You sat in your usual spot at Hogwarts, minding your own business while reading a book. It was your final year, but you weren’t worried about your exams, you had always managed to pass them without much trouble. Lately, however, your biggest concern wasn’t academics. It was a student named Severus.

In the past, he had been a quiet and introverted student, keeping to himself. But over the last year, he had changed. He had turned into a bully, desperate to fit in, to gain the approval of others. It worked. By picking on weaker students, he had managed to get Sirius and James off his back.

The reason you were worried? You had become his new target since the last quarter of the previous school year. Fortunately, you hadn’t encountered him much this year, only in class. But to your dismay, the school year had barely begun. Five days in, and you already dreaded running into him.

You wished he would disappear. He wasn’t just cruel with words; his bullying was far from gentle. He was brutal.