The Rose of Battle
Rose of all Roses, Rose of all the World!
The tall thought-woven sails, that flap unfurled
Above the tide of hours, trouble the air,
And God's bell buoyed to be the water's care;
While hushed from fear, or loud with hope, a band
With blown, spray-dabbled hair gather at hand,
Turn if you may from battles never done,
I call, as they go by me one by one,
Danger no refuge holds, and war no peace,
For him who hears love sing and never cease,
Beside her clean-swept hearth, her quiet shade:
But gather all for whom no love hath made
A woven silence, or but came to cast
A song into the air, and singing passed
To smile on the pale dawn; and gather you
Who have sougft more than is in rain or dew,
Or in the sun and moon, or on the earth,
Or sighs amid the wandering, starry mirth,
Or comes in laughter from the sea's sad lips,
And wage God's battles in the long grey ships.
The sad, the lonely, the insatiable,
To these Old Night shall all her mystery tell;
God's bell has claimed them by the little cry
Of their sad hearts, that may not live nor die.
Rose of all Roses, Rose of all the World!
You, too, have come where the dim tides are hurled
Upon the wharves of sorrow, and heard ring
The bell that calls us on; the sweet far thing.
Beauty grown sad with its eternity
Made you of us, and of the dim grey sea.
Our long ships loose thought-woven sails and wait,
For God has bid them share an equal fate;
And when at last, defeated in His wars,
They have gone down under the same white stars,
We shall no longer hear the little cry
Of our sad hearts, that may not live nor die.
-William Butler Yeats
Ginny Weasley was still in love with Harry Potter. She wasn't sending him terrible valentines or putting her elbow in the butter anymore but she watched him out of the corner of her eye all the time. She always knew where he was even when she wasn't looking at him. She always knew what he was doing. Maybe it wasn't obvious to the boys she dated or even to herself but it was obvious to someone who had spent most of his life trying to uncover secrets.
Snape wondered if anyone else knew. And he wondered how dumb teenage boys could possibly be since Potter kept staring at her too.
It was nauseating. Especially the way they'd catch each other's eyes on accident and blush. Was the boy a Gryffindor or not? Why was he waiting around? And if Snape hadn't been keeping such a close eye on Potter he would never have had to watch this sickening display. He decided he'd blame the boy.
And then of course Potter had to go and blow up another cauldron, so he'd been forced to give the infernal child a detention. Which meant that he had to sit in his classroom and supervise Potter cleaning, which of course cut into his valuable time.
"Tell me Potter, have you noticed the Weasley girl's affection or are you really that dense?" It didn't come out as sharp as old insults had, after all he and Potter had come to some sort of a truce even if he didn't know entirely what it meant.
Harry didn't look up from scrubbing the cauldron. "I've noticed." His tone was curt and Snape's curiosity was roused.
"Well, are you a Gryffindor or not? Aren't you known for your incredible bravery and stupidity?"
"I'm not going to ask her, if that's what you mean."
"Afraid of her brothers Potter?"
Harry finally stopped, putting down the rag he was using and looking directly at his teacher. "You and I both know what this war is going to be Professor. I'm not going to drag any more people into it. I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me."
And suddenly Severus Snape knew what was different with Harry Potter. It came with a memory of a poem he'd heard once, long ago. A muggle poet that Dumbledore had told him he might like.
And when at last, defeated in His wars,
They have gone down under the same white stars,
We shall no longer hear the little cry
Of our sad hearts, that may not live or die.
Harry Potter knew he was going to die.
Snape couldn't help but stare at the boy. He had never thought that it was going to be like this when he'd seen that familiar messy hair bent over a parchment in his class, seemingly bent on ignoring him. He'd never thought it would be like this when he'd taunted the boy for his celebrity status and the high status he'd almost certainly received. He didn't know there was a genuine person behind that, a person that really would do what was needed no matter the cost. He most certainly had not wished the world onto a child.
"You think you're going to die." he said. He didn't purposely word it that way, as if it were only the boy's self-deluded thoughts and not a certainty.
Potter's gaze was steady. "You're not too likely to survive either professor. You're going to get caught one of these days."
"I'm an adult and I made my own decisions."
"I'm making the decisions I can. I choose not to bring Ginny into this. I choose to let my friends remain happy."
"It's no choice."
"It is!" And Harry slammed his fist down on the desk, causing the cauldron to jump and clang against the desk. "I choose how to live and die!"
Snape bowed his head. "I was wrong. My apologies." There was a moment of silence. "You may go."
"My detention isn't over."
"I said it is. Go be with your friends."
"Thank you sir."
Author's Note: So…is Harry too fatalistic? Is it too angsty and overdone? Review and let me know what you think!
