The Gryffindor-Slytherin duel had not been official. They rarely were.
It began with James Potter's laughter carrying across the courtyard, bright as sunlight and twice as blinding. Lillian sat at his side, book in his lap, their shoulders brushing, their scents twined together in easy intimacy. The air around them hummed with warmth.
Severus had tried to ignore it. He had sat beneath the archway, parchment spread across his knees, quill scratching furiously. If he drowned himself in ink, perhaps the laughter would fade.
It did not.
"Oi, Snivellus!" James's voice rang out. "Tell me, do recessive alphas dream of anything at all? Or are your nights as blank as your scent?"
Laughter followed.
Severus's hand clenched around the quill. He did not look up.
James was already on his feet, wand drawn. "Come on then—show us that fabled brilliance. Or is all that brain wasted without the pheromones to back it?"
Severus rose stiffly, parchment scattering. The duel was over before it began. James's spell struck, harmless in intent but cruel in execution. The charm wrapped around Severus like invisible chains, suppressing even the faint trace of pheromones he carried. The courtyard erupted in laughter.
Lillian's voice cut through, sharp. "James, stop it!"
James grinned. "What? I'm helping him—he can't lose what he doesn't have."
The laughter grew sharper. Severus's chest constricted. Shame pressed down harder than the spell.
"Finite!" Lillian hissed, breaking the charm. He moved toward Severus, but Severus recoiled.
"Don't," he snapped, voice trembling. "I don't want your pity."
The courtyard fell quiet for a heartbeat. Then James laughed again, though unease flickered in his eyes. "See? Ungrateful as ever."
Severus gathered his parchment with shaking hands, bile rising in his throat. He fled before they could see the tears threatening.
He found himself in the dungeons hours later, knuckles white around the edges of his desk. His books blurred before him. He despised them all—James with his golden arrogance, Lillian with his kindness, even himself for caring.
"You wear humiliation poorly."
The voice was smooth, amused. Severus looked up sharply.
Lucius stood in the doorway, pale hair falling over his shoulder, eyes glinting. Behind him, Narcis leaned against the wall, lips curved in a lazy smile.
"Leave," Severus growled, though his voice cracked.
Lucius ignored the command. "Potter humiliated you. But humiliation," he said, stepping closer, "is not the end. It is the beginning. If you know how to wield it."
Severus swallowed. "And you would teach me?"
Lucius tilted his head. "Perhaps." His eyes flicked to Narcis. "Or perhaps there are other lessons to attend first."
Narcis pushed off the wall, moving closer. The air thickened instantly, his pheromones sharp, intoxicating. Lucius did not retreat. Instead, he leaned in, so close their breaths mingled.
Severus froze. The tension was electric, almost unbearable. Narcis's dominant omega scent coiled like smoke around Lucius's void-like presence, testing, probing. Lucius's lips curved faintly.
"You'll break against me, Narcis," he murmured, low enough that Severus barely caught it.
"Or you against me," Narcis whispered back, voice husky with challenge.
For a heartbeat, Severus thought they might kiss. The charged silence, the heat between them—it was more intimate, more violent, than anything he had ever witnessed.
Then Lucius stepped back, smooth as ever. The air cleared, though the phantom of it lingered.
"Another time," Lucius said coolly. "For now, we have a student eager to learn."
Narcis chuckled, though his eyes burned. "Careful, Malfoy. Shadows bite."
He swept out of the room, leaving the scent of dominance in his wake.
Severus sat rigid, pulse hammering. He could still feel the tension between them, sharp as a blade.
Lucius turned back to him. "Do you see, Snape? Power is not always about who dominates. Sometimes it is about who refuses to yield."
Severus's mouth was dry. He could not speak.
Lucius smiled faintly, as though he had won something. "And you… you will learn not to yield."
Severus's heart clenched. For the first time, envy and longing twisted together so tightly he could not separate them.
And he hated—hated—that he wanted more.