Chapter 379 - Severus Gets A Date

A week later the school was a buzz about the Yule Ball. Everyone fourth year and up had chosen to stay with the exception of a few younger years like Regulus and Dirk, who'd been asked by an older student to attend the Yule Ball with them. The girls in the corridors seemed to always be whispering and giggling as they compared what they would wear.

They were sitting down in the common room, when Severus sighed for the hundredth time. "I told you that you should have asked Lily that day," Rowan said as she took Terry's knight. "You were to chicken to do so and now Lily's going with a cute Hufflepuff."

"I know, Rowan," Severus snapped. "No need to rub it in my face!"

"Then stop sighing, mate. It's bloody getting annoying," Terry muttered as he focused on the game before him. "Just go and ask some other girl already."

"I don't want to ask anyone but Lily," Severus huffed as he crossly folds his arms over his chest and begins to sulk. "And what about you, Rowan?"

"What about me?" Rowan answered without glancing up.

"Who are you going to ask?" Severus smugly asked.

"Oh, I was already asked," Rowan replied causing both Severus and Terry to choke."

"By whom?!" Terry and Severus exclaimed.

"By Barrett Boone," Rowan replied as she happily took Terry's bishop leaving his defense wide open.

"The dreamy Ravenclaw team captain?!" Tiffany squealed as she glanced up from her magazine.

"The same," Rowan replied as she easily put Terry into check.

Silvia and Bethanie both look rather intrigued as Silvia says, "Let me get this straight. The dreamy guy who half of the girls are in love with asked you to the Yule Ball?"

"Yup," Rowan replied in satisfaction as she put Terry into checkmate and won the match.

"And how do you know him?" Silvia suspiciously asked.

"He's in our Ancient Studies class," Severus growled.

"And in Advanced Arithmancy with me," Rowan added as she leaned back into her chair to enjoy a biscuit from off her plate, while Terry just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Rowan had been asked to attend the Yule ball.

"Well isn't that just nice," Bethanie beamed with pride. "Do you have something to wear, Rowan?"

"Yes, I do," Rowan replied as she thought back to the long silver dress her aunt had purchased for her including the dress robes.

"And as for you, Severus, show Lily that you're attractive too," Rowan grumbled. "Go and move you're a*s into high gear and get yourself a date. Or are you going to be the antisocial loser, who despite being the youngest apprentice in over two hundred years that can't get himself a single date?" Naturally, Rowan let her voice trail off implicating that despite their bloodline Severus wasn't courageous even though he was a descendant of Godric Gryffindor.

"I'll show you," Severus roared, before storming out of the common room.

"I bet it's the first girl he sees," Terry shamelessly wagered.

"No, it's going to be some smart girl," Silvia argued.

"Wrong, I bet he goes for someone out of his league!" Tiffany added.

"I'm with Tiffany on this one," Rowan said in agreement as Tiffany beamed at her.

They all expectantly look at Bethanie, who says, "Fine, I'll say that it's someone older than our year."

"What are we wagering this time?" Terry happily asked as he rubbed his hands together.

"The losers have to kiss under the mistletoe," Tiffany happily declared, before taking a sip of her steaming cup of tea.

"What if I'm not bent like that?" Rowan said with a shiver as Silvia vehemently nodded her head in agreement.

"In that case, the losers have to kiss the first person of the opposite gender that they see," Tiffany happily explained as Rowan really hoped Severus was angry. He tended to be rash like his Gryffindor heritage. Hopefully, that would produce a bloody miracle in the end.

Sometime later, Severus triumphantly storms into the common room. "I got a date!"

"Good for you, Severus," Bethanie replied without glancing up from the crossword puzzle in the Daily Prophet.

Clearing his throat, Severus says again, "I said, that I got a date!"

"We heard you the first time," Rowan snapped as she put down her book. Arching her eyebrow at him, she says, "Well, who is it?"

"Asha Patil," Severus proudly said causing them all to gape.

"The Ravenclaw seeker beauty?!" Terry exclaimed.

Rowan privately sighed in relief. Thank goodness she'd won the bet! She was free!

"How'd you manage that, you, sly dog," Terry eagerly asked for the details.

"I just walked up to her and asked," Severus proudly answered.

"Given how vastly popular she is, I'm surprised no one asked her prior to this," Silvia muttered in disbelief.

"Probably just too scared of rejection," Rowan snickered.

Tiffany squeals in delight at remembering something. Pointing at Silvia and Terry, she says, "The both of you are the losers and have to kiss now!"

"What?" Terry and Silvia shouted as they glanced at each other to only realize they'd fallen into Tiffany's trap. They'd now have to kiss each other.

"Were all of you really betting on me?" Severus grumbled as he began to sulk again.

"We're Slytherins, Sev," Rowan said with a sniff. "We like to keep ourselves occupied."

Turning to her attention to Terry and Silvia, Rowan says, "So, where's our kiss?"

Both of them suddenly turn red as Terry squeaks, "I can't do it with all of you watching us!"

"It's not like we're watching the both of you have sex," Rowan mumbled causing the pair to turn that much redder and for Bethanie to glare at her for Rowan's inappropriate language use.

Scrunching their eyes in embarrassment, the two of them rushed forward clumsily bumping their noses. Before successfully planting a kiss on each other's lips. Tiffany whistles causing the two to break apart with a mix of feelings.

Tiffany and Rowan share Cheshire grins unable to hide their glee. Their plan had worked perfectly. At this rate, Terry and Silvia would finally stop dancing around each other and finally admit their feelings to each other. To be honest, their actions had grown rather tedious. And being the Slytherins that they were they hatched a plan and waited for the perfect moment to strike. Who says, Slytherins aren't good? Of course, they are, whenever it is convenient.