Rose Among The Thorns: The Third Evans Sister

By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large

Disclaimer: JKR gave me all the rights to Harry Potter—but only in my dreams. :-) Enjoy the show, and remember who's really responsible for all of this.

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CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Night Wandering

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"So what are you wearing to the masque, Severus?"

A blank look from over a Potions textbook was all she received in reply.

They were sitting outside with their backs against a stone wall of the castle, facing the lake. Rose was studying for a Transfiguration test and Severus was going over O.W.L. material. It was the day after their strange conversation in the library, which they hadn't spoken of until that moment.

Rose tried again. "What's your costume?"

"I don't have one." He looked back down at his book, appearing indifferent. "Nor will I be getting one."

"Oh." She was silent for a few moments, staring out at the lake. A few bubbles came up from where the Giant Squid was resting. "But that won't be any fun."

Severus sighed and put his book down on the grass before fixing her with a rather annoyed expression. "I'm not spending money on a ridiculous costume, Evans."

"Neither am I," she responded with a small shrug of her shoulders. "That's what magic is for, isn't it?"

He considered a moment. "Why should I do more than put on a simple mask and dress robes anyway?"

"Because it's more fun to go in costume, that's the point of the ball. Besides, you'd look ridiculous showing up as the only student without a costume." She played her trump card carefully. "No one will let you live it down, it would be humiliating." Then she used the weapon that normally worked on her father - it was the first time she had tried it on another male. Narrowing her eyes to slits, and smiling like the cat that got the canary, she added, "I've got a great idea for your costume anyway."

Severus looked wary; he didn't understand the impish look on her face but knew it wouldn't be good. Slowly he ran a hand through his greasy hair and gritted his teeth slightly. "What do you have in mind?"

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Rose folded her night pass and tucked it into her Levi pockets as she trudged up the hill towards the castle. She had volunteered to help the Care of Magical Creatures teacher - Madame Thyme - for extra credit by cleaning out the stables so a group of hippogryphs for the sixth years could be brought in. She had missed dinner and had only just finished - it was nearing midnight. She was fairly tired but her spirits were high; it was a beautiful night! The sky was oddly clear and the moon was completely full, and the sky was lit by millions of dancing stars.

She was halfway up the hill, her eyes half closed, when she suddenly felt as if.... Rose opened her eyes completely and glanced directly ahead, something itched at the back of her conscious mind.

After several long moments of staring across the grassy hill she was able to make out a shape in the darkness. But...no one could be out this late. No one could be there; she was being silly and paranoid out in the dark by herself.

But Rose wasn't afraid of the dark. Why would she be imagining things in the dark?

Rose hesitated, and then instinctively dropped down into a crouch so that she was hidden in the long grasses near the hill. She was thankfully the grass hadn't been cut in some time. The longer she stared at what she thought she saw, the more assured she became that there was a figure there, stealthily climbing down the hill, with a path seemingly set for the forest.

It didn't take long for her to recognize the person moving ever closer to her. The tall, lank form was not hard to identify considering the amount of time she spent in his presence, even if he was slightly cloaked. Severus had snuck out of the castle.

It still bothered her - she knew he snuck out fairly often, and stayed at the school for every holiday - but no one ever saw him around. She had never seen him during Christmas the year before, and when she had even hinted the fact to him when the term started once more his response had been cold and a nonanswer.

What was he up to? Why hadn't he been caught yet?

Almost without thought, when he passed her by, she followed him. Quietly she slunk through the shadows of the forest, and then into the forest itself. Rose had little trouble keeping up - dueling practice had taught her how to move lightly and her petite build made it easy to avoid all the low hanging and fair reaching branches. The Forbidden Forest was filled with the sounds of night-owls, wind through trees, and the occasional mournful sound of wolves in the distance. She shivered, wishing she had her heavy cloak with her. All she wore was a black wool sweater for warmth. It was also becoming harder to keep an eye on Severus as he weaved through the near-blackness of the shadows.

Then he disappeared completely.

Rose stood at the edge of a clearing, looking around in confusion. Where had he gone?

The moon illuminated the empty clearing perfectly, casting an eerie blue glow to the ground. For several moments she could only stand still and wonder at the area - surely magical rites took place here, it was as if the field was there for the sole purpose of looking up at the starlit sky.

A hand wrapped around her mouth and an arm pulled her roughly to the ground.

"What," a shadow hissed down at her, "are you doing here?" The hand was removed but with Severus crouched over her she was unable to sit up.

"Following you," she answered, breathless from her momentary fright. "What are you doing here? It's called the Forbidden Forest for a reason."

"That is my business. Go back to the school." He backed away.

Rose sat up, rubbing her left elbow where it had hit the ground. "I don't think I can; I followed you and I didn't pay much attention to the directions you took."

He growled and ran a hand through his hair. "I can't baby-sit you tonight, Evans." There was a genuine note of distress in his voice. "Werewolves come out during the full moon, you bloody idiot."

"I'm aware of that," she responded blithely. "I could hear them."

"You're not afraid?" he asked suspiciously.

"Of course I am, but there's not much I can do about it right now. Unless, of course, you want to take me back...?"

He shook his head resolutely. "No. Come, just be careful." He began to walk around the clearing, keeping to the trees.

"Wouldn't it be quicker to go through the middle?" she whispered, easily keeping pace behind him.

"No. Centaurs stargaze here, and they don't like humans coming through their territory," he explained, only glancing over his shoulder for a moment.

"So since you're stuck with me why don't you tell me what we're doing in the Forbidden Forest?" Rose realized with some small annoyance that it took nearly three of her steps to keep up to one of his long strides; she really wished she was taller sometimes.

"Hush," he hissed. "You're making things complicated enough without broadcasting to the entire Forest that we're here."

"You're the one making things complicated! You came out her in the first place," she responded in a whisper. "If you want my cooperation tell me what's going on." She reached out and grabbed the edge of his cloak - he stumbled and stopped, turning to give her a glare she felt more than saw.

Severus snatched the cloak out of her grasp and opened his mouth to offer a scathing response - then he paused. "You don't have a cloak."

Rose rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around herself, as if reminded of how cold she was. "I wasn't planning on romping through the forest tonight or I would've brought one. But you're changing the subject, Severus, and I -"

He took off his cloak and dropped it onto her shoulders, exposing himself to the fall chill. He wore an old wool sweater and faded black slacks and was probably more in need of the extra warmth the cloak provided than she was. Her rather surprised expression, illuminated by the moon, caused him to glance away uncomfortably. "I'm looking for someone else who's been sneaking around out here."

In a flash Rose remembered the confrontation with Black from ages before. "Sirius Black? You're trying to catch him out of bounds? Then what? You can't very well report him since you're out yourself. This is ridiculous, Severus, and you're going to get in trouble. He's a big bully and you'd do better -"

Severus made a gesture which cut her off mid-sentence. "Evans, I don't wan t a lecture and it's not just Black, but Potter, Pettigrew, and Lupin too. Lupin has always behaved suspiciously and now the others are following the same pattern of restlessness and fatigue. It always happens around the full moon, too. If I can find out what they're doing...."

It absolutely shocked Rose that Severus could become so obsessive about getting the better of the Gryffindor bullies. "Severus, isn't this extremely juvenile?"

"No," he responded, but there was a note of defense in his voice. "They've made Hogwarts, my one sanctuary, a living hell for me and I won't go through the rest of my life letting the likes of them win." He turned away from her, his spine rigid. "Too many people have walked all over me my entire life. I won't take it anymore."

"So you'll hunt down everyone who ever hurt you?" Rose asked. "That's stupid, Severus! What, are you going to hex your own father next?"

He whirled back around and took her shoulders in a strong, almost desperate, grip. "Why not? They've done it to me! My father, for as long as I can remember, has preyed upon my mother and she's done everything to protect me from him. I don't want to go through life letting them all get away with it!!. Never. Never again," he ground out between clenched teeth.

Rose's eyes had gone wide and the fear in them was real. "You're hurting me, Severus," she whispered.

He released her quickly and stepped away, seeming to shake himself before he could begin to walk again. Rose had to quickly recover herself to follow after him through the brush.

The remainder of the night she spent following him around the forest. He would occasionally stop to inspect a track or tree branch. Rose tried to pay attention to what he was looking at. There were unicorn tracks, deer tracks, rodent tracks, wolf tracks, and so on. They didn't speak and rose grew more tired as each hour passed. Soon all she could do was stumble along behind him and try not to make too much noise. Dimly she wondered why they hadn't run into any animals or werewolves. She had thought the forest was more dangerous than it was turning out to be.

The sky was beginning to gray when Rose stepped out of the forest behind Severus and it took her a moment to realize they were on Hogwarts grounds once more. "What time is it?" she asked as he dusted himself off.

"Around five in the morning; the sun is rising. Here," he handed her a small vile of liquid. "Pepper-up potion. Take if before breakfast, it should get you through most of your classes."

"Thanks." She tucked it into her back pocket and pulled the cloak tighter around herself. "How are we going to get inside? I had a late pass but I doubt it will be accepted this late - or early, as it is morning now."

"Don't worry about that. Just follow me, and be quiet."

Before long they stood in Slytherin common room. "Severus -" Rose began when he just kept walking towards his dorm room. He sighed, sounding very annoyed. "Why haven't we seen anyone all night?"

Without turning he gave his reluctant answer; he had learned she never gave up a question. "A disinterest enchantment I learned a long time ago, to roam around in places I shouldn't be. It doesn't work on top-level wizards, centaurs, or dragons." he began to walk again and was all ready through the doorway when he added, "I placed it on the cloak."

Rose realized what he said made sense; she had originally dismissed his presence when she saw someone coming down the hill from the castle. But why hadn't the disinterest enchantment worked on her?

It was only when she was back, sitting on her bed, that she realized she still had the cloak wrapped around her.

To My Reviewers:

Elvesmagic010: Goons and muses?! I really don't need yours coming around here, my own keep me anxious enough. Severus doesn't seem to have a heart, more often than not, and yet so many of us love him. This chapter was sort of filler material, and I'll tell you now things are about to take an interesting twist in the next three or four chapters. Stay tuned.

Stonecoldfox: Rose and Lily are growing up, and growing apart. I have sisters myself so I'm all too aware of how easily a fight can begin, or grudges can be held. Lily is probably the third most important character in my stories, and as such will have many interesting things thrust in upon her. Poor thing. While Severus is scary he's also entirely human. You'll see what I mean later.

Loraliant Angelisa Snape: Thank you for the high praise and positive attitude toward this story! I'm glad you approve. There are reviews that I always look forward to, and yours is one of those. Sirius Black isn't done yet, either. He's a bit…enamored with our mysterious heroine.

/../: What an odd name you have. I don't think FF.N will let me reproduce it. Thank you for the compliment.

Thank you, thank you.

Review, please! I like giving out chocolate frogs to those who do!

-JB-