Werewolves at Hogwarts

Chapter 22

Severus glared impartially as both Hooch and Sinistra curtsied to him with broad, knowing grins. "I like your hair like that, clean and tied back. Got a hot date, Severus?" Rolanda teased as he passed.

He shook his head in exasperation and ignored them as usual, choosing to pick on Professor Flitwick for conversation while the rest of the staff was gathering for the Ball. Dress robes were no problem, he had picked up new ones in Prague during the summer holidays, but he didn't feel particularly comfortable as he never usually dressed up for a school function. For some reason his uncharacteristic behaviour seemed to amuse the staff no end. Albus, resplendid in purple and azure, offered an arm to Minerva with a twinkling grin that grew even wider when she dropped a deep, formal curtsy before taking his arm in the grand manner. Severus watched them leave then settled into a chair to wait with a relieved air. He wasn't sure if Remus would join him as he hadn't actually asked him, but he did hope.

All around Hogwarts, young gentlemen were offering their arms to young ladies as they collected their dates for the long awaited Valentine's Day Ball. Malcolm and Porter stood fidgeting with the rest of the young men in the Gryffindor common room. They were joined in their vigil by a certain number of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff gentlemen, and even one remarkable brave Slytherin. The young ladies of Gryffindor were putting the finishing touches to their toilette upstairs. Finally, they began to descend, smiling smiles as old as time, the boys below coming forward to collect their stunning prizes.

Porter stared and gulped when Lisa smiled at him, stumbling on the rug as all his learned poise deserted him at the last minute. She looked spectacular in a gown and robes of deep crimson satin and lace that rustled suggestively as she moved. Lisa lifted his arm when he seemed incapable of movement, and put her hand on his forearm. She gently guided him out of the common room with a knowing smile, while he did his best to recover.

Malcolm stared with equal astonishment at Andy, who followed her friend down. Her gown was also satin that started as leaf green at the hems and slowly faded to a rich cream at the waist, then back to green at the strapless top. Random scatterings of sparkling diamond points flashed as the candle light touched them. Her short, fluffy hair was brushed out around her face, and a sparkling green and cream pin highlighted it. Malcolm had the advantage of having seen her in formal dress at her mother's ball, but this evening she looked far more beautiful than ever before. He offered her the spray of tiny cream flowers he had conjured for her, attaching them to her hair pin when asked. Andrea was so pleased she reached up and kissed his cheek, before allowing him to take her hand and lead her out toward the Great Hall.

Brushing down the tobacco brown robe he had bought for Christmas, Remus dressed swiftly, and peered into the mirror with a resigned sigh. He still looked a little shabby and a little time worn, despite the niceness of his robes. His mother had once told him that he was one of the unlucky ones that dirt was always attracted to. No matter how careful he was, he could never get it entirely right when he had to dress up. Shaking his head in resignation, he finished brushing his hair and let himself out of his rooms, heading toward the staffroom.

Severus turned as the door opened quietly and rose to his feet, a breath caught in his throat. Candle light made the silver in Remus' hair glitter and shine, his brown robes looking almost golden as he entered shyly.

"You look very handsome," Remus said immediately, smiling at his tall, elegantly attired mate, taking the words right out of Severus' mouth.

"Brown suits you, very chic," Severus replied instead, bending to drop a kiss on Remus' cheek. "Are you ready for this evening? I heard your classroom was the scene of some very ugly dancing class massacres these last few months."

"If you mean the 'massacre of formal dancing', it definitely was. If you mean the 'mashing of toes and the gnashing of teeth', absolutely correct!" Remus chuckled then reached up to tuck a stray strand of hair back behind Severus' ear. "You're losing your queue ribbon," he mentioned, then murmured a charm to pull Severus' hair back into the ribbon and hold it there. Severus had the finest hair - when it was not coated in potion fumes - and it was almost unmanageable if it took a static charge.

"Thank you. Are you ready to face the hoard now?"

"I think so. Er, should we be seen entering together?" Remus questioned as Severus took his arm and led him out of the staffroom.

The taller man seemed to think deeply on the question as they made their way to the Great Hall, putting his hand at Remus' back to guide him into the candle lit, starry sparkle decorated area. Soft music played and the long tables had been transformed into small, intimate tables around the room. Bouquets of flowers and pink hearts decorated the tables, and heart shaped bubbles floated around the space. When one burst it showered the immediate area in colourful confetti and stars. Guiding him up to the staff table, Severus held a chair for Remus and seated him elegantly. "I don't think it would matter one way or the other," he replied as he took a seat beside the shorter man and smirked at him.

Remus just shook his head and smiled. "You are very bad at times," he commented, as pumpkin juice poured itself out for the two of them.

Severus eyed it with a jaundiced expression but Remus only smiled and took a sip, almost choking on the liquid that was nothing like pumpkin juice to taste. "What the...."

"A very nice Cabernet, even if it is hard to tell the colour," Filius assured them with a wicked grin, holding his glass up in a toast. "The lemonade is a most acceptable Chardonnay."

Severus sniffed the disguised wine, sipped and nodded approvingly. "You may have disguised the look but the bouquet is just perfect. Well done, Filius," he complimented as he sipped appreciatively.

The orchestra was unexpectedly large, complete with strings, woodwind, brass and percussion. A piano and a couple of guitars also added extra depth to the music they played, mostly wizard compositions but here were quite a few Muggle old masters thrown in for good measure. Madam Hooch and Professor Burgen were already leading one set of country dances while Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore led the other. The two lines of dancers were remarkably well synchronised, as students and teachers stepped out the forms.

Rose and Theowyn shared the table with Malcolm, Andy, Porter and Lisa, all six of them enjoying the excitement building through the hall. When the dance in progress finished, all six of them went to make up the set for the Dashing White Sergeant, Armand and Jenny from Ravenclaw making up their eight. The music the orchestra played was the same as the record Andy had used to teach them, and even Porter managed to get it right as they sashayed through the intricate steps. The Sergeant was followed by a Reel and a Minuet before the orchestra took a break and a string quartet took over playing.

When the orchestra came back they began to play music that was very familiar to Remus, and made him laugh aloud, much to the rest of the teachers' surprise. "Oh come on, surely you recognise the 'Chattanooga Choo-Choo'? It's Muggle big band music. Does anyone know how to jive?"

"I do," Wilhemina confessed almost apologetically.

"Come on then, let's show them how." Remus grinned, rising and holding out his hand.

Half the school sat back in amazement as their stocky Care of Magical Creatures and skinny DADA professors burned up the floor in a very fast and very well executed jive that saw Wilhemina whipped around and tossed about, as if she weighed nothing. She was giving as good as she got, landing lightly and swirling until her robes flew wide. When the music crashed to the finish, she was giggling like a girl and fanning herself with her hand while Remus grinned and bowed. "You're very good Wilhemina," he congratulated cheerfully as he guided her off the floor.

"Yes, and you are a lot sturdier than you look!" She laughed as she accepted the glass of real pumpkin juice and downed it in one. "Phew! I haven't danced that hard for years."

"I'm surprised you knew how," Rolanda giggled, slapping her back in congratulations.

"Ah my parents were big band fanatics and made sure all us kids learned how to dance properly before we were out of primary school. Mind you, since I got a bit on the stout side, I haven't gone in for the lifts and spins that much. I hope your back was up to that." She toasted Remus with her juice.

Remus just laughed. "I do have a few advantages, and you are very light on your feet, so it helps. So, how do you feel about a Mazurka, Sev, want to give it a try?"

Severus smirked as he rose and offered his hand. "It has been a while but I think I remember how," he mused as he guided Remus away from the stares and dropped jaws of his colleagues.

"I never thought I would see the day Severus Snape went dancing voluntarily, or with another man," Agytha said quietly. "I never thought he would openly advertise, ever."

"I have a feeling our Severus is mellowing at last," Filius murmured as the couple executed the intricate steps of the Mazurka with pureblood flare. "Remus is good for him."

"Poor Remus, he is just too soft to stand up to Snape in a snippy mood," Wilhemina sighed sadly.

Minerva snorted. "Remus is only soft on the outside, in the middle is a core of pure steel tempered with compassion and understanding. As cliché as it sounds, he will bend before Severus' temper, but he will never break. If Severus thinks he is going to bully Remus into submission then he is in for a very rude awakening. Remus will allow him to go so far then pull him up to a short, sharp stop, believe me. Over the years I have been Remus' teacher, his colleague and even under his command, and I have never found him to be less than honest, open handed and completely fair, and as ruthless as hell when he has to be," she added with satisfaction.

"You know," Malcolm murmured in Andy's ear as they slow danced around the floor. "If Snape was a wolf he would be pissing on Remus' leg at this point, don't you think?"

"Or vice versa," Andy murmured back with a smirk that would have done a Snape proud. "It looks like the rift between them has been healed again, thank goodness. Alpha even smells happier, haven't you noticed?"

"Well, sort of. I noticed more about you than anything else this evening." He pulled back slightly so he could look her in the eye. "Did I tell you that you are the best looking girl here, including everyone? Or that you are the sweetest smelling, despite the expensive colognes and perfumes everyone else has doused their bodies in?"

Andy smiled and agreed, dropping a kiss on his lips that turned rather steamier than either of them had intended, especially in the middle of the dance floor. "Phew, almost as bad as pre-transition," Andy murmured when their clinch broke a little. "Do you want to find somewhere shadowy?"

Malcolm thought about it then shook his head. "No. Don't be upset, it's important that you understand what I am going to say next, so stop channelling your inner wolf and listen with your human ears and brain."

Andy huffed indignantly but did not pull away any further. "Okay, speak."

"Alright, I'm pretty sure I love you.... Whoa, you promised to hear me out, remember? Okay, having said that, there is this. Wolves mate for life, regardless of the propriety or anything else...."

"Or until their mate is killed, or beaten, or something," Andrea put in, holding human pride aside with some difficulty. "Go on."

"Yeah well, look at what Snape does to the Alpha without even trying." Malcolm said softly. "How would you feel if we did get tangled up accidentally, and then we couldn't get free again, if we discovered we had made a mistake, and we didn't really want to be bound forever? In wolf terms you are bigger and stronger than me, so you could get free if you really wanted to. You would just have to tear my throat out. No, that's a fact, not a criticism. Let's face it, you are the Alpha's beta, and I am the Beta's beta. In human terms we are nearly seventeen - nearly adults - but not quite. Once we are adults we are going to be reminded of duty to our families and all that hereditary rot. If our current, well, love, for the want of a better term, holds then we will know it is real and not hormone driven. Do you see what I mean?"

Andy nodded slowly. "You are frightened that it is not strong enough to stand the test of time and external pressure. Alright, I can admit that it is something that has troubled me for a while. Spoke to Alpha about it after last Moon too, which was quite funny as he was somewhat embarrassed and had to be rather frank in places. He said something similar to what you have just said, which makes me wonder if you didn't have 'The Chat' with him too."

Malcolm flushed betrayingly.

Andy giggled, kissing his nose. "Did he glow like a beacon when you asked him about the affects of sex on our wolves?"

Malcolm grinned reminiscently. "Oh yeah, the tide went right to the tip of his ears. Poor Remus, the things we make him confront. It must have been worse for him with you. After all, I don't think he has ever been with a .... Hang on, where is he? He has ears like a ruddy bat, that man. Hey, he's gone! So is Snape. Think they've sneaked away for a quick roll?"

Andy smacked his arm. "It's none of our business!" she reminded him and snuggled back into his shoulder again.

~~*~~

The dungeon was dimly lit only half of the torches alight as Severus led his chosen partner into his quarters. Remus smiled up at Severus, his arm wound around the narrow waist even as Severus' long arm was draped over his shoulders. Their dress robes were no barrier, falling like leaves on the hearthrug as they explored each other's bodies. Remus loved the feel of Severus' smooth, hairless skin against his palms, pushing the draped inner robes aside to reveal his chest with its layer of smooth muscle built up from hauling heavy cauldrons about. Everything about Severus was understated; his attenuated physique was much stronger and sturdier than it looked. His graceful gestures and carriage were an effortless study in motion. Leaning forward, Remus flicked his tongue over his pale cream flesh.

"Oh Merlin, that tongue of yours should be declared a lethal weapon," Severus gasped as it curled over his chest and explored the dip in his sternum just above his diaphragm. Grabbing a handful of silver and gold hair, Severus hauled Remus up and claimed his mouth, plunging narrow tongue deep into the recesses to plunder the sweetness offered so freely.

Remus whined deep in his throat pressing forward to wind his arms around Severus' neck, wrapping long strands of inky hair between his fingers. He loved how Severus made him feel, cherished and protected, and yet he was also allowed to be the aggressor, the top to Severus' bottom, not something a lot of people would believe. Taking advantage of his non-human strength, Remus picked Severus up and carried him to bed.