"We have reservations." Peggy was startled by the deep voice that came from across the check-in desk. Two curious looking people were standing across from her- the man with dark hair that obscured much of his face, and the woman a great deal older than him, looking oddly uncomfortable in a pair of jeans that were hugging her waist.

Trying not to stare, Peggy smiled and pulled out the reservation book. "Name, please?"

"Snape," the man muttered.

Peggy looked down the list of names, finding there was indeed a Snape with a reservation for one of their couple's suites. Raising an eyebrow, she looked up again at the pair- were they romantically involved? She looked far too old for him. As tempting as it was, it wasn't her job to ask questions, and Peggy handed the man a key to their room. "Enjoy your stay," she said. "Maisey will bring your bags to your rooms."

The woman smiled at Peggy. "Thank you, dear. Come on, Severus." Severus? Peggy could have sworn the only time she'd ever heard a name like that was in the Roman history courses she'd taken at university.

The couple left their bags on the floor in front of Maisey, and Peggy could only make out a few things they said as they made their way towards the stairs. Something about Muggles, whatever that meant? "Maisey," Peggy said, grabbing the blonde's arm. "Did something about them seem odd to you?"

"Just that she seems a lot older than him." As she picked up their bags which were extremely aged and beaten up, Maisey shrugged. "I didn't notice anything. Do you think they're going to be trouble?"

"No, no," Peggy said, trying to put her thoughts into words. "They don't seem bad," she explained. "Just…out of place."

"Were they British?"

Peggy nodded. "I think the woman may have been a Scot- I only heard her say a few words." Maisey was asking to see if they were foreigners- the Bell's Inn got a decent number of backpackers in need of a place to stay. But, they didn't seem of a foreign nationality, just as if they were not from mainstream society, like they came from some weird cult that lived behind the times. "See if you can hear anything from their rooms the next few days. They have the room for three nights."

"You're not normally a gossip," Maisey said, sounding amused.

Peggy rolled her eyes. "Just bring their bags up."

Over the next few days, Peggy watched them- their routine fairly similar each day. During the day, they would leave and go towards the local town which had a lot of good places to eat, drink, and shop. The first day they went out, Maisey had went upstairs to clean their room, but returned a few minutes later. "What is it?" Peggy asked her when she appeared back down at the desk.

"It's clean."

"You still need to make the bed, refill the soap-,"

"Peggy!" Maisey exclaimed, cutting her off. "It's exactly how it was when they arrived. It's like they never stayed in it or it went back together on its own. My god, you would need magic to get the room to look this good."

"Are you sure you had the right room?"

Maisey nodded. "Come with me."

Peggy followed behind her, and when they opened the door to Snape's room, it was just as Maisey described it. Everything was in perfect place, down to the angle that the bed covers were turned over. The bathroom was completely dry and spotless, the towels even dry and folded back perfectly. "God, it's like they stood in the middle of the floor all night and didn't touch anything," Peggy laughed. In the corner of the room, she caught sight of their suitcases, confirming it was their room. "Maybe they work for a hotel somewhere else and just know how it's done."

"Peggy…" Maisey's voice trailed off.

"What?"

Maisey walked over to the side table and picked up a magazine. The top of it read, The Daily Prophet, and Peggy thought her eyes were going to bulge out of her head when she saw the photo on the front cover moving. It was of a screaming man in what appeared to be a prisoner's uniform. "Please don't tell me I'm seeing things," Maisey said.

"You see it moving too?"

"Yeah."

"Put it back," Peggy said, snatching the paper and putting it back on the table. "Let's get out of here."

Mr. Snape and his partner were pleasant the next time she saw them, well mostly the woman was, but he was friendly enough, acknowledging Peggy when they came back from their day out. The next day, the two did the same thing, but that evening, they had come back with a bunch of shopping bags. "You do some shopping?" Peggy asked as they walked past the desk.

"We did," the woman smiled.

"Get anything good?"

Snape rolled his eyes, but the woman with him smiled. "I did!"

"Minerva-,"

"Oh, hush, Severus! Let me show her!" Minerva? Her name was odd too. Minerva fussed with some of the tissue paper in her bag to pull out a pair of sweatpants.

"Sweatpants?" Peggy asked, confused.

"Yes! They were so comfortable in the store. Much better than these old things," Minerva said, motioning to her jeans. It was like the woman had never worn regular clothing before. Yet, the excitement across her face was adorable, and Peggy couldn't help but smile.

"We have room service ordered," Severus said, pulling her along. "Let's go, Min."

"Have a lovely night," Minerva said, smiling to Peggy as her lover pulled her towards their rooms.

This encounter only left Peggy puzzled more. The third night that the two were staying in the inn, Peggy was outside having a cigarette, leaning over the railing that surrounded the nearby lake, when she saw the two of them settle further down the railing to enjoy the view. It had grown dark, the moon reflecting on the lake providing the only light aside from a few streetlamps. Peggy had put out her cigarette when the two began talking, but she couldn't help and light up another, hoping to hear more of their conversation. The couple puzzled her, and she was going to miss the change in her daily routine. They provided a curiosity she hadn't known she'd wanted.

"I needed this," Severus said.

Minerva's arm was around him. She couldn't see their faces in the dark, but she could see their figures well enough. With nobody else on the street at such a late hour, she couldn't help hearing everything they were saying. If they noticed her there, they didn't let on. "When I saw about Black, I knew that this trip couldn't have been planned at a better time. You needed to breathe for a while."

"What happens now?" he asked, his voice bitter.

"Right now, we enjoy this amazing view, and this adorable town I've grown to really enjoy the last few days."

"And after we leave?"

Minerva sighed as well. "Can't you just enjoy the moment?"

"And when have I ever been good at that?" he asked, turning to face her.

"You could try."

"I love you," he said. Without even knowing the two, the genuineness in his voice warmed Peggy's heart. They were an odd couple, but it was sweet. The sound of a kiss echoed through the area.

"Thank you for this trip, Severus," Minerva said.

"You needed it too; after last year."

"I suppose it was the best thing for both of us, hm?"

"I suppose it was."

Silence fell over them for a few moments, and Peggy's cigarette was starting to wear down. She took the last few puffs she could, throwing it to the ground. "I have your back, you know," Minerva finally said.

"I know."

"With Black…with whatever inevitable travesty this year brings." She laughed slightly.

"Why don't we go inside?" he asked. "Enjoy the last night of the private suite?"

"Now, that's the best idea you've had all night," she said in a low voice.

The two kissed again, and Peggy smiled to herself. She made her way back to the front door to the inn, her break over.

After that night, the years passed and the odd couple never returned to the Bell's Inn, at least, not while Peggy worked there. Occasionally, she would think about Severus and Minerva, wondering what about them had made her pay more attention to them than any other guests that had come through the doors to the inn. Had they been in some sort of cult? What had brought them there? Why did they have such old-fashioned names? And why had Minerva been so excited about sweatpants?

There were some questions, Peggy would conclude, that she would never know the answer to.