Rose Among the Thorns: The Third Evans Sister

By Jedi Blu, Lady at Large

Standard Disclaimer Found In Previous Chapters

Italics are thoughts, emphasized words, or letters.

. : ; ' " j e d i b l u " ' ; : .

Epilog: And the Readers Will Revolt

. : ; ' " j e d i b l u " ' ; : .

Severus Snape and Rose Evans were not to be completely trusted, of this they were certain.

"She's going by her maiden name again. What d'you figure that means?"

"No idea. She's always been a little off, though, so it might'n't mean anything," the second person said warily.

The first shrugged. "So why bother about them just yet?"

"To see what happens."

"Think they're still close?" the first asked. "It's been a long time."

"I've told you before, I don't know. But we need to keep an eye on them and see where their loyalties really are. Death Eaters or Members of the Order...either way they'll have problems getting on in life." The second sighed. "What a mess. Why did we get this assignment again?"

"Don't look at me—I'm just tagging along."

"Right."

"But..." the first hesitated."You don't think...that is...do you think the other side is going to be meddling with this assignment?"

"Of course. That's what they're famous for: meddling in our affairs. Neither side will give up that pair without a fight; they're a dangerous team when they want to be. Or don't you remember them at school?"

"We were just as dangerous."

"But not malicious."

"Not very often, anyway."

The second sighed. "I hate being in charge. Especially when you're so negative."

"Sorry."

. : ; ' " j e d i b l u " ' ; : .

.: t h e e n d :.


Note: Dearest Readers,

Please, don't come after me with a mob of angry villagers! Put out those torches! I can explain!!!!

So...this story was getting VERY long. To the point that I believe it was intimidating some, so I'm breaking it into TWO titles. Trust me, this will be far more appropriate to cover the 'flashback' under one title and the current adventure under another. Never fear! Nothing will change! The next story will pick up where I left off with this one and I've all ready begun work on it. Chapter One will be up in just a few hours. So don't kill me, and don't give up hope. Just take a deep breath and watch for more updates from me.

Love,

Jedi Blu

Notes to Reviewers:

Writer Chica: How's your story coming? :-)

Rae Roberts: Thankee for pointing that flawed phrase out to me. I only cried for an hour or so over that horrid mistake. :-) Nah, when I go back and revise chapters (happening MUCH later) I'll fix that.

SmartAlek: I am very proud of myself, thank you. No doubt though that the more difficult chapters I have coming up will be a challenge. I'm very glad you found the story and I hope you stick around. More angst and happiness ahead!

Evil Duckie of the BlackLagoon: Happy holidays, Great Duckie! All I want for Christmas is more reviews from someone as enthusiastic about fics as you!

Maya)-sleepy: Thank you for the great compliment, although I know I will never be another J.K. Rowling. I have a few ideas of my own, but nothing so captivating as Harry Potter.

Loraliant Angelisa Snape: More is on the way! Never fear!

Shimmer: You're more than welcome to your opinion of boredom. :-) Not everyone shares my passion for young Snape, I know. As to clues for what happens next…you'll just have to read along with everyone else. Although I will tell you that, often times in my notes to reviewers, I drop hints about what's coming. So people who do review and read the responses I give get hints, people who don't review and ask clever questions…get nada.

Rinny Z: I am so grateful for my beta—without her this chapter would've totally stunk. I've got the flu. Don't worry, though, I don't think I can pass it on to people through my computer screen. You may want to run a virus check, though, just in case. Ah—thank you for the continued support of your reviews! As to Harry's reaction to Severus, it is actually coming shortly though the poor boy won't be told the whole story, of course. He never is, is he? Remember I've got this set in Harry's fifth year—incorporating OotP but throwing my own plot twists in.

Montana: Ouch…waiting on pins and needles can't be any fun. By the way, I'm loving your fic. SHAMELESS PLUG: Check out Montana's fic involving our favorite potions master and one cousin of Remus Lupin, it's excellent and well-kept. Wow…the notes to reviewers is longer than my update was….

Kiss-of-cuteness: Thank you very much, I'm glad you like my Severus so much. I admit he's not exactly as J.K. portrays him, but I'm hoping he's close enough to make people happy.

BraeBee: Thank you! That's one of the best compliments I've received so far. It was a horrible pain for OotP to come out before I posted this story, but I plan to run with it and see what I can pull together. There are some things that Rowling didn't explore in OotP that I'll play with, and I look forward to your continued criticism to let me know how I'm doing. Thanks again!

Lydia: I will be responding to your last essays soon. :-) Until then, about the wedding ring…. I can't tell you why it's important, it would ruin a subplot, but I will tell you to pay attention to it when it does show up. However subtly it makes an appearance.

Illume: Thanks for sticking around to see this thing through—I'm so glad I've kept you on this long. I highly recommend re-reading the first few chapters if you don't remember where Severus and Rose were in their relationship, because the next thing I post may be overwhelming unless you do.

Dnd4ever: Severus takes ALL his assignments personally. That's what makes him such a great teacher, and such a horrible teacher. :-) But as you meant, yes, things are about to get very serious between Rose and Severus.

Nabenabe: I figure if people are willing to leave me feedback I should be willing to acknowledge it. It's hard to respond individually, and time consuming, but it makes it much more fun for me to write the fic. I feel like I know some of my reviewers quite well. Now, about your questions. The answers are yes, yes, and you'll have to wait and see. In that order. :-) Be more specific, my dear, and you'll get better answers.

Zaq: Your wish…is granted.

Arashi7: Welcome to the fic! You're just in time for the end of it! And the beginning of the 'sequel.' I'm excited about the Portuguese translation, too, but I haven't heard from the gal doing the translations in a while. :-( I'm giving her over the holidays before I worry, though. Tell your sister to hang tight, and let me know how the translation reads when you check it out. I haven't the foggiest clue.

Moon-lit Night: You all ready KNOW what's going on with Harry, if you've read OotP. Dementors attacked his cousin, he had to stand trial before a bunch of prejudice wizards, he's incredibly moody, and sharing the dreams of Lord Voldemort. Just wait, you'll see how I tie this together. Thank you for reading so avidly, it makes me happy to know so many enjoy this fic enough to gobble it down like that. ;-) I hope you stay on for the sequel.

Thanks to all! Give me a couple of hours to update!

-JB-