A/T: Not much new here, only many thanks for reviewing and keeping me from being lazy. So here we go again: introducing Chapter 3!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own is my sanity. Well... I used to.

Alley of Dreams

Act 3: Please Excuse the Excuse

It had been two days since that fateful day.

Well, that's how it was described by Sybil, who practically forced the details out of Severus after he had arrived back at Hogwarts on Friday.

Personally, Severus thought the only thing genuine about Professor Trelawney was the fact that she was a hack. When faced with a cup of tea leaves, one usually washes the cup out, not engage in trying to read one's future. The day he found Cedric in Diagon Alley wasn't a "fateful" one- it was obviously by chance, not destiny, and that was all there was to it.

As the first class of Monday morning came filing in, along with the guaranteed bickering, laughing, joking, and frantic search for Friday's homework, Severus reached into his bag and pulled out what was supposed to be his lesson book, filled with all the torturous exercises the students knew they were going to have to face. (Little did they know he hated to give long reports or anything; after all, he did have to grade them afterwards.)

So when he pulled out Basic Mathematic Concepts, Grade 2 he was perplexed, to say the least.

But it doesn't take long, barely a second, when something like that occurs to you.

It was Cedric's math book. The one Severus had offered to hold on their way back to the child's home, the one he'd stuck in his bag when ordering ice cream.

Which meant he'd have to return it, which meant he might see Harry again. And Sybil's words kept echoing in his mind, back and forth, until he slammed the book shut and looked up at his class, all of whom were silent but most probably wondering why their Potion's Master was holding a grade school math book.

Fateful indeed.

...

Oakwood Elementary seemed like the most perfect, normal school anyone could ask for. The school was of red brick and large doors with every inspirational poster you could imagine plastered on the walls. The teachers were polite, the students as obedient as they could be, considering their wild desire to jump on top of their desk and scream like uncultivated monkeys. After all, they were kids. The lawn was green and cut, the bushes trimmed, absolutely nothing was out of place.

It's like a story out of some horror picture, thought Severus, pulling at his black coat rather awkwardly. He was just waiting for the extraterrestrials to start shooting laser beams at him and then proceed to start picking apart his brain.

Well, anyway, he was here to return a child's math book on his lunch hour and had to hurry back, lest he return to see the efforts of twenty-three too many Hufflepuffs and their Potion ingredients. A very frightening thought; he imagined the remains of his classroom as he pulled open the front double door of Oakwood Elementary, feeling rather self-conscious in his Muggle attire.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

The receptionist at the front desk looked up and smiled at him, wearing a reindeer sweater with bells on the front and some blue jeans. Her brunette hair was teased to high heaven and she clutched the phone with such long fingernails that it wasn't funny.

"Yes sir?"

Her voice had a southern accent to it and it grated his nerves. "Does Cedric Potter attend this school?"

The woman- Dorris, as he was soon to discover, lifted a suspicious eyebrow. "And what is your business regarding young Mr. Potter? No one's allowed to take any child home early unless it's their parent, legal guardian, or an individual carrying a signed, school authenticated permission slip with the parent's signature granting Oakwood Elementary the right to-"

"Please, ma'am. He just left his schoolbook with me yesterday and I was hoping to return it to him. Would you mind?" he asked, hoping his complete loathing of this woman didn't show through too obviously.

She had the decency to look embarrassed. "Ah- of course, sir, I'll get that to him immediately. I'm very sorry for the misunderstanding; can't be too careful these days!" she said, her bright voice driving Severus mad with aggravation. It wasn't just the voice; it was the entire nails and hair look. That woman needs to escape the early nineties phase.

"So, how are you related to the Potter's? Are you- oh my Lord, are you Harry's husband?"

It was times like these that Severus really missed Hogwarts. Why? Because no one would ever as that question there- not even Peeves. He felt the proverbial punch hit the gut and he stared at her, this blabbering woman who was going on and on about something or another as he stood there, being assumed as Harry Potter's husband.

"Does he know you're here?" she asked.

"I –um- no, but I really must get going. Wonderful meeting you," he said, quickly, hoping to escape this hell.

"Oh no sir you won't! I'll go get him in a jiffy. He's just in the next staff room. You hold your horses now!" she said, all smiles as she left to go find his husband, as it were.

He realized that this is when he could escape, but his legs didn't have the strength to move forward. He needed a fireplace. He needed a fireplace right then and there; some floo powder wouldn't hurt either. There were people staring at him now- if he ran out as if he were on fire, what would they say? Why wasn't he leaving again?

"...I'm telling you Dorris, I don't have a husband. I wouldn't lie about this sort of thing. Now I really have to get back to grading those papers-''

Severus heard Harry's protesting voice as Dorris continued talking, acting as if he weren't trying to break away from her iron grasp. "Don't be silly, Harry! We've all wanted to meet him after your terrible situation with your wife. Now, where did you meet him? Does he have a brother? He's dashing, to say the least," she gushed, dragging Harry into the room.

Harry stopped protesting.

Severus nearly stopped breathing.

Harry was wearing a pair of black slacks and an oxford, button down shirt. It was a little wrinkled, but Severus was hardly surprised (this is Harry we're talking about here). His hair, of course, had no hope of ever being orderly and his glasses were a little crooked from the small struggle he had currently been engaged in. Other than that, he looked normal, as normal as anyone could look after fighting a war and living to tell the tale.

"Severus?" he asked, as if couldn't believe his green eyes.

"Is that his name?" Dorris asked, grinning broadly. "I didn't catch it the first time. So when did you two first meet?"

"Meet?" asked the older wizard, looking a little lost.

"You know, was it a blind date? Hook up? Bar? Mutual friend? Don't be bashful!"

"Date?" Harry asked, still trying to comprehend being mistaken for husband material.

Dorris herself was starting to look a little confused (It was Severus's scathing opinion that she was born confused, but he didn't dwell on it.)

"Haven't you two even met before?"

"Met?"

"Oh, so you're dating?"

Severus felt like dying as he unconsciously began pulling softly at his long hair, another cursed nervous habit he'd been doing since he was born. He cleared his throat.

Dorris was looking mystified. "What, did you two have a lover's quarrel? You know, I'm great at fixing those things right up. And let me tell you, your attraction for each other is plain to see. Now what we're you fighting about? Money? Kids? In-laws? You name it, I've seen it."

Harry seemed to jump out of his stupor, something having shaken him (perhaps it was the term "lovers quarrel", but who knows?). He quickly turned towards the talkative woman.

"Dorris, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to Severus alone."

"Ooooh," she said, winking. "I completely understand."

Harry turned a furious shade of red but dragged Severus over a little ways without arguing with her. He turned to see if she was eavesdropping (she was trying too, but they were too far away for her wandering ear). Harry turned to face him, relieved yet embarrassed.

"I am so, so sorry for her. Really, she's quite insane. I utterly apologize. I mean, out of all the people you had to meet, she's the one you run into. Well, she's the receptionist, of course. So why the visit?"

Severus unknowingly tugged at his shirt in a nervous manner once more. "I was trying to teach a class when I pulled out Cedric's math book. I just stopped by to give it back to him. I would've left sooner, but...''

"Don't worry. Too many unsuspecting parents get trapped into Dorris's inescapable conversation trap. Thanks a lot for bringing his book back. He had taken it with him to get some homework done at Hermione's bookstore, but with Crookshanks sneaking around it's nearly impossible."

Severus nodded. "It's not a problem. Anyway, it was nice to see you again. I've got class in a few minutes so I'd better-''

"Dad! Dad, total dilemma! Miss. Finkermeiyer is going to kill me if I don't turn my arithmetic assignment in! It's in the back of my book but I can't remember where I left-'' said a panting voice, the voice of a young Mister Cedric Potter who had been currently stampeding down the hallway to reach his father before sliding into the Main Office, hoping upon hope that perhaps Harry could grab his book from home, if that's indeed where it was at all.

The voice stopped.

Cedric stopped and looked at the two of them, standing closer to each other than both consciously realized.

The young boy smiled, his black hair frantically strewn about from panic.

"Hello, Mister Snape! What are you doing here?"

Harry raised his eyebrow, crossing his arms in an impressive parent fashion. "He's saving your bum, that's what he's doing. He brought your math book back, you know. What do you say?"

Cedric's eyes flew open. "He did?"

Harry sighed, shaking his head. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"I know. Sorry," Cedric said, quickly looked abashed. "I mean, of course, thanks so much! You've never met Miss. Finkermeiyer before; she's completely out of her mind when it comes to homework. You know we can get detention for not having it in on time? Detention! You really saved me, thanks a lot!" he said, looking quite relived and attempting to comb his hair with his fingers.

Harry groaned. "Would you please refrain from talking about a professor that way in school?"

Cedric grinned. "I apologize. Mr. Snape, thanks again. Will I see you soon? You can come over for dinner sometime!"

Severus found it difficult to find his voice. "I'm not sure. Maybe sometime."

"Ah," the younger boy said. Severus could see that Cedric knew what "maybe sometime" meant and was trying not to look too disappointed. "Well, okay. Sounds good."

Harry bit his lip, observing his son. He tried to smile and act nonchalant as he grinned at Cedric, a young boy faced with far too many disappointments for his age. "Why the long face? I'm going to Hogwarts to give a few pointers to the seventh year Qudiditch players, remember? Dumbledore wanted me to. You can see him then, if you want."

Cedric went from down to completely elated; he was quickly wearing a brilliant smile, genuinely pleased. "Really? I can see Hogwarts and everything? That would be so cool!"

Harry smiled at him. He knew Cedric couldn't wait for Hogwarts. But what was this feeling? Would he be happy to see Severus Snape again, without the frantic worry of Diagon Alley or the annoying voice of Dorris, the Receptionist from Hell?

As the bell began to ring, Cedric quickly bade them farewell before charging towards his dreaded math class, praying he wouldn't be late. Severus realized he too should be heading back to Hogwarts, almost certain that his classroom would be in shambles (somehow, he didn't mind) and said his goodbyes to Harry, who seemed to be glowing, oddly enough.

As he left Oakwood Elementary, he could hear Dorris's grating voice float through the doors.

"So, Harry, did you two set a date for tonight? Dinner and then the cinema? What kind of food? Asian? Seafood? Italian? Mexican?"

Severus could only smile. And even though a hole in the floor greeted him as he entered his potion's classroom a few minutes late, it all seemed worth it somehow.