Love and Potions - Severus Snape x OC

Chapter 34 - Preparations

Hangovers were never something that Rowan had become accustomed to. She rarely drank, and whenever she did, it was never much. However, deep aching in her head had awoken her early in the morning. Slowly, she opened her eyes and found Severus asleep on the couch across from her bed. 

With a loud groan, Rowan rolled out of bed and stumbled over to Severus, shaking him slightly. "Sev, why are you on the couch?" Rowan whispered, grasping her head tightly. Even her own voice was causing sharp pains to shoot through her head. 

"You don't remember?" Severus asked huskily as he shifted so that he was sitting up. Rowan shook her head, taking a seat on Severus' lap. "The last thing I remember is you carrying me out of Dumbledore's office," She explained, wrapping her arms around Severus' arms. 

Severus hummed happily as he wrapped his arms around Rowan lovingly. "Well, we came back here and you were a little... excited. When I told you that I would not take advantage of you, you told me to sleep on the couch," Severus explained groggily as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. 

Rowan's jaw fell open as she tried hard to remember what Severus had been talking about. The harder she tried to remember, the more her head throbbed. Severus suddenly scooped Rowan up and placed her back onto her bed. "You stay here. I'll get something for your head," Severus said as he shuffled out of Rowan's bedroom. 

With a small sigh, Rowan fell back against her bed. While she didn't remember a lot from last night, she did remember the party. She had gotten drugged with veritaserum and they had gone public with their relationship. A part of Rowan was glad that she could now express how much she loved Severus in public, but another part of her was terrified. 

She knew first hand what being in the public eye could do to a relationship. As far as Rowan could discern, it was the reason her father became an abusive drunk. Her mother had always had a job in the ministry of magic, whether it be the American ministry or the British ministry. Their family had always been in the public eye of the wizarding world, and that could take a toll on someone. She didn't want the public eye to ruin her relationship with Severus, and it terrified her that there was a possibility it could. 

. ⋅ ˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

"How did we get stuck teaching these moronic children how to dance?" Severus mumbled as Slytherin students seemed to pile into the courtyard. Dumbledore had requested that Rowan and Severus teach their students how to waltz, as every other head of house had already done this task. The only reason Severus had even agreed was that Minerva argued that Gryffindor would be the best dancers. Over Severus' dead body would he lose to a Gryffindor again. 

Rowan simply shook her head with a small chuckle. She loved dancing and was honestly looking forward to teaching her friends how to dance. She could remember when her mother had taught her how to waltz for a school dance at Ilvermorny. It was a freeing experience, and ever since then, Rowan hadn't stopped dancing whenever she had the chance.

"Alright, Slytherins! I need everyone to get into pairs of two," Rowan called out, causing the crowd of children to begin hushed conversations. Severus scowled at the lack of control he had over the situation. He looked around and noticed some unusual pairs, mainly Millicent Bulstrode and Gregory Goyle. Millicent looked like she might lose her lunch, though Goyle looked rather pleased. Blaise Zabini was paired with Pansy Parkinson, which was what Severus had expected. Juniper was paired with Theodore Nott, a Slytherin boy in her year. 

Rowan turned to Severus and tapped his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. "May I have this dance?" She asked, her face heating up as Severus' eyes stared into her soul. Severus rolled his eyes playfully before turning toward the students, who were all paired up.