—— Part One ——
Hurried breaths and almost inaudible moans. Hands ghosting over her neck, her collarbone, her clothed chest, down to her sternum - getting more bold and adventurous with each passing second. And then, in an instant, her head is tugged back harshly and her eyes are bathed in golden rays peeking through the window. Her hair is gripped by its roots, stinging deliciously as feather-light kisses are placed along her jaw, the contrast of the two actions causing a pulse between her thighs that cannot be ignored. All the while a second hand, continuing it’s route south, skimming over the hem of her skirt before, at a painstakingly slow pace, gliding up her inner thigh. She reaches up a hand to cup his face, dancing over the scars on his cheek, chin and neck before pulling him into a breath-stealing kiss. A low growl rumbles in his chest before his fingertips make contact with the trim of her panties and she gasps.
“Please, Professor…”
“Please, what, Ms (l/n)?”
(Y/n)’s eyes adjust to the dingy classroom once more, her gaze darting quickly from the cauldron in front of her to the unsurprisingly sour-looking Professor Snape. His eyebrow raised and a sneer formed on his lips as he said, “20 points from [y/house]. Perhaps that will teach you to pay attention in my class, Ms (l/n).”
Of all the days that (y/n) could be staring off into fantasy land, first thing on a Friday morning in Potions class was definitely not her finest choice. (Y/n) sighed softly and nodded, keeping her eyes down so as not to anger the potions master further. It seems her efforts were in vain.
“Oh, and see me for detention. Tonight.” Professor Snape turned on his heels, his black robes adding some extra drama to his spin, and took his place back at the front of the class. Anyone who dared glance at their Professor immediately after this exchange might have noticed a wicked glint in his eye before continuing the lesson.
(Y/n) blinked quickly, her mouth pulling into a tight line as she accepted her fate. Picking up her quill she furiously scribbled as many notes as possible before Snape dismissed the class. “Seven o’clock, Ms (l/n). Do not be late” was the last thing she heard as she exited the room.
“Bloody Mary, (y/n), are you alright?”
[F/n], a fellow [y/house] who happened to be your closest confidant and best friend in the world, sidled up to you, linked theirleft arm with your right and began dragging you out of the dungeons. “Professor Snape is an ass but you were definitely zoning out. It’s so not like you!”
“I know! I don’t know what’s got into me lately. I’m mortified that everyone in class saw me get in trouble for it, too.” (Y/n) huffed and shook her head as if to rid her mind of the negative thoughts.
“Never mind,” they continued, “one evening of detention isn’t so bad right? Hell, it’s probably even a record to have made it to seventh year without even a whiff of one before.”
(F/n) giggled lightly. “I don’t think it would be so bad if it wasn’t totally obvious you were daydreaming about a professor…” (F/n) wiggled their eyebrows at their friend as (y/n)’s face paled.
“Oh godric, please tell me I did not say something out loud.”
“You know I can’t lie to you, (y/n).”
(Y/n) groaned loudly causing several students passing them in the hall to look at her funny. (F/n)’s sing-song laugh travelled through the air as they continued pulling their friend along.
“It wasn’t that bad, promise! You only whispered ‘please professor’ and I don’t think anyone but me and Mr Slimey himself were close enough to hear you. So stop your fretting.”
This clarification calmed (y/n)‘s nerves a bit more and the [y/house] girl breathed a sigh of relief.
“Can you lead with that next time?” she grumbled. (F/n) winked but nodded firmly.
The pair turned the corner and found themselves right by the door to their next class, Transfiguration. With only an extra minute or so before Professor McGonagall would call them in, (F/n) pulled their friend into a bear hug and lowered their voice to say,
“I’ve got your back always, you know that. But seriously, just ask Lupin to bang you so you can get yours already.”
(Y/n) bounced back out of (F/n)’s arms and opened her mouth to chastise her friend but luck was not on her side today. The door to Professor McGonagall’s classroom opened and her peers started to file in, taking their seats. (Y/n) frowned and followed suit - (F/n) might have had the last laugh this time but she’d get them back somehow…
As irritated as (y/n) had been when she entered her second class of the day, she‘d forgotten most of her woes by the end of the hour. One class melded into the next and it was lunch time before she knew it.
(F/n) and (y/n) raced through the corridors to make sure they got their favourite seats. Catching their breath they plonked themselves in the middle of [y/house]’s table, hastily filling their plates with various fruit, meats and the fluffiest looking bread rolls. The Great Hall quickly started to fill up, a light buzz of chatter filling the air as students enjoyed their brief reprieve from classes. Some twenty odd minutes passed in relative peace before the entire hall’s attention was drawn to the Slytherin table.
Between the high pitched screams, the clearly panicked yells and the hysterical laughter coming from a pair of particularly mischievous twins, it was a wonder the whole of Hogsmeade couldn’t hear the commotion. About half of the Slytherin table were coming out in the most putrid looking warts (y/n) had ever seen.
She caught a glimpse of the Weasley boys trying to make their escape but they were out of luck too it seems - Professor Snape was blocking their path to freedom. “I highly doubt I even need to say this but I shall see you both for detention at seven this evening.”
As the notoriously grumpy professor stalked away from the twins, the red-haired pair sighed in defeat and simultaneously tried to clip the other around the back of the head, causing them to headbutt one another.
(Y/n), who had been watching the whole exchange, let out a bellowing laugh so loud she caused (F/n) to jump from their seat. Panicked that she’d drawn the attention of others she glanced around nervously before settling her gaze on the top table. She couldn’t help it, she had to know if he had heard. And you can bet he did.
Professor Lupin’s green eyes met (y/n)’s across the room, they were bright, sparkling almost with clear signs of amusement. (Y/n) flushed and flitted her eyes away as if his gaze burned, and began focusing far too intently on her plate to be natural. (F/n) rolled their eyes at their friend’s behaviour but decided (y/n)’d had a tough enough morning without adding to the poor girl’s embarrassment now. (F/n) tugged (y/n) from the bench and led her out of the Great Hall and off to their next class.
By six thirty that evening, having completed their long day of studies, both (y/n) and (F/n) were once again situated at the banquet table. They chatted with their housemates whilst (Y/n), always a fan of Hogwarts food, gorged on sausages, mashed potatoes and gravy. She nearly choked on a bite when Angus, a sweet but clumsy [y/house] boy, got a pea stuck up his nose. With all the chatter and laughter between the [y/house] and her friends, you could be forgiven for thinking (Y/n) didn’t have somewhere else to be.
——————
Professor Lupin glanced at his watch, noting it was now seven o’clock, then surveyed the house tables of the Great Hall. He knew what he was looking for, though it would be more accurate to say who. But the Professor told himself that it would be less obvious, and less inappropriate, if he didn’t try to pick you straight out of the crowd.
He’d heard the other Professors talking at lunch, before the admittedly hilarious interlude from the Weasley boys, and had been more than a little surprised to learn that you had detention with Professor Snape this evening. The (y/n) he had encountered thus far was nothing short of a brilliant, determined and talented young woman. Certainly not the lay-about Snape had characterised you as earlier.
So Lupin told himself he was checking you had gone to your detention as instructed. It would be a waste of your potential if you were to get into deeper trouble over something as trivial as missing a single detention; that’s all there was to it.
And then he spotted your (h/c) locks about halfway down the [y/house] banquet table and time stopped for a moment. You appeared to be thoroughly enjoying your dinner, noticing your friends laughing with you as a boy attempted to remove peas from his nostrils. Lupin sighed. He hated to be the one to spoil your fun but, the longer you stayed, the worse Snape’s reaction would be.
Professor Lupin excused himself from the teacher’s table and made his way down the hall, his long strides bringing him by your side so swiftly he realised he hadn’t thought how to get your attention without rudely interrupting your conversation.
Lupin reached out and lightly placed his hand on your shoulder, internally cursing when you jumped and turned your body to him with panic in your eyes. But that wild intensity softened when you registered it was your favourite Professor gazing at you, being replaced with the warm fondness Lupin had become so accustomed to. A light pink dusted your cheeks as you looked up at him through your lashes.
“Can I help, Professor?”
Moony was practically slamming against Lupin’s mind and it took a moment for the Professor to reign his thoughts in. Damn that coy expression on your face.
Lupin cleared his throat. “Apologies, Miss (l/n), I hate to intrude but I noted it’s already seven and I believe you have somewhere you need to be…” Lupin trailed off and cocked his head slightly. “You know… detention.”
Your eyes widened and that panicked look returned as Lupin wished more than ever he didn’t have to be the one to remind you.
——————
“Shit!” (Y/n) glanced at her watch and scrambled to her feet, almost tripping completely as she tried to get off the bench. (F/n) turned in their seat, watching and laughing heartily at (y/n) hotfooting it down the aisle to the Great Hall’s door. (Y/n) paused in the doorway, realising she’d not even said goodbye to the Professor or her friend, and yelled back, “I’ll see you later!” (F/n) smiled and shook their head incredulously whilst Lupin raised a brow and thought ‘Was that meant for her or for me? ’
(Y/n) arrived in the dungeons in record time - it was only five past the hour and she prayed to Godric that Snape wouldn’t notice her lateness. She took a moment to inhale deeply and then knocked on the door. Within a millisecond the door was pulled wide open and Professor Snape was eyeing her with obvious contempt.
“So nice of you to join us, Ms (l/n). I suppose we can add tardiness to your ever growing list of attributes.” (Y/n) grimaced and apologised, entering the classroom and taking a seat at the desk between each of the Weasley twins. They looked up from their rolls of parchment giving (y/n) a quick smile before continuing with whatever task they’d been set.
Assuming she shared the same fate as the boys, (y/n) began to pull her quill and parchment out of her bag. Snape cleared his throat catching the young woman’s attention and then gestured for her to follow him. (Y/n) cautiously got up from her seat and moved to the far left corner of the classroom where she knew the Potions Master kept his ingredients.
The door to the stores opened and (y/n) let out a horrified gasp. Normally there would be neatly organised jars, bottles, tubs and other containers, stuffed on every shelf and sure, on occasion the odd ingredient would be out of place but this? This was a clusterfuck.
Snape smirked at her response and jeered, “I had planned to give you lines as well but it seems some people don’t appreciate the purpose of detention.” The professor’s glare switched to the red-haired twins who sat a few feet away before jumping back to (y/n) once more.
“Don’t despair, their punishment will last far longer than tonight. As for yourself, Ms (l/n), please restore the ingredients to their correct containers, arranging them in alphabetical order.” (Y/n) scoffed in disbelief. “But that’ll take me hours on my own, Sir!” Snape flashed an eerie grin and retorted, “Better get started then. Or you’ll be receiving another detention for being out of bed after hours.”
Snape flounced away, clearly pleased with himself, leaving (Y/n) to stare blankly at the chaotic cupboard. There were porcupine quills littered above her, powdered moonstone dusting the otherwise black floor, scarab beetles spilling from their upturned container, leeches crawling across the shelves and a whole host of other items that she still needed to identify. Feeling more than a tad overwhelmed, (y/n) steeled herself with a deep breath, rolled up her sleeves and marched back to the desk she’d left her writing implements at. Gathering them quickly (y/n) started writing a list of every potion ingredient she could think of.
“Accio flobberworm mucus.” (Y/n) whispered, continuing her painfully slow clean up mission, already having spent a good hour or so on the task. She decanted the mucus into a small bottle, corked the top, relabelled it and put it next to the other containers she’d managed to correct. “Accio Fluxweed.” The small green plant landed in (y/n)’s hand and she smiled softly at its soft purple flower. It wasn’t often she got the time to appreciate the individual qualities of her ingredients when making potions in class and she realised that maybe she should take her time more in future.
This process continued without the [y/house] getting caught and (y/n) thanked Godric for the sudden change of luck. “Accio Wolfsbane.” A bold purple flower appeared on (y/n)’s lap and she again took a moment to admire the vivid colour and beautiful bell shaped petals. Just as she placed it in a pot and added a label Snape appeared behind her.
“Well done, Ms (l/n). You’ve made relatively swift work of this mess.” (Y/n) peered up at the Professor, sneakily looking past him to see if the twins were still here and realising that it was definitely just her and Snape now. How she’d missed them leaving she’ll never know. She risked a glance at her watch and saw that it was gone eleven; maybe she had been enjoying herself more than she first thought.
“I’d thank you not to label this as Wolfsbane however,” Snape’s drawl once again demanding her attention. “If you can tell me the correct name for this particular plant and its main properties, I shall let you leave for the evening.”
(Y/n) froze for a moment, cursing mentally that this would be the one time that all knowledge flew from her brain. She closed her eyes and thought back to the essay Professor Lupin had marked after his absence a few months prior. Werewolves was definitely not a seventh year topic but she distinctly recalled the Professor commending her comprehensive research. Lightbulb moment! As if the DADA Professor was reading the answer directly to her she recited,
“Wolfsbane, also known as Monkshood or, more formally, Aconite, is a poisonous flower indigenous to Scotland. Most commonly found in the wildest environments, this flower’s root is often used in potion making and is one of the key ingredients of the Wolfsbane potion. It’s also a member of the buttercup family if memory serves, Professor.”
Professor Snape surprisingly held a neutral expression upon registering his student’s answer. “You would be… correct, Ms (l/n). You may consider your detention concluded. The hour is late and I expect you to return to your dormitory immediately.”
(Y/n) nodded and smiled softly at her Professor. ‘He might be strict but it seems he truly appreciates students who take time to learn his craft ’ she pondered. She rose quickly and hastily gathered her bag, stuffing her quill and remaining parchment into the main compartment and bid the Potions Master goodnight.
As (y/n) opened the dungeon door she heard Snape jeer, “I do hope this exercise has nipped this type of behaviour in the bud. It’s not like you, Ms (l/n), and you would do well to reserve your goo-goo eyes to Professor Lupin’s classroom. Or better yet, not make them at all.”
(Y/n) blushed crimson, rushing out of the door and up the dimly lit staircase, speeding towards her freedom and as far away from such a horribly embarrassing situation.
She could see a slither of light coming from the top of the staircase and took the last few steps two at a time. Big mistake. (Y/n)’s foot slipped as she hit the top stair and the knee of her other leg bashed into the hard stone, grazing her shin and definitely bruising badly. Her hands slammed down in front of her body, slowing her momentum a bit but not enough to save her from collapsing in a heap at the top of the stairs. “What next?” (Y/n) grumbled, “will the world open up and swallow me whole?”
“Even the most foolish of beasts know to savour something so sweet.” That voice.
(Y/n) slowly lifted her gaze, both hoping she was wrong and praying she was right. Her (e/c) eyes met green, and from this distance, she swore there were gold flecks shining in the soft torch light of the corridor.
Professor Lupin was leaning down, his hand outstretched, eyebrow lightly raised and an unreadable smirk on his lips. “Might I be of assistance?”
—— End of Part One ——