There were already a few students waiting at the entrance to the Great Hall when Hermione and Severus arrived, making the two adults curse under their breath as they walked through the double doors. They both could see the moment they entered the Great Hall that they were excessively late. Every head in there turned to look at them. Severus glanced quickly at the clock on the wall.
"Damn," he muttered.
"Where exactly have you two been all this time? It isn't like either of you to be late to an engagement," McGonagall asked suspiciously. Like always, she had her hair pulled back into a harsh bun, but it was softened a bit for the occasion, with two thin locks hanging down around her face, and the bun was not quite as neat as it usually was.She was a wearing deepburgundy gown, in honor of Gryffindor, Severus supposed, and a sheer wrap draped around her shoulders.
"We're jus' finishin' up here," Hagrid grunted from the corner.
"I'm sure they have their reasons. Let us simply allow them a chance to explain," said the Headmaster calmly, his eyes twinkling, as usual.
Severus stood beside Hermione, not having any idea as to what he should say or do. He could not very well blurt out, "Well, she invited me inside to her office and then she couldn't put her necklace on properly by herself."
Hermione, however, had always been one who thought quickly on her feet. "I'm terribly sorry, Professors, but there was a student who needed a bit of help on a rather complex spell, and so I had to stay. And Severus, being the true gentleman that he is, refused to leave me there alone. It's really all my fault, Professors. I apologize," she said very quickly, trying not to waste too much more time than they already had.
"Wait, so, are you too…each others'-" McGonagall asked, clearly very confused, but was interrupted by Severus.
"'Dates', as Albus so fondly likes to call them? Yes, Minerva," he replied.
Everyone was quite surprised, except, it seemed, for Dumbledore.
Does anything ever shock this man?, Severus wondered bitterly.
"We are nearly finished preparing, but I suppose you two could help us put up a few more decorations if you like," Dumbledore told them most kindly.
Hermione blushed. "Yes, sir." She pointed her wand at the stage where the Weird Sisters would soon be, and added several more banners and a bit more confetti to it to make it much less…stiff. After all, she was the one professor at Hogwarts closest to the students' ages (well, except for Neville, of course, but his mind seems to have matured into a taut old man's), and she was fond of thinking that she could relate to them well.
In no time, it was time for the students to enter the Hall, all of them talking noisily. Some students were clutching each other, laughing, others looking somber and searching for their dates from different Houses, etc. From across the room, Severus saw several of his Slytherins looking tough and quite bored with this whole ordeal, and a wave of pride rapidly washed over him. Hermione experience the same feeling shortly after, when she spotted a Gryffindor Prefect trying to keep some of her classmates in order. Hermione smiled as the young, brown-haired Prefect brought back memories of herself at that age, in behavior and even in appearance. She looked up at the Head Table, where Dumbledore, Snape, Neville, and several other teachers sat quietly, keeping a close watch on the horde of rambunctious teenagers. She decided to join them. Hermione walked up to the Head Table, mentally willing no one to take the empty seats on either side of Severus, although she imagined that Dumbledore would have done something like requiring the staff to sit beside their "dates" for the evening. She sat down in the empty chair to his left and looked out with him at the students.
"I remember the last time I was here, all dressed up like this. Victor Krum was my date then," Hermione told Severus idly.
"Why should I care about who your date to the Yule Ball was when you were fourteen?"
"You shouldn't, really. In fact, I might be a bit afraid if you did," she chuckled. His expression did not change; she hated how he kept his face impassive. He caught her looking at him and he scowled.
"Now, now, Severus," she said, wagging a finger at him playfully, "remember what I said about no scowling. You do remember, don't you?"
He rolled his eyes. What was she trying to do? He answered, "Unfortunately."
"And what did I say?" she asked him. It was fun teasing the Potions Master.
He glanced at her, but remained silent as she smirked. He knew that this was exactly what she wanted, that she had won, but he didn't care. There was no way that she was going to get him to repeat what she had told him about looking much younger and more…handsome. To have repeated her words would have been more humiliating by far. He glanced at her again, and saw that she was still smirking. He quickly looked away, and saw that onstage, the Weird Sisters were setting up. Severus tried not to think about how beautiful she looked, merely sitting there gazing out at the students. A stray hair had fallen into her face, and she kept blowing at it, but was apparently too lazy to reach up and push it back. Without thinking about what he was doing, Severus extended a hand and tucked it behind her ear. She looked at him, astonished, and he looked into her eyes for just a moment, but then he quickly turned away to stare at the wall. Hermione smiled slightly, lightly touching the spot on her cheek where his hand had grazed it, and then returned to watching over the teenagers.
Dumbledore had left his chair, Hermione noticed, when she heard his voice booming throughout the Hall. He was standing onstage and had apparently bewitched his voice to make it sound louder, like he was using an invisible microphone. "Good evening to you all. I hope you have been enjoying yourselves thus far and have not found it to be too boring just yet. Welcome to the Yule Ball. How delightful it is to see your happy, smiling faces!"
Hermione elbowed Severus playfully in the arm at this remark, biting her lip to keep from smiling.
Dumbledore cleared his throat and continued, "The staff will be sitting at the High Table, watching you from the floor, or dancing themselves if they so wish. Now, please, everyone, give a warm welcome to The Weird Sisters." He bowed out as the Weird Sisters began their first song of the evening.
Students flocked to the dance floor and held each other (even though it was a "fast" song) or danced together at more of a distance. The teachers, Professor McGonagall in particular, were roaming the dance floor, trying to keep the students from getting too out of hand and dancing much too…provocatively, shall we say. Severus and Hermione sat beside each other, neither of them saying anything, and watched the students dance and thwart the staff's attempts to "ruin their good fun," as they put it.
Finally, Hermione grew weary of the silence between them. After all, he was her date! Wasn't he supposed to be at least trying to make conversation?
She turned to him, resting her elbow on the table and setting her chin in her palm. "Severus?"
"Yes?"
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.
He looked at her. "Are you joking?"
She shook her head, causing her elbow to wobble a little. "I'm so very bored. If you don't want to answer the question, then make up a differentone and ask me."
He raised an eyebrow and then rolled his eyes. "You must be joking."
"Nope," she said.
He looked back at her. "A question, that's what you want?" Hermione nodded. Severus could barely concentrate on stringing words together, let alone coming up with a question on the spot; he could only focus on how attractive she looked. He sighed. "All right. A question… Would you… Are you… Are you enjoying being a teacher here at Hogwarts, as opposed to being a student?" What the hell kind of question is that!, he asked himself furiously. Honestly, you couldn't have come up with anything better than that!
Hermione smiled. "Very good question." He searched her face or tone of voice for any hint of an insult or teasing, but he could find none. "It is stressful, of course, teaching here," she continued, "or anywhere for that matter, but so was being a student."
"That's because you made it stressful on yourself. I mean, just look at Longbottom- he did much worse than you in all of his classes, and you both now have teaching positions at the same school. What does that tell you? You could have made it much easier on yourself back then, you know."
"Yes, but I received high marks, didn't I? I was the one to be the Gryffindor Prefect and Head Girl, wasn't I?" she asked him, infuriated.
Severus was silent for a moment. Then he said very quietly, "Yes," and did not say another word to her.
Hermione let out an exasperated sigh. "This Yule Ball is so dull. I suppose that is one thing that I do miss about being a student: I could have much more fun."
"Why can't you have fun now? Teachers are permitted to dance; Dumbledore said it at the start. Why don't you go out there and dance, then?" Severus asked her. He was becoming very irritated with her frequent remarks about how weary she was and how boring this Ball was. However, not wanting to imply anything, he quickly said, "Look over there. Lupin isn't dancing with anyone."
"No, not now. I couldn't go out there now, not while the students are all dancing. I couldn't possibly."
"Then stop complaining!"
Hermione shrank away from him slightly and muttered, "I'm sorry."
"It's all right." Say you're sorry, the voice in his head commanded him. Severus, tell her you're sorry too. "I'm sorry too," he obeyed. "For, um, becoming so irritated."
"It's all right."
Dumbledore's loud voice rumbled through the Hall once more. "Now, students, I am afraid you need to vacate the dance floor." Some students just gazed questioningly at him, although others possessed the intelligence to seek out the clock on the wall and check the time for themselves. "No, no," Dumbledore said, "it is not yet time for the Ball to end. Not nearly. However, now it is only the teachers' turns to dance. And this is mandatory, by the way," Dumbledore added, glancing over in Severus' direction, Dumbledore's eyes twinkling. "Only the staff, please. Find the partners that you came with and join MadamHooch and me on the dance floor. Thank you." Then he coughed, although it sounded remarkably like "Mandatory." Then he smiled cheerfully at the staff, especially those still at the High Table, and it almost seemed as if he were mocking them somehow.
Hermione and Severus looked at each other, neither of them knowing quite what to do in this situation. Did Dumbledore honestly expect them to simply jump up enthusiastically out of their chairs and into each other's arms?
Hermione, however, smiled slightly. Again, she propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "Severus, would you like to dance with me?"
Thanks to all of you who reviewed! It makes me so happy just to get a review, and then even happier when I actually read them! So thanks so much.
olivialynlee- Yeah, and no pressure on me or anything... Just kidding. I love that scene with the necklace too. That is my favorite so far out of all five chapters! And about my review to your story: no problem at all. I really, really love your story and how you keep them in character. And thank you for calling me an excellent writer, too. I really appreciate that.
rinny08- Yes, I do want to draw it out. :) As you very well saw with this chapter. I love the Yule Ball. I think it is so exciting.
Review, please!