A Dance of Passion

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My wonderful beta: Southern_Witch_69

Chapter 7: A Dance of Passion

Hermione gave an almost audible sigh of relief when the song started to come to an end. She lifted her head from his shoulder and proceeded to withdraw herself from his embrace. She curtsied and started to thank him for the dance before turning away when he grasped her arm in a vice grip again, saying silkily, “Not so fast, darling.”

It was apparent that Snape had different ideas, for he clicked his fingers and the orchestra started to play music fit for a tango – the exact same music from the movie “The Mask of Zorro,” which Hermione loved watching over and over again.

She gasped in shock when she found that her ball gown had been Transfigured into a little, hot red and black number. She opened her mouth to ask, “Why –” but he cut her off by yanking her back towards him and started to dance with the rhythm. She placed her palm upright, adjacent to his as they turned in circles, having memorized the moves from the countless times that she’d watched the movie, moving almost as if on autopilot, for her mind was elsewhere.

He had caught her watching the movie again when they had travelled to Spain during their first anniversary. Circumstances had not allowed them time to spend their honeymoon as most couples would spend their honeymoon, so their first anniversary had also been their honeymoon. She had been so enraptured with the movie that she’d failed to notice him leaning against the doorway, watching her try to imitate the dance.

He had offered to teach her the dance on their last night in Spain, and the lessons continued when they arrived at their next stop - Greece. During the day, he would take her around the Santorini Islands to explore tourist places and enjoy the scenery. She had fallen in love right away with the bright blue sea and the pristine white buildings with swimming pools as sparklingly blue as the sea. At night they would dine on exotic dishes in his luxurious home facing the sea, so delicious they had Hermione licking her lips and pouting unconsciously for more. She had no idea that Snape was fighting the overwhelming desire to make her his dessert.

And so it was at night when they continued the dance lessons. Every night he would Transfigure a different dress for her, each made her figure no less alluring than the last. Though theirs was a marriage of convenience, she could not help falling for him hard and fast as their dances of passion continued. Sure, she almost went starry-eyed in her first year at Hogwarts just by thinking of the amount of knowledge he could impart to her and her respect for him when she’d found out that he was Dumbledore’s spy in Voldemort’s camp, but this was nothing compared to the crush that she’d felt for him during her fifth and sixth year when she’d worked with him on Order business.

So engrossed was Hermione in her reverie that she was oblivious to Snape’s rather intent stare into her eyes even as they continued their dance. She was roused from her descent into the past when she felt Snape’s lips trailing the base of her throat during the final dip.

She couldn’t help blushing scarlet when roaring applause, wolf-whistles and catcalls came from around the ballroom. As she curtsied and pulled her hands from his, Hermione caught the satisfied, smug look on Snape’s face. Not wishing to know what had brought on that look, she rushed as gracefully as possible to the ladies’ room.

Out of Snape’s embrace, it was as if she literally landed back from cloud nine just like her honeymoon/first anniversary had. For when they’d returned to England from Greece, Snape had reverted to his impassive demeanour, making it clear that they were married in name only. It had been with a broken heart that Hermione had suggested the idea that they could take lovers if they wanted to on the condition that such lovers would never be taken back to their marriage bed. She gave him this option because she loved him too much to bind him to a loveless marriage, for it was he who married her to save her.

He had made no attempt to change her mind.