Sweet Soul Music

Disclaimer- Same as before.

Thanks for your words of encouragement, please bear with me as this story continues. Hopefully you won\'t be disappointed.

Chapter Fifteen.

The platform was particularly empty that morning, only she and three other people were waiting. She didn’t recognise any of them so she assumed, almost completely correctly, that they must be from Hogsmeade and stood alone as she waited for her train. The cloud of smoke in the distance announcing its arrival. She took a seat in an empty carriage putting her small overnight bag beside her and instinctively pulled out her walkman. Pressing the play button her ears filled with music, Atlantic Soul again, tapping her fingers lightly on her legs she looked out of the window watching the passing scenery. Part way through the journey she was distracted momentarily as a tall fair haired man entered the carriage. He smiled politely at her and indicated the seat opposite.
“No, it’s not taken” she smiled back as the man sat down and unfolded his newspaper.

“Well, so far so good” Severus thought to himself as he pretended to read the newspaper. His years as a spy being put to good use, as long as he managed to hide any distinguishable character traits she shouldn’t be able to see through the glamour that he had cast on himself. That could very awkward to explain, he mused.
“Oh its not that I don’t trust you I often travel on trains disguised as a completely different person. Honestly!” He said to himself “It’s how I pass my spare time” somehow he thought she might not believe him. He watched discreetly as she retrieved some kind of telephone thing out of her bag and started pressing buttons at speed. She was sending a message to someone, but whom?

The blond man followed her down to the tube at Kings Cross and then disappeared. There was something odd about him, almost familiar? Cat shook the thought from her head as she bought her ticket. She hadn’t been shopping for a while now and no doubt there would be something new and interesting to add to her already well stocked shelves. Camden it was then, maybe some new clothes while she was there too? A tall balding, middle aged man joined the queue behind her but she paid little attention. It wasn’t that unusual to see so many people wearing black in London.

Severus altered the glamour throughout the afternoon as he followed the unsuspecting witch round the busy streets. Keeping a safe distance he looked in curiosity at the merchandise displayed in the shops as she wandered around oblivious to his presence. It was certainly an eye opener for him, the clothes and accessories bordered on the darker side, bondage and fetishism a recurring theme. He was finding himself thinking what she would look like in the different outfits as she picked them up to examine them more closely. He quickly pushed the images to the back of his mind, he had to keep his wits about him if this excursion was to be successful, but his brain had stored them for future reference if needed.

Dusk was closing in as Cat finally made her way back to the tube station.
“Finally” he thought to himself as he sat further down the train “how long could this woman shop for?”
Glancing along the carriage casually he wondered if he was doing the right thing, so far there was no reason to be suspicious, she had just been acting, well, female. The pangs of guilt started to gnaw at the edges of his consciousness. Maybe he was judging her buy his own standards and not giving the woman a fair chance, he hoped that he was right. Although their acquaintance had been brief, it had been good, she seemed to push all the right buttons and he enjoyed spending time with her. So far their encounters had been more physical than anything else but he did want to know and understand her in other ways besides that.

Following her down the darkening streets as she returned to her flat Severus searched for a vantage point to watch her from. It would be difficult to remain unnoticed if he had to stand on the pavement, thankfully for him Cat stopped at a door directly opposite a small coffee shop.
“Perfect, I can sit in the window and see everything I need to from there” he thought, walking through the door as she opened hers across the way. He ordered and paid for a large cappuccino and took a seat next to the glass front. There was a light burning in one window on the first floor and he saw a familiar shape come to the window and draw the curtains.
That must be the one then, he slowly sipped from the steaming cup in his hand. He kept glancing at his watch to give the impression he was waiting for somebody as the time ticked by.

After several hours, and several drinks, passed he was beginning to get uneasy, his subterfuge wouldn’t work if he stayed too long. Perhaps she was having a night in, should he go over there and knock? No, that wasn’t a good idea she would wonder how the hell he found her and that could lead to awkward questions but he knew he couldn’t stay here any longer. Grabbing his coat he marched out of the coffee shop just at the same time as Cat left her flat. Ducking down the side of a nearby building he quickly changed the glamour once again and resumed his surveillance.