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Severus Snape had received exactly three gifts in his life.
The first was a second-hand potions set from his mother when he turned eleven
The second was a bar of Honeydukes’ chocolate from Lily Evans in third year, an awkward gesture after a fight
The third was… currently sitting on his bed in the Slytherin dormitory, wrapped in silver paper and tied with a green ribbon
He hadn’t opened it. Not yet
“Go on,” Regulus said from where he was lounging across his own bed, one elegant eyebrow arched. “He’ll be devastated if you don’t”
Severus glared at him. “I don’t even know what it is”
Regulus smirked. “You do, It’s from Evan. It’s always from Evan”
That much was true
Ever since last term, Evan Rosier had developed what could only be described as a fixation on him. It started small, offering to fetch Severus’s forgotten quill, walking him to class, hexing Sirius Black when he called Severus “Snivellus.” But then the gestures escalated
A potion knife made of real silver
A bundle of rare moonflower leaves “for your research”
A magically warmed scarf embroidered with Severus’s initials
And now… this
“Evan doesn’t understand moderation,” Severus muttered, staring at the package as if it might explode. “It’s absurd”
Regulus gave a lazy shrug “You say absurd, he says adoring.”
“Regulus”
“What? He’s in love with you. Has been since fourth year You’re just too oblivious to notice.”
“I am not oblivious,” Severus said coldly. “I simply-”
The dorm door creaked open
“Speak of the lovesick devil,” Regulus whispered, smirking
Evan Rosier entered like a storm in velvet, his robes pristine, his blonde curls immaculate, and his expression painfully earnest. He was carrying another box.
“Oh, Merlin,” Severus muttered
“Sev,” Evan said softly, the nickname rolling off his tongue like a vow “Did you open it yet?”
Severus felt heat crawl up his neck. “No”
Evan’s face fell, dramatically, beautifully, like a prince betrayed “You didn’t like it?”
“I didn’t say that,” Severus hissed, glancing at Regulus, who was trying very hard not to laugh.
“It’s just, I saw it in Hogsmeade,” Evan said, stepping closer “It reminded me of you”
“Everything reminds you of him,” Regulus muttered under his breath
“Regulus, hush,” Evan said, then turned those impossibly sincere eyes back on Severus.“Please, open it, Just once, For me”
Severus sighed, deeply, dramatically, as if opening the box were a matter of life and death, But he undid the ribbon anyway
Inside lay a vial of potion ingredients, translucent petals that shimmered faintly in the light. Starfire blossoms, Rare, Expensive, Nearly impossible to acquire without Ministry permission
Severus stared “Where did you get these?”
Evan’s grin softened into something almost shy “Connections”
“Illegal connections, more like,” Severus muttered, but his voice had lost its edge, His fingers brushed the vial carefully “They’re… remarkable”
Evan brightened immediately “You like them?”
“I— yes. They’ll be useful”
Evan practically glowed “Then I’m glad”
Regulus watched the exchange like it was theatre “Evan, you’ve ruined him for any normal human interaction. He won’t know what to do without constant praise”
“I’ll just have to stay then,” Evan said with a little smirk, still gazing at Severus “Make sure he gets enough”
Severus wanted to retort, something scathing and sharp about boundaries, but the words tangled somewhere between his chest and throat
Because Evan looked at him like no one else ever had
Not with pity
Not with disgust
But with devotion
And that was far more disarming than any spell.
That evening, Severus found himself at the edge of the Black Lake, a small parchment clutched in his hand. Evan had gone off to “deal with” a Gryffindor who apparently “insulted Severus’s honour”
“You know he’s going to end up cursed into the hospital wing one day because of you,” Regulus said, appearing beside him.
“I didn’t ask him to,” Severus muttered, though the faintest trace of concern flickered across his expression. “He’s reckless”
“He’s in love,” Regulus said simply. “That tends to make people reckless”
Severus shot him a flat look. “You sound like a poet”
“I’ve been hanging around Evan too much,” Regulus replied. “He writes about you in his notebook, you know.”
Severus froze “He what?”
“Poems, Odes, Sonnets. It’s embarrassing, really He calls you ‘my dark star’”
Severus groaned and hid his face in his hands “He’s insufferable”
“You love it,” Regulus said, nudging his shoulder
“I do not—”
“You blush every time he walks into the room”
“I do not—”
Regulus tilted his head, smirking. “Indulge him, Severus.”
That stopped him. “What?”
“Indulge him, He adores you. The least you can do is let him”
The next morning, Evan found a neatly folded piece of parchment on his pillow. His name was written in Severus’s precise, slanted script
He opened it with shaking hands
Evan,
The blossoms are in perfect condition, Thank you.
You have excellent taste, though you already know that.
If you must continue this pattern of excess, I suggest something less likely to get you arrested next time
— S
It wasn’t much
It wasn’t even romantic
But to Evan Rosier, it was the most precious thing he’d ever read
By breakfast, he was beaming brighter than the morning sun, and Regulus had already placed a hand over his eyes and muttered, “Merlin’s sake, you’re glowing”
Evan didn’t care.
Because when Severus entered the Great Hall, their eyes met, and just for a heartbeat, Severus’s lips twitched upward
A smile, Barely there, But a smile nonetheless.
Evan’s hand went to his chest, heart stuttering like he’d just been kissed.
Regulus groaned. “You’re hopeless”
“Completely,” Evan said dreamily “And happily so”
That afternoon, when the Marauders tried to block Severus’s path in the corridor, Evan was on them like a vengeful storm. James Potter ended up hexed backward into a suit of armor; Sirius barely dodged a jinx that singed his sleeve
“Touch him again,” Evan said darkly, “and I’ll turn you into something useful, Like fertilizer”
When he turned back, Severus was watching him, arms crossed, lips pressed thin.
“You didn’t have to,” Severus said quietly
“I wanted to”
“…You’re going to get detention again”
Evan shrugged “Worth it”
For a long moment, Severus just looked at him, this ridiculous, radiant boy who loved too fiercely, too freely. Then, before he could second-guess it, Severus reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
A small vial.
“For you,” he said curtly. “Pepper-up potion Since you seem to spend half your time in detention”
Evan blinked, and then grinned like the world had just righted itself “You made this?”
“Yes”
“For me?”
Severus rolled his eyes. “Don’t make it sound sentimental”
But the faint pink at the tips of his ears betrayed him
Evan took the vial carefully, as if it were glass holding his heart “You’re incredible, Severus”
“I’m practical”
“You’re both”
Severus looked away, muttering something unintelligible
“Say that again?” Evan teased
“I said,” Severus snapped, “stop smiling at me like that”
“Can’t” Evan’s voice softened “Not when you look at me like that”
That night, Severus sat by his cauldron, the faint scent of potion smoke curling around him, and for the first time in a long while, he didn’t feel entirely alone
Evan was ridiculous. Overbearing. Reckless. But he was also warm, in a way the dungeon never was
And when Severus finally closed his book and allowed himself to think of that smile again, he found that maybe, just maybe, indulging wasn’t such a terrible idea after all