S.S. Always

PROMPT.

Severus meets a girl his age over the summer the year he lost Lily's friendship. The girl had moved into the house next door to him.

Her parents were just as poverty stricken as his were. There was abuse there that she didn't want to talk about but to him it seemed the abuse came in the form of neglect.

Still, they had much in common.

Unfortunately, the girl is a Squib, which explains why she comes from a magical family living in the UK but he had not met her at school.

Despite this, she was utterly fascinated by everything Severus had to say about potions, magic, and magical theory. She was utterly fascinated by Severus, in fact.

He was not used to such attention, and sometimes the way she was looking at him after he tuned back into reality around him after going off on a potions tangent made him blush.

It took him longer than it should have for him to realize that she looked at him the way he used to look at Lily. But he did realize it.

He did not intend to squander this gift, because that is what it felt like to him - a gift. And because he was starting to feel the same way.

This was also the summer he lost his virginity. He did not regret it. He had fallen in love again, and this time his love was returned.

And for the first time, he wasn't looking forward to going back to Hogwarts when summer ended. His home life was still what it was, it hadn't gotten one iota better. But it would be months before he could see her again.

He considered inviting her to the Yule Ball. He didn't think there was a rule against it. Perhaps because nobody had ever tried to invite a Squib to one before so no one had thought to make a rule against it.

He didn't mention this to her, though. He didn't want to get her hopes up just in case.

But it turned out there wasn't a rule against it and he did invite her.

And she looked beautiful in her dress at the ball. She took his breath away. He didn't care that her dress wasn't as expensive as Narcissa's or Bellatrix's or even Lily's. It was beautiful because she was wearing it and it hugged her just right.

Young Severus Snape x Slytherin Reader PART ONE

Summary: Severus fears that if he makes his relationship with Y/n public, she will get hurt. Y/n, on the other hand, keeps her promise and shouts that Severus is her boyfriend to the world. Contains: A bit of angst, James Potter and Sirius Black bullying Severus, Severus thinking he`s not good enough, y/n showing off her boyfriend, fluff and happy ending. wc: 1.8 k Masterlist HERE I'm currently unemployed and people won't hire me because I have a disability and a transplant. So if you'd like to help, you can leave a tip or buy a commission HERE

"We have an exam tomorrow, you should rest." Snape moved his hand away before Y/n could grab it and stood up like a startled cat, drawing the attention of the students resting in the common room. "You don't want to upset your parents."

"They won't give a damn about my grades when I tell them the engagement is..."

"Postponed," he finished the sentence for her, his nervous gaze scanning the room. "That's a problem for another day, now concentrate on your studies."

Maintaining a secret relationship when one of the two didn't like hiding was complicated; no matter how hard Snape tried to keep the appearances, Y/n always found a way to catch him off guard.

It wasn't that Severus was ashamed of being her boyfriend, on the contrary, he felt like the luckiest wizard in the world, but he didn't want Y/n to get hurt because of him. He was terrified of what her parents might do to her—torture her? Throw her out on the street? 

He wasn't worth it.

"I'll be fine anyway because I'm a genius, but I understand if you need to rest; not everyone is on my level." Y/n was tired of hiding. She meant it when she told Severus she planned to show him off in front of everyone. She grabbed his arm before he could climb the ladder and kissed his cheek. "For good luck."

"Merlin, you're impossible sometimes." He shook his head and looked down, though he couldn't stop the small smile that brightened his otherwise somber expression.

"But you love me more than anything!"

Her beautiful laugh as she ran off to the girls' dormitories banished any trace of anger he might have felt for what she had just done in public.

"Did you see that? Do you think the rumors are true?" A girl whispered loudly near the fireplace.

"Impossible. Isn't Y/n engaged to Black?" the friend replied. "Only a fool would choose Snape over Regulus."

He didn't know what to do to quell the rumors; they grew louder every day, to the point where he felt constantly watched. 

Perhaps it wasn't so bad to listen to his selfish side; his cold heart pounded at the thought of holding hands with Y/n in the corridor or going on a date in Hogsmeade.

No. It's dangerous for her.

Severus was right; the consequences for Y/n could be terrible. Still, she was willing to risk everything for him. She had been patient with her boyfriend, thinking that small signals would be enough for him to understand that she didn't care what his family did, but everything has its limits.

×××

Y/n sipped her tea, an innocent smile on her face and her ears tuned to the usual murmurs in the Great Hall as she anxiously awaited her mother's reply. She had sent a letter that started directly with: "I wish to call off the engagement." It could even be considered a simple act of rebellion if it weren't for the fact that she sent a copy to the Blacks.

"What are you planning?" Snape looked up from his book.

"Nothing, love, I'm just having breakfast as usual." Her performance was flawless; no one except her boyfriend could detect the slightest change in her tone of voice.

"You're insulting my intelligence." He raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Whatever it was, make sure you don't get caught."

Maintaining a blank expression, Severus held Y/n's hand under the table. There was no way to calm his mind when she insisted on putting herself in danger. He cursed the day she chose to become a rebel; his heart could barely bear the scares she gave him every day.

"I know what I'm doing," Y/n said, intertwining their fingers. "Trust me, I have everything planned."

Her words, instead of reassuring him, increased his paranoia. Since when was he so nervous?

"Whatever. Are you ready for the exam? If you need any help..." Severus stopped mid-sentence and rolled his eyes. The peaceful morning was ruined, once again, by Potter and his friends.

Their constant need for attention irritated him. Potter and Black were laughing at a volume that was naturally impossible unless they were faking it, which didn't surprise Severus at all, especially when his name was mentioned amidst the annoying laughter.

"That's the best joke I've ever heard!" James Potter slammed his fist on the table, drawing everyone's attention, even the teachers.

"Who started the rumors? Snivellus?" asked Sirius Black.

"Yeah, yeah. It was definitely him." Peter Pettigrew nodded vigorously, joining in his friends' mockery.

"Perhaps we should ask him," suggested Potter, standing up. His wicked grin and mocking tone foreshadowed disaster for Severus, who was in no mood to argue with them.

"Let's go." Snape was short and to the point; he wanted to get out of the Great Hall as soon as possible.

"Now? I haven't even finished my breakfast yet." The truth was, Y/N's stomach was full, but she knew very well that as soon as they stepped into the corridor, her boyfriend would run away with some excuse to avoid being seen together.

"Yes, now." He gave her that look that meant trouble; he didn't want to sound desperate, and he also didn't want to leave her alone at the mercy of Potter and Black.

By the time Y/N realized what was happening it was too late. The three Gryffindors sat down opposite to them and stole some food, stuffing it in their pockets.

"Y/N, dear, I have a question for you." Black gave her a flirty smile. "A little bird told me you're dating that git. Of course, it's all lies; just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. You don't have such bad taste, do you, love?"

"Girls who agree to go out with you have terrible taste, and I don't say anything. Mind your own business, Black." Y/N gripped her wand and was about to pull it out of her pocket when she heard Professor McGonagall clear her throat.

"Wait. I get it, you're doing charity work because Christmas is coming." Potter placed his hand on his heart. "You're so sweet. I'm sure Regulus will understand."

"Are you done with your pathetic act?" Venom dripped from Severus's words. He kept his composure; if he'd learned anything during his constant arguments with Potter, it was that he wouldn't gain anything by reacting badly. That was what Potter wanted, and on the contrary, the less affected he seemed, the more it annoyed James. "Unlike you, we have important things to do."

He grabbed the sleeve of Y/n's cloak and pulled her to her feet. Although Severus longed to prolong his sweet time with his girlfriend, he worried that Potter had an ace up his sleeve that could embarrass Y/n in public.

"Running away like a coward." Black nudged his best friend.

"Because he's afraid Y/n will confess that they aren't actually dating," Potter replied. "Let him enjoy his moment of fame. It's the closest he'll ever get to having a girlfriend. Who would want to kiss that hideous bat?"

It was a typical Potter attack. He'd strike hard in front of an audience, hoping to multiply the humiliation he inflicted on his victims before burying them completely. It worked. A chorus of laughter filled the Great Hall, accompanied by curious glances from those waiting to see Severus break.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Y/N screamed, losing control. She yanked at her sleeve and freed herself from Severus's grip, ready to throw a knife at James Potter's head.

"Don't fall for his bullshit. He just wants to get you into trouble." Severus grabbed Y/N's hand and nodded toward the staff table.

"No! He can't keep saying things like that. I have to..."

An owl flew into the Great Hall, its screech interrupting Y/N. Far from being angry, she smiled: the moment she had been waiting for had arrived.

With a whistle, she called her family's owl and stretched out her arm. 

"Is that a howler?" Severus stared at her, terrified. He opened his mouth, about to tell Y/n not to even think about opening the red envelope, but she winked at him and quickly did the exact opposite.

"Y/n Y/n! Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what you've done? You've ruined our family, Walburga Black is furious because of you," the howler screamed in her mother's voice. "You'd better send her a letter apologizing and saying it was a mistake and we're not going to cancel the engagement, or you'll never set foot in my house again."

She paused for a long time, her words replaced with the murmurs of the students and Sirius Black's sudden laughter.

"So the rumors are true?" a girl near her asked her friends.

"You embarrassed me by dating a half-blood boy! I raised you better than this, I worked so hard for you to end up with a nobody who won't even care about you in a couple of years at most." Her mother was having a meltdown. "I expect you to send that letter before tonight and stop this nonsense of having a useless boyfriend or you'll be living on the streets.”

"Godric, she's crazy." Potter whistled and pointed at Severus. "I can't believe you're actually dating Snivellus. Is he threatening you, or are you under a spell?"

Severus lowered his gaze. He hated being the center of attention because it always brought humiliation and a feeling of powerlessness that completely paralyzed him.

"Yes, Severus is my boyfriend, and I'm not ashamed because he's the most wonderful, intelligent, and caring young man I know," Y/N shouted so everyone could hear her. "Say what you want, I couldn't care less about the opinions of good-for-nothing idiots who only know how to make fun of others to feel superior for once in their lives."

Her words took Black and Potter by surprise; they stood there, mouths agape, frozen in their tracks. They could laugh all they wanted, but they had already made fools of themselves.

"Are you sure about this?" Severus murmured, clenching his fist against his cloak. He tried to appear concerned, even though his heart was pounding wildly and his chest swelled with pride.

"I promised I'd show you off, didn't I?" Y/N cupped Severus's face and closed the distance between them with a kiss. It was short, just long enough to avoid punishment from the teachers, but sweet. "Don't worry, Grandma left me enough money to survive until after I graduate when she died. They can kick me out if they want."

𖤐 Teen!Severus Snape/F!Reader

𖤐 Light angst + fluff. Yandere themes. Mentions of abuse + mind-reading + bullying. Jealousy. Possessive behavior. Mild character study.

𖤐 1.3k WC

𖤐 A/N: I apologize for my lengthy disappearance. School… blah blah blah… exams… blah blah blah… I’m lazy. I extend an olive branch and bring you some headcanons that are my own interpretation of Severus’s character. I didn’t know I thought of him as so toxic until I wrote this, but I think it’s highly applicable, anyway. If you want me to expand on something or write a oneshot, requests are open. Enjoy.

Severus's schedule does not align with yours unless you are a fellow Slytherin or Gryffindor. Without this precedent, he probably does not know you exist, though that isn't to say he probably hasn't passed you in a corridor or on the moving staircase.

He is not open to new friendships nor does he seek them out pre-Lily breakup—she is enough to meet all of his emotional needs (or so he thinks). Trying to befriend Severus post-breakup is even more difficult as he is emotionally and physically shunning himself from others' presence. The only time you see him where he is not in a hurry is in class.

I can't see him easily befriending a Gryffindor whatsoever. Either you remind him too much of Lily—depending on your physical appearance—or he worries that you will run back to the Gryffindor common room and report anything he tells you to Lily or the Marauders. He had insane trust issues to begin with, and now they have multiplied tenfold.

I believe that Severus is a bit judgmental, though not always maliciously, and therefore would be less inclined to befriend a Hufflepuff. He thinks that, based on the house's attributes, they would be unlikely to support his endeavors in the dark arts.

That is not to say he would be against befriending a Hufflepuff but simply less interested. If you show acceptance or even curiosity about his spells and work, he will be pleased and open up … at least a little.

Severus's new best friend would most likely be found either in his own house or Ravenclaw.

He finds comfort in being on the same wavelength with someone already similar to himself. He appreciates your ambition and work ethic to achieve your dreams. If you are a bit lazy, he may chide you for standing in your own way but will be helpful to you anyway. You are, after all, the most important thing to him.

Befriending a Slytherin to whom he has access 24/7 through class schedule and the common room is a dream come true. He is clingy and possessive this way.

Severus finds any other friends you may have, even if they are scarce, to be a direct obstacle and something of which to get rid before you abandon him. His insecurity shines the most when he sees you with other people, though he would rather die before he admits that.

He needs to keep you away from Lily and the others. Severus will force you to steer clear of them either by following you around or forcibly pulling you out of their path. If it confuses you or becomes annoying, he won't really explain himself. The last thing he wants is to taint your opinion of himself, so his lack of explanation is what he perceives as protection and, in a way, self-preservation.

At most, he will tell you that they are not good people, but he won't open up until you've "proven" your loyalty to him and you've been friends for some time.

Severus will use his Legilimency on you. It's not that he doesn't trust you! No, of course not … It's the others he doesn't trust. He wants to know what lies, if any, they might've fed you. He himself will not let you into his head if you are a Legilimens. Severus will sporadically feed you pieces of information.

If you are an Occlumens, he will be simultaneously irritated and impressed. A part of him may be offended about you not letting him into the deepest, most innermost thoughts of yours, but he won't force you. He only hopes that you will give him the same grace of episodic information that he gives you.

He is immensely devoted to you. Nothing you could say or do would thwart him from your friendship. You are the only person with whom he can see himself spending his life, platonically or otherwise. You have an almost otherworldly effect on him, a similar one he felt the first few years he spent with Lily. If you talk a lot? So be so it. Yours is the only voice he can stand hours at a time. It's not like he has anything else to do…

Despite his strong belief in academic integrity, Severus finds himself abandoning the principle for you. If you're struggling in a certain class, he'll go out of his way to help you study and even give you answers if you're particularly stressed out by the subject matter. The only thing he won't do is help you cheat on an exam. He's much too anxious about the possibility of getting caught, but he will blame himself if you do poorly.

Academia is the one place Severus really shines. If he can be of any use to you, this is where it happens. It's how he repays you for being his friend. If your strength lies in this area as well, he not only finds it proof that you are meant to be, but he also finds joy in discussing several matters with you.

If you are a Ravenclaw, Severus will seek you out in between classes. He'll only walk you to yours if it isn't far from his own; he doesn't want to sacrifice his academic performance for you. It's one of the only things he protects for himself.

Severus will prefer to hang out in your common room as he doesn't have much, if any, drama with Ravenclaws. They may recognize him from suffering certain pranks, but he can brush their looks aside and focus on you.

The entrance to your common room stresses him out. If he can't get the answer to a riddle right, it'll only reinforce his inferiority complex. You do this everyday, multiple times, and he can't get it once? That all washes away the moment he does get it right.

Severus lacks emotional permanence, and it shows in each feeling he has towards you. He manages to keep most of them down in an effort to not freak you out and drive you away.

He hates Quidditch. He'll only attend the games under coercion and extreme duress. If you're a player, Severus will force himself to go but won't cheer you on unless you're a Slytherin. The last thing he needs is to be ostracized for double-crossing his house. He'll certainly be proud of you for your athleticism. God knows he could never fly into the field on a broom. Oh, wait.

He won't tell you about his home life, not for  a long time. It is a source of great shame but also trauma that he does not want to process or think about if he can help it. Telling anyone will make it undeniably real, and it'll get him pity that he loathes. The only circumstance I can think of in which he would hint at his situation is if you had one similar or worse, and you're comfortable speaking about it to him. He would find that admirable.

Severus seeks comfort from you when things get bad, especially in the summertime. To you, they're incidents of more time spent together and his body unusually closer to yours than he normally allows. He's afraid to impose, but if you offer to let him spend a few nights in your home, he might take you up on it.

He will definitely reward you for your troubles, whether it be with a potion or a new book/trinket on which he's spent the last of his money. If you refuse, he will simply hug you. It's a lot more meaningful than anything physical he could get you, but Severus has trouble remembering his worth in your life.

Severus's goal is to forge a life-long relationship with you. He wants to be present for your accomplishments as well as your troubles. He sees you as an escape from his own life, but he's willing to grow and change alongside you. He wants to be supported and celebrated by you, even if he won't admit it, as much as he wants to give that to you.

Above all, you're important to him. Your love and support mean everything. You mean everything.

It's Severus's first year as a Hogwarts professor. He is still going through a lot, what with grieving Lily and being Dumbledore's spy and a double agent. Having just barely avoided Azkaban. If he didn't have responsibilities, if he didn't have the fact that he had promised to protect Lily's son, he wasn't entirely sure he would have even survived Lily's death. It felt like a huge chunk of him had died and been excised from his soul and it was raw and bleeding and painful. So much that he didn't think it would ever stop. This was just his life now.

But then his birthday rolled around. He had intended not to make a big deal of it, not to even let anyone know. What was there to celebrate? Birthdays were a celebration of life and he had no interest in celebrating the misery that was his own life.

Besides, no one liked him. If anyone would celebrate, it would just be out of half-hearted obligation and filled with generic and insincere platitudes and he would prefer very much to avoid the whole bloody thing.

Besides, he had never been what some might call a social butterfly anyway.

But, of course Dumbledore had to announce it to the entire school at breakfast in the Great Hall. He was aware that Dumbledore hated him, generally you don't like people whom you have openly admitted disgust you, so he was certain the old man had done that on purpose to annoy him.

"Happy birthday to me," Severus muttered under his breath, sarcastically. Despite the noise of everyone giving the obligatory half-hearted cheer (though his little snakes did give quite enthusiastic cheers) drowning him out, he was still certain by the look on Dumbledore's face that he had somehow heard and was smug about it, the old git.

But later that day, a small first year girl, one who was quite a bit smaller than many of her fellow first-year peers but the same age, had stopped him in the hallway and given him a little homemade doll in the shape of a bat and told him happy birthday in such a sincerely kind way that it stopped him in his tracks.

Severus had had physical punches to the gut that hadn't knocked him for such a loop before. His chest was painful for some reason he didn't want to examine.

"Thank you," he said to her, honestly shocked that he could form words at the moment let alone sound so calm and put together, and accepted the little stuffed animal.

In the early morning of 18th December 1976, Severus found himself eyeing the girl sitting beside him. His body was stiffer than usual as he tried to read her, understand her.

Why is she still sitting here?

Severus shifts in his seat. Grinding his teeth louder than was necessary until her voice interrupted the war going on inside his brain, "by all means, Severus, keep staring, one of these days the looks would actually kill". Severus could not explain how straining it was for him to not groan loudly.

"I simply cannot fathom why you still insist on sitting with me when I have made clear I am not a charity case. I do not want your pity. Go find another seat"

Y/n had to press her lip to stop herself from laughing out loud because of how childishly Severus was trying to push her off the seat, using his whole body weight. He hated how light his chest felt right now as she giggled and gripped the table tightly "Severus, stop, I am actually about to fall"

To his surprise, she never stopped laughing. Even when she fell on the floor, her eyes looked at him in delight as she laughed. But what kills Severus Snape is not how she seems to find humour in his efforts to push her away, but how, as he still extends his hand towards her, she looks at him like that.

She is not supposed to look at him like that; in fact, no one has ever or should ever look at him like that. Like, he is actually capable of making someone feel happy.

"Alright, you can stop smiling like that now. People are going to start thinking I slipped something in your morning coffee"

He watched her get up from the floor. That smile is still on her lips, despite many efforts, he cannot look away, and he still does not know why. Severus could understand most mysteries that the wizarding world hides, but he could not understand, even after spending so many sleepless nights wondering why he feels that twinge in his chest every time Y/n laughs.

Once he slides out of his bench, she says something so softly, so easily that it almost brought Severus Tobias Snape to his knees

"I cannot help it, Severus, you are the light of my life"

Light of my life?

What does that mean? Is she alright? Did she hit her head when she fell down?

Severus stood there, his frown was deeper than usual as he watched her walk away without a care in the world. How dare she? With a huff, his long legs rushed to catch up to the girl who was walking away as if her words had not shaken Severus to his core. His hand wraps around her wrist, surprising him and her equally. He had not expected to feel her pulse jump at a simple touch.

But as easily as it had slipped away, his frown came back on his forehead, and he sneers at her with pure rage that even he cannot place a reason behind "how dare you say that?"

His rage should have scared her, Severus thought. Even if there was a part of him that desperately hoped she meant every word that escaped her lips, he stood there showing her exactly what everyone had believed him to be. Ugly, mean and cold.

Yet the smile on her lips does not drop when she says, "because I mean it, Severus"

Severus reels away from her as if she had hit him with an unforgivable spell. He could feel his breathing get heavier as she walked closer to him and repeated, "I mean it, Severus. You are the light of my life"

TW: Domestic violence, domestic partner abuse, abusive marriage, abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, financial abuse, physical abuse, SA, marital SA, abusive husband.

PROMPT

You and Severus had been friends since you were young. But you were a squib so you never went to Hogwarts and you only have a muggle education.

That was fine when you were children, but as teens it was...less fine. Severus had been head over heels for Lily, which you weren't surprised by. You and Sev were friends, but he and Lily had always been best friends.

And she was prettier than you, she had magic and was so incredibly brilliant with it. And they both went to the same school for most of the year, which means you only really ever saw Sev during the summers and holiday breaks.

He just had the opportunity to spend more time with Lily. After their falling out, there had been a spark between the two of you but Severus was so distraught over Lily that you never pushed it. You didn't want to take advantage of his grief and heartbreak.

And then his mother had died, which had caused him more grief and heartbreak. And fear, because now it was just him and his abusive father in that rundown house where sadness and grief seemed to permeate the very walls.

You weren't surprised when he disappeared without a word after he graduated from Hogwarts. At least, he had disappeared without a trace from you. You had no way to trace him closely and if he wanted to leave you behind along with everything else that reminded him of his awful childhood...you couldn't blame him. It hurt, but you couldn't blame him. You hoped he would find happiness and fulfillment.

You weren't a suited match for him, anyway. He was a brilliant and powerful and talented wizard in his own right, though young. And you were sure he would make a name for himself. He couldn't be taken seriously if he had a squib for a wife.

So, thinking Severus had made his decision and moved on, you tried to do the same. You met a man and got married.

But the muggle man you had dated and the man you had married seemed to be two different people. It was like night and day. The sweet, kind, caring, helpful man who seemed so infatuated with you now dictated what you wore, whether you could wear makeup and how much, how you were allowed to speak to him, when sex would be had, when meals were to be ready, how they were to be prepared, who you were allowed to speak to. He stole your paychecks and eventually made you quit your job. He told you when you were allowed to leave the house. He left bruises all over your body. He broke some of your bones on occasion and did not allow you to go to a doctor.

You didn't know what to do and you spent much of your time crying and all of your time in fear.

But you had heard, once, that Severus had taken a position at Hogwarts. You remembered because it was Sev, and because it surprised you given that he had no good memories there.

By now you were both approaching 30 in a few years and you had no idea if that post at Hogwarts still held. It had been a few years since you had heard of it. But you had no one else to turn to.

Your mother had been just as abusive as Severus's father, and your father had left when you were too young to remember him specifically because you were a squib. Both of your parents hated that you were a squib and saw you as a burden and a sign of the other's failure and their own.

Your friends who you had tried to confide in, when you were still allowed to have friends, had tutted at you and told you that if you tried harder to be a better wife then he would stop with all of this and sweeten up. After all, you said yourself that he wasn't like this before you married, right?

They didn't understand and you didn't trust they would help you. But Severus...surely, he would understand? You were only asking for help. For safety.

You didn't have an owl, but you had made good friends with the ravens in the neighborhood after you had rescued one, and you maintained that friendship with them by exchanging little gifts with them. And you knew they were so very clever.

You wrote your letter and attached it to the leg of one of the ravens who loved you so much and told him where to bring the letter, to whom to give it, and how to get into Hogwarts like the owls do.

The raven did as it was asked. It flew a long way but it got where it was going.

Once inside of Hogwarts it found the Great Hall and circled the staff table cawing, calling the name Severus. Ravens did not need magic to speak, after all.

It caused quite the stir amongst the students and the staff until one member of the staff table raised his hand to the bird and it perched there.

Severus used his other hand to free the muggle envelope with the muggle paper inside of it. He set it aside and gave the bird a treat. He was hoping this would calm the students.

He glanced at the envelope and the handwriting was familiar to him. But who would send a raven instead of an owl? Of all the preposterous things. Not unheard of, but unorthodox enough to be odd and remarkable.

He ignored the questioning of most of the staff and gave Minerva a look that said he was just as baffled as she was.

When he could not longer avoid it, he opened the letter and read it.

Another stir was caused when Severus Snape stood up so quickly with such emotion on his face that was most unlike him.

He hadn't meant to, but he had just seen his youth flash before his eyes but instead of his mother being beaten and abused, eventually culminating in her untimely death, he saw you.

“I can’t, my love.” He watched as she took off her heavy black robes

“Pleaaseee, your work is so interesting.”

“Severus, you are never like this. What is wrong?”

“I want to know gossip.”

When Marauders apologists talk about how much James grew up and changed, and how Lily wouldn't have dated him otherwise, they somehow always ignore that Lily already had a canonical crush on James when he was still publicly abusing Severus.

It's mind-boggling how hypocritical they get about it too, they know they don't have an excuse for it and try to throw Severus under the bus.

"Snape joined a racist group!"

That word has a different meaning than they seem to think it does. It was discriminative and he was groomed for years into joining. Both by the hundreds of Slytherins he roomed with, and the Gryffindors around him that made him suffer and alienated him from everyone else.

"Snape bullied children!"

No? He was just a strict teacher who made angry remarks at his students. He was bad at teaching, that doesn't make him a bully.

"He outed Lupin as a werewolf!"

After Lupin almost murdered five people. Three of which were students. He had already warned those students on how deadly a werewolf could be and how to differentiate one from an actual wolf.

Yet they never want to talk about how James ganged up on, abused, and sexually assaulted a schoolmate because he "existed".

They always say that James "grew up" and "changed for the better", like, no? Their only proof is what James's best friends say when talking to James's son, which is just that he "got better", or that Lily wouldn't have dated him otherwise.

When Marauders apologists talk about how much James grew up and changed, and how Lily wouldn't have dated him otherwise, they somehow always ignore that Lily already had a canonical crush on James when he was still publicly abusing Severus.

It's mind-boggling how hypocritical they get about it too, they know they don't have an excuse for it and try to throw Severus under the bus.

"Snape joined a racist group!"

That word has a different meaning than they seem to think it does. It was discriminative and he was groomed for years into joining. Both by the hundreds of Slytherins he roomed with, and the Gryffindors around him that made him suffer and alienated him from everyone else.

"Snape bullied children!"

No? He was just a strict teacher who made angry remarks at his students. He was bad at teaching, that doesn't make him a bully.

"He outed Lupin as a werewolf!"

After Lupin almost murdered five people. Three of which were students. He had already warned those students on how deadly a werewolf could be and how to differentiate one from an actual wolf.

Yet they never want to talk about how James ganged up on, abused, and sexually assaulted a schoolmate because he "existed".

They always say that James "grew up" and "changed for the better", like, no? Their only proof is what James's best friends say when talking to James's son, which is just that he "got better", or that Lily wouldn't have dated him otherwise.

show me your teeth.

-pls do note this is inspired by @bfbkg 's headcanon. it was great teeth practice, it’s not rlly done but whateverrrrr

Please do not repost/post elsewhere.

Sirius and James had a social and economic advantage over Severus.

And they always try to use the whole “oh well he hexed them anytime he could” like DUHHHHHHH he wanted them gone!!! Because they bullied him!

...So?

Many characters suffer loss and very few spend the rest of their lives risking torture and death trying to atone for their mistakes.

His redemption does not erase his past (Yes, we know!), but it does demonstrate moral growth. He spends nearly two decades making sacrifices for a cause that gains him nothing personally.

Sometimes it takes a loss of someone close or important to them, or a big personal event, to spark a moral change.

How is that so wrong?

Albus changed for Arianna. Regulus made a moral decision to save Kreacher instead of himself. Draco shut his mouth to conceal Harry's identity. Narcissa lied to Voldemort' face for Draco. Albus gave his life to protect Draco' moral ground.

And yet only Severus is condemned?