A/N: For all disclaimers, please see Chapter 1
Chapter 3: The Quidditch Ball
Since the year Severus started school at Hogwart's, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff had each won one House Cup, and now with Slytherin's victory this year, they were tied with Gryffindor at two wins each. Next year's competition would – everyone in his year knew – be particularly intense as each House would be close to obsessed with breaking the tie in their favor. Next year, however, was a long time away and tonight was the long-awaited Quidditch Ball, one of the most anticipated social venues of the school year.
Severus was waiting in the common room for Artemis. He fussed a bit with his dress robe. He didn't always care for his everyday robes as well as he should – a topic which had been a source of amusement for Potter and his motley crew – but Severus had always felt that his time was better put towards his studies rather than worrying about whether or not his school robes were wrinkled. Tonight, however, he'd taken extra care to make sure his dress robes were clean and pressed.
"Sev! I'm sorry I'm late," said Artemis as she came down the stairs. "Typical bird, right?" She laughed.
Severus' eyes got wider. Artemis' dress was made of dark green silk. It clung to her figure all the way down to her hips and then the skirt fell in asymmetrical layers to the floor. A long strip of material to use as a shawl was draped over her arms at the elbow. Thin straps went over her shoulders and the front of the dress dipped into a v-shape that revealed just enough of her breasts to make a young man stare.
And stare he did.
"It was worth the wait," he said, and he sincerely meant it.
"Thank you. I couldn't quite get my hair the way I wanted…" She reached up and touched the band that held her hair back from her face. Severus looked closer and realized it had a subtle snake skin pattern embossed on it.
"You look beautiful." Beautiful? She's perfect! "Everyone will be jealous of me tonight." He crooked his elbow so she could take his arm.
"No, quite the opposite. With you looking so dapper, I think all the girls will finally see what they've been missing."
If only that were true, thought Severus as Lily's green eyes appeared in his mind. There will be at least one girl who won't notice. Artemis noticed the sudden frown on his face, but she didn't ask, and a moment later, it was gone.
The Great Hall was fully outfitted for the party. Slytherin House had already enjoyed a day of having their house colors dominate the room during meal times, so tonight each House had a large banner hanging from the walls. The illuminating candles that floated in the air all seemed to have some extra sparkle. There were tables laden with food and drink, and music from all the most popular wizarding bands rang through the room. By the time Severus and Artemis arrived, the dance floor was already packed.
They almost immediately found Malfoy and several of the others all crowded around a table hoisting butterbeer. As to be expected Lucius cut a dashing figure and Narcissa looked just as impressive in her strapless gown.
"Sev! Good to see you," said Lucius. "You're looking smashing, Artemis."
Artemis inclined her head, acknowledging his comment. She'd always found Lucius to be a bit full of himself, but still, to have the most popular boy in Slytherin praise her looks? She wasn't going to turn that away. The group talked and laughed, celebrating the Quidditch victory and commenting on who had played well, and who had been terrible.
The music moved deftly from a throbbing tempo to something smoother, more romantic. Lucius excused himself and guided Narcissa out onto the dance floor. Several of the others followed, including Dolohov with his date, Bella Lestrange. Artemis looked at Severus but didn't say anything as she waited. Severus took a gulp of his butterbeer; he knew Artemis wanted to dance.
"Dance with me?" He held out his hand.
"I'd love to." Artemis took his hand with a smile and they moved onto the floor. She faced him, and put her hands on his shoulders. Severus started with his hands on her waist, making sure he was close, but not too close. A few moments later, Artemis changed that. She slid her arms further up, so that she fully encircled his neck. Feeling Artemis' body pressed against his made Severus feel extremely warm. He moved his hands as well, wrapping them around Artemis so that his palms rested on her back. The material of her dress slipped along beneath his fingers.
They didn't speak, but it wasn't awkward as one might expect. As they swayed to the music, Severus glanced up. Along the wall were many other Hogwart's students – boys and girls – all looking longingly at the dance floor, wishing that they were out there with someone. He'd been on that wall many, many times before watching Lily Evans dance with other boys…
Artemis shifted, drawing her head back far enough to look up at him. "Are you having fun tonight, Sev?" Her question and her warm brown eyes banished thoughts of Lily from his mind for the moment.
"I am. Are you?"
"Very much. I…" She paused and her cheeks colored. "I like dancing with you." She lowered her head again so that their cheeks were touching, and he couldn't see the blush increase. He moved his hands up and down her back and she responded by letting her fingers wander along the back of his neck.
After the second slow song finished, they returned to the cluster of tables that Slytherin House had commandeered. Severus went and got them both a butterbeer and while Artemis chatted with Raven and Clarissa, Severus scanned the crowd. Soon, Raven and Clarissa disappeared with their dates, and as she took a sip of the butterbeer Severus had brought her, Artemis noticed that he had stopped looking around the room and that his eyes were settled on where Lily Evans was sitting – laughing – with James Potter. Severus had an odd expression on his face.
"Do you like her?" Artemis asked.
"What? Who? Oh!" Severus realized that Artemis had caught him staring. He considered lying for a moment, but then elected to only spin the truth a little. "Sort of. Before we came to Hogwart's, Evans lived near me. I'm the one who first told her that she was a witch and that she'd be coming here to go to school. Now that we're in different Houses, we're not so much friends anymore."
He didn't mention the "mudblood" incident; he didn't have to, Artemis had been there that day. She'd seen what happened. "I just hate to see her hanging out with a prat like Potter. He's no good for her."
Artemis nodded and accepted his answer. She took another sip of her butterbeer, but the next time Artemis looked over at Lily Evans, her expression was frostier than it had been before.
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Thus the romance begins. As much as I hate to admit it, it has been a while since I went through the "joy" of being a sixteen-year-old embarking on a romance. So, hopefully, I'm spinning a believable start for Severus and Artemis.
As an aside, a couple of you have pointed out that it appears Regulus in the JKR books is actually younger than Sirius. My mistake on that one. He's really a very minor character in this story and may not even appear again except to be mentioned by name, so I'm not going to spin up a whole backstory on why he's out of school before his brother. Hope y'all don't mind...
As always, thank you to all of my readers and reviewers. I'm looking forward to your feedback on this chapter!