O.W.L.s

Second Day

That day they had Charms O.W.L.s in the early morning, then Transfiguration at ten-thirty.

In the afternoon, they had Care of Magical Creatures and Arithmancy.

Finally, in the evening, they'd have their last exam: Defence Against the Dark Arts.

Florence was glad her talk with her father had been in the morning of the day before, for she didn't think she'd be able to focus had she had that talk that day.

"Why do they have to schedule so many exams in one day?" she asked Severus as they sat to rest for a moment under a tree by the lake, enjoying the pleasant breeze in that uncomfortably hot day.

He chuckled softly, "I thought I heard you say nothing taught here was hard," he kept his eyes closed, his back resting against a tree.

"And I rest my case. But it's still a stressful schedule," she sat beside him but decided to get more comfortable, so she lay down on the grass, laying her head on Severus' lap.

He opened his eyes in surprise and looked at her, Florence had closed her eyes so he gave himself permission to watch her face; her cheeks were pink from the heat of the day, her lips slightly parted, her long hair sprawled over his thighs.

Fucking gorgeous.

He should tell her to get up, but he didn't really want her to do that. He touched a hand to her hair instead; the long brown waves had some lighter caramel-coloured strands and they were so soft and smelled sweet, something vanilla-y.

Florence hummed, letting him know she was enjoying his touches, and he gulped, feeling some tension completely unrelated to the O.W.L.s take over his body.

They enjoyed half an hour like that, in shared silence, his hands in her hair; until time came to go to the Care of Magical Creatures exams.

In the evening

Once they were done with both practical and written parts of Defence Against the Dark Arts exam, all students were knackered. Two days full of tests had destroyed even the best amongst them.

Florence took a shower and dropped onto her bed before nine that night, and all the other three beds around her already had girls fast asleep.

Next morning

Severus woke up after nine, something he hadn't done in a long time, and for the first time that year, he didn't feel the urge to get up and do something; he didn't want to read about ingredients, to learn a new spell or master a new Potion.

He had finished his O.W.L.s, with Outstanding on all subjects (he was certain of that), and he was going to the Ball later that day with the most beautiful and amazing witch in all of Hogwarts.

It had been a long time since he'd felt that good.

He wasn't even worried anymore about his heart getting involved, it was halfway there already.

He crossed his arms behind his head and stared at the window overlooking the depths of the Great Lake, deciding to simply enjoy his good fortune – he felt like he deserved it.

It was ten-thirty a.m. when Florence finally left the girls' dormitory and sat in a comfortable armchair in the Common Room to read a letter she'd received from her godmother.

After rereading it many times, she closed her eyes, thinking about all the great things her mother had told her about Eileen Prince – now Eileen Snape.

Soon, the comfy velvet of the armchair felt like an embrace, lulling her to sleep as she waited for her friend to show up.

Severus got up and dressed in regular clothes, for that day the students weren't required to wear their uniforms, there were no more classes so they could all dress casual; then he walked out of his dormitory, easily spotting Florence asleep on an armchair.

He approached her, observing how delicate she looked when sleeping, some strands of hair touching one cheek, her rosy lips forming a soft smile – she looked deceitfully harmless.

He touched her shoulder, trying to wake her up gently.

Florence stirred and opened her green eyes, smiling up at him, "Hey, Sev."

The usual sensation of getting stunned by her beauty froze him for a few seconds.

"Hey, Florence," he replied once he was back to normal, "Let's go have lunch?"

She eyed him up and down, appreciating how he looked in a black long-sleeved shirt and dark blue jeans, "Yeah. Let's. I'm starving. Today was the first day in a long time that I slept past nine."

"Same here."

She got up and stretched her arms above her head, making the pink blouse she wore rise up, showing off some skin above the waistband of her light blue jeans, "What time is the Ball tonight?" she asked after she finished stretching.

Severus blinked before answering, "It starts at seven."

"Shall we meet here at seven then?"

"Yeah, that'll be fine," His mind couldn't focus on anything but how good she looked in regular clothes; he had only ever seen her in uniforms – first Durmstrang's then Hogwarts', but seeing her now in jean and a blouse he could tell she was slim, but had curves in all the right places.

Florence knew he was ogling her, she had done just the same a few minutes before; he looked younger in casual clothes, and she definitely liked what she saw.

After lunch, they enjoyed their afternoon reading and talking by the lake, in the shade of a tree.

Later that day

7 p.m.

Severus, dressed in formal black wizard clothing, watched the door of the girls' dormitory anxiously.

"Still can't believe you're going to the Ball with Delacour," said Yaxley, shaking his head, "What does she see in you? She humiliated Malfoy, threw a tree on Black's head and fought Potter. All three from rich pure-blood families. Then she goes with you to the Ball. You!" he sounded incredulous.

"He certainly has invested a lot of time in his friendship with her," added Nott, "Maybe his priorities are changing."

"Or," said Travers, "Perhaps he thinks that by getting himself a rich girl he won't have to go on with his previous plans."

Severus glanced at his friends but didn't reply. He understood what they were trying to say: he had been paying too much attention to Delacour and not enough to his plans for the future.

But what they didn't know was that he was considering making Florence part of his future as well – he only had to convince her that the job he sought wasn't as bad as she thought it to be.

He turned to his friends to say something but noticed Travers looking like he'd been hit by a Petrificus totalus as he stared at something somewhere behind Severus.

So he turned around and his eyes met Florence's. She smiled at him and it was his turn to be stunned – only it didn't last long, it seemed he was getting somewhat used to her veela magic.

She was absolutely stunning, dressed in a knee-length half-sleeved salmon dress that looked very expensive, and she had small diamond earrings on her earlobes and a very delicate necklace adorning her collarbone.

Severus couldn't say what she had on for shoes for he couldn't stop looking at her face.

"Man, I hate you," He heard Nott whisper before leaving the Common Room.

Florence stopped in front of him, her perfume surrounding him, a hint of fresh herbs and a lot of sweet and sexy vanilla; she was looking at him, clearly waiting for him to say something.

"So?" She asked expectantly, a sweet smile on her lips.

But Severus couldn't find his voice, he just looked at her face, letting it be imprinted in his mind how beautiful the deep green of her eyes were, how her lips, so close to his, looked very kissable.

She was so gorgeous and so close and smelled so good.

His eyes travelled down to her necklace, then up to her eyes, stopping a second on her lips again.

So close.

Florence didn't need him to reply to her silent question for she could easily read his thoughts since he was unknowingly projecting them for anyone who wanted to take a look into his mind.

She took a step forward, getting even closer to him, and tipped her head up, bringing her lips an inch from his.

Severus had no idea if they had an audience in the Common Room – nor did he care. He just closed the distance between them and captured her soft-looking lips with his, kissing her slowly, caressing her lips with his own. He held her bottom lip between his, lightly sucking on it, tasting cinnamon.

Then he felt her touch one hand to his chest, the other going to his shoulder, her fingertips touching his hair. But the sounds of their classmates clapping and shouting at them to "Get a room!" broke their moment.

"We'd better go," Florence whispered, her eyes shining brighter than before.

Severus couldn't find his voice, so he just nodded in agreement and escorted her out of the Common Room towards the Great Hall.

The Great Hall was unrecognizable; there were neither long tables, nor several exams desks. Those had been switched for twenty big round tables organized in two rows of ten on each side of the large space, leaving the middle of the room for a dance floor and a table with lots of different drinks and finger food on it.

The huge room was decorated in a spring motif, with different kinds of flowers embellishing each one of the round tables.

As Severus and Florence walked into the Great Hall, all eyes turned towards them – some for just seconds, some for longer – making him feel uncomfortable.

Florence, being used to the stares, just looked around the room for a place to sit. She almost immediately saw a ginger girl waving at them, so she pulled Severus towards that table.

"Hi, Lily," She greeted her friend as she sat at the table.

"Hey there, Florence, Severus," replied Lily, introducing the boy next to her, "This is Remus Lupin."

"Nice to meet you," Florence said, politely.

"Pleasure is mine," Remus replied, "Hopefully you haven't already judged me for my friends. I tried to stop them."

Florence frowned, failing to understand what he was talking about.

"Remus is one fourth of The Marauders," explained Severus, "Pettigrew, Potter and Black are the other three."

"Oh, right!" Florence exclaimed, "I remember seeing you with them before. Don't worry, I won't judge you; our friends and family do not define who we are," She had to believe that for her own good.

"That's a relief. I certainly wouldn't enjoy having a tree dumped on my head," Joked Remus.

Severus looked at Lily and said with a smirk: "I thought you'd be here with Potter."

Lily's eyes got instantly hard with anger, "Never. I wish you would still pretend to be my boyfriend, Severus."

"Wait, what?" exclaimed Florence, looking from Lily to Snape.

"We've known each other since we were kids, years before Hogwarts," Explained Lily, "When we first got here, we used to study and spend a lot of time together because we already knew each other."

"For that reason, people started to think we were a couple," Added Severus.

"And... was there any truth in those assumptions?" Florence started to feel the veela inside her wanting to claw at the ginger's face.

"Nope. We've always been just friends," Guaranteed Severus, laying his hand over Florence's on the table – something that didn't go unnoticed by the other couple, "I wasn't looking for a girlfriend then."

Florence noticed how he spoke in the past tense, "And are you now?" she asked, leaning towards him.

"What do you think?" he whispered over her lips, before kissing her.

"Wow," Said Remus, "Can't say I didn't see that coming," He whispered to Lily, who nodded.

"Remus, can you and Severus get us something to drink?" asked Lily, wanting to talk to Florence.

The kissing couple stopped, realizing they might be making their friends uncomfortable.

"Sure," said Severus.

"Of course," agreed Remus.

"And I'd like something to eat, as well," Added Florence, as the two boys were getting up from their chairs.

Once they were alone, Lily exclaimed, smiling: "I need details! Since when are you two dating? Since the first day? Since yesterday? When?"

"Honestly? It's been about twenty minutes," Florence blushed.

"What? How come?"

"We kissed in the Common Room right before coming to the Great Hall."

"I'm glad to know Severus has got himself a decent girlfriend."

Florence frowned, finding her comment strange, "What do you mean?"

"I've always feared he'd date some muggle-hater pure-blooded witch that would forbid him of being my friend."

"Oh, because you are muggleborn?"

Lily nodded.

Florence felt suddenly inadequate; her sheltered life coming to bite her in the ass; she was there enjoying dinner, making friends and dating people her own father was intent on murdering.

"Are you ok, Florence?" Lily could tell something was weighing in her friend's mind.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I've just realized I never thought about blood-status before. Where I come from..."

"They are all rich and pure-blooded," Finished Lily, an understanding smile in her face.

Florence just nodded.

"It's ok," continued Lily, "I won't judge you; it's like you said before: family and friends do not define who we are."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the dancefloor, James Potter sat at a table staring at Lily Evans not caring who saw him obsessing over the redhead.

He had witnessed, as had everyone else, the kisses exchanged between Delacour and Snape, and he simply couldn't understand how that relationship had flourished.

How come Snivellus landed a girl like Florence Delacour? He thought, taking a sip from the small bottle of firewhisky he had bought from a seventh-year Slytherin.

Well, at least now I can be certain Lily is single. His drunk brain added. And maybe she's always been single and I've been bullying Snape for the past five years for no reason.

James winced, considering how Lily didn't look bothered in the least by the couple's exchange of kisses and touches, the chances of the rumours about Evans and Snape being nothing but rumours were huge. And that had him feeling ashamed of his actions and drove him to take another sip of firewhisky.

Lily and Remus were on the dancefloor, which meant Florence and Severus were left alone at their table.

"You know I'm from England, born and raised," Said Severus, entwining his right hand on Florence's, "But where are you from?" he asked, kissing her lips softly.

Florence hesitated; personal questions: that's exactly what she'd been wanting to avoid at all costs.

She had to avoid them.

But she also had to say something.

So she quickly decided she'd tell the truth up until the point she couldn't anymore.

"Well," she said. "I was also born in England. And raised very close to Hogwarts, in fact. My mother lived in Hogsmeade. I grew up in the village."

"Wait. You lived in Hogsmeade but ended up studying in Durmstrang?" Severus was suddenly intrigued.

"Yes… well, my mum died when I was eight. And I went to live with my father. But now that I'm studing here, I'll live in the village again."

"If I ever lost my mum, I'd never live with my father, if he were alive. He died when I was nine. Just thinking about it makes me want to hit something," he fisted his left hand in reflex.

"Well, it wasn't all bad, dad has never been a loving father but he took care of me," Florence found herself saying and immediately regretted it, "It was just hard not having my mum anymore. She was a great mum," she looked down at an empty plate in front of her.

"Hey," Severus whispered, touching a hand to her chin and pulling her face up to his again, "I'm sorry you don't have her with you anymore. You don't have to tell me about her if it makes you sad..."

She gave him a sweet smile, "No, I like talking about her. It's just hard..." she sighed, "When I'm home, Tiffany tells me stories about mum and I am so proud to be her daughter. She was an amazing witch."

"Tiffany?" he asked, surprised, "You've never mentioned her before."

"She is my house-elf."

He raised his eyebrows, impressed by that, "So you're really the rich spoiled girl you appear to be," he wasn't asking.

"Yep." she agreed, blushing, and kissed him, trying to make him think of something other than keeping asking her more personal questions.

"What will you do during summer vacation?" He asked.

"I'll be travelling," Florence smiled, as if she knew something he didn't.

"Where to?" he quickly hid his disappointment, for he was hoping to invite her to his house.

"My godmother's house," she whispered in his ear, kissing right under his earlobe, making him shiver in pleasure. She continued: "I was going to surprise you tomorrow, at King's Cross."

He just looked at her for a moment, a lopsided smile forming on his face.

"So... you'll spend summer at my house?" he asked her, his heart jumping in anticipation.

"Yes. This morning I received your mom's letter asking me to join you for the summer. I accepted, of course."

He just stared at her, his eyes shining brightly at how happy he was with that news. Severus realised he'd have time to talk to Florence and show her that his plans for the future were not as reproachful as she thought them to be. He could really find a way to have her in his future!

"Could you get us some more drinks, Sev?" she asked.

"Sure," he left the table, but only after giving her another kiss.

Not even a minute had passed since Severus left the table, when James Potter, sat beside Florence.

"What do you see in him?" he asked straightforwardly.

She frowned and replied rudely: "Look, if you came here to annoy me, Potter, you'd better go back to your table. I'm not above hexing you at a party!"

"No. I mean it! I need to know." James slurred, his voice breaking like he was about to cry, "I don't understand it," he paused and looked around the dance floor to check if Lily was still dancing with Remus, she was, then he resumed talking: "What did you do to make him fall in love with you so fast?"

"Are you drunk?" She asked, eyeing him with suspicion.

"A bit," he admitted.

Florence silently stared at him, thinking about his words: Could Severus really be already in love with me? She knew her own feelings for him were moments away from becoming love.

"So?" James asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"I don't know what to say to you, Potter," Florence finally spoke, "When I first saw him, something pulled me towards him. And after a few angry exchanges, we quickly found out we have a lot in common and we enjoyed spending time together. The kissing only began today really."

"I see…" James murmured, letting his head fall on the table with a loud 'THUD'.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked getting worried about him, whatever was bothering him had to be serious.

"I've been in love with Lily since the first time I saw her. But she hates me," James explained without raising his head.

"Lily Evans? Wow, you're doomed. She really hates you."

"That's why I need to know how you did it! How did you make Snape open up to you? He was always unfriendly; no one was ever able to make him laugh or have a conversation. But you… near you he changes, he even looks nicer."

"I didn't do anything," Florence said, noticing the silver flask James had in his hand, "How much have you had already, Potter?"

"A bit," he said, propping his chin on the table, looking at Florence.

"Why didn't you invite Lily to come to the Ball with you?"

"I did, but she said 'no'. So I asked Remus to invite her so I knew no one else would," answered James almost crying as he admitted what he had done. He looked over her shoulder and saw Severus walking towards them, "Well, your boyfriend is returning, I'd better leave," then he got up, almost falling, but somehow managing to cross the dancefloor and reach his table again, where he sat, alone.

"What did he want?" Severus asked as he sat down.

"He wanted to know what I did to make you fall for me so fast," she said, staring at the glass or pumpkin juice he had given her.

"Why would he want to know that?"

Florence quickly looked at him.

"So he's right, you're falling for me?" she asked, with a smile.

Severus leaned closer to her, his nose touching hers, and looked into her eyes, answering:

"Obviously."

He captured her bottom lip and bit it, making her sigh. His mouth teased her jaw, leaving a trail of soft kisses from her lips to her ear, inhaling deeply and filling his senses with her sweet perfume.

He bit her neck lightly before whispering in her ear: "Let's go somewhere else?"

All Florence could do was nod in agreement. She needed more of his touches and kisses.

They got up and walked out of the Great Hall.

"Wow, it's really beautiful here," Florence said, walking around the Astronomy Tower and looking at everything, "I haven't been here before but for the Astronomy O.W.L.s exam, but I didn't pay much attention that day, worried about the test and all. Do you have classes here during the night?" She looked outside through a large opening, the soft wind blowing her hair.

"Yes, we do," said Severus, stopping behind her, pulling her back to his chest, his hands caressing her stomach.

He laid a kiss on her shoulder, loving the vanilla-y taste of her skin, and she trembled in his arms.

"Flor…" he whispered, kissing the curve of her shoulder, "That's how I'm calling you. It means 'flower' in Portuguese."

She turned around to face him, smiling, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Are you trying to charm me with your language knowledge, Mr Know-it-all?" she murmured against his lips.

He smirked and pulled her closer, "Is it working?"

Florence sucked on his bottom lip, chuckling, "Maybe."

He held her firmly against him and deepened the kiss, touching his tongue to her lips and thrusting it into her mouth once she let him.

Florence touched down his chest, enticingly rubbing her body on his.

"You're so fucking beautiful," he said, his voice the lowest she had ever heard, like a soft caress in her ear, making her tremble, "And you're all mine," he added over her lips, his tongue touching them teasingly.

"I'm nobody's but my own," she said with a provocative smirk, "Who says I'd like to share myself with you?"

He bit her bottom lip in response to her teasing.

"Will you be mine, Florence?" he asked, kissing down her chin, going to her neck. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

Her smirk turned into a full smile as she replied: "Yes," closing her eyes as his touches drugged her senses - even the most stubborn part of her mind that she associated with the veela magic was completely taken by him.

Her clear sign of surrender had an immediate effect on Severus, he pushed her against the nearest wall, trapping her body with his.

"You're mine now, Florence," he declared, staring into her eyes, noticing how the green seemed a shade lighter.

But she was pulling him closer, welcoming his tongue into her mouth again, and he stopped thinking about eyes and greens and anything but the pleasure of having her trapped against the wall.

"Fuck, you smell so good," he groaned, licking her skin, "And even taste as good as you smell."

Florence fisted a hand in his hair as he attacked her neck, responding to his touches eagerly - and there was not a sound of protest from her veela.

With her heart pounding and a need to feel more of him, to have his skin on hers, Florence realized she'd never felt that out of control before. Not even the cold wind that blew through the Tower was enough to cool her down.

That was when she felt it: her magic calling to his and his immediately responding, their core energies slowly merging.

Severus felt it too and took a step back, frowning.

"What was that?" he asked, panting.

Florence just stared at him, gasping for air, worried and amazed at the same time, "Fucking hell... no no, I can't believe it!" She nearly shouted.

"What just happened, Florence?" Severus was getting even more worried.

"I think..." she sighed heavily, "I think we've just witnessed some old magic called The Enchantment…"

He nodded, recalling having read about it, "It's when one's magic recognizes the essence of other person's magic as it's equal, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's what the books say," she nodded, looking at him with a mix of sadness and yearning, "However The Enchantment is more than just a recognition, it's a bonding."

"What does that mean? We're bonded now?" He tilted his head, pondering about what all of that meant; he had felt confused by his reaction to her since day one, this could be the explanation he was looking for. "We are connected by this Enchantment thing?"

She hesitated before nodding, as if afraid of his reaction, "Yes."

Severus just breathed as he absorbed what that meant – he had decided earlier that day that he wanted Florence to be part of his future, and now The Enchantment was telling them that most certainly she was going to be.

"Well," he finally spoke, "this explains why we've been inseparable since we met," he walked closer to her again.

"No, Severus, you don't understand, this thing cannot be undone!" She shook her head, clearly upset about that.

"Why are you so angry about this?" He asked, getting closer to her again, "The way I see it, all of this means that you – gorgeous, clever, amazing you – is indeed all mine."

"We've only known each other for five days, Severus!" She looked at him as if he was mad for not being angry about that.

He shrugged, looking down her body, "I agree we don't know each other that long but I trust magic - specially if magic thinks I'm deserving of being bonded to you," His eyes glinted with mischief, "I must've done some serious good to deserve this."

Florence rolled her eyes, but was smiling again.

Severus touched his hands to her waist, pulling her closer, feeling a different energy around them, "It feels too good to hold you, Florence, you can't convince me this Enchantment is a bad thing," he tilted her face up and kissed her lips again, feeling her resist it for a second but soon her hands were on his chest and she was kissing him back just as hungrily as before.

"Fuck," she breathed in annoyance, "Now even your heart is beating at the same rhythm as mine!" she had her hand on his chest.

Severus chuckled, "Relax, Flor, we'll be fine," he touched a hand to her chest, amazed that their hearts were truly beating at the same pace.

When he kissed her again, he realised each kiss seemed better than the previous one, as if she was a drug and he was slowly getting addicted.

"You feel so good like this, in my arms." He whispered, holding her tightly, "I feel like I can't control myself..."

"That's probably the veela magic in me. She's already let me know she likes you too."

"She? It's like its own being inside of you?" He asked, never stopping kissing her skin.

"Sort of," she blushed, "As I act a little out of control when the veela magic is triggered, I usually think of it as She."

"Mm, out of control, you say? And how do I trigger her?" he asked with a smirk, remembering he had read once that veelas were highly emotional and sensual beings.

"Oh, no... she's already too close to the surface," Florence closed her eyes, she wasn't just teasing, the veela magic within her – which she usually had under control – was no longer accepting to be kept on a lead.

The way Severus' hands were touching her all over while his lips and tongue teased the skin of her jaw and neck, those were all coaxing that veela magic to come out, making her skin softer, letting out pheromones to entice him, to make him want to touch her more.

"Flor?" He whispered in her ear, "Is she the reason I can't seem to stop?" He bit her neck, "I just want to lick you and-"

"Yes," She gasped.

He nipped at her neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses from her jaw to the top of her breasts.

"Sev," she gasped, "I think- fuck- I think we'd better stop," she panted, wanting anything but to stop but knowing they should.

He growled low but replied: "I agree. The scent and feel of your skin are driving me crazy," he bit her neck, "You even taste delicious!" he licked the curve of her shoulder before he could control himself.

"That's the veela," Florence explained between gasps and moans, "She clearly likes you and wants you to want me."

"Fuck!" he suddenly exclaimed, taking two steps back and away from her, his dark eyes heavy with desire, "We should go. Now," he said hoarsely, the thought of her gorgeous body doing things to ensure he'd want to touch her was too much for him to imagine and still maintain a fleck of control.

Minutes later, when they got to the Slytherin common room, there were a lot of snogging couples there, on the couches, near the fireplace, in the corners.

Severus found a spot in the wall that was not being used and pushed Florence against the wall once again.

"It seems harder to let you go now than it was before," he whispered.

"The veela is probably adding to the bonding of the Enchantment- oooh- soon it won't be easy to stop..." Florence whispered, touching their lips softly with each word she spoke, "The Enchantment will make this between us get harder and harder to resist," she caressed his lips with the tip of her tongue, "Until we... give in to this desire and make love. Only then this fire will calm down but it won't ever cease."

Severus took a deep breath and then walked a few steps back, putting some distance between them.

"Tomorrow," he said, "after breakfast, we're going to my house, right?"

"Yes," she nodded, "My things are packed and I've already sent Tiffany to your house to help your mum," she stared at him, loving how well-snogged he looked.

"Good night, Sev," she walked to him and kissed him briefly before walking to the girls' dorm.

"Good night, Flor," he whispered as he watched her go.