I can't wait for The Philosopher's Stone to come out!!! I'm gonna buy the DVD as soon as possible then it's an all night Harry Potterthon in Jeni's basement and everyone has to come!! There will be punch and pie!! Lol . . .
Welcome to chapter 8, and yes, this is THE chapter for Viola and Sevvie. You want togetherness, here comes the Scintillating Togetherness Fairy with her magical wand to bring two people together. Bear in mind, though, that they cannot shag just yet.
I've been forgetting to add disclaimers. Forgive a simple writer, I don't own any of the stuff from Harry Potter, I pretty much just own Viola and her fucked up friends. And pardon the lengthy description of the food. I'm a Redwall fan, and it shows through from time to time.
Chapter 8
The Great Hall was glorious and breathtaking, bathed in golden light from a thousand floating candles and decorated artistically for Christmas. Dozens of huge trees stood in the corners, decorated with strings of glittering icicles and coloured candles, tiny gold and silver owls and fluttering fairies.
The room was pleasantly warm, but snowflakes swirled down from the enchanted ceiling, which was dark blue like the sky outside. The snow blew around in some unfelt wind, lying in drifts against the walls and the bottoms of the trees.
In the centre of the huge, resplendent Hall a table set for fifteen stood, and over in a small glade formed by some smaller Christmas trees was a grand piano, it's top covered in holly boughs. Albus Dumbledore was sitting at the piano, his head bent in concentration as he played. His crimson dressing robes reflected the strange, ethereal light, and he appeared to be sparkling.
Viola had never spent Christmas at school until now, and she deeply regretted her reluctance to stay for the holidays all those past years. Just being able to stand in such a lovely place would be worth the extra two weeks away from home.
Dumbledore looked up from his playing as Viola entered with Snape. He smiled and got up to greet them, beaming at Severus and lightly kissing Viola's hand, his eyes twinkling merrily at her.
"How nice to have you back with us for Christmas," he told her. "Such a shame the circumstances that brought you here weren't pleasant."
She was amazed at how much the old man knew. She had a feeling that the day he ever had to be told something about one of his students, the world would end.
"I'd rather be here than anywhere else, Headmaster," she smiled back at him.
Dumbledore caught Snape's arm as he tried to move past them to the table. "Why don't you play something, Severus?" he suggested. Snape rolled his eyes, but headed in the direction of the piano anyway. Dumbledore turned again to Viola, "Come, my dear, and grace a crotchety old man with your presence."
The other faculty members who had stayed for the holidays were taking their seats, along with the other four students that were unable or unwilling to go home, for whatever reasons. Viola sat next to Dumbledore, and a seat was left empty on her other side, presumably for Snape, who was rooting through the sheet music that was left by the piano.
"Oh come on, Severus," laughed Professor Vector, who looked very lovely indeed in deep blue robes. "You know all the best ones by heart."
He shot her a poisonous look, tossing the sheafs of parchment onto the piano and sitting down with a flourish. Viola leaned forward in her seat, watching him closely as he launched beautifully into Brahm's Lullaby.
"He's amazing," McGonnagal shook her head in astonishment, a wine glass held loosely in her hand. Viola was inclined to concur with her assessment. Snape did play remarkably. His eyes closed and neck slightly bent, he played as if he had written the song himself. Though she couldn't see, she could picture his hands roving over the ivory keyboard, slender, agile fingers seeking every note with lightening quick deliberation.
A stray lock of hair came loose from his ponytail, draped over his face. He tossed his head deftly to get rid of it. He's beautiful, Viola thought as he did this. She noticed his mouth, half open and sensual. In his attentiveness, he bit his lower lip slightly and Viola's pulse quickened.
He finished playing before she was finished watching him, and she had to jerk her eyes away as he looked up and caught her gaze.
"That was wonderful, Severus," complimented Madam Pomfrey.
"Thank you Poppy," nodded in her direction and took his seat at the table next to Viola. She gave him a small smile as he sat, but it went mostly unreturned. Only a small tug at the corner of his mouth suggested that he had even noticed her.
First came the crackers, which went off around the table in several small explosions, distributing hats and toys onto the plates of the diners. Then, the dishes in front of them filled with some of the best smelling food Viola had ever encountered. The elves in the kitchen had certainly outdone themselves.
At the centre of the table there lay a gigantic turkey, surrounded by huge dishes of stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce. Several bottles of wine were uncorked around bowls of fresh garden salad and steaming stir fry. There was escargot and calamari, steamed vegetables and candied fruit. Small candy dishes were overflowing with mint humbugs and every flavour beans, and there was a tray full of freshly baked bread. Viola had never seen such a glorious Christmas Dinner in her entire life.
It was impossible to worry about anything at that table. There was an overwhelming feeling of peace in the Great Hall, a welcoming embrace to entice the soul, to drive all negativity away with the smell of the food. Viola piled her plate high with a bit of whatever she could reach, adding a handful of Every Flavour Beans to the table cloth beside her dish.
At first, she just ate. She was a bit shy about contributing to the conversation in front of so many of her teachers, and instead only listened to them uncertainly.
"Why so silent?" Dumbledore turned his attention away from whatever he had been talking about with professor Flitwick to address her.
"Just thinking, Headmaster," she replied quickly. Thinking, that's funny, Viola. She scoffed at herself mentally. You were watching Snape pour gravy on his turkey.
"The ponytail does suit him, doesn't it?" the old man asked amiably, drinking from his goblet to hide his grin. Viola blushed and looked down at her plate. Dumbledore was teasing her! She was almost embarrassed, but got over her qualms quickly, finally joining in the spirited conversation upon the realization that they were talking about Quidditch. She was surprised that her usually sombre teachers were so enthusiastic about the sport, which was definitely something she could identify with, having been a beater on the Hufflepuff team for four years.
Little Professor Flitwick was arguing good-humouredly with Professor Trelawny, who was insisting that she had seen the downfall of the Canadian Quidditch team in the next World Cup Series. Apparently, the tiny professor disagreed with his glittering colleague, and was telling her so in a very persuasive manner.
Viola happened to agree with Flitwick, and told him so, earning a bright smile from the miniature man. The dinner progressed wonderfully from that point. Later, the dishes dissolved into enormous bowls of trifle and pudding, ice cream and fruit salad.
It seemed like only a minute later when it was time to leave. It was well past midnight, and people were beginning to retire to their private quarters for some sleep. Once outside the Great Hall Viola noticed that there was a storm outside. The raging wind was rattling the huge doors and windows of the Entrance Hall. She shivered slightly, and made her way down to the dungeons, trying to hurry as the floor was deathly cold on her bare feet.
After she had descended the first flight of stairs, she heard the sound of Snape's heavy leather boots pounding on the stone floor behind her. Unconsciously, she slowed her pace a bit, to allow him some time to catch up to her in the corridor.
He was in a bit of a hurry, and nearly collided with her as he rounded the next corner.
"Evening, Professor," she greeted him brightly.
"Hello, Viola," he returned cordially. He looked tired, and had hardly stopped to glance at her before starting again on his way to his rooms. Viola managed to keep pace with him without much difficulty, some inner part of her thanking the gods that the Slytherin Common Room was roughly in the same direction as the Potions Master's domicile.
The silence wasn't awkward, surprisingly. She felt unbelievably mellow after all that food, and the turkey had made her nicely fatigued, and she didn't mind not saying anything. They just walked, side by side for the most part, until Viola couldn't keep up her facade of dignified beauty any longer and did something incredibly stupid.
The lengthening charm had finally worn off and her hair shrunk rapidly back to it's normal length, the little white flowers falling out and fluttering to the floor. As she bent slightly to try and catch them, she forgot to hold onto the skirt of her dress, which was too long by a few inches. She accidentally stepped on the hem of the gown and as she straitened up, it ripped. The high waistline tore loudly, revealing quite a bit of skin from just below her breasts to her naval.
"Shit!" she cursed, forgetting that there was a teacher present. She clutched at the torn threads, trying to cover her stomach and save as much of her dignity as possible, but her attempts were shattered by Snape, who was laughing at her.
In all the years that he had taught her, she had never before heard him laugh. Never even really seen him smiling, for that matter. His laugh was surprisingly pleasant, hearty and deep. It reverberated inside and around her, running chills down her spine. It only took a second for her to smile too, laughing quietly at her own idiocy.
Snape pulled his wand out of his wide sleeve, still sort of chuckling to himself. "Allow me," he asked permission before grazing the tip of the wand lightly under her breasts, along the ripped seam, repairing it effortlessly.
He moved the wand slowly, stitching carefully. He had moved closer, until they were only inches apart. Viola had her back to the wall, and inclined her head against the smooth stone to look up at him. He was otherwise occupied with her seams, and didn't notice that her eyes were devouring him.
Unfortunately for poor Severus, the tear in the dress was terribly close to the curves of her chest, and it was horrendously distracting. Finishing his task as quickly as possible, he was treated to a rather pleasant view of what lay under her decolletage. Being tall had it's advantages, he realized, enticed by the curvatures of her smooth skin, but being a man had it's definite down sides. His body reacted forcefully to her presence, and suddenly he felt like he had to touch her, to see how soft her skin really was.
He slipped his wand back up his sleeve without stepping back from her. His spicy scent was pummelling her, his coal black eyes burning through her so that she couldn't possibly look away. He barely dared to even blink, in case she disappeared. His hand came up slowly, almost shaking, and touched her face. Her pulse quickened as he traced a burning trail down her cheek and jaw, down her neck and the side of her breast. The graceful hand came to rest on her hip, caressing her through the silk of her garment.
Something in the back of his mind was screaming at him to stop, to move away, to just fucking say no, but he couldn't. He pushed his conscience away, and covered her lovely mouth with his own.
Her hands touched his chest, not to push him away, but to grip his robes and pull him closer. His lips parted slightly in a quiet gasp of surprise, and she in turn opened to him, allowing him to kiss her deeper, to explore her mouth with his tongue. He had expected her to pull away, to hit him, or even scream. Any of those options would have made it so much easier to pull away, but now it was impossible to stop.
Her hands crept up from his chest to his face, lightly touching his cheeks and then tangling her fingers in his hair, unintentionally freeing it from the ponytail. Black locks cascaded over his shoulders like a wave of velvet.
He was so close now that he could faintly feel her heart pounding through the fabric of their clothing, of which there was suddenly far to much. His thigh pushed between her legs, and the incredible pressure building there drew a moan from her throat into his mouth, which was harrowing hers with a raw sort of hunger. He savoured her sound of pleasure, and realized just how much he wanted to hear her like that, moaning his name in ecstasy, imploring him to take her.
It was bliss, to be kissing him. Viola had never really understood how intense a kiss could be, and she never wanted this to end. His hands kneaded her hips and waist, and she could feel his arousal pressed hard against her. It scared and excited her at the same time.
In a second, though, it was over. He forced himself to open his eyes and look at her, his student, her lips red from the force of his desire, her clothes wrinkled where his hands had grasped the fabric.
Viola's stomach twisted into a knot under his unreadable stare. Slowly, he removed both his hands from her waist and stepped away from her, before turning and rushing down the hallway to his rooms, leaving her standing against a wall, flushed and breathing ragged. It took her a minute or two to calm down, and as her breathing became normal she started to feel a bit cold. with slow, deliberate movements she made her way into the Slytherin Dormitories, to get into her nightclothes.
He slammed the door behind him, locking it carefully out of habit. He was burning with shame and rage at himself. How could he have been so stupid as to kiss a student? His hands were shaking unbearably as he sank into one of the armchairs by the empty fireplace, head hung in humiliation.
You're dead, Severus. He thought bitterly. She'll scream rape and Dumbledore will fire you. Never in his life had he ever felt so guilty, despite all the vile things he had ever done, this was the worst. Simply because he enjoyed it so much.
Oh yes, he had enjoyed it. He would have loved to kiss her forever, to touch her, to bury himself deep inside her warmth and make love to her until she screamed out his name in rapture. He was utterly disgusted with his loss of control, as it had never happened before. He had always told himself that no matter what he had done under the orders of Voldemort, he wasn't like the others. He wasn't some dirty rapist who took it upon themselves to ravage young girls.
He had always told himself that he was decent. Dumbledore had always told him the same thing, but what would the old man think now? Did decent men always go around kissing the Head Girl? He laughed resentfully at himself, wondering nervously what was going to be done, what she was going to do about his breech in ordinance.
His worries were pointless, though, because at that moment Viola wasn't planning on telling anyone. At that moment, she was laying in her bed, the covers pulled up to her chin, staring at the canopy of the four poster. She was lightly tracing the curve of her lower lip with a finger. Her mouth was still a bit swollen, but she couldn't care less.
Somehow, no matter how many times she kissed Brandon, he had never made it feel that way, except . . . the first time. And yet . . . hadn't she been thinking about Snape then too? She shivered despite the warmth of the bed and the lingering heat his body had left on her.
She shut her eyes tight and grinned, fighting the laughter that was threatening to burst out of her. She remembered that she was alone in the dormitory, and allowed herself a hearty laugh, unworried of anyone hearing.
Gwenny's not gonna believe this! She thought to herself, all of a sudden unable to stop giggling. Of course, she would have to tell Gwendolen, because it was her who made Viola see Snape as something other than the evil Potions Master.
Oh, what would Brandon say? She laughed harder, doubling up in bed, tears streaking her face. What would Randy say? More snickering.
She kicked the blankets off her, heaving herself out of bed to splash some water onto her face, feeling better then she had since leaving home.
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A bit short, I know, but it was the one you were waiting for, wasn't it?? Just wait till the bed scene! By the way, the Leafs have to win their next two games to take the series with Carolina, so everyone cheer them on! The game they played yesterday was fantastic!
To Nevyn, thanks for the compliments, but I couldn't ask you to waste your time proofreading my crappy story, I'll just be more careful with my spelling :)
To Parslemouth, were they together enough for you? :)