Note: Huge and cute chapter to feed you this week.
January 2012
When classes resumed, Stephen went to talk to the Slytherin Captain as soon as he got to the Common Room.
Henry Flint was a nice sixth-year who couldn't be more different from his father, Johann Flint, a pureblood elitist that hated everyone related to the defeat of Voldemort – whom he had covertly supported, but since he hadn't been Marked like his cousin Aries Flint he hadn't been prosecuted after the war.
"Wait," said Henry with a frown, "Let me get this straight: you want to be part of the team?"
"Yes," nodded Stephen, "I know you've just learned that Argyle isn't returning for a few months, and you probably haven't set a date yet for the tryouts yet–"
"Tryouts?" asked the older teenager, seeming even more confused, "You're the Headmaster's son, why hasn't he decreed you part of the team?"
"Well," Stephen sighed with a hint of irritation, "my mother doesn't even want me playing, if dad did that, she'd put him to sleep outside in Queenie's Pond for a month."
"Right," chuckled Flint, "Well, I'll come up with a date for the tryouts then and let you know."
"Thanks, mate."
The first morning, when Stephen reached the Great Hall to have breakfast before his first class of the day, he saw Gianah at the Gryffindor table and hesitated, remembering Uncle Draco's demand for him to widen the distance between her and himself.
However, part of him didn't really want to do that; he wanted to sit near her – even if it was to receive a glare or exchange insults.
Quidditch – focus on Quidditch. Draco has helped you for just a week and you got better! He promised to help again. Focus!
Stephen clenched his fists and resumed walking to the far left of the Great Hall where he saw his friends were.
"She's bloody gorgeous!" he heard Sam say as he approached.
"Yes. She'll be thirteen this year, right?" asked Patrick Fawcett, another Slytherin third-year.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Stephen as he sat and started adding eggs to his plate.
"Gianah Weasley," said Sam.
Stephen scowled, "What about her?"
"She's changing... she won't be slim like most of these girls... noo, she'll have curves," Patrick stretched the last word, making it sound uncomfortably lewd, "Haven't you noticed?"
Yes, I have, his brain immediately replied, but Stephen pressed his lips into a thin line, refusing to join them in their discussion of her physical attributes.
"Did you see her during the break?" asked Sam.
"New Year's," said Stephen nonchalantly, "We spent it at my sister's. Weasley was there."
"And?" asked Patrick, expectantly.
"And nothing," Stephen shrugged, "She was there, I was there, we exchanged a few words, sat at the same table at dinner, and that was it. Nothing else."
Charlie, Patrick and Sam exchanged a glance.
"I really don't understand how you don't find her fit," Charlie shook his head.
"Fit? Hell no!" Stephen fought to not let his voice sound higher than usual, "That's absurd!" he forced a scoff.
"Good," smiled Patrick, lowering his voice as if he was about to tell them a secret, "My father is trying to talk to her father and brother to get either of them to approve a courtship."
Stephen's hand tightened around his fork, but he kept eating without glaring at Patrick.
"Good luck, man," said Sam, shaking his head, "My father tried, neither of them took the time to even look at it. But maybe you have a chance, being from the Sacred Twenty-Eight too..."
"Why go through all that trouble?" asked Stephen, hating how his fists had clenched at the thought of either one of them courting Gianah, "Why don't you just approach her and see if she would be interested in getting to know you?"
"She's pureblood royalty, mate," said Patrick as if that was obvious, "She's not a girl one simply takes to Hogsmeade and snogs in empty classrooms. There are rules–"
"Rules?" Stephen rolled his eyes, "You're fourteen, Fawcett! You should be snogging girls in empty classrooms! Not thinking about courting one!"
Patrick winked, "Courting Gianah Weasley wouldn't stop me from snogging girls in empty classrooms, mate."
Stephen paused, looking at him with a frown, "So you'd cheat on her?"
The other boy shrugged, "We wouldn't be married; so it wouldn't be cheating."
"But you'd have her under a contract to be married," pointed out Stephen, narrowing his eyes.
"Exactly. I'd be having my fun while in school and when school is over, I'll have her to look forward to – it's a pretty sweet deal."
Both Charlie and Sam seemed to agree to him and Stephen had never before felt such a strong desire to come up with a spell that would punch all of his friends at the same time.
Controlling his violent urges, he just scoffed: "Weasley would never be interested in a contract."
Patrick smiled smugly, "If either her father or brother signs–"
"Neither of them would do that without consulting her," asserted Stephen.
"Her father wouldn't," agreed Charlie, "But her brother might. Draco Malfoy stills sits at the board representing the Sacred Twenty-Eight at the Ministry."
"And he opposes to any laws benefitting them," interrupted Stephen, getting increasingly angrier with that talk.
"Yes, but still, he understands the social relevance of the Sacred families," continued Patrick, "And she's connected to three of those: Malfoy, Black and Weasley. Malfoy knows his sister is a very special prize–"
"A prize?" Stephen spat, hating how he was referring to her, "She's a person, not a prize!"
"Why do you care, Stephen?" asked Sam, tilting his head, "You hate her."
Stephen hesitated.
Why did he care indeed?
I hate her, I shouldn't care if they want to marry her and cheat on her.
And yet, he cared.
(Even years later, Stephen would be able to remember that exact moment of shocking realisation when he sat in the loud Great Hall and his heart jumped inside his chest.)
Fuck.
He cared.
Stephen felt his mouth go dry and his body was taken by an urge to turn around and look at the Gryffindor table – but he didn't.
He reached out for his lemon juice and downed half of it, knowing by the weight of his friends' eyes on him that he had to get himself under control fast or they would know he was having an emotional breakdown inside.
Stephen exhaled, looking from his friends to the half-full plate in front of him, and then continuing: "It's just... I've known her and her family since forever; it makes me uncomfortable to hear you talk about her like she's something to be conquered. Yes, she's bloody insufferable, but she's still a person."
"Don't worry, mate, I'll be a good husband," said Patrick with a playful wink, "Keep her entertained and pregnant while I live my life."
Charles and Sam laughed at his comment.
And Stephen thought about that group-punching spell again, wondering how hard it would actually be to invent it while he kept eating in silence.
On the fourth day of classes, Stephen had had enough of his friends' disgusting comments about Gianah's body and sat beside his sister at the Gryffindor table for lunch.
"All alone today, sis?" he asked as he sat down.
"Why are you here?" Lily asked with narrowed eyes trained on him.
"Good morning to you too," he replied sarcastically; when Lily didn't smile, he let out a sigh: "Can't I just join you without being interrogated?"
"No," said Lily with a frown.
"Where are you boyfriends?"
"Library, finishing their Potions essay," she answered, repeating her question: "Why are you here, Stephen?"
Before he could answer, a beautiful tawny owl suddenly flew low over their heads and dropped a letter on his lap.
"Why are you receiving letters from the Ministry?" asked Lily, finding that very strange.
"No reason," he replied, opening it and reading it at once.
Stephen,
I appreciate your warning regarding the disgusting behaviours of Fawcett, O'Brien and Abbott.
That being said, my daughter's future belongs to her – and only she can make decisions when it comes to it.
Rest assured, no contract will ever be accepted without her approval.
Kind regards,
Charlie Weasley
"You wrote to Uncle Charlie?" gasped Lily, surprised.
Stephen quickly pocketed the letter, cursing himself for not being aware that his sister had been reading the letter over his shoulder.
"Yes. Do not tell anyone about it!" he hissed.
Lily looked at him for a while, remembering what Lynne and she had discussed at the Three Broomsticks months before.
"You care, don't you?" she whispered.
Stephen kept eating with his head down, a scowl on his face, "No," he forced a scoff, "Of course not."
"You do," she insisted.
"Do not," he kept denying.
Lily kept staring at him, confusion and pity in her purple eyes.
"Why?" she asked softly.
"Why what?" Stephen snapped at her, clearly bothered by that talk.
"Everything," Lily exhaled, looking at him with no judgement, she just wanted to understand, "Why do you treat her like shite but tell her father boys are being disgusting about her?"
Stephen exhaled in annoyance, dropping his fork and picking up his tall glass of orange juice, deciding it wouldn't hurt to tell her a half-truth to make her drop it:
"Because as much as I dislike her, Lily, they were talking about her as if she wasn't worthy of respect – a prize, Lily, they called her a bloody prize."
Lily had a frown of concern in her face, her bottom lip between her teeth, her purple eyes staring at him and he shivered, feeling like she could see right through him, as if she could see the truth.
She slow and silently nodded, knowing her brother wasn't ready to admit his own feelings and he'd very likely never be.
"You should tell her," she said at last, resuming eating her breakfast.
He nearly choked on a bite of toast, "What? No! And neither will you!"
Lily shook her head, "Don't worry, bro, I won't. But you should. She'd like to know that you care."
"I do not–" but he stopped, his sister had narrowed her eyes at him and he realised it wouldn't make any difference to keep denying.
"Promise you won't say anything," he ended up asking in an exhale.
"I won't," she promised, wondering how much worse could that situation between her brother and her redheaded friend become.
Later that day, when his head hit the pillow, Stephen stared at the greenish bottom of the Great Lake through the window by his bed, finally assessing the familiar feeling of tightness that had been slowly and permanently unfolding in his chest for the past four days.
He cared about Gianah Weasley.
He really fucking cared.
A whole bloody lot.
Fuck.
Since when? He asked himself, trying to pinpoint when his hatred towards her had changed to fondness.
He frowned after a while as he faced the truth: it never had changed, for he had never truly hated her.
He had always clashed with her, since the first time he had laid eyes on her, it was instant dislike – hate at first sight.
At least he had thought it was hate.
Fuck.
Now he really had reason to avoid her.
February
Gianah was already in the library when Stephen walked into the vast room one Tuesday evening.
Ever since his earthshattering, heartbreaking, realisation a couple of weeks ago, Stephen had avoided her like she carried a highly contagious strain of dragon pox.
But he couldn't leave the library just because she was there. The week before he had tried out for the Slytherin team and had made the team. So Saturdays and Sundays would be for Quidditch Practice from now on, which meant he needed to do his homework during the week.
Stephen walked to the bookcases to the right, avoiding looking towards Gianah; he had never questioned his strange ability to be able to find her anywhere – as if he had an antenna attuned to her frequency all the time.
He sighed as he walked between the tall bookcases, looking for a Transfiguration book, thinking that as it turned out he indeed had some sort of antenna connected to her energy: he loved her.
Fuck. He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against the nearest bookshelf for a while.
Naming his feelings in his mind was enough to make him nauseated.
He grabbed the book he needed and glanced at her as he walked to an empty desk; she sat by a large stained-glass window, sharing one of the larger tables with Lynne and Tiana.
He was glad Lily wasn't with them, his sister had developed the annoying habit of shooting pitiful glances at him every time she caught him staring at Gianah.
He sat, opened his book, getting parchment and his quill, and began looking up for the eighth chapter, where he would find everything he needed about the four 'ifors' spells used in Transfigurations.
He began writing about the first one:
Avifors, the Avifors Spell is used to turn objects into birds, and it's also considered a jinx. To cast–
He stopped writing, for from the corner of his eye he saw Gianah stand up and move to the bookcases. She went up on a ladder and perused the one of the higher shelves until she found the book she needed and then climbed down, walking back to her table, hesitating a second and glancing his way.
Stephen quickly looked back to his parchment and continued writing:
–the wand movement consists of a large e-shape followed by a small n-shape, the characteristic light that indicates the spell was correctly cast is blue.
He turned the page and found the next spell he had to write about:
The Draconifors Spell is used to transform objects into dragons. But the resulting transfigurated dragon is small, around the size of an infant, which means its potential for violence and breathing fire are limited by its size. The wand movement is very simple–
Gianah raised her hands to her hair, gathering her long red tresses up in a high ponytail.
Stephen looked at the curve of her neck and recalled his friends talking about her.
Despite finding Sam, Charlie and Patrick's comments about her disgusting and shallow, Stephen couldn't deny that he was looking at her more than before and he could tell that both her hips and breasts were different than he remembered from glitter-Christmas over a year ago. It was clear she wouldn't be tall and slim like her mother and other Black women; she was already showing signs of having inherited the curves of the Prewett women – and he couldn't stop himself from checking her out at least once a day.
Gianah looked up and glared at him, as if knowing he was thinking of her.
Stephen wasn't fast enough to pretend he wasn't staring so he shot her a smirk just because he knew it annoyed her and looked back at his paper.
–just slash the wand towards your target, a fiery orange light will shoot out of the wand tip.
He paused to turn the pages of the book again, looking for the next spell, thinking about her again.
He shared no classes with Gianah, since she was a year below, but no matter how big a castle Hogwarts was, he seemed to find her everywhere.
She was in the library, in the Great Hall, by the Great Lake, in the Quidditch pitch during the tryouts – to be honest he hadn't seen her in the pitch, but he'd felt her presence.
He turned a few more pages of the book, finding the next spell:
Felifors, the Felifors Spell is used to turn cats into cauldrons. It's a good spell for potions emergencies. The wand movement made for casting this is similar to a sideways G. Felifors generates no light when cast and is considered a difficult spell to master. When performed incorrectly, the cauldron could still have a tail.
The doors of the library were opened then, and Stephen looked up, seeing Sam and Patrick walk in. They waved at him and walked to the bookcases. Patrick sent Gianah a wink and a smile as he went.
Stephen's hand clenched around his quill.
Gianah didn't return the wink with one of her own, but she blushed.
Fuck. No.
Stephen gritted his teeth; it was clear she wasn't repulsed by Fawcett – and she had no apparent reason to be. The boy wasn't ugly with his blond ear-length hair, bright blue eyes and nice smile.
Lapifors,
Stephen forced himself to begin writing about the last spell of the assignment:
It's a simple spell to turn targets into rabbits, also considered a jinx just like the Avifors Spell. No special wand movement is required to cast it, just intention and to point the wand at the intended target.
Sam and Patrick walked past the tables once again, both looking at Gianah, and Stephen felt his anger rising. He could understand why she wouldn't find Patrick repulsive – he was a good-looking bloke and she didn't know about the things he'd said about her.
He kept on writing: The light that will emanate from the wand is green. He forced himself to keep writing, It works best on smaller targets such as statues, salamanders or cats. When perfectly performed, the caster can control the rabbit in question, influencing its movements.
Patrick stopped by the library door and Stephen saw him turn towards Gianah. The girl smiled at him and it looked like he was about to go to her table and talk to her.
Hell, no!
At once, Stephen stood up and walked to her table, sitting beside her without asking.
The three girls looked at him with surprised frowns. Lynne narrowed her eyes when she saw strangely how close to Gianah he had sat.
"Snape, what–" Gianah snapped in surprised anger when he leaned closer to her.
"You wouldn't be looking at Fawcett like that if you knew his plans for you," Stephen said, shooting her a hard glare.
"What?" Gianah frowned at him, finding both his closeness and sudden words very confusing, "His plans for me?"
He had begun, he decided he was going to finish it: "Marry you," he spat as if the word had a foul taste, "Keeping you pregnant and entertained while he lives his life– all of those his words."
Stephen heard Lynne and Tiana gasp, but his eyes were fixed on Gianah's face. He had sat very close to her; so close, he could count the freckles that adorned her nose and cheekbones if he wanted to.
He glanced down to her lips, noticing their details for the first time: they were pink and heart-shaped, and looked so soft.
Gianah was aware of his green eyes cataloguing her face, but she couldn't come up with any snarky retort right then; she simply stared back at him, trying to understand why he was there, why he had said what he did; Fawcett was his friend, why would he tell her about the boy's misogynistic plans for her?
Stephen's eyes were on her lips, and she licked them, causing him to snap out of whatever trance he'd seemed to be on.
He looked at her blue eyes again and felt a sudden need to bolt due to the expression of dawning comprehension that slowly took over her face.
The sounds of the library were suddenly supressed by the loud pounding of his heart in his ears.
Could she have realised my feelings? He fretted.
"That's why you stopped sitting with them weeks ago," Gianah spoke so low he barely heard her, "Because they were talking about me..."
Yes.
"No," Stephen quickly denied, standing up, putting space between himself and her, the chair he had been occupying nearly falling to the floor as he stood.
"Why?" Gianah asked in that same soft tone he had never heard before.
Because I love you and can't stand imagining you with anyone else.
Fuck, Stephen's stomach did a flip that he had called hunger in the past but now knew better what it meant.
"You know what?" he suddenly snapped for no obvious reason, "Forget it, Weasley! Do what you want," he turned, ready to run out of there.
"Stephen."
He stopped at once, turning back and looking at her in bafflement – he had never heard her say his name before.
Gianah looked as surprised as he, looking at him in stunned silence.
He shook his head, the unexpected sound of his name on her lips had him in a bigger state of fight or flight – and he couldn't fight her, he had promised Uncle Draco he'd stay away from her, and she was being nice.
So he flighted.
Gianah watched him go, completely confused by his behaviour, her heart beating fast as she tried to understand what had just happened.
"Did I get it right?" asked Tiana, as surprised as her, "Stephen's ditched his Slytherin friends because they talked shit about you?"
Lynne put a hand on her girlfriend's arm and shook her head discreetly when she looked at her.
"That doesn't make any sense," whispered Gianah, looking down at her papers without being able to read a word.
"No, it doesn't," said Lynne, cautiously choosing her words, "Lily said he's been avoiding everyone, his friends and us because of Quidditch and homework."
Gianah shook her head, "No. He's keeping away from me because my brother told him to."
"What?" asked both girls.
"Draco has an agreement with Stephen," she winced at her own use of his first name, "He'll help him practice Quidditch if he stays away from me."
Lynne looked at her with widened eyes that sparkled with comprehension; Gianah feared, not for the first time, that her cousin's gaze could pierce through her façade of nonchalance and see her true feelings regarding the youngest Snape-boy.
"You must be so glad he did it," said Tiana, oblivious to the silent exchange between the two redheads.
"Oh, of course," Gianah quickly replied, avoiding looking at Lynne, even though that wasn't completely a lie – part of her was glad that she didn't have to see Stephen at every meal anymore; but another part wasn't.
"Sure," Lynne huffed a small laugh, "Of course you're glad."
Gianah refused to acknowledge her cousin's tone of disbelief.
She truly didn't want Stephen near her for his presence made her nervous. Since the unfolding of her feelings months ago she'd rather avoid him than have to argue with him, for having his mockery when she wanted his love was not only hurtful but also humiliating.
However having him away felt wrong.
And now that strange advice from him: stay away from Fawcett for he has disgusting plans for her.
Does that mean he cares?
She inhaled sharply.
Could he really be annoyed by the boys' courting me?
"Aren't you afraid your brother might accept a courtship in your name?" asked Lynne, seemingly out of nowhere, but Gianah feared her cousin had a very good idea where her thoughts were heading.
"No," Gianah shook her head, "We've already talked about it, I let both my brother and my dad know I'd rather die a spinster than marry through a contract."
"Yeah, I feel the same," nodded Tiana, "My dad told me about my grandmother... her name was Erica; dad's father, Tiberius Nott, killed her months after she gave birth to my dad."
"What? That's horrible, Ti!" gasped Lynne, interlacing her fingers with hers.
"Yeah," Tiana nodded slowly, "My mum and dad married for love – and I want that. I'm lucky that they want that for me too," she smiled sweetly at Lynne.
Gianah couldn't not smile at the two girls; they looked perfect together. The pure love Tiana had in her eyes when she looked at Lynne was heartwarming.
She looked down at her papers again, her mind completely unable to absorb a single information of what was in the books in front of her.
The only thought in her mind was: Stephen had found his friends' comments about her to be disgusting – so she knew she wasn't wrong to conclude that he hadn't participated in their conversation.
Had he defended her? Maybe– it was a possibility.
Between his friends and me, he has chosen me.
She smiled at her books, biting her bottom lip and daring to tell herself: he cares!
"It looks like you've realised something," whispered Lynne with a small knowing smile.
Gianah smiled in return, "Yeah, I think I have."
Note: Aww, soo cute, right?
They still have so much to grow... and so many lessons to learn.
I'm still open to ideas (I have some gaps to fill, even though the end is already written), so if you have some ideas of troubles teenagers can get themselves into - please, let me know! I haven't been a teen in years, and even then I wasn't a little troublemaker.
