Wow. this is a long a/n. k, if you don't feel like reading it, just skip to
the fic.
I dunno if this is as good as some of my other chapters- I know what I want to have happen, but I'm having trouble writing it. Oh- and if anyone has plot ideas, let me know in a review. I can't promise I'll take them, but I'm always open to suggestions.
This recap of SGTBITY is very short- I really suggest that you go read the real thing, cuz it's REALLY good.
Oh- the name, 'nichka', that Remus calls Sass- I just added that- it means little spark, and I'm putting the first mention in the birthday scene, just so you know, okay? Cool.
Hyena/Shrek (sorry! eep!), my buddy on JV1, if you read this, PLZ drop a review when your logged in so I can go find your story. I tried to email you but hotmail wouldn't cooperate.
Are any of you guys Mercedes Lackey fans? If so, I challenge you to find a variation on a quote by Vanyel in Magic's Price. Doughnut (flavor of choice) to anyone who finds it.
Hey! Two chapters in one week! This is a record or something! Ok, lol. or at least I'm gonna try my bloody hardest to get this out tonight.
Oy, reviewers? Do you guys think this needs to be PG-13? Cuz I've started to cuss more, and some suicidal tendancies have worked their way in. let me know what you think in a review!! Thanks.
Disclaimer Update: as I have said, there is a variation on a quote from Magic's Price in here. I don't own that book, and I'm not being paid to put it in here- which you should know. K?
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter 13- Protector
Remus took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, I'm sure you don't know this, but the day that- that James and Lily died, well that was a full moon. I had just spent the night locked in my own basement. The next morning, I woke up to Severus. /He/ was the one who told me that the Potters had died, along with Peter- betrayed- betrayed by Black." Sass almost told him, he looked so sad, but stopped herself just in time. Better not to. She needed to keep Sirius' innocence a secret, in case he betrayed her too. After a moment, Remus continued.
"But he didn't tell me right away, oh no." Sass was unnerved by the bitterness and pain that still lingered in Remus' voice. Severus must have taken him apart, to make him still hurt this much, after twelve years. "He started by taunting me, mocking my weakness, telling me I was an animal. I'd heard it all before, but I'm always weaker after the moon." His eyes clouded for a moment, and Sass silently moved her head in respect of what he went through every month. He told her more, and Sass listened in amazement. She could not imagine being able to come through a dissection of that cruelty. She probably would have killed herself.
"Anyway, he drew it out as much as he could, truly made me feel disgusting- not only an animal, worse than an animal, for the pretense of humanity. and sometimes I still wonder- but we are so similar, both outcast for things we can't help, both trying to aid those who scorn us anyway- well, that's what Albus told me, but it /still hurts/, Sass." He looked straight into her eyes, sharing the pain he must know she felt. "Not a week goes by when I don't remember what he said that morning- and wonder if maybe he's right, and I /do/ just want the blood, not care about anything else- that's what he did to me, Sass, and I can't ever forgive that. And I will never tell anyone what he did to you, if you will tell me. Because sometimes it helps to talk- and I will do anything I can to help you." Then he simply sat back. No piercing eyes, no pleading looks now. He wanted her to decide. But she couldn't trust.
"Just let me think about it, okay?" she whispered. "I don't know." Remus smiled, almost masking his disappointment. Sass felt a moment of regret- but if she did decide to trust him, she could always tell him later, and she was so tired.
"Alright, Sass. That's fine," Remus said, reaching for something on her bedside table. "Here. Drink this. It's from Madam Pomfrey, and it will help you sleep." He put the goblet to her lips, and Sass drank obediently, more than ready to find oblivion. She would think about all of this when she woke up.
* * * * *
Sass didn't know it, but Remus kept watch over her all day and night. He saw how much younger she looked when she slept- he knew it was the strength of her personality. A lock of dark hair fell into her eyes and he brushed it gently away. She felt- almost like a daughter to him, he felt that strongly. He had been worried when she first told him she knew of his lycanthropy, but now it seemed right, fitting, that she should know everything about him. He hoped that he could save her from her pain, push it away before it could begin to eat at her. And Severus- he would pay for this.
* * * * *
Severus was brooding. As he ate dinner in the Great Hall, his gaze kept shifting to Lupin's empty seat. He was probably still with Sass. Severus scowled. All those Gryffindors were alike- even Albus. They all saw Slytherins as clones of Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin- never bothered to see if that was actually /true/.
He also found himself watching the twin first-years who'd clued him into Sass' betrayal. Not by telling him, oh no, they'd never be so kind. He'd seen them in a hall with a couple of those damned sixth years that had pulled the prank on him last month. Their conversation stopped suddenly as he came into view- he knew he tended to do that, and didn't care. But as he'd walked around the corner, he heard the whispers begin.
"Have you heard some of the stories that Sass has been telling about him?"
"Yeah, and he thinks she's an outcast, boo-hoo. Hah. What a sucker."
"Stupid git."
He'd stayed there, hidden behind the corner, until the group disbanded, unable to be sure that they weren't telling the truth. Then he'd met Sass in his office, as he often did, but had exploded when she would /not/ stop pestering him about his- yes, he knew it- unfairness to Gryffindors. And now he knew. She hadn't admitted it, but her body language had all but shouted out her guilt.
But he still didn't want it to be true-
Severus savagely chewed a bite out of his steak, angry at his heart's stubborn refusal to give in to the wisdom of his head. /I'm bloody sick of Gryffindor and everyone in it. And I need to go hit something. Now./
He abruptly excused himself from the High Table and exited the hall. He'd go to the Teachers' Training Room- it should be empty since everyone was eating dinner, and contained punching bags aplenty. Maybe that way he wouldn't kill anyone. /Though God knows I'd like to../
* * * * *
Sass came slowly out of the enchanted blackness she had lain in unwillingly, but steadily. She felt herself groaning as feeling came back, including a skull four sizes too small, a nose that felt stuffed with cotton, and a persistent ache in the back of her throat. She opened her eyes.
"Hello, sleepyhead!" Remus said cheerfully, earning himself a glare that caused him to laugh. "Oh, come on, you didn't expect us to let you sleep all the way 'till Christmas break, did you?
"Huh- what?" Sass said groggily. "'Ow long wad I azleeb?"
Remus smiled. "Six days. It's Wednesday the twelfth. And we're both missing my class, so you had better be grateful. No- I was just kidding," he said quickly when he saw she was going to try to come up with an apology. "Seriously. Madam Pomfrey says she got rid of the worst of the pneumonia, which means you should actually be feeling better in about a day. What hurts?"
Sass took a moment to answer, trying to clear some of the fog from her brain. "By 'ed- an' my troad, and by dose id duffed. Bud- 'ow did I ged sick?" But she didn't hear whatever Remus said, because the instant she asked, it all came back. Everything. She closed her eyes for a moment, and by Remus' expression when she opened them, Sass knew a mask had drawn over her face. Which was precisely as it should be.
"Sass- if you want to talk about it-"
She hated to disappoint him, but she just couldn't do this, set herself up for this kind of pain again. /I will never make that mistake again- ever/. "I'b dorry, Rebud," she said, hating her voice for screwing up her words. "Babee avder a bile, ben id doden't 'urd do buch. Bud I jusd cad." She closed her eyes, drowning herself in the pure physical pain she felt. In a way, she welcomed it, so that she had a reason to feel miserable. /Just like Remus after the Potters died./ she thought, though she regretted it instantly. No, she didn't want to commiserate with Remus. Even he might turn if she trusted him with her soul.
Remus put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she did not flinch away. "That's okay Sass. It'll all work out. And-"
He was interrupted by the Infirmary door slamming open. Sev-Snape stood there, obviously in a rage. Sass shrank back instinctively, though she mentally slapped herself for showing weakness. Remus saw this, and his dark blue eyes grew cold and hard. He stood up abruptly, putting himself between Sass and the dark figure in the doorway. "What do you want, Snape?" he said curtly.
Snape sneered. "It's a matter of contention between me," he jerked his head roughly at Sass, "and her."
Remus took a slow step forward, and then another. "Let me just tell you now, /Snape/, that there is /no way/ on this planet that I will let you anywhere near Sass, even for a second. If I can, I will even get her out of your class. But no need to yell in the Hospital Wing. Let's discuss it in the hall." It was a command, and Snape obeyed it, though it obviously galled him to do so. Sass couldn't hear what they said, so she started trying to remember the seven variations on the Fidelius Charm that she'd looked up.
* * * * *
Remus followed Snape out into the hallway, keeping a tight rein on his temper. /It won't do Sass any good to make Snape even more mad at her, though only God knows why he's angry in the first place. It's so tempting to hit him with a couple of curses, though. no, I can't do that. Sass is the important thing in this, and it wouldn't help/. Snape turned curtly back to him and said, "Well? What do you want to talk about?" Remus thought briefly how much he could get away with, decided he didn't care, and grinned ferally. He was about to use his lupine strength. He slammed Snape against the wall, holding him off the ground by the front of his robes. He put his face very close to Snape's, enunciating every word.
"Listen, /Snape/," he said furiously. "I don't know /what/ you did to that girl to upset her, but I /just/ wanted you to know how she's reacted." Snape started to say something, but Remus cut him off, frustrated and angry and /knowing/ Snape was the cause.
"She climbed the school- yes, the /whole damn/ school, even the overhang on the fourteenth floor, every night, /in the cold/, for a week and a /half/, until she bloody /collapsed/, from exhaustion and /pneumonia/, for God's sake! And now I've just barely gotten her to trust me even a /little/, and I will /die/ before I let you near her, /you hear me/? Because I /know/ it was something you did- and she doesn't deserve to have a bastard like you screwing up her life like /you/ did to /me/!
"And you know what else? I don't know if she's /ever/ going to trust anyone as much /ever/ again. I'll be damned if I know why she trusted you so much, but she bloody /did/, and you-" he dropped Snape to the floor, glaring down at the shocked man, "-you betrayed her. And I can't exact the revenge I'd like to on you, but I can and /will/ make sure that you /never/, /ever/, hurt her again." With a last withering glare, Remus turned on his heel and stalked back into the Hospital Wing.
For a long time after that, Severus simply sat out in the hallway, trying to assimilate this new information with what he already knew.
* * * * *
/I wish I knew what to do/. It was Friday, and Sass was back in school, with a strict admonishment from Madam Pomfrey not to exert herself. She remembered the only thing she'd made out of Remus and Snape's conversation outside the hospital wing- "I will die before I let you near her." Remus hadn't been talking to her, he had no reason to lie- had he really meant what he said? If he had- if he had, then perhaps, perhaps he was the person she could trust. /Maybe he won't hurt me./ She skulked down the hall, even though she knew no one could see her. This morning she'd gotten up early to practice the Lateus Charm. Regardless of any pledges Remus made, she couldn't afford to be recognized by Snape. So now any glances people threw her way were vague, unrecognizing. She hadn't been called on in class, and no one had asked her where she'd been last week. Sass was feeling the strain in tiredness, though. She knew she shouldn't be doing this- she was still sick- but it was so nice not having anyone hurting her.
After lunch, Sass was forced to drop the charm- it would hardly be inconspicuous for her to collapse again. And besides, she was going to Remus' Defense class next, and he would protect her. /What? I thought I wasn't going to trust him/, she thought. But it was true. Somehow, despite everything, she still couldn't believe that Remus would hurt her. He had all his own failings, but he was somehow so gentle- and there were his final words to her before she left the Hospital Wing this morning- "If you need me, touch your right eye and whisper my name- I will be there, and I /will/ protect you, /nichka/. I will protect you, whatever the cost. I swear to you with the same truth that I swore I would never allow the werewolf to hurt /anyone/. I will hold to this promise as long as I can, and if there is a way to protect you after death, I will find it."
And then he had let her go, after reminding her that she was to come back at night- Madam Pomfrey still wanted her to sleep there. Sass hadn't been sure that she wanted to believe Remus, but it seemed that she did now anyway.
Sass slipped into the classroom quietly, waving at Remus before sitting down in the back corner, where people were least likely to see her. All too soon, the chattering third-years came in. They were quiet for a moment when they saw Sass, but no one said anything. Not even Hermione acknowledged her presence. Sass felt her stomach do a little flip-flop when Harry entered the room- /God, what is my problem? He's a golden boy, and I'm a leper/- but she kept herself in line. She could /never/ trust Harry, he wouldn't even believe in the beginning that he didn't want to hurt her.
Sass focused entirely on the lesson, not wanting to hear the whispers, and see the sideways glances she /knew/ were circling the classroom. Finally it was over- Remus had excused her from History of Magic on the excuse that she was still sick, so she had nowhere she needed to be. Sass decided she might as well go back to her dormitory, to see if she needed to clean things up.
She was walking quietly down the last hall before she got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, when she turned a blind corridor and ran into a tall mass of black robes.
"I'm sorry, I-" Then she saw who she had run into, and gasped.
You tell me if you think that's
Harry
Oliver Woods
Malfoy
Snape
McGonagall
Ron
Someone else
And. duh duh duh.
R E V I E W!!!!!!!!!! It only takes ten seconds!
I dunno if this is as good as some of my other chapters- I know what I want to have happen, but I'm having trouble writing it. Oh- and if anyone has plot ideas, let me know in a review. I can't promise I'll take them, but I'm always open to suggestions.
This recap of SGTBITY is very short- I really suggest that you go read the real thing, cuz it's REALLY good.
Oh- the name, 'nichka', that Remus calls Sass- I just added that- it means little spark, and I'm putting the first mention in the birthday scene, just so you know, okay? Cool.
Hyena/Shrek (sorry! eep!), my buddy on JV1, if you read this, PLZ drop a review when your logged in so I can go find your story. I tried to email you but hotmail wouldn't cooperate.
Are any of you guys Mercedes Lackey fans? If so, I challenge you to find a variation on a quote by Vanyel in Magic's Price. Doughnut (flavor of choice) to anyone who finds it.
Hey! Two chapters in one week! This is a record or something! Ok, lol. or at least I'm gonna try my bloody hardest to get this out tonight.
Oy, reviewers? Do you guys think this needs to be PG-13? Cuz I've started to cuss more, and some suicidal tendancies have worked their way in. let me know what you think in a review!! Thanks.
Disclaimer Update: as I have said, there is a variation on a quote from Magic's Price in here. I don't own that book, and I'm not being paid to put it in here- which you should know. K?
Sasina (Sass for short) Chapter 13- Protector
Remus took a deep breath. "Okay. Well, I'm sure you don't know this, but the day that- that James and Lily died, well that was a full moon. I had just spent the night locked in my own basement. The next morning, I woke up to Severus. /He/ was the one who told me that the Potters had died, along with Peter- betrayed- betrayed by Black." Sass almost told him, he looked so sad, but stopped herself just in time. Better not to. She needed to keep Sirius' innocence a secret, in case he betrayed her too. After a moment, Remus continued.
"But he didn't tell me right away, oh no." Sass was unnerved by the bitterness and pain that still lingered in Remus' voice. Severus must have taken him apart, to make him still hurt this much, after twelve years. "He started by taunting me, mocking my weakness, telling me I was an animal. I'd heard it all before, but I'm always weaker after the moon." His eyes clouded for a moment, and Sass silently moved her head in respect of what he went through every month. He told her more, and Sass listened in amazement. She could not imagine being able to come through a dissection of that cruelty. She probably would have killed herself.
"Anyway, he drew it out as much as he could, truly made me feel disgusting- not only an animal, worse than an animal, for the pretense of humanity. and sometimes I still wonder- but we are so similar, both outcast for things we can't help, both trying to aid those who scorn us anyway- well, that's what Albus told me, but it /still hurts/, Sass." He looked straight into her eyes, sharing the pain he must know she felt. "Not a week goes by when I don't remember what he said that morning- and wonder if maybe he's right, and I /do/ just want the blood, not care about anything else- that's what he did to me, Sass, and I can't ever forgive that. And I will never tell anyone what he did to you, if you will tell me. Because sometimes it helps to talk- and I will do anything I can to help you." Then he simply sat back. No piercing eyes, no pleading looks now. He wanted her to decide. But she couldn't trust.
"Just let me think about it, okay?" she whispered. "I don't know." Remus smiled, almost masking his disappointment. Sass felt a moment of regret- but if she did decide to trust him, she could always tell him later, and she was so tired.
"Alright, Sass. That's fine," Remus said, reaching for something on her bedside table. "Here. Drink this. It's from Madam Pomfrey, and it will help you sleep." He put the goblet to her lips, and Sass drank obediently, more than ready to find oblivion. She would think about all of this when she woke up.
* * * * *
Sass didn't know it, but Remus kept watch over her all day and night. He saw how much younger she looked when she slept- he knew it was the strength of her personality. A lock of dark hair fell into her eyes and he brushed it gently away. She felt- almost like a daughter to him, he felt that strongly. He had been worried when she first told him she knew of his lycanthropy, but now it seemed right, fitting, that she should know everything about him. He hoped that he could save her from her pain, push it away before it could begin to eat at her. And Severus- he would pay for this.
* * * * *
Severus was brooding. As he ate dinner in the Great Hall, his gaze kept shifting to Lupin's empty seat. He was probably still with Sass. Severus scowled. All those Gryffindors were alike- even Albus. They all saw Slytherins as clones of Voldemort and Salazar Slytherin- never bothered to see if that was actually /true/.
He also found himself watching the twin first-years who'd clued him into Sass' betrayal. Not by telling him, oh no, they'd never be so kind. He'd seen them in a hall with a couple of those damned sixth years that had pulled the prank on him last month. Their conversation stopped suddenly as he came into view- he knew he tended to do that, and didn't care. But as he'd walked around the corner, he heard the whispers begin.
"Have you heard some of the stories that Sass has been telling about him?"
"Yeah, and he thinks she's an outcast, boo-hoo. Hah. What a sucker."
"Stupid git."
He'd stayed there, hidden behind the corner, until the group disbanded, unable to be sure that they weren't telling the truth. Then he'd met Sass in his office, as he often did, but had exploded when she would /not/ stop pestering him about his- yes, he knew it- unfairness to Gryffindors. And now he knew. She hadn't admitted it, but her body language had all but shouted out her guilt.
But he still didn't want it to be true-
Severus savagely chewed a bite out of his steak, angry at his heart's stubborn refusal to give in to the wisdom of his head. /I'm bloody sick of Gryffindor and everyone in it. And I need to go hit something. Now./
He abruptly excused himself from the High Table and exited the hall. He'd go to the Teachers' Training Room- it should be empty since everyone was eating dinner, and contained punching bags aplenty. Maybe that way he wouldn't kill anyone. /Though God knows I'd like to../
* * * * *
Sass came slowly out of the enchanted blackness she had lain in unwillingly, but steadily. She felt herself groaning as feeling came back, including a skull four sizes too small, a nose that felt stuffed with cotton, and a persistent ache in the back of her throat. She opened her eyes.
"Hello, sleepyhead!" Remus said cheerfully, earning himself a glare that caused him to laugh. "Oh, come on, you didn't expect us to let you sleep all the way 'till Christmas break, did you?
"Huh- what?" Sass said groggily. "'Ow long wad I azleeb?"
Remus smiled. "Six days. It's Wednesday the twelfth. And we're both missing my class, so you had better be grateful. No- I was just kidding," he said quickly when he saw she was going to try to come up with an apology. "Seriously. Madam Pomfrey says she got rid of the worst of the pneumonia, which means you should actually be feeling better in about a day. What hurts?"
Sass took a moment to answer, trying to clear some of the fog from her brain. "By 'ed- an' my troad, and by dose id duffed. Bud- 'ow did I ged sick?" But she didn't hear whatever Remus said, because the instant she asked, it all came back. Everything. She closed her eyes for a moment, and by Remus' expression when she opened them, Sass knew a mask had drawn over her face. Which was precisely as it should be.
"Sass- if you want to talk about it-"
She hated to disappoint him, but she just couldn't do this, set herself up for this kind of pain again. /I will never make that mistake again- ever/. "I'b dorry, Rebud," she said, hating her voice for screwing up her words. "Babee avder a bile, ben id doden't 'urd do buch. Bud I jusd cad." She closed her eyes, drowning herself in the pure physical pain she felt. In a way, she welcomed it, so that she had a reason to feel miserable. /Just like Remus after the Potters died./ she thought, though she regretted it instantly. No, she didn't want to commiserate with Remus. Even he might turn if she trusted him with her soul.
Remus put a gentle hand on her shoulder, and she did not flinch away. "That's okay Sass. It'll all work out. And-"
He was interrupted by the Infirmary door slamming open. Sev-Snape stood there, obviously in a rage. Sass shrank back instinctively, though she mentally slapped herself for showing weakness. Remus saw this, and his dark blue eyes grew cold and hard. He stood up abruptly, putting himself between Sass and the dark figure in the doorway. "What do you want, Snape?" he said curtly.
Snape sneered. "It's a matter of contention between me," he jerked his head roughly at Sass, "and her."
Remus took a slow step forward, and then another. "Let me just tell you now, /Snape/, that there is /no way/ on this planet that I will let you anywhere near Sass, even for a second. If I can, I will even get her out of your class. But no need to yell in the Hospital Wing. Let's discuss it in the hall." It was a command, and Snape obeyed it, though it obviously galled him to do so. Sass couldn't hear what they said, so she started trying to remember the seven variations on the Fidelius Charm that she'd looked up.
* * * * *
Remus followed Snape out into the hallway, keeping a tight rein on his temper. /It won't do Sass any good to make Snape even more mad at her, though only God knows why he's angry in the first place. It's so tempting to hit him with a couple of curses, though. no, I can't do that. Sass is the important thing in this, and it wouldn't help/. Snape turned curtly back to him and said, "Well? What do you want to talk about?" Remus thought briefly how much he could get away with, decided he didn't care, and grinned ferally. He was about to use his lupine strength. He slammed Snape against the wall, holding him off the ground by the front of his robes. He put his face very close to Snape's, enunciating every word.
"Listen, /Snape/," he said furiously. "I don't know /what/ you did to that girl to upset her, but I /just/ wanted you to know how she's reacted." Snape started to say something, but Remus cut him off, frustrated and angry and /knowing/ Snape was the cause.
"She climbed the school- yes, the /whole damn/ school, even the overhang on the fourteenth floor, every night, /in the cold/, for a week and a /half/, until she bloody /collapsed/, from exhaustion and /pneumonia/, for God's sake! And now I've just barely gotten her to trust me even a /little/, and I will /die/ before I let you near her, /you hear me/? Because I /know/ it was something you did- and she doesn't deserve to have a bastard like you screwing up her life like /you/ did to /me/!
"And you know what else? I don't know if she's /ever/ going to trust anyone as much /ever/ again. I'll be damned if I know why she trusted you so much, but she bloody /did/, and you-" he dropped Snape to the floor, glaring down at the shocked man, "-you betrayed her. And I can't exact the revenge I'd like to on you, but I can and /will/ make sure that you /never/, /ever/, hurt her again." With a last withering glare, Remus turned on his heel and stalked back into the Hospital Wing.
For a long time after that, Severus simply sat out in the hallway, trying to assimilate this new information with what he already knew.
* * * * *
/I wish I knew what to do/. It was Friday, and Sass was back in school, with a strict admonishment from Madam Pomfrey not to exert herself. She remembered the only thing she'd made out of Remus and Snape's conversation outside the hospital wing- "I will die before I let you near her." Remus hadn't been talking to her, he had no reason to lie- had he really meant what he said? If he had- if he had, then perhaps, perhaps he was the person she could trust. /Maybe he won't hurt me./ She skulked down the hall, even though she knew no one could see her. This morning she'd gotten up early to practice the Lateus Charm. Regardless of any pledges Remus made, she couldn't afford to be recognized by Snape. So now any glances people threw her way were vague, unrecognizing. She hadn't been called on in class, and no one had asked her where she'd been last week. Sass was feeling the strain in tiredness, though. She knew she shouldn't be doing this- she was still sick- but it was so nice not having anyone hurting her.
After lunch, Sass was forced to drop the charm- it would hardly be inconspicuous for her to collapse again. And besides, she was going to Remus' Defense class next, and he would protect her. /What? I thought I wasn't going to trust him/, she thought. But it was true. Somehow, despite everything, she still couldn't believe that Remus would hurt her. He had all his own failings, but he was somehow so gentle- and there were his final words to her before she left the Hospital Wing this morning- "If you need me, touch your right eye and whisper my name- I will be there, and I /will/ protect you, /nichka/. I will protect you, whatever the cost. I swear to you with the same truth that I swore I would never allow the werewolf to hurt /anyone/. I will hold to this promise as long as I can, and if there is a way to protect you after death, I will find it."
And then he had let her go, after reminding her that she was to come back at night- Madam Pomfrey still wanted her to sleep there. Sass hadn't been sure that she wanted to believe Remus, but it seemed that she did now anyway.
Sass slipped into the classroom quietly, waving at Remus before sitting down in the back corner, where people were least likely to see her. All too soon, the chattering third-years came in. They were quiet for a moment when they saw Sass, but no one said anything. Not even Hermione acknowledged her presence. Sass felt her stomach do a little flip-flop when Harry entered the room- /God, what is my problem? He's a golden boy, and I'm a leper/- but she kept herself in line. She could /never/ trust Harry, he wouldn't even believe in the beginning that he didn't want to hurt her.
Sass focused entirely on the lesson, not wanting to hear the whispers, and see the sideways glances she /knew/ were circling the classroom. Finally it was over- Remus had excused her from History of Magic on the excuse that she was still sick, so she had nowhere she needed to be. Sass decided she might as well go back to her dormitory, to see if she needed to clean things up.
She was walking quietly down the last hall before she got to the portrait of the Fat Lady, when she turned a blind corridor and ran into a tall mass of black robes.
"I'm sorry, I-" Then she saw who she had run into, and gasped.
You tell me if you think that's
Harry
Oliver Woods
Malfoy
Snape
McGonagall
Ron
Someone else
And. duh duh duh.
R E V I E W!!!!!!!!!! It only takes ten seconds!