Dark Magic

A Dance...

"The Yule Ball has been a long-held tradition as part of the Triwizard Tournament. Held on the eve before Christmas, the competing schools will come together to celebrate 'unity' and 'sportsmanship'," I smirked in my armchair in the Slytherin Common Room, trying to hold back a snicker at the thought of Snape finding this speech most tasteless and unnecessary. All of the girls in the Common Room sat upright in their places, excitement dwindling in their young eyes at the prospect of attending a ball or, even more importantly, being asked by a date. Suddenly, the birthday gift from Severus was beginning to come into fruition.

"Fourth year-upwards will be required to attend, unless they are invited by a student in a higher year-group. You will all also be expected to learn a simple routine for the opening dance. Now, if I may have a volunteer," The man in black stood tall, opening his hand for one of the students to take. However, the silence in the Common Room was deafening as all of the female pupils recoiled in their place, averting their gaze from their Professor in the hope he would not pick on them to join him for his demonstration. I could only imagine what luck the other four head-of-houses would be having with their own students.

I took in a deep breath, my stomach fluttering at the thought as I stood from my chair, brushed my black dress  free of the pumpkin pasty I had eaten for lunch earlier that day and crossed the room. Severus did not even realise I was standing before him until I placed my hand into his own. Snickers emerged from the surrounding crowd.

"Silence!" Professor Snape hissed, his angered eyes instantly softening the moment they found my own. "Miss Potter." He addressed, his lips tightening into an almost-smile that nobody else would see as anything other than a grimace. "Professor," I returned the gesture, his eyes flitting from my own to his right hand as he very carefully and with much hesitance placed it just above the small of my back; carefully avoiding my waist. My left hand reached up to rest softly onto his shoulder, the music beginning to play.

"It is a simple, two-step waltz. Follow my lead and swap arm positions when I tell you to." The Potion's Master instructed, barely above a whisper as the students waited for the introduction to cease and our dance to commence. I nodded, feeling the nerves at the thought of making a mistake suddenly hit me like a bucket of ice cold water.

The introduction came to a close as Snape nodded to signal and with no more than a moment to spare, I followed his lead and mirrored his footsteps. I tried to force my nervous shaking away, relaxing my muscles as we pranced about the Common Room; all eyes on us. It was a moment I could only compare to the day Snape found me in Dumbledore's office and pulled me into his embrace; my stomach fluttering at the memory as I tried to prevent my cheeks from heating up.

"Now, alternate your arm position in three, two, one," On the Potion Master's count, his left arm now finding the small of my back and his right hand intertwining with my own; my now, free right hand quickly finding his opposing shoulder. Our steps continued. I could feel my heart beating in my palms, only hoping Severus could not sense my nerves as our waltz continued. The students surrounding us remained silent.

"And now, the lift." Severus' face crinkled with an awkwardness I hadn't seen him ever express in the years I had known him, my eyebrows contorting confusedly. His hands suddenly slipped under my arms, a gasp emitting from me as I placed my hands onto his shoulders and he lifted me into the air.

Utterly overwhelmed with excitement, adrenaline and fear, I almost stumbled as he placed me back onto the floor, continuing the dance. I hardly noticed the music when is ceased, the world around us silent for, what felt like an eternity, before many doe-eyed girls began to clap, breaking my trance from his obsidian orbs.

Quickly shaking my head to force myself back into reality, my hand left his and I nervously took a seat next to Pansy, covering my blushing cheeks with my red hair. "That was beautiful, Emerald!" She gushed, only causing my heart-rate to increase as I felt everyone's gaze remaining on me. "Everyone else, get up and give it a try, yourselves." Severus instructed, diverting everyone's attention from myself as the students took to the floor and partnered up.