PAIRINGS : severus snape x fem! student reader
SUMMARY : you ditch yule ball to have your own ball with your professor outside
WARNING : reader is of age! fluff, dancing under the moon. none that i know of! ooc snape also?
REQUEST : rewatching goblet of fire and i saw snape moping in the corner of the yule ball. made me sad for some reason, he needs a dance partner omg :(( so, i deliver : reader is a student he tutors (in 7th year ofc) and harry asked her to be his partner for the yule ball. we all know how that fiasco ended ... let's say reader goes outside and finds severus there. mutual pining, a few jokes, they end the night happy and dance under the stars? i think that's the recipe of a happy potions master—
you tried not to groan as your date, harry, offered you his hand again. now, now, you weren't a bad person and no, you didn't dislike dancing either. but truth to be told, you were awfully bored now.
the yule ball was as grand as your seniors had told you. your date, however was ... not so grand. not that there could anything be wrong with him. of course not! he was the boy who lived, for merlin's sake! maybe you were the problem. maybe it's because your eyes kept on searching for someone else. someone who most certainly couldn't be your date.
finally. your eyes landed on him. there was he. in a secluded corner, a permanent scowl on his face. professor snape had taken no efforts in dressing up for the ball and somehow, it made him even a lot more desirable.
your eyes swept over him as you offered your hand to harry, almost feeling bad for not paying enough attention to him. professor snape’s eyes met yours. your eyes were on his. oh, but his eyes were fixed on harry’s hand wrapped around your waist.
you watched him excusing himself away and you knew you couldn't let him get away. it was your last ball here. what were you even doing? you should spend it with the one who you want, rather than the one you're forced to be.
“i will be back!” you muttered softly, exiting from the hall, trying to guess where the professor would go.
and you found him. he was outside, leaning against the tree. tiptoeing towards him, you grinned. “professor”
“miss l/n” he spoke, without lifting his head up.
“you can call me by my first name, sir,” you sat down beside him with a smile, “it's the ball night.”
he jerked his head up, staring in your eyes, almost longing. “right, y/n. what are you doing here? your date must be looking for you.”
“well, i wanted to spend my time with you,” you teased, “of course, if you don't mind”
“of course, y/n. since you insist on being on a first name basis, you can call me severus for the night.”
you stared at him from under your eyelashes. you doubted he would be that friendly with you if he knew your true intentions. not that you could help it. all those tutoring sessions with him .. you had always been attracted towards intelligent men. and your professor was one of the most intelligent men ever with looks to kill. it was inevitable of you to fall for him.
unbeknownst to you, severus had taken an admiration for you too. it was not hard for him to do so. you ... you were just you. kind, smart, sneaky, shrewd, intelligent and selfish. a lethal combination. and as much as he'd like to deny, a little selfish part of him was happy that you left potter for him. not that he was jealous of that dunderhead anyway!
“severus” you tasted his name on your lips, “your name is beautiful.”
“you are a dunderhead,” he shrugged but there was a fond smile on his face and he couldn't deny it.
you tried your best not to blush. “you didn't bring a date tonight.” thank god he didn't. you were relieved. because you sure as hell would have been burning in envy if you had seen him with a woman clinging on his arms.
“she never asked.”
“huh?”
you took a moment to carefully stare at the man. was he ... was he waiting for a woman he adored to ask him out? no. no. no. no. this can't be happening.
there was a twinkle in his eyes. “oh, don't you know, miss l/n? instead, she asked a silly boy. imagine choosing a dunderhead over me.”
you could feel flames on your face. “i ... prof—i mean, severus, are you talking about—?”
“—you?”
you nodded, a blush forming on your face.
“yes, y/n. i am talking about you. what do you think? i wouldn't notice your endless gazes during those tutoring sessions?”
“uh, well” you actually stammered. you hadn't expected him to notice. “i didn't know you were so perceptive.”
and before you could stop yourself, your hand rested on his hands on their own. those sneaky hands of yours! as if they had a brain of their own! he flinched slightly.
“y/n, we ... we shouldn't”
“we are doing nothing wrong, severus” you squeezed his palm softly, “we are just being friendly”
“friendly?” his eyebrows raised, “so, you'd do this for any of your friends?”
“would i?” you smirked
“answer me, y/n!”
“oh, the sweet charms of love!” you mock scoffed, “no, severus. i wouldn't do this for merely any of my friends. but for you? yes.”
“you are a dunderhead girl with a devious mind, l/n!” his fingers grazed over your fingers.
“thank you, sir” you grinned, squeezing his fingers back. “let's dance!”
“w—with me?”
did he just stutter? you couldn't resist smiling. merlin, he was so cute for a supposed grump.
“yes, severus!” your lips curved downwards, “it's my last year here and i want my last dance to be with you.”
he stood up, asking for your hand, his hair shone under the moonlight. he looked like someone out of your dream. “may i?”
“y—yes” for once, all the teasing was gone from your voice. you felt all shy and flustered as you offered him your hand, gasping when his hand touched your waist. this ... this was what you were lacking! the chemistry was chemistrifying at its best.
“don't look at the ground, y/n,” he touched your chin, making you look upward, “look at me when we dance.”
and you did as he swept you around. his movements were swift and full of grace, making sure he didn't hurt you either. as if you were a porcelain doll. and for once, you didn't hate it. you adored how he was being so careful with you.
“it's hard not to look at you, anyway. you—you are like the moon, illuminating and i can't help but gaze at you lovingly.”
his gaze softened but he didn't say anything. not that he needed to. the emotions, the feelings behind his eyes. those were enough. enough for you.
“why are you looking at me like that?” his soft gaze was fixed on you, leaving you flustered. no one had ever looked at you like that.
“you are the most deviously stunning girl i have ever seen,” he confessed. “i can't stop looking at you. not now. not ever.”
and you could swear the night went still as you stood on your toes to kiss his nose. “i can't help but like you, sev.”
he froze for a second, only to break into a smile. a genuine smile. not the sarcastic smile you'd see on his face. he bent down so that you two were on the same level, rubbing his forehead against yours. “i feel the same way, my y/n.”
and that's how you found the recipe of making the potions master happy.