Dating Habits of Wizarding College Students
Chapter 10 - Going Out Goes Sour
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I own no portion of the Harry
Potter world, including Severus Snape.
All characters and characterizations from the world are property of JK
Rowling. Dianthus
and other original characters are solely of my imagination, however.
I welcome comments and reviews,
including harsh criticisms and flames. I
may delete them after a time, to reduce my personal embarrassment, but rest
assured that I will read them and take any appropriate statements to heart.
I cannot emphasize enough that you
must read Dianthus Stories in order
for this tale to make any sense at all.
In fact, you’ll note that this is actually part III – parts I and II are
both contained in Dianthus Stories,
so go read that one first.
Also, smut picks up again in Chapter
Twelve, if that’s what you’re looking for.
That’s perfectly fine. But I say
again you may be a bit confused when you get there if you don’t slog through
the chapters leading up to it.
*****
Chapter Ten –
Going Out Goes Sour
The water in the
shower was getting steadily cooler.
“Dianthus,” Snape murmured, pulling away from her.
we’ll be late.”
“We’ll catch cold
to boot,” she said, stretching lazily and heaving herself
off the wall. “I blame you.”
head.
“Me?”
“You’re the only
one who knows what time we’re having dinner,” she said, through the stream of
water pouring over her head.
“Surely you
expected that last one,” he said accusingly.
“You’re the one who precipitated it, with your little hands all over
me.”
“I was
Snape snorted in
derision as he opened the stall door.
She sat naked in
front of the mirror several minutes later.
“Should I do something to my hair?” she asked.
“If you want to,”
said Snape vaguely. He was ironing his slacks carefully with his wand.
“I’m not talking
to you,” Dianthus said, without looking at him.
“Alright, then,”
he said distractedly.
“Well, well,” said
the mirror gleefully. “Have you finally
realized that I am a mirror?”
“Please,” Dianthus
groaned. “What do you think?
whisper, as she leaned closer to the mirror.
“How can that be,”
said the mirror in a low voice, “when he is standing
in your bedroom with no clothes on?”
“Long story,”
Dianthus muttered.
“Spare me the
details, please,” said the mirror primly.
“What are you wearing?”
Dianthus retrieved
the dress from her closet and held it up.
“Hmm…” said the mirror.
Snape’s reflection
appeared behind hers. “And these,” he
said, holding up one of the earrings.
“Is there a
necklace?” said the mirror haughtily.
“No,” said
Dianthus firmly.
Snape’s eyes lit
up. “Not yet,” he said delightedly.
respect. “But that is an excellent
idea.”
“Severus,”
Dianthus sighed. “Go away and let me
talk to my mirror, please.” He scowled
her,her, carefully set the earrings on the vanity, and turned back to his pants.
“Well,” said the
mirror, “You really should do something to show off those earrings.”
take this the wrong way, Dianthus, but you have never really gotten the hang of
the more complicated hairstyles.”
“It’s true,”
Dianthus admitted. “But I’m willing to
give it a try. Something
relely ely easy. What do you
suggest?”
“I think you might
be able to achieve a simple chignon,” said the mirror eagerly.
The mirror talked
her through twisting her hair and knotting it at the base of her neck, and
although in the end Dianthus had to conjure a couple of bobby pins to hold it in
place, even the mirror admitted that it looked quite nice.
Dianthus slipped
the dress cautiously over her head and then twirled in front of the
mirror. “Okay?” she said anxiously.
“Okay,” echoed the
mirror happily.
“Rather more than
okay,” breathed Snape, sidling up to her.
He turned her to face him and then ran his hands down her arms.
clothes. Just
one thing missing.” He picked up
the earrings and gently fit them to her ears.
When he was done, he held her at arms’ length and gazed at her so keenly
that Dianthus’ knees weakened.
“Severus,” she
said faintly.
“Shh,” he said,
leaning in to kiss her tenderly. He
skimmed his hands over her sides, and a tingle of electricity ran through her
abdomen. “We could just stay in,” he
whispered huskily.
This suggestion
brought Dianthus back to herself. “Nice
try,” she panted. “Get your clothes
on.” He grimaced and turned to pick up
his freshly ironed boxers from the bed, and Dianthus turned back to the mirror.
The dress really
was lovely, and perfect for an evening in Muggle
London. The supple fabric flowed from
the straps in a soft wave to expose the curves of her breasts, and the back was
even lower, dropping almost to her hipsan san style='mso-spacerun:yes'>
True, the hem was quite a bit higher than those on the robes she was
used to wearing – hardly lower than the red monstrosity, actually, but that was
alright. The earrings sparkled brightly,
picking up the color of the dress and her eyes.
She sprayed perfume into the air and shivered as the cool letslets hit
her skin.
She felt pretty,
which was a new feeling, and when Snape drew close behind her, she felt
beautiful as he surveyed her.
“You look so grown
up,” he said in a wondering voice, wrapping his arms around her waist.
I used to play chess with.” He leaned in
to nuzzle her neck. “Dianthus,” he said,
inhaling deeply, “are you wearing perfume?”
“Yes,” she said
hesitantly. She had forgotten his
dislike of perfumes. pan>pan>“You don’t like
it,” she said, her face falling a bit.
“Mmm…I do,” he
said, kissing her shoulder. “It’s quite
subtle. Doesn’t jump out and attack
me. We should go.”
“Just one more
sec,” she said, extricating herself from his embrace.
colored knickers?”
“They’re in my
pocket,” he said immediately, patting the pocket of his pants.
thought you might go bareback.”
“No!” she gasped.
“You could,” he coaxed,
advancing on her. “No one need know,
except the two of us.”
“I –
determined not to give in. “Give me the
knickers, Severus. Just toss them, thank
you.”
Snape reluctantly
threw her the knickers. She took her time
putting them on under his increasingly frustrated glare.
stalked to her closet and yanked out a Muggle dinner jacket.
picked up her purse, which had actually been her grandmother’s and currently
held only her wand.
“Have fun,” called
the mirror cheerily.
Snape hailed them
another cab, barked, “Great Eastern Hotel,
Street
they arrived at the hotel, Dianthus’ fingers were almost bruised from the
pressure he applied. “You are an abysmal
driver,” he hissed into the window as he paid.
The cabbie held up his middle finger along with the change.
“Severus,” said
Dianthus as they walked through the lobby of the hotel.
He led her into
the restaurant, and her breath caught.
It was housed in a cavernous, dimly lit room, which buzzed with the
drone of many quiet conversations. In
the very center of the ceiling was a domed confection of stained glass.
set with sparkling place settings. She
felt very small in the huge space.
“Severus,” she breathed.
Snape glanced down
at her. “I take it you approve?”
“I’m speechless,”
she said, looking around in awe.
“Good,” he said
seriously.
He approached the
maitre de and said, “I have a reservation under the name of Crown.”
Dianthus glanced sharply at Snape.
“Severus–” she began,
but Snape cut her off.
“I thought you
were speechless,” he said, with a warning in his voice.
the maitre de led them to their table.
It was quite near the back of the room, and not directly under the dome,
she noticed with some disappointment.
“I asked for a bit
more privacy than normal,” Snape said, looking around them suspiciously.
“I feel like we’re
on the run,” Dianthus said irrit.
“We can have a
pleasant evening,” he said mildly, “or we can have an extremely unpleasant
evening.”
“But you wouldn’t
even use your real name,” she complaiin ain a low voice.
“It is against my
better judgment that we are here at all,” he said, still in that mild
tone. He made a show of unfolding his
napkin and placing it in his lap. “I am
sorry you’re not satisfied with my efforts to give you what you said you
wanted.”
Dianthus
swallowed. “It’s – it’s lovely, Severus,
thank you.” She knew he had gone to a
great deal of trouble to please her. He
was overly cautious, certainly, but if that made him feel more comfortable, she
would go along with it. “Or should I
say, Mister Crown?” she said, with a small smile.
“I think it would
be much better if you stopped babbling and glanced at your menu before the
waiter arrives,” he said dryly.
“I’ll save that
nickname for later, then,” she said, grinning.
Snape ordered them
a bottle of wine. “In the Muggle world,
you are not of age,” he said gravely, after the waiter had left them with
it. “So please do try to behave in an
appropriately mature fashion, if only in this restaurant.
contributing to your delinquency.” She
sneered at him over her goblet.
Snape wanted to
hear more about her classes, and got quite snippy when she refused to tell him
Toady’s name. “I promise not to do
anything he doesn’t deserve,” he said earnestly.
narrowed his eyes at her. “I am
perfectly willing to find out his name on my own, you know.”
“You will do no
such thing,” she said flatly. “Yo>“You’re
not the only one who can cast a hex, you know.
If Professor – well, if any one
of my instructors is suddenly taken ill with a slug-vomiting jinx or something
like that, I’ll know where to look.”
Her dinner was
quite possibly the most delicious thing she’d ever tasted.
vegetables, potatoes in a creamy sauce, tender rolls, more wine.
Snape.
“I have been here
before,” he said, refilling his glass.
“With a woman?”
she said, in what she hoped was an offhand voice.
He looked warily
at her.“Did you come here
with a woman?”
He sighed.
I came here with a woman.
a Muggle, and this was her choice.”
“Oh.”
away.
“I’m sorry,” he
said quietly. “I didn’t think of her
when I chose this place. I only thought
that you would like it.”
“Did you fuck
her?”
“Dianthus–”
“Did you fuck her,
Severus?”
“Yes,” he
said. When she remained silent, he
continued. “You know that I have been
with other women. It didn’t bother you
to hear it before. Why does it upset you
tonight?”
“Did you use your real
name when you came here with her?” Dianthus said, pushing her fork around her
half-empty plate. She had lost her
appetite.
“Yes,” he said.
“So you came here
with a Muggle that you had fucked or were planning to fuck, and freely offered
the restaurant your name.”
“Dianthus, I have
said that I am sorry,” Snape hissed.
“Was she your
girlfriend?” Dianthus continued, relentlessly.
“She probably
thought she was,” said Snape, throwing his napkin in his plate.
well. “Would you mind telling me why we
are having this distasteful conversation?”
She looked up at
him. “Because,” she said icily, “some
fucking Muggle can tell the world
that she went to this beautiful restaurant with her boyfriend, or someone she
thought was her boyfriend, whose name was Severus Snape.
and outright lies to my closest friends.”
She stood up
abruptly. He rose as well.
“Dianthus,
please–”
“I have to go to
the bathroom,” she snarled. She walked
quickly from the table without looking back, and asked for directions to the
bathroom from a passing waiter.
Once in the
privacy of the stall, she leaned against the door and struggled without success
to control the tears that were leaking from her eyes.
lid and let them just come for a bit.
When that didn’t make her feel better, she jerked viciously at the roll
of paper and noisily blew her nose, trying to understand how a perfectly
enjoyable evening with the man she loved had suddenly been shot all to hell.
She did know that
Snape had been with other women, and idn’idn’t bother her – that had all
happened before she had become his lover.
But this bothered her, that he
had felt more comfortable with a Muggle than with her, that he could be seen
freely with a Muggle, but not with her.
The realization hit her again, that this
was her life for the better part of the next two years, and she sighed
heavily. She blew her nose again and
stood up.
Snape was waiting
for her outside the bathroom, holding her purse.
eyes. She moved away when he reached for
her, and his face fell further. He held
her purse out to her, and Dianthus took it without looking at him.
“I’m ready to go
home,” she said dully.