Getting a background wasn't hard; Edward Von, locally known simply as Eddie, lived and worked above his daughter's apothecary shop in Arcanus, and was the best in the business according to Severus, and Hollis presumed he knew far more about that than she did. It cost her a fair bit, of course, but she felt it was worth it when she was presented with a large manila envelope full of bona fides.

"Now that that's done, what's left?" Severus asked her in a low tone as they went down the staircase that led up from the alley to the door to Eddie's private offices.

Hollis considered it as they merged into the relatively light foot traffic on the main street. The whole area was lit by old fashioned street lamps and what looked like over two kilometers worth in strands of Christmas lights of all colors. The latest music from both worlds played just loud enough to be heard over the bustle of the street, but low enough that it still allowed for conversation.

Some shops were closed by now and their families indoors and sleeping, or browsing through their local night shops. Other shops had only opened for business a few hours ago. Some stores even doubled, taking on a whole new persona each night, a little like Cinderella or whatever that Muggle tale was - maybe the Twelve Dancing Princesses?

She wasn't sure when it had been deserted in her time exactly, but by the time America was attacked, everyone in Arcanus was gone. Not by Death Eater hands - none of the signs and destruction that Death Eaters usually left behind were there and Severus said he hadn't heard anything - but they were gone all the same. She didn't know where they had disappeared too, but the few times she had thought about it between things, she hoped they had somehow managed to maintain their autonomy and obscurity.

"Nothing that needs to be done immediately tonight," she finally said, answering Severus' earlier question. "How many surveys were turned in?"

"Only a few," he said. "The rest we shall have to wait for, if they are ever sent."

She shrugged. "I expected as much. Can you think of anything to do?"

"Do you plan on acquiring another gun?" he asked. Even though she hardly ever used it, Hollis, like everyone else thirteen and above on her base, had a gun specially made for her.

Everyone above the age of nine on her base were taught about guns - the different types, how to take them apart, put them together, clean them, general safety things, as well as how to aim and fire - under extremely strict supervision. A week before their thirteenth birthday, the child and their guardians would chose which type of gun they wanted - which was usually handguns, though larger guns like rifles and AK-47s became available after a person's 18th birthday - and it would be crafted for them. Until then, there was a large cabinet that the kids could get weapons from in case of an extreme emergency, which was the only time and the only way the cabinet could be unlocked without her magical signature.

The other bases' ages were higher - thirteen and fourteen to start learning, and gifted on their sixteenth birthdays - but she figured that guns, bizarrely enough, were the younger kids best defense. They could only learn a certain level of spell casting because of the way their magical core was still developing, and that meant that any adult magicals that had made it that far into the war could and would take them out in a heartbeat - but even a two year old could pull a trigger. With the right training, the children were lethal and could defend themselves adequately.

"I don't know," she said at last. She hadn't had her gun on her during the last battle, and therefore it wasn't with her now, but she didn't really intend on going through the effort to replace it. "I can't use it against Voldemort, and it's technically illegal to own one in the Muggle world - or it will be. I don't remember when the act was last updated. Maybe some other time."

Severus inclined his head slightly. "What about knives?"

That didn't take any thought at all. "Of course, though I never had to craft my own before. Is there a place to get them made the way we want? Do you need any?"

"Yes, and I know how to make them as well; I'll teach you," he said. "We need to get our blades here, though, and a place with a suitable level of ambient magic."

Hollis nodded; she knew that much about crafting. "That shouldn't be too difficult, right? Would Alice and Frank's work?"

"A lot of places could work - Hogwarts, Hogsmead, Diagon Alley, the Leaky Cauldron - here, even," he said. "But I do prefer a private residence. It's safer, and the Longbottoms should do. I know what kind of people they are, and the magic on that land will be better suited for our aims and blending with our own."

"Oh," was all she said in reply, following his lead across the street and back down towards Eddie's. He went past Eddie's, to the shop almost directly across from the salon/tattoo parlour she had looked at earlier with Alice. The building looked rather like a town house, only narrower, and had a black door with a blood red symbol imprinted on it.

It was a rune Hollis recognized, though it took her a moment to place it. It was an ancient predecessor of the protection rune, but it was darker and more violent than the modern one. It represented the protection you took into your own hands, the fight to protect loved ones, a home, a country, at any cost, even if it meant your own death or staining your hands and soul with cold-blooded murder.

It was a rune that Hollis felt applied to herself in a scarily apt way.

"This is Giovanni's," Severus said very quietly, breaking into her thoughts and pulling her eyes from the rune as they went up the stone steps. "He died around Christmas of '93, and his daughter - not an Arcanian despite being raised here - closed the shop, taking away the best weapons and armor shop in all of England."

Well, that explained why Hollis didn't know this shop. Time had certainly changed things, but most of the shops were family run and therefore kept their original purposes and spots, even if they expanded or narrowed down their selections in the future.

Severus entered the, unlike to the other stores, quiet and deserted building, and Hollis looked around curiosly. They went down the hall a little ways, where the first set of archways were - there was one on each side of the hall, perfect mirros of each other, and three more sets beyond that, with a plain wood door with an arched top at the very end of the hall.

The floor was hardwood in a curious shade of grey, and the decor was mostly in dark colors - dark reds and scarlets, blacks, deep blues and greys, royal purples and dashes of gold, silver, and the occassional bronze - and the set up was rather like a museum, everything kept behind glass cases. There was a spot in the room to her left that reminded her of Madam Malkin's, with a stool that you stood on, and a little counter with things like measuring tape and one of those forms laying on top. She presumed that Giovanni custom made the armor and that was where you were measured.

A faint chime had echoed through the building as they entered and it only took a moment for a short, stout man with a barrel chest and a protruding stomach to appear from the room two archways up and to the right. He had thick, curly black and grey hair that was cut short, and a beard that was more grey than black and covered the lower half of his face. It was neatly trimmed and his goatee came to a point about an inch below his chin. His face was kind of flabby, with thick eyebrows and a bulbous nose, and he wore loose, thin robes and a vest that reminded her of an Arab. Overall, he didn't look like he knew a hard day's work, much less anything about crafting armor, but then Hollis met his dark, keen eyes and was absolutely certain that this man missed nothing. They held the same intensity Severus' often did.

As quickly as his eyes had been on her, they moved back to Severus.

"Signor Snape!" he greeted warmly with a smile, his face brightening and becoming rather handsome. Vaguely startled by the older man's transformation, Hollis watched as he and Severus shook hands before Giovanni pulled Severus into a rib-cracking hug.

"Signor Giovanni," Severus replied back when he was released, his voice a tiny bit warmer than was customary. "I am in need of your work."

Giovanni waved a hand, turning his blinding smile on her. "We will get to that later - first! your friend. She is lovely, no?"

Hollis smiled back, deciding she kind of liked Giovanni so far. Not simply because he complimented her - though that never hurt - but because Severus clearly did; he had let Giovanni hug him.

"This is Elizabeth Grey, my..." Severus paused, his brow creasing slightly. "I've no idea what to call you, really," he informed Hollis. "Girlfriend seems so childish."

"But she is special?" Giovanni cut in as Hollis smiled wider, thoroughly amused and pleased to be introduced at all as someone important.

"Yes, Gio," Severus said, sounding almost long suffering.

Giovanni looked even happier, if it was possible, and moved forward, sweeping Hollis into a hug as well, rattling off something in Italian too fast for Hollis to understand him. She couldn't help but laugh - his good mood was so infectious - and she let herself be hugged. Giovanni felt like a grandfatherly figure as he let go enough to tuck her arm into his.

He started leading her towards a backroom, declaring, "You must be quite a woman to catch our Severus' eye. He is a hard man to please, is he not?"

"He can be," she said amusedly, flicking her gaze to Severus, who was following along behind them. He didn't seem all that displeased with their detour from their course - she'd even say he looked a bit smug, most likely over Giovanni's comments. "But he's not so bad," she couldn't resist adding. "A bit like a teddy bear deep down inside."

Severus' smug look was wiped away as he gave her a dirty, half-hearted glare and Giovanni burst into hearty laughter.

"I like this one! You are a keeper, bambina," he pronounced, pushing open another wooden door, this one a normal one Hollis could find in any house in England. They had entered into a lavish kitchen - she bet she could figure out why Giovanni held the figure he did - and he sat her down at a stool at the island in the middle. Severus sat next to her and Hollis watched her newest acquaintance putter around the kitchen, enjoying the scent of fresh bread that permeated the air.

More by habit than the thought that it was necessary, she noted the numerous windows off to her right, that appeared to lead out into garden enclosed by a high, stone wall. At the back of the kitchen, near a door that was likely to be a panty, there was another archway, this one smaller and less ornate, and she could make out the end of a staircase. It went both ways, leading to both the basement and to what was probaby his living quarters upstairs.

"Gio," Severus said. "What are you doing?"

"Feeding you, of course. You're both quite thin, yes? You need food - good food, not the poison you make."

"I am not a bad cook, Gio," Severus protested with a roll of his eyes. "And we came here for blades, not food."

"You knew when you came you'd be getting both," Giovanni countered. Severus had no answer for that as Giovanni looked at Hollis. "Are you allergic to anything?"

"Nope."

"Anything in particular you dislike?"

She considered it. "Squash. If I never eat another squash in my life, it'd be too soon," she said decisively.

Giovanni crinkled his big nose. "I dislike squash as well," he told her confidingly.


Severus could tell by the way Hollis smiled back that she was completely enarmored with Giovanni's large, cheeky, grandfatherly personality. Not that he minded; Gio had been one of the few friends he had that neither side of the war had ever known about. His death had been terrible and unexpected, and Severus was more than thankful to have more time with the man, and if he and Hollis got along, all the better.

The duo chatted easily about different foods and recipes as Gio went about baking his five-cheese ziti that he had made at some point and frozen. In the mean time, Gio served them drinks and a salad with a side of fresh bread.

Every now and then, the chime would sound and Gio would bustle off, but he always came back quickly and picked up exactly where their conversation had left off.

Over the ziti, Gio started in on the questions Severus had known was burning in the man's mind since he first laid eyes on Hollis.

"So," he started off innocently enough, "how did you and Severus meet?" Hollis had just taken a bite and she smiled a little ruefully as she chewed. Gio switched his gaze to Severus. "Well?" he prompted.

Severus considered it and decided that if he could trust anyone with the truth, it'd be Gio. That and he had always been fairly straight with Gio and didn't want to change that. "I need you to make an oath that you won't tell, Gio."

Giovanni looked taken aback, a little hurt even. "You know I wouldn't, Severus," he said.

"I know," Severus said. "Just humor me, please?"

Giovanni, dully, did as he was asked and Severus didn't need anymore prompting to spill their strange tale. He left out the prophecy and Hollis' real name, but the general information he gave was otherwise true. He noted that Hollis stopped eating and sort of flinched when he frankly admitted his death.

"And so here we are," Severus finished.

"You have always been one of my more interesting customers, Severus, though you blend better than most," Giovanni told him, then turned his gaze on Hollis. "And I was right, bambina - you are quite the young lady."

Hollis smiled vaguely. "Thank you, Giovanni."

"Just Gio will do," Giovanni said, though it lacked his usual good humor. "I'll be back," he added suddenly a few moments later. They watched him leave the room and Severus realized that what he had orginally thought was Hollis scratching her collar bone, was actually her fingering the fine silver chain she wore around her neck. It was not the first time he had seen it, but he had never caught sight of it's pendent - and he figured it had to have one because of the way someting pulled it down into a 'v'.

Now seemed as good of a time as any to ask, so he did. She pulled it out and laid it in her palm, showing the little black heart encased in silver. "It's pretty," he said.

"I always thought so," she said. She looked like she was thinking about saying something as she tucked it back into place, so he waited, wondering what it was. "I made it a portkey, actually. To your - his? - grave," she finally said softly.

"Oh," he said, a little surprised. "Maybe it's morbid and maudlin of me, but I'd like to see it someday."

"Okay," she said. They were quiet for a little bit, picking at their food - Giovanni was truly a phenomenal cook and the number one reason why Severus wasn't all that impressed with Molly Weasley's cooking - and then Hollis said, "What's Gio doing?"

"No idea. He can be a bit eccentric," Severus said amiably.

"I noticed. Very nice, though." He nodded. "So how did you two get to meet each other?"

Severus started to answer, but the kitchen door burst open and Giovanni hurried in, carrying two dark leather roll ups, one slimmer than the other. He set them on the marble countertop, but didn't not remove his hands from them.

"I want your word - each of you - that you will take these without fuss," Giovanni said seriously.

Severus knew immediately that it was something valuable and started to frown. "Gio - "

"No," Giovanni cut in. "Your word."

"Okay," Hollis said, surprising Severus. "You have mine." She looked at Severus and gave him a kind of wide eyed, charming smile that came this close to persuading him to concede without protest, but he knew her and therefore frowned more.

"I'll give you an O for effort," he said flatly.

The expression fell and she smiled faintly in a more normal way. "It was worth a shot. How close was I?"

"Close," he said. "But no."

"Very well," she said. "Can I accept on his behalf?"

"You could," Giovanni said with a little thought. "That should do just fine. But make sure he uses them."

"Elizabeth," Severus said warningly.

"Come on, Severus. Just...trust me on this, okay? I'm sure it'll be worth it and whatever it is, he obviously means well," she said rather firmly, an edge to her tone that was all too familiar. She wasn't just Hollis, then, she was the Field Marshal, and she expected him to fall in line.

Severus mulled it over as another part of him wondered how that edge, that authority she was so used to wielding, would play out in the future. She was not the type to abuse it, but it was something she was accustom too and was no longer leery of using, even against him. Which, he could see, could easily start irrtating him in the future.

He'd simply have to address it privately, he decided.

"Very well," he said out loud. "I'll agree this once."

She gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Severus."

He only nodded and Giovanni slid the leather carrier over to them. The larger one was closer to Hollis and she started to undo the ties on it as Severus opened the smaller one. He unrolled his and found bright, pristine tools perfect for crafting. As Hollis opened hers, he was unsurprised to see high quality black knives that were signature for Giovanni. There were half a dozen small blades of about three inches, and four longer blades of five inches.

"It's some of my best work," Giovanni told them solemnly.

"Giovanni," Severus said with a sigh. They were beautiful, and any other time, he'd have been more than happy to have them - he prefered high quality in all the things he owned if only because he couldn't afford to have something go wrong at the wrong moment; whatever he had, he had to be able to depend on it - but this...He knew that he couldn't have afforded even two of the small knives, much less all of these, in this time. These were the best of the best.

"You agreed," Giovanni said quickly. "And I know you're a man of your word." Severus gave him a look that told him exactly how he felt about that. Giovanni artfully ignored it and Severus' mouth thinned. "You'll be crafting your own blades, yes?" Severus nodded tersely. "And this was all you were looking for?" Hollis looked at him and he nodded again. "Don't be so angry, Severus," Giovanni implored him. "I think you've more than earned them by your actions in the future, not to mention the troubles you'll be going through now. And you want what's best for your lady, do you not?"

"Low blow, Gio, low blow," Severus muttered, the tips of his ears heating as a blush crept up Hollis' neck; she was doing a decent job of not smiling, though she was also clearly pleased - to his eyes - at being called his lady.

Of course he wanted Hollis to have the best knives she could - that's why he had come here. He knew Giovanni wouldn't have minded him paying in installments - had, in fact, expected the man to put up a fuss, trying to give him a discount - but getting this kind of work and that many knives for free had not been on the agenda.

Giovanni smiled slightly. "If it works, my young friend," was his reply. And then the coversation was over for him, and he started moving about his kitchen again, packing up various foods. Severus didn't bother even trying to fight that - Giovanni, without fail, always sent him home with some food, even when Severus insisted he was fine. Hollis glanced at him inquiringly and he simply shrugged, so she said nothing about either.

Nothing in Giovanni's kitchen was done quietly in Severus' experience, so the man continued to pepper them with questions, which they mostly answered as Giovanni was adept at not asking the wrong questions. When he was finished packing what seemed like a week's worth of food, he handed them each a basket that he had shrunked the food packages into, and Hollis put the leather carriers in hers as well. She, like himself, shrank the whole thing and stuck it in a pocket, only she left her hands in her pockets.

"There you are," Giovanni said, obviously pleased. The chime went off and he nodded to himself. "Now off you go, you two - you have plenty of work ahead of you. Make sure to eat regularly and do come by more often, Severus, and you as well, Elizabeth, even without Severus, if you'd like," he added as he ushered them through his kitchen door.

"Alright," Hollis said just before going through the door. She pulled her hands out her pockets and hugged a slightly surprised Giovanni. "Thank you so much, Gio. Really," she added. Severus, who was standing a little behind, saw the small brown bag that dropped from her hands when she had them around Giovanni's neck. He watched it carefully as it fell, almost hitting the ground, but staying afloat and going to rest almost hidden on the foot of the staircase that led upstairs. It grew a little, but not enough for him to definitely make it out - all he knew was it was roundish and had a tag attached to it.

However, he knew that whatever it was, Hollis did not want him commenting on it, so he didn't. He let Giovanni hug him and thanked the older wizard as well, though a little petulantly, which only made Gio smile more, and then followed Hollis out the door.

"What was that?" he asked when they were a few shops away.

"A small gift," she said innocently.


Hollis checked her watch as they left Arcanus behind them; it was going on three in the morning. "It's late," she said after casting another privacy charm around them; one never knew who was lurking in the shadows. "Shall we call it a night and work on these after getting some sleep?"

Severus checked the time on his silver watch and nodded. "Yes. We'll need to be well rested. Will you be going back to the Longbottoms' tonight?"

"Yeah," she said with a slight shrug. "All my stuff is still over there."

He nodded again. "Right. When would you like to move in?"

"I don't know. When is okay with you?"

"We could move you in tomorrow, after we've finished for the day," he suggested.

"Sounds good," she said, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly. "When will you be awake?"

"By ten at the latest. Send me a patronus whenever you want me to come over," Severus said.

"Will do," she said. The rest of the way to Diagon and out of the Leaky Cauldron was spent in comfortable silence. When they stood outside the old pub, they both lingered for a few moments.

"Well," he said first. "I guess this is goodnight then."

"Yep," she said, trying not to feel down about it. It wasn't like she wasn't used to him only being around for short periods of time and she had known they'd have to say goodnight at some point. She also felt a little awkward - how did one say goodnight to a loved one? A very new loved one, at that. "I've no idea what I'm doing," she told him with a sheepish smile.

His mouth twitched into a semblance of a smile. "Neither do I," he told her. They shared a quiet laugh and she settled for stepping forward to hug him again. His strong arms wrapped around her in return and, when they pulled away, one hand came up and the calloused thumb lightly caressed her face. It made her feel warm and kind of giddy as she automatically turned into it a little. His face was slightly shadowed from the angle of the moon, but his eyes still glittered as he said lowly, "Goodnight, Hollis."

He bent his head enough to gently brush his lips against hers. She smiled and murmured, "Goodnight, Severus." His mouth was still close enough that, as she spoke, her lips brushed against his again and it was a few moments before they really and truly left to go to their separate homes.


Later, in the wee hours of the morning, Giovanni closed his store and made his way back to his kitchen. He made a small meal, and ate while thinking of Severus and Elizabeth.

War had obviously taken a toll on the girl - her eyes were old and her face prematurely lined, but she was quite pretty when she smiled all the same. From what he could tell, she and Severus were compatible and had the advantage of having already known each other for several years in circumstances that could bring out the best and worst in a person.

He was glad she had accepted the knives - he knew Severus' pride wouldn't have let him, no matter how much Gio had pleaded with him. It had actually been almost amusing to watch the young man, who held himself so independent and was so incredibly stubborn, bow to the wishes of his loved one. That, more than anything, told Giovanni just how much he cared for the girl, that he put aside his pride for her. Admittedly, there had been a bit of a bossy edge to her tone, but Severus had mentioned briefly that she had been a Field Marshal and Gio knew well what that was, military things being his forte. Of course Elizabeth was going to be a tad bossy at times, and really, had Severus not cared for her, he wouldn't have listened. Which, Gio suspected, Elizabeth knew - she had to know by this point in their relationship.

Giovanni looked at the picture of his deceased wife he had hanging on his fridge; it was a Muggle one, taking during their years in France after escaping from Mussolini's Fascism.

"They're good kids, Ilaria," he told her as he set his dishes in the sink. "They'll go far - have already come so far."

As he expected, it didn't respond and he hummed an old tune to himself as he waved his wand, setting the dishes to washing and drying themselves, then started to turn in for the day. He came up short, though, when he spotted the little brown bag sitting on the fourth step of his staircase, a little tag tied to it with twine.

"What's this?" he murmured to himself, stooping to pick it up. He heard the clank of coins, but looked at the note first. In small, flowing font, it read -

I'm usually a witch of my word, but I'm also a good deal like Severus, and I can't take your beautiful gifts freely. It's too much. Please, for my sake and Severus', accept what I can give you in return. It isn't nearly as much as what your knives are worth, but it is all I can offer. - E.G.

He sighed as he opened the bag. He most likely should've seen this coming - she had folded too easily, and Severus was unlikely to be with someone who'd take things like his wares for nothing, not when it bothered him so much. He wasn't sure when she had planted the galleons and Muggle notes, but that wasn't surprising either. Elizabeth had to have been crafty to make it as far as she did in their awful war.


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-C. Lux