Severus Snape...

Dumbledore had organized a special evening for all the professors. After exhausting weeks, they needed a break, and what better way than a "Casino Night" in the Great Hall, decorated with dim lighting and enchanted gaming tables? Snape had been playing with you for almost the entire evening; you were surprisingly good, and on more than one occasion you had made him lose, which seemed to irritate and amuse him at the same time.

After hours of playing, he asked you to join him outside for some fresh air, as his "social energy" had run out. Now you were at the castle gates; the night wind gently moved your hair as you both laughed at some shared joke.

"What were you going to tell me? Or do you want me to take all your money again?" you asked with a playful smile, though your voice retained a warm tone.

Snape was silent for a few seconds. His gaze rested on you, a different gleam in his eyes, before he finally spoke. "I'm in love with you."

His words struck you like lightning. Snape was your best friend, your confidant, but you never expected to hear him say something like that… and certainly not in that way.

"What?" you murmured, confused, fidgeting with your fingers to hide the trembling in your hands; the smile you had been wearing had faded.

"I'm really sorry if that sounds strange... but I needed you to hear it," he continued, a mixture of nervousness and hope in his eyes. "It's really not a good time, I know that, it's just that..."

She sighed, looking away for a moment, as if every word was a struggle. Then she looked at you again, with an intensity that took your breath away.

This wasn't how Casino Night was supposed to end.