harry potter one shots

decades of hatred cannot be dissolved in 90 minutes, but one can try

Severus stared down at the Muggle contraption known as jeans.

He would never admit anything of the sort to anyone who asked, but the dark blue jeans and simple black shirt were infinitely more comfortable and practical than his regular robes.

The flashing strobe lights of the cramped Muggle bar flashed colors over Severus; lime green and hot pink and fiery red and electric blue dots danced across his black button-up shirt.

Severus stared suspiciously into his mug of some mysterious drink that the overly cheerful bartender had presented to him with a rousing, "Enjoy, hombre misterioso!"

Severus had simply scowled at the sentiment, instead choosing to turn his face to the bar's tabletop,  dwelling in his thoughts, hoping that he would seem unapproachable.

It had been over a year since the Great Wizarding War, and 6 months since Severus had been discharged from St. Mungo's after fully recovering from Nagini's snakebite. The Healer who had been taking care of him had warned him to come back if any sort of pain, dizziness, or other symptoms had plagued him, and Severus, for once in his life, had listened to her.

He had not, as a matter of fact, listened to her irritating apprentice, who was none other than a one Hermione Granger.

She had greeted him cordially enough while he was preparing for discharge, with a calm, perfectly poised, "Hello again, Professor Snape."

He had wanted nothing more than to turn on his heel and walk away, but she had coolly positioned herself in front of the door - the only exit. Severus had no choice but to listen.

"Will you still even be Professor Snape?" she'd continued, sounding - ugh - genuinely curious. "Are you still going to teach at Hogwarts? I know for a fact that Headmistress McGonagall isn't holding a shred of prejudice against... those who fought in defense of Riddle - not that you did - you were more a hero than anything." Her voice turned rather nasty on the once-Dark Lord's name, almost spitting it out.

Severus remembered clenching his fingers around his newly returned wand, resisting the urge to toss a particularly painful Stinging Hex her way - not for the insult to his former master, but to her incredibly inquisitive questions. At least, he had thought, she called the old fool by his real name, not He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named or some other bullshit. At least she didn't refer to them-us-me-us-them as Death Eaters.

"No," he'd replied curtly, pressing his wand back into the pocket of his robes, then adding: "And I'd prefer if you'd tell me what you're here to talk about, rather than dallying about, Miss Granger."

She'd smiled a small smile at this, as if respecting the fact that he cut to the chase. "Fine. I think you'd better go speak with Harry."

Severus hadn't even waited to hear her explanation, instead barking out a derisive laugh. "Oh, yes, Granger, fabulous idea. I, a Death Eater and Potter's least favorite teacher - don't even start, Granger, I'm perfectly aware of it - should go and grovel at his feet and beg for forgiveness. This is a most idiotic idea, if you're being literal, but my advice, if this is your idea of a practical joke, is to drop the Mungo's job and hop on the next enrollment list for stand-up comedy," he finished, pressing his fingers to his forehead.

Granger waited patiently while he finished up his caustic rant, then continued, as if he'd said nothing at all. "Not to grovel, Professor," and Severus's eyes nearly popped out of his head at the fact that Granger, his student, was teasing him.

"But," Granger continued, "to just talk to him. I- Look, what I say now doesn't leave this room, okay? Harry's been having a really difficult time after the war. He's depressed, majorly, he's blaming himself for every-fucking-body's deaths, Ron and I can't get him out of the house if we dragged him, and I-" she took a shaky breath, pressing her trembling fingers to her legs. "I don't know what to do, Professor. You yourself said that you're, well, the least favorite of the Hogwarts teachers, I'm desperate! Isn't there - I dunno, some sort of potion to help him?"