Entranced By A Prince

Nokomis felt as though she was walking on clouds since Severus asked her to the ball. She knew that he cared for her, that much was obvious since they always seemed to be together. The first Hogsmeade visit of the year was fast approaching, and Severus and her had made plans to go and get dress robes together.



"So, I was thinking of something classic like black," Severus said to her while they were relaxing in the Slytherin common room one evening. "It's a flattering color that would compliment us both."



Nokomis looked over at Severus and smirked. "Since when are you so interested in fashion Sev?" she asked playfully, resting her head against his chest. "Besides, I was thinking more along the lines of green and silver."



"That is so predictable though Noko," he said to her. "Pretty much everyone in Slytherin wears their house colors to balls, I want to stand out."



"Ok Sev," she said smiling up at him. "I just can't win with you can I?" She looked up at him and he kissed her gently on the lips. "I say you've won this battle," she said softly, "but I shall win this war."



"Oh, it's the Snapes," Alexxi said, coming in from the hallway sniggering. "I'm surprised the two of you haven't mutated into some vile two headed snogging creature yet."



"It's hard to do that when we are constantly interrupted," Nokomis said with a smrik on her face. She knew that Alexxi was only joking because Alexxi and Ian snogged more than the entire school put together. "Where is your better half anyway," she asked teasingly.



"I don't know," she said shrugging her shoulders. "I'm sure he's about somewhere, but I'm not too worried. He said something about some test coming up and seeing as how Severus isn't around as much, he's got to study on his own."



"You can't expect me to help him the rest of his life Alexxi," Severus said raising his eyebrow. He put his arm around Nokomis and absent-mindedly played with her hair.



"That's true Severus," Alexxi said as she sat on the other couch. "Sometimes I forget that."



"You know, even though Sev isn't helping him, his grades are still staying as they were," Nokomis said encouragingly. "You have to at least give him credit for that."



Suddenly Ian came in and plopped himself on the couch next to Alexxi. "I swear that McGonagall has it out for us," he said angrily putting his feet up a stool nearby. "Can you believe the paper she gave us?"



"It wasn't all that bad," Alexxi said to him, trying to calm him down by running her hand up and down his back. "I finished my paper an hour ago."



"Thanks for making me feel better love," he said sarcasticaly. "I swear the three of you make me feel like the dumbest person in Slytherin house."



"No, that would be Amethyst Rhodes," Nokomis explained smiling evily. "I heard that her and Potter struggled against that spell Severus cast on them for ten minutes until Sirius Black came and found them. And then she has the nerve to talk about me."



"Oh leave it Noko," Severus said as he noticed her getting upset. He reached over and held her closer to him as to try to calm her down. He kissed her tenderly on the top of her head and smelled the vanilla scent of her hair. "How in Merlin's name do you get your hair to smell so sweet?" he asked her playfully.



"Lennyn family secret Severus," she answered back, tucking his hair behind his ear. She knew that he hated her doing that, but she just couldn't resist. She hated when his hair fell in his face. She relaxed and got lost in her thoughts as she was held by Severus. She knew she was falling for him, but couldn't pinpoint the moment when she did. She only knew that she felt safe with him and that he also cared for her.



***



She didn't know how, but she had fallen asleep in his arms, and when she awoke, the common room was empty and the fire had gone out. She heard him breathing deeply, fast asleep himself, right on the couch, his arm still around her. She repositioned herself so that her head was in his lap, and quietly fell asleep again.



***



The first snowfall of the year fell about the students as they made their way towards the villiage of Hogsmeade and it made for a festive atmosphere to make their special purchases. Nokomis had made a small list of gifts to get for her friends for Christmas, along with her parents. She had more than enough money in her small pouch and she couldn't wait to buy wonderful gifts for the people she cared about. Severus walked beside her, looking down and not really looking all that excited to be shopping for holiday gifts. "What's wrong Severus," she asked him, looking up at him.



"Nothing," he said to her, avoiding her gaze. She knew that he wasn't telling her the whole truth when he did something like that. "I'm just not feeling very well is all."



"So why didn't you go to see Madam Pomfrey?" she asked him with concern. "She would have surely fixed you up quite quickly had you gone to see her."



"I'll be fine," he said to her quickly. She knew it was best to leave well enough alone and held onto him a tad tighter to let him know that she was there for him. They had stopped in front of Gladrags Wizardwear and looked inside. The store wasn't that full of students yet and Nokomis figured it would be best to make their selections before it became too crowded to move. Severus seemed to be thinking the same. "We better get this over with shouldn't we?" he asked Nokomis looking in.



"Well, I guess it's better than later," she said with a smile as she took his hand and they walked into the store together. Severus had no problem picking out his dress robes, a nice black jacket and pants with a silver shirt underneath. "I'm glad you are at least wearing one of our house colors," she said with a smirk as she led him over to the dresses that lined the back of the shop.



"Just pick something," Severus said looking uncomfortable. He wasn't used to shopping and he kept glancing around to see if anyone was watching him.



"I need to find something that will look nice with yours though," she said, smiling at him and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. She had found the perfect dress, a long black gown flowing from a silver sleevless bodice with a black lace shawl overtop. "I think this one will be perfect," she said as she ran to the dressing room to try it on. "Well?" she asked, emerging minutes later.



Severus stood dumbstruck. The dress hugged every curve of her body in a way that her school robes could never dream of doing. "I think that one is perfect," he stammered, not able to take his eyes from her.



"Great, then I'll get this one then," she said, turning and going back into the dressing rooms. She came back out with the dress over her arm. She walked over to the counter and paid for her dress, then waited for Severus to pay for his robes. When they were finished they returned to the streets to look for gifts for Noko's friends and family. She dragged Severus to quite a few stores with him looking more and more uncomfortable. "Spill it," she said to him quietly after leaving another store, her arms full of purchases. "I know something is wrong and I'm not taking 'nothing' for an answer this time."



"I just," he started, looking down, "I just, can't get you a nice gift if you are always around." he said finally, looking into her eyes with a sly smile.



"You have a point," she answered smiling back. "I need to get you something too. We'll meet up in the three broomsticks in 30 minutes and we'll have a butterbeer or something." She stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll miss you until then," she said walking towards one of the shops that they had passed a few times.



Nokomis walked into the small shop and looked around. She had no idea what to get Severus and wasn't sure she would find something here. She looked around at the different quills and inks and then something caught her eye. She quickly took it over to the counter, paid for it and tucked it into the rest of her packages and went to meet Severus.