Hernán Aiza stared at his former apprentice and took in his stifled and stark appearance. The black clothing was bad enough, but did he think buttons were a special ward against evil? In the hot sun, he looked pathetic. One look in his eyes told more of the story than Hernán wanted to know. The boy had been brilliant, but at war with himself. The man looked to have lost.
"I'd heard you were dead." Hernán frowned and stepped back to allow his former apprentice room to enter.
"I was." Severus frowned and took a deep breath. "It's not always a permanent condition apparently."
"Dark arts?" He quirked a brow at the younger man.
"Brash Gryffindor with more bravery than sense." Severus sighed. "She was always talented, but it never occurred to me that she would do this to me."
"To you or for you?" Hernán patted the man's shoulder.
"I'm afraid that is a question for which I have no answer." Severus slumped into a chair. "I burned my childhood home to the ground. I went to get a few things and, then, I didn't even go inside."
"A new life with a clean start." The old master nodded. "Sometimes a cauldron must be melted down and sent to the smith."
"Yes, let us talk in metaphor and mysticism." Severus snorted.
"You never valued my metaphors as you should." Hernán chuckled wryly. "You placed yourself between two madmen and nearly wasted all the time I took training you. This brash Gryffindor of yours has given you a chance. Don't be a fool."
"I think I prefer the metaphors." Severus leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. "I don't know what to do."
"Then let us go to the laboratory and lose ourselves in the work for a while." Hernán waved his hand towards the back of the house. "Things always seem simpler over a cauldron, do they not?"
They brewed in silence, each content with the others abilities. Hernán smiled as the robes and frock coat were discarded. The man was graceful and confident around a cauldron. He needed to find that in the broader world.
"I read that Ivanov is trying to use ground dragon teeth instead of the shavings of hippogriff talon in a dragon pox remedy." Hernán shook his head.
"A fool and his cauldron are soon melded." Severus sighed. "And both are useless afterwards."
"We should go upstairs before my lovely butterfly decides it is time for a hurricane." Hernán finished bottling his potion. "Put that slop of yours under stasis or she'll drag you out of here by your ears."
The two masters bickered as they mounted the stairs. It was good natured, and Hernán smiled as Severus relaxed. He was still wearing far too many buttons.
"I think I need to go see her." Severus frowned and looked back toward the laboratory. "I don't understand why she would choose to save me."
"A man needs answers." Hernán grinned. "But a woman needs mysteries. My wife loves her gardens and all their secrets, but she didn't last a year as my apprentice."
They both heard a snort from the back of the house.
"I think your butterfly might be pushing on into that storm." Severus smirked.
"And I think you were a fool to leave England without answers." Hernán shrugged his shoulders, but we were all young and foolish once."
He passed by a framed photograph of himself as a young man in the old apothecary his father had owned. Severus stared at it for a moment. He'd always wanted that. A sense of continuity and comfort lived in this house with the people it protected.
"You are both fools." Mariposa Aiza waved her hands at them. Forcing them to find places at the table or face her wrath. "All that time spent in the laboratory warps your minds. Those fumes and the ripping apart of things to suit your purposes aren't good for a body."
"What would you suggest, my dear?" Hernán smiled at his wife and took a sip of his wine. "What do your plants teach you?"
"More than I learned scouring cauldrons for you." She tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder. "The girl gave Severus his freedom. He should use it."
"For what?" Severus set his fork down and stared at her.
"Does the concept of freedom elude you?" She rolled her eyes. "You are the only one that can determine your path."
"Those monsters ordered you about. They never let you become the man you were meant to be." Mariposa shook her head. "This girl, as you call her, was mature enough to set you free. Don't insult her gift."
"That girl should find a good wizard and have a family." Molly Weasley watched Hermione frolic with the various offspring of the Order members. "She'd make a wonderful mother if she would just settle down."
"She's Teddy's favorite auntie." Andromeda smiled as her grandson sprang toward the witch only to catch air as she levitated out of his reach.
"If she doesn't settle down soon, no one will be interested." Molly sighed. "I had hoped she'd find a place with one of my boys, but she's always off gallivanting about."
"She is one of the best curse breakers in the world." Andromeda patted Molly's hand. "That kind of talent doesn't take well to sitting at home."
"My Bill stays home now." Molly frowned. "He doesn't have some odd wanderlust always pulling him away."
"I'm also older." Bill smirked as both women turned toward him with wide eyes. It wouldn't do to admit that Hermione was the better curse breaker. "Hermione spent her childhood at war, Mum. Let her do what she wants now."
"Look out there and tell me she doesn't want children." Molly pointed out to the garden where Hermione was levitating Teddy up to one of the apple trees to snag a couple of bright red ones.
Andromeda left the bickering pair and headed out toward the pond. There was no doubt Ron would be pestering Hermione again soon. Molly would push the boy until he drove Hermione spare.
It would make no difference. Hermione didn't date. She didn't flirt. She made no promises she couldn't keep, and a future with happy families was a promise she could never make.
It had taken an excellent bottle of elf wine to pry the girl's secrets loose, and she frequently wished she hadn't.
Author's Note - The Aiza family is of my own invention. I will post the pictures that inspired them on Tumblr. Thanks so much for all the kind words and encouragement. It means far more than I can express.