Romeo and Juliet (Book 1) - SS x OC

Chapter 16 - Black Forest

"Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly. Then your love would also change." -William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

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CHAPTER 16 - Black Forest

~ S ~

Distraction.

The last thing a man like Severus Snape needed at the moment was a diversion, as far as he's concerned. He felt marginally weak for letting a girl named Renee Capulet cloud what's left of his rational mind, yet he wondered if weakness was in the equation since all he could feel whenever he would see her was an unyielding dauntlessness.

Severus could not figure out how the girl was somehow able to squeeze her way into his shielded world and affecting the most sensitive spots that no one has ever made an effort to find. Cavorting with a student was out of the question but he found Renee just so damn hard to resist.

Awarding came quickly and lunch was shared amongst the Hogwarts team. Renee sat beside Severus all the time, and he found it worrying that he didn't mind and he actually longed for her presence.
They came back to Hogwarts hand in hand, and he felt dreadful that the short vacation of being the diabolical spy that he is has ended, and he would have to go back to being Renee's professor.

•••

~ R ~

After going back to castle, Renee immediately went to her dormitory, aching to get some proper sleep or at least a nice nap after the excruciatingly triumphant event. Classes would resume the next day, so she took advantage of the remaining hours she had left. It was late afternoon when she finally had the willpower to separate herself from the comforts of her four-poster, and she suddenly realized that there was still a matter that was left unsettled: Fred.

Renee recalled the mess she had left her best friend in and felt guilty for leaving him in such a state. She knew Fred had the best intentions at heart and meant no harm, but it was distressing to be in a situation where both him and Severus are involved-- it was too troublesome for her little heart to handle. Remembering that she vowed to fix things as soon as she returned, she went out of the dungeons to look for George's twin brother.

With the very little time that they had spent in America, Renee was able to weed out her true feelings; there was only one name her heart was screaming and it wasn't Fred. She loved the Gryffindor for sure, but her love for him was directed towards a more brotherly sense. She couldn't live without him, but she didn't want to be with him, because a certain black-haired wizard had unintentionally made his way into her life, and her situation with that man was complicated enough as it is. Regardless of who is in possession of her heart and the pain it may cause to whoever, she knew that Fred deserved to know the truth.

Spotting Harry and Ron down the hall, she stumblingly ran to catch up with the pair.

"Hey, guys! What's up?" Renee breathlessly called the two.

"Renee! Congratulations, we've heard about the competition." Harry greeted happily.

"Thank you! Have you guys seen Fred? Or even George?" Renee asked.

Ron's ears suddenly turned red, his face revealing a reminder. "Oh right, I forgot, those lot are looking all over for you since you came back. They've told me to tell you to come to the, uh..."

"The area between Hagrid's squash garden and the Forbidden Forest," Harry elbowed Ron.

"Yeah, there," the redhead blushed. "Sorry."

"Right. Okay." Renee exhaled. "Thanks, Ron! See you, Harry!"

"No problem," she vaguely heard the boys say.