Author's Note: Okay, so I know that this has taken forever. Honestly, I'm still not completely happy with it. I hope you're fonder of it than I've come to be.

Special thank you to pamplemousse39 for taking the time to read and offer suggestions on this chapter.


Chapter XII – Slughorn's Party

Slughorn's Halloween party was on the eve of the holiday since the primary party would otherwise interfere. Considering my almost perpetual exhaustion and irritation of late, the very last thing that I wanted to do was attend a party, particularly one with Slughorn's awful Slug Club. Unfortunately, a ringing in my ears at breakfast had led me to find a note in my journal instructing me to do that very thing.

-Be sure to attend Professor Slughorn's party this evening, Miss Wilkins. For all the man's faults, he does have a talent for gathering those worth knowing. Get to know them.-

That was why I found myself standing in front of a full-length mirror in my room, cursing at my reflection for a third failed attempt at casting an unfamiliar cosmetic charm. Fearful of ending up caked in makeup if I tried the charm while I was so frustrated, I started pacing the room, eyes half-lidded, taking slow, deep breaths and thinking of the previous week when I'd been in Severus' arms, as relaxed as I could possibly be.

When I felt that I had calmed enough, I returned to the mirror, carefully read the charm, and did my best to feel my way through the stubborn magic. I pointed my wand at my face and completed the charm utterly perfectly.

A flash of sparks and glitter shot right into my eyes.

I screamed in frustration and hurled my wand across the room before tearing the journal out of my bag and breaking my quill in my haste to liberate it. With a rapid stream of epithets which I'd once considered myself above, I found another quill, taking a little more care to avoid covering myself in ink as well as glitter.

-I cannot attend this ridiculous party. It is impossible to complete my costume-

I stopped and crossed the words out heavily before pacing my room a few more times. I couldn't be careless, no matter how furious I was. Not with Albus.

When I stopped seeing red, I tried again.

-I regret to inform you that I cannot see how to attend Professor Slughorn's party given that I have been unable to work the necessary cosmetic charms to complete my costume. Please advise.-

I retrieved my wand irritably from where it had fallen behind my bed, then paced the room a couple more times before Albus replied. I hurried over to open my journal again.

-Go to Professor McGonagall's office.-

I hadn't realized that Professor McGonagall knew any cosmetic charms, but I assumed that she could figure them out pretty easily. I tucked the books I was using into my bag, then paused to vanish the stupid glitter – vanishing charms I had gotten pretty good at – and covered my costume completely with my school robe before heading out.

Trying to convey that I did not have a bee firmly wedged into my bonnet, I paced swiftly through the common room and trotted up the stairs to the office of my former head of house. I knocked briskly and the door was pulled open almost immediately by my stern-faced professor. She moved back from the door so I took the invitation and stepped inside.

"What costume are you attempting to achieve?" she asked as soon as the door was closed.

I quickly fished out the book with the picture that I wanted and showed it to her. She looked it over critically, then looked me over with the same scrutiny. "Well, let's see how far you've gotten. Off with the robe," she commanded in her typical brisk, no-nonsense manner.

I complied readily.

Shaking her head and muttering under her breath about foolish parties, foolish holidays, and foolish students, she set to work on me. I think I even caught something about foolish potions' masters in there somewhere, but I shrewdly chose not to comment. Though I trusted Minerva McGonagall about as much as anybody, it was still and effort not to flinch when her wand occasionally swept up toward my face.

After more than half an hour of trying to stand perfectly still while my Transfigurations professor gave me a Halloween makeover, she finally transfigured a small table into a standup mirror and motioned me toward it.

I turned around and my jaw dropped. The result was many times more impressive than anything I'd actually been going for. My dress was now seaweed green and hung down my body in asymmetric layers that clung to me as if it was soaking wet though it felt dry and wasn't any heavier than the simple dry fabric should be. The ragged edges made it look worn and ripped up though it remained perfectly modest. My hair matched that theme. The curls were stretched down as they were when wet and sleek-looking. My eyes had been charmed from the normal brown to a deep violet-blue. Every inch of visible skin was covered with glittery blue with my fingernails and lips being darkened almost to match my eyes, which were ringed in a color that did match perfectly.

"Wow," I breathed in astonishment. "Professor, this is truly amazing. This is so much more than you had to do. Thank you. Truly."

She cracked one of her rare small smiles in response. "The charms will wear off when you submerge yourself in water, so take a bath after the party and you'll be back to yourself."

I was glad she hadn't set them to wear off at midnight or something. There was no telling when this party would break up. And that would be way too Cinderella.

"Now you'd best be going. I'm sure you have a date waiting."

I huffed a laugh. "Not likely. The last thing I need to deal with tonight is some needy boy trying to keep me all to himself."

"You don't sound very excited about going," she noted curiously.

Apparently she hadn't been apprised of my "assignment" tonight. Well, if Albus hadn't told her, I wasn't going to. "Honestly I'd rather be back in my room with an interesting book," I admitted. "But I hear that hell hath no fury like a professor scorned."

I wasn't sure how she was going to take that, so I was surprised when she snorted in amusement. "Indelicate, but accurate. Well, no doubt it won't be all bad. Mr. Snape will be there, will he not?"

So evidently Albus wasn't the only one smirking about me and Severus being more than friends… I reined in my irritation and nodded, "Yes, he was planning to attend."

"Do you know if he had a date?" she asked far too innocently.

"I don't believe so," she said, trying to pretend like I didn't know exactly what she was insinuating.

"Well, at least you'll be able to keep each other company then," she allowed, still with the wide, innocent eyes.

"I'm sure," I nodded. "Well, I don't want to be too late." I started for the door.

"Oh, wait, dear! You'll freeze in that!" she said and quickly cast a warming charm on my dress. It would last for a few hours, I guessed.

"Thank you again," I smiled gratefully before slipping out and hurrying toward the party.

The party was already under way when I arrived. I'd only just walked in the door when every eye in the room seemed to gravitate toward me one by one. Well, I had chosen a Siren because I wanted to be noticed, I reasoned. No point blushing about it now. I put on my best smile and hoped that I was strolling gracefully as I proceeded into the room.

Severus wasn't difficult to pick out as he was the only one in the room wearing head-to-toe black. He was dressed as an Unspeakable, which was funny for two reasons. First, his entire costume consisted of a voluminous hooded black cloak over his normal clothes. Second, because Unspeakables did not wear uniforms, as that would be rather identifying, and I guessed that they most likely didn't dress like that either. It did look very nice on him though.

I looked at him just a second before he saw me and I watched his jaw drop as he took in my costume. I was glad that the blue on my cheeks most likely concealed my blush. I was just starting toward him when Slughorn caught me. Fighting a sigh, I smiled brightly and allowed him to introduce me around to his influential friends, repeating "brilliant" and "twelve OWLS" so many times that I wanted to snap his nose off.

Still, I had told Albus that I wanted to do more than feed him scraps of insight about the future. If I was going to keep doing that, I had to prove that I was capable of actually carrying out an assignment successfully. And I felt compelled to prove, if only to myself, that Alek's lessons had been learned. So let Slughorn's annoying voice fade into the background and paid attention to the people in the room that I was supposed to be "getting to know".

I highly doubted that the headmaster cared if I rubbed shoulders with the professional Quidditch player in attendance, but I wasn't going to do anything to disappoint, so I did my due diligence with him as well, trying not to go cross-eyed listening to him explain to me at length about some sort of flight maneuver that made no sense to me, all the while smiling and nodding and trying to "mmm" and "yeah" at the proper intervals.

After ten minutes of that, I was actually happy to see Slughorn when he showed up to wrap a pudgy hand around my arm and drag me toward a good looking man who appeared only a few years older than me. He was evidently a freshly minted auror. I barely withheld a reaction when the man lifted his goblet to his lips and his sleeve slipped just enough to reveal the bare edge of a brand that many in this time may not recognize at such slight glance. I most definitely did.

Despite my urge to get away from him as quickly as possible – ideally back to my own room – I did what I could to amp up my questionable supply of charm. This was most definitely the kind of person that Albus would want to know everything about. Either he was easy to please or my charm was better than I thought because he seemed to respond to it. We'd been alone in our conversation only a few minutes when he asked me to dance. While my brain was screaming NO, I did my best imitation of Lavender Brown and assured him that I would love to.

He pulled me closer than was really appropriate considering that we'd just met and his right hand was definitely lower on my hip than I felt comfortable with, but I went with it, hoping that my nausea didn't show. He didn't seem to notice if it did.

"You're a marvelous dancer, Mr. Greenwich," I said in what I hoped was a sultry tone after he'd spun me quite gracefully. He actually was a good dancer. Not that that endeared him to me by the smallest degree.

"Jasper," he corrected huskily.

"Jasper," I parroted. I was really starting to disgust myself.

"I was a Slytherin as well," he smirked.

You don't say… "Really?" I battled my eyes at him.

"Really. So don't think you're fooling me, love," he warned, but he was still smiling.

"Whatever do you mean?" I asked innocently.

He spun me again, then pulled me back too quickly and caught me flush against his body. "I know a ladder climber when I see one," he whispered, his lips brushing my ear and giving me goose bumps of sheer disgust. "As tempted as I am, I'm afraid I don't have time tonight, sweet thing. Find me at the Ministry after you graduate and I just might take up your offer."

He released me right as the song ended, keeping hold of my hand long enough to plant a kiss across my knuckles with a perfectly sinister leer before leaving me feeling quite unsteady in the middle of the dance floor.

I swallowed hard and quickly worked to pull myself together as I left the floor.

"Having fun?" Severus asked somewhat harshly when I joined him near the punch bowl.

"Definitely not," I grimaced as I filled a cup with spiked punch and downed it in one gulp, restraining myself from pouring another as I feared becoming inebriated in this group.

"Wait, was that guy bothering you?" he asked, now sounding angry.

I shook my head, "It's a long story. I'll explain later," I promised, meeting his eyes.

He nodded warily.

"Hermione, you look positively sumptuous tonight," Lucius' voice intruded. Why did the man always suggest that he wanted to eat me? It was unnerving on a number of levels.

I grimaced and steeled myself before turning around to face the loathsome wizard. "Lucius," I drawled, letting my gaze trail over him. He was wearing dress robes but no costume. "You look…" I shook my head once, "…unfestive."

A lazy smile curled his lips, "But damn good," as though he was finishing my statement.

My ears picked that moment to start ringing. "Well, if you boys will excuse me, I think I'll visit the ladies'," I said mildly before brushing passed Lucius and making my way out of the room, careful to stay well away from Slughorn lest he latch onto me again.

I headed to the nearest girls' toilet where I'd stashed my bag and quickly dug the journal out.

-I've just learned that there will be a Death Eater attending the party tonight. A young auror named Jasper Greenwich. Acquaint yourself with him.-

I couldn't help but smile a little at being one step ahead of the old man for once.

-Already done. He's offered to shag me at my earliest convenience, but I believe our interaction is finished for the evening.-

I closed the book and leaned back on the toilet for almost a minute before my ears rang again.

-Not to put too fine a point on it, Miss Wilkins, but that just may come in handy in the future. Well done. I think now may be a good time to attach yourself to a boy. Mr. Snape or the elder Mr. Black perhaps. There will be more possibilities such as Mr. Greenwich in the future. It would be to your benefit to at least appear attached lest you find your tactics being carried further than you wish. It is only a suggestion, but please consider it seriously.-

I reread those words twice before I believed that he'd written them. He was telling me to get a boyfriend so I had an excuse not to have sex with people that I flirted with for the Order. "Bloody hell," I breathed. The worst of it was that I could see his point. If Greenwich had had "time"tonight, I'd have had a hell of a time talking myself out of it. Whereas if I appeared to have a date, it would be the perfect excuse to make empty promises for some future rendezvous.

-I will consider it.-

I sent that back, then disillusioned and stashed my bag again. I tried to compose my features into something other than shocked and frightened before leaving the restroom.

By the time I made it back to the party, I had formed something of a plan. I brushed passed Lucius where he was loitering near the buffet, evidently awaiting my return. I went directly to Severus and stepped right into his personal space, putting my lips near his ear. "Please just go with me on this," I requested just before Lucius descended on us again.

"Hermione, my sweet, you need a man who is willing to dance with you," he drawled.

I turned around, tucking my arm around Severus and leaning into his side. After just a beat of hesitation, his arm was draped across my shoulders.

"Hermione, would you like to dance?" Severus asked before I could respond.

I glanced up and studied his face, but he seemed to mean it. "Of course," I said with a sweet smile at Lucius as Severus took my hand and led me out to the dance floor.

"What are we doing?" Severus murmured as he put his hand on my waist and lifted our joined hands.

I drew myself closer to him as we began to dance. "I'm sorry," I said quietly, keeping my eyes on his. "I just need to appear to have a date tonight, and my only other option right now is Lucius."

"That's not an option," he frowned at me.

I smiled, "Please, don't make it look as though you're cross with me. People are watching."

His face softened even if he didn't smile. That was okay. He didn't smile that often unless we were at least relatively alone. No one would think anything of it. "Why do you need to pretend to have a date? Is it that idiot who you were dancing with?"

"Yes," I admitted.

"Hermione, just tell him to sod off. I'll go with you if you want."

"I can't do that. It's complicated," I reiterated. "I'll explain everything once we're out of here."

"So I'm pretending to be your date for the remainder of the party?" he questioned.

"If that's okay," I said hopefully.

"As though I would leave you to Lucius," he growled quietly without letting his displeasure show in his face.

"Thank you," I smiled. We danced for a bit longer before I said hesitantly, "If you moved your hand to my hip, it might be more convincing."

He looked at me with eyes that I couldn't read for once, and then his hand slid lower while he pulled me closer to him.

I did not have to fake my smile. Merlin, but he smelled wonderful. The warmth from his body was soaking into mine. It was all enough to leave me almost light-headed, though I did make an effort to keep my wits about me.

The song ended far too soon, and Slughorn intercepted us the moment we left the dance floor.

"Well, the two of you make a stunning couple," he chortled drunkenly. In fact, I thought I might be getting a bit of a buzz from his breath alone. "I didn't see you arrive together."

"My hair was taking forever," I said, rolling my eyes dramatically, "so I told Severus to go ahead of me." I twined my arm into his and leaned against him.

"My two best students. I knew from the first day that you'd come together," he said, wagging a chubby finger at us. "Come, come now. You must meet Ophelia. She's a potions' mistress. Owns the Bubbling Caldron Apothecary in Diagon. Splendid young woman…"

I rolled my eyes for Severus' benefit as I allowed the inebriated man to lead us across the room again.

The party lasted a relative eternity. I made sure that I was introduced to every guest that Slughorn had invited and I basically hung on Severus' arm the rest of the evening. The only redeeming factor of the whole event was that I got to dance with Severus two more times. He actually was an exceptional dancer, though I'm not sure why that surprised me. With natural grace like his, it would have been ridiculous for him to be anything else.

Lucius looked positively murderous each time, which was another high point for me.

Severus tried to entreat me to escape the party a couple times, but I regretfully told him that I could not. When the party at last cleared out, I told Severus that I would meet him outside, then closed the door, leaving Slughorn and I alone. Considering that he could barely stand, I wasn't sure there was much point, but Albus had reminded me earlier to speak with him, so I had little choice.

"Ah, Miss Wilkins," he slurred when he noticed that I was still in the room. "Did you need something, my dear?"

"The headmaster asked me to remind you about the Wolfsbane potion, sir," I commented.

His unfocused eyes narrowed. "He didn't tell me he had any students working for him."

"A few, sir," I nodded. "Have you received Mr. Damocles' notes on the potion?" I pressed.

He harrumphed irritably. "Yes, I have. A tedious potion to brew."

My eyes narrowed when I realized that he was putting it off. "Sir, the new moon is tomorrow night," I reminded him more harshly than was really proper. "If you don't start brewing the potion by then, it won't be ready in time for this cycle."

"I'm aware of that," he frowned. "I'll get to it if I have time."

"If you have-" I sputtered. "Sir, there is a seventeen year old boy that needs that potion!"

"Miss Wilkins, don't you preach to me," he said with an ugly sneer, his cheerful, doting manner evaporating instantly. "I get enough of that from Albus and Minerva. You can just run and tell your master that I don't appreciate him sending his new toy to-"

My anger mounted with every word he said as I kept my mouth tightly shut to avoid saying something that would be sure to get me detention. When he called me Albus' new "toy" though, my eyes widened in indignation and I was a heartbeat from snapping something entirely inappropriate when a surge of unintentional magic flared out of me and every piece of glass and crystal on the buffet table next to me shattered rather spectacularly.

Slughorn stopped talking mid-word, his eyes widening. "It'll be done. Now get out," he snapped, his eyes wary and his hand very near his wand.

I turned and left the room quickly, as much cowed by the idea of my professor drawing a wand on me as I was by my own unintentional magic. I hadn't done anything like that since I was ten. Severus took up after me when I passed him outside the room and followed me to the loo where I left him briefly to fetch my bag before leading him up to the Room of Requirement.

"Are you okay?" he asked while we climbed the stairs.

I nodded stiffly.

"Did I hear something break in there with you and the professor?"

I nodded again.

He seemed to get the message that I wasn't going to talk and he stopped asking questions.

When we reached the Room of Requirement, I found the door already there. It looked like the door to the room in which I normally slept after nightmares.

"Wait here a moment," I bade Severus before stepping into the room.

It was the room that I slept in, and Sirius was in there as I'd expected. I had not expected to find him sprawled across the bed snogging some poor girl to within an inch of her life. Not that said girl seemed to be in any way upset about it.

"Sirius, I need the room. Out!" I barked irritably, finally drawing his attention.

He looked at me with puffy lips and dreamy eyes. "Don't worry, love. You can be next," he winked, to which his "date" giggled and slapped at his arm.

I drew my wand. "Out!"

"Fine, love. Fine," he relented, dragging a now-pouting girl along with him. I thought I recognized her as a Ravenclaw from my Charms class. And they were supposed to be smart…

I followed him back out of the room and the door vanished behind us.

Sirius immediately stopped and frowned at Severus. "Hey, now," he said, looking at me again. "How come you get to use the room to snog and I don't?" he demanded.

"Because you don't want to spend the night in the hospital wing covered in boil remover!" I growled at him, waving my wand menacingly.

He hopped back away from me and put himself between me and the Ravenclaw. "Point taken, love. Point taken. We'll just be on our way then." His gaze trailed over to Severus and he muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "No accounting for taste," before slipping away.

I shook my head grumpily and started pacing, summoning my training room out of habit as much as actual desire.

Severus followed me inside. He didn't say anything for a few moments after the door closed, and then, "So you're not with Sirius?"

I turned to blink at him in surprise. I might have expected just about any other question. "Merlin, no!" And then I realized why he might think that. "Oh, we were not going off to snog that day!"

Gods, had he been thinking that I was with Sirius for the last three weeks?

"Oh," he said uncertainly.

"We were talking about the Order," I explained.

"He's a member?" he said distastefully.

I nodded.

"And his friends?"

"I haven't heard back from them yet, but James and Remus have been invited to join, yes."

"You talked like this was serious. Why would they be involved?"

I sighed, "Look, I know they're juvenile, but they're also talented and powerful. Given the right instruction…" I shrugged. "They have potential."

He frowned pensively. "I've been thinking about your offer," he admitted quietly before sitting down on the sofa against the wall. "I think I'd like to join, but if I'm going to have to deal with those three…"

"They won't bother you," I promised sincerely. "Not when we're doing anything related to the Order."

"They always bother me," he countered.

"Do you trust me?" I asked hopefully.

"Of course," he said without hesitation, which was gratifying.

"Then trust that I will deal with them," I implored.

He sighed. "Yeah. All right."

"Then you'll join."

He nodded.

I smiled wide and plopped down next to him, wrapping my arms tightly around his neck. "Thank you, Severus. I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me." For the first time since meeting Severus in this time, I felt confident that he would never become a Death Eater. I could have sung with joy.

"Um, will you tell me what tonight was about now?" he asked warily.

I drew away from him, "Yes, I just have to…" I accio'd my journal out of my bag and hastily scribbled a message.

-Prof. Slughorn will begin potion tomorrow. Snape will join Order. I will ask about the attachment you mentioned.-

I snapped it closed and dropped it back into my bag before facing Severus again. "Okay. What did you want to know?"

Severus thought for a moment. "What was going on with you and that auror?"

I grimaced. "He's a Death Eater."

"What?" he gaped. "That does not explain why you were hanging all over him."

"Dumbledore asked me to… get to know him. For the Order."

That seemed to be the last thing he was expecting. "He told you to flirt with a Death Eater?"

"He told me to get acquainted with him. Flirting seemed like my best avenue under the circumstance."

"But he's a Death Eater! After what happened to your parents…"

I grimaced, "I know, Severus! Do you think that I enjoyed it? It was all I could do to not physically attack him."

"Is this the kind of thing the headmaster expects of us?"

"Severus, this is war," I said plaintively. "And we are Slytherins. Subterfuge is rather our forte."

He seemed to be considering that for quite a while, during which time I paced.

"What happened after you were alone with Slughorn?" he finally asked.

I felt my cheeks heat. "I was just reminding him about a potion that he promised to brew for Dumbledore."

"Why?"

I shrugged, "I really have no idea why Dumbledore thought he needed me to do it, but he asked, so I did." I had actually given that some thought, though I wasn't going to mention my theories. My best guess was that Dumbledore either wanted to see if I would do it, see how Slughorn reacted, or to see how I handled being asked to take on such a role with one of my professors. No doubt he also wanted Slughorn reminded. Dumbledore never did anything for only one reason in my experience.

My statement seemed to hit Severus hard. "So we're just soldiers following orders."

"Sirius and his ilk may simply be following orders," I corrected darkly. "I won't follow anyone blindly."

"What do you mean?"

"It's not safe to talk about it now," I decided. I didn't think that even Albus could spy on the Room of Requirement when I had specifically asked for a room that prevented such a thing, but I didn't want Severus burdened with my mistrust just yet. The Severus of my time I would not have been concerned for, but this younger man was an entirely different story. He at least needed some time to adjust to the idea of being in the Order before I confessed that I didn't trust the man we were following.

He looked concerned by my evasion, but he did let it go.

"Okay, I need to ask you something," I sighed, unable to put it off any longer.

"All right," he said warily.

"What we did tonight… pretending to be together…"

He now looked fully concerned.

"Is there any way that you would consent to making it more permanent?" I asked quickly.

He stared at me blankly for a long moment. "You're asking me to be your fake boyfriend?" he checked.

I smiled sheepishly, "Yes. I suppose I am."

"Why?"

"For one, it would keep Lucius at bay," I admitted, "and if it was known that we were in a… committed relationship, it could serve to protect me from… Well, other unwanted attentions."

He thought about that for a moment, then nodded, "So when you need to flirt with the enemy, you have an excuse to stop it."

I grimaced. "Severus, if this is too much for you, you don't have to do it. I know that I'm asking a lot."

"I'll do it."

My eyes widened. "Really?"

"It's to protect you," he sighed. "I couldn't live with myself if you were… I mean, if that happened because I said no."

I studied him a moment longer. "Okay. If you're sure. And we can always 'break up' if you decide that you want to be with someone else. Sirius is a member of the Order. I might be able to convince him to do it. Or Remus, if he joins."

Severus paled, "Merlin, no! Don't trust Lupin, Hermione!"

I frowned, "I know that he's a werewolf, Severus."

His eyes widened and he leaned back a little as though to get a better look at me. "How…?"

"I've known a werewolf before," I said obscurely. "Once you know the signs, it's not difficult to spot. I'm actually surprised he's gone this long without being discovered, but that doesn't make him a bad person, Severus."

He looked like he fervently disagreed.

"It doesn't," I said firmly. "The werewolf that I knew was my teacher and my friend, Severus. You don't have to like Remus, but please don't hate him on account of something that is beyond his control."

His eyes softened. "Okay," he said quietly. "I still don't like him, but I'll try to… I'll try."

"Thank you."

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather pretend to date Sirius?" he asked warily after a moment.

I laughed, "Definitely not. Aside from the way he would whinge about not being able to chase every skirt in the castle at his leisure, the man would enjoy the act far too much."

Severus studied me for a moment as though trying to decide if I was being honest.

"Really, Severus!" I complained. "That man is a dog if I have ever seen one."

His eyes narrowed at that and I nodded.

"Yes, I know about him as well."

"Is there any secret in this castle that you haven't learned in two months?" he demanded incredulously.

"Well, clearly I wouldn't know if there was," I laughed.

He rolled his eyes.

"Okay," I said briskly, standing again. "I need to wash off this glamor. Would you mind waiting for me so that we can go back to the common room together?"

"So everyone will think we snuck off to snog, as you conveniently allowed Sirius to believe."

I blushed. "That was presumptuous. I'm sorry."

"It's fine," he sighed. "He probably would have believed that regardless of what you said. I'll wait."

"Thanks," I smiled gratefully before hurrying behind the screens in one corner and filling the tub. When it was full, I submerged myself almost gleefully and dunked my head all the way under. I remained there until my lungs were screaming for air before coming up to find the glamor gone, as promised.

I didn't allow myself to soak for too long, aware that Severus was waiting. I dried quickly and put my dress back on. It had reverted to the simple white sundress that it had been before the glamor. I then charmed my normal hairstyle and makeup before emerging. I mussed my hair roughly and pinched my lips together hard for a few seconds before looking at Severus. "Good?" I asked, hoping that I looked like I'd been snogging.

His eyes settled on my hair, then fell to my lips. He swallowed hard, then nodded. "Yep."

I stepped into him and reached up to give his hair the same treatment I'd just given mine. I was amazed by how very silky it was, but I really did try not to dwell on that. "There's no way I'd leave your hair looking so pretty," I smirked at his surprised expression.

I gathered up my bag and slung it over my shoulder before draping my arm around Severus' waist. "Ready?"

He took a deep breath, then nodded.

"Just follow my lead," I suggested, since he looked nervous.

"Yes, dear," he sighed and I chuckled before opening the door. It was well after curfew, but we made it all the way down to the first floor before we encountered anyone.

I heard footsteps nearing us from a connecting corridor ahead and I shoved Severus behind a tapestry into one of the hidden staircases. I reached out to still the tapestry, then put my finger across his lips as he had started to say something. I looked at him meaningfully and he nodded.

I recognized the brisk footsteps as those of Professor McGonagall and I prayed that she would turn the other way toward her office rather than coming toward us. I had no doubt that we'd both end up with detention if she found us in this position, looking so much like we'd been snogging in a hidden corridor after curfew.

I didn't move until I heard her office door close at the other end of the hall.

"Good reflexes," he said in a bare whisper as we started off again.

I smiled at him and we snuck past the Transfiguration office without incident, rushing down to the dungeons without we ran into anyone else.

When we reached our common room, I tucked myself back under his arm and looked up at his frowning face. "Do try to look happy, Severus," I advised. "We're supposed to seem as if we've been enjoying ourselves."

He managed a small smirk and I figured that was as much as I'd get. I gave the password and we entered the common room to find several students still up, including Lucius and Narcissa, who were sitting on opposite sides of the common room, evidently ignoring each other. Her eyes widened at the sight of us while his narrowed.

I ignored them and headed toward the hall to my room, where I stopped and faced Severus. "Goodnight," I said quietly, standing on my toes to brush a kiss across his cheek. I ran my hand lightly through a few strands of his hair near his ear, then turned and hurried to my room.

I dropped my bag immediately after entering the room and threw myself across my bed, burying my face in my pillow. Why did everything have to be so bloody complicated? I'd just barely started to realize that I liked Severus and now I was pretending to be his girlfriend? I was going to have to take pains to remember that it was an act.

Part of me wondered if it really had to be an act, but I scolded that part into silence. I had no idea if Severus liked me in that way, and I really couldn't risk alienating him right now. Not only did I need his help, I wasn't sure that my sanity would survive if I ruined our friendship. I didn't have time for a real romance anyway. This quasi relationship was probably as close as I was going to get. Maybe if we defeated Voldemort, or even if we managed to defeat him temporarily, like had happened the first time – well, in my time – then maybe I could consider something like that. But not now.

I repeated that sound logic in my head until I fell asleep.

I woke screaming a few hours later and draped myself in my school robes before staggering upstairs. The room was in use again and I prayed that Sirius was alone in there as I opened the door. It was dark but I peered carefully at the bed until I was certain that there was only one person in it, then fell onto the sofa and let the peace of this room take me back to oblivion.


I really hope that was better for you than it was for me. Unfortunately, Severus' POV is in considerably worse shape, so I'm going to go see to that now. It should but up at some point today (or in the next 12ish hours for those of you in not American time zones).