Severus' eyes locked with yours as you walked into the Great Hall, and he gave you a small smile, his heart fluttered when you returned his smile. It was such an exhilarating feeling to have you smiling because of him, and he would do anything to make sure that you were always happy by his side.

You sat next to him like you did during breakfast, and Severus could not be happier, thinking that it was a good sign that you were forgiving him, even if you were not trying to talk to him as much as you did before. He could say that it felt like you did not like him much anymore, but he quickly shrugged his thought off, wanting to start over again with you.

"How was your day, Y/N?"

His voice was strained, trying to let go of his nerves which was building in his chest. It was unusual for him to try and start a conversation with you, and it would be a lie if he say that it was easy, but Severus would do anything to win your heart back.

"It was good. What about you?"

You responded, glancing at him with a smile on your face. Severus was in awe, taking in your beautiful features as he realised how foolish he was being when he was blinded by his dreadful past, until he did not see such an alluring angel who was sent for him, but now he was sure that he would appreciate you for the rest of his life.

"A few students were causing problems during my class but other than that, everything else was fine."

He said, covering up the fact that he was thinking about you for the whole day, until he had forgotten to give detention to the problematic students. Yes, Professor Snape forgot to give detention to them because his mind was engulfed in the thoughts of seeing you during dinner, and now when he was sitting next to you, his heart was full.

"I've heard from the students that today Professor Snape was kind enough to let them go without detention. Is it true?"

You asked, taking him by surprise, and you almost chuckled when his eyebrows knitted in confusion. Surely, his students just needed to spread the news everywhere when he became way nicer that day, without them knowing that he was not being nice to them at all, it was merely just because of he was busy thinking about you.

"They should consider themselves lucky today."

He muttered, clearing his throat and avoided your eyes. It was still a little bit awkward to be talking to you in such a calm manner and not arguing, but Severus loved every second of it. It felt like he had somebody to talk to about everything, and even if you and him did not talk about everything yet, but that was enough for a start.

He knew it must be hard for you to give him another chance after what he had said and done to you, and he was not going to waste the opportunity of building your trust again and making his way into your heart once more, if he ever left at the first place.

"What did they do during your class?"

Your question made Severus let out a groan, and you grinned at his sour expression when he told you about the problem which the students were causing in his class. He was genuinely frustrated with them, and to have you listening to him was so amazing, and as soon as he was done talking, he could not help but smiled, grateful to have you there with him and suddenly it was the best dinner he ever had in Hogwarts.

"I wonder how could they behave so well in your class, Y/N."

He shook his head, and you pondered for awhile, never really thought of the reasons behind their well behaviours. Perhaps it was because you were gentle with them, but you could never really tell.

"Honestly, I do not know."

"I think it is because you are beautiful, Y/N."

Severus blurted out, and his eyes widen upon realising what he just said. Rosy blush ran across his cheeks and he sipped on his drink, trying to hide his burning face from you and he hoped you would not notice it.

"I mean, perhaps they are well-behaved in your class because they have a pretty teacher and the students tend to be... Nicer?"

He stumbled on his words, internally cursing himself for making the situation even worse than it already was. He looked at you and heat rose from his stomach to his chest when you smiled at him, looking as beautiful as ever. He swore that his soulmate was the most beautiful person he had ever seen.

"Do you think I'm beautiful, Severus?"

You chuckled, shaking your head as you were only joking with him. But your eyes grew wide when he nodded, watching you in adoration as a smile never dropped from your face.

"Yes, you're beautiful."

He braced up and told you the truth, a smirk was threatening to crack on his lips when he saw how flustered you were. He loved it, and he was ready to tell you more about how pretty you were in his eyes.

Just as he was about to say more about what he thought, Professor Sprout tapped his shoulder, wanting to talk to him about work. Severus rolled his eyes dramatically, turning his head to talk to his colleague who was disturbing his moment with you. You just chuckled under your breath, and continued to eat your dinner with fluttering heart.

When the dinner was over and the students retreated back to their dormitories, you stood up from your chair, more than willing to rest in your room after a long day. You missed the comfort of your bed more than anything else now.

"Y/N, may I walk you back to your room?"

You were surprised to hear the offer from Severus, and to see him fiddling with his fingers nervously was an unfamiliar sight to you.

"Are you afraid that I might get lost on my way there?"

You teased him, but Severus thought that you were disliking the fact that he wanted to walk you to your room, and his heart was aching. Seeing his face dropped, you gave him a smile and nodded, amused to witness how his eyes lightened up right away.

"Of course you can, Severus. I'd love nothing more."

And so the dark-haired professor walked you back to your room that night, bidding you good night and smiling to himself as he walked back to his room, falling asleep peacefully for the first time in awhile, dreaming of his soulmate and no nightmares could come to him as his head was filled with you.

His days were much better now, and he hoped it was the same for you. He loved it when he walked through the school halls and his eyes met yours, smiling at each other, and he treasured every waking moment he had with you, even when to others those moments meant so little, but it meant the world to him as it was the beginning of a new life for you and him.

His feelings flourished every time you smiled at him, and whenever he heard your laughter, not a hint of sadness was lingering in your voice and he wished for your happiness to stay forever as he would hate to see an anguished frown on his soulmate's face.

Severus would find his ways to see you every day, and sometimes he would even pretend to bump into you on your way to your office just so he could talk to you on your way there. He was not sure if his effort was too obvious to you, but he was glad that you did not mention anything about it, but he knew you were not oblivious to it either.

So when he called your name when you were going to Hagrid's place, stopping you dead on your track, you could not help but smiled when you saw Severus approaching you.

"Are you going to Hagrid's, Y/N?"

He asked, trying to pretend as if he did not know that already. Severus did not know he could be that desperate to get close to you, but you were so enchanting that he could not help himself.

"Yes, I am. Are you heading there too?"

You played along, tilting your head a bit when he gave you a nod.

"Yes, what a coincidence. We should walk there together, Y/N."

He suggested, and you knew well that it was not in his plan at all to see Hagrid but when he saw you there, he just had to see you. It happened frequently now that you could see the pattern, when he always bumped into you, just so he could talk to you about everything, and as much as you liked it, you also wondered if you were right about it.

"Severus, are you stalking me?"

Your smile broke into a grin when colours drained from his face, realising that you had noticed what he was doing whilst trying to get close to you, and the gears in his head were busy working out an answer for your question but he found none.

"Come on now, Severus."

You chuckled, taking his hand in yours as you started to walk side by side with him. Severus' heart almost jumped out of his chest when your skin touched his, and he felt like he never wanted to let you go.

He desired to hold your hand a few times now, but he did not want to make you uncomfortable and destroy a chance he had with you, but when you were holding his hand, his heart could explode from the amount of happiness that was swimming in his chest.

However, Severus could see your smile dropped and he wondered what was wrong. But he knew the reason as soon as he recognised the place that both of you were walking pass to Hagrid's place, which was the same place where he broke your heart and left you crying in the rain that day.

"Y/N, I'm sorry for that day."

He said, squeezing your hand gently. You were flabbergasted to hear him apologising to you again, but it was good to know that he was starting to see his mistakes and he was accepting your presence in his life.

"I thought that if I acted like it didn't matter, then it wouldn't. I was wrong."

Severus continued, dropping his gaze as he could not bring himself to look you in the eyes. You nodded, thinking of how painful it was for you that day, but now you were in the same place and you were no longer hurting. In fact, you were happy with him, and you were glad that he was trying so hard to fix everything with you.

"If I could take it all back, I would."

He was being honest, and it would forever scarred his mind to be reminded of how hurtful his words were, and his action was leading you to do something that he would never wished on his soulmate. The image of you dying in his arms was his worst memory, and he never wanted it to happen again to you.

"Let go of the past, Severus."

He nodded at your wise words, thinking that it would be imprudent for him to live in his past, when he had you with him here, and it mattered the most to him that you were happy now, instead of bathing himself in blame and guilt. He had to think about his future, and he wanted to have one with you.

"Hi, Hagrid!"

You squealed as soon as both of you arrived at his place, and Severus almost let out an audible whine when you let go of his hand. He was already missing your cold hand, wanting to warm it up as you went to hug your friend and left him behind.

Severus frowned when he realised how smitten he was with you, and it was so unusual for him which was scaring him a bit with how huge the effect you had on him. Well, his soul was bounded to yours after all.

"Why are you here with him, Y/N?"

Hagrid was staring at Severus with wide eyes, and clearly he was trying to whisper to you, but his voice was loud enough that Severus could hear his question. You smiled at the Potions Master, and Hagrid's jaw dropped upon seeing how genuine your smile was when he could still remember vividly how you were crying your eyes out because of Severus.

"We're friends now."

Severus announced, and Hagrid was taken aback, a gasp escaped his lips. Severus rolled his eyes at how dramatic his colleague was acting, but if he was in Hagrid's place, he would be shocked too.

Hagrid looked at you, expecting you to say something but when you just smiled, he knew Severus was being true. As much as he wanted to say that you were a fool for giving the Potions Master a chance after breaking your heart, he could not, as he noticed the way Severus was looking at you, and he never wanted to ruin it. It was tough to believe that he was changing for the better, but perhaps it was not impossible when Severus looked like a fool in love now.

"Are you not going to let us in?"

Severus asked, raising his eyebrows as he was getting stared at far too long for his liking. Hagrid nodded and invited you and Severus inside, unable to comprehend when he could see how enamoured Severus was with you, so different than the last time he saw both of you.

As he prepared tea for the evening, Hagrid started to feel as if he was the third wheel when you and Severus were indulged in a conversation. His heart was at ease upon seeing how overjoyed you were with Severus, and he could only hope for you to have your happily ever after with your soulmate, and he wished that nothing could come to destroy what you had now.