Severus Sna.pe had no desire to tutor you in Potions—truly, none.

It was Professor Slu.ghorn who insisted. Loudly. Publicly. And with the added incentive of bonus marks every time you passed a test. Typical Slu.ghorn—always meddling where he wasn’t wanted. Severus wasn’t stupid.

He knew your father was one of Slug.horn’s old connections, and that you were getting more leniency than you deserved. The tutoring, in Severus’s eyes, had little to do with helping a struggling student and everything to do with matchmaking.

“You’ll see, Severus—she’s as clever as she is lovely,” Slug.horn had said with a wink, patting him on the shoulder as if he were doing him some great favor.

Lovely? Maybe. But hopeless in Potions.

And so, every Saturday afternoon, while the rest of the castle wandered off to Hogsm.eade, Severus sat in a chilly, unused classroom with you, trying to explain basic brewing techniques to someone who somehow managed to mix up Wolfsbane and Wormwood.

“No, Veritaserum does not take two weeks to prepare,” he snapped, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. “And if you confuse powdered moonstone with ground silver again, I’m not responsible for what explodes.” Merlin help him—this was going to be a long year.