Spa Day
Severus took a breath and entered Zero gravity spa. Taking in its calming simple atmosphere. With soft lighting in soothing earth tones of pale greens, blues, and beige. The soft music playing calmed his nerves, meshing well with the waterfall surrounded by bamboo making up one corner. Other fresh plants littered the room. It was a totally different environment to the hustle and bustle of Horizont alley.
The woman behind the beautifully crafted and polished wooden counter looked pretty in a bubbly kind of way. As she looked up and spotted Severus she smiled, saw his clothes, shoes, and hair and smiled brighter in that false salesperson way.
Trying to be as straight to the point as possible Severus requested “I want to book a spa appointment and a hairdresser appointment as soon as possible.”
“I'll see what I can do. Would you like any herbal tea or watermelon mint water.” She gestured to the one corner. Usually we book weeks in advance but let me check if I heard something about there being a cancellation. And honey you look like you could use a me day.” She rapidly dragged her finger down the page of a roll-a-dex landing on.
“Well, look at that you're in luck, the young miss Rosier canceled at the last minute a hair multiple stage spa appointment and a miss black canceled a hair appointment today. Isn't that lovely. The hair appointment would have to be before the spa treatment which is unorthadox but doable. Are you alright to take their bookings? I could flip to see if we have others but this is by far your soonest option. I'll even give you a severely discounted price for you on account of you looking so desperate.” She seemed to be gesturing with her eyes to the circles under his.
Discounted, this was perfect in Severus’ opinion. Plus his hair could use some care. It was the feature the marauders attacked most after his nose “I'll take it, how much”
“2 galleons. Oh, Clarissa will be overjoyed she was disappointed to be working on another young heiress’ hair saying how none of them offer any sort of challenge and then downright distraught over the prospect of not doing anyone's hair while still being required to be here. She's cleaning in the back right now. She'll be so happy you came.” Wanting to get away from the overly expressive witch Severus pushed the money over interrupting her.
“When does it start?” Instead of answering she turned her wand to her throat and boomed, “Clarissa stop cleaning I got a client here for you and he is in dire need of hair care.”
A little self conscious Severus touched his hair. It wasn't that bad was it?
“The hair is now. Then you get a 15 minute break before the baths and other treatments.” Inside a part of Severus used to the need to always be alert jumped at the prospect of not knowing exactly what was in the package he had just bought that Mrs. Rosier had canceled at the last minute. Did it include something he could not handle? No focus on the hair first, don't worry about the spa treatments. For Morgana’s sake it is a spa not a death eater meeting.
With a nervous breath and a flick of his wand to adjust his robes, Severus followed the receptionist to meet Clarissa. He was seated at a beautician's chair before she entered the room. A plump young woman in her mid twenties probably with a cherub face, freckles, and reddish brown hair.
She looked at him and softly smiled. “Welcome I hope Barb did not scare you off with that sonorous. She’s right though your hair needs some help. This looks like a lot of potions residue. Do you like potions?”
“Yes, Is it possible to make it longer? I want to get a new look, perhaps tie it up.”
She turned him in the comfortable chair and draped a protective cape around his shoulders. Severus glanced around warily as she fetched an assortment of grooming potions and charms. The mirror in front of him reflected his stoic expression, his hair framing his face in a chaotic tangle. “I will start you off but cutting it real short then will lengthen it with growth spells until it reaches a length you like. Finally I’ll cut and style it. But first ti needs a nice wash.”
Clarissa then murmured incantations under her breath, applying potions that smelled of ginger and mint. Slowly, Severus felt the knots in his hair loosen, strands aligning with a surprising obedience.
As minutes passed, Severus found himself begrudgingly relaxing. The gentle attentions of the beautician were oddly soothing, and the sensation of having someone care for his appearance was unfamiliar yet not entirely unpleasant.
Finally, she finished with a flourish, stepping back to reveal Severus' reflection in the mirror. His hair, once a wild mess, now fell smoothly around his shoulders, every strand neatly in place. She had him lean back and started to rinse his hair. Then she started talking about current events. Usually this was the could of chatter Severus would despise but today it was nice. These little tidbits helped ground him in the current time. Made him accept that he really was in the past. Little comments disparaging death eaters as a passing thing soon to be dealt with reframed a lot of his past life and experience. As she worked he relaxed the next thing he knew she was asking about the length of his hair. He had her grow it past his shoulder. She then styled it so it framed his face complementing his features and minimizing his nose while not using bangs that could not be pulled back and would fall in cauldrons. She turned him and gave a mirror for him to look at his hair
Severus regarded his reflection with a rare hint of approval. The transformation was subtle but undeniable—his appearance was no longer able to be called unkempt or greasy. He nodded curtly to the beautician, acknowledging her skill with a grudging respect.
"Thank you," he said, his voice softer than usual. "How do I keep it like this? Do you have any recommendations for hairstyles like uh … buns"
“As of now there is nothing to prevent extended exposure to potions fumes greasing up hair. However there are treatments for after exposure.” She demonstrated the potion she'd been using. This potion is called Berzelius Beauty. For every hour of potions exposure especially when using certain mucuses you need one dollop of this to wash in your hair before bed. As for hairstyles.” She then spent the next half hour teaching him how to do a low pony tail, the High Tie, the highball(man bun), the mai tie, and the Reverse Necktie.
The highball was super easy and so was the high tie and low ponytail all of which he got on the first try. However the Mai Tie took several tries and some coaching before he got it. Clarissa let him test it jumping up and down and bending forward a few times before having him redo it. The final one she had him do was annoying. He got it on the first try but the second time he messed it up and it all fell loose. The same thing happened on his third and fourth try. On his fifth he got it and got it to stay. At that point the receptionist came back in to escort him to the spa.
“Today you have a five part treatment. After you have switched into the provided robes and swim trunks I will take you to the first part which is the sweat rooms, a sauna and a humidor. Then you will enjoy our relaxing pools, have a massage, a facial, and finish off with the quiet chamber.” The next room she brought him to had one wall covered in lockers.
“Please key in you magical signature by feeding the cubby a little magic. Take you time to change. Once changed, put your clothes into the cubby. Only you will be able to open the cubby again due to it recognizing your magic. Once the cubby is empty it will reset. I will be waiting just outside this door to direct you to your first stop.”
No one else was there as Severus leisurely changed his attire. Being careful with his new shoes. He debated for longer than he liked about whether to leave his wand. After much arguing with himself he left it behind. This was no a war zone. No one knew him as anything beyond a kid. He had enough wandless magic to keep himself safe. Plus it might get in the way of today’s relaxation
For the first half of his time in the sauna he couldn't stop checking for danger. Being on hyper alert and questioning why he was doing this to himself. At least the sauna did not smell like he expected. They were using something to make it smell like a pine forest. It was kind of fun puts water on the hot coals and watch it steam off. As a time went off he moved to the humidor next door. He did not like this level of heat but he did have to admit that he could breathe better into this room then he usually could. Finally his alert reflexes started to calm down allowing him to stop constantly surveying the room. As it timed out Severus breathed in a last deep breath. Outside showed him signs guiding his way.
He was guided to and then immersed in a pool infused with revitalizing potions and enchanted minerals, which eased the tension in his muscles and revitalized his senses. Just being mostly unclothed, not worrying about people seeing the mark on his arm was freeing. Yeah he was alone and had been so far but at any tike someone could enter. Being free to display his arm with no self consciousness was the height of his past dreamz. That combined with the relaxing of his muscles and the feeling of weightlessness floating in the pool was freeing. He wanted to float like this for hours. Far too soon it was time to move rooms.
Next came a session with a skilled masseuse who kneaded away the tension in Severus' shoulders with expert hands. He closed his eyes, begrudgingly admitting that the knots that had plagued him in this growing body were slowly unraveling under her touch. Including a series of therapeutic spells that targeted his dark magic-induced stress, gradually unraveling the knots of anger and frustration that plagued him.
Then in the same position came the facial, a potion-infused mask that promised to banish wrinkles, hydrate the skin, and prevent acne. Severus endured the process stoically, though he couldn't deny the subtle tingling sensation that hinted at its effectiveness. His face felt baby smooth. No oil in sight.
Finally, he retreated to a quiet chamber where soothing music enchanting the air, and the walls shimmered with calming charms. Severus settled into a cradling armchair, sipping a delicate herbal tea that promised to cleanse the mind as much as the body.
As the afternoon drifted by, Severus found himself surprisingly at ease. The weight of his past life and the relentless expectations of his duties seemed to soften around the edges and depart. For once, he allowed himself to simply be, without the weight of the world on his shoulders.
When the time came to leave, Severus emerged from the spa feeling strangely refreshed. His steps were lighter, his demeanor more relaxed than anyone had ever seen. Summer wind tousling his newly tamed hair. He felt whatever came his way he could handle it. He would hold onto this feeling of being him as best he could. He deserved to feel this assured in his own body.