Silent Treatment - Severus Snape x OC

3.

Conversation

edited on : 22/8/2021 (Sunday)

words : 914

★★★★★

Severus Snape was reading a book in his chamber, finally able to relax. He had been swamped with work and grading papers for the past few weeks. Plus, having to face Ariana Hart nearly every day drained his energy. It certainly made him exhausted.

After a few moments of silence, Severus groaned in annoyance when he heard someone knocking on his door in the middle of the night.

He chose to ignore it, but the knocking continued for several minutes, causing Severus to furrow his brows and finally open the door. So persistent.

"Miss Hart? What exactly are you doing here? It's already past your curfew!" Severus grumbled, frustrated to see someone disturbing him in the middle of the night.

Ariana grinned, "Hi there, Professor! Would you mind letting me in?"

Severus gritted his teeth, "No. It's past your curfew. Go back to your dormitory and sleep."

She pursed her lips, a little saddened to see Severus dismiss her. But it was indeed her fault for disturbing the professor at night.

"If this was one of your foolish behaviors, you should definitely do something useful with that brain of yours. I'm not going to tolerate your behavior any longer."

His comments certainly hurt her, but she didn't seem to mind it that much.

"Severus- Listen. I came over to check on you to see whether you were all right. You didn't have lunch and dinner earlier so I was worried." Ariana fidgeted as she looked down on her feet. She wasn't scared of Severus, but she was nervous being so near to him. 

Severus sighed, running his fingers through his shoulder-length black hair. It was strange hearing his student address him by his first name. He had previously told the girl not to call him by his first name while they were alone, but she had chosen not to listen.

"Please don't be concerned about my well-being, Miss Hart. I can take care of myself without your aid." 

It was Ariana's turn to let out a huge sigh. This guy was difficult. He made everything difficult.

Setting boundaries on others like this would not benefit him at all. But then again, this was Severus Snape she was talking to.

"Are you okay, Severus? You seem pale and exhausted." Ariana was about to grab his hand when he took a step back, avoiding her.

"Return to your dormitory." 

"No. It wouldn't do you any good to keep your emotions bottled up-"

"Now!" Severus hissed in annoyance as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his headache certainly didn't help.

Ariana grimaced when she heard the professor raised his voice, all she wanted was to at least have a proper conversation with him. Even though it was late at night, she knew Severus would not speak to her in class or be seen with her in the morning. So she had to do this. 

It would be a lie if Severus said he had not yet heard of the rumors. She was concerned that he would be bothered by the rumors.

"It is not your duty nor your obligation to be concerned about me, you insolent little fool. Return back to your dormitory. I'm not in any mood to talk to you." 

"Stop being so stubborn, for Merlin's sake!" Ariana was upset to see Severus avoiding her. Just talk to her already!

"Why you-" 

The girl cut him off and went on, "Severus, what has changed this year? Why are you trying to avoid me? You didn't smack the back of my head, you didn't give me detention anymore and you didn't even acknowledge me in your class!"  The last part hurt her so bad. She was genuinely interested in brewing potions and yet the professor himself didn't acknowledge her.

"Why couldn't you just let go of your past and talk to me? Let down your walls and just look at me for once. I'm not a kid anymore, Severus."

"It hurts," she continued, pouring her heart out to him.

Severus's eyes widened. Why was this girl so obsessed with him and his detention? What was it about his acknowledgment that meant so much to her? Plus, she acted as if she knew him, which annoyed him greatly. She was merely a naive desperate girl. 

So why she had such an impact on him?  Severus shook his head, furious at himself for thinking such things. 

He leaned in close, causing the girl to flush slightly, before muttering softly, "You don't know anything about me, so stop poking your nose in my business. Merlin, you're just like your father. So persistent. If it doesn't involve you, it shouldn't concern you."

He then took a step back, watching the girl's face fell, clearly upset. Severus's heart ached at the sight of her distress. He wouldn't admit it, but something definitely tugged at his heart.

Severus spoke after a short pause, "30 points from Slytherin. Stop making me deduct points from my own house. Return now, Miss Hart." Before taking another few steps back and closing the door.

"I know you better than you know yourself, Severus. Just... let me at least ease your burden." Ariana murmured to herself, her knees buckled and she slumped to the ground, sobbing quietly. 

All these five years of trying to get him to open up to her felt meaningless and almost impossible.

But she was not going to give up on him, no matter what.