Chapter Twenty-Two: A Hasty Decision

I didn't go back to my room that night. I knew I'd only been dating Johnny for a few months, and I don't even think I really liked him that much, but it was… it was just nice being with him. It seemed like a horrific understatement, but 'nice' was the only word that fit. Instead, after dinner, I bid my goodbyes to the professors and began wandering aimlessly around the school. The castle itself was colossal, so I didn't have to worry about getting bored in the place. No two corridors were the same, unless they did it on purpose to try and trick you. In fact, all the tricks had begun to really get to me after a few hours, so I decided to move my meandering down to the dungeons. It may have seemed ridiculous, but the cold, uninviting place had slowly become where I felt most at home. My rooms upstairs may have been warmer and better lit, but they were incredibly boring. Especially since Severus had invoked some ancient rule that forbade male callers to female staff members after five p.m., and he'd apparently made a very convincing case to McGonagall about why I should be considered a staff member. That man was utterly impossible. He was cold and sarcastic, refusing to be friends with anyone and making me suffer just for the hell of it. His jealousy regarding Johnny would have been laughable, were it not so infuriating. Just because I'd found a boyfriend and he was a grumpy old singleton, he had to ruin my happiness. Well, he wouldn't bother me anymore, y'know, because of the break-up and all. At least I could be thankful for that.

Something very hard hit me directly in the hip bone and I inhaled sharply before letting out a loud stream of expletives, communicating to the world exactly how much pain I was in. I clutched my hip and hopped up and down on the spot, cursing the pain and sort of hoping I'd broken it. What? I'd never broken a bone before. I wanted to know what it was like. So hex me. I wildly looked around for what had caused the stabbing pain in my side, before realizing that it was a shiny silver doorknob. Not only was it a doorknob, it was turning, and the door was swinging open to reveal a very angry-looking Severus Snape.

Just my luck, to run into the only door in the castle that housed the very man who I'd been planning to avoid. Then, I realised that I hadn't even told him about the fact I'd said no to Johnny. I supposed I should do that, but before I got a chance to say a word, he started to lecture me.

"What do you think you're doing down here at this time of night, Vialle? And not only did you decide it was a good idea to go stampeding around the castle in the early hours of the morning, you stand by my door and shout louder and filthier words than I've ever had the misfortune to hear in my life. Do you enjoy being a complete and utter pain? Do you have to work at being so mind-numbingly irritating, or does it just come naturally? Because for the life of me I can't tell. What did you think was going to happen when you started shouting outside my door? Did you think we were going to have hot chocolate, and become best friends? Sweet Merlin's beard, Vialle, there is something so incredibly wrong with you, I don't even know if you started out smart then became a raging idiot, or whether there's just so much inbreeding in your family line that there was never any hope for you. Well? Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

He stopped talking and breathed in and out very fast, reminding me somewhat of a bull about to charge. I made a mental note to cover my face if he did lower his head and come at me, but then realised that I'd really done it this time. I didn't think that injuring myself in the vicinity of his room was bad enough to warrant that outburst of his, but there it was. He was angrier than I'd ever seen him in my life, and from his little shout-a-thon, he didn't seem too fussed about forgiving me. Even though I hadn't meant to be a nuisance.

"I'm sorry I woke you," was all I could say. Every muscle in my body was screaming at me to lower my head and look sheepish, but for some reason I didn't. I just stared defiantly at him, jaw clenched in anxiety.

"I was awake."

"Then what's the problem?"

"I do not appreciate having to listen to what sounds like a cow being murdered at two in the morning."

"Contrary to popular belief."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing."

"I am so utterly sick of you and your idiotic drivel, Vialle," he said, folding his arms and glaring down at me. He even drew himself up to full height to look down on me better. The butthead.

"Why are you using my last name again?" It was bugging me, and I wanted him to stop it, or at least explain himself. I couldn't think of anything that could have brought forth this sudden hostility. He'd almost been nice to me on Christmas Day, before he stormed out with some lame excuse about having something to do.

"I suppose I will have to begin calling you by another surname soon, won't I?" He hadn't answered the question. "Do you know his surname?" The amount of contempt he put into that one his was almost palpable, and not for the first time, I wondered what on earth his problem was. I'd thought it was just that I had a boyfriend and he had nobody, but surely it couldn't draw out this much rage?

"You didn't answer me," I said, folding my arms to mirror him and not breaking eye contact.

"You didn't answer me." Why did he have to be so bloody impossible? Dealing with him was so infuriating it made me want to smash my head against a brick wall multiple times. Or his.

"I thought you were being rhetorical," I said. "You know what? I don't care. Call me whatever you want. I'm through trying to be your friend. You can just forget about it, and forget about me. I'm going to go to McGonagall in the morning and I'm going to quit."

"That's a bit extreme," he said quickly, and I saw that his eyebrows were raised and his eyes were slightly wider. He'd even unfolded his arms, and they hung awkwardly at his sides. "You don't have to do that on account of me."

"Oh, but I do, Severus," I said, turning to look down the corridor. "Do you have any idea how much I've tried to make you like me? How many times I've suppressed the urge to cut your face off? It isn't going to be possible for me to continue working here when you're always so hostile." I began walking away, the way I'd come. I hadn't thought much when I'd said it, but now I saw that it was the best course of action. I had to quit. Working with Severus would be incredibly damaging, and I couldn't take it. I'd spend the rest of the night packing my things, I'd go to McGonagall first thing, and hopefully I could leave without having to see Severus. Something wet dripped onto my collarbone and I stopped, looking up at the ceiling for a leak. Granted, it was dark, but I couldn't make out a drip. Then, I realized that it wasn't a roof leak. I was crying. Why should I have been crying? Sure, I liked the job, but it was so unbearable to be around Severus. Thinking of him made my eyes well up again… I guessed that he'd grown on me somewhat, but it still wasn't grounds for crying. I blinked several times and wiped my cheeks, running up the last few staircases to my rooms so that I wouldn't run into anyone. Thankfully, I was lucky, and made it into my room unseen before collapsing onto my bed in wracking sobs. Bloody Severus. Even when he wasn't around, he was upsetting me. I couldn't wait to be away from him.

A/N: Well... this is a weird feeling. The next chapter just so happens to be the final one. Feeling a bit sad, actually. So brace yourselves for the final instalment in the saga of an Angry, Emotionally Challenged Professor and an Odd, Clueless Girl.