Drying in the rain

White Gardenia

"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall all get there some day." ~ A.A. Milne

Anna slipped in Severus's office at the turn of midnight, of course as she expected he was awake, but he was awake with vengeance.
"Where have you been?" He growled, his hand gripping the arm of his chair with great force. She gulped.
"I was just hanging out with Draco."
"Hanging out with the Malfoy boy...." Severus gritted his teeth. "Do not utter another lie to me you understand!" He shouted, violently throwing himself up he grabbed her arms and shoved her into the back of the door.
"What the fuck!" She yelped, squirming as he gripped her wrist.
"I know what you've done! I know everything!"
"You don't know shit Severus!" She hissed, trying to pull her arm away he clutched onto her sleeve, ripping it the dark mark was exposed.
"You ought to be the stupidest girl I have ever met." His voice of thunder threw itself away as it churned into one of disbelief. "I prayed it was not true. I counted on every star left that you wouldn't do it."
"You don't understand I had to!"
"Why? To find your father! To find a man who couldn't give the slightest shit what happened to you? He left you Anna! He left! He's not coming back because he doesn't care about you, he never did! When he found out your mother was pregnant he abandoned her until you were two! Did you know that? That he doesn't love you not one ounce!"
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" She screamed. Pushing him away she went for the door. Severus reached over, grabbing her by the back of her neck.
"You just made the worst mistake of your entire life all for a man who hates your very existence. You blasted idiot!"
"I hate you. I never in my life ever hated a person more than you, I did it for you Severus you fucking asshole. You should be thanking me for saving your life!"
"I would rather die Anna than see you with this mark! I'd rather fucking die!" He roared, and for the first time Anna saw him cry, tears of disappointment, tears of neglect, tears of remorse, tears of regret, tears of betrayal.
"Then how would I live?" She whispered, lightly taking his hands away from her shoulders she slowly stepped out.
Entering her chambers she carefully closed the door, letting it tap shut she sluggishly threw herself upon her couch. Her head heavy as she bit her cheeks, her eyes welling with tears she finally burst.

The sun grew over the highlands, setting a glow over the castle as the alarm system blared. Some students hurried their late work, others slept in, some joined their friends for breakfast as others greeted their professors. As the hours passed and the time for classes rang through Anna finally emerged, strolling through the bustling dungeon and over to the greenhouse.
She sat motionless, the words sprout spoke muffled in her ears as all she could think about burned upon her wrist. It was reckless, it was unplanned and dumb. But it would never go away. Like a bad tattoo she winced as she rubbed it over her sleeve, knowing what laid underneath, knowing what servitude now flowed through her damaged veins. She was spoiled, she was foolish, she was rotten and crude. But she never would have lived with herself if she hadn't done it. Even if it meant losing everything, all that mattered was that Severus would be safe.
She too knew someday Voldemort would discover his secret identity, that he would kill him. But the delay, the delay she knew he hated so much, it was necessary. For without him what did she have? What would she survive for? What would she wake up each morning for if it wasn't for him?
"Miss Hollows! The wolfsbane, trim it like I asked you to do!" Yelled sprout, it was a rare thing to be scolded by her like that Anna thought as she approached the plants. "And when you've finished the beanstalk ivy needs a trimming as well." Anna sighed, grabbing her wand she flicked it about removing stray leaves and stems that had previously been suffocating the wolfsbane. She glanced to the corner at a single blooming flower.
"White gardenia." She heard a student say from behind her, turning around she met the eyes of the hufflepuff triwizard champion.
"Cedric?"
"That's the name." He chuckled. "I saw you looking at it, thought maybe you didn't know it's name."
"I didn't, thanks.... great job on the first task by the way." She grinned, hiding away her thoughts from before. "My money is on you."
"Oh merlins sakes that's a dangerous bet." He laughed, his hand reached out to stroke the flowers petals. "How have you been? I wanted to say something to you earlier but you were never in class."
"It took a lot of time to get back, but I've been much better. Thank you for asking." She turned away, heading to the ivy she pat down some of the soil in one of sprouts Venus fly traps pots.
"Hey well now that we're talking I was wondering if you'd consider being my date for the Yule ball, as friends of course." He blushed, patting the same plant she had just tended to.
"I'm not allowed a date, as snapes assistant I'm expected to attend with him. I'm sorry Cedric." She frowned slightly as she remembered the waltz lessons she'd be receiving later in the day.
"Oh no I totally get it, well if the rules somehow change, my offer still stands. I'll let you be. It was good catching up with you." He winked, returning to his hufflepuff friends. Anna looked up at the ivy, taking her wand she began snipping away at the dead bunches of leaves.
It was sense that everything might just be okay in this tragic story. These magical flowers and trees living still in the darkness of winter, sure they had the greenhouse and spouts green thumb but it was their choice in the end of it all to live, and they did. Anna let out her breath, closing her eyes her heart rested as she finally felt peace. Glancing to the white gardenia she watched as its petals outstretched in the sunlight.

"Professor Snape I'd like a word with ya." Knocked Professor moody on Severus's classroom door, his class paused to look at the distraction.
"Could you not have chosen a more convenient time?" Hissed Snape as he glared at his coworker for interrupting his lesson.
"It is urgent." Alastor took a quick swig of his flask, putting it back into his coat pocket Severus rolled his eyes.
"No dilly dallying while I'm out, if I see movement at all besides that of your quills it's detention with filch for every single one of you miserable swines." Severus stepped out into the hallway.
"Thank you Severus. I understand you will be teaching your students the waltz this evening?" Questioned Moody.
"Every head of house does now if that's it I would like to get back to my job."
"Not so fast mate, I'd like to borrow your assistant, Anna hollows, she'll be demonstrating a very important spell in class today, so important I fear her class may stray a slight bit. It came to my attention you would be instructing her privately and so I wanted to inform you of this."
"Fine. But have her back no later than seven. What spell is this anyway?" Severus asked, his cold black eyes piercing Moody.
"It doesn't matter, thank you." Alastor turned around, walking away and back up the winding staircase to his classroom. Severus rolled his eyes once more, angrily puffing out his chest he returned to his class.
"Ramsey I spotted a crossed leg, detention." He snickered as he returned to his lesson. The other students groaned as Severus regained their attention.

Anna entered Moodys classroom, her previous calm like state quickly vanished as he pulled her to the side. She held her breath once more, her heart racing as his eyepatch spun about.
"You ready?" He asked as she shrugged.
"I'd feel better if you had told me what exactly this spell is." She replied cooly standing beside him as the rest of the class pooled in.
"Welcome welcome take your seats. Now I have been wishing to give you this lesson for quite some time, and now I see it most fit for today. Can anyone tell me what an unforgivable curse is? And why it is unforgivable? And what the punishment for using one is?" Anna's heart dropped as Moody spoke his words, remembering the night she cursed Severus. She breathed fast as Moody glanced to her, his eyes stern as if he too knew what had happened that night. As if he knew that Evan had killed a man, as if he knew everything.
"An unforgivable curse is a dark curse that will land you straight in Azkaban prison, it's unforgivable because it is so evil that it cannot be redeemed." Answered a ravenclaw from the back of the classroom.
"Correct, now who can tell me the three curses and what they do?"
"The imperius curse controls a persons mind, you could do anyone's bidding." Responded a gryffindor boy from the front row.
"Good and the other two?" Moody scanned the room, the students to afraid to say the rest. "Oh come on now!"
"The Cruciatus curse is the torture curse, it's so bad it can drive anyone afflicted insane."
"And the last one?"
"The killing curse...." whispered Anna as the classes eyes fell on hers.
"Right right, now take here this spider." He opened up his palm revealing an arachnid crawling around. "If I use the imperius curse I can easily control it to do whatever I wish. Imperio!" He shouted, moving his wand the spider began to dance as the class giggled on. The sliders legs stuck up awkwardly as it was forced to jump about the room. "Anna, the torture curse would you?"
"What?" She gasped as she looked into the spiders many orbs. Somehow she knew this was coming, it's eyes staring on into hers with fear.
"You know it do you not?"
"I won't use it!" She protested. The spider almost pleaded with her for its pain to end as Moody cast his curse. The spider curled up squealing in pain. "Stop that! Stop it!" She shrieked as she ran over to its aid, Moody continued as she attempted to comfort the spider as it cried out. "Professor stop!"
"If you insist. Avada kedavra!" He proclaimed, his wands bolt almost hitting Anna the spider instantly died.
"Why would you do such a thing?" Yelled the Ravenclaw from the back.
"How else would you all learn about such dangerous spells, such dark and twisted curses." Moody replied coldly as he lifted the spider into the air, casting incendio the remains burst into a flame quickly dying out into little ashes that scattered in the breeze of the classroom. Anna angrily glared at her professor, retrieving her books she swung open the door. "You are not dismissed miss hollows!"
"Go to hell!" She muttered as she exited the room. Her books close to her chest she closed her eyes, the life of the spider evading so fast, she couldn't help but wish the curse had hit her instead. Alas it did not, and she was still alive. But no coincidence could explain it, Alastor Moody knew.