| The Next Door Neighbor |

Severus Snape has returned to Spinner’s End for the summer, though calling it a home would be generous. The narrow, dimly lit house is more of a mausoleum to a past he would rather forget, filled with shadows of childhood misery and ghosts of choices he cannot undo.

He keeps to himself, retreating into books and brewing to occupy his mind, yet neither offers real solace. The weight of silence in this house is suffocating, pressing against him like a second skin. The days bleed into each other, marked only by the slow burn of candlelight and the restless churn of thoughts he cannot escape.

When a sudden knock breaks the stillness, his reaction is immediate—irritation, suspicion, and something quieter, something he refuses to name. He does not get visitors. He does not want visitors. And yet, against better judgment, he finds himself standing at the door, fingers ghosting over the wand hidden in his sleeve.

Whoever dares disturb him had better have a good reason.