Hey! Well… Here it is… chapter 45. Sure enough you'll hate reading this but it's absolutely necessary for me to include painful chapters such as this in order to have a great plot line. Anyway… thing will end up just fine. I guess I'll be finishing this soon; may be chapter 49; 50. I haven't written them yet. I'm lazy as hell.
And… let me add a big "Thanks" to my loyal reviewers. To them, is dedicated this chapter.
Enjoy.
Chapter 45: Extreme problems require extreme solutions.
Florence woke up with a headache. It wasn't illogical; she had had a lot to drink the night before.
As I said she woke up feeling extremely dizzy… and searching for George's body she found a much bigger, more muscular man. She opened her eyes in amazement and fear only to find Severus Snape laying next to her.
And then… she remembered the events that had brought her there.
George had a son and sure enough life wouldn't be the same for her. She wasn't ready for a commitment; she was ready for love; for crazy, irresponsible love. She was not ready to be a mum, and she knew that for a fact.
She was wearing her formal robes so that meant that Severus had been a gentleman; he had dressed her up and he had respected her.
'How an incredible man,' She thought to herself while getting out of the four poster bed.
And then… she remembered the one that owned her heart entirely. And listen close, because this man may not be an incredible one, but sure enough his red hair and his frecklish face make him irresistible. This man's name is no other than George Weasley.
'George,' She said out loud waking up the moodiest of all Hogwarts Professors.
'What? EXPELIARMUS!,' He shouted at once, and pointing his wand towards Florence the spell hit her fully on the chest, leaving her on the floor trembling like mad, 'Oh, Florence…I am very sorry,' He apologized, running to where she was.
'It's ok, Severus… you need to relax a little bit,' She joked smiling, 'Not everyone wants to kill you,' She said getting up from the hard ground.
'George Weasley will when he founds out you spent the night here,' He said grinning.
'Yes, he will. But he won't kill you, Severus. He'll kill me,' She shortly confessed, taking his hand on hers and gently kissing his palm.
'Florence, listen…,' He brusquely said trying to protect himself from her.
'No, Severus… that's fine. You have always been special for me but I cannot lie to you; …not to you of all people,' She softly said, 'I am in love with George… I love him. But there's always something between us… and as much as I care about him I cannot consider marrying him. Not now that he has found out that he has a son,' She confessed.
'I do not care,' He said, 'You can learn to love me… please, stay with me,' He said grabbing her hands and placing them on his chest.
'Love is not something you learn, Severus… love is something you own; something that never leaves you. And as much as I think you are my perfect match in many fields like literature or politics, I cannot lie to my heart; I cannot lie to myself,' She confessed, hugging him tightly.
And just then… she knew. She had made up her mind; she did not want George or Severus. She wanted peace; she needed a rest from the both of them. But above all things, she needed a rest from pain.
'I understand,' He sadly said, looking for something on the rug.
'Listen, Severus… you are a fantastic man and I hate breaking your heart. I love you, you know that, right? But not in the way you deserve, Severus… you deserve much more than a girl like me,' She said, kissing him on the cheek, 'I must leave now… I must leave from Hogwarts as soon as possible. I must speak with the headmaster right away… will you promise to write?,' She asked with a week smile.
'Of course,' He miserably said.
And leaning forward he kissed her forehead goodbye. And that was it.
She was over Severus.
---*---*---
'Headmaster,' Florence weakly said, once she was in his office, 'I must speak with you about something of rather importance,'
'What is it, my child?,' The old man asked with concern in his voice.
'I am very sorry, headmaster, but I cannot continue with my lectures,' She confessed; a face of extreme worry.
'And why is that, my child?,' Albus Dumbledore enquired, looking at her above his half moon spectacles.
'To tell you the truth, headmaster, the reasons are rather personal,' She weakly said.
'I understand, Miss Pugliare. Do not worry; I am sure I can find a replacement,' He said without a hint of concern, 'but, Miss Pugliare…I must confess I am worried about your… personal… situation. If there is anything I can do…,' Dumbledore said with a smile on his face.
'Thank you, headmaster, but extreme problems require extreme solutions,' She confessed, while walking towards the door.
'Goodbye, Miss Pugliare… and God bless you,'
'Thank you, headmaster… I'll need all the faith I can get, right now,' She said, waving her hand goodbye.
And as smoothly as she had entered the room, she was gone.
---*---*---
George Weasley woke up about noon. He had searched for Florence for hours last night; he was feeling rather tired at the moment.
But even more than exhausted, he was worried.
Florence wasn't there.
'Where could she be?,' He asked to himself while walking around the room.
And then… as if the Gods had guided him there, he found an envelope with his name on it. The handwriting obviously belonged to Florence.
'Oh, Gods… this cannot be good,' He said out loud while ripping the envelope apart.
Dear George,
I am not very pleased with myself at the moment. I had decided to leave Hogwarts; I had decided to let you live the life you deserve; the life I cannot give you.
That's why you will not see my face soon and you will not receive any letter from me… that's the only way you can rip me away from your heart.
Please, do not try to find me, George. It will only complicate things. Try to enjoy parenthood; you have a truly beautiful son.
Please, don't be sad. If you believe in fate as much as I do, may be someday we'll meet again.
Until then,
Florence.
He couldn't believe his eyes; he couldn't believe Florence had written such words.
'Why?,' He asked out loud. But no one answered.
And then… as if that was the only thing left to do, he felt to the floor and hugging his pillow tightly he cried a river of tears for the one that had gotten away, breaking his heart into a million pieces.
