Rose Among the Thorns: The Third Evans Sister
By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large
Standard Disclaimer Found Here: Hinky and Pinky the dwarves have been at my computer again, and it looks as if they've gone and posted another fanfic. So it's not my fault, J.K.! Really, it's not!
ITALICS: In this chapter, Italics are thoughts, emphasized words, or letters. Thank you!
This is sort of like Filler-Material, and the next couple of chapters after this are more light-hearted. They actually could be cut all together and the story would still make sense, but I had too much fun writing them. So there. :-P
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CHAPTER TWENTY: Disappointed Love Affairs
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Lily was having problems keeping a straight face as her sister bemoaned her sorry state of having a stalker/admirer. "Lily," she whined, dropping her face into his hands. "Five days! Five days until Valentine's Day and I'm still getting these letters in my books, under my plate at breakfast, on my desk before class! And now they're all accompanied by bloody roses!"
"Don't swear, Rose, it's unladylike," Lily corrected automatically. "I don't know why you're complaining, it's rather sweet."
"Oh, please," Rose growled. "Someone stalking me and secretly meddling with my things isn't exactly my idea of romantic. It could be anyone from a deranged Hufflepuff to a stupid Ravenclaw. It could be Sirius Black, or that really creepy little fourth year in Ravenclaw, or it could be—"
"Severus Snape," Lily supplied, smiling. "What if it's him? If you read the letters they aren't exactly romantic, or flowery, or boasting. They're just there, complimenting you."
Now it was Rose's turn to try and swallow laughter. "Severus? There is no earthly way he would stoop to anonymous love letters. He's seemed just as disgusted by all of this, if not more so, as I am. Besides, Severus and I are just friends." Rose twirled her latest rose, long-stemmed and yellow with red-tipped petals. "What does this color mean?"
Lily rolled her eyes and opened the library book her sister had checked out when the third rose had appeared. It was a symbology book, and there was an entire chapter devoted to roses. "Well, it could mean anything, really. Most roses of that variety are 'Peace' roses, and the most common color meanings...ah. Friendship or falling in love." She snapped the book shut. "I think the rose colors are clues. Let's see. Day two was a white rose, which means any number of things: secrecy, innocence, worthiness, purity. So...while this anonymous person is secret his love is worthy, innocent, and pure."
"Great deduction, Sherlock," Rose mumbled. "Let's not analyze all of this yet. Day three?"
"Light pink. Admiration."
"Four?"
"Dark pink; appreciation." Lily thumbed through the book. "Day five was another pink, between the first two, which is happiness. Day six was plain yellow which can be jealousy or caring...or both. Day seven was orange, desire and enthusiasm." She smirked as she saw Rose blush. "I doubt he means that kind of desire, Rose. Anyway, day eight was lavender which is enchantment. And today, of course, friendship and falling in love."
"Maybe colors don't have anything to do with it," Rose muttered. "This is driving me crazy, Lily!"
"I think you're just curious. Probably on February fourteenth you'll be allowed to meet whoever it is. I say go ahead and do it. If you're not interested blast him for taking up your precious time with his annoying, immature pranks. If you are interested in him, then what harm has it done? You can't exactly lose in this situation." Lily handed the book back to rose and stretched. "It's almost dinner time."
Rose sighed. "I'm not hungry."
"You still have to keep up your strength," Lily admonished, giving her a rather serious frown. "C'mon, Rose."
"You're so bossy," Rose mumbled, rising to follow her sister.
"Only because I'm the oldest."
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Rose sat in a booth at Madame Rosmerta's, angrily sipping at her butter beer, hardly believing she was there. The last letter had come that morning and was to be found under her breakfast plate next to two entwined roses—white and red, the symbol for unity and dissolving secrets. The letter had been written in the same tidy hand as the rest, with the same writing style
"Rose, I believe I've finally got the courage to reveal myself to you. Today in Hogsmeade meet me at Madame Rosmerta's at one o'clock. I'll carry one last rose for you. Please be there. -Still in Silence-"
The girl rolled her eyes as she thought about it and doodled some on her napkin with a pencil she had in her pocket. She had shown Severus the note and excused herself from shopping with Lily in order to sit at a booth and wait for her admiring (deranged) suitor. In reality she was looking forward to telling whoever it was off, as she didn't believe anyone knew her well enough to show such strange admiration. She had informed both Lily and Severus of this, separately of course, and while the former seemed perplexed the latter heartily agreed with her.
Of course, whoever this boy was would not go up in her estimation if he ran late. It was half-past one o'clock, and Rose was losing her patience. Still, Rose had a strong sense of curiosity. So she would continue to wait until whoever it was showed his face.
She watched as students, male and female, entered and exited the place with friends or alone. No one, after initially waving hello to her, approached her.
Until Sirius Black came in. He sauntered in with his arm around a Hufflepuff beauty queen, deftly pulled her chair out for her, made an exaggerated hand motion and excuse, then came towards Rose. He crossed his arms when he stood at her booth and smirked down at her. "I understand you're to meet your Romeo today." He checked his watch. "A bit late, isn't he?"
Rose glowered at him. "What business is it of yours? Who on earth told you about that?"
He chuckled. "I passed Lily on the street, Victoria told her we were coming here, and she asked that we check and make sure you were comfortable with whoever the bloke is. But, as I said, he seems to be running late."
"Stuff it, Black, and go back to your date. I think she's wilting, thinking you've abandoned her for an unworthy Slytherin wench." She glared daggers up at him. "Go away."
Sirius sighed and slid into the seat across from her, causing her to stiffen and reach for the wand in her cloak pocket. "Listen, Miss Evans, I know you don't like me and I'm not exactly fond of Slytherins in general, but I don't get why you absolutely hate me. I've never done anything to you and I don't think I like being treated as if I've killed your pet crupe. I'd like to ask you to consider forgetting whatever it is you hold against me and let's start over." She opened her mouth to give him a sharp retort but he cut her off effortlessly. "And I don't want one of your quick-witted retorts right now but honestly think this over before you proceed any further in any interaction with me."
With that he stood and was back at the side of the pouting female Hufflepuff before she could blink.
"Arrogant prig could be a lawyer," Rose muttered, now drawing various Sirius-like stick figures in all sorts of trouble with anvils falling on their heads and stray dogs biting them in various places of their anatomies.
It was a quarter after two o'clock that a young waiter approached her carrying a note and a single black-petalled rose.
"Miss Evans?" he asked.
Her eyes took him in, and the flower, and she sighed. So, her Hogwarts admirer wouldn't be showing up. "Yes, thank you."
She took the black rose—a symbol of dishonesty, regret, shame, pain—and opened the folded parchment to see the familiar script.
"To Lady Rose: It seems I haven't the courage to put myself in the light of day for you to see. Perhaps it was never meant to be, or perhaps I have rushed this all too soon. I am sorry to have lead you on in this manner, and I will make it up to you one day. Perhaps next year. Forgive me. -The Voiceless One-"
She blinked once, twice, then reread the few lines penned. "What utter nonsense," she growled at last, crumpling the letter and shoving it into the pocket of her slacks. The rose she picked up and held the way she might hold a rapier, and she glanced around as if looking for someone to thrust the rather delicate flower into. Out of the establishment she charged and she took the corner to turn into a side alley with all the force of a rampaging bull only to—
Severus had been coming 'round the corner at a more sedate pace and was not quite prepared for someone to come charging into him.
The result of the two meeting at such different paces, and with such force, landed them both into a brick wall, and rather hard at that.
After letting loose a volley of inappropriate language, and hearing the person who ran into him do the same, Severus realized who the culprit was and detangled himself from the arms, legs, and cloak of said young lady. "Evans," he snapped, apparently very annoyed. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"
"I'm attempting to murder my anonymous beau!" she snapped at him, pushing herself away from him with as much force as she had used to collide with him. He looked rather startled by her show of temper. "The bloody git never showed up!" she growled, thrusting the black rose towards Severus with a little more zeal than necessary: the stem snapped in half as the end of it hit his chest.
Severus raised his eyebrows at her display. "And this upsets you? You should probably be relieved, unless you were really looking forward to telling the idiot off."
"I'm not—I mean, I was, but...but...." She tossed the now bedraggled rose against the wall she herself had so recently become acquainted with. "I was curious!" she spluttered, sounding rather defensive.
The tall, lanky boy was smirking and holding up his hands as if to fend off an attack. "Sure. Evans, you disappoint me. You actually seem to be interested in this..." the sneer on his face was as prevalent in his tone, prig who doesn't even have the confidence to show his face to you."
Rose shook her head. "I just...." She shrugged. "I'm disappointed." And she appeared defeated.
He crossed his arms and still looked rather skeptical. "Why should you care about someone you've never met?"
"I don't," she protested, looking down at the cobbled street beneath her feet. "It's just that he seemed so interested in me. In me, not in Lily or any of the rich little socialites in Slytherin or a beauty queen. I guess it's hard to understand, but it was...flattering even though it was embarrassing to have to be told all that stuff by an anonymous coward. He said a lot of nice things." She darted one glance up, caught Severus looking at her in some disbelief, then squared her shoulders and glared up at him. "It's stupid, Severus, just forget it. I need to go. I have to...well, I just have to." She stormed down the alley.
It wasn't until she was almost out of Hogsmeade that she remembered the black rose. For a moment she paused in her angry stride and considered going back for it, but was too upset to do more than give it a thought before continuing back to Hogwarts.
She wouldn't have found that rose still there anyway. It had ended up inside the cloak pocket of Severus Snape, where the poor bedraggled petals could rest comfortably until they were transferred to the boy's trunk, where the rose would rest for some time.
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Remus Lupin limped into the Requirement Room, a handy place that was a favorite of the fifth year Gryffindor boys. It was a quiet place to study, a good place to meet in secret, and a wonderful hideout when they needed it. At the moment James and Sirius were inside, and they had been waiting for him before starting their private study session for the O.W.L.'s. Peter was supposed to come—he needed the studying more than any of them did—but had been given a detention for allegedly entering the girls' bathroom.
"Shut up," Sirius was growling at the mocking James. "I knew I shouldn't have bothered telling you any of this. You know, you're just as bad with Evans the Elder."
Remus rolled his eyes. "Are we having this argument again?"
James was chuckling. "You should've heard this story. You wouldn't believe it, but Padfoot is still trying to get friendly with the little Slytherin girl, and while on a date with the lovely Victoria Sven, the Hufflepuff."
"Isn't she a seventh year?" Remus asked, rather impressed. "What's next, Padfoot? A teacher?"
"Nah, Rose Evans, someone younger than him for a change," James threw in.
Sirius threw a punch in the general direction of James but missed. "That's the last time I tell you anything about any girl I'm interested in."
"You're both rather pathetic if you ask me," Remus returned as he settled into a comfy chair that had appeared for studying. "Both after girls who don't really care one wit about you."
"At least we have some goals as far as the ladies go," James countered quickly. "Honestly, Moony, if you're not careful people will think you don't like girls."
"Oh, come off it. I do like girls," Remus replied smoothly. "And you both know it. It's just a bit awkward, don't you think?"
"Don't tell her about the werewolf thing," James replied easily enough.
But Remus Lupin shook his head and smiled, albeit sadly. "Any girl worth the trouble of getting to know would have to be very special to me, and if she's special to me I'm not going to keep secrets from her. I just haven't found the right girl yet."
"The 'right girl,' Moony?" Sirius smirked. "Bit of a romantic, isn't he Prongs?"
"Seems to be," James agreed, but both boys rather admired their lycanthropic friend.
"Can we study now? It's getting late and a prefect really shouldn't be caught sneaking in after hours." Remus turned his back to them and opened up more books, laid out a few parchment and quills, and soon the other Gryffindors reluctantly joined him.
Thank you for reading! Please, review!
To My Reviewers (Responses are short today):
Loraliant Angelisa Snape: Poem? Sirius wrote a poem? I wasn't aware he had done that. Hehehehe. ;-)
Illume: Toying with my readers? Whatever gave you that idea? :::masterfully uses puppet strings to make readers review::: BHWAHAHAHAHA! France comes into play in the next chapter, I believe. But, once again, I don't always give y'all what you'd think.
Emprezz Andromeda: Ah! So Your Royal Imperial Highness bought one of those tiaras too! I have one. :-) It's lovely. A royal army…hm…. I keep asking for one of those for Christmas but I never get it. And thank you for sparing my life. I promise to write you lots of fics when you rule the world.
Nabenabe: Ah. Sirius's crush on Rose…. I think I can safely say you won't see him spouting love to her in the 'present,' I mean, she is married by that time. Sirius is a man of honor, even if he was a bit of a prig in earlier days.
Rae Roberts: Yay! I still have you with me! I'm very glad. Christmas in July was fun, thankfully I got Valentine's Day out of the way before August. I don't think I could've managed it in such an unromantic month. Thank you for the review!
Elvesmagic010: Okay, okay. I read your review and then got writing! Goodness! Such a bossy reviewer! ;-) Thank you for the encouragement.
Stonecoldfox: Thank you so much for all your kind compliments and for sticking around to read and review. I really appreciate it, and I hope this latest chapter was to your enjoyment. And don't worry, the dizziness eventually fades. ;-)
Thank you all! I'll have another chapter posted fairly soon!
-JB-