Rose Among The Thorns: The Third Evans Sister

By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large

Disclaimer: I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts…deedle-de-dee…. And that's about it.

Notice: Still struggling with the editor. :-(

Important: I will be out of town and away from my precious computer for a little over two weeks. I may try to get up one more chapter before I leave, but don't count on it. Please, be faithful until my return!

'Denotes Thoughts'

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CHAPTER NINE: An Unusual Interest

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October First wasn't exactly shaping out to be a beautiful fall day for one Slytherin first year. Rose was absolutely disgusted with the majority of her Hogwarts experience thus far, and wanted nothing more than to be left alone at that moment.

She was sitting with her back against the north wall of the castle, staring into the surrounding woods and scowling as if to blame the trees for all her troubles. It wasn't as if she was having problems academically; far be it from that! She had quickly become a star student, and her excellence had granted her house dozens of points and earned herself a good reputation as far as teachers were concerned.

But, like most children entering a new atmosphere, she was finding her social life much more trying than she would have liked. Slytherin was being everything that the nick-name - Snake Pit - inferred. She had received more dirty looks, cruel pranks, and scathing remarks made about her in the past few weeks than she had ever expected. She hadn't thought to be welcomed with open arms - Slytherin wasn't like that - but she had hoped to at least receive some small measure of respect.

It had been miserable. The girls in her dormitory were constantly gossiping about Rose; she was apparently far too secretive about everything - just because she wouldn't take part in their constant bickering over boys, hair, jewelry, and blood-lines. She was a snob because she spent free time studying. She was filthy because she never let the other girls do her hair or even touch her with cosmetics. She didn't like boys because she wouldn't take part in any of their social intrigues. Thankfully such gossip was rarely heeded even in Slytherin.

All the other first years had been 'claimed,' for lack of a better word, by older students as well. Favors were traded, alliances formed, and supposedly the unity of the house was insured through such means.

For the most part, all the Slytherins ignored her to her face. If she sat down in the common room, no one even looked up and if she sat next to someone they would move within a few moments of her settling herself. None of the older students even noticed her - she could probably break curfew every night and not get docked for it merely because that would mean someone would have to look at her. She hardly understood what she had done to deserve such enmity, but was sure the blame lay with Lily's own pro-Gryffindor attitude.

Of course, what she heard whispered behind her back also pointed the reason was somewhat the fault of her ancestors - Mudblood some called her. Always just loud enough so she might hear, too. So far as she knew, she was the only one in Slytherin currently with two Muggle parents. There were a few mixed bloods, but no more than she could count on one hand. Apparently Rose was defiling their house just by existing.

Members of the other houses didn't have much cause for interaction with Rose, so they left her to herself as well. Lily was the only one who really paid her attention, and she was taking so many advanced classes at the moment that she only had time for passing discussions with her younger sister.

So Rose wishing to be left alone was a wish that she would, almost one hundred percent of the time, be granted.

She wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, even though it wasn't all that cold, and closed her eyes against the sunlight.

'Miserable sunshine - can't it see that I'm having a bad day?' she asked herself.

She had only been sitting so for a few moments when -

THUNK.

A pile of books landed beside her, startling her. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the light of day again, before glancing up to see a figure looming over her.

Standing tall, stick-thin, shoulders hunched and a mask of coolness across his features was Severus Snape. "Napping, Evans?"

The fact that he actually spoke to her - and used her name - surprised her so much that all she could manage was the incoherent response of, "Huh?"

Severus looked down at her, his expression still cool, and he seemed to be considering something. "Tired?"

Rose shook her head, mentally berating herself for coming off as such a dullard when someone was actually speaking to her. At last she found her voice - unused until now except for the occasional greeting to her sister or answer to a teacher - and said, "Not really. Just bored. I don't have classes on Friday afternoon."

"Of course not. First years never do." He sat down next to the pile of books he had deposited next to her. "Homework?"

Now the first year was becoming suspicious. "Finished."

He nodded, then glanced away from her and out into the forest as she had been doing.

He wasn't a particularly attractive boy - hooked nose, gaunt face, thin, with a pallid complexion and hair that looked as if it had never seen soap or comb. Still, she had picked up a few things about him from listening to conversations. He was 'wicked smart' when it came to classes, rivaling Lily and top Ravenclaws in Academics, and one of the 'top duelers' even though several duelers were somewhat older than he. By and large he ignored anyone he didn't think worth talking to, and was very impersonal to members of his house whom he did confer with.

"You're quiet," he said at last.

Rose snapped out of her study of him and averted her gaze to the trees. "Is that a crime?"

"No, but it can be a means to sentence someone."

That got her attention. "What do you mean?"

"You're only making yourself more of an outcast," he responded, turning to look down at her. "If you don't stick up for yourself, no one else will. Slytherin rule number one: you make or break yourself. There's always an unwanted child in Slytherin."

"I thought Slytherin rule number one was to keep up House honor?" she returned, looking up into his black eyes. He shrugged.

"Only to those who don't understand what Slytherin is about."

"Oh."

They fell silent for several moments. "What's rule two?" she asked, half-joking, half-bitter.

"Simple." He abruptly stood. "Choose your friends and enemies wisely." Severus picked up his books and began to walk away. He stopped abruptly though and turned back to see her still sitting on the ground. "Are you coming or not?"

She blinked, again startled. "Coming where?"

"I can look over the essay for your Defense class; I know you have one due Monday." He stated it so blandly Rose wondered for an instant if he actually meant it. "You've been a ghost in the House for too long - but a ghost who gets points. I've noticed. Do you want to be a Slytherin or not?" He seemed to be getting impatient.

Rose came to her feet, bringing her book bag with her. "I guess I do." She fell into step beside him and had to take two steps to his one. He didn't slow his pace for her.

"But I won't be bullied around!" she thought to add, remembering something Bellatrix Black had said. "Just because I'm a first year doesn't mean I - "

" - Can be taken advantage of? Actually, it does." His smirk was almost cruel, but it didn't seem to be directed at her. "That's what I'm for, Evans. I keep you in line, and I keep you out of trouble."

"I hardly think - "

"I know. You hardly think. First years rarely do." Now he flashed a smile at her, and actually looked like a thirteen year old for a moment. "But enough arguing." They were climbing the castle steps. "How's your potions class coming?"

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Rose grumbled when Severus came looming to stand over her again a week before Halloween. He never approached her except to speak to her about grades and assignments, and she wasn't quite sure if he would tolerate her seeking him out. He was in control of the odd mentor-student relationship he had instigated. Of course, there were similar pairings in their house - Bellatrix and young Rodolphus Lestrange who was a fourth year. Rodolphus, as the younger brother of the House Prefect, should have been very much in control of things - but Bellatrix always seemed able to get her way.

Severus now stood over Rose as she waited for lunch to appear, and she wondered what he could possibly want right before the noon meal.

Looking up at him, pasting on a small smile, she asked, "What is thy bidding, my master?"

Raising his dark eyebrows at her, Severus gestured to the empty seat beside her. "Mind if I join you?"

Another surprise! Rose still wasn't sure what to make of the older boy, and found herself almost wishing he'd go away and leave her to herself again. Instead of voicing such a wish, she merely nodded and turned back to look down at her empty, golden plate.

Severus Snape ran a hand through his hair, and his eyes darted away from their table towards where the Ravenclaws sat, then further across the hall to the Gryffindors. "Dueling Club begins this Saturday with a meeting. I want you there."

That got her attention.

"Why?" She was too young to compete.

"You need to watch and learn. The club is a joke - but the information is invaluable."

"Fine," she agreed at last, lifting a fork as the food appeared. "I find your interest in me a little scary, Severus."

He was toying with his own food, not really looking interested in it - no wonder he was so thin, he hardly ever ate anything. "Why is that?"

"Because I'm not a pure-blooded wizard, for one. Everyone else avoids me like the plague, for two." She smiled at him, but noticed he wasn't even focusing on what she was saying. With a sigh, she turned back to her breakfast and there wasn't another word said between them.

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Lily stood anxiously near the Slytherin House entrance, early Saturday morning, waiting for her sister to come out. A few Slytherins were all ready out and moving around the castle, and those who passed her were sure to level the out-of-place Gryffindor with harsh glares and snide smiles. A few of the older males had even bothered to drop a few cat-calls and suggestive smirks before going on their way. Lily steadfastly ignored all of them.

By the time Rose actually emerged, her sister had been about ready to give up, but was pleased to see her little sister until she noticed the person following right on Rose's heels.

It was true, then; Severus Snape had taken an interest in her little sister. She had been hoping that James' teasing had been for nothing. "You know your sister's going out with that slimy Snivellus, right? Quite a pair."

Stealing her resolve, she waited for her sister to notice her.

"Lily! Good morning!" Rose greeted, rather cheerfully. "What brings you into our territory?"

Snape, for his part, merely folded his arms and waited for the chance to move on.

"You, of course," Lily answered, stepping forward to give her sister a hug. "I was wondering if you'd like to come to the Dueling Club meeting with me this morning - you know you can join your second year. It might be fun."

Rose nodded. "I'm going, but Severus invited me first. Just a preliminary meeting, right?"

"Yes." Lily glanced at Snape warily. "Could I walk with you to breakfast? I have a few things to talk to you about."

Arching one eyebrow skeptically, Rose nodded and turned to Snape. "Could you excuse us, Severus? Girl-talk, you know."

He nodded curtly, then turned and took an alternate route to the Great Hall.

"Well." Rose looked back at her sister. "What's wrong? You don't seem very happy."

"You do," Lily noticed, studying her sister. "Much happier than before. Are you fitting in your House now?"

"More so than before," Rose answered with a slight shrug. "I at least have people in my year asking for homework help, and I'm not treated as if I have the plague. Slytherin isn't the same as Gryffindor, Lily. There don't seem to be any real friendships."

The Gryffindor nodded, suspecting as much. "More alliances than anything. Rose," she hesitated, then said slowly, "I've heard a rumor that Severus has taken a strange sort of...involvement up with you. Is that true?"

Without having to even think about it, the answer came quick from Rose. "Yes, and I'm actually relieved he has. That's made all the difference in Slytherin - Severus has some amount of respect in our house, and since he's deemed to pay some attention to me so has everyone else."

"What sort of attention IS he giving you?" Lily asked, raising both eyebrows in that characteristically big-sister way. "You're only eleven, Rose, and I really don't want to see you hurt or hanging around the wrong sort of people."

"Don't you think I know how to handle myself?" Rose asked, slightly exasperated. "I'm not a baby, Lily, I know when someone is taking advantage of me. Severus is just...well, not being nice. I don't think he knows how to be nice. But he's not letting a member of his house be picked on and bullied. He seems to know how that feels well enough."

Lily opened her mouth to say something, but hesitated instead. "How much DO you know about Severus, Rose?"

"Not much. Mostly he just helps me with homework, keeps people from picking on me, and makes sure I'm getting the most out of the 'informative' things at Hogwarts. He's sort of boring, to tell the truth." Rose started walking down the hallway, and Lily walked alongside her.

"I can believe he doesn't want you to be bullied," Lily admitted, looking thoughtful. "I just really wish someone else would've befriended you. Severus isn't exactly the best person to be seen around with - James and Sirius have ostracized him so much that no one in the other houses really takes him seriously. I'm sure that will end up being a mistake, though. He's smart, and has fairly powerful skills. We have quite a few classes together."

"You're only thirteen," Rose added. "Things change."

"I suppose so. Anyway. I'm going to Hogsmeade later today; can I bring anything back for you?"

The rest of the conversation was light and unimportant, but a seed of worry had been planted in Lily's mind. She had nagging doubts about Severus Snape's intentions with her younger sister.

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Ah, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice…fanfiction. Snape is developing into the Potion's Master we all know and love! Yay!

To My Readers:

Elladora696: Welcome to the small, but satisfied, group of my readers. :-) I appreciate all your kind reviews and am very glad I caught your attention. Tune in next time for more character developing!

misao-werewolf: Thank you. I can't stand being overlooked. :-) Stick around, things get better.

Rae Roberts: Keeping Snape in form, while he's still so young, isn't easy. It's actually driving me nuts. But then, I just have to keep track of the main characteristics. Who knows what happened in his life to make him who he is today? Original characters will continue popping up, whether in passing or to actually take part in the story I can's say. :-) They have minds of their own. Thanks for the help with the typos. I'm making notes about them and when I finish the story I'm going to go back and fix everything. So…how's Alex doing? ;-)

Until next time!

-JB-