Sub Rosa

Chapter 27 – Halloween

Severus buttoned the top button of his frock coat with a grimace. He hated balls and this one promised to be particularly unpleasant. Not only did the Death Eaters have something big planned, but also it would be completely out of character for him to dance with Kathryn.

Her leg was not yet perfectly healed, the burns limited her mobility still, but she moved with far more ease and grace than before. Albus had already been promised a dance, the bastard.

Severus wasn’t getting quite as much time with Kathryn as he would have liked, as she had now added translations duties to all the other activities she was engaged in. Still, he had memories to sustain him through the coming evening.

Last night, he had brought the second dose of the Healing Potion to her and she had rewarded him with a night he would long remember. She was quite inventive and her improved mobility allowed for more adventurous activities. He smirked at his image in the mirror.

“Well, don’t we look cheerful.” His mirror groused at him. The silence spell must have worn off. How had he ended up with the terminally depressed object, he would never know, but he suspected Albus’ sense of whimsy was behind it.

He hexed it back to silence and stalked to the door. His chambers, designed to allow him to stay in character, were morose and depressing. Should anyone ever break into theses rooms there would be nothing to reveal his true personality or allegiance. They were all unadorned stone walls, plain wooden furniture and icy stone floors, there were monks who lived in greater luxury. He spent as little time in them as possible.

He preferred Kathryn’s chambers, to be honest. He suspected she knew that, because she had never come to his rooms. Or perhaps, she recognized the rooms as stage dressing for the role he played, knowing they had little to do with the man she was coming to know.

Black robes snapping behind him, scowl firmly in place, Severus swept out of the dungeons, feeling a little like a villain in a pantomime. Prowling the corridors, frightening the first years as he snapped and growled was rather fun, he had to admit. Though after nearly eighteen years of it, the novelty had long since worn off.

“Severus?” Minerva spotted him first as he slinked into the ballroom and she handed him a glass of punch.

Minerva and he had developed a ritual for surviving the balls and parties that Albus insisted on. A flask containing Glenfidditch hidden up her sleeve would be decanted allowing her to dexterously mix it into the ubiquitous punch and the two of them would share its warming properties as the only tolerable part of the evening.

“Minerva.” He saluted her with the spiked punch and swallowed it easily, feeling the whisky burn its way down his throat.

“I better be getting some of that.” Kathryn muttered as she stepped up to them. Her cane was held loosely in her hand. She could walk more freely, but the strength had yet to return to her leg. With a small smile, Minerva poured some whisky into Kathryn’s punch. “Of course, it is sacrilegious to dilute good whisky like that.” Kathryn added.

“Better that than face the evening unfortified.” Severus snarlnd gnd glared at a student who was headed in their direction, as Minerva nodded sagely in agreement.

“These events are unbearable otherwise.” Minerva sighed as she moved off to prevent Blaise Zabini from emulating his elders with a bottle of Spanish Fly. Kathryn chuckled and wandered off towards an intense confrontation between three young men over who would dance next with Cho Chang.

Miss Chang, he noticed, looked distinctly uncomfortable with the situation and greeted Kathryn’s arriwithwith relief. He watched her scatter the boys with a few sharp words, then she escorted Miss Chang over to Hillarion Rotewell, a sixth-year Hufflepuff. A few words and a small push later and Miss Chang had a gentle and undemanding partner to dance with. Severus watched covertly as Hillarion soon had her laughing.

His eyes drifted out across the dance floor, trying to drown out the so-called music blaring from the evening’s hired band. Kathryn was finally cornered by Albus and dragged onto the dance floor. As he thought, she moved gracefully through the figures of the dance, even hampered by her injury. As a pureblood, she had been raised to dance well along with all the other accomplishments expected of her and, as usual, her exacting nature demanded that she master the skill.

He drifted from the ballroom, frustrated at his cover persona’s inability to dance with her. He was worried about what the Dark Lord had planned for the night. Knowing he could do nothing rasped across his nerves and he terrorized the courting couples in the gardens in recompense fos ows own discomfort.

He swirled through the bushes, silently prowling for the illicit affairs that he was beginning to have a sneaking sympathy for.

A sharp voice upraised drew him like a magnet.

“Just because you held my hand doesn’t make us soul mates!” The feminine voice insisted and Severus felt some sympathy for the to-tie-tied young man he spied. Dean Thomas stood staring at Parvati Patil with a wounded expression.

“I wasn’t saying we were soul mates, Parvati. I just wanted to know if you’d go out with me.” Dean was twisting his robes in his hands, trying to plead while remaining dignified. Severus wondered if he should put the boy out of his misery.

“No Dean, thank you for helping me out in the crypt and all, but I don’t want to date you.” Her voice was sharp and impatient, as though the discussion was getting a little old.

“Very well, Parvati.” Dean turned and stalked off with adolescent dignity, trying hard to look adult. Severus felt for the boy, though hot pokers wouldn’t have drawn that informn frn from him.

As soon as he was gone, Parvati sank to the ground and began to cry. Severus suspected that this wasn’t a normal reaction. Of course, his experience with the mentalities of adolescent girls was severely limited to the classroom.

He was torn trying to decide whether he should back away and pretend he hadn’t seen her or storm in and inflict the usual point taking. As he tried to decide, a second figure detached itself from the shadows.

“Good, Patil, very good.” The feminine voice was cold and cruel, mocking her with praise. “You may yet become a decent actress.” There was a rustle in the underbrush and the figure was gone leaving Parvati sobbing on the grass.

Severus moved with feline grace after the figure, but saw nothing but a black student’s cloak disappearing into the school. He stepped into the hall, but it was filled with milling students and he had no idea which one could have been the girl’s tormenter.

He strode to where Kathryn was standing, chatting amiably with Draco Malfoy and Minuet Ravagienne. Minuet looked bored, but her eyes on him were perceptive and clear as he joined the group.

“Professor Leblanc, if I may tear you away from your, no doubt fascinating, conversation?” He sneered.
Kathryn’s eyes lit up with interest and she took her leave of the two students. From the corner of his eye he saw Draco drag Minuet onto the dance floor. “Are those two an item?” He asked surprised.

“No, she’s more a little sister to him, he’s become very protective since the attack.” She answered. “What’s up?” She cocked an inquiring eyebrow at him as he led her into the gardens.

“There is something going on with Miss Parvati Patil. I need you to do that thing you do.” He waved vaguely at the air.

“Ah, interrogation techniques a little rusty?” She teased him.

“Mine are usually accompanied by dental instruments and thumb screws.” He deadpanned. Her snort of laughter was appealing and he resisted the urge to kiss her under the rose bushes.

He left her to Miss Patil and moved to harass the rest of the student body. The mystery of the cruel voice from the shadows lingered though and he found himself watching the students with greater awareness.