Chapter 5 - Was That A Date?
When she arrived promptly at 6:30 the following evening, he was surprised to see that she'd brought dinner. He took the hint immediately and transfigured one of the student benches into a bistro table of marble. She smirked appreciatively. He had come to think of that look as her Slytherin face, and he liked it very much.
He took an extra moment to conjure candles and flowers, figuring they could make this an apology dinner. As she set out the food he watched her, trying to understand why this little scheme was so important to him all the sudden. All they were going to accomplish was getting Dumbledore to stop sending her to see him in the dungeons. Did he really WANT her to stop coming to see him? And since when had he ever been attracted to a woman without at least a hint of her abilities? Power attracts Slytherins, so what could possibly be attracting him to her? She had shown no great magical ability that he could see. Alderfer was not the name of any influential wizarding family he'd ever heard of. For Merlin's sake, she could be a mud blood for all he knew. What the hell was Lucius going to say? More importantly, if his old friend thought he cared for a mud blood, what would he DO about it?
Severus felt a sudden chill as these thoughts crossed his mind. He'd better find out a bit more about her before this went any further. A nagging voice in his head tried to remind him that it wasn't going anywhere anyway, it was all an act, after all. But it was an act that other people were falling for. He didn't want to put her in danger over this stupid scheme!
When the food was laid out, she smiled at him, and motioned for him to sit down. "We've got some time to eat before our beloved Headmaster arrives, I assume?" she asked. He nodded and took his seat.
"So, where did you attend school?" he asked after a few beats of companionable silence. He thought he saw a flicker of annoyance cross her face before she answered.
"Durmstrang. It was closest to the orphanage where I lived after my uncle died. He was the last of my relatives. I was 15." She wrinkled her nose at his raised eyebrow and took a sip of water. "You asked." She said dryly, making him turn his attention back to his plate.
"You attended here, right?" she asked finally, deciding that they weren't going to be very convincing lovers if they didn't talk about anything more cheerful than her past.
"Yes. Slytherin, of course."
"Being a Snape I suppose you were really the little prince of the castle, weren't you?" she said playfully, batting her eyes over her drink. He snorted.
"Hardly. My housemates were afraid of me, and they did what I said, but the Gryffindors in my year were equally as well known as I. And unfortunately equally as talented. We spent 7 years making asses out of each other. I'm afraid I came off the worst most of the time." He hadn't meant to tell her that. He'd intended to say, yes, of COURSE he was the prince of Slytherin house. Truthfully half the reason he was so easy on Draco was because he saw so much of himself in the boy. He shook his head at the amused expression she wore, deciding it was better than pity.
"I guess what I meant to ask," she said slowly, setting down her drink again, "was if being a powerful pureblood in Slytherin house is how you learned to kiss like bloody Kamadeva." At these words Severus felt a fire sweep through him and looked back into her eyes. So she HAD been affected by their kiss!
She was gazing at him with a less-than-innocent smile on her face, and he decided that he wasn't very hungry anymore. He was out of his chair and pulling her out of hers an instant later. The Headmaster wasn't there to watch, and frankly Severus didn't give a damn. He hoped to hell she didn't either as he held her against him tightly.
He kissed her gently at first, pulling at her lips with his own until she relaxed in his arms. Her lips were cold from the ice water she'd had a moment before and the contact sent shivers through him. He fought to keep it from showing as he put a hand up to cradle her cheek. His back was to the desk behind him, and it gave him a marvelous idea.
He broke the kiss and smirked at her wickedly before lifting her by the waist and depositing her on the desk, maneuvering himself between her legs. He lowered his head quickly to kiss her again, not sure what her reaction would be. He didn't want to get slapped again.
But she was quicker, and pulled her lips back out of his reach. "Won't they think we're moving a bit fast?" she asked coyly.
"You wouldn't want to get the reputation of a tease, would you Professor?" he asked innocently.
"No. But I don't want to be remembered as your whore, either," she retorted, her jaw suddenly set in a way that seemed to preclude further kissing. Or it would have, to a less experienced man. Still smirking, he shot out an arm and pulled her forcefully to the edge of the desk.
He started with her neck, thankful that she didn't sport the high necked robes that Minerva preferred. When his kisses reached the spot just below her jaw line he heard her inhale, and determined it might be safe to find her lips again.
The first time the Headmaster knocked on the door, Severus determinedly ignored him, still concentrating on exactly how far up her thigh he could run his hand while she was distracted by his lips. As he expected, Dumbledore didn't knock a second time. He just pushed open the door.
Unfortunately this made noise, and Kimber noticed. She gasped and pushed Severus away, wide eyed. "Headmaster!" she exclaimed, jumping off the desk and smoothing her robes nervously. "I can explain!"
Severus turned, fighting a smile as she began to babble like an incoherent Hufflepuff confronted by Filch, only to be silenced as Dumbledore held up a hand. The girl was a remarkable actress. You would think she really was a student caught in the astronomy tower. She looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"My dear girl, there is nothing to explain," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling merrily. She nodded, and threw a look back at Severus. This time, however, she didn't wink, and he made a show of looking at the floor as she rushed out, mumbling a goodbye.
How Severus managed to ingest the information Dumbledore gave him that night he would never know, although later he was very thankful that he had. The Headmaster stayed only half as long as he normally would, and never even mentioned detentions. They usually at least ATTEMPTED to talk about Hogwarts business during these meetings.
Having learned that she wouldn't visit him if he sequestered himself in his rooms, Severus turned up for dinner the following evening to find that she had not. When he knocked on the door to her rooms, she didn't answer. And she had changed the password. He swore quietly to himself, and would have turned to go if her door hadn't creaked open. Odd, that such a goody-two- shoes would have set her password as a cuss, and a particularly unpleasant one at that.
He was surprised to see that many of the things he'd seen in her room were tossed haphazardly into the trunk at the foot of her bed. Something wasn't right. Perhaps he'd upset her with his little stunt last night? He certainly hoped she wasn't thinking of leaving over that. He shook his head and left, locking the door again behind him. He'd seen her temper, even if she HAD been acting, and he didn't want to get on the wrong side of it for real.
He got ready for bed with a heavy heart, something he was certainly not accustomed to. Replaying their kiss in his head, he decided that he probably had angered her, even if she'd given in, in the end. Making up his mind, he threw on a set of robes over his boxers and wrenched open the door, intending to try knocking on her door again. Though if she were home, she'd probably be asleep by now. Still, this time, he had something important enough to wake her up for.
When she arrived promptly at 6:30 the following evening, he was surprised to see that she'd brought dinner. He took the hint immediately and transfigured one of the student benches into a bistro table of marble. She smirked appreciatively. He had come to think of that look as her Slytherin face, and he liked it very much.
He took an extra moment to conjure candles and flowers, figuring they could make this an apology dinner. As she set out the food he watched her, trying to understand why this little scheme was so important to him all the sudden. All they were going to accomplish was getting Dumbledore to stop sending her to see him in the dungeons. Did he really WANT her to stop coming to see him? And since when had he ever been attracted to a woman without at least a hint of her abilities? Power attracts Slytherins, so what could possibly be attracting him to her? She had shown no great magical ability that he could see. Alderfer was not the name of any influential wizarding family he'd ever heard of. For Merlin's sake, she could be a mud blood for all he knew. What the hell was Lucius going to say? More importantly, if his old friend thought he cared for a mud blood, what would he DO about it?
Severus felt a sudden chill as these thoughts crossed his mind. He'd better find out a bit more about her before this went any further. A nagging voice in his head tried to remind him that it wasn't going anywhere anyway, it was all an act, after all. But it was an act that other people were falling for. He didn't want to put her in danger over this stupid scheme!
When the food was laid out, she smiled at him, and motioned for him to sit down. "We've got some time to eat before our beloved Headmaster arrives, I assume?" she asked. He nodded and took his seat.
"So, where did you attend school?" he asked after a few beats of companionable silence. He thought he saw a flicker of annoyance cross her face before she answered.
"Durmstrang. It was closest to the orphanage where I lived after my uncle died. He was the last of my relatives. I was 15." She wrinkled her nose at his raised eyebrow and took a sip of water. "You asked." She said dryly, making him turn his attention back to his plate.
"You attended here, right?" she asked finally, deciding that they weren't going to be very convincing lovers if they didn't talk about anything more cheerful than her past.
"Yes. Slytherin, of course."
"Being a Snape I suppose you were really the little prince of the castle, weren't you?" she said playfully, batting her eyes over her drink. He snorted.
"Hardly. My housemates were afraid of me, and they did what I said, but the Gryffindors in my year were equally as well known as I. And unfortunately equally as talented. We spent 7 years making asses out of each other. I'm afraid I came off the worst most of the time." He hadn't meant to tell her that. He'd intended to say, yes, of COURSE he was the prince of Slytherin house. Truthfully half the reason he was so easy on Draco was because he saw so much of himself in the boy. He shook his head at the amused expression she wore, deciding it was better than pity.
"I guess what I meant to ask," she said slowly, setting down her drink again, "was if being a powerful pureblood in Slytherin house is how you learned to kiss like bloody Kamadeva." At these words Severus felt a fire sweep through him and looked back into her eyes. So she HAD been affected by their kiss!
She was gazing at him with a less-than-innocent smile on her face, and he decided that he wasn't very hungry anymore. He was out of his chair and pulling her out of hers an instant later. The Headmaster wasn't there to watch, and frankly Severus didn't give a damn. He hoped to hell she didn't either as he held her against him tightly.
He kissed her gently at first, pulling at her lips with his own until she relaxed in his arms. Her lips were cold from the ice water she'd had a moment before and the contact sent shivers through him. He fought to keep it from showing as he put a hand up to cradle her cheek. His back was to the desk behind him, and it gave him a marvelous idea.
He broke the kiss and smirked at her wickedly before lifting her by the waist and depositing her on the desk, maneuvering himself between her legs. He lowered his head quickly to kiss her again, not sure what her reaction would be. He didn't want to get slapped again.
But she was quicker, and pulled her lips back out of his reach. "Won't they think we're moving a bit fast?" she asked coyly.
"You wouldn't want to get the reputation of a tease, would you Professor?" he asked innocently.
"No. But I don't want to be remembered as your whore, either," she retorted, her jaw suddenly set in a way that seemed to preclude further kissing. Or it would have, to a less experienced man. Still smirking, he shot out an arm and pulled her forcefully to the edge of the desk.
He started with her neck, thankful that she didn't sport the high necked robes that Minerva preferred. When his kisses reached the spot just below her jaw line he heard her inhale, and determined it might be safe to find her lips again.
The first time the Headmaster knocked on the door, Severus determinedly ignored him, still concentrating on exactly how far up her thigh he could run his hand while she was distracted by his lips. As he expected, Dumbledore didn't knock a second time. He just pushed open the door.
Unfortunately this made noise, and Kimber noticed. She gasped and pushed Severus away, wide eyed. "Headmaster!" she exclaimed, jumping off the desk and smoothing her robes nervously. "I can explain!"
Severus turned, fighting a smile as she began to babble like an incoherent Hufflepuff confronted by Filch, only to be silenced as Dumbledore held up a hand. The girl was a remarkable actress. You would think she really was a student caught in the astronomy tower. She looked thoroughly embarrassed.
"My dear girl, there is nothing to explain," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling merrily. She nodded, and threw a look back at Severus. This time, however, she didn't wink, and he made a show of looking at the floor as she rushed out, mumbling a goodbye.
How Severus managed to ingest the information Dumbledore gave him that night he would never know, although later he was very thankful that he had. The Headmaster stayed only half as long as he normally would, and never even mentioned detentions. They usually at least ATTEMPTED to talk about Hogwarts business during these meetings.
Having learned that she wouldn't visit him if he sequestered himself in his rooms, Severus turned up for dinner the following evening to find that she had not. When he knocked on the door to her rooms, she didn't answer. And she had changed the password. He swore quietly to himself, and would have turned to go if her door hadn't creaked open. Odd, that such a goody-two- shoes would have set her password as a cuss, and a particularly unpleasant one at that.
He was surprised to see that many of the things he'd seen in her room were tossed haphazardly into the trunk at the foot of her bed. Something wasn't right. Perhaps he'd upset her with his little stunt last night? He certainly hoped she wasn't thinking of leaving over that. He shook his head and left, locking the door again behind him. He'd seen her temper, even if she HAD been acting, and he didn't want to get on the wrong side of it for real.
He got ready for bed with a heavy heart, something he was certainly not accustomed to. Replaying their kiss in his head, he decided that he probably had angered her, even if she'd given in, in the end. Making up his mind, he threw on a set of robes over his boxers and wrenched open the door, intending to try knocking on her door again. Though if she were home, she'd probably be asleep by now. Still, this time, he had something important enough to wake her up for.