Dancing with fire. [A Severus Snape fan fiction]

A trip down memory lane

Phoenix

We walked in silence towards the entrance gates of Hogwarts. I had noticed that we did that alot. Severus was not the kind of man to fill voids with idol chit chat. Which was a shame because I on the other hand could talk to pretty much anyone about anything. I glanced at Severus. His face was set in a scowl as his travelling cloak billowed behind him. All of a sudden I felt an over whelming urge to laugh. A giggle escaped my lips. He stopped and stared at me.
"Is something the matter?" He asked dryly. I didn't know if it was the tone of his voice or the way he looked at me but I just lost it. I started laughing. I laughed until tears were pouring down my face. To be honest, I think I was just so happy to be with Severus, on our own, that I felt completely over whelmed. At first he looked extremely uncomfortable watching me whopping with laughter, then he quickly became annoyed. "What on earth has gotten into you?" He asked an edge of irritation to his voice. I was gasping for breath.
"I'm....I'm.... Just" I tried to get my words out but by now my sides were hurting from laughing too hard. Finally, I began to regain my composure. I looked over at Severus. He was watching with the strangest of looks on his face. I took a deep breath and walked up to him, throwing my arms around his neck in the process."You have no idea how happy I am." I breathed into his ear as I brushed my lips against him.
"Clearly." He replied as we broke apart. I grinned at him. We were standing at the foot of the wrought iron entrance gates. The giant winged boars were looming over us on huge plinths flanking the gates. "Wow" I breathed. It was difficult not to feel intimidated by them. "Come on" Severus murmured as he gave my hand a gentle tug. We pushed open the gates and stepped out of Hogwarts grounds. "So where to?" asked Severus. "Oh I know just the place." I replied as I squeezed his hand and twirled on the spot, feeling our bodies being pulled into the oblivion.

Severus

Our feet touched down into a dewy meadow. I recognised it at once as the place from the memory I had glimpsed from Phoenix. I felt a pang of guilt. I hadn't mentioned the fact that I was a highly trained and well practised occlumens and legilimens. For one I didn't think this information would go down to well and Secondly I was enjoying the fact that she knew absolutely nothing about me. Maybe I'm being cowardly, but I love the way she looked at me. Like I am all she needed. If she knew about the real me, well, the thought made me shudder. No, I was going to enjoy this paradise while I can, so I looked around the meadow with a curious look on my face and asked, "where are we?" Phoenix was beaming at me.
"We're in the meadow!" She cried as she flung out her arms and twirled around in circles. Her long skirt was skimming the tip of the moist grass and her wild, black hair was flowing behind her. I smiled at her eccentricity. She stopped and held my gaze, then slowly walked over to me. "Do you know why I've bought us here?" she said quietly. I watched her approach, feeling my lust for her burning intensely. I managed to shake my head slightly. "Just behind those trees" she pointed beyond my shoulder, "is the cottage where my grandmother lived. She's no longer with us unfortunately." I saw an over whelming wave of grief flash momentarily across her face. "However, the cottage is now in my possession and I wanted to use it as a safe place for me and you to dance." She gave me her best smile. I felt my heart sink slightly at her last sentence. Dancing was all about letting go and expressing yourself to the beat of the music. It certainly wasn't my forte. But as I stared into those big, brown eyes that I had grown so fond of, I could feel my doubts and resilience starting to fade. I was starting to think that I would do just about anything for this woman. I narrowed my eyes at Phoenix. She returned the look, smirking ever so slightly. " Come on Sev! " She cried suddenly, " let me bring you into my world. " Then she snatched hold of my hand and pulled me to the tree line in the direction of the cottage.

As we emerged from the trees, the cottage came into view. You could tell it hadn't been inhabited for a while. The garden was overgrown with thick, unforgiving bramble bushes. Ivy was creeping up the walls. It was as if nature was trying to claim it for its own. Phoenix and I managed to cut our way through using our wands. With a little persuasion I forced the little blue door open and we stepped into Phoenixs past.