Hey everyone! Told you I was back. Anyway the next chapter is nearly done so that should be posted soon. I hoped you like this one. And do y'all like the the bits in the present? I do like writing them :) Though, my favorite bit is coming up soon. Woo! Well I hope you enjoy the chapter. And as always, please review. I love hearing from y'all!
She had been smiling tonight when she had left. Why had she been smiling? Severus was sure that he hadn't said a thing that would be worth smiling for. And yet he was sure, before they said goodbye, she had indeed been smiling. Perhaps she was simply glad to be getting away from him.
Their last couple of meetings had been tolerable since they had made their agreement and he was doing his best to separate his hatred for those she chose to spend her time with from her as a person.
It had been a little easier tonight. It was always easier on nights when they weren't doing practical applications. Then again those were the nights when he wasn't afraid that one of her stray spells would kill him. But still, he had done nothing to elicit a smile.
After they had parted, Severus had made his way down to the library to pick out a few books that he had been meaning to get and it was much later by the time he had left. And just as he was rounding the corner, he was run over.
Severus had been pushed flat on his back and it took a few moments for him to recover his breath. As he began to sit up he heard, "Oh Merlin, you've got to be kidding me."
"Where the hell were you going to so fast Lupin?" Snape spat as he got up.
"None of your business Snape," Remus countered as he rubbed his arm.
As the two stood there, shooting daggers at one another, Remus realized what a gift fate had just given him. He had been planning on going up to his dorm, talking to Sirius, and then falling into a pitiful sleep. Now instead, he may be able to take some of his anger out on the boy who had caused it.
"I may not be the best looking bloke," Remus began, his mouth forming a wicked smile, "but compared to you? What in the hell is she thinking?"
"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about Lupin," Snape answered sourly.
Snape moved towards Remus, trying to get past him, but he was blocked.
"Get out of my way," Snape hissed.
"No," Remus smiled crossing his arms.
"When did you suddenly grow a backbone?" Snape spat.
"About the time when you started snogging my girlfriend," Remus spat back.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Snape asked, growing confused.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Remus shouted.
And Remus snapped. He shoved Snape back against the wall and punched him square in the face, taking joy in the fear that rose up in the boys eyes. As he raised his fist to throw another punch, Snape countered. Remus tried to duck but Snape's fist still managed to connect with Remus' jaw and the force was enough to cause him to stagger backwards.
Had this been anyone else fighting, it could have ended there. But the hatred between these two boys was too strong. Remus hated Snape for essentially stealing his girlfriend, and Snape hated Remus for nearly tearing his head off.
Punches were exchanged, kicks were taken in the gut, and the pair beat on each other for what seemed like forever, neither one of them willing to give up the fight.
Minutes later, Professor Slughorn and Professor McGonagall rounded the corner and shouted for the boys to stop once they saw what was going on. But it took two more professors to pry the boys apart.
Remus was a mess, hunched in the middle with torn robes, a black eye already forming, and a split lip. Severus hadn't fared much better. He was unable to put weight on his left leg, with what they suspected was a broken nose and blood covering his left ear.
They were both sent to the hospital wing that night and put on opposite sides of the room. That night Remus went to bed smiling despite the pain he was feeling. He had defended his pride and stood up for himself. And now he was no longer feeling pitiful, instead he felt strong in spite of his three bruised ribs.
Severus went to bed utterly confused. What in the hell had Hermione said to Remus for him to act like that? And why had he been accused of snogging her? He wasn't sure what was going on, but he sure as hell was going to find out once he got out of this place after his knee healed. After all, it wasn't worth getting into fights over a girl he could barely tolerate. Though she did have decent eyes.
November 20th, 1996
Harry was more nervous than usual walking into potions class that day. The further he got into Hermione's letters, the more they turned into journal entries. Harry knew that he was reading things that she would never have had the nerve to tell him in person. Never before would she have gone into so much detail about Remus' kissing with him. Though most of the time, when she wasn't talking about kissing, he enjoyed the detail. He loved that he was getting to know his parents, the good and the bad.
And the letter he read last night had made him nervous to go into potions.
Snape had always been mentioned in her letters every so often and she had written to him about the project that she was doing with Snape. So when Remus' name started to become less common and Snape's began to show up a bit more he took no notice of it. It was normal. When Hermione's relationships begin to fade, she throws herself into school work, so obviously his name would be coming up and that was fine.
But that letter!
Harry was nervous because now, as he sat in his potions class trying desperately to pay attention, all he could think of was how much his best friend seemed to enjoy kissing Snape's lips.
…...
Ron hadn't been doing very well since Hermione had disappeared. His grades had dropped, though not as much as they would have if she hadn't given him some help through the letters, and he had hardly spoken to anyone outside of Harry. Not even Ginny was able to get him going these days.
He had Harry were still the only students that knew the truth, everyone else thought that she had been called away. There were a thousand different stories running around the halls. Some say that she had been put into a safe house to protect her from you-know-who, others said she had been selected by the ministry for a special think-tank, others even said that she had been captured by the ministry and was being tortured for information on Harry Potter and Dumbledore. Some even said that she was dead.
He had been bombarded by questions when she first disappeared and while at first he tried to answer them, he had given up after a few days and stayed quiet about it ever since. His moods had been so sour that he wasn't even capable of getting angry anymore.
Harry had been sharing some of what she was telling him in his letters and Ron was grateful for that. That is, until he found out that she had dated his old professor. His feelings for Hermione had always gone back and forth. He'd never tried anything, fearing that if he did he would destroy their friendship, but lately he couldn't help but wishing that he had. After all, if they had been dating when she went back to the past, surely she wouldn't have started dating a werewolf and he wouldn't have had to hear about it.
And despite how much he disliked hearing about her dating Remus, he found himself wishing for that again. He held the letter Harry had read the night before in his hands. Normally Harry would have said something about what was in it before he'd gone to bed, but he hadn't. Ron was curious about what she had written. Obviously it had to be something bad based on Harry's reaction, but Ron hadn't expected that.
For the first time in weeks, he felt something burning in his chest. How could she have done that? His mind raced with the images of the two of them together, touching, kissing, and it was driving him mad! He stood up from his bed and paced back and forth, desperately wanting to hit something, anything.
Snape! How in Merlin's name could she ever go for Snape!
Ron wanted to run, he wanted to find Snape and snap his neck for daring to touch his best friend, and then he wanted to go back in time and knock some sense into Hermione as well. What in the hell was she thinking?
After all the years that they spent hating him, after all the years they spent trying to prove his evil and she goes and snogs him after spending a few months with him. It was insane!
How could she have possibly gone for that git? And over Ron? He knew that there had been times when she had fancied him too, but she had never gone for it either. But she'd go for Snape? Snape!
Ron just couldn't take it anymore. He was angry that he'd never made a move. He was angry that his best friend was gone and may never come back. He was angry that he wasn't allowed to tell anyone. He was angry with her. He was angry that all she thought to tell him in her letters were homework tips. He was angry that Hermione had dated Remus. And he was furious that she had snogged Snape.
He had to find a way to get rid of this burning in his chest. Dumbledore had forbidden Ron and Harry from leaving school grounds, something about keeping them safe so going to Hogsmeade was out. And although he wanted to go and punch Snape's face in, he didn't want to get expelled. But he had to do something. And then he remembered, Slytherin would be walking back from the quidditch pitch right about then and Malfoy always deserved a nice beating.
The decision made Ron feel a little bit better. So he grabbed his coat and his wand, pushed past the first years that were coming up the stairs to the dorms, and made his way to the quidditch pitch.
