New Severus

If James had a galleon every time he hears a new rumour about the ‘new’ Severus, he would make Malfoy look middle-class (the Ghost of Lucius disagrees). 

It had been a whole week since everyone discovered the change in the Slytherin’s physical appearance and James tried (and failed) to ignore Snape’s newfound fame.

Ever since his friends forced him to confront his feelings, he had been catching himself focusing on everything that’s related to Severus Snape, both willingly and unwillingly. 

He was so uncharacteristically behaved to the point that his Head of House asked about his well-being. 

Of course, he wasn’t OK. He was mourning the loss of his peace.

Earlier at Advanced Potions, he felt so lost looking at the weird view in front of him. You see, during this class he was used to seeing Snape scribbling notes to his book. He would be so slumped on his chair that his hair would start pooling around his face, when Slughorn would tell them to start the brewing, Snape would usually put his hair up in a high ponytail so it wouldn’t obstruct his view.

Right now, instead of a slightly messy hair flowing above the Slytherin’s neck. There was nothing. Nada. Clean slate. To the point that you can see each sweat that trickles down his neck, making the skin glisten. WHY would you want anyone else to see that? Does he want more attention now?

The whole situation frustrated James. 

Even on the first day of Quidditch practice, Snape decided that the best spot to read was suddenly within the Quidditch stands. How can James focus if the source of his plight was just there– he of course, being the best Chaser in Hogwarts history, couldn’t show his bad side. 

So James went absolute ham on everyone. 

Every time he scores he would try to gauge the Slytherin’s reaction, trying to see any hint of impression on the other’s face. But to his disappointment, whenever he glanced at the raven’s direction he was being approached by some unknown people.

Good thing Snape seemed uncomfortable with the attention and politely declined any sort of interaction with anyone coming. He took that as some type of encouragement and had his team practice harder. Loudly whooping and celebrating every time he scores. 

The fruit of his labour seemed to blossom as he swore he saw Severus Snape looking in his direction. 

He squinted a little to see what type of expression the Slytherin was making, simultaneously cursing his ancestors for giving him genetically bad eyesight. 

Although, before he could confirm that Severus was smiling in his direction, he heard someone yell coming from behind.

“James, look out!”

That was the last thing he heard until the world turned black.

After a whole night at the hospital wing, and a Sirius confrontation: “A bludger in the head, all because you were giving googly-eyes to Snape. Really, Prongs. Do we need to replace you as Captain this year?” 

James was then made to rest for the entire week and safe to say, it had been hell. 

He found himself in the middle of the rumour mill even more and he was getting new information about Severus Snape left and right. 

‘Severus Snape taught me the difference between mincing and dicing!’ a Gryffindor boasted

‘Severus Snape told me to watch where I’m going!’ a Ravenclaw sighed dreamily ‘He’s so kind’

‘Severus Snape said my name! I’m not a dunderhead anymore’ a Hufflepuff said proudly

‘Severus THIS’

‘Severus THAT’

The Slytherin obviously thought the whole situation was a new type of harassment and James was inclined to agree, since a toerag sounds better than being a dunderhead thank you very much. 

Although that was the least of his worries, people seemed more courageous as Severus Snape didn't seem to say anything or fight back any of the rumours.

Just a few days ago, he saw the snake gliding aggressively along the castle grounds, all while being followed by nosey Hufflepuffs. 

‘Mr. Prince!’ they called and Snape uncharacteristically bolted out of their sight. 

The action was such a shock that some ex-first years cried. The reaction didn't make sense to the worried James, so much so that he was starting to think Hufflepuff's theory wasn't that far from the truth. 

He may need to look into their reasoning more.

On another day, Lockhart floated gracefully (or tried to) to the Slytherin table wearing white robes with transfigured wings. James would've been impressed on the flight attempt if he hadn't seen Lockhart's friend using the Leviosa spell to make the wooing attempt work. The poor girl was slowly shrinking from all the attention she was getting which made the floating pretty shakey.

Lockhart read his poem loudly ‘Magical Me (and you) Rev. A’ then everyone groaned. 

At the end of that god-awful speech, Lockhart saw that Severus wasn't even paying attention and neither were any of his friends so as a response, he grabbed his bow and clumsily shot a heart-shaped arrow at the Slytherin’s direction.

The arrow ended up hitting Lucius Malfoy’s apple, who was only there to check on his chosen lackeys (probably bored from soaking on his wealth alone), and was sitting next to Snape. 

The apple fell out of the blonde’s hands and if the Hogwarts student body hadn't heard a peacock screech, that was probably the closest they would hear it coming out of a human being. 

The scream startled everyone along with Lockhart's friend, who covered her ears instead– cutting the spell short. Another scream was heard but no one had paid attention until Lockhart became a topping at everyone's lunch. 

It's not all negative attention unfortunately for James. Ever since Snape changed his hairstyle, everyone suddenly thinks he's more approachable. 

A lot of Ravenclaws are asking for his help in understanding fundamental magic theory and the Slytherins are more open on asking for his help in their studies. Hufflepuffs were less afraid of interacting with him and Gryffindors were seen laughing at his snarky remarks.

For someone who seemed annoyed by all the change, Snape was not pushing everyone away. Why couldn't he be meaner to everyone? 

Better yet, why can't he just grow his hair back? There are literally Potter potions that could grow his hair back to normal. He could ask his dad to give him some.

As if he would accept anything from you, idiot.

You know what's even worse? Lily somehow decided it was her calling to create a Severus Snape fan club. They had the gall to create merchandise and distribute a few of Severus Snape’s childhood pictures to anyone who was interested. It annoyed him to his core.

James is also mad since he only has seven and the rest are at bid for 5 galleons. Five galleons that he doesn't have. He needs 3 more to complete the set.

“Nice collection there bro. Want to swap with some of mine? I just need one more to get all ten.” 

He was approached by a random Ravenclaw while he was glaring down at the cute pictures of small Snape. But what did he say? Did he just lose to this nerd?

“Get lost, man” he glared down at the boy until he ran away, tail tucked between his legs.

James ruffled his hair and made a sound of frustration. 

He doesn't understand himself anymore. What is happening to him right now? 

He's getting injured. Being overwhelmed with all insignificant (important) information about Severus Snape. He's collecting childhood photos of him and he's fighting anyone that approaches him.

He's going half insane and maybe he is but, as a noble member of the House of the Lions. He cannot go down without a fight and all he needs to do is to go straight to the source of his own plight.

James decided that maybe, he should take the matter into his own hands.

James couldn’t take it anymore

Once he saw the familiar figure of the Slytherin, he dragged him to the nearest wall. Ignoring his fluttering heart which he now knows, were just annoying butterflies in his stomach. It’s not the time, he has business to deal with.

“Grow it back”

James gave his best glare at the confused and slightly annoyed Severus. Did he always have that mole underneath his eye?

“What?”

“Grow it back” he repeats, pinching himself a little to keep his intensity, although he feels it’s eventually slipping because of the distance against their chests.

Severus, who realised what the confrontation was for, crossed his arms and looked up at James. 

“Why would I?”

James, frustrated at the lack of cooperation and understanding, felt himself blurting out words without thinking.

“Because I hate how they’re paying attention to you! Now, I have to worry about more of them since I don’t want them looking at you”

Severus looked at him in slight shock. The raven seemed to be affected by the summer heat since his cheeks looked flushed pink. He felt it too– his body is warm all over with some tingling all over his being. Yeah, it’s just hot. So sweaty hot

“And how is that my problem?”

James, malfunctioning since he obviously did not think that far just blurted whatever is on his mind, 

“Because!”

“Because?”

They both stared at each other. Maybe a bit longer than normal. James was positive he was staring into a pair of black holes, the colour of Snape’s eyes is so deep that it seems like no light can ever escape them and oh, how James would gladly hurl himself at them. 

An unconscious part of him was doing some hopeful thinking that the other was equally as entranced as him. 

Taking advantage of the unexpected quietness, James tried to soak in all the little details on Severus’ face. It's not every day that he could get close to the other. 

He stepped a bit closer and hoped the other wouldn't notice.

James looked at the other dreamily, or so he hoped not, that would be embarrassing– the flutter of those dark eyelashes, the slight pink that covered those high cheekbones, those plumped pink lips that seemed to shine as the other swiped a tongue across. He followed that muscle with more focus than he ever had in his Quidditch matches. Just a bit more

He unconsciously moved his head closer than what was considered normal. Both boys had their eyes half open, ready to lean in.

However, moments like these are meant to be ruined.

The trance that James willingly dived into, popped aggressively– leaving him with a whiplash of emotion that he couldn't handle. 

Unable to handle the flurry of tingles on his being, James then sprints the hell out of that corridor, a very Gryffindor response to handle the loss of control he had. 

Those aren’t butterflies. They’re much bigger than that. Around the size of a hippogriff. Merlin be damned, he was so in love with this guy.

Severus watched James Potter runway, highly amused and slightly disappointed about the situation. It's too bad that James never saw the reaction of the other as, if he did, he would beat himself black and blue for being the cause of that expression out of the raven.

The raven-haired boy looked back once more but as he saw no sign of the other, he also fled the scene. Leaving a hidden figure alone in the corridor, who watched the whole interaction with a glint of mischief

[Severus Snape]

Earlier in the Slytherin common room… 

“I TOLD you you would look good. Even Heir Potter was staring.”

“Gawking, more like. He was gagged” Regulus added.

“Why are you guys so invested in this?” Severus exasperatedly laid down on the arm of his plush seat.

It’s not like he was being pessimistic but Severus already accepted his fate. After years of cultivating the little confidence he had, he had already given up on his chances at romance. Especially since the guy he seemed to be interested in hasn’t even made a move after a year of circling each other. He even managed to stop Lily from attempting to pull off the guy’s hair from his head.

That’s why he refuses to give himself hope. One interaction from the train wouldn’t be enough to make that toerag move. He even chose to cut most of his hair– he was sad to let it go but he was itching for a change. 

Letting Narcissa teach him the art of pampering opened his eyes to the importance of impression. He learned how to take care of his hair, he took some books to learn how to make his skin less pasty, and his teeth are now more aligned after being taken to a wizarding dentist– the changes were minimal but it did wonders to him throughout the year. 

He even took some private wizarding etiquette lessons this summer– it took a while to correct his posture, and even his teacher found it hard to get him out of his habits. On all accounts, it was worth the effort learning even though he still guiltily forgets about them when he is reading. Overall, it did wonders for his back–  it feels so much better now that he learned not to slouch too much and occasionally stretch. “You’ll end up with a hunched back by the time you’re 30 at this rate” Narcissa insisted.

But also, it’s been nearly two weeks. Two whole weeks. No action, no nothing. 

It’s pretty much confirmed. He’s destined to be a grouchy Potions Master whose job is to snap at people and be only remembered when they ask for favours.

“Well let’s see…”

“One, you guys are so dumb about your feelings.” Regulus stood straighter on the plush chair he was slouching on. 

“Two, he's too Gryffindor to use his brain” Severus nodded in agreement, no arguments there.

“Lastly, you're a social menace” (“Oi!” he retorted) “but at least you're smart enough to see behind what he was doing since first year.” Regulus, who was sick of the whole situation, threw his hands up.

“Don't you guys think it was impressive that he hasn't questioned his gayness for Severus for 5 whole years?” Lucius who was listening to the conversation from the fireplace, chimes in. 

The two snakes bolted out of their seats, hands almost reaching for their wands. Only Narcissa seemed to be unaffected by the blonde’s presence. 

“When the fuck did you arrive??” 

Both boys looked at the glowing, ashy face of Lucius on the common room’s fireplace. Even as a wooden log, the blonde seems to scrutinize every action they make, as if they offended his great-great uncle Alphard.

“Relax, Regulus. I swear if it wasn't for your brain, you'd be as crass as your brother” 

Regulus glared at the blonde and then pouted. 

“Why are you here Luce?” not that Severus minds, but it’s been about 6 years since the blonde graduated from this place. One would think he’s sick of school by now.

“Why won't I be? My minion stole my title of being the Slytherin Prince from me, forgive me if I felt scandalised on the whole thing”

“Literally no one calls you that” 

“The drama queen of Slytherin you mean” Regulus murmured, still pouting from being compared to his brother.

“Queen? Now that's more like it, I'll have you know I represent Slytherin wherever I go. Heed my call peasants, I'll bring our House name to Glory” Lucius started, and once he starts he never stops. 

“Kindly shut up, dear” 

Narcissa got up from her seat and poured the tea to Lucius' scandalised face, while the two snakes cackled.

At the Black Lake, the three Marauders are having a relaxing time being away from their so-called leader. 

Ever since they teased James about his feelings, it felt like they were walking on eggshells on the topic. Not because they couldn’t bring it up or were afraid of how their friend was going to react, nope.  

It’s because their messy-haired friend seemed to be so invested in the whole situation that it’s been affecting his sleep, his studies and his sanity. 

The whole school loved the new Severus Snape and the gossip train didn’t look like it was going to stop any time soon. The three friends are unsure whether they should wait for James to willingly make a move or give him a slight push. However, at this point, it has been two weeks and James is already getting on their nerves.

Remus saw James walking out of their room, face charmed to look slightly different, and coming back with multiple copies of Snape’s childhood pictures. 

Peter kept on trying to get James to focus on his meal instead of keeping an ear out for gossip. He couldn’t even count the number of times he saved some guy (or girl, apparently jealous James does not discriminate) from being hexed because they’ve been talking about Snape, intimately.

And Sirius? Sirius is just tired of covering up for James on everything. He’s been the temporary captain of their team, their potion almost created some sort of toxic fume when they’re in class, hell, he even transfigured a needle into a bat and McGonagall asked for a toad.

He’s just sick of this and wants his best friend back to normal– well, as normal as he can be. Which reminds him,

“You know what, getting those two together might not be as impossible as we thought” 

The two marauders looked at him, 

“Remember when James went to the hospital wing?” they nodded.

“Well, the reason why James couldn’t avoid the bludger was that he was too busy making googly eyes at Snape” 

“Snape was at the oval? Why was he there?” Remus asks. Occasionally, a lot of students hang out around the benches to relax but, for the years he's known Snape, the raven has barely stepped within the vicinity of the pitch. 

“Exactly! Why would someone like Snape come there, especially during Gryffindor practice? He was there to see someone!” 

“And… you think it’s James?” Peter questioned.

“My dear Wormtail. I don’t just think. I know it’s James”

“Come gather around my lackeys, come gather” 

The three friends huddled up closely not before Sirius got a smack and a pinch on his side. 

“Earlier, I was trying to find James so I used the map and guess who he was with?” he grinned.

“Dumbledore?” Peter asked.

“No! You idiot, Snape!” 

The rat animagus snickered.

“Anyway, I obviously respected his privacy and followed him there”

“That was kinda risky Pads” Remus clearly disapproves of his friend’s actions but, he guesses he meant well.

“Nah, James is too innocent to be frisky this early Moony” his nose scrunched at the thought. 

“Yeah but listen, when I came there they were in mid-confrontation but then they started to come closer to each other and they looked like they were about to kiss”

“And did they?”

“Nah, James ran away last minute.”

Peter and Remus both groaned in disappointment. Really, James?

“But that isn’t all of it. Snape left too after a while, looking so disappointed when he left”

“So you mean to tell me there was a chance like each other? After all this time?” 

“Mate, this might be the weirdest and longest love story ever–they were doing some weird power play for like.. 5 years? Were we really so blind to see it?”

“Jokes on you Pads. I suspected James had some sort of attraction to Snape since third-year”

“Wait, what? How did you know” 

Remus tapped his nose, wolf senses obviously.

“Oh, ew man”

“I obviously knew too” Peter teased

“Wait, wait. Am I the only one who didn't know what was happening?”

Remus and Peter nodded. 

“Only you and James but we love you guys as you are, Pads. It’s alright being slow sometimes”

Sirius pouted and Peter gave him a few pats on the back. He's just a bit special.

“So… what now?” Peter asks after a while.

“What else? We devise a plan! It’s time for those two to be pushed together” Sirius, who recovered from his slump suddenly got excited.

“Alright… and how are we doing that?” Remus faced Padfoot.

“Well, uh. Hmmm” 

They fall into silence again. 

Although they were all considered smart enough to create a map of a bloody castle and prank the great Dumbledore, himself, the three relied on James’ cheeky streak of ideas for motivation for their plans. As this topic involves their friend’s happiness,  the Marauders found it too difficult to create a plan–especially as they themselves are not well-versed in the topic of love.

“Merlin, you guys suck at planning” 

“What the hell Evans!”

Lily appeared next to the boys, lifting an eyebrow and acting like she's been there the whole time.

“I just got goosebumps man, are you part-niffler or what”

Lily stuck her tongue out at Sirius who was making faces at her as a response.

“Wait, hold on. Why are you in on this? I thought no one was good enough for ‘your Sev’” 

“Yeah, well I want him to be happy! He could do better than your toerag of a friend but Sev had been waiting for years!”

“What? So Severus does like him back?” It was Remus who asked the red-head.

“Nuh, uhh. Since when?” 

“Hmm, not sure. Probably since third-year”

“Whaaaaa…” All three Marauders were in shock. 

Snape managed to reciprocate James's feelings all this time, and the idiot just kept on teasing and prodding the boy like a 5-year-old. 

“Anyway, obviously they just need to be forced with each other without a way to escape”

“Keep the doors locked in case James runs away” she continued.

“It needs to be somewhere small enough so we can guard them in case Filtch finds them” 

“It should be somewhere romantic to fuel some sort of confession from James”  Remus suggested.

“But where? We also need somewhere we can hide” 

“Isn’t it obvious?” Regulus and Narcissa went out of their hiding place behind the tree, catching the group by surprise.

Sirius reacted first, jumping to hug his baby brother who caught his face and pushed him so he wouldn’t get too close. 

Narcissa, who was used to the two brothers, continued.

“The Astronomy Tower”

And so the planning began among the group of Griffindors and Slytherins, unaware of the smiling figure on the Headmaster’s Tower watching over them.

‘10 points to each for house unity’

The figure went back to tackle the mountain of paperwork on his desk, seemingly more motivated as it plopped a lemon drop onto his mouth.

To say James Potter was in shock was an understatement. 

A few minutes ago, he was taking advantage of the quietness of the common room to sneak in some homework and the next thing he knew, Sirius appeared and started talking about a brilliant plan he created for him to talk to Snape. 

“Look, it's simple. Go to the Astronomy Tower. Confess. We get to be godfathers on each of your Potter-Snape gremlins” 

“You did what?”

“Oh c’mon Prongs. We’ve been through this. We sent Snape a letter to meet you at the Astronomy Tower tonight so you can get out of your existential crisis”

James was fuming. 

Oh, he was beyond mad. 

What would he even do? He can't face Snape, not after that whole scene in the hall. Hell, what would he say? 

Is he panicking? He touched his chest to feel his erratic heartbeat. Yeah, He's definitely panicking.

“Sirius fucking Black come here right now!” 

James’ voice echoed through the Gryffindor common room and chased the silver-eyed boy. As a response, Sirius dramatically screamed and then ran behind Peter’s back which wasn't really effective seeing as he was more than a head taller than the blonde.

“He's over there!” Sirius points in Remus’ direction and then cowers behind Peter who is snacking on some fish and chips.

James, too panicked to use his eyesight properly, launched at Remus instead. 

“You didn't even look, you idiot” Peter laughed mid-chew.

“Are you serious right now?” The wolf asked

Remus, sensing the oncoming joke to his comment, smacked his head before James could say his punchline as a response.

“But.. why did you guys do that for” James whined.

James thought he was doing quite well too. He was avoiding the Slytherin less by focusing on his schoolwork. It helps the stray thoughts go away along with the heartbreak. 

Even when realising his feelings, he still was being defensive around Snape and he couldn't express his feelings clearly. Especially, what he wanted to do would probably be unwelcome by the other. Woe is James

“You’ve been mooning over Snape the whole week” 

“We're just giving you a helping hand” 

Remus tried to gently remedy the situation by rubbing James’ back. 

“Look we even got you some books” 

Peter charmed his oily fingers away and plopped a pile of books on James's lap.

The brown-haired teen glanced at the collection given to him with scrutiny,

How To Tame Your Dragon

Wands at the Ready: Duelling Intimately between Two Wizards

An Idiot's Guide to Wooing 

These are absolutely ridiculous. 

“You idiots, I can’t even read all of those by tonight” 

James laughed at the whole collection and the silliness of it all. 

“You allowed this?” He asked Remus, pointing at the first two books on the pile. 

“We thought we should pick one book each since we couldn't decide on one. I recommend mine first” Remus shrugged.

A mid-pitched hoot disturbed their conversation and the three boys glanced at the small tawny owl perched on the window clutching a small note on its beak.

The owl spread its wings and flew above their heads to drop its parcel to James before gliding out to return to its post.

James pried open the dropped note and took in the small spidery writing,

I'll be there 

• - S.S.

Oh. 

OH.

“Guys… help?” 

He completely forgot why he was mad at his friends in the first place.

The view of the night sky above the Astronomy Tower was always believed to be produced by magic by a lot of students due to its unusually high level of clarity. 

James loved visiting the tower during the night, outside of the intensity of sports and away from the vicinity of his peers. It relaxes him. 

When things get too overwhelming, he would stay on the roof, then stay until he feels like himself again. 

That’s why being at his place of escape and feeling strangely uneasy was such a foreign feeling but that's the least of his worries right now.

This is it, he would need to face his fears. He needs to prove that the hat placing him in Gryffindor was not a mistake. He can do this.

Beyond the sweaty palms and the erratic heartbeats on his chest, he needs to face his fears. 

Have you ever felt so nervous that you think you can feel it throughout your body? The feeling where you are trying hard to be calm but you can feel your excitement and the fear of making a mistake at the same time?

Was confessing always this hard? 

He can't remember.

Severus Snape. The subject of his worries is standing in front of him right now, looking at him–seemingly calm, just waiting.  

He looks so ethereal underneath the moonlight– with the summer breeze lightly sweeping his hair along with its breath making him look like he was floating. The sight just made him gobsmacked, almost forgetting his mission until the black-eyed teen spoke.  

“If you have nothing to say I'll just go”

“No–wait!”

Raise eyebrow 

“I’m–” deep breaths James “I'm sorry. It's just harder to apologise to you when you look like that”

“Like what Potter?”

“Oh, Merlin. I don't know how you make it difficult to speak sometimes”

Severus crosses his arms and waits. 

Deep breath, James.

“I like you” 

He heard the other's breath hitch and used that as motivation to continue his speech.

“It was only a few weeks ago that I realised it. In fact, I've been trying to unconsciously run away from it and because of that I made you suffer.”

He tried to look up but, after catching a glimpse of the other's eyes he aborted his mission. Nope. Look down look down

“I just didn't want anyone to notice you and because of that childhood arrogance, I became prejudiced on everything about you. You didn't grow up knowing magic but you excelled in everything. You didn't look like you were one of us because you seemed more powerful. Unreachable, so full of knowledge”

“Little James probably thought it was unfair and admired you afar at first but when people started approaching you, I got mad then misplaced that feeling to you. It didn't help that I heard you were interested in Dark Arts. I became completely prejudiced, looking at things in black and white.”

Deep calm breaths.

“I was ignoring my feelings so much it masked what I felt about you. If you didn't attend this year with a completely new haircut then I probably would still not notice my crush on you. It forced me to face my feelings– Merlin, I’ve been losing sleep thinking what if someone got you first”

“Idiot” Severus whispered in his breath

“Huh? Uh- anyway, I’m sorry for all those years of pranks and torture and I would like it if you give me a chance to be with you—uh,  we can start as friends!” 

James finally looked up to see Severus looking at him with contemplation. 

“We can–shit, start small. Like hangout, I can just be right next to you while you're reading. I can be reaaaally quiet! Just one cha—-”

He didn't even have the chance to finish his speech when Severus suddenly took a brave step and pressed his lips against him.

It took him a second but he pressed his lips back but, as all great things come to an end, his lips were left alone again.

As it ended, they looked at each other for a little bit longer, processing what just happened between them in the last few minutes.

And oh, how James felt high. 

It was like same type of rush when he's on his broom just flying. The giddiness he felt when he felt when he saw Hogwarts for the first time. And he wants more

But before he could open his mouth, Severus beat him to it.

“One date Potter”

The dark-haired teen patted his cheek and turned around to leave without looking back, leaving a speechless James.

The brown-haired teen stared at the closed door, taking his time to process the words until his mouth broke into a grin.

With a happy shout, James ran back to his dorm excited to tell his friends about his planned date.

That night, the news of James Potter’s date was spread throughout the walls of Hogwarts as all the portraits laughed at James who kept on whooping on his way to the Gryffindor Tower.

Meanwhile, at a certain part of the room, the group of Slytherins and Gryffindors high-fived each other and bid each other good night, happy for their friends having their happily ever after.

‘10 points to each for giving a chance to love’

END OF CHAPTER