A/N:
This is a Muggle AU. Credits to Elaine and Wish for reading through.
Title taken from, yes, Time to Dance by Panic! At The Disco, which the story is also loosely inspired by. I recommend you put it on loop while you read through this - it'll help get you in the mood.
Time to Dance
He pushed open the door to the club, and immediately winced from the blast of dance pop that assaulted his ears with the vehemence of a swarm of bees. Severus squinted his eyes against the pulsing electric blue strobe lights, searching the crowd with his gaze, before deciding there was nothing else for it and plunging into the sweaty, drunken mass of partygoers.
Gingerly, he shoved past a group of giggling girls, who shouted morsels of gossip at one another over the cacophony of music. Lyrics boomed through speakers he couldn't see, thrumming in his head and blocking out everything else.
He didn't even know exactly why he was here. Just that she needed him to be there, after the whole groping fiasco with her manager. Severus's heart began to beat in the frantic rhythm of the song as he scoured the crowd for a hint of red hair, a flash of emerald eyes.
He found her at the bar, leaning on her elbows against the counter, a martini in her hand. Not sure what to do, he called her name.
Her head swivelled around, and she peered fuzzily at him, eyes clouded with drink and despair. Her hair was an absolute mess, and the thin grey shirt she wore hung loosely on her shoulders like a towel draped over a clothesline.
"Sev," Lily rasped, and his heart broke for the girl he loved, the girl who would never be his.
"Stop," he begged hoarsely, prying the martini from her grasp and setting it down on the counter, where, hopefully, it wouldn't get knocked over. "Please stop."
"Why should I?" Lily let out a bitter, alcohol-tinged laugh. "The bloody press knows it all now. They all know about what that bastard Slughorn did to me. Every last bit of the story. I bet they're having a field day, aren't they-" she gave an awkward cross between a giggle and a hiccough before continuing, "-bet they're laughing their socks off, thinking about that fool of an actress Lily Evans - gonna make so much money off the papers now - so much..." Her head drooped, her hair dangling around her face, limp from the sweat and humidity. "Sorry," she said. "I'll be better tomorrow, I promise. Just… let me forget for tonight."
He looked at her hunched figure, shaking with ragged breaths, and made a decision.
"There are better ways of forgetting, besides getting drunk," he said.
She raised a skeptical eyebrow at him. He held his hand out to her. "Come and dance," he said, beckoning.
"Dancing? That's your alternative?" she scoffed.
"I've heard it takes your mind off things."
"Whatever. I suppose I could use the exercise." She slid off her bar stool, landing unsteadily on her pumps. "Think you can keep up?"
"Oh, you're one to talk," Severus snarked, grabbing her wrist and pulling her onto the dance floor.
They weaved skilfully through the throng of people, rebuffing the aggressive cymbals with the tapping of their feet, the waving of their arms, the tossing of their heads as they lost themselves in the sound. Severus found the tension of the day fleeing his form, dissipating like a spray of ocean mist as he let himself move along with the gnashing of the rock guitars and crash of bass drums.
For once, he felt himself wishing that he could be frozen in the moment, to allow the music to steal his soul and senses.
He wished that he could forget for just one night that she didn't, wouldn't ever love him back, no matter what he did or how hard he tried.
But nothing would make him stop being there for her. He might not be dancing with her, but he would keep on dancing, if only to balance out the hope that she might give him a chance someday.
For now, though, it was time to dance.
He grasped her outstretched hand and danced into the oblivion of the song, letting the melody carry them both far away.
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House: Ravenclaw
Year: 3
Category: Drabble
Prompt: [Prompt] Aggressively dance with someone.
Word Count: 668