"I love you."

As soon as his declaration of love for you escaped his lips, you dropped your hand from his face, and you stared longingly at him, with fresh tears now pooled in your eyes, silently praying that it was not a dream. Severus loved you.

"I love you, Y/N."

He whispered again, hoping that you would say something, or anything— To let him know that your love for him was still there in your heart. Severus felt sick in the stomach when you stayed silent, and he had projected the worst rejection he would ever experience in his mind, preparing himself to be heartbroken when you tell him you did not love him anymore.

"Perhaps you have fallen out of love with me since I treated you badly but I just have to let you know about how I really feel."

He said, in a shaky voice, nerves were overwhelming him. Your heart almost broke at the sound of his sorrow, which he was trying to hide. But his devastation vanished when he saw your lips curled into a smile, and it quickly turned into a huge grin.

"I never stopped loving you, Severus."

His heart almost dropped in excitement when it hit him hard that his love for you was reciprocated. You chuckled heartily when you saw the biggest smile on his face, internally patting yourself on the back as you were the only person who managed to get Professor Snape to smile genuinely.

"I love you so much. I do not know how to live without you because we both know I'm happier when you came into my life, Y/N."

He realised his words were not his own, but merely fragment of the words you had sent his soul to sing. Your face flushed as he wrapped his arms around your waist to pull you closer against his chest, and you dared to look him in the eyes, drowning yourself in his pools of love.

"I will love you forever, darling."

He whispered, and it was enough to make you lean in closer towards him, knowing that your heart wanted him and him alone. Severus felt like the world was his when you claimed his lips with yours in a kiss, and he kissed you back immediately, pouring his heart and soul into the kiss.

"I love you too."

You murmured against his lips, kissing him deeper and harder, as his hands roamed on your back, intoxicated with your love. Your soul was intertwined with his, and now his heart belonged to you too. There was nothing more alluring than the fact of your soulmate loving you, just as much as you loved him.

As you pulled away from him, breathless, you could not back a growing smile on your face. Severus rested his forehead against yours, not quite believing that he could finally live the life he had been dreaming for, now that you were in his arms, loving him.

"I'm sorry for what I've put you through."

He apologised, suddenly feeling guilty for all the bad things he had done to you in the past. He was not the best soulmate, and yet, you were still in love with him, instead of forgetting him and moving on with your life with another man. He felt so undeserving of you, but he knew he could not live without you, and he needed you in his life.

"You worth every pain, Sev."

His heart melted at your words, and he pulled you in for another kiss, ignoring the whole world as you were the only thing mattered to him. His heart swelled in happiness, and it felt as if all of his agony were slowly leaving him when you made his heart your home.

"I will never hurt you again. Never."

You were so grateful that you never stopped trying to make your way into his heart, no matter how tough it was, or else you would not be able to love him freely now, with him loving you just as much, if not more than you could ever do.

You felt so loved and needed, and Severus made a vow to himself that he would not do something imprudent to hurt your feelings again. He would never be able to forgive himself if he ruin his relationship with you again. He would die from dejection if it ever happened.

For the first time in years, Severus' heart was finally full with love.

Severus loved it when you brush over his hand in the hallways, while you nodded at students who greeted you, an innocent smile was painted on your face. He would share a look with you from across the hall, not worrying a bit about you sitting far from him when he knew your heart was his.

He adored it when you could burst into a fit of laughter as he let out a snarky remark while talking to the other teachers, glancing at you with a small smirk on his lips. Those winks that you sent towards his way when your students were not looking, and those perfect smiles you served just for him when his students were too occupied with their potion making.

He loved every single of thing he had with you, including having a tea with you in the evening, talking about nothing and everything, until neither of you realised how late the night had been. The pointless conversations he shared with you in between his classes, when he was just tired, and he just had to see your beautiful face and to hear your sweet voice.

His students could see the good changes in him. Perhaps other students would be too busy indulging themselves in fear of getting detention to point out Professor Snape's odd demeanours in his class, but surely not his beloved Slytherins.

Those children could see Professor Snape was happier, as it was hard now to see him frown in annoyance and anger out of nowhere, and even if he was still the grumpy Potions Master everyone had grown to know, the students from his house could sense something was changing in him.

They knew Professor Snape was close with you, but now it seemed like he was attached with you, as they always saw you together with him. It was hard to see Professor L/N without the head of the Slytherin house, and it occurred to them that you were the reason behind Severus' happiness.

And their theory was proved right when you walked into his class that day, as a few of Slytherin students stayed back for some private lessons, they could see their professor's face lightened up when he saw you.

"I'm sorry for coming in, Severus. I didn't know you have lessons with them today."

You apologised to your soulmate, waving and smiling at his students, who could only return your smile with their own. Snape was their favourite teacher, obviously, but they did not have anything against you, as you had been nothing but kind to them.

"Actually we're done for today."

Severus quickly said, dismissing his students. They knew better not to question anything and they left, leaving you with Severus alone in his classroom.

"They're taking extra lessons with you? They must be so hardworking."

You commented, crossing your arms against your chest. Severus pressed his lips into a thin line and shrugged, seeming to be unperturbed by pride was actually swarming his heart.

"I do not want to waste my Slytherins' talent."

He mumbled, and you smirked at his words. He was such a good teacher, but people was perceiving him wrong all the time because of his ways of teaching, and you wished they could see him as more than a mean wizard who forced his students to brew potions.

"You're like a mother hen protecting her chicks, Professor Snape."

You teased, walking over to him, and letting him wrap his strong arms around your waist to pull you closer against his chest. You sighed in content, snaking your arms around his neck as you looked up at him.

"How was your day, darling?"

Heat ran across your cheeks at the nickname he gave you, and as you were still getting used to it, but by heavens, you loved that name with all of your heart.

"My day was good. Better now that I'm with you."

You said, a grin found its way on your face when he rolled his eyes at you. Severus would never admit it, but he loved it when you talk to him that way, it made his heart beat faster, in a melodious love frenzy all because of you.

"My students kept talking about the annual ball today. They won't shut up about it."

You told him, clearly spending a lot of time to hear your students ranting about what dress should they wear, and who would they ask to the ball. It was an awaited event every year in Hogwarts and you were excited too, as it was your first ball as a teacher. It was exhilarating to listen to their excitement, especially when some of them had already met their soulmates and wanted to go with them.

At the mention of the ball, Severus knitted his eyebrows together, and you could tell he was despising the event.

"It's already draining to hear about the event and now I have to teach students from my house how to dance for the ball."

He complained, and you had to suppress a laugh when your soulmate scrunched his nose, completely disgusted by the idea of it. He was not very fond of the ball, as he always thought it was just a waste of time.

"Most of them already know how to dance, right?"

"Yes, they do. But it is a requirement for the head of a house to teach them."

You nodded at his words, understanding the purpose of it. He needed to make sure his students did not embarrass themselves in front of everyone during the ball, especially when they came from Slytherin house, where they were expected to know about the dance already.

"Will you be my partner for the dance lesson tomorrow?"

He hesitated, afraid of you did not want to help him. If you agree, he would be honoured, but if you rejected his offer, then he would understand right away. He knew it would be strange if students ever see a young beautiful professor like you dancing with Professor Snape, even if it was just for a lesson.

You felt his arms loosened around you, immediately understanding what he was thinking about himself. The last thing you wanted was for him to look so lowly towards himself, so you pressed a kiss on his cheek, immediately sending a smile upon his face.

"Of course, love."

His heart fluttered, and just as he was about to think you could not flatter him even more, you had proved him wrong.

"Will you go to the ball with me?"

You asked, causing him to lose his words. He had nothing to say, as no one had ever asked him to go to any event as a date before. It was one of the reasons he hated the ball. He would be left as the strict teacher who ruined the students' fun for the night, when the other teachers were enjoying themselves. He was always alone, but it would not have to stay that way anymore, as you would not allow it.

"You want to go to the ball with me? As a date?"

You nodded vigorously, smiling as you saw disbelief flashed across his face. You raised your eyebrows, putting your hands on his chest, ignoring the rapid heartbeat against his chest.

"Obviously. Why would I want to go to the ball with anyone else when I have you?"

You winked, and Severus felt like he could faint, seeing the pure adoration in your eyes. Sometimes he wondered what did you see in him that made him so special, but he was not complaining as he treasured your love for him.

"You're really attractive, tall, confident and charming. You're a perfect date, Severus!"

You gushed, chuckling when Severus was flustered, and he tried his best to hide it. It was as clear as the sky that no one had ever drooled over him like you were doing. It was hard to believe that someone was thinking him as a perfect date, but he did not need anyone else's validation, when he had yours.

"Are you trying to flatter me, Y/N?"

"It's working, isn't it?"

"Perhaps."

He mumbled, kissing you on the lips, and he could feel you smiled in the kiss. A plethora of feelings were bursting in his chest, drowning him in ecstasy as he pulled away, only to look in your pair of enchanting eyes.

If he never knew you, he would say that it was impossible to see a world through somebody's eyes, but now that his heart was bounded with yours, and your soul was longing for his, he saw a reflection of his whole world through your eyes. Truthfully, he loved you so much, that he devoted his life for you now.

As you buried your face into his chest, hugging him like your life was depending on him, Severus smiled. The feeling was unfamiliar to him, but it was spiralling in such an addicting way that he would never be able to let go. Not when you were engulfed in his arms, whispering your love for him, building a sanctuary for his heart, keeping him safe with your purest of love.

"I love you, Severus."

"I love you too."

And in that moment, Severus realised that this was how love was supposed to feel.