Return (Snape x Male Reader)

xii

3rd pov

y/n sat at his desk, planning lessons for the last couple months of the school year. balancing his own lessons and review lessons for the o.w.l.s. and n.e.w.t.s. was proving to be difficult.

he looked up when he felt a presence at the door of his office, and he saw severus' dark form standing there.

y/n set down his quill and leaned back in his chair as he lightly smiled at severus.

"good evening, severus," y/n said.

"it seems i'm simply unable to sneak up on you. no doubt your years as an arour have trained you?" severus said, walking into the room completely and sitting on the edge of y/n's desk.

y/n chuckled and nodded, rubbing at his eyes with his gloved hands. "yeah, for the most part. i can never not know when someone is there."

severus hummed. "well, how did your first day of teaching go? i can tell you've been thoroughly worn out."

"i'm always worn out these days, severus," y/n said with a laugh, "but actually, it went better than i thought it would. it's a pleasant change of pace, though i'm not sure im going to enjoy doing so much lesson planning."

"you'll fall into a rhythm soon enough. and sooner or later your slee—"

a knock came from the door of the office, and both severus and y/n look to it.

there, harry, ron, and hermione stood, peeking from behind the wall.

"it's after curfew, children. why are you here?" y/n spoke quickly, knowing that if he'd let severus speak first he'd scold the children.

"we're super sorry to bother you, professor, but we had an argument that we need settled," hermione said, "and these too idiots are too stupid to just wait until tomorrow's class."

y/n hummed and rested his chin on his hand. "okay, shoot." he said, flicking his hand.

hermione took a deep breath. "harry and ron say that kung fu is the most advanced muggle martial art, while i think it's krav maga. they refuse to listen to any of my arguments, so we've resorted to you, since you know a lot about martial arts."

y/n chuckled and sat up straighter, glancing at severus who was still standing. y/n gestured to one of the chairs, and severus took a slow seat on it.

"krav maga is a very deadly martial art, so deadly that it's hard for people to even spar. so in technicality, it's krav maga. but it also comes down to the person. a master at kung fu can easily take down a beginner in krav maga. so it really just comes down to the person," y/n explained.

hermione turned with a grin towards the two boys. "ha!" she laughed, pointing at them triumphantly. "see, i told you!"

"you don't win the argument! he said a kung fu master could beat a krav maga master!" ron argued back, his cheeks a pink tint.

"he said a krav maga beginner, ron," harry said quietly.

ron scoffed and turned towards him. "who's side are you on?"

y/n stood up and the three stopped arguing. y/n stared down at them gently. "all three of you are right. like i said, it comes down to the person."

he walked around his desk, using the edge of it hold his weight since he didn't have his cane.

"it's late, why don't you guys go back to your quarters and get some rest," he said, his own exhaustion seeping through his voice.

"all right," ron said, hermione and harry mumbling their own compliances.

"goodnight, professor," harry said, turning around and walking out of the office, the other two following quickly.

the room was silent now, and y/n sighed softly and looked to severus, who was already staring at him.

"they may seem endearing now, but those evil little cretins will start getting on your nerves sooner or later," severus said.

"you just don't like people, severus, i don't think it's them," y/n chuckled, looking down at his fingers as he played with the fabric of his gloves.

"perhaps it's a bit of both. and i dont dislike people," severus said.

y/n gave severus a look that just said "really?" and severus rolled his eyes and huffed.

"i like you, doesn't that say something?" severus asked, standing up and folding his arms.

y/n laughed breathlessly out of shock and shot his eyes down towards the ground, but he was quick to play it off. "no, it doesn't. everybody likes me."

"right," severus hummed. he stood up and held his arm out to y/n. "it's getting late, and you have a class to teach tomorrow. i'll walk you to your quarters."

y/n just stared at him for a moment, surprised by his actions. regardless, he took hold of severus' arm and allowed him to help him to his living space.

the walk was silent, y/n's cheeks a little warmer than usual. despite severus' cold appearance, he was actually quite warm. they stopped in front of the door, and with a flick of his wand y/n unlocked it.

"thank you for walking me here, severus," y/n said, reluctantly letting go of severus' arm.

"of course. should you ever need me to more often, i'd gladly oblige," severus hummed.

y/n smiled and looked down, but looked back up when he felt severus's gaze on him. he became lost in those dark, onyx eyes, entranced by their depth.

"well..." y/n tried to speak, swallowing hard when his eyes fluttered downwards and then back up. "i suppose i must bid you goodnight."

y/n turned the knob of his door and slowly pushed it open, though he never broke away from severus's gaze.

"goodnight, y/n," severus said softly, brushing a wisp of hair away from y/n's eyes. he promptly turned around, robes flowing behind him as walked away.

y/n stood at his door, watching severus's form disappear down the corridor. he took a fluttering breath and stepped into his room and shut the door, leaning against it. he held his hand to chest, his heartbeat rapidly pounding against his rib cage. he felt like a schoolboy whose crush just waved to him in the hallway.

oh god. crush? he wasn't a teenager anymore, he doesn't have the time for a crush.

but of course, it wasn't just a crush. he didn't know that, obviously. if he did, this story would be over before it ever had the chance to begin.

this chapter was mid and i feel bad so like im gonna double update, see y'all in the next chapter