How Can I Show My Face? [open]

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Severus Snape sighed. He had to be one of those who watched over the Yule Ball. Just to even hold it, he had to fight the Carrows over it. After a lot of shouting and arguing, they finally allowed Snape to let the Yule Ball occur. There had to be some happiness here, or they may loose hope. The DA was stirring up enough trouble, but with the fact that the Luna girl went home, and was about to not return to Hogwarts, they would loose some hope.

He was in the Great Hall, inspecting the room, in case anything bad happened, since the Carrows refused to watch, even though they loved punishment. They did not support this decision of his. Snape looked all around, see his second Dark Arts professor. There was something about him that really got to him.

After noticing a student spike the punch bowl, he waved his wand inconspicuously, purifying the punch. Most of the kids seemed to fear him. Either that or they thought of him as a hero. He didn't want to be viewed as a hero. And those who feared or hated him, he wanted them to know why he did it. But it wasn't like he wasn't used to those glares. He would be able to deal with it. His arms were crossed, dressed in his normal robes. He realized, it was one of the first times he had been seen in public this year by most of the student body.

[Marissa Lianne Cavaliere]

Mari had always been uncomfortable in public settings, and she'd avoided the Yule Ball when she went to Hogwarts. However, her sister had asked her, Chris and Giselle (a cousin of theirs that had avoided all of them like the plague when they were children) to observe the Ball. Probably to ensure good behavior on the Carrows' part. They had always been sadists.

She peered around the Great Hall for a familiar face. She saw her father in a group of students (it happened often; Ravenclaws in particular always seemed to appreciate this theories.) and the other Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. Finally, she picked out Severus in the crowd and resolved to keep him company.

She dodged gaggles of students and cast a few spells to break up hot-and-heavy couples as she approached her friend, feeling self-concious in the red dress she'd been conned into wearing.

"Sev!" she greeted him happily. "The Yule Ball was a great idea! Papa says that it's kept student morale up big time."

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Severus was watching that Professor Potter who seemed to isolate himself from everyone, watching the ball, at his request, of course. He was almost too preoccupied that he didn't even notice Marisssa Cavaliere's approach. However, when he spotted her he immediately forgot about just about everything besides her.

Sev almost forgot that it was Mari, and watched as she approached. He suddenly felt regretful he hadn't dressed up, feeling quite inadequate in comparison. But he did know that he could never look as good as she did. What was the feeling he was feeling right now? It felt like his stomach was in knots or there were butterflies fluttering around in his stomach, or both. He couldn't be nervous, right? It was just Mari... who looked absolutely stunning.

Sev cleared his throat and regained his composure. He really needed to control himself. "The Dark Lord wants to keep the kids under control, morale is instrumental in that," Severus managed to say, before getting slightly nervous again, "You look quite stunning, Mari."

[Marissa Lianne Cavaliere]

She shot a look at Professor Prewett out of the corner of her eye. She didn't trust that man, entirely; there was someting very strange about him. He hadn't given her a real reason to distrust him, yet, but she intuitively knew that he was lying about who he actually was. There was some missing piece to the puzzle known as Harry Prewett; she just couldn't figure it out. She was sure that her father would love to sit and hypothesize about it, though.

She was irrationally happy that Sev liked her dress. They'd rekindled their friendship quickly; it felt like she hadn't spent more than a decade out of contact with him. Lately, though, she sometimes got nervous around her old friend. She didn't know why. God knows, Mari Cavaliere didn't get nervous, but he made her for whatever reason.

She nodded to what he said about the Dark Lord.

"It's smart to keep morale up," she agreed neutrally before smiling widely. "Aw, thank you! You don't look bad yourself, Sev."

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Severus had a hunch that Prewett was Potter from the future. Not only did Severus have to sit on the secret that he was working under Dumbledore's orders, but the fact that he and McGonagall knew about the transfers true origins. He hadn't really talked with the Prewett, but for some reason he felt like he knew Prewett. Prewett nearly reminded him of Potter, but he seemed too worn, with no glasses, but if someone were to take into account the war he had been through (which Sev didn't know about), then he probably would know it was Potter from the wear on his face, but since he didn't know about it, he didn't realize it completely yet.

He really hated the fact that he brought up the Dark Lord, of all things. He knew she was sided with the Order, and only put up with the Dark Lord when he said things about him, because they were friends. Sev knew he should just shut up about the fact, but he couldn't control himself, for once in a long time.

"It's not just that though. Everyone deserves a little bit of happiness," Severus stated. Well, in his mind, everyone besides him. He felt like a dead man walking, obeying a dead man's orders until it brought the end to the animation of his body. Well, sometimes, but times like now, the Yule Ball with Marissa, he felt more alive than he ever really did. "I look like this everyday," Sev answered with a smile, not seeming to look away from her.

Unbeknownst to Severus, Harry Prewett looked slightly towards Severus, smiling slightly. Maybe them coming here and the Italians coming over here would be great, for even Snape. Harry then looked away and studied the crowd for his children.

[Marissa Lianne Cavaliere]

Mari had never actually met Harry Potter. She'd heard much about him, especially Angelina who believed very much that the boy would succeed in his endeavors, but she had never been face-to-face with the child that all of Britain had pinned its hopes on. She hoped that she would one day get to meet him; he was her friend's son, after all, and she felt bad for not having visited Lily in that last year before she'd died. Lily had written to Mari time and again asking if she would be able to come see them, but she had been too busy. It was a regret that she would just have to live with.

She knew that he hadn't meant to bring up the Dark Lord. All that she ever did when Voldemort came up was try to be as diplomatic as possible and avoid causing an international incident. So far, that strategy had worked; she hadn't been cornered by any Death Eaters or followed by some Ministry stooge. After all that she'd been through the past twelve years, there wasn't much that they could do to her, anyway.

"You're right. Especially around this time of year. Christmas is for friends and family and God, si?" she replied with a little smile. "And all that means is that you always look good, silly Sev."

She noticed Prewett watching them and subtly raised an eyebrow at him. Nosy, nosy man.

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Severus actually hadn't seen Lily since they graduated. He couldn't stand to see her with Potter. They weren't friends at that point, so he never got any requests to meet up, so the two never saw each other, except on the off chance he went to Godric's Hollow (only once did he do this, and it was to speak with Bathilda, he had seen her in her house, and did nothing else).

Severus wasn't sure if he was actually staying calm and collected. He felt almost completely astounded by her, and having a great time speaking with her, he had a hard time focusing on anything, such as his protective barrier he had been hiding behind for many years. What was wrong with him? He hadn't felt so nervous since he saw Lily at the ball in their 4th year, she wore a beautiful baby blue dress that day.

"Yes. And I managed to keep the Carrows away. I do not believe many students would want to share their Christmas with them snooping around here," Severus commented with a small chuckle. He didn't have to like them, and so he didn't. It wasn't like the Death Eaters all liked each other. In fact it was the opposite. Everyone seemed to dislike and distrust everyone in that group. "I would disagree with that, but there is no sense in arguing about how good I look. Have you had a good day?"

[Marissa Lianne Cavaliere]

Mari had recieved letters from Lily after graduation. They had been about silly domestic things, but Lily had tried to subtly ask about how Italy was recovering. The Third Civil War had just ended towards the beginning of their sixth year. Mari had always pretended that she hadn't noticed Lily's questions.

She hadn't gotten nervous around a guy since...Vinny, in their third year. She didn't want to think about that, though. She didn't want to think about Vinny, and she didn't want to think about betraying him by having those sort of feelings for his best friend. So she wouldn't, she decided. She would avoid it entirely.

"Oh, grazie a Dio! I never liked them, sadistic bastards," she complained, hands on her hips. "And you're getting better at picking your fights, my friend! My day has been fine. Busy, of course; the war at home waits for no-one, but I'm not in Alghero anymore, which is a blessing in and of itself."

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Severus banished the thoughts of Lily and how out of touch the two fell after their 'breakup' in his 6th year. But she would never leave him, but it didn't mean that someone could share his heart if there were different circumstances. But since he was spying for the Order, without them even knowing, fulfilling the wishes of a dead man, and working hard to defeat Voldemort, he couldn't let anyone into his heart... at least that was what he thought.

But with Marissa, he couldn't help but feel this odd feeling he was feeling towards her. It was a fairly strong pull, but he tried to push such thoughts away. He wasn't successful. He wrote it off as feeling close to a friend, but deep down he knew it wasn't true. He couldn't think of his best friend's wife, even if he was dead. Lily was still in his heart, and Vinny wouldn't want him to think in this way about the one he loved, right?

"It was the least I could do. I believe that many appreciate that they did not come," Severus commented with a small smile, feeling very grateful that he had insisted on this ball, "I try." Severus was happy she wasn't in Alghero anymore, less immediate trouble here, even though it was very dangerous here as well, just not as dangerous, "That is quite a blessing. I do hope that both of these wars end soon... I do not wish to loose you..." Severus paused and then, to cover his tracks, he added, "Or Chris, or anyone else."

[Marissa Lianne Cavaliere]

Marissa honestly didn't have time for romance. She was a very busy woman, what with her duties in England and the continued war in Italy. It had only bee through a lot of convincing on her part that she'd managed to get transferred to Britain. Luckily, the Council had been against splitting her and Marisol up. They figured that Mari would be able to temper some of her sister's more...war-mongering tendencies.

They were wrong, but she would let them continue to think that. It kept her out of Alghero.

Mari, on the other hand, was very much aware of the fact that they would not be escaping their current situation without bloodshed. There was much built-up antipathy between her people and the British because of the actions of the Death Eaters. It didn't help England's cause that the Ministry had refused to acknowledge that it was former Death Eaters helping the Auditore. Blood would be spilt. What remained to be seen was whose.

That seriously complicated her newly-discovered "feelings" for Severus. She was sure that Vinny wouldn't want her to spend her life alone, but she couldn't betray him or her nation. She would reserve judgement until more peaceful times.

"I certainly do," she replied, wrinkling her nose. The Carrows ranked up there as some of the people that she despised most in the world. "I'm sure that Chris is also happy that he's not dead! It's hard to ruin your children's social lives from the afterlife."

She smiled, eyes crinkling up at the corners in that way she'd never liked, at her own joke. She enjoyed teasing her older brothers.

[Severus Tobias Snape]

Everything was always so complicated when it came to him. Whether internally, or to other people. Rarely people knew very much about him truly. Even in school, he was a fairly secretive person, and his friends didn't know everything that went on with him. If they compared notes on him, perhaps they would know a lot more than any person ever. But Lily always seemed to understand him extremely well, despite him hiding things from even her. She just seemed to either guess them or infer them about him.

And now, everything was even more complicated than his father and his... tendencies when Sev was at home. Death Eaters, politics, Dumbledore, this war, their war, everything seemed even more clouded than ever before. Could he ever truly have happiness ever? He was sure he was going to die, but not before the job he was given had been complete. No one knew, nor ever would know, how hard it was to help out Potter while keeping his cover from some of the brighter witches and wizards. Voldemort was flawed, but no one could deny he was not extremely smart. To fool Voldemort (and every single person in the wizarding world, mind you) and complete his mission seemed like a lost cause. But he was going to do his best to complete it. There couldn't be room for such feelings like he had been feeling around Mari. All his effort and attention had to go to his mission. Not to allowing his happiness, not to allowing feelings, not to allowing clouds in his judgement, and most of all, not to allowing himself to love someone again. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted, or his mission would fail, no matter how much he wanted to finally be happy, and finish his punishment for doing his unspeakable deed in the past. He wasn't sure he would ever fulfill his punishment until the day he died, though.

"Understandable," Severus commented back, without adding the 'there are plenty of people I would want dead as well', because that might bring up some things he did not want to talk about. He couldn't tell the truth, and while the master of lies, he didn't want to lie to Marissa right now. Voldemort, the Carrows, the Auditore, the Death Eaters in general were all on his list of those he wanted to die. All those who threatened Harry were in his bad books. It was his job to protect the boy. "I'm sure his children don't appreciate that fact," Sev noted back with a small smile. Since when did he smile in public? If someone were to notice... And so, Sev straightened his face, and returned to his normal fairly blank face.