News
Severus looked at himself in the mirror, slowly buttoning his shirt to the neck, then tied his hair back cleanly. It was 8 in the morning, and his day started with him cancelling the anti-Apparition wards around his cottage.
He then moved into the kitchen to make himself a nice breakfast, with toast and scrambled eggs, along with a cup of tea. Contrary to what people might think of his bitter self, Severus preferred tea, with no milk, but only a small pinch of sugar instead, just to give it some hints of sweetness. In a few moments, the scent of butter flooded the room, lingering on Severus’ clothes and filling his lungs with the most calming and tranquil sensation.
He eyed the food in the pan and turned off the heat, dazed for a moment for how a simple act of cooking could bring him so much peace.
At times like these, Severus felt like it was a lifetime ago when he was heavy with the burden of the war and of everything else. It was so far away now, and Severus didn’t even bother to try to think of those days anymore. His mind bypassed them, separated him from them with a curtain that Severus never bothered to unveil. Sometimes, it felt like he was turning his back to it, with little care of looking back.
Severus scooped the gooey scrambled egg out of the pan and placed it on the perfectly made toast. When he was having breakfast, his owl flew through the open window and dropped the morning Prophets on the table. Severus pushed the dish with dried owl treats toward the black bird, and he hooted happily, ruffling his feathers while enjoying the morning reward.
Severus finished his toast, took another sip of tea before leaning back, taking a deep breath. In the morning light, his kitchen looked warm and cosy, and he reminded himself to water the plants on the window frame later. He also had to check the herbs in the garden, along with his newest plant, the Moonrose. The bushes of Fangvine were also ready to be harvested. Personally, Severus didn’t like those plants, since they bite, but well…
Severus looked at the newspaper on the desk, wondering what he would see if he looked at the first page.
Every morning, Severus would have a bet with himself during breakfast. If there was, indeed, news, then he would reward the win with a batch of freshly made sweets. And if there wasn’t, then he would spend the day immersed in his potions, and enjoying it anyway. It was something he did, just to keep life a little bit interesting.
Severus hummed to himself and flipped the paper over, and on the first page, he saw a giant headline that read, “OUR HERO, SAVING THE DAY AGAIN, 3 DEATH-EATERS CAPTURED”.
Sweets it was.
Severus looked at the coloured picture on the paper. There were 3 masked Death Eaters, chained by magic. Standing next to them was Harry Potter, who was wearing his Auror uniform, with Ronald Weasley standing by his side. They were talking about something, and only noticed the camera for a brief moment.
These days, it was not unusual to spot Potter on the paper. Well, it had never been unusual, ever since the end of the war and the boy… well, young man, chose to pursue the path of an Auror like intended. Raids, volunteer works, cases solved, injuries, nothing went amiss. After 6 years, the Wizarding World’s interest in the Savior still hadn't subsided, instead, it had gone even higher, since he was paying a lot of effort to help them.
Sometimes, Severus would wonder if the young man was tired of all the attention. Though it was not his business to worry for the Golden Boy of the Wizarding World, no one would care if his mind lingered on the topic once or twice.
Severus finished the herbal tea, and then he stood and walked out the garden to tend to the plants.
The land surrounding his cottage was vast, and Severus took advantage of it to cultivate several different potions ingredients as well as Muggle fruits and vegetables. It was nice, finally having a hobby, something to invest his time into instead of marking carelessly written essays and scowling into the thin air.
Severus first used magic to check which plants were ready to harvest, which was at risk of being infected, and which needed immediate attention. After he had carefully planned out the course of his action, he got down to business.
First, as always, he checked the Fangvine, scowling as they wanted to have a taste of his person. Then, he moved on along the lines of dangerous potions ingredients, each either wanting to strangle him or absorb him. Severus took great pleasure in taming them with force and made him shriek and back off of him.
After he was done with the messy one, he moved on to non-sentient plants, those that could be taken care of easily with potions, charms, and careful hands. It was like meditation, working on them, and Severus liked it.
Then, he paid his attention to fruits and vegetables. The carrots, potatoes, and cucumbers that could be harvested. The berries, which would make wonderful jams. And the fruits like apples, oranges, and mangoes.
The wonderful thing about magic and potions was that once applied correctly, it could provide you with everything all year round. The taste, of course, would be altered if too much magic was applied. But that problem would never occur when using potion. Another perk of being a potion master.
Severus liked to wake up everyday and see which season his garden was in. Of course, only the normal ones. If he dared to mess up the biological routine of the dangerous plants, he would no doubt one day wake up in a house that was consumed by a Maneater or something even more dangerous.
He hummed to himself in satisfaction with his work, and when he checked the time, it was already 10 in the morning. Normally, this hour would be…
As if on cue, a crack announced the arrival of a visitor, and without even checking for who it was, the magic signal and the time was enough for Severus to know.
He casted a charm on himself, and walked to the front door.
The person standing there was Neville Longbottom, and he was carrying a large pot.
Upon seeing Severus, the young man smiled and waved at him. His body muscles showed through the thin shirt, and under the sunlight, he was like a hero.
Severus chuckled at the thought and walked toward Neville. The young man had already grown from his school days, and he looked like a proper man now.
“Good morning, Severus.” Neville said, “I bring you the newest batch of seeds. Forgive my handsy, I already planted them in the pot. Couldn’t help myself. Yesterday was the perfect time.”
“For your information, Mister Longbottom,” Severus raised an eyebrow, “I do not appreciate the extra work.”
“Yes yes, I know I know.” Neville nodded, “I’ll just go ahead and plant them at the designated place, alright?”
“That would be appreciated, yes.” Severus smirked.
Yes, he liked to tend to his garden, but he would never refuse when there’s free labour.
“Your garden is as good as always.” Neville sighed when he looked at the dangerous plants with loving eyes.
Severus scoffed, “Please resist from making doe-y eyes at my plants, Longbottom.”
“Hey, don’t be mean.” Neville winced, “And stop calling me Longbottom, whatever you say, I am your business partner, you should call me by my name.”
“Whenever I am in the mood for, then.” Severus rolled his eyes. Overly-friendly Neville was acceptable, but Severus was still unaccustomed to talking with his ex-student in a friendly manner. It was… strange.
Severus let Neville outside to do his work and came inside to make some cold tea. He was a Slytherin, but not heartless. Neville was, in fact, his business partner, ever since Severus opened his shop and expressed his idea about having a garden. Draco had introduced him to Neville, which surprised Severus to say the least. And he found it strange to be able to work so well with a student he had previously held so little regard for. Though he must admit, Neville’s talent with plants surpassed that with potions.
So far, Neville had helped him with his garden frequently, and on occasions where Severus was unable to leave his room for long, the young man had helped him keep his garden healthy.
He was a good man and maybe, though Severus would never admit outloud, he was a good friend as well.
Severus finished the tea, and he took out a scone, smeared it with raspberry jam and brought it to the table just outside his garden.
Severus settled down with a book and his own cup of tea, and he looked at the way Neville bent over to plant the seed.
Mn…
Nothing tastes as sweet as free labour.
Severus smirked and let the book take his attention.
He didn’t really know how long had passed before Neville finally finished and came sitting down on the opposite side of the round table. He didn’t even ask before taking a long, satisfied sip of cold tea, and then taking a large bite of the scone.
“Fuckkk.” He sighed, “Your jam is the best.”
“Molly will hear you, Longbottom.” Severus didn’t even look up from his book. “And mind your language, please.”
“It’s true. Molly said it herself.” Neville leaned back with a smile.
“You reek.” Severus suddenly frowned and said, looking up, “Cover it up before I kick you out of here.”
Neville looked startled, and then he took out his wand, “Ah, right. Sorry. I sometimes forget. I guess you are still frightening me.”
Severus smirked, but didn’t comment.
Neville generally smelt nice. He smelt like grass and soil, a note of lavender, and a hint of mandrake. It was relaxing, but Severus couldn’t indulge, first of all, because he wasn’t interested, and second of all, Neville was a married, marked, and mated man. It would be rude to smell someone who had already mated.
“About earlier, should I be concerned?” Severus raised an eyebrow at Neville, and the young man beamed.
“Oh yeah. Last dinner at the Burrow, I brought your jam. Everyone inhaled them, and can you believe it, they made me go back home for more!! They ate it all. Especially Harry.” Neville chuckled, “I knew he had a sweet tooth, but damn, he ate almost half of what I have.”
Severus scoffed, and he could imagine what it was like. Harry Potter, Auror or not, still acting like a child and stuffing his face full with scones and jam.
“You know, he asks about you a lot.” Neville said, and he drank his tea with a satisfying sigh. It was chamomile tea, and Severus had taken pride in making them and managed to sell all of it in the following week with obscenely high prices.
“Surely, Mister ‘Star of the Auror Department’ has a better interest than a retired Death Eater. Next time, when he asks, tell him that I report regularly to the Auror Department.” Severus scoffed into his cup of tea, and Neville had that irritating look on his face again that Severus couldn’t quite grasp the true intention behind.
“Sometimes, I forget you are also human.” Neville mumbled and took a bite of another muffin.
Severus raised an eyebrow at that, but he refused to ask. Once, he was offended when he heard his students speak in an insolent way about him. But after a while, he took it as a sign that they were afraid of him, and Severus preferred it that way. It made teaching easier. Severus knew, though, that he was not really good at it, and he was glad that his mission was over and he could enjoy the peace he had finally earned.
Though the idea of Harry Potter asking after him was appealing (just a little bit), Severus knew nothing should be thought over it. It has been 6 years since the war, 5 years since he woke up in St.Mungo, and Severus had never seen Potter again, not even once. The brat had taken his NEWTS and finished his studies with flying colours when Severus was unconscious, and Severus woke up while the brat was in training, so when he left the hospital, he was in fortunate solitude.
He had been living in his cottage ever since, taking up baking, gardening, and opening a new business that got him through the days, and he had never answered or opened Potter’s letters. After 5 months, the brat took the hint and stopped sending messages altogether.
Currently, he was the most respected Auror in the Auror Corp, and his future in the Ministry was ensured. Some even said he would become the youngest Minister, after Kingsley Shacklebolt. Severus only scoffed at that news, since in his mind, Potter was still that clumsy brat who couldn’t handle a knife properly.
“Alright, I think that’s enough for this week.” Neville sighed and he stood, “I should be home soon, I believe Luna is going to be in heat soon, and I would like to be home when it happens.”
“Mrs Longbottom’s heat is due in 2 days,” Severus rolled his eyes, “If you need any potion, I have them ready in the storage.”
“Hey, why do you know my wife’s heat cycle better than me?” Neville huffed, “Is this a Potion Master’s thing, or are you just being weird?”
“I am being weird.” Severus said with sarcasm, “Of course I know every single student’s heat cycles, even yours.”
Neville actually paled, “You know, after working for you and being friends with you for two years, I still don’t know if you are kidding or not.”
“Go home, Longbottom.” Severus stood from his seat, “If you need anything, send an owl. Don’t come to my place for 4 days…”
“After the heat.” Neville rolled his eyes and he finished Severus finishing that sentence for him.
Severus hummed, pleased.
“I know, I know.” Neville said.
“Now leave, I have an appointment with Draco soon.” Severus said, and he waved his hand in a shoo-ing gesture, and Neville scoffed.
“You omegas have things to talk about that I absolutely must not eavesdrop, I’m sure.” Neville chuckled, “Bye, Severus.”
“Mind your words, Mister Longbottom.” Severus said without any real weight to it. He was used to Neville calling him by his name after all these years, and he actually thought very little of it.
Neville smiled and Apparated away.
Severus sighed, and he waved his hand to clear away Neville’s scent. Draco would not appreciate it. Contrary to Severus, Draco found Neville’s scent absolutely unpleasant, like rotten tree bark and withered flowers, and he would actually throw up if Neville didn’t cover his scent gland before they came to close contact.
Severus hummed, wondering idly to himself what Potter would smell like.
After the thought form, Severus scoffed and brushed it away. When the brat turned 18, his scent was overshadowed by Voldemort’s soul fragment, and once he presented himself as an Alpha, Severus had never met him, and he hadn’t met him since. It was most likely that Severus would never know, and he would like things to stay that way.