The Magic of Different Worlds || Severus Snape x Reader ||

Chapter 21: Butterbeer and Firewhisky

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GTKYQ: Favorite guilty pleasure TV show?

A/N: This is a lengthy chapter!

"Hopefully I don't screw it up or give it away that I'm not supposed to be there."
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"You're not wearing that," Blaire huffed at the emerald green blouse on its hanger in my hand. "Put it back."

"What's wrong with this one?" I grumbled in defense.

Blaire and I had been at this for the last hour and a half. I told Blaire about the mystery adventure that Severus had arranged for us, and I had enlisted her help in finding a suitable outfit. The issue was that neither of us knew if I even owned anything that was suitable, and we were bumping heads.

"It's too much color if you're trying to blend in. You'll stand out with that one. Also you'll freeze to death." Blaire remarked, leaning against the decorative pillows of my bed with Pepper attempting to playfully chew on her hand.

I returned the top to the rack with a sigh. Severus was going to be at my apartment soon to pick me up and I wasn't even close to being ready. I was stressed and the evening hadn't even started yet.

"Back to the drawing board then," I announced. "This is harder than I thought it would be."

"Well, rightfully so. It's your first date in years." Blaire rolled Pepper onto her back to distract her from taking her fingers off.

"It's not a date. There was no clarification on that." I corrected her.

It was true after all. Severus didn't say what this was. I wasn't going to assume anything and freak him out. We had made huge progress in the last week, and now I saw it fit to tread forward with small steps. The dynamic had changed, and it was going to take some adjusting. Both of us were suffering from culture shock. He wasn't used to Muggles on a regular basis and I wasn't used to wizards at all. We each had a lot of learning to do, but it was a journey that I was cautiously looking forward to.

"Oh, come on. He's been coming to see you for months now and he just risked himself to be able to tell you the truth," Blaire remarked. "He easily could've walked away never to be seen again."

I hadn't thought of it that way. If he hadn't wanted to tell me, then he wouldn't have. He had no real reason to keep coming around and keep putting his name at risk. I had already suspected that something was brewing between us, but I hadn't realized the extent of it. That added more hope to my heart, and gave me more faith that this really could turn into something special. I had seen for myself how completely separated our lives were. He could've disappeared with no problem and without a trace — but he kept coming back.

He kept coming back for me.

"I just don't want to get my hopes up." I spoke softly.

"I know. But I think Pepper would love to have Severus become a regular house guest." Blaire grinned, scooping Pepper up and playfully holding her in the air.

Pepper's lanky body went limp in Blaire's hold and she looked at me with her large brown eyes that sparkled at the mention of his name. Pepper hadn't seen Severus since the night of his tussle with Tom, but ever since then Pepper always perked up when she heard his name.

"What do you think, Pep? Would you like Severus to come around more often?" I smiled at my canine pal, who stuck her tongue briefly out in response to my question.

If nothing else, I was glad to know that Pepper had a solidified idea of how she expected things to pursue. Blaire and I (along with Pepper) continued to go through the contents of my closet to find an outfit. Blaire suddenly became quiet as we searched, and my counseling side began to tingle.