A/N: This goes with the pivotal Chapter 37 of "The Serpents' Kiss".


A BOLD MOVE


It was Halloween, and Severus was on his way to Dinah's rooms.

Only two months into the school year and he already had a 'date' for the holiday dinner! If this had happened during his time at school, with Lily, he would have been delirious. As it was, with Dinah, he was only baffled. And... yes. Looking forward to it with cautious optimism.

Of course there would continue to be no affection in the presence of the students, and so only he and Dinah would be aware of this 'date', but it was the principle of the matter. The fact that they were attending together and had both acknowledged it; the fact that he was coming to her rooms to 'pick her up' for their 'date'... again something that would have made him ecstatic in his youth, if it had been with Lily...

Arriving at her door, he rapped once. She would know it was him.

"Come in!" her voice called, laced with that excitement it always held whenever they first saw each other. He still didn't understand why spending time in his presence was so thrilling to her, but he was not going to argue. Not yet, anyway.

He frowned, trying not to think about the day when this, their relationship, would come to an end, and pushed open the door; "Dinah?" he tried, for he did not see her in the immediate area.

"Hi!" she poked her head out of her bedroom door and gestured to the sofa, "Have a seat. I'm almost ready... not quite yet. You don't mind waiting, do you?"

"I do not have a choice, do I?" he smirked, closing the door behind him while she just rolled her eyes at him good-naturedly and waved him off, disappearing back into her bedroom. The more time they spent together, the more comfortable she seemed to grow around his attitudes that normally sent students screaming with terror and even made some faculty uneasy. She, on the other hand, was developing an impressive immunity, and he wasn't sure how he should feel about that.

Knowing that women were notorious for taking a long time preparing themselves for events such as these, he settled himself onto the sofa with the idea that she was perhaps not as close to being ready as she claimed. Strangely enough, he did not mind waiting.

He had just gotten comfortable when he saw it. That infernal furry beast approaching the sofa from the dining area, its yellow eyes gleaming with obvious intent as it inched its way towards Severus, one paw in front of the other.

He stared it down with the hopes of frightening it away, but the ridiculous animal was as immune as its owner. It increased its speed, and then, when finally reaching Severus, dive-bombed his robes. Severus yanked them away with a snarl, but as usual, the one called 'Godric' merely followed. Damn accursed cat. Did it not realize that Severus preferred to be left alone? That he was not an 'animal person'?

"Leave me alone, cat!" he tried, reaching to push the animal away. Unfortunately, that only made it set its sights on Severus's hand instead of his robes. It lifted its paws to bat at his fingers and, once again, he shoved it away, but it only came back. He was having a difficult time being gentle with the beast, but it was Dinah's cat and he did not want to hurt the animal. He simply wanted it to go away.

"Move!" he shouted after the umpteenth time, continuing to try and wave the cat away while it kept leaping at his hand.

Hearing laughter from his left, he looked up to see that Dinah had emerged from her bedroom, still fastening an earring in her ear as she watched them, "You two are creating a vicious cycle, you know that, right? If you keep trying to make him leave you alone by waving him away he's just going to keep coming back for more... and more... and more."

"This is why I never had a pet," he growled, though of course the infernal woman was right. But it was his instinct to try and eliminate things which bothered him. At any rate, now that Dinah was out the cat seemed willing to leave him alone. Severus stood from the couch and walked over to her, looking over what she had been spending all that time getting ready for, "Dress robes." It was a simple statement, but that's what she was wearing. Dark blue, silky dress robes.

"For the feast," she explained, her cheeks flushing "You too, I see. Or at least they look somewhat different from your usual ones."

"They aren't dress robes. But they're fancier than the plain," he explained. He, as a rule, only had one pair of semi-dress robes. The cut and style was very similar to his usual robes, which he had many pairs of, but the material was different. He was not a fan of wearing these, but... "Dumbledore insists we dress up more than usual for these... events." And there was why he had them.

"He does..." she agreed, her eyes still on his robes.

"You look... nice," he managed the compliment. And she did look beautiful. It almost made him wish that they were not going to the feast tonight, but rather staying and researching potions together. He was starting to get used to their 'couch cuddling'.

She smiled. "Thank you. So do you."

That was highly unlikely, he thought with a snort; "You're probably the only person that thinks so."

"I don't care if I am," she said, a defiant look coming into her eyes. It still baffled him how quickly she jumped to his defense. "If other people don't notice how attractive you actually are then they're stupid and biased. And that's what I'll tell them."

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to hear you tell somebody that."

Dinah's cheeks only reddened more and she stared at the floor. He did not know why, but somehow he had upset or embarrassed her. Perhaps she was afraid of being so bold. She did seem to have a certain... shyness around others that came out from time to time, and he did not know why. It was very subtle. He just happened to notice these things because he had been trained to be observant. Perhaps it had something to do with her school days, being older than the others and thus somewhat ostracized. He could sympathize with that, but he did not want her to keep looking away from him like this.

Thus, with a rare initiation of contact he reached to take her chin into his fingers, tilting her face up to meet his. As usual, any sort of physical boldness from him made her face flare. "I'm sorry," she told him, still looking oddly ashamed.

"Stop apologizing," he chastised. "I wasn't actually suggesting you tell somebody that they're stupid and biased."

"If they insult you, I should," she decided, "I will from now on. That's a promise. I don't know if Sirius is going to be there, but-"

"Enough," he cut her off, her comment creating tension. She was getting too personal, again, and she still did not know about what Black had truly done. No, all she knew was that he and Potter had mistreated Severus in school, and that recently the infernal dog had been wandering the Hogwarts halls uninvited with his girlfriend and there had been a confrontation with the four of them. Severus had referred to Dinah as 'the woman he was involved with' and Black had, not unexpectedly, mocked that statement. He had even mentioned Lily. But Severus would prefer to forget the moment rather than dwell on it, even if Dinah did wish to assure him that he was perfectly worthy of being involved with a woman. Her heart was in the right place, but... "Let's just go," he changed the subject, "You're fine. You look lovely. And I'm sure you're hungry."

"Telling me I'm lovely and teasing me about being hungry in once sentence," she smiled a little. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack, Severus?"

"You would match the Gryffindors that I am now calling on regularly in class. And perhaps the lot of you would have a great many things to discuss while you recover in the infirmary with Madam Pomfrey," he decided. And it was true. The infernal woman had even influenced his teaching style. He called on Gryffindors nearly as much as other houses now. It was quite irritating. But at least calling on them more gave him more opportunities to deduct points.

She laughed. "You're very up on the snarky comments today, aren't you?"

"It's Halloween. I'm feeling festive," he droned, which for some reason caused her to burst into giggles.

He wasn't sure whether to smile or smirk at her, so he just extended his hand, "We should go."

"All right, let's go," she agreed, happy to place her smaller hand into his as always. He still liked that. But once they were in the halls and began passing students he had to let go.

As they reached the Great Hall they were approached by none other than Black's infernal girlfriend, Professor Ketteridge, in ridiculously bright purple dress robes. He had not seen the girl since the confrontation last Sunday with Black. She had taken it upon herself to jump between them in Auror-fashion when it seemed that wands were about to be drawn on each other. Indeed, the confrontation had become quite heated, and perhaps it was partially because of her that it hadn't come to hexing. Still, he did not really want to deal with her right now.

"Happy Halloween," Dinah said, hoping the conversation didn't get awkward. "Oh, I like your dress robes, they're a nice color."

She blushed and looked down at the things, which Dinah clearly found more tasteful than Severus, "Thanks. I wasn't sure about them. You look nice too. You both do," she said, quickly staring at the floor after that comment, and Severus found his agitation shifting into amused bafflement. Had she really just said that? Well, she was certainly only trying to be polite, but that was one person Dinah didn't have to call stupid and biased, in that case.

After a moment she looked back up at him, "I'm sorry about last week. I didn't think…"

He regarded her thoughtfully, and then turned to look at Dinah, who was beaming at him with an 'I told you so' expression. Well, he still did not think that he was attractive, but if Dinah did he was not going to try to convince her otherwise. Nor Professor Ketteridge, if she really did think so, which he doubted. He turned to reply to her, "You did nothing wrong."

"Perhaps not, but if I'd been using my training I'd have known better than to enter the school the way we did," she glanced from him to Dinah and back again before continuing, "I know you probably don't care about this, Professor Snape, but I'd appreciate it if neither of you told anyone about…well, the dog thing."

"Oh, I haven't," Dinah assured immediately, "I didn't even tell you that I knew. Well, I didn't think Severus should have told me either..."

"I've told no one else," Severus said, not feeling sorry for having told Dinah about Black's poorly-kept Animagus secret. And the literature professor was right, he did not care who knew. But he also knew that the headmaster did care and so he would keep his mouth shut. "I really don't know why I told her," he gestured to Dinah, "but I did. Anyone else and Dumbledore would have something to say about it if he found out."

"He probably didn't want you to tell me, either," Dinah said quietly.

"I don't mind you knowing Dinah, it's a relief actually. That time we had lunch together and he came by…it was hard to remember to speak to him like I would an animal. It's just that if the wrong person finds out he could be in a lot of trouble," Lucy explained, and again Severus did not find himself caring.

Dinah nodded, looking around a bit nervously, "I understand. So um... he's not here then?"

Professor Ketteridge snorted, "No. I didn't think that would be such a good idea. He's back in Hogsmeade anxiously awaiting my return. Probably gearing himself up to give me another lecture about stepping in the middle of it last week. Apparently I'm lucky not to have had my head blown off. I disagree, but," she shrugged.

Severus growled. Her statement implied that his rival had intended to blow his head off and Lucy had gotten in the middle? Perhaps it was merely an exaggeration, but... he would not put it past Black. The man had not changed.

"So he was really planning for it to go that far, was he?" Dinah demanded, and Severus was surprised at the coldness of her tone, especially to a friend.

The overly emotional friend was, clearly, upset by this, and bit her lip, "Oh. No. I-I-I doubt it. I think I scared him when I did that more than anything. That and I turned my back on you two. I knew he wouldn't try anything with me standing in front of him though. And I'd hoped you wouldn't either, Professor."

"I can't harm Dumbledore's prized dog," Severus sneered, not fully answering her question but the infernal woman should know that he would not have hexed her or anyone else. If not, what was the point of all these stupid articles that had come out recently lauding him as some kind of 'hero'? Infernal Potter. "I was reaching for my wand for incapacitation and defensive purposes only. Come," he decidedly grabbed Dinah's arm, intent on dragging them away from this now-undesirable person, "We're eating."

"All right, all right," she pulled away for a brief moment so that she could offer her friend an apologetic look, "I'm sorry."

"I know. I'll see you later," Ketteridge replied, but Severus did not look to see her expression or Dinah's now as he dragged his girlfriend the rest of the way to their seats.

She immediately began filling her plate to the point of overflowing with today's holiday entrée, which was pumpkin stew, "I wish that whole scene had never happened," she said miserably.

"He shouldn't have waltzed into Hogwarts unannounced. And I had every right to be in the halls," Severus set up his own plate with a bit more delicacy, not feeling any regrets of his own over the scene, "And your friend needs to develop more of a backbone when it comes to comments made about her boyfriend."

"Be nicer to Lucy," Dinah chastised, "It's not her fault Sirius is the way he is. I probably shouldn't have gotten angry, but her comment bothered me and you take first priority."

Merlin. He had thought he would get through tonight without his chest doing that thing it did around her sometimes, but with that statement it ruined the whole thing. He took a piece of food onto his fork, forgetting about their youngest professor in the knowledge that he, for now at least, meant so much to Dinah. "Thank you," he muttered, quietly so as to be certain no one heard him but her.

"What?" she asked, her lovely voice laced with surprise. Apparently she hadn't heard him either. Or she didn't believe what he'd said.

He sighed, placing down his fork after he had finished chewing the carrot. He would have to repeat himself, then. "Thank you," he managed once more, still hoping no one else heard.

She smiled, her eyes lighting up with pleasure, whether at his words or at the fact that she had elicited them by defending him in front of Lucy, he was not sure. Perhaps it was a bit of both. "You're welcome."

Severus got his wish after dinner, as he and Dinah returned to the dungeons and did some research seated next to each other on his green sofa. They were looking into different types of ghosts, as Dinah had encountered a new sort, or some other creature, in the form of a small boy called Tommy that had so far only shown himself to her.

They had found an interesting book written by a Binns, but not their ghost professor. Another. The whole evening was stimulating, but not merely because of their fascinating discovery. Because of Dinah's proximity, and because he was still feeling gratitude to her for her earlier defense of him at dinner. Unfortunately, the hour was now late, and she needed to be returning to her own rooms. Still, he found he did not want her to leave, he thought as he took her hand into his and pulled her up from the couch.

She was blushing again, and she brought her other hand up to cover their clasped ones. He did not know what he was doing, but he did the same, so that he was holding her hands in both of his, unable to stop looking into her curious grey yes. They were so... different from Lily's green ones, and yet...

He dropped her hands, his thoughts drifting into uncomfortable territory. "I'll walk you back to your rooms."

"Oh... thank you. You don't have to, though. I can find my way." At this statement, her eyes went wide for a moment, and then she smiled at him, "It seems my internal monologue is back."

He raised a curious eyebrow, unable to prevent a small smile from tugging at his own lips. She had mentioned this 'internal monologue' before – it seemed the woman had a lot of thoughts. Part of him – the insatiably curious part - wanted to use Legilimency on her and truly see what those many thoughts were all about but he could never invade her privacy like that. It would not be worth it. "I won't ask what it's saying. Come," he repeated for the second time that night, intending on walking her back whether she needed it or not. Which was just as well because she did not argue again.

They traveled back through the halls together in amiable silence. He found that he liked the way their footsteps seemed to synchronize themselves on the cold stone of the halls. All too soon, they had arrived at her rooms.

"Um... thanks," she told him, tilting her head up to meet his gaze and give him a shy smile of gratitude, "Happy Halloween?"

"Indeed," he replied, his hands finding their way to land squarely on her shoulders. She continued to watch him curiously, but his thoughts were running wild. Tonight had been pleasant. For whatever reason, it felt as though it was the most pleasant night they had spent together yet.

They had come so far in such a short amount of time.

Perhaps he could… should… take things further? Her puzzled expression looking up at him was so endearing, and he found himself taking in every feature of her beautiful face, from her gentle, curious grey eyes to her soft-looking pink lips, the lipstick long-vanished after hours of eating dinner and researching ghosts together.

Dare he try what he was thinking? Surely she would want him to, but could he do it… more than that, could he do it right? He had no real-world experience in this, pathetic as that was. Did she have any idea how little romantic experience he had had in his life? Really, she was it. There were dreams and fantasies about Lily, but only when Dinah had entered his life had he really been with a woman. 'Been with', of course, in the literal grammatical sense, not the other… sense.

He was thinking too much again, he knew. If he were to learn anything from his experiences with Dinah perhaps it should be to be a bit more… spontaneous. And tonight, their first real 'date'... it was as good a time as any to try. And as it was he already could not stop looking at those inviting lips of hers.

Shrugging inwardly and giving up his thoughts for action, Severus made his choice. His hands still holding her shoulders, he moved quickly so as not to lose his resolve. He may not have kissed a woman before but he was an intelligent man and he knew where to put things. Tilting his head to the side to prevent his immense nose from impeding his efforts, he let his own lips go where they wanted to go, on hers. And Merlin, they were as soft as he had imagined. Her bangs tickled his face and the overwhelming sensations of being this close to her and this intimate swirled intensely in his experience. But she did not pull away, and her lips were receptive to his.

He did not open his mouth and he kept the kiss brief, torn between wanting to continue exploring this experience and being overwhelmed by its novelty and intensity. When he drew back, the expression of wonder and pleasure on her face made him almost want to kiss her again. But it would not be fair to fool her into thinking this would happen every day. He needed to think about the experience for a long while before he decided when, or if, he would do it again.

"Good night," he told her, watching her face just a moment longer, burning the image into his memory. Tonight would be going into the pensieve, that was certain.

When Severus was confident he had drunk in as much of the experience as he could allow himself, he turned without another word and began the long trek through the halls back home. Unfortunately, the further he walked the more his stoicism began to break down and the realization of what he had just done began to hit home.

He picked up the pace as thoughts and questions swirled in his brain.

He had kissed Dinah. Kissed her. On the lips. Tonight.

Had he made the right choice? The image of her face coming closer to his, her eyes and lips, the feel of them, the feel of the warmth of her face, her hair… Had he gone too far? Had he done too much?

Slamming the door behind him once he arrived in his rooms, Severus made his way to the shower to try and wash off the experience, but it was to no avail. As the warm water cascaded down over his nude body, he could only think more of Dinah and not less.

And then…

Severus cursed loudly as he looked down at the evidence between his legs. How dare he. How dare he let this happen to himself when thinking of anyone but Lily! But there was no question that he was aroused. He should have thought about that before he had made such a bold move tonight. It was wrong for this to happen to his body when thinking of another woman. Lily… it was a betrayal. A betrayal of his devotion to her memory and to everything he had done to protect that devotion, the one thing he had in his life to hold on to.

Growling, he turned off the water and, after a quick spell to dry off, made his way into his bedroom to where he had tossed his robes, digging into the pockets to retrieve the picture of his old friend, the woman he had always loved. If he was going to finish this he was going to do it while looking at her picture, as usual.

Not while thinking of Dinah.