You never considered him a mystery. He was who he was and there was no evidence of any other person in there.

How wrong you were.

The first thing you noticed was his posture.

Okay, that was rather odd, but you couldn’t help it. You expected the sneer to be there, the usual cold, hard eyes glaring back at you, mocking you for getting lost in the dungeons.

But since when did he have a twinkle of mischief in his eyes?

You knew, of course, how to recognize the look. Your twin brothers along probably held the world record for “the look”.

But never in your life would you have thought that he, of all people, would be sporting the look.

He wasn’t straight backed and haughty either. He almost looked...nah.

First piece.

The shock from your first reaction did save him from getting into a right verbal battle with you, and also seemed to affect him along those same lines.

In fact, if you couldn’t tell any better, you probably would have noticed a sense of relief in his face when you kept your mouth shut upon seeing him.

You weren’t surprised that he didn’t know your name. Being overshadowed by 6 older brothers can do that to a girl, but every time you said his name, you saw how he flinched with the malice behind it.

It was the first real (well, you called it real, but that was probably stretching the term) conversation that you had ever had with him. But the fifth normal sentence you started getting worried that he had another trick up his sleeve, probably trying to lure you into a trap by throwing you off. So as soon as he pointed you in the right direction you scurried away, not looking back for fear you’d see a basilisk coming after you or a curse from his wand about to hit.

You were almost shaking as you finally reached a hallway you recognized and stopped running. No one was really around and you suddenly felt very vulnerable. You glanced back behind you just to make sure, before sliding down the wall, sitting on the ground as you tried to calm your nerves.

It wasn’t like him at all to act like that. You wanted to say that he was acting...well...friendly, but one didn’t associate the word “friendly” with him...

You remembered how he had looked when you first saw him and you kept the image with you for the rest of the day, pondering about what it could possibly mean.

Second piece.

That night, as you did homework in the common room, you overheard Harry and your brother talking about how he had said “hi” to them in the halls.

You shook your head with disbelief. No, it couldn’t have been him. You kept one ear open towards their conversation and found that it defiantly was. No one else in this school was spoken of with such hate in the Gryffindor common room, except, perhaps Snape.

You managed to block it out of your mind, trying to convince yourself that it wasn’t that big of a deal, at least not something worth loosing sleep over.

You went through the next few days almost normally, though whenever you saw him in the halls you made a point to not look at him.

Life was almost normal again until a week after “the incident”, something else happened. Something that in all your years of growing up with your somewhat unique family, you would never have predicted.

You liked to sit alone, preferably near the back. The Library was rather large and you enjoyed the privacy that the back corner gave you. So what in the world was he thinking when he saw you and decided to come sit at your table?

Third piece.

You vowed then and there that you would never understand men and tried somewhat forcefully to not look too suspicious as he sat and talked to you. He fueled most of the conversation and even, goodness forbid, made you smile a few times.

You tried to not let him see it, but you knew he did anyway and you watched carefully about his reactions to your smiles.

He seemed genuinely happy too.

Fourth piece.

You didn’t ever remember him seeing you that way.

Eventually, after you realized how much attention the two of you were attracting, from students and teachers alike ( “A Slytherin and Gryffindor?!”) you managed to get away, making up a lame excuse about Quidditch practice, even though it was literally freezing outside.

Somewhere in the conversation that the two of you had had, your thinking changed and a whole different world seemed to open up before you.

Fifth piece.

You noticed that you passed him in the halls quite often and made it a point to watch him closely during times when he wasn’t looking.

He still looked different and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

You hesitantly inquired to Ron, Harry and Hermione about it, and though Hermione seemed to agree with you, Ron and Harry didn’t look like they were going to budge.

Typical boys.

The next few weeks went by rather fast as you tried to come up with a reason, any reason for his behavior. Thankfully he wasn’t finding you in the library anymore and you learned to stay clear of the dungeons. You got into a few conversations about him with other Gryffindor girls, learning the latest gossip about his apparent “face change”.

“Face change”?

Something about that didn’t seem right.

Sixth piece.

You almost were relieved the next time he found you in the library, this time accompanied by another Slytherin who you faintly recognized, but didn’t know.

Though you were itching to ask him outright what he was doing, you restrained yourself, probably sounding like a bloody adult as you spoke in polite tones, gritting your teeth with frustration over his behavior.

But it wasn’t until he was leaving and called you by you name that you let your jaw drop open in astonishment and didn’t bother to hide your stare as he and his friend calmly walked out of the library.

Seventh piece.

Walking through the halls you surmised that it wouldn’t have been too hard for him to find out your name. After all, everyone knew your last name at least, your accursed red hair giving that factor away. But the fact that hit you was that he said it.

You recon it must have been a historical event, a Slytherin calling a Gryffindor by their first name.

You went right to Hermione, pulling her aside and confessing outright what had happened.

She, like you, sounded skeptical at first, but you pleaded that she would just watch him for a few days and then she would understand.

She came to you with wide, disbelieving eyes a few days later and blatantly agreed that something was different.

Eighth piece.

Apparently, while he and Hermione were in potions, he had asked, (“Sincerely!” she said with almost fright) for her help with something.

That struck you almost as much as he had calling you by name.

It was almost too confusing to truly understand, so you waved her off, telling her to just keep her eyes open and you kept yours open as well.

The third run in didn’t happen until a Hogsmead weekend the next month. Cold and snowy, you were bundled up, carrying a few packages of presents to send to your older brothers from Hogsmead.

You wanted to point out the fact that he was the one who bumped into you and made you drop the packages.

You were still rather uneasy around him and hastily snatched the bags back from him as he helped you pick them up.

That was rather sweet of him.

Ninth piece.

The next thing you knew, you found yourself agreeing to go get a butterbeer with him.

What in the world had just happened?

You nervously accepted his offer and rubbed your hands together nervously as you sat across from him in The Three Broomsticks and sipped at your drink.

You couldn’t help it though as you openly scrutinized him and saw once again, even more changes.

He was smiling. You weren’t sure you had ever seen him do that before.

It was rather attractive, but you stopped yourself there, reminding yourself that it wasn’t quite a sane thing to do to start to like him.

Tenth piece.

Right in the middle of a rather tedious conversation, you finally blurted out your question and stumbled over your words as he looked at you with questioning eyes. But you had to know. He was acting too odd for this to be just a fluke or a joke. Too odd, too long.

He finally answered you in a short blunt statement that, despite its length, seemed to whisk away any fears you had about him possibly just trying to trick you.

“Some people change.”

It got your mind spinning and you seemed to be getting a headache as you thought about it.

You suddenly realized what you were doing: Sitting in a booth at The Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer...with him.

You jumped up, excusing yourself quickly and rushing out.

You stopped short at the door and turned back to him, offering him a smile, just incase it was what you really thought it was.

Eleventh piece.

Everything happened so fast after that one incident. There were more Hogsmead meetings, more smiles in the hallways, and a whole lot more library meetings.

You started to enjoy his company more than any of your other friends.

It had scared you at first when you realized you were finding him attractive. That attraction only grew as you saw his attitude change towards life in general, and all the people around him. Of course, Ron and Harry were still unsure around him. You passed them in the halls one day when they weren’t exactly fighting, but trying their best to keep their tempers as they asked him what his bloody problem was.

You smirked and he caught your eye, shaking his head with a smile as if knowing that you could answer that question better than he could.

But you hurried away, trying to look inconspicuous and not let him see the blush that came to your cheeks when he smiled at you.

Twelfth piece.

The tradition of meeting in the library had become quite a habit for both of you and you were surprised one night when he didn’t show up.

Surprise turned into worry. What if he had changed his mind? What if he suddenly realized what he had been doing?

You were quite put out by these thoughts and sulked as you walked back through the halls towards the common room, resigned to the fact that it had all been a fool trick.

But as you passed the hospital wing and saw him lying on one of the beds, blood coming out of his mouth as Madam Pomfrey tried to get him to take a potion, your heart immediately reached out to him and you rushed in, blubbering about how worried you had been and almost felt tears in your eyes as you saw how much pain he was obviously in.

Thirteenth piece.

He rolled his eyes at your concern but you could tell that he was happy you were there. You were about to inquire about what had happened when Dumbledore had entered, whisking him away from you and he promised he’d meet you in the corridor near the library.

You dragged out of Madam Pomfrey that his father had been spotted leaving the grounds a while ago and several dark spells had been detected in the Slytherin common room.

You sat stonily in the corridor, waiting for him, feeling more pieces of information fall into place. His father hurting him...his change of attitude...

It wasn’t until he finally showed up, beaming, and announcing to you that Dumbledore was going to let him join the Order that you felt happier than you ever had in your life. You clapped, hugged him and smiled so hard that your face hurt.

Fourteenth piece.

Then, as those feelings came, so did the old attraction for him, and a new feeling of almost...caring.

You suddenly felt protective of him, realizing that you were probably the last person in the world he had right now.

Fifteenth piece.

Tears clouded your eyes as you thought of the dangerous things that were happening in the war, especially with the Order.

So you were surprised when he reached down, brushing one of your tears away.

It happened too fast, and suddenly you were kissing him, holding him tightly as you feared that suddenly he would rush off, changing his mind and realizing what he was doing.

But you gathered your courage and pulled him in for a second kiss, feeling him smile against your lips as he held you close.

Sixteenth piece.

You eventually sank to the floor, holding him as he quietly told you about everything: from his father to his apparent attraction to you which to returned outright, making him smile with delight and making you want to kiss him even more.

You laughed with him and cried with him, holding him as he confided in you in a way that you could tell he had never done before.

Seventeenth piece.

Dealing with your brother’s reactions as well as the rest of the Gryffindor’s wasn’t that hard. You just avoided them, spending time with him as much as possible. People started to warm up to the idea as finals rolled around and you sighed with contentment when you were able to walk hand in hand with him the day after finals, just the two of you.

Your heart stopped that night when he told you that he loved you.

Eighteenth piece.

Though you could see the desire in his eyes and felt yourself screaming it right back, you simply told him that you loved him too and managed to get away before you both did something you knew you would regret later on.

You spent the whole night awake, thinking about him.

Nineteenth piece.

Breaking the news to your parents wasn’t a pretty picture, but as you now had Hermione, Harry and a somewhat half-hearted Ron on your side, they accepted it grudgingly and you smiled with delight as you went to his graduation, just for him.

He looked astonished to see you there and you made sure to tell him that you were there for him, as you knew that no one else would be. Indeed, every picture that you took was of him and you saw that he was happier than he had ever been before.

You presented him with a gift after his induction into the Order, knowing that if he really read the book (“Romeo and Juliet”, a muggle book!) that he would perhaps realized that you two being a couple wasn’t that much of a paradox.

The next year was as close to torture as you ever got. He was far away almost all the time, on missions for the order. On top of that, Ron, Harry and several of your brothers were also gone most of the time.

You cried with relief at every note you got from him, no matter how short.

Twentieth piece.

Finally after your own graduation from Hogwarts, you were able to join and be with him more often, but it didn’t last long.

Six months later, the final battle broke out on the ground of Hogwarts and you knew he had to go. You begged and pleaded, worried that you would never see him again, but he firmly told you to stay out of it and, kissing you fiercely moments before, apparated away. You cried through the night and rushed over to St. Mungo’s to watch as the survivors were brought in.

Not caring about your family that was all around you, you rushed up when you saw him, flinging your arms around him and crying in relief.

Then you kissed him.

Twenty-first piece.

He seemed rather embarrassed at the display of affection in front of your family but he got a hold of himself enough to pull out a ring and quickly shove it into your hand.

You didn’t think you could get happier, but you felt your heart bursting with joy as you said “yes” and put on the ring.

Twenty-second piece.

You enter your room, toweling your hair dry after your shower and see him sitting quietly on your bed, staring at the pictures on the headboard.

He looks up and sees you put the finishing touches on your hair and you turn, giving him a smile.

He smiles back, still a handsome smile that makes you feel weak in the knees.

Twenty-third piece.

Staring into each other’s eyes, you are interrupted by the door swinging open slightly and your young son peaking his head in, complaining about his little sister’s vocal capabilities at 11:00 at night.

You turn back to him and share a secretive smile, splitting up to go calm your precious children.

Twenty-fourth piece.

You watch him walk his son back to his room and you enter your daughter’s room too see her pouting slightly at you, probably still upset that she’s still in a crib. You pick her up and lovingly rub her back, whispering comforting words to calm her down and are relieved to see her whimpers die down.

He walks in, giving his daughter a loving look and you carefully lay her back down in bed where she is finally asleep. He leans over and gives her a soft kiss before leading you out of the room and finally back to bed where, after a long day, you are content to just lay quietly in each other’s arms.

You feel safe.

You feel loved.

And you are content.

Twenty-fifth piece.