The rest of the day went by in a delightful blur of confused stares, awkward double-takes, and whispered conversations. Desmond—sorry, Severus—was beginning to enjoy the chaos he was causing. It was like he'd dropped a Weasleys' Wildfire Whiz-Bang in the middle of a church service and was just waiting to see where the sparks would land.
Next up on his schedule was Charms with Professor Flitwick. As he entered the classroom, he could already feel eyes on him, but he didn't bother acknowledging them. He just strolled over to his usual seat, letting his robes flare out dramatically behind him. He'd practiced the perfect robe-flare all morning, and damn if he wasn't going to use it.
"Snape?" a voice called out as he slid into his chair. Desmond turned to see who was talking. It was Wilkes, one of the other Slytherins, looking at him with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. "What's with you today? You, uh… look different."
Desmond smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Why, thank you, Wilkes. I've decided to be handsome now. Figured it was time for a change."
Wilkes blinked, as if he didn't quite know how to respond to that. "Uh… right. Sure." Then he just sort of awkwardly turned back to his own desk, like he didn't want to risk asking any more questions. Desmond suppressed a laugh. It was almost too easy.
Class started, and Professor Flitwick immediately jumped into teaching a new charm, a levitation spell that was slightly more advanced than Wingardium Leviosa. Desmond barely paid attention to the instructions. He'd already read ahead in the book and could probably do this charm in his sleep, so he spent most of the class casually practicing and occasionally glancing around the room to see who was still staring at him.
At one point, he caught Lily Evans sneaking a look in his direction, and for a split second, their eyes met. She quickly looked away, her cheeks tinged pink, which made Desmond's grin widen. Ah, yes. Let the confusion set in, dear Lily. It's about time someone else was thrown off balance around here.
The real surprise came after class, when he was packing up his things and felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned around to see none other than Narcissa Black, standing there with a faint smile playing on her lips.
"Severus, would you mind if I walked with you to your next class?" she asked, her voice silky smooth.
Desmond's eyebrows shot up. It wasn't exactly common for Slytherins from different years to hang out, especially when one of them was as high up on the social ladder as Narcissa. But hey, who was he to say no to a little extra attention?
"Not at all," he said, flashing her a charming smile. "Lead the way."
As they walked through the corridors, Desmond could feel the stares following them like a pack of curious, judgmental wolves. Narcissa, however, seemed completely unfazed, strolling alongside him as if it was the most natural thing in the world. She even managed to make casual small talk, asking him about his classes, his potions, and what he thought about the weather (a topic Desmond had always found baffling, but he played along).
"So, Severus," she said after a few minutes, her voice dropping to a more conspiratorial tone. "What brought on this... transformation? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but it's quite the change from yesterday."
Desmond chuckled. "Oh, you know. A little self-care here, a little spell there, and voila. Instant improvement. Figured it was time to show a different side of myself."
She nodded, though there was a gleam in her eye that suggested she wasn't quite buying his casual explanation. "It's certainly working. You've been the talk of the school all day. Even Lucius was surprised, and he doesn't get surprised very often."
Desmond smirked at that. "Lucius is just jealous he didn't think of it first."
Narcissa laughed, a soft, musical sound that turned a few more heads as they passed. "Maybe," she said, tilting her head slightly to look up at him. "But I think there's more to it than that. You're planning something, aren't you?"
For a moment, Desmond considered brushing off the question with a joke, but then he saw the way she was watching him—like she was genuinely interested, maybe even impressed. So he decided to give her a little hint.
"Let's just say I've got some ideas," he said, lowering his voice. "Things I'd like to change around here. And if people are going to pay attention, I might as well give them something to talk about."
Narcissa's smile widened, and she stepped a little closer, so close that he could smell her perfume—something light and floral, but with a hint of something sharp underneath. "Well, I can't wait to see what you do next," she said, her eyes glinting with something that looked an awful lot like admiration. "And if you need any... help, you know where to find me."
Desmond's heart skipped a beat. Was she... flirting with him again? This was new. Old Severus had been so busy pining after Lily Evans that he hadn't even considered the possibility of other girls being interested. But now that he thought about it, why wouldn't she be? He was smart, powerful (or getting there), and now, thanks to a little magical nip and tuck, he was damn good-looking too.
He flashed her a grin. "I'll keep that in mind, Narcissa. Thanks."
They reached the entrance to his next class, and she gave him a little wave before sauntering off down the corridor, leaving Desmond standing there, still trying to process what had just happened.
"Well," he thought as he entered the classroom, still grinning like an idiot. "Looks like I'm not just turning heads—I'm turning *hearts* too. Maybe this whole 'being Severus Snape' thing won't be so bad after all."
And as he sat down for his next class, he couldn't help but think that if things kept going like this, he might just end up liking this world a lot more than he thought.