"Where are we going, Severus?" I ask as the older man holds out a portkey.
"You'll see." He tells me as he places a hand on my lower back. We decided that Severus and I should go on a couple of dates alone so that we can really get to know each other. Then we won't always have to use Lucius as a buffer between us.
The spinning starts quickly and I grasp on to Severus, with my free hand, for support. By the time we stop I'm slightly nauseous.
"Drink this." Severus says pressing a vial to my lips. I let him pour it into my mouth, recognising the calming draught. "Better?" He asks after I've finished it.
"Much. Thank you." I say smiling gratefully at him. He slips the vial into his coat pocket.. His trench coat doesn't show much of what he's wearing underneath, but I can see the black denims and dragon skin boots he's wearing.
"This way." He says holding his arm out to me.
"Where are we, Severus?" I repeat as he leads me onto a busy street.
"Somewhere I hope you haven't already been." He tells me dryly.
I look around, trying to determine our location. The people around us are wearing Muggle clothing. Very odd looking but still Muggle clothing so we aren't in the Wizarding World. I hear one of the Muggle men call for a taxi. I look at Severus surprised. Listening to conversations going on around us, I recognise the accent.
"Are we in America?" I ask, startled.
"Indeed." He drawls. "New York to be exact."
"You brought me to New York?" I ask, astonished.
"Does that displease you?" He sneers. "Doesn't compare to Paris."
"Don't give me that attitude mister." I say shaking my finger at him. "Using sarcasm and hate to hide your insecurities is not going to work with me."
He blinks at me in surprise and his sneer flattens into a frown. He nods slightly but doesn't speak.
"Good now that's settled. Paris is in a category all its own but most of it is too extravagant for me. Lucius learned that quickly when I drug him to all the museums I could find." I lay my hand on his arm gently until he looks at me fully. "What did you have planned for today?"
He's silent for a few minutes just watching me. Then he holds his arm out to me. I take it and we start walking.
"There is an old apothecary in one of the back alleys. They have many rare ingredients and they have a back room full of antique potions equipment." He tells me as we walk. "I found it a few years back when I was looking for Pegasus down feathers."
"Pegasus down feathers? What kind of potion uses those?' I ask curiously.
"Well it wasn't a potion." He admits hesitantly. "I heard from a trusted source that a pillow made from Pegasus down feathers would help someone sleep better. After the war, Lucius started having really bad nightmares and I hated not being able to do anything. Taking Dreamless Sleep Potion too often can be harmful to one's health so I researched for anything that could help him."
I stop walking and turn to him. I press a kiss to his cheek before I speak again.
"Did it help? The Pegasus pillow?" I ask.
"Not as well as I would have liked." He says looking at me oddly. "What was that for?"
"If someone had told me six years ago that you still had a heart I would have called them delusional, but now I see the proof in front of me." I tell him with a soft smile.
"This is it." He says a bit gruffly as he nods at a decrypted looking building. He holds the door open so I can walk in first.
"Hello, beautiful. How can I help you today?" I hear someone say. I turn and see a shopkeeper walking towards me with a huge smile.
"She's with me, Andrew." Severus says sharply.
"Ah, Severus, wonderful to see you again." The shopkeeper, Andrew, says not taking his eyes off of me. Severus scowls at the man before taking my arm and leading me to the backroom.
I gasp as I see all the shelves with equipment centuries old.
"This is amazing." I breathe out, looking around. When I look up at Severus, I see a hint of a smile on his face. It disappears just as quickly as it appeared.
Together we walk around the room and he explains each piece to me in full detail. I'm fascinated both by the history in front of us and Severus's knowledge and passion on the subject. By the time we've finished, I realise we've been here for several hours. We make our way back into the main room and he turns to me.
"I need to get some powdered rat's tail. I'll be right back." He tells me. He waits until I nod to walk away.
One of the displays catches my attention so I walk over to it. As I'm looking in the vials, a set of arms wrap around. I instantly recognise the scent that hits my nose and it isn't Severus.
"How dare you." I say pulling away from the man.
"I could make you so happy, my dear." Andrew says smiling at me.
"I am not your dear. In case you couldn't tell, I am with Severus." I tell him sharply.
"Oh? He's old enough to be your father." He says feigning surprise. "You could do so much better, my dear." That's when I see red.
"Do you think I am stupid?" I ask him with a growl.
"Of course not, my dear." He says confused.
"Do you think because I am a woman I can't tell the difference between cologne and a deaging potion?" I snap. His eyes widen in surprise. "You say that my Severus is too old for me when you are old enough to be my grandfather!"
"Now, my dear, you must be mistaken." He says trying to backtrack.
"Oh? Now you are calling me stupid. You think because I don't have a certificate naming me a Potion's Master that I don't know what I'm smelling?" I ask. "Well let me tell you, I obviously know a lot more than you do. I can tell the difference between a frog's eyes and toad's eyes. Are you aware that if you put toad's eyes in a potion calling for frog's eyes it can mean instantaneous death for the brewer? Well?"
"Well I.." He stutters over his words now.
"These jars here," I say pointing at the display I was previously examining. "These are toad's eyes. You have them marked frog's eye." I say pointing at the sign.
"Just a slight oversight." He tells me.
"A slight oversight that could get people killed! Children killed! What if an apprentice came in here looking for frog's eyes and bought these not knowing the difference? You would get them killed, that's what would happen!" I'm nearly screaming at this point.
"She's quite right, Andrew. A death should not be taken lightly. Especially a child's death." Severus says walking up behind me.
"It will be fixed immediately, of course." Andrew says, trying to smooth out his blunder.
"It shouldn't have happened in the first place." Severus says, glaring at him. "Also, Andrew, I don't appreciate you trying to steal my girlfriend away."
"Oh my. I'm sorry, I hadn't realised. I had assumed she was your daughter." The other man says smoothly, making another jab at Severus's age.
"Then you must be even more of a dunderhead than I originally suspected." Severus tells him coldly. "To continue believing that she was my daughter after she told you that we are together is idiotic."
"My apologies, sir." Andrew starts but Severus cuts him off.
"She is also correct when she says you reek of deaging potion. I don't know why I didn't take note of it before." He says walking over to me.
The shopkeep is now sputtering, trying to find a proper response. A small group has started to gather around us to see the commotion.
"Are you ready to leave, Love?" Severus asks, looking at me carefully.
"I am." I say taking his arm.
"Be assured I will be sending a letter to the owner." Severus tells the shopkeep.
"As will I." I say as Severus apparates us out of the shop.
When we land neither of us speak. He leads me to a simple but nice looking restaurant. He tells his name to the hostess and she leads us to a small table in the back of the room.
"Are you alright?" He asks, watching me carefully.
"I am. Are you?" I reply softly.
"Of course. Lucius was right. We can't leave you alone for two seconds." He says, shaking his head. It looks like he's even got a half smile.
"I don't understand why." I tell him with a shrug. He looks at me with disbelief before shaking his head again.
"How did you recognise the smell of the deaging potion so fast?" He asks curiously.
"The twins." I say with a laugh. "They wanted to make an altered version for their joke shop but they were having some difficulties so they asked for my help. The three of us brewed every aging and deaging potion known to man until we perfected our own recipes."
"Really? They put that much work into one of their products?" Severus asks, surprised.
"Actually, yes. Contrary to popular belief they put months if not years of research into every product. They test them repeatedly before even considering putting them up for sale." I explain to him. "They want a good laugh but they won't actually let someone get hurt for it. Especially now."
"Especially now? Why now?" He asks curiously.
"During the battle a wall exploded by the twins and when George came to he thought his brother was dead. It shattered him. He was Shakey for months afterwards while Fred lay in a coma. The only one who kept him stable was Lee Jordan. Especially after he learned about Angelina Johnson. Angie and Fred were to be married that summer." I tell him sadly. "Fred healed and George was doing better but late last year Lee got sick and the healers can't do anything to help him. They say it's a delayed reaction curse."
"The war changed everyone." He says softly.
"Yes it did." I agree.
