When you sat down at dinner that that evening, you slumped against the table. "You got Snape to take a point from Ravenclaw." Padma said, groaning. "What? Why?!" You complained. "You kissed Malfoy." Cho chimed in. "Okay, one how do you two know about that? And two, it was only on the cheek, it could've been a friendship kiss!" You tried to defend yourself. "You were supposed to go for his lips! And then you ran away like an idiot!" They practically yelled, before you clapped a hand over each of their mouths. "Are you serious right now?! Do you want Pansy to kill me?!" "She's going to kill you either way. You should've gone for the lips." Padma said, removing your hand. You turned around to look at Pansy, who was sending the most deadly glare at you, making you quickly turn around and hunch over. "I'm so screwed." You whispered. "You sure? Not if Malfoy has anything to say, by the looks of it…" Cho pointed, and you turned around again to see Draco glaring down Pansy. Your heart skipped a beat.
When Pansy finally backed down, Draco looked your way, and your cheeks went red as you turned back around. "Not a word, you two." You said, as you filled your plate. Padma and Cho giggled, as Luna sat down. "You should know that Draco was looking for you, Y/N. He said he wanted to talk about lunch." "Ah, I don't think we need to, Luna." You blushed even more. "I think we covered everything that needs to be covered…" "Are you sure? Because he seems to be looking for your attention." Luna motioned to Draco, who you turned to see was craning his neck. You clapped your hands over your face and leaned back a little. "Merlin, help me. I have made a mistake!"
"Oh, come on, Y/N! Maybe this could help with the awkward romantic tension surrounding you two." Cho said. "What romantic tension?!" You asked. "Y/N, you're blinder than a bat. Everyone can see that Draco likes you! Even your father!" Padma said. "What?! No! We've known each other since we were like… babies! What kind of girl falls in love with the guy she's known since she was born?" You blushed, avoiding their eyes. "You do, Y/N. We see it written all over your face. Pluck up the courage and ask him to be your boyfriend already!" "Ugh! You girls are mental!" You said, pushing your plate away and putting your head down. "And you're being so stubborn! We just want to see you be happy!" "And I don't want to see myself being on Pansy's hitlist." You pointed a thumb back in her direction. "Careful, Y/N. She looks about ready to pull out her wand." Cho said, averting her gaze.
You sighed, and picked at your plate. "Has Professor Flitwick fixed the stairs yet?" "He wants to have you test them out after dinner." "Ugh, why not now? I'm tired of being around so many people!" You whined. "Is everyone talking about this?" "Everyone with even a little degree of importance." Padma said, nodding to Stefan who was clearly butthurt about it. You exhaled every ounce of air in your lungs. "That's it. I'm done! I'm bailing early! I'll see you in Ravenclaw Tower." You said, stuffing a few more bites into your mouth and speed walking out of the hall. The sounds of footsteps following you made you groan. "I swear, whoever you are, stop following me before I hex you." "It's just me, Y/N." Hermione said. "Oh thank, God. I'm done with guys for the rest of the weekend!" You said, turning around. "I can tell. Do you want to talk about it?" You went and collapsed against a wall.
"My roommates are calling what Draco and I have "romantic tension"! Like, what?! What even is romantic tension?! Do you think we have romantic tension?!" "I mean, you definitely have something if you kissed him like people are saying." Hermione shrugged, coming sit beside you on the floor. "It was on the cheek for God's sake! I could've meant it platonically!" "And yet you still ran?" Hermione smiled, knowingly. "Shut up, Hermione. Besides, it was a mistake! I wasn't thinking right!" You threw your hands up. "Fancying someone does tend to have that effect." Hermione nodded. "I don't fancy anyone!" You blushed. "Your face says otherwise, Y/N." Hermione crossed her arms amusedly. You looked away and hunched your back. "Okay, maybe I do fancy someone, but who ever said it was Draco?" "Your actions in the Three Broomsticks today did." Hermione laughed. "But I don't fancy Draco!" You argued, the thought of Stefan coming into your mind. "Are you sure about that?" Hermione asked, the cheek in her voice practically making you want to palm her in the face. "Yes!" You retorted, as an image of Draco appeared in your head. Lies. "... For the most part…"
Hermione laughed. "Who's the other one?" How did she…? You shifted in your spot. "A Durmstrang student. His name is Stefan." You smiled a little, before it fell. "He's upset with me about this…" "He must like you too." "And I like him, but…" You sighed, and pinched the bridge of your nose. "Ugh." Hermione rubbed your shoulder comfortingly. "A prime example of troubles in paradise if I've ever seen it," "Bloody chaos is a better phrase." You wrinkled your nose. Hermione laughed at you for what felt like the millionth time. You didn't even have the impulse to tell her to shut up anymore. "Well, I should be going. I'm going to be enjoying some peace and quiet in my common room."
Hermione smiled at me and bid me farewell, and was about to go back to the great hall when I said, "If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you and then I'll dump your corpse in the black lake for the squid to eat." "Except that the squid would never harm a Hogwarts students, since it's semi-domesticated." Hermione retorted. "That means nothing, I will still kill you." You said, before disappearing around the bend of a corridor. The walk to Ravenclaw Tower was beautifully quiet. The paintings were all too busy doing their painting things to talk to you. The ghosts were nowhere to be seen. Not even Mrs. Norris or Filch were around. When you arrived back at Ravenclaw Tower, the knocker knew by the look on your face that it was better just to let you in. "Thank you, Doorkeeper," You muttered, collapsing on a sofa. The silence was beautiful. You knew that there would be hell to pay when you next saw any of the Ravenclaw table, or the Slytherin table for that matter, but for now, the solitude was welcome.
Eventually all good things must end, however, because Professor Flitwick arrived fifteen minutes later. "Ah, there you are, Y/N. Would you mind?" He asked, making you nod and rise from the couch. 'Please work,' You thought, as you tried to walk up the stairs. You made it halfway before the stairs flattened out into a slide. "Ahh!" You screamed, as you tumbled back down. "Well, it half-works…" You said. Professor Flitwick nodded. "Well then, it looks like I'm making some progress, but I'm afraid you'll still have to stay with your father tonight. Thank you, Miss Snape." You nodded, before preparing yourself to leave Ravenclaw Tower and start the trip down to the dungeons.
Snape was at his desk when you entered, and the sound of the door took his attention away from whatever he was doing. Your eyes met across the room and you flushed indignantly. "Professor Flitwick's figured it out halfway, but I still can't get to my dorm." You said, glaring at the wall to your right. "So I'm stuck with you for another night?" He asked, black eyes boring into your face so hard, you could feel it burning on your cheek. "Unfortunately, yes." You said, closing the door behind you and retreating to your recliner. Snape hummed, before returning to the work on his desk. Getting into a comfortable position, you stared at the wall some more. The silence settled like a thick blanket over everything in the room. You didn't want to think about your father right now. You didn't want to think about anyone right now. Especially not anyone in Slytherin house. With Draco trying to get your attention, Pansy out to murder you, and you being forced to stay with the man that deducted house points because you didn't kiss Draco on the lips—and is coincidentally your father, you were done with sociality. 'I mean, what, is my love life the latest article in the Daily Prophet or something?' You thought, pouting. To be honest, you wanted to be alone in Ravenclaw Tower with your books and headphones. Actually, no. Your headphones would probably play a bunch of love songs.
Eventually, Snape set down his quill and got up from his desk. When he crossed to the living quarters section of his room, you finally stopped looking at the wall. He sat on his bed, looking at you with an unamused face, though you knew that as his resting expression. With a frown you began your staring contest again. "What kind of father reprimands his daughter for not kissing a boy on the mouth?" You asked, after a few minutes. "How bold of you assume my reasoning, Miss Y/N. Maybe I deducted a point for your public display of affection." He answered. "Dragon pi$$." You said, shifting in your seat. "To quote the student lingo that you will never understand, you ship me and Draco harder than anyone else in this school, with the possible exception of Luna." Snape frowned. "You think Draco and I would make a beautiful couple." You explained, "I know what it means, Y/N. I teach all levels of school, not just fourth years, in case that slipped your mind." "Regardless, you of all people would never deduct a house point for me showing PDA with Draco of all people, in Hogsmeade of all places." You said. "Unless, of course, I regret it afterwards."
Snape rolled his eyes. "You're going to scare off any boy you kiss if you keep running away afterwards." "That's not a good enough excuse to deduct house points!" You said. "You always hold me to a standard of professionalism, but here you are using your position in this school to punish me for not kissing a boy on the lips?! You're being the biggest hypocrite of them all if I've ever seen one!" "It's one point— "This isn't even about the number of points anymore!" You seethed. "This is about how you manipulate the relationship we have to be as convenient for you as possible!" You didn't even wait for him to respond, you were grabbing your things and heading straight for the bathroom. Once inside you locked the door with an angry sigh. The shower water ran down your shoulders. You stayed there, glaring at the wall. 'Maybe, if I take long enough, I'll use up all the hot water and he'll be forced to shower in the cold.' You thought. 'Except that magic allows us endless hot water, idiot.' Eventually, you convinced yourself to get out before he used the alohomora spell, and dried off. Then, once you were dressed in your pajamas which actually made you feel better, you replaced your petty scowl and emerged from the bathroom. Snape said nothing, just disappeared in after you, shutting the door. You curled up in your recliner and went to sleep.