The Half-Blood Princess

Chapter 29- An Engagement

To Sabrina's disappointment, Walburga and Orion had bought her a lot of expensive gifts, which made her feel very uncomfortable.
But despite that, she was still on cloud nine, thanks to Regulus's proposal.
Once the pair had spent an hour with the grown ups, they were allowed to do as they pleased.
They immediately apparated to Diagon Alley, where they planned to spend the majority of the day.
Since they had been appointed Head Boy and Girl, they wanted to make sure that they both looked the part when the returned to school the following week. So they were going to buy things to help earn them the respect that they deserved.

Although Sabrina was pleased to have been given the responsibility of Head Girl, she was worried about how the rest of the school was going to react.
The year before, the Head Boy had been James Potter, and the Head Girl had been Lily Evans. Both of which were in Gryffindor and extremely popular.
While Sabrina and Regulus were popular in Slytherin, the rest of the houses didn't like them.
Slytherin had a bad reputation, and Sabrina was worried about how the rest of the school would react to having the Head Boy and Girl from Slytherin.
Sabrina and Regulus had almost perfect grades, and squeaky clean school records. But Sabrina didn't think that this was enough to gain them respect from the other houses.

As they walked through Diagon Alley, Sabrina noticed several Hogwarts students jump out the way to avoid them.
Despite having no proof that Sabrina and Regulus were up to no good, a lot of students already assumed that they were death eaters, simply because they were 7th year Slytherin's, with pure-blood backgrounds.
Sabrina didn't like thinking that people were scared of her, but she knew that that ship had sailed, and that it was too late for her to turn a new leaf.
So she focused on the love of her life instead, and tried to forget her woes, as the pair stuffed their faces with ice cream from Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor.

Eventually though it was time for Sabrina to head back to her home town, to meet up with her brother.
She hadn't returned to Spinners End since running away several years earlier, so being back there made Sabrina nervous.
Since she hadn't wanted Regulus to be anywhere near her home, she had left him in Diagon Alley.
This meant that she had to make her way to the park alone, and she just prayed that she didn't bump into either of her parents on the way.

To her delight, she arrived without meeting anyone that she hated.
When she got to the park, she saw Severus waiting for her.
"I'm not late, am I?" Asked Sabrina, even though she knew that she was on time.
"No. I just wanted to get here early" answered Severus.
"I see" replied Sabrina.
"I guess I should say happy birthday"
"Thank you"
"Have you had a good day so far?"
"Actually, it has been one of the best days of my life".

Sabrina lifted her hand, revealing the diamond engagement ring on her finger.
"Regulus asked me to marry him, and I said yes" she admitted.
Severus's face was impossible to read, as he was so good at hiding his emotions.
"Congratulations" he said quietly.
"Is that all you have to say?" Questioned Sabrina.
"What else is there to say? You moved in with him years ago, so your engagement hasn't exactly come out of nowhere" replied Severus.
"Well I wasn't expecting it"
"You weren't?"
"No, it was a big surprise".

"Normally when you've been dating someone for a long time, you take the next step and get married" said Severus.
"Well, our upbringing wasn't exactly normal, was it? I've never seen a married couple who are actually in love, and I've never seen or been a part of a happy family before. So this is all new territory for me" admitted Sabrina.
"You can't have expected to remain boyfriend and girlfriend forever. That's not how the world works. You're his fiancè now, and soon you will be his wife"
"And how do you feel about that?"
"What you do with your life is no concern of mine. You can do what you like"
"Yes, but are you happy for me?"
"If you are happy to be his wife, then I'm happy for you".

"We aren't going to get married just yet. We want to finish school, before we even begin to start planning our wedding" insisted Sabrina.
"I still think you are too young to be thinking about that kind of thing" admitted Severus.
"Well, in the current climate, the future is not guaranteed. No one knows if they are going to be here tomorrow"
"Which is exactly why people are rushing into things, and getting married too early".
Sabrina saw the pain in her brothers eyes, and she could hear the content in his voice. Which made her realise that there might be more to the story than she originally thought.

"Severus, what's wrong?" Asked Sabrina quietly.
"Nothing" mumbled Severus.
"You can't lie to me, I'm your sister, I knoe you too well" reminded Sabrina.
"Fine... Lily is engaged to Potter" revealed Severus.
Sabrina's heart dropped, and she realised what was upsetting her brother.
"I see... I'm sorry Sev, but you knew this day was going to come. Lily and James have been dating for nearly a year now. It was very likely that they were going to get married, as they are infatuated with each other" sighed Sabrina.
"I know" snapped Severus.

"Lily cannot be a part of our lives any more, and you know that. Being close to her, will only get her noticed by the dark lord, and we must avoid that at all costs" admitted Sabrina.
"I just wish things had been different. I know that she loved me once" insisted Severus.
"Maybe she did. But that was a long time ago, and things have changed since then. If you really love her, you will let her go. You will let her have a happy life, free from interruptions from you"
"How can see be happy with Potter?"
"I don't know. But she is happy, you saw that last year. So don't get in the way and ruin her happiness, or mine".

Severus frowned, "Does this mean that you don't want me around anymore?".
"I don't know. Interacting with you puts my happy life, and my future in danger... But you were there for me at a time when no one else was. You protected me from our father, so I am forever in your debt" admitted Sabrina.
"You don't owe me anything. Anyone would have done what I did. Besides, that was in the past, and it isn't good to dwell on the past"
"Still, you were there, and you made my life bearable. Which is why I don't want to cut you out of my life. You are still my brother".

"No, I'm not. You are Sabrina Prince, and Sabrina Prince doesn't have a brother" reminded Severus.
"That person is a lie. You are one of the only people alive, who knows the real me. And if it came down to it, I would give up my true identity to save you" admitted Sabrina.
"I didn't know that I meant that much to you"
"Well you do, you are the only family member that I care about. And maybe one day in the future, once things have calmed down, we can openly be siblings again".

"But until then, we must remain mere acquaintances" sighed Severus.
"Yes, it's the safest thing for both of us" agreed Sabrina.
"Well then, goodbye Sabrina. Enjoy your last year of Hogwarts"
"I will... Sev, promise me that you won't do anything stupid while I'm at school"
"Don't worry, I will be careful"
"You had better be, for all our sakes".