Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters (except Melanie, Jack and Will.) and am not making a profit out of this. Every-wonderful-thing else belongs to J. K. Rowling.
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All That Glitters...
Chapter One
Beginnings
It had been nearly immediately after Voldemort's defeat. Severus had wondered for a long time what would happen to him, lying on his bed in a room above the Leaky Cauldron. He had provided Dumbledore with all the information he could for the past three and a half years and now, finally, his work was done. It didn't so much matter that he had an upcoming trial in a few days, it wasn't important that he didn't believe Dumbledore's influence would be enough to save him from the clutches of Barty Crouch. The only thing that truly mattered to him was that he no longer needed to be by Voldemort's side, that he would not be forced to commit any more atrocities. He was free at last, free even if it meant Azkaban. He supposed it was good enough that Dumbledore had been able to pull some strings for him to await the trial in freedom, but his kind act had been almost in vain; there was nothing for Severus out there, no one to say goodbye. The only person he had ever cared for, or that had ever cared for him was Dumbledore, whom he loved like a father. And, like a true father's, his love had resisted Severus' dark actions, and he had once again placed his entire trust on the former Death Eater. This time, Severus hadn't disappointed him. He vowed he never would again.
In the end, his suspicions proved unfounded as the trial ended up being more pro forma than anything else. Dumbledore had given a remarkable statement on his behalf, reinforcing that he found him to be a hundred percent reliable, and he had walked astonishedly free. This had left him with another problem: he had almost no money left, no job, and nowhere to go. He'd been too convinced of winding up in Azkaban to worry about it before, and now he didn't know what to do. He had returned to the Leaky Cauldron for another week, which he spent unsuccessfully looking for a job. It seemed every door was closed to him, which came as no surprise; after all, your average wizard wasn't exactly as forgiving as Dumbledore. On the last day he could afford to remain there, however, he had gotten an owl from the Headmaster asking if he would be so kind as to drop by Hogwarts that afternoon. Considering he had nothing better to do, and that he couldn't say no to the old wizard, he'd scribbled an affirmative reply and apparated to Hogsmeade. Even that Dumbledore had managed to allow him to keep, his apparating license. The Headmaster had truly given him much, much more than he deserved. And was about to give more, as Severus discovered with a shock.
He remembered their conversation completely. Dumbledore had been waiting for him at the gates of Hogwarts, a kind smile that extended to his twinkling blue eyes.
"Ah, Severus, I've been expecting you. Come, let us talk in my office."
Severus had simply followed, obediently. After they were both comfortably sitting in the Headmaster's office, with a tea cup in hand and some cookies to go along, the older wizard had finally seen fit to reveal the purpose of their encounter.
"I understand you have been looking for a job."
"I have."
"It also came to my attention that you have been unable to find one."
"That is correct."
"And, if I'm not mistaken, you've made quite an extensive research on muggle chemistry over the years."
"How could you be mistaken, Headmaster," Severus' voice held a touch of irony "when you yourself helped me in the pursuit of such knowledge?"
"Ah, yes, of course. I have a deal to offer you, Severus."
"A deal?" This proposition would have made him wary coming from anyone else but, from Dumbledore, it merely aroused his curiosity.
"Yes. You see, Severus, I am fully aware that you now know there are no significant distinctions between Muggles and ourselves."
"I do."
"However, I feel that your knowledge is abstract at best. It doesn't come from interaction, it comes from logic."
"Your point being?"
"I will provide you with a job in a Muggle school, teaching Chemistry. I will also provide the necessary money for your first month of stay and food. If you accept my offer you are to live as a Muggle for a full year, after which the position of Potions Master at this school will be yours if you'll have it. Professor Quartermain will be retiring by then, and I cannot think of anyone more qualified than yourself. You may, of course, have time to think about this, and you may stay here at Hogwarts while you do so. I will think no less of you if you decline."
Severus' mind had been reeling with so many questions he didn't know where to start. He ended up choosing one of the least likely. "You don't think parents will complain endlessly about such a dark influence as myself?"
"They will simply have to trust my better judgement. You have, after all, been acquitted. I have full confidence in both your skills and your character, Severus."
"Headmaster-"
"Albus. You are no longer my student, after all."
"Albus. You then have far more confidence in me than I have in myself."
"Well, you must surely work on your self confidence, then." Once again, a familiar twinkle in kind blue eyes.
"I must tell you now, Head... Albus, that I am in no way looking forward to living among Muggles for a day, let alone a year. However, if that is your wish, I will do it. I would do it even without the offer of the Potions' position. You have done far more for me than I could possibly deserve."
"No, Severus, I haven't done nearly enough. You have more than expiated your sins." The twinkle turning to a compassionately sad expression. "And I wouldn't tell you to live in Muggle London if I didn't believe it to be in your best interest. But I want you to know that you can have Hogwarts to call home, if you'd like. Always. And you can count on me when you need anything."
"Thank you, Hea... Albus. I have but one request."
"Yes?"
"The Potion for Dreamless Sleep. I might have need for it. May I-"
"Yes, Severus, of course you may. We must all be allowed to handle our inner ghosts in our own, personal ways. I would know, trust me. Ghosts tend to grow in numbers with old age, my friend."
He had no answer to this, so he had just quietly accepted it and, after a crash course on Muggle living given by Professor Shoolbred, the Muggle Studies teacher at the time, he had set off to "Muggleland".
----
The day was rather chilly when Severus apparated in an alley. He felt it fitting in both temperature and location, but, of course, discretion was necessary. It was far more difficult to apparate without previously knowing the place, but he'd had a pretty good description plus some coordinates to help. He set off to search for one Mrs. Boulstridge, owner of a Bed & Breakfast called Bed & Breakfast. How original. Considering his lack of familiarity with Muggle London he found the place rather easily, in a relatively quiet street with a few houses, two groceries, a bakery and a pub, the Thames. It turned out he was expected, Professor Shoolbred had made a call to place a reservation. Phones were something he still had trouble understanding.
After two and a half months of living at Bed & Breakfast and working at a school Dumbledore had referred him to under the name of Steve Snook, he was fairly sure the Muggle world held no more surprises. Teachers were underpaid, rent was overpriced, room neighbours were over noisy, landladies were overfriendly and students were overconfident. There was one of his room neighbours, one William Prescott who had refused to be intimidated by his distant attitude and who had grown to be something more than an acquaintance, if less than a friend. He had moved to London from another town - Severus' memory refused to burden itself with which - and was staying there as a temporary arrangement while he searched for a house. It made Severus feel almost jealous, the possibility of a house and its accompanying privacy. But, alas, it was something he could not afford on his salary, and anything he couldn't have, he didn't need.
Time went buy until he awoke to what it seemed like yet another uneventful Thursday. He was feeling somewhat depressed when he left the school that afternoon and wanted nothing more than to have a warm bath and a good night's sleep. Not that he actually believed he would get the first one, he'd already had a shower that morning and bath water was limited at the Bed, but one could hope. What he didn't know was that he wouldn't get the latter either.
Shortly after dinner he rose to go to his room. He had no patience for idle chit-chat or for sitting like the rest of them lambs in adoration of the TV-thing. When he was reaching the top of the stairs he nearly bumped into a neatly dressed William.
"Steve, old chap, I've been meaning to talk to you!" he said cheerfully. Severus arched an eyebrow, not sure what was more outrageous, being called 'old' or 'chap'. The other man, however, took it as a sign to continue. "You see, there's this bloke, Jack Cohen, and he's a good friend of mine, and I sort of promised I'd go to the birthday party of this friend of his he wants me to meet."
"And? I fail to see what this has to do with me."
"You would, wouldn't you, I haven't finished talking yet! Well, it seems this woman said bring anyone you like, so I thought it the perfect opportunity for you to get out of that funeral type clothing you're so fond of and celebrate something. She's supposed to be something else." At this William winked and Severus nearly fell down the stairs in shock. Surely he couldn't be hearing this, this person trying to set him up with a woman, now, could he?
"I will dismiss this little conversation as a result of something you ate or drank, William, and fervently hope you feel better in the morning and have regained the full use of your somewhat dimmed senses. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get some much-deserved rest. After a day of students I get you. Honestly!"
William had only laughed and gone after him to try to convince him, saying the party was at the Thames and that he could leave whenever he wanted to, etc, etc, etc. Severus would never know in years how William had managed to talk him into it but, in the end, and after the promise he would never again be forced to attend any other party, he had grudgingly accepted, albeit refusing to get out of his 'funeral type clothing'. It exasperated him to no end to have to give in to the other man, but he wouldn't shut up, and Severus decided it was better to sit for five minutes with the creature he was supposed to be meeting than to listen to William's blabbering outside his door for the rest of the night. It was so much easier with students, he thought, sighing mentally, at least they were quickly intimidated into submission.
He wouldn't have resisted had he known how much that night would alter his life.
----
They arrived at the Thames a little more than fashionably late. Severus thought it all for the best. The bar was dimly lit in a pleasant sort of way; it had small, low, round tables, a huge counter that occupied an entire corner and a small stage that suggested sometimes there was live music for entertainment. Such was not the case that night.
The contrast between the two men couldn't have been deeper. William had brown, short, neatly cut hair, hazel brown eyes and wore blue jeans with a light blue sports shirt. Severus, on the other hand, hadn't changed his haircut, and neither had he given up his preference for black: he wore black trousers and a black, long-sleeved shirt, buttoned all the way to the top.
His eyes quickly scanned the "crowd" of about fifteen people that had taken over three of the small tables, searching for the creature to congratulate. He didn't even know her name, although he suspected that would be provided for shortly. There was no birthday cake on the table, so he couldn't identify her by it, and there were about six women. Before he had a chance to really look at them, though, one of the men got up and called out to William. He seemed almost misplaced among the other guests, in his three-piece suit and tie.
"Will, we were beginning to think you wouldn't make it! I was giving you another twenty minutes before going to get you at that Bed & Breakfast, even if it meant dragging you out of bed!"
Severus winced inwardly at the clear intrusion in privacy these men talked of so casually. If someone talked about dragging him out of bed, no matter how jokingly, he felt murder would be an option.
"Nah, I wouldn't miss it for the world! Just had some trouble convincing Steve over here! Jack Cohen, Steve Snook."
The other man extended a hand that Severus shook out of obligation rather than friendliness, and proceeded with the presentations. After he was finished it became clear that the creature wasn't there; she had, according to what he'd been told, gone to fetch the cake from the fridge, so he sat, reassuring himself that he would leave as soon as he got to say happy birthday. Then he saw her.
The woman at the entrance holding the cake couldn't have been older than 23. (She was, as he discovered shortly after, actually just turning 19). She had bright blue eyes and black, raven like hair that framed her face perfectly as it fell past her shoulders. Her dress was the same colour of her eyes, and only seemed to bring them out more. It was tight fitting until shortly below her breasts, after which it fell loosely, ending slightly above her knees. Her sleeves followed the same pattern, beginning to loosen only at the elbow. He thought she was, indeed, a sight for sore eyes. And God knew his were sore enough...
"At last, Mel, I was beginning to think you'd let us all get drunk on an empty stomach!" Cried Jack, mockingly. She gave him such a radiant smile Severus thought they had something going on, until he realised that was her usual smile.
"No, the food's here, you monsters!"
Monster. How appropriate. If only she knew.
She set the cake on the table and Jack decided it was time to introduce them. "Mel, this is Will, the friend I've been telling you about."
"Well, hi at last, Will, you wouldn't believe how much I've heard about you."
"Oh, lets see, if it's about half as much as I've heard about you, I'd say I have a pretty good idea. Happy Birthday!"
As they were laughing, discomfort once again settled in Severus' heart and he cursed himself for his stupidity. How could he have been convinced into coming? He was a stranger here, and had nothing to say, no titbit of common history to share. He wasn't even a friend's friend, he was, at best, friend's friend's friend. How could one trust in something that even grammatically seemed illogical? His musing was interrupted by Jack's voice
"And this is Steve, he's a friend of Will's."
"Steve Snook" he mumbled, extending his hand "Happy Birthday!"
"Melanie Winters. My friends usually call me Mel, you can call me whatever you'd like." was the cheerful reply as she ignored his hand and kissed him soundly on the cheeks.
"I didn't... bring you a present." He hadn't really worried about it before, but now, for some reason, it was bothering him plenty.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm just glad you could make it. Besides, if I well know Jack, he must have told Will about, what, two hours ago?" She spun her head to look inquiringly at Jack, who nodded, looking somewhat embarrassed. "So, if you came with Will, you didn't even have time to think about that! Really, don't let that get to you! This Jack" she shook her head affectionately "the way he forgets things, nobody would say he is a lawyer."
"I don't forget work things!" was the mockingly shocked reply reply.
"Oh, sorry, of course not, you only forget friend's birthdays!"
"And I didn't forget your birthday. I'm here, aren't I?"
"How could you forget, when I've been reminding it to you about twice a day for the past week?" But there was no resentment in her tone and, hearing them laugh, Severus had a flash of what it would be like to truly belong to a group like that. Then it was gone and they settled to sing Happy Birthday and eat the cake.
As the night progressed, he found her more and more interesting. He had thought someone so young would have a short span of attention and limited subjects to talk about, but then Jack told them in a conspiratorial tone that she was what people called "gifted" and he understood why he had been mistaken. She had already finished college at her age, had a full time job doing exactly what she liked and was studying to learn other subjects as well, but Jack warned them both not to bring it up, she hated being seen as a rarity instead of a regular person. Severus thought she would change her mind after she'd met a few more "regular people".
Then the bar closed for the night, most of the people went home and it was only the four of them. Considering he'd planned on leaving right after "Happy Birthday", he was remarkably reluctant to do so, and accepted without thinking when she invited them to go to her house, that turned out to be just across the street.
They talked until it was morning and time for him to go to school. They had even managed to discuss chemistry. Severus had never once had a feeling of belonging like the one he felt with her. It pained him to leave behind what had been the best night of his life, and it occurred to him as he signalled the bus that would lead him to school that Dumbledore had been right all along. Practical knowledge had nothing to do with abstract one and, if that was a glimpse of what the Muggle world had to offer, then he had clearly underestimated it.
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Thanks a million to my reviewers, you have no idea what it means to me to know someone liked what I wrote. :D Thank you Isis, Cassandra Greenleaf, Sapphire and Kylesmom
