Duckie….your wish is my command! ;) New update! Hope you like it as much as I loved writing it! RxR!
(Saturday, February 21st)
"Ms. Goldster. I'm so happy to see you awake and well."
"Thank you Headmaster."
Just as Dean had predicted, Snape came the very next morning as soon as the healers from St. Mungo's left. Emolly was very weak at the moment and he knew it. If he was every going to try and reveal Longbottom's master plan, his best bet was through Emolly. He was casually sitting on a chair at the foot of her cot while she sat up with her breakfast try on her lap. The Slytherin reached foreword and grabbed a piece of toast and started nibbling on a corner. It was weird, having Snape at her station and being completely silent. It was like that eerie calm before the storm. She was almost done with her piece of bread before he began nailing her with questions.
"So, Ms. Goldster, where were you when you woke up with your pains?"
"In my dorm room."
"Right. Your Slytherin dorm room?"
"I wouldn't be in any other one." She knew she had just come off as seriously sarcastic, but she really could care less. She hated her Headmaster, period, even if he was a Slytherin.
"And how did Mr. Thomas know you were in such serious pain, may I ask?"
"He was in there with me. He was sleeping right next to me."
"Was he now?"
"Yes."
"You realize that that is a serious violation of the school rules, don't you?"
"Yes, I do, and I also think that those school rules are ridiculous, too extreme, and unnecessary."
"Well, Ms. Goldster, it's a good thing you don't make the rules than, now isn't it?
"Well if I did, this school would actually be an enjoyable place to live in."
Emolly crossed her arms over her chest as Snape bit his lower lip. He was trying so hard to not blow up on the bratty seventh year because he knew that the second he did, Madame Pomfrey would shoo him from the wing. He respected the old healer and he knew that stepping in between her and her patients was suicide. She took her job very seriously.
"Fair enough. And why was he in your dorm?"
"We're dating. It was a secret but looks like the cat's out of the bag, eh Headmaster?" She smirked at him. She was thoroughly enjoying this. For once, she got to be the bitch. "You remember Blaise, correct? Of course you do; you had to expel him FOR ABUSISING ME AND RAPING ME. I had been stuck in that damn situation for months and I have never found a genuine guy, ever. Dean is kind, sensitive, funny, and wicked brilliant. He treats me like a person, not a piece of meat! I have never felt this good with a guy! I know you don't give a damn about my relationship status, but I'm not about to let some stupid rules ruin it for me! THERE IS A WAR AT OUR DOORSTEP! If now isn't the time to love the people around you, I don't know what is. In other words, punish me however the Hell you want, but your rules mean nothing to me."
Emolly sat back in her bed and let herself sink into her pillow. She could feel her face burning. She honestly had no idea where that had come from and she was exhausted from that outburst. It had genuinely taken a lot out of her. She didn't plan on saying, well, screaming, any of that. What came over her? Her Headmaster's facial expression never changed. He sat in the chair, completely frozen, and just took it all in with open ears. He knew that she would defend herself, but not to that extent. Not only that, but her little fit seemed legitimately real. Then again, he knew that people could be very convincing liars. Before he could say anything else, the blonde continued.
"Listen, Headmaster, all these rules that you have set…they are all being broken on a daily basis and by almost every student in this depressing castle. Do you want to know why kids are disrespecting you so much or why they talk back to you? It's because you're making them like this. We are all upset, constantly tired, and on edge. If you want the students to actually behave better, you need to take some of these damn laws away. I know you don't want to hear this from a seventh year, but it's true."
Snape stood up and looked at the witch one last time before turning around and storming out of the medical wing. He had some serious thinking to do. Emolly smirked to herself before finishing the rest of her breakfast.
(Monday, February 23rd)
It was a usual Monday. All the students were sitting in the Great Hall, eating their breakfast at their house tables, only this time Daphne was completely alone at the Slytherin one. Emolly was still on bed rest and still stuck in the hospital so the seventh year was even more lonely than usual. She was sitting at the very end of the bench, only a few first years willing to come by her, and she felt like hiding. The large double doors creaked open and there was collective gasp as Severus Snape came strutting down the center aisle. He NEVER ate meals with the students, ever, and everyone knew that he was here for a specific reason. There was a hint of tension in the air as the hushed whispers and guesses filled the Hall.
"I heard he's going to fire Sprout…that old hag."
"No, the war is here! The war is here!"
"He's stepping down and Carrow is stepping up…"
"I heard he has another ridiculous rule for us."
Nielah quickly turned to her sister, who now had a lovely bruise around her left eye, thanks to detention with Carrow. "Do you think he found out about the Army?"
Aubrielle shook her head. "Not a chance, not a chance. I have no idea what this is about."
Snape reached the podium at the head of the room and turned around to face the mass of students. Aubrielle leaned into her sister. "Guess we're about to find out."
The Headmaster cleared his throat and an immediate silence fell over the room. The curiosity and fear hung in the air like a thick cloud as Snape rolled back his robe sleeves ever so slightly.
"As your Headmaster, I have an announcement about the rules."
Aubrielle groaned. This was going to be interesting.
"As you all know, I enforced a new rule at the beginning of the school year that stated students were not allowed to communicate or interact with other students outside of their respected house."
He waited for the students to take in the information and continued when he saw the various head nods and whispers.
"For reasons that will stay confidential, I have decided to terminate such rule. You are all now free to talk to students from different houses."
There was a sudden eruption of cheers as the students heard the news. Aubrielle jumped out of her seat and threw her hands up in the air. This was amazing! Their lives just became 100 times easier! The Ravenclaw got up from the Ravenclaw table and rushed towards the Gryffindor one as students started to switch tables to be by their friends. She ran over to Neville, who already had his arms open for her, and sat on his lap. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard on the mouth. She pulled away and gazed into his eyes before running her fingers through his short hair.
"No more hiding."
He grinned at her, "No more hiding."
o.O.o
As soon as Dean heard the news, he rushed up to the medical wing. Chances are Emolly had something to do with this and he wanted to be the first one to tell the Slytherin the news. He walked through the open doors to find her reading her charms book. 'Typical.' He walked over to her cot and plopped down in the seat next to her. She jumped a little at the noise but was relieved when it was Dean. He didn't scare her like some other people at this school did. She dog-eared the page she was on and shut the book.
"You're being pretty damn bold right now Dean."
He smirked, "Why do you say that?"
"If Carrow or Snape were to walk by and see a Gryffindor talking to a Slytherin-"
"They wouldn't do anything."
"What?"
"That's why I'm here! Snape just lifted the rule! We're allowed to talk to other houses now!"
Emolly's jaw dropped as the excitement went through her body. What? This was unbelievable! Snape was NOT someone to take by one of his own rules, let alone one that would make the students happier. She thought back to the conversation that she had had with him a few days ago. She had told him that the only way to get the students to start respecting him was to take away some of his ludicrous rules. Had he done this because of what she had said? Her whole body felt fuzzy.
"Merlin, he did it because of me."
Dean sat back in his chair. He knew she had something to do with it.
"I figured as much. What did you say to him, exactly?"
"I told him that students would behave better if he took away some of his rules. I told him they would respect him more."
"Huh. Well good job Goldster; you did it."
Emolly beamed at the Gryffindor. She had actually made a difference and she was so proud of herself. Her smile faded a little when she suddenly remembered the reason why she had that talk with the headmaster in the first place.
"So, does this mean we don't have to pretend to be in a 'secret relationship' anymore?"
Dean frowned, making it obvious that he was upset. "No."
"Oh. Well, Snape still believes we're together though, right?"
The wizard shrugged his shoulders, "I guess so. But we can say we broke up." He felt so defeated. It was silly to, really. He was never in a real relationship with the blonde anyway so why should he be so upset?
"I don't know…I think it would be fun to play pretend for a little bit."
Dean lifted his head and raised his eyebrow. "You do?"
"Sure! I'm so bored all the time and now that we can talk to people outside of our house… I say we use this for our enjoyment. Plus it will get a rise out of Snape. Yeah?"
"Uh…yeah! Yeah, okay! Sounds good to me!"
"Awesome!
Dean grinned at the Slytherin and they had a little moment of understanding between the two of them. It was quickly interrupted, however, when Aubrielle came barreling into the medical wing.
"EM! Did you hear? Snape got rid of the communication rule and-"
"Dean just told me."
Dean turned around to see Aubrielle pout out her bottom lip. She obviously wanted to be the one to break the news to her best friend. Emolly couldn't help but crack up at her friend's face. She quickly regretted it when a sharp pain hit her side.
"OW!"
She clutched at the skin, willing it to go away, and slumped down into her bed. She turned to look at her now worried friend.
"You made me laugh…bitch."
The Ravenclaw giggled as her best friend stuck her tongue out at her. Dean let out a chuckle as well and Aubrielle knit her forehead together as she watched the two seventh years smile at each other. What was going on?
(Friday, February 27th)
Emolly was released from the hospital wing but she was still not allowed to use magic for the following two weeks. The healers from St. Mungo's had told her that her injuries were far more severe that they had first thought and it was better to be safe than sorry. Aubrielle had brought the witch her uniform the day prior and Dean was coming that morning to help her back to the Room of Requirement. She was sitting on the edge of her cot, pulling on her knee high socks, when he came in. She smiled at him and finished putting on her emerald green ballet flats. She slowly lifted herself off the cot and Dean was right by her side. She really had lost a lot of strength during the past week. She stood up straight and gave him a reassuring look.
"Okay. Lets get out of here."
He laughed as she walked out of the medical wing with him following close behind. She was so happy to get out of that dreary place and back to her friends and the Army. She gripped the banister like a lifeline as she slowly made her way down the long staircase. She was definitely better, but she was still in a lot of pain, which was easily seen in her facial expression.
"You alright?"
"Uh, yeah. I'm just so sore."
They reached the bottom of the staircase and started making their way through the long corridors. They were mostly full around this time with students making their way to and from classes. Emolly reached over and casually grabbed Dean's hand, intertwining her fingers with his. Not only were they supposed to be dating at the moment, but she was so weak that she needed the support. Dean felt a warm tingling creep up his arm and into his face at her touch. She was so gentle and so sweet that he just felt like he was on cloud nine. Not only that, but there were dozens of students around that were noticing the two together. Most of the students knew about Blaise's true identity by now, but Emolly was still getting some sharp glares and unwelcomed sneers from Slytherin students. She heard one girl behind her…
"On to the next one already, eh Goldster?"
Another random student, "What a whore…"
Emolly felt the sting of tears invade her eyes. She knew it was all false and she knew who she really was, but the name calling still hurt. These were people that didn't even know her and they saying things as terrible as that. She blinked hard, willing the tears to not fall and quickly whipped one away when it did. Dean gave her hand a tight squeeze and leaned down towards her ear to whisper her words of reassurance.
"Don't listen to them. You're a bigger person than they are."
Emolly just shook her head; she had heard it all the same. She felt her legs getting tired from the short walk and led Dean towards a bench.
"I need to take a break. I didn't realize I would be this weak."
"Sure, no problem."
They sat down and Emolly started taking deep breaths. Why couldn't people just leave her alone? Why did they have to be in her business all the time? She leaned foreword and covered her face with her hands. All she wanted to do was move on! She wanted to forget about Blaise and what he did to her! But with students still teasing her…it was getting harder every day. It was like her past was always going to haunt her. She felt Dean's hand cautiously rest on her back. When she didn't nudge him off, he started rubbing it in circles.
"You shouldn't let them get to you like this."
That was it. She was crying now, hard and fast, and pretty soon her shoulders started to shake as the tears came at her in waves. She turned and leaned into Dean and he instinctively wrapped her up into his arms. She rested her head on his chest and gripped his shirt as she let it all out. He kept running his hands up and down her arms and back, trying to calm her down. He had to admit, seeing the witch so distraught was making him upset too. He had always seen Emolly as this strong, independent girl and it was heartbreaking to see her put herself down like this.
"Shhh, you're okay. You're okay and you're safe."
She inhaled deeply and kept taking deep breaths until her sobs were down to small whimpers. She closed her eyes and remembered her friends: Aubrielle, Neville, Luna, Ginny, and even Daphne. She remembered the Army and how much she loved being a part of something bigger than herself. She thought about her weekly sleepovers with Aubrielle and teaching Nielah how to produce a Patronus. She thought about Flitwick and his delighted expression every time she mastered a new charm. These were the things that defined her, not the rumors that were spread by the school's bitches that didn't have anything better to do with their lives than spread nasty gossip. She lifted her head up and Dean opened his arms so she could sit up straight again. He looked at her, secretly admiring the amazing amber hue that her glassy eyes made. She took her shirtsleeve and quickly whipped away the rest of her tears, ending her little meltdown. She turned to look at the Gryffindor.
"Sorry 'bout that."
"Don't be. I always say that people need a good cry every once in a while."
"Yeah? Well, seems like I've been crying a lot lately."
"I've never seen you cry before this."
"That's because I try to do it alone where no one else can watch me."
She looked straight ahead at the painting on the other side of the hall. It was of an older man standing in the middle of the woods, painting a landscape piece. He was delicately layering the green shades of the grass over and over again. When she spoke again, she was really speaking to herself, almost completely forgetting that Dean was even there. Almost.
"Those girls, the reason that they get to me so easily is because I feel like they are creating my future for me. You can't move foreword until you come to terms with your past. For me, that seems impossible with people like them out there, constantly reminding me of the mistakes I've made. I know that the rumors are fake and I know that they shouldn't define me…but by people constantly calling me a whore, or a slut, or a bitch…" She turned and looked at Dean who was watching her carefully. "I almost feel like those words will be attached to me forever. I feel like I'll never be able to shake those terrible titles and I'll be ugly and loveless forever. I know it might seem like I'm being a dramatic teenage girl but-"
"Emolly, listen to me when I say this; you are one of the most modest, kindhearted girls I have met. People are going to want to get to know before judging you. Rumors are rumors for a reason. They are fake. Those other girls are most likely just jealous of you because you are absolutely stunning and smart and funny and-"
But Emolly's lips quickly cut him off. Out of nowhere the witch grabbed his face and pressed his lips against hers in a hard, passionate kiss, and he didn't dare pull away.
I'm growing quite fond of Emolly! Review please! :)