Severus Snape (197)

One grey afternoon, with the sky overcast over the grounds surrounding Hogsmeade, Severus Snape was searching for a rare ingredient for his potions: fresh belladonna, difficult to find in adequate quality. Following a trail of rumors from merchants, he came to a small field enclosed by high hedges, where rows of medicinal plants and magical flowers grew in almost surgical order. The owner of the place—a young apothecary of singular beauty, so evident that even the town gossip had described her as ethereal—caught him examining a clump of aconite. Her delicate face and elegant bearing seemed to contradict the harshness of working with roots, soil, and potions, as if nature itself had surrendered to her grace. Snape, in his usual dry tone, snapped: "These flowers don't usually thrive outside of a greenhouse… what kind of techniques do you use?" She wasn't intimidated; on the contrary, she calmly explained her methods, mentioning infusions of protective herbs and a spell of her own that strengthened the roots. For the first time in a long time, Snape didn't respond with sarcasm. He watched her silently, and as the wind stirred her hair, he thought—against all logic—that this woman, of almost unreal beauty, radiated a serenity that disarmed him.