Chapter 3
Keeping up with Snape's long strides with ease, you both entered the ballroom of Malfoy Manor arm in arm. Familiar faces surrounded you, mingling with each other and holding various alcoholic drinks. The Malfoy family were rich, as the whole of the Wizarding World knew, but the way they had decorated their home for tonight was truly exquisite. As you admired the bright lights and immaculate solid hardwood floor, a few heads turned to look at you and your guest. They whispered amongst themselves, outright staring at you and Severus at times.
After the initial shock, their intrigue enticed people to come and greet you and your date. It seemed to you that Lucius Malfoy had let slip to a few people tonight about his attempt of deceiving you. It must've been the entertainment for the night - what a shame that you had to ruin it. The Lestrange duo came to say hello last, Bellatrix had a hard time containing her shock by babbling on about how the two of you coming together was surprising. They invited you towards the wide oak table that was adorned with drinks and bowls of nibbles galore. You opened your hand, using a wordless summoning charm to let a champagne flute fly into your palm. Politely taking a sip as Severus was handed a small tumbler of whiskey by Rodolphus, who tried to engage in small talk with him. Bellatrix seemed to want to be anywhere else but standing next to you, but attempted to talk.
"It is a shame the Dark Lord doesn't attend," She sighed, "I think he would enjoy a drink or two."
"I'm quite certain that he has much more important things to be doing." You commented, imagining how much more awkward this night would be with the Dark Lord looming in the corner.
"Yes, yes," She almost frowned, "I'm sure he does."
And with that, Bellatrix turned on her heels and tracked down her sister so that she could get away from the conversation. Her husband muttered a small apology and followed suit, marching away to regain his honour. You felt Snape's arm relax slightly as the other Death Eater left, not realising that he was tense in the first place. You looked up at him but his face gave nothing away, emotionless as always. Severus disliked the formalities of a Malfoy party, having almost forgotten about all the small talk and people that he had to mingle with. The interaction with the Lestranges was an annoying reminder that he had to do it all night.
The flute in your hand refilled instantly as you sipped the last of the alcohol from the glass and you thanked Merlin that you wouldn't have to stand at the drinks table all night just to get through. It was your first party as a Death Eater, and even though you wanted to impress you didn't exactly know what to do. You ended up deep in thought, thinking how Severus might feel. As a trusted and loyal man, and well-known to all, how was he finding it?
Severus pulled you from your thoughts by taking your glass and placing it on the table next to you. He muttered after, "Do you wish to dance?"
You looked over to the band huddled in the corner who was now playing a song you recognised, and then the men and women who were now slowly embracing in the empty space in front of the source of the music. You nodded and let him lead you, draping your arms around his neck when you were close enough. Snape's hands found their way to your waist and you both began to step around the floor elegantly. The back of your dress, the chiffon trail, floated behind you as if it were dancing itself. The same seemed to happen with your dance partners cloak, the material swaying with his every move. The two of you must of made quite a sight.
"I thought the suggestion of dancing was off the table tonight?" You smiled up at him, amused.
"If it means I no longer have to speak to Rodolphus about how to procure pearl dust and moonstone, then we'll dance all night if we have to." Severus replied quietly, spinning you round to avoid bumping into another pair of dancers.
"Sounds like he's making a love potion," You laughed, following his movements, "How scandalous!"
Severus smiled at you, almost chuckling himself as the two of you made your way around the room, until Lucius Malfoy got himself involved. His wife, Narcissa, stood next to him patiently as he spoke.
"Care to switch partners, Severus? Just for the remainder of the dance, of course," Lucius hummed, "as you know, my wife is an exceptional dancer."
You hoped that Snape wouldn't agree, but he did. He seemed a little disheartened as he lost physical contact with you, but he was soon distracted by the dance that Narcissa initiated. You turned to Lucius with a smile, taking up a comfortable position with your hands on his shoulders. He whisked you away, finding yourself being distanced from your original partner.
"I don't know what you did, getting Severus to join you tonight," Lucius murmured to you, "I am, for one, very impressed."
"I simply do not know what you're on about, Lucius?" You furrowed your brows, confused, "I simply acted on your kind information during your invite. Which, by the way, I must thank you for."
"I'm not daft, [first name]," Lucius stared at you, expecting you to tell him a secret.
"And I've never thought you were," You were quick to retort, "You told me of Sev's interest. Should I have not believed you? I am curious to know."
The song came to an end, and his hands were quick to leave your hips, "Well, I offer you my congratulations. I'm glad I was of help to you both."
Lucius seemed completely dumbfounded, unable to find any reason as to why his lie had come true. You bid him a short farewell before you headed back to the table, downing a small shot of fire-whiskey before obtaining your glass flute from earlier. Your eyes searched the dancefloor for Severus, only to find Narcissa dancing with her sisters husband and Severus to be nowhere in immediate sight. You wondered where he could have gotten to.
After the dancing, you felt a little flush so you made your way out to the gardens to get some fresh air. You took a deep breath as the cool air hit your skin, the small hairs on your arms pricking up from the cold. Hushed whispers could be heard a few steps away, so you stepped forward to see Severus speaking to Wormtail towards the left of the porch. The short rat-like man gave you a small wave and a sheepish smile. He was close to leaning against the wall as Snape loomed over him, seemingly annoyed. The two men were now looking at you and this was Wormtail's chance to scurry away and dash back into the manor.
"Lucius offered us congratulations," You told Severus now that you were both alone, laughing, "He was so desperate to catch me out, it was funny."
"Great," He mumbled back, not meeting your eyes, "but I'm leaving now. Enjoy the rest of your night."
Severus turned on his heel, storming off. He practically jogged down the steps, his cloak billowing uncontrollably at the wind created by the speed of his walk. You were quick to follow him, calling out out his name as he sped towards the gates. The moon was now the only light source for the two of you, hovering high above the two giant hedges that surrounded the path. You thought about using a spell to make him stop, but he came to a stop as the thought passed through your mind.
Severus turned around, clearly angry, "What is this ploy? Truly?"
"What do you mean?" You cried out.
"Did you not think, that this could as damning for me as it would have been for you?"
"What?" You thought back to the events that had just happened, "Wormtail? What did he say?"
Severus tried to turn around and continue walking, but you grabbed his arm to keep him still. He found himself calmer than before, just at your touch.
"Wormtail informed me, after some light questioning, that people were talking. Amused that I had a date," He still didn't meet your eyes, "I'm beginning to believe that both of us were at the hands of a joke this week."
"Well, I," You sighed, upset, "I'm sorry, Sev. I really don't think that was the case. Lucius seemed impressed but I can tell a few people in our midst tonight would be shocked for you to have a date. I'm truly sorry, I didn't mean to force you to come with me. I shouldn't have... but, we showed them, didn't we?"
In a flurry of anger, confusion and a little bit of alcoholic courage, you closed the distance between you and pressed your lips against his.
Before this week of sending letters back and forth, and the flirting at the start of the night, you had never even thought of Severus Snape as anything but a fellow Death Eater. And the same for him, he had barely even glanced in your direction. It was right at this moment that he realised that you were there, kissing him. One of the most beautiful women he had laid his eyes on. Kissing him. He felt slightly overwhelmed, but started to kiss you back. Severus' hands reached out for your waist, pulling you closer to him to deepen the kiss. He felt a surge of confidence and so did you.
With an almost clumsy flick of your hand, a small part the thick hedge closest to you opened up. With just enough room for two, you pulled Severus inside with you. The entrance to the small opening closed behind you, so here the pair of you were making out in the dark like two horny teenagers. Small bits of the moonlight seeped through the leaves, leaving you both with enough vision to see that you both wanted this. Needed this.
It all happened quite quickly. You found yourself unbuttoning his waistcoat without even thinking about it as his tongue slipped into your mouth, fighting for dominance. Your hands fumbled in the dim light, falling to his trousers to tackle the buttons there instead. His hands dropped below your waist, lifting your dress via the poor split at your thigh which he ripped further to get better access to the bottom half of your body. His fingertips trailed your soft skin, gliding across your thighs and close to your already wet core that was hidden by your underwear.
It was just sex. Pure sex. Severus held you against the thickest branch of the hedge as he pushed his cock inside you, holding your thigh in a death grip to gain access to your sweet pussy, briefly stopping your constant kisses to let out a moan. He got annoyed at holding your leg in the air, instead hoisting you up so that you could wrap your legs around him. Using the branch as the sole support behind you, he fucked you relentlessly.
Snape was breathless after he came, pressing his sweaty forehead against yours for a moment to help compose himself. You smiled at him, looking deep into his eyes. He smiled back, moving away from you to re-button his clothes. You shimmied your dress back down, ignoring the ripped fabric.
"I don't fancy going back now, fancy coming to mine for a cup of tea?" You suggested, hopeful.
"Sounds delightful." Severus agreed.
Leaving a perfect people sized hole in the Malfoy hedge, you both apparated back to your home. No more parties for either of you from now on, only quiet nights in. Hopefully together.
You couldn't stop bursting into a fit of giggles everytime you had to return to the Malfoy Manor for various meetings after that, but it was only egged on by Severus who would give you small smirks of amusement from across the table when nobody was looking. No more tricks were played on you since, which was great too. But the best thing of all, was getting to cuddle up with your new man every other night. Severus did not get his side of the bargain from when he agreed to being your date, but he found that being with you was basically just as good.