Romeo and Juliet (Book 1) - SS x OC

Chapter 9 - Ups And Downs

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YEAR OF PUBLICATION: 2013

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"The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp; her eyes in heaven would through the airy region stream so bright that birds would sing, and think it were not night."

― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

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CHAPTER 9 - Ups And Downs

~ R ~

"One, and one-two-three, Two, and one-two-three-- Mr. Malfoy! Get your lazy arse off that stool!" Madam Hooch yelled as she caught the fourth year sitting down whilst everybody else was rehearsing their ballroom dance. There was only a week left until the Yule Ball, and fortunately for Renee, there were no more classes to worry about, at least until after Christmas break.

"Will there ever be an end to this?" Malfoy groaned, but eventually stood up to avoid getting scolded by Severus, who was at his usual spot during rehearsals. If the professor was not browsing through a stack of essays he needed to grade, he was there to readily glare at anyone who attempted to defy Hooch's orders.

"From the top now, everybody. Mr. Filch, please play the music," Hooch ordered.

The students started off with easy steps, and as 'Dance of the Poltergeists' progressed, their choreography became more and more complex. Apparently, Madam Hooch thought that Hogwarts should have the guts to be a little bit more competitive because Beauxbatons would surely not hesitate to give an extravagant performance, and Durmstrang was not about to put on a lame show either.

"Very good, Miss Capulet and Mr. Montague, keep going. Everybody look at them, they're phenomenal!" Hooch praised. Much to Renee's chagrin, Montague had become annoyingly aggressive with his dancing since the day she rejected him. Glaring at each other, they danced to the beat of the music, rivaling one another through the steps until the song finally ended.

"All right everyone, you may all take a short break." Madam Hooch announced after they finished a round of the entire choreography. Renee cursed herself for being an idiot and not bringing her own cup when she saw that a couple of students filled theirs through Aguamenti. Panting, she plopped her sweaty self down on the floor to catch her breath as she tried to ignore the dryness in her throat, and leaned on a post adjacent to Severus' desk.

"Ehm," Severus coughed quietly, only audible to Renee's ears, and she looked at the professor in confusion. He pushed a goblet on his table and jerked his head to it, telling her to approach him.

Renee stood up reluctantly and went to sit on a chair in front of Severus' table. Once again, he pushed the goblet towards her. "Drink or you'll die." he drawled.

Smiling in appreciation, Renee took the goblet and drank every drop of the refreshing water in it. "Thank you, S-- Professor." she muttered, almost forgetting where they were. Severus simply nodded.

"Break time's over, everybody on the center now, please." Madam Hooch called, and the students resumed their formation. "Now that our dance is finished, let us show it to Professor Snape. Professor, if there's anything you'd like to add or remove to the dance, let me know."

Severus raised an eyebrow, then merely nodded and frowned. His gaze landed briefly on Renee, and she could see that 'what-the-fucking-hell' glint in his eye, making her bite her lip to prevent herself from grinning too much. She actually thought he looked incredibly handsome and adorable, standing there, not knowing what the hell to do because he was just not into dancing.