27. Masks
Evangeline surveyed her reflection in the mirror feeling slightly apprehensive. She liked her gown, but strictly speaking it was simply a dress with a mask not a costume. As it was all she'd been able to come up with, though, without taking another major shopping trip, she hoped it would do. The black gown fit her like a glove and felt wonderful to move in, the silk soft and smooth against her bare skin. She twirled around sending the full skirt swirling around her ankles, as she caressed the soft silk of the sleeves. It had a very low neckline, which made her a little uncomfortable, but which she had to admit looked pretty good. The severity of the blackness was relieved by an orange center panel that ran down the front of the bodice and flared into a pie shaped wedge at the front of the skirt. The bodice was crisscrossed with black ribbon lacing that cinched it tightly at the waist. The finishing touch was the mask made of black feathers with orange brilliants on the tips of the longest feathers, as she put it on, she felt like a child again sneaking out to a party in disguise.
Not wanting to admit, even to herself, the hopes she had for tonight, Evangeline tried to concentrate solely on putting on the best appearance she could. This was something she could control, the only thing she could control. So she pulled her thick hair back from her face with a couple of tortoise shell combs, and let it cascade down her back in a mass of shining curls. Her stomach was full of butterflies, and she was full of nervous anticipation. She'd purposely waited until the dance had already begun, to go down herself, hoping that she could slip in unobtrusively, and search for the face that she most wanted to see.
Before she could leave her room though, there was a knock on the door. Curious, she opened it to be confronted by a swashbuckling pirate in a flowing purple shirt with a red silk vest and tight black pants. He had a short black beard, a red bandanna on his head, and a gold earring in his right ear.
She smiled in amusement at the image standing in front of her. "Well, if it isn't the fearsome pirate, Sirius Black! What brings you here, Sir Gryffindor?"
He bowed a low sweeping bow. "At your service, madam. I thought that perhaps you'd like an escort down to the ball, my lady. But now that I've seen you, I'm thinking that I should keep you here alone and refuse to share you with anyone else. You look beautiful, Angel."
She laughed but wasn't about to fall for that ploy. She'd been waiting for this evening for far too long to be talked out of attending…at least by Sirius Black. "Thank you, Sirius, but I really do want to go down to the party."
He shrugged and offered her his arm. It was worth a try. "If you insist, my lady. I suppose we can make a grand entrance together."
She closed her chamber door, and the two of them headed down the hall together. "We're not supposed to make a grand entrance. We're both supposed to keep a low profile, remember."
Sirius turned and leered down at her, eyeing her décolletage appreciatively. "Believe me, that's not a low profile dress. No man in the room will be able to take his eyes off you."
That thought made her hesitate. Admittedly, she'd been hoping for that reaction on a scale of one, but she hadn't really thought about the larger male population.
He smiled reassuringly. "Relax, as long as no one knows your name, you'll simply be the lovely mystery lady who caught everyone's eye. I'm not letting you go back and change and deprive us all of an enjoyable evening. Besides, we're already here."
With a flourish, he waved his arm toward the open doors to the Great Hall. It had been transformed into a Halloween wonderland with the usual black, orange, and gold streamers, floating pumpkins, and lots of sparkling candles. Music was playing and both students and staff were dancing and laughing and talking in a huge and colorful mass. The two of them entered the room and looked around. The hall was full to bursting with people of all sizes, in a wide variety of bright costumes. Evangeline soon realized that finding any one particular person would be very difficult. She didn't even have any idea how Snape might be dressed, although she bet she could guess his color scheme.
Black grinned at her. "Shall we dance, my beautiful Angel?"
That seemed like as good a way to get a look around as any. "All right. That's why we're here, after all." She smiled at Black and extended her arms. They circled the room as they danced. Evangeline kept her eye out for anyone she knew, but it was really hard to tell who people were with everyone dressed up and masked.
As the dance ended, she spotted Remus Lupin and Minerva McGonagall over by the closest wall, trying to keep an eye on things. She suggested that they join them.
Lupin was wearing ornate blue embroidered robes edged with gold. He had a golden mask on his face and a tall peaked hat, also blue and gold, on his head. His outfit reminded Evangeline of the alchemist in Severus' painting. Minerva was wearing a dark green velvet dress with cream-colored lace at the collar and cuffs. She held a delicate mask adorned with peacock feathers on a long stick. Most of the students were dressed up as something or someone, but most of the adults seemed to have opted for the dress up and wear a mask look. That made Evangeline feel better about her gown.
"Good evening, Minerva, Remus. Are you having a good time?" She smiled happily at her friends.
Minerva smiled back. "Hello, dear. My, you look lovely in that dress."
"Yes, indeed," added Lupin. "It's gorgeous, and so are you, Angel." He smiled appreciatively at her, and she blushed and smiled back.
"Thank you. There's quite a crowd, isn't there? The costumes make it hard to tell who's who. Is Albus here somewhere?"
"Yes." Minerva nodded and extended her stick toward the far end of the room. "I just saw him dancing down there with Poppy."
Lupin nudged Black in the arm and said, "I just saw Harry. He said he'd like to see you, and would I tell you to meet him by the refreshment table if I saw you. So I'm passing on the message. He and Ron are dressed in Chudley Cannon Quidditch robes."
Black smiled. "That should make them easy to spot." He turned reluctantly to Evangeline. "I guess I have to leave you for a while, my fair Angel."
"Go have fun, Sirius. I'm sure I'll see you again later."
He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it, then turned, and vanished into the crowd.
Evangeline turned back to Remus. "Have you seen Severus tonight, Remus? I have a feeling that he'd duck out on this if he could."
Remus smiled at her and nodded over her shoulder. "Oh, I don't think so, Angel. He's headed this way as we speak."
Anxiously she turned around to find Snape moving smoothly through the crowded hall, headed right for them. The Potions Master was indeed wearing his customary black, but he had foregone the billowing academic robe in favor of a flowing black silk shirt with ruffled collar and cuffs, a fitted black on black embroidered vest, and fitted black trousers and boots. The outfit accentuated his long lean lines and elegant carriage. He'd pulled his hair back into a ponytail and wore a black-feathered mask similar to her own; all that was missing was the sword. For he looked like something out of an old romantic novel, and her heart beat faster as she gazed at him.
The elegant wizard stopped beside Evangeline and looked down at her with a warm expression in his dark eyes. "Good evening, Angel. You look lovely this evening," he murmured smoothly.
Her nervousness increased markedly with his presence, and she found herself simply staring at him for a moment, then belatedly she recovered her composure and smiled softly. "Thank you, Severus. You look very handsome yourself."
Snape nodded politely to Lupin and McGonagall. "You both look very nice, as well."
Minerva smiled. "Thank you, Severus. I almost didn't recognize you without your usual robes."
He gave her a rather smug smile. "Anonymity is the theme of the evening, is it not?"
Lupin laughed. "I guess that's one way to look at it."
Evangeline glanced up at Severus, just as the band struck up a nice waltz. "You did promise me a dance, Severus. Shall we?"
Her companion looked down at her again and extended his hand. "Certainly. If you'll excuse us." He nodded courteously to Lupin and McGonagall, who watched with interest as he swung Evangeline easily into his arms and disappeared onto the dance floor.
Evangeline smiled happily up at him. "I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to find you in this crowd. A part of me figured that you might've slipped out early."
He smiled down at her in return. "I couldn't do that. I promised you a dance, remember, and I do try not to break my promises."
"I knew you'd be a good dancer, Severus," she said, as he swung her effortlessly through the crowd.
"Well, you're certainly not the klutz you made yourself out to be," he commented dryly.
She just smiled up at him, happy to finally be in his arms again. The waltz ended and the next song was a slower number. Without a word, he held her a little closer, and she rested her head on his chest as they continued to dance. The two of them danced several dances in succession until the pace of the music picked up too much. Then, by mutual consent, they headed over to the refreshment table.
As they reached it, a girl with curly brown hair, wearing a fluttery blue gown with gauzy gold wings on the back, turned around quickly and walked right into Snape.
The girl pushed her blue and gold mask back into place, looked up, and said, "I'm so sorry, I…Professor Snape?!…Is that you?!" Her mouth dropped open in surprise.
"Good evening, Miss Granger," he said in a rather dry neutral tone.
The nervous student swallowed hard and just stood there and stared at him. "You look …really…nice this evening…um, yes, nice…uh." Evangeline could tell the poor girl was blushing and getting really flustered.
Snape merely smiled a polite wintry smile and said, "You look very nice as well, Miss Granger."
"Oh, thank you," she stammered. "I've got to go…so sorry to bump into you…bye." She turned and fled from them as fast as she could, disappearing into the surrounding crowd.
Evangeline smiled. "One of your students, I presume?"
Snape frowned in annoyance. "Yes, one of the more aggravating ones, unfortunately."
Evangeline patted his arm reassuringly. "Oh well, so much for anonymity. Still, she was obviously favorably impressed with your outfit. Perhaps she's changed her image of you now."
He sighed and commented in a disgusted tone. "That's all I need! I've worked very hard over the years to cultivate an image that totally avoids any adolescent adoration of any sort."
Raising her eyebrows, she grinned at him. "Yes…well, it's a good thing you don't dress like this everyday. You'd definitely be inspiring some adolescent fantasies if you did."
He snorted shortly and cocked an eyebrow at her in return. "You should talk. What were you thinking about with that dress you're wearing?"
With a teasing smirk on her lips as she looked up at him, she spun around making the skirt flare out, briefly exposing her legs. "What? This old thing?"
A slow smile spread over his features and he spoke in a soft caressing tone. "Talk about something guaranteed to inspire adolescent fantasies…not to mention…adult…fantasies."
A shiver ran down her spine, and she smiled happily at him. "Why Severus, I'm flattered. I guess that makes us a perfect match for the evening."
"I guess so," he murmured in his low silky voice.
Evangeline found herself mesmerized by his dark eyes again, which stared at her so intently. It was difficult to pull herself back to reality. Fantasy was ever so much more pleasant. She murmured distantly, "I thought we came over here for punch."
"We did, but I find I would very much prefer to dance," he stated quietly, moving in closer to her.
"That's a switch," she replied softly, as she gently took his hand in hers and led him back to the dance floor.
"I suppose so," he whispered into her soft rose-scented hair as she drifted back into his arms. "But that was before I had the pleasure of holding you in my arms."
Evangeline could hardly believe she'd heard him correctly. She barely dared to breathe, afraid this moment would disappear, so she just snuggled down in his comforting arms, leaned her head against his chest and listened to the beating of his heart. Slowly they circled the dance floor some more, oblivious to the crowd around them.
Just as Evangeline was sure that this was the most perfect evening of her life, reality re-intruded itself in a most unpleasant way. She felt Severus jump as if something sharp had stabbed him. He pulled away from her and grabbed his left forearm reflexively. Quickly dropping it when he saw her staring at him, and the look in his eyes was one of pain. Suddenly full of concern, Evangeline grabbed his right arm.
"Don't tell me that you have to go again!" she whispered in a frightened tone.
"Please, Evangeline. You promised you wouldn't ask. I do have to go. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Please, just try to continue to enjoy yourself. I'll be back as soon as I can. Don't worry!" He bent and kissed her lightly on the cheek, stared into her concerned eyes for a moment, then turned and strode quickly out of the crowd and out of her sight.
Dazed at the abruptness of his departure, Evangeline stood there holding a hand to her cheek, protectively covering the spot where he'd kissed her. She felt abandoned, and confused, not to mention frightened, remembering what shape he was in when he returned from his mysterious summons last time. Shakily she walked over to the refreshment table and stood there staring blindly off into space.
"Hi," said a voice at her elbow. "Where's Severus? The two of you were looking pretty cozy out there on the dance floor."
She turned to face Remus Lupin, whose smile dimmed when he saw the look on her face.
"You tell me where he is, Remus. I'll bet you know. Where does he go when he gets that pain in his arm? It's obviously a signal of some sort. I figured that much out. The rest is a mystery to me, but not to you?" This last was a question. She looked at his face, seeking and finding an answer in his worried expression.
"No, I can see that you know where he goes. Do you know how he'll be when he comes back? Last time he was limping and covered with bruises. What'll it be this time? Broken bones…or worse? Wherever he goes, it's obviously dangerous. Please tell me, Remus." She looked at him pleadingly with unshed tears sparkling in her eyes.
Lupin shook his head reluctantly. "I'm sorry, Angel. I can't tell you anything that Severus doesn't want you to know. It's really for your own good."
She laughed an unpleasant laugh. "My own good. What's good about being out of my mind with worry? What's good about knowing he's in danger and not being able to help him?"
Lupin put his arm around her and squeezed gently. "You couldn't do anything to help him, Angel. This way he doesn't have to worry about you getting hurt or being involved in anything dangerous. Severus has enough to worry about at the moment. He doesn't need anything else. Now I believe you promised him, and Minerva as well, that you wouldn't ask any more questions. I know it's hard, but it would help Severus the most, if you'd just trust him and stay out of it, okay?"
She sighed and looked up at Remus. "I do trust him, but it's so hard not to worry. I care about him."
"I can see that, Angel, but this is for the best for now." He gave her shoulders another little squeeze.
She looked down at the floor and whispered softly, "Okay."
"Good. Now, since your preferred partner isn't available at the moment, could I maybe sneak in a dance while he's gone? You looked so lovely out on the dance floor, and I haven't had a dance all evening." He looked at her imploringly.
She gave him a small smile. "All right. I'll try to be good company."
He swung her out onto the dance floor knowing that was all he could ask for.