All things not Allosia belong to JKR.

And yes, they will "knock boots", "do the deed", etc. etc. etc, soon. I swear.

But first, Malfoy's party.



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As Snape shined his dress boots for the evening, Allosia looked at him curiously.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I hate that question, Allosia."

"Why don't you let the house elves do things like that?"

"First," he said, looking up at her, "because of the nature of my arrangement, I have no dominion here, they are not obligated to serve me and hence take no particular pleasure in doing so."

"Surely, Dumbeldore -"

"Could change that? Certainly, I'd even imagine he has, but I quite frankly find them to also be incompetent. Much like your opinion on magical hair brushing."

"Alright."

"There," he said putting the boots down and smiling. "Why don't you go to your rooms and get your class work or some such, so you have something to do down here other than be a bookworm."

"I was actually planning on snooping," Allosia said, casually.

Snape laughed at this. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't keep a diary."

"That's actually horrifying to imagine," Allosia said dryly.

"Go get your papers," he said, gesturing at the fireplace.



When she returned, he was dressed and she couldn't help but pause for a moment to admire him. "You look even more elegant than usual," she said.

"Your compliments are so careful."

"If my compliments were less careful, Severus, I'd leave those clothes of yours in quite a disarray."

He laughed and tilted his head to acknowledge her point. "I need to go now. You know the charms for the door, yes?"

Allosia nodded.

"Good, you're welcome here, I've set things so that the room will not object to your presence without me."

"Layers within layers."

"Of course."

The clothes had changed him, she observed, made him cold and formal. She watched as he slipped his cloak on, completing the outfit, and then caught up his travelling cloak from a hook by the door.

"No, Allosia," he stopped her with his soft voice as she started to approach. "I'll be back soon enough and I'd rather kiss you then."

She nodded, silently. When she heard the door click closed behind him she took a moment to walk around, to think about the absurdity, that for tonight anyway, she was part of home to him.



The ride to the Malfoy estate was long, and Snape was grateful for it. It gave him the time to slowly remove his awareness of his subterfuge and of the joys of his current life. Left with his intellect and his fears and the perverse pleasure he took in both, he slowly constructed his other identity over them. Impatient, decadent and lacking in respect for everyone and everything, except when it was a useful tool, except when it came to Voldemort.

As the carriage pulled into the entrance of the estate, he couldn't help but be impressed by its beauty. Hundreds of tiny lights lit the grounds around the house, and he wished for a moment that Allosia could see this, that this could be something other than what it was. He took a moment to think of her, curled by the fire in his rooms, and then eliminated his awareness of her again. She was just a child he had fucked a very long time ago.

The carriage pulled to a stop, and Snape climbed out, pausing for a second to look up at the mansion, before making his way up the shallow steps of the walkway. The carriage drove away to park.

The door of the mansion stood open, and two identical greeters flanked its sides. Snape nodded to them, and dipped his head as he entered. Removing his travelling cloak with a flourish he handed it to the waiting house-elf and made his way towards the salon.

The mood was festive, and the candlelight against the mauve walls flattered everyone. Here, much to Snape's relief, things were dignified, people chatted and snacked, and he suspected many of them were not even entirely aware of just what tonight was a celebration of. He caught snippets of conversations, praising both Lucius and Draco, expressing annoyance at the Ministry, talking about the business of professional Quidditch and mentioning the latest fashions. How dreary, Snape thought, and grimaced accordingly. He was amused to note that his presence here seemed to cause as much discomfort as anywhere else. It was, in its way, a relief.

He glanced up to find a beaming Lucius by his side and far too close.

"Hello, Lucius," Snape said with a more significant aristocratic lengthening of the syllables than usual.

"Severus," he said, his voice not dissimilar, although pitched slightly higher and clearly intoxicated in some form.

"How's Draco?" he asked warmly.

"Well, well." The father beamed. "My concerns about his fortitude seem as if they were unfounded, or at least will be unfounded in the future."

"I'm glad for you." Snape said softly. The struggle to get the words out sounding like genuine concern.

"Come downstairs old friend, it's much more interesting than this," Lucius said making an expansive gesture to the room.

"That," Snape said tightly, "I don't doubt."