Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own on 26 October 2022 for the Snarry AUctoberfest 2022.
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: M/M Fandom: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling Relationship: Harry Potter/Severus Snape Character: Harry Potter, Severus Snape, Neville Longbottom, Remus Lupin Additional Tags: alternative universe, AU, Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, No Horcruxes, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Slash, Post-Hogwarts, Fluffy, snarry, Snarry AUctoberfest 2022 Language: English Collections: Snarry AUctoberfest 2022.
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters and am not making any money. This fic was written to fulfil Prompt # 2022-140 for the Snarry AUctoberfest 2022. Prompt: Tattoo parlour/flower shop Au! Make it fluffy, make it steamy, even angsty if you will. First meeting, first glances, first date, first kiss (first time?) - just make it neighbourhood-businesses Snarry.
Thank you to my lovely RL beta (She-Who-Doesn't-Want-To-Be-Named) for checking over this for me.
See the end of the work for more notes.
The corner shop of Diagon and Horizontal Alley
There was a charming street off to the side of Diagon Alley named Horizontal Alley. The entrance of this charming street was only noticeable due to the corner shop. Not because the corner shop was charming itself – it wasn't – but because the corner shop had presence. No other shops took up a whole corner anywhere else along Diagon Alley or Horizontal Alley. The corner shop was unique.
Many shoppers and visitors to the alleys didn't realise that the buildings making up the alleys had gained sentience over time. It didn't matter if they had been remodelled, pulled down and rebuilt, painted, or had new owners… The buildings themselves had character.
An excellent example of this character was Horizontal Alley.
It's a relatively narrow alley, no wider than a cart's width and paved with uneven cobblestones. The alley was lined with ten two-storey terraces, including the corner shop, all painted different colours and with magnificently different characters. All the shops had their owners living in the flat above. Horizontal Alley was a community.
There was The Potions Emporium directly across from the corner shop, then Turn the Page (a second-hand bookshop where you could get lost for ages), The Raven's Wing (hair saloon and all your beauty needs), The Mythic Coffeehouse (for coffee and lunch, and if you could persuade the servers, sometimes an exceptionally good afternoon tea), and Belle's Fashion (clothing for the fashion-forward Wixen). At the end of the alley was a small public garden with several benches, a picnic table and a small fountain. On the opposite side of the alley was Write Well (for stationary lovers of all kinds), Travel Adventures (bags, luggage and trunks – built to last!), Glitter (one-of-a-kind jewellery pieces – all handmade by the owner), Afterlife Antiques (from vintage clothing to antique furnishings), and then the corner shop.
The corner shop itself was rather derelict. Faded green paint, boarded-up windows, rusted balustrades on the upper balconies, no sign, no name, no tenants. The corner shop had been left empty for nearly twenty years.
So, while the other buildings on Horizontal Alley chatted to each other and influenced their owners and visitors in small ways, the corner shop grew more and more silent.
But – the corner shop could feel its energy kindling again slowly. A slight tingling along the doors and window frames, a creaking stretch of its wooden floors…
It was a warm summer day in late June when it happened.
The corner shop was roused at the feel of two magical signatures touching the wards on the front door.
"Neville this place is brilliant," one of the signatures said as he slowly stoked the outside of the door, "Are you sure it's the right building?"
The other signature was tapping on one of the corner shop's windows, "Sure am. Metalclaw gave me the deeds that were in the Longbottom portfolio. I know you've seen the ones from the Potter vault as well so I'm not sure why you're questioning me about it."
The door petting stopped to the chagrin of the corner shop, "Yeah – but that was before I realised how wonderful the building is. Even after being left for twenty-odd years!" The corner shop couldn't help but feel happy that one of the signatures thought it was still wonderful, despite needing a new coat of paint and some love.
The window knocker just laughed, "It seems like the wards have accepted us now, let's go inside and have a look!"
The corner shop felt the two signatures use an old slightly rusted key on their front door, and after some rattling, managed to get the door unlocked. The building felt the door open and the two signatures enter.
"Wow oh wow Harry! This place is perfect!" one of them exclaimed, "There's enough space here for both of us easily."
The corner shop could feel the signatures moving around its ground floor.
"Definitely! Pull out your notebook, I'll start measuring, and we can plan!"
The corner shop could feel the two signatures casting magic, measuring, using a quick-quotes quill to record. It felt it as one of the signatures entered its narrow staircase and carefully, testing each stair as they went, ascended to the top level. As the signature entered the living portion of its internal structure, the corner shop heard them gasp slightly.
It could imagine the signature standing there at the top of the staircase looking across the open plan living room and kitchen, doors to the bedrooms off to each side, and the kitchen area to the right. Large windows along one wall allow the afternoon sunlight into the room, and wooden floorboards show up a glowing cherry brown while dust motes dance through the air.
The corner shop felt a hand rest against one of its walls and a whisper, "You are a beautiful building and I can't wait to finally be at home."
The corner shop was looking forward to being home again for someone.
The excitement still thrummed through Harry's body, and he could barely sit still. The shop was going to be perfect!
He couldn't believe that it was happening. His dream. The one he and Neville had come up with in their fifth year after each of their disastrous career meetings with McGonagall.
Neville wanted to sell flowers and plants. Harry wanted to create art on people's bodies.
They had decided that despite the odd mix, they would have a joint shop. It helped that Harry's art tended to be nature- or animal-based. After graduation from Hogwarts, Neville had gone on to work for a nursery that sometimes-supplied wixen flowers for special occasions, but was predominately focused on growing potion ingredients. He had lasted for a year, before deciding he could do a better job himself and started phase one of his business. Phase one consisted of starting a business that only supplied flowers or plants, which were themselves magical or enhanced by magic, for commercial sales. Phase two of Neville's plan was to open a florist to sell them. The nursery was going well and Neville felt comfortable leaving it mostly in the hands of his fiancé Hannah while he focused on the floristry side.
Harry had a bit of a harder time following graduation. There weren't any wixen tattooists in the UK, so he had initially joined a muggle one as an apprentice. After getting his qualifications and building up his portfolio for a bit, he travelled and visited the wixen tattooists in other countries: Australia, New Zealand, Tibet, Africa, South America, and New York. He learnt a wide range of different approaches, traditional and modern, often a mix of both, and developed a bit of a name for himself in both the wixen and muggle circles.
He had also started experimenting with brewing his inks and creating charms that would interact with the ink as it was being tattooed. Most wixen tattoos were charmed afterwards, meaning they lost vitality and colour anywhere from 2 to 5 years after being done. To date, none of Harry's had changed at all. It had been about four years since he had done the first one, on himself, and it still looked and moved exactly as should once it had finished healing.
When Neville had decided he was ready to open the shop, Harry had hightailed it back to the UK and they had been preparing ever since. Thankfully, both of their parents had left sizable estates which helped out with their training, and would also go towards some of the initial start-up costs. In an odd twist, when going through his parents' paperwork, Neville had found a joint deed in the name of their mothers for the shop at the corner of Horizontal and Diagon Alley.
Harry took that to mean that their idea was meant to be.
Afterlife Antiques felt the two new corner shop owners as they continued setting up. It had overheard them talking outside this morning, and the opening day was next week. Now their voices were indistinct, the thick shared wall between the corner shop and Afterlife Antiques muffling any noises.
It could feel their magic through the common wall – the soft whisp of a levitation charm, and the piercing pop of resizing charms being the most frequent magic cast. It could also, if it tried very hard, feel the vibrations of their footsteps as they moved around in the soon-to-be shop. Setting up furniture Afterlife Antiques thought it to itself.
And then the large crates started to arrive through the front door. Oh – Afterlife Antiques could see there were pictures of plants on the side… Perhaps the corner shop would be a florist? It could feel the earthy heaviness of plants grow during the rest of the day, as the plants settled into their new (temporary perhaps) home.
The next day, a funny-looking seat arrived through the front door first thing, followed by another large crate. Afterlife Antiques didn't recognise the style of the seats but could feel the magic contained in the crate – sharp and metallic, with a hint of ink, like it sometimes felt coming from Write Well down the street.
How interesting.
Afterlife Antiques settled themselves and enjoyed the feelings and whisps of magic radiating out of the corner shop. It was looking forward to opening day.
The glass cauldron bubbled gently on top of the stove. They had finally gotten everything inside set up for the open day in two days. Which meant Harry finally had time to perfect his inks. He had first learnt about magical inks in Tibet, and since then had experimented extensively, fine-tuning his recipes to work better with the special charms he had created. Now he was finally making his ink, for his tattoo parlour.
"Hey Neville," his friend looked up from his notebook again, "Do you think this building feels a little bit like Hogwarts sometimes?"
Instead of dismissing Harry's comment as he expected, Neville put down his pen with a thoughtful look on his face, "Sometimes I get that feeling. Like how the temperature always seems perfect inside, and despite the place being boarded up for so long, we never had any issues opening the windows or doors," he paused, "Excepting the front door the first day. But since then, it's been fine…"
Harry nodded and started to dry his cauldron. "Exactly! I've also gotten into the habit of…" it was Harry's turn to pause, he knew he was going to sound crazy… "talking to the building."
Neville nodded and made a go-on motion with his hand to Harry. Harry stopped and put down his cauldron and drying cloth. He went to the wall of the kitchen and laid a hand on it, "It's just like… I get this impression that the building is happy. And that happy feeling, the warmth, increases when I talk to it. Or just stop and kinda reach out to it, you know?"
He looked back at Neville who smiled. "Perhaps I'll start seeing if I can feel anything more frequently as well… Maybe we should ask Luna to come by?" he picked up his pen, "I mean, it's good if the building is happy with us right?"
Harry couldn't help but laugh and agree.
The corner shop had been looking forward to this day for decades. It had been cleaned, painted, polished, set up and decorated – inside and out – in preparation for this day.
Open day.
The two signatures, called Harry and Neville as the corner shop found out once they had moved in, are opening a mixed shop…
A florist.
A tattoo parlour.
When the corner shop had realised, it had been sceptical of such a mix working, though the other buildings on Horizontal Alley were very supportive. But as the corner shop learnt about its new owners, and, more importantly, felt its new owners, it decided that the idea had potential.
And of course, the corner shop was getting a new name.
Florals and Inks.
Perfect.
Severus swept down the cobblestone road of Diagon Alley. The few people present along the alley this late in the afternoon moved quickly out of his way. He could feel that his robes were flaring behind him, and his magic was charging the air around him.
He was a preeminent potions master! The best on staff at Potions Monthly! Not a social correspondent for the Daily Prophet's Sunday supplement! How dare that sham of an editor, Jensen Jenkins, assign him to this project. He will regret this. Having to report on a new shop that had opened at the corner of Diagon and Horizontal Alley was beneath him.
Severus snarled out loud, barely noticing that he had startled several older women looking in the window of Yarn & things, who tutted after him as they recovered from their shock…
He felt like hitting something. Like throwing glasses against a wall and watching them shatter.
Of course, he knew who was to blame for this. Bloody Remus Lupin. Oh – he was subtle about it, but Severus had heard him chatting to Jenkins last week. He had been gushing about his charming godson who had just opened a tattoo parlour.
Severus couldn't help but mimic Lupin in a high-pitched voice to himself, "Oh yes, the first magical tattoo parlour for wixens in Britain. Did you know he brews the ink himself? And has developed several new charms that work in conjunction with that ink. Oh - I don't think he's published anything yet, though it passed muster with the potions and charms guild as safe for use. I'm sure he would be happy to give an interview if you asked Jensen."
Well – no doubt Lupin's godson would be a complete idiot who was going to poison anybody foolish enough to get a tattoo. Severus could just imagine what the shop likely looks like – a poor facsimile of muggle tattoo parlours. All black walls, dim lighting, butterflies, tribal designs and Chinese characters in rows along the walls… He sneered to himself.
Though, Severus thought to himself as he finally reached the apparition spot and waited for one to be free, maybe he could get some enjoyment out of crushing Lupin's godson's dreams to bits with his article and pay back Jenkins for this ridiculous assignment at the same time…
Harry was tidying up after his last client of the day when the familiar chime of the front door rang through the empty shop. His last session had run a bit long, so he hadn't had a chance to turn the sign and lock the door yet, obviously a mistake.
Turning around and ready with a polite statement about being closed, Harry stopped and stared. The man standing there was glowering and looking around the shop with a faint sneer on his face. That wasn't what made his mouth go dry though. The man was in tailored black pants and a dark green button-up shirt. His long hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His open robe was black and edged with a faint strand of silver. Harry could just imagine what the older man was hiding beneath those prim clothes…
Harry shook his head to dispel any further thoughts like that. He didn't even know who this was, and he was practically drooling.
He cleared his throat lightly getting the attention of the older man. "I'm afraid that Florals and Ink is now closed. If you would like a plant then you'll have to come back tomorrow, though I can make a booking for a tattoo if that's what you were interested in."
The man narrowed his eyes at Harry and stepped further inside the shop, "So this is Florals and Inks…" he glanced around at the large shop space his face going blank instead of sneering, "It's not quite what I was expecting." The dark eyes turned back to Harry.
Harry wryly smiled in response. He had heard that a lot the past two weeks since Florals and Ink had opened. "Yes – I've been told that many times." He shrugged slightly, "I'm not sure why people are expecting some dodgy biker bar instead of a florist slash hygienic tattoo parlour…"
The corners of the man's mouth twitched upwards slightly, then smoothed out again. "Well. I am Potions Master Severus Snape from Potions Monthly." Harry felt like groaning and plastered a polite smile on his face. Bloody Remus. His second godfather had mentioned that he had been telling his colleagues about Florals and Ink, but he hadn't expected any of them to come in.
"Oh right. So, you're friends with Remus then?" Harry hoped this guy wasn't going to ask for a discount just because he worked with one of his godfathers. It didn't even matter how hot this guy was, Harry didn't do discounts. Especially for people who showed up after the shop was closed.
The man's eyes flashed and his jaw tightened… Perhaps not friends then…
"I'm here to do an article on your shop at the request of the editor." The man snapped out, sounding very unhappy. That was not what Harry was expecting. Why on earth would a potions magazine want to do an article on him and Neville…
Oh… He was going to kill Remus.
"This is about my inks isn't it?" Harry couldn't help stating sharply. "Bloody fucking Remus."
Snape's eyebrows rose slightly at Harry's tone and perhaps at the swearing. But seriously! He had explained to Remus that he wasn't publishing his research or 'breakthroughs'. He just wanted to create art on people's bodies, not write academic journal articles or attend conferences. Harry was just about to cast a Patronus to tell off Remus via message when the man stepped closer again.
"It was meant to be predominately about the inks you use," he looked around the lush plants, many with magical flowers, "But… Having seen the floristry side of the shop, I think it would be good to include that as well."
Harry's internal ranting halted. What? "Why?" he demanded.
Snape walked over to the closest display table where Neville had arranged some different magical varieties of the blue passion flowers, "These are blue passion flowers. But they are not blue. And," the man leant down one of the nearby flowers, "they are magical plants. I have been a Potions Master for twenty years, and have never seen a magical blue passion flower," he looked back at Harry, "let alone ones which are different colours."
Oh – right. Of course. Neville had mentioned something about how he should probably get someone to test out the magical properties of the new hybrids he had been creating. Though, Harry had pretty much tuned him out at that point, since he was designing some new tattoos around their current range…
Harry just nodded. The busy day was catching up with him, and he still needed to finish tidying up his workstation and closing up. As interesting, and attractive, as he found Snape, he wasn't up for an interview tonight. Also – if he had to go through this, then so did Neville.
"Ok Master Snape. I'll do an interview and show you around, but I would prefer if Neville could be here at the same time. I don't know much about the plants themselves, just how they look."
Snape nodded, "I noticed that you close early tomorrow. Perhaps I can come at closing time and we can talk further then."
Harry smiled, "Sure, that sounds fine. I'll run it past Neville, but as far as I know, he was going to be here in the afternoon anyway." Harry took a step towards the front door, not wanting to be rude, but wanting Snape gone for the moment.
Snape had picked up on Harry's unspoken queues, "Tomorrow afternoon then," he stated as he turned back to the front door and exited.
Harry watched him close the front door, and stalk along the front of the shop before turning into Diagon Alley.
Tomorrow afternoon would be interesting.
He also owed Remus an angry Patronus message once he finished cleaning up and closing.
Severus found himself back outside Florals and Ink at least an hour early. He still thought this assignment was below him, but at least he could enjoy the eye candy that was one of the owners. The shop was also at least marginally interesting from the bit he saw last night. As he had stated to the young man with bright green eyes, it wasn't what he was expecting… Especially the fact that the shop was also a florist.
Though he loathed that he was part of the masses with that thought. At least, he assumed that had been a frequent comment received, based on the young man's facial expressions last night. The polite smile had looked practised to Severus, and there had been a strain around his eyes following the statement from Severus.
He shuffled a little awkwardly watching the front door of the shop. The large glass windows showed that the shop was busy. Another younger man, taller than the one he met last night and with light hair was standing behind a counter arranging a bouquet together. A young woman with fluffy brown hair was talking to a couple of older wixen and pointing to something on a display table and then towards a wall. Both of them had black shirts on and green canvas aprons. Severus couldn't see the green-eyed young man, but supposed he was likely with a client… Maybe upstairs? He hadn't noticed any tattoo equipment on the shop floor yesterday evening.
Shrugging slightly, he decided he didn't like feeling awkward standing out on the pavement. He could either go inside and browse or come back closer to his appointment time. He hadn't been down Horizontal Alley before, so maybe now would be a good time. And if he happened to get a feeling for the place, and gauge what other visitors and the businesses thought of their new neighbour, then so be it.
Horizontal Alley was narrower than most of the wixen London alleys, with the buildings consisting of terraces, all of different types and colours. He noticed that they usually had a business on the bottom floor and then perhaps living quarters on the second floor. The bookshop window caught his eye. In it was a display of books about plants, flower arranging, and large coffee table books showing tattooed individuals. There were even a couple of pots of creeping ivy, with the vines artistically draped around the presentation of books. Severus couldn't help but scoff a little – it was obvious that the owner of Turn of the Page was a fan of their new neighbours.
He continued to slowly walk down the alley. It was reasonably busy, but not so much that he couldn't avoid the other patrons. There was also a hair or beauty salon, a clothing store, a stationery store, jewellery and an antique store present in the alley. At the end of the alley was a small garden with a fountain and a small patch of lush green grass. A coffee shop next to the garden was doing a brisk trade, with the tables outside full of wixen enjoying the early afternoon sun. Severus glanced at his watch – half an hour to go, and decided he could get a takeaway coffee and walk slowly back to Florals and Ink with about ten minutes to spare.
It would be good to see how the owners interacted with their customers anyway, and that was, unfortunately, likely something Jenkins would want to be included in the article.
He entered the café and enjoyed the rich smell of freshly ground coffee beans. Unfortunately, most of the wixen cafes on Diagon Alley used pre-ground beans and produced horrible coffee, so Severus was forced to enter London proper whenever he wanted a decent coffee. This café, he noticed, ground their own, and after glancing at the blackboard above the counter, also had a decent range.
"Welcome to the Mythic Coffeehouse. What can I get for you?" a middle-aged wixen with a black apron on asked.
He nodded to her, "A large long black with three shots to take away please." The woman nodded back and moved behind the large espresso machine on the counter.
"That'll be one galleon and one knut please." The woman said. Severus walked over, pulling out the required coins and placing them neatly on the counter. "Thanks," the woman smiled at him, "You haven't been in here before have you?"
Severus saw this as an opportunity, "No I haven't. I'm just here to visit Florals and Ink this afternoon for an interview." The woman's eyebrows rose and she grinned. From that look, he knew this information was going to be shared.
"You're going to be interviewing Harry and Neville? How interesting!" The woman exclaimed, "We were all so happy when we saw there were new owners of that place. And they've done such a good job with the place – it used to be a real eye sore."
She placed his coffee on the counter, but instead of it being in a standard takeaway cup she had used a reusable one. When she noticed him looking, she just laughed. "I have a feeling you'll be back for more coffee. And if you're not – then you can just use it elsewhere. It's self-cleaning and when you're done it will go flat for easier transport in pockets."
He nodded in response and leaned against the counter to pick up the cup. "So – the other businesses' were happy with the shop starting up then? No concerns about what type of clientele it may bring in?"
The woman narrowed her eyes a bit, "We were all very happy. And after meeting Harry and Neville at the Horizontal Alley Business Association meeting, decided that even if it was going to be a part tattoo parlour, that it was unlikely to draw any 'undesirables' here." Severus watched amused as she made the quotation marks with her fingers when talking. "And – it's been working out well so far. The novelty of a florist slash tattoo parlour has gotten tongues wagging. We've all had an uptick in customers since they opened." Severus just nodded hoping she would keep on going, but he saw someone else enter the café, so smiled his thanks, picked up his coffee and left.
Once outside the café he stopped next to the garden and took a sip. Oh. Proper coffee. None of that flavoured water or milk nonsense that usually passed as coffee in Diagon Alley. He would be coming back.
Severus started back down the alley, browsing in the windows of the shops as he walked. Even though he had walked slowly, there were still fifteen minutes until Florals and Ink officially closed. Shrugging, it didn't matter that he was early by fifteen minutes. That could even be considered good manners, something not usually associated with Severus Snape.
He entered the shop, the bed tinkering lightly above the door. There were still several customers around. As he moved away from the front of the store that he had seen briefly last night, he noticed that, no – the tattoo parlous was not on the second floor, but was instead in a cosy corner of the shop floor, opposite the counter with the old-fashioned cash register at one end. Though he tried to look multiple times in the direction, to see how it worked, he found his eyes sliding past and the view slightly blurred. Hmm… Good privacy charms then, likely permanent and rune-based wards as well.
There was a mix of paintings on the walls interspersed with framed designs. All were floral, plant or animal themed, and had been drawn in a variety of different styles. These must be examples of tattoo designs, Severus realised. He internally laughed to himself, there were butterflies, but no Chinese characters or tribal designs. He could admit to himself that he was marginally impressed by the designs… The whole shop actually. After examining several of the plants a bit closer, they appeared to be hybrids, non-magical plants crossed with magical. He itched to test what type of magical properties several of them may have.
When all but one customer, who was still at the counter being helped by the bushy-haired woman, had left, the sandy-haired young man made his way over to him. When he reached Severus, he smiled and held out a hand, "I'm Neville Longbottom. You must be Potions Master Snape. Harry mentioned we would be doing an interview with you this afternoon." Severus shook the young man's hand.
"Yes, I am. You're the other co-owner of Florals and Ink?" Neville nodded and smiled at Severus again, "Yes I am. I manage the floristry side of the business."
"Indeed," Severus drawled, "I was hoping Harry would also be available for the interview as well, except I haven't seen him yet."
Neville raised an eyebrow at Severus and gestured towards the corner with the intense privacy charms present. "We both know that he's with a client at the moment. Just let me check how it's going."
Severus watched Neville walk through the privacy barrier easily. He returned a couple of minutes later and gestured Severus towards where he was just outside the barrier.
"Harry's client is okay with you being present while Harry works. The appointment is going a bit longer than expected, but he thought you might like to watch for a bit." Neville explained. Severus just nodded, and Neville gestured for him to walk through the privacy barrier.
Behind the privacy barrier, the area was bright and larger than Severus expected. A man, red-haired and well-muscled, likely around thirty years old was reclined on a black leather chair. Harry was bent over his chest, and a buzzing sound filled the area. The two were chatting softly, though stopped once Severus entered.
The buzzing noise stopped and Harry looked up at Severus and smiled. "Master Snape. Charlie didn't mind you sitting in while I finished up. I figured it would be a good opportunity for you to see how I create my magic." The young man winked at him, and nodded at a rolling stool on the other side of where Charlie was sitting, "You'll be able to see everything from there."
Severus sat and watched as Harry flicked the machine on, the muted buzzing noise filling the space. He looked at the design which was being worked onto Charlie's skin. A large, very realistic dragon had been tattooed onto Charlie's chest and stomach. It looked like Harry was filling in some of the details.
"So – I'm finishing off the detailing for Charlie's dragon at the moment. This is Charlie's last appointment, so I'll also be adding some of my special ink soon and then applying the charms." Harry was focused on the skin in front of him and was deftly adding fine details to the dragon's scales.
Charlie smiled down at the top of Harry's head, "This is the third session I've had. I'm looking forward to seeing the final product."
Severus had done some research the night before, so knew that usually charms were applied after the tattooing process had been finished by wixen tattooists. However, none of his reference texts mentioned 'special ink'.
Harry hummed and sat back while turning the machine off. "Okay Charlie, have a look in the mirror and let me know if there's anything additional you'll like before we do the final bit." The redhead levered himself out of the seat and stood in front of the mirror against the wall. He turned back and was grinning, "It's perfect Harry!"
Harry just smiled and indicated that he should sit back down in the chair. He opened the door to the cabinet next to him and disposed of the needle into a sharps container like Severus had seen before at St Mungo's Hospital. The young man then pulled out a rack of small containers of inks in varying colours, "You wanted blue highlights right Charlie? And for it to move around at will? What about becoming invisible?"
Severus couldn't help the incredulity that grasped him. Magical tattoos could not become invisible!
Charlie just laughed, "You know I want the blue, and yes to the moving around. No to the invisibility thanks, Harry." Harry just nodded, pulled a small bottle of bright blue from the rack, picked up a copper needle, and shut the cabinet door again, "Ok – coming right up." Harry whispered a spell, causing the copper needle to glow brightly for a second. He stopped at looked at Charlie then Severus. "It's really important that neither of you speaks while I'm doing this or distracts me in any way. Ok?" Severus just inclined his head in agreement while Charlie gave a cheerful yes. Harry looked at both of them again seriously and then nodded to himself.
Severus watched as Harry dipped the copper needle into the small ink bottle, and was astounded when the ink was sucked in. He held the needle delicately and started to mumble to himself, the ink dragon turning a bright silver. Harry kept on mumbling and used the copper needle to pierce into Charlie's skin. Wherever he pierced, the colour appeared, shading itself across the dragon. Once the dragon was completely coloured, the pitch of Harry's mumbling changed, instead his voice was a lilting, almost hypnotic. The copper needle was dragged along several previously inked lines until Harry suddenly stopped. He paused for ten seconds, then snapped out an incantation Severus couldn't decipher.
The inked dragon, looking so realistic, seemed to ripple. Harry just looked pleased with himself as he sat back on his stool.
"Perfect. Ok, Charlie. Follow these instructions exactly," the younger man thrust a piece of parchment into Charlie's hand, "and the dragon will wake up in a week. If you have any trouble with the tattoo in the meantime, you know the best ways of contacting me."
Charlie just nodded and levered himself out of the chair again. "Awesome! Thanks so much, Harry! It's awesome! I can't wait for it to wake up."
Severus stayed seated as he watched Harry direct Charlie over to the counter where Neville was waiting. The young man turned back to Severus and smiled again, "Any questions Master Snape?"
The news of the interview was the main source of gossip between the buildings on Horizontal Alley. The Mythic Coffeehouse was in its element dispersing the information post-haste to the other buildings.
Floral and Ink had already known about it, of course, but had been much too busy influencing its atmosphere to tell the others before the interview started. Though according to it, the first had gone well. All of the buildings were immensely interested when Florals and Ink reported that the Potions Master, who, The Mythic Coffeehouse thought felt like dark chocolate and chilli, had returned. And again. And again.
It got to the point during the week, where most of the buildings could feel the rising tension between the two signatures, the dark-haired one of Florals and Ink, and the dark chocolate of the Potion Master.
The Mythic Coffeehouse also got to feel the Potions Master's signature repetitively as he returned for coffee at least once every time he was in Horizontal Alley. The buildings had been hoping for something to develop between the two men. Raven's Wing reported that having an owner in love gave a massive boost to themselves, something that Florals and Ink needed after being abandoned for so long.
Unfortunately, Florals and Ink reported that the dark chocolate signature hadn't visited even once in the past week. It could feel that one of her owners was sad about that. All of the buildings were disappointed.
It had been a month since he had last seen Severus. Harry wiped down the chair and shot a disinfectant spell at it.
A month!
Neither he nor Neville had heard anything from him since he mentioned having enough information for the article.
That first afternoon, after finishing Charlie's tattoo, Harry answered Snape's questions about his tattooing process and what made it different to other wixen tattooists. Snape had a load of questions about the invisibility aspect of his tattoos, and Harry had shown Snape exactly how they worked, as all of his had the ability worked into them. Then he and Neville had shown Snape around the shop floor together. Then Snape quizzed Neville about his plants.
It was jarring after Snape, or Severus as he insisted on being called, had been dropping in after the first formal interview nearly every day for a week with additional questions. And on one particularly memorable day with a photographer in tow.
Maybe Harry had imagined the glances Snape had kept directing toward him. Those dark eyes intensely focused on him, even when it was Neville who was talking. Or maybe Harry had also imagined the warmth of Snape's hand in the small of his back or the fleeting caresses when their hands brushed. There was even a moment when he thought Snape would kiss him!
Argh!
Harry thought he had made it clear that he was interested in Severus. Also, Harry thought that maybe Severus was attracted to him as well, at least based on his body language during the week. But maybe Harry had misread the situation – it wouldn't be the first time that had happened. He couldn't help but feel a bit despondent.
Though Neville had commented about it several times that week. Even Hermione had.
Harry stepped back from his workstation. It was sparkling clean. Thankfully he didn't have any late customers today, so he was able to finish up on time for once. Though, maybe he wasn't so happy about that – since it meant he just had more time to obsess about Snape and replay snippets from Severus' visits in his head. Again.
For god's sake! They didn't know when the article was going to be published!
Maybe… Maybe he should ask Remus.
The latest issue of Potions Monthly was open on his desk. He was checking the article he had written up on Florals and Ink as he hadn't seen the finalised product before it went to print.
The photographs turned out well. Better than well. Both Harry and Neville looked like stand-up young men, with the photographs managing to capture their vitality and enthusiasm. The photographer had even tracked Charlie Weasley down and gotten a photo of his dragon tattoo after the ink had set. The finished product was even more amazing than when Severus had seen it.
The magazine would be released to the public tomorrow.
Severus hadn't meant to avoid Florals and Ink for just over a month. But… There had been some comments around the office about the unusually favourable article from Severus, and even sly innuendos once some of the assistant editors had glimpsed some of the photographs. He hadn't wanted to tarnish the integrity of the article even with rumours, so had stayed away.
Though, the article wasn't out of character for Severus. He had never done a character piece before, so he wasn't sure what those pathetic sheep were comparing it against. He also always gave appropriate credit where credit is due. Which in this case was deserved. After spending so much time with Harry and Neville that week, he had realised just how hard both of them had worked to get their business going and he hadn't wanted any rumours to impact them.
But today he was going to hand deliver an advance copy to Florals and Ink. And ask if Harry wanted to go to dinner with him.
Severus stepped into Florals and Ink, enjoying the scent of fresh plants, flowers and underneath a faint hint of antiseptic.
It was busy, as he would have expected on a Wednesday afternoon. Neville was at the counter, and two others in the same green apron were talking to customers on the floor. Harry wasn't in sight, and the privacy charms on his workstation were down.
He gripped the two advanced copies of Potions Monthly in his hands and took a deep breath. He was able to admit that he was nervous about his reception here after ignoring Harry for such a period…
He felt his breath catch as Harry walked out of the staff-only back room. Harry was in the process of tying on an apron, his dark hair mussed and a grin on his face. He mustn't have any more tattoo clients for the afternoon if he was putting on an apron. One of the things Severus had learnt when visiting previously, was that if the floor was busy and Harry unoccupied with tattooing, he would jump in and help out. Though his knowledge of the plants they sold was basic, Severus had seen that his demeanour with the clients was relaxed and welcoming. Even with some of the more difficult clients, everybody had to deal with on occasion.
Severus wasn't sure what to do. It was busy… Perhaps he should come back closer to closing time… Though he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from Harry…
Suddenly, Harry looked up, his green eyes meeting Severus'. He blinked once, and Severus watched as a smile spread across his face. Before Severus could do anything, Harry was darting towards him and all of the prepared speeches and apologies Severus had thought up over the past month were forgotten.
"I'm sorry." Severus felt himself saying once Harry was standing in front of him. Harry smiled up at him, "I know you are." And then Severus was surprised when Harry cupped his face and pulled him down, kissing him softly.
Severus barely noticed the wolf whistles coming from Neville and the murmured surprise of some of the clients.
Harry pulled back a bit, keeping his hands on either side of Severus' face, "It's okay. Remus finally explained what was going on," Harry's eyes were understanding, and Severus just nodded slightly.
Damn. He would have to be less scathing to Lupin now. At least for a week or two…
Harry leaned up again and kissed him gently once more, "I need to help Neville, but you're welcome to hang around here," he paused, "Perhaps I can cook dinner and you can show me the article? Neville was heading over to Hannah's tonight anyway…"
Severus smiled.
Harry lent against the kitchen bench, waiting for his stovetop espresso maker to finish. He felt Severus come up behind him and shivered slightly at the press of his lips against the side of his neck.
"Hmm… Dinner last night, and now coffee this morning…" Severus said as Harry pushed back against him slightly. He felt Severus inhale the smell of brewing coffee, even as Harry could feel a growing hardness against his lower back which sparked pleasurable memories of the evening before, "…And good coffee as well."
Harry twisted around to face the taller man and grinned, "Of course! I get the beans from Mythic Coffeehouse and grind them fresh each day."
Severus leant down and kissed him sweetly, gently gripping his hips, "Sounds terrific. And perhaps after coffee, we can head back to bed…?"
Harry certainly didn't have any objections to that!
Florals and Ink agreed with the other buildings. Having both of its owners in love was a great feeling. It was also a boost in the power department for a building as well. Now the building could help its owners even more. Florals and Ink especially liked to try and direct any customers towards what they needed, as opposed to what they wanted. Sometimes it worked… Sometimes it didn't…
But as long as its owners were happy, so were Florals and Ink.
Thanks for reading! Kudos and comments are always welcome. This work is part of the House of Snarry's AUctoberfest 2022. You can find us on Tumblr or on Discord.