Severus felt his chest tighten, an exasperated sigh escaped his lips as he looked around the manor, feeling so out of the place in the party. He would rather be in his room, reading a book or even being stuck in his office, grading papers instead of coming here. His friend managed to persuade him to come that night, and he obliged, not wanting to reject his invitation like he did so many times before. He had not come to the Malfoy's parties a few times before, and he thought that perhaps it would be fine if he comes just once, but now he regretted his decision. 

Most of the guests came from proud pureblood families, and as Lucius never cared about Snape's half blood status, it kind of made him feel isolated to be there among them. He was thinking to leave, even if he just arrived a few minutes ago, when Lucius approached him with a big smile on his face.

"Are you thinking to leave so soon, Severus?"

Severus rolled his eyes dramatically at his friend's question, a part of him was glad that Lucius came or else he would be alone there. A smirk was dancing on Lucius' lips as he put his hand on the professor's shoulder.

"Don't leave just yet. There is somebody who wants to see you."

Lucius said, tearing his gaze away from Severus who had a frown on his face.

"Who wants to see me?"

Severus asked, knitting his eyebrows in confusion. His mind was trying to make out who could want to see him in this party, instead of seeing him outside of this manor, where he would be more comfortable and calm.

"My little sister."

The older wizard said, sipping on his drink before putting his glass away, a chuckle almost escape his throat when he saw how flabbergasted Severus was, with his eyes wide and his jaw dropped.

"If you're wondering, Y/N has heard stories about you from me. All good things, Severus. She is interested to be your friend but you never came to our parties and she is not very keen to meet people outside of our home, especially the ones that she does not know yet."

Lucius added, only making Severus even more puzzled with everything. He could not fathom the fact that Lucius had a little sister, the one that he had never encounter before. It was almost impossible because Severus was sure that he would know her if she went to Hogwarts. Who would not recognise a Malfoy?

"You have a little sister? Y/N? Since when?"

He shot his questions, unable to hide his curiosity, even more when the thought of a woman was interested in him was clouding his mind. It was not just any woman, it was his best friend's little sister, a Malfoy at that.

"Yes, I have a little sister and her is name is Y/N. Since 22 years ago, if you'd like to know."

Lucius chuckled under his breath, seeing his friend was trying to process everything in such a short amount of time. Severus nodded weakly, suddenly feeling nervous to see his friend's little sister, not knowing what Lucius has told about him.

"Here she comes, Severus."

Lucius said almost in a whisper, smirking as Severus' breath hitched, the colours drained from his face as a wave of nerves washed over him. The professor's eyes landed on you, who was walking down the stairs, attracting the every guest in the party to gaze at your graceful features.

"Beautiful, isn't she?"

Lucius teased, upon seeing how awestruck his friend was, and he was not expecting a response from Severus but he could only smirk when the Potions Master nodded with a smile.

"She's gorgeous."

He muttered under his breath, but loud enough for your brother to hear him. Severus breathed in sharply when your eyes meet his, and you seemed surprise to see him there. A part of him was saying that you were surprised because he looked so out of place, but another was convincing him that you had waited for so long to finally see him. He knew it was the latter, when you made your way towards him, not sparing a glance to other guests who were drooling over you.

"Y/N, this is my best friend, Severus Snape."

Severus let Lucius introduced him to you, unable to rip his gaze from you, as he was hypnotised with your smile.

"Severus, this is my little sister, Y/N Malfoy."

Lucius emphasised your last name, silently warning his friend to be careful not to hurt you in any ways, or he would be in deep trouble.

"Hi, Severus."

His name rolled out of your tongue perfectly, like it was meant to be, and Severus swore it was the most beautiful sound he has ever heard in his whole life. Instinctively, he took your hand in his and kissed your knuckles, surprising himself with how gentle he was being with you. A steady blush ran across your cheeks, and your brother was trying his best not to roll his eyes at you and Severus.

"I'll tend to the other guests now, Severus. I hope you can keep him company, my dear Y/N."

Lucius said, kissing your head softly before leaving you and Severus alone. You could tell that the man was nervous around you, even more in the huge party, thus you were thinking of a solution.

"Do you want to get out of here?"

Severus found himself nodding way too quickly at your suggestion, but you did not mention anything about it and gave him a smile. You took his hand in yours, taking him by surprise, and started to make your way to the garden.

His mind was fogged with a kaleidoscope of unknown feelings as you were holding his hand, taking him to the garden, far from the people that he wanted to escape from since the moment he stepped into the manor. His heart was thumping rapidly against his chest, and he wished you could not notice how astonished he was with your presence.

A tint of disappointment hit him when you let go of his hand once both of you arrived at the garden. Severus cursed himself internally, embarrassed, to realise that he was starting to fall for you even if he just met you.

"It's good to finally see you tonight, Severus. I've heard stories about you from my brother. He thinks highly of you."

You started, sensing that he was not going to start a conversation, too busy indulging himself with his thoughts. Severus collected himself together and sent you a smile, glad that you started talking to him instead of feeling bored with his presence there.

"It's good to see you too. I'm just surprised because I never met you before."

"That's because you never came to our events and whenever you came to visit, I was not home."

You told him, beaming at him like he was an old friend that you had not seen in years. Severus continued to talk to you, getting comfortable with you easily than he had ever been with anyone else before. It did not take him long to spill stories about him to you, while you opened up to him too, walking side by side in the huge garden.

He was not expecting you to be so warm and welcoming, thinking that you would give him intimidating looks and cocky behaviours just like your brother always did to people. But his expectation was wrong when you were nothing of sort.

You smiled at him genuinely, never once did he recognise your smile as a forced one, making his heart melted into a puddle. Not to mention, your laughs was music to his ears, eager to be the one who caused your joy, and Severus admitted he was falling for you way too fast but he loved it.

The conversation was lead to his job as a professor in Hogwarts, and he was happy when you looked so interested to listen more about it. Many people would shrug it off, thinking that it was boring, but you were so excited when he told you stories about his teaching experiences, including when he said some snarky remarks about his students, making you laughed.

Oh, you were perfect in his eyes.

"Y/N, did you go to Hogwarts?"

He asked, still not knowing why he had never seen you before. There was no way you would be in school the same time as he was, considering of your young age, but he would surely notice you if you were one of his students. You were Y/N Malfoy, for crying out loud, it would be hard not to notice you.

"I went to Durmstrang, actually."

You revealed, smiling sweetly at him. Severus nodded, realising that it was the reason why he had never seen you before. You were sent to a school which still contained the Dark Arts within its curriculum, and Severus was sure you were a brilliant witch, not being fooled with how sweet and gentle you were, he knew you could be intimidating when you needed to.

"My brother managed to persuade our father to send me to Durmstrang instead of Hogwarts, saying that it would be better for me."

Severus was not surprised, knowing that Lucius loved his precious little sister so much, sending you to Durmstrang would mean that you would never associate with Muggleborns, and the Malfoys did not have to worry about the matter.

"I've heard Lucius wanted Draco to study there too but Narcissa disagreed."

You nodded at his words, chuckling softly as you remembered how frustrated your brother was when his wife did not accept his suggestion. He could be overdramatic sometimes, but you could say the same for yourself too. You grinned at Severus, not knowing how his heart fluttered at the sight of you.

"Hogwarts must be an amazing school, isn't it?" 

You asked, and Severus was contemplating to agree or disagree with you, having bad experiences there himself but he could never denied that it was a great school. He just shrugged his shoulders, hoping that you would understand.

"Depends on how you see it, Miss Malfoy."

"I understand. I just know that you're a great teacher from what Draco has told me that you're his favourite."

Severus raised his eyebrows at your words, a deep chuckle erupted in his chest. He saved the boy from trouble a few times already, of course he would be the Malfoy's favourite teacher.                          

He could not help but gazed at you, enchanted, as you walked in the garden with him, almost skipping in your steps as the excitement was clear in your eyes. It was a good feeling to know that somebody was over the moon to have him there, accompanying him after so long of being alone.

He wanted to have you by his side not just for a day, but every day of his life, and he needed to know if his feelings were unrequited or not. His mind was telling him that such a perfect person like you would already have a man waiting for you, the one who came earlier before him. But his heart was telling him otherwise, saying that he would still have a chance if he was bold enough to ask. Before he could stop himself, the question slipped out of his mouth. 

"Y/N, are you seeing anyone, as in a lover?"

You smiled at his question, and Severus felt his throat tighten, and it was as if he could faint, waiting for your answer.

"No, I don't have a lover."

You responded, and Severus let out a breath that he did not even realise he was holding. He wanted to hold your hands, telling you straight away that he was falling for you, and he wanted you to be his everything. He did not mind as you were his friend's sister or anything else, he just wanted to be yours.

"I really like you, Severus."

You blurted out, and Severus felt his heart was stolen, smiling as he saw how genuine you were. He embraced his fear and took your hands in his, loving how small your hands were compared to his, making they fit perfectly in his hands. You smiled shyly at the professor as he looked at you in adoration, not even bothering to mask his feelings as he was losing himself in your eyes.

"I really like you too."

He felt like a lovesick teenager, with his feelings overwhelming him and his heart was beating rapidly against his ribcage. He loved everything about it, and he wanted to live this way forever, if it meant he would have you by his side.

"I like the way your hands fit in mine."

He broke the silence, chuckling as your face flushed at his words. If you could, you wanted to stay there with him forever, the party was long forgotten as you found solitude with Severus, overjoyed to be in his presence. But your lovely brother found his way to the garden, and he came just in time to tease his sister and Severus.

"Forgive me for interrupting but are you holding hands?"

Lucius's voice interrupted you and Severus, who quickly broke away from each other, and you almost whined when you lost the warmth of his hands. You glared daggers at Lucius who had a smirk on his face, his eyes moved from Severus to you, knowing exactly what was going on.

"Why are you here?"

You asked, crossing your arms against your chest. Lucius almost laughed at how pissed you were, but he decided against it as he could also see his best friend was annoyed as well.

"Karkaroff is here and he wants to see you, Y/N."

At the mention of the headmaster's name, your face lightened up and Severus felt jealousy crawled over his chest. His face dropped and Lucius noticed it, shaking his head at how quickly his friend was smitten with you.

"Oh, I have to see him! Thank you, Lucius."

You were excited to see Karkaroff, kissing your brother's cheek to thank him as you made your way back to the manor. Severus could not help but clenched his jaw, envied to know that you had forgotten that he was there because of the Durmstrang's headmaster.  Lucius' smirk broke into a grin upon seeing how jealous Severus was.

"Worry not, Severus. Y/N doesn't see Karkaroff as more than a respected headmaster. He always looked out for her when she was in school, that's why she is really close with him."

Lucius found it funny that he had to explain the situation to Severus, who was looking sad like a kicked puppy when you started to leave. However, he was flabbergasted when you turned around, almost running towards him with a smile adorned your face. 

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach when you threw yourself into his arms, hugging him tightly, with your head pressed against his chest. He was sure you could hear the beating of his heart, which was getting crazy due to how close you were with him. Severus wrapped his arms around you, his jealousy was chased away as he realised that you wanted him and only him. Severus ignored Lucius who was smirking, as he watched his sister hugged his friend, which he could easily recognise was not a friendly hug.

"I really want to see you again, Severus."

"Of course, I will see you again."

He assured you, a smile was cracked on his lips, looking like a fool in love.

"Promise me you'll see me again, or write to me?"

You tilted your head a bit, chewing on your bottom lip as you nervously asked him. Severus could not go on another day without having you by his side, and he knew he would always write to you, and see you whenever you wanted him to.

"I promise, Y/N."

You looked so alluring in his eyes as you gave him a smile, excitement was twinkling in your eyes, and he thought that you could be the death of him with how sweet and gentle you were, killing him so much affection that he had never received before.

"I have to see Karkaroff now. Thank you for tonight, Severus. I'm really happy with you."

You said, planting a soft kiss on his cheek, his face turned red at your action. You chuckled softly and waved at him while you left to find your old headmaster, who wanted to see you.

Severus blinked a few times, making sure that he was not dreaming about you. He could still feel your kiss lingered on his cheek, sending warmth wrapped around his heart, and he could not wait to see you again.

"Did you regret coming here tonight, my friend?"

Lucius asked, a knowing smile was painted on his face. Severus was shook from his train of thoughts, and for a moment he almost forgot that your brother was still there.

"Not at all, Lucius."

How could he regret it if it meant that he got to know you and walked with you, revealing his feelings and discovering yours. Severus made sure not to reject Lucius' invitations ever again, it would be imprudent of him to do so after he met you tonight.

"I think I'm falling for her."

He whispered under his breath, and Lucius just patted his friend's back softly.

"I can tell, Severus. You look like a fool now."

He joked, but the Potions Master did not seem to care. Lucius had to bear with Severus telling him about how wonderful you were, and how attached he was with you after a glance, making your brother exhausted with how dreamily Severus was thinking of you. But at least he knew that his little sister was in good hands of his best friend, who would never try to do anything that could hurt you.

-
i got carried away while writing this lmao
anyways i have such wonderful readers here and i cannot thank you enough for your kind words and support. i love you!

29th January 2021