Black Abyss

"You're being paranoid" Harry insisted, squinting his eyes at Severus.

"Shut up Potter" Severus snapped, in no mood to be told he was wrong.

Something was going on, something subtle but something important, Severus could sense it. 

After finding out that Lestrange had stabbed Avery over allegedly insinuating that Severus was in love with Lily, everyone had started acting different towards Severus.

They tolerated him in the group before, never outwardly rude to him ( expect for Bellatrix who was rude to everyone), but it was clear that he wasn't one of them.

However, no-one would dare disagree with Tom so they somewhat accepted him.

It also helped that he was Harry's best friend and Harry wouldn't be impressed if something happened to Severus which would then annoy Tom who wanted Harry happy.

Nevertheless, people still disagreed with Severus or sneered at him or at least spoke to him or asked him his opinions on certain stuff. Now, everyone seemed to almost avoid him.

They wouldn't sit by him at meetings, wouldn't look at him either and they definitely didn't disagree with him.

It was weird.

Something was going on.

"You are being paranoid, no one is conspiring against you or plotting against you. They're probably just scared to make Lestrange jealous, lest he fly off the handle again like he did with Avery. Just speak to him about it" Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

Severus looked at him as if he had grown a second head.

Talk to Lestrange? 

Was he insane?

Even before all of this, Severus had avoided him like a plague. 

In fact, most people did. 

His temper and love for dark magic was infamous and those two qualities were not a good mix. He feared no-one, not even Tom, and was like an untameable vicious dog. 

No-one in their right mind wanted to be alone with the boy.

There was a time when Severus assumed that Lestrange and Bellatrix would get together, both as cruel and insane as each other. They would have made a frightening couple.

Lestrange was extremely loyal to Tom, there was nothing he wouldn't do for the boy and he was probably the only person that Tom somewhat trusted (excluding Harry). Lestrange was devoted to him with a loyalty that was almost scary, he followed Tom because he wholeheartedly believed in him, but he didn't fear him. 

Tom was stronger and more magically potent than him and would undoubtedly wipe the floor with him too but Lestrange feared no-one. 

The thought of him liking Severus made him feel uneasy and uncomfortable.

Plus, It didn't even make sense.

Lestrange was a blood purist, he hated anyone with 'bad blood' and Severus was a half blood.

A poor one who wasn't particularly good looking at that.

As crazy as Lestrange was, the boy was actually good looking. He was ridiculously tall with a stocky, muscular build that was part genetics and part due to his vigorous Quidditch schedule. 

He had thick brown hair, amber eyes, naturally long eyelashes and was already growing a thick but perfectly groomed beard. 

Objectively, he was extremely good looking and he had that whole bad boy element that girls and boys liked.

Despite his rough personality, he was actually very gentlemanly.

He had dated a series of different girls but he was surprisingly respectful about it and he never bullied or went after girls either. Severus had even seen him be charming to some girls, giving them a cheeky smile that brightened his face.

As well as that, he was part of the sacred twenty eight and with his father dead, he had inherited everything as the elder twin. 

He was mind bogglingly rich and could have anyone he wanted.

Yet, he wanted Severus? 

Severus didn't even want to be Severus so it was beyond him as to why anyone would see him in that fashion. Severus had resigned himself to the fate of forever being alone and had trained himself to pretend that he didn't care and act as if it didn't bother him.

He knew what people said about him and thanks to his father and the marauders, there wasn't a day that went by when Severus wasn't aware of how he looked.

Hence why the idea of Lestrange liking him and stabbing his friend over jealousy seemed so far fetched. 

It wasn't right and Severus didn't believe it for a second.

There had to be something nefarious afoot.

"Don't look at me like that, what's the worst that can happen if you speak to him?"

"I don't know , he might curse me for even daring to believe such a ludicrous lie. For all I know, Malfoy is lying and trying to set me up. One big prank at my expense".

"Oh yes, because Malfoy is one for pranks" Came Harry's sarcastic reply "He has a stick so far up is arse that he wouldn't be able to tell a prank or a joke, even if  it looked him the face. Don't be ridiculous, you know he was telling the truth".

"Well, it doesn't make sense! Why would Lestrange like me? We barely even speak" Severus frowned.

"Well, you're smart and funny and witty an-"

"-Potter, this isn't some ridiculous fairytale and he isn't some dimwitted teenage girl, be serious" Severus interrupted with a scowl.

Harry threw his hands up in the air, fed up.

"Well, I give up. There's no talking to you about it and I'm tired of going around in circles. Either talk to him about it or shut up".

Severus sent the boy a light stinging hex, making him yelp.

"Hey!"

"Oh please, that barely touched you" Severus scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Harry opened his mouth, ready to retort when a dark shadow fell across the table and then he turned bright red.

Harry had just discovered his potential crush on Tom and had been strategically avoiding him for the last few days. 

Severus had no idea how he had been so oblivious to the fact that he was obviously in love with the young dark lord.

It had been glaringly obvious to everyone else.

Harry's naivety never failed to stump Severus at times.

He was so smart and so perceptive in other ways, great instincts and incredibly sharp when he wanted to be but had such an abysmal sense of self that he didn't see how other people viewed him.

Plenty of people had a crush on Harry. 

Finding him handsome and kind and sweet but no-one would dare act upon it because of Tom.

It was glaringly obvious that Tom had some not so friendly feelings towards Harry too but Severus wasn't sure that Tom had figured that out either.

Tom was frighteningly intelligent with such a natural infinity to magic, but he was clueless when it came to emotional intelligence.

There was always something off about him and it was clear he didn't always understand basic human interactions.

As Severus valued his life, he decided to keep that information to himself.

"Severus, I would like to speak with Harry" Tom drawled, his eyes fixed on Harry.

"Of course" Severus nodded, grabbing his bag.

Harry shot him a betrayed look.

Severus decided to make his way to the library, as he was currently working on creating a second spell and was researching some particularly complex incarnations. 

He was trying to create a spell that could temporarily damage someone's nerves and make it unable for them to move for at least fifteen to twenty minutes. It would be hard but it was doable and Severus was a smart lad. With some time, he was confident in his ability to be able to accomplish it.

However, on his way to the library, as he turned the corner he was suddenly faced with Rabastan and Rodolphus. 

Rabastan took a step closer to his brother, glaring down at Severus with so much hatred and spite that Severus had to make a conscious effort not to take a wry step back.

He was afraid but he would never show it.

However, he wasn't suicidal either so he avoided Rodolphus's eye and tried to side step them. Unfortunately, the boy clearly wasn't feeling merciful because he stepped in front of Severus, blocking his path.

"Severus, hi" He beamed, his eyes friendly.

"Lestrange" Severus nodded.

"You look deep in thought, is everything okay? No-one is bothering you are they?"

Seveus shook his head, glancing at Rabastan who's face was turned up in a sneer.

Rodolphus nodded, satisfied. 

"Severus, what are you doing tomorrow?" Rodolphus asked, his eyes suddenly unblinkingly intense.

"I've got some research to do, I'm creating a new spell so my time will be pretty much taken up with that. It's very complicated" Severus replied wryly.

Rodolphus let out a blinding smile and Severus had to admit the boy was incredibly handsome.

It was unusual to see his face so up close and it not be twisted in a snarl of some sort.

"That's okay, I can help. We can meet around 12 tomorrow and then we can go Hogsmeade after".

"Uh, I-"

"-Excellent. It's a date" Rodolphus replied, his tone soft but leaving no room for any arguments.

Severus let out a defeated nod.

"Good. Have a good day"

And just like that, he was gone, leaving Severus and Rabastan.

Rabastan looked so enraged that Severus thought the boy might spontaneously combust.

Rabastan was scary but he was no Rodolphus and Severus was suddenly annoyed himself.

He wasn't the one who asked for the date so what was his problem?

"What?" Severus barked at him, clutching his wand tightly.

"If you do anything to hurt my brother, I'll kill you myself" He snarled back.

"Do anything to your brother? Have you seen him?"

"I don't care you disgusting little half blood. You will show up tomorrow and you will be nice and when he finally gets over his silly little fixation, I'll curse your ugly face until you're unrecognisable" Rabastan snarled before shoulder barging him out the way and storming off.

Severus was left there feeling gob smacked.

He was acting as if Severus has asked for this, as if he wanted any of this. And warning him against hurting Rodolphus, the boy who had allegedly killed their own father? 

Had everyone gone mad?

He was the victim in this!

And now he was being forced to go on a date.

Severus was convinced he had been cursed with bad luck from the moment he was born.