Chapter 11

"Nothing Says Love Like Roses"

It had been a week since Ron and Severus had left for Bloom, and seven long, agonizing, god-I-want-to-shoot-myself days of trying to keep Sirius resting in bed. Finally, Remus could take it no more, and told the thief they could go have one drink at the tavern, and then they were coming back to Charlie's immediately.

"Sirius Black, you're going to plant your arse on that bed and do some explaining about the mess you caused."

"Now, now, ducky, there's no need to…"

"Sirius!" Remus cried, one nerve short of pulling his hair out.

"You're just angry about what happened in the tavern. Really, loverly, it wasn't my fault. My hand slipped, and it just happened to be balled into a fist at the moment, and it's possible I mentioned something about his mother looking like a…"

"Sirius, enough! Yes, I'm angry that you punched that man. I'm furious that you gambled and cheated, again, knowing very well what it can lead to. I'm enraged that you lost all your money to some brute, and I'm thoroughly pissed that you ruined what should have been a quiet evening spent enjoying a drink! I only let you go because you were whining about being pent up in the house, and this is how you behave! Now the entire village will think you're some kind of hoodlum!"

"But…Remey…it wasn't like that…"

"Really, Sirius, because I'd love for you to give me a reason not to hang you by your ears."

"He…insulted you." Sirius stubbornly raised his chin, looking at the wall resolutely and refusing to meet Remus eye to eye. At that simple statement, the anger seemed to swoosh out of Remus like air out of a popped balloon. Resignedly, he moved to the bed and cupped Sirius's battered face in his hands.

"I don't know what I'm going to do with you, Siri," it was said affectionately, punctuated by a kiss to Sirius's bruised temple. "I'm not a child. I can defend myself if necessary…but I appreciate you standing up for me. Punching someone, however, is not how an adult behaves. And you know how I feel about cheating and drinking too much. Had you not been drunk out of your mind, you wouldn't have lost your temper so easily and you would have listened to reason."

"Since I'm banged up so bad because I was defending your honor, will you sleep with me tonight? Only sleep – I swear on the Code of the Thieves."

"There isn't a Code of the Thieves. You haven't written one yet."

"Blast. I do keep meaning to get to that…"

"Yes, but only if we sleep."

To demonstrate his happiness about the situation, Sirius scooped Remus into his arms and showered kisses on his jaw and neck.

"I love you, Remus. Will you ever believe me?"

Remus paused, nipping playfully at Sirius's ear and giving the other man a few little kisses on his neck. He teasingly fluttered his fingertips over Sirius's growing arousal.

"It's becoming very…hard…to deny it anymore."

"You want to pretend you're dignified, but you're a kinky little wolfie, aren't you?"

"You of all people should know things aren't always as they seem, hmm?"

They only slept that night, but Remus did have to fight off wandering hands with a hard pinch once or twice.

-

Ron nearly cried with joy when the Port of Bloom became visible in the distance. Severus had been his usual grumpy self, and without Remus to diffuse some of the arguments, tempers had been running high. Ron thought worriedly about Remus for a few moments. He should be transforming any day now. He decided he'd send an owl once they got in Bloom to make sure the werewolf was alright.

They continued to ride for an hour more and finally the reached the gates of the city. Ron was pleased to see Ravenclaw knights on duty around the entire perimeter of the city. They were all on horse back and armed to the teeth. Yet, for some strange reason, some of them were wearing wreaths of flowers…

Ron's eyes widened as he finally got a good look at the port through the gilded gate. Every available surface was covered in beautiful blossoms. Roses, pansies, petunias, violets, marigolds, daisies, buttercups…flowers were everywhere! And nothing was dirty. The buildings were draped in white satin, and huge flags embroidered with delicate golden roses fluttered magnificently in the breeze.

He'd completely forgotten. It was the Rose Festival in Bloom – they had one every spring. It was a fertility festival, and any man who was single had to wear a wreath of flowers that he had to give to an available lady by the time the festival was over.

The festival was in full swing. Ron could hear little girls singing as they danced around the may pole in their cottony white dresses, and the cheerful music that was coming from the square.

"Now I know what Charlie was talking about – it's the Rose Festival!" Ron said, a bit excited. It was hard not to like festivals. Hogsmede had a winter festival, and when he was a boy it had been the highlight of his year.

Severus just grunted, a fierce scowl on his face.

"I despise festivals. They're a frivolous waste of time and energy."

"Whatever, Severus. Come on, I'm going to go speak to a guard and let him know who we are." Ron did so, and soon the gates were being opened widely. They were asked to dismount, and their animals were taken to the stable by a young boy. There was a group of older women that stood just inside the gate, their arms loaded with wreaths.

"Alright, you dashing young rogues! Are you single?" The leader of the group asked teasingly, a twinkle in her eye. Laughing, Ron graciously bowed so that she could place a wreath over his head. "Oh, you'll be the talk of the town, you will. A knight of Gryffindor! The younguns will be all a flutter! And what about your friend?"

Ron smiled as he looked at Severus, who had his arms crossed and a look on his face that said, 'If you put one of those things around my neck, I'll kill you with my bare hands.'

"No, he's engaged to the prince of Gryffindor," Ron said casually, winking at Severus. The surly potions master looked surprised at the statement. Then the moment of emotion was gone, and he was just as impassive as ever. He glanced around the fringe of the village, taking in all the decorations and the bubbling villagers. He scowled again.

"Come on, Severus, we might as well look around. I bet you anything the shipyard will be closed today," Ron stated. Severus walked alongside him, glaring at anyone who dared to smile at him. He was really in a bad mood. "Err…look, why don't you…Bill!" Ron exclaimed, breaking off in the middle of his sentence. The red headed man in question had been talking with a pretty lady, but quickly left her to come enthusiastically hug Ron.

"Ron! What on earth are you doing here? It's so good to see you! Wow, mum wrote me that you had been made captain, but look at you! You're taller than I am!"

"It's good to see you too, Bill. What are you doing in Bloom, though?"

"Oh, I'm helping the Ravenclaw king revise his tax system. It's gotten a bit outdated, and he wants to avoid revolt, you know, that sort of thing…what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because the prophecy finally came true. Severus is the Chosen One."

For a moment, Bill looked really sad, and then grimly shook Severus's hand.

"Good luck, Severus. Even though I'm a citizen of Ravenclaw now, I still think of Prince Harry very fondly. I hope you can bring him back home where he belongs."

"I shall endeavor to do my best," Severus said a bit distastefully, still in a crap mood. "And how, pray tell, do you know Ronald?" Severus asked, curious if the man was a cousin or something.

"Bill's my brother!"

"Another one?" Severus asked startled, his eyebrow raised. Ron laughed and rolled his eyes.

"We ran into Fred and George in the Forbidden Forest, and then he met Charlie in Finley village. Hey, Bill, Severus really doesn't like these things, so do you think you could show him where the inn is? He'd probably rather be brewing potions."

"Sure, it's right by the stables. I'll take you over there." The two of them left, talking about the prophecy in muted tones. Ron smiled as a pretty blonde caught his eye and blushed profusely. Smirking, he winked at her and then sauntered further into the village to see what he could find.

-

By that afternoon, Ron had a small horde of girls following around behind him, all of them praying he'd give them his wreath. Ron joked with them, and showed off by winning all the games of skill and giving the girls his prizes. He'd just shot three bulls eyes in a row when the man running the booth casually asked if he'd be entering the jousting tournament.

"There's a tournament?"

"It starts in about an hour. It's only for the best competitors, and the winner gets a mighty fine prize."

"What's the prize?" Ron asked excitedly. He loved jousting!

"A rose made of pure gold…and a kiss from Lady Hermione."

"Who's Lady Hermione?" Ron asked, mildly interested.

"She's the King's niece. She's royalty, filthy rich, beautiful, and she's a powerful witch to boot. You being a knight, you might just have a chance with her. Dunno though, rumors are she's promised to another. She just came of age, and her father brought her to the Rose Festival as her birthday present."

Ron thanked the man for his information and found himself at the booth to sign up for the jousting competition.

"I'm afraid I don't have any of my weapons, but I have my own horse."

"No problem, we can get you suited up Sir Ron. There are five other competitors. You make the sixth. You're first match is against Sir Terry Boot. Best of luck, to ye!"

A half an hour later, Ron was mounted and had the heavy javelin in his hand. He looked through his helmet at the crowd, and just happened to get a glimpse of a beautiful noblewoman sitting in the top box. Ron vaguely recognized her companion as the Prince of Ravenclaw, one of the younger ones, but his name escaped him. The two were accompanied by a large man, obviously very wealthy, that he assumed was the girl's father. Also in their box was the announcer, some other nobles, and the beautiful golden rose on a white satin pillow.

But really, Ron saw only the pretty brunette. Their eyes met across the field, and he took his helmet off to have a better look. She smiled at him, blushing softly, then moved her gaze elsewhere. Unfortunately, one gaze was all it took. Ron was smitten.

-

A/N: Poor Severus, not getting any action…Oh well. Good things come to those who wait. If you'll notice, there's a lot of love at first sight in this story. I'm not doing that to take the easy way out, it's just that it is a fairy tale, and that's generally how it works in these things. Remus wasn't instantly in love, if that counts for anything. I'm glad everyone is enjoying this story so much. I haven't received even one bad review, and I'm close to the hundred mark! That's mondo cool. I probably won't post again until Monday, because I'm going on a real live hours long train ride! I'm so excited – it's going to be just like the Hogwarts Express! Cheers, everyone!