Chapter Twenty: Giving

After Severus' stupid rudeness, that for some reason made me feel very upset and angry, I stormed back to my living quarters. Unfortunately, storming in a turtleneck is a bloody stupid idea, especially when one is going up several flights of stairs, because those things can get extremely hot. I ended up having to take it off a few corridors away from my rooms and make a dash for it in my bra. Fortunately, this time Severus wasn't waiting outside my doorway. And why would he be? Unless it was to apologize for the way he'd (very childishly) acted in his quarters. But I'd have to go without an apology, for there was no Severus by the door. I didn't know why I'd sort of been half-expecting him to be there. Or perhaps it was just a futile hope rather than expectance? Entering my room, I closed the door behind me and leaned my back against it, resting the back of my head against it too. It was only after I'd tossed my jumper in the laundry basket and pulled on a pyjama top that I noticed what was lying on my bed.

A rose. A long-stemmed, bright crimson rose. Johnny! An owl must have delivered it while I was with Severus. I felt a momentary pang of guilt for being with Severus while Johnny's rose was slowly wilting on the bed, but quickly cast that off. It was a completely ridiculous concept, that I'd feel guilty for something like that. I was a busy young almost-teacher with places to be, damnit, and it wasn't my fault if I missed the post. Still, I picked up the rose with joy and ran some water into a tall vase I found in a cabinet (why keep spare vases in cabinets?) and placed it inside, then put the vase on the table next to my bed so I could look at it before I fell asleep at night. I picked up the small note that had been lying with the rose and read it, feeling my heart melt.

Beautiful Raphaela,

I can feign eloquence but I confess, you make me lost for words. You will simply have to endure the few words I've retained, which I deeply hope will show you just how much you mean to me. I love you, and I am quite sure that I always will, until time itself ceases to be.

Love.

It wasn't signed, it just read 'love' at the bottom, but it had to have been from Johnny. Who else could it have been, anyway? I didn't have that many admirers, last time I checked. It was so sweet of him, but then, most of the things he did were sweet. The writing was a bit formal, but I supposed that even Johnny could bring it when the situation required. I wondered why he hadn't signed it, though. Mostly with his letters, he signed off with a J. It was a mystery, but I supposed that I shouldn't read too much into it. It was very, very sweet of him.

Even with the coffee I'd had with lunch, I felt fatigue creep upon me, probably due to the alcohol in the hot chocolate. I wondered briefly what kind of booze Severus had used in it before my tiredness overcame me and I stretched out on my bed, blinking at the bright stars outside my window before sleep carried me away.

The morning seemed to come too soon, making me bury my face in the pillow and wish fervently that I'd drift off to sleep again. Unfortunately sleep didn't come, and so I spent an hour trying in vain to press my face so hard into my pillow that it'd tell my brain it was time for sleep. If there was one thing I hated, it was not being able to sleep. I'd had enough of that as a teenager, probably due to my ridiculously high-caffeine diet. The day I learned to make coffee magically was a turning point in my life from normal, studious Raphaela Vialle to going-slightly-mad insomniac. Fortunately, since the potions fumes always seemed to perk me up, it was my best subject. It was strange how things turned out, now I thought about it. But that was it, once my mind wandered to mundane things like subjects and potions, I knew that there would be no more sleep that morning. I got out of bed, threw on some clean clothes, and meandered down to the Great Hall, where they were just about to do Boxing Day lunch. I'd never understood why they called it Boxing Day, but I was sure they had a wonderful reason for it. Or maybe they were just pissed and wanted to make a filthy joke.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the Great Hall was that Severus was not in his usual position at the staff table. In fact, he wasn't at the staff table at all. After some careful detective work, e.g. me looking around the room, I saw him at the other end of the Hall, where the Entrance Hall entrance was. Wait, Entrance Hall entrance? That didn't sound right. At any rate, I saw him standing there. I had only moments to ponder what he was doing over there when I realised something that I probably should have realised when I'd first laid eyes on him: he was with Johnny. My pretty, pretty Johnny. Severus looked livid. Johnny looked anxious. I ran so fast over there it was near-flying, and so in a matter of moments I was standing next to Severus, grinning at Johnny like an idiot.

"Oh, hi Raphaela!" Johnny said, smiling back at me in a pleasant sort of way. It made my insides squirm around a bit, but I ignored it and focused on the situation at hand. "Can you tell this guy that he's really weirding me out? I think he's a bit cheesed off with me and he won't listen to anything I say."

I turned to Severus and fixed him with a stern look, which he returned in full force. His mouth was clamped tightly shut, though he was sending a look to kill. "Severus, stop creeping out my boyfriend. Boyfriend, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Johnny said, reaching a hand out towards mine. I took his hand and let him lead me out of the Great Hall, without a single word of disgruntlement or protest from Severus. That was certainly a first. Right before I left the Hall, however, I turned back to Severus and gave him a grin and a thumbs-up with my free hand. The look on his face quite terrified me, it looked to be a cross between intense, unbridled fury and excruciating physical pain. I wondered if perhaps he was so angry that his spleen had ruptured, but before I could meditate on it further, I was outside with Johnny and he was leading me towards a pretty fountain in the grounds. We stood there for a moment, not saying a word. He didn't seem able to meet my eyes, which gave me a pretty good idea of why he had wanted to 'talk' to me. I'd had enough shitty boyfriends to know the signs of what was about to happen.

"You're breaking up with me, aren't you?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and peering at him, trying to get him to confess so I could go back inside and eat some lunch. Sure, I'd miss him, but I was damn hungry, and I couldn't get over Pretty Johnny on an empty stomach. He turned bright red, but still didn't meet my eyes. He kneeled down, still staring determinedly at the ground. "Have you lost a contact lens? I don't think you'll be able to find it in the grass out here. Besides, even if you did, would you really want it anymore? I mean, animals have probably pooped around here."

He raised his head up, but still seemed to be concentrating on my navel rather than my face. "I love you," he said quickly, and in one rapid movement he brought out a small box from his coat pocket and opened it at me. I was momentarily perplexed before I realised the contents of the box, which almost made me pass out from shock. "Raphaela Vialle, will you marry me?"

Oh my.

A/N: Well, there's only a few chapters left, and this is probably one of the only non-fluff chapters left, so enjoy it while you still can.