Intolerable Man [SnapexOC]

1. Bordeaux, France

Ding

The little bell above the potions shop door rang as a woman dressed in long, royal purple robes waltzed in.

"Bonjour." She waved to the girl behind the counter, who nodded in response and whispered "salut" under her breath as she continued to label small glass bottles with stickers describing whatever herb they enclosed.

The woman browsed the tiny shops collection of ingredients, mumbling to herself. Finally she found what she was looking for and brought the vile up to the counter. The girl at the register didn't speak perfect French, and had to ask the fluent French witch to slow down a multitude of times. After each of them getting frustrated with the other a few times, they got through to each other and the witch went on her way after purchasing her herbs.

"Au revoir!" called Lana, her expression returned to its previously blank state once the old witch left.

Lana sighed heavily, she hated French. She made her way to the door and locked it after turning the open/close sign to the side which read "Fermé" and began to tidy up the shop. And to think, Lana believed her life at Hogwarts was boring. Her routine had become so dull, she knew what would happen each day before it had even started.

Lana finished up in the shop, wiping down counters and straightening bottles and viles of an array of different herbs. She swept the cobblestone floor, although there wasn't much traffic in and out of the place there was always heaps of dirt on the ground. Once the store was up to her standards of cleanliness she left out of a back door and locked it behind her. It was finally time for her to go home.

Among a long row of flats, Lanas was tucked away in the uniform line of identical muggle homes.

Lana had a handle on her, "abilities", as she called them. In fact, she hadn't even used them in years. She used the techniques her Professor had taught her so many years ago. Professor. Like that's all he was to her. A man who once taught her potions, and so much more.

Professor Severus Snape.

Lana had once loved, Professor Snape, but she ruined it. All too often she'd catch herself thinking of Severus, or stopping herself from writing to him. Like she even knew what to say after being away for so long. If Lana had one regret it was the way she left things with him. It was childish, and unfair to him. Lana cringed thinking of what she had done, she tossed and turned under her blanket, but it was no use. Lana wished, more than anything, that one day she'd be able to apologize for all she put him through. She spent most of the night replaying that summer in her head and pining over Severus. She dozed off eventually, just to have her alarm sound off not even an hour later.

Lana enjoyed muggle inventions, they were actually useful on rare occasion, she was no longer late to every event. She knew Severus would hate the concept of an alarm clock, thinking of his reaction to their shrill and annoying sound made her giggle. This was a short lived bliss, it only made her miss him more.

Lana got dressed in brown corduroy pants and a white linen top and accessorized with plenty of jewelry and crystals. She often caught herself wondering if Severus would like the way she dressed now. Sometimes she'd make up compliments like the ones he used to give her in her head to make herself feel better. She wasn't sure if this was really a healthy coping mechanism but it certainly made her feel good, for a few minutes at least. After brushing her teeth and hair, which was now shoulder length and much more tolerable, she took a final look in the mirror before heading out.

Lanas day would unfold exactly as the one before had. Her commute to work was uneventful, as always. Once she arrived she noticed the owner, a small French witch, was in the store, which was unusual. She was rushing around the little shop frantically. She rushed toward Lana as soon as she entered.

"Oh, my dear Lana!" She said in a thick French accent as she clutched onto Lanas arm. "I had a premonition! An old friend of mine will visit today. I know it!" With every sentence she grasped Lanas fore arm tighter and tighter. She smiled through the pain for awhile but eventually pried Nicole's fingers off of her. They had started to leave indents.

Nicole. She reminded Lana of Professor Trelawney with her flamboyant personality. She enjoyed working for her, even though the work was mind numbing. Maybe it was a good thing.

The work day was nearing its end, and still no visitors for Nicole. Just as Lana had started to clean up there was a ding at the front of the store, it was a young woman. Lana watched Nicole to see if this was who she was expecting, and from the disappointed look on her face Lana figured it was not.

"Hmm." Nicole said, disappointedly. "I was sure that I would have a visitor today." She whispered to Lana before tending to their customer.

Nicole checked the girl out then began to help Lana with cleanup, that's when there was another ding. This time Lana could only see the persons hat, it was oddly familiar. A red, limp wizard hat with gold detailing. Nicole immediately ran to the visitor, her friend had finally shown. It wasn't until the old wizard spoke, that Lana understood who had just walked into the shop.

Nicole and her friend chatted and laughed for a good while. Lana stayed hidden in the back, freaking out only slightly..

"Hello, Miss Darcy." called the wizard in a raspy voice.

Lana walked out from her hiding place after taking a few deep breaths to calm herself. She stood several meters away from the pair.

"Hello Professor." She said hesitantly.

He motioned for her to join he and Nicole, which she did reluctantly. A million things went through her head. Why was he there? Did he have bad news? Was she in trouble? Was Severus okay? She hoped that he would actually answer her questions and not in his usual cryptic messages.

Surprisingly, Dumbledore wasted no time and got straight to the point.

"I received your letter, and I'm happy to say that we would love to have you back at Hogwarts." He said in a cheerful tone, like he wasn't about to disrupt Lanas entire livelihood.

Lana lost all ability to speak. She forgot she had even sent that letter, come to think of it, she never did.

"Salaud"  she thought to herself. That damn owl decided to take the letter out of her waste bin. How he knew where to take it she didn't know, but she was sort of glad he did.

She realized how long she had stayed silent, and finally spoke.

"Really?" She asked, unable to believe what was happening. She did want to go home, but was so afraid he would say no which is why she trashed the letter at first. She was glad her owl was so disobedient.

Dumbledore nodded. This caused Nicole to scoff loudly.

"Ugh. Albus! You come all this way to steal my best employee?" Nicole complained.

"I'm sorry my dear. But I know she'll do great things at Hogwarts." he winked at Lana as he apologized to Nicole.

Dumbledore handed Lana a letter. "This explains everything in better detail, I'm afraid I must be off. It was great seeing you Nicole." Lana took the letter and nodded. Nicole only scowled at her friend.

As Albus left Lana couldn't help but thank him repeatedly, he patted her hands, a polite way to shut her up, and left.

Lana couldn't comprehend the overwhelming feeling of joy which had just washed over her. When she wrote to Dumbledore she never thought he'd actually respond, let alone show up in person. That man was completely unpredictable.

She would be going home.