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“Sorry, mate… but you definitely couldn’t ignore Snape for even a day,” Wilhelm Wilkes looked towards his best mate Bruce Mulciber with an almost sad smile.
“Oh please, I can ignore him for a week if I want to!” Bruce replied as he rolled his amber eyes. The Slytherin looked towards his other friend, Edmund, “Ed, back me up on this!”
Edmund, who was sitting on his bed, looked up and met Bruce’s eye and gave him a blank stare, “I will not back you up…” he said eventually.
“Why not?” Mulciber scoffed and waited for an answer, “That is because you have no self-control when it comes to your half-blood,”
Mulciber frowned, “I have a great amount of self-control, thank you,”
Edmund hummed sarcastically, “I am sure you do, Bruce,” at that Wilhelm laughed loudly. “Even Eddy agrees with me! That should give you the confirmation you need,”
“I can ignore Severus whenever and for as long as I want,” Bruce stated sternly.
“How about this, ignore him for a week, then we’ll give you a written apology for our ‘oh so horrid’ behavior,” Wilkes smirked, a smirk that held too much confidence.
“Deal,” Bruce responded.
“I’m not writing him shit,”
———
“What am I getting out of this?” Severus Snape stood in the middle of a deserted corridor, his bag hung on his shoulder while his hands held two other books. “Twenty-five galleons?” Wilhelm bargained.
“Why should I accept your money, Wilhelm?” Severus asked with an intense glare. Wilkes laughed softly, “Oh it’s not my money!” He paused, “It’ll be Edmund paying you,”
Snape paused, Edmund Avery Jr, the Pureblood cunt, was betting against Bruce Mulciber. In favor of a Half-Blood. Severus stared at the blonde in front of him, the corridor around them heavy as Wilhelm waited for Severus’ answer.
“Fifty Galleons.” He said, extending his hand in front of him. Wilkes smirked, “You got yourself a deal, Severus.”
———
Monday mornings were always consistent at Hogwarts. Breakfast, classes, lunch, classes, dinner, then any extracurricular activities one had. Every week was the same. Every Monday was the same.
However, this Monday was bound to be different.
Severus Snape hated Mondays, like every other teenager. He was sitting at the Slytherin table, a porcelain plate in front of him filled with a small portion of scrambled eggs and a piece of toast.
Wilhelm and Avery sat in front of him, Wilkes with a small smile, and Avery with an expecting look in his eyes. Half an hour into breakfast Bruce Mulciber strode in.
The dark-skinned Slytherin almost filled the path he did every morning but caught himself and quickly made a beeline to sit next to Avery.
Severus acted as if he didn’t notice as he took a small sip of his morning coffee. Snape shot Wilkes a glance, the blonde looked slightly impressed by Mulciber’s control.
The four of them stayed quiet as they ate. Minutes passed without a word from either of the four.
Surprisingly, the empty seat next to Severus was filled abruptly. Severus turned slightly and spotted Evan Rosier, the tan boy looked disheveled, looking like he just got out of bed, which he most likely did.
“Mornin’,” Rosier muttered, filling his plate with bacon and eggs before eating it quickly. Severus hummed his good morning as he chewed. From the corner of his eye, he could see Bruce. The other Slytherin was frozen, almost glaring at Evan so hard the boy seemed to finally wake up fully.
He looked around the table and soon spoke, “Why’s Bruce not sitting with Snape?”
Severus shrugged, unbothered. Edmund said nothing as he sipped his coffee, and Wilkes tried hard to keep his laughter from spilling.
Evan shrugged and continued eating. Another silence followed but was soon broken, “Severus, could you lend me your DADA notes?” Rosier had leaned closer in to practically whisper into Snape’s ear.
Severus looked at the boy next to him for a moment, their faces too close, and nodded while looking into the blonde's eyes.
Keeping a close eye on Bruce, Severus could see the deep scowl plastered on his face.
“Thank you, Severus. You’re my savior,”
Minutes later Severus' coffee cup was empty. He stood up and placed a hand on Rosier’s shoulder, “My notes are in my dorm, come on,” The two Slytherins quickly disappeared from the Great Hall.
Back in the Hall, Bruce Mulciber sat there, willing to end anyone in front of him.
“You alright there, Brucie?” Wilhelm asked amused.
“I'm fine…” Mulciber muttered.
“You have five days of this, Bruce. And you aren’t even half way through the first day,” Edmund said slowly, his voice drained from any emotion.
———
“He’s doing better than I expected,” Charity Burbage, a Hufflepuff with big blue eyes, whispered into Severus’ ear.
Severus glanced up towards the other side of the Greenhouse, he caught sight of Bruce’s back. The boy was doing everything in his power to ignore Severus, looking away, walking right past him, practically forcing himself to even breathe near him.
“He is,” Snape muttered softly. He could see the sheer strength Bruce was putting into ignoring him, the way his shoulders stiffened and how his hands clenched into fists when Snape was near him. And for some reason… he liked that.
He liked watching Bruce struggle to keep himself away from him.
“How long until you make the final move?” Burbage asked, her voice filled with humor.
“Wednesday morning,” Severus stated, “I have to let him think he can ignore me,” He finished off. Charity laughed softly, her quill moving gracefully as she wrote her notes.
“Now, students! Please come up and grab yourself a Squill root. I need you to study them on Page 73! Do take diligent notes as this information you will be required to know for your upcoming essay,” Professor Sprout announced in a soft but firm voice.
Severus stood up slowly, his eyes trained on Bruce who was doing the same. “Get me one too,” he heard Charity say next to him.
He nodded and walked right up to where all the roots were set uniformly.
He stood right behind Mulciber, waiting.
Bruce, after carefully picking up a root, turned around quickly. His movements faltered as his amber eyes met Snape’s dark ones.
Severus stared at him, noticing how Bruce’s pupils dilated. Snape kept his gaze steady, he tilted his head to the side just slightly, letting his doe eyes do most of the work.
Mulciber quickly gathered his thoughts and walked past Severus with stiff shoulders.
Snape shifted his gaze to look back toward his Hufflepuff friend. The blonde girl had a strained smile on her lips. And Severus could see the strength it took for her not to laugh.
———
Bruce Mulciber was struggling. Ignoring Severus Snape was taking a toll on him. And he hates it.
Ignoring Severus was the worst thing he had ever done… Severus, with the darkest and most beautiful doe eyes, ones that should be a crime to have. Severus with his stoic face, pale skin, and the scent of potion ingredients, ink, and coffee…
Everything about him was perfect.
He hates it. He hates how perfect his Severus is… When he looks at him, his heart stops for the briefest moment.
When he hears the deep honey-laced voice, he feels perfectly fine with the thought of having Severus be the only one who ever talks to him.
Yet, this was hell.
Bruce lay on his bed, his body stiff and his eyes trained on the dark-haired wizard standing by his trunk.
Snape, the perfect bastard, moved his hands through the simple T-shirts in his trunk. Severus had just come back from a quick shower, his dark hair was still wet.
He wore a pair of muggle jeans, ones that should be deemed sinful, that hung low on his hip. And he was topless. Topless. Severus Snape was never fucking topless!
His shoulders were slightly slouched as he continued to rummage through his trunk. Bruce stared at him, from where he was sprawled on his bed he could see every scar Severus had. The one his father had inflicted on him, but Bruce couldn’t think about Severus’ muggle father.
Not with the various water droplets from his wet hair running down Severus’ back. The droplets made him more… perfect.
Then, much to Mulciber’s dissatisfaction, Severus picked a shirt and quickly put it on. Bruce, sensing Severus was about to turn around, quickly shut his eyes.
Snape looked back at the “sleeping” boy behind him with the smallest smug smile. With a swift movement, he closed his trunk and walked toward Bruce. Once he reached the boy he placed his pale hand on the quidditch player's cheek.
He felt the boy stiffen under his touch. “You’re going to catch a cold…” Severus muttered, his voice laced with concern. Snape leaned over Bruce, letting his body rest on Mulciber for a second too long before pulling back with the end of Mulciber’s blanket in his hand.
After draping the dark blanket on him, Snape once again placed a hand on Mulciber’s cheek.
A wave of confidence crashed over Severus and an idea made its way onto his head. It was almost time to put the final nail in Bruce's coffin.
With his hand still on his cheek, Snape leaned in slowly, his wet hair falling in front of him and slightly touching Mulciber's sleeping face.
Once his pale lips were just mere millimeters away from the other Slytherin, Severus pulled back. He sighed loudly, noticing how Bruce opened his eyes just the slightest amount. Acting quickly, Snape put on the saddest face he could muster up.
After a few seconds, he moved and quickly made his way out of their shared dorm.
When the door closed shut, Bruce Mulciber lay on his bed, the biggest pool of dread filling his stomach.
“I hate this…”
———
Bruce Mulciber walked slowly back from Quidditch practice, his body stiff and aching. It had been a harder section that day, due to a certain dark-haired wizard consuming every single thought his brain could muster.
He let out a heavy sigh as he ran his calloused hand over his buzzed hair. His hand moved down to his neck and then to his shoulder, “Who the hell has practice on a Wednesday of all days…” he muttered softly.
As he was getting ready to turn a corner, Bruce felt a familiar hand pull him into a dark alcove.
“Why are you ignoring me?”
Dread washed over Bruce as he stared down into Severus Snape’s dark eyes. He needed to get away, he couldn’t lose this bet!
Bruce stood there, his heart raising, not uttering a single thing. He watched as Severus frowned, “Mulciber, why are you ignoring me?” He asked once more.
‘He sounds sad… No! Don’t fall for it, Bruce! Ignore! Ignore!’
“Why aren't you talking to me?” Severus asked in a softer tone than before.
There was nothing but silence that followed. Snape looked into Bruce’s eyes, his hand slowly moving to hold onto the end of Mulciber's long sleeve.
Snape looked down for a second but soon looked back up. His eyes were blown wide. Those dark wonderful eyes, large and filled with the most sadness he had ever seen in them. Bruce could see the slight twitch of Snape’s lips, the twitching caused by Severus' refusal to pout.
“Bruce, did I do something… wrong?” Bruce heard Severus' voice crack the tiniest bit. A cold shiver ran through Bruce, this was not the Severus he knew… this Severus was dangerous.
Mulciber shook his head slowly, still captivated by Severus.
“Then… what is it?” Severus asked softly, “You don’t sit next to me during meals… you don’t talk to me during our shared classes…” Severus paused. “And you…” he cut himself off.
“Do you not like me?”
“I like you!”
There was a stillness in the air of the alcove, a deafening silence. “What—” Severus started but was cut off with a hard kiss from Bruce.
Mulciber pushed Severus backward until the dark-haired wizard had his back slammed against the stone wall.
The kiss was rough, messy, and satisfactory for the two Slytherin’s.
Severus moved his thin arms and hooked them around Mulciber's neck, deepening the kiss. A soft gasp left Bruce’s mouth as Severus bit down on his bottom lip. He opened his mouth slightly, letting Snape’s tongue slip inside his mouth.
After a moment they pulled away from each other's lips with heaving breathing.
“You…” Severus said between heavy breaths, “…just won me fifty galleons, Bruce,”
“Huh—” Bruce’s words were cut off by another kiss.
———
Wilhelm Wilkes's laughter filled their shared dormitory. The blonde rolled on his bed as he let his overly loud laugh ring throughout the room.
Bruce covered his face with his pillow, the quidditch beater couldn’t decide on feeling completely betrayed or utterly happy.
Severus was finally his!
“Sev, tell him to stop…” Mulciber said as he pulled the pillow from his face and looked up towards his now boyfriend.
Severus looked down to look at him, “No… you were the one that ignored me,”
Bruce huffed in disbelief.
Snape reached his hand to rest on Bruce’s cheek, his thumb drawing small circles on it, “Come, we have to study.”
Soon after Wilhelm’s laughter died down, soft chuckles still fluttered past his lips.
Snape, who was gathering his notebooks, spoke up, “You still owe me fifty galleons, Avery,” as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Severus was dragging Mulciber out of their room. Leaving the two blue-eyed Purebloods inside.
What Snape had said caused all of Wilkes's giggles to suddenly stop.
From his desk, Edmund Avery Jr. looked up to meet his boyfriend's eyes, “What’s this about fifty galleons?”
“Eddy, I can explain—”