Ch. 11 – The Final Ball
The day of the Valentine's Ball arrived before she knew it, and Adrianna found herself sitting in her dorm room debating if she should even go or not. Her dress hung from the door to the closet she and Lily shared. The black satin garment would certainly be the most daring item of clothing she'd ever chosen to wear on school grounds. But, at the time she and her mother were shopping for it Adrianna had figured, why not go out with a bang?
Lily's ball gown was an homage to their house colors, a deep red creation with gold beading on the skirt. Her friend was particularly nervous about this year's ball, because just a couple of nights ago she'd finally accepted James Potter's multiple requests to be his date. Remus would be Adrianna's escort, as usual, although Sirius had already taken up three slots on her dance card.
Sirius…
Adrianna thought back to her Aunt Seshat's cryptic words over the summer, "Well if you haven't figured out who you're in love with on your own by now, I'm certainly not going to tell you."
"Ugh…damn it!" Adrianna flopped back onto her bed and wrapped herself in the comforter. "That's it. I'm not going!"
"What was that?" Lily walked into the room, giggling at her friend's makeshift cocoon.
The half-witch's muffled voice came from somewhere inside the comforter. "I said, I'm not going to the ball. Remus won't mind. In fact, he'll probably be grateful."
"What?" Lily jumped onto the bed and dug around until she had Adrianna's indignant face exposed. "You have to go! Not only is it the last ball we'll attend at Hogwarts, but I need you there! You're the only one who can keep me from making a prat of myself in front of James…er…Potter."
"You'll be fine." Adrianna attempted to cover herself back up, only to have Lily wrench the covers away again.
"What's going on? We were both looking forward to tonight, and you have that killer dress that's going to make even Professor Binns' eyes pop out of their sockets, so why not go?"
"Ghosts' eyes can't pop out. Not really." Adrianna muttered.
"Whatever." Lily helped her sit up. "Seriously, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She let the comforter pool around her waist. "It's just…I think that I…care about someone and this is new for me. I don't know what to do. I'm so used to fending off false love that I don't know if I'll be able to handle the real thing when it happens."
Lily wrapped her into a tight hug. "When it comes down to it, you'll know if it's right or not. I won't even ask who it is. Yet."
"How kind of you." Adrianna sighed and squeezed her back. "I guess I'd better start getting ready."
"Yes!" Lily bounced off of the bed and brandished a nearby makeup brush at her. "I'll help!"
OOOOOOOOOO
"Don't worry, Moony." Sirius straightened Remus' dress robes as they waited in the castle foyer for the Great Hall doors to open. "This is the last one of these fancy affairs you'll have to attend for a long time."
"A long time?" Remus huffed. "Why not forever?"
The dark-haired boy grinned. "Well, when Prongs and Lily get married I'm sure it will be quite the event."
"Shut it!" James hissed, his eyes scanning the main staircase. He'd been fidgeting for three days now, ever since Lily had accepted his invitation to the ball. He supposed that the twenty-third, or twenty-fourth, time was the charm.
"I think my collar is too tight." Peter whined, tugging at his robes.
"It's all those toffees you eat, Wormtail." Sirius chuckled. "Goes right to your neck."
"You…" Peter was cut off when James gripped his shoulder. The taller boy's eyes, as well as most of the eyes in the room, were fixed on the staircase where Adrianna and Lily had just appeared.
Lily looked almost like a queen in her ball gown, all she needed was a crown. Wide skirts whispering against the stone steps, and gold beading catching the candlelight. Her red hair was piled onto the back of her head in a knot of curls, with more gold beads winking from between the strands.
If Lily was a queen, then Adrianna was a goddess. The black satin sheath, held up only by two straps that met in a silver choker around her neck, wrapped around her curves and rippled down into a short train behind her. Her obsidian curls had been straightened and wound into an intricate bun at the base of her skull, with silver beads inserted to compliment Lily's golden ones. When she turned to help Lily navigate her skirt over the last few steps, all were treated with a view of her bare back, from her shoulders all the way down until the satin dress hugged around her waist.
Remus suddenly felt Sirius sagging against him, and was forced to prop the other boy up.
"Padfoot!" Lupin hissed. "Snap out of it!" The taller boy righted himself just as Lily and Adrianna reached them.
James barely spared a glance in Adrianna's direction, something the half-succubus noted with approval. A man truly in love wouldn't be easily swayed by a succubus' beauty. It was a fact her aunts had often used to their advantage.
"You look beautiful." James offered Lily his arm. She blushed slightly and smiled up at him as he escorted her into the Great Hall. Peter gave Sirius a push in the back, and the two boys followed.
"Shall we?" Adrianna asked Remus.
The werewolf shook his head ruefully and offered her his arm as well. "Are you trying to give everyone a heart attack?" He asked her softly as they walked into the ball.
"Well, not everyone." She grinned. "I'm sure Professor Binns will be just fine."
"You're evil." Remus snorted.
"Only half." Adrianna righted the werewolf as he stumbled.
"Completely evil." He nodded to himself.
After her traditional first dance with Remus, Lily was quickly swept back onto the dance floor by Sirius.
"Well, that was fast." She chuckled, feeling the warmth of his hand on her back.
He grinned. "Can't let Moony have you all to himself, greedy bastard that he is."
Adrianna laughed and he twirled her once before pulling her back in.
OOOOOOOOOO
Severus Snape felt a keen sense of deja vu, watching Lily and Adrianna enter the ballroom with their friends. But when he saw Lily's arm linked with Potter's…So, the bastard had finally worn her down. He'd been mentally preparing himself for this possibility, had even anticipated the white-hot fury of knowing Lily had chosen Potter over everyone else, but all he felt now was ice in his veins.
Then Adrianna walked into the room, with Lupin as usual, and Severus suddenly couldn't breathe. If there had ever been any doubts at Hogwarts about Adrianna's non-human heritage, they'd all be squashed now. Lupin stumbled briefly, and she righted him as easily as when Severus had danced with her at last year's ball.
"Bloody hell…" Rosier's voice was like nails on a chalkboard to Severus' nerves. "Would you look at that."
Another boy on Rosier's other side, Crabbe, leaned over and hissed: "She never did look like she belonged with those Gryffindor twats. Maybe we should ask her…"
"Fucking shut it!" Rosier's wand was suddenly under the other boy's chin. "Have you gone mad?"
"Sorry…I…sorry." Crabbe slinked back into his chair.
Severus raised an eyebrow at the exchange, Rosier merely shrugged and tucked his wand back into his sleeve. Getting away from his housemates was going to be harder than usual. He'd barely been able to use the washroom without Rosier or one of the others following close behind him. Severus had decided to confront them once this dreaded event was over. With any luck, they'd get drunk like they normally did after a ball and would be more pliable.
Soon, the dancing started. Potter kept a monopoly on Lily's time, while Adrianna regularly switched partners as was her custom. She hadn't asked Severus for a dance this year. Then again, the last time they spoke he'd essentially told her to mind her own business.
That conversation haunted him. He could have just told her those spells were for DADA research, or something, anything besides what he had done.
Severus pushed up from the table, and Rosier immediately stood as well.
"Where you going, Sev?" Rosier asked mildly.
Severus glared at him. "To the washroom. You want to hold it while I take a piss, Rosier?"
Rosier blinked in surprise before grinning and clapping him on the shoulder. "Go on, then." He sat back down, turning to speak to Crabbe.
Severus moved along the stone wall of the Great Hall, bypassed the main doors, and worked his way around to the other side of the room, where a small door was set into one corner. Glancing back to make sure no one had followed him, he slipped through the door into an antechamber that led to a balcony.
Leaning against the balcony railing, Severus finally allowed himself to incrementally relax. The chilly night breeze rustled through his hair, cooling him down from the heat of the Great Hall. He hadn't been sure that she would see him leave, or even bother to follow given their last conversation. But when Adrianna appeared on the balcony ten minutes later, Severus felt a relief he hadn't known he was waiting for.
"Taking a break?" She splayed her hands on the railing, looking out over the quiet grounds. The light from the half-moon making her inhuman skin glisten.
Severus' eyes raked down her exposed back, where half-immortal muscles bunched and released with each movement she made. Then his gaze landed on her wrist, and the silver charm he'd given her in their fifth year to ward off love potions. He hadn't see her wearing that in a long time.
He wet his lips and looked in the same direction. "I needed to get away for a few minutes."
"So did I." She glanced over at him. "I didn't even know this little balcony was out here."
He nodded, hands gripping the railing. "Listen, Adrianna, I want to apologize for what I said the last time we spoke."
She waved a hand and turned to rest her back against the rail. Severus knew it had to be ice cold on her skin, but she showed no reaction.
"I did pry." She said, tilting her head back as if to soak in the moonlight. "And I know better than to do that with you."
Severus sighed. "It was still wrong of me. I wanted to tell you sooner, but my housemates have been…"
"Increasingly clingy?" She offered.
"Right." He drug his fingers through his hair and straightened up. "Adrianna?"
"Hmm?" Her eyes were closed, face still turned up towards the sky.
Severus took a deep breath. "Would you dance with me?"
Adrianna looked at him, her grey eyes registering a hint of surprise. "Of course, Severus. All you had to do was ask."
Before he could lose his nerve, Severus offered her his arm. He was finally taller than Adrianna Fawley now, much taller, and who knew when he'd have a chance like this again.
They walked together back into the Great Hall, where a new song was just starting. Adrianna waved to Remus where he sat with Peter and Frank Longbottom. Sirius was actually taking a turn around the floor with Alice, not far from Lily and James.
Severus placed a hand on the small of Adrianna's back, marveling for a brief moment at the texture of her skin, before they were swept up in the flow of dancers. The looks on the faces of Rosier and his other housemates were worth whatever retaliation he'd face for lying to them earlier. They danced across the hall, keeping tempo with the music, and Severus felt peaceful for the first time in a long time. He dared to pull the half-witch a little closer, acutely aware of the thin layers of fabric that separated them. Though he hadn't given too much thought to his future outside of Hogwarts, not with all of the unexplained events that had been happening during recent months, he allowed himself to imagine, just for a minute, that maybe he and Adrianna…
A thundering crack split the air. The enchanted ceiling above their heads shuddered, the night sky it reflected twisted, and pulled.
Then, it burst.
In the blink of an eye, Adrianna pushed Severus back and slipped into her succubus form. Her arms flew up to envelope everyone in the crowded ballroom in a dome of silver light, just as the same black ooze that had stained the library books came dripping down from the ceiling. Thick globs hit the shield and slid down its sides like tar, hissing and sizzling as it left dark trails across her magic.
Severus scrambled to his feet, wand out, trying to keep the throngs of panicking students from knocking Adrianna over. He looked into her face, and saw that the silver light had blotted out the whites of her eyes. Streaks of silver began to appear beneath her skin where her veins were supposed to be, and a thin trickle of blood began to drip out of her nose. Severus began to cast his own shielding spell around the two of them, when Dumbledore appeared at his side.
"She cannot hold this much longer!" The headmaster shouted over the din. "Be prepared to catch her, Mr. Snape."
Severus nodded and quickly pocketed his wand.
Dumbledore began to recite a spell that Severus didn't recognize, but he could feel the magic crackling around the older wizard. With his wand pointed straight up, Dumbledore finished the spell, sending a beam of magic through Adrianna's shield and into the corrupted ceiling.
As soon as the headmaster's magic punched through her own, Adrianna lost her hold on the dome. It melted away as her eyes rolled back into her head, and she collapsed into Severus' arms.
Severus crouched low and held her close as Dumbledore forced the black liquid into submission, vanishing it into thin air. The places where it had touched the walls and floor were scorched, as if by fire. Using the sleeve of his robe, Severus wiped the blood from Adrianna's face. She had slipped back into her human form as soon as she'd lost consciousness.
"Look!" Someone shouted. "Look at the ceiling!"
Severus tilted his head up in time to see the outline of a large skull burning in the night sky. A snake wove its way out of the skull's mouth. The hair on the back of his neck stood up and he clutched Adrianna as close as possible without crushing her.
Dumbledore spoke a single word and flicked his wand at the image. It dissolved in on itself with a loud pop, and it was as if somebody had suddenly let all of the air back into the room. Many of the students let out a collective breath of relief.
Taking care to not let her head loll off to the side, Severus propped Adrianna up against his shoulder, brushed a lock of hair out of her face. Dumbledore seemed to remember they were right next to him. He kneeled down and placed a gnarled hand across Adrianna's forehead. A few whispered words and a touch of his wand on top of his own hand, and Adrianna's grey eyes fluttered open.
"Hello, my dear." Dumbledore smiled serenely. "We owe you a mighty debt of gratitude for your bravery and quick thinking."
She stared up at the headmaster before turning to look at Severus. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure." Severus spoke low so none of the other nearby students could hear. The headmaster moved to speak with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick. "It looked like the same black liquid that was used in the library. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't shielded us all."
"Adrianna?" Lily pushed her way through the crowd. Her hair was tumbling out of the pins that held it and scattered gold beads in her wake. "Oh, thank Morgana you're alright!"
Adrianna reached up to grasp her friend's hands, as she and Severus helped the half-witch to her feet. Severus kept an arm around her waist until he was sure she felt steady.
"Oi! Get your slimy hands off her!" Sirius came through the crowd with Remus, followed closely by Peter and James.
Severus' grip on her waist tightened. "I didn't see you rushing in to help while she was busy saving your sorry Gryffindor arse." He shifted Adrianna into Lily's arms as Sirius advanced on him. Severus reached for his wand, expecting to defend himself from a hex, and was too late to block the punch that Sirius delivered to his jaw.
The lanky Slytherin stumbled back, stars dancing in his vision. Drawing his wand arm back, Severus was ready to deliver the spell he'd created just for Black, when Potter lunged forward and hooked his arms underneath Sirius' and locked his hands behind the taller boy's neck, effectively immobilizing him.
"Sirius!" Adrianna tried to let go of Lily and stumbled. "Have you lost your mind?" She gasped out in pain and slid to the floor, a fresh line of blood trickled from her nose.
"Madam Pomfrey!" Lily shouted. "We need you!"
"Back up!" The medi-witch pushed through the ring of students who'd been watching the entire scene, and knelt next to Adrianna. She immediately began scanning the half-witch with her wand.
"That is quite enough." Professor Dumbledore rejoined them. "Mr. Potter, I believe you may release Mr. Black now. There will be no more punches nor spells thrown in this hall."
James reluctantly let Sirius go. The dark-haired boy glowered at his friend and jerked his twisted robes back into place.
The headmaster addressed the rest of the students. "I'm afraid, given these serious circumstances, that this will be the last ball at Hogwarts for a very long time." Whispers rippled through the crowd, but he continued. "I want all of you to follow your house prefects back to your dorms, so the staff may assess the damage to the Great Hall. As tomorrow is Sunday, any planned trips to Hogsmead will be canceled. I bid you all a goodnight."
The students began to slowly stream out, their ball gowns and dress robes suddenly out of place in the scorched Hall. Lily stayed behind with Adrianna and Madam Pomfrey. The Marauders were ushered out by Professor McGonagall.
"Thank you for your assistance, Severus." Professor Dumbledore inclined his head.
Severus nodded, his wand still gripped tightly in his fist. Professor Slughorn appeared at his side to escort him down to the dungeons.
"Can you stand, dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"I think so." Adrianna gripped Lily's arm and slowly stood again.
"Let's get you to the hospital wing." Madam Pomfrey took Adrianna's other arm and led the way out of the Hall.
Professor Dumbledore stood in the center of the room, looking up as the ceiling repaired itself. He pulled thoughtfully on his long, white beard.
"Albus." Professor McGonagall had returned. "This is the first time a dark force such has this has breached Hogwarts' grounds. Something must be done."
"You're right, Minerva." He moved briskly towards the door. "I leave you in charge of repairs in here. Please take a sample of the scorched stone before allowing anyone to repair it."
"Of course, but…" She called after him. "Where are you going?"
"To send an owl to Alastor Moody."