"Is there anything else I can help you with, Professor?"

You asked, as you finished helping Professor Snape to prepare the ingredients for his next class. Severus turned to look at you and he shook his head.

"Thank you for your help. You should go for dinner now."

He said, smiling softly at you. You nodded and you were going to leave when you turned around to look at him.

"What about you? Please don't tell me you're skipping dinner."

You raised your eyebrows at the Potions Master. A smirk was dancing on his lips as he swallowed your words.

"Don't worry. I'll be there soon."

He assured you, and you beamed at him. You nodded violently and left to the Great Hall for dinner.

It was a routine for you now. You would help him after classes, not that he asked you to, but you willingly did. When he did not need your help, you would ask him for extra lessons where he would provide you with knowledge about potions that he did not teach in the class.

You were by far his favourite student. You focused during his classes, always managed to finish your tasks with enthusiasm and the most important thing was you were so humble that if people did not know you— They would never realise that you were a brilliant student.

Severus was looking forward to see you every day, knowing that you always had interesting things to tell him. Little did he know you were excited to see him every day too. Seeing him was the highlight of your days, making your days in Hogwarts much brighter.

Severus was thinking about you when he walked into the Great Hall. However, his eyes grew wide when he saw you. You were sitting next to a boy that you despised so much, clinging on his arm like your life depended on him.

Severus knew something was wrong.

He could still remember you told him about that boy, Charles, who had been flirting with you for days but you ignored him. And now when he saw you holding Charles' arm like he was your lover, something inside Professor Snape's stirred.

"Miss L/N."

He walked towards you, his cold voice seemed to stop the students from whatever they were doing. He always managed to make the dramatic entrances, but right now, the only thing mattered was your being.

Charles gulped when he saw the professor walked towards them. You seemed to be unperturbed by him though, too busy staring at Charles with so much adoration in your eyes that Severus could vomit.

If you were dating somebody, Severus was sure he was the first person that you would tell. You always went to him first, he knew it by now. He was sure that you were not dating Charles, but you were used.

"Miss L/N, I need your help. Can you come with me for a second?"

He asked, trying to see if his intuition was right. He could just read the boy's mind, but he was more concerned with your well being at the time.

"No, I don't want to!"

You fought, and he was surprised to hear that. He was not alone though, the students were flabbergasted as well. Almost the whole school knew you were Severus Snape's favourite person in Hogwarts. There was no way you could say no to him.

"Why?"

"I don't want to leave Charles! I love him too much."

You mumbled, and Severus groaned. He knew what happened and he quickly used his legilimency on Charles. The boy could not do anything as the professor invaded his mind, scowling at him as his intuition was right.

"Professor, I—"

Before Charles could even utter another word, Severus grasped the collar of his shirt and pulled him to stand up forcefully. The boy's heart was hammering against his chest as he knew he was screwed.

He messed with Y/N, it meant that he messed with Severus Snape too.

"You used amortentia on Y/N!"

His voice was loud and clear, the whole Great Hall was silent as he interrogated the boy in front of everyone. Everyone knew he was angry. No, he was furious. No one had ever heard him that angry before.

"How dare you use such potion on her. I know your intention on her, and I will make sure you regret this for the rest of your life."

Severus threatened, and he knew he was going to make Charles' life a hell after this incident. The other teachers were concerned what would happen to Charles if they did not intervene.

"Severus, let him go."

Minerva asked, and the professor obliged. He glared daggers at the boy as the headmaster assured him that he would deal with Charles, giving him as many detentions as he deserved.

Detentions were not enough to make Severus at ease, but his eyes landed on you who was looking like a lovesick puppy and he knew he had to heal you first.

"I'll deal with you later."

Severus spat, and Charles shook his head violently, fear crawled through his chest. Severus did not wait any second to take you to his office.

Despite your complaints and whines that you wanted to stay with Charles, the Potions Master managed to take you to his office safely.

"I don't want to be here. I want Charles."

You whimpered, tears welled in your eyes. Severus winced as he saw that you were close to crying. He quickly looked for the potion that was going to reverse the effect of the love potion.

"I want Charles."

"No, you don't."

He retorted, a sigh of content escaping his lips when he finally found the potion that he was looking for. When he looked at you, you were pouting.

"Please give me my Charles."

He was tempted to roll his eyes but he decided against it. He gave you the potion and nodded.

"Drink it first then I'll take you to him."

You listened to him right away, drinking the potion without any questions. After a few seconds, you seemed to realise what just happened.

"Why am I here? I was supposed to be in the Great Hall."

You mumbled, frowning as Severus smirked at you.

"Are you still looking for Charles?"

He asked, knowing that you were confused. He decided to tell you everything and your face was red from embarrassment. You could not believe you just said you loved Charles while you hated him with all of your heart!

"You even forced me to give you back your Charles."

He mocked, chuckling under his breath as you chewed on your bottom lip. The embarrassment was growing on you, but then you were angry as well.

"I'm going to kill that bastard."

You muttered, and Severus gave you a nod.

"We'll kill him together."

Upon hearing his words, you grinned. The professor shared a look with you and you burst into laughter.

"It's alright. You kill him, then I'll hide his body."

You joked, wiggling your eyebrows playfully. Severus shook his head and you knew he was going to make fun of you again.

"You even said no to me because you didn't want to leave Charles. That was such a big love you had for him."

You were internally screaming as you still could not believe that you were given a love potion. You wanted to kick Charles in the guts and never let him see the light of the day again.

"Did I choose him over you? Wow, that's absurd. I would choose you over him any day now."

You mumbled under your breath, but Severus was quick to catch your words. He cocked his eyebrow and cleared his throat.

"Is that so?"

A steady blush ran across your cheeks as you realised that he heard your words. You tore your gaze away from your professor and nodded.

"I would choose you over any other man, actually."

You did not know where did you get the courage to say that, but you were glad you did. Severus was flustered and a small smile was cracked on his lips.

"Be careful next time, Y/N. I won't always be there to watch over you."

He reminded, and you nodded. You were happy to know that he had noticed your odd behaviour, or else you would still be stuck in the love potion's effects.

"It's good to know that you're watching over me."

You teased, and you chuckled heartily as he rolled his eyes. He was worried when you were not yourself. But now that you were back, his heart was at ease. 

"Miss L/N."

"Yes, Professor?"

You smirked, and Severus shook his head, looking away from you but he was unable to hide his smile.

"I would always choose you too."

-
19th December 2020