Sofia was buzzing with excitement. As a child, her mum would always dress her up in silly costumes during Halloween, which in turn became her favourite holiday. It was a bittersweet memory as deep inside her heart, Sofia always knew why her mother preferred Halloween to other holidays. Every Halloween her mum watched Sofie devour endless amounts of candy. To the naked eye, this might seem like a simple thing which many overlook. However, Sofia had always known that her family consistently struggled with finances, even, therefore trick to treating was a rare treat for her as she almost never got the luxury to eat candy throughout the year, even during Christmas.
"What am I going to wear Jamie?!"
"I know! This is ridiculous, they could have given us an earlier warning so we could at least get our parents to send us some costumes!" Sofia laughed as she heard some girls gossip towards the end of class.
"Ms Greene!?" Sofia's head turned.
"Yes, Ms Taylor?"
"Who will you be dressing up as tonight?" Sofia's smile quickly faded as she noticed Severus' judgmental look. He glared at both Sofia and Jamie in disbelief.
"I hardly doubt the Professors will be dressing up Ms-'
"A witch!" Sofia politely Intervened.
"Oh wow. But Ms Greene... you're... already a witch...?" Jamie looked confused.
"I will be dressing up as the muggles portray us, Ms Taylor. It was my favourite costume when I was a little girl." Sofia shot Severus a warning look as if reminding him not to crush the 1st year's excitement. She watched as Severus raised his eyebrows, a small smirk playing on his lips. Before she could enjoy that rare moment a little while longer, his face faded back to his usual cold expression.
"Remember to read the last 2 chapters. And do not be late tomorrow morning." Severus announced as he swept by Sofia exiting the classroom.
"Alright everyone gather round!" Minerva exclaimed. The young students crowded her in the courtyard.
"All of you quickly! Get into groups of 5 or 6 and find a professor!" Sofia had stood next to Minerva. She was excited to get out of the castle even if it meant having to chaperone a few students. Soon enough, a mix of some Gryffindor and Ravenclaw girls came up to her.
"Could we go with you Ms Greene?"
"Of course!" Sofia smiled at the girls. She leaned in closer to Minerva. "Minerva, I can handle a few more students if you'd like...it doesn't seem like there will be enough teachers for this afternoon," Sofia whispered
"That might be best Sofie...' Minerva replied whilst frantically counting the professors around the courtyard.
"Girls is there anyone else you'd like to bring with you?" Without a doubt, the girls quickly gathered four more of their friends. After waving goodbye to Minerva, Sofia headed down to Hogsmeade.
Sofia already had her costume planned out. She had all that she needed back in her quarters, therefore she didn't have to desperately panic like her students, rushing from store to store. "Slow down girls!" she huffed as she picked up the front of her cloak with her hands, catching up with them. She watched as a few of the girls purchased black parchment to hand-make some cat ears, whilst the others grabbed endless amounts of glitter. Soon enough the girls were all satisfied and made their way back to the castle grounds.
Sofia quickly showered. She only had an hour before she had to head down to the great hall for the Halloween feast and dance. Drying her hair with a quick swish of her wand she gently curled it. Being a teacher at Hogwarts she had forgotten what it was like to dress up for an evening. She hadn't had a date in over a year. As she continued to put on some makeup she remembered what it was like getting ready for the annual Yule Ball when she was merely 17 years old. Smiling at the memory she put on some black lipstick to match her costume. Sofia faced her mirror in a floor-length silk black dress, with some black lace gloves ending right above her elbows. She completed her traditional witch look with a pointy hat. Stealing one last glance of herself she chucked as she thought that green hair would really fit her look right about now. She suddenly realized that she didn't have a place to hold her wand. With some quick thinking, she conjured a small black lace garter on her thigh. Pulling the dress to her side, revealing a slit which stopped around mid-thigh, she tucked her wand into the garter making sure it stayed put for the rest of the evening.
The great hall had been completely transformed. There were ribbons cascading down the walls, hundreds of floating candles and Jacko-lanterns filled the empty space. The chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings had thousands of spiderwebs cascading down them, and the tables were already filled with plenty of Halloween themed dishes. She could feel Severus judgemental gaze on her as she entered the hall. Severus had eyed Sofia from afar, taking in her figure. He stopped himself as he noticed her look at him. Sofia quickly took her place between Severus and Hagrid on the table. To her surprise, many of the teachers had joined the festivities by putting in the littlest amount of effort into their costumes. She winked at Remus as she saw he had ironically placed some furry ears on top of his head followed by some whiskers. Hagrid had conjured a moving dragon's tale which was attached to his trousers. Minerva had also drawn some whiskers on her cheeks, this time wearing some deep purple wizarding robes. Sofia's eyes drifted to Severus who of course had completely neglected to make any attempt at a costume.
"Going as a bat tonight I see?" She laughed eying him up. The callous man hummed at her, ignoring her as usual.
"Sofie! Ye look lovely!" Hagrid smiled nudging her side. "Thank you, Hagrid." Sofia smiled back. She could feel Severus rolling his eyes behind her.
After the feast was over, and Albus held another wonderful speech, the dining tables magically disappeared and were replaced by an empty space where all the students gathered and begun to dance. Sofia watched, admiring the students dancing. She swayed with the music, watching some of the 6-year boys awkwardly ask some girls to dance. She giggled remembering herself at that age. Sofia sadly looked at the time realizing the dance was coming to a close whilst she had completely neglected to dance, she focused hard tying to rekindle the old memories of her dancing with her friends during her final year at Hogwarts. Her trans was interrupted as the music suddenly changed to a waltz.
Albus suddenly began addressing the students who stopped in their tracks. "I believe all of you have been practising the waltz, correct me if I am the wrong Minerva?" Albus mused as Minerva simply nodded. "This is your chance to impress some of your peers, and remind yourself of some old steps which you might have forgotten!" Albus smiled as he finished speaking. The students seemed panicked. Most of the younger children rushed to the sides of the hall taking up seats. The older ones, however, contrary to Sofia's assumptions began dancing. Sofia had always loved to dance, she missed it dearly. Being a Professor rarely presented her with an opportunity to enjoy herself on the dance floor. She continued to sway to the music before she noticed a 7th-year boy who was dressed vaguely as a victorian ghost make his way towards her.
'May I have this dance, Ms Greene?" She laughed. The boy was a Slytherin chaser perhaps a whole head taller than her. Before taking the boys hand, she looked at Albus, who reassured her that she was free to do as she pleased. Sofia was whisked away by the young boy. Albus followed her, by asking Minerva to dance with him. Soon enough many of the teachers proceeded to join Sofia and the other students. Sofia kept a safe distance from the boy as they waltzed. Severus watched from the corner of the room as Sofia swiftly glided across the floor. He felt uneasy as he noticed that almost all of the professors were now dancing. He saw a young Slytherin girl sitting on a chair by herself. He muttered something to himself before outstretching his hand to her as they also began to dance. Both the teachers and students were very familiar with waltzing. According to Hogwartz tradition, all graduating students had to waltz during their final ceremony therefore all of the 6th and 7th years partook in mandatory dance classes throughout the year. The male dancers began switching partners according to the music. Sofia was so taken by the music that she simply got carried away. Much to her surprise, her third partner was Severus. He towered over her as they continued to waltz, this body was stiff although he did not miss a single step, unlike the two students who danced with her before. Sofia awkwardly looked down at her shoes as she continued to dance with Severus.
"If you keep looking down Greene, I expect you will trip over your own two feet." His voice low, barely audible over the music. She felt his grip tighten on her waist which forced her to look up, catching his dark eyes. "Good. I expect you to be an example. From what I can remember, you were exceptional at waltzing when you were a student." he fell silent, his expression still as ever. Sofia rolled her eyes as she remembered her 6th-year waltz lessons. Severus made it extremely hard for her as he always made her dance in front of the others. Unlike the other Head of House's Severus refused to teach his students how to dance himself. He simply appointed Sofia to do the dirty deed as he supervised. She made sure not to look down at her feet for the rest of the song, knowing he would scold her once more if he got the chance. The room was spinning as they finished the dance. Severus let go of her hand as she politely curtsied. He strode past her towards the rest of the professors who were now beginning to usher the students back to their dormitories. Huffing, she ran her fingers over the side of her waist which was now free from Severus' grip. She felt someone's eyes on her neck. She spun around, something inside her hoped it was Severus. Pushing the thought out of her mind she searched for him in the crowd. After her eyes fell on him she merely saw him speaking to one of the students. Suddenly a younger Gryffindor student caught her by the forearm asking her something. Severus looked up at her from the other side of the hall watching her soft features as she interacted with the girl, hoping she didn't catch him staring.