Dream & Shadow

38* Dance with the Evil

Leonor started quickly to greet more guests, a simple way to distract herself. Luckily, St. Mungo's and the ministry provided plenty topics to talk about. There was no trace of Severus. Leonor felt suddenly offended by his absence listening to all the compliments of the supernumerary male guests. The drinks made Leonor a little tipsy. Slughorn recommended the best bites of the buffet and Brian prowled around the few younger witches like a bitch in heat. Matteo asked Leonor to dance. They returned breathless from the dance floor after a modern interlude of the band.

"I hope I can come to the guild celebrations next year. It's much better than I thought." Matteo shoved Leonor to a bar stool ordering a refreshing sparkling lemon water. She giggled lightly. "Even the older guild members behave livelily. Mr Fawley is as old as Dumbledore! Look how he moves with his cane! You thought the guild is a bunch of elderly nerds, didn't you?"

Matteo downed the water in one go and shouted hilariously, "Yes, I thought all potion masters are wet blankets like Snape and the Slytherins! Snape loomed in the corridors of the school and still sulks around tonight as if there's nothing better to do." Leonor hid her shock about Matteo's opinion by turning to place the empty glass to the bar. Surprisingly she looked straight into cold grey eyes.

"Tut-tut! What an accompaniment, Ms Scott!" Lucius Malfoy's sighed slick with a disgusted look at Matteo. "The guild is failing recently. A Hufflepuff, if I'm not mistaken, a half-blood or even muggle-born?" Lucius tilted his head, sneering with disdain before continuing after a little pause. "Leonor, you don't mind if I call you by your first name?"

"Not at all, Narcissa, Lucius, a pleasure to meet you!" Leonor nodded to the pair of pure-blood aristocrats. Narcissa frowned about the informal address, but Lucius took the gall indifferently. Leonor felt sick being on the first name with the Malfoy's. It foreboded nothing good.

"What was your name again?" Lucius addressed Matteo making a grimace.

"Matteo Romano, Sir," replied Matteo abjectly. The potions department of St. Mungo's received recently a generous donation from the Malfoy's. Everybody knew it.

"What about your ancestry? I never heard of your family name." Lucius words suffocated in a quiet snarl of an approaching dark clad person.

"I never understood why a Hufflepuff excelled in potions. I believe the sorting hat is senile as much as the chairmen of the potions' guild." Severus kissed Narcissa's hand.

"Severus!" Lucius and Narcissa's sneer changed briefly into something like a real smile. "I'm sure you can introduce us!" Lucius sneered again at the stiff teenager.

"Romano get us a drink, an old sweet Sherry if you can memorize it," said Severus bitingly calm. Matteo looked at Leonor as if he expected her to protest but left speechless when Snape fluttered a kiss on her hand as well.

"A pity, he's not shrewd enough to make a good Slytherin. Not all wizards proof the achievements of the family," said Severus thoughtfully.

"Indeed?" asked Lucius businesslike.

"Mafia, old Italian family," answered Severus glaring into the direction of Matteo who instructed an elf and disappeared quickly into the crowd. An elf served the Sherry promptly.

"At least he knows how to instruct vermin—," said Narcissa in the usual sniffy intonation and the conversation changed blessedly.

After a while Leonor admitted to herself that the talk with the Malfoy's was partially pleasant; Severus kept them smartly off all dangerous topics. Narcissa listened to the last reports about Draco. She spoke about gardening and the flowers and insisted on another visit by Leonor. Narcissa was one of those bored, rich wives who defined themselves through the success of their husband. Nevertheless, she was smart — likely able to control her husband without being too obvious. She loved her son and family and didn't approve much of Lucius' show about gaining power through the hands of You-Know-Who. A trace of fear created a shadow behind the haughty look every time Lucius started to speak about the rising dark power. She relaxed when Severus changed back talking about something else.