Teacher's Pet | Severus Snape

Chapter 22 - The Quidditch Match

After our steamy night, we had kissed each other good night and I had slept in my dorm. My last thoughts were circling around the fact, that I would have one on one duelling practice with him for the next three days. I would destroy him, master of duelling my ass – pun not intended.

I woke up a bit late, so my friends had already been gone upstairs and I would re-join with them at breakfast. Only as I stood up, I realized, how much damage I had taken from last night's events. I was sore as I had never been sore before. From the inside as well as the outside. I cursed under my breath and got dressed.

I found myself wobbling slowly through the corridor on my way to the Great Hall to fetch a well needed breakfast. My friends were standing outside the Great Hall and were talking to... Snape. My eyes tightened and I gave him a menacing glare, as he was the first to notice me on my wobbly way down the corridor. He raised an eyebrow, and my friends turned their heads.
"Hey sleepy head", Caitlin greeted me, "Why the funny walk?"
"Hey guys. Morning Professor."
I shooted another frozen glare at him. He backed off slightly.
"Yeah, seriously don't know. Probably slept in an odd position", I said and added in my thoughts very loud and clear and while staring him down bluntly: "with an odd, OLD, horny pervert!"
Snape burst out laughing.

My friends turned their heads in sheer horror. The sound of Snape's laughter was the last thing either of them had ever expected to hear in their lives. He quickly regained his cool – or what was left of it now and cleared his throat.
"Anyway", Valeryia deescalated the moment, "We were just talking to Professor Snape about today's upcoming Quidditch match. We're going to smash those Gryffindor cry-babies, aren't we, Professor?"
"Certainly. Now go grab your breakfast. Stop loitering around.", he bossed at my friends.
They entered the Great Hall, and I wobbled a few steps after them. As I reached Snape's side, I intended on walking past him very close so I could smack him with my shoulder provokingly. I blamed entirely him for my sore buttocks. But he was faster and grabbed my arm.
"Seriously, are you alright?", he hushed.
"Certainly, Professor", I snapped at him and freed myself from his grip.
Only after I so rudely had said that I realized how much honest concern and sorrow swam in his eyes. He let go of me. I felt miserable as I walked through the aisle between the tables and wanted to apologize immediately, I turned my head over my shoulder, but he was already gone and so was my appetite.

I sat next to Val and flinched when my butt touched the hard wooden bank. I grabbed myself a coffee and nipped listlessly on it.
Val leaned towards me and whispered in my eyes: "The impact you have on that man is astonishing. He truly cares for you."
And she brightly smiled at me. She meant to cheer me up with this, but instead she made my misery even worse for she was absolutely right, and I had just been horrible to him. Now even coffee wasn't on the menu anymore.

Because of the Quidditch match this afternoon, classes were only in the morning. I used them to come up with a plan to apologize to him. I knew for sure he would be at the match – he never missed a chance to see Gryffindor lose and I did not want to wait until our detention I the evening to get this of my heart. But he would be in the teachers' lounge and there was no way in there. Hopefully I could catch him after the match at the exit to the teachers' lounge. At least there would be enough options there to quickly sneak under the arena's framework for a short private word with him.

For once, I stayed at the lower spectator stand and close to the exit so I could reach the teacher's exit before he would have gone. Usually, I watched from the higher stands with my friends, for a better view. I quite enjoyed watching Quidditch and cheering. I told my friends I would sit this one out on the lower stand and spare my aching 'back' the many stairs. Which technically wasn't even a lie. Valeryia offered to accompany me, and I accepted thankfully. Otherwise, I would have stood alone between mostly first and second graders and also I could tell her the actual reason for all this.
"Ouff", she sighed, when I had told her, "I'll help you to get there on time, no worries. I'll hold back the babies here, so you can go faster. You definitely have to tell him you're sorry. I feel bad even thinking of how Snape would look with sorrowful eyes just to then get snapped at! Poor baby. But you'll make up for it and he will be a happy little emo goth again."
She formed a little heart shape with her fingers and grinned at me. I smirked and playfully pushed her away.

The match started and Slytherin got the lead in a matter of seconds. Gryffindor didn't stand a chance. Especially as their Seeker was useless. Couldn't catch the snitch even if it had landed on his broom stick. They hadn't had a good Seeker in years. But they were fighters notably against Slytherin. So, the match was pointless, but at least it was rough.
Qwaffles were thrown and bludgers rocketed through the air. A couple of times we had to duck our heads to avoid getting hit by legs or broom tails. Every action on the field resulted in an equal burst out of boos and cheers from the stands. I even caught a quick glimpse of the golden snitch once.

Twice they had to pause the game because players got hurt and fell off the broom. I leaned on the railing and enjoyed the show. Every now and then I looked up at the teacher's stand. I saw him sitting there and saw the satisfaction on his face when one of our beaters shot a Gryffindor chaser off his broom and by the look of him landing in the field, at least broke him an arm.

I was wondering if he might be looking for me in the crowd, but then again to him I could have been anywhere in this huge arena, so how should he know where to be looking?
I didn't see the bludger come. The lights just went out.