Chapter 3 - The Scheme
But yet another surprise awaited him first thing in the morning. When he had dressed and emerged from his quarters, he found her sitting across from his desk, drumming her fingers impatiently.
Secure in his surroundings, he arched an eyebrow at her. "Fall off again?" he asked humorlessly. To his surprise, she smirked at him. He decided immediately to reevaluate his impression of her as a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs, in his experience, do not smirk.
"I have a proposition for you, Severus," she said, ignoring his question altogether. She stood and he very nearly took a step backward when he caught the calculated gaze she fixed on him. However, Slytherins don't back down.
"By all means, continue. It's been a long time since I've been propositioned." He smirked back at her, expecting, at the very least, a fetching blush. What he got was a roll of the eyes.
"Poppy was right, you ARE a conceited bastard, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "However, you aren't far from right."
Now he was really intrigued. He gestured for her to sit and lowered himself gracefully into his own chair.
"I can't be the only one who's noticed that Dumbledore is playing us both for fools. I don't want to lose my job by refusing to do as he asks, but I'm getting rather tired of running out of the dungeons with my tail between my legs." Severus found himself rather distracted by that comment and didn't answer, choosing instead to keep his smirk firmly in place. It required somewhat more concentration than usual.
"There's got to be a way to convince the conniving old codger that we don't need to be 'fixed up'," she continued, her eyes never leaving his. He raised an eyebrow again as she fell silent. It seemed apparent that she expected HIM to come up with a way to get Dumbledore to leave them alone.
He was just about to speak when he recalled that she'd offered him a proposition. He adjusted his thinking slightly and replied, "What do you propose?" He thought he saw her flinch a bit before she responded.
"I thought if his beloved Minerva caught us kissing once or twice it would be enough to pacify his match making inclination," her voice, so confident only a moment before, was now barely more than a whisper. She averted her eyes as she spoke.
In general Severus didn't like weak women. This sudden shift in behavior, however, had him intrigued all over again. In the last three weeks her demeanor had run the gambit from meek to domineering. Perhaps a little fun, no strings attached, was exactly the way to get to know her better.
"So you'd like to pretend we took the bait? For how long, exactly?" He gazed at her intently as her head snapped up.
"We could drop the act by the time the students arrived, I'm sure." She said confidently, a smile beginning to turn the corners of her mouth. "Perhaps even have a spectacular fight before the beginning of term to keep him from trying again?"
Severus was fast beginning to classify her as a Slytherin, and a bloody good one at that. He smiled and stood, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'll let slip at breakfast that you'll start teaching me to fly today. Ten to one he'll send someone to watch, or come himself."
Severus nodded, knowing she was right. When she'd gone, he sat back down at his desk, his intended trip to the Headmaster's office was no longer necessary. Was she trying to continue whatever had happened between them on the broom yesterday? HAD anything happened between them? He wasn't sure. But he WAS sure that this was going to be a great deal of fun.
Before he went to the pitch, he made a trip to Hogsmeade and purchased his new 'girlfriend' a broom. For this little escapade he had no doubt that she would ride with him, but after the show was over, she would still need to get good at this before the beginning of term. And nothing would irk the Slytherins like being taught by a woman who rode a school broom.
He looked discreetly around the pitch as she approached. Sure enough someone was standing just inside the trees of the Forbidden Forest, watching. He could see sunlight glinting off the person's spectacles.
He winked at her as she entered the pitch and tried to look embarrassed as he presented her with the broom. He wasn't very good at acting embarrassed, but decided whoever was watching probably knew him well enough to be suitably impressed by the gesture.
She threw an adequate fit over the broom, but when she tried to ride it, it wove from side to side a great deal. Almost he wondered if she was making it do that on purpose. But he reminded himself that she'd fallen off one just yesterday. He mounted as well and guided her back to the ground before they took off again on his broom.
This time he took more notice of the woman before him. She appeared thin, draped in her lightweight, summer robes, but as his thighs hugged hers he realized that she wasn't the beanpole he'd taken her for. He readjusted his thinking abruptly as he realized that, regardless of their scheme, he was about to make them both very uncomfortable.
"Professor," he said, pulling the broom upward sharply and hovering a bit above the goal posts. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't remember your first name. I would feel remarkably awkward kissing you without knowing at least that much about you."
She turned on the broom with an odd look on her face. He wasn't sure if she was angry or amused.
"I didn't peg you for the sort of man who much cared where his lips had been, Severus," she said, obviously flaunting the fact that she remembered his name perfectly.
He took the teasing well, reminding himself that the audience was waiting. "Perhaps you're right," he allowed, smirking briefly before leaning forward to kiss her. He was surprised a moment later when she pulled forcefully away and back-handed him hard.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?" he shouted, enraged.
"PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" she demanded loudly, turning to face forward as though she could ignore him that way. He swore and drove the broom toward the ground in a surprisingly satisfying imitation of Potter. She shrieked loudly.
When he touched down she vaulted from the broom like a pro and glared at him. "You insufferable bastard! You can't even remember my name, and you go and KISS me?"
Severus walked toward her, still carrying his broom. She shook her head angrily and spun to leave, but he caught her wrist and pulled her back. It was obvious that she was playing along when her body pressed full against his. He hadn't pulled her THAT hard. He wished for an instant that she hadn't done that.
Nevertheless, he tossed his broom to the ground, snaked his arm around her waist and kissed her again. This time he was gratified when she kissed him back. She was hesitant at first, but soon she was holding him tightly. Distantly, Severus heard the crack that could only mean someone had disapparated at the edge of the forest, obviously thinking they weren't paying enough attention to notice.
She ended the kiss immediately with a victorious smile. "I think we got him," she said, wiping her lip with her thumb.
"It certainly appears so," he said, keeping his voice cold to hide the grating disappointment that he knew he had no business feeling. He watched as she ran back to the pitch for her new broom. She thanked him for it again, and they walked back to the castle in silence. When he turned toward the dungeon staircase, she held him back, glancing around warily. This was a heavily traveled corridor and she knew it.
"My name's Kimber," she whispered. He saw a glint in her eyes that seemed new and wondered if his kiss had affected her just a tad after all. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps.
He whispered her name back to her and gave her a lingering, though not passionate kiss. Was that his imagination, or did she look a bit disappointed as he pulled away? "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. She only nodded and he managed to get to his office without having to talk to anyone.
But yet another surprise awaited him first thing in the morning. When he had dressed and emerged from his quarters, he found her sitting across from his desk, drumming her fingers impatiently.
Secure in his surroundings, he arched an eyebrow at her. "Fall off again?" he asked humorlessly. To his surprise, she smirked at him. He decided immediately to reevaluate his impression of her as a Hufflepuff. Hufflepuffs, in his experience, do not smirk.
"I have a proposition for you, Severus," she said, ignoring his question altogether. She stood and he very nearly took a step backward when he caught the calculated gaze she fixed on him. However, Slytherins don't back down.
"By all means, continue. It's been a long time since I've been propositioned." He smirked back at her, expecting, at the very least, a fetching blush. What he got was a roll of the eyes.
"Poppy was right, you ARE a conceited bastard, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "However, you aren't far from right."
Now he was really intrigued. He gestured for her to sit and lowered himself gracefully into his own chair.
"I can't be the only one who's noticed that Dumbledore is playing us both for fools. I don't want to lose my job by refusing to do as he asks, but I'm getting rather tired of running out of the dungeons with my tail between my legs." Severus found himself rather distracted by that comment and didn't answer, choosing instead to keep his smirk firmly in place. It required somewhat more concentration than usual.
"There's got to be a way to convince the conniving old codger that we don't need to be 'fixed up'," she continued, her eyes never leaving his. He raised an eyebrow again as she fell silent. It seemed apparent that she expected HIM to come up with a way to get Dumbledore to leave them alone.
He was just about to speak when he recalled that she'd offered him a proposition. He adjusted his thinking slightly and replied, "What do you propose?" He thought he saw her flinch a bit before she responded.
"I thought if his beloved Minerva caught us kissing once or twice it would be enough to pacify his match making inclination," her voice, so confident only a moment before, was now barely more than a whisper. She averted her eyes as she spoke.
In general Severus didn't like weak women. This sudden shift in behavior, however, had him intrigued all over again. In the last three weeks her demeanor had run the gambit from meek to domineering. Perhaps a little fun, no strings attached, was exactly the way to get to know her better.
"So you'd like to pretend we took the bait? For how long, exactly?" He gazed at her intently as her head snapped up.
"We could drop the act by the time the students arrived, I'm sure." She said confidently, a smile beginning to turn the corners of her mouth. "Perhaps even have a spectacular fight before the beginning of term to keep him from trying again?"
Severus was fast beginning to classify her as a Slytherin, and a bloody good one at that. He smiled and stood, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'll let slip at breakfast that you'll start teaching me to fly today. Ten to one he'll send someone to watch, or come himself."
Severus nodded, knowing she was right. When she'd gone, he sat back down at his desk, his intended trip to the Headmaster's office was no longer necessary. Was she trying to continue whatever had happened between them on the broom yesterday? HAD anything happened between them? He wasn't sure. But he WAS sure that this was going to be a great deal of fun.
Before he went to the pitch, he made a trip to Hogsmeade and purchased his new 'girlfriend' a broom. For this little escapade he had no doubt that she would ride with him, but after the show was over, she would still need to get good at this before the beginning of term. And nothing would irk the Slytherins like being taught by a woman who rode a school broom.
He looked discreetly around the pitch as she approached. Sure enough someone was standing just inside the trees of the Forbidden Forest, watching. He could see sunlight glinting off the person's spectacles.
He winked at her as she entered the pitch and tried to look embarrassed as he presented her with the broom. He wasn't very good at acting embarrassed, but decided whoever was watching probably knew him well enough to be suitably impressed by the gesture.
She threw an adequate fit over the broom, but when she tried to ride it, it wove from side to side a great deal. Almost he wondered if she was making it do that on purpose. But he reminded himself that she'd fallen off one just yesterday. He mounted as well and guided her back to the ground before they took off again on his broom.
This time he took more notice of the woman before him. She appeared thin, draped in her lightweight, summer robes, but as his thighs hugged hers he realized that she wasn't the beanpole he'd taken her for. He readjusted his thinking abruptly as he realized that, regardless of their scheme, he was about to make them both very uncomfortable.
"Professor," he said, pulling the broom upward sharply and hovering a bit above the goal posts. "I'm embarrassed to admit that I can't remember your first name. I would feel remarkably awkward kissing you without knowing at least that much about you."
She turned on the broom with an odd look on her face. He wasn't sure if she was angry or amused.
"I didn't peg you for the sort of man who much cared where his lips had been, Severus," she said, obviously flaunting the fact that she remembered his name perfectly.
He took the teasing well, reminding himself that the audience was waiting. "Perhaps you're right," he allowed, smirking briefly before leaning forward to kiss her. He was surprised a moment later when she pulled forcefully away and back-handed him hard.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT FOR?" he shouted, enraged.
"PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!" she demanded loudly, turning to face forward as though she could ignore him that way. He swore and drove the broom toward the ground in a surprisingly satisfying imitation of Potter. She shrieked loudly.
When he touched down she vaulted from the broom like a pro and glared at him. "You insufferable bastard! You can't even remember my name, and you go and KISS me?"
Severus walked toward her, still carrying his broom. She shook her head angrily and spun to leave, but he caught her wrist and pulled her back. It was obvious that she was playing along when her body pressed full against his. He hadn't pulled her THAT hard. He wished for an instant that she hadn't done that.
Nevertheless, he tossed his broom to the ground, snaked his arm around her waist and kissed her again. This time he was gratified when she kissed him back. She was hesitant at first, but soon she was holding him tightly. Distantly, Severus heard the crack that could only mean someone had disapparated at the edge of the forest, obviously thinking they weren't paying enough attention to notice.
She ended the kiss immediately with a victorious smile. "I think we got him," she said, wiping her lip with her thumb.
"It certainly appears so," he said, keeping his voice cold to hide the grating disappointment that he knew he had no business feeling. He watched as she ran back to the pitch for her new broom. She thanked him for it again, and they walked back to the castle in silence. When he turned toward the dungeon staircase, she held him back, glancing around warily. This was a heavily traveled corridor and she knew it.
"My name's Kimber," she whispered. He saw a glint in her eyes that seemed new and wondered if his kiss had affected her just a tad after all. Then he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps.
He whispered her name back to her and gave her a lingering, though not passionate kiss. Was that his imagination, or did she look a bit disappointed as he pulled away? "I'll see you tomorrow," he said. She only nodded and he managed to get to his office without having to talk to anyone.