Disclaimer: Alas me no owns Harry Potter. Me wished me owns but me doesn't…Oh well…
Chapter 7 – Jacob's secret
Rosh sat down against a tree with his legs apart and Katherine sat in that open space. He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled against him. It was getting dark and soon it would be time for dinner.
"I'm getting hungry." Katherine said after a while.
"We can go back inside if you want." Rosh suggested.
"I want to eat something but we just got here and I miss the times when we can just sit like this and enjoy each other's company."
"It's your choice."
"Then we stay here." She announced firmly.
Rosh kissed her forehead and closed his eyes again. They stayed there in silence, talking without words, listening to the soft movement of the water and the singing of the birds. After about an hour Rosh decided to break the silence.
"I've been thinking."
"About what?"
"The way Professor Dante protects Jacob."
Katherine turned in his grasp and looked at him frowning.
"And why did that make you think?" she asked.
"I smell something fishy in that."
"Get off it. It took you seven years to start thinking about such a thing?"
"Well I only started paying attention to it now. Don't you think it's strange?"
"Maybe a little. But every teacher has a favourite and Jacob is Dante's favourite."
"I know. But don't you think there is some reason for that to be so?"
"What do you have in mind?"
Rosh didn't answer. Instead he raised his eyebrows, a suggestive movement that transmitted the idea of 'you know what I have in mind'. Katherine looked shocked.
"No. You really think so?" she asked in disbelief.
"Yes I do." He said simply.
Katherine turned again and faced the lake. Her head was working at a very fast rate. She needed to find out if it was true. Could Jacob be Emanuel Dante's son?
There was only one way to get that information and Katherine knew it. So she waited for Jacob to come and tell her when their next date would be.
At the end of the week he surprised her in the library. She was alone working on an essay and he sat down beside her.
"Hello." He said cheerfully.
"Hi there. Can I help you?" she asked barely looking up from her parchment.
"I have here in my hand a parchment signed by the Headmistress allowing the both of us to go to Hogsmeade this coming Saturday. What do you say?"
She finally looked up to face him and saw on his hand the parchment. She took it from him and proceeded to read it. Her eyes opened wide as she did so. Professor McGonagall was indeed allowing them to leave the school grounds for a romantic date. Not that Kat considered it romantic.
"Is the Headmistress feeling all right? This is so not like her." Katherine said waving the parchment in front of his face.
"She can be very nice when she wants to. I guess I caught her in a good day." He said, a look of innocence in his face.
Now Katherine was really suspicious. No student could ever get such a thing from McGonagall, the rigid cat. There was definitely something fishy going on and Katherine was going to find out what it was.
Rosh acted pissed all day after Katherine announced she was going on another date with Jacob. Everywhere she looked she found him moping and occasionally she had the impression she heard him growl. The dinner was scheduled for 9 o'clock in the evening so Katherine went to get ready at around 6 o'clock. Of course Rosh was left to wonder why his cousin needed 3 hours to get ready for a date with a guy she didn't like. At around 8:30 she came out of the girls' dormitory. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a blue dress robe and her hair was caught in a high bun with some tresses falling on the sides of her face. The green in her eyes was intensified by a very light green eye shadow and her lips were covered with a soft pink lipstick. All Rosh could do was stare at her as she walked by him and left the common room. However Rosh wasn't alone as everyone else inside the Gryffindor common room stared without shame at her.
Katherine felt everyone's eyes on her as she came down the stairs and later as she left the common room. She was dressed to impress because she wanted to get as much information as possible from Jacob. And she was going to work her charm to get it. And she knew it was going to work when she met up with Jacob. His jaw almost fell over when he set his eyes on her.
"Shall we go?" she asked, offering her arm for him to take.
He too was wearing a dress robe, but his was black. His short hair was neatly brushed and it made him look older. Katherine noticed a small hint of cologne when he intertwined his arm with hers. She smiled as she realized he too was trying to impress her. However she was sure it was for a different reason.
They ate at a restaurant Katherine had never seen before in Hogsmeade. It was as if it never existed and only appeared so they could eat in it. It was a cosy place and they had it practically all for themselves.
"This is a great place Jacob. How did you find it?" Katherine asked as they waited for their food.
"It was recommended to me. To tell you the truth I didn't even know it existed." He whispered the last part as if it was some big secret. Katherine smiled.
"Me neither. And I never missed a Hogsmeade trip."
"Well I'm happy that you like it." he said smiling.
The food arrived and Katherine was impressed by the look of it. She took a bite of the meat and found it the most tasteful thing she had ever eaten.
"This is fabulous. Who told you about this place?" she asked after he tried the fish he had ordered.
"Professor Dante." He said.
"Really?"
"Yes." He said simply and continued to eat.
"Jacob, can I ask you something?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Do you like me?"
Jacob almost dropped his fork.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Because I figured that if you did like me then you would answer the other question I have to ask."
"And what question is that?" he asked fearfully.
"Well…is Professor Dante related to you in any way?" she asked.
For a moment no one spoke. An odd silence fell on the restaurant and for a moment Katherine thought he wasn't going to answer. When she was about to give up he took a deep breath and spoke.
"Yes, Professor Dante is my father." He announced softly. However the mere thought of it seemed to bring him grief.
"Wow! That was unexpected."
"Yeah." He said and silence fell between them. Then he spoke again. "I'm a bastard."
"What? No. I don't think you're a bastard because you kept this from everyone."
"It's not that. I'm a bastard child. He was married to another woman when I was born. He wanted to keep it all a secret so I took my mother's last name. That's why I'm Adams and not Dante. However I always knew he was my father. My mother kept nothing from me." he explained.
Katherine was taken aback by this news. There were certain suspicions but no one actually believed it would be true.
"I reckon you take after your mother?"
"Yes. I know I don't look a thing like him. I guess I may have a bit of his personality."
Katherine laughed.
"And I landed on Slytherin like he did. My mom was a Ravenclaw."
"You keep using the past when you talk about your mother." Katherine noted.
"Well that's because she's dead. She died when I was 12."
"Oh. I didn't know that. I'm sorry if I sounded…"
"It's ok. You didn't have to know." He cut her off.
"Well I'm sorry anyway."
The silence returned to the table as they ate their food.
"So you don't like to talk about your parents do you?" he asked a moment later.
"Not really. Sorry."
"No problem. We won't talk about it."
"Let's just eat and get back to the castle. It's getting a bit cold."
"Sure."
They finished the meal in silence and it was only broken when they reached the big oak doors of Hogwarts.
"I had a great evening Jacob. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Katherine said.
"We still have a date left. Maybe we'll leave it for the holidays or maybe the beginning of next year."
"I guess. Good night Jacob."
"Good night Katherine."
Katherine made her way to the Gryffindor Tower slowly. She didn't want to go to sleep anytime soon. She knew she was going to have nightmares just because someone had mentioned her parents. When she reached the portrait she saw a person sitting against the wall. She approached the person and saw it was Rosh.
"Hey, you. What are you doing there?" she asked kicking him.
"I was waiting for you." He said getting up.
"Out here in the cold? Why not inside?"
"I guess I wanted to make sure you arrived here alone." He said sincerely.
Katherine smiled and gave him a soft kiss.
"No one else will ever get that. Only you." she said.
Then the two entered the common room and went to sleep. The next day Katherine would tell Rosh and Jade about her new discovery.
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Took me long enough to get this one out.
To my three wonderful reviewers:
Amilin: I'm so glad you like it so far. About the thing between Rosh and Harry…well I kinda forgot to add that the 'Professor' was in a mock tone…I have to fix that. Thanks for pointing it out. And thanks for continuing to read and specially review my story. Kudos to you.
Aria-wolfstar: I don't know about the more reviews thing but at least I'm getting them. I went through a writer's block recently but don't worry too much…I have written until chapter 11 already so you'll get a chapter eventually. ;) Thanks for reviewing and reading. Kudos to you too.
Snuffles2984: Girl you can review whenever you want...as long as you review of course. :) Anyway thanks for reading, reviewing and occasionally beta this thing. Major kudos to you.
Cheers everyone…I love y'all.