Disclaimer: All JKR's except for my OC
In an effort to promote school spirit, there was a Valentine's dance this year, an event occasionally held during Professor Snape's tenure but fortunately, in his opinion, not often. However, he found that this year he was looking forward to it.
Hoping to secure a date for the evening, he walked into the dungeon as her sixth year's class was breaking up and was suddenly assailed by the scent of roses and lavender.
"What on earth are they making?" he asked.
"What's it smell like?" Barbara looked up at him mischievously. When he didn't answer and even seemed a bit discomposed, she smiled even wider and answered. "Amortentia"
"Oh, of course." He looked over the classroom and noticed that a group of boys in the back had taken advantage of her distraction to create something else.
"Ugh! What a smell! Whatever did you boys do that for? Very clever, but that's not an antidote. Twenty points from Ravenclaw and you will stay behind to clean the mess up!" Merrill had caught them first.
Never taking her eyes of the boys, Barbara asked Severus, "So is there a reason for your visit to my domain?"
"You're very good at that."
"Good at what?"
"You're giving them the death stare but speaking so softly to me."
"Why do you insist upon calling it a 'death stare'?"
"I guess I picked it up when I heard the kids talking after OWLs and NEWTs. You may recall fastening it onto me once. It's quite effective."
The boys finished up and left the room.
The look on her face was quite cheerful, now. "So, to what do I owe the privilege?"
"Do you have a date for the dance?"
"I was hoping to, but the right fellow hasn't asked me."
"What if I asked you?"
"I would say yes." There was that blush again.
"So, may I escort you to the dance, Professor Merrill?"
"I would be delighted, Professor Snape."
They fixed a time to meet and he left. He was just about to the door when she said, "Oh, and Severus?" He turned back. "Sometime you're going to tell me what the amortentia smelled like."
In actuality, they were both expected to chaperon the dance, but Severus found it infinitely better with an actual date. He and Barbara were sitting together at a table on the edge of the dance floor, He in dress robes and she in a rather daring gown.
They took turns casting withering glances around the room at the students and chatting about the school day. Suddenly, Professor Snape noticed two dancers who seemed to be draped a little tighter around each other than necessary. "We better referee that action. I doubt Arthur and Molly want grandchildren quite that way."
Barbara shouted with laughter and hurried over to put a separating charm on Ginny Weasley and Harry Potter, who had been given permission to visit for the event. Severus admired the way her slim-fitting dress moved as she walked across the room. It was modestly cut, but nevertheless enhanced a pleasant figure. The gored skirt that flounced out from her knees to the floor added to the overall charm. The dress was deep red in honor of the occasion, and she looked magnificent, even with her hair swept up as usual. Barbara was saying something that made the two youngsters blush and then laugh. They resumed dancing with a little space between themselves.
When she returned to the table, Poppy and Minerva were speaking with Severus. "They say we need to dance," he told her. "Do you trust me?"
Brown eyes met black. A dare was given and accepted.
Severus turned back to the older women. "Tell them to play a tango." They slipped away.
"Where did you learn to tango?"
"Buenos Aires."
"What were you ever doing in Bue-"
"Don't ask. It wasn't Ministry or school business."
"I'm not sure I--"
"Trust me."
"Always."
He took her hand and twirled her onto the dance floor, draping her back over his arm. She was light on her feet and followed him well. Then he knew a moment of uncertainty. What was just a dance to him in Argentina was much more personal with Barbara. He couldn't touch her as he would if she were just a dance partner. The solution fortunately presented itself. As the music started he took the needle out of her hair and transformed it into a budding rose, which he used to trace the side of her face and the edge of her neckline, before taking the first steps.
Some people say that the tango is a battle of wills. When Severus and Barbara danced, it appeared that she who followed willingly allowed herself to be dominated by he who led, except that his own will was bent in turn, to such tender care of his partner that it became a contest not of wills but of affection. Those who watched almost felt like intruders and yet couldn't tear their eyes away.
As Severus led her around the floor, into his arms and out, dipping and twirling, Barbara wasn't sure if she was breathing or not. There were only his eyes to see and his arms around her. When she came to herself, she was again draped over his arm and the other party goers were clapping. The two nodded their heads nervously and Severus handed her the rose. They walked back to their table.
"I suppose you could put your hair back up if you like," he said. He was curling a lock around his finger.
She shook her head. "Oh, no. I have many knitting needles, but I've never received a flower from a gentleman before."
They sat in silence and watched the kids dance the last dance. The party ended and the students drifted to their houses.
"Care to take a walk?"
"I'd love it."
They found themselves on the astronomy tower again. As before, they were not the first to arrive.
"Longbottom! Abbott! Five points each from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff!" Snape's eyes flashed.
Merrill looked the two over, coolly. "As I recall, it's after curfew." They were only too glad to escape.
She went right over to the rail and looked out over the grounds. A breeze made her shiver and he came up behind her to lift her wrap from where it had settled over her elbows to place it over her shoulders with a warming charm. He kept his hands on her shoulders and gave over to the luxury of breathing in her hair.
She turned and faced him. "Severus, why have you never kissed me?"
They were standing close, too close. He grasped her shoulders and pushed her arms length away.
"Barbara, I don't know if I can do this. I know that some will attest to a virtual parade of women through my life, but for me there's only been Lily and you know what that involved. I had to save myself, my whole passion, for her. To do what I knew she would have wanted."
"So you don't want me?" He is not over her, yet.
"NO!" Too loudly. "That's not it. That old passion is spent. But I don't know-- I haven't--" He looked right into her eyes. "I've never done this before. Any of it. Over by the willow, when you kissed me... No woman ever kissed me except my mother, and that was--" He broke off. "Not even Lily. I've never kissed anyone. I'm not sure I can be what you expect." He looked into the distance..
"Oh, Severus," Barbara said, trying to hide her secret happiness. "You've taken my hand so very many times and you comforted me when my parents died and then just the other day... Just now your arms were around me when we were dancing..." She took a deep breath. "Is kissing me really so different?"
"Those things just seemed natural," he replied. "This...it just means too much to me. You mean too much to me."
"This can be natural, too," she said while taking his face in her hands. "What do you expect from me? I've never done any of this either. I wasn't interested as a student, I didn't have much opportunity while I was working in the Ministry dungeon, and since the battle here, there's only been you. It means a great deal to me, too. You have become my whole world."
She raised herself on tiptoe and placed her lips close to his. "I don't know how," he murmured.
"Neither do I," she said, "but I know that we can learn if we teach each other. We were both excellent students here..."
He closed the gap between them and the lesson started.
A/N: A lot of thoughts on this chapter. It was one of the first that I envisioned when this story came to me and has probably had the most work. I've tried to stay away from movie lines (although I love the way some writers work them in), but when the tango came to me I kept thinking of that line from Dirty Dancing about how the man is in charge on the dance floor if no where else.
I have also borrowed two lines from the book A Room with a View, one in this chapter and another when they were on the train. That's dangerous water, though, due to the actress who played the lead in that movie. ;)
And OK, I've read enough stories around here to know that my take on Severus' previous love life is probably not the common one, but it's the only one that makes sense to me. If you disagree with me, please just accept it for the purposes of this story.
Thank you, reviewers! Your encouragement has been most kind and your suggestions have been taken to heart.