The Unexspected

Chapter Three

After dinner, in which Elizabeth ate less then half of her food, and let the always hungry Ron finish it, she got up and wished her friends goodbye.

She walked down the stairs, entering the cold dungeon and shivered. The dungeon got much colder at night. And since the hallways had no fires, in the dungeon halls it felt like it was below zero. ‘I need to remember to change into sweat pants tomorrow before detention…’

She walked up to Snape’s classroom door and knocked on it once.

‘Come in,” replied the voice behind the door, and so she opened it and walked in.

The classroom looked so much larger then it did normally, she didn’t know why. She walked up to his desk and looked down at him.

“Put on these gloves,” he handed her some rubbery black dragon hide gloves, which she took. “Those flasks over there need to be cleaned,” he smirked as she looked over her shoulder and saw at least four dozen flasks with an odd green substance bubbling over most of them. “I would suggest you not let the green substance touch any part of your skin”.

Elizabeth sighed and turned her back to Snape once again and walked to the back of the room to the flasks and the sink.

It was hard work without magic. The green bubbling stuff was not only poisonous to the skin, but it was also sticky. It took at least five minutes for each flask. Particularly stubborn ones took fifteen.

Soon she had been there at least two hours and was barley half way done. Her hair was starting to get in her face and she tried to shake her head to be rid of it. Not daring to reach up one of her hands to do so. Since the once black gloves were now covered with green potion.

Severus Snape had finally risen from his desk after watching her try and get her hair out of her face for five minutes. He walked up right behind her and reached his long fingers around her. His hands brushing on her cheek and he pulled her soft brown hair out of her face and tied it in a long green ribbon.

“Better?” he asked her, his voice almost king, not at all the usual harshness.

“Uh…” she paused, not sure why she suddenly felt so uncomfortable, “yes, thanks”.

He nodded and walked back to his desk.

After she was done, it was nearly one in the morning and she headed back to her common room. Half of her hopped that her friends had stayed up for her. The other half of her wanted to just crawl upstairs and into bed and sleep. Fucking screw homework that was due tomorrow.

She gave the Fat Lady the new password and walked into the common room and looked around.

Harry and Ron were sitting by the dire, talking. By the looks of it they were the only two left in the common room that night. Hand made hats were scattered around, showing that Hermione had also retired for the night.

Harry and Ron were talking in hushed voices, and because Elizabeth was very good at making no noise when she walked, they didn’t hear her when she moved closer to them.

“I really like her,” Ron said, a sigh attached to this statement.

“What about Hermione? I thought the whole dating loads of people was just a rebound thing because of her?”

“No… I mean, I guess it was because of ‘Mione… but now… I mean, Elizabeth…”

Elizabeth’s eyes grew very very wide and her mind started to race, ‘Wait, wait… Ron… he likes me?’ she thought as she stood in the shadows, stunned.

“Oh… well, maybe when she gets back from detention you two can talk…?” suggested Harry.

“Do you think I’m waiting up because I enjoy talking with you?”

Harry laughed, “Good point”.

Elizabeth continued to listen and after Harry laughed and the boys fell silent, she walked up to them like she had just come on.

“Hey Harry, Ron,” she smiled and sat down on Harry’s lap. She always sat on one of their laps when she found them sitting in the two armchairs by the fire. And while it was usually just who was closer, she decided that she would sit on Harry’s lap until Ron talked to her.

Harry wrapped one arm around her absentmindedly and then looked over at Ron…

…who looked like he was about to explode.

Harry was about to make up some excuse to leave when he looked up and saw a silvery green ribbon in Elizabeth’s hair.

“What’s this?” Harry asked as he slowly pulled on the end of the bow and undid it from her hair.

“Oh, I put my hair up for detention,” she answered without a beat.

“It’s yours?” Harry asked, looking at the ribbon, on one end was the initials MS inscribed very beautifully.

“Does it matter?” frowning at the ribbon in Harry’s hand. She had not forgotten it, but at the same time she wanted to. Finding the entire thing completely strange.

“Not really…” replied Harry, though he was still looking questioningly at the ribbon in his hand.

Ron had gotten up out of his chair and was looking down at the ribbon, “Who is MS?”

Elizabeth groaned, “Look it’s not mine. Snape put it in my hair while I was cleaning flasks. My hair was in my face but I couldn’t touch it with my gummed up hands that were covered with potion”.

Harry frowned, thinking this kindness did not relate well to the potion’s master. Ron on the other hand was looking at Elizabeth.

“Oh, well, now that that’s explained, Liz…… can I talk to you?”

Harry forgot all about the ribbon as Ron said those words and looked up at his best friend with a grin behind Elizabeth’s back. He handed the ribbon back to Liz, who pocked it.

“Well, what do you call what we’re doing now?” Elizabeth asked with a smile. Knowing of course what he wanted to talk to her about, and she hopped off Harry’s lap.

“No, I mean… alone. Can I talk with you alone?” Ron asked, glad that the only light was from the dying dire, because he was starting to go as red as his hair.

“I’ll just go,” Harry stood and waved goodbye to his two friends and gave a small wink to Ron as he walked past them and then went upstairs.

Elizabeth then walked over to a couch and patted the seat next to her, so they could sit by one another. “So, Ron, what’s up?” she asked.

Ron sighed and walked over to the couch and sat down next to her. He was twiddling his thumbs in his lap and was looking down at his hands.

“Look, I know this is weird… me getting all crazy nervous around you but…”

Elizabeth had decided before hand that she was not going to help Ron out if he started to trip over his words and what not. But seeing him now changed all that.

Before she realized what she was doing she shh’ed him and cupped his face and kissed him softly on the mouth and pulled away.

“Well, at least you understood what I was trying to say, eh Liz?” he grinned before wrapping his hands a bit timidly around her waist and kissed her again.