You listen carefully as the headmaster briefed about your job, and your excitement was growing bigger as you could not wait to teach your classes tomorrow. You heard that the students liked Professor Flitwick's class, hence replacing him made you determined to continue it that way, catching their interest in learning the subject.

"Do you have any question, Professor L/N?"

You could not help but smiled as Dumbledore addressed you with your professional name, the reality of being a teacher at Hogwarts was sinking into your mind and you loved it.

"No, I don't. Thank you for giving me a chance to teach here."

Albus nodded and glanced at Minerva, who was smiling since you came in. They welcomed you very well, and you felt like home already.

"I believe you're enthusiastic to start teaching."

The older witch asserted, reminiscing about her old days when she started to teach, with zest and enthusiasm in her veins. You were there for a few hours and she already liked you, surely other teachers would adore you too, she thought.

"Have you found your soulmate?"

Her question caught you off guard, and your smile dropped before you composed yourself and shook your head. It surprised you when they were interested to know, but their explanation cleared it all.

"I'm sorry for asking. It's just before this we had a teacher who couldn't be away from her soulmate. It was too painful for her so she resigned. We hope you're here to stay for a long time."

She explained, smiling, and you nodded in understatement.

"I promise you nothing will stop me from working here."

You said, knowing that you really wanted this job and there was nothing could stop you from achieving your dreams, not even your soulmate.

"That's alright, Y/N. Perhaps you'll find your soulmate here."

Albus said, a chuckle escaped his throat. Your smile widen at his words which you did not take seriously, as you never thought you would find your soulmate in the school ground. It was safe to say you were almost giving up on finding the one for you, as it had been too long of living alone.

"Perhaps I will. Who knows, right?"

You did not get to introduce yourself to all teachers as when you walked into the Great Hall with Albus and Minerva, the students were already there, all eyes were on you as they had never seen you before. They whispered among themselves and some of them were smiling at you, making you feel at ease.

As you sat in your chair, you noticed the man who bumped into you earlier. You knew now that you were right, he was one of the teachers. He did not even spare a glance at you whilst the teachers smiled at you, saving all the talking for later once dinner would be over.

You were hoping that he would look at you, so you could introduce yourself properly this time but when he did, you quickly looked away as you felt yourself cowering under his intense gaze. You kept your focus on the headmaster as he began his speech to start the year.

"Welcome to another year of Hogwarts. Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become too befuddled by our excellent feast."

The students were listening attentively to Dumbledore, and to see them from the teachers table made you feel a little bit scared with the responsibility that now was relying heavily on your shoulders.

"I'm pleased to welcome Professor Y/N L/N who will fill the post of Charms teacher. Good luck, Professor."

Nerves wrecked your heart as you stood up from your chair, smiling kindly as the students applauded and some of them whistled, much to your surprise. You could see their smiles, and somehow it comforted you to teach tomorrow, even if you could see a few students who were judging you from their seats.

You sat back into your chair, and Minerva tapped your arm, diverting your attention from Dumbledore towards her.

"Some final year boys can be annoying to a young professor."

She said, gesturing to a group of boys who whistled earlier, and you could notice their eyes on you. You chuckled and shook your head.

"But don't worry, you can always tell me or even Severus. He always manages to get those boys under control."

"Severus?"

You raised your eyebrows, as you still did not know the other teachers' names. Minerva seemed to realise it and she gestured at the man who bumped into you, and you nodded weakly.

He seemed like a cold hearted teacher who would give detention to every student that cross his path, and honestly, you were kind of worried to work along with him. But you reminded yourself not to judge someone easily and perhaps he was just having a bad day when you bumped into him, he did not mean to be rude at all.

Never once did he turn to look at you and you were beginning to think that he disliked you since you first saw him earlier. You really did not want to give a bad impression on the teacher, but what was done was done.

"You'll be introduced to the teachers properly after this. You'll get to know them."

She added, and you smiled, feeling as if nothing could go wrong from where you were teaching now. They all seemed friendly and helpful, well, except Severus but you did not know him yet. Perhaps he could be a good friend once he got to know you.

When the students were dismissed after dinner, you watched as they retreated back to their dormitories. It felt so strange for you because you were new there, but you loved it. You could live like that as a teacher at Hogwarts. You were loving everything about the school and you did not even start teaching your first class yet.

"It's time to introduce yourself, Y/N."

The evening went on with you introducing yourself and shaking hands with the teachers, exchanging hugs with some, and learning their names so you could work easily with them. But when it was Severus' turn, you pressed your lips into a thin line as you were expecting him to shrug you off. From the way he looked at you, you could tell he did not like you at all.

However, he sighed and extended his hand, introducing himself properly just like how the other teachers did.

"Professor Snape."

"Nice to meet you, Professor."

He looked like he had to get out of there as soon as he could, and it made you feel uneasy. Hence, you just wanted to shake his hand and let him leave, when he really did not want to be there with you.

But as you shook his hand, his skin touched yours, a gasp escaped your lips as suddenly the world around you disappeared and it turned into a flash of memories in your head. All good happy memories, that you had never experienced, but those memories felt so close to your heart and you finally noticed it.

Severus Snape was in your memories. No, he would be in your future.

It unfolded before your eyes way too quickly and before you know it, it all vanished into thin air and you were back in the room, your hand was in Severus' bigger one. The feeling was surreal, and you wanted to feel it again, as it was the only time you felt truly happy in such a long time.

He was your soulmate.

You thought you were imagining things, but upon seeing the look on Snape's face, you knew he must have felt it too. He stared at you, his jaw dropped slightly but there was no word could be utter. You could not help but wondered what he felt when he knew you were his soulmate.

Had he been waiting for you too?

The only way to know was to speak, thus with happy tears in the corner of your eyes and a smile on your face, your lips trembled as the words rolled out of your tongue, warming your heart.

"You're my soulmate."

You breathed out, heart thumping rapidly against your chest as your smile widen when you looked him in the eyes. Your smile quickly turned into a frown when he dropped your hand, and he grimaced at your words. His next words broke your heart, as you knew he was not waiting for you.

"You're the reason I lost her."

He spat, stabbing your heart with his wounding words and you stared in disbelief as he walked out of the room, rage was in his eyes. You stood there, unable to comprehend what just happened.

It was not what you were expecting from your soulmate.

It was not supposed to be like this.

He should not walk away from you when you just wanted to run into his arms for your whole life.

You had been waiting for him for your whole life.

"Y/N, are you alright?"

You almost forgot that the teachers were there, witnessing everything that happened, clearly they could see your soulmate rejected you instead of being happy to finally meet you.

You looked at them and you knew they could not believe what was happening either. It was supposed to be a magical moment when two souls finally reunited, but it seemed like he did not want to be with you. It was not magical for him, but it was cursed.

You wished you could smile and pretend as if you were fine, but as you looked at Minerva, you just shook your head, trying to hold back your tears even if it was tough. It was too painful for you to finally met your soulmate, and having him scowling at you instead of giving you a genuine smile.

Your soul was missing the half of it before, but now it felt empty, when you realised Severus was not keen to see you. Your soulmate did not want you, and it was hurting you in a way that you had never felt before. It was slowly destroying you more than any other thing could, and you wished the pain could be stopped.

Everything was fine that evening, until you met your soulmate, and cried yourself to sleep, hoping that you would be able to talk to him on the next day. You told yourself it would be better tomorrow, and once you talked to him, you would get to have your long awaited soulmate in your life.

Perhaps you could be happy.

It would take some time, but you would get there. At least, that was what you told yourself again and again, with tears rolling down upon your face and nightmares accompanied you throughout the night.

-
right into the action because there is more to come!