If the Dark Lord ever came back like Dumbledore seemed to think, Snape was going to be dead, especially if he ever found out about the muggleborn students. He’d earned himself an unusual nickname among them. And yes, he knew who Batman was that doesn’t explain why you felt the need to call him that as you follow him around.

Some time during his first year teaching, the muggleborn students had somehow came to the census of calling him “Batman.” He blamed it on his previous nickname having the word “bat” in it. It had them thinking along that line. And every year since, at least one of them had taken to following him around with bright eyes like he was their personal hero and would loudly proclaim that they wanted to be just like him. It never matters how mean he tries to be to them. He suspects it might have something to do with him not assigning them enough detention or taking points for such behavior.

(And if there was a reputation among the purebloods that Severus Snape was the defender of abused kids, and don’t you dare bully someone where he could see- that’s not your cauldron Mr. Weasleys- well they just didn’t have such a great comparison as Batman. They didn’t follow him around as obviously, and if some of them gave the muggleborn an item or two to help with their hero worship of Snape, well… they were never caught)

Naturally he should’ve been a little more on guard when he’d heard that Harry Potter, the bloody boy-who-lived was raised by muggles. He just unreasonably figured the boy would be like the father he looked so much alike and hate him on sight. He forgot that he was also beautiful Lily Evans’s boy and had just as much of a predisposing to like him on sight.

Either way, he wasn’t expecting to walk into his first class with the first year Gryffindors to see Harry bloody Potter dressed up like Robin. (How do first years already know about his infamous nickname?) He wasn’t expecting Potter to wave at him with a beaming face when he stared at Potter’s choice of clothing.

He swallowed, trying to regain his composure. “I don’t believe that outfit is your school uniform, Mr. Potter.”

Potter grinned widely. “Oh it is. Some of the other Gryffindors helped me transfigure it into this.”

The Weasley twins. They were going to be serving detention every day for the rest of their school career. Snape strode up to the front of his classroom and turned to face his students with the hardest glare he could muster. “You are to wear your uniforms to class, untransfigured. I will not tolerate otherwise.”

The idiotic beam didn’t leave Potter’s face even as he started brewing a terrible potion that Snape scowled out. Bloody brilliant. It looked like this year Potter was going to be his faithful following puppy. That was going to be hard to explain.

“Malfoy, that’s not your caldron. Would you prefer to switch with Mr. Potter?”