Barbarism to Decadence.

Sunday morning found the Great Hall abuzz with the upcoming Quidditch try-outs and the excitement over who would be accepted into Professor Price's new class. Hermione sat staring at her porridge and feeling sick with nerves over whether or not she would be accepted, not to mention her doubts as to the honesty of the potion that had made her feel so good about herself only a week before. She glanced toward the professors and blinked when she noted the empty chair to the right of Flitwick, nudging Ron with her elbow.

"Where do you think Professor Price is?" She muttered when he grunted through a mouthful of bangers, chewing at her lower lip and feeling her stomach take a short romp to the back of her throat.

"Probably delivering the books and whatnot, don't you think?" Ron mumbled when he'd finally managed to swallow his food, squinting at her oddly. "Hermione, what's been buggering you up lately?"

She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath, shrugging one shoulder as she tried to eat her porridge without being sick all over the table. "I'm not buggered up, Ron. I am just anxious to know if I passed the test he gave us."

Harry shook his head, wiggling a bit of waffle at her and dripping syrup all over the place. "Hermione, how many times do we have to tell you that you're bloody brilliant, and you always do great on tests?"

She crinkled her nose and pointed to his plate, eyeing the large puddle of syrup on the table. "It wasn't that sort of exam, Harry. It was impossible to know what was the correct answer, and you couldn't lie to try and guess it, either. You just had to...well, be honest with and about yourself. It was very uncomfortable."

Ron blinked at her and looked at Harry with a furrowed brow, before returning his gaze to her. "What do you mean uncomfortable? What problems should you have with being honest, Hermione? I mean, you never lie or do anything bad, do you?"

She glared at him intently, suddenly realizing they both still saw her as the prissy know-it-all she'd been when they'd first met. She'd grown so much since then, having fought Death Eaters, broken plenty of laws and school rules, and even kissed Krum quite a few times. Why couldn't they see past who she had been?

She decided to ignore them and go up to see if a book was waiting on her bed, standing and hurrying from the hall without another word, leaving both boys staring after her in shock and confusion.

------

She raced up the stairs so quickly that she found herself quite out of breath at the top, gasping as she hurried through her dorm room and squealed when she saw the parchment and book on her covers. She pounced and fell over on her back with the book clutched in her hands, wondering if she'd ever been this excited about a class in her entire life.

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Hmm...I've never heard of this one." She mused softly as she studied the curious cover art of a young blond girl in a pinafore with a nattily dressed white rabbit holding a pocket watch. She longed to open the book and begin reading right away, but she set it aside to look over the parchment instead.

Congratulations, Miss Granger.

Please meet with the rest of the class in the field between the lake and the Quidditch pitch at two o'clock on Saturday. On days when it is raining, or too cold to meet outside, we will meet in the Great Hall. The first two chapters of this book should be completed by the first class date, however I do not discourage students from reading ahead. I do ask that you not spoil future chapters for the other students, however. I am looking forward to seeing you in class.

Sincerely, Vancelot Price.

She sighed and stroked a finger over the first line, unaccountably pleased by the way her name looked in his dashing, elegant script. Her eyes fluttered closed as she indulged in a moment of fantasy about hearing him whisper her first name, then rolled to fetch the book and immerse herself in the land of make-believe.

------

Vance slipped on a pair of navy swim trunks and draped a white towel over his shoulders, eager to escape the school for a few hours and enjoy the lake's bracing, and slightly dangerous, waters. He strode from his quarters, unaware of the looks he drew in his half-dressed state, his mind already focused in anticipation of the pleasant burn of his up-coming work out.

He enjoyed the rough feel of the stone beneath his feet as he made his way down the stairs to the ground floor of the castle, and toward the doors. He whistled, glad that the sun was out full force and he wouldn't be freezing when he finally finished his relaxing dip. He paused before stepping out, checking his pocket for his wand, relieved he had remembered it in case any grindylows or the giant squid decided to attack.

He groaned happily as his feet sank into the lush grass that stretched between the lake and the castle, wriggling his bare toes into the warmth and turning his face up to greet the sun. It never crossed his mind that he ought to have covered up more before strolling through the castle, since he had spent so long in the Muggle world and being seen in nothing but swim trunks was a rather common occurrence. He tossed his towel on the grass and dove into the lake with skill born of his years spent on the swim team at his boarding school.

Strong, graceful strokes knifed through the water, back and forth across the lake four times before he crawled up to sprawl in the grass, panting and savoring the sun heating his skin where the chilly waters of the lake had beaded. A soft giggle brought him from his relaxed daze and he opened his eyes, shielding them with one hand and jumping as he caught sight of a gaggle of girls and several boys standing around him.

"Oh! Hello." He wasn't sure what else to say, not quite sure what he'd done to garner their attention, though his reaction sent many of them scurrying with shrieks. He peered after them with a slight frown, wondering if one simply stopped being able to understand teenagers after a certain age. His attention was pulled away when a sudden shadow chilled him and he looked over to find Severus Snape standing over him looking livid.

"Afternoon, Severus. Would you care to join me as I finish my swim?" He peered up at the man, climbing to his feet and picking up his towel to rub at his dripping hair.

"Are you accustomed to parading half-naked in front of impressionable young students, Mr. Price, or is this your first offense?" Snape's tone was cold enough to raise goose-bumps and he twitched, frowning faintly.

"I'm sorry? I...am just wearing trunks, Severus. I hardly think it's inappropriate attire in front of teenagers. They dress like this in Muggle society all the time." He blinked, rather baffled by the anger in Severus' tone, just as baffled as he had been by his audience.

"This is not Muggle society, Price. The students are not used to being subjected to so much uncovered flesh from someone twice their age. Perhaps next time you will wear a shirt when you decide to behave foolishly and swim in the lake?" Severus bared his teeth in a grimace and then turned to stride away, but Vance was not about to let him get away with that.

------

"Severus! Wait!" He heard the infernal Yank shout from behind him and stopped, refusing to face him as he tried to banish the heart-stopping image of the man in nothing but a pair of wet, clingy swim trunks from his mind.

"Severus, what is so wrong with what I'm wearing!?" Price moved around to stand in front of him, his hair curling and dripping water down his face, more drops rolling over his chest. Snape found his eyes following the beads over the silky, tanned skin, wanting suddenly to lean and lick each one away.

"Surely you are not unaware of your good looks, Price, so don't play coy with me. If you display yourself this way, you will undoubtedly fuel the adolescent fantasies of the students. It's bad enough that you insist on wearing Muggle clothing, but to go around nearly unclothed in front of students that are used to adults wearing robes that properly cloak their bodies, is likely to lead to uncomfortable and possibly inappropriate situations."

He watched understanding dawn in the man's eyes, shocked that he truly hadn't realized what he was doing to begin with, but no one was that skilled of an actor. His breath caught in his throat when a flush stained the younger man's cheeks, and he had the unexpected urge to pull him close and erase the look of shame that entered his eyes.

"I'm sorry, of course. I wasn't thinking, from now on I'll be sure to cover up more thoroughly if I plan to swim. I...should go." He blinked, watching the man race away with his head down and his towel wrapped about him like a cape, trying to cover as much of himself as possible. For a moment he felt guilty for making the man feel bad, when he really hadn't done anything consciously incorrect, but then he shoved the softer emotion aside. Either way, it wasn't right for such a handsome, fit young man to be showing off his body to innocent students. Right?