That was Then, This is Now
Disclaimer: I hate these things. I know that I don't own it. You know that I don't own it. Am I the only one who thinks these are a repetitive waste of time?
Kristin: This chapter doesn't really have any more action than the last chapter, but it should be interesting. I have recently realized that I actually have a writing style. It includes progressing my stories by leaps and bounds through time. I kind of dislike writing about things that are irrelevant, so if there is nothing going on for a month or so, I will just skip that time.
***
Chapter Thirteen
Having to spend over an hour in a dark, cold dungeon for a potions class with one irritable professor is no fun. Having to do so with two irritable professors is even less so. When the two professors are at each other's metaphorical throats, disagreeing about a potion, it is less enjoyable than a bad day in hell. One would think that such a situation would never arise at a school as organized as Hogwarts. One would be thinking wrong. The tension in the air was an almost tangible thing. Christmas was quickly approaching, sending the students into a frenzy of uncontrollable excitement and the professors into impatient bundles of raw nerves, frantically trying to cram more knowledge into their students before they left. Minako Aino and Severus Snape were no exception.
"I'm telling you, Severus, you put the newts eyes in first. Not the dragon scales," she hissed at her fellow teacher in a volume that she obviously thought the students couldn't hear. They could.
"They do not. The scales go in first."
"They do."
"They do not." The students were now hopelessly distracted from their potions as they watched their teachers progress from a mild disagreement to a full blown childish argument.
"They do!"
"They do not."
"They DO," she shrieked, causing several of the students to cover their ears and Severus to wince.
"An incompetent idiot would know that you put the scales in first. If you don't, then the potion won't come out as potent as it is intended to be." Minako's jaw dropped, and her eyes narrowed into icy blue slits.
"So, now I'm an incompetent idiot?" The students could practically see the anger radiate from around their professor's petite body.
"Just for the record, I didn't call you an incompetent idiot. You called yourself that all on your own." An infuriating smirk twisted on Snape's lips.
"If I'm an incompetent idiot, then you must be even more of one." The smirk dropped from Snape's face to be replaced with a heated glare. "After all, intelligent people don't date incompetent idiots. Is that not so, Severus?" By now, it was becoming obvious to the students that their professors had completely forgotten about their existence, so involved they were in their argument.
"I did not date you because you were or were not an incompetent idiot. That factor, which is yet to be determined, had nothing to do with my asking you out."
"Then why did you ask me out? What caused the high and mighty Slytherin to stoop so low as to ask a mere Gryffindor to go out with him?"
"I asked you out, because you were perfect! You were smart, funny, and intelligent. Damn it, Minako, I was in love with you!" Snape growled low in this throat as he glared at his co-teacher. Minako's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide as they locked with Severus'. After several long, tense moments, Snape suddenly seemed to realize that the classroom was still filled with students. "Any student who isn't out of this classroom in the next ten seconds will lose fifty points for their house."
The tone of his voice alone was enough to get the sixth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to flee from the room. However, several of the students hovered around the door, hoping to hear what was going on.
"Ahem." The students that had stayed at the door looked behind them and saw Chibi Chibi. On her face was a glare; a terrifying mixture of her mum's, father's, and uncle's, that promised pain if they did not leave. She casually twirled her wand in her hand. They all ran down the hallway as quickly as they could. With them gone, Chibi Chibi and Ginny silently pushed the door open and watched the scene that was going on.
Minako took several steps forward, bringing her closer to the ominous man, without breaking eye contact. "You were in love with me?"
"You already knew that," he said with a snort, turning away from the golden- haired goddess, finally succeeding in tearing his eyes away from hers. "And since you already knew that, we really have nothing to discuss, which means that you can get out of this room and leave me alone."
"I think that you owe me an apology, Severus." Minako took an involuntary step backwards as Severus whirled around and leaned over so that his face was mere centimeters from hers. His dark eyes flashed dangerously with an anger that chilled Minako to her core.
"And just what, do you presume, should I be apologizing to you for?"
"You called me an incompetent idiot in front of our class," she said, sweat beginning to form on her forehead from her discomfort, due to her current position under Severus' intense stare.
"I never called-," he began before Minako cut him off.
"Fine, then, you didn't call me one, but you did imply it, and for that I deserve an apology!" Minako gasped as Severus' controlled anger seemed to spiral out of control and his eyes gleamed with an almost insane rage.
"All right, you ungrateful little wench, you shall have your apology since that seems to be all that you care about! I apologize for not calling you an insulting name. I apologize for jeopardizing your position with the students. I apologize that you're the most beautiful creature that I have ever seen. I apologize for falling in love with you. I apologize for being fine until you came back into my life. I apologize for still being in love with you! What more could you possibly want," he snarled.
Tears gathered in Minako's eyes as she reached up and grasped the collar of Severus' robe. Severus looked at her, his eyes silently asking her what she was doing. Then, suddenly she pulled at his collar, crushing her lips against his in a bruising kiss. Her hands slipped behind his head, fingers intertwining with his hair. After a split second of hesitation, Severus wrapped his arms around Minako's waist, pulling her towards him, molding her body to his. Finally, a need for oxygen overrode the passion of the kiss, and they parted, gasping for air. Minako rested her forehead against the side of Severus' neck.
"I want you," she whispered.
Chibi Chibi quietly closed the door, and turned towards Ginny; a large grin plastered on her face. The two girls walked down the corridor toward the Gryffindor common room.
"So, how did you get him to drink the potion," Ginny asked. Chibi Chibi pulled a half empty potion bottle from her pocket, and kissed it.
"I had breakfast with him this morning in his rooms to discuss my progress in his class. It was easy enough to slip some of the potion into his tea while I was preparing it. The fact that this is our first class of the day was just an added bonus." The two girls laughed joyously. Chibi Chibi slipped the potion back into the folds of her robes, patting it lovingly through the thick fabric. "Truth potions are fun."
*
A week later, the last class of the year ended. Students spilled out of their classrooms, running towards their dorms to finish that last bit of packing that they had put off before the train arrived the next morning. Chibi Chibi took it slightly slower. She had one more tutoring session with Draco before he left for the Christmas vacation. She waved good-bye to Ginny, and rounded a corner, heading toward the dungeons. Madam Pomfrey stopped her. "May I have a word with you, Chibi Chibi?"
Chibi Chibi was about to politely tell the mediwizard that she had other things to do, but the concerned look on her face stopped her. She nodded, and Madam Pomfrey led her to the medical wing. She followed her into her office and sat, while Madam Pomfrey sifted through several folders in a filing cabinet. After a few moments she pulled one out, handed it to Chibi Chibi, and sat down behind her desk. "Do you know what that is?"
"My medical records," she murmured as she glanced at a few of the pages.
"Look at the end." She waited until Chibi Chibi flipped to the end of the thick folder before continuing. "I'm sorry, but there has been no change. Nothing that we have done, has had any affect." The redhead stared blankly at the paper in front of her.
"How long?"
"A year at the most. We will continue to try with the treatments, of course- "
"Don't bother," Chibi Chibi cut the older witch off as she stood. "Its hopeless. I need to go think about this." Madam Pomfrey buried her face in her hands as the teenager rushed from the room.
Chibi Chibi spent the next two hours wandering through the cheerful halls of Hogwarts. She walked as if in a trance. Greetings from fellow students fell on deaf ears. She brushed by happy groups with unseeing eyes. Finally, one voice penetrated her mind, bringing her out of her stupor. Chibi Chibi walked up to Draco, who was talking with Crabbe and Goyle, and tapped him on his shoulder. "Draco, I need to talk to you." Draco turned around, and glared at the petite girl.
"If you wanted to talk to me, then you should have come to our study session. I waited for you for nearly an hour. I'm busy now." He started to turn back around, but she grabbed his arm and pulled on it.
"It's important, Draco."
"So is this." He ripped his arm out of her grasp and turned back to his two 'friends'. Chibi Chibi glared at his back for a moment. She lifted her hand, and her fingers curled around the necklace that Draco had given her. With a sudden burst of strength that came from her anger she tore the necklace from her neck, leaving a deep welt, and threw it at the back of his head.
"Fine. Tell me when you start thinking that I'm important!" Draco whirled around when the hard metal connected with his scull. Chibi Chibi had begun to walk away when Draco reached out and grabbed her by her upper arm. He forcefully drug her into a deserted classroom.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you today?" He shoved the necklace back into her hand while he waited for an answer.
"I'm sorry," she began sarcastically," I found out that I'm going to die. Excuse me for being in a bad mood." The scowl on Draco's face darkened.
"Just for this once, could you please be serious about something?" SLAP! Draco's cold eyes widened in surprise as his brain registered that he had just been slapped.
"I am being serious! Draco, I have leukemia and I'm not responding to the treatments. We've tried everything. Wizarding cures, muggle cures, everything! But, its not enough. Madam Pomfrey told me today after my last class, that was why I didn't show up. Save a miracle, I have a year, and then I will die."
***
Kristin: *stares at the end of the chapter with a blank look on her face, before turning and walking away*
Special Thanks to:
Sailor Bree
Dingzhe no Megami
Alexz
Kalliza
Lunarian Amethyst: Thanks for the multiple reviews.
Lady Light
The Future Queen: You will find out more about that later on.
Kolinshar Jackie-chan Benito: All of the scouts will appear in my story at some point or another. I think that I will reveal where Haruka is in chapter fifteen. It was suppose to be a Harry/Hotaru romance, but since I decided that they wouldn't get together until after they left Hogwarts, I might just make that into another story.
Solarmistress17
Tenshi-chan
Serenity Sapphire: Thank you for your concern. We really miss her.
Ami: YAY! I have a new pet! Sirius will be showing up again in the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I hate these things. I know that I don't own it. You know that I don't own it. Am I the only one who thinks these are a repetitive waste of time?
Kristin: This chapter doesn't really have any more action than the last chapter, but it should be interesting. I have recently realized that I actually have a writing style. It includes progressing my stories by leaps and bounds through time. I kind of dislike writing about things that are irrelevant, so if there is nothing going on for a month or so, I will just skip that time.
***
Chapter Thirteen
Having to spend over an hour in a dark, cold dungeon for a potions class with one irritable professor is no fun. Having to do so with two irritable professors is even less so. When the two professors are at each other's metaphorical throats, disagreeing about a potion, it is less enjoyable than a bad day in hell. One would think that such a situation would never arise at a school as organized as Hogwarts. One would be thinking wrong. The tension in the air was an almost tangible thing. Christmas was quickly approaching, sending the students into a frenzy of uncontrollable excitement and the professors into impatient bundles of raw nerves, frantically trying to cram more knowledge into their students before they left. Minako Aino and Severus Snape were no exception.
"I'm telling you, Severus, you put the newts eyes in first. Not the dragon scales," she hissed at her fellow teacher in a volume that she obviously thought the students couldn't hear. They could.
"They do not. The scales go in first."
"They do."
"They do not." The students were now hopelessly distracted from their potions as they watched their teachers progress from a mild disagreement to a full blown childish argument.
"They do!"
"They do not."
"They DO," she shrieked, causing several of the students to cover their ears and Severus to wince.
"An incompetent idiot would know that you put the scales in first. If you don't, then the potion won't come out as potent as it is intended to be." Minako's jaw dropped, and her eyes narrowed into icy blue slits.
"So, now I'm an incompetent idiot?" The students could practically see the anger radiate from around their professor's petite body.
"Just for the record, I didn't call you an incompetent idiot. You called yourself that all on your own." An infuriating smirk twisted on Snape's lips.
"If I'm an incompetent idiot, then you must be even more of one." The smirk dropped from Snape's face to be replaced with a heated glare. "After all, intelligent people don't date incompetent idiots. Is that not so, Severus?" By now, it was becoming obvious to the students that their professors had completely forgotten about their existence, so involved they were in their argument.
"I did not date you because you were or were not an incompetent idiot. That factor, which is yet to be determined, had nothing to do with my asking you out."
"Then why did you ask me out? What caused the high and mighty Slytherin to stoop so low as to ask a mere Gryffindor to go out with him?"
"I asked you out, because you were perfect! You were smart, funny, and intelligent. Damn it, Minako, I was in love with you!" Snape growled low in this throat as he glared at his co-teacher. Minako's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide as they locked with Severus'. After several long, tense moments, Snape suddenly seemed to realize that the classroom was still filled with students. "Any student who isn't out of this classroom in the next ten seconds will lose fifty points for their house."
The tone of his voice alone was enough to get the sixth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to flee from the room. However, several of the students hovered around the door, hoping to hear what was going on.
"Ahem." The students that had stayed at the door looked behind them and saw Chibi Chibi. On her face was a glare; a terrifying mixture of her mum's, father's, and uncle's, that promised pain if they did not leave. She casually twirled her wand in her hand. They all ran down the hallway as quickly as they could. With them gone, Chibi Chibi and Ginny silently pushed the door open and watched the scene that was going on.
Minako took several steps forward, bringing her closer to the ominous man, without breaking eye contact. "You were in love with me?"
"You already knew that," he said with a snort, turning away from the golden- haired goddess, finally succeeding in tearing his eyes away from hers. "And since you already knew that, we really have nothing to discuss, which means that you can get out of this room and leave me alone."
"I think that you owe me an apology, Severus." Minako took an involuntary step backwards as Severus whirled around and leaned over so that his face was mere centimeters from hers. His dark eyes flashed dangerously with an anger that chilled Minako to her core.
"And just what, do you presume, should I be apologizing to you for?"
"You called me an incompetent idiot in front of our class," she said, sweat beginning to form on her forehead from her discomfort, due to her current position under Severus' intense stare.
"I never called-," he began before Minako cut him off.
"Fine, then, you didn't call me one, but you did imply it, and for that I deserve an apology!" Minako gasped as Severus' controlled anger seemed to spiral out of control and his eyes gleamed with an almost insane rage.
"All right, you ungrateful little wench, you shall have your apology since that seems to be all that you care about! I apologize for not calling you an insulting name. I apologize for jeopardizing your position with the students. I apologize that you're the most beautiful creature that I have ever seen. I apologize for falling in love with you. I apologize for being fine until you came back into my life. I apologize for still being in love with you! What more could you possibly want," he snarled.
Tears gathered in Minako's eyes as she reached up and grasped the collar of Severus' robe. Severus looked at her, his eyes silently asking her what she was doing. Then, suddenly she pulled at his collar, crushing her lips against his in a bruising kiss. Her hands slipped behind his head, fingers intertwining with his hair. After a split second of hesitation, Severus wrapped his arms around Minako's waist, pulling her towards him, molding her body to his. Finally, a need for oxygen overrode the passion of the kiss, and they parted, gasping for air. Minako rested her forehead against the side of Severus' neck.
"I want you," she whispered.
Chibi Chibi quietly closed the door, and turned towards Ginny; a large grin plastered on her face. The two girls walked down the corridor toward the Gryffindor common room.
"So, how did you get him to drink the potion," Ginny asked. Chibi Chibi pulled a half empty potion bottle from her pocket, and kissed it.
"I had breakfast with him this morning in his rooms to discuss my progress in his class. It was easy enough to slip some of the potion into his tea while I was preparing it. The fact that this is our first class of the day was just an added bonus." The two girls laughed joyously. Chibi Chibi slipped the potion back into the folds of her robes, patting it lovingly through the thick fabric. "Truth potions are fun."
*
A week later, the last class of the year ended. Students spilled out of their classrooms, running towards their dorms to finish that last bit of packing that they had put off before the train arrived the next morning. Chibi Chibi took it slightly slower. She had one more tutoring session with Draco before he left for the Christmas vacation. She waved good-bye to Ginny, and rounded a corner, heading toward the dungeons. Madam Pomfrey stopped her. "May I have a word with you, Chibi Chibi?"
Chibi Chibi was about to politely tell the mediwizard that she had other things to do, but the concerned look on her face stopped her. She nodded, and Madam Pomfrey led her to the medical wing. She followed her into her office and sat, while Madam Pomfrey sifted through several folders in a filing cabinet. After a few moments she pulled one out, handed it to Chibi Chibi, and sat down behind her desk. "Do you know what that is?"
"My medical records," she murmured as she glanced at a few of the pages.
"Look at the end." She waited until Chibi Chibi flipped to the end of the thick folder before continuing. "I'm sorry, but there has been no change. Nothing that we have done, has had any affect." The redhead stared blankly at the paper in front of her.
"How long?"
"A year at the most. We will continue to try with the treatments, of course- "
"Don't bother," Chibi Chibi cut the older witch off as she stood. "Its hopeless. I need to go think about this." Madam Pomfrey buried her face in her hands as the teenager rushed from the room.
Chibi Chibi spent the next two hours wandering through the cheerful halls of Hogwarts. She walked as if in a trance. Greetings from fellow students fell on deaf ears. She brushed by happy groups with unseeing eyes. Finally, one voice penetrated her mind, bringing her out of her stupor. Chibi Chibi walked up to Draco, who was talking with Crabbe and Goyle, and tapped him on his shoulder. "Draco, I need to talk to you." Draco turned around, and glared at the petite girl.
"If you wanted to talk to me, then you should have come to our study session. I waited for you for nearly an hour. I'm busy now." He started to turn back around, but she grabbed his arm and pulled on it.
"It's important, Draco."
"So is this." He ripped his arm out of her grasp and turned back to his two 'friends'. Chibi Chibi glared at his back for a moment. She lifted her hand, and her fingers curled around the necklace that Draco had given her. With a sudden burst of strength that came from her anger she tore the necklace from her neck, leaving a deep welt, and threw it at the back of his head.
"Fine. Tell me when you start thinking that I'm important!" Draco whirled around when the hard metal connected with his scull. Chibi Chibi had begun to walk away when Draco reached out and grabbed her by her upper arm. He forcefully drug her into a deserted classroom.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with you today?" He shoved the necklace back into her hand while he waited for an answer.
"I'm sorry," she began sarcastically," I found out that I'm going to die. Excuse me for being in a bad mood." The scowl on Draco's face darkened.
"Just for this once, could you please be serious about something?" SLAP! Draco's cold eyes widened in surprise as his brain registered that he had just been slapped.
"I am being serious! Draco, I have leukemia and I'm not responding to the treatments. We've tried everything. Wizarding cures, muggle cures, everything! But, its not enough. Madam Pomfrey told me today after my last class, that was why I didn't show up. Save a miracle, I have a year, and then I will die."
***
Kristin: *stares at the end of the chapter with a blank look on her face, before turning and walking away*
Special Thanks to:
Sailor Bree
Dingzhe no Megami
Alexz
Kalliza
Lunarian Amethyst: Thanks for the multiple reviews.
Lady Light
The Future Queen: You will find out more about that later on.
Kolinshar Jackie-chan Benito: All of the scouts will appear in my story at some point or another. I think that I will reveal where Haruka is in chapter fifteen. It was suppose to be a Harry/Hotaru romance, but since I decided that they wouldn't get together until after they left Hogwarts, I might just make that into another story.
Solarmistress17
Tenshi-chan
Serenity Sapphire: Thank you for your concern. We really miss her.
Ami: YAY! I have a new pet! Sirius will be showing up again in the next chapter.