Snape realizes his student has PTSD due to a/ flashbacks in class. Does he help her?
Imagine Professor Snape Finding Out About Your PTSD
Word Count: 4970 (~1k - 1.5k per house)
Warnings: Mention of child abuse, feeling of worthlessness
A/N: I think he would act a little differently based on what house his student is in, so I decided to write for each house. They are all the same scenario, just different outcomes. Though I did a bit of copy and paste for Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw since we never really got to see Snape interact with them.
This is NOT a Snape x reader because I’m not comfortable with student/teacher relationships outside the professional realm. But it’s still a cute moment with Snape and his student, so I hope you enjoy regardless 😊
Slytherin
- First day of classes was always rough on his students, most unprepared, naive, thinking they could foul around simply because his class, at first glance,seems of a less magical nature. But never his Slytherins. They always cameready for class, and no doubt eventually find themselves at the top of hisclass.
- But you were different. The look on your face was quite baffling to him when hemade his usual beginning of the term speech, always more directed to theGryffindors than his Slytherins whom always perked at his nod towards theirfuture success in his class.
- Your eyes were glossy, and your bottom lip trembled with fear. You were actingas though you’d seen a Basilisk and lived to tell the tale and it only gotworse as the class went on. It wasn’t until he’d instructed his students tobegin brewing that he noticed you looking around the class in search forsomething.
- He was angry. Never had he had a student so unfocused and never had he seen a Slytherin so fragile, so weak. This wouldn’t do. Not this fear youshowed, not those bags under your eyes and certainly not your poor brewingskills.
- In all his years, he’d never witnessed one of his own Slytherins brew such ahorrid concoction. Even Potter’s Potion was in a better state than yours, despitethe fact that it looked like it was laced with poison. At least it appeareddrinkable in comparison to yours.
- He watched as you went to the back of the room and grab the snakeskin off theshelf (almost dropping it) before making your way back to your desk. He didn’teven have to double check the board because he was absolutely certain he’dwritten snake fang not snakeskin. How could it be that you would be socareless, so blind as to not follow such simple instructions?
- Rushing over, he grabbed your arm just as you’d reached into the jar to grabsome of the ingredient the Potion demanded next. “What do you think you’redoing!?” He shouted, eyes practically popping out of his skull with furry.
- Your mouth was open, but no words were coming out. You looked petrified, likehe’d just threatened your life or scolded you for wearing mismatched socks.
- “Speak!” He’d demand and the moment his words seeped into your ears, he felt your weight crumble onto the ground as tears streamed down your face. You felt like you couldn’t breath yet you’d been rapidly inhaling air like it would bethe last you’d ever get. Your body shook and your mind blurred with images ofyour abusive father.
- Professor Snape stood there in absolute shock. In his twelve years of teaching,this was certainly a first. Every student in the class had now stopped brewingand you were continuing to make a scene. He couldn’t leave them unattended and he couldn’t leave you on the floor like this either.
- “Class dismissed!” he bellowed and immediately, most of his students beganpacking their bags.
- “But Sir,” said Malfoy in protest. “What about our potions?” He sounded asthough he’d been inconvenienced, and he wasn’t wrong to feel such a way whenhis potion was near perfection. Now, if only he’d made as much progress as therest of his classmates, perhaps he’d have a viable career in Potions.
- “You should have had enough time by now to finish, so I will assess them based on how far you’ve gotten.” Malfoy’s face turned white and Snape knew he was afraid of receiving a failing grade after spending half the class talking abouthow his father had hired private tutors, to give him a head start in school.“Now, everyone out! I won’t ask again.”
- No one looked back as every student made their way out, the last of the herdshutting the door, leaving you alone in the darkest, most secluded part of thecastle with the one man you’d wish to be as far away from as possible rightnow.
- You could hear the Potion’s Master pull up a chair right in front of you as youtightened your hold on your knees, stuffing your face into your lap, hoping theworld would disappear around you. “Why are you crying?” he asked, voice low but as stern as ever.
- You didn’t budge a muscle and if it weren’t for the high ceilings in this room,creating quite the echo, he would have assumed you hadn’t heard him speak. “Ifyou do not speak, if you do not tell me why you’ve just disrupted my class, howdo you expect me to help you?”
- Nothing. No response, not even a twitch or any sign of recognition. Howdisrespectful. “I’m your Head of House, you must explain yourself to me, andneither of us will be leaving this room until you do.”
- It wasn’t until now that he’d placed a hand on your shoulder, hoping to getyour attention, that he noticed your trembling body. It was like you’d beenfrozen, the nonexistent cold biting into your skin as your body shivered indefense. “Nobody will harm you here Miss. (Y/L/N). It is not only my job as aneducator but also my position as Head of Slytherin that inclines me to be sureof your safety.”
- It took you a solid minute of silence to stop shaking, your tears stillflowing, but your mind had finally begun to clear as your Professor’s wordsechoed through your head. He was nothing like your father. He seemedunderstanding and patient.
- He would watch you in relief as your body finally relaxed and your arms lowered enough for him to peer into your swollen eyes. He waited, knowing fully no words would incline you to stop those tears. You had to speak on your ownterms.
- You weren’t used to the support he’d offered. Then again, you’d never hadanyone to look out for you like this before. It was an odd feeling, wanting totrust him yet push him away at the same time. But, if he meant what he said,then perhaps he’d understand if you opened up to him and that was enough of areason to let your guard down to relax your tense body.
- Slowly, and through broken breaths, you’d tell him about your past and how theslightest incline in another person’s voice triggered old memories. Or thesimple touch of someone’s hands on you, causing you to think the worst.
- He’d apologize and understand your situation, recalling his own childhoodfilled with nothing but neglect and backhanded punishments. Hogwarts wasn’tkind to him either and his own Head of House had done nothing in his favor.He’d sworn the day he took this job he’d be better than his predecessors, thathe’d accomplish the impossible, support his Slytherins and help them rise tothe top. He wasn’t going to let your past get in the way of that because achain was only as strong as its weakest link and if he’d let you fall throughthe cracks, Slytherin would surely crumble with you.
- Your eyes only brightened as the days passed, Professor Snape offering what he could to help with your PTSD, allowing you extra time to carefully copy thenotes off the blackboard before class began, giving you a Calming Draught ifyou asked, silently passing you by during class and never once raising hisvoice with you (even when you’d grabbed a handful of the wrong ingredient,about to cause quite the explosion).
- Your favorite part of school had become your monthly sessions with your Head of House, talking about any troubles you’ve had or simply asking for advice towhich he’d gladly give. He was a good listener, an even better Professor andyou couldn’t be happier in any other house.
Gryffindor
- The arrogance of the Gryffindors never surprised him with each year thatpassed. But this year, this year was different. It was much worse. Naturally,Potter had shown the same disinterest in Potions his father had so bluntlydisplayed during his own Hogwarts days as Snape began the first class of theterms. Most of the first years had lost that enthusiasm they’d spent in Charmsor Defense when coming to the Dungeons in the afternoon and the atmosphere of the class had been as horrid as he’d imagined.
- But he’d never let them get to him before and Potter was nothing special, evenif he shared the same notion of superiority with his forsaken father.
- No, what set him off this year, wasn’t the fact that he had one incrediblyinsufferable uptight Gryffindor to deal with, it was the obvious fact that hehad TWO.
- He began eyeing you after he’d given Potter an earful, watching you shove your face in your arms laying on the desk as if you’d rather be anywhere buthis classroom, as if he’d bored you enough, you thought it appropriate tosimply take a nap.
- “Are we disturbing you Miss. (Y/L/N)?” he barked as he stood beside your desk, towering over you. The sudden increase in the volume of his voice had you jumping back in your seat as you realized the close proximity that separatedyou from him.
- Your eyes began to water as you stared up at the tall man drenched in so muchblack, you felt like it could drown anyone who stood within five feet of him.You couldn’t form words, nor could you move from your spot but somehow, youmanaged to shake your head enough to warrant a response from your Professor.
- “Then perhaps you’d like to answer the questions Potter failed to provide aresponse for.” He spoke smugly, expecting you to fail as Potter had. And justas he thought, not a single word was uttered from your mouth. “No? Very wellthen, detention for the both of you and ten points from Gryffindor fordisturbing my class.. each.”
- Tears leaked down your cheeks, drenching your skirt as you did everything youcould to keep from breaking into a million pieces. Nothing triggered you morethan an overpowering authority figure and his attire, this classroom, weren’thelping in any way.
- He hadn’t made a student of his cry for quite some time, though when he had, it had always been due to one of his miscellaneous threats of poisoning them orthrowing their brewed potions over their heads for dissolving perfectly goodcauldrons.
- The class went on and he’d never seen such a horrendous display of talent inhis class before, even if it was from a Gryffindor. But he kept from speakingas he watched you fall behind all your peers.
- The end of class couldn’t have arrived sooner, and Professor Snape was quick to keep you and Potter behind to further discuss your detention. Naturally, speakof punishment had you shriveling in your spot again, especially when he spokeof forcing you to wander the Forbidden Forest at night to collect herbs andminerals for his personal supplies.
- But it wasn’t until Professor Snape noticed your eyes closed so tight, theycould have been glued shut that he’d realized what he’d done. He couldrecognize signs of PTSD from a mile away and he finally understood.
- Turning to Potter, he ordered him to fetch McGonagall as he made his own way tohis desk, retrieving a small vial of Calming Draught before crouching on theground beside you. He didn’t utter another word, knowing very well there wasnothing he could say to a Gryffindor that would help.
- McGonagall burst through the door not moments later, immediately heading inyour direction. Snape knew when to back off and the last thing he wanted was tomake things worse, so he simply handed the Transfiguration’s Professor the vialof Calming Draught before taking a few steps back. He eyed Potter who appeared to have nothing better to do than to observe the situation. He wanted him gone. Out of his classroom, out of this school, out of his life, but of course, he had to do as ordered and protect the boy who lived.
- It didn’t take long for McGonagall to calm you enough to take the Draught, yourtears drying up as she continued to comfort you. She then instructed Potter toescort you back to her office where she promised to meet you in a few moments.Snape took this time to explain what he’d seen from you in class and share histheory that you suffer from PTSD.
- McGonagall joined you shortly after you arrived at her office, dismissingPotter before offering you a cup of tea to which you silently agreed to. Asyour head finally began to clear, your Professor began speaking to you, askingabout what happened today. You trusted her so it wasn’t hard for you to open upto her, telling her exactly what triggered you in class and why you’d beenreluctant to come attend his class any further.
- Your Head of House made an effort at the end of the day to stop by Snape’soffice, where she discussed everything you’d given her permission to tell himand it really showed during your next class as your Potion’s Professor tookextra care around you. He was a professional after all and if a colleague askedhim to speak calmly with a student or give you that extra ten minutes afterclass, he’d gladly do it.
- Of course, McGonagall’s requests didn’t come without hurt. It burned him totreat a Gryffindor as something special, like he didn’t get enough of that withPotter, but at least you seemed grateful for the lack of threats you wouldreceive from him, contrary to your peers.
- He’d never go beyond what was asked of him and he’d never bring up the subject with you again. In fact, you got the distinct impression that he may have had a gun aimed at his head, forcing him to stay clear of you when lecturing some insolent child on the dangers that come with potion making.
- But you didn’t mind. In contrast with that first day of Potions, the distancehe put between you and himself was a blessing.
Hufflepuff
- He could admit he favoured his own Slytherins at time, but one thinghe’d never dare let slip was his preference of his morning class with theRavenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Those wretched Gryffindors ruined his afternoon and not even the presence of the talented members of his own house could cancel out the stupidity that those higher than life students of his brought.
- The Hufflepuffs were usually humble. Never inclined to break rules (unlikesome). Always paying attention when he spoke (unlike some). And never straying from their task (unlike some).
- He’d asked Dumbledore several times before to let the Gryffindors switch placed with the Ravenclaws so he’d at least have a peaceful afternoon and a semi decent morning. But the old Wizard simply gave him one if his life willchallenge you at every turn and the important thing is… blah blah blah speech.What a loud of-
- “Am I boring you Miss.(Y/L/N)?” Of all his years as a Professor, never had heseen a Hufflepuff so disrespectful on his first day of class before, head hunglow, hunched over with her eyes closed as if she was trying to take a nap.
- You sprung up in your seat to find the intimidating Potions Master standingover you, arms crossed with a grim expression on his face. Your eyes widened as his pierced your own, those sharp black orbs; a portal into the Devil’ssoul.
- You were stunned in your place. It was happening again and there was nothingyou could do to stop it now. You began rapidly blinking as you triedresponding, but no words came out of your mouth, your jaw simply hanging open. Instead, you simply shock your head, but that didn’t seem to satisfy your Professor.
- “Five points from Hufflepuff Miss.(Y/L/N),” he said, turning his back on youand walking back to the front of the room. “Already losing house points whenyou just started at Hogwarts. I expect better.”
- As if the flashbacks you’d been trying to repress the last few minutes weren’tbad enough, you now felt like all eyes were on you. Judging you, annoyed byyour very existence, just like your family.
- The rest of the class did not go as smoothly as he’d hoped. He’d assumedremoving some points would be enough to wake you up, but he was wrong. Ifanything, your attention span had worsened as you’d grab wrong ingredients, stirred your Potion in the wrong direction, completely failing at following thesimplest of instructions.
- He’d had absolutely enough of this foolishness and could no longer tolerate thedisrespect and lack of interest you showed in his class. Sitting at his desk,he quickly wrote up a note to Sprout, explaining the audacity you had to actsuch a way in his classroom before making his way over towards you and roughly grabbing you by the arm.
- You’d had such a hard time focusing when you could feel yourself on the edge of an episode, all those old memories fighting to be heard when all you wanted to do was drench them in gasoline and set them on fire. And you thought youwere starting to get a grip on the toxicity in your mind when you suddenly felta hand harshly lift up your arm.
- Your breath hitched as you felt that familiar ping in your chest. Not again.Looking up, you found Snape staring you down, looking angrier than ever.
- “You’ve wasted my time enough today with your recklessness Miss.(Y/L/N). You will take this note to Sprout and only return to my classroom when you’re ready to give me your full, undivided attention,” he said, speaking so loud that he’d gotten the class’ full, undivided attention. “Do I make myself clear?”
- You wanted to move, but you couldn’t. You wanted to tell him to stop, to letyou go, but you couldn’t. So you stood there frozen, hoping those tearswouldn’t fall down your cheek, putting you in a much more vulnerable state thanyou were already in.
- Your professor finally let you go, only to slam the note on the table beforeyou and demand you leave his classroom at once. You gladly obliged and withshaky hands, you gathered your belongings and bolted out the door, running tothe stairs leading away from this dungeon of doom, only stopping when youfinally got to the courtyard.
- Taking a breath, you shriveled to the ground, clutching your chest, your tearsstreaming freely down your cheeks as you tried to clear your head. You tried tothink of happier memories, anything to keep away those memories.
- After what felt like an eternity, you finally pulled yourself together to makeyour way to Sprout’s office who’d luckily had a free period as most of herclasses were always scheduled in the afternoon.
- Severus didn’t hear from you for a full week and though he’d grown a bitconcerned, he was simply happy to have regained peace during his morning class, especially since Potter was as arrogant as ever in the afternoon.
- Sprout had made her way to his office a few days later, telling him everythingyou’d given permission to share and the more she spoke, the worse Severus felt. His only goal in class was to teach his students to the best of hiscapabilities. The last thing he wanted was to traumatize you to the point whereyou didn’t feel comfortable going anywhere near his classroom.
- His heart sank even further when he heard Sprout mention how his class was the only one you’d skipped this last week. He was the reason for your torment. Astudent he’d never meant such harm, suffering because of him. How could he ever forgive himself?
- He’d immediately arrange for a private session with you, Sprout insisting onsupervising after your evident reluctancy. “I apologize for my behaviourMiss.(Y/L/N). I never meant to cause you such pain and rest assured, it willnot happen again.”
- The air of the dungeon suddenly felt so much lighter, so much safer as he spoke and went to fetch all the ingredients needed to brew some of the potions you’d missed.
- It turned out that you were much better at potion making than he’d originallyanticipated, though he blamed himself for your poor performance that first day.He’d failed to educate you; a mistake he’d never make again.
- And he’d truly lived up to his promise, attending to every inquiry that wasasked of him by your Head of House, making sure you had everything you needed during class and outside of class. He’d take extra caution around you, not because he pitied you, but because he feared he’d repeat his pastmistakes.
- The rest of your school year went much more smoothly and Professor Snape became one of your favorite Professors, contrary to everyone else who thought he was an absolute monster, though his slight favoritism, thanks to your success in his class, probably had something to do with it. Nevertheless, you weregrateful for him and everything he’d done for you while he was happy to see youblossom.
Ravenclaw
- He could admit he favoured his own Slytherins at time, but one thinghe’d never dare let slip was his preference of his morning class with theRavenclaws and Hufflepuffs. Those wretched Gryffindors ruined his afternoon and not even the presence of the talented members of his own house could cancel out the stupidity that those higher than life students of his brought toclass.
- The Ravenclaws were a bit more of a handful than the Hufflepuffs; some always wanting to experiment while others seemed to have an endless barrel ofquestions to which he didn’t have the patience to answer. But still, he enjoyedtheir curiosity and as long as they didn’t step on his toes, he welcomedit.
- First day of class and already he could see questions swimming in their minds,just begging to be answered. And he tried, he really did try not to snap atthem, but he’d answered this question four times already and here you wereasking it AGAIN. How hard was it to remember such a trivial thing as to thedifference in usage between leeches and leech juice?
- Children would normally learn to pay closer attention if he was stern withthem, but it was clear, that wasn’t the case for you as your attention spanworsened throughout the day. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say you weresorted in the wrong house. What kind of Ravenclaw makes such horrid mistakeswithout even acknowledging their lack of effort?
- You’d been stunned into place when he snapped at you, toxic memories spilling through your mind and you had no mop to clean them up. You couldn’t ask for one, you couldn’t go find one, all you could do was sit there in your mess,pretending everything was alright and hope no one would notice. But someone did notice, and it was the last person you’d wanted the attention of rightnow.
- “What is the meaning of this sloppy concoction you’ve so carelessly throwntogether Miss.(Y/L/N)?” His voice echoed through the room, louder than beforeand his tone was almost threatening, like he’d been so offended by your work,he’d kill you for it.
- You didn’t want to look up, you knew what you’d see; yet another adultdisappointed in you, yelling at you, wanting to hurt you. But against yourwishes, your head turned, your eyes locking with his and you once again foundyourself swimming in the dark abyss of trauma.
- “I asked you a question (Y/L/N). Or do you think yourself too proud to answer?”He sounded more menacing than ever, but something had to be done. He couldn’t have a student perform so poorly in his class, act so disrespectfully. He had to knock some sense into you.
- There was nothing you could do to stop your tears from flowing down your cheeks now. Even if you closed your eyes, those memories would still be there, staring you in the face until you finally gave into their need to burn you from theinside out.
- “Ten points from Ravenclaw and a week’s detention for your disruption andinability to follow the simplest of instructions,” he said before spinninground, letting his cloak bellow behind him and went back to supervising therest of the class.
- Your peers had very quickly gone back to their task at hand, diverging theireyes off you, but you couldn’t join them. You couldn’t stop crying, youcouldn’t stop those flashbacks, you couldn’t do anything but puddle into yourchair, hoping, praying to Merlin class would end soon.
- You felt humiliated, defeated, worthless. The only Ravenclaw who’d more thanlikely fail one of her first-year classes, a core subject nonetheless. And itwas all thanks to your past coming back to taunt you.
- Class went on forever and you’d simply sat there, eyes closed, wishing theworld away as you waited for the Potions Masters to dismiss your class andfinally that time came. Only, he’d mentioned you by name, demanding you staybehind to explain your behaviour. So you sat there, glued to the chair youcouldn’t wait to get out of moments ago, your arms wrapped around yourselftrying to provide you with even a sliver of comfort as your thoughts spiraledonce again.
- Snape would approach you, ready to give you a stern talking to, only to findyou a complete wreck in your seat. He’d seen his student’s cry before, butthis, this was something else. Your current reaction was beyond dramatic. Youweren’t seeking attention, nor were you privileged enough to act like atoddler. He recognized those emotions, the fear emanating from your body like abeacon. Had he gone too far? Had he triggered something he shouldn’thave.
- Without saying another word, he swept across the room, into his personalstorage and retrieved a vial of Calming Draught. Gently, he’d put a hand overyour shoulder as to not disturb you and simply presenting the vial toyou.
- You’d first stare at it, your mind thinking of the worst possible cases. Was itpoison? Some sort of punishment? But your mind came to a halt as your eyesspotted the label wrapping around half the glass. Calming Draught,written in the same cramped handwriting you’d spent what felt like hoursstaring at during class.
- Hesitantly, you’d take a sip from it, looking up for only a second, silentlyasking permission to take some more to which he granted. The potion didn’t takelong to kick in and for the first time that morning, you felt at peace.
- Snape was glad he’d managed to at least partially undo what he’d done, but itwasn’t over just yet. He needed an explanation and he knew it wasn’t hisresponsibility nor was it appropriate to speak to you about such things. So,when he felt you ready, he asked you to stand up and follow him down thecorridor to Professor Flitwick’s office.
- You had yet to speak to your Head of House, but from what you’d heard aroundthe school, the man made a good Professor and cared for his Ravenclaws just as much as the other Head of Houses cared for their students (Snape being the possible exception).
- Snape left you to speak with Flitwick alone, feeling his presence unnecessaryafter he’d explained the situation, but it wasn’t long until he found theCharms Professor at his office door after classes had terminated that day,asking to speak with him.
- And it was just as he’d suspected; you suffered from PTSD and he’d soinsensitively triggered whatever it was that caused you such great pain. Guiltand sorrow seeped into his chest, feeling as though he’d failed you, one of hisstudents, suffering instead of learning, all because of him. But as Flitwick spoke,he began to make mental notes of what to do next time he was around you. Hethought back to this morning and came up with what he should have done instead of so bluntly shouting at you.
- Potions class went much smoother after that, and you found yourself able tofocus much better with the added help from the school’s Potions Master. You’din fact, begun to rather enjoy the class along with the rest of your peers,every day a challenge and an adventure.
- Your Professor was rather proud of himself for turning your progress in classaround, happy he’d managed to not only mend what he’d done, but help you strive further as one of his students. He’d taken this experience as a lesson to never rush into a situation, unjudged and unguided like he had with you. He was much more diligent with you and did everything he could to provide you with anything you needed and you were secretly thankful for it.
scrolling through the trans severus snape tag and trying not to scream at every marauders stan making severus into this transphobic monster when he's literally the MOST trans-coded character in the entire series.
lupin ridicules severus in the boggart lesson by having a student dress boggart-snape in women's clothes, but severus is the transphobic one?????
