Salvation | Severus Snape

Chapter 2 - Wondering

Knock. Knock.

"Come in," growled Severus, the sounds echoing off the dungeon walls. He glared at the opening door, irritated that his weekend peace had been disturbed. A nervous smile formed on the lips of the woman before him.

"Good morning, Professor Snape. How may I be of assistance to you today?" Severus stared at her with a stoic face, a whirl of emotions bubbling inside of him, threatening to break out. He repressed them, shoving them into the pit of his stomach as always. He had forgotten that she would be coming today.

"Miss Cross. I would like to know, what type of potions work are you able to do?" he asked.

"Anything you want, really," she replied, her gaze sweeping around the unfamiliar room. It felt oddly comforting, being in his potions classroom for the first time. Despite the darkness and eerie silence, the smell of potions and ingredients instilled a sense of calmness. "I've... helped at St. Mungo's before and done all sorts of potions work. I'm also, um, mainly homeschooled, so I do know a lot of materials. So anything you'd like."

He nodded curtly. "You will assist me every Saturday until the end of March, starting today. If you get a sufficient amount done this month, I will introduce you to Lupin. Either accept these terms, or leave. " Severus studied her expression, wondering if she would really agree to this outrageously unjust condition — after all, March was three months away, and all she was getting in return was a brief introduction. He was even stalling, waiting a month before giving his part. Nevertheless, she surprised him by flashing a heart-warming grin and nodding, before standing up straighter.

"Of course! What would you like me to do today, Professor?" His face refused to betray his conflicted emotions as he considered what he would do. A part of him itched to know who this woman was, why she was so eager for this deal and whether she had limits. But of course she does, he thought, scoffing to himself. Everyone does. It's only a matter of time before she'll get sick of assisting me. He decided to challenge her.

Severus' lips curled into a sneer before he spoke, "I have several cauldrons to be cleaned, from that dunderhead Longbottom's failure and leftover detention work. They cannot be cleaned fully with magic. Afterwards, sort out my new ingredients, I have no time to waste as I must grade papers." He gestured towards three stacks of parchments on the table. At the back of his mind, he knew this job would take her the whole day.

However, she simply replied, "Okay, I'll get to work now, if there's nothing else?"

"That should suffice today, yes. The equipment is in the storage room." Immediately, she headed in the small door he pointed to.

For several long hours, the two worked in silence, except for the scraping of the cauldrons and the scratching of Severus' quill. Occasionally, he would glance at her, making sure she was doing a decent job. She seemed extremely concentrated, her hazel eyes never leaving the cauldrons she was scrubbing. A soft smile was etched on her pale face, as if they weren't gruesome and disgusting in every way.

It was odd. He couldn't pinpoint what he should feel about her. Of course, it was natural as he had barely talked to her before, but the problem was, he couldn't help but admire and despise her presence at the same time. She was so annoyingly enthusiastic, it drove him mad, yet she was much more hardworking and determined than he imagined. What was more... there was something off about her, something about her appearance that made his stomach churn in displeasure — as if he'd seen her somewhere. Perhaps they'd been mortal enemies in his past life. He almost smacked himself for such a foolish thought. However, the one thing Severus knew was that he would never reveal these feelings to her, nor anyone else, as a matter of fact.