AN: Hello again, sorry for the gap in publishing. Life happened. Then the holidays. Life's trying to happen again but I wanted to get at least one update out. Thanks to the favs and follows and to Ghostwriter71 for the review. Keep 'em coming. They make the story look like it's worth reading and I love hearing what people think.

9- Plagued by Potters

"Who wants to see me take off Snivelly's pants?"

Severus woke with a start and jerked upright. He had fallen asleep with his head on his arms, sitting at the kitchen table. Again. Scrubbing his face with his hands, he groaned. He still didn't know how he was going to handle a daily dose of Potter for the next seven years, and now he was having dreams about his own teenage years. Again.

He rose and started to pace around the house with long jerky strides. Lily, James, Harry, Lily, James, Harry, Lily, James, Harry. The Potter's were plaguing him and he didn't know what to do about it. He ran his hands through his hair and tugged hard, hoping the pain would clear his mind. It didn't work. Deciding tea might improve the situation, he returned to the kitchen and made some. It didn't help. Frustrated, Severus dragged his robes over his head and threw them on a chair. He was going crazy in the house. He needed a walk and he couldn't walk around outside in his robes.

He wandered aimlessly after he left the house, head down, hands in his pockets. The moon lit the way in between the streetlights. He remembered walking like this when he was younger, usually to escape the fighting in his house. He would often go over to see Lily and they would walk together until she had to return home. Inevitably he would always have to return home too.

Lily, wonderful, beautiful Lily. His Lily. He had loved her from the moment he saw her and had never stopped. His love ran so deep, he was living his life for her memory. He was living his life for a ghost.

The harsh reality of that thought made him stop short and cover his face with his hands. When he took them away again he realized that his wanderings had taken him to the gates of the old playground where he had first spoken to Lily. 'Of course I came this way.' he thought to himself with a sigh as he walked over to the deserted swings and sat down.

Severus sat and watched the stars wink out as the sky begin to lighten with the first orange sliver of the rising sun. He sat and thought of Lily. He thought about the day he met her. About the years together before Hogwarts when they would play and swim and life was easy. About the first years at Hogwarts when they had been sorted into different houses, but had still managed to remained good friends, studying in the library and looking for secret passages and practicing spells and charms

He always tried to stop thinking there. He didn't like picturing the bad times, the quarrels, the uncertainties, the awkwardness of youth, the girl he had loved forever falling for another boy. He didn't like it, but couldn't stop the thoughts from swirling in his head. This was the trouble, had been the trouble all summer. He couldn't think beyond Lily to the problem he was going to have in the very near future.

"Getting nearer everyday," he muttered to himself as he rose from the swing and started home. It seemed that he couldn't think clearly about Harry Potter. He could think about him endlessly, but with no solution forthcoming.

'What is the problem really?' he asked himself as he walked, trying once again to sort out the basics. The answer took some time to come. He walked by a photography studio and paused to look at the display of pictures of playing children and posed families. The photos unexpectedly shook the answer from his mind.

'How do you look him in the eye when you know you are the reason he has no parents?' There it was, he had the core of it. It had taken weeks for him to get there, but at least he had it now.

His stomach churned uncomfortably as he traveled on. 'What else?' he pushed. 'By all accounts he is a miniature version of his father with exactly Lily's eyes. How to deal with that everyday? Lily's eyes looking out from a little James Potter.' Up until his new realization, that had been the biggest point, foolish as it was.

The Spinner's End house came into view again and he automatically sneered at it. Even now he still harbored a strong dislike for the sight of the house. He had never told anyone what it was like for him as a child, although Lily had known. It was hard for her not to put two and two together when he kept showing up with fresh bruises every few days during the summer.

He had made her promise not to tell anyone, assuring her that Tobias' rage was nothing that he couldn't handle for the few months he was home during the year. He had handled it for eleven years before going off to Hogwarts, hadn't he? Lily was never happy about the arrangement, but she had kept her promise always. Keeping her promise hadn't stopped her from asking every so often if he was absolutely sure that he didn't want her to speak with her parents about it. His answer had always been no, but knowing that she cared enough to keep asking had been one of the reasons he'd fallen for her so hard. She had cared when no one else had.

Annoyed that his thoughts had slipped back to Lily again, he let himself into the house and started toward the bedroom, having given up on normal sleeping and meal times weeks ago. As he passed through the kitchen a small tapping noise caught his attention and he looked toward the window. Sitting on the sill with a letter in his beak, was Icarus. Severus felt his heart rate speed up slightly as he opened the window to take the letter. Icarus flew inside, dropped the letter in his hands and perched on the back of one of the kitchen chairs.

Severus Snape

It was Brie's handwriting. He let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and his heart rate slowed. Sometime during the course of their friendship Severus had realized that it wouldn't be good news if Icarus ever delivered a letter that wasn't addressed in her handwriting. Eager now, he handed Icarus a biscuit left over from tea, sat and opened Brie's letter.

Severus -

I have to say, Icarus must be the smartest owl ever. I hadn't been done filming more than an hour when he showed up. I'm glad he is discreet because explaining a Great Gray Owl in Malaysia would be difficult. I thought he had something from Albus, since I left him at Hogwarts for the first part of the summer so he could bring all the paperwork about the new year to me, but he didn't. He wouldn't take a letter for him either, so I have to conclude that he showed up so that he could take a letter to you. I wouldn't be surprised if he refuses to leave until you give him one for me.

The letter went on to say that she would be home by the end of the week and that he should feel free to visit anytime he liked if he had decided he wanted to. If not, then she would see him in September. He drummed his fingers on the table, realizing that he hadn't put much thought toward Brie these past few weeks. Should he go?

He cursed suddenly, grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill and dashed off a quick, impulsive reply, saying that he would be there early the following week, and would Apparate later in the day. He scrawled Brie's name on the parchment and before he could change his mind, handed it to Icarus, who took off straightaway.

'Maybe a new setting will help bring new answers,' he thought to himself as he continued upstairs and tumbled into bed. 'If nothing else, a distraction will be good.' He frowned as Albus' words echoed in his mind.

"I think a distraction would be a good thing. I know next year will be hard for you and I'm sorry for it."

'Get out of my brain, Albus,' he thought to himself. 'I already have enough people there tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if Icarus showed up in Malaysia because you sent him to her and told him to await a letter for me. He was probably hiding in the jungle for days waiting for her to finish up.'

Sure he was correct about Albus and the owl, he drifted off to sleep. His dreams were full of green eyes and flashes of light.

He woke later that afternoon, sprawled across the bed, tangled in the sheets and still exhausted. He hadn't been sleeping well since returning from Hogwarts. Not that he slept much better when at the school, but at least there he could roam the hallways when sleep alluded him.

After untangling himself, he rose with a groan and headed to the basement to check on the potions he had simmering. He had finally succeeded at brewing the Wolfsbane potion last week. He chalked his difficulty up to emotional upheaval because he had never had such difficulty with any potion before. Now he checked and stirred, chopped, shredded, mixed, and bottled, all the while trying to keep his mind clear and blank.

He had developed this defense mechanism during his later years at Hogwarts after Lily had given up on him, and The Marauder's tormenting had become almost unbearable. When there was so much on his mind that he couldn't think, he wouldn't. Sometimes it was simple, others extremely difficult. Surprisingly this time it was easy.

When he had finished, he returned to the kitchen and made tea. Afterwards he went back to his room and started to lay out the clothing he planned to bring with him when he visited Brie. These tasks didn't keep the Potter's off his mind as well as potions work, so he tried to turn his thoughts to Brie, and the friend he was about to meet, and her work. He realized that he didn't have the slightest idea of what to picture when he thought about her working.

'Well that will change soon,' he thought to himself as he pulled out an old suitcase and started to pack.

The sun was low in the sky and he was just starting to wonder if he felt like having anything more than tea today, when another tapping sound caught his attention. He peered at the window and saw a familiar eagle owl perched on the sill.

'I wonder what Lucius wants,' he thought as he opened the window.

The owl swooped in and dropped a roll of parchment into his hands before perching on the back of one of the kitchen chairs. He and Lucius had remained friendly since Lucius had wiggled out of any kind of accountability for his action in the war. Of course, Lucius assumed that he, Snape, had also escaped punishment with a lie, so there had been a bit of a bond there on top of their school and Death Eater days together.

Albus also remained thoroughly convinced that Voldemort would return and that Snape's services as a spy would be needed again, so someone who could vouch for his cover story of staying at his post all these years would prove useful. Lucius also believed that the Dark Lord may return someday and had no trouble swallowing the story, so everything was wrapped up in a nice tight little package.

Or so he thought.

He unrolled the parchment, which turned out to be an invitation to dinner the following week, right smack in the middle of his visit to Brie. He would have to decline and offer to go after he returned. The letter didn't sound urgent. Lucius probably just wanted to have one more dinner together before Draco started his first year and he officially became Draco's professor.

The second he though about Draco another thought slammed into his mind so fast and forcefully that he actually put his hand up to his forehead. Draco. Lucius. Brie. Dear Merlin! Draco! Lucius! Brie!

Brie and Lucius were mortal enemies. Lucius had been trying to get the board of governors to remove her from Hogwarts since day one. Before day one! They had already had several nasty run ins at Hogwarts during his various removal attempts.

Draco must never suspect that he and Brie were more than colleagues or the little brat would run blabbing to his father as he did about everything. How could he have overlooked something so fundamental for so long? His mind had been clouded by bloody Potters, that's how!

He thumped himself on the forehead with his fist a few times before sitting down and composing a reply to Lucius, saying that he would be away that entire week gathering rare potion ingredients in Romania and would be unable to attend until the following week. As he watched the owl disappear into the twilight he wondered how he would ever find a way to tell Brie that he was friends with Lucius and that, because of his boy, they shouldn't be seen together starting this year. He had always skirted around the matter with grunts and non committal replies if Brie had chanced to bring up Lucius in frustration.

She was going to be furious. She despised Lucius. Right now he wasn't feeling so friendly toward him himself. Over this last school year he had come to consider Brie an actual friend. She wasn't just a face he knew, or a vague acquaintance, or a now and then mate from his school days. Muggle or not, she was someone whose opinion he valued and whose presence he enjoyed, and he wasn't looking forward to having to stay away from her.

He should have known better than to think he might deserve a real friend. God, or fate, or the universe, or all of them hated him. Hadn't experience hammered home the idea that he wasn't worthy of even a small bit of happiness in his life?

The days stretched onward and Severus spent his time alternately pondering his Potter problems and ignoring them by brooding over his Brie botheration. Finally, on the morning of the day he was to Apparate to Brie's, he gave up. He couldn't think about it anymore, he was getting nowhere and it was driving him crazy.

His brain told him that he should treat Potter like any other student, his heart knew that that was going to be impossible. He would have to be satisfied with that. And he was just going to have to wing it with Brie and explain it all and hope she'd understand. He was starting to have real faith in her ability to understand him.

He tried to keep himself busy and spent the morning and afternoon making sure all the potions he had been working on were finished. Finally late afternoon became early evening and he went up to his room for his suitcase, which he shrunk and put in the pocket of his robes.

Standing in the middle of the room, he closed his eyes and brought the picture of the room inside Brie's facility to the front of his mind. He turned on the spot with the picture in his mind thinking, Gabrielle Waters, Sedona Arizona, America, over and over again.

He felt the temporarily crushing darkness close in on him, pressing the air out of his lungs, then almost instantly it stopped. He opened his eyes slowly and found himself right where he should be. He'd done quite a few intercontinental Apparations, but some small part of him was always a little worried about actually getting there in one piece over such long distances. After a quick inspection to make sure all his parts were there and where they belonged, he took in his surroundings. He seemed to be standing in a very small room or a large closet with a window. It certainly looked like it was used as a closet. There were piles of papers and stacks of boxes lining the walls. At one end of the room there was a door and he started toward it. It was locked.

Unlocking the door with the Alohomora charm he stepped out into a large bright room lined with glass fronted cages. The walls were stark white and several long tables stood in the middle of the room. Some held tools that Severus couldn't identify. As his eyes adjusted to the brightness he noticed a man sitting at one of the tables with his back to him. He assumed this must be Evan.

Evan was leaning over an odd looking instrument set on the table. Something must have alerted him to Severus's presence because his head suddenly snapped up and he whipped around on his stool.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "You...must be Severus. Sorry about that, man." he said as he calmed down a bit. "You startled me. Brie said not to expect you till later. Evan Conifer." He stuck out his hand.

"Severus Snape," he replied, shaking Evan's hand while looking him up and down. His hair was very blond and he was tanned a dark brown that made his misty green eyes seem to glow. "Brie has told me quite a bit about you."

Evan smiled as he gave Severus his own once over, taking in his long black fairly oily hair, onyx eyes, and his flowing robes. "Well, she's a dirty rotten liar, so don't believe any of it."

"Most of it was good," Severus said.

"Oh well, the good stuff you can believe. Anything else is a lie." There was an awkward pause before Evan added. "I've heard quite a bit about you over these last few years. Brie's only been around for a few days this summer so we haven't had much time for anything other than work so far."

Severus suddenly focused on the cages that were lining the wall. "Do these all have poisonous snakes in them?" he asked, pointing toward some.

"Venomous," Evan corrected automatically. "No this room is for non- venomous snakes. Also frogs, lizards, and geckos, which we use for the educational center."He gestured toward the microscope that he had been peering into when Severus had arrived. "We do some lab work in here too. You know, blood counts, fecal floats, venom analysis. Stuff like that."

Severus nodded vaguely, even though he didn't know what any of those things were. "We used to do anti-coagulant research a few years ago, but that was Brie's thing." Evan continued. He jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "The hot snakes are through there."

Severus glanced around Evan and spotted a door with a very large handle. "Hot snakes?" he asked as he stepped over to examine it. Above the handle itself were a row of small keys, each bearing a number.

"Venomous," Evan replied. "You need an access code to open that door," he explained as he watched Severus examine it. "Brie will tell you all about that later. Come on lets go find her. I think she is at home." He looked toward the room Severus had emerged from. "Didn't you bring anything with you?" he asked, looking confused.

Severus pulled his shrunken luggage from his pocket and showed it to Evan. "Wizards know how to travel light," he said with a shrug, putting it back in his pocket.

Evan looked even more confused. "All your stuff...?" he trailed off and shook his head. "Dude, she never tells me anything cool! Anyway, come on."

He led the way through several doors and out into a very bright very hot day. Severus squinted against the bright sun as Evan locked the door behind them.

"You are going to boil in... whatever it is you are wearing," Evan commented. "Brie's place is right over there." He pointed to a house in the distance. "That's my place," he continued, pointing in the opposite direction as he led the way toward Brie's. There was a dusty, old, green Jeep Wrangler in the driveway, which he gestured towards. "She's home, come on."

He led Severus around the back of the house and onto a screened porch. They walked out of the heat and into a bright sunny kitchen, finding Brie standing at a long counter with her back to them. She was wearing trim khaki shorts and a blue tank top, her feet were bare and her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. A few curly tendrils had escaped and they danced at the nape of her neck and around her face as she swayed to the beat of the music that was playing. As she cut oranges in half, every now and then she would sing a few words.

"This thing called love, I just can't handle it..." she sang as she put down the knife. He noticed a small tattoo of an anchor right below her left knee.

Evan stopped Severus at the kitchen door and held up a finger. "Hang on, this is too good," he whispered. "We can totally surprise her."

He crept forward as she began to line up the orange halves and grabbed her around the waist. She squealed in surprise as he whipped her around, hiding Severus from her view with his body. "Kinda like it, crazy little thing called love..." he sang as he waltzed her around the kitchen, skillfully keeping Severus out of her range of vision.

Brie giggled and kept pace while protesting, "Evan no. I'm all sticky from the oranges."

"Well you better wash up," he began as he twirled her one last time and dipped her back while grinning at Severus. "because you have company."

Still tilted backwards, supported by Evan, Brie tipped her head back even further and squealed again upon seeing Severus. "Hey you are early!" she exclaimed. "Evan let me up, would you?" Evan put her back on her feet and she bounced over to hug Severus. Then she grabbed one hand, put an arm around his waist and began to dance him around the kitchen just as Evan had done to her. "I figured you would show up later in the day," she said as they swayed and spun in no particular dance style that he knew of.

His head was spinning from the rapid play of events, but he replied, "It was much later when I left." He kept his eyes cast downward to avoid stepping on Brie's feet as they moved. At Hogwarts she always seemed to have an air of repressed energy, this must be what it was like when she let it out rather than tried to harness it. It was like having a particularly enthusiastic niffler in his arms.

She released him as the song came to an end and went over to the radio to turn down the volume. "Oh yeah. When I read your note I thought you meant later in the day...my time." She gestured to a chair and Severus took a seat.

"Damn Brie, you weren't kidding about the oranges," Evan broke in as he stepped over to the sink to wash his hands. "Sticky wench."

"Conifer, I'm cutting up citrus fruit. What do you want from me?" she shot back with mock severity, hands on her hips. "So, I guess you guys have already met then." They both nodded as Evan shut off the water and turned his attention to the counter.

"What are you doing anyway?" he asked as he surveyed the oranges, knife, and cutting board she had been working with. Suddenly it dawned on him. "Are you making orange juice? Can I have some?" He put a little whine in his voice.

"Oh I see how it is. One second you are all, 'you're a sticky wench Brie', and the next it's, 'can I have some fresh orange juice even though I just made fun of you?' Some friend you are. Severus would you like some juice?" she asked as she pulled a glass from a cupboard and went to the fridge to pull out a pitcher already half full.

"Aww come on Brie, I was just kidding." Evan was really whining now. "I brought your friend over to you didn't I? I could have let him wander off into the desert you know." He watched her put the glass and pitcher in front of Severus.

"Well that just makes you a saint then, doesn't it?" She pulled two more glasses from the cupboard and poured juice into all three. "Sit down then Saint Conifer and I'll get you some cheese to go with that whine. Do you guys want some breakfast since we are all here?"

"I'll never turn down free food." Evan said enthusiastically.

"I know you are a moocher. You have to work for your food. Finish the orange juice will you?" Brie laughed as Evan made a face and went to deal with the oranges. "What about you Severus, are you hungry? You can eat for free. We won't put you to work till tomorrow."

"It's dinner time," Severus stated, sipping at his juice and studying Brie over the rim of his glass. There was something different about her, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Perhaps it was simply that she dressed a bit more professionally at Hogwarts he thought as his eyes drifted from her tousled hair down to her exposed knees.

"Not here," Brie answered. "You get to do today all over again. It's like time travel!" She went over to the fridge and surveyed the contents. "Now lets see..." she said mostly to herself. "Umm... I'm making waffles."

"Woo yeah, I love waffle," Said Evan, happily, as he reamed oranges and gestured for Severus to hand him the pitcher.

"You love anything that is edible and free," Brie muttered as she reached into one of the bottom cupboards and pulled out a waffle maker and a frying pan. "Fair warning Severus, most people who come to visit get fed half to death because we both like to cook."

Severus considered this for a moment while he handed Evan the pitcher then replied, "Not a bad way to go all in all."He was starting to enjoy himself as he watched Evan and Brie move around the kitchen, his concern over telling Brie about Lucius gone for the moment. It had been a very long time since he had seen anything done with absolutely no magic. He tried not to feel amused because he considered Brie his friend, and Evan seemed alright so far, but he was fighting a losing battle. He hoped it didn't show on his face.

Evan laughed as he filled the pitcher with fresh juice. "That's the spirit! You were right Brie, I like him. Give me that fry pan, I'll cook the bacon."

She handed over the pan and began mixing up waffle batter. "So Severus, how's your summer been so far?" she asked as she studied him. He was sure he looked tired and drawn and did his best to perk up his expression a bit.

"Peaceful," he replied in a tone that made Brie chuckle as she spooned batter into the waffle maker and closed the lid.

"The bulk of Severus' summer plans," she explained to Evan as she pulled out plates and forks and put them on the table,"involve enjoying the peace and quiet away from the school full of insufferable little dunderheads." Evan snorted out a laugh as Brie added, "And this little interesting educational field trip, of course." She put slices of bread in a toaster and pushed down the lever.

"Of course," Evan replied. "After we eat we can show you around if you want." He glanced over at Severus while turning the sizzling bacon. "But first we might want to find you something...cooler to wear."

Brie frowned at Evan and then glanced over at Severus and laughed. "I'm so use to seeing him in robes that I didn't even think twice! He is right Severus, you are going to bake out here in those robes. Did you bring anything else with you? You know...something a little more Muggle?"

Severus studied Evan and Brie. Both were wearing shorts and short sleeves, Brie was barefoot and Evan wore sandals. "Actually I pulled them on this morning more out of habit than anything," he said as he stood and pulled off the robes revealing dark gray slacks and a long sleeve black shirt buttoned over a white t-shirt.

Brie let out a low whistle. "Hey, pretty slick. You are still probably going to be hot though. All that black, and the long sleeves." She slid steaming waffles onto a plate and brought it to the table.

"I'll be fine," he replied while he pulled his wand out of the robes and set it on the table beside his glass. He fought a ridiculous surge of pride because Brie had approved of his attire. She set a plate of toast down in front of him and turned to the fridge for the butter, jam, and syrup which she set on the table as she took a seat across from Severus.

"Suit yourself." Evan set down the plate of bacon and pitcher of juice, sat and immediately started to load his own plate. "Let me know if you get so hot that you want to borrow some of my stuff." He looked Severus up and down as he shoveled food into his mouth. "We are pretty much the same size," he continued with his mouth full.

"Ugg, Connie you have all the table grace of a chimp," Brie said as she watched him stuff his face.

"Don't call me Connie!" he exclaimed as he waved his fork and threw a wadded up napkin at her.

Laughing, she ducked and it flew past her. "I only do it to annoy you," she said sweetly while pouring more juice and grinning at Severus.

"Well it works."

"Good. Then my mission in life is nearing completion."

Severus started to laugh and choked on his bite of waffle. Brie snickered while Evan whacked him on the back saying, "It wasn't that funny, dude."

After he had recovered Severus asked, "Do you two always bicker like brother and sister?"

They both looked at him in surprise then looked at each other and laughed. "Yeah, I guess we do," Brie answered. "But its mostly because he is such a pain in the ass."

"It doesn't help that she is such an anal retentive Anna," Evan shot back absently. Now that he was done stuffing his face his attention had fallen on Severus's wand as it lay by his plate. "Sending the owl with her little notes to make sure everything is as it should be. Like she expects me to blow the place sky high somehow. Always has to have things done her way."

"That's because I'm the boss. And you do have a habit of leaving the Bunsen burner on, if you want to pull the 'I don't blow things up' card." she replied with a smirk while Evan turned pink and rolled his eyes. "Evan likes it when I'm away because then he is the boss," Brie explained to Severus while she reached out and slapped Evan's hand as he reached for Severus's wand. "Conifer, that's just rude."

"It's alright," Severus replied, surprised at himself because he wasn't annoyed. Brie and Evan's jovial nature was catchy, it seemed. "Its just a stick to a Muggle anyway. But she is right, it was rude." He nudged the wand toward Evan who picked it up and waved it around enthusiastically, looking vaguely disappointed when nothing happened. "See?" he said with a smirk as he took the wand back and, on impulse, offered it to Brie saying, "You've never asked before."

Brie looked surprised. "I though it would be...rude," she replied as she took the wand. She immediately let it go and it clattered on the table. "It...tingled," Brie said, looking at her hand and flexing her fingers. "Like a dozen tiny little static shocks." She looked up at Severus with her brow knit. "What does that mean?" she asked him.

Severus didn't answer. He picked up the wand and handed it to Brie again. "Wave it please," he said in a slightly strained voice.

Brie hesitated before taking the wand. She shivered a little again. "Did you feel it again?" Severus asked sharply.

"Yes, but only for a second." Brie replied, "Now it just feels like a stick." She waved the wand around and a tiny feeble spark flickered from the tip. Brie jumped and almost dropped the wand again.

"Say Lumos," Severus ordered while Evan raised his eyebrows at the sudden change in his manner. Severus noticed and added, "Please."

Brie frowned at Severus but said, "Lumos." Nothing happened and she handed the wand back to Severus. "That was weird. What happened?"

"Yes it was," Severus replied, deep in thought. "I don't know what happened. I haven't heard of anything like it before."

"Maybe..." Brie began, obviously thinking hard, "Maybe I can feel the magic in your wand because I have spent the majority of the last few years at Hogwarts? Maybe its like...diffusion, you know? The net motion of a substance from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration." When both men looked at her with baffled expressions she barreled on, talking fast. "Well think about it, there are high levels of magic on Hogwarts' grounds from spells and enchantments and just from having all those witches and wizards together in the same place." Severus nodded. "Well now in comes a Muggle, me, with no magic at all. What if, during the school year, some of that magical...energy flows into me because I have...room for it, because I have no magic."

"Then the wand tip would have lit," Severus answered as he caught on to Brie's shaky theory. Evan still looked baffled.

"But I have been off Hogwarts grounds for more than a month," she answered. "More than enough time for any magic energy that made its way in to bleed out again because everywhere else I go is non-magical. And because I am non magical I probably couldn't build sufficient levels of magic energy to actually do magic, only enough to feel it when it is around."

"Its a theory, I'll give you that," Severus replied after a few moments of though. "Magical energy," he muttered with a smirk.

"Yep and its probably BS, but its my first magical theory so I'm kind of excited. All those nights in the library and reams of notes may be getting me somewhere." Brie smiled and rose to start putting dishes in the sink. Evan followed suit and picked up Severus' empty plate as Brie ran hot water and grabbed a sponge. "After I clean up we can take a little tour of the place, if you are up for it Severus."

Severus nodded as he rose and surveyed the minor mess from breakfast preparations. "Hey look at that!" he exclaimed while pointing out the window over the sink. As Evan and Brie both looked out the window Severus grabbed his wand and said, "Scourgify," effectively cleaning the dishes and surfaces.

Brie shot him a sunny smile while Evan looked down at the now clean plate still in his hands, dumbfounded. "Well, job done I guess!" She grabbed the juice, butter and other condiments and stowed them in the fridge. "Severus Snape, what has gotten into you this summer? Jokes, showing off for Muggles, you kinda danced a little. What next?" She slipped an arm through his. "Alright then, lets do this thing." She slid on her sandals and a pair of shaded glasses and grabbed a ball cap off a peg near the door, which she plunked on his head. "That will keep the sun out of your eyes. Later on you and I have to talk about sun block or some sort of skin protecting spell," she said while she nudged him though the door and onto the porch then turned back to Evan, who was standing in the middle of the kitchen, still holding the plate and looking stunned. "You coming Evan?" she asked, trying not to smile.

Evan turned slightly glazed eyes toward her and said, "He just said one word...it's all clean, I didn't even see it happen..." he trailed off and looked at the back of the plate like he expected the mess to have moved back there somehow.

"You can't blink when there are wizards around Evan! Come on sweets, let's go."

Evan snapped himself back to the moment and followed.

"What else can he do?" he asked softly as he crossed the room.

"Brie grabbed his arm before he passed. "Lots of cool stuff, but remember, he's not a side show he's my friend. OK? And we don't need that plate in the lab."

"OK." Evan looked slightly disappointed as he handed Brie the plate and crossed the threshold.

Severus tried to look like he hadn't just been eavesdropping. It was a habit from the war that he still couldn't break.

"So Severus are you ready to see Brie's baby?" He led Severus off the screened in porch and pointed toward the facility building in the distance.

"Our baby," Brie corrected from behind. "Evan, Rogan, and I designed and built her from scratch."

"If its our baby then how come your name is on it?" Evan asked with a smile, enjoying the old argument and winking at Severus.

"Easy," Brie shot back without heat as they walked around the front of the building and the sign came into view, 'Wild Waters Reptiles' "My talent, my fame, my husband, my money," she finished with a shrug, obviously knowing the rhythm of the debate well. They stopped walking so that Severus could admire the front of the building.

"My, my, my quite the big head you have there, Gabby," Evan aimed his last verbal dart and casually stepped behind Severus, who started to feel nervous because he caught onto the fact that he was being used as a human shield.

"Don't call me Gabby!" Brie roared as she darted around Severus and took Evan down at the knees. He landed on his back with a puff of dirt and a grunt and she quickly shimmed up to his chest and put her knees on his shoulders, pinning him. "You know never never to call me Gabby! I swear I'll eat your face!" she growled as Severus spun around and watched Evan buck under her weight.

He had never seen her move like that. He also couldn't see the wickedly amused gleam in her eye as she repeatedly tweaked Evan's nose with her fingers. He could only see her back and Evan's flailing legs.

"But Gabby," Evan grunted as he struggled, "I only do it to annoy you!" He made a mighty effort and managed to haul one leg up over her head and hook it across her chest as he launched himself up and forward to reverse their positions. "You don't weigh enough to keep me pinned by the way," he laughed as he straightened out his legs to pin her arms and scooted up to sit on her chest. He pushed his arms into the ground to hold him up so that he wouldn't crush her, but Severus didn't notice that as he quickly looked around for Muggles then drew his wand from his pocket and pointed it at Evan.

"Obviously," Brie started, snaking one arm up, trying to get it behind Evan's head. She caught sight of Severus with his wand out. "Severus, no! It's OK. Get off Evan," she said and he got up quickly when he saw Severus and his wand. He pulled her off the ground with one arm and Brie held her hands up as she approached Severus, who stuffed the wand back in his pocket and felt foolish. "Evan and I have both been through some pretty intense self defense courses because a lot of the places we work in are kind of rough," Brie explained as she dusted herself off. "We...play like that sometimes. Sorry."

Evan eyed Severus' pocket. "You were just going to hocus pocus me, huh?" he asked.

Severus shrugged and looked Evan right in the eye. "I was only going to levitate you off," he said shortly. There seemed no sense in mentioning that he probably would have levitated Evan, then tossed him a few yards.

"What about when she was sitting on me?" Evan exclaimed with a grin. "Brea started it!"

"She is much smaller than you. And she's light. She's very easy to toss in the lake. I didn't think I needed to worry," Severus countered and Evan quirked an eyebrow. Severus had noticed Evan's use of the variant nickname, just as he had observed that Rogan had used that same sobriquet in Brie's memory. He wondered if Evan saw him as some kind of threat to Brie.

"Anyway," Brie broke in, amused at the exchange between the men. "What do you think Severus?" she asked while gesturing toward the building.

Severus turned to face the building again, having gotten only the briefest impression of it before Evan and Brie had started 'playing'. "Its amazing," he said as he took it all in.

It was too. Below the sign, which was impressive all by itself, a big portion of the building front seemed to be large windows that had been covered in a jungle mural. Snakes, lizards, frogs, bugs and other animals could be seen nestling among the cleverly painted foliage. The bank of windows was shaded by a thatched awning supported by what looked like chunky bamboo poles. Planters full of bright happy flowers surrounded each support pole and, as he drew closer, he noticed that the concrete walk way leading to the building was scattered with different kinds of tracks and footprints. He recognized deer and rabbit tracks along with various sized bird tracks and what seemed to be large cat and dog style tracks too. Here and there meandered small bare human footprints.

"And this is just the outside." she said happily, leading him toward the front doors. She punched a short code into the keypad and swept them wide open, inviting him in with a grand gesture.

"Welcome to Wild Waters Reptiles, Severus."