Author's Notes: I wanted to write a chapter where Snape allows himself to
step out of his shell, just for a little bit. What would he be like
without the weight of his situation as ex Death Eater and counterspy
weighing down on his shoulders? I think he'd be a lot like the way I
portrayed him in this chapter.
Mira gets to re-acquaint herself with her hometown, and show the professor a good time. It's the calm before another storm sets in.
Disclaimer: If it's recognized from the books and movies, then it's not at all mine.
Chapter 24: Stepping Out of the Box.
Mira removed her wand from her purse and performed the simple charm to reveal the doorknob and hinges. She pulled her key out and unlocked the door. She stepped in and saw Snape standing to the side of the table, shoulders tensed, wand in hand by his side, at the ready. Mira was caught off guard. She hadn't expected him to be awake yet. She was also slightly taken aback by the sight of him. "Oh hell yeah!" She thought to herself. "That man is one sexy beast!" He had cleaned himself up and was wearing her long black silk robe, belted at the hip, the top open just enough to show the silky black hair of his chest. His hair was clean and shiny and hung down smoothly onto his shoulders. She'd have to make sure he took that robe home with him, he did it complete and total justice.
"Hey, it's just me.expecting anybody else? I see you got cleaned up. Nice." Mira winked as she walked past him, towards the sofas on the other side of the room. "I was gonna just borrow some of Jules's clothes for you to wear, but I figured that paint spattered coveralls and old concert tee shirts weren't exactly your style. So, I picked you up something new. Hope you like it. I thought it seemed to suit you. If not, it's only for today and tomorrow.
She handed him the shopping bag. He warily took it, giving her a suspicious look.
"Go on, get dressed. Your own shoes and stuff will do, there's just trousers, a jumper and a coat in the bag. Your hair's fine. Long hair's in fashion in the muggle world too.
He headed towards the bedroom door, and shot her an angry glare over his shoulder. "I'm not out to win any fashion awards. I just want to blend in with the crowd."
"Trust me. You'll be fine. Now hurry up, I know you're hungry and I'm still starving too."
He emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, looking a little self- conscious but very nice in the clothes she had chosen for him. He had also taken a black elastic band out of her vanity table drawer and pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail.
"Whoah! Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you really clean up nicely, you know that?"
He shot her a dirty look and then gave a self-satisfied little smirk as he adjusted the collar of the jacket.
"I made a few minor adjustments. The jumper was a little loose and the trousers a little short. And I added some pockets to the inside of the jacket for my wand and other necessities. But all in all, it's not as bad as I expected. I forgive you for forcing me into muggle clothes; you went out of your way to make it as tolerable as can be. Now, remember our deal. One hour. If I feel the least bit uncomfortable, we return back here at once. Is that clear?"
"Clear. Now come on, let's go."
Mira closed and locked the door behind them, and led Snape down the stairs to the little side hallway that ran behind the gallery. When they got to the front of the door, she stopped and turned back to him.
"Now. The moment we step through this door onto that street, we enter into the muggle world. You can use no magic, whatsoever. If anything happens, we've got to think our way out of it without resorting to magic. Just relax, try and keep an open mind, and follow my lead." Mira unlocked the door and stepped out. Snape took a tentative step out into the sunlight, wincing and shielding his eyes with his hand.
"Ooh, sorry about that. Here, I got these for you too."
Mira reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of very modern men's sunglasses and handed them to the professor. She took her own out of a little case and put them on.
"Sunglasses. Put them on, they'll protect your eyes. They make you look cool too."
He gingerly opened the sunglasses and put them on, looked around, nodded his head and made a little "hmmmph" noise.
"See, pretty cool huh?"
He looked down at her with a sarcastic smile, and gave her a nudge onto the sidewalk. He took a few steps ahead of her, looking in through the windows at the art in the gallery as Mira locked the door and put her key in her purse. He had turned to look at the morning traffic, and Mira saw Maggie frantically waving from inside. She pointed at Snape, then mouthed the word "Him?" at Mira. Mira nodded yes, and Maggie's jaw dropped. She gave an exaggerated bow towards Mira and gave her two thumbs up. Mira giggled to herself and gave a dismissive wave to Maggie and took the professor by the arm and led him down the street, towards the center of the French Quarter.
Mira leaned in towards him. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Dare I ask? Or am I better off not knowing?"
Mira rolled her eyes at him and muttered under her breath: "No, but you'd better pull the god-damned pole out of your ass."
"What did you just say?"
"Oh, nothing. Just that I hope they have orange juice, I could really use a big tall glass." She gave him a cherubic smile and batted her eyelashes.
He gripped her arm tightly, causing her to tense. "Ow! What'd you do that for?"
"Don't fuck with me Mira. Remember our deal."
"Jeez, I was just playing. Besides, is that any way to treat somebody who's taking you to breakfast?"
"I can only imagine what passes for breakfast around here."
"Don't be so uptight, I thought we settled the relaxation thing right after we got here. I'm taking you to an English teahouse. They serve a breakfast tea that's to die for."
He raised his eyebrow at her, and gave a half smile. "Well now. That certainly is a pleasant surprise."
After a long and satisfying breakfast, she led him from the teahouse to Jackson Square and motioned for him to sit next to her on a park bench.
"The tourists generally don't start moving around until closer to noontime, late nights hitting the bars and casinos you know."
She pointed out several landmarks, such as the cathedral and some of the more famous shops in the area. "When my ancestors arrived here, they rented warehouse space down by the river. It's all changed a lot since then, but in many ways, a lot's the same. Now, see over there, across the street. The antiques store? Two witch sisters own that one. A lot of things from my store are probably gathering dust over there as we speak. And that one a few doors down, the jewelry store? It's owned by a wizarding family too."
"I must say. This part of the city is not as horribly foreign as I had expected."
"No, it's the oldest part of the city. It should be more familiar to you."
Snape looked at her and shot her a nasty but puzzled look. "Why do you say that?"
"Uh, well, ummm. Hell, I don't know. I don't want to insult you or anything, but Hogsmeade and Hogwarts seem so old fashioned, even archaic. But you wouldn't notice that, you're a native."
"Mira. There is so much that you do not know about the wizarding world. You're a member by default, being born witch instead of muggle. But you haven't lived it all your life, so you just don't know. It's true. Most old wizarding families go to great lengths to segregate themselves from anything related to the muggle world. Partly from prejudice and misunderstanding. Partly from habit and to preserve what is safe and familiar. I'm not saying it's right Mira, but it's the way it is, the way it's been for centuries among us. My family was a very old and conservative wizarding family. They even kept house elves for a while when times were more prosperous. And I was raised to be suspicious of and to feel superior to muggles. This growing unrest, it all boils down to a group of wizards believing that muggles are inferior and are polluting the purity of the wizarding culture by intermarriage and by allowing muggle born witches and wizards to train alongside purebloods. I despise that term. Pure Blood. What the hell does that mean anyway? Some of the most twisted and violent witches and wizards are Pure Bloods. For me, it's safe and comfortable, and the way it always has been. Maybe if I had been exposed more to muggle culture in my youth and been raised by less prejudiced parents, and around less prejudiced peers, I would be more comfortable with muggles and the muggle culture. But I'm just the way I am. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were intolerant or wrong. I just don't understand so much about the wizarding world, and I really want to be able to understand you a little better, too."
He looked around, as if checking to see if they were being spied upon, and turned to Mira. "Mira, let's get this straight before things go any farther. There are things about me that you would never understand. Things that you are better off not knowing. Don't try and understand me Mira, you simply do not want to start down that path. You're the first person who I've let get remotely close to me in over a decade. Don't ruin it by expecting what I'm unable to give."
She looked down at her feet uncomfortably, and then out at the crowd gathering in the square. Lucy's words, and the words of the old woman in the store, playing through her mind in an endless loop. She looked at him and saw resignation and that same old self-loathing bitterness that was never far beneath the surface, even during the few times she had seen his mood lift just a little. "What the hell have I gotten myself sucked into?" She thought to herself as she watched a man sketching portraits for tourists, and absentmindedly twirled the magical bauble on the necklace around in her fingers.
She looked back up at Snape, and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable; it's just that sometimes I forget what radically different worlds we both come from. Come on. I promised you I'd show you some of the magical places in town. If you're not ready to head back to my apartment yet, that is."
He got up, adjusted his clothes, and reached for her hand. "No, actually this isn't as bad as I expected. I want to see more, but not any of the most modern parts of the city. That would be too much."
He linked his arm with hers, and they walked along towards the old market near the river, where they browsed for quite a while. Mira showed him a few stalls where witches and wizards were selling "herbs" which were as useful for potion making as for cooking and herbal medicine. Snape picked up a bundle of small branches with prickly stems to examine it more closely. "That there's Toothache Tree," said the old woman who was running the stall. "You shave the wood into slivers and boil it for the liquid." He snapped one of the small twigs and sniffed, cocking his head to the side. "Unless you know of better uses for it, that is.." said the old woman with a sly wink. Snape raised his eyebrow and turned to Mira, who was sniffing a bucket of freshly cut lavender.
"Mira, do you have any extra coins with you? I'd like to take some of this back to my lab. I read about it in a book."
"Oh, sure, whatever you think you can use." He handed the bundle to the woman, and Mira asked for a small bunch of lavender. The old woman wrapped the bundle of twigs in paper, and folded a dozen stems of the lavender up inside themselves to make a bunch and tied it tightly with a blue ribbon to make a neat little bouquet. Mira paid for the herbs, and Snape slipped the bundle into one of the many pockets he had added to the inside of the leather coat. She tucked the little bouquet of lavender in the knot of the scarf she was wearing, and they went along their way, down to the river, where they sat for quite some time, watching the parade of tourists exploring the marketplace, and the locals going about their day-to-day errands.
The time passed quickly. Mira sat on the bench, re-acquainting herself with her hometown as if seeing a good friend for the first time in years. Snape sat transfixed at the parade of humanity in all its diversity passing by before them.
"I'm thirsty, how about you?"
"I didn't want to ask, but the sun is quite a bit more than I'm used to back home."
"Will you be okay here by yourself for a few minutes, while I go get us something?"
"How far are you going?"
"See that vendor stall right over there, at the entrance to the marketplace? I'll be right there, within sight."
"I'll manage, I'm not a two year old child who needs mummy to hold his hand."
She smirked and got up and walked over to the vendor stall, and wondered just what he would enjoy and what would be way too exotic for his tastes. She knew that wizarding folk enjoyed pumpkin juice, ales, and cider type drinks. The closest thing the vendor had was mixed fruit juice concoction, so she settled on the juice drink for him and a flavored iced tea for herself. While she was waiting at the stall, a muggle tourist family sat down at the bench next to the professor. The husband and wife in jeans and colorful Bourbon Street tee shirts under even more colorful sports jackets, the baby in an elaborate oversized stroller, wailing about nothing in particular while the father tried to placate him with a large fuzzy toy alligator. Snape had edged as close to the opposite end of the bench as possible without falling off, and was peering sideways at the family, a most sour and distasteful look on his face. Mira laughed to herself as she returned to him with their drinks. He jumped up and met her halfway.
"What's the matter? A little too close for comfort?" She taunted him and handed him the drink.
"Don't push me Mira. I said I was enjoying your little sightseeing tour, but I do have my limits."
Mira found them an unoccupied bench that faced the river. They sat back down, and he gingerly lifted the lid of the cup of juice and sniffed at it.
"Oh come on, it's just fruit juice, I didn't know what else to get you. If you don't like it you can have mine."
He curled his lip and snapped the lid back on the cup and took a tentative sip from the straw. He cocked his head to one side and gave an appreciative nod. "It'll do."
Mira snorted in mock disgust and took a long sip of her tea.
They sat together, watching the sunlight dance on the water of the river, and the tourist riverboats departing and then docking at the piers. Finished with her tea, Mira set the cup down and slid closer to the professor and rested her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and took her hand. They sat there for quite some time, silently watching the sun grow lower on the horizon, and the light dancing more brilliantly on the water. To any passer by, they were merely another couple enjoying the city and each other. The reality of their situation completely masked by the moment of simple contentment that they dragged out for as long as they could.
As the sun started to set, it got quite cold on the riverbank. Mira had pulled the velvety scarf she wore around her neck a little tighter, but it was no use, the moment was over, it was time to move on. She sat up straight and stretched. "Come on, there's one more place I want to take you, then straight home because it does get cold overnight this time of year."
They walked back past the square, and past several bars and nightclubs, neon lights already on, crowds of tourists waiting to get in. While they were waiting to cross the street, she felt a faint tremble from the magical bauble around her neck. She looked around, and saw a man she knew to be a local pickpocket. She watched him closely, and he looked away and started to follow after a group of already drunk college age tourists.
"Where are we going?"
"To a bar. Primarily magical folk, some muggles, but mostly muggles who have some knowledge of the wizarding culture, having been brought in through relationships or by accidentally stumbling onto it on their own. As long as they're discreet about it, they're allowed to remain in the know."
She turned down a much quieter street and stopped in front of a building that at first glance appeared to be abandoned. There were very faded old letters painted on the blacked out window. It read: "Sun and Moon Social Club, Fine Wine and Spirits Served."
Mira grabbed the massive old door handle and pulled it open. "Come on, it's a lot like the Leaky Cauldron back in London, just a little more colorful."
It took a moment for Snape's eyes to adjust to the dim light. He found himself in a cozy womb-like room with an elaborate dark wood bar and several high backed booths along the walls, benches upholstered in rich burgundy fabric. Tiny candle lanterns burned on the tables and a massive dark iron candelabra flickered in the center of the room, over the enormous U shaped bar. Mira showed him to a booth towards the back and took off her scarf and laid it down on the seat. He took his jacket off and sat down.
"So, do you drink anything stronger than chilled apple mead?"
He thought back to the night at Hagrid's and the flask of pale amber liquid. "I enjoy a stiffer drink now and again."
"Good, I know just the thing. An unusual muggle drink. Are you adventurous?"
He looked up at her with a perturbed look on his face. "There's very little in this world that I can't handle myself around. Compared to fire whisky, how bad can this muggle drink be?"
Mira chuckled wickedly to herself. "Okay then. But remember that you asked for it come tomorrow morning."
She approached the bar and leaned in and got the attention of the barman. She pointed to a large bottle of clear liquid that had what appeared to be flecks of gold settled in the bottom of the bottle. "Two large and I do mean large shots please." The barman shook the bottle gently and poured the shimmering liquid into two slender glasses. Mira handed him some cash, and thanked him. She returned to the booth, set the glasses of shimmering liquid on the table, and slid in across from the professor.
He picked up the glass, and held it up to take a closer look. The swirling gold flakes caught the candlelight and shimmered as if on fire. "Mira, this is a wizard drink."
"No, I assure you, it's purely muggle. Although maybe the family who invented it has some wizarding blood in them."
He looked at her suspiciously and sniffed at the glass. He took a deeper sniff. It was certainly strong, but also sweet and had the warm aroma of cinnamon. He looked at Mira with a very suspicious look on his face.
"Oh for goodness sake. Here, watch, it's fine." Mira took a dainty sip from her glass and set it down in front of her and licked her lips. "See, just a plain old muggle drink, albeit a fancy one."
Snape picked up the glass, cast Mira a dubious glance and took a hearty swallow. Immediately his eyes got big, and he slammed the glass back down on the table and started to cough. Mira laughed wickedly and hid her face from the dagger eyes he was shooting at her.
"Damn you! What the hell is this? It's some kind of fire whisky, isn't it?"
"No, nothing like that, honestly. It's called Goldschlager. It's a muggle drink, very potent, and a little exotic. But once you get used to the bite, it's quite a pleasant experience. Drink it slowly, take small sips."
She took another dainty sip, and smiled at him, he took a tentative and much smaller sip. He looked at the glass with a kind of pleasant smirk. "You're right, after the initial shock wears off, it is quite nice. But that was a really nasty trick that almost earned you a painful little curse."
Mira winced at the words "painful little curse" and Snape instantly regretted saying it. "Mira. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you. I didn't think."
"It's okay. I should have warned you before you slammed down a mouthful of your drink. Really. Come sit next to me, that way you can see the bar better, I want to point out some people to you."
Snape slid out of the booth across from Mira, picked up his jacket, and joined her on the side facing the bar. She leaned in closer to him, and pointed out several characters who were drinking and conversing at the bar. "Okay, see him, the one in the cape? He's a wizard. The woman next to him? Witch. The lady with the colorful hair? Muggle but used to live with a wizard. The man next to her? Werewolf. Snape turned to her and looked at her with a very concerned look on his face.
"Werewolf?"
"Uh-huh, and sometimes they get vampires in here too. You'd be very surprised at just who all finds their way here after dark."
He cast a suspicious look around the room, and leaned back in the booth. They finished their drinks in silence, enjoying the sweet but biting cinnamon taste of the drink, and the pleasant warming sensation it gave them. Finished, she looked up at him and wiped a fleck of gold off of his bottom lip. "Come on. It's getting late, and we should be getting home. Put your coat on, you may feel warm in here, but it'll be really cold outside."
They stepped out onto the street, momentarily stunned and sobered up by the bracing night air coming from off the river. They made the short walk over to her building, and climbed the stairs cautiously, both definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol by then. After some fumbling and a couple false starts, Mira managed to get the door to her apartment open, and they staggered inside. She locked the door behind them, and turned to him in a fit of giggles. "So, how'd you enjoy being a tourist for the day?"
He looked at her with a strange expression. The usual sneer wiped completely off of his face by the alcohol, his eyes were glazed and his mouth set in a wicked little smirk.
"It was horrible. Absolutely hellish. And now I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you for tricking me into it." He reached out for her, and she pulled away and stumbled back towards the sofas. He pulled the jacket off and advanced on her, weaving slightly as he crossed the room. He tossed the jacket onto one of the sofas and pushed her down onto the other one. She pulled the elastic band out of his hair and it fell forward into her face. She laughed and batted it away, he reached up and pinned her arms above her head. He lowered his face to hers and met her lips with a kiss. He let go of her wrists and she gripped his shoulders and pulled him closer against her. The mood was shattered by a knock at the door. They both sat up quickly and looked at the door, wondering if they really heard what they thought they heard.
Mira gets to re-acquaint herself with her hometown, and show the professor a good time. It's the calm before another storm sets in.
Disclaimer: If it's recognized from the books and movies, then it's not at all mine.
Chapter 24: Stepping Out of the Box.
Mira removed her wand from her purse and performed the simple charm to reveal the doorknob and hinges. She pulled her key out and unlocked the door. She stepped in and saw Snape standing to the side of the table, shoulders tensed, wand in hand by his side, at the ready. Mira was caught off guard. She hadn't expected him to be awake yet. She was also slightly taken aback by the sight of him. "Oh hell yeah!" She thought to herself. "That man is one sexy beast!" He had cleaned himself up and was wearing her long black silk robe, belted at the hip, the top open just enough to show the silky black hair of his chest. His hair was clean and shiny and hung down smoothly onto his shoulders. She'd have to make sure he took that robe home with him, he did it complete and total justice.
"Hey, it's just me.expecting anybody else? I see you got cleaned up. Nice." Mira winked as she walked past him, towards the sofas on the other side of the room. "I was gonna just borrow some of Jules's clothes for you to wear, but I figured that paint spattered coveralls and old concert tee shirts weren't exactly your style. So, I picked you up something new. Hope you like it. I thought it seemed to suit you. If not, it's only for today and tomorrow.
She handed him the shopping bag. He warily took it, giving her a suspicious look.
"Go on, get dressed. Your own shoes and stuff will do, there's just trousers, a jumper and a coat in the bag. Your hair's fine. Long hair's in fashion in the muggle world too.
He headed towards the bedroom door, and shot her an angry glare over his shoulder. "I'm not out to win any fashion awards. I just want to blend in with the crowd."
"Trust me. You'll be fine. Now hurry up, I know you're hungry and I'm still starving too."
He emerged from the bedroom a few minutes later, looking a little self- conscious but very nice in the clothes she had chosen for him. He had also taken a black elastic band out of her vanity table drawer and pulled his hair back into a loose ponytail.
"Whoah! Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you really clean up nicely, you know that?"
He shot her a dirty look and then gave a self-satisfied little smirk as he adjusted the collar of the jacket.
"I made a few minor adjustments. The jumper was a little loose and the trousers a little short. And I added some pockets to the inside of the jacket for my wand and other necessities. But all in all, it's not as bad as I expected. I forgive you for forcing me into muggle clothes; you went out of your way to make it as tolerable as can be. Now, remember our deal. One hour. If I feel the least bit uncomfortable, we return back here at once. Is that clear?"
"Clear. Now come on, let's go."
Mira closed and locked the door behind them, and led Snape down the stairs to the little side hallway that ran behind the gallery. When they got to the front of the door, she stopped and turned back to him.
"Now. The moment we step through this door onto that street, we enter into the muggle world. You can use no magic, whatsoever. If anything happens, we've got to think our way out of it without resorting to magic. Just relax, try and keep an open mind, and follow my lead." Mira unlocked the door and stepped out. Snape took a tentative step out into the sunlight, wincing and shielding his eyes with his hand.
"Ooh, sorry about that. Here, I got these for you too."
Mira reached into her purse and pulled out a pair of very modern men's sunglasses and handed them to the professor. She took her own out of a little case and put them on.
"Sunglasses. Put them on, they'll protect your eyes. They make you look cool too."
He gingerly opened the sunglasses and put them on, looked around, nodded his head and made a little "hmmmph" noise.
"See, pretty cool huh?"
He looked down at her with a sarcastic smile, and gave her a nudge onto the sidewalk. He took a few steps ahead of her, looking in through the windows at the art in the gallery as Mira locked the door and put her key in her purse. He had turned to look at the morning traffic, and Mira saw Maggie frantically waving from inside. She pointed at Snape, then mouthed the word "Him?" at Mira. Mira nodded yes, and Maggie's jaw dropped. She gave an exaggerated bow towards Mira and gave her two thumbs up. Mira giggled to herself and gave a dismissive wave to Maggie and took the professor by the arm and led him down the street, towards the center of the French Quarter.
Mira leaned in towards him. "I've got a surprise for you."
"Dare I ask? Or am I better off not knowing?"
Mira rolled her eyes at him and muttered under her breath: "No, but you'd better pull the god-damned pole out of your ass."
"What did you just say?"
"Oh, nothing. Just that I hope they have orange juice, I could really use a big tall glass." She gave him a cherubic smile and batted her eyelashes.
He gripped her arm tightly, causing her to tense. "Ow! What'd you do that for?"
"Don't fuck with me Mira. Remember our deal."
"Jeez, I was just playing. Besides, is that any way to treat somebody who's taking you to breakfast?"
"I can only imagine what passes for breakfast around here."
"Don't be so uptight, I thought we settled the relaxation thing right after we got here. I'm taking you to an English teahouse. They serve a breakfast tea that's to die for."
He raised his eyebrow at her, and gave a half smile. "Well now. That certainly is a pleasant surprise."
After a long and satisfying breakfast, she led him from the teahouse to Jackson Square and motioned for him to sit next to her on a park bench.
"The tourists generally don't start moving around until closer to noontime, late nights hitting the bars and casinos you know."
She pointed out several landmarks, such as the cathedral and some of the more famous shops in the area. "When my ancestors arrived here, they rented warehouse space down by the river. It's all changed a lot since then, but in many ways, a lot's the same. Now, see over there, across the street. The antiques store? Two witch sisters own that one. A lot of things from my store are probably gathering dust over there as we speak. And that one a few doors down, the jewelry store? It's owned by a wizarding family too."
"I must say. This part of the city is not as horribly foreign as I had expected."
"No, it's the oldest part of the city. It should be more familiar to you."
Snape looked at her and shot her a nasty but puzzled look. "Why do you say that?"
"Uh, well, ummm. Hell, I don't know. I don't want to insult you or anything, but Hogsmeade and Hogwarts seem so old fashioned, even archaic. But you wouldn't notice that, you're a native."
"Mira. There is so much that you do not know about the wizarding world. You're a member by default, being born witch instead of muggle. But you haven't lived it all your life, so you just don't know. It's true. Most old wizarding families go to great lengths to segregate themselves from anything related to the muggle world. Partly from prejudice and misunderstanding. Partly from habit and to preserve what is safe and familiar. I'm not saying it's right Mira, but it's the way it is, the way it's been for centuries among us. My family was a very old and conservative wizarding family. They even kept house elves for a while when times were more prosperous. And I was raised to be suspicious of and to feel superior to muggles. This growing unrest, it all boils down to a group of wizards believing that muggles are inferior and are polluting the purity of the wizarding culture by intermarriage and by allowing muggle born witches and wizards to train alongside purebloods. I despise that term. Pure Blood. What the hell does that mean anyway? Some of the most twisted and violent witches and wizards are Pure Bloods. For me, it's safe and comfortable, and the way it always has been. Maybe if I had been exposed more to muggle culture in my youth and been raised by less prejudiced parents, and around less prejudiced peers, I would be more comfortable with muggles and the muggle culture. But I'm just the way I am. I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that I thought you were intolerant or wrong. I just don't understand so much about the wizarding world, and I really want to be able to understand you a little better, too."
He looked around, as if checking to see if they were being spied upon, and turned to Mira. "Mira, let's get this straight before things go any farther. There are things about me that you would never understand. Things that you are better off not knowing. Don't try and understand me Mira, you simply do not want to start down that path. You're the first person who I've let get remotely close to me in over a decade. Don't ruin it by expecting what I'm unable to give."
She looked down at her feet uncomfortably, and then out at the crowd gathering in the square. Lucy's words, and the words of the old woman in the store, playing through her mind in an endless loop. She looked at him and saw resignation and that same old self-loathing bitterness that was never far beneath the surface, even during the few times she had seen his mood lift just a little. "What the hell have I gotten myself sucked into?" She thought to herself as she watched a man sketching portraits for tourists, and absentmindedly twirled the magical bauble on the necklace around in her fingers.
She looked back up at Snape, and placed her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to make you uncomfortable; it's just that sometimes I forget what radically different worlds we both come from. Come on. I promised you I'd show you some of the magical places in town. If you're not ready to head back to my apartment yet, that is."
He got up, adjusted his clothes, and reached for her hand. "No, actually this isn't as bad as I expected. I want to see more, but not any of the most modern parts of the city. That would be too much."
He linked his arm with hers, and they walked along towards the old market near the river, where they browsed for quite a while. Mira showed him a few stalls where witches and wizards were selling "herbs" which were as useful for potion making as for cooking and herbal medicine. Snape picked up a bundle of small branches with prickly stems to examine it more closely. "That there's Toothache Tree," said the old woman who was running the stall. "You shave the wood into slivers and boil it for the liquid." He snapped one of the small twigs and sniffed, cocking his head to the side. "Unless you know of better uses for it, that is.." said the old woman with a sly wink. Snape raised his eyebrow and turned to Mira, who was sniffing a bucket of freshly cut lavender.
"Mira, do you have any extra coins with you? I'd like to take some of this back to my lab. I read about it in a book."
"Oh, sure, whatever you think you can use." He handed the bundle to the woman, and Mira asked for a small bunch of lavender. The old woman wrapped the bundle of twigs in paper, and folded a dozen stems of the lavender up inside themselves to make a bunch and tied it tightly with a blue ribbon to make a neat little bouquet. Mira paid for the herbs, and Snape slipped the bundle into one of the many pockets he had added to the inside of the leather coat. She tucked the little bouquet of lavender in the knot of the scarf she was wearing, and they went along their way, down to the river, where they sat for quite some time, watching the parade of tourists exploring the marketplace, and the locals going about their day-to-day errands.
The time passed quickly. Mira sat on the bench, re-acquainting herself with her hometown as if seeing a good friend for the first time in years. Snape sat transfixed at the parade of humanity in all its diversity passing by before them.
"I'm thirsty, how about you?"
"I didn't want to ask, but the sun is quite a bit more than I'm used to back home."
"Will you be okay here by yourself for a few minutes, while I go get us something?"
"How far are you going?"
"See that vendor stall right over there, at the entrance to the marketplace? I'll be right there, within sight."
"I'll manage, I'm not a two year old child who needs mummy to hold his hand."
She smirked and got up and walked over to the vendor stall, and wondered just what he would enjoy and what would be way too exotic for his tastes. She knew that wizarding folk enjoyed pumpkin juice, ales, and cider type drinks. The closest thing the vendor had was mixed fruit juice concoction, so she settled on the juice drink for him and a flavored iced tea for herself. While she was waiting at the stall, a muggle tourist family sat down at the bench next to the professor. The husband and wife in jeans and colorful Bourbon Street tee shirts under even more colorful sports jackets, the baby in an elaborate oversized stroller, wailing about nothing in particular while the father tried to placate him with a large fuzzy toy alligator. Snape had edged as close to the opposite end of the bench as possible without falling off, and was peering sideways at the family, a most sour and distasteful look on his face. Mira laughed to herself as she returned to him with their drinks. He jumped up and met her halfway.
"What's the matter? A little too close for comfort?" She taunted him and handed him the drink.
"Don't push me Mira. I said I was enjoying your little sightseeing tour, but I do have my limits."
Mira found them an unoccupied bench that faced the river. They sat back down, and he gingerly lifted the lid of the cup of juice and sniffed at it.
"Oh come on, it's just fruit juice, I didn't know what else to get you. If you don't like it you can have mine."
He curled his lip and snapped the lid back on the cup and took a tentative sip from the straw. He cocked his head to one side and gave an appreciative nod. "It'll do."
Mira snorted in mock disgust and took a long sip of her tea.
They sat together, watching the sunlight dance on the water of the river, and the tourist riverboats departing and then docking at the piers. Finished with her tea, Mira set the cup down and slid closer to the professor and rested her head on his shoulder. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow, and took her hand. They sat there for quite some time, silently watching the sun grow lower on the horizon, and the light dancing more brilliantly on the water. To any passer by, they were merely another couple enjoying the city and each other. The reality of their situation completely masked by the moment of simple contentment that they dragged out for as long as they could.
As the sun started to set, it got quite cold on the riverbank. Mira had pulled the velvety scarf she wore around her neck a little tighter, but it was no use, the moment was over, it was time to move on. She sat up straight and stretched. "Come on, there's one more place I want to take you, then straight home because it does get cold overnight this time of year."
They walked back past the square, and past several bars and nightclubs, neon lights already on, crowds of tourists waiting to get in. While they were waiting to cross the street, she felt a faint tremble from the magical bauble around her neck. She looked around, and saw a man she knew to be a local pickpocket. She watched him closely, and he looked away and started to follow after a group of already drunk college age tourists.
"Where are we going?"
"To a bar. Primarily magical folk, some muggles, but mostly muggles who have some knowledge of the wizarding culture, having been brought in through relationships or by accidentally stumbling onto it on their own. As long as they're discreet about it, they're allowed to remain in the know."
She turned down a much quieter street and stopped in front of a building that at first glance appeared to be abandoned. There were very faded old letters painted on the blacked out window. It read: "Sun and Moon Social Club, Fine Wine and Spirits Served."
Mira grabbed the massive old door handle and pulled it open. "Come on, it's a lot like the Leaky Cauldron back in London, just a little more colorful."
It took a moment for Snape's eyes to adjust to the dim light. He found himself in a cozy womb-like room with an elaborate dark wood bar and several high backed booths along the walls, benches upholstered in rich burgundy fabric. Tiny candle lanterns burned on the tables and a massive dark iron candelabra flickered in the center of the room, over the enormous U shaped bar. Mira showed him to a booth towards the back and took off her scarf and laid it down on the seat. He took his jacket off and sat down.
"So, do you drink anything stronger than chilled apple mead?"
He thought back to the night at Hagrid's and the flask of pale amber liquid. "I enjoy a stiffer drink now and again."
"Good, I know just the thing. An unusual muggle drink. Are you adventurous?"
He looked up at her with a perturbed look on his face. "There's very little in this world that I can't handle myself around. Compared to fire whisky, how bad can this muggle drink be?"
Mira chuckled wickedly to herself. "Okay then. But remember that you asked for it come tomorrow morning."
She approached the bar and leaned in and got the attention of the barman. She pointed to a large bottle of clear liquid that had what appeared to be flecks of gold settled in the bottom of the bottle. "Two large and I do mean large shots please." The barman shook the bottle gently and poured the shimmering liquid into two slender glasses. Mira handed him some cash, and thanked him. She returned to the booth, set the glasses of shimmering liquid on the table, and slid in across from the professor.
He picked up the glass, and held it up to take a closer look. The swirling gold flakes caught the candlelight and shimmered as if on fire. "Mira, this is a wizard drink."
"No, I assure you, it's purely muggle. Although maybe the family who invented it has some wizarding blood in them."
He looked at her suspiciously and sniffed at the glass. He took a deeper sniff. It was certainly strong, but also sweet and had the warm aroma of cinnamon. He looked at Mira with a very suspicious look on his face.
"Oh for goodness sake. Here, watch, it's fine." Mira took a dainty sip from her glass and set it down in front of her and licked her lips. "See, just a plain old muggle drink, albeit a fancy one."
Snape picked up the glass, cast Mira a dubious glance and took a hearty swallow. Immediately his eyes got big, and he slammed the glass back down on the table and started to cough. Mira laughed wickedly and hid her face from the dagger eyes he was shooting at her.
"Damn you! What the hell is this? It's some kind of fire whisky, isn't it?"
"No, nothing like that, honestly. It's called Goldschlager. It's a muggle drink, very potent, and a little exotic. But once you get used to the bite, it's quite a pleasant experience. Drink it slowly, take small sips."
She took another dainty sip, and smiled at him, he took a tentative and much smaller sip. He looked at the glass with a kind of pleasant smirk. "You're right, after the initial shock wears off, it is quite nice. But that was a really nasty trick that almost earned you a painful little curse."
Mira winced at the words "painful little curse" and Snape instantly regretted saying it. "Mira. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you. I didn't think."
"It's okay. I should have warned you before you slammed down a mouthful of your drink. Really. Come sit next to me, that way you can see the bar better, I want to point out some people to you."
Snape slid out of the booth across from Mira, picked up his jacket, and joined her on the side facing the bar. She leaned in closer to him, and pointed out several characters who were drinking and conversing at the bar. "Okay, see him, the one in the cape? He's a wizard. The woman next to him? Witch. The lady with the colorful hair? Muggle but used to live with a wizard. The man next to her? Werewolf. Snape turned to her and looked at her with a very concerned look on his face.
"Werewolf?"
"Uh-huh, and sometimes they get vampires in here too. You'd be very surprised at just who all finds their way here after dark."
He cast a suspicious look around the room, and leaned back in the booth. They finished their drinks in silence, enjoying the sweet but biting cinnamon taste of the drink, and the pleasant warming sensation it gave them. Finished, she looked up at him and wiped a fleck of gold off of his bottom lip. "Come on. It's getting late, and we should be getting home. Put your coat on, you may feel warm in here, but it'll be really cold outside."
They stepped out onto the street, momentarily stunned and sobered up by the bracing night air coming from off the river. They made the short walk over to her building, and climbed the stairs cautiously, both definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol by then. After some fumbling and a couple false starts, Mira managed to get the door to her apartment open, and they staggered inside. She locked the door behind them, and turned to him in a fit of giggles. "So, how'd you enjoy being a tourist for the day?"
He looked at her with a strange expression. The usual sneer wiped completely off of his face by the alcohol, his eyes were glazed and his mouth set in a wicked little smirk.
"It was horrible. Absolutely hellish. And now I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you for tricking me into it." He reached out for her, and she pulled away and stumbled back towards the sofas. He pulled the jacket off and advanced on her, weaving slightly as he crossed the room. He tossed the jacket onto one of the sofas and pushed her down onto the other one. She pulled the elastic band out of his hair and it fell forward into her face. She laughed and batted it away, he reached up and pinned her arms above her head. He lowered his face to hers and met her lips with a kiss. He let go of her wrists and she gripped his shoulders and pulled him closer against her. The mood was shattered by a knock at the door. They both sat up quickly and looked at the door, wondering if they really heard what they thought they heard.