*** This chapter took a lot of thinking believe it or not. That's why I'm a bit irregular with my updates. I had to get it all just right. Hopefully I did, but I wouldn't expect you to read it and be like 'oh yeah... seems like a tough write' because it definitely won't look that way. Sorry about my recent change into a snail :) happy reading!***
Lennox had been summoned to the Great Hall by a silvery patronus as she sat near the Black Lake by herself. Harry had left nearly twenty minutes ago after conveying a very brief yet shocking message about the tournament.
She sat with the black cloak draped around her body, her knees held securely to her chest by her arms, and her eyes scanned the area. She hadn’t any clue on who may possess the animal, but she followed it into the castle nonetheless.
She had quickly noted that every Slytherin student had been piling into the large dining room, sitting down lazily on the benches. The long tables had been moved aside which left a very large gap in the center of the room.
She sat between Liam and Skylar, taking off the cloak and folding it over her arm the way she usually did when she was no longer in use of it. She let out a yawn, resting her head on Liam’s shoulder and struggling to keep her eyes open.
The loud squeaking of the phonograph Filch had been trying to fix, however, produced enough noise to keep her from drifting off into a deep sleep. It was only when their Potions Master entered the room everyone began to pay attention.
“I assume you’re all curious as to why I’ve brought you here.” his deep tone echoed throughout the Great Hall. The students of Salazar Slytherin were listening with interest, surprisingly interested in what the head of their house had to say.
“Not really.” Liam snickered, gaining a very aggressive nudge in the ribs by Lennox’s elbow. She leaned back against the table, ignoring the fact he was now rubbing his side very tenderly. He slowly walked around, turning to look at every student in the room.
“As head of Slytherin House, it is my unfortunate responsibility to give you instruction on an upcoming event that will be happening in December. The Yule Ball has been celebrated as tradition to the Triwizard Tournament since it’s conception in the middle ages. And although I am not happy about it, I will most certainly see to it that the lot of you aren’t bemirching the name of Salazar Slytherin by acting like a band of hooligans. The Yule Ball is a dance.” his short speech ended.
Waves of excitement could be heard amongst the shallow egotistical girls of Slytherin. She had heard a few key words as she listened to them ramble on and on to eachother. Hair. Nails. Dress. Date. Lennox wanted to vomit.
“Hooligans eh? Bet you five dollars some Slytherin is going to bollocks everything up and walk away with no more than a warning.” Liam whispered into her ear. She placed a hand over her mouth to keep any sound from escaping her lips.
“It is customary that the Triwizard Champions... and their dates...” he glanced at Kingsleigh from the corner of his eye, “are the first to dance.” he announced, although Lennox had been too preoccupied talking with Liam to hear anything else.
“Alright. Five sickles that I transfigure Draco Malfoy into a weasel and walk away with no more than a detention.” she looked him in the eyes daringly. Liam smirked and shook her hand firmly. Skylar began to anxiously tap away at Lennox’s shoulder.
“Easiest five sickles I’ll ever make.” he continued. Skylar’s finger was beginning to leave a bruise. Just as Lennox was about to scold her she noted that Snape had taken notice to her and Liam’s not paying attention. She sighed.
“I do believe you’ve just volunteered yourself to be my demonstration partner.” he pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at her. Giggles broke out from all corners of the room. She felt a low growl in the back of her throat.
He offered a hand, which she hesitated to take. He lead her to the center of the room. The Slytherin girls were just about dying inside as they watched the pair walk hand in hand. The boys were yelling teenage things.
‘Go Snape!’
‘Ow OW!’
‘Get some professor!’
Lennox had to remind herself multiple times each second not to blush at their rude comments. Snape turned his head as indication for Filch to begin the phonograph. Snape tore his eyes away from Lennox to look at his students.
“Waltzing formation. Who can tell me what it is?” his voice was quite louder now that she was less than a foot from his body. Draco Malfoy’s hand shot up immediately. It took Lennox everything she had to restrain herself from glaring at the fourth year.
“Malfoy.” he chose the platinum blonde. Lennox could feel her teeth grinding against eachother. She pressed her tongue firmly to them, careful as to not let vile words spew from her lips uncontrollably, especially in front of the man who had authority to give her detention.
“Your right hand goes on her waist.” Malfoy smiled maliciously. Snape slowly raised his calloused hand, and placed it just there, barely touching her for the moment being. He continued to watch Draco as he spoke.
“Her left hand goes on your shoulder.” he crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, and gaining satisfaction from knowing he was making the two of them feel uncomfortable. She plunked her hand down just as she was told, and she was now looking at the face of her professor.
“Then you hold your free hands at just about shoulder height.” he finished. Their hands linked, and she could feel the roughness of it. She assumed it was what years of potions making amounted to. She swallowed the lump in her throat.
He began to lead her. She followed his precise yet graceful foot movements. She was looking up at him with venom in her green eyes. By her luck such a stingful glare would have poisoned him by now, but to no avail.
“I hate you.” she muttered under her breath, barely moving her lips. A very small, almost unnoticable, chuckle emerged from his chest.
“No you don’t.” he smirked, looking down at her with a triumphant stare. She released the growl that she had been holding back in her throat. He began talking out loud, instructing the class on the proper steps in a waltz.
He told them to find a partner. They all lazily got to their feet, taking their own sweet time to match themselves up with another person. They barely watched his instructions, only slightly moving to the music, mostly chatting away mindlessly.
“Did you get my patronus?” he spoke a bit louder, realizing that conversation was alright at this time considering it would only be mixed in with the other noises. Lennox raised an eyebrow and fought back a smile. She found it quite hilarious.
“The doe? Very manly.” Lennox winked playfully. He rolled his eyes, now aware that she had indeed received it.
“It’s complicated alright?” he desperately wanted to change the subject into something that was not so... personal. But that’s what he always did. Making things ‘unpersonal.’ Not letting anybody get into his ‘personal’ life.
The fact of the matter was... Severus Snape has no personal life. From the time Lennox had begun to puzzle that out, she was determined to change it. She smiled to herself, bringing her mind back to the present.
“So,” he lightened the mood, “how was the Weasley’s?” he inquired. She let out a small groan of frustration. He raised an eyebrow at this, suddenly wondering what could have gone wrong. Did they not like her? Impossible.
“Ever been in a room full of people that hate you?” he returned his question with another question. He let out a small laugh, twirling her and then bringing her back to waltzing position. She nearly stumbled.
“Hmm... let me think... only... every single class period.” he told her sarcastically. She smiled, and he lifted her, surprised at how heavy her body actually was. She was the perfect height and size, but he had then remembered muscle weighed more than fat.
And from what she had told him the other night, she was very fit. So she must have had a very large muscle mass, otherwise he knew she would have been as easy to lift as he originally had thought. It wasn’t that she was a rock, he had just had his mind set on her being light as a feather.
“Right... I have to tell you something later.” she interrupted this thoughts. He blinked a few times, returning to the situation.
“And you cannot tell me now?” he grew suspicious. She shook her head slowly, looking around the room for her family. Skylar and Liam had been fumbling over eachother’s feet as they attempted to dance.
Max had found Alex Prince, the fifth year Slytherin seeker. Brad, Greg, and Jake had found a few underclassmen girls Lennox had never seen before. She looked back at him, noting that he was waiting for her to answer.
“It concerns the first task of the tournament. I’d rather not talk about it here if you don’t mind.” explained. He nodded, and looked at the watch on her wrist for the time. He stopped their dancing, and motioned to Filch to stop the music.
“Dismissed. We will be meeting again next month. Kingsleigh you will follow me to the dungeons.” the two of them skulked down the stone staircase into the underbelly of the castle. They walked straight through the classroom and his office.
After going through one more door the temperature dropped a sudden ten degrees. She shivered, and wrapped his cloak around her. He smirked when he saw her clinging to the black fabric. She had then taken a good look at the room.
It had ingredients scattered all over the chipped wooden tables, empty vials and cauldrons stacked in the cupboards. She had guessed it to be his own personal work room. It smelled like serious potions, and that was putting it mildly.
“I’m guessing you don’t let people in this room often?” she joked, continuing to look around with pure interest and curiosity. He immediately took to work. He unlided a cauldron, stirring it slowly. She took note to it’s thick syrupy texture, and it’s deep violet color.
“Nobody is allowed in here. You’re the first one... and probably the last.” he muttered, stirring the mixture slowly. She looked at it closely, wondering to herself if it was the particular brew she had at first thought it to be.
“Is something wrong?” he raised an eyebrow. She only leaned closer to it, attempting to take in its scent. She took a deep breath through her nose, gaining a strange look from her Potions Master. She sat back in her stool.
“Is that Amortentia?” she asked, suddenly hoping it was. If she asked she had better at least know what the bloody hell it was before she looked like an idiot. He nodded slowly, and she let out a breath in relief.
“Why do you ask?” he added a few lacewing flies and continued to stir, bringing it to a boil and then letting it simmer. He hadn’t even needed instructions for it. He truly was an amazing potions professor. He had the knack for it.
“Well... it’s the strongest love potion in the world...” she trailed off, biting her lip and continuing to watch as his steady hand mixed the liquid smoothly. He kept his eye on the potion, but continuing to speak.
“What’s your point?” he pressed. She let out a sigh as she watched him put the lid back on, stopping the steam from rising from the pot. He washed his hands, and set the cauldron near the sink to cool down.
“It’s just... well I didn’t smell anything.” her green eyes met his charcoal ones. Curious. Very curious indeed. The girl hadn’t smelled anything? He had never heard of such a thing... although she wasn’t exactly a normal witch was she?
“Interesting... So who are you thinking of taking to the Ball?” he asked nonchalantly, changing the subject and fetching another container to brew something in. By the ingredients he had been gathering, she noted his next project was Dittany.
“Do you really care?” she laughed. He remained indifferent, beginning to crack open Doxy eggs and release them into the pot.
“Do I ever?” he replied. She rolled her eyes.
“Well... I could always ask Liam. To go as friends... then there’s Harry. Or Fred... Or George. I don’t know.” he winced when she mentioned Harry as one of her date possibilities. He fumed at the thought of the two dancing together.
“You did tell me you were interested in someone. Why not ask them?” his attempt at conversation had been working out better than he had hoped. Her cheeks went red immediately, and she looked away, thankful that the lighting in the room had been dull.
“I... er... c-can’t.” she struggled to tell him. He had realized he struck a nerve, which meant for once he would be the one making her uncomfortable. It was a victory you couldn’t buy. It was power you had to earn.
“Oh? And why not?” half of it had been intentional embarrassment, half pure curiosity. She tapped her fingers on the table nervously , not wanting to respond. She had known his tones well enough by now to be aware what he was up to.
“I just... can’t. Too many complications.” she scratched the back of her head, her mind spinning at the conversation. He was actually enjoying himself.
“Such as?” he bit back an outburst of laughter. She began to shake her leg uncontrollably. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing had become choppy. She feared that if she spoke it might sound as if she were crying, when in reality she was just jumpy.
“I know what you’re doing. I don’t like it, but I’ll tell you okay? I wouldn’t ask him, because... as plain and simple as I can put it, he wouldn’t want me.” Severus genuinely hadn’t expected this answer. She was so good at making him feel guilty.
She looked at him, her eyes slightly glassy. Perhaps she wasn’t too far from tears... she was just so depressed that the one person she could ever picture good enough for her, indeed made her realize she wasn’t good enough for him.
“There you have it alright. He wouldn’t want me. He’d want someone prettier. And smarter... and someone whose has less baggage to come with them. I’m not good enough.” It had been the first time she’d ever teared up in front of him.
Severus could absolutely not believe his ears. This extremely gorgeous, young, genius, perfect girl was honestly telling him how she wasn’t good enough? This bloke better be the damn king of a very large nation for her to ‘not be good enough.’
Although he was certain whoever the fellow was, he was simply not good enough for her. Severus wasn’t an expert in the area of consolation, but he had known enough that it would be wise to say something at a time like this. Especially when comforting a female.
“You’re about as smart as they come. And as for your past, nobody deserves to judge you based on it. None of it was your fault.” he hadn’t even dared mention anything about her looks. She hadn’t even noticed, her mind too occupied on what he had said.
He was truly a great man in her eyes, he could never seem to figure out why. She smiled to herself, quietly wiping away the small drops that had developed in the corner of her eyes. He added the gloom lilies to the cauldron.
“You said there was something you needed to tell me?” he reminded her statement from the Great Hall. She nodded, taking in a breath to calm herself.
“Yes well... I was tipped off about the first task.” she latched her hands together and set them thoughtfully on the table. He looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
“And?”
“Dragons.” her heart had skipped a beat just thinking about it. He stopped the slicing of the stems, and set his knife down, afraid that he might cut himself if he tried to keep going. She looked at him, waiting for him to say something.
Anything.
“Well then,” he poured a tube of honey into the mixture, turning up the heat and stirring it slowly, “fire breathers. Right up your alley yes?”