—All right, let's go over it again. Do you have the list?
—Mmhm.
—The money?
—In my wallet.
—Your phone?
—I don't have one, they're expensive and inefficient.
—And how do you plan to call me if something happens?
—Nothing's going to happen, Remus.
—You can't say that, you'll bring bad luck.
—Remus.
—All right, all right... Did you get her bottle?
—...
—Sorry, it's just... It's the first time we've gone shopping with her, and sometimes she has bouts of accidental magic... I'm just afraid something might happen while I'm gone.
—I'm quite capable of looking after myself and my daughter for a few hours, Remus.
—I know! It's just...
—We've already been to the Weasleys' joke shop, this can't get any worse.
—Yeah, yeah, you're right. Well, I trust you.
—I know— Severus had to stretch a little to kiss his husband on the cheek.
—Go now, get that book you want, and I'll get the stuff for dinner. I'll meet you at the fountain in the mall at 3:00.
Remus kissed him back, leaning down to brush his lips quickly, and then gave one on his baby Hazel's forehead before leaving.
—Okay. Let's go, child. Your father loves exaggerating, we'll be fine...
Severus carried the child in a fanny pack, but when he saw the long list he knew they would need something to move the things around. He approached a lady in attendance and, despite her cold and serious demeanor, she couldn't help but smile and coo at the baby strapped in his chest in a high-pitched voice.
—I need an object that will allow me to carry my shopping. Where can I get one?—
The lady recommended using one of the shopping trolleys parked outside the supermarket and offered to help him get one, but Severus refused thinking he would have no trouble getting one.
He was wrong.
The trolley was too stuck, so he spent several minutes trying to pull it out until he gave up and used a spell to unstuck it.
When he got back to the shop, the young woman told him that he could put the baby in the seat of the trolley, so it would be easier for him to find and put the things he needed in the trolley.
Severus did exactly that and had to stop his daughter several times before she bit the trolley's handle.
—No— he said firmly, while Hazel just smiled at him before trying to eat the trolley bar again.
When he finally decided to put the pacifier on and began to prowl the aisles, his hand still covering the trolley handle just in case, he could finally start to doubt his ability to complete the shopping task.
Firstly, the people were insufferable and it wasn't easy to get past them to get to the aisles he needed. Secondly, Hazel was too adorable, so it was easy to forget that despite having the genes of two incredibly talented and capable wizards in her veins, she was still too young to avoid behaving unreasonably at times.
At first, the pacifier trick seemed to have worked, but after a couple of aisles and a couple of products located from the list, it stopped working. Hazel started crying unexpectedly, causing Severus to put down the cleaning products he had been eyeing to calm her down.
The child didn't have her pacifier anymore. It had somehow fallen to the floor. Severus frowned as he bent down to pick it up and clean it of any germs with a discreet spell.
—Here you go — he said to the girl, who gave a big watery smile with tears and drool, received the pacifier, and again popped it into her mouth. Severus turned to continue reading the product labels, wondering how he could get a concoction that was less harmful to health with the same effects when his daughter's high-pitched, disconsolate cry again made him turn away.
—What...? — Severus picked up the dummy again and wiped it clean, looking at Hazel with a raised eyebrow.
The baby took the pacifier and put it in her mouth again, smiling broadly at her father with that characteristic expression that made her look more Remus than his. Severus turned around again, still paying attention to the infant's movements in the pram.
This time, he caught the exact moment when Hazel, who did indeed have Slytherin blood running through her veins, took the dummy out of her mouth and purposely threw it away, then began to cry as if the world was coming to an end.
—Very funny, who taught you to do that? —
His brain couldn't help but come up with a possible answer: he remembered all the times when one of the snakes Harry sometimes brought home as a ‘pet of the week’ would escape from its cage and appear in his study.
Perhaps Hazel had been present on one of those occasions, amused by some drawing or stuffed animal in her crib, but attentive to the protective spells her father was quietly summoning around her, before he began to call out to Remus in a tone of concern and fear he would never use in any other situation, only to cling to his husband's firm chest as he lifted him to gently carry the reptile out of their house.
—It's all right, honey. It´s gone— Remus murmured, stroking Severus’ hair and back as he rested his cheek on his shoulder, a small smile of satisfaction at having the werewolf so close.
Severus, his cheeks flushing pink at these embarrassing memories, finally put down the products that he could replicate himself at home anyway and continued on his way through the supermarket. The girl stopped throwing the pacifier when her father turned his attention back to her.
Severus sighed deeply and decided to stop making such a scene in front of his little girl, his bad habits should not be copied by her so early in her life. After a while, he realized it might already be too late.
—Hazel, please. I need you to let go of that monstrosity, you're too young to be consuming that much sugar.
The baby had somehow managed to get her small (but powerful) hands on a box of candyfloss cereal.
Severus could understand the product's appeal; it was bright pink and had a rainbow font. Still, he hadn't expected his daughter to get so attached to a box that she would burst into tears whenever he tried to take it out of her hands.
-Come on, Hazel. Your dad won't leave me alone if I buy you that, do you want him to make fun of me for being spineless? -
His ungrateful daughter didn't seem to care about her father's reputation, so she didn't stop crying or let go of the stupid box, which by then had begun to deform under the force of both the girl's and the man's grip.
After a few more minutes of nonstop crying and curious glances from other parents, Severus finally let the girl keep the box and went on his way.
—Ridiculous... defeated by an infant who can't even change herself...’.
Hazel was still giggling as she examined the box, running her little fingers over the strange garish pink creature that adorned the cover.
He only needed one last thing from his list, already having most of the ingredients and some daily supplements he couldn't get in the shops of the magical world. He needed just one last ingredient, it was very important for the special recipe Remus wanted to make for dinner that night.
Peanut butter.
Severus had never tried it before. He had seen some students at Hogwarts eating sandwiches with that ingredient, he had always found the texture and color unappetizing. To his surprise, when he reached the supermarket aisle, he found that all the shelves labeled ‘peanut butter’ were empty, as if it were a highly coveted product.
He went over to check the continuous shelves, hoping someone had accidentally left one behind or hidden it for later. Technically he wouldn't be stealing anything, only taking advantage of someone else's lack of speed.
After rummaging around for a while, he realized that there was a single jar, hidden at the bottom of the highest shelf of the bookshelf. Severus sighed, relieved. He had no intention of leaving an errand his husband had entrusted to him uncompleted because of some peanut-obsessed Muggles.
He was about to put the jar down when a blonde-haired woman with sunglasses and a red nose caught his eye.
—Hey, I hope you haven't been thinking of taking that jar,’ the woman said with an unpleasant tone that rivaled even Umbridge's annoying pink frog. Severus folded his hands behind his back, straightening up to raise his stature in a threatening manner.
—You are wrong, I had no intention of taking it— he replied, his voice cold and firm, —I was about to take it, which is quite different—
The woman let out an indignant sound.
—My children love peanut butter sandwiches and that's the only jar left. You do understand that I need it more, don't you? —
—You expect me to hand over a product I found just because your kids want it?—
—Of course! Ladies go first, you know? —
Severus raised an eyebrow, surprised at the woman's boldness. From her tone, it was obvious that this was not the first time she had made such a demand. Unfortunately for her, it was not the first time Severus had dealt with undesirable and arrogant people.
—I would consider that custom if there were any lady present— he answered, announcing every word venomously —besides my daughter, of course. Have you seen her? She's only 15 months old and she already knows she can't have certain things when they belong to someone else —
The woman gaped, and grunted furiously, crossing her arms and turning redder than she thought possible.
—How rude! Are you insinuating that I'm immature? —
Severus gave an artificial smile, the one that always made James Potter furious when he confronted him.
—Of course not, no one who saw you would consider you to be younger than you are —
The woman looked like she wanted to hit him. Good. That meant she wasn't paying attention to the flask. Severus moved his fingers stealthily, guiding the last ingredient on his list over the edge to hide it on another shelf out of the woman's sight.
His posture immediately tensed as he stopped working magic: a gigantic man was advancing towards him, his fists clenched and his face even redder than the women's.
—You're messing with my wife, huh? — the man snarled, leaning towards Severus as he looked him up and down with fury-infused eyes.
The man's entrance - with arms like logs and a torso as broad as a wall - made him stop and stand closer to the shopping trolley, lifting his chin slightly to match the hostility. The man didn't scare him; he had dealt with far worse people, but never before while caring for his daughter.
The man took a step closer, invading his personal space. Without taking his eyes off Severus, he slammed his hand on the trolley, causing Hazel to wince and the small box of cereal she was carrying to fall to the floor.
—No comment now, you twit?— he asked, a grin revealing clenched teeth.
Severus narrowed his eyes, running a hand over the trolley handle to straighten it as he controlled the urge to respond with a spell.
—None fit for ladies‘ ears— he said, casting a meaningful glance in the direction of the woman, who had so far been watching the scene with satisfaction.
The man let out a sarcastic laugh and shot one last menacing glance before straightening up, giving the impression that he was about to retaliate. Hazel, watching the scene with wide eyes, took the pacifier out of her mouth and threw it on the floor, as if understanding her father's stress level and trying to add just a little more.
Before Severus could bend down to pick it up, a loud shriek made every shopper within a ten-meter radius turn to look at them. Thick, unstoppable tears rolled down the cheeks of the child, who continued to cry even as her father tried to give her the dummy back, only to be pushed away with little hands waving up and down.
Severus was so pale his skin looked translucent, he had pulled the child out of the shopping cart to check on her with his heart beating a mile a minute. Had he been hit somewhere? Had the man's push scared her? Had he been distracted by something so stupid that he hadn't noticed something was wrong with his Hazel?
The couple looked at the scene with a mixture of annoyance and discomfort, of course, the single father wouldn't know how to control his brat. It was at that instant that, somehow, the jar of peanut butter that had caused all the trouble slid without explanation off the high shelf, landing right in front of Severus' trolley.
The entire aisle fell into stunned silence, except for Hazel, who slowly quieted her crying to short sobs and hiccups, snuggling into Father's shoulder.
The shop assistant, who had noticed the little commotion, hurried over. The woman and her husband immediately tried to explain the situation, how the terrible, strange man had started with tasteless remarks and contemptuous looks.
—Excuse me, madam. But I don't think that's an excuse to fight in the middle of the aisle— said the assistant in a firm tone. —And you, sir, should know that harassment is not allowed in our shop, so I'm going to ask you to leave immediately— she said.
Severus watched, still surprised by the speed of events, as the little assistant pushed the couple who were still trying to blame everything on the gothic single father with the whining girl. Said little girl let out a whimper to get his attention, flashing him a mischievous grin that turned his crescent moons. Severus couldn't help the proud smile that appeared on his lips.
—That was extremely dangerous and reckless — he murmured as he gave a quick reparo in the jar's direction, returning it to its trolley. Severus stroked Hazel's head tenderly and sighed.
—Well done, child— he murmured, as Hazel smiled again, as if fully aware of her father's victory.
After paying and bagging everything, Severus re-secured Hazel in the fanny pack they had arrived with and left the shop with a pair of bags in each hand. As he made his way to the fountain in the center of the mall, a flower stall caught his eye.
When Remus finally gave him the rendezvous at the fountain, Severus greeted him with the completed shopping list and a large bouquet of red roses. Remus let out an amused laugh, Severus' proud posture as he told him about the incident with the woman, and Hazel's saving magic made him so grateful to be married to him.
The little family left the mall, carrying a large number of bags full of food and a gigantic bouquet. The couple walked to the car park, but none of the cars that came out after them were driven by them. It was as if they had disappeared into thin air.