Chapter 10 – Splutter and Stutter

The end of the year approached—and with it came an invitation for the seventh years. Having been at the school for seven while years—and ready to leave—it was a tradition for a dance to be hosted in their honor, though it was only for their year and their dates.

Rhia was probably the only girl not fretting over what to wear. She already had sparkling, pearly white dress robes and matching white sandals that she could wear. Monica, on the other hand, had been concentrating more on her clothing problems than her NEWTs. Meanwhile, Rhia and Snape had moved on from just studying for Potions to every subject they had together. They only left the library for meals, classes, and sleep.

Rhia hadn't spoken to Black since his supposed prank upon Snape. He had never made any effort to speak to her or apologize to either her or Snape. They had made eye contact several times; she merely glared, and he just looked at her. Rhia was slightly scared by this—not because he was watching her, but because of the glint in his eyes. There was something there that she didn't understand. And she didn't like it very much. During those times, Rhia would quickly return to her work or food. The longest they had every kept eye contact was barely less than a minute. Rhia had turned away with a scowl.

Before long, the NEWTs were upon them. The only truly prepared students were probably Ravenclaws, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, Snape, and Rhia herself. Black and Potter scored rather high despite the fact that they only studies three times. In general, there were few people that did badly. However, for the rest of the time at Hogwarts, Lily Evans kept fretting that she had forgotten something or misspelled a word.

Eventually, the dance was there, and Rhia had received no invitations. She hadn't been planning on going in the first place but had quickly changed her mind when she realized she had nothing better to do.

After dinner on the second to last day, all the seventh years returned to their dormitories and changed into their dress robes. Rhia did so slowly, not really interested in going to the dance.

Once down in the Great Hall, Rhia found a small table in the back—alone. Monica was going with some fellow Hufflepuff, so they probably wouldn't see much of each other. She didn't know whether Snape was coming or not.

She was one of the few people in the Hall. Most of the couples were delayed because the girls were whining and complaining about their hair or make-up even though it looked great already. She scowled, however, when Black entered—dateless—with the other Marauders and their dates. He sent her a meaningful look before their group sat down. Relief came moments later when Monica and her date joined her.

"Hey!" Monica exclaimed happily.

Rhia laughed lightly. "You seem excited."

"It's a dance, Rhia! You should be too."

"There's no one for me to dance with."

"Greg'll dance with you, won't you, Greg?" she asked, looking at her date.

"Sure," he responded kindly.

"This is Greg Fletchley," Monica finally introduced.

Rhia smiled and inclined her head. "Lovely to meet you, but no. Thank you, though. I'm not sure I'll be here long enough to anyway. Go. Dance. Have fun."

Monica hesitated but nodded. "If you insist. I'll talk to you later tonight, though, all right?"

"Sounds lovely."

Monica and Greg went out onto the dance floor and began to waltz to the slow song. Rhia was happy that her friend was enjoying herself. Greg seemed very nice, and he kept making Monica laugh. She was happy for them.

Suddenly her vision was blocked.

Rhia had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Snape walking up to her. "Hi," he said quietly, sitting down across from her.

"Hello," she replied with a small smile. "So you've come, have you?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you should expect a dance."

"Understandable," said Rhia.

They sat in silence. It was not uncomfortable. She was grateful for the silence. It gave her time to think and time to consider the person before her. But he broke that silence.

"Care to dance?" he asked, looking up at her testily.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to expect a dance."

"Just because you don't expect something doesn't mean it won't happen."

Rhia smiled. "Sure," she said, letting him take her hand and lead her out to the floor. "I don't know how to dance."

"That's all right. It's really quite simple. My mother taught me when I was seven."

"And you still remember how?"

"Yeah. It was tradition for us to dance every Christmas."

"But you stayed this Christmas."

"I said was. She died a couple years ago."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

"That's all—"

"He doesn't need apologies—he needs pity."

Rhia scowled. "Go away, Black," she spat, glancing over at Sirius Black, who stood beside them.

"Lovely to see you too," replied. The he looked to Snape, saying, "Go away, Snivellus. I'll give the lady a proper partner." He pushed aside Snape and took Rhia in his arms. He led her across the floor, farther and farther away from Snape's unmoving form.

Rhia went begrudgingly and slowly. "What is it you want, Black?" she snapped.

"Well, to be perfectly frank—"

"Your name isn't Frank."

"Thank you. As I was saying, to be perfectly serious—and my name is Sirius—I want you."

"Have you ever heard of subtlety?"

"Yes, but I make it a habit not to use it. It just confuses people."

"Like yourself?"

"All right, enough small talk. I want a serious talk."

"And I don't want to talk at all—at least not with you. And how dare you think that I could ever actually want to be with you?!" she said, her voice steadily growing louder. "You are the most—"

He silenced her with a kiss.

Rhia was stunned. Too stunned to stop him. Too stunned to move. Too stunned to shut her eyes. Too stunned to slap him when he pulled away. Too stunned to respond in any way, shape, or form.

Only after he had disappeared into the crowd had she come back to her senses. She spluttered for a moment and then rushed to the nearest bathroom to wash her mouth out with soap. After doing so, she took a deep breath and clung to the wall for dear life. "Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh God!" she stuttered, immediately going back to the sink to wash her mouth again.