Author's Note:
Hello wonderful readers and writers! I am so sorry it's taken me this long to update the latest Adrianna Fawley story! I have resolved to be a better writer in the new year and put myself on a reasonable schedule for updates. As always, I sadly do not own any of J.K. Rowling's amazing characters, but I do own Adrianna :)
Hope everyone is having a great December, no matter what holiday(s) you celebrate!
Best,
Dragonwing
OOOOOOOOOO
Ch. 5 – Valentine's Ball Part II
Remus wondered if he'd ever get used to the amount of attention that came with being Adrianna Fawley's go-to dance escort. It was common knowledge by now that the half-succubus wouldn't accept any other invitations to the ball, and he was getting more than a few jealous stares from other students in the crowd around them. He fidgeted in Sirius' spare set of dress robes, waiting with his friends in the corridor outside of the Great Hall for Lily and Adrianna to come downstairs.
"Don't look so nervous, Moony." James chuckled. "You've done this once before now, no problem."
"Right." Remus mumbled.
"You're awfully cheerful considering Evans turned you down again this year." Sirius snorted. He'd come to terms with the fact that Adrianna was more comfortable going to the ball with Moony, but it still stung not even being able to ask her.
James shrugged. He was still plenty pissed that Lily had accepted the invitation of another Ravenclaw to the ball, (at least Napier had graduated and wasn't a threat anymore), but his strategy had changed when it came to the redhead, with the help of a certain grey-eyed half-succubus.
"When are they going to open the doors?" Peter whined. "I'm hungry."
"You're always hungry, Wormtail." James cuffed him lightly on the shoulder. The boys tussled for a minute until Remus cleared his throat and pointed at the main staircase.
Lily and Adrianna had arrived without them noticing. The pair stood at the bottom of the staircase talking with Lily's date, a tall, lanky boy with curly black hair. Lily wore a simple, creamy white, A-line gown with a teal chiffon wrap around her shoulders. Adrianna, as usual, stood out like a candle in a coal mine. The coppery material of her dress wrapped snugly around her curves and flared out into a mermaid shape at the bottom.
"Wow." Sirius sighed before giving Remus a gentle push towards the girls. "Go on, Moony, before I try to take your place."
OOOOOOOOOO
Severus was trying to make the best of a depressing situation. For the second year in a row he was seated at a table full of his housemates (none of whom he particularly liked), watching both Lily and Adrianna (both stunning as usual) dance across the Great Hall without a care in the world, with a spelled Papier Mache heart hovering dangerously close (would he really get in that much trouble if he incinerated it?) to his head.
"Lucky little bastard," Rosier sneered as Adrianna and Remus finished a dance. "Word around is now she'll only go with Lupin to any of these poncy balls."
"Like she would have gone with your anyway." Another Slytherin rolled his eyes. They were all growing a little tired of Rosier's constant whining about Adrianna Fawley. "Why don't you go dance with Doreen Bulstrode? She's been eyeing you like a treacle tart all night."
"A tart indeed…" Rosier muttered, scowling at the plump Slytherin girl openly staring at them from another table.
Severus just barely covered his laugh with a cough, running a pale hand over his face. Were these really the idiots he was stuck with for another year of school? He pushed away from the table, swatted the fucking floating heart away, and began the laborious trek from their far corner of the Hall to where the food and drinks were being served.
After narrowly avoiding being swept up into a conversation with Professor Slughorn and Professor Binns, Severus snagged a triangle-cut sandwich and leaned against the wall behind the buffet table. His dress robes felt much too tight at the throat, he slid a finger inside his collar to pull the itchy material away from his skin. He really should have tried to let these robes out some, they were getting too small. Candlelight flashed off the copper silk of Adrianna's gown as she moved into his line of sight. Her current dance partner, Frank Longbottom, spun her around once, twice, three times before bringing her back to finish out the last steps of the dance. He chubby cheeks glowed as he guffawed at something the half-witch said.
The sandwich suddenly felt like paste in his mouth and Severus swallowed it roughly past his still too-tight collar. He was being ridiculous, of course. Adrianna was his friend, at times more of a friend to him than Lily, especially after…well, they didn't discuss that. Severus pinched the elongated bridge of his nose, willing time to move faster so he could leave this dreadful event without incurring the wrath of his Head of House.
"Having a blast as usual, I see." A soft voice spoke very close to his ear. Severus jumped, his hand instinctively gripping the shoulder of the new person beside him.
"Hi, Severus." Adrianna grinned.
It took a moment for the feel of glossy silk and unrealistically soft skin beneath his fingers to register before he slowly removed his hand.
"Hello." His voice cracked and Severus mentally cringed.
Either she hadn't noticed or was nice enough not to show it.
"So," Adrianna leaned against the wall beside him, the tasteless decorations above them creating the semblance of shadowed privacy. "Have you planned your escape yet?"
"Huh?" Severus blinked, then smirked. Oh. She meant from the ball. "Nothing has been set in stone," He replied smoothly. "Did you have a suggestion?"
She laughed softly, flicking a floating cupid off its trajectory to spiral right over the top of Professor Flitwick's head. Severus chuckled. She did have impressive aim.
"My original thought was to dance right out the door with none the wiser." Adrianna mused. "But for that to work I'd need a partner who also wanted to leave."
"Hmmm." Severus agreed, eyes roaming over the rest of the students present. Sirius Black was scanning the room, trying to find Adrianna no doubt. Evan Rosier appeared to be doing the same thing, although it was possible he was looking for Severus. He frowned.
"So, are you in?" Adrianna asked.
"What?" Severus' head swiveled back around to face her.
"Are you in?" Her full lips twisted into a knowing smile he knew very well.
At first he thought she was joking. She had to be, right? But the conspiratorial gleam in her grey eyes was far from teasing.
"What about Lupin?"
She nodded to where the lycanthrope was currently slumped in a chair, trying to not fall asleep into his glass of punch. "He'll be happy to be off duty for the night."
"I'm in." Severus answered before he could talk himself out of it.
"Excellent!" Adrianna glanced to where her friends were gathered. "I've got the next dance promised to Sirius,"
Severus snorted, but held his tongue.
She rolled her eyes at him. "But after that I feel like we could sneak out without being noticed."
"Alright." He nodded, the exhilaration over what he just agreed to starting to kick in.
"We'll meet back here in one song," She said. "Don't disappear on me again like you did last time."
"I…" But she was gone before he could reply. Severus resettled against the wall, watching as the half-witch glided back across the floor to where Black was standing with Potter and the rest of the bloody Gryffindors. The tall boy grinned like a fool when Adrianna reached them, holding out his hand to lead her onto the dance floor.
That was alright, Severus told himself. Soon he'd have his own dance with Adrianna and then…then what?
OOOOOOOOOO
Adrianna smiled up at the dark haired Gryffindor in front of her. Sirius held her right hand in his left, his larger fingers dwarfing her own. His other hand slid around her waist as the tempo of the music picked up and they starting moving across the floor with the other couples.
Lily and her Ravenclaw date whirled past them, the two girls called out a hello to each other before they were carried on around.
"I'm glad we were able to dance again," Sirius grinned. "I was starting to think your schedule was full for the rest of the night."
"Perish the thought," Adrianna chuckled. Sirius spun her around once before bringing her close again. Her left hand resettled onto his shoulder, and she couldn't help but notice how much broader it was compared to last year, all that time spent playing Quidditch certainly wasn't hurting Sirius Black. They were all growing up, much faster than she really cared for. Only one more year left of school…
"Adrianna?" He frowned. "Are you ok?"
"What? Oh, yes." She smiled again. "I was just thinking about how our last year of school is coming up."
"Right…" Sirius' gaze shifted to where his little brother was sitting with the other Slytherin first years, looking decidedly uncomfortable in the new dress robes their mother had picked out for him.
"Don't worry Sirius," Adrianna squeezed his shoulder. "I'm sure he'll be fine even after you graduate."
"I hope you're right." He brought his attention back to her, taking advantage of the turn they had to make and pulling her just a little bit closer. The song would end soon, but Sirius didn't want to let her go. On the other hand, he also didn't want to royally offend her like he'd done at the last Valentine's Ball.
The last notes faded away, Sirius let his hand slip from around her waist.
"Thank you for the dance." Adrianna kept ahold of his hand. He allowed himself to be pulled along behind her, back to the table their friends had commandeered. It was almost painful when she let go of his hand to go check on Lupin, who currently had his head resting on the table.
"Poor Remus," Adrianna giggled, smoothing a stray lock of hair out of the werewolf's face.
"Yeah, Moony's been right exhausted lately." James plunked a plate full of desserts down by Remus' head. The other boy's eyes shot open and he sat up groggily. James patted him on the back and held a piece of dark chocolate fudge in front of his nose. "Eat some of this, you'll feel better."
Adrianna took a moment to hug her date and whispered something into his ear. Remus gave her a curious look, but said nothing as he popped the entire piece of fudge into his mouth.
"See you all later." Adrianna waved just as Lily came over with her date and a glass of punch. "I've got another dance partner waiting."
"Who…" Sirius caught Moony shaking his head at him and let the question drop. He suddenly had a bad feeling.
Adrianna gave Lily a quick hug before waving again and melting into the crowd around them.
OOOOOOOOOO
Snape was still waiting for her in the shadows by the far wall. He'd watched with no small amount of irritation as Black had gradually pulled the half-witch close and closer throughout their dance. The bloody Gryffindor bastard was completely besotted and apparently didn't care who saw. He'd shrunk farther into the shadows when one of his year-mates walked by, but the other boy hadn't seemed to notice him.
The closer it got to the time when Adrianna would be meeting him for their dance, the more Severus felt his confidence seeping out of him. In fact, by the time she reappeared at his side he was sure that she'd changed her mind and was only here to let him know she had better prospects.
"Ready?" Adrianna asked, her porcelain cheeks were flushed from her last dance.
Severus felt his throat go dry. It hadn't occurred to him before now that all of his housemates, and every other house in the entire bloody school was going to see him attempt (the key word there being attempt) to dance with Adrianna Fawley.
"Er…" He wiped a sweaty palm against his robes. This was a bad idea. "I'm not sure…"
"Oh no," She shook her head, obsidian curls threatening to escape from the pins that held them up. "You are not standing me up two years in a row, Severus Snape. Do you know I'd never been stood up before in my life until you came along?"
Snape stood gawking at her like a codfish, his sudden nervousness forgotten. Her serious expression split unexpectedly into a grin and she grabbed his hand.
"Come on, the song has already started."
"You are evil." He muttered.
"Only half." Adrianna's elongated canines flashed briefly at him and the next thing he knew they were in the middle of the dance floor.
Of course Severus knew how to dance, they'd all learned at Slughorn's insistence prior to the first Valentine's Ball the year before. But it was one thing to move awkwardly through the steps with an instructor, and quite another to be gliding through a sea of couples with one of the most beautiful creatures ever to walk through the castle doors.
It occurred to Severus that Adrianna might be using a touch of succubus magic to make this easier for him, actually he was sure of it. They were moving much too easily around the floor, the twists and turns were smoother than he'd ever managed. Then she smiled at him and Severus forgot all about succubus magic and actually started to have fun. Her hand was unbelievably soft, his long fingers wrapped nearly all the way around it. The curve of her waist was supple beneath the silk of her gown. What an idiot he'd been to miss out on this last year.
During one turn, Severus caught sight of the Slytherin tables, and a completely gobsmacked Evan Rosier. The temptation to gloat was too much, and he allowed himself a small smirk at his housemate before the dance took them away.
The song was three-quarters of the way through when they passed by the table holding Adrianna's Gryffindor year mates. The kink that Severus would surely have in his neck later was well worth seeing the thunderous look of disbelief on Sirius Black's face. Potter and Pettigrew shared similar expressions, while Lupin seemed to be the only one not surprised by Adrianna's choice of dance partner. Figured.
Then he saw Lily standing with that boy from Ravenclaw. She looked angelic in her white dress and Severus nearly faltered a step, but Adrianna's little bump of magic kept them from going off course. Lily gave them a small smile and a wave as they went by, and then he lost sight of her.
"The song's almost over," Adrianna's lips were very close to his ear. "Are you still with me?"
He swallowed. Say something!
"Yes."
"Alright," Her pointy teeth flashed again, eyes shifting ever-so-slightly from grey to silver. "Hold on, then."
Adrianna tightened her grip on his hand and shoulder, pressing much closer to Severus than he was prepared for. When they came close to the Great Hall doors again, everything around them suddenly became slow and blurred. Severus felt a chill roll up his spine along with a wave of magic, and he squeezed his eyes shut.
When the chill passed, Severus opened his eyes and realized they were now standing on the first landing of the wide staircase outside the Great Hall. He also realized that the only thing keeping him upright was Adrianna's arms locked around his waist.
"Ok?" She murmured, waiting for him to nod before letting him go. Severus steadied himself, rolled back his shoulders to shake out the last of the chill left by the succubus magic.
"Feeling better?" Adrianna asked as she righted the twisted skirt of her gown.
"Much." Severus responded dryly. When Adrianna had said they were going to dance right out of the room, she hadn't been bloody kidding.
"Good." She started up the stairs, turning back when she realized the Slytherin hadn't followed her. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"