Chapter 14

"Ugh, I've been invited to attend the Slug Club." Riley said holding up a piece of folded parchment as she and Severus left the Potions dungeons later that week. "Slughorn just handed me this."

"I have been gifted with the honor as well." Severus said with a tone dripping in sarcasm. Riley could see how Severus would loathe the club. It would entail lots of socialization, which of course was Severus' forte. Riley grimaced, although she was better at socializing than Severus, she hated the fakeness of being thrown in a situation where you forced to do—well, anything. Her career driven parents would be thrilled with the club's prospects of rubbing elbows with the note-worthy and famous so that she had plenty of contacts for the future. It just wasn't her thing, but at least Severus would be there. Perhaps they could spend the evening mocking the insolence of others.

"My parents would want me to go…" She muttered in obvious grievance, drawing a breath in. Severus' eyebrow rose and he peered over at her from the corner of his eye.

"You would do something you don't want to do?"

Riley rolled her blue eyes at him and at his evident dry-humored statement. She turned her head to view straight ahead and shrugged.

"It's for my parents, not for me. It's the least I can do for them, being away from them for so long."

"What do you your parents do?"

"My father is the head healer for St. Juliana's Southern Hospital for Magical Maladies in the US. My mother is a muggle history professor at a college."

Severus nodded at this and did not hesitate before speaking again.

"Career-driven parents. I understand the reason why you're considering the invitation."

Riley paused her current thoughts and whipped her head towards him.

"I swear you can read minds, Severus." Riley said with confirmation in her voice. He allowed a corner of his lip to lift into a smirk.

"If only I could. I would have figured you out by now." He said. He eyed her in a darkly humorous way, awaiting a reaction he knew he'd get. Riley's eyes glittered and she grinned like a jack-o'-lantern.

"Does that mean you find me mysterious?" She said, pressing her fingertips together in a steeple fashion like some evil villain.

"As mysterious as the dark side of the moon." he said, his black eyes lit up and moved in their trekked direction.

"Ah ha! You are catching on to the muggle phrases I've been using!" She proclaimed with a slight jump in the air. Her chestnut hair swung at her chin and her eyes shone dangerously filled with mischief. Severus merely shook his head, causing the curtains of his silky hair to shake, and walked on. She was a bad influence, if bad included muggle phrases and occasionally humming rock tunes.

Severus arrived at the Fat Lady's portrait at approximately six fifty-five in the evening. He waited around for another three minutes while being glared at by incoming and outgoing Gryffindor students. By the time Riley popped herself out of the portrait, the Fat Lady was getting downright hostile with her throat clearing and muttering under her breath.

"Hey!" Riley said as she stood in front of him on the tips of her toes trying to level out her height to reach him. She planted a sweet kiss on his lips as she caught the sides of his thin face with her small hands. Forgetting where he was and intoxicated by her lips, he kissed her back deeply until a loud cough resounded off the nearby stone walls. Riley dropped her hands by her sides and Severus parted from her lips with a grunt of disappointment. He turned his body in his black blazer, white button up shirt, and black dress pants and glared with a perturbed expression at the Fat Lady. His sudden withering stare drew the Fat Lady back instantly further into her painted background, surprise crossing her face.

"Hey, Severus, hold back the withering professor stare for now." Riley said with a tug on his blazer labels and then she dropped her voice to a whisper, "You're the one who should consider education. That look would terrify first years. Remember, I need to get back in later."

Severus rotated his head after one last glare and held out his arm for Riley to take. Riley slid her arm through the nook that he had provided and rested her hand on his forearm. He looked her up and down briefly before he began to step away from the entrance.

"Aren't you a little cold?" He asked her with his eyebrow raised. Riley stood before him in a baby doll short, black strapped dress, leather jacket, and black, platform ankle boots. Her legs were elongated by the lack of fabric between her mid-thigh and calves. He looked down a second or two at the length of leg exposed and looked back at her blue, mischievous eyes.

"No, sir! I was going for a Debbie Harry thing. It's totally badass." She said confidently, shaking her teased bob. She stuck a hand underneath her locks of hair and jumbled them around to increase the volume of her hair. Severus looked puzzled at this movement and then glanced down at her legs. His hands itched at the chance to glide his fingers down the smooth tanned skin. Severus guessed that this again was some sort of muggle reference, like most of Riley's references.

He guided her away from the common room entrance without questioning her further. Severus couldn't understand how someone with at least one magical parent immersed themselves, as she did, so heavily into muggle culture. He was already receiving dirty looks from his fellow housemates when they thought he wasn't looking. Most of them assumed he was a pureblood, being sorted into Slytherin as they had, and he wasn't about to correct them. He had never spoken about this to Riley due to his prior predicament with Lily. That was a whole other subject for another time and place. He wasn't sure how she would view him after hearing that he had called his first love a mudblood. He knew that she had some idea of what may have transpired but he wasn't about to dirty what he had with her now. It was too precious to tamper. Plus, she was friends with many of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, including James Potter, she had to have some idea.

For now, he would just try to get her to tone down the muggle references around his housemates. It was more for her safety than anything. With all the muggle deaths happening in the outside world, the last thing he wanted to do was to point her out. His housemates knew full well that Riley was a half-blood. She never tried to hide it. They often thought of her humor as Americanisms, so it didn't bother them as much as muggle borns. Severus didn't want to push it with all the darkness enveloping Slytherin lately, especially with all the rumors of Lord Voldemort gathering forces. The last thing he wanted was for Riley to be targeted by their cruelties. Again and again the others came, asking him to buy into their game, but he determinedly thwarted their efforts thus far. He had gotten this far into the school year and had only a couple months to go until he graduated and could be away from the influence of others.

For now, he looked down at Riley who walked with him, her arm trustfully linked with his arm. He would enjoy an evening with his American, self-proclaimed badass, short dress and all. Merlin help the boys that looked her way tonight, she was all his.

The Fat Lady muttered under her breath as they walked away, peeking from behind her oil painted chair.

"Dirty Slytherin. Always trying to bully the good-hearted people of this castle."

Severus smirked as he turned his head slightly around to glare daggers at the Fat Lady, sending her scurrying once again.

Severus and Riley walked through Slughorn's open office door, seeing a bright light shining and hearing conversation flowing. Riley felt Severus tense beside her. His whole body had gone as rigid as if he were chiseled from stone. She should have known Lily Evans would be here. She had often heard Slughorn proclaim that Lily was one of the brightest girls that he had ever taught. She was in Severus and Riley's advanced potions class, but Riley recalled how they had completely avoided the Lily topic when she was around. Lily often sat at the front of the class with the other Gryffindor students and Riley and Severus sat at the back of the class where they weren't often disturbed. They both should have guessed that she would have been here. And there she was, flaming red hair and all.

Riley was friendly with the girl, being of the same house and being friends with James, Sirius, and Remus, but it was awkward now. Walking in on Severus' arm made it obvious that they were now together. She had no idea how it made the other girl feel. She didn't even know if Lily felt that way about Severus. For all Riley knew, she could have only had a friendship in mind with Severus for the rest of her life. She picked James overall. James seemed more like Lily's type anyway. Lily stood there innocently in her floral flowing, knee-length frock. Riley noted to herself that she would have to give the girl some suggestions in fashion later, that outfit made her look twelve-years-old. Riley mentally kicked herself, Lily never did anything to her, she shouldn't be thinking ill of her again. She was trying to change that thinking. As they grew closer in the room, it was clear who Lily was not really partial to. She avoided Severus' eyes completely and looked directly at Riley making it suddenly very uncomfortable to be linked together by their arms.

"Hi Riley." Lily said sweetly with a gentle wave. Riley let a silent whoosh of breath she didn't know she was holding out and then returned the exchange in a similar manner. She felt Severus was still as stiff as a board next to her. She would need to ask him later why he thought Lily was mad at him and clearly not with Riley. Riley did ditch Sirius and yet she was being greeted and Severus was not. It drew up the curiosity in Riley more than she could bear. She looked at the expression on Severus' face to see what she could find and saw he had placed his indifferent mask over his true feelings. She sighed and shook her head, causing him to look down at her from his extended height.

Just then Slughorn turned with his massive ginger-colored mustache facing them. His face lit up with recognition and delight at the sight of them. He clapped his rounded hands together in a thrilled motion.

"Ah! Miss Brannigan and Mr. Snape! So glad to see you both! And together! Now that is interesting! I did not expect that! But what a joy! Such a lovely couple!"

Riley watched as Severus paled next to them. She knew that he had a certain respect for Slughorn, being his head of house, but this exuberant announcement of their situation was a bit much for him. Riley patted Severus' arm and released him from her grasp.

"Severus, could you grab me a drink?" She asked quietly to him, trying to provide him with an excuse to escape for a least a brief moment in time. Severus turned to her and nodded and she swore she saw the grateful glimmer of thanks in his eyes. Riley watched as her dark-clad Slytherin walked off to a corner of the room. Riley turned suddenly to Slughorn and flashed him her brightest smile. Slughorn immediately forgot Severus' sudden departure and clasped Riley on the back with his chubby hand.

"How wonderful that two of my Slug Club members are together!" He exclaimed in a joyful tone. Riley smiled and nodded as she saw more people saunter in through the entrance. She changed her expression quickly into a faux-serious one and waved Slughorn to her, closely, as if she were about to indulge him in some great secret. She looked around quietly for effect and then started in.

"Professor, Severus and I are trying to keep things quiet for now. You see, my parents are very old fashioned and if they get wind of me dating someone without introducing them to him, it might complicate things. You know how parents are…right?" She looked at him, trying to hook him into believing her. She knew Slughorn would do anything to seem like the cool adult, the one who'd side with the teenagers. She waited for the cogs to turn in his head when his eyes suddenly lit up. She'd do anything to make Severus more comfortable in this situation. It was enough that Lily was standing only a few feet away. She knew Severus was a private person and she knew she would have to work on him over time, but she didn't want to label this relationship right then and there. Lily's green eyes watched as Riley spoke with Slughorn, she knew she was watching.

"Oh! I understand! A modern day Romeo and Juliet!" He cried, clapping his hands together again, but remembering her words, hushed his voice. "How romantic!" He whispered, chuckling. Riley nodded along to appease the older gentleman and patted him gently upon his padded arm.

Severus approached them both with two beverages in his hands. He handed one to Riley and gently leaned by her ear.

"I thought a little mead might help us get through the party." He whispered and Riley smiled at him, thinking about how much he did not enjoy inebriation, but how he was desperate to get through this evening. Riley took the glass from Severus and softly clicked it with his after catching his eye. Slughorn watched the interaction with interest and chuckled to himself before walking toward his newly arrived guests.

"Do I want to know what you told him?" Severus asked plainly, taking a sip of his drink, his hands wrapped around the glass.

"I appealed to his romantic side." She said in calm voice, "We shouldn't hear anything from him again tonight."

Severus raised his brow and nodded his head, assured by her words and looked around the room. The room was decorated from floor to ceiling. One would never imagine that this spectacle was Slughorn's office. The walls had been draped with green and silver fabrics, representing Slughorn's house colors. Glass, sparkling chandeliers hung from the ceiling, a suited pianist sat in the corner of the room with a wooden grand baby piano playing soft, lulling tunes. House elves walked about with silver trays of food extended upward so that human hands could grab a bite as they sauntered about. People gathered in and conversed, making the room louder and less personal. Riley was grateful for this because this meant less interaction with Lily as the room became crowded.

Severus and Riley hung by each other's sides as the room filled in. Neither one of them really wanted to interact with other party goers. They eventually worked their way into a corner and sipped their mead quietly.

"Well, this is thrilling." Severus said looking around at the people before him.

"It's a regular hootenanny." She mumbled. Severus turned to her with a confused expression plastered on his face.

"A hoote-what?" He asked blankly. She waved a hand at him, disregarding her use of vocabulary. It was like she spoke another language sometimes. Eventually he'd get used it, right? Maybe he should invest in an American-slang dictionary. He was admiring the length of her leg as they sat together when they heard old Sluggy approach them loudly. They heard his voice before they saw him, pushing through the crowd with a buttoned –up mustard colored suit.

"This was just the girl I was telling you about, Alder. This is Riley Brannigan, the best Gryffindor keeper I've ever seen." Horace bragged loudly, boasting in a loud voice tinged with mead. He waved his arm dramatically at Riley, whose blue eyes grew wide, causing her to stand up straight after seeing the person Slughorn had been speaking to. Before her was Alder Rowan, the captain of the Tutshill Tornados. The twenty-something-year-old man who stood before her was muscular, rugged, and handsome. He had shaggy blonde hair and hazel eyes that glowed with excitement. Instead of Quidditch robes that were his usually team colors of light and dark blue; he wore a gray pinstriped suit. He held out a massive hand for her to shake, which she took, slightly star struck. Horace looked between the two people with joviality as he clasped his hands upon his belly. Severus stood a bit straighter too as he stood tall behind Riley.

Alder looked directly at Riley and seemed not to notice the looming presence of Severus behind her. He looked like he was pondering upon something as he stroked his chin, arms folded.

"Riley Brannigan?" He started with a Scottish brogue. "That name sounds familiar…" He said with a thoughtful expression. Severus and Riley both felt surprise at his words. His face suddenly lit up in recollection and his eyes grew bright.

"Did you once play for that American team, the Hickory Skyes?" Alder poured out all at once in an eager tone. Severus looked at Riley with curiosity and confusion as she shrugged gently. "Ah! You are! You're that Riley Brannigan! You substituted for the Skyes' keeper last summer! I remember! You killed it, lass! Youngest player in the US league!"

Riley looked slightly embarrassed and humbled all at the same time. Severus waited for her to correct the man and say that he must have her mistaken for someone else, but she made no such declaration. She merely looked down at her feet while smiling softly, pink creeping up her cheeks. Severus looked at her in sudden surprise by her reaction, his eyes widening. She had never mentioned playing anything but school Quidditch before—she never mentioned anything even remotely close to this.

"It was just a summer." She said quietly, shuffling her feet in her ankle boots. That statement was enough to solidify Alder's comment.

"I have to grab Brandt!" The player said, slapping Slughorn on the back in a very masculine style as if they were on the pitch together and dashed off to grab his teammate.

"Is there something you failed to mention?" Severus said with a dark humor in his throat. He relished the shyness he saw in her, it was not like her to shy away from anything. Clearly, she was a pretty good player and didn't intend to make a big deal out of it. It made Severus curious as to why she wouldn't say something to him if she was so accomplished. Riley's blue eyes glanced up at Severus with a sheepish shrug in her leather jacket. He knew they would have a more private conversation about this later. Severus was a Quidditch fan although he did not outwardly show it much. This was something he would want to know. Severus' gaze flickered to his professor. Slughorn eyed her like a roasted pig on a Viking's spit. The excitement in his eyes was unbearable to look at so Riley kept her eyes down. Her stock was increasing at the minute in under her professor's gaze.

The teammates reappeared and the second player's eyes lit up with recognition at the sight of her face. He stood slightly shorter than his colleague but muscular and strong in stature. He had longer brown hair tied up with behind his neck and dark brown eyes with a killer smile. He stuck his index finger and pointed in her direction as he spoke.

"It is you! I heard about that match against the South Shore Conch! You saved ten goals in thirty minutes! They couldn't throw the ball at you fast enough!" Brandt exclaimed with his hands depicting different keeper catches. "Someone very good at a young age! You need to think about being scouted after Hogwarts!" Brandy said, brown eyes on her, shaking his finger in emphasis of his words. Alder nodded in agreement.

Riley glanced up occasionally behind her black eyelashes, embarrassed by all the praise that she was receiving. All the while, Severus stood back and listened as the players recalled the different situations that they had heard about. He was surprised at the enthusiasm in which they spoke of her even though they clearly had never seen her play before. The word of mouth of her skill must have traveled well in the Quidditch circles. She had never once led on to the fact that she was a big deal in Quidditch—she did tackle the tryouts with a lot of ferocity, but she was confident, but she wasn't big headed. Did she possibly think that she was a normal player? Clearly she wasn't, as the players continued to praise her. Severus was surprised that she had mentioned that she wanted to go into teaching earlier. It seems as if she would have a much brighter future in sports.

"Well, well…" Slughorn said in jolly voice, his cheeks red from drink. "It seems we have quite the player on our hands, Severus!" Slughorn turned to Severus and grinned up at him like they shared a secret. Someone was going to have to give the professor some water soon to delude his system of mead. Severus looked down at the professor with his dark eyes and a smirk found its way to his face.

"Quite." He said quietly, glancing over at Riley with a determined look.

The players and Slughorn eventually sauntered off being distracted by the other fans and discussions. Riley was dreading the exact look Severus gave her as he lead her back into the corner of the room so they could have a private conversation. He looked very intimating at the moment with his hands tucked behind him and his very straight stature, raising him to his full elevated stance. His deep black eyes captured her with their gaze, searching her face to study her reactions. She felt like she was under the reign of the Spanish Inquisition. She slid herself on a silver stool, minding her short dress and crossing her legs. She folded her hands in her lap and awaited the questions she knew he'd ask. She was clearly trapped and would now face the proverbial firing squad.

"Why would you want to teach when you clearly have a future in Quidditch?" Severus started with a very plain tone that showed his very true feelings about her situation.

"Teaching is very rewarding, Severus." Riley stated with a matter of fact tone.

"As rewarding as a fruitful Quidditch career? I wouldn't think so." He said with his eyebrow tilted up.

"I'm not as good as they say. They were clearly exaggerating." She said slightly deflated.

He looked at her with a very annoyed expression. She may be good at reading him and others but she was trying to lessen herself. Her body language looked defeated and it drove him crazy not knowing why she didn't want to own these accomplishments. No one would have spoken like the young men had if they were exaggerating.

"Come on, Riley. You and I both know that they were not exaggerating. Clearly you have a gift." He said simply, his words complimentary in nature.

"Severus, let's just drop this." She said suddenly with irritation seeping into her words. He stood silently at her tone and looked at her intensely trying to figure out her immediate change. Apparently she had a temper that he didn't know about. They never actually fought, they usually argued in jest, but her tone had a dangerous edge to it. He paused his thinking before he spoke again.

"Why do you want to let this go?" He asked softer in tone, trying to calm her. He draped his hand on her knee to assure her that his sincerity was true. She shook her head on the stool and ran a hand through her chestnut hair.

"I'd have to leave." She mumbled so that he had to strain to hear over the party noise.

"What?" He asked in confusion.

"I'd have to leave YOU." She said loudly in anger, the words tumbling out in force. Severus took a step back at her tone and withdrew his hand from her knee in a jolt like he had burned by fire. She got up suddenly from the stool and walked away from him towards the drink table leaving him to stand by himself. As he watched her go, he noticed no eyes in their direction. No one seemed to notice their confrontation over the tinkling of the piano. Severus stood thinking and looking at her figure as she grabbed another drink. He had never been invested in something so deep before. Anything he would do now with or without her would now affect them both.

He watched as she tipped back a mouthful of mead to her lips. Drinking would definitely not make this situation any better. It could have also been the reason for her heightened emotions and displaced anger. He left his cup of mead, barely touched on the high top table in front of him. Drinking never suited him and he thought it never would as he stared at the discarded cup. Severus stood silently and made a decision at that moment to leave. The Severus before Riley would have left by himself, but the post-Riley Severus made irritating decisions to care for someone else. He watched as his long legged creature tipped the cup of mead to her cherry lips, eyes sparkling with something suppressed. He couldn't bear that he upset her. He started to think that he was becoming quite sentimental. That was irritating as well. What was more irritating though was the pain in her crystal blue eyes and the conflict that resided there.

He pushed away from the table and walked slowly towards her, taking long strides in his black pants. As he approached her, he gently plucked the cup of mead out of her hand and set it on the table behind her. Then Severus did something very un-Severus-like against his better judgment. But he would do anything to wipe away that pain he caused her in her eyes. He dipped his head down from his grand height and his black curtained hair shifted forward. He closed his eyes with his fluttering black eyelashes and kissed her softly right there in middle of the room. He didn't think about the other people in the room or what they thought, he only thought of her. She tasted of honeyed mead-sweet and crisp. She pressed back into his lips, rising lightly upon her toes. His heart swelled when she met his kiss, she wasn't going to stay mad.

He gently broke off the innocent kiss, sweeping her chestnut locks behind her ear with the flexible stroke of his fingers. She leaned into his touch like a kitten yearning to be touched. Her blue eyes stared into his black eyes and he took her arm and looped it through his. Without another glance back, they left the room, arm in arm, not caring about the others at the party.

Lily Evans looked upon the departing figures as they left in disbelief. James had told her that Severus and Riley were together but it was another to thing to experience it with a front row seat. As his former oldest friend, she was surprised by this sudden change in his personality. Could someone ever really change Severus Snape?

Thanks for reading- Katie Scarlette :)