Romeo and Juliet (Book 1) - SS x OC

Chapter 20 - Of All People

"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs." - William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

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CHAPTER 20 - Of All People

~ RS ~

More than anything, Renee was relieved to be anywhere but Hogwarts. It was Hogsmeade weekend and she decided to spend her time productively by roaming around Tomes and Scrolls to update her book collection; it was something she hasn't been able to do for quite a long time. She woke up extra early and made sure that she was there before anyone else was so she could avoid the crowd.

"Hey Jack," Renee greeted the bookkeeper.

"Oh, hi there, Renee, right? The girl who wanted that Shakespeare book so badly?" Jack grinned.

"Yeah, that's fickle little me." she smiled.

"Not so fickle, I'd like to think. So are you going to tell me how it went?"

"He liked it. He doesn't like me, though."

Jack frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

"Positive. Just confirmed it yesterday. It was horrible," she told sadly, but still kept the helpless smile.

"I don't believe you. I refuse to believe he doesn't like you back." Jack said firmly.

"Well, I do. Unrequited love exists, Jack. I've accepted it already. It's alright, I'll move on someday." I think.

"You ought to give me a galleon by the next year because my bet is set on you being together by then."

"Is that your way of cheering me up? Thanks anyway," Renee smirked.

"I just have this strong feeling, you know. These strong feelings of mine are usually right all the time."

"Well, my bet is that you don't even know who he is," she laughed.

Jack thought for a moment. "He's someone off-limits, isn't he?"

"I swear, Jack, you scare me. You're like a prophet or something."

"No, just observant of my interesting customers. Here's the booklist, you little lover. You should've just looked here or asked me when you were trying to look for the Shakespeare book instead of wasting hours of precious time."

"I was distraught, alright?" Renee giggled and grabbed the booklist, browsing for captivating titles.

Jack allowed her to sit on his ratty threadbare sofa by the window.The weather was still breezy, and Renee was comfortably secured by her thick sweater, denim trousers and fur boots. She tried to concentrate on the list, yet she couldn't help but think of Severus upon seeing the list of Shakespeare books Jack had.

Infuriating man.

Renee wasn't able to sleep last night, too busy ruminating on how she should've just kept her mouth shut instead of straining her already-satisfactory-but-not-really relationship with Severus. She thought long and hard, disregarding the tears that seem to have a mind of their own because they just kept on falling down, and came up with the conclusion that it just wasn't easy to "unlove" him. In fact, that wasn't even an option.

Giving up was something Renee never usually partook in, but this time, she just could not possibly push anything further with the love of her life. All odds were against her, and she wasn't even sure about what she really wanted. All she knew is that there are other ways on how to love Severus surreptitiously, such as by making him happy and just doing what she's supposed to do: be helpful to him. She willed herself to not expect anything in return, and made certain that her feelings for him will fade away soon.