The Tomb Of Our Forlorn Love

The rain poured down from the dark, stormy sky and pierced her skin like tiny needles. It was a rather chilly day mostly thanks to the breeze that was whipping right through her clothes and making every inch of her soaking wet body break out into goose bumps. Her teeth clattered as she wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to warm herself up a little. She was huddled behind a bush looking out over the empty plain in front her, just waiting for someone to come into sight.

Another minute passed and still nothing. An almost overwhelming sense of urgency panged her stomach. She reached down into her pocket and clasped her wand for a moment just to make sure that it was still there; she was probably going to need it later. A roar of thunder and then an equally alarming flash of lightening in the distance made her wish that she was anywhere else in the world, but where she was.

“Well if it isn’t Ellary Amarantha Snape, so good to see you again,” the voice sounded like none other she had ever heard on the world, but at the same time it was oddly familiar to her ears. She cautiously turned around, making sure to get a grip on her wand once again.

“No need to get wands involved. I just want to talk with you, Ellary,” the voice chuckled, the very moment she began to pull out her wand, as if he could read her mind.

“Who are you?” she whispered, to the figure in front of her.

She couldn’t make out the person’s face, because the hood of his black shroud covered it. She knew at least one thing about the person though, he was her enemy. Only the enemy wore the black shrouds.

“You don’t remember me?” he asked, pretending to be hurt, “I will just have to remind you then,” he concluded.

His long, ghost white fingers clasped the edges of his hood and drew it back away from his face. Ellary gasped when she saw who it was. The cruel, black eyes, the sneering, scarlet lips, and the long, coal hair sent a chill down her spine and in that moment she knew she was going to die. There was no way she could get out this situation alive.

“Oh good- you do remember me then,” he smirked, “I thought that you would.”

“I already told you no, I am not changing my answer,” Ellary hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I would rethink that decision if I was you, Miss Snape. I really, really think you should reconsider,” he said, “Or you won’t be the only one who dies,” he added, making it clear that it was a threat. “I am a powerful man and you could be a very powerful young woman if you would just listen to me, my dear. I will give you everything that you’ve ever wanted.”

“I don’t give a rat’s arse about power, you know that, you can read my mind can’t you?” she spat back.

“Oh you silly girl, I am not talking about power- I am talking about revenge.”

Suddenly Ellary snapped out of her dream and sat up straight in her bed, panting a little. A bead of sweat dripped down her forehead as she tried to regulate her breathing again, ‘Did I just have a bad dream?’ she wondered. She ran her fingers through her hair and wondered if she had just subconsciously relived her mother’s murder, but she was doubtful.

The feeling in her stomach was different than the one she had felt when she watched her mother take her last breath. ‘What else could have possibly scared me so much?’ she thought, but decided to let it go. When she looked down at the glowing clock on the nightstand her heart dropped. It was only eleven thirty at night and her mind was racing. At this rate she was not going to get any sleep at all. Then she traveled back to the night before that she had spent with Sirius. For some reason he had made her feel completely relaxed despite everything going on. With that last thought, she hopped out of her bed, threw a small blanket around her shoulders, grabbed her uniform from atop her trunk, and walked out into the hallway in hopes of a good night sleep.

She walked into the boy’s dormitory as quietly as she possibly could and slowly tiptoed over to Sirius’ bed. He was sleeping peacefully, but his low snores could be barely heard over Peter’s foghorn blasts coming from the other side of the room. “Sirius,” she whispered, tapping him gently on the shoulder.

“No, c’mon. No more- stop it James-” Sirius muttered, trying to swat her hand away from him.

“James? Shouldn’t you be dreaming about me? Or at least Emmy, mate- anyone but James,” Ellary teased, quietly.

“Wha- what? Bloody hell! What are you doing here, Ella? Not that I mind or anything,” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes a little to make sure that he wasn’t just imagining her there.

“I had a bad dream,” she confessed, “I just didn’t want to be alone, and I hope you don’t mind.”

“Of course not, would I ever deny an attractive gal like yourself full access to my bed?” he chuckled, throwing up the covers and scooting over to make room for her beside of him.

“Yeah- don’t get any funny ideas, Black,” she warned, snuggling in beside of him, “I’m going to sleep,” she said.

“We’ll see how long that lasts,” Sirius teased, draping his arm over her waist.

He rested his head just above hers on the pillow so she could feel his warm breath hitting the top of her head. The rhythmic sound of his breathing eventually lulled her off to a wonderful, dreamless sleep.

“OH NO! THERE’S A GIRL IN THE DORM! ALERT DUMBLEDORE! I REPEAT- A GIRL IN THE BOYS DORMITORY!” Ellary practically fell out of the bed at the thunderous wake up call. “And in Sirius Black’s bed, no less! Never saw that one coming!”

“James Potter you shut your trap right now before I shut it for you!” Ellary hissed, leaping up and slapping him upside the head.

James grinned, “Oh I’m just kidding, love,” he chuckled, “But it’s tradition, you see! We always do this to the girls we find in Sirius’ bed,” he teased, ruffling her already messy hair.

“Yeah- well I’m not one of those girls, I’m not a whore,” she growled, storming off into the bathroom.

“C’mon man, that’s not cool. She’s not some girl, she’s Ella. She came in last night because she had a bad dream and didn’t want to be alone. We just slept, that’s all,” Sirius said, sleepily. “You better hope no one heard you or I might have to hit you,” he muttered.

“Oh bugger- I’m sorry, why do I always have to be an arse?” he sighed, messing up his hair like he always did.

“Relax, Prongs. She used to it by now,” Peter said, sitting up groggily.

“Yeah, you do tend to say things without thinking, a lot,” Remus joined in, rolling off his bed. James slapped himself on the forehead, before running into the bathroom after her to apologize.

“So Ella, Ella spent the night with you?” Remus looked over toward Sirius, “So are you guys like- official then?”

“Huh?” Sirius replied, he was pretty much useless in the morning without coffee. “Oh- oh, I don’t know really. Maybe,” he grumbled, “I mean, no. I mean- we’re friends,” he finished.

“If you want a straight answer out of him you’re going to have to give him caffeine first,” Peter chuckled.

“Alright- well the whore is exiting the dormitory. Sorry if I disturbed ya’ll,” Ellary said bitterly, when she walked out of the bathroom. She waved goodbye to them all and then slammed the door behind her.

“I’m an idiot,” James sighed, “Why do I always do crap like that at the worst times?” he asked.

“Because you’re a complete dunderhead?” Sirius suggested.

“It was rhetorical question,” James grumbled.

**

“Severus? Severus, are you here?”

Lily Evans emerged from behind a bush by the edge of the lake. It was a secluded little place surrounded by trees and shrubs that made it so it was impossible to spot anyone from the school.

‘Maybe he’s not coming,’ she thought nervously, wringing her hands behind her back. She pulled her sweater tighter to against to shield a cold breeze traveling over her. She quickly found herself wishing that she had worn something a little heavier.

“Are you cold?” Lily jumped at Severus’ sudden appearance. “Here, take my jacket. I don’t really get cold,” he said, throwing off his long, black jacket and resting it around her shoulders.

“Thanks, that’s nice of you,” she smiled. “I’m glad you came, I was getting kind of nervous,” she chuckled.

“Yeah- sorry about that- I err- I ran into some people on the way here,” he mumbled, looking down at his shoelaces.

“Potter?” Lily growled, fire in her emerald orbs.

“No, no- they’re too preoccupied with my sister to bother me lately. It was Malfoy and his goons,” he admitted, “But let’s not talk about that. I really wanted to thank you for the book you got me, I read it over vacation- brilliant.”

“Oh, I’m glad you liked it!” she grinned, “I erm- I adored the necklace,” she lowered her voice, her cheeks blushing slightly pink. She took the dragonfly charm between her fingers and looked down at it, “I couldn’t believe you remembered I liked dragonflies,” she said, “Sometimes I think I talk and people just pretend to listen to me, you know?” she laughed.

Severus shook his head, “I listen to everything you say, Lily. You- you captivate me,” he confessed, making her blush an even brighter shade of red.

“Why don’t you act like this all the time?” Lily asked, “You’re such a good person, Severus. I just wish more people could see it,” she said, gently brushing her hand against his.
He shrugged, “They just don’t like me. No one wants to consort with a Slytherin except another Slytherin, but not even they like me because I’m a bloody half blood,” he said bitterly. “But I don’t care about them, as long as you like me then I could care less what they think.”

“Well- I do like you,” she said, “I like you a lot.” They smiled at each for a moment, just standing in a comfortable silence, “So, have you read about the new healing potion they’re developing at St. Mungo’s?” she asked, excitedly.

Lily was always reading the Daily Prophet to see if their had been any advancement in the world of potion-making, she was a geek when it came to that stuff.

“Yes! The idea of using dragon blood instead of unicorn horn was pure brilliance on their part, I never would have thought of the substitute!” he exclaimed, growing just as excited as she.

That’s why Severus and Lily got along so well together, they were probably the only two students in the entire school who could both just sit for hours and discuss potions.

“You would have thought of it eventually, you’re a bloody genius!” she responded, “I’ve seen that textbook of yours; you’re already inventing spells at sixteen. You really amaze me sometimes.”

“Not nearly as much as you amaze me,” he replied, and in a bold move he reached out and brushed a strand of her ginger hair away from her face, gently brushing her cheek as he did so.

“Hey Peter, I’m glad that you agreed to meet with me,” Bryn Rookwood whispered, when Peter walked into the deserted Charms classroom. “I thought you might not want to talk to a Slytherin like me,” she sighed.

“I don’t care if you’re a Slytherin,” Peter replied, a nervous smile came to his face, “I really want someone to talk to,” he admitted.

“Well you have those friends of yours, the Marauders I believe is what you call yourselves, don’t you?” she asked, curiously.

“I guess so,” he shrugged, “I mean- I love them and they’re my best friends,” he trailed off.
“But?”

“But- but they forget about me sometimes. I mean with the whole Remus, Ellary, Sirius triangle going on and then James’ obsession with Lily Evans, and they’re all in advanced class and well- I’m not. I just feel left out sometimes, you know? Like I don’t belong with them and I hate feeling alone,” he sighed, resting his head on top of the desk next to the one Bryn was seated on.

“I do too,” she said, reaching over and placing her hand over his, “Sometimes I feel like my friends just don’t understand me,” she whispered, trying her absolute best not to smirk at her own words.

“Tell me about,” Peter responded.

“So what is this about a love triangle involving Snape?” Bryn asked, excitement building up within her. Maybe this was the dirt on Ellary that she had been looking for to finally exact their revenge.

“Oh- that,” Peter shrugged, not understanding why anyone would really be interested in the subject. “Remus dumped Ellary, but still loves her. But now she is starting to fall for Sirius and vice versa, and everything is pretty much a mess,” Peter explained, quickly, without even taking a pause to breathe.

“Wow- with all that going and her mother’s death Ellary must be pretty fragile at the moment, huh?” she raised an eyebrow, desperately trying to mask the cruel pleasure threatening to make itself heard in her tone of voice. She silently thanked Merlin that she was such a good actress.

“Yeah, I suppose that she would be. Not to mention she mad at James too, he was being a loudmouth like usual this morning,” Peter rolled his eyes, “But let’s talk about something else,” he suggested.

“Oh, I wish I could,” she said, sadly, “But I have to get going to Transfiguration, you know how McGonagall gets when students are late. We should definitely meet again,” she whispered, seductively, in his ear. “Bye Peter,” she placed a quick kiss upon his lips, before swooping speedily out of the classroom, leaving Peter stunned where he stood.

When she got out into the hallway she nearly gagged, “Why did I have to get stuck with the job of seducing him?” she grumbled to herself, as she headed toward the Slytherin common room.

At least she had gotten the information she wanted out of Peter before she had to kiss him. Lucius and Bellatrix were definitely going to be pleased with the new information; Ellary Snape was going to finally get a taste of her own medicine…

***

“Miss Snape, will you please stay a few minutes after class,” Professor Arthur Rowan, asked after dismissing the rest of the class that Friday afternoon.

He was the new professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts who had taken over after Professor Marlowe’s unfortunate accident involving about thirty Cornish Pixies last summer; there were rumors that the position was cursed. Rowan was one of Ellary’s favorite teachers and a good-looking, youthful man who could not have been too much older than twenty-five years old. He had long, auburn hair that we wore back in a ponytail, sea green eyes, a slight build, and a strong chin. Practically ever girl in the school had at least a little bit of a crush on him.

“Of course. What’s up Professor?” she asked, taking a seat in front of his desk.

Her eyes were bloodshot and her eyelids were drooping down, making it look as if she was about to fall asleep at any second. Not only that, but her skin was almost as pale as Nearly Headless Nick’s.

“Well- first of all, you look terrible,” he said, bluntly.

“Good to know,” Ellary rolled her eyes at him.

“Second of all,” he ignored her comment, “Your grades are starting to slip dramatically. You have always been brilliant in this class, one of my best students if not the best. Your last essay, well to be honest, your last essay was dreadful,” he said, placing it in front of her with a big, red ‘D’ on the front of it.

Ellary rubbed her temples as her head began to pound, “I’m sorry Professor,” she said, quietly.

“Now, Professor Dumbledore has made me aware of your mother’s death, which I am truly sorry for, so I just wanted to offer you some help. Maybe you can come after dinner tonight and we can go over this essay and raise your grades a few points-” his sentence was cut off by Ellary.

“Look Professor, I appreciate it and everything, but I just don’t have the energy,” she admitted, “I’ll fix the essay at lunch,” she offered.

Rowan looked a little disappointed, but nodded his head in agreement. “Bring it to me tomorrow morning,” he said.

“Thanks,” she mumbled, standing up from the chair and stuffing the essay into her book bag.

“Another D? This isn’t like you Ella,” Regulus said, when Ellary exited the classroom looking nothing short of completely miserable.

“Shut up,” she snapped, brushing past him. “Stop eavesdropping on my conversations, you’re starting to turn into a stalker. What the hell were you doing outside my class anyways?” she really wasn’t mad at Regulus, just embarrassed that he knew she was failing her classes.

“Ella, I can help you,” Regulus said, jogging to catch up with her. “I can help you get your grades up, I’m actually smart,” he said.

“I’m not stupid, I’m just tired,” Ellary said, “I know this stuff, I just don’t see the point in doing anymore!” she exclaimed, throwing the essay at him.

“Oh, I don’t know, your future maybe?” Regulus shot back, picking up the piece of parchment and handing it back to her.

She sighed at the comment, knowing full well that he was right. “I’ll fix the essay, okay?” she snapped, snatching it back from him brusquely and stuffing back into her book bag.

“If you need help-”

“I don’t,” she said, a little rudely. “I mean- I can handle it, but thank you,” she corrected herself.

He smiled, “Alright, I’m just worried about you- if your grades keep dropping-” he began, but that’s as far as he got.

“They won’t. I’m just having a bad few weeks, I’m allowed a few every now and then. I’m perfectly fine,” she said. “Why are you always the one who notices these things?” she wondered out loud. “Remus is bloody lab partner in Potions and he didn’t even realize my grades were slipping!” she exclaimed.

“What can I say? I’m observant,” he responded, “Observant enough to realize that you’re not telling me the whole truth.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ellary inquired, “I haven’t lied to you about anything- recently,” she added.

“Oh, really. What about that, ‘I’m perfectly fine’ statement, eh?” Regulus retorted, “You are clearly not fine, I can see it in your eyes. You’re in pain,” he told her, in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

“Why do you that?” Ellary griped, “Why do you try to tell me what I am feeling? It’s bloody annoying, mate.”

“But I’m right aren’t I?” he retorted, looking her dead in the eyes. Her lips parted as if she was about to speak, but no one words came out. After a few moments of silence, Regulus nodded. “Let’s go talk somewhere more private,” he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into one of the empty classrooms, so that no one walking down the hall would see them.

Ellary hopped up on to the one of the desks and Regulus stood closely in front of her. “So- how are you feeling?” he asked, “And you better be honest with me, Ellary Snape,” he warned.

“Why do you need me to tell you, huh? You can read me like a bloody book half the time anyways. You tell me how I’m feeling,” she challenged, with a note of hostility in her voice.
“Fine- I will,” he accepted, “You’re slowly falling to pieces. You’re feeling torn between whether or not you should grieve for your mother’s death and the fact that the choice isn’t easy is killing you. And not to mention you’re new feelings for Sirius and you’re old ones for Remus are battling it out right now, so that isn’t helping matters any,” he paused, and examined her face. “Am I close?” he asked.

Ellary glared at him, “You’re dead on,” she grumbled. “I just- I don’t know whether or not I should be sad about my mother’s death. Before my father killed her she offered to get rid of us to make him happy. I mean if she never loved us anyways why should I care- but then again, it’s not all her fault. My father ruined her; I think deep down she really did love us. But I’m confused!” she confessed, dropping her head into her hand. “I cried, but I don’t know if I really have mourned for her… Am I terrible person?” she asked him, looking for an honest answer.

“Not at all, not at all,” Regulus replied, squeezing her hand securely in his, “I think you need to let it go. You’ve had a tough home life Ellie, but it’s all over now. I know you would have had it end in a different way, but at least it is over. You can live your life now,” he told her, “You’re finally free, don’t let the demons of your past continue to haunt you.”

“Easier said than done,” Ellary whispered, resting her head on his shoulder.

“I know,” Regulus replied, rubbing her back gently, “I know.”