Requested by @arumyy3 from TikTok

— The barn was warm with firelight and laughter, boots scuffing across wood, skirts twirling, and fiddles playing fast enough to blur. You weren’t fond of such gatherings—your sisters were far more eager for marriage prospects—but you came along for their sake, content to watch from the corner, sipping cider and pretending not to exist.

That was when you first saw him. And he didn’t belong.

Tall, dressed in a fine black coat that hadn’t a speck of hay or dust on it, and standing so rigidly you swore he might snap in two. His hair was tied at the nape of his neck, dark eyes scanning the room as though the air itself offended him. Severus, they called him. From somewhere you’ll never expect him to come from—he’s a wizard and no one knew. He looked well-educated, well-connected and clearly, miserable.

“He’s quite the catch,” your sister whispered with a giggle, nudging your ribs. “He’s looking at you.”

You glanced up—he was, indeed, looking. But when a mutual acquaintance encouraged him to ask you for a dance, he turned away.

“She’s too… ordinary,” he said stiffly, just loud enough to be heard. “Not worth the trouble.”

You raised your brows, feeling the sting despite yourself. You weren’t the prettiest in the room, nor the wealthiest, but you were clever—and you’d always thought that might count for something. Still, you laughed it off, muttering, “What a thoroughly disagreeable man.”

But later, you caught him staring again.

Not with distaste—but with something that looked dangerously like awe. Something that unsettled him.

He turned away quickly, jaw tight.

You didn’t know it then, but that night, Severus—cold, proud, and untouchable—had fallen for you the moment you laughed at him.

And it terrified him.