Soooo….*awkward silence* I know I haven't updated in a long time but I have got ALOT of homework and I sort gave up on this story for a while, but then yesterday I wrote this (kind of long chapter, because it was about time I wrote one!)…I'll admit it's kind of a shambles and some parts I HATE HATE HATE but I wouldn't be able to perfect it for weeks anyway. So, I apologised for boring segments or bit that go to quickly, the Sara/ Sirius bit and I ESPECIALLY apologise for the Professor Knight dialogue *shudders*

Thank you to Chel123, Chairmanmeoww and PhoenixKylie for the reviews, and I love anyone who reads this chapter unconditionally!

Chapter 25

Goodbye, Beloved Slughorn. Hello….

Sara's P.O.V

The dress code for the Slughorn Party was formal wear; meaning Katie wore a dress her mother had sent her and gave me one of her old ones for Christmas (that's right, my awesome best friend got me a BALL GOWN for Christmas!). It was deep glittery blue plunging V-neck, and it brought attention to my slim willowy figure whilst hiding my 'twig legs', which was always a good thing, it also fanned out elegantly when I spun. (A minor fetish I'd not so secretly had since the age of 4) Diana did my hair in a gorgeous bun with wispy ringlets framing my face; it was one of those times in life when you realize you look really good, beautiful even, and it was elating. Of course, Bella looked ten times sexier than me, without even trying (albeit in a tacky way with her surly-way-too-short-to-be-declared-formal hot pink cocktail dress) and as for Katie, she was on a whole new level of gorgeous. The dress her mum had shipped in from overseas was probably worth more then the house my family lived in and it certainly looked it, strapless and purple with (REAL!) diamonds sewn into the bodice and an open back, with an meticulously ruffled skirt. Her hair was pinned off her face but fell in a loose tumble of black curls down her back, threaded once again with (THE ACTUAL REAL) diamonds. Her mother had sent her personal house elf to dress Katie; you could tell from Katie's worried expression that it must signify something big was supposed to happen to her tonight, and knowing Katie's mother you could be sure it wouldn't be good. Poor Lily had brought a stunning emerald green dress, only to get detention from McGonagall this morning and have to miss the party.

Severus met me in the common room and stood there for a second gaping in a way which really didn't do any harm to my ego.

"Sara…You look…uh…really hot?!" I rolled my eyes,

"Watch the tone of surprise, Snape!" I warned him jokingly, laughing with him and linking arms, noticing he still continued shooting me mildly shocked glances. Diana suddenly ran down the stairs, rushing over,

"Hey, Sara wait, you forgot this hairclip…" She trailed off holding up a metal hairpin with a jeweled dragonfly on it, "…Oh, err, hello Severus! I mean…uh…I didn't know you were going to the party…" Diana was blushing darkly, twisting her hands together.

"I'm escorting Sara to the dance," He said rather stiffly.

"That's lovely! I'm not going…nobody asked me…not that I'm upset or anything, I've got really difficult potions homework anyway! …Not that I want to do it of course, I just don't have anything else to do really, as nobody asked me to go…Not that I mind or anything!..." She babbled, for some reason getting incredibly flustered. I decided to put her out of her misery,

"Never mind, well, thank you for the hairclip Diana, it's sweet of you to coming rushing down here…"

"Oh, it's no problem, you just look so beautiful tonight …both of you do…" She winced in horror at her mistake, "Sorry, Severus, I mean, not beautiful obviously! Oh, Sorry, I didn't mean you don't look nice and err, smart but uh, not beautiful. … you look Handsome or whatever..." She tittered nervously, clearly kicking herself. Sev was blushing too by this point and she sighed "I think I better go and stop embarrassing myself now…" before scampering back up the stairs to the girls dorms. I turned to examine Snape, she was right, he did look much nicer than usual; he'd put some sort of product in his hair and dress robes appeared to suit him nicely.

"That was…" He trailed off slowly, swallowing "Curious..." I laughed at him and began to drag him off to the party,

"Come on lover boy!" I teased.

"Lover boy? What exactly are you trying to suggest?..."

The first thing I noticed about the party was not the snowflakes charmed to fall over the dance floor, the rather large buffet, or even the small man wielding a Wizarding camera who began snapping away at the new arrivals; no, it was bloody Sirius Black. He was flirting outrageously with Samantha Turntable (who's red dress was so shrunken that it actually beat Bella for the slut-factor award, the hemline was about a millimeter above her arse, which was practically hanging out …not that I cared), but saw me over her shoulder. His eyes slid up and down my figure approvingly and he raised an appreciative eyebrow at me. Dickhead. I'm having an affair with a definite dickhead… Still, my heart fluttered at the secret grin he sent me, nodding hello. I allowed myself a small smile back before Sev pulled at my hand,

"What are you looking at Sara?" He asked. Oops! I pointed at the dance floor excitedly,

"Look at the snowflakes! Aren't they pretty! Let's go dance…" I dragged him off, noting Sirius's scowl at our joined hands.

Katie's P.O.V

I couldn't dance with Avery again! I just couldn't!

"Smile for me!" The photographer, a small bearded man who appeared to have decided it was his life's mission to get us on the front cover of the prophet (I was beginning to think my mother was paying him) bossed. I smiled a flawlessly false smile that I'd perfected by the age of three, cringing away from the arm Avery hand circled possessively round my waist. After the bearded man had gone of to harass somebody else, I jumped away from Avery's touch.

"I think I'm going to go and get another drink." I said, ignoring the fact that, having used this excuse three times before, I was in real danger of getting drunk. Avery narrowed his eyes.

"One more dance?" He asked sweetly enough, but his hand tightened bruisingly on my wrist in a way that was surprisingly sinister.

"I, I really must insist!" I struggled, panicking slightly, what if he wouldn't let me go? This man invoked a terror in me that I hadn't known I was capable of, with a simple gesture he could remind me just how much he could hurt me if he so pleased. I bravely met his eye but I knew he saw the fear hiding in mine, for a moment I thought he might hit me right there in the middle of the dance floor,

"Very well, I was hoping to get a dance with Bella anyway." He snarled, releasing me from his grip and turning away.

Minutes later I leant heavily on the buffet table, sighing in relief and trying to cool my forehead with the cold glass in my hand.

"Ah, let me introduce you to the lovely Miss Johnson," Slughorn announced from my right, and in an instant I was being introduced to a tall man wearing plain black teaching robes, clearly he was a last minute party-goer.

"Katie, this is your new Defense teacher and more importantly head of house; Professor Knight." My head snapped up in shock at the name, I'd supposed he wasn't attending and that Bella was simply gossip mongering. I found myself examining his face in surprise; his hair was a chocolaty shade of brown and fell in effortless waves around his sharply angular face, his eyes were dark brown as well, and despite the bitter cold he had a dark tan. Well, he was undoubtedly good-looking, but I decided this had to point towards a pooey personality. Apparently, his looks, alongside his family's riches, had not been exaggerated. I forced a polite nod, whilst noticing light stubble on his cheeks, which I decided to forget I found insanely attractive in a man (Avery was always immaculately well-shaved, I had apparently stored in the recesses of my mind).

"It's nice to meet you," He said smiling in a friendly way.

"Smith, don't touch that! It'll explode Excuse me a moment Samuel…" Slughorn apologized before chasing after some kid who'd somehow got hold of an odd-looking object that looked somewhere between a horn and a death-trap. Urgh, Samuel, sounds like just the name a stupid old professor would have… For a moment there was awkward silence when I didn't respond, but instead threw back another stinging gulp of the liquid in my glass. "Well, may I say you look beautiful tonight Miss Johnson." He finally continued, I noticed he paused ever so slightly before he said my name, as if it was uncomfortably familiar. Mother's urges to court him sang in the back of my head, fueling my anger. I scowled, ignoring the fact I swayed slightly, under the influence of alcohol.

"Is that a totally appropriate thing to say to a student?" I snapped. He looked slightly taken aback but apologized.

"I'm sorry. I'm still not completely familiar with how to act like a Professor, it seems like yesterday I was a student here myself." He laughed good-naturedly but I narrowed my eyes at him, I admit I was a little drunk, leading to my rude snappish behavior.

"Indeed it almost was, I believe? It's unusual for teachers to be within 5 years of most of their students in age, isn't it? I imagine it will be difficult to get the proper level of…authority…" I provoked slightly but his smile barely wavered.

"As a student you have no reason to worry about my levels of authority. I assure you I am a very capable Professor." And his voice was just that; authoritative. I sensed that strand of conversation was over.

"Do you enjoy Defense against the Dark arts Miss Johnson? Professor Slughorn tells me you're an O-level student." He said, changing the topic to his subject. I clenched my jaw and nodded,

"I did enjoy it." I gave special emphasis to the use of past tense, spotting Sara over his shoulder,

"Excuse me, Professor," He chose to ignore the sarcasm injected into the title, unbeknown to me, he could see my drunken state and had decided to keep an eye on me for the rest of the night, "I've just spotted a friend who I need to speak to about a very urgent mater."

"Oh my god that man was truly HORRIBLE." I exclaimed when I reached her.

"What? Knight?" Sara asked.

"Yes! He's the slimiest, stuffiest human being on the planet! Urgh, stupid little arse kissing fool! I can't believe HE'S in charge of teaching us Defense!" I raved.

"You don't mean that Kate! He seemed like he'll be a good enough teacher, keen." Sara added. I scowled.

"Keen to teach DEFENSE…" I shuddered.

"Each to there own Katie!" Sara laughed. "Besides, your being cruel, you grilled the poor man on his first day, he's already been dragged around by Slughorn for the past hour, what were you expecting? Him to start quoting Shakespeare?" Sara pointed out fairly. "Admit it, you already set out to dislike him before he spoke a word, besides, he's only a teacher!" She had a point; he was just a teacher. I was acting as if HE was the one who wanted to marry me, rather than my mother wanting him to. If I'd at least been cordial to him he probably would have forgotten me, now instead I'd ensured he would be keeping an eye on the 'drunkard six year with an attitude problem'.

"Oh god, I have bigger problems than moronic Professors," I moaned as I dodged behind her, spotting Avery on the other side of the dance floor, clearly searching for me.

"Only…Three hours left, Katie, and then you can lie in bed all snuggled up with your pillow and think about how much you'd like to rip Avery's ears off…" I sighed darkly at her joke, which was in very real danger of becoming a reality.

"He's almost making Paul Moreau seem like a tempting prospect." A small frown crossed Sara's perfectly painted face.

"How come you haven't heard about him in ages? I mean, your supposed to MARRY him, but your mother seems to be too busy setting you up with other people?" Sara wasn't from a Pureblood linage; she sometimes stampeded over this kind of delicate subject in a way that most Slytherins would have known not to. Secretly, I think that was one of the best things about her, she had all of Slytherins best qualities, without being weighed down by the faults associated with our house.

"My mother doesn't really want me to marry him, she's just desperate. She probably thinks this is the push I need to finally get myself engaged to someone high up…My second cousin is more like a threat; in fact, I doubt if it comes to it she'll actually force me into the match, it doesn't benefit the family in the slightest to marry me of to a family we already have strong ties with…" After my explanation she shuffled uncomfortably swirling her drink.

"I'm sorry…" She whispered, sliding her hand over to squeeze mine gently without anyone noticing. Someone cleared their throat suddenly and we both jumped a mile.

"Evening, ladies, may I just say you're both looking totally stunning tonight." Regulus Black, who'd already danced with me twice, smiled charmingly at us, "I would like to have the absolute honor of asking you to dance, Miss Lay." Sara laughed at his formalities but nodded shyly,

"That would be lovely…" She sent me a searching look as Black took her hand and whisked her away towards the dance floor. I smiled reassuringly; I didn't want her to feel like she had to constantly guard me. I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder and somebody step way too close to me, cold fingers sliding down my bare spine, making me shudder.

"Trying to hide from me, Katharine?" Avery whispered dangerously in my ear. My fuzzy brain was swamped with fear.

"N-no. Of-of course not," His hand was still searching my back greedily and I gulped.

"Good …I need to have a word with you," He said, the implication that it would have to be something personal made me want to run away.

"I'm listening." I told him pointedly. The hand exploring my skin tightened suddenly, almost painfully, on my waist.

"I was thinking somewhere a bit more…private…" His moist breath was uncomfortable in my ear and I trembled slightly with dread, though not enough for him to notice. He all but shoved me into forward motion, leading me towards the exit, never once releasing his iron grip on my waist. I looked round desperately for Sara, but couldn't see her through the crowd, I thought about shouting for help, but the consequences if my mother heard I'd caused a scene didn't bare thinking about. Only one person noticed Avery and I leave the room; Professor Knight frowned at our backs, silently following behind as Avery all but dragged me away from the bright lights and safety of the party.

Sara's P.O.V

Purebloods were taught how to ballroom dance more or less from birth, and my father hand paid for me to have lessons at the age of 12, so Regulus and I were rather competent dance partners. I couldn't help but notice how much the well-mannered fifth year boy resembled his brother; they were almost identical, except Sirius's features held perhaps a little more finesse than the boy who twirled me around the dance floor. Sirius was suddenly in my line of sight behind Regulus, frowning at me. I remembered the two brothers had a turbulent relationship, so much so that Sirius had left home last year. I pulled an apologetic face at Sirius when a slow song came up and Regulus and I continued dancing. Sirius was now full on scowling and barely noticed Samantha tugging impatiently on his arm…that is until he allowed her to drag him onto the dance floor and very deliberately pulled her flush against his chest without lookout away from me…Was he…Challenging me? Seriously? Did someone transport me into a school disco for twelve year olds without informing me? I was about to return my attention to the boy I was supposed to be dancing with, when the stupid girl burrowed her face into his collarbone the way I always did. I narrowed my eyes, closing the space between a very surprised Regulus and I, half expecting the poor kid to leap away, but he just offered me a slightly uncomfortable, chivalrous smile. Sirius raised an eyebrow at me; apparently surprised I was playing his stupid game. He bent his head down to whisper something scandalous in Turntable's ear so that she flushed. I shuddered to think what he said to make Samantha Turntable flush. I stood on tiptoes; suddenly thankful Regulus was shorter than the other Black.

"You're a good dancer, Regulus." My breath was hot on his ear and he stiffened slightly. Sirius looked like a wasp had just flown into his mouth, so much so I had to be careful not to snigger. He suddenly spun his date around, making her giggle and hold onto his neck tightly, for GOD'S sake, really? I scowled back, beginning to get angry as I wrapped my arms around Regulus neck and pulled myself even closer, if possible, so that the wasn't even a millimeter separating us. Sirius caught Samantha round the waist and met my gaze before dipping down and kissing her, right there in the middle of the room. What, a, man-slut…Damn! Well, he defiantly won; there is absolutely no way I'm matching that! I let out a frustrated sigh and to my surprise Regulus chuckled.

"You know, if you're really desperate I wouldn't object to a quick kiss." He teased; apparently the brothers shared their arrogance as well as there looks.

"What?" I panicked.

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me," He teased.

"It's not what you think-," I groaned.

"I think we both know it's exactly what I think it is. And really, I wish you luck; you'd be good for him…Just do me a favor," His eyes met mine, losing any trace of humor, I noticed that unlike his brothers they were totally black. "If and when you get together with him, tell Sirius his little brother misses him, and that he knows now he made the wrong choice." I swallowed, nodding with a heavy heart.

"Sure …sure, of course Regulus …but really Sirius and I aren't-,"

"Thank you Sara. Now, I believe it's time for a fox-trot." He smiled brightly at me as if the conversation had never happened.

Later when I returned to where I had left Katie, I realized she'd gone. I was determined not to panic; it was ridiculous, was I honestly going to worry that my friend was no longer in the exact spot I left her half an hour before in the middle of a party that was in full swing? No, I wasn't, I decided. But I was… Just as I was about to set off to search for her, a face that threw the situation from my mind loomed over me.

"Black!" I hissed as Sirius grinned down at me, I glanced around worriedly, but we were situated behind a rather large, ugly statue and therefor hidden for most peoples view. "What are you doing? Someone will notice!"

"No they won't, Lay. Besides, I just came to say that you look mind-blowingly gorgeous it that dress." He winked at me in a way which made me want to melt into his arms, oh, except wasn't Turntable supposed to be currently perched in them? Where was she anyway?

"What exactly were you thinking when you started that little contest in the middle of the room?"

"Hey, you chose to participate!" He teased.

"I can't believe you snogged her you little…" I trailed of looking for a word strong enough.

"Anyone would think you were jealous…" He said airily, but smiled at me.

"ME? Not at all. Actually, Regulus was a rather endearing dance partner, I think I may be harboring a slight crush on him," I downright lied with a teasing smile back. "Do you think he'd date me?"

"Urgh! No! Don't make me sick, besides, he'd never be able to step up to my superior charms…" He told me.

"Superior charms huh? Are you sure, he is rather charming…I'm having trouble remembering in what way your superior." I continued innocently, he smiled wickedly at me.

"How about we ditch this party and I'll make sure to remind you…" He flirted, holding out his warm hand for me to take. I smiled widely at him,

"I think your going to have to try rather hard…my memory is a little hazy…"

"Oh, I plan to." He said in a seductive tone before I took his hand and we both burst out laughing, sneaking away into the cool darkness of the corridor.

"Well, this is classy." I commented dryly as he pulled me into a cupboard, surveying the buckets cleaning equipment. He chuckled.

"You're the first to complain," He assured me, and I was somehow relieved. Because even though I was OK with the fact I was one of many girls Black had brought to places like this, I didn't want to be LIKE them. I wanted somewhere deep inside myself to feel that I was somehow different, not a skank or a slut. Black had been my third proper 'relationship' (if you could call it that) I was not a slut.

"Thank you by the way." I whispered as he shut the door and the atmosphere immediately became tenser.

"For what?" He asked naively, moving closer.

"The present." I said cryptically. He continued to feign innocence, his hands now on my hips, guiding me backwards towards the wall.

"What present?" He teased, rubbing his nose on mine gently, Eskimo kissing, I found myself giggling at the thought SIRIUS BLACK was giving me an Eskimo kiss.

"The one you gave me for Christmas, or more accurately returned to me." I raised an eyebrow as he winked at me, sighing dramatically,

"Oh, that present! Why didn't you just say? Well, anyway, no problem, it was my pleasure." I reached up and brushed his hair out of his eyes, pouting.

"I feel almost bad I didn't get YOU anything…" I flirted sweetly.

"Not to late to give me something now…." He suggested, grinning.

"That's a good idea, well, what would you like?" I continued, breathless.

"Hmmm …I think a kiss would do nicely." He pretended to decide, I chuckled inches from his waiting lips,

"God, aren't we just the biggest cliché?" And then, well, that's when I kissed him… It wasn't like the other times we'd kissed; it was like all the underlying hunger, the desire that had been raising it's ugly head over the past few weeks crashed into that little cupboard like a double decker bus, and suddenly I was pulling his shirt out from where it was tucked into his trousers and sliding my hands underneath, loving his sharp intake of breath when my fingers explored his bare torso. His hands moved from cupping my face down my body, sliding past my hips and waist to my thighs, making my head spin, making me want to get closer until every inch of our skin was flush together. I knew it was best to stop now before we lost all self-control and did something we'd regret later. But we didn't stop. We didn't want to, and pretty soon my brain was so overcome with desire I didn't particularly care what I would and wouldn't regret later.

Apologise for the Sara/Sirius action (as someone once put it;P) and thank you for sitting through that:) I'll try and improve Knights character in the future, but I wrote that bit with a missive headache.

This chapter more or less set things up for the events in the next, so yeah...

What terrible misfortune awaits Sara/Sirius? (heehee, that I look forward to writing)

What does Avery want from Katie?

Where has Lily been in all this?

Find out….next time! (somebody shoot me-_-)