J.K. Rowling owns HP. I own OC and the plot. thanks :)

Alone No More

CHAPTER TEN: face the music

10

"Lumora, dear. A wee moment of your time?" Voldemort asked ever so innocently. Snape looked from her to the Dark Lord and back again. "Oh, don't worry Severus. I will return her unharmed. No worries." Snape nodded gravely, bowing before him. With one last look into her eyes, he swept from the room in a swirl of black cloak.

"Yes, My Lord?" Lumora asked, moving to stand in front of him, her eyes respectively at her feet.

An icy hand lifted her chin, looking into her eyes, "Exquisite." He ran a finger down her cheek, "Beautiful." He ran his fingers through her hair, "Glorious." He paused to bring a curl to his flat nose inhaling deeply, "You are everything a man desires." Voldemort's eyes were a clear blue. She could almost see the childlike quality they would have once had. He circled her, whispering in her ear, "I am not a man, I am not even fully alive. I am unable to enjoy your gifts." He had placed a hand tenderly on her hip, another to sweep back her hair from her neck. A wintry kiss to her exposed flesh made her shiver. "I have told Severus that I will share you." Lumora couldn't help the relief that flooded her mind. "Ah, so you do care for the man. How beautiful." He mocked. Then he touched his frozen lips to her ear, his voice silky and low, "I will enjoy you through him. I will revel in every sigh, every kiss, every touch."

Lumora did not trust herself to speak so she nodded.

"Good. You may go." He turned away from her to gaze out the window at the full moon. As if he had forgotten something he took a deep breath, "Do not worry about the assignment I gave the others. I know that my spies in the Order are my most faithful." He looked over his shoulder at her, "Tell Severus that I look forward to our little agreement." She could hear the cruelty in his voice. It still astounded her how much he enjoyed the torment of others.

"My Lord," She said reverently, bowing low. He nodded in approval and returned to gazing at the moon. Quietly she pushed open the door and stepped back into the hall. Trying not to run, she quickly made her way to the main area of the club.

Severus stood in the same spot where he and Lumora had apparated to. His eyes scanning the room. Lucius was feeling up some cute vampire girl, whispering dirty things in her ear. Bellatrix was thoroughly enjoying herself, tongue dueling some poor magic. Magics are people who can do things with magic, like tarot cards, card tricks, hat tricks, even simple charms, but the do not possess witch or wizard level power.

Lumora spotted Snape across the room, standing in the very spot they had entered the club at. She shook her head, did he think she should couldn't find him in a place like this? Instead of waiting until he felt her gaze on him, she decided to weave her way through the dance floor, working around the room so she could come up next to him and surprise him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Snape thought he saw movement at the staff hall door and quietly swore to himself. He had missed her. He tried to be patient, scanning the crowd for any unclaimed dancers. After a couple of minutes, nothing. Maybe she had found a partner, so then he began looking for her among the couples.

Lumora smirked, her plan was working. She had distracted him by waiting until he had looked away from the door to slip out into the club. Now he was searching the club for her. How sweet. He had moved away from the wall a little bit, enabling her to come right up behind him, "Looking for something?" she whispered right into his ear, loud enough to hear over the throbbing music.

He whirled, pinning her roughly to the wall. "Rawr," she teased, looking up at him with a sassy smile. His eyes searched her, filled with insurmountable worry.

"Did he hurt you?" the question came to her in her thoughts rather than out loud. Talking was pointless in the crowded club.

"No." she thought with a lift of her chin. She wanted him see she could take it even if Voldemort had.

"Show me," He demanded staring down at her, his chest heaving with frustration.

Lumora sighed, she wouldn't be able to hide it from him. Furthermore, it was pointless. Voldemort would just show him and torture him to boot. She took a deep breath and let him in. He went right to her newest memory and his eyes got darker with every passing moment. All she kept playing over in her head was Voldemort whispering, "every sigh, every kiss, every touch." Then it was over, his eyes refocusing on hers.

For once in his life, Severus Snape was speechless. He also had no idea how to "blend in" in a place like this. He had loosened his grip on her arms and had turned them so he was protectively by her side.

He had opened his mind to her slight prodding, and she found frustration, confusion and doubt. She slipped out of his grasp, turning to stand in front of him. Lumora smiled, trying to get him to relax. Slowly she undid the tie of his cloak, letting it fall behind him. Then came the buttons of his frock coat. She found herself chuckling as she undid yet another long row of buttons on his prince-like shirt. Peeling that off, she tossed it into the growing pile of black cloth next to wall. He was left in his black undershirt, tight to his firm chest.

Then she stepped back from him, untying her own cloak. Next came her vest, she shook that off, tossing it with a flourish into the pile. Snape leaned against the wall, enjoying the show. He could tell she enjoyed places like this. He wanted to know her story. Never before had ever given anyone a second glance, a mere moment of his time. This woman, this witch before him was consuming him. He wanted to know everything about her.

The music was driving Lumora wild. She had begun to swing her hips to the pulsing beat. The atmosphere was infectious, the music felt electric. Painfully slow she undid the buttons of her long sleeve top, then it was gone, joining the pile of discarded clothes. Silently thanking whatever caused her to wear a black camisole under her shirt this morning, she took his hand.

Leading him unto the dance floor, she slipped into an empty space. Taking a deep breath, she allowed the scents of the room to invade her senses. Lumora let go of his hand, and began to dance in front of him. She had turned away from him, but stayed close to his chest. She had reached up to wrap an arm around his neck. Snape's only thought was, "I can't think-"

She turned her head to whisper in his ear, "Don't. Relax. Let go, and feel."

With the cloak and other heavy layers gone, Snape finally felt like he could breathe in the smokey atmosphere. Lumora was driving him wild. Her hips swaying sensually, her hair falling out of its silver clip, flowing out around her shoulders. He had placed his hands on her hips, swaying with her. She had misunderstood earlier when he said he couldn't think. He had wanted to look in her eyes, lose himself in their depths.

He knew how to dance and knew how to do it well. He was going to enjoy showing her. He moved his left hand to rest on her hip, pulling her closer to him. With his other hand, he grabbed her left hand and spun her out from him. Lumora couldn't contain the look of shock on her face. Slowly it was replaced by a sexy smile as he pulled her to him, face to face. He dipped her back, leaving both of her feet on the floor, just allowing her to arch her back and drop her head. He kept her hand in his, pulling her back up. Her heels allowed him to gaze almost directly into her eyes. He bent his head, claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. Her free hand found its way into his hair.

Lumora enjoyed the fact that he was in control. She easily kept up with him, dancing was one of her favorite ways to relieve stress. Snape was a master at ballroom dance. He loved the tango the most. They danced for a long time, spinning, dipping, kissing. At one point Snape had her right leg in his hand, her foot next to his head. He placed a soft kiss to her calf before letting the foot go and spinning her silly.

The dance floor was crowded. He wanted her closer, needed her to be. He knew that they were not ready for that, he was not ready yet to concede fully. Lumora deserved and would most likely demand that in a mate. A mate? Here he was having internal dialogue with himself about mates when he was facing certain death as a traitor for Voldemort. lovely. Dancing with Lumora had woken him up a little, brought some life back into his tired soul. Feeling her heartbeat so close to him, her arms wrapped around him in want rather than in fear, was just about his undoing.

Lumora pulled him down for another searing kiss, and all thought fled. All he could think about was how much he loved her. Did he really love her? He would have to think about this matter more when he could think coherently.

The DJ began to play line-dances. Snape seemed at a loss for these. Lumora had led them back to their discarded pile of garments. He took a casual stance, leaning against the wall as Lumora went to join the dancers on the floor. The song, "Cupid Shuffle" pulsed through the air. He was mesmerized by the way she moved. Her hips swaying, her arms firm, not stiff, but not like spaghetti. Her smile was the thing that held his attention the most. She seemed to feed off the physical exertion, and the other dancers around her. He could sense there were other men in the room as equally taken with Lumora as he was.

Lumora was thoroughly enjoying dancing by herself. She had not been to a club in a quite some time. The dance brought her to face Severus again. He was mostly concealed by shadows, but his stare was unmistakable. His eyes glittered in the darkness, piercing right to her heart. He was still reserved, and distant on the outside, but she could see the beginning of relaxation and enjoyment in his eyes. The song changed and she curled her finger at him.

The sight of Lumora standing on the edge of the dance floor, hand on her hip and one of her fingers calling him to her was almost too much for Snape to handle. He pushed off the wall, moving towards her. She waited for him to get right up close to her, then she got on tip toe to whisper in his ear, "take me home, my sexy wizard." Then she kissed him sweetly. His eyes had closed at her words. She slipped past him to the pile of clothes. With a wave of her hand, she was redressed. Snape did the same to himself, and she took his arm. This time instead of a distance between them, he had closed it, holding her possessively to his side. They apparated back to the hill just out of Hogwarts' boundaries.

Severus needed to talk to her, he needed to hear her say she was okay. He led them back into the castle. Lumora let him lead her into the castle and back to his quarters. Her watch read 12:01 a.m. She knew she would get scolded by McGonagall for returning after curfew, but she didn't want to leave him just yet.

"I need to change." Lumora mumbled as they neared the potions classroom in the dark dungeons.

Snape nodded, "You may floo to your quarters from mine." He ushered her again into his private quarters. She took a deep breath, allowing his intoxicating scent to burn in her lungs. He led her over to his fireplace and placed some floo powder in her hand.

"Lumora Ollivander, Gryffindor Tower." She spoke clearly to ensure that she made it to the right place. Snape watched as she was swallowed up in a flash of green flame. He went to the kitchen and did what he always did when he needed patience. He made tea.

Lumora arrived at her quarters, stepping out of her fireplace. She padded softly across the dark room to her wardrobe. She stripped out of her outfit, hanging the pieces safely back into the closet. Then she pulled open a drawer, and pulled out a pair of gaucho pants. She grabbed a warm black cardigan from a hanger, and threw that on over her camisole. Then sliding her feet into her silk ballet flats she slipped her hair out of the clip. She allowed her features to change back to their ordinary state. Satisfied that she was now comfortable, she stepped back into the cold fireplace. Throwing a palmful of floo powder she announced, "Professor Snape's private quarters."

A whoosh of green light caused Severus' eyes to snap open. He had dozed off for a moment while waiting for Lumora to return. He had finished the tea and sat on the sofa waiting for her return. Her hair was golden again, and her eyes were back to their natural violet. He stood, and gave her a hand out of the fire place. He sat back down on the sofa, and pulled her into his lap. She sighed and rested her head on his chest. He waited for the tears, the moment where she would tell him that she couldn't do this. But nothing like that happened. She lifted her head off his chest, looking deep into his eyes, the tea now forgotten. He gazed helplessly back. "Are you all right?" it took a moment for him to realize she had spoken it aloud rather than it being his own thoughts.

Instead of replying, he kissed her. His lips moving over hers in a possessive manner. "Are you?" His voice was the least composed she had ever heard it. She felt the knot that had been in her stomach since her encounter with Voldemort tighten.

She gave him a tender smile, her hand coming up to stroke his cheek, "Yes." He opened his mouth to say something else, but she again placed a finger over his lips. "Shhh. We're okay." He continued to meet her gaze until she turned way to look at into the crackling fire. She shifted so she was deeper in his embrace and laid her head against his chest. He too gazed into the fire, watching it dance and crackle around the wood.

She didn't know how much time had passed. Lumora could feel Severus' breathing even out. She snuck a look up into his eyes, they were softly closed. Carefully she slipped out of his arms and took the blanket from the floor where they had left it and covered him with it. Then she placed a soft kiss to his forehead. "Good night Severus," she whispered. Then she exited via floo with a clear whisper, "Lumora Olivander, Hogwarts."

Snape's eyes snapped open at the sound of the floo whooshing closed. He had felt her warmth leave him, then it returned. He further realized the warmth wasn't her form, it was his coverlet. The heady scent of lavender and vanilla invaded his nostrils, making his head swim. He groaned and took a peek at the grandfather clock on the wall. 1:35 AM. Feeling slightly confused and bereft, he let sleep over take him again, enveloped in her haunting scent in front of the now glowing embers.

Dearest Readers,

I am enjoying Snape loosening up a bit, but I will promise to bring back our traditional Potions Master in the upcoming chapters.

Up next is "crushcrushcrush"

xoxo

Lumora The White