Author's Notes: Chapter leading up to our beloved Potions master
impulsively making his move for Mira. Go Sevvie, Go!
It will be quite obvious to the reader that he is severely out of practice with the ladies.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was. Not the bits from the books and movies that is.
Chapter 11: Fortune Favors the Bold.
Mirabelle rose early, and sent for her cousin's daughter to come help out at the shop. She had left a lot of unfinished work when she closed early the previous afternoon. Mirabelle busied herself in the back room, filing paperwork and working on the monthly accounting statement. She put Tricia to work in the front of the store, unpacking new robes that had arrived from the workshop, and owling customers to let them know their custom orders were ready. Susan arrived at noon to fetch her daughter for an afternoon of back to school shopping in Diagon Alley. While Hogwarts School was just outside the town of Hogsmeade, Tricia lived on campus during the school terms. She came home only during the holidays. Though there was a small wizarding day school located in the village, the Treadles wanted their child to have the prestige of a Hogwarts education.
Susan was still giving Mirabelle the cold shoulder following the argument they had regarding the end of summer festival. Susan railed at how Mirabelle was setting a poor example for Tricia by dancing wantonly with several men of the village after the formal dancing was completed. Mirabelle gently reminded her cousin of the many times they danced wantonly and did even worse things during Mardi Gras back when they lived in New Orleans. Susan not so gently reminded Mirabelle that they were no longer living in New Orleans and that there was a strict social code that good wizarding families were expected to abide by, and daughters of good wizarding families behaved with restraint and decorum. Mirabelle let her cousin rant at her, grateful that information regarding the after hours impromptu drum jam and dance session hadn't found its way through the grapevine. If Susan thought the country dancing during the festival was wanton, she'd have a fit over how Mirabelle, Lucilla, and the other girls were dancing in the wee hours.
Tricia gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek and followed her mother through the floo network fireplace to Diagon Alley. Mirabelle's afternoon went by rather smoothly. Lucilla stopped by just before closing, and asked her if she wanted to go watch the local boys play quidditch. Mirabelle locked up the store, and the two women headed to the quidditch practice field to sit and watch Garrett and the others on their brooms. Lucilla wouldn't even touch a broom after a nasty fall into a briar patch back in her school days. Mirabelle could take it or leave it, she occasionally liked to fly, but felt quidditch was extremely overrated. The local boys were trying to put an amateur quidditch team together, but had a long way to go before they were ready to actually compete in a match. It was really more of an excuse to get together after work, do some fancy flying, and then retire to the pub for a round of drinks.
Professor Snape's day in the Hogwarts potions lab went less than smoothly. Distracted and nursing a grudge from Dumbledore's teasing at breakfast, he accidentally spilled a vial of a caustic elixir and had to stop and clean up the mess before it damaged his workbench. He mistakenly added wormwood before the potion came to a boil instead of afterwards and had to pour an entire cauldron of a healing potion down the drain. Frustrated, he called it a day and wanted no more than to get away from the school for a while. He grabbed his cloak and made his way into Hogsmeade. The weather was invigoratingly cool, so he decided to walk to the village for a bit of exercise and fresh air. As he made his way down the main street, he stopped in front of the tailor shop. But it was closed. "Maybe she's at the tavern" he said to himself and continued on to the Hog's Head.
He took his usual table in the back, but didn't see Mirabelle at any of the tables. The barmaid came to take his order; he ordered ale and a light meal. Food at the Hog's Head left much to be desired, but their sandwiches were palatable. He watched a group of wizards playing cards at one of the tables, realizing that one was cheating. He smirked to himself, and took another drink of his ale.
The door opened and a large group of people entered the tavern. The barmaid and barman pushed some tables together in the middle of the main seating area to accommodate them. There were a dozen people in the group, eight men and four women. Snape immediately recognized two of the women as Mirabelle and her blonde friend. He thought of approaching her, but he didn't want to impose. The men ordered their drinks, and started to get rowdy, talking animatedly about quidditch and telling bawdy jokes. The four women got up and moved to a smaller table near the fireplace. Mira kept feeling as if she were being watched. It was the same exact sensation as the night she was dancing in the square after the festival and had felt unseen eyes watching her. She looked around the tavern, but couldn't see any faces she recognized. The back booths were concealed in shadows, and she couldn't see the occupants. She felt a creepy tingle down her back as she wondered if maybe Albert's business friend was sitting back there, watching her.
Snape finished his meal, left some coins on the table, got up to leave, but stopped at the bar. He handed the barmaid some coins and said: "Here, see the lady by the fireplace in the brown robe? Take her a glass of chilled apple mead". The barmaid fixed the drink and carried it over to the table where the women were enjoying a respite from the quidditch talk, and set it in front of Mirabelle. Mirabelle looked at the drink with a puzzled look. "But I didn't order this" she said to the barmaid.
"No love, but the man at the end of the bar did, and asked me to bring it over to you". All four of the women craned their necks towards the end of the bar but all they could see was a dark hooded figure sweeping out the door. "Who was that Mira?" asked Lucy. "Must be a secret admirer" she replied, looking quite embarassed, and the women all started to giggle like schoolgirls.
The next afternoon, Tricia was sorting the owl post and came across a scroll addressed to Mira. She took it back to the office where Mirabelle was taking care of paperwork. "Auntie Belle, this came in the post, but addressed to you, not the store. And it's got a Hogwarts seal on it". Mirabelle took the scroll, and wondered why it was sent to the store and not her personal mailbox in the village post office. She broke the red wax seal, unrolled it and read the scratchy sharp handwriting: "Hope you enjoyed the chilled mead, if you can, meet me at the cafe' this evening so we can continue our conversation from earlier this week". It was signed with a hastily scribbled signature she couldn't read, but she knew whom it was from.
"What's it say? Am I in some kind of trouble Aunt Belle?"
"No, nothing like that dear". The door chime jingled. "Go see if they need help Tricia, I'll be back here if you need me".
It was a slow day at the tailor shop. Mirabelle got caught up on her paperwork, and Tricia straightened the racks and shelves on the sales floor. Mirabelle let the girl leave early, as Tricia wanted to spend some time with a friend from the village who attended the Hogsmeade wizarding day school instead of Hogwarts. The fall term would be starting soon, and the girls wouldn't be able to see each other again until Christmas holidays. Mirabelle peered out the window at the cafe' several times towards the end of the day, but didn't see the professor sitting at any of the outside tables.
She closed the shop at six and went upstairs to freshen up and put on a robe. She settled on a simple charcoal gray robe with tiny silver buttons and put her hair up with a pair of silver combs. She grabbed up her bag and hurried out the door. Crossing the street, she searched the cluster of tables on the cafe' patio for the professor. Not seeing him anywhere, she took a table towards the back. The waitress came by to take her order. "A pot of spice tea please, and two cups, I'm expecting company." Mirabelle let her mind wander while staring at the crowds passing by on the sidewalk. She was too engrossed to notice the professor slip through the crowded cafe' and approach the table. The scrape of the chair legs on the tiled patio floor startled her and she jumped in her seat, and turned to face the professor.
"Sorry it took me so long to get here, I was delayed at the school, start of term preparations you know."
Mira regained her composure, "Oh, no problem, I haven't been here long. I hope you like spice tea, I ordered a pot for us". Just then, the waitress returned with a tray containing a white china tea set.
"Will that be all, would you like some scones? Teacakes?" Mira looked at the professor, he shook his head. "No thanks, just the tea."
The professor poured them both a cup of tea, and handed one to Mira. "So, about these wizarding artifacts your family used to sell, do you know much about them?"
"Not much. I mean, I remember a little, but you have to understand, when I inherited the shop, it was after the attack on my family, and the back room where the wizarding antiques were showcased was nearly demolished. My mother had been very careful to keep descriptive records of everything in the store, but the inventory book was missing several pages after the attack. I knew what some of the items were, others, I simply had no idea. Most of my wizarding customers knew what they were looking for and knew at a glance if it was in the back room showcases or not. Eventually, they told me enough about the items that I could reconstruct the inventory book."
Snape sat back in his chair, fiddling with the empty cup. "I need to ask you something Mira. Do you believe that the people who attacked and killed your family were looking for something in that back room?"
"Oh definitely. The entire room was ransacked, the inventory book was missing several pages, but nothing was touched in the main part of the store."
"Do you have any idea what they were looking for?"
"Honestly professor, I haven't got a clue. I mean, I wasn't really allowed back there much when my parents were alive, and after the attack a lot of the artifacts were destroyed and of what was left intact, I really couldn't tell if anything was missing or not. Missing inventory lists and missing tags. "
"I see. Would you like another cup of tea?"
"Please, and some cream and a little sugar if you don't mind."
The professor refilled their teacups and passed Mira's back over to her. "Do you recall ever hearing your parents, or your aunt and uncle mention a powerful stone artifact?"
"No, it doesn't ring a bell, do you know what it looks like? Maybe I can remember seeing it in the cases."
"I just know it's a stone or jewel, maybe an orb. It could be set in a piece of jewelry like a talisman or amulet."
"Nope, sorry. If I had a picture or maybe a more detailed description, but I just don't remember anything fitting that description off the top of my head. We had several jewelry pieces, but nothing stands out."
"Hmmmmm. What happened to the wizarding artifacts when you closed the store?"
"Everything got sold off in an auction. I called in some liquidators, a blended muggle/wizard couple, and they held two auctions. One for the general merchandise, open to the public, and a second auction to get rid of the wizarding artifacts, a private auction for wizarding folk."
"Did anybody unusual show up to the wizarding auction, maybe men in dark robes, shady characters?"
"That I couldn't tell you professor, I wasn't at either auction. I had decided to move on with my life and washed my hands of it all when I called the liquidators. The auctioneers might have records of all the winning bidders though."
Snape took a long sip of tea, thinking about what Mira had told him regarding the artifacts. Maybe the stone was taken from the shop but had never made it to Voldemort before he went into seclusion following the backfired curse that drained his powers? Maybe some unsuspecting wizard or witch bought it and had no idea what they possessed? Maybe it was destroyed in the attack or lost in the confusion afterwards?
"By the way professor, what's your interest in it? You're awfully curious about this object."
"It's a very powerful artifact, it could cause serious damage if it fell into the hands of somebody who didn't know its power or who planned to use it for destructive purposes."
"Do you have any idea of what it does professor?"
"No. I just know that it's immensely powerful and has the potential to be very dangerous."
"Well, I'll ask my cousin if she remembers her parents mentioning anything like that, but no promises. Sorry I couldn't have been any more help to you."
"Oh, it's quite alright. I figured it'd be a long shot anyway. It's probably buried in an ancient ruin somewhere or in somebody's private collection of antiquities."
They both sat back and silently finished their tea.
Snape set his empty cup on the tray. "Well, it's getting late, I need to head back to the school. I have a lot of work to do this week to get ready for the new term."
They got up from the table, and Mira fished some coins out of her robe pocket and laid them on the tea tray.
"No, Mira, I asked you to meet me here, let me pay for the tea."
Mira smiled at him. "No, it's okay professor. Consider it returning the favor of the drink in the tavern last night." He returned an awkward smile and she thought she could see the faintest bit of a blush in his pale complexion.
"Let me walk you across the street to the tailor shop Mira, one can never be too careful after dark these days."
"Okay professor, but really, it's just across the street, if you're in a hurry to get home, I can make it just fine on my own."
Snape held out his arm for her to take "No, I insist. I'd feel better if I walked you home, it is after dark."
"Well thanks, that's awfully kind of you." Mira hooked her arm through the crook in his and they walked across the patio, through the back of the cafe', and across the street to the tailor shop. Mira let go of his arm, fished her key out of her bag, and unlocked the door.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you with the artifact. I hope this evening wasn't a total waste of time, I know you're busy right now."
"Oh no, not at all Mira, it was a pleasant diversion from my work. Once the school term begins, I'm afraid I won't have much chance for diversions."
Mira opened the door, set one foot over the threshold and turned back to him.
"Good night professor".
She turned back to the door and he reached out and took her hand.
"Mira"
"Yes?"
"You don't have to call me Professor, my name's Severus.
He smiled at her awkwardly, and took her hand in both of his and kissed it. Realizing what he had just done, his face turned paler than usual then blushed scarlet red. He dropped her hand and practically flew down the street and then down the road leading to the school grounds, cursing himself for making such a foolish and embarassing move.
It will be quite obvious to the reader that he is severely out of practice with the ladies.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never was. Not the bits from the books and movies that is.
Chapter 11: Fortune Favors the Bold.
Mirabelle rose early, and sent for her cousin's daughter to come help out at the shop. She had left a lot of unfinished work when she closed early the previous afternoon. Mirabelle busied herself in the back room, filing paperwork and working on the monthly accounting statement. She put Tricia to work in the front of the store, unpacking new robes that had arrived from the workshop, and owling customers to let them know their custom orders were ready. Susan arrived at noon to fetch her daughter for an afternoon of back to school shopping in Diagon Alley. While Hogwarts School was just outside the town of Hogsmeade, Tricia lived on campus during the school terms. She came home only during the holidays. Though there was a small wizarding day school located in the village, the Treadles wanted their child to have the prestige of a Hogwarts education.
Susan was still giving Mirabelle the cold shoulder following the argument they had regarding the end of summer festival. Susan railed at how Mirabelle was setting a poor example for Tricia by dancing wantonly with several men of the village after the formal dancing was completed. Mirabelle gently reminded her cousin of the many times they danced wantonly and did even worse things during Mardi Gras back when they lived in New Orleans. Susan not so gently reminded Mirabelle that they were no longer living in New Orleans and that there was a strict social code that good wizarding families were expected to abide by, and daughters of good wizarding families behaved with restraint and decorum. Mirabelle let her cousin rant at her, grateful that information regarding the after hours impromptu drum jam and dance session hadn't found its way through the grapevine. If Susan thought the country dancing during the festival was wanton, she'd have a fit over how Mirabelle, Lucilla, and the other girls were dancing in the wee hours.
Tricia gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek and followed her mother through the floo network fireplace to Diagon Alley. Mirabelle's afternoon went by rather smoothly. Lucilla stopped by just before closing, and asked her if she wanted to go watch the local boys play quidditch. Mirabelle locked up the store, and the two women headed to the quidditch practice field to sit and watch Garrett and the others on their brooms. Lucilla wouldn't even touch a broom after a nasty fall into a briar patch back in her school days. Mirabelle could take it or leave it, she occasionally liked to fly, but felt quidditch was extremely overrated. The local boys were trying to put an amateur quidditch team together, but had a long way to go before they were ready to actually compete in a match. It was really more of an excuse to get together after work, do some fancy flying, and then retire to the pub for a round of drinks.
Professor Snape's day in the Hogwarts potions lab went less than smoothly. Distracted and nursing a grudge from Dumbledore's teasing at breakfast, he accidentally spilled a vial of a caustic elixir and had to stop and clean up the mess before it damaged his workbench. He mistakenly added wormwood before the potion came to a boil instead of afterwards and had to pour an entire cauldron of a healing potion down the drain. Frustrated, he called it a day and wanted no more than to get away from the school for a while. He grabbed his cloak and made his way into Hogsmeade. The weather was invigoratingly cool, so he decided to walk to the village for a bit of exercise and fresh air. As he made his way down the main street, he stopped in front of the tailor shop. But it was closed. "Maybe she's at the tavern" he said to himself and continued on to the Hog's Head.
He took his usual table in the back, but didn't see Mirabelle at any of the tables. The barmaid came to take his order; he ordered ale and a light meal. Food at the Hog's Head left much to be desired, but their sandwiches were palatable. He watched a group of wizards playing cards at one of the tables, realizing that one was cheating. He smirked to himself, and took another drink of his ale.
The door opened and a large group of people entered the tavern. The barmaid and barman pushed some tables together in the middle of the main seating area to accommodate them. There were a dozen people in the group, eight men and four women. Snape immediately recognized two of the women as Mirabelle and her blonde friend. He thought of approaching her, but he didn't want to impose. The men ordered their drinks, and started to get rowdy, talking animatedly about quidditch and telling bawdy jokes. The four women got up and moved to a smaller table near the fireplace. Mira kept feeling as if she were being watched. It was the same exact sensation as the night she was dancing in the square after the festival and had felt unseen eyes watching her. She looked around the tavern, but couldn't see any faces she recognized. The back booths were concealed in shadows, and she couldn't see the occupants. She felt a creepy tingle down her back as she wondered if maybe Albert's business friend was sitting back there, watching her.
Snape finished his meal, left some coins on the table, got up to leave, but stopped at the bar. He handed the barmaid some coins and said: "Here, see the lady by the fireplace in the brown robe? Take her a glass of chilled apple mead". The barmaid fixed the drink and carried it over to the table where the women were enjoying a respite from the quidditch talk, and set it in front of Mirabelle. Mirabelle looked at the drink with a puzzled look. "But I didn't order this" she said to the barmaid.
"No love, but the man at the end of the bar did, and asked me to bring it over to you". All four of the women craned their necks towards the end of the bar but all they could see was a dark hooded figure sweeping out the door. "Who was that Mira?" asked Lucy. "Must be a secret admirer" she replied, looking quite embarassed, and the women all started to giggle like schoolgirls.
The next afternoon, Tricia was sorting the owl post and came across a scroll addressed to Mira. She took it back to the office where Mirabelle was taking care of paperwork. "Auntie Belle, this came in the post, but addressed to you, not the store. And it's got a Hogwarts seal on it". Mirabelle took the scroll, and wondered why it was sent to the store and not her personal mailbox in the village post office. She broke the red wax seal, unrolled it and read the scratchy sharp handwriting: "Hope you enjoyed the chilled mead, if you can, meet me at the cafe' this evening so we can continue our conversation from earlier this week". It was signed with a hastily scribbled signature she couldn't read, but she knew whom it was from.
"What's it say? Am I in some kind of trouble Aunt Belle?"
"No, nothing like that dear". The door chime jingled. "Go see if they need help Tricia, I'll be back here if you need me".
It was a slow day at the tailor shop. Mirabelle got caught up on her paperwork, and Tricia straightened the racks and shelves on the sales floor. Mirabelle let the girl leave early, as Tricia wanted to spend some time with a friend from the village who attended the Hogsmeade wizarding day school instead of Hogwarts. The fall term would be starting soon, and the girls wouldn't be able to see each other again until Christmas holidays. Mirabelle peered out the window at the cafe' several times towards the end of the day, but didn't see the professor sitting at any of the outside tables.
She closed the shop at six and went upstairs to freshen up and put on a robe. She settled on a simple charcoal gray robe with tiny silver buttons and put her hair up with a pair of silver combs. She grabbed up her bag and hurried out the door. Crossing the street, she searched the cluster of tables on the cafe' patio for the professor. Not seeing him anywhere, she took a table towards the back. The waitress came by to take her order. "A pot of spice tea please, and two cups, I'm expecting company." Mirabelle let her mind wander while staring at the crowds passing by on the sidewalk. She was too engrossed to notice the professor slip through the crowded cafe' and approach the table. The scrape of the chair legs on the tiled patio floor startled her and she jumped in her seat, and turned to face the professor.
"Sorry it took me so long to get here, I was delayed at the school, start of term preparations you know."
Mira regained her composure, "Oh, no problem, I haven't been here long. I hope you like spice tea, I ordered a pot for us". Just then, the waitress returned with a tray containing a white china tea set.
"Will that be all, would you like some scones? Teacakes?" Mira looked at the professor, he shook his head. "No thanks, just the tea."
The professor poured them both a cup of tea, and handed one to Mira. "So, about these wizarding artifacts your family used to sell, do you know much about them?"
"Not much. I mean, I remember a little, but you have to understand, when I inherited the shop, it was after the attack on my family, and the back room where the wizarding antiques were showcased was nearly demolished. My mother had been very careful to keep descriptive records of everything in the store, but the inventory book was missing several pages after the attack. I knew what some of the items were, others, I simply had no idea. Most of my wizarding customers knew what they were looking for and knew at a glance if it was in the back room showcases or not. Eventually, they told me enough about the items that I could reconstruct the inventory book."
Snape sat back in his chair, fiddling with the empty cup. "I need to ask you something Mira. Do you believe that the people who attacked and killed your family were looking for something in that back room?"
"Oh definitely. The entire room was ransacked, the inventory book was missing several pages, but nothing was touched in the main part of the store."
"Do you have any idea what they were looking for?"
"Honestly professor, I haven't got a clue. I mean, I wasn't really allowed back there much when my parents were alive, and after the attack a lot of the artifacts were destroyed and of what was left intact, I really couldn't tell if anything was missing or not. Missing inventory lists and missing tags. "
"I see. Would you like another cup of tea?"
"Please, and some cream and a little sugar if you don't mind."
The professor refilled their teacups and passed Mira's back over to her. "Do you recall ever hearing your parents, or your aunt and uncle mention a powerful stone artifact?"
"No, it doesn't ring a bell, do you know what it looks like? Maybe I can remember seeing it in the cases."
"I just know it's a stone or jewel, maybe an orb. It could be set in a piece of jewelry like a talisman or amulet."
"Nope, sorry. If I had a picture or maybe a more detailed description, but I just don't remember anything fitting that description off the top of my head. We had several jewelry pieces, but nothing stands out."
"Hmmmmm. What happened to the wizarding artifacts when you closed the store?"
"Everything got sold off in an auction. I called in some liquidators, a blended muggle/wizard couple, and they held two auctions. One for the general merchandise, open to the public, and a second auction to get rid of the wizarding artifacts, a private auction for wizarding folk."
"Did anybody unusual show up to the wizarding auction, maybe men in dark robes, shady characters?"
"That I couldn't tell you professor, I wasn't at either auction. I had decided to move on with my life and washed my hands of it all when I called the liquidators. The auctioneers might have records of all the winning bidders though."
Snape took a long sip of tea, thinking about what Mira had told him regarding the artifacts. Maybe the stone was taken from the shop but had never made it to Voldemort before he went into seclusion following the backfired curse that drained his powers? Maybe some unsuspecting wizard or witch bought it and had no idea what they possessed? Maybe it was destroyed in the attack or lost in the confusion afterwards?
"By the way professor, what's your interest in it? You're awfully curious about this object."
"It's a very powerful artifact, it could cause serious damage if it fell into the hands of somebody who didn't know its power or who planned to use it for destructive purposes."
"Do you have any idea of what it does professor?"
"No. I just know that it's immensely powerful and has the potential to be very dangerous."
"Well, I'll ask my cousin if she remembers her parents mentioning anything like that, but no promises. Sorry I couldn't have been any more help to you."
"Oh, it's quite alright. I figured it'd be a long shot anyway. It's probably buried in an ancient ruin somewhere or in somebody's private collection of antiquities."
They both sat back and silently finished their tea.
Snape set his empty cup on the tray. "Well, it's getting late, I need to head back to the school. I have a lot of work to do this week to get ready for the new term."
They got up from the table, and Mira fished some coins out of her robe pocket and laid them on the tea tray.
"No, Mira, I asked you to meet me here, let me pay for the tea."
Mira smiled at him. "No, it's okay professor. Consider it returning the favor of the drink in the tavern last night." He returned an awkward smile and she thought she could see the faintest bit of a blush in his pale complexion.
"Let me walk you across the street to the tailor shop Mira, one can never be too careful after dark these days."
"Okay professor, but really, it's just across the street, if you're in a hurry to get home, I can make it just fine on my own."
Snape held out his arm for her to take "No, I insist. I'd feel better if I walked you home, it is after dark."
"Well thanks, that's awfully kind of you." Mira hooked her arm through the crook in his and they walked across the patio, through the back of the cafe', and across the street to the tailor shop. Mira let go of his arm, fished her key out of her bag, and unlocked the door.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you with the artifact. I hope this evening wasn't a total waste of time, I know you're busy right now."
"Oh no, not at all Mira, it was a pleasant diversion from my work. Once the school term begins, I'm afraid I won't have much chance for diversions."
Mira opened the door, set one foot over the threshold and turned back to him.
"Good night professor".
She turned back to the door and he reached out and took her hand.
"Mira"
"Yes?"
"You don't have to call me Professor, my name's Severus.
He smiled at her awkwardly, and took her hand in both of his and kissed it. Realizing what he had just done, his face turned paler than usual then blushed scarlet red. He dropped her hand and practically flew down the street and then down the road leading to the school grounds, cursing himself for making such a foolish and embarassing move.