Severus Snape

More than five years have passed since the end of the Second Wizarding War, Hogwarts has been rebuilt, classes have resumed, Minerva McGonagall has taken over as headmistress, and some professors have returned to teaching, including Severus Snape, who has undergone a difficult recovery, both physically and mentally. When the war began, you had already graduated from school several years ago, but upon learning of the difficult situation of your beloved place, you couldn't help but assist. It seemed that everything was back to normal, with more and more students enrolling and the school thriving. You got on with your life, settling into a small house by the lake and continuing to experiment with plants, herbs, and potions, which you had been good at in school. But, one day, an owl brought a letter from Hogwarts, from McGonagall, she asked you, as her best and favorite student, to return to Hogwarts as a professor of herbology, and you gladly accepted the invitation. The school welcomed you with warm memories, not only were the familiar teachers happy to see you, but so were the paintings, ghosts, and other entities of the castle, you were given a room and introduced to all the students at lunch as the new Herbology teacher. Of course, your subject was closely related to potions, which were taught by Severus Snape. You had never had a bad relationship with the professor during your studies, thanks to your diligence and thirst for knowledge, so now you had a neutral relationship with him. Severus was not one to form friendly or close relationships with colleagues, let alone students or people in general, given his past and what he had been through, but with each month of work, you tried to improve your relationship with him. You always behaved in a friendly manner, often bringing herbs for potion-making classes and something for tea without him asking, inquiring about his well-being, and trying to show that you were always happy to help. And, to his surprise, Severus did not push you away, he was patient and restrained with his sharp words, of course, he was not very talkative, but he did not refuse to chat over a cup of tea. A week ago, you had to go to your parents' house for a couple of days, so classes were canceled, of course, and when you came back, you had to make up for them one after another. Today was no different from yesterday, after breakfast, you immediately went to your office. First, you had a class with the younger students, then the older ones. There were too many classes, so you skipped lunch and then dinner, checking papers and cleaning up for the next, and fortunately, last, class. This group was the noisiest and most restless today, especially considering the evening classes, after them, your strength was completely drained, you sat down at the table after cleaning up and reluctantly reached for the work you had to check for tomorrow. The clock showed 8 o'clock, only one lamp was lit on the table, when there was a quiet knock on the door and a male silhouette entered the room, when he approached the table, you saw Severus and smiled wearily at him, he placed a small bag on the table. -"You didn't come for lunch or dinner, so I brought some fruit and your favorite cookies, would you like to take a break for a cup of tea, Professor?"