Chapter 18: You'll Be In My Heart
Come stop
your crying
It will be all right
Just take my hand
Hold it
tight
I will protect you
from all around you
I will be
here
Don't you cry
For one so small,
you seem so
strong
My arms will hold you,
keep you safe and warm
This
bond between us
can't be broken
I will be here
Don't you
cry
'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my
heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in
my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart,
always
Why can't they understand
the way we feel
They
just don't trust
what they can't explain
I know we're different
but,
deep in side us
We're not that different at all
And
you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day
on
Now and forever more
Don't listen to them
'Cause what
do they know
We need each other,
to have, to hold
They'll
see in time
I know
When destiny calls you
You must be
strong
I may not be with you
But you've got to hold on
They'll
see in time
I know
We'll show them together
'Cause
you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day
on
Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart
No
matter what they say
You'll be here in my heart, always
Always
(Tarzan)
Weyhey. Ooooh, a new chapter. I know I know, long time no see, but hey I've been mega busy working in Disney in Florida! Hehe yeah they like to work us hard. But I had a bit of free time today so I though I'd go through all my old stories and see which ones I could update. Now the only trouble is is that I left my notebook at home so I can't update this one any further than this chapter…but I will get down to my other fics and update those! So anyway, back to the story…
Peta woke with a jump when she heard someone knocking on the door. She glanced in the mirror on her way out of the bedroom and realised she still looked exhausted. In truth she hadn't gone to sleep straight away, and had come to a major decision due to the events that had happened.
Opening the door, she was relieved to find Severus standing there, looking much better than he had earlier in the day.
"Are you ok?" he asked the moment she had closed the door.
"I think I should be the one asking that question," Peta replied, taking his hand in hers. "Severus, we need to talk." She led him over to the window seat and sat down, his hands in hers.
"Peta, what's wrong?"
She looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes. "I can't see you any more." Severus looked at her, puzzled.
"Why?"
Peta paused, thinking carefully of what she was going to say. "It's too dangerous, look what happened to you last night."
"You were no cause of that! These things happen, you being with me is not going to change that! Tell me truth, what brought this on?"
Peta looked away and instantly Severus knew what the problem was.
"I should have guessed…Poppy and Rolanda." He moved to stand in front of the fire. "I can't believe you'd dismiss all that we have just because they're telling you things that they don't even know about!"
"But they're my friends…"
"And so I mean nothing to you?
"That's not what…"
"Fine! If this is the way you want it then whatever. Go back to your little friends and we can pretend that none of this ever happened!" Severus slammed the door behind him, leaving Peta all alone.
Severus stormed through the halls, barely noticing who he was passing. It wasn't until he almost knocked Minerva over that he noticed he had no idea where he was going.
"Severus! Please!"
He mumbled a rather hurried "sorry" and went to walk past her.
"Not so fast! What's brought all this anger on?"
Severus spun around to face her. "Why don't you go ask Peta…she seems to think she can go around playing with everyone's feelings, with no thought for the consequences," and with that he stormed off outside to the grounds.
When Minerva got to Peta's rooms, there was no answer when she knocked on the door, so she headed off to the staffroom to see if anyone had seen her. Luck was on her side and when she opened the door, Peta was standing there along with Poppy and Rolanda.
"…never gone out with him in the first place. You know we're right." Peta smiled as best she could.
"Peta?" Minerva questioned, not quite sure about what was going on. Rolanda bounced in front of her.
"She chucked him…isn't it great?" Once again Peta smiled, but Minerva could see it didn't quite meet her eyes. She frowned.
"You could say that. Peta come with me, I need to have a word."
Peta followed silently, not daring to look back into the room as she left.
"Now tell me," Minerva began as they walked down the hall heading towards the grounds, "I gather what they are telling me is true, especially as what Severus had to tell me when I bumped into him earlier wasn't all that great."
Peta nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She knew what she had done was wrong, but she didn't know what else to do. Whatever she did either Severus or Rolanda and Poppy would be upset. They walked in silence to the main doors and out into the grounds, where the sky was overcast and gloomy, and reflecting Peta's mood perfectly.
"It's true," she finally said, not daring to meet Minerva's questioning look.
"But why?"
"Because surely I should choose friendship over love? Surely it would be much better to keep friends who will be there when I need them?"
Minerva shook her head as she guided Peta out of the entrance hall and into the grounds. "And lead a life not knowing what it is to be loved solely for who you are? If Poppy and Rolanda were being proper friends right now they would accept you as a friend regardless of who you loved."
"Then why aren't they?"
Minerva sat down on a secluded stone bench and beckoned Peta to join her. They sat in silence, staring out onto the mountains and forests that surrounded Hogwarts. Minerva didn't need to see the tears falling from the younger woman's face to know she was crying, and so she wrapped her arm around Peta, allowing her to cry on Minerva's shoulder, with only the sobs cutting through the silence. Minerva thought about the little time that Peta had been at the school and how already she was seeing her as the daughter she might have had had any of her many relationships taken full course. She smiled at the thought of how many children she had taught over the years, and how in some way she had been a mother to them all. And yet, she still didn't know why friends behaved the way they did when love was involved. She could see the point of view from both sides, but knew that Rolanda and Poppy were being unnecessarily harsh on Peta. Sometimes they seemed to have no understanding on how the human mind worked. Minerva vowed to knock their heads together until they understood that they couldn't influence the feelings of other people. But first, she had to convince Peta not to give up.
"I don't know why they're behaving like they are."
Peta pulled away, shrugging her shoulders. "It doesn't matter anymore, I've made up my mind and I'm sticking to it."
"But Peta…"
"No Minerva, you didn't see the way Professor Snape," (Minerva sighed at this), "looked at me. You didn't see the pain, and the anger; I doubt he'll barely look at me again let alone kiss me." Peta stood up, wiping the tears from her cheeks and brushing down her robes. She turned to Minerva, "I think I need some time alone." She hugged the older witch and walked away, leaving Minerva to wonder whether things would work out alright in the end.
In his rooms, Severus paced back and forth, wondering how it could have all gone wrong. His anger at Peta had caused him to smash the majority of potions in his lab, thus meaning he had a lot of work to do so replenish his supplies. He didn't understand how she could have thrown away what they had, even if they hadn't known each other for that long. Behind all the hatred that had occurred when they had first met there had been hiding a burning passion for each other. Severus couldn't believe he had been tricked into believing there was more to Peta than he had thought, and now realised that she was nothing more than the upstart woman he had been led to believe.