Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, the characters, the settings, and the details are not my own. J.K Rowling holds the rights to these wonderful things, and I am in awe of her talent. I own only my original characters, and of those there are not many.

Chapter Three: Motion

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!/ The world forgetting, by the world forgot./ Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!/ Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd;" –Alexander Pope "Eloisa to Abelard"

When Severus woke in the morning he knew that this was going to be a bad day. He could hear the rain slamming into the house, carried by the unforgiving winds off the ocean. When he went downstairs he found Magellan sitting in front of the doggy door, giving it a look of extreme mistrust. He turned the coffee pot on before digging through the closet to find his largest umbrella, a slicker, and boots. When he had finished outfitting himself for the weather he carefully led Magellan outside into the front yard, giving them a small buffer from the weather by the bulk of the house. Magellan walked daintily under the umbrella, finishing his business quickly and then leading Severus back inside. Severus had originally found Magellan in the middle of a storm, and since then the dog had shown a hatred for the bad weather. He put a small cup of food out before pouring himself a mug of coffee and standing in front of the window.

The ocean was gray and the waves slammed themselves into his shingle of beach. Later he would check the weather to see if the storm was expected to pass soon, or intensify. For now he simply enjoyed the reflection the weather seemed to have on his mood. Today would be a fine day for stew, but it would require a trip into town for supplies. While he had become used to driving in this weather he rarely went out when it stormed like this. His musing was interrupted by a knock at the front door. Magellan beat him there, and released one small bark to inform Severus that there was indeed a sound he needed to respond to. He gave the small dog a look before opening the door.

The bundled figure on the front steps moved past Severus into the house, and pulled her hood back as soon as she stepped in. She let out a whoosh of breath before heading to his fireplace and turning the gas on. When the pilot had been sparked, and the fire was burning merrily she looked over her shoulder at him. Familiar blue-green eyes sparkled with merriment as she put her hands in front of the fire and briskly rubbed them. "Your visitor is still asleep."

Severus sat on his couch and watched her remove her slicker and hang it from the coat rack. She picked up two tumblers, and sat across from him pouring both of them two fingers of bourbon. Severus picked his glass up without a word, and tilted it towards her.

"He's cute and real angry. Where'd he come from?"

"England." Severus sipped at the bourbon and made a face. "Where did you get this?"

She laughed and downed her own in one gulp. "The red dot. Y'know I keep asking them for better stuff, and they keep offering me this. I finally just bought it."

Severus shook his head and finished his glass before putting it down. "You should have continued to refuse. What happened to that wonderful whiskey you had?"

"I finished it last night with your friend. I still have some of that White Lightning, but it's a bit early for that. Wanna tell me what his deal is?"

Severus closed his eyes and considered his words carefully. "He is the son of a childhood friend. She died and he came here. I believe he may delusional."

She chuckled and poured herself another drink. "Aren't we all? He's a talky drunk though."

Severus lifted an eyebrow at her. "What did he say?"

"Mostly just that you were a bastard. Used some of your Brit slang, and waved his arms around angrily. Called you crazy. Went to bed, and woke me up hollering."

Severus leaned forward. "What was he yelling about?"

She shrugged and looked out the window towards the side yard. The rain had intensified while they sat talking. "Not much in the way of words. I didn't wake him, but I figured he was having nightmares something awful."

"Did he ask questions about me?"

She gave Severus a sly look. "You making stew tonight? I do love your stew. Warms a body like nothing else."

Severus had to repress the urge to chuckle. It wouldn't do to give her the idea she could easily gain a dinner invitation. "Maybe. I would have to visit town, and the weather is a hindrance to that."

She licked her lips and screwed the cap back on the bottle. "Well I maybe don't remember what he asked. I reckon I was drinking pretty heavy last night."

Severus narrowed his eyes and watched her stand up. This wouldn't be the first time she resorted to extortion. "Yes. I believe I will make stew. It is the sort of day that makes it enjoyable."

She grinned at him and pointed towards the porch. They had known each other long enough to have a series of signals that required no words. Nona wanted a cigarette, and he followed her out onto the blustery porch. She struggled to get it lit, and when it was she looked out towards the small road.

"He asked me how long you've lived here, what you were like, and how well I knew you and I told him. Seemed pretty damn pleased with my answers. Weird kid."

"He is hardly a child."

She took a long drag off her cigarette and considered the road some more. "Seems to be younger than us anyway." She patted a stray bit of hair back into place and finished her cigarette beside Severus in silence. He appreciated this about Nona more than he'd ever admit, that the woman was capable of being silent for long periods of time. She extinguished her cigarette and deposited the butt in her jeans pocket. "Want me to bring him over for stew later?"

She opened the front door and removed her slicker, sliding it back on and waving goodbye to Magellan. Severus watched her economical movements, and noticed she had left her bourbon. He considered his words carefully. "That would be fine."

"Good. I'll keep him busy till supper. Got a couple household things he can do to make up the cost of his room."

She paused for a moment and Severus knew she had something she wanted to say but couldn't phrase appropriately. Finally she turned back to him and said in that soft drawl he knew so well, "Maybe go easy on the kid? Seems kinda wounded and lonely."

She didn't wait for a response, and disappeared into the rain. Severus went back into the house, and headed for the small upstairs bathroom. With the modest amount of money left over from his parents death, and what he had saved in his years working he had been able to buy this place. It didn't have much in the way of size, but it made up for it with placement and view. It had originally been Nona's home, but she had wanted to move into the inn to better handle her guests. The purchase deal had been made over a bottle of scotch, and she had stated that she was lowering the price because it would be good to have a man nearby who could keep up with her drinking. He had never called her an alcoholic, but he had considered it. The woman could drink large amounts of liquor, and rarely ever showed it.

He showered slowly, savoring the hot water as long as it lasted. When it was gone he toweled off and dressed for town. The drive required careful handling, and he watched the oncoming lanes as he moved around downed tree branches. Hurricane season was over, but one could never be too careful. When he reached Gracie's market he parked in the almost empty lot and headed inside. Gracie was waiting to open the door for him. He moved past her with a nod and gathered the ingredients he would need before returning to the checkout. She rang him up cheerily discussing the weather, and Severus nodded politely through her steady stream of talk.

The drive back went a bit faster, and Severus made three trips to bring everything in. After he placed all the ingredients out on the counter, and dropped the onion in the freezer, he began the careful process of measuring and chopping. A Potions professor indeed. His mother had once been an excellent brewer, and Severus had taken after her in that respect. It required an eye to detail and a level of patience that Severus had always had, but there hadn't been many opportunities to develop those skills here in the States. He had briefly considered going back to the U.K. to study for a Mastery, but with his father's death and his mother's unstable state he had chosen to stay and care for her. He thought he would have made a fine professor though.

As he finely diced the garlic and stirred the melting bouillon he imagined a classroom of his own in the Hogwarts dungeons. He pictured striding in, dressed in black teaching robes. Much like a novel or a movie, Severus imagined that the trick to teaching was to begin with a good hook. How would he begin his class? The meat had browned and he added it to the pot before removing the onion from the freezer and beginning to carefully chop it. He slid the chopped onion in too and turned up the heat. Almost without conscious thought he turned to Magellan and said, "I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper on death."

Magellan looked at him strangely, and Severus felt the strength go out of his legs. He made it to the kitchen table before he fell into one of the chairs there. The stew had begun to boil dangerously before he came back to himself. It had been a vivid fantasy, and maybe because of the story he was told the night before his imagination had added a smaller version of Harry in that fictional classroom. Furiously writing notes and peering up through glasses almost comically huge on his small face. Severus turned the heat down, and covered the stew before setting the timer. He considered the bottle of bourbon Nona had left, and then rejected it. He would not be drunk when Harry showed up spouting his stories. He'd let the man affect him enough already.

Harry and Nona arrived as Severus was testing the stew. Magellan stood silently beside the front door, pointedly waiting for Severus to open it and let Nona in. The dog had always liked Nona. When he ushered them both in out of the storm he was surprised to see that Harry seemed happy tonight. The young man was smiling like an idiot as he put his borrowed slicker on the coat rack. Nona kept shooting concerned glances at him and then looking at Severus. She moved past the two of them into the kitchen.

Severus watched Harry closely, and then gestured towards the kitchen. Harry nodded smugly and walked in, that insipid smile still on his face. This was becoming concerning. Nona had sliced the bread and put the pot on the trivet so they could serve themselves. She looked up at the two of them, and then shook her head. "Ya'll should sit down. Eating standing is a good way to get a stomachache."

Severus took his seat and ladled himself a bowl of stew. Harry followed his movements, and then as Severus was lifting the first steaming spoon to his mouth Harry leaned forward and spoke, triumph evident in his voice. "Snape, Nona here says you only moved in two years ago. What do you say to that?"