Love and Potions - Severus Snape x OC

Chapter 35 - Yule Ball

Rowan was excited to attend the yule ball; especially now that she was part of the staff. It wasn't that the students had less fun at these types of events, it was just that at these types of events, students were watched very closely. Rowan could remember the one time she had attended formal events such as these at Ilvermorny, the staff would go berserk if they attempted to sneak off and get some alone time with one another. 

"You look stunning, Rowan!" Minerva said as she joined by Rowan's side, watching all of the students ascend down the staircase to their dates; who seemed to be equally excited. "Thank you, Minerva. As do you,"  Rowan replied as she watched Millicent and Luna walk, hand in hand, into the decorated Great Hall. "You seem troubled, my dear. Is there something wrong?" Minerva asked, placing a loving hand on Rowan's shoulder. 

Rowan nodded, a small lump forming in her throat. Helping the children get ready for the ball had reminded her of what a mother would do. While Rowan wasn't a mother herself, she was sure she wouldn't be a good one. Her own mother was never very caring, especially not to her. A small part of Rowan wished she could be a mother, but she was so afraid of becoming her mother. 

"Just looking for Severus, that's all," Rowan lied, quickly flashing a smile at Minerva. The conversation of being a mother was not something Rowan wanted to talk about, especially with Minerva, who was a mother to all the students at Hogwarts in one way or another. 

Suddenly, someone caught Rowan's eye. His usual black cape had been removed and replaced with a long, black coat. He now stood in a sleek, completely black suit. The only color was a small emerald necklace that hung low on his chest. Severus Snape had never gotten dressed up for the yule ball before; but just as he promised, he would change for her. 

Rowan turned to say goodbye to Minerva, but before she could speak, Minerva began. "I'm glad you came back to Hogwarts, dear. I've never seen him this happy. Go to him," Rowan smiled at Minerva's words. While Rowan hadn't been at Hogwarts as a student long, Minerva McGonagall was the closest Rowan would ever get to a loving mother. With a small nod, Rowan began to descend the stairwell to where Severus was waiting. 

Severus did his best from preventing his jaw from falling to the floor. Her black gown looked absolutely stunning; she almost resembled a female version of himself with a black cape flowing behind her. She was an angel dressed in black, which usually would signify tragedy. The only tragedy, Severus thought, is that they hadn't met sooner.

"You look beautiful, darling," Severus whispered as he took Rowan's hand in his and placed a small kiss on the back of her hand. Butterflies immediately found themselves a home deep within Rowan's gut as her eyes met Severus'. "You got all dressed up, Sev," Rowan stated, taking his hand into her own. They walked as a pair into the Great Hall, gaining many stares from students. "Tonight, I want to do something special," Severus stated as he took a step away from Rowan and lowered his head down. He stretched out his arm, holding his hand for Rowan to take. With a puzzled look, Rowan gently placed her hand into his. 

Almost instantly Severus yanked Rowan up against his chest. He placed one of his hands on her waist and interlocked their fingers on his other hand. "Let me show you off, darling. The world needs to know you're mine," Rowan blushed deeply as she looked into Severus' darkening eyes. "Severus, what about the children? You didn't want them to know about us," Rowan whispered, her eyes darting around the room to find many students staring in their direction.

It seemed that Severus thought for a moment, pondering what to do about the situation. Just as Rowan was about to pull away, Severus tightened his grip on her. "My dear, it appears they already know," He chuckled as he spun Rowan around as if they were alone. Truthfully, Severus hadn't originally wanted the children to know of his relations. It was the whole reason he had gone out and bought an invisibility cloak. However, since they returned to Hogwarts, things had been different.