Chapter 5
Harry's POV
"It's a pity that I couldn't meet this Riddle guy," said his best friend, Hermione, after he told her of the events that transpired in Paris as they take an evening break in the staff's lounge.
Harry shuddered and said irritably at her, "Don't jinx it, 'Mione! I hope I won't ever have to meet him again!"
"But still, it's really intriguing. The only other person that I know who can make you this aggravated is…" Hermione quickly caught herself before she could say the name and then looked at him guiltily.
Harry really hated that. His friends were so careful not to say that name around him, as if he was going to break down any minute. Not to mention the pity he saw in their eyes every time.
"Snape, his name is Snape, you can say it. I'm fine with it, 'Mione."
"Harry…" Hermione bit her lower lip and clasped her hands nervously before saying quietly, "Do you still love him?"
Harry closed his eyes, a troubled look passing over his face. He couldn't lie to himself. As much as he tried to tell himself that he only felt anger and hurt towards Snape, some mornings – even if only for a fleeting moment – he would wake up and wish that all the things that had happened were just a bad dream. That Snape was still his, and not that woman's— that Snape' unfaithfulness was just a lie fabricated by his own imagination.
So do I still love him? He repeated that question to himself.
Harry swallowed painfully. "Heaven help me, but… I still do," he said, showing her a bitter smile, filled with self-loathing.
"Oh, Harry…" Hermione cried and flung her arms around him at once. "It's so hard to see you like this …"
Harry buried his head in her shoulder and choked back his angry tears. She tightened her hold on him and said firmly, "Just remember, Ron and I will always stand by you, no matter what!"
He leaned back and tried give her a reassuring smile. She and Ron were the siblings that he never had. They had always stuck with him through the good and the bad. If he was hurt, they would always be there for him, and vice versa. He was really lucky to have met them.
"Thanks, 'Mione," he said softly before adding a playful tone to his next words, "Don't worry so much or you'll make yourself sick, future mum. Then Ron will have no choice but to kill me."
Hermione froze then looked at him with surprise and raised her eyebrow. "How did you—?"
"I have my sources," he said with a mysterious smile before winking at her. "Congrats, Hermione!"
"Thanks, Harry," said Hermione, smiling softly and then adding with a hushed voice, "But don't tell Ron, he doesn't know about this yet. I'm planning for it to be a Christmas surprise."
"Blimey, what's this?" said Ron, poking his head from the doorway. "My wife is having an affair with my best friend and I wasn't invited?"
Harry snorted, "Ron, you big baby…"
He stopped talking when his eyes caught on what the red haired man was holding. With a wide taunting grin, his best friend opened his Walkers's BBQ Rib packet, grabbed a handful of the potato chips and started to munch on it.
"Oy, that's mine!" he protested loudly. "How did you find it? Ron, you greedy prat, give it back to me!"
He was aware that Hermione was giggling at them as he tried to wrestle it back from Ron, with not much success.
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Harry looked mournfully at the empty wrapper. Sad, so sad, his little joy in life didn't even last a few minutes. He still didn't know how Ron still managed to find it, even though he had changed the location of his secret stash of potato chips.
"You're such a pig, Ron," Harry scowled and pointed to the empty wrapper. "I was saving that for tomorrow."
Ron sucked on his fingers and grinned, "They were there for eating, not for saving."
"You—," said Harry, narrowing his eyes angrily at the red haired man, already prepared to rant about how it couldn't be found in any shops near St. Mungo's and he had to buy it in a shop that was miles and miles from the hospital.
"Dr. Potter?" called a nurse from the open door.
Harry turned his head towards the voice. "Yes?"
"This was just delivered for you a moment ago," the woman said, and he looked down at what she was carrying.
Harry looked blankly at the bouquet of red roses that she brought in with her.
"From your patient?" asked Hermione curiously.
"I dunno, maybe," Harry answered, shrugging, making no move to take it from the nurse.
"The man who delivered this said that it was from Tom Riddle," said the nurse.
Harry's face went sour at once. "Send it back to the delivery man."
"But… he's already left," replied the nurse awkwardly.
Harry sighed, "You can take it, or throw it away, I don't care."
"Wait, Harry, won't you even look at the card?" Hermione asked him.
"I don't even want to touch it," said Harry, making a disgusted face at her.
"Then can I go, Dr. Potter?" asked the nurse impatiently, clearly feeling awkward in this situation.
"Sure, sorry for the trouble," Harry apologized to her.
"No worries, Doctor," she replied curtly, giving him a foul look that told him indirectly that she was actually feeling rather troubled before leaving the room with the bouquet.
Ron was looking from Hermione to him in confusion. "You know what? I don't get it! What are you both talking about? Who's this Riddle guy?"
Harry left it to Hermione to explain it to Ron. The more he thought about Riddle the more annoyed he was. It was too troublesome. Come on, who would send red roses to a man? It was too cheesy. He had never tried to do that when he was wooing Snape. It suited both of them since it turned out that neither appreciated flowers. Besides his idea for a perfect date was watching Lion King while snuggling to his lover and he couldn't imagine Riddle ever doing that. Riddle was too classy.
Though Snape was also not a person one would expect to do that, his inner voice reminded him, he still had done that countless times with you.
Harry sighed then shook his head. No, what's in the past remains in the past. Haven't I decided to move out as soon as Christmas ended? Don't look back, focus on the future, Harry! He scolded himself mentally.
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Severus's POV
Severus Snape was not a happy man when he heard about the rose bouquet. The gossip had spread fast among the nurses that Dr. Potter recently gained a male admirer. The hushed voices gossiping in a scandalous tone could be heard everywhere, making his head throb with a horrible headache.
"Severus, I thought the trip was supposed to mend your relationship with Dr. Potter," Minerva confronted him at his office later the same day. "What's with this Riddle guy that I've heard about?"
Severus sneered, his lips thinned in displeasure. "The purpose of the trip was to gain knowledge about the newest medical technology and treatments."
"Rubbish! Did you know that Potter asked for a transfer today?" said Minerva, arching her eyebrow elegantly.
"Yes," replied Severus tersely, offering no more explanation.
The truth was, Potter had left his letter of resignation on his desk while he was doing his morning rounds.
"And you're not going to stop him?" said Minerva, furrowing her brow in a concerned manner.
"It is not my place to interfere with Potter's decision," snapped Severus coldly, giving her a quick sarcastic smile which disappeared at once. "Nor is it yours."
Minerva pursed her lips tightly in disapproval before finally saying grudgingly, "Very well... But I insist you take a holiday."
"Stop your nagging, Minerva. I'll be fine," Severus said dismissively to the other doctor, picking up one of his patients' medical chart from his desk.
"No, you are not," said Minerva crossly. "How long has it been since you've taken a day off?"
When he said nothing, she went on, "Have you even seen how you look lately? You'll be no help to the patients if you ruin your own health." She sent him a stern glare. "This cannot continue! You have to cease your stubbornness, Severus! Go and take a rest. The hospital will be fine even if you're gone for a few days."
"Do I have a say in this?" Severus raised his eyebrow at her in a sardonic manner as Minerva stared down at him like he was a misbehaving child.
Minerva was the only one – besides Potter – who ever dared to reprimand him like this. Ever since he had transferred into St. Mungo's, the older woman had forcibly taken the position of his second mother. No matter how hard he tried to be aloof and haughty, he still couldn't manage to deny her anything, especially when the argument was soundly.
"I suppose the answer is no," he muttered under his breath in a resigned tone, knowing he would get no further in the argument.
End of Chapter 5
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Thanks so much to my Beta, YumeNoTsuzuki, and to all readers for still following this story. *hugs* ^_^ I apologize for the short chapter *bows* please consider it as a prologue for the next chapter. Again, thank you for personal suggestions for my stomach illness, it does help a lot ;3 See you all in the next chapter and as usual any review will be welcomed (very) warmly :D
