Severus Snape was not a man known for exciting endeavors. He was no doubt a boring man, some might even argue an unlikable one, with little patience for the frivolous flights of fancy. He was well aware of his role in life: teach Chemistry at the secondary school he was employed at, avoid wringing any incompetent necks, go home, and grade papers over a glass of red wine (or scotch, depending on his day). And Severus was more than content to keep to his routine.
Except on Saturdays, around noon.
On Saturdays, Severus would always be sure to either have brunch or an early supper, in order to free up the two hours before noon and the two hours after.
During those hours, Severus always would go to the small bookstore that sat nestled in the middle of Rosewood street.
There wasn't anything special about the bookstore. It was small, never very crowded, and it always seemed that the employees were impossible to locate when one wished to make a purchase. In all honesty, Severus would have hated the little store. But, on Saturdays, around noon, Severus would spend several hours in the bookstore. Simply to watch him.
He was a young man, tall and wiry. His black hair was always a mess, and he had brilliant green eyes behind his glasses. And he always would come in on Saturdays around noon to peruse the Romance section. He was a beautiful young man, and Severus was well aware of the fact that he was probably twice the man's age. No doubt the young man was only a few years older than some of his students, and it certainly wouldn't be appropriate for Severus to pursue him.
But there was no harm in looking. And imagining.
There were plenty of ideas why a beautiful young man like that would be in a bookstore, alone, browsing the Romance section. Perhaps he was recovering from a poor breakup, and burying his heartbreak in romance novels, perhaps he was an artist seeking inspiration for his next work.
Though if that was the case, Severus would have to admit the man had poor taste. The novels were awful…and Severus might know that because he always purchased the same book that the young man did. And he would often spend the week splattering the poorly written books with red ink.
In fact, whenever Severus was in the bookstore, he would always pick the ratted old armchair in the back of the store, the one that had a perfect view of the Romance section, and would finish his "corrections" of the novel he had read that week.
That week, Severus had been in his chair for half an hour before he heard the bell at the store entrance chime as the door opened.
Briefly, Severus looked up to see the young man of his obsession, wearing his usual easy smile and messy hair. Though this time, in contrast to all sightings in the past, he was holding the hand of a young boy.
As the two of them made their way to the Children's section (and not the Romance section), Severus couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt settling in his gut. It wasn't as if Severus had known the man had a son, but there was still the residual societal guilt of lusting over a married man. Severus could only see a partial view of the young man and his son in the Children's section (he was sitting on the floor, reading to the boy), but that didn't stop Severus's imagination from running wild. Had his mystery man married his schoolyard sweetheart and started his family early? Perhaps a night of youthful passion had led to an unexpected pregnancy. Was the mother in the picture?
Severus wasn't above hoping that she wasn't.
The two were partway through reading Stega Nona when the door to the bookstore's backroom opened, and a man that Severus recognized as the store's owner stepped out. Severus had only seen the scruffy looking owner on a handful of occasions (usually when the air-head blonde at the check out counter had trouble scanning Severus's purchases…Severus hated having the man look at the romance books he purchased), but even he could tell that the men had not slept well the previous night. With dark circles under his eyes, and his usually suave long hair in disarray, the man was a wreck.
Both the boy and Severus's mystery man looked up at the sound. The boy's eyes lit up at the sight of the ragged store owner, "Papa!"
Despite his tired appearance, the store owner didn't hesitate to smile as the little boy ran into his arms, "There's my little Teddy bear!" He laughed, picking the boy, Teddy, into a tight hug, "Did you have fun at Uncle Harry's?"
As Teddy began to babble happily to his father, Severus's mind went at a mile an hour. Well at least he knew the young man's name, Harry, and apparently he was a brother (or brother in law) to the shop owner. That was an interesting development…
In the time that Severus was thinking, Harry had made his way from his spot in the Children's section to where the shop keeper held Teddy in his arms, "Sirius, did you sleep here last night?"
"It's closer to the hospital than our house…" Sirius yawned, "And Luna called in sick."
"You didn't need to open the shop then, Sirius." Harry rolled his eyes, "…how is Remus, by the way?"
"He's stable now, though he gave me quite a scare last night." Sirius nodded, "Thanks for watching Teddy."
"Anytime, Sirius."
Sirius smirked, "Shall I let you get back to your date then?"
As Harry delivered a punch to Sirius's arm, followed by several harsh whispers, Severus couldn't help but feel a sense of disappointment at the word "date." Not that he was delusional enough to think that handsome Harry would remain single for his life, but still…
"Sorry about that."
Severus looked up from his book (which he had not been genuinely reading for quite some time) to see Harry's green eyes looking down at him. "Excuse me?"
"Sorry about the noise." Harry clarified, nodding to where Sirius had taken Teddy behind the front desk. "I know you like to read in silence."
Severus blinked, his mind attempting to catch up with the situation, "…it's no problem…" He cleared his throat, "So you were babysitting?"
"Oh, yeah." Harry nodded, "Family emergency, Sirius didn't want Teddy spending the night at the hospital…He's a good kid."
"I imagine so, not many children his age sit quietly in a bookstore."
"True, but then again, both of his dads work with books, so it was inevitable…"
They drifted into an awkward silence, Severus crossing one leg over the other, and Harry shifting from foot to foot.
Finally, Harry cleared his throat, "So…Damsel in the Spirits…I would ask if you're enjoying the read, but judging from the red pen…" He gave a meaningful look down at the red-covered pages of the trashy romance, "Are you a critic?"
"…in a sense…"
"Yeah, I can't say I enjoyed that one either…" Harry nodded, "Honestly, I can't seem to find any romance novel that doesn't make me want to gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon." He chuckled weakly, "Do you have any suggestions on what I should read?"
Severus didn't. How could he? He only read the books Harry read, and he hated each and every one. He didn't even know what he was going to read next.
"…I hate romance…" Severus admitted weakly.
Harry blinked, "But you're in here every week with a new romance."
So Harry had been noticing him in the back corner. Severus cleared his throat, trying his best not to humiliate himself further, "I…just buy the romance books you buy."
Severus might have expected several different reactions from the handsome young man, but an ugly snort was not one of them. Then again, Severus didn't imagine such an ugly sound coming from Harry.
Harry covered his mouth, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, "I'm so sorry…it's just…I only go to the Romance section because I see you reading a romance novel every week."
The two lapsed into silence once more, though this time it was not nearly as awkward. Both were simply processing the information they had received.
Despite his usually dour mood, Severus chuckled first. Harry followed suit, though he stopped once he began to laugh to hard he snorted again.
"So how did we get started with bad romances?"
"I haven't the foggiest."
Harry smiled softly, "So…did you want to continue tearing that novel apart…or did you perhaps want to go get some coffee?"