Rose Among The Thorns: The Third Evans Sister
By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large
DIS CLAIM TO FAME: Found in Chapter One of this story.
NOTICE: This story was written mostly before OotP came out. I'll be tweaking it here and there, and have posted it so that it occurs mostly in Harry's 5th year. The goal of this story, however, is to focus on young Severus Snape and Rose Evans. Thank you for your time.
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CHAPTER THREE: Confronting Old Ghosts
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"I don't like it, Headmaster," a tired voice was saying when Harry walked into the office of Albus Dumbledore beneath his invisibility cloak. "He's had it rough; surely there is another way, another time?" It was Sirius Black, and he sounded as if he were pleading with the Headmaster.
"You know as well as I the longer it is put off the worse it will be," a female voice countered, the voice of the mysterious Rose Evans, in a tired, gloomy tone.
"Ah," said Dumbledore, "he's here. Come on out, Harry."
Harry walked around the doorframe, stripping off his cloak, and rushed into the open arms of his godfather. Sirius returned the hug with a sad smile, then ruffled Harry's hair a bit before putting an arm around his godson's shoulders. "How've you been, Harry? First day all right? Missing Grimmauld Place yet?"
"It's been okay for a first day," Harry responded with a smile, then his eyes went to Dumbledore, and then to look at Rose Evans. "So...what's going on? I mean, it's good to see you, Sirius, I've missed you—but I think someone's been keeping something from me again." He looked searchingly, almost accusingly, into Dumbledore's blue eyes, and then took a seat when Sirius motioned for him to. Fawkes was perched next to his chair, looking bright and festive as a young phoenix might, giving Harry some measure of peace, something to stroke absently as he waited for explanations.
"Glad to see you're taking it well so far," Rose muttered from her own seat, directly across the room from him. Her green eyes glittered with faint amusement and admiration. "That's a bit of Lily in you. James was always impatient."
"It seems every year here someone tells me something else about my past," Harry said with a shrug. "I'm just confused—I was told my only relatives were the Dursleys and my guardian was Sirius. But here you are, with my mother's eyes and last name."
Rose smiled a little, looking away from him and towards Sirius. "I suppose you'll hear it all, if not tonight than soon, each of us has our own little spin to the story. Mine is simple, Harry, but painful. Petunia and Lily were only two-thirds of the Evans girls—I am afraid I must be blunt about this. There is no other way 'round it. I am your Aunt Rose, by blood, and I was legally dead in the wizarding world up until a day or two ago. The only person who has known of my existence is the Headmaster, and he was sworn to secrecy on the very day of my supposed death."
"I could not tell you, Harry, until the time was right for Rose to come back," Dumbledore said softly, his eyes dimmer than Harry could ever remember seeing them. For one the headmaster looked very old, and very tired. "I hope you will forgive me, I had no choice in the matter if I wanted Rose to remain alive and on the right side."
Sirius had to bite his tongue to keep from saying what he was thinking. He had tried to like Rose once, because Lily asked it of him, and at one point he thought he was breaking through to her...but she had only been playing a nasty trick on him in the end. He saw her as a wolf in sheep's clothing—no, she wasn't good enough to be a wolf—a snake in sheep's clothing. Even now she still looked like an innocent, when she had probably done more terrible things than he could throw a wand at.
"The right side?" Harry repeated Dumbledore, drawing Sirius back to the present. His eyes again darted to his aunt, and he found it odd he had accepted her as his aunt so easily. Then again, stranger things had happened in the last several weeks. At least she wasn't an Azkaban escapee.
"That is one reason why you were never told of me, even in the wizarding world...I wasn't always on this side of the line, I ... dallied with Voldemort's people. I've done terrible things, Harry, and I can only be thankful now that I finally woke up from the nightmare that was his power and can sit here now before you. I'm not a good person, Harry, and I certainly was much worse when he fell. I was forgotten, by most anyway, and your parents made certain I had no legal claim to you whatsoever. I don't hold any claim now. I don't think I ever should; I betrayed your mother and father—and more than once. I loved Lily with all my heart, but I was too obsessed with impressing her, becoming better than her...I lost sight of all that was important to me. I'm not asking to come into your life, I don't belong there, nor am I asking for your forgiveness, I don't deserve it. But you deserve to know, for better or worse, we're blood-relatives." Rose blinked back the tears that threatened to spill, watching the little boy who looked like James but felt like Lily.... He was incredible. "I swear I will never let anyone hurt you, Harry, if it is within my power to stop them. I have a lot in my life to atone for."
Harry sat there, watching her, and he found himself not angry—not yet. Life was too short to waste on anger or resentment, Cedric's death had pounded that into him...he had come so close to dying himself that night. And the summer with the Dursleys…that odd summer and learning about the Order…. He slowly nodded. "I...I think I understand some of it. Thank you for telling me the truth. I'm just not sure what...what to do with this new information. It's a lot to take in...my mum had another sister and...and we have the same eyes." He blinked those eyes now, and she could tell that he was tired and overloaded with the new information.
"I'm sure you'd like to hear more about it...how I came to be on the wrong side of things. I don't like to tell that story...I'll only end up trying to justify myself. Ask Sirius for that bit, please, he'll be only too happy to tell you. You'll find that those who came back from the shadows are very reluctant to talk about it. It is still a very real part of my life, haunting all my dreams." She closed her eyes, breaking eye-contact with him at last, and she was able to relax. She came to her feet and offered him a shaky smile. "Have a good evening, Harry, and if you need anymore answers feel free to find me and ask. The rumors that will be flying around the school fairly soon should give you reason enough to seek me out."
Sirius sighed and followed Rose as far as the door. "Thank you for telling him so much, Rose, I know it was hard for you."
She raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged. "That wasn't even the hardest part. That boy has been through torture after torture. He has two blood relatives living in this entire world, one that hates him and the other that simply...simply can't become involved in his life even if she ever feels that she wants to. I'll never have any sort of relationship with my nephew, and that kills a part of me, Sirius," she whispered, glancing over his shoulder to see Dumbledore offering Harry some treckle fudge.
"You're coming around, Rose," Sirius said softly, smiling at her. "I know you and I have been enemies in the past, but I've got a boy to raise now...and I'm still a wanted man. You have memories and insights into his mother and grandparents that I'll never have, he'll need that too. Maybe it will never be the way an aunt and nephew should be, but you can at least become a person he can count on to give him answers when he needs them." He offered his hand to her, she took it, they shook slowly.
"Sirius, I do owe you an apology...several, I'm afraid. I'll never be able to make up for what I've done to you in the past, but—"
He shook his head, pain shone in his eyes. "Rose, don't. You and I still don't see eye to eye on things, and it's not going to be easy for us to ever be friends. But don't bring up the past, it is over, time to be forgotten. Just don't try to get me killed ever again and we'll call it even, all right?"
She chuckled softly, then nodded, and left the office. Sirius returned to Harry, who had more questions to be answered.
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Rose settled into the couch she now familiared in the teacher's lounge, pulling her legs underneath her to keep them warmer in the cold room. She sipped a cup of hot cider with one hand and in the other she held a copy of the Daily Prophet. The room was quiet, her peace was rarely disturbed. It was usually Charlie, if any of the others came in at all, who would have a cheerful word or two for her before he hurried off to do some other little chore Dumbledore had for him.
Curling her nose in distaste of the article she was reading, "Death Eaters on the March or Ministry Mishaps?" She folded the newspaper and moodily tossed it to the floor, then held her cup with both hands to her lips and slowly sipped the cinnamon and apple liquid with her eyes closed. She needed more relaxation in her life.
A suddenly loud bang made her jump a bit, causing some cider to spill over the rim of her cup and into her lap, she leapt to her feet and mentally began cursing whoever had done such a stupid thing. Looking up, she saw the source of the noise was a rather ... upset-looking Severus Snape who had thrown the door to the room open with a great deal of force. "What," he hissed, "is this supposed to mean?!"
He thrust a piece of parchment in her direction, his pale face flush with anger.
Trying to keep a calm facade Rose slowly approached him and took the parchment from his hand to examine it. Written in untidy scrawl was the following message:
~~PoTiONs MAstEr: STay aWAy from ThE DADA TEacHEr iF you KnOw whAT's GoOd for YoU boTh. aN AsSociate.~~
She studied the parchment a few times, then glanced over the edge of the document up to his face. "Have you tried to figure out who wrote it?"
"I've tried every charm and spell in the book but the paper will not reveal its author," he snapped. "I'm not that idiotic, Evans. I was hoping you might shed some light on its meaning." Distractedly he ran a hand through his hair, scowling at her.
Rose shoved the parchment back under his nose, giving him a hard glare. "How should I know anything about this? It's not as if I sent it."
"Perhaps not, but you may know who would want to keep us apart. It would have to be someone who knew our former..." he obviously debated what to call what they had been, and settled at last for: "...history. Or so I'm assuming." He had calmed down enough to think before speaking, at least.
The witch took in the parchment one last time, then shook her head and politely offered it back to him. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I have no clue." She watched him carefully as he sighed and took the parchment from her to look over it himself again. "But why would such a simple note disturb you so greatly? It could be a prank."
He glanced up at her quickly, then turned and shut the door so that no one would overhear him. He kept his back to her, pressing his forehead against the closed door, gathering his thoughts. "You have not answered Voldemort yet, I have, and the terror he has reawakened in me is something that leaves me trembling whenever I think about it." He told the truth, before her very eyes his hand gripping the door handle had become unsteady. He tucked the hand quickly in his robs, still not facing her. "I am assuming this note came from one of our former 'colleagues' who has heard of your working here."
"Ah," she began to understand. "Since I have not yet re-pledged myself to the Dark Lord my loyalties are questionable, and if I am for Dumbledore they would not want me to sway you...as they once thought I was able to do." She laughed, a low, bitter laugh and shook her head. "If only they had known it was quite the other way around."
He turned around, looking at her with an unreadable expression...but his eyes, those bottomless, empty black pools, actually seemed to be searching her for something. "Are you ready to talk of it then?"
"Oh, Severus," she muttered, rubbing her tired eyes with thumb and forefinger. "I will never be ready to talk about it, but that doesn't mean I can put it off. When would you like to talk about it? My schedule is free this weekend," she finished lightly, looking up at him with a ghost of a smile.
The Potions Master then wore a look that none of his students had ever seen; he did not appear bitter, sour, or angry...just incredibly weary with a tired expression affixed to his face. "Mine is as well. Saturday afternoon, then. There is a small council room adjacent to the library that I could arrange for us to use...not too personal as to make it uncomfortable for either of us."
For half a moment, a feeling arose within her that stirred her emotions in a way that nothing had done for many long years, and it was because of the way he had looked at her just then—his dark eyes so serious, and sad to one who knew how to read them. She remembered why she had followed him in the past, and gone through what she had for him. "Tea-time, then. I can't say that I look forward to it...but it will be good to say all that we have not."
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To My Readers:
Ice Petals: Thank you, thank you! Well—it's "not bad," so does that means it's sorta good?
Loretta: Glad my ideas make sense to someone! Thank you for understanding!
alassae: Hope this is in keeping with good work. ;-)
baby chaos: Wow! You're still around! That's most encouraging! And I just had to put in something nasty for the poor Hufflepuffs to go through. You just know that Severus has gotta love torturing the members of that house, who seem to be the complete opposite of Slytherin in every respect.
hevensdevil: Isn't your name a bit of an oxymoron? Hm. Only three things to say? Looked more like four, if you count the "soon" or one, since it was a repeating message. :-D Seriously, thanks for the zealous encouragement!
Lavinia Lavender: YOU have a Rose Evans too?! I must say, I'm shocked! If we want to argue rights to a name, I've had this one since 2001, early spring. But, seeing as we're probably not the only ones to have this original idea, neither of us will get anywhere. It's obvious the Evans sisters (no matter how many) will all be flowers, and since the rose has so many symbolic meanings it is the easiest to adapt to a person. Still, I look forward to taking a peek at your story to see what your Rose is like. Thanks for informing me that I don't have the only Rose Evans out there. Oh, and it came up on the search because I selected Severus and Lily as my two main characters in the fic—not because they have a romantic interest, but because they are both closely connected with my OC. Thanks for stopping by!
R&R…it makes the world go 'round!
-JB-