Disclaimer: see other Ch.s, I'm too lazy to write it out again... hehe
"OK! Time for dinner!!" Remus burst into Arduine's room merrily. She noticed that he was carrying her clothes in his arms.
"Do explain..." she smiled at him from her bed.
He plopped the clothes down next to her. "Well, although I do think those white hospital pajamas rather fetching, I thought you'd like your regular garb to wear for dinner tonight. As everyone is in the Great Hall for dinner I figured that I'd drag you up to the Staff Room for a meal with me and Sirius."
"You're going to drag me up there?" she smiled, taking her white linen shirt from the pile and changing into it, showing no reservations about Remus standing there.
"Well, dragging really is a last resort." he laughed. "I thought that some good old fashioned persuasion would do first."
Arduine smiled as she hopped into her brown leather pants. "So what do you have up your sleeve?"
"Well, I thought that, along with dinner, some dancing might be in order." Remus laughed as Arduine's head shot up. "I found this wizard's music box that'll play anything you ask it to. Quite a great contraption, really."
"Dancing?" Arduine smiled at the idea of dancing with Remus again. "Ok, you've convinced me." Her foot thudded into her second boot and they were off.
"And just where do you think you're off to?" Madam Pomfrey said, blocking the exit.
"Arduine needs to get out of here for an evening. I've had the house elves set up a dinner in the Staff Room. No one will be in there because they're all in the Great Hall. It'll be good for her." Remus smiled.
"I don't think so, Mister Lupin." she huffed.
"Oh, please, I'm going to go crazy if I'm stuck in here much longer. I'm used to living in the forest, this is torture." Arduine whined.
Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Just this once. And you must come right back."
"Alright." the pair said in unison and headed out of the infirmary.
"That was a fabulous meal... but I am still waiting for the dancing..." Arduine smiled from her chair, sipping red wine from a silver goblet.
"Dancing?!?" Sirius barked, completely taken by surprise. "I don't do dancing..."
"Oh come now, Sirius. Don't be such a flobberworm." Remus laughed as he stood and opened the music box.
Arduine jumped up. "Swing!" she yelled at the music box and the drums and trumpets started blaring.
Remus laughed again and took Arduine into his arms, dancing with her as if she weighed nothing. It was not long before Arduine ran over to Sirius and pulled him from his chair. "You're dancing whether you like it or not." Sirius just laughed and complied.
Severus had been standing in the doorway for only a few moments. The loud music had prevented the three from noticing the opening of the Staff Room door. He was watching Arduine twirling from one man to another, completely entranced by her movements.
"Samba!" Remus shouted over the music and the style abruptly changed. Sirius stood on the sidelines as his lover danced with Arduine. Remus spun Arduine out along his arm, but instead of returning, she leapt over to Sirius and pulled him onto the floor.
Then, with a sudden jolt, she stopped dancing. Her grey-blue eyes met a pair of velvet black ones. Neither moved, transfixed by the recognition of the other's presence. She felt a flush creep up her neck; she had never expected Severus to witness her act so openly, she let her soul fly when she danced.
"Severus..." Remus protested from somewhere in the background.
"Remus, dinner was fabulous. Sirius, it was wonderful to finally meet you. Please leave now." she said, not taking her eyes away from Severus's.
The two men said nothing, but complied quietly, shuffling past Severus and walking out of sight. Remus not-so-unintentionally hit Severus's shoulder with his own. The music box, as if sensing tension, stopping playing.
"Do you dance?" Arduine broke the silence. She didn't wait for an answer as she quietly approached him. He watched, unmoving as she unclasped his robes and threw the over-garment to the side. Underneath he was wearing a simple white dress shirt and black pants.
Severus took her hand and walked over to the center of the cleared room. "Would you like to try something... a bit more... robust?" A/N: Yes, I know, I'm quoting 'The Mask of Zorro' Arduine just smiled. His eyes left hers for the first time as he looked to the music box. "Tango." he said, and a quartet of strings broke into a wonderfully old Spanish dance, far from any modern style.
Arduine closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the rich music. When she opened them again, Arduine realized that she was already dancing with Severus.
Their bodies were close, the smell of him intoxicating, his touch only making her want him to hold her closer.
They covered the whole floor, their movements countering one another and the whole situation becoming more and more seductive.
Arduine couldn't remove herself from the black fire that were his eyes. The entire universe was the music and Severus.
Severus had long ago stopped paying attention to the exact movements of the dance. The music just flowed through the both of them now. He dipped her, her head rolling back to reveal her tempting neck. As she came up her body pressed even closer to his.
Arduine didn't attempt to move away at this point, she wouldn't have been able to tell herself to do so. That voice that had defined right and wrong, normal and abnormal, to her before had long since been locked away.
When she came back up from the dip, Arduine's face came tantalizingly close to Severus's. All movement stopped, the music faded away. Both were breathing heavily from the exertion and the breath tickled Arduine's cheek.
Severus's mind was reeling, the emotional and the rational battling hard. Then something screamed in him... he cannot let the past dictate his future.
Arduine felt shockwaves as Severus's lips pressed to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his long hair. She felt his tongue and opened her mouth willingly. From there the kiss increased in passion exponentially, edging on violent when both had to part for air.
Severus moved one hand along her side, causing Arduine to burst into giggles. "No fair tickling..." she panted, not leaving his embrace.
"Life isn't fair..." he smiled and repeated the action on both sides of her torso.
Arudine leapt away, laughing madly. "No no nonooonono..." she yelled as she ran away from Severus, running circles around the Staff Room.
Then in one deft battle tactic, Arduine spun around, and using the element of surprise, knocked Severus onto the couch.
She leapt upon her prey and ended up straddling his hips and tickling him madly. His baritone laugh rolled through her. As he wriggled and arched his back underneath her their hips pressed together, giving both incentive to continue the game.
Severus finally grabbed both of her wrists and held them above his head, pulling her face downward in the process.
Arduine smiled and ground her hips against his. Severus smiled broadly. "It's going to take more than that to get me to let go..." he purred playfully. He couldn't remember the last time he acted like this, it was an amazing release.
"How much more..." a male voice said from the doorway. Arduine and Severus turned to see Remus watching them with his arms folded across his chest, smiling. "I came back here because I wanted to see if I could steal the remnants of the bottle of red wine. I see you two haven't touched it."
Arduine blushed furiously while Severus became paler.
"Don't worry." Remus smiled at them. "Although this was far from what I expected to occur between the two of you, whatever makes Arduine happy is fine by me." Arduine sighed with relief. Just as Remus was turning to leave he swung back around. "Oh, and if I were you two I'd pick a better place to do such. They can hear you in the Great Hall." Remus smiled one more time and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Arduine looked at Severus and burst into laughter. "Whats so funny?" he inquired, a small smile on his face.
"Everything..." she giggled. "Well, a bit more ironic than funny..." Her giggling subsided and she let her body collapse onto Severus's. "I should probably be getting back to the infirmary. The longer I'm here the less Madam Pomfrey is likely to believe that I came back right after dinner."
Arduine sat up and then got off of Severus. He stood and lazily wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come and see me tomorrow morning." It came out more like a question than Arduine had intended.
"Of course." Severus smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "Now get back to bed before Poppy gets angry. You don't want to get her angry." He smiled and gave her a shove forward.
"I've battled giants, dragons, and basilisk... I think I can take an irate Medi-witch." Arduine smiled over her shoulder and left the room.
Severus slumped back down onto the couch. Well this was the last thing he expected to happen tonight. He looked over to the table and saw a notebook stuffed with various parchment. He walked over and picked it up, handling the familiar book. And to think that he came into the Staff Room to find his gradebook...
"OK! Time for dinner!!" Remus burst into Arduine's room merrily. She noticed that he was carrying her clothes in his arms.
"Do explain..." she smiled at him from her bed.
He plopped the clothes down next to her. "Well, although I do think those white hospital pajamas rather fetching, I thought you'd like your regular garb to wear for dinner tonight. As everyone is in the Great Hall for dinner I figured that I'd drag you up to the Staff Room for a meal with me and Sirius."
"You're going to drag me up there?" she smiled, taking her white linen shirt from the pile and changing into it, showing no reservations about Remus standing there.
"Well, dragging really is a last resort." he laughed. "I thought that some good old fashioned persuasion would do first."
Arduine smiled as she hopped into her brown leather pants. "So what do you have up your sleeve?"
"Well, I thought that, along with dinner, some dancing might be in order." Remus laughed as Arduine's head shot up. "I found this wizard's music box that'll play anything you ask it to. Quite a great contraption, really."
"Dancing?" Arduine smiled at the idea of dancing with Remus again. "Ok, you've convinced me." Her foot thudded into her second boot and they were off.
"And just where do you think you're off to?" Madam Pomfrey said, blocking the exit.
"Arduine needs to get out of here for an evening. I've had the house elves set up a dinner in the Staff Room. No one will be in there because they're all in the Great Hall. It'll be good for her." Remus smiled.
"I don't think so, Mister Lupin." she huffed.
"Oh, please, I'm going to go crazy if I'm stuck in here much longer. I'm used to living in the forest, this is torture." Arduine whined.
Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Just this once. And you must come right back."
"Alright." the pair said in unison and headed out of the infirmary.
"That was a fabulous meal... but I am still waiting for the dancing..." Arduine smiled from her chair, sipping red wine from a silver goblet.
"Dancing?!?" Sirius barked, completely taken by surprise. "I don't do dancing..."
"Oh come now, Sirius. Don't be such a flobberworm." Remus laughed as he stood and opened the music box.
Arduine jumped up. "Swing!" she yelled at the music box and the drums and trumpets started blaring.
Remus laughed again and took Arduine into his arms, dancing with her as if she weighed nothing. It was not long before Arduine ran over to Sirius and pulled him from his chair. "You're dancing whether you like it or not." Sirius just laughed and complied.
Severus had been standing in the doorway for only a few moments. The loud music had prevented the three from noticing the opening of the Staff Room door. He was watching Arduine twirling from one man to another, completely entranced by her movements.
"Samba!" Remus shouted over the music and the style abruptly changed. Sirius stood on the sidelines as his lover danced with Arduine. Remus spun Arduine out along his arm, but instead of returning, she leapt over to Sirius and pulled him onto the floor.
Then, with a sudden jolt, she stopped dancing. Her grey-blue eyes met a pair of velvet black ones. Neither moved, transfixed by the recognition of the other's presence. She felt a flush creep up her neck; she had never expected Severus to witness her act so openly, she let her soul fly when she danced.
"Severus..." Remus protested from somewhere in the background.
"Remus, dinner was fabulous. Sirius, it was wonderful to finally meet you. Please leave now." she said, not taking her eyes away from Severus's.
The two men said nothing, but complied quietly, shuffling past Severus and walking out of sight. Remus not-so-unintentionally hit Severus's shoulder with his own. The music box, as if sensing tension, stopping playing.
"Do you dance?" Arduine broke the silence. She didn't wait for an answer as she quietly approached him. He watched, unmoving as she unclasped his robes and threw the over-garment to the side. Underneath he was wearing a simple white dress shirt and black pants.
Severus took her hand and walked over to the center of the cleared room. "Would you like to try something... a bit more... robust?" A/N: Yes, I know, I'm quoting 'The Mask of Zorro' Arduine just smiled. His eyes left hers for the first time as he looked to the music box. "Tango." he said, and a quartet of strings broke into a wonderfully old Spanish dance, far from any modern style.
Arduine closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the rich music. When she opened them again, Arduine realized that she was already dancing with Severus.
Their bodies were close, the smell of him intoxicating, his touch only making her want him to hold her closer.
They covered the whole floor, their movements countering one another and the whole situation becoming more and more seductive.
Arduine couldn't remove herself from the black fire that were his eyes. The entire universe was the music and Severus.
Severus had long ago stopped paying attention to the exact movements of the dance. The music just flowed through the both of them now. He dipped her, her head rolling back to reveal her tempting neck. As she came up her body pressed even closer to his.
Arduine didn't attempt to move away at this point, she wouldn't have been able to tell herself to do so. That voice that had defined right and wrong, normal and abnormal, to her before had long since been locked away.
When she came back up from the dip, Arduine's face came tantalizingly close to Severus's. All movement stopped, the music faded away. Both were breathing heavily from the exertion and the breath tickled Arduine's cheek.
Severus's mind was reeling, the emotional and the rational battling hard. Then something screamed in him... he cannot let the past dictate his future.
Arduine felt shockwaves as Severus's lips pressed to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his long hair. She felt his tongue and opened her mouth willingly. From there the kiss increased in passion exponentially, edging on violent when both had to part for air.
Severus moved one hand along her side, causing Arduine to burst into giggles. "No fair tickling..." she panted, not leaving his embrace.
"Life isn't fair..." he smiled and repeated the action on both sides of her torso.
Arudine leapt away, laughing madly. "No no nonooonono..." she yelled as she ran away from Severus, running circles around the Staff Room.
Then in one deft battle tactic, Arduine spun around, and using the element of surprise, knocked Severus onto the couch.
She leapt upon her prey and ended up straddling his hips and tickling him madly. His baritone laugh rolled through her. As he wriggled and arched his back underneath her their hips pressed together, giving both incentive to continue the game.
Severus finally grabbed both of her wrists and held them above his head, pulling her face downward in the process.
Arduine smiled and ground her hips against his. Severus smiled broadly. "It's going to take more than that to get me to let go..." he purred playfully. He couldn't remember the last time he acted like this, it was an amazing release.
"How much more..." a male voice said from the doorway. Arduine and Severus turned to see Remus watching them with his arms folded across his chest, smiling. "I came back here because I wanted to see if I could steal the remnants of the bottle of red wine. I see you two haven't touched it."
Arduine blushed furiously while Severus became paler.
"Don't worry." Remus smiled at them. "Although this was far from what I expected to occur between the two of you, whatever makes Arduine happy is fine by me." Arduine sighed with relief. Just as Remus was turning to leave he swung back around. "Oh, and if I were you two I'd pick a better place to do such. They can hear you in the Great Hall." Remus smiled one more time and left the room, closing the door behind him.
Arduine looked at Severus and burst into laughter. "Whats so funny?" he inquired, a small smile on his face.
"Everything..." she giggled. "Well, a bit more ironic than funny..." Her giggling subsided and she let her body collapse onto Severus's. "I should probably be getting back to the infirmary. The longer I'm here the less Madam Pomfrey is likely to believe that I came back right after dinner."
Arduine sat up and then got off of Severus. He stood and lazily wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come and see me tomorrow morning." It came out more like a question than Arduine had intended.
"Of course." Severus smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "Now get back to bed before Poppy gets angry. You don't want to get her angry." He smiled and gave her a shove forward.
"I've battled giants, dragons, and basilisk... I think I can take an irate Medi-witch." Arduine smiled over her shoulder and left the room.
Severus slumped back down onto the couch. Well this was the last thing he expected to happen tonight. He looked over to the table and saw a notebook stuffed with various parchment. He walked over and picked it up, handling the familiar book. And to think that he came into the Staff Room to find his gradebook...