Rose Among the Thorns: The Third Evans Sister

By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large

Standard Disclaimer Found Here: I do not own anything that is not mine. Doesn't that make wonderful sense?

Italics are thoughts, emphasized words, or letters. Thank you!

NOTE: Updates will be less frequent now, as I've started back to school and work. Blah. And this Quick Edit thing is completely screwing with my format! UGH!

'j'e'd'i'b'l'u'

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT: Canoodling in the Forest

'j'e'd'i'b'l'u'

"Goodness," Rose said quietly to herself after reading the Daily Prophet. The Death Eaters, the followers of Lord Voldemort, were attacking country-side wizards and witches now, seeming to pick off those who were the most isolated. As a result, the Ministry of Magic was urging those living away from villages and cities to move inward with relatives, friends, or permanently as they didn't know how long the threat was going to last.

Severus suddenly appeared at her side for breakfast, yawning slightly. He glanced at the newspaper she was reading but seemed not to pay it much attention when he picked up his juice glass and downed it quickly.

It had been a month since their first and second kiss, if such little pecks could be called kisses. For the most part they carried on as usual, but there was still the occasional moment of uncomfortable silence between them when Rose would blush and Severus would look anywhere but at her.

Severus had also become even more protective of her, if that was possible, than he had been after her illness. It wasn't the same sort of protectiveness, either. He was just always there, a firm, unwavering tower next to her. Maybe nothing had really changed...but Rose felt so much safer. Sometimes he spoke to her differently, too. Not necessarily softer, or gentler, but there was a change that made him seem more earnest.

Rose shook her head as she shut the paper with frustration. "The Ministry is infernally weak. They aren't offering any opposition to Lord I-Don't-Have-A-Name, or whatever people call him. It's so irritating. People are dying and our leadership can't do more than whine about it."

"That's how the world works, Evans," Severus responded, peppering his scrambled eggs. "Often those in power have no power."

"So this Dark wizard has the power, then?" She shook her head again. "It's not right."

"Perhaps not." Severus glanced around the Great Hall. "Not many people are in here for an early breakfast."

"It is Sunday morning, Severus." Rose took a sip from her orange juice glass. "Most people sleep in on the weekends."

"Most people are absolute idiots," he returned, smirking. "Besides, we have work to do today."

The young witch groaned. "Do we have to?"

"You're the one who wanted to try a more challenging potion," he responded. "It's not my fault you chose one we have no ingredients for. We'll have to get what we need directly from the Forest."

"Hush," she admonished, looking around quickly. "We don't need people to hear."

"If you'll notice, the only other people up this morning are two Ravenclaw first years, one Hufflepuff, and no Gryffindors. And all of them are too far away to overhear."

"This is Hogwarts, Severus," she corrected him; "the walls have ears."

Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Being paranoid isn't going to help any. Let's go." Severus stood and waited for Rose to tuck her newspaper in her bag before he led her out of the Great Hall. They walked briskly around the castle and across the grounds to the forest. No one was outside yet, and they chose to enter the forest from behind the Game Keeper's hut. Everyone knew that Hagrid was usually sleeping off a hang-over on Sundays, it was easy enough to hear his gigantic snores, so there was nothing to worry about there.

Severus lead the way into the brush, and sparing one last glance to make sure they were unseen, Rose followed.

The boy, now more young man than child, lead the way through the Forbidden Forest with the ease that only a few others could manage. Among the others who knew the forest as well as Severus was the Game-Keeper, the Headmaster, and four Gryffindor students. Severus took small game trails rather than established paths, and Rose easily kept pace with him. By now she had been into the forest many times, always with Severus to gather potion ingredients or go on some search for some animal.

Thankfully, after the first night she had followed him into the forest, now so long ago, they had never again ventured out into a full moon. Severus had decided it was far too dangerous with Rose insisting on coming along, and now most of their visits were during the day.

Today they were in search of a few herbs, the hair of a unicorn, and the bark of a rare tree. The Requirement Room wouldn't, for some odd reason, provide these things for them. Severus suggested, on a hunch, that the Room would borrow from other places in the castle for the limited time the item was needed. Perhaps then the wanted ingredients were no where in the castle, or perhaps they were kept in some sort of enchanted container as they were very valuable.

The herbs were easy enough to find, and they had all they needed of those within the first hour. The other two items they continued to search for, and it was nearing noon before the two tired students found a small stream to rest by. Severus tested the water with a carefully cast spell to determine whether or not it was safe to drink—you could never tell with the Forbidden Forest. The water was fine.

Rose pulled from her bag the fruit she had snitched from breakfast, along with a small box she had managed to carry some toast, bacon, and fried eggs in. Such ingredients made for a good sandwich, and desert. It didn't take them long to eat.

"Can we rest here for a while, Severus?" Rose asked, glancing around. "It's a lovely spot."

Severus was beside the stream, looking carefully down at the mud along the bank. "That's probably a good idea. There are unicorn tracks here. If we're quiet one may come close enough to you for you to obtain a hair."

The young witch nodded in compliance, then slipped off her shoes and socks, rolled her jeans up a bit, and put her feet in the cool water with an expression of contentment. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"

He had seated himself up against the trunk of a very large tree, several feet from Rose, and only nodded in acknowledgement. His voice, that of a young male, probably wouldn't coax a unicorn near at all. But Rose, on the other hand, with her low-pitched tones just might attract one.

"Do unicorns actually like virgin maidens or do they just tolerate them?" she asked, half to herself, lounging back on the grass. "Why virgins? I think it's incredibly strange, personally. And unicorn foals tolerate boys. It wouldn't make sense for them to suddenly change over to girls." Rose glanced over to see that Severus was merely watching her, a bemused expression on his face.

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

He shrugged and reached for her bag, which he dug around in until he found a sheet of parchment and pencil. He spent the next several minutes ignoring her and scribbling on the paper while she could only sigh with boredom. Then he folded the parchment up into a flying crane.

"You know origami?" Rose asked, appearing shocked. "Severus, I swear you have the weirdest talents and secrets."

He shrugged, tapped the paper bird with his wand, and it flew slowly towards her, across the stream, landing in her lap.

Rose opened the paper bird carefully and found his short note.

I read somewhere that unicorns like to be sung to by the afore mentioned virgin

maiden. Give it a try.

She glanced up at him. "Absolutely not."

He gestured back to what she held in her hand.

Do it or we're going back to Hogwarts right now and leaving the potion

incomplete.

Vaguely she wondered how he knew her well enough to write the threat which would respond to her remark.

"Severus," she moaned, tossing the crumpled-up paper back at him. He moved his head to the side and it missed its mark. "You're such an infuriating male. What makes you think I'm even capable of singing anything? Let alone something that would charm a unicorn?!"

Smirking, the young man reached into a pocket in his cloak and revealed to her...a pair of earmuffs. He smugly put them on and then closed his eyes, leaning back against the tree, leaving her to believe him completely oblivious to her and whatever sounds she would make.

"Arrogant, insufferable, smug lout!" she growled at him, then found that she was blushing. For several minutes she remained absolutely silent, glaring at the oblivious Severus Snape. Finally she sighed and started to hum a bit, keeping an eye on the young man to make certain he wasn't aware of the sounds she was making. "This is crazy." But, a few minutes after she muttered the angry words, she started to sing, faintly. "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down," she sang, keeping one eye on Severus still. "London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady. Build it up with silver and gold, silver and gold, silver and gold, build it up with silver and gold, my fair lady. Gold and silver I have none, I have none, I have none. Gold and silver I have none, my fair lady." And on she went, singing every nursery rhyme she knew, from Jack and Jill to Ring Around the Rosies, and all the while Severus just lay there, completely still.

That was at least a relief.

Rose was halfway through Bye, Bye Baby Bunting when she happened to glance away from Severus into the trees, just to break the monotony of it, and saw the most beautiful creature standing only five feet away from where she sat, looking down at her curiously.

The young witch gasped and held completely still. The unicorn pawed the earth, tilting its graceful, whiter-than-snow head to one side as if to ask why Rose had stopped singing.

And then, from behind the perfect animal, came a golden foal that still did not have its horn.

It was such an incredibly beautiful, serene picture that Rose felt as if she might cry. She began to hum, a tuneless melody, and came slowly to her feet to approach them.

Severus opened one eye, having realized she'd stopped singing (earmuffs wouldn't have blocked anything out, he had heard every nursery rhyme she had sung out in her surprisingly mellow voice), and had to hold back his own start of surprise lest he frighten the animals away. More than anything, at that moment he wished he had a camera, or an artist sitting at his side with an easel ready to go. It was an incredible scene that lay before him.

Rose was holding one hand out to the female unicorn, allowing the animal to gently nuzzle her before Rose ran her hand along the unicorn's nose, her neck, and her fingers gently through the mane. A few hairs came loose without her having to tug at all, so it didn't take long for her to gather what she needed.

She felt the foal put his nose against her hip, and she turned to favor him with the same attention she had given the mother, collected a few of his hairs in the process as well. They were incredible creatures, very soft and gentle, looking as if they had been created for no other reason except to be admired and loved.

After Rose had finished giving both equestrians attention she backed slowly away, bowing slightly, until they took the hint and the mother seemed to bow her head as well before turning and leading her foal back into the woods.

Letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding, Rose turned to smile at her partner in crime to see him staring at her strangely. Immediately she frowned. "Something wrong, Severus?"

He shook his head and came across the stream (easily jumping the bit of water) to examine the hairs she still gripped. They were perfectly silver and gold. Severus stared at the hairs for a moment, some dark emotion in his eyes which made the bottomless pools of black seem warmer than usual. He put a hand out to stroke the hair, running three fingers gently across Rose's palm.

The girl swallowed, feeling herself blushing furiously at the gentle touch even if he didn't mean to touch her. She really hoped he wouldn't look up and see her face, she knew she must be beet red.

But Severus did look up, his dark eyes still swirling, and both his hands came up to capture one of hers. "That was incredible, Evans," he said, and there was a catch in his voice, making him sound hesitant and odd. He took in her flushed cheeks and found himself liking the way she looked...it was extraordinarily charming.

Before the poor boy knew what he was doing, he once again found his lips on hers. She had very nice lips, he decided as he kissed her. They were soft, well-shaped, and he was certain that if any other male ever tried to taste them he'd curse them into an oblivion.

Rose was startled by the kiss, by the touch that was so soft. It seemed to her, with the way Severus kissed her, he was asking her for something. The kiss was sweet, surprisingly innocent, and so tentative.

And she wasn't about to let him pull away as quickly as he had before.

Her free hand came up to reach around his neck, cradling the back of his head, as she kissed him back.

It was really a shame no one else was there to witness the two young ones, just barely starting into adulthood, offer that token to each other. As many know, a kiss can be a period, a comma, an exclamation point, or even a question mark. For Severus and Rose, it was all of the above on that lovely Sunday afternoon.

But...what exactly did all of this mean?

Severus pulled away first, after several long moments of gently pulling at and pressing her perfect lips with his own—which he felt were exceptionally inadequate. What did he, a child of a loveless dark wizard, know about romance or caring? What right did he have to hold this young witch, only fourteen years old, so close?

Rose was bewildered when Severus stepped away from her, and even more so when he avoided her eyes. He was pushing back his long black hair, a habit she thought was endearing. She wondered how long she'd had such strange, strong feelings for him. She was his friend, his ally, and...well, maybe she loved him. She wasn't sure if she did, she was so young. But she was strongly attracted to him, and she did care for him. More than anything, though, she cursed their age difference. Why did she have to be so young?

The silence between the two was made more profound by the noises of birds and the wind through the forest. Rose kept her eyes on the young man, and he kept his on the ground.

"Severus?" she ventured at last, reaching up a hand to touch his hair, to move it back so it wouldn't obscure his face.

He looked up at her, and the mixture of emotions in his eyes was heart-breaking. He looked like a little boy at that moment, a very lost little boy. "Yes, Evans?" he asked, wincing slightly.

The girl sighed and offered him a small, comforting smile. "Call me Rose, okay? This Evans stuff...it's getting old."

A weak smile was his reaction to that. "All right, Rose."

"And Severus?"

"Hm?"

"That was lovely." She slipped her hand back into one of his, still smiling at him. "But we're very young. I liked it and everything. Let's just be careful, okay?"

He nodded, looking relieved. "Fine." He glanced up at the sun, narrowing his eyes slightly. "We should try to find that bark in the next two hours, then get back to the school. I have some homework to do, and I'm sure you do as well."

He led her back across the stream and pulled her bag up onto his shoulder before going back into the trees, looking for that rare, illusive tree.

And never once did he drop her hand.

Thank ye for reading and PLEASE do review! Can any body guess, from this chapter, what my newest hobby is?

Sneak Preview: Coming Soon! Chapter 29, with Call It A Dare, Call It Jealousy, and one night we all should know from our Hogwarts History by now…want a hint? It involves a certain Werewolf. And Chapter 30 is only Another Year Gone, in which Snape comes into contact for the first time with a Death Eater. It's a filler chapter to get us to the more exciting stuff. After that we've got Chapter 31, False Sense of Security, in which two Slytherins want to get even with a Gryffindor.

To My Reviewers, Responses Are Short Today:

Elvesmagic010: Embrace the fluff?! But I don't DO fluff! Not as well as some people, anyway. :-) I have the terrible habit of keeping relationships far too innocent for far too long. Hm. I do hope Snape gets some happiness in JKR's stuff. I like him too much to watch him forever be the black-winged bat/slimey-git that everyone makes him out to be. Gerr…. See ya next chapter!

Illume: I know, I know. It WAS cliché, but I was in a hurry and it worked out anyway. Hope this chapter was nice and not disgusting/pedofileistic (I made up that word for all the people who have 14 year olds jumping each other every chance they get). Yuck. See you soon!

Moriann: Thank you. :-)

Loraliant Angelisa Snape: You're welcome for the bliss!

Lysaandi: Slytherins. They're so cute when they fall for each other! Then, of course, they get all nasty and mean again….

Gdk2: A new reviewer. Cool. And no, Hermione Granger will be in no way related to Harry (in my story). Too many plot holes could become involved.

Emikae: Thank you for the compliments and the food for thought. Don't worry, we'll be going back to grown-up Rose and Severus fairly soon.

Nabenabe: You think THIS is romance? Wait 'til you see what else I have coming up. About, oh, six chapters from now. Aren't I cruel?

Mione1: Hope this was soon enough. Thank you!

Black Sheep Alone: Like Sirius LESS?! How could anyone…?! BLASPHEMY! But that's okay. You're reviewing my Severus story so I'll forgive you. :-)

Elz: Passion between a 14 and 16 year old? Doesn't work, trust me (I've tried!). I'm glad you're hooked, that means I'm doing my job.

Rae Roberts: Thanks for the word. :-) No thanks for your terrible cliff-hanger involving ALEX. :-P I used 'rather' and I used it correctly in this chapter! HAHAHA!

Rinny Z: Don't be sad! Be glad! And enjoy this chapter!

Goth Princess: Sirius is about to take jealousy to new levels. You'll love the next chapter. Catch ya then!

I'll see all of you next chapter! It's a fun one, but in need of some revision before posting. :cough: shrieking shack :cough, cough:

-JB-