Rose's Decision

"Enjoying yourself, Snivellus?" James Potter shouted.

By then, most of the students had left the Quidditch Pitch, and a few Gryffindor players remained, putting away their equipment. Marlene prepared to leave, but Rose stayed where she was.

"Which one of them are you going to help?" Marlene asked quietly.

Rose shook her head. She would not take either side. Outsiders could not casually interfere in these people's conflicts and grudges; they could even be called irreconcilable. She did not want to waste her efforts.

Snape and Lily stopped and turned to look at them.

"If I were you, I'd spend more time washing my hair, to keep the grease from dripping into my cauldron," Black taunted him, his voice cutting and cold. Peter Pettigrew snickered beside him.

Snape raised his wand, utterly on guard, a look of disgust appearing in his eyes.

"Potter, what exactly has Snape done to you?" Lily stepped in front of Snape, her green almond-shaped eyes blazing with anger.

"Er-" Lily's question stumped James Potter. He had never considered it before; he had simply taken a dislike to Snape from the start of term.

"Pfft." Sirius Black made a disdainful sound in his throat. Narrowing his eyes, he looked Snape up and down and drawled in an elegant tone, "Mainly because he exists."

"That's right, brother," James Potter shouted.

Snape pushed aside Lily's arm and raised his wand, shouting, "Furnunculus!"

The spell struck James Potter in the face, and a large boil quickly swelled on his nose. He jumped up and down, fanning himself constantly with his hand. Peter Pettigrew darted about beside him in a fluster, only making things worse.

Rose grimaced as she watched him. That boil had to hurt.

"How dare you!" Sirius Black roared. "Locomotor Mortis!"

Snape's legs snapped together, and he fell stiffly backward, his oversized school robes covering his head like a rag.

"Let him go!" Lily glared angrily at Sirius Black.

"He attacked James first," Sirius Black said coldly. He shot Snape a fierce look, his eyes full of hatred and contempt. "That jinx isn't taught until third year or above. Who knows what other Dark Magic he's learned?"

"You were the ones who started it!" Lily shot back without backing down.

Seeing that Sirius Black was about to lose patience with Lily as well, Rose hurried down the steps and placed herself between them, her back to Lily and her face very close to Sirius Black's.

"Stop it, Black. Take Potter to the Hospital Wing," Rose urged. "Besides, I think I just saw Professor McGonagall coming this way."

Sirius Black was a few centimeters taller than her, and he stared down at her.

The sun finally came out, shining behind Black. The glare stung Rose's eyes, and she could not make out his expression. She only saw a muscle twitch in his face before he gave a snort and turned away.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief. Sirius Black was famously stubborn in the original story; once he had made up his mind, it was almost impossible to change it, and he loathed Dark Magic.

She had been truly afraid that Lily's unconditional defense of Snape at that moment would make Black attack her too, without restraint, although Lily would not necessarily have lost.

"Rose, they're so awful!" Lily complained angrily to her. "Finite Incantatem! Are you all right, Severus?"

Snape did not move. His robes still covered his face, hiding his expression.

"Marlene and I will head back to the castle first," Rose said considerately. She understood that Snape did not want anyone to see him in such a sorry state, especially in front of Lily.

Lily nodded and gave her a slightly apologetic look.

Rose indicated that she understood.

A gloomy atmosphere hung over the Gryffindor Common Room. Chaser Myron Wilson sat in a corner, with several friends around him offering comfort. He was in his seventh year, and this was his last Quidditch Match. He was heartbroken.

Rose quietly returned to the girls' dormitory. For the first time, she had not stayed in the common room until after nine.

In the dormitory, Natasha was painting her nails. She was a fashionable, stylish girl who rarely spent time with Rose and the others, preferring to be with her second-year Hufflepuff boyfriend.

Rose had been shocked when she first learned that Natasha had a boyfriend—they were only eleven! When she was eleven in her previous life, her biggest worry each day had been getting her parents to sign her test papers.

Natasha had giggled at her and said she had already had two boyfriends when she attended Muggle school.

"Back so early?" Natasha asked, concentrating on applying her magical nail polish. It glittered on her nails, shifting through different colors.

"Yeah, the mood in the common room is just too depressing." Rose lay spread-eagled on her bed, staring at the yellow tassels on the canopy.

Natasha agreed. Several of the older players had cried more than once, blaming themselves, and had all told McGu that they would leave the team next year so he could find stronger players.

"Maybe I could give it a try too," Rose said suddenly.

"Hm? The nail polish? Want me to paint yours?" Natasha held the bottle cap in one hand, admiring her other hand, which she held up in the air.

"I mean Quidditch-maybe I could try out next year too!" Rose sat bolt upright, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Good idea. You did really well in Flying Class." Natasha never held back when praising her friends; she could always give everyone plenty of emotional support.

"Really? I mean, do you think I'm good enough to join the house team?" Rose pressed excitedly.

"Er, if you practice more, I'm sure you can do it." Natasha did not want to lie to her. Rose flew well, but she did not know the rules of Quidditch and had never played a match.

"You're right. Where should I practice, then? Maybe I could ask Madam Hooch if she can lend me a broom." Rose paced around the room, talking through her plans.

"I'll have to read Quidditch Through the Ages first, then find someone to practice with."

"You could ask Potter. He's not on the house team, but McGu seems to think highly of him. He told someone he was planning to put Potter on the team next year."

Natasha was practically a little information station. Rose felt there was nothing in the whole castle she did not know—she had acquaintances in every house!

"I can't imagine what I'd do without you," Rose said. Her exaggerated tone set Natasha giggling again, and the two girls hugged, filling the dormitory with laughter.