Rating: PG-13 (for now, it may change later on depending on how the story progresses)
Pairing: HP/SS
Summary: This story continues on with the relationship of Harry and Severus, with a few new surprises in store for them both.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Harry Potter characters. I'll give them back to JK Rowling when I'm done. No money was made from this endeavor.
Feedback: Please read and review, flames are not welcome.
A/N: Continuation of A Camping We Will Go and Wanted: Single,Older Male for a Roommate. Thanks also go to Sherdelune, my beta and dear friend.
Anything italicized and not between quotes, denotes a thought.
Chapter 1 - Fledgling Businesses
by goldenpaw
3 Months After the House Warming
"Severus, could you come in here for a moment?" Harry yelled out from the spare bedroom that had been converted into an office for Harry's new business.
His request was met with silence. Harry could have sworn that Severus was just a room away in the master bedroom preparing for work at his potions shoppe/homeopathic remedies, which is what the Muggles who frequented the shoppe liked to think of it as.
"Severus?" Harry enquired, this time poking his head out the door into the hallway. Still nothing. Harry was curious now and went down to the master bedroom to see if his lover was still there. The door was closed. Hmm, perhaps he's already gone. Harry went into their bedroom and there, lying face down on the bed was his ex-professor turned love-of-his-life.
"Severus, are you alright? Is something the matter?" Harry went over to the side of the bed and laid a gentle hand upon the other man's shoulder.
He heard his lover moan, and watched as he turned over slowly. Harry looked down and noticed that Severus was looking extremely ill. The other man's face was swollen and flushed.
"Severus, whatever is the matter? Have you caught something, what can I do to help?" Harry leaned over and talked low.
"I've got the Wizarding Measles, therefore I'm contagious. You'll need to leave, Harry. You can't stay here, since you've never had them," Severus said everything so quietly that Harry had to lean even closer to make out the words.
"I'm not going to leave you, who will take care of you then? Besides, I've probably already been exposed to them, I did sleep next to you all last night. So, I'm not going anywhere, love. Is there no potion to take in order to cure this?" Harry caressed Severus' face tenderly.
"There are potions to help with the symptoms, but nothing that will actually cure it. I have a potion that will reduce the swelling and fever downstairs in my laboratory," Severus paused as he cleared his throat, he was parched and he would need plenty of fluids soon to help flush his body. "It's marked Redigo Intumesco and it's a green liquid. It should be located somewhere on the top shelf on the far wall."
"I'll be right back. Call for Dobby if you need anything more immediate, like food or water." Harry dropped a quick kiss on Severus' forehead and dashed out the door down to the cellar where Severus had set up his potions equipment.
The cellar was cool and damp, just like the dungeons at Hogwarts had been. No wonder Severus spends so much time down here, he's right at home. Harry held up his wand and called out, "Lumos." No sconces had been lit and the lanterns sat dormant off to the side. Harry went straight back to the far wall as Severus had told him and pulled out a small stepping stool and looked up at top shelf. There, two rows back was the potion Severus had told him about. Harry reached for it carefully, making sure not to disturb the other vials around it.
Harry raced back up the two flights of stairs and when he entered their bedroom once more, he was glad to see Dobby there giving Severus a glass of water and helping his love sit up with his back against the headboard.
"I have the vial, love. Do you need to take it before or after you drink some water." Harry approached the bed and sat down opposite from Severus.
"The potion now, I believe. I have to let it take effect before I can drink anything after it." Severus slowly reached out for the vial and Harry handed it to him with care. Harry watched as the other man drank the potion down and grimace.
"Tastes vile?" Harry chuckled as Severus screwed up his face in disgust.
"Extremely. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can add to it to improve it's taste. Thank heavens this potion isn't needed all that often."
Harry just leaned back onto his elbow and watched his love, settle more comfortably against the pillows behind him. "Well, since we're now under quarantine, I had better alert your staff at the shoppe that you won't be coming in today, as well as my clients that I was supposed to meet today. I should probably also cancel the rest of my meetings for this week as well. Do you want me to give your staff any instructions, love?"
Severus sat quietly and thought for a moment, going over the checklist in his head of what needed to be done, but that his staff could take care of in his absence. "No, I think they should be fine with the stock that they have. How will you be notifying them?"
"I'll send Hedwig to them with a message. As to my clients, I'll have to get Dobby to pop-in at their places with a message." With that, Harry went back to his office down the hall and reached for several sheets of parchement to begin his missives. The first one to Severus' staff at "Olde Home Cures" was straightforward and to the point. He told them Severus was sick with the Wizarding Measles and would be away from the shoppe for the rest of the week. Once the weekend was around, he asked them to fire call him and give him an update on how things were going. Once he had sanded the letter down, he rolled it up and went to Hedwig's cage that was sitting in the corner.
"Hello, girl. I need you to take the letter to Severus' work. Give it to Arabella, I'm sure she'll give you some water and a treat if you need it. Be careful, Hedwig." Harry attached the leter and opened the window to let his owl out. He stood there and watched her until she was just a tiny speck upon the sky. He then went back to his desk and consulted his calendar for the remainder of the week. He was actually quite solidly booked for the next three days with appointments to see clients and he hated that he couldnÕt deal with them, but he could send no one in his stead.
Harry was quite proud of his business, "Potter's Pestaway and Snake Emporium." The Pestaway portion of his business was booming, as witches from all over the countryside asked for his snakes to come take care of weevils and gnomes that were destroying their gardens. The Snake Emporium was slower to take off, but business was steadily increasing. He had gone on three trips in the last two months to the Amazon and Australian Outback to procur rare snakes that couldn't be found in the Northern Hemisphere. Severus had gone with him on two of the trips, but on the third trip that took him to the deepest part of the Amazon, the potions master had had to stay behind and take care of his own fledgling business.
The other sideline portion of the Snake Emporium was his own idea, Snake psychology and communication. Actually, it was more of Sliver's idea, but what was he going to tell the wizarding world, that his pet snake was a business genius? Harry didn't think so. Sliver had told him that it was nice to communicate and be able to express his needs to someone who would listen. From that, Harry had realized that other snake owners would be glad of his ability to talk to them, to diagnose their ailments or wants, and to generally please them. So far it had been working well, but of course, there weren't many wizarding snake owners in Great Britain. He was finding that there were in fact more Muggle owners with Snakes, and through his Muggle-born school mates was finding more work there.
Sliver had become very well fed over these last months, as he was the snake that Harry took to rid homeowners of unwanted pests. Sliver was starting to fatten up and grow quite large, almost to point where he could no longer curl up around Harry's shoulders and wrist, he weighed so much.
Harry shook his head to refocus his thoughts more on the here and now. He still had several letters to write and he knew he should at least get started on the ones dealing with today.
He wrote off three quick letters to his clients, explaining his cancellation and asking if he could reschedule there appointment at a later date. He said he would give them a discount on his services if they did so. He knew it was best to keep them happy, and saving money was always a plus with people, Muggles or Wizards. He was thankful though, that all of his clients for this week were wizards and witches, as he hated using the telephone to contact his Muggle ones.
"Dobby, could you come here for a second?" Harry called out.
In a second, Dobby popped into the room, excited to be of help. "What does Master Harry need from Dobby, sir?"
"I need you to deliver these letters, Dobby. Hedwig is out delivering a message to Severus' shoppe and won't be back in time to take care of all of these. The address and name of each client is on the outside of the letter. Can you do this for me, Dobby?"
"Yes, sir, Master Harry, sir. Dobby will get right on it." Dobby reached for the bundle of rolled letters and disappeared with a pop. Now that those were taken care of, Harry went back down the hall and went to look in on his sick lover.
He tiptoed in when he noticed that Severus was sleeping and Harry pulled up a chair next to the bed quietly to sit and watch the other man sleep. He truly loved Severus, and would do anything and everything within his power to make sure he got better quickly and with as little pain as possible.
However, in the last three months, Harry realised that he was wanting more with his life. Yes, work and having someone to come home to was lovely, but there was still something missing. He just didn't have a clue yet as to what it was. He knew however that the missing piece of this little puzzle would appear sooner or later.
Until then, I will have to wait and be patient.
~tbc~