An Unlikely Savior ~ (Edit) COMPLETED

Chapter 64 ~ Popping the Question

Alsop and Eileen were fortunate the both of them were at supper when Albus was found on the fourth floor, unconscious and covered in puss-filled pustules. When he was Ennervated, he awoke in great pain and was unable to tell Madam Finch who hexed him.

”It sounded like a girl,” he said, frowning.

Had Eileen gone back on her word and hit him with a sneak attack? He discovered that whoever hit him with the Furnunculus charm had done it with such dark intent, that healing potions combined with Episkey spells only minimally healed the boils. He was going to have to stay in the infirmary for a few days rather than hours.

”Whoever did this, Mr. Potter, was quite angry with you,” Madam Finch said as she applied salve to his body for the pain. He laid there on the cot, naked and red, only a thin strip of cloth covering his goods, the plump medi-witch’s hands moving over his body, even his private parts, then flipping him over. It wasn’t the least bit arousing. In fact, he shrunk a bit.

He couldn’t help but suspect Alsop, too. The voice was high, but Alsop’s voice went high when he was really, really mad. He could sound like a girl. But James assured him when he visited that both Eileen and Alsop had been at supper in the Great Hall at the time he was hexed.

”Is there anyone else who would have a reason to be mad at you?” James asked him.

Albus wracked his brain.

”No, I don’t think so,” he replied, not giving Jennifer a thought. As far as he knew, the witch liked him.

A lot.

She’d let him shag her in the common room closet after all, and even did some things no other witch had done to him at his request. It had been great.

”I don’t know anyone who would be this mad at me,” he said.

Albus Potter didn’t have a clue.

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Alsop made it a point to stay away from Eileen the next few days. He didn’t follow her down to the lake or walk with her to any classes.

Albus’ attempt to ask her out had really gotten to him. What hurt him the most was Albus was fully within his right to ask her out, although it was a rotten thing for a brother to do. Then again, Albus was a Slytherin in Gryffindor clothing.

Finally, Eileen got fed up with Alsop avoiding her and stopped him outside the Great Hall four days later. She grabbed his arm.

”Come with me,” she hissed.

For the first time since she’d known him, Alsop resisted her.

”Come on, Alsop,” she said as he frowned at her.

Suddenly she jammed her wand into his side.

”Alsop Potter, you git, you come with me right now or I’m going to turn you into something small and slippery,” she hissed at him. “And it’s going to be a spell like Albus’ that has to wear off.”

Alsop stared at Eileen, and her eyes were glittering. It wasn’t an idle threat.

He let her pull him along. Since he wasn’t dressed to go outside, Eileen took him up the stairs, past the descending students and down the second floor corridor, her dark eyes shifting about, looking for someplace quiet they could talk. She found it at the end of the hall. She had no idea this was the place where her mother had been trapped by Fenrir Greyback many years ago, and here was where her father killed the werewolf, thus making her existence possible.

She let him go. He stood there, looking rebellious.

”Alsop, what’s wrong with you? Why are you avoiding me?” she asked him.

”Why do you think?”

”If I knew that, I wouldn’t have to ask you, you dolt! What’s going on?”

”Nothing.”

”Nothing?”

”That’s what I said, isn’t it?” Alsop said sullenly.

Eileen let out an exasperated sigh.

”Alsop, we’re supposed to be best friends,” she said, echoing her own father’s words years ago when he and Lily had an argument.

”I’m tired of being just your friend, Eileen. I’ve been your friend for years and we’re growing up. You know how I feel about you, but you keep putting me off. We’re old enough to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”

”But Alsop, I have to focus on my schoolwork,” she told him softly. “My marks.”

”You kissed me, Eileen. You kissed me of your own free will after the ball and—and—“

Alsop struggled to find the words to express himself. Eileen’s eyes rested on him and her body moved a little as if trying to help him get the words out so she could understand. Alsop looked at her desperately, then suddenly stepped into her, wrapping his arms around her and gently backing her into the wall.

”Eileen, I’m sure I love you,” he said softly. “Even though I’ve never been in love before, I know I do. I know I do. I can’t stand the idea that another wizard would—could-- ”

Suddenly, he kissed her. And this was no stolen peck either, but a full on snogging.

Eileen didn’t resist him. The kiss was sweet and heady and she felt warm and tingly all over as he pressed against her. Her arms looped around his neck as she kissed him back. By the time they parted, both of them were breathless and trembling.

”See? You should be my girlfriend, Eileen. Gods, you make me feel—I can’t explain it but I feel it from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. We’re supposed to be together. You can feel it, can’t you?” he asked her softly, his eyes full of affection.

Eileen stared at him, at his mouth. She wanted to kiss him again and again, it had been so nice, so affecting. Yes, she felt it. It was like being covered in honey.

Fortunately, her father had warned her about this. About adult feelings that can come when a person is young. How those feelings could make them want to do something they aren’t ready to do.

”Think with your mind, not your body, Eileen,” he told her gently. “Weigh everything. Be sure you are truly ready. Ask questions of yourself and the wizard you’re attracted to.“

Eileen drew in a breath.

”Alsop, do you want to shag me?” she asked him softly.

Alsop’s eyes went wide. He hadn’t expected that question.

”Maybe—yes—no, well, eventually, Eileen. People in love have sex,” he responded.

”I know, but—but—I don’t want to do that, Alsop. Not now. I know I’m not ready for it despite how I feel right now. I liked kissing you, but I’m sixteen and even though I know it’s old enough for sex physically, I don’t think I’m ready for it. I think I should focus on graduating and what I’m going to do with my life first.”

”I’m not talking about sex, Eileen,” Alsop said, “I mean, I know it’s a part of being together, but—I’m willing to wait. It’s not the most important thing about being with you. I just want to know that I’m the only one who’ll be with you. I want to know I’m the only one you’d want to be with. We wouldn’t have to have sex. I’m not James or Albus. I’m me. I have control and discipline when it comes to things like that. I’m the only virgin in my family besides Lily and it doesn’t bother me. Eileen—Eileen, please go out with me. Keep me out of Azkaban for fratricide. If you don’t go out with me, I may have to kill Albus to keep him away from you.”

Eileen smirked at him.

”Kill him?” she asked.

”Well, hurt him a little. Or a lot.”

Eileen chuckled a little and Alsop felt hopeful.

”All right. But there are going to be rules, Alsop. First, NO touchy feely, or holding hands in the hallways, or overtly public displays of affection. I think it’s gross to see couples making out in the corridors. That’s supposed to be done in private.“

Alsop nodded, his heart soaring.

”And my studies come first. If I say I have to study, then you won’t pout or be a pain.”

Alsop nodded.

”And, this is important—you have to ask my father’s permission to go out with me,” she said with finality.

”What?” Alsop gasped.

”You have to ask my father if it’s all right to date me.”

Alsop went completely pale.

“Your father?” Alsop repeated hollowly.

”Oh, come on, Alsop. He saw you at the ball with me, and he wasn’t terrible to you, was he?”

”No, but that was just one ball. This is more involved. He might not like the idea,” Alsop said. “What if he forbids it?”

”The final decision is mine, Alsop,” she told him softly. “Just because he says no, doesn’t mean that I will. He really can’t control this, but he always told me he’d like to pre-approve any wizard I took up with. I always promised him he could. It’s an agreement we made a long time ago. But I never promised that I’d listen to him. Still, I’d like him to like whoever I picked. It could be—difficult otherwise.”

Alsop could only imagine how Eileen’s father would treat a wizard he didn’t like. He’d probably slip him a potion or something, or make him inhale a draught. This could be dangerous business if he said no.

But as he looked at Eileen, he knew he’d face a thousand Snapes to have her as his “one and only.” He drew in a deep breath and stood a little taller.

”All right. I’ll ask him,” he said. “I just have to figure out how to do it. I might have to sneak off the grounds.”

Eileen frowned.

”I don’t think you should do that, Alsop. You’ve already been caught once and that will just be more trouble. You could owl him and tell him you’d like to talk to him face to face about something important. I’m sure he would come to see you if you explained you can’t leave Hogwarts.”

Alsop looked hesitant. He couldn’t just order her father here to speak to him. That would be disrespectful.

”Or, we could always wait until school is out and you could ask him this summer.”

”No, I don’t want to wait, Eileen. I’ve waited long enough,” Alsop said.

”Then owl him, Alsop,” she told him softly.

She gave him a small, rather shy smile, and walked past him, her robes billowing slightly as she walked up the corridor.

Alsop looked after her, his heart swelling in his chest. She had practically said yes. All he had to do, was talk to her father and convince him he was worthy.

His heart stopped swelling and started palpitating.

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Minerva opened the letter from the Board of Governors slowly, pulling out the parchment inside, and unfolding it, peering down at the ornate calligraphy. Goodness, couldn’t they just type these things?

She read the heading:

Concerning Complaints against Eileen Hermione Snape, 5th Year, Slytherin

”Oh my,” she breathed, preparing herself.

She read the letter, the tightness in her face relaxing as she read the preliminary findings of the Board of Governors.

”It has been decided after reviewing the transcripts of Miss Snape, as well as the transcripts of her father and mother, that there is no proof of magical tampering, but a predisposition to academics based upon heredity as well as upbringing. Both parents have exemplary records of academic accomplishment, and either one of them would have done well in Ravenclaw. That their daughter has an equal ability is to be expected. It is the unanimous decision of the Hogwarts Board of Governors that there will be no hearing concerning the marks and continuing accomplishments of Eileen Hermione Snape. The complaints against her are hereby declared unfounded.

The Board of Governors
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

The official seal was stamped below.

Minerva gave a sigh of relief. The Board of Governors had dodged the proverbial bullet with that one.

What Minerva received was the cleaned-up version. After investigating Hermione quite thoroughly, they wisely decided that she was indeed not a witch to go up against. They felt they could handle Snape, because technically, he was an undesirable, tainted and not thought well of—someone completely capable of doing something less than above board. But Eileen’s mother’s record of standing up to the machine and doing so successfully time after time was something they weren’t particularly willing to go through, especially since each instance was covered by the newspapers. She made a point to make every instance as public as possible. Several officials had lost their positions after tangling with Hermione Weasley, and not one Board member wished to fall under her ax. The fact that she’d received the highest marks Hogwarts had seen in years was enough wriggle room for them to make a decision in Eileen’s favor and not seem like cowards.

Lucius Malfoy was more than relieved. It would have been a disaster.

Minerva immediately sent owls to both Hermione and Snape, informing them of the Board’s decision, then she set about contacting the Ravenclaw parents as well. No doubt they’d be shooting sparks out of their arses about this and would plot their revenge. They were quite vindictive and the cushy jobs of the Board members weren’t in the clear yet.

Minerva smirked.

That was their problem.

*********************************

The duel between Eileen and Albus miraculously didn’t make it to either sets of parents, mostly due to everyone convincing Lily that telling wouldn’t be a good thing.

”You’re such a tattletale, Lily,” Hugo said to her witheringly.

”I’m not. I just think mum should know what Albus did,” she argued back. “It was mean.”

”Lily, Eileen didn’t have to say yes. She could have refused to duel him, so she’s equally responsible,” Rose told her cousin. “They’ll both get in trouble. Do you want that?”

Lily looked hesitant.

”No. I don’t want Eileen to get in trouble,” she said softly. “It’s not her fault Albus is such a git sometimes.”

”So don’t tell,” Rose said to her.

Lily didn’t. She felt guilty, but she really didn’t want Eileen to get in trouble. Being a flying pig for hours had really been bad enough.

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At his shop, Severus received not one but two owls. Odessa looked at him curiously as he read first one, then the other. He put one on the counter, took out his wand and turned it to ash.

Odessa couldn’t hold in her curiosity any longer.

”What was that letter?” she asked him.

”That was the equivalent of toilet paper. A letter stating that no hearing will be held concerning Eileen’s academic abilities. Apparently, the Board of Governors has at least one brain cell between them. It would have been a fiasco.”

Odessa smiled.

“I’m glad to hear that. Eileen’s a smart witch and she didn’t need to go through that. So, what’s the other letter?”

Snape held up the parchment and quirked an eyebrow at it.

”It’s a letter from Mr. Alsop Potter. He states he wants to discuss a matter of some importance—concerning my daughter, but is unable to leave the premises and requests that I come to Hogwarts to speak to him.”

Odessa smiled as she straightened the potions bottles behind the front counter.

“Mr. Alsop Potter sounds like a very brave young wizard,” she said softly.

”Indeed he does,” Snape agreed, frowning slightly. “I believe I will visit him tomorrow—“

Here, Snape smirked a bit evilly as Odessa shook her head. She knew what was coming.

“Unannounced.”

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A/N: Thanks for reading.