. Just wait."

As if on cue, Severus' voice cut through the room. "Miss Hart," he said, his tone icy as he approached her desk. "Care to share with the class what's so amusing that you can't keep your focus on the task at hand?"

Ariana, not missing a beat, turned her head toward Severus, her eyes sparkling with that familiar mischievous glint. "I was just telling Leo that I'm sure you'd find something to deduct points for, Professor. It's practically tradition."

Severus' gaze narrowed, his lips tightening into a thin line. Five points from Slytherin, he thought bitterly. Why does it always have to be my own house?

"Five points from Slytherin," he muttered aloud, his voice thick with the frustration of punishing his own students.

A ripple of murmurs went through the room, students exchanging glances. Ariana, however, barely blinked. "See?" she said to Leo in a stage whisper. "Called it."

"Make that ten points," Severus added, his tone sharper now. Every time he had to take points from his own house, it gnawed at him. His eyes flickered with a hint of irritation—Ariana made it impossible to avoid. Yet, he knew he was being harsher than he needed to be.

Ariana gave him a mock salute. "Understood, Professor. Ten it is."

Severus took a step closer to her, his black robes billowing slightly with the movement. "Perhaps if you focused half as much on your potion as you do on your commentary, you wouldn't be losing points so frequently."

Why must I always be the one to enforce this? Severus thought, his frustration deepening. He hated having to deduct points from his own house, but Ariana had a way of bringing it out of him, and worse, he knew she enjoyed it.

Ariana met his gaze, her eyes locking with his. There was something different in the air between them—something that wasn't there before the Christmas break. She could feel it, though she couldn't quite name it.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood, Professor," she said, her voice softening, though the playful edge remained. "Potions can be awfully serious business, after all."

Severus stared at her for a moment longer than necessary, his mind unwillingly recalling the scent he had caught in the corridor just days ago. The same scent from the Amortentia. His confusion from that moment still gnawed at him, and now, standing this close to her, the familiarity of it was unsettling.

"Perhaps you'd prefer detention," he finally said, his voice low, though not as sharp as it usually was.

Ariana smiled faintly. "Ah, detention. You really do miss my company, don't you?"

A flicker of something—maybe annoyance, maybe something else—passed through Severus' eyes, but before he could respond, a student near the back of the room accidentally dropped a vial, causing a minor explosion that sent a puff of purple smoke into the air.

Severus immediately turned, his focus shifting to the chaos at the back of the classroom. "Idiot," he muttered under his breath, storming over to deal with the situation.

Leo leaned toward Ariana, whispering with a grin. "You're pushing your luck today."

Ariana shrugged, stirring her potion as if nothing out of the ordinary had just occurred. "It's part of the fun. Besides," she glanced at Severus out of the corner of her eye, "I think he enjoys it."

Leo gave her a skeptical look but didn't argue. "You're impossible."

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As the class progressed, Severus stalked the room, his usual gruff demeanor in place as he inspected each student's progress. His eyes kept drifting back to Ariana, despite his best efforts to focus elsewhere.

Eventually, he found himself standing beside her again. Her potion, to his surprise, was nearly perfect. She stirred it with a calm precision, the liquid bubbling softly with just the right consistency. Despite her constant teasing, Ariana was, undeniably, an excellent student when she wanted to be.

"Impressive," Severus muttered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

Ariana glanced up, eyebrows raised in mock surprise. "Is that a compliment I hear? From you? I must be dreaming."

Severus' eyes flicked to her, narrowing again, though there was a hint of something softer in his gaze. "Don't get used to it, Miss Hart," he replied coolly, though inwardly he was unsettled by how close he had come to showing approval.

Ariana grinned. "I'll treasure the moment, don't worry."

He turned sharply on his heel, moving on to the next student, though his thoughts remained tangled. He couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that had settled over him since that day in the corridor. The scent that lingered around her. The familiarity that tugged at his mind.

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The class ended with Severus giving the usual assignment, his voice cutting through the room as he instructed them to write an essay on the potion they had brewed. As the students filed out, Ariana lingered, finishing up her notes.

Before she left, she glanced over at Severus, who was collecting his materials at the front of the class.

"See you in detention, Professor," she called out with a smirk, heading toward the door.

Severus didn't respond, but as she passed through the doorway, his eyes flicked toward her, lingering for just a second too long. His mind once again went back to the scent from the Amortentia, and he cursed to himself, frustrated by the growing confusion.

Something had changed. And he wasn't sure what it meant.