Chapter 20
She was stellar. Perfection. "A true lotus blossom." He thought to himself, trying to remain unimpressed. She glanced down at herself, then back to him… and blushed.
Her cheeks, glowing pink indicated embarrassment, shyness or coyness… however, her dark eyes sparkled with something else. Mischief? Flirtation? Either way she was the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on.
Her hair was straight as a pin, pulled back on the top and sides but the rest remained down, draping down onto her bare, tan, toned shoulders. It was smooth, shiny, healthy looking and rich, dark brown. Her dress was indeed impressive, he noted as he let his eyes stray down her slim figure. It was a strapless, ebony gown; the top was completely encrusted with shining silver beads. It was form-fitting down to her hips, where the beading stopped, and after which it flared out into a full A-line skirt which poufed out just a little away from her body, rather than clinging to it.
She breathed out nervously. "Well?" she asked. "Is this OK?"
Snape's eyes moved over her like an elevator. 'OK!' Of course it was 'OK'. "OK," he thought to himself, "is probably the understatement of the century"
He gave his ascot one last tug, "Fine." He said simply and turned away leaving Lexie feeling rather empty and disappointed. "Let's go." He said.
Snape picked up his long black traveling cloak and swished over to the door, swinging it around his shoulders as he went. He stopped at the threshold and turned back to her with his wand. With one short snap of his wand he'd performed a disillusion charm on her. It was as though he'd just cracked an egg over her head; she felt a cool, melting sensation drip down over her body. She looked down and she saw nothing. She was invisible.
"I realize that charm probably took you all day to perform, being challenged as you are in that area…" he said, reading her thoughts. "However, despite your good intentions, no one can see you leaving the castle with me… even if you are not dressed in conspicuous attire."
Lexie scolded herself, both for wasting so much time on a charm that she only needed for about 2 minutes, and for leaving her thoughts as open and easily accessible as an open book.
He repeated the motion to himself, and then swung the door open.
Lexie realized then that she had no idea where he was planning to go. Before she had time to react, she felt a cold, strong hand wrap around her wrist. Snape pulled her out the door after him and down the long, dark dungeon hallway.
Near the Slytherin dormitories was a dusty old tapestry that hung on the wall of a dead-end corridor. Snape paused and flung it over top of them. Lexie was surprised to see that there was a secret passageway leading down a long set of spiral stairs. She could barely see her feet in front of her, but she could tell once they began their descent that these stairs were as old as the castle and rarely, if ever used and never received any maintenance. She could feel the stone crumbling beneath her feet as she climbed downwards. What made matters worse was not just the lack of light in the stairwell, but the fact that she could not see her feet… as they were invisible. So she couldn't tell if she was putting her foot on a step or not. She thought she could pretty much judge the distance between the stairs… at least for now.
They had been going down for nearly two minutes when Lexie's already aching feet failed her. Snape was practically running down the stairs, pulling her along behind him when Lexie's heeled foot hit a crumbling part on one of the stairs and she went slipping forward.
It was lucky indeed that Snape was where he was at the time. He felt her long fingernails scratch him just a bit on her way past, heard her dress swishing, the bits of stone trickling down the stairs and the sound of a high-heeled shoe scraping. His arms shot out instinctively and reestablished his grip on her wrist. His other arm quickly snaked around her waist, steadying her. He stopped for a moment to let her regain her balance.
"Bloody, dilapidated stairs…" Lexie muttered to herself, trying to find a safe spot to place her feet. She dusted off her dress where it had connected with the stairs. "How embarrassing!" she thought to herself. She barely noticed that Snape's hand was still on her hip.
Snape however, had not forgotten. He knew he should remove it, but he couldn't seem to muster up the willpower. Even though he couldn't see her, the image of her remained, fixed in his minds eye. Her hourglass figure in that stunning dress. He couldn't help but hope that someone would force them to dance later in the evening… just to be that close to her again, to feel her hands upon him and his upon her. He suppressed a shiver.
"Are you alright?" he asked, trying to sound exasperated.
"Yes…" she succeeded in sounding exasperated.
He released her waist but kept the hold on her arm and began to climb steadily downwards at a much slower pace. To his great surprise, she pried his grip on her wrist open and put her left hand in his, lacing their fingers together loosely. She put her right hand on his right forearm.
Lexie went ahead and smiled when he didn't push her away… after all, he couldn't see her, right? There was something that thrilled her about the subtle flirtation that went on between them. He was such a loner, such a rebel… she wondered when the last time was that he let someone hold his hand. If he'd ever let anyone hold his hand…?
Snape was uncomfortable… he felt as though he'd jump out of his skin if he didn't let go of her hand soon. He didn't mind touching her… in fact, he quite liked it… but holding hands was different. He could have sex without feelings… but holding hands was intimate.
Lexie could tell practically taste his unease. His body was absolutely rigid and his fingers were straight, not relaxed and slightly curled as one's fingers usually are when holding hands. She stifled a laugh, but enjoyed the rest of the trip down the stairs.
They emerged from a secret door on the south end of the castle into the moonlight. The sky was very black and made the stars and nearly full moon stand out dramatically against it. She kept his hand as he began to tow her across the sweeping Hogwarts grounds behind him. The snow shone bright white and their footprints appeared in a ghost-like manner, made by their invisible feet.
When they reached the gate, he drew his wand and charmed it open. The lock sprung and they exited silently, both glancing back over their shoulders to be sure that no one had seen them; which was unnecessary as they were both still undeniably transparent.
They walked several feet toward the train platform and then Snape stopped abruptly, and Lexie bumped into him. She heard the rustling of his cloak again and then felt the tap of his wand on her head. She soon saw her body reappearing, followed by his.
The wind blew and she shivered. It was definitely December. The top layer of powdery snow whipped up around her. It was then that she realized that she'd left her dorm room without having the forethought to grab a cloak. "Idiot…" she thought to herself. She rubbed her hands on her arms vigorously, creating friction and warming her up.
"Come here." Snape said his voice deep and soft.
She raised an eyebrow at him, questioningly, but took a step toward him.
She felt his arms come around her waist and pull her close. Their bodies were touching now, for the first time since their PT session on Halloween. Initially, Lexie thought he'd picked up on her shiver and was going to share his cloak with her. "What a gentleman!" she thought… but she was mistaken.
"Hold onto me. Tightly. We're going to apparate the rest of the way." He told her, clasping his hand behind her back.
Lexie nodded and let her arms wrap around his back and upwards to grasp his shoulders from behind. She tucked her head down and let her cheek press into his chest. "Now this is cozy…" Lexie thought to herself, though she didn't have time to relish in the feeling. The last sensation she'd registered was his scent. It made her mouth water, and she felt guilty. But it was a scent that she'd never smelled before. It was musky and clean, with just a touch of something else… chemicals. It was absolutely the most amazing scent to ever grace her nostrils.
But instantly, that sensation was replaced by another. There was a crack! And she felt as though she was being stretched and pulled. Wind rushed and she felt as though she were losing her grip on Snape. Her hands were slipping, but she clamped her hands down and held on for dear life.
Suddenly, her feet hit the ground. Her hands slipped and grasped the front of Snape's cloak. He kept his grip on her hips until she regained her balance… for the second time that night.
She was trembling slightly as she straightened up. Snape had his chin tucked into his chest and waited for a reaction.
"Damn it…" she panted, letting go of him. "I hate apparating…" she said stupidly.
Snape snickered and released her. "Come on." He said beginning to stride away from her.
"This is going well…" Lexie thought wryly. "He must think I'm a complete klutz."
She walked off after him. They were on a country road, covered in snow and lined with bare skeletal trees. "Professor?" she called out, for he was now about ten feet in front of her.
He didn't answer. "Where exactly are we?" she asked, wondering how far she'd have to walk in the snow in her heeled shoes, with no cloak to keep her warm.
"Just outside the Malfoys." He replied, not bothering to look back at her.
She bunched up her gown and trudged onward, trying to keep the bottom of her dress from becoming wet and dirty. She slipped a few times, adding to her building inelegance, but managed to remain on her feet.
"Why is it that we couldn't apparate right onto the front doorstep?" she asked, irritated.
"Magical protection… wards and the like." He answered, still not slowing down. He glanced over his shoulder at her.
"You should have worn your cloak." He said sarcastically.
"Yeah." Lexie huffed. This was going to be a long evening.
Soon they approached a beautiful piece of property. The grounds of the Malfoy mansion were surrounded by a stately looking, black, wrought iron fence. The lawns, covered in shimmering white snow swept upwards to a lovely, white Tudor mansion at the top of a hill. Lexie literally gasped at its splendor.
Snape marched up to the gate and waited. Lexie caught up to him moments later, rather out of breath and annoyed. They waited together in silence. She wondered what exactly it was that they were waiting for.
Snape threw her a sidelong glance, noting her confusion and said, "They have a security system… they will open the gate as soon as they recognize me."
As if on cue, the gate sprung open, just like the one at Hogwarts had done earlier that evening. Snape pulled it open and let her enter ahead of him. He pulled it shut with a distinctive click and they began the long ascent to the Malfoy house. Lexie was still shivering; she thought she might have hypothermia by the time they reached the warmth of the house. Her breath came in large, wispy puffs.
This time he kept pace with her. The driveway leading to the house was much easier to walk on than the road had been, for it had been cleared of all snow, either magically or by some other means.
They strode up onto the porch, between the large elegant pillars and stood in front of the great double doors.
Snape paused, "Are you ready?" he asked rhetorically.
Lexie pursed her lips and nodded. She drew in a deep breath and Snape rang the bell. They waited for only a moment before they heard footsteps on hardwood floors approaching on the other side of the door.
