once more seated in his cousin's informal drawing room, Sirius found his attentions inexplicably focused upon the unsuspecting Severus. He found he could not help but stare, for while at first he had allowed the woman to be pretty enough, and had even begun too look upon her with admiration at the ball, he had found within the space of a few weeks that he could now only view her as nothing but ravishing. No sooner had such thoughts assailed him, then he began to find her face was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes and the manipulations of perfectly groomed eyebrows. Atop that discovery came others much more mortifying. For while he had detected in her, at first, a lack of womanly curves and fat, he had since then been forced to acknowledge to himself that her figure was light and pleasing all the same; and in spite of his once assuming her manners were not all they ought to have been, he was charmed nonetheless by their mocking and playful nature.
To all this, he was sure, Severus was absolutely ignorant. For to her, it seemed the only man worth paying any regards to was Forsythe Avery, and rather decidedly not the man who had so often made her cry in school.
"What can your cousin mean, Narcissa," Severus began, having caught his gaze, "By listening in on our conversation? Could it be that he wishes to know the price of French lace and pearls?"
"I believe that is a question which only Sirius can answer." Narcissa replied neutrally, beckoning said man nearer to the sofa.
"Well," Sniffed Severus with smirk, "Perhaps I do now wish to have his answer made known to me. For he has a very satirical eye when it comes to my person, and I fear I must need return his criticism with impertinence if his answer is disagreeable."
Before Sirius could so much as seat himself upon the sofa directly in front of them, much less defend his thoughts, Alecto called to the object of his admiration from across the room from where she stood with Petula Parkinson.
"Did you not think, Severus, that I expressed myself uncommonly well this morning, when I suggested to Sirius that he make good on his promise to throw a ball at Black Manor?"
"You were energetic in your persuasions, yes, but such is always the way of a lady." Severus acknowledged, very displeased at having her witticisms interrupted.
"Oh! You are so very severe upon our sex!" Alecto pouted, looking to Sirius for sympathy.
At once, Severus opened her mouth to retort, no doubt eager to deliver a clever remark that was more thinly-veiled insult than anything else. But, alas, she was thwarted at the last moment, depriving Sirius of the joy he might have received from one of the potion mistress's famous barbs.
"Fret not, Alecto. For soon it will be her turn to be teased." Ambrosia declared, rising from the piano bench. "For I am going to free my seat to Severus, and compel her to play."
Severus blushed heatedly at the entrapment and, had Narcissa not been seated so near her, Sirius was sure she might have fled to the room.
"Some friend you are, indeed!" Severus cried, stomping to the bench. "Forever wanting me to play and sing as if I were your plaything. Why, if my vanity had taken a musical turn, you might have been invaluable as a friend. But, at it is, I would really rather not sit down before those who have been in the habit of hearing only the best of performers."
"Do not refuse us, sister!" Lucius cajoled, turning from his chat with Amicus. "I find I have grown ever so fond of your voice over the years."
"Very well," She surrendered, seating herself primly upon the bench, "If it must be so, it must."
Her playing proved to be pleasing, though by no means capital. It was her voice, Sirius soon discovered, that was the glory that graced the ears of all those lucky enough to have been invited to the Malfoy Manor. The quality and sound of it was such, that Sirius even began to entertain the notion of questioning Lucius if his sister, might in fact, have a touch of siren blood in her lineage.
Alas, the enjoyment ended far too soon, when only after only three songs Severus claimed her throat day and surrendered the instrument to a very eager Alecto. It was all Sirius could do not to cringe as the Carrow Twin hammered at the keys, for she had neither talent nor taste; and though her voice was pretty enough, it was often at times flat and off reedy. Mercifully, at the end of a long concerto, Ambrosia stealthily reclaimed the instrument to herself, and in doing so, compelled a few of those in attendance to dance.
"What a charming amusement dancing is, for young people such as yourself." Slughorn observed, idling over to him with a plate full of tarts in his meaty hand. "There is nothing quite like dancing after all. Why, I consider it as one of the finest refinements in a polished society."
"Any savage can dance." Sirius teased, looking in distaste upon the stomping Amicus.
"Perhaps. But you cannot deny that your cousin performs delightfully." Slughorn continued, after a large bite of a lemon tart. "As such, I cannot doubt that you are adept at the art yourself."
"You have seen be dance, professor." Sirius reminded.
"I have, indeed! And I received no inconsiderable pleasure from the sight. Do you often visit with your cousin for such affairs?"
"I have, of late, taken to visiting her daily." Sirius admitted. "I hope only to return the favor very soon when Black Manor is inhabitable."
He prayed the oversized man might quit him them, but at the last moment Severus sauntered by with an empty teacup and drew his attentions.
. "My dear girl, what you not dancing? Sirius you must ask her to be your partner. You cannot, I am sure, refuse such a request when such a beauty is before you."
Without awaiting reply, Slughorn seized her free hand and made to give it to Sirius who, though extremely surprised, was not unwilling to receive it. But at the last moment, she drew back, and with a frown remarked to her former Head of House:
"Sir, I have not the least intention of dancing. I entreat you not to assume I moved this way in order to beg your help for securing a partner."
"But have drawn near all the less." Sirius replied gravely. "Why not make use of this action and share a dance with me?"
"I assure you, Mr. Black, that to move a few steps was no great effort on my part."
"Come now, Severus!" Cried Slughorn, aghast at her manners. "It is cruel of you to deny Mr. Black the happiness of a dance with you. How can you have such strong objections, when all he asks of you is a few moments time?"
"You are all assumptions, Mr. Slughorn." Severus protested. "How can you speak for our Mr. Black?"
"I speak for him as I would speak for any man." Slughorn sniffed. "And that is as someone old enough to know that no man could object to you as a partner. Why, we have even heard such from the man himself."
"I cannot dance this afternoon." Severus stated, changing tactics. "I find I turned my ankle strolling the gardens before breakfast."
Before he lies could be discovered, much less refuted, Severus turned swiftly on the ankles she claimed to be sore and found her way safely to a card table where sat Ambrosia Nott and Marcella Selwyn.
Sirius was admiring the nature of her cheekiness, only partly offended, when came to him Lucius was a brandy in each hand. Depositing one into his cousin-in-law's hand, the blonde Slytherin sized him up with a derisive air.
"I can guess the subject of your reverie." The man accused, grey eyes flickering to his sister.
"I should think not." Sirius defended, taking a hearty swig of his drink.
"You," Lucius began accusatorily, "are considering how insupportable it would be to pass many evenings in the manner- in such society. The insipidity, the airs, the noise, the protocols and social dictates- why, you can scarcely tolerate it, can you?"
"Your conjecture is totally wrong, I assure you. My mind was far more agreeably engaged. I have been meditating on the very great pleasure which a pair of fine eyes in the face of a pretty woman can bestow."
Following the line of his sight, Lucius Malfoy very quickly determined the object of his affections. It was an angry flush that he confronted him on the matter.
"My sister, Severus. Is that it?" He demanded. "I am all astonishment. Pray tell, how long has she been such a favorite of yours?"
"That is exactly the question which I might have expected. A brother's imagination is very rapid, after all. If jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment. But it is not always such the case. Can a man not admire a fun work of art without wishing to purchase it?"