Severus did not get a proper sleep last night, as he ended up tossing and turning in his bed, his mind was full with the thought of you choosing another man over him. He thought that it was almost pathetic for him to think of such things just because of Remus Lupin, but he had lost so many things in his life, and Severus could not afford to lose his soulmate to another.

He made a mistake by pushing you away before, and he knew the consequences from his imprudent action. But now he was determined to spend his whole life with you, he was working so hard to make sure you believe in him, and he would be doomed if his endeavour was ruined because of his own foolish jealousy.

Hence, he tried to forget the disappointment he felt last night, and he decided that you were just being friendly with your new colleague. You had such a big heart, and Severus was not going to change your kindness with his irrelevant envy of Remus Lupin.

But as he walked into the Great Hall, his optimism flew out of the window when he saw Remus sitting next to you. He squinted his eyes, annoyance was bubbling in his chest when he realised the other seat next to you was occupied by Hagrid, and it meant he could not sit beside you like he always did.

He never thought he would be enraged because of a seat, just a freaking seat, but when it came to you, even the smallest thing could mess with his head. He huffed and sat next to Minerva, who quickly noticed how grumpy the Potions Master was, and it did not go unnoticed by her when he glared at Lupin, who was talking to you.

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Severus?"

Minerva asked, taking a sip of her tea. Severus cocked his eyebrow at her, his lips were twitching slightly, holding back himself from scowling at the older witch.

"There is no wrong side of my bed."

He muttered angrily, avoiding her eyes when he heard her soft chuckles. He knew she was going to act as if she realised what he was feeling, and as much as he hated to admit it, Minerva always knew what he truly felt.

"Calm down, Severus. Y/N is your soulmate, not his."

She smirked when Severus' eyes grew wide, and heat rushed towards his cheeks as he realised it was obvious to Minerva that he was angered by the fact that Remus was so close with you now.

"I don't know what you're implying."

"You are murdering Remus with your eyes, Severus. I'm not oblivious."

She said, pretending as if she was enjoying her breakfast while actually she was just enjoying how flustered Snape was. He scoffed under his breath and held himself back from looking towards your way, not wanting to see how much you were enjoying Lupin's company instead of his.

He was getting used to have you by his side, and it was bothering him when you had another friend. Severus would never care if you were close with your other friends, he was not going to control your life. But he could see the look in Remus' eyes every time his eyes landed on you, and Severus could tell that the new professor was starting to harbour feelings for you.

As soon as he finished his breakfast, Severus quickly stood up from his chair, ready to leave the hall. He could not bring himself to stay there any longer as he was getting annoyed, when he knew he had no right to stop you from being friends with Remus.

Severus made a promise to be a good friend, and that was what he was going to be.

Just as he was about to leave, with a heavy heart in his chest, he was surprised when you walked over to him. His heart thumped rapidly against his chest, upon seeing your enchanting smile which could light up his whole world. Severus immediately turned into a sappy wizard when it came to you, he knew it by now.

"Severus, do you want to walk with me to class?"

You asked, more than an invitation than a question, as you were not expecting him to reject your offer. Severus opened his mouth to say something, but then he just nodded, smiling at you.

"Happy now, Severus?"

Minerva whispered to him, but not loud enough for you to hear her. Before he could say anything to argue with her, Minerva left, a smirk was painted on her face.

Severus felt a twinge of jealousy in his chest when you waved at Remus, smiling at him as you walked out of the hall with Severus. But all of his negative feelings were vanishing when he told himself that your soul longed for his, and if that was not enough to convince him, he did not know what will.

"How many classes do you have today, Severus?"

"My schedule is full today."

He sighed, and you nodded, making a mental note not to visit him at his classroom on that particular day. It was not unusual for you to come to see him unannounced, but it would be highly improper if the students were in his class, and they would have a myriad of questions about you and Severus which you were not keen of answering.

"You will be patrolling tonight, right?"

You guessed, trying to remember whose turn it was for the night patrol around the school ground. Severus nodded, his head pounded slightly when he was reminded of his job.

"You must be so tired today. Are you going to be alright?"

Severus saw how worried you were and it brought a warm smile upon his face, nodding at you, not wanting to worry you even further. You were not entirely convinced, as you were concerned for his health, but you knew he would get irritated if you did not believe him.

"I know you love you job but your health is important too, Severus."

You reminded him, nudging him with your elbow playfully. His heart fluttered, realising how much you cared about him, like no one else ever did before. It was such a strange feeling to have someone caring about him, but Severus liked it, as it made him feel appreciated and loved.

Severus wanted to ask you about Remus, but he was afraid if you would be mad at him and he would ruin your friendship. He pondered silently, gathering his courage as he realised you would arrive at your class soon. He cleared his throat, nerves were wrecking his soul.

"You seemed to be close with Lupin."

He started, unsure if it was the right thing to say, but when your face remained the same, and there was no hint of anger or annoyance, he let out a breath of relief.

"I just met him yesterday, Severus."

You chuckled, not daring to say if you were close with Remus yet when you just met the wizard.

"But yes, I think I have no problem to work with Remus. He is very kind and polite to me."

You shrugged your shoulders, not knowing what Severus was thinking. He nodded weakly, swallowing your words, noticing how highly you thought of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor.

You could tell that Remus was a genuine person, and he was not faking his kindness towards you. But it baffled you when a frown found its way on your soulmate's face when Remus' name fell from your lips.

"Were you good friends with him?"

You questioned, as you could clearly see they had something against each other. And you knew you were right when Severus rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

"We were not friends."

His voice was dripping with rage, and even if it was not directed to you, you decided to stop talking about it. It was not your place to ask more about his past if he did not want to share it, and you did not want to push him to do something he was not fond of.

It was silent until you arrived at your class, and you watched as Severus left to his, something was still bothering him. You wondered what was on his mind, and it bugged you for the whole day. You wished he would tell you, but you believed if he wanted to, he would.

You were done with your classes when Remus came to your class, his hands were in his pocket and a sweet smile was on his face. The thought of Severus was leaving your mind as soon as you saw your new colleague, who had his first day of teaching went perfectly as planned.

You talked to him as you organised your stuff, and you found it easy for you to have a conversation with him. He always knew what to say, and you were comfortable with him even if you just met. So you were not surprised when he asked you for a walk that evening.

"A secret place?"

You repeated what he just said, and Remus nodded vigorously, excitement was sparkling in his eyes.

"I can assure you no one else knows that place in Hogwarts, Y/N."

"Are you going to kidnap me?"

You joked, leaning against the table. Remus laughed and he walked closer towards you, your cheeks flushed when he towered over you, smiling softly at you.

"I'll keep you safe. Don't worry."

A chuckle erupted in your chest at his words, and you agreed to go with him, unable to contain your curiosity. If there was a hidden place in the school ground, you were beyond excited to know where it was.

That was how you found yourself walking with him, standing in front of a door which you had never thought of going in before. You had a weird feeling staring at the huge door, and you could tell no one had ever been there since there was spider webs everywhere.

"Are you sure we're allowed to go in?"

You asked, almost in a whisper, as if you were afraid anybody would hear you and Remus. The wizard raised his eyebrows, astonished to see how worried you were to break a rule, and he thought that if you were to go to school along with him and his friends, they would have such a good time teasing you about it.

"We're not allowed to go in, but we're allowed to go out."

He replied, and you frowned at his words, not understanding what he was implying. Remus suppressed a chuckled and he opened the door, his eyes softened when he saw how nervous you were to walk through it.

"You're going to love this, Y/N. I promise you."

Remus spoke softly, taking your hand in his, and he was grateful when you let him, as both of you walked through the door. You were anticipating to see the other side of the door that you did not realise how Remus gazed at your intertwined fingers with his, a plethora of unspoken feelings were exploding in his chest.

"Remus, is this a secret garden?"

You gasped, astounded as you walked out of the door, only to meet with a huge spellbinding garden. Remus nodded, and he could not forbear a smile when he saw the gleam in your eyes. You were exhilarated and you almost jumped on your feet as your saw how beautiful the flowers in the garden were.

You could not describe with words as the beauty of the garden was pulling you towards it, and it made you feel as if you never wanted to leave it again. Surely it was not an ordinary garden, but its existence was extremely breathtaking.

"This feels so magical. But why is it a secret?"

You tilted your head a bit, wondering how could someone keep such a beauty from the rest of the world. Remus looked you in the eyes, his smile never dropped from his face.

"Sometimes we have to keep something beautiful away from others, if we do not want anyone to taint it."

He said, watching as you ran your fingers on the delicate petals of the flowers, while being careful enough not to touch the thorns. You truly had no idea how gorgeous you were to him, and if you looked up, you could see the adoration in his eyes.

"But I think no one would taint this garden. They would be too captivated with its beauty that they would not even think to do it."

Remus chuckled at your words, realising how kind you were and it almost made him afraid of how pure your heart was in this cruel world.

"It's true, Y/N. But sometimes such beauty is too much to be handled by someone who has never been passionate."

His silvery voice sent a smile upon your face, and you moved your eyes from the bewitching flowers towards Remus. You could see something flashed through his eyes, but you could not tell what it was, and it felt so wrong to know about it.

"You're so beautiful, Y/N."

Remus blurted out, and you chuckled heartily, thinking that he was only teasing you like he did before. But when his smile did not break into a laughter, your heart spiralled in a kaleidoscope of feelings, as you realised your hand was still in his, and you were so close to his chest that you could hear his beating heartbeat in the silence.

You knew not just in the way he was looking at you, but in how he was not looking anywhere else, that he held you somewhere in his heart. You were not sure what he was feeling, and what he was thinking. But you were intensely drawn to his sincerity that you almost did not let go of his hand as he leaned in closer towards you.

Something struck you in the heart at the thought of Severus and you quickly let go of his hand, tearing your gaze from Remus. A faint smile was plastered on his face as soon as you did, already missing how perfectly your hand fits in his.

"Severus never showed me this place before."

You stammered, distracting yourself from the growing heat on your cheeks. At the mention of your soulmate's name, Remus stiffened slightly, as he chuckled half-heartedly.

"No one knows about this place but us."

He told you, and you nodded weakly, fiddling with your fingers and looking everywhere but him. Remus bit the inside of his cheeks, contemplating to ask you about Severus or not, but he knew he would not be able to sleep peacefully if he did not.

"What is your relationship with Severus?"

You were flabbergasted with his question, but you masked it with a smile on your face. You were not sure if Severus wanted people to know who you were to him, and as much as you wanted to tell the world that he was your soulmate, you thought Severus would not like it.

"Severus is my best friend."

You said, and you swore Remus' smile widen upon hearing it. He nodded violently and both of you continued to walk in the garden, talking about everything as if you had known him since forever. Time went by and none of you realised how late it was until you walked out of the secret garden, noticing that perhaps everyone already went to bed.

"Thank you for showing me the secret garden. I promise I will keep it as a secret."

You beamed at him, and Remus returned your smile, deciding to walk you back to your room. You were laughing at something that he said when a familiar figure walked towards you from the other way, and you recognised him right away as he stopped in front of you.

"Severus!"

You rejoiced, unable to hide how overjoyed you were to see him. However, your grin faltered when you noticed Severus was staring at Remus, who had a smug smile on his face.

"Professor."

Remus simply said, smirking at your soulmate. Severus eyed him carefully, wondering why you would be walking in the dark hallways with Remus Lupin, out of all people in Hogwarts.

"Well, Lupin. Out for a little walk in the moonlight, are we?"

He mocked, and you frowned, starting to get uncomfortable with the way they were glaring daggers at each other, while you were there, unable to understand anything from their past.

"Yes, and Y/N is kind enough to walk with me tonight. Sometimes it's really good to have someone accompanying you rather than to be alone."

Remus retorted, as if he knew it would tick Severus off and he was right, when the Potions Master clenched his jaw, the fact that you were spending a lot of your time with Remus was suffocating him.

"Severus, why don't you walk me back to my room?"

You intervened, putting your hand on Severus' arm, and his anger melted down immediately. You knew they would start arguing if you let them, and it was the last thing you needed in the middle of the night.

Remus knitted his eyebrows in confusion as you bid him good night, leaving him in the hallway as you walked with Severus, who seemed to be happy that you chose him instead of Remus. Pride swelled in his chest when you took his arm, dragging him away from his colleague before they could start to annoy each other even more.

"What do you have against Remus?"

You decided to ask, once both of you were far from Lupin. You felt guilty for leaving him alone, but you really needed to talk with Severus. Your soulmate scoffed under his breath, offended that you could even think he was the problem.

"You should wonder what does Lupin have against me."

He muttered, angry that you were siding on Remus. You shook your head, knowing that he would not be too happy to see you with Remus, and you dared to think he was being jealous, but then again, he agreed to be a friend, so there was nothing for him to be jealous of.

"If you want to take a walk with someone, you can always ask me."

His words were rushed, as if he was almost embarrassed to say it but you quickly caught what he was saying.

"I know. But I don't think it is wrong for me to take a walk with Remus."

You remonstrated, not knowing why Severus was so determined to keep you away from your new friend. Severus was a little bit hurt when you wanted to argue with him because of Remus, but he would never tell you about it.

"You have to be careful with him, Y/N."

He warned, and you did not understand why would you have to be careful around such a kind person like Remus, but you did not want to start a petty fight with him so you just nodded.

"I will, and I know if there is anyone who wants to hurt me, you will be there to protect me."

You smiled, noticing how much your words were affecting Severus, as a small smile was cracked on his lips. Suddenly, he had forgotten how angry he was to see you with Remus, and how hurt he was when you defended the new professor. All he thought was you smiling at him at that moment, and no one could take this moment away from him, not even Lupin.

"Of course, I will be there."