Chapter Twenty-One: Fancy Dress

Chapter Twenty-One: Fancy Dress

Saturday, 31 October 1998

Severus sighed and agreed to ask each of the witches on staff to dance. "I doubt they will appreciate it as much as you seem to think, Minerva." He had been perfectly happy to patrol the perimeter of the room, make sure that the students weren't up to no good.

"You are the Deputy Headmaster. And if I had to dance with Ezra," she said, lowering her voice, "you can dance with the witches. It's not as though there are any who are like him. And they will appreciate it. You underestimate yourself, Severus."

"Hmph." Sarah Duffy came close to being as bad as Cahill, with her giggling and general foolishness. Gods, how he hated giggling! Witches should outgrow girlish giggling by the time they were full-grown women. He repressed a shudder at the thought of dancing with Duffy. He could just hear the bony witch giggling now.

"Begin with Helena, since she will be leaving early with the younger students," Minerva directed briskly.

Lovely, he only had to begin with the youngest and most attractive witch on staff. She probably wouldn't even be available to dance with him.

Severus finally found the petite witch on the other side of the Great Hall, dwarfed by Hagrid, with whom she was attempting to dance without being trampled. Even with her Charmed white hair, she was beautiful. Kind, too, to be dancing with Hagrid. Severus touched Hagrid's elbow. "Excuse me, Professor Hagrid, er, Little John, but may I cut in?" He glanced at Benetti. "If the lady consents."

"I'd enjoy that, Professor," Helena said with a bright smile. She looked up at Hagrid. "Thanks for the dance, Hagrid. See you later with the kids!"

At the Headmistress's behest, Filius had switched back to swing and other Big Band music. Apparently Minerva wasn't a fan of Elton John, David Bowie, or the Kinks, which Filius had conjured after the ghosts had departed. The Kinks' "You Really Got Me" seemed to really get her, and she had found Filius and told him to play something that wouldn't make her want to jump out of her skin and throttle someone.

"So, have you found your new House ghost, Professor?" Helena asked as she put one hand on his waist and the other on his shoulder just as "In the Mood" began.

"Perhaps. I wish to learn more about him first. He seems acceptable at first glance," Severus replied, trying to figure out what to do with his right hand, since Helena's stuffed chimpanzee was now clinging to her left side. It seemed to be charmed to hold onto her.

"Here, let me take care of Andy," Helena said, stepping back.

"Andy?"

Helena laughed. "My chimp. I named him Andy. He seemed to need a name." She drew her wand from her trouser pocket and sent the large plush toy flying across the room over everyone's heads, setting him down in her chair at the staff table. "There, that's better."

Severus took her hand and drew her closer. "It would be a convenient way to avoid dancing too closely with someone," he suggested. "Keep Andy latched around your waist."

She looked up at him. "I hadn't thought of that." She shrugged and stepped closer. "I wouldn't with you. What woman would pass up the chance to dance with Lawrence of Arabia?"

"Hmph." She was an attractive witch. Apparently she had no qualms at all about dancing with him. But she was Canadian. Perhaps she didn't know any better. "And who are you, if that is not an ignorant question?"

"I hope that it is an ignorant question, otherwise, I don't know why you would ask it!" Helena said with a laugh. "It is, however, not a stupid question. I'm Dr Jane Goodall. Anthropologist and animal behaviourist. I study chimpanzees and work to preserve their habitat."

"I see. It will be educational for the students to see the variety of Muggles there are. Do you know who Professor Carter has come as?" he asked as he caught sight of the witch's Stetson. "This Annie person?"

"Annie Oakley." At his blank expression, she added, "Annie, Get Your Gun? Sharpshooter? Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show? Better shot with a twenty-two than any man? Ring any bells? No? Well, she was famous, and there's been a musical about her, and television shows. She shot the ash from the Kaiser's cigar."

"Sounds a practical use of her talents," Severus said drily, causing Helena to laugh again. Perhaps this would not be such an onerous task, he thought. Although it would likely be downhill from Helena.

They danced until the music paused, then Severus stepped back and bowed. "Thank you for the dance, Ms Benetti...Dr Goodall."

"Thank you! I enjoyed it."

Severus nodded and looked around for another witch. Olivia Ouellette was in conversation with Rath. She would be his next partner, then. He presumed that she wouldn't mind dancing with him, since she had danced with Albus earlier. He had heard that the new Transfiguration teacher had a girlfriend, although he didn't know whether it was true or not.

"Professor Ouellette, may I have this dance?" He hated asking that. Why couldn't the witches come up to him and ask him, instead?

"Delighted, Colonel Lawrence," Ouellette replied. "It's Virginia Woolf, by the way."

"Yes, Ms Woolf." He nodded and led her in a quick foxtrot to a lively swing tune, one of the few dances he knew. It was not unpleasant, but he wondered whether he was boring or merely bored. It was difficult to tell.

From Virginia Woolf, Severus moved on to dance with the radical suffragette, Sylvia Pankhurst, otherwise known as Laura Walker Manning, Hogwarts librarian. After their dance, a waltz, he bowed slightly and returned her to her husband. He felt someone tug at his sleeve. He turned, annoyed. No one there. He looked down. Suzie Sefton. He looked past her. A few of her little friends were watching.

"Hi, Professor Snape."

"Miss Sefton." He nodded. "You are ill? I believe Madam Pomfrey is here somewhere." He looked around, searching for the matron in her dull, shapeless costume.

"No, sir. I haven't had dessert yet." She giggled.

"I see. Please do exercise some self-restraint, Miss Sefton. If you are ill, you will not enjoy the activities that Professor Hagrid has arranged for you."

"Yes, sir." She continued to look up at him most disconcertingly. "You're Lawrence of Arabia tonight?"

"Yes. He was a British hero. I am sure that Ms Walker Manning can direct you to information about him, if you are interested." She seemed to be waiting for something. "And who are you this evening?" A smile lit her face: that must have been what she'd been waiting for.

"I'm Posh Spice," Suzie explained. She pointed at her friends behind her. "And Kelly, Toni, and Mary are Ginger, Sporty, and Baby Spice. I wanted to be Scary Spice, but I didn't know how to charm a pretend pierced tongue and I didn't want to really pierce my tongue, and nobody else did, either, and I'm not really dark enough to be right for her, anyway, so we don't have a Scary Spice, even though she's really awesome, but Draco said that's okay, that we all look great anyway. He helped us charm our hair." She twirled one of her short locks. "He said if we tried it, we'd probably all be Baldie Spice!" She giggled. When Severus just looked at her, trying to imagine Draco charming a bunch of eleven-year old girls' hairstyles, she heaved a great sigh. "That's a joke, Professor. There is no Baldie Spice."

"Ah, yes, of course. Very amusing," Severus said with a nod.

"Yeah, Draco's pretty funny, like you." Suzie looked up at him with admiring eyes. Gods, save him from adoring munchkins!

"I am glad he was able to assist you and your . . . spicy girls."

"Spice Girls, Professor, not Spicy."

He nodded. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Draco said I could sit next to him during dessert. He's Isaac Newton. He has the coolest hair. I think it's a wig. I hope we're going to have dessert pretty soon."

"Quite likely. Do not overeat," Severus said, hoping this signalled the end of the conversation.

"Would you, um, would you like to dance?" she asked.

Severus stared at her. She was an eleven-year-old in an absurdly short sequined dress and high heels that she could barely wobble around in. Even with them, she seemed to come scarcely to his sternum. "I am afraid that . . . that . . . my feet hurt," he said. "I think that perhaps you might wish to ask the most senior Slytherin student, Mr Newman. Draco." He felt himself flush. "I have fallen arches."

"Oh, I'm so sorry! That sounds awful," the little Spice Girl said sympathetically. "And isn't Draco's new name wild? He came up with it himself. I think it's wicked cool!"

"Indeed. I believe I should sit down. Or my arches might fall more." He nodded curtly. "Good night, Miss Sefton. Enjoy your activities."

He made his way back to the staff table and sank into his chair with a sigh, rearranging his white keffiyah back over his shoulders and removing his dark cloak. Dessert should be served soon, and then there would be the costume voting, and the youngest students would be sent off. He might be able to sneak into a dark corner and avoid dancing with the rest of the witches, if he were lucky. He probably had used up all his luck in escaping Miss Sefton, however. He wondered how quickly the rumour of his fallen arches would spread through the House. Oh, well. Better that than trying to dance with a miniature Spice Girl.

Minerva and Albus came up to the table and took their seats, Minerva removing her warm flight jacket with a look of relief. Dessert miraculously...or elvishly...appeared in front of him, and ooo's of delight came from the students as they all scrambled for plates of pie, cake, biscuits, and other sweets, and found places to sit. Severus was just finishing his pumpkin pie when Filius raised his wand, sounding a series of chimes. Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Now we will have voting on the Best Fancy Dress for each House," the little wizard announced. He flicked his wand. "You will find lists of the Muggle characters in the centre of each table. Members of each House may vote for one witch and for one wizard for Best Fancy Dress in each of the other three Houses and the staff. In other words, each of you vote for best in each House except for your own. Votes will be automagically tallied and appear on my master parchment." He held up his cream-coloured parchment. "Please, vote for only one witch and one wizard per House, and the same for the staffs' costumes." Filius turned toward his colleagues with a smile. "You, I am afraid, will be voted upon, but will not be voting!"

There was rustling and murmuring as the students consulted each other and examined the lists, occasionally looking around and refreshing their memories of what the various costumes looked like.

"Would you like some port whilst we wait, Severus?" Albus asked, holding up a decanter, then pouring Minerva a glass.

"No, thanks," Severus replied, reaching instead for the small coffee cup turned upside down on its saucer. He turned it right side up, and it filled itself with espresso. He took a sip.

A few minutes later, Filius sounded his chimes again. "Thank you very much! Voting is now complete! I would like to call the Head Girl and Head Boy up to read off the names of the winners! Mr Bain? Ms Donovan?"

Lawrence Bain, dressed as William Shakespeare, and Niamh Donovan, dressed as the pirate Grace O'Malley, stepped up to the staff dais. The Ravenclaw Head Girl took the list that Flitwick gave her, then cast a Sonorous Charm.

"Gryffindor, best male Muggle fancy dress, Dennis Creevey, Prince Rupert of the Rhine, cavalier, buccaneer, naval commander, inventor, and governor," Niamh announced. Flitwick handed her a small gold trophy, which she handed to Dennis when he bounded up to the dais, impressively dressed as a dashing young cavalier.

"Gryffindor, best female Muggle fancy dress, Ginevra Weasley, Jeanne de Clisson, the Lioness of Brittany, pirate and fierce avenger of her husband's death," Niamh read, and Ginny trotted up and accepted her trophy, flashing a quick smile at her fellow pirate. Apparently, Niamh, Ginny, and Luna had all decided to come as pirates, with Luna dressed as Anne Bonnie.

Niamh then read out the winning Hufflepuffs, Gwendolyn Cheever, for her Marilyn Monroe costume, and Stan Raffles for his Henry Stanley impersonation, complete with pith helmet.

Lawrence Bain, the Hufflepuff Head Boy, then took the list from Niamh and read the names of the winning Ravenclaws, Berry Johnson as Sojourner Truth and Jamie Brett as Sherlock Holmes. The winning Slytherins were Kevin Harper as Daniel O'Connell, the Emancipator, and, much to Severus's surprise, bouncy little Suzie Sefton in her glittery Posh Spice outfit. She waved to him excitedly as she tottered back down with her little trophy, holding it out for Draco to see. Severus couldn't help but smile slightly.

"And now for the staff awards," Bain said, "the winning witch is . . . Professor Carter as Annie Oakley!"

Sharon gave a little laugh and seemed embarrassed as she went up and accepted the small trophy.

"And the winning wizard," said Niamh, "is Professor Snape, Lawrence of Arabia." She looked at him and held up the last little gold cup.

Minerva nudged his ankle with her foot. He tried not to glare as he got up and walked down and took the cup from Donovan. He could feel the heat rise in his face as he walked back to his seat. He hoped that Poppy's tanning Glamour would hide his blush. As he sat down, Hagrid and his merry men stood and Filius instructed the younger students to follow Professor Hagrid for an hour of games and other activities.

"Congratulations, Severus!" Minerva said.

"I thought that Dumbledore would win," Severus said. "I did not wish to win."

"I think it's nice for you, Severus," Albus said, leaning toward him. "That the students would vote for you demonstrates that they don't all hate you as you still seem to believe."

"They should. Or at least fear me."

"Respect, Severus," Minerva said. "That is what you want from them, not fear. You have lived in such a way as to confuse the two."

"Hmmph."

"So, have you danced with all the staff yet?" she asked as the music began again. "There must be a few left."

"No." He sighed. "Must I?"

"Come, my boy, I'll share the duty with you," Albus said with a twinkle. "Minerva, you go have that dance with Caspar he asked you for just before dessert was served. Severus, shall we?"

"I'm not dancing with you."

Albus laughed. "I wasn't suggesting that! I'll start with Sarah. Why don't you ask Pomona?"

Severus restrained his desire to roll his eyes, and he walked down to Pomona, who was just finishing a piece of chocolate cheesecake.

"Professor Sprout, would you care to dance?" he asked stiffly.

"Oh, I'd love to!" Pomona said enthusiastically, taking one last swallow of her drink.

Severus was not pleased that the lively swing tune had given way to a slower, more romantic jazz piece. Pomona had her arms around him, and as she was a very short but rather buxom witch, she was uncomfortably close. She didn't seem as though she felt uncomfortable, though. Severus was certain there was something inappropriate about two Heads of House dancing this closely in front of the students, though no one seemed to be paying any attention to them.

"Wonderful fancy dress, Severus," Pomona said. Rather alarmingly, one of her hands had snaked beneath his long keffiyah, and Severus wished that he had left the cloak on, as her hand was stroking the soft material of his tawb, beneath which was only one thin undershirt. He was glad now that his dagger had a large and gaudy hilt. She could only get so close to him and no closer.

"Thank you, Professor. Yours is..." he looked down into her bountiful cleavage and blushed, moving his gaze back up to her face "...yours is also, um, authentic."

"I appreciate your asking me to dance," she said warmly. "I enjoy dancing with Filius, but sometimes it is pleasant to dance with a wizard taller than myself." She smirked and winked. "In the vertical position, I mean. Otherwise..."

"Thank you for the dance, Professor," Severus said hastily, not wanting to hear anything about Flitwick's skills in horizontal dancing with the Herbology teacher. The mere suggestion of that image would haunt him, he was certain. "It is my pleasure." Not really, but it was the polite thing to say.

"You looked gobsmacked when Niamh announced your name," Pomona said, fortunately changing the subject, though not to one any more comfortable for Severus.

"I was surprised," Severus admitted. "I had believed that Albus had the best chance of winning. His costume is striking."

"He was the runner-up, you could say," Pomona replied. "You received eight more votes than he did, but the two of you each received more than any of the others combined."

"And of the witches?" He shouldn't ask, but he was curious.

"That was much closer. Sharon won, obviously, but Minerva, Helena, and Verity all received almost as many votes."

Severus forced himself to make small talk with Pomona about the students' winning fancy dress, and was grateful when Filius came up at the end of the dance and relieved him. He bowed and handed her over to her partner. He looked around. Albus was now dancing with Sharon Carter, both of them looking as though they were having a good time, and Minerva was still dancing with Caspar Lloyd. He wished he could have a good time dancing. He had enjoyed dancing with Helena, but she had left with Hagrid and the children. Besides, Minerva had asked him to dance with each of the witches on staff.

He found Verity Vector standing by herself in a corner. "Professor Vector, would you care to dance?"

"Minerva put you up to it?" she asked with a grin.

"Not exactly," Severus said uncomfortably. "I think she wants me to . . . mingle."

Vector nodded. "Yes, sure, I'll help you mingle. I have to warn you, I'm not a very good dancer. Not like Minerva. I do enjoy it, though."

Severus shrugged. As long as she didn't step on his feet, he didn't particularly care. The music switched again to a very lively swing piece just as they stepped out to dance. It looked to him as though Albus was tossing about his latest partner, Poppy Pomfrey, turning her and twirling her, then pulling her back energetically, but they both seemed to be having fun. Severus decided that he wouldn't try anything that lively. Nothing anywhere near that lively, in fact. He wondered how an old wizard like Dumbledore had ever learned anything beyond a waltz, or maybe a tango. Minerva had probably encouraged him.

He and Vector didn't even attempt to make small talk over the music, but they made it through the dance without stepping on each others' feet. She thanked him pleasantly, and Severus slunk over to a corner. It was time to start watching the punch bowls and making sure the students weren't canoodling, he decided.

Sadly, he only had five minutes of peace when Minerva appeared at his side. "You're not dancing, Severus. Are your fallen arches bothering you?" Severus did not like the amusement in her eyes.

"Suzie Sefton asked me to dance. I did not wish to be rude or hurt the girl's feelings. That was the best excuse I could think of in the moment."

Minerva laughed. "Come dance with me, Severus, then you can cut in with Poppy again and I can have Albus back for the last dance."

"Oh, Minerva," Severus sighed. "All right." Reluctantly, he let her lead him out to the dance floor.

"You did enjoy yourself a little, didn't you?" she asked as he put one arm around her.

"It was better than some of the parties I've been required to attend," he said grudgingly. "The Dark Lord's parties, in particular."

"Oh, Severus," Minerva said, grimacing, "why did you have to bring that up?"

"Sorry. But it hasn't been bad at all, really," he said, hastily trying to find something pleasant to say. "I danced with Helena Benetti, and she seemed to enjoy it. An international Quidditch star. Hadn't done that before. And Pomona enjoyed dancing with me, she said."

"Good." Minerva sighed and leaned on him a little. "It's not always easy for others, either, Severus. Nor for me, no matter what you may believe. Trying to have fun after everything that's happened. But that's why we fought. To return to the ordinary pleasures and joys of life in the company of family and friends."

"Of course."

They danced in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, and Severus gradually steered them across the dance floor toward Albus and Poppy, who were chatting as they danced. Severus let Minerva go and bowed slightly. "Thank you for the dance, Headmistress." He turned to the other dancing couple. "If I might have the last dance with Madam Pomfrey?"

"Of course, my boy," Albus said. "Thank you for the enchanting dance, Poppy." He turned and bowed deeply to Minerva. "My dear Headmistress, may I have the honour of this dance?"

Minerva laughed and took his hand. "I would love it."

Albus took her into a close embrace just as Filius was announcing the last dance.

"Tired, Severus?" Poppy asked as he placed one hand in the centre of her back and began to lead her in the dance.

"Not particularly," he replied.

"You seem subdued."

"I do not like parties. I do not like dancing. Sometimes I wonder . . ."

"What?" Poppy asked when he didn't continue.

He shook his head. "Nothing." He wondered why he was even there at Hogwarts, let alone why he still lived.

"Listen," Poppy said softly, "we don't need to dance. Let's just sit and have a drink, hmm?"

"I did not mean I did not want to dance with you..."

"I know. It's okay, Severus," Poppy replied, dropping her arm and tugging his hand. "Let's get a piece of that chocolate cheesecake."

"All right."

They were sitting and eating chocolate cheesecake as the music faded away and the lights came up. Time to make sure that the students all returned to their dormitories and didn't linger to find secluded nooks and do any canoodling.

"Thanks for the cheesecake, Poppy," Severus said as he pushed away from the table and stood. "And for the dance."

"Good night, Severus." She smiled up at him, looking somewhat wistful. "Don't take too many points tonight. It is Halloween. Time for the students to enjoy themselves. And for you, too."

He nodded shortly. He would take whatever points the situation required. But perhaps he might leave some of the patrolling to the prefects. He did want to get back to his quarters. It was late, and for some reason, it felt as though it had been a long and exhausting evening.

NEXT

Chapter Twenty-Two: Not Onerous or Dreary

Sunday, 1 November 1998

Severus's life seems to be edging away from onerous and dreary, but is it becoming more enjoyable? He has lunch with Hermione and Gareth...maybe that's a start!

Characters: Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Madam Rosmerta, Gareth McGonagall, others.

N.B.: If you haven't yet read "Enter, Peacetime," a one-shot, it would be good to do that before Chapter Twenty-Three is posted. ;-)

Author's Note: If you've enjoyed seeing little Suzie Sefton, I've written a "sister story" to A Long Vernal Season called "The Sorting of Suzie Sefton". It's complete in four chapters. Have fun!