Hogwarts Ball - Concert and Dancing
Date: Saturday, 03 March, 2001
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Hogwarts
Rating: PG
Characters Involved: Anyone who wishes to attend
( And the band played on… )
Time: 7:00pm
Location: Hogwarts
Rating: PG
Characters Involved: Anyone who wishes to attend
( And the band played on… )
Still, he danced. It was absolutely beyond hope that these shoes would ever hold a shine, again, now that Nymphadora Tonks had trod all over them in her death-spikes. Thankfully, the lighting was low enough that he doubted anyone would be attending to his shoes. A slight scowl from Minerva caught him just as he was contemplating getting a drink and lurking somewhere unobtrusive. He quickly glanced about for a partner to spare him the Headmistress' displeasure.
Fortunate for him, Ginevra Weasley was close to hand, and without Potter for the moment. This was surprising, as he had rather thought they had become glued together at the hands lately, but he gave it very little thought. He had once before danced with Ginevra Weasley for the sole purpose of infuriating Potter. It had not only been exceedingly amusing, but it had been the beginning of a now-rewarding professional interaction.
"Will your Saviour permit you to dance with your former Professor, Ginevra?" he asked dryly.
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Her hands nearly flew to her hips, like she had seen her mother do so many times. When ever someone received a lecture, Molly Weasley's hands flew to their hips. Ginny couldn't help connecting the two actions.
But she thought better of it (just in time!) and realized that Severus would probably never be okay with Harry, and she should expect comments like this. After all, you couldn't teach a new dog old tricks, could you?
Shaking her head, she answered, "Harry doesn't control me, Professor. As such, I don't see the harm in a dance; you're not likely to try and pick me up, now are you?"
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"Hardly," he agreed sardonically, offering his arm and leading the way to the dance floor. It then occurred to him that his ready acquiescence might come off as an insult, so he attempted to back-track, and quickly.
"Not that you aren't a perfectly attractive and intelligent young woman. You just happen to be far too young, have too many older-brothers with whom I would not care to do battle, and I have enough issues with Our Saviour without adding stealing his girlfriend to the lot."
Besides which, she was completely not his 'type', even though he'd never known he had a 'type' until recently. His eyes scanned the crowd over her head, searching for a familiar mane of sandy-brown hair without success.
He turned to face her and collected her hand. The music wasn't well-suited for the very formal style of dancing he had been taught, but he had enough innate grace and sense of rhythm to be able to adapt his steps to the beat of the song.
"Are you enjoying yourself this evening?"
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She nodded to his question. "Yes, have you heard Hermione's brought a date?" It was a random description of her night, and it wasn't any way to judge the event from her perspective by. But it was what she had been discussing earlier when Severus interrupted, so it was fresh on her mind. "It surprised me. I honestly thought she and Ron were, well... Ready."
It occurred to her that she was gossiping with Severus Snape, and she didn't imagine he would be thrilled by that. Her cheeks twinged a bit, embarrassed that she had done as much, and quickly changed the subject.
"But yes, it's been an amazing evening. And yours?"
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He was rather proud of himself that he remembered to use her given name, rather than the formal 'Miss Granger'.
Severus was not much in a mood to be on his 'good behaviour'. Not after his encounter with Nymphadora! He'd finally managed to spot Remus in the crowd, also dancing with various partners as the Headmistress would doubtlessly be encouraging him to do, but Severus had not spoken with him yet, himself. He didn't feel his temper was sufficiently cooled to open the discussion with a tolerable level of disinterest.
So, instead, he stewed. An irritable Snape was not much of a fun dancing partner, but there it was.
"Well. I am pleased to hear you are enjoying yourself. My evening has not been at all satisfactory," he said sourly. "If not for your charming personality, I'm quite certain I would have found some dark corner in which to sulk."
At least until McGonagall caught him at it.
At that moment, the woman who had inspired his ire danced by on the arm of Bill Weasley, and his scowl darkened.
"You had best look after the interests of your sister-in-law," he added, nodding darkly at Bill and Nymphadora as they danced by. "That woman is on the prowl."
He said the words 'that woman' as though they were a foul curse.
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As it happened, when she spoke, she completely stepped past the comment in question and focused on the bit before that.
"You've been promised an introduction? I hardly get to know his name! You'll have to take notes for me. It's my duty as the best friend to make sure Hermione's with someone good enough for her." Ginny did laugh at the idea of Severus reporting to her, more so at him giving a detailed description of the bloke. It was too funny to imagine him gossiping like a sixth year school girl. Over tea, perhaps. Too funny indeed.
She glanced in the direction of his nod, spotting her other 'best' friend Tonks. Her smile brightened into a full on giggle, which seemed damn near impossible to her since she'd been smiley all evening.
"Between you and me, I think I'd prefer her as my sister-in-law. She's always looked out for me, you see, and we get along famously. Plus she's the only person in my life who can listen about Harry matters without cringing. Unless you're volunteering to fill that role, I'll need to keep her around. Better still, if she's in the family."
She waved at the two. It probably went unnoticed by either party, but she had yet to say hello to either of them and felt that acknowledging their presence was the least she could do.
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"Did I say promised? My apologies, I misspoke." Unsurprising, considering his distraction by half-dressed Nymphadora Tonks and his fury with Remus Lupin! "She introduced me to the young man after our dance. Do you know the woman who runs the bookshop in Diagon Alley? The shop with the French name - Tressoure Litterare or something like that?"
His pronunciation was horrid.
"The woman is a friend of your sister-in-law, I believe. At any rate, the young man is her brother. Conall Aurelius, that bloke, over there, wearing the Muggle suit."
Shifting them about on the dance floor, he tilted his jaw to indicate the gentleman in question.
"As to that woman, you are more than welcome to marry her off to any of your brothers who will have her. The sooner the better."
He sneered in Nymphadora's direction again, before returning his gaze to Ginevra.
"YOU manage to find a dress which is both elegant and feminine, without making you look like some common... trollop... advertising all her wares," he said vehemently, scowling darkly. It was beyond the ability of Severus Snape to notice something like the colour green being especially suited for someone with flaming red hair, but he was not head of Slytherin House without developing an appreciation for the colour, in general.
"Besides, it is the perfect accompaniment to my robes," which were also in Slytherin green, "and therefore I approve it prodigiously."
He attempted to bring a teasing tone into his voice to lighten the atmosphere - and also to move them away from Weasley and the bint, but he was not certain how successful he was at the attempt.
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