Disclaimer - see part 1
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Wizards Honour
Part 17
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The New Year's Eve Party was in full swing. Three of the school tables and the teachers' table had been moved to the sides of the room. The few students who had stayed for Christmas and New Year's and the teachers and their spouses had shared one table.
The meal had finished half an hour ago and most of the students and some of the teachers were dancing to the music provided by an enchanted piano. The Hooches were showing three pairs of First Years how to dance a waltz.
Snape sipped Albanian Ice Wine from his goblet and counted the number of students in the room. All present and accounted for. Good, he didn't feel like chasing down misbehaving students tonight. He reached for the wine bottle and refilled his goblet.
"Where do they get their patience?" Sinistra commented.
Snape followed the direction of her gaze and watched Desmond and Rolanda Hooch calmly separate a clump of squabbling First Years. Desmond's warm laugh, full of sunshine and Jamaican spice, echoed across the room.
"Ugh! Imagine waking to that much joy each morning," Sinistra winced.
"Are you trying to make me ill?" Snape sneered.
"No." Sinistra looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. She need not have bothered; they were alone at one end of the long table.
"Severus," she said in a serious and slightly bossy tone. "If we are to make this work we have to know more about each other."
"In what way?" Snape smirked, he was slightly tipsy and feeling a little light headed.
Sinistra shot him a quelling glance. "Is your favourite comfort food still Shepherd's Pie?"
"Oh." Snape cleared his throat. "Yes."
"With beef, not shepherds?" Sinistra's eyes twinkled.
"Yes." Snape sipped from the goblet again. "Is your favourite food still Toad in the Hole?"
"Yes," Aurora replied. "With sausages, not toads."
Severus raised an eyebrow at her for stealing his line and fell silent. He sipped some more wine and returned his attention to the dancers. Aurora waved her wand and sent the wine bottle floating down to the other end of the table.
"Nag." Severus murmured under his breath.
"Ursus." Aurora replied.
Snape shot her a 'I beg your pardon' look.
"My favourite constellation."
They watched the dancers for a while. The piano was now playing a foxtrot and the First Years had started inventing dances to the music. Desmond and Rolanda Hooch had left the children to their own devices and were dancing expertly around the room.
Sinistra was about to comment about Ravenclaw show-offs when Snape said, "Wolfsbane is my favourite potion."
"Very difficult to make, isn't it?"
"Yes." There was more than a touch of pride in the Potion Master's voice.
Aurora considered asking Severus why he had spoken out against Lupin when he could have had a reason to keep making the potion if Lupin had stayed. But one look at the almost-relaxed expression on his face decided her against it.
"The funniest thing I ever saw," Aurora whispered a minute later, "was Minerva McGonagall and Flora Sprout as drunk as house-elves on gin whizzes and flirting with a poor man who was young enough to be the son of either of them."
"Do tell." Snape leant close to her.
"It was in the Three Broomsticks. The poor boy was trying to run from them but each time he got away one of them would cast 'accio cutesy' and he kept going back to them." Aurora giggled. "They kept it up for two hours until Professor Flitwick turned up and sent them back to Hogwarts. He gave me an earful too, for not doing anything."
"What? And spoil the fun of watching them hung over the next day?"
"Exactly."
They sat in companionable silence for a while. The dancing had stopped and some of the teachers had started organising a party game.
Snape and Sinistra both contrived to be looking away when McGonagall called for volunteers to police the game. At the other end of the table, Albus Dumbledore hid his smile behind his hand and watched the Slytherin Professors out of the corner of his vision.
The game was well under way. Goyle and Ron Weasley were throwing insults at each other, which didn't appear to be in the rules of the game, when Snape said quietly, "I will tell you the funniest thing I ever saw if you promise never to repeat it without my permission." He was looking at the game as he spoke.
"I promise." Aurora grinned. "Spill it."
"But it is such good wine." Snape replied.
"Ha, ha. Come on, tell me."
"It was Lucius Malfoy." Snape whispered into her ear.
"Malfoy? Draco's father?"
"Imagine yourself at Malfoy's mansion receiving a lecture on the way to behave in the presence of the next ruler of the universe from Mr Ego Malfoy himself." Severus whispered.
Aurora snorted and nodded, a broad grin plastered across her face.
"Imagine him wearing traditional Wizard robes and pacing around the room," Snape purred, "a glass of expensive wine in his hand and a look of superiority on his face."
"Yes, then what?" whispered Aurora, her eyes bright as she waited for the punch line.
"And then imagine that you notice that his robe is caught up at the back." Severus' lips twitched as he fought the urge to grin.
"You don't mean?" Aurora giggled, "He had his dress caught in his undies?"
"Worse than that." Severus looked at her and gave into the grin. "His underpants had cartoon Hinkypunks hopping across them."
"Hin-ky-punks?" Aurora gasped.
"Yes," Snape said in a strangled voice. He cleared his throat and, fighting for control, said, "They were waving and had little," Severus gasped, "little rainbows floating out of their lamps." He clapped his hand over the broad grin that threatened to split his face.
Aurora, who was now laughing, said breathlessly, "Hinkypunks! Who would have guessed? I wonder why he keeps them 'undie-cover'?"
"No, don't," gasped Severus breathlessly.
"How can you keep a straight face around him?" Aurora grinned and whispered, "I wouldn't be able to do it. All I'd be able to think would be 'Here Comes Lucius, High Lord of Hinkypunks. All yea wave and hop before me'."
"Stop it!" hissed Snape from behind his hand.
"I wonder," Aurora said, overly-innocently, "if he ever does become Ruler of the Universe will he make his minions wear Hinkypunk undies too?"
Severus looked her in the eye and then burst into wild giggles.
The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at the Potions Master who was resting his head on the table and howling with laughter.
"Oops," Sinistra grinned at to Dumbledore who had walked over to see what was going on. "I think I broke him."
To be continued
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Wizards Honour
Part 17
---------------
The New Year's Eve Party was in full swing. Three of the school tables and the teachers' table had been moved to the sides of the room. The few students who had stayed for Christmas and New Year's and the teachers and their spouses had shared one table.
The meal had finished half an hour ago and most of the students and some of the teachers were dancing to the music provided by an enchanted piano. The Hooches were showing three pairs of First Years how to dance a waltz.
Snape sipped Albanian Ice Wine from his goblet and counted the number of students in the room. All present and accounted for. Good, he didn't feel like chasing down misbehaving students tonight. He reached for the wine bottle and refilled his goblet.
"Where do they get their patience?" Sinistra commented.
Snape followed the direction of her gaze and watched Desmond and Rolanda Hooch calmly separate a clump of squabbling First Years. Desmond's warm laugh, full of sunshine and Jamaican spice, echoed across the room.
"Ugh! Imagine waking to that much joy each morning," Sinistra winced.
"Are you trying to make me ill?" Snape sneered.
"No." Sinistra looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them. She need not have bothered; they were alone at one end of the long table.
"Severus," she said in a serious and slightly bossy tone. "If we are to make this work we have to know more about each other."
"In what way?" Snape smirked, he was slightly tipsy and feeling a little light headed.
Sinistra shot him a quelling glance. "Is your favourite comfort food still Shepherd's Pie?"
"Oh." Snape cleared his throat. "Yes."
"With beef, not shepherds?" Sinistra's eyes twinkled.
"Yes." Snape sipped from the goblet again. "Is your favourite food still Toad in the Hole?"
"Yes," Aurora replied. "With sausages, not toads."
Severus raised an eyebrow at her for stealing his line and fell silent. He sipped some more wine and returned his attention to the dancers. Aurora waved her wand and sent the wine bottle floating down to the other end of the table.
"Nag." Severus murmured under his breath.
"Ursus." Aurora replied.
Snape shot her a 'I beg your pardon' look.
"My favourite constellation."
They watched the dancers for a while. The piano was now playing a foxtrot and the First Years had started inventing dances to the music. Desmond and Rolanda Hooch had left the children to their own devices and were dancing expertly around the room.
Sinistra was about to comment about Ravenclaw show-offs when Snape said, "Wolfsbane is my favourite potion."
"Very difficult to make, isn't it?"
"Yes." There was more than a touch of pride in the Potion Master's voice.
Aurora considered asking Severus why he had spoken out against Lupin when he could have had a reason to keep making the potion if Lupin had stayed. But one look at the almost-relaxed expression on his face decided her against it.
"The funniest thing I ever saw," Aurora whispered a minute later, "was Minerva McGonagall and Flora Sprout as drunk as house-elves on gin whizzes and flirting with a poor man who was young enough to be the son of either of them."
"Do tell." Snape leant close to her.
"It was in the Three Broomsticks. The poor boy was trying to run from them but each time he got away one of them would cast 'accio cutesy' and he kept going back to them." Aurora giggled. "They kept it up for two hours until Professor Flitwick turned up and sent them back to Hogwarts. He gave me an earful too, for not doing anything."
"What? And spoil the fun of watching them hung over the next day?"
"Exactly."
They sat in companionable silence for a while. The dancing had stopped and some of the teachers had started organising a party game.
Snape and Sinistra both contrived to be looking away when McGonagall called for volunteers to police the game. At the other end of the table, Albus Dumbledore hid his smile behind his hand and watched the Slytherin Professors out of the corner of his vision.
The game was well under way. Goyle and Ron Weasley were throwing insults at each other, which didn't appear to be in the rules of the game, when Snape said quietly, "I will tell you the funniest thing I ever saw if you promise never to repeat it without my permission." He was looking at the game as he spoke.
"I promise." Aurora grinned. "Spill it."
"But it is such good wine." Snape replied.
"Ha, ha. Come on, tell me."
"It was Lucius Malfoy." Snape whispered into her ear.
"Malfoy? Draco's father?"
"Imagine yourself at Malfoy's mansion receiving a lecture on the way to behave in the presence of the next ruler of the universe from Mr Ego Malfoy himself." Severus whispered.
Aurora snorted and nodded, a broad grin plastered across her face.
"Imagine him wearing traditional Wizard robes and pacing around the room," Snape purred, "a glass of expensive wine in his hand and a look of superiority on his face."
"Yes, then what?" whispered Aurora, her eyes bright as she waited for the punch line.
"And then imagine that you notice that his robe is caught up at the back." Severus' lips twitched as he fought the urge to grin.
"You don't mean?" Aurora giggled, "He had his dress caught in his undies?"
"Worse than that." Severus looked at her and gave into the grin. "His underpants had cartoon Hinkypunks hopping across them."
"Hin-ky-punks?" Aurora gasped.
"Yes," Snape said in a strangled voice. He cleared his throat and, fighting for control, said, "They were waving and had little," Severus gasped, "little rainbows floating out of their lamps." He clapped his hand over the broad grin that threatened to split his face.
Aurora, who was now laughing, said breathlessly, "Hinkypunks! Who would have guessed? I wonder why he keeps them 'undie-cover'?"
"No, don't," gasped Severus breathlessly.
"How can you keep a straight face around him?" Aurora grinned and whispered, "I wouldn't be able to do it. All I'd be able to think would be 'Here Comes Lucius, High Lord of Hinkypunks. All yea wave and hop before me'."
"Stop it!" hissed Snape from behind his hand.
"I wonder," Aurora said, overly-innocently, "if he ever does become Ruler of the Universe will he make his minions wear Hinkypunk undies too?"
Severus looked her in the eye and then burst into wild giggles.
The room fell silent and everyone turned to look at the Potions Master who was resting his head on the table and howling with laughter.
"Oops," Sinistra grinned at to Dumbledore who had walked over to see what was going on. "I think I broke him."
To be continued