Chapter 7:

Severus had finally put together a small tray of food, a peace offering as it were. He figured he could follow Mrs. Weasley's advice and hope that Kristin would give him another chance. As he walked, he remembered his original feelings about her. He was upset at first when he realized that there was now someone else in the castle, but he realized that it must've been a relation of his prisoner.

Then he had heard that it was a girl—the man's daughter. He rushed to the North Tower, hoping to thwart her before she found her father. He was too late—she was already there, talking to him. He didn't announce his presence for a little while, admiring the loving scene before him and the lovely girl taking part in it. When he heard her name, his breath caught in his throat. He, at that moment, dared to hope against hope that she would be the one—especially when she agreed to take her father's place.

But that wasn't what happened. She was stubborn and grudge-holding, firmly holding her position. He admired her courage—she was the one female in the house (besides Mrs. Weasley) who didn't tremble in fear at the sight or sound of him. Lily would shake so much, feathers would fall. Madame Femme Gras' operatic voice would gain a squeaky quality when he would enter that bedroom she inhabited. Probably chose it because he hardly went into it. Then there was Harmony, who would never look him in the eye, never look up—eyes remained locked on the floor in his presence.

He knocked on the door, but received no answer. Was Kristin asleep? Wouldn't Madame Femme Gras answer? Unless she too was asleep. He knocked again, waiting for something. He didn't want to ruin his second impression by knocking down her door and barging in on her when she was asleep. He was about to give up and decide to surprise her in the morning with breakfast. New day, new beginning, right?

But then, he heard Remus' voice drift from the main hall. He looked over the rail, glad for the cover of the shadows, and saw his head of house and head of catering leading his guest on what appeared like a tour. "Thanks for dinner and the show," he heard her say, followed by James' voice telling her it wasn't necessary as Remus sighed. Severus knew that the clock must not have agreed to the dinner.

He shook his head and slowly returned to the dungeon, lost in his thought. He walked down the cobbled stairs after returning the dishes to the kitchen. Maybe there was still that hope for breakfast, if he was early enough. Of course, mornings were never his thing. He preferred the darkness of the night, always—even as a child.

But his strain of thought was shaken by the fact his door was open. How could that be? It could only be opened with a password, and only Mrs. Weasley knew it besides himself. He cautiously walk in to see Kristin reach out for the rose—his rose, the flower his fate was tied to.

Mrs. Weasley had always reprimanded him about his temper. It was always easy to flair him up since his mother died—most likely a defense mechanism. That, or shut down completely and react coldly. The matronly teapot had never approved of his extremes, but it was part of who he was now. And now, he was too angry to see the fact the woman had retracted her arm. He let out a ferocious roar.


The roar startled Kristin. She turned quickly to see a very upset Beast staring at her, huffing in a threatening manner. "What are you doing here?" he asked in a cold voice. She marveled at the fact he had achieved both ends of his temperament at the same time. And then she started to shake when she realized he seemed murderous. "Answer me!"

"I—I—I was curious," she responded, shaking but trying to remain defiant. She would make her mother proud.

"You were curious?" the Beast repeated. "Well they say that curiosity killed the cat."

"And satisfaction brought it back," Kristin retorted, a saying her mother had taught her when she was being reprimanded by a town official for being too nosy about the books in the shop.

But this didn't go over too well with the Beast, she could tell. "How dare you! I told you it was forbidden…"

"Which just made it more appealing. Really."

"You could've done some serious damage by coming down here. You could've ruined everything!"

"Like what!" Kristin cried. "I would say you've already done enough damage to this place. What could I've hurt? The rose? It's a flower, albeit an eerie one."

The Beast grabbed hold of her arm, and remained a firm grip, despite Kristin's cries of pain. "Get out. Just get out," he said in a cold, murderous whisper. Kristin struggled free and ran from the room.

She grabbed her cloak and bag, and made a mad dash for the doors. The servants questioned her leaving. "He told me to get out, which I guess means I'm released," she replied, tears building up in her eyes. "I'm not going to put up with that thing anymore—my father is safe, that's all that matters. Thank you all." With that, she left for the woods.


Severus stood there, staring at the piece of cloth in his hand. He didn't believe he had just done that. He knew he had a horrible temper, but it never went so far that he would hurt someone. Paintings and statues were one thing, but a human? Never. It was a wake-up call—he needed to finally get his temper in control. He then noticed there was blood on the cloth—oh Merlin he had scratched her! Why hadn't he just let her go when complained of pain?

He then realized she was injured and needed proper care. He called for Mrs. Weasley and asked her to come down right away. He then noticed that there was a piece of paper on the floor. He picked it up to find it was the map all the kings and crowned princes used to get around the castle. That's how she got in. "Mischief managed," he said, wiping the map clean. "I really screwed this up," he said aloud. Oh, you're right about that, sire, the map wrote back.

Mrs. Weasley came hobbling into the room. "You called, sir?" she asked, wondering what he could want.

"I-I," he couldn't get the words out. He cleared his throat and decided to try again. "I went to far with my temper," he admitted.

"I'll say," Mrs. Weasley said. "That poor girl left in such a state, I was worried that she would make it back home."

He had scared her! He had hoped she wouldn't be like the others in the household, but he gone and ruined it. Then he remembered what Mrs. Weasley had just said. "Did you say she left?" he asked, incredulous.

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley replied, "she left. She said you told her to get out and she figured it meant she was free from her promise to you. Was it?"

Severus shook his head, his matted mane swishing about. "I don't know what it meant. I just blew up at her and said empty things to her." Then it finally hit him. "Wait, she left the castle? Oh Merlin, Mrs. Weasley! We have to find her! I-I-I injured her."

"WHAT? Oh, Severus," Mrs. Weasley said. "All we can do now is pray she made it back to her father safely. He'll take care of her then." But she could tell that her Master was worried. "I'll have Remus and James look around tomorrow in the woods to make sure she isn't there." Mrs. Weasley skipped out, and Severus closed the door behind him.

"That's it!" he said to himself. "Sorry, Mother, but I haven't been living up to the man you wanted me to be. And now, I may never be a man again." He watched as another petal fell off the rose. He just seemed to have to get his feelings out and thus, began to sing a song about his desire to learn to love another person and the dismal future that lay before him if he couldn't.


As he finished, Severus could hear the faint cries of the werewolves in the Forbidden Forest. The Forbidden Forest, Kristin's only way home to her father! Maybe it wasn't werewolves, but regular wolves that wouldn't harm her, he hoped. He ran upstairs and found Harmony wandering the halls. "Harmony!" he called out, causing the napkin to jump high in the air. "Harmony, is it still a full moon out?" he asked.

Harmony turned, eyes locked on the floor. "Yes sir. Today's the last day of the full moon, it will change tomorrow. Why, sir?" she asked politely.

"The Forbidden Forest. Werewolves," Severus breathed, worried.

"Kristin," Harmony finished, no longer looking at the floor. But for the first time, Severus noticed, she was looking at his face. "Your fear says everything. Oh Merlin, I hope she's alright. I think her locket was silver," Harmony said, trying to calm down her master.

"It doesn't matter," Severus replied. "I'm going to go after her. There are werewolves out there and she's injured. That doesn't sound like a good combination. Harmony, tell Remus to watch the castle while I'm gone." With that, he left the castle to find his fleeing guest.


A/N: Thanks to Sweet 16 Movie Buff—MY ONLY REVIEWER! If there is anyone else out there, please, please review. And to Sweet 16 Movie Buff, I don't really favor Snape, it's just the whole thing that Terrence Mann (the original Broadway Beast) just sounded like Snape. And about your story—I read a little, but I'm in between vacations right now, so it may not be until August until I finish and review. Hope this holds you over and maybe I'll have more reviewers. Mac

A/N 2: The song Severus sings is really "If I Can't Love Her" but I removed it since doesn't allow copyrighted song lyrics to be used in fics anymore. Mac