A/N: this is the last chapter before the epilogue.

Chapter 7: Brats

Snape's idea was a resounding success. It started reasonably slowly at first, but then, about three weeks after the launch, it took off like crazy. The word of mouth seemed to be the main culprit and, after two months, Sirius was seriously thinking about hiring one or two more permanent employees to help with the shop and the orders.

The help was especially needed at the shop since Sirius was a bit overwhelmed by the increase of customers. Since Snape was always trying very hard not to show himself, Sirius was, in theory, in charge of everything related to dealing with the public and it wasn't always possible. Of course, Snape never complained when he was called to the shop because it couldn't be helped, but Sirius could see how uncomfortable it was making him.

In addition, Sirius had to admit that he himself didn't like the occasional jeers or mockery, nor the shocked gasps. While he wouldn't have cared previously, it was now eliciting a plethora of emotions in his chest that he couldn't clearly identify but that made him ache all the same.

There had been that rude man refusing to be served by Snape, or that little kid screaming in terror upon seing him… both times Snape had tried to hide and it had made Sirius angry. He even snapped at the poor mother to control her child… not so good for business.

One day, Sirius was putting some more magically spelled forms in the "A la Carte" booth when Snape showed up for his shift. He looked terrible and it made Sirius frown at once. He had somewhat become an expert at evaluating Snape's state of health those days. It seemed like today was going to be a day off.

"You look like death, Snape."

"A day like every other then, Black," replied Snape with a sneer.

Sirius only sighed. It was no use. He knew that when the other man was in these moods, nothing he could say would be taken nicely. Resigned, he looked at Snape slowly making his way towards the back room.

Sirius only had time to rearrange some talking dolls on the nearby shelves before it was time to open the shop for the day. There were only two customers in front of the door when he opened it but soon enough the little shop was full of energetic children and their tired-looking parents, buzzing with activity and joyful screams.

Time flew over Sirius's head, helping one uncle in filling the "A la carte" form, advising a parent on an educational toy – the kind Sirius liked the least when it wasn't Snape's potions kits – and lecturing a group of teenagers for running in the alleys. Suddenly, it was two in the afternoon and he wondered how Snape was doing.

Putting an Alert Me spell on the counter to know when the next customer would be waiting to check out, he walked towards the little door to the back room, mentally listing the products he could take back with him to the shop in the process. He needed to give a precise list of those to Snape if he wanted to avoid the other's man ire. The man kept the inventory with an iron fist, it was a little scary really.

"Snape! Are you there?"

Sirius didn't have to wait for the acerbic reply:

"Do you think I just pop out from time to time to go to beauty pageants, Black? Are you even more stupid than I thought?"

"Okay, you're there alright," grumbled Sirius. Snape could be such a git when he was in a bad mood, it took all of Sirius's self-control to not snap at him. Well, Sirius didn't have a lot of self-control, if he was being honest…

He was about to reach Snape's little corner and to reply something scalding when the other man came into view. Snape looked terrible. He was pale and his mouth was set in that peculiar way that Sirius knew meant he was in pain today… He was also hunched over his desk and finely shaking.

"Bloody hell, Snape!"

Sirius was appalled that the other man had not said anything. Was he such a bad boss that his employees didn't feel free to tell him if they were sick? That was Sirius's worst nightmare. He didn't like to be anyone's boss, but if he had to, he wanted to be the cool one who was also a friend and not exploiting anyone!

Remus often said that he had all the good intentions but too much pure blood in his veins to have the good sense to go with it. Sirius knew his friend was onto something there.

"What?" replied Snape, looking around, probably to find what Sirius was yelling about.

"What are you still doing here, you moron?" Snape looked a little distressed now and it only served to anger Sirius more. "You should be home, you git!"

"I… I'm sorry? I… did I mess up with my shift for today?" asked Snape in that weird shy tone Sirius could never get used to.

Sirius took a deep breath and calmed himself. It was no use getting angry when Snape needed to go home and stay in bed.

"No, you didn't. You were perfectly on time and perfectly fucking perfect with your work as you always are!" He threw his hands in the air, exasperated by the situation and not able to summon the calm he needed to deal with it.

"What's the issue then, Black? Are you just trying to be even more annoying than usual?"

The little droplets of perspiration clinging to Snape's hairline were what stopped Sirius from escalating the argument even more.

"My issue is you working today when you're in no state to do so. Go home, Snape. Now."

"But…"

"No buts. That was our agreement from the beginning. You stay home when you don't feel well enough to work. I thought you were smart enough to understand what it meant?" Snape looked at him with that calculating frown Sirius used to hate when they were in school together. The silence stretched a little too much for his comfort and he felt compelled to add: "Besides, do you hate me so much that you want Alastor to kill me? Is that your evil plan?"

Snape looked at him with such a dumbfounded expression on his broken face that Sirius couldn't help but laugh. He was soon joined by the other man, like it happened more and more lately. Life could be strange that way.

From that day on, Snape sometimes floo-called or owled Sirius before the start of his shift to explain that he was not well enough to work. Sirius, faithful to his Cool Boss goals, counted it as one of his biggest victories.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus was enjoying his job. He was enjoying being employed by Sirius fucking Black. The world was about to end, right?

Black had just asked him if he was interested in sharing ownership of the shop and Severus couldn't wrap his mind around it. Was he really considering becoming Black's business partner? Had he finally lost his mind?

This could only be the brain damage talking, there was no other explanation.

He had been working at the shop for a little less than two years now, he was one of just four employees, in addition to Black, and he couldn't understand how he had started to like sharing his workdays with Black in so little time.

He rarely stopped to think about it but now that he was doing just that: he felt like he was living in an alternate universe.

On the one hand, partnering with Black on anything sounded crazy and ill-advised. On the other hand, he loved his job. It was as simple as that.

He felt valued and had been able to be creative and to enjoy himself tremendously doing it. It was a successful adventure so far, with lots and lots of customers every day, and Black had been so flexible to accomodate Severus's health and limitations that really he would be a damn fool to hope for anything even remotely as damn perfect as this was.

Damn, but he was actually considering it.

Would Black want him in the actual shop more, dealing with customers? That was an issue for Severus. Could he broach the subject? Could he even dare to negotiate anything about such a generous offer? Alastor had been adamant that he needed to, but Severus wasn't as sure. He knew how much of an hindrance his limitations already were to Black's business. He felt shame every time he dropped something because his hand didn't act like he wanted it to, or when he had to call in sick at the last minute because he couldn't get out of bed. He really had no right to add even more clauses to his work.

Of course, he had help now, it wasn't the same as when they had had to run the whole shop with only the two of them… but still… could an equal partner hide in the back shop all day? He couldn't meet with potential providers or big customers either… he knew his presence alone was too distracting for such things. Why did Black even want him? That was a little suspicious, wasn't it?

Severus was, as rudely as ever, interrupted by Black's booming voice:

"Snape! I need you in the shop please!"

Severus decided to accept the unpleasant parts of it all with the rest and not broach the subject. Really, he didn't deserve such an opportunity as it was, he shouldn't be greedy.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The look of surprise on Severus's face was just priceless. Really, him and Sirius working together was the best thing ever: now Lily had two of her favorite people to tease in the same place all day.

"Don't look so surprised, Sev! You didn't think I wouldn't come and congratulate you, did you?"

"I…"

"Well, congratulations! It's about time, too! You did so much for the shop, it's only right that Sirius finally acknowledged that!"

"Thank you, Lily…" he seemed to hesitate before resuming, "I… I was quite surprised by the offer to be honest… didn't know Black was considering it –"

" – can't you call him 'Sirius' like everybody else? And don't look at me like that, I know he tried to broach the subject with you already, to no avail, you're being stubborn as always…"

"And you're being annoyingly bossy, as always," was the expected acidic reply.

"That's more like it!" She teased, amused.

Lily had missed their little banter. Oh, Severus liked to look all annoyed at her but she knew he secretly liked it. That was the essence of their friendship, after all. He was looking at her with that somewhat annoyed-but-fond frown he used to sport in their childhood and she felt a wave of warmth in her chest. Not thinking about it, she followed up on her impulse and hugged him. He felt stiff as a board at first, but finally started to relax after a few seconds, sighing in her ear.

"I'm so glad I've got you back, Sev, you have no idea," Lily said, her voice a little more choked-up than she would have liked.

"I know," Severus answered, as awkward as ever. Lily knew him enough to sense all the feelings behind his short statement, however.

They stayed like that for a little while, Severus melting more and more in her arms, until they were interrupted by a visibly flustered Sirius.

"Hm… don't want to interrupt there, but James told me to tell you, Lil, that he should be here in less than fifty minutes"

Lily didn't really look forward to all the shopping but it really couldn't be helped!

"Thank you, Sirius," she replied, untangling herself from Severus' spiderly limbs.

"I mean, except if you want me to tell him about the divorce of course, you know I will always be there to help you, Lil..." Sirius teased them, making Severus blush hard and Lily slap him on the shoulder none too gently.

"Will you stop being an idiot, Sirius?"

"Never," Sirius replied, smiling that annoyingly bright smile of his, "especially when it makes our pal Severus here that uncomfortable, you know, too good to pass on and all that!"

Lily slapped him again on the same shoulder at that. Stupid child of a man. Then she took her chance:

"Speaking of Severus, he just agreed to call you 'Sirius' from now on, it's all settled."

"What?" exclaimed Severus, looking incensed.

"Yes," she continued, ignoring her friend, "it's time."

And Severus closed his mouth reluctantly. Ten Points to Lily Potter.

"I will leave you two to it then," said Sirius, starting to walk away from Severus' desk towards the front shop, before shouting "no sex on the products though!" as he ran away laughing obnoxiously loud.

Lily shook her head, Sirius was going to be Sirius, nothing that could be done about that. Turning back to look at Severus, she started to laugh at his disgruntled expression. Oh my.

"You know how he is…" she tried to appease him.

"Oh, I know alright! He's insufferable, that's what he is!" Severus spat, needing to get it out. He then proceeded to enumerate the several ways in which Sirius Black was the bane of his existence.

Lily just waited for the storm to pass, as she used to do in their school years. He just needed to vent his frustration sometimes. When Severus finally stopped talking, she said:

"Are you done?"

"I am," he replied sulkily.

"Good. I have another topic to discuss with you before James arrives!" she exclaimed nervously. When he kept looking at her expectantly she continued, "It's about Harry."

"No." His expression had closed at once, making Lily frown.

"Come on, Sev! You don't even know what I'm about to ask!"

"You want me to meet him. My answer is no. End of discussion." He started to walk away toward his desk but she stopped him by his sleeve. She felt anger rise in her chest. Did he dislike her so much that he didn't want to meet her child? Will he never forgive her?

"But why?! Why don't you want to meet him? Are you still angry at me? Do you hate me, Sev? Do you? I need to know!"

Severus was looking at her with a shocked expression on his face, his remaining eye glistening suspiciously.

"Of course I don't hate you, Lily, why… why would you even think that?"

"Why don't you want to meet Harry then?! Can't you see how important this is to me? I don't understand!"

"It's just… I…" Severus closed his mouth then and avoided her gaze. He looked so small and uncomfortable that it made Lily's anger deflate at once. She let go of his sleeve.

"Talk to me, Sev, please," she pleaded.

Severus still wasn't looking at her. He stood there, in front of her, frozen into place. The silence was everything but comfortable between them but she just couldn't let it go this time, she had to know. It was the last thing standing between them. She wanted their newfound friendship to work this time, she needed him in her life, fully in her life… and that meant with Harry too.

She was ready to wait as long as she needed to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't want him to be scared of me, Lily," he whispered at last, looking broken.

She burst into tears immediately, surprising herself in the process. Feeling her heart shattering on his behalf, she took him in her arms again and cried on him for what seemed like a long time. Severus just held her, clearly uncomfortable, trying to comfort her when it should have been the other way around. When she finally felt like she could talk, she took a big breath and got away from his warmth reluctantly.

"Sev... Even if Harry reacts poorly to seeing you, I'm sure he will learn to love his uncle Sev. Can't you see that I want you in my life, in Harry's life? When you love someone, when you care about them, you don't see their face, you see them. And Harry could never be afraid of you," she said, aware of how mushy she was being… but she needed him to know, she needed him to understand!

"Are you sure?" Severus asked, in such an uncertain little voice that it broke her heart all over again.

"Certain," she replied, firmly.

She looked at him then, really looked at him: the missing eye, the scars, the broken face and claw-like hand. She couldn't see the broken man anymore. It was Sev, her Sev. He was back in her life and she was not going to let him go.

"Okay, then, I will meet the brat," he said at last, trying to lighten the mood and failing spectacularly.

She could hear James horsing around with Sirius in the shop now, so she finished it up once and for all, following his lead:

"Don't worry, I'm sure you will love babysitting!"

Satisfied at his dumbfounded expression, she ran away laughing.

She never saw the smile on Severus's face. She didn't have to, either.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

The lady was around sixty years old by Sirius's estimation, and very patient. The patience bit wasn't an estimation but an observation since Sirius had been trying to help her with her custom order for a Potion Kit for her granddaughter for more than twenty minutes now, without success. He really was not good enough at potions… he wasn't bad, but Snape had been managing the whole thing with an expertise that Sirius didn't share.

He knew that his new associate wasn't going to like it, but really he felt like he didn't have a choice. As patient as the lady was, he didn't enjoy looking like a fool in front of customers, contrary to popular belief.

"Okay, so, basically what you want is a kit to create all sorts of magical flowers, but you also want them to be edible?"

People came up with the weirdest ideas.

"Flower candy! That's what Lydie – she's my granddaughter you see – dreamt about! Oh, it would be so lovely if I could make it all true! Can you imagine her little face? Lovely, so lovely!"

Sirius knew that Snape had successfully manufactured several Magical Flowers kits before, he knew that he also made various Magical Candies ones… but both at once? That was new… was it even possible to devise such a thing for children to make safely?

Sirius knew enough about Potions to know that nothing in the Flower Kits they had made in the past was edible, and nothing in the Magical Candies ones was remotely flowery… Besides that? He was at a loss right now.

"You know what, ma'am, just wait here, I know exactly who can help you with that. My associate is the kind of Potions genius that you need right now, believe me."

"Oh, perfect, dear. I will wait. How delightful! I really thought you were going to tell me that it wasn't possible at all!"

"'t may not be…, I'm making no promises."

"Don't worry dear, I know it's a long shot."

Sirius sent the alarm spell they had been using lately to call each other to the back room — it was usually Snape doing the calling then – or to the shop – that was always Sirius. Another one of Snape's inventions that proved to be quite handy.

Despite the reluctance Sirius knew Snape was feeling at showing himself in the shop during open hours, it took less than a minute for the other man to show up. He kept to the wall behind the counter and walked as discreetly as possible towards Sirius, his hood on and looking at his shoes. Sirius felt bad for having called at once.

"You need me, Black?"

Sirius ignored the use of the surname because of the setting but did feel a wave of annoyance at the other man's stubbornness… Lily took the piss every time she witnessed it and, even without that, Sirius couldn't imagine himself being business partners with someone and not calling them by their first name. It was bad for his cool business-owner persona, period. He had to admit that his own use of "Severus" was deliberate and still felt unnatural. He knew it would change with time, however… he could not have imagined himself appreciating working with Snape either, and here they were.

Snape had an expectant look on his face. It seemed like the man still considered himself as Sirius's employee, not his equal… Sirius hoped that, too, would shift with time.

"I need your help with a customer, if that's alright with you?"

Snape frowned before grumbling:

"What do they need? Do you want me to retrieve something from the storehouse shelves? Why didn't you say it with the spell, Black! Do you enjoy making me run around?"

Sirius was once again taken aback by the general grumpiness. Well, it was Snape after all… the man was as abrasive as the scarring on his face, really… Sirius focused on his recent discovery to keep from snapping – it was his new strategy in such cases: although he hid it quite well, Snape was actually as soft inside as he appeared prickly on the outside… Sirius couldn't unsee it now. Seeing the other man interacting with Lily on a regular basis had been quite illuminating. Of course, he would never say it out loud: he enjoyed life very much.

"No. I don't need you to play the role of an errand boy, we've got employees for that, remember?"

Snape's face had that little tic that always showed itself when his new status as associate was mentioned, making Sirius smile a little fondly.

"What is it then, Black?"

"Sirius," replied Sirius immediately, trying to take Snape by surprise and out of his funk.

"What?"

There. Sirius was getting better and better at it, piercing through the cold and prickly facade to glimpse the softness inside. As he often did, Snape looked wrongfooted and taken aback, it was hilarious enough for Sirius to have to focus on not laughing out loud. He knew not to laugh in Snape's face too often… damn, but the man was easily offended.

"We already talked about it. If you won't listen to me, listen to Lil at least. Don't you think we should be on a first-name basis now that we own a business together, Severus?"

The name definitely tasted alien in Sirius's mouth. He tried to look like it wasn't the case.

"What are you on about, Black?" Snape had the gall to reply, "Anyway, you consuming illegal substances apart, I was in the middle of a very tricky experiment, can you tell me what you need from me quickly so I can escape your foolishness as soon as possible? It's really bad for my health, you know."

"Think about it, would you," said Sirius ignoring the other man's jibe, "you're part of the business's image now, you calling me "Black" doesn't fit the vibe," he added earnestly. "Anyway, that's not why I called you. The old lady near the "A la Carte" booth, see her just there? She needs you. She wants to gift a kit to her granddaughter, and frankly I don't know if it's possible. Go talk to her to see if it is or not. I didn't know how to fit her request on the form, it's too specific."

Snape seemed to be about to protest before thinking better of it. Suddenly fidgety, he asked hesitantly:

"Can't you ask her to put it in writing in the 'Comment' part?"

He looked scared. Sirius hesitated. Maybe he should just respect the other's obvious wish to remain hidden? Sirius didn't want Snape to feel uncomfortable, of course, but it somehow didn't feel right either to "keep" him in the shadows as if the man was a shameful part of the shop? Snape owned half of it now and Sirius did feel a sort of pride in having such a talented man at his side. Was it really bad to want to show him off a little? He thought his next reply over before offering it:

"It's too complicated. Are you the Potions prodigy here or was I mistaken? Look, I won't force you but all I ask is for you to do your part in our little business, okay?"

Well, that sounded harsher than what Sirius had intended… he wasn't good at this sort of thing, really…

Snape was staring at his feet again, looking as defeated as he had looked haunty and detached just a minute ago.

"Alright, I… I will do it."

Sirius looked at the other man making his way toward the little booth, hunched over and trying to look as small as possible. Guilt took root in his chest at the sorry sight… Snape really was good at hiding: no one saw him until he reached the little lady. Sirius stopped breathing then, hoping she was not going to scream or react too badly. She did seem very kind and gentle… What if he had been wrong all along and she made a scene?

There was no denying that it was still a little weird… feeling worried for Severus Snape. Lily did not have to worry, she still had a lot of laughing days ahead of her, apparently.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Severus didn't like it. At all. He knew he couldn't hide in the storeroom all the time… Black was right, he needed to pull his weight too. It didn't make it easier, however. He felt like a shadow when he was forced to be in the presence of unfamiliar people… he wanted to melt into the walls and disappear.

Having reached the customer Black had sent him to, Severus braced himself before addressing her in as professional a tone as he could muster despite his shaky breath:

"Hello, I heard you were in need of some help with your Potions kit order. How can I help you?"

The old lady had a little startled jump upon getting a glimpse of Severus's face, however, she quickly regained her composure and replied in such an even voice that Severus could have congratulated her on her social skills:

"Well, indeed dear. Your colleague told me that you were some sort of Potions genius, is that right?"

He felt his cheeks heat at once. What had Black been blabbering about now, the fool! Apparently reacting to his lack of reply, she laughed a little, albeit in a kind manner, probably amused at his ugly blushing.

"Don't worry dear, I won't be mad if you can't help. As I explained earlier, this is a long shot."

"Explain."

The lady didn't seem at all bothered by his abrupt manners. She started explaining to Severus that her granddaughter had had a wonderful dream and how the little girl had cried upon waking up to the realization that it had not been real and all such nonsense. Under all the sentimental goo, however, was a very interesting project: how to prepare a child Potions kit to make real-looking magical flowers that taste like candy, all with safe ingredients and easy steps an eight-year-old child could follow.

Severus was already calculating all possibilities in his head. This was going to be very tricky, nearly impossible. He could feel an old sense of excitement that he hadn't felt since he had been tampering with his potions and spells during his Hogwarts years. In that moment, he felt alive on a level that he had not reached since before the war.

It took him five hours before he could be absolutely positive that it was feasible. He owled the old lady immediately. Oh, but this could be the start of a new field of research entirely… would he dare try to publish it? He could barely sit down at the excitement bubbling in his veins.

That very night, Severus cried himself to sleep; the weight of a grief he hadn't realized he had been carrying lifted from his frail shoulders, making him weep violently. His life had been waiting for him all along: he could still have it. The realization was a happy one, but full of barbed pain that caught on his bleeding heart.