Disclaimer: Not Rowling, as she is apparently not infected with my rabid interest in the possibilities of Snape's love life!

The bold quotes are from Sheridan's play A School for Scandal...which a place like Hogwarts much surely be!


Chapter 20- Quidditch Fun

November at Hogwarts was a month that could switch from gray skies to driving rain, cool sunshine or bitter snow-swept cold, faster than a whimsical woman could change clothes. Sitting on a blanket next to Snape under the Dragon Claw Willow, Lorelei was grateful that the first Wednesday of the month was clear, cool and perfect for a picnic. At breakfast in the Hall, the dark-haired woman had remarked with deliberate casualness,

"What a lovely day it is."

"Is it?"

Those little quips of his were so cute. If the Gothic god only knew how his lips begged her to snog them, and every other inch of skin, when he pursed them like that... A dark gleam lit fathomless eyes- he knew. She wondered what else he knew and how many of his little quirks were done solely to incite amorous activity when his sardonic look registered. Smiling in acknowledgement that yes, she had indeed been staring instead of staying on topic, her eyes entreated while she said,

"It will be if you join me for a picnic under our willow at noon."

Severus' forehead had made that crease that meant he was about to regretfully decline. Lorelei fell back upon the clichéd, but effective,

"Please."

Narrowed eyes had told her that the shrewd professor knew what she was up to, but perhaps the good nights' sleep he'd been getting recently enabled him to relax and reply,

"Very well."

Absurd how giddy she'd been all morning thinking about it. Dobby had given her a suspicious look when she'd asked for a picnic basket and a disappointed shake of his head when he'd seen her fill it with Snape's favorite foods. Waving goodbye to the house elf who looked ready to take a swig of Winky's butterbeer, she'd floated from the kitchen and drifted in a daze of anticipation out a side entrance, through a small courtyard, on the way to the lake. She hadn't noticed the three teens huddled around the warmth of a blue fire conjured in a bell jar.

"Professor Lorelei."

Smiling in surprise, the teacher had turned toward the students. Three pairs of interested eyes were focused on the blanket draped over her arm and the basket in her hand. Deciding that honesty would not be the best policy, she said airily, "Oh. Hello boys and girl. I'm just on my way to enjoy the sunshine, but you three need to be getting to the Great Hall. Growing Gryffindors shouldn't miss meals. Good job with the fire, Ms. Granger, good afternoon..."

The look of thwarted curiosity on the young faces still made her smile, even now that the picnic was all but over. Gazing at Severus, Lorelei could tell from his assessing look that he was getting ready to say something she wouldn't want to hear. He drawled,

"However pleasant it is to escape the scrutiny of unformed minds, we must be prudent about absenting ourselves from the Staff Table..."

A grape popped into his mouth stopped the Potions Master's speech. He nipped at impertinent fingers before chewing. The Potions Professor grinned, "I know, I know...this place is a veritable School for Scandal...and Dumbledore, if not the other teachers and students, personally notes every meal that the both of us miss. We'll just outwit any nosy parkers...mix it up...miss a lunch here, a dinner there..."

Oh, how that raised brow raised her body temperature! Opening her teaching robes to let a little cool air in, the woman twirled a curl around her finger as she continued, "Sometimes, I could leave early, and other times you can...and the other will follow...there's all sorts of ways to get round restrictions if you just think about it..."

A half smile curved clever lips,

"I think you could have been a Slytherin...if you didn't have that streak of Gryffindor boldness."

Bold, was she? Hmm...that sounded like a dare... Packing up the remains of the picnic, Lorelei moved the basket to the side and place her robes atop it. She crawled toward Severus, dark eyes glinting. The two hands that had been bracing the professor as he sat on the blanket were clasped in feminine ones which swiftly entwined their fingers and raised them until they were resting over his head. Flat on his back with a siren draped over him, Severus remained self-possessed. His expression of cool inquiry turned to one of amusement as Lorelei murmured,

You see your lover pursues you- Positively you shan't escape.

"Lady Lorelei, you're quoting Sheridan's play out of context...I kiss your hand."

He playfully brought her hand, still twined with his, to his lips as he cited the play in return. Soft melodic laughter joined his silent shakes of mirth. Lowering her mouth to his,she whispered, "Forget my hand...kiss my lips."

Ever the gentleman, Severus gallantly devoted himself to fulfilling his lady's heartfelt request.


Addressing the seventh years taking an Advanced Potions class, Professor Snape found himself becoming perilously distracted. The day's potion, the Draught of Forgetfulness, in itself wasn't a cause for concern. The solution had to be ingested after all the ingredients had been combined and simmered properly to produce any effect. It was the history behind the potion which threatened to divert his mind from professorial duties.

As the class assembled their ingredients, he meticulously explained the ancient Greek origins of the potion, and how the original name was Lethe, after the river flowing through the Underworld. Expounding upon his subject, the saturnine Potions Master described how the Greeks believed souls on the way to Elysium drank from the River of Oblivion to forget their earthly lives and sorrows. Every word spoken about the river of Hades acted as his own personal draught, making him long to forget his responsibilities and remember only his own personal Persephone.

Two different draughts of Forgetfulness were being brewed from a single base today. The Lanqanesqai solution was used by Healers to help patients in those rare cases where horrific trauma necessitated specific memory loss to ensure the health of a fragile psyche. A second potion, Lanqanein, was taken by aurors and others wishing to escape notice. The solution would render the user unmemorable for a fixed period of time. Snape himself used the Lanqanein frequently in his work for the Order. It enabled him to go almost anywhere undetected.

Observing the class of quietly industrious Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, the professor paused to demand that students handle the vials of babies' first tears with extreme care. The liquid was exorbitantly expensive- most parents were unwilling to let their precious child's tears be taken...even in the name of science. The base solution could not be made without them. A child's first tears, because they are immediately forgotten, magically bonded the rest of the ingredients into an efficacious solution.

Even in an advanced class, there were those few students who would socialize if not restrained by their professor's constant vigilance. Prowling around looking for the slightest infraction of correct procedure kept the Potions Master's attention fixed upon the subject at hand. Toward the end of class, however, when all that remained was to sit at his desk and wait for flagons to be filled, labeled, and turned in for testing, his mind felt free to wander. In his imagination, Severus meandered out of the classroom, out of the school, across time and space until he reached a place of myth and legend.

He moved silently through his Underworld palace, brushing aside the servants who wished to inform him of their mistress' whereabouts. No words were needed...he could hear a faint echo of a haunting melody, and knew that following it to its source would lead him to his love. Briskly descending the exterior steps and following the path that connected one end of his kingdom to the other, Hades ignored the fork leading to the right. His love was not in Tartarus- the plain of judgment. The Vale of Mourning was likewise avoided.

Black robes billowing in the perpetual twilight, the Lord of the Dead continued through the Asphodel Fields where common souls wandered like shadows in the gray mist. Eyes darker than the night saw through the ghostly haze and guided the man onward to the place where his faithful guardian waited. Absently patting Cerberus on one of his many heads, Hades walked further. Whispers from the field of unburied souls on his left came to him upon the cool wind. They too had seen their mistress pass this way. Lifting a hand in acknowledgement, the ebon haired god made his way to the marsh. Silently, the ferryman Charon lifted his pole in a steady rhythm to propel the boat carrying his Lord across the water to the far bank. Nodding his thanks, Hades disembarked and traveled down the path once more.

Tiresias, the seer, sat upon his sacred rock and asked if any assistance was required. A faint smile curved thin, clever lips as the Underworld Lord shook his head and lengthened his stride. He reached the plains of passing time. The dark figure glided along the trail obscured by waist high grass without disturbing a blade. At another fork in the path, one way led to the Elm from which False Dreams Cling. The tree rustled, inviting him to come and experience visions whose only limit was his imagination. A sneer twisted masculine lips. He chose the way that led to the Grove of Persephone.

Strolling through the Elms from which cling What Dreams May Come, his pace grew quick with anticipation. In the middle of the grove, a field of the softest flowers from Olympus grew in sunlight more radiant than that which shone on Elysium. Black hair and robes rippled as Hades crossed the space eagerly. In the center of the field, his love waited.

The soft humming of a poignant tune stopped the moment the reclining goddess of spring saw his face. Opening her arms, she sighed, "Beloved". Dropping to his knees, the King of the Underworld gathered his Queen into his arms.

"I said, are you alright Professor?"

Blinking, Severus knew at once that he had stared off into...the Underworld...whilst his students had finished their assignments and left. He was lucky the class was comprised of seventh years with satisfactory abilities. If he'd have flitted off to fantasy land in Longbottom's class, the Greek gods only knew what catastrophe might have befallen. Scowling at the face of the concerned Hufflepuff girl who had stayed behind- why was he cursed with a nosy know-all in every bloody class - he snapped, "I was merely checking to see if the class could follow procedure without constant supervision. Fortunately for you they did...so I will not give you detention for impertinence."

"But..."

An intimidating glare soon had the girl scurrying off, taking her unwanted concern with her. Embarrassed, the Potions Master made short work of testing and grading the potions before heading for the Siren's rooms.

She wasn't there. A note on the lounge table stated that she was helping a group of Slytherin girls with a Muggle Studies project and would be back in...he irritably checked his timepiece...a half hour. Flinging the note back onto the table, Snape stalked into the bedroom.

Thirty minutes later, Snape was propped up on the pillows of the siren's bed, rolling his right foot impatiently. Undressed to black pants and shirt, he wondered petulantly if his toes had always been that bloody long and why Lorelei thought they were 'sexy'. The slouching man concluded, not for the first time, that his lover was daft. Her breathless entrance into the bedroom directly after that thought did nothing to change his mind.

"Severus! I'm so glad you waited!"

"Are you?"

His grouchy tone fazed the dafty not one whit. Cheerful as spring, she smiled brightly,

"Yes! I realized I forgot to tell you about the Muggle Studies project I'm helping the girls with. It's a group of Slytherins- Fiona Flint, Morrigan MacDuff, Blaise Zabini, and the Greengrass twins...you know those girls you can't tell apart, Mary-something and Ashley."

"How kind of you to consent to inform me...after the fact..."

Snape was starting to think the siren was ignoring his ill-temper on purpose. Rather hard to pick a fight with someone so agreeable. He noticed her hair was pulled into a high pony-tail...had she been running?

"I'm sorry...I just got caught up trying to teach the girls what little I know about Muggle cheerleading so they could develop a routine for Saturday's match..."

"Muggle Cheerleading...what the blazes is Muggle Cheerleading?"

The look on Lorelei's face was...suspicious. Here was proof that the woman couldn't help behaving illogically and needed a model of rationality to guide her. Knowing himself to be the epitome of reason, Severus took a soothing sip of firewhisky and gestured magnanimously with his glass, "If you're putting on some exhibition of Muggle cheering, and I'm supposed to give my permission...you'd better tell me what all this cheering entails..."

Large dark eyes looked bigger than ever as Lorelei stared at him apprehensively. Nodding her agreement, she removed two green and silver shaking things from a bag and showed him how they shook before explaining the teens would use 'pom-poms' like these in their routine. The white teeth biting fretfully at her lower lip told him there was something she was worried about letting him know. He stared at her in silence for a moment, then asked,

"What sort of outfits will the students wear?"

A short bout of nervous laughter burst from the woman standing in front of the bed. She blurted,

"Now, I'm happy to show you, but you've got to remember that the girls will be wearing tights and sweaters appropriate for the weather..."

Severus could feel his jaw drop when Lorelei removed her teaching robes to reveal a green sleeveless top that ended above her middle and an incredibly short green and silver pleated skirt. His eyes traveled down long bare legs to see short white socks and trainers. Even with a sweater and tights, the outfit would still look indecent to someone like McGonagall.

Thinking of how the Hufflepuff Quidditch team would react to seeing five such scantily clad girls brought a smirk to his lean face. He nodded and said generously, "Fine...I give permission...on one condition..."

How eagerly she agreed to something without knowing what it was. Definitely a Gryffindor tendency, that. A Slytherin would want to know what they were getting themselves into first. Snape slid down to sit on the end of the bed, with his bare feet spread apart on the floor. Bracing himself with hands on thighs, he leaned forward. Smiling in a way that brought out the blush he liked so much, he said silkily, "I require a...personal...demonstration of that cheering."

She gave him a smile that mirrored his own. Placing the bizarre pom-pom things against her hips, the siren sang, Let's Get it Started.

What followed began as an outrageous exhibition of hip and pom-pom shaking. Snape truly admired the smooth, snappy arm movements and limber athletic ability of his partner. He was pleased to demonstrate his appreciation by turning what his love had started into a private party worthy of gods from Olympus.


"I can't believe you've never seen a Quidditch game!"

Tonks knew she shouldn't keep telling the woman sitting beside her in the Teacher's Box that, but she couldn't help it- what was wrong with this woman? Didn't she know that Quidditch was life to her students? A chuckle from the quietly amused man on her other side drew her attention to Remus' smiling face. Thought she was a bit too Quidditch mad herself, eh? Well, she knew he followed the articles in the Daily Prophet detailing every game, so he could belt it or be...snogged silly, right in front his old pal Snape. The Potions Master was pretending not to notice the siren who had asked if the length of bench beside him was taken when they'd arrived.

Yeah, right. Like anybody but her would want to sit beside the poster boy for Slytherin sneering. Amazing how the other teachers are so oblivious to what's going on right under their noses. Just because Lorelei's gorgeous and Snape...isn't...doesn't mean they're just friends, people...Merlin...why did I go there? My eyes are starting to water...I think I'm allergic to Siren/Snape pheromones...think of something else quickly...Remus...oh yeah...

"Oh yeah?"

Why do I always say that last bit aloud? Now Remus and Lorelei are staring...wait, what's going on in the Slytherin stands...cheeky siren is looking nervous and Snape is smirking...Remus is laughing and looking through his omnioculars...good idea, I'll look through mine...

"Merlin! Those Slytherin girls are half-naked!"

Minerva McGonagall's shocked statement had every professor whipping out their omnioculars and peering eagerly over at the Slytherin stands. Headmaster Dumbledore said mildly,

"Oh yes, the exhibition of Muggle Cheerleading Professor Hands recommended as a Muggle Studies project...the girls appear to be wearing sweaters and skirts...they're hardly half-naked..."

"I should have expected that reaction from you, Albus. After all, you're a man."

"Thank you for noticing, Minerva."

"That's not what I meant, you infuriating..." Taking a deep breath, the Transfiguration Professor shifted to look up and glare at the woman beside Tonks. "Cheering is more of an American thing, isn't it? Did you aid and abet these girls in this scandalous endeavor Professor Lorelei?"

Professor Snape answered for her,

"I myself gave permission. This is to be a one time exhibition. I would've thought you more amenable to Slytherin promotion of anything Muggle, Professor McGonagall. I also wonder why the sight of something shaking is so disturbing to you."

It was funny how that insinuating voice of Snape's affected three different women in three different ways. Lorelei smiled. McGonagall looked furious, huffily turning a back stiff with indignation. Tonks herself felt a creepy shiver at the implication that Minerva was repressed and the Potions Master wasn't.

Professor Sprout shouted. At first, the DADA professor thought it was because the Slytherin Seeker had caught the snitch and Hufflepuff had lost the game after only twenty minutes of play. Then she realized that the shout came from several teachers now standing in horror. Tonks jumped to her feet, and looked through her omnioculars. That horrid Parkinson had pushed Zabini out of the stands! Luckily Malfoy was there to catch the girl, although her weight sent his broom into a dive that made spectators gasp. If McGonagall had looked indignant before, it was nothing compared to the furious horror on her face now.

"That girl must be severely punished! Thank Merlin Mr. Malfoy caught Ms. Zabini...Merciful Heavens! She's holding on most inappropriately and I can see them laughing! Those two should get detention for indecency Professor Snape!"

"I refuse to give detention for a heroic rescue and a natural reaction to avoiding death, Minerva. Malfoy has returned Zabini to the stands and the game is over." Nodding to Pomona, he said dryly, "I would tell you 'good game' Sprout, but in this case I think it's more apt to say...better luck next time."

Snape swept out of the stands. Whatever else he did well, sneer, snarl, or smirk...the man really knew how to make an exit. Lorelei thought so too, pure mental case that she was over the bloody bat.

"Want to go with us to the Three Broomsticks?"

Remus was so sweet, always wanting to befriend. She could kiss him. So she did. Her friend laughingly declined. The woman's parting words sank in. Faced scrunched unhappily, Tonks beseeched her partner, "She did not just say that!"

After a huff of amusement, he confirmed,

"Yes, dear heart, Lorelei said that she's going to help Snape make sure the broomsticks are in good working order."

Her love took her mind off disturbing thoughts with another kiss.


A/N:Readers of both my fics know I used the cheering & Black Eyed Peas song 'Let's Get it Started' in the other fic as well as this one - hope you enjoyed the view from the teacher's box!

Had too much fun taking a map of the Underworld from Odysseus' journey and adding a few things to make up my daydream. Love mythology, so much fun putting it into the story. Feel like I should put on a Sheryl Crow CD 'cause "All I wanna do is have some fun"- lol.