Listen To Your Heart

Chapter Seventeen-The 7th Year

Shortly after that, I had gone upstairs to bed. I passed Remus' room. He was sitting cross legged on his bed, listening to a Muggle CD player. He was furiously writing in some kind of journal or something. I really wanted to know why he was acting like this. Although I knew enough not to invade his privacy unless he said it was okay. So I decided to enter the room, gently knocking on the door before I did.

He looked up.

"What do you want?" he asked stiffly.

I sat on the edge of his bed, tucking one leg beneath me. I leaned forward, and stared at him.

"I want to know what your problem is and don't tell me nothing," I said shortly.

Remus slammed his book shut and leaned forward, so that our faces were inches apart.

"Why are you going out with Severus?" he asked bluntly.

"Because he asked me to!" I said scandalized. "Frankly, I think he's sweet!"

"Sweet my ass!" Remus said angrily. "I don't trust him! He's up to something…just like all the Slytherins!"

"I don't believe you!" I cried. "You're all for James treating him nicely and here you go and contradict yourself!"

"I'm sure he is nice…but I think he's only being nice to you because he wants to get down your pants," Remus said angrily.

I slapped him.

"How dare you say that," I snarled.

Remus' cheek was pink from where I slapped him. I went to get up but he grabbed me by the wrists and held me.

"Let me go," I said glaring at him.

"Look all I'm saying is just be careful alright?" Remus said.

"Let me go," I repeated.

Remus still held onto my wrists then suddenly, as if on an impulse, he leaned in and gave me a kiss.

"Are you kidding me?" I cried pulling back. "LET ME GO!"

"Remus? Roselyn? Is everything alright?" Mr. Lupin's voice came from the doorway. We looked. He was standing there with a concerned expression on his face.

Remus immediately let go and I turned and briskly left the room.

REMUS.

I sighed.

"Son? What's going on? I've noticed you've got a bit of an attitude as well," Dad said coming into my room and sitting in the spot where Roselyn had sat.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. "I don't know what's come over me."

Dad was silent before he replied.

"I think I know," he said softly. "You're in love with Roselyn aren't you?"

I looked at him.

"Is it obvious?" I asked.

He nodded.

"But son," he continued. "Being rude to everyone and upsetting her isn't going to leave a good impression. Especially what you did just now."

I moaned.

"Look," Dad went on. "Give her some time to cool down alright? Then tell her how you feel about her."

I nodded.

"Good night," Dad winked and left the room.

ROSELYN.

I ignored Remus for the whole week. Remus was silent as well.

We were going to head to Diagon Alley to pick up our 7th year supplies.

I was sad and anxious at the same time.

I loved Hogwarts and would be really sad to see it go.

We met up with everyone in Diagon Alley. Immediately Severus came over to me. He was wearing jeans and a green shirt.

"Hey," I beamed at Severus. "Looking forward to going back?"

"Sort of," Severus admitted. "But I am looking forward to possibly teaching here."

I nodded.

"That's really wonderful that you want to do that,"

Severus beamed.

"Is Haylie Lynn staying with your parents?" James asked as we walked down the cobbled stone streets.

Gillian nodded.

"Yeah," she said. "It would be best because I would want to spend time with her but I wouldn't be able to. This way, I can devote my attention to work and not worry about whether or not I'm neglecting her. I would feel absolutely horrible if I ever did that."

Sam nodded.

"I understand," he said. "Good decision."

Remus asked Sirius if he could go with him to Flourish and Botts while the rest of us headed to Florean Flortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

Sirius, Sam and Remus headed off to the book store while Peter, Lily, Gillian, Severus and I headed to the parlor.

We ordered our ice cream and began eating it.

"Um," Lily said slowly and suddenly. "Is it me or is Remus avoiding Roselyn?"

"I picked up on that too," Gillian said. "What's going on?"

"Remus kissed me yesterday," I admitted.

Gasps went around.

"He said some things about Severus that I didn't like and I slapped him," I said.

"What'd he say?" Peter squeaked out.

"He said that the only reason Severus was being nice to me was to get down my pants," I muttered taking a bit of my vanilla ice cream.

Severus looked appalled and upset.

"I would never…I'm not…I respect…" Severus stammered.

"Relax," I said softly. "I know that. But Remus really upset me with that statement. He seemed to be contradicting himself."

Lily was frowning now.

"Remember I told you guys how I had an idea as to why Moony was acting like that?"

We nodded.

Lily hesitated for a few minutes.

"I think it's because he loves Roselyn," Lily replied finally.

"What?" I asked startled.

Lily nodded.

"I think he's in love with you," Lily continued. "He's acting jealous because of Severus."

"I kind of figured the same thing," Gillian replied nodding.

"Was everyone in on this but me?" I demanded.

"I'm clueless too," Severus admitted.

"No honey," Gillian said gently. "Us girls pick things up a bit more quicker than guys. We've known Remus a lot longer than you have. We know his behavior like the backs of our hands."

I nodded.

"So what are you going to do?" Peter asked curiously.

"Nothing," I said. "I like Severus."

"I think you should set Remus straight then," Lily said. "Just explain to him that you like Severus and you want to remain best friends…is that correct?"

I nodded again.

"Absolutely," I said. "I don't want to hurt him."

Lily winked.

"You're a good person, Rose,"

At that moment, the rest of the gang arrived.

"What'd we miss?" Sirius asked grinning as he sat down beside Gillian and draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing," Peter said innocently.

"Here," Remus said suddenly plopping a package down on the table next to my ice cream. "I got this for you."

I looked at Lily.

She slowly nodded.

I opened it up. It was a book on advanced charms and potions called "Extreme Potions and Charms". I had wanted to get it earlier, but I only had enough to get my school supplies.

"Thank you," I said genuinely touched by his gesture.

Remus just shrugged one shoulder. It was really bothering me now.

"Ugh," I said aloud. "Remus, I need to talk to you."

I got up, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the rest.

Once we were out of ear shot from the rest, I turned to him.

"Look," I said gently. "I like Severus okay? I really want us to be like we were before."

Remus didn't answer.

"You're my best friend," I went on putting a hand on his arm. "I love you to death but can we please stop this ice between us? It's upsetting me."

"Fine," Remus finally said quietly.

I threw my arms around his neck, resting my chin on top of his shoulder. I felt his arms slowly encircle me, drawing me close to him.

"I love you, Roselyn," he whispered in my ear. "I've always loved you."

Hearing that, I really didn't know how to respond.

After a while, we pulled back and headed back to the group.

"Everything good?" Lily asked meaningfully looking from me to Remus.

"Yeah," I said inhaling deeply.

She nodded and everyone went back to their conversations.

2 days later, it was time to head back to Hogwarts. The train had been repaired and was back to normal somewhat.

Of course, some of the students had been killed. A whole fresh group of first years were excitedly chatting away.

We put our luggage on the train and found an empty compartment. Gillian and Sam decided to go steady, as well as Lily and James. Sirius cracked to Peter if he wanted to go steady with him.

Peter scowled at him. Remus was just staring out the window.

Shortly, the train began moving and we began heading to Hogwarts.

"I can't believe that accident really happened," Lily said hugging herself. "Did they ever find out what caused it?"

"Yeah," I said. "My mom owled me the other day. Apparently, the spikes in the track had been loosened. The Muggle police naturally just assumed it was a normal train accident. They're looking into it."

"How'd your Mum know?" Sam asked curiously.

"Both of my parents work in the Ministry of Magic," I replied. "Did I forget to mention that?"

"I don't remember," James said. "Cool."

"Sheesh," Gillian replied. "Why on earth would anyone want to harm innocent students?"

We all looked at each other.

Severus was sitting next to me and he shyly draped an arm around my shoulders. I leaned back against it and looked out the window as well.

Remus suddenly asked James to step outside for a moment. They stepped out of the compartment.

"What on earth do you think that's about?" Gillian mused.

"Dunno," Severus said thoughtfully.

About 3 minutes later, they came back into the compartment.

"Everything go well?" Lily asked raising an eyebrow at them.

"Just fine," James replied, but he seemed shifty.

Remus took his seat and looked at me.

"What's going on?" I asked grinning. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Remus said mysteriously.

"Fine," I said continuing to grin. "Don't tell me."

We arrived at Hogwarts a few moments later. We watched the first year sorting and then Professor Dumbledore made his usual announcements. There was going to be another Christmas Dance this year. Moans went around as well as giggles from the girls.

"Awesome," James grinned at Lily.

Once dinner was over we headed to the common rooms. Severus gave me a kiss on the cheek before heading to the Slytherin common room.

Exhausted, Lily, Gillian and I headed to the girls'. The boys headed off to theirs and before long, I was fast asleep.

SEVERUS.

I really loved Roselyn. She was pretty, smart, funny, kind, caring and thoughtful. The next morning, after eating breakfast at the Slytherin table, I headed toward the Gryffindor table only to be stopped by James and Remus.

"Hey Snivellus," James replied.

I frowned.

"Didn't Roselyn ask you to call me Severus?" I asked.

"Roselyn isn't here," James replied.

"Where is she?" I asked.

"She's off at the library with Sam and Gillian getting a head start on their Potions for class next," Remus said.

"We've got a bit of a proposition for you," James continued. "Meet us at the Whomping Willow at nine…see if you can touch the small knot at the base."

"Why?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"Um," James and Remus looked at each other. "Roselyn will be there too."

"Oh," I said. "Sure."

"Excellent," James grinned.

They headed off.

ROSELYN.

Sam, Gillian and I had gone off to the library to get a head start on our Potions class. Lily suddenly came running into the library out of breath.

"Rose! James and Remus did something incredibly stupid!" she gasped.

"What?" I demanded looking into her concerned face.

"They 'dared' Severus to touch the knot at the base of the Whomping Willow at nine tonight!"

"Why on earth would they do that?" Gillian demanded angrily.

"I'm not sure," Lily said finally catching her breath. "But you'd best stop Severus! He could get hurt."

"I'm going to kill them!" I said angrily pounding my fist on the table.

So at nine o'clock that night, I headed out to the Whomping Willow.

SEVERUS.

I had stopped in the kitchens for a snack before heading out to the Whomping Willow. I had no idea why Roselyn was going to be out there this late at night…and why on earth did I have to touch a knot at the base of it for?

Shrugging, I made my way out onto the grounds. It was pitch black. I saw a girl with auburn hair standing near the Whomping Willow. Immediately, I felt a warm feeling in my stomach and I broke into a grin.

Suddenly, the grin began fading when I saw one of the branches come speeding toward Roselyn.

"ROSE!" I shouted.

Her head turned around just as the branch came whip fast toward her, catching her across the abdomen, tossing her several feet into the air. She came crashing down on ground, landing on her back. She didn't move.

"ROSELYN!" I yelled rushing over to her.

I dropped to my hands and feet and hovered above her. She had one wrist lying near her ear and her head was turned. A thick ribbon of blood trickled from the corner of her mouth and her eyes were closed.

I heard the rustling of the bushes and looked up. James and Remus stepped out with looks of absolute horror on their faces.