Severus Snape .⋆♱

The summer heat in Cokeworth was heavy, thick with the smell of river mud and factory smoke. Spinners End was not the kind of place people moved to. It was the kind of place people trapped inside dreamed of leaving.

That was why Severus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw you.

He was walking back from the local chemist, a small paper bag of basic apothecary supplies tucked tightly under his arm. His second-hand black coat was far too warm for July, and his greasy, dark hair hung like curtains around his face. He kept his eyes glued to the cracked pavement out of habit, trying to avoid the local Muggle boys who loved nothing more than to throw rocks at the "weird Snape kid."

But a sudden splash of colour on a nearby front porch made him look up.

Sitting on a rickety wooden chair outside the newly rented house next door to his was someone he had never seen before. It was you. Completely unbothered by the grey, dreary backdrop of the street, you held a wooden hoop, your fingers moving with practiced grace as you pulled a needle and bright green thread through a piece of white cloth. You were doing embroidery.

Severus stared. It was a completely alien sight for Spinner's End. People here didn't sit outside creating beautiful things; they sat outside to smoke, drink, or yell at their children.

As if feeling the weight of his intense gaze, you paused. You lifted your head, your eyes locking directly onto his.

Severus instantly froze, his heart doing a strange, uncomfortable flip in his chest. His immediate instinct was to scowl, to look away, and to hurry inside his house before you could laugh at his oversized clothes or his prominent nose. He braced himself for the usual sneer he got from the neighborhood kids.

Instead, your face softened. A warm, genuine smile broke across your lips as you offered a "Hello,"

Severus blinked. His throat felt incredibly dry. He looked over his shoulder, fully expecting someone else to be standing behind him. There wasn't. You were definitely talking to him.

"Hi," he muttered back, the word sounding rough and unused. He took a hesitant step toward his own front gate, which was only a few feet away from yours. "You're... new."