Forever Yours

Chapter 40: "Something Unexpected"

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the people or places that belong to the wonderful world of Harry Potter, as they belong to J.K. Rowling. The OCs (Katherine, Septimus, Serenity, Helena, Christoph, Elisa, Henry, Nick and any name you don't recognize and isn't from the HP universe) are entirely my own.

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In the final days of their journey in Peru, Severus felt as though he had saw more of the world that he had ever before. They had harvested more than enough Angel's Trumpet to be able to experiment on them for well over the next two months, and had also managed to harvest several other rare ingredients from within the jungle's domain.

The last morning of their trip, Severus and Katherine had apparated into Tarapoto where they were met by a local Auror, who had requested to show them the city. The muggle part of the city was filled with locals, quietly baking in the heat of the summer sun. They would go about their business peacefully, with many buzzing about on what the Auror had called 'motorbikes.' There seemed to be very little tourists here; as none of the local shops seemed to overly promote new arrivals.

The buildings were made of bare brick walls with tin roofs, while some were painted in bright colors. Some roads were paved, while others were nothing but dirt and dust.

But near the center of the city, the group came to a stop in front of a boarded up storefront; one half the size of Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. After a few precisely placed taps of the Auror's wand, the door disappeared, and opened up to a brightly sunlit alley.

"Welcome my friends," the Auror said, with the help of a translation spell. "To Callejón Escondido."

Witches and wizards were bustling everywhere; brightly colored shops were brimming with unique and fresh ingredients for both consumption and brewing alike. They happily explored the local apothecary, eyeing over the regional supplies and brews. Severus enjoyed browsing the large bookstore as well, finding extremely old tomes at a reasonable price, but unfortunately all would need to be translated to English.

Katherine, on the other hand, dragged him into the Quidditch store, and began to pursue through the multitudes of Peruvian National Quidditch Team jerseys for Septimus. They later dined on the local exotic foods and finished with a trip to the chocolate shop, mostly for presents for the children.

It had been a wonderful three days in Peru, but unfortunately they had to get back to reality..and the cold sooner than they wanted.

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"Achooo..."

"Merlin sakes Katherine," Severus frowned, looking up from his book. They had been back from the jungles for nearly a month, and the moment they returned, Katherine had caught a cold. "Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine, Sev," Katherine said in a hoarse voice, as she summoned the box of tissue to her. The first week of February had brought a blizzard to the area, and the two of them, along with Serenity, had hunkered down in the study for the day.

"Achoo!" Katherine sneezed again, but this time it was quite a bit louder and, dare Severus say, phlegm filled.

"That is it," Severus grumbled, as he stood from the desk chair and made his way towards the floo. " am flooing Elisa."

"I said I'm fine," Katherine sniffed before quickly covering her nose and mouth, preparing for another sneeze. Severus stopped in front of her; his black eyes scanning his wife thoroughly. Her ice blue eyes were bloodshot; her cheeks sunken a bit, and there were dark circles forming under her eyes.