12. Bowling with Dignity
Evangeline sat there and stared down the alley thoughtfully for a moment. Then she turned in her seat and faced Severus. "Well, were you going to sit there alone in the dark without speaking all evening?"
A quick guilty look flitted across his face. Then he rose and came over to stand next to her. "I didn't want to interrupt," he said softly. "But, I admit I was…curious."
"Curious," said Evangeline at the same time. "Yes, I've noticed that about you, Severus Snape. You are a very curious man."
"Indeed," he replied, his eyebrows rising up to his hairline. "Does my curiosity present a problem for you?"
"No," she replied with a smile. "An opportunity." She raised a hand and gestured toward the alley. "Join me in a game? I promise I won't make any sort of judgments on your performance. As you can see from my previous scores, I am way out of Albus Dumbledore's league."
An uncertain look crossed his face and he hesitated for a moment, and she knew she had him. Gently she put her hand on his arm and looked up into his eyes. "Please, Severus. I promise I won't smile, or laugh, or do anything to make you feel uncomfortable."
He sighed and seemed to have trouble breaking eye contact. "All right. I'll give it a try. I hope I won't come to regret this."
Before she thought about it, she jumped up and gave him a brief hug. "Oh, it'll be fun, you'll see."
Surprised at her forwardness, she backed off, a bit embarrassed, and turned to go find Rooty, so she didn't see the brief expression of confusion and pleasure that flitted across Snape's face. Evangeline ran over to the counter and told the house elf that she'd need shoes for Professor Snape. "Better make them black, Rooty," she said in a low voice. "Dignity is really important here." The elf nodded solemnly and winked at her. Then he gave her a pair of black bowling shoes that looked like they should fit Snape. Pleased, she winked back, took the shoes, and walked over and gave them to Severus.
To no one's surprise, they fit perfectly, so they moved on to selecting the right ball. Suddenly every ball on the rack was a shining black, Rooty having obviously gotten into the spirit of things. After Severus had made his selection, they took it over and put it next to hers on the return rack at the side of the lane. Now, thought Evangeline, how to approach this next bit delicately? Oh well, might as well just hit him head on. "Severus, I think it might be better if you took your robe off to bowl," she said, with a sweet smile.
His eyebrows climbed his forehead again. "Why would I need to do that? Albus didn't seem to have any trouble."
"Yes, that's true, but he's had lots of practice. Believe me if you aren't used to bowling, it will cause you trouble. You'll have plenty of other things you have to be thinking about. You don't need the added distraction of tripping over your robe."
He hesitated. She smiled. "You are wearing other clothes under there, aren't you, Severus?"
A quelling frown was directed her way, but instead of answering, he unbuttoned his flowing robe and removed it to display a fine white cotton shirt and fitted black trousers, identical to those she had seen him wear in his quarters. Yup. She thought. More clothes. Nice ones, too.
"Okay." Evangeline met his eyes again with a smile. "Let's give this a try."
First she showed him how to hold the ball, how many steps to take, and where and how to aim. After a few practice frames, he was doing very well. Better than me, she sighed. Pleased at his progress, she grinned up at the tall wizard. "You obviously have excellent hand-eye coordination, Severus. You look like you've been doing this for years."
The Potions Master smiled back at her, and she caught her breath at its genuineness and warmth. This was not an expression she was used to seeing on his face, but it was definitely one that she wished she could see there more often. "It appears that I have an excellent teacher, Evangeline, thank you."
"You're very welcome. See? I told you it would be fun." Raising an eyebrow at her comment, he nodded at her silently and stepped up to take his next shot. A strike! The mildly frustrated witch sighed and rested her chin in her hand; strikes had eluded her all evening.
They quit after two games and turned in their equipment. Severus slipped his robe back on, although he didn't bother to button it up. They walked slowly up from the lower dungeon level. "Would you be willing to try bowling again, Severus? You did very well."
Reluctantly he nodded. "Yes, I'd be willing to bowl with you again, Evangeline. I'm not sure that I'd be up to tackling Albus, though. Not yet."
"You could go and practice on your own, too, you know, until you felt more confident."
Perhaps." He gave her a brief smile.
She stretched and sighed, trying to work an annoyingly painful kink out of her shoulder. "It's been a long time since I've bowled. Perhaps I shouldn't have done so much on a first outing," she complained mildly while still struggling to reach the aching spot. "Oh well. Before I go up to bed, I should check on my potion on the night hearth."
"Would you mind some company? I'd appreciate the opportunity to see how it's changed," Snape said softly as he moved closer to her and his fingers gently descended on her sore shoulder kneading the spot that she'd been struggling to reach. She caught her breath in her throat at his unexpected touch, then quickly relaxed as his nimble fingers eased the stiffness and aching from the hard to reach knot. A soft moan of pleasure escaped her as he hit just the right spot with just the right amount of pressure. His skill with his hands eased the ache in her shoulder rather quickly, and his warm touch sent her thoughts spinning off in unexpected directions. Sharp pictures flooded her mind of those same fingers moving on to more intimate and interesting places on her body, and the thought brought her back to reality with a lurch.
Suddenly a tad uncomfortable with the path her thoughts were traveling on, she smiled hesitantly up at him and thanked him as she pulled slowly away from his touch. "Thank you, Severus. That feels much better."
He nodded as he dropped his hands to his side and stared into her eyes. His own thoughts carefully hidden. "You're welcome," was his only response.
As she stared at him, she wondered if he was suddenly as nervous as she was. Probably not. You're imagining things, Evangeline! He was just trying to help you out…it was a kindness, not an advance…grow up and stop being such an idiot before you embarrass the man.
"Uh…I'd be happy to have you come and look at the potion again, Severus," she added, hoping that she didn't sound as foolish as she suddenly felt.
They entered Snape's classroom together and went over to the night hearth. Evangeline stirred the potion and examined it carefully. She turned to Severus with a smile. "It looks like it's coming along fine. It's beginning to lose its color and is thickening up nicely. When it's finished, it should be a completely colorless gel."
"How does it work to animate the paintings?" he asked curiously.
"Well, the potion alone isn't enough. It prepares the painted image and makes it receptive to the spells you need to use. It's the spells that animate the picture, but they need to be done in combination. One or the other alone won't do it."
He nodded. "It sounds complicated."
"I guess it is, but not more so than many other kinds of magic. I'm sure that you can do many complicated magical things that I wouldn't have a clue about. It's just a matter of interest, study, and hard work. Something that I'm sure the 'Potions Master of Hogwarts' knows all about."
At her teasing tone, he glanced down and favored her with a small smile. "I suppose so."
An awkward silence spread between them again as he looked at her with those compelling eyes, and she found it hard to pull away. This time he broke the spell, and abruptly thanked her for a nice evening. Then he wished her a good night, and left the room for his own quarters. She shook herself sharply. Then she checked the potion one more time, adjusted the flame under the cauldron a bit, and headed off to her own room. She checked the potion once during the night, but didn't run into anyone on her trip down or back from the dungeon.