A Date for Snape

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Chapter 3
Getting to knoooooow you...
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Severus continued to chew and stew in silence, grinding the lamb into dried nothingness. He swallowed and looked up at her, skewering her with that biting stare.

“Ancient art? As in fossils?”

Abi stared, jaw dropped in amazement. Either he was dense or..

Or...

He was clueless when it came to matters of the non-magic world.

And from what she had witnessed and what she had been told, Severus Snape was adamant that if he did not understand or care for it, is was not worth the time to consider it. She blotted her mouth, putting her napkin back in her lap.

“Fossils are not art, Severus, although they would look lovely in a museum...”

“Ah, that is right.” Severus put down his fork, and pointed at her with a graceful, long finger. “I believe you said something about working for an art museum.”

He remembered! Abi felt a small stir of hope. “I am the curator for Artistical and Ancient Visions. It is a small museum in Soho.”

“And a curator does exactly what?”

“Well, in my case, I not only procure artwork to display, I also arrange to borrow artwork from other museums from around the world to display for a period of time. I arrange parties, press releases in order to promote our acquisitions and to stay on top of our competition. I also use my talents to restore and repair in some capacity, damaged artwork.”

He leaned across the table. “You use magic to repair Muggle Artwork?” His look became wicked. “Do you not feel guilty? Using magic in the Muggle world is frowned upon.”

“Why should I feel guilt saving artifacts?” She shoved her plate to the side and picked up her empty wine glass. “Besides, the work I do generates monies for the museum and keeps me in a rather nice salary.” She gestured with her glass. “I promise not to gulp it.”

Severus digested the information while he filled her glass exactly two-thirds of the way full.

“You should feel guilt for using magic to make money in a non-magic world!”

“Well,” she said, saluting him with her glass, as she leaned backwards in the chair, crossing her legs, “I don’t. The only thing on my conscious right now is the fact, in a fit of anger, I fired the caretaker today.” She lifted the glass to her mouth and began to sip.

Severus eyebrows went up. He had seen glimpses of this chit’s temper. What had set her off?

Silence.

“Well?” he finally spat. “Are you going to tell me?”

“Why I feel guilty or why I fired him?”

“Well, both!”

Abi set her glass down and sat back up, elbows on the table. “I fired him because he dropped a rather old and decrepit tiled fresco. I’m grateful it didn’t shatter!”

“And what is a ‘fresco’?” Severus topped her glass off again.

“It’s a painting, a mural done on plaster before it dries. This was very large and the idiot had no business trying to lift it! Now, not only do I have to deal with the discoloration that no charm seems to be able to clean or brighten, I have to deal with the cracks as well!” Abi grabbed the glass and gulped in a most un-ladylike manner. “And I feel guilty because he has a wife and two small children. His wife has been ill as of late and unable to work. And his children are adorable!” She leaned back in the chair again, her attention focusing on a far away place outside the window.

“Children are runny-nosed brats, who take up to much time. They should be locked away until they are able to converse intelligently.”

Abi’s shoulders shook in silent laughter before turning her attention to him. “You haven’t changed a bit. You still hate us all.”

Severus was now contemplating his own glass. When had it gotten low and why was she filling it back up? “I only hate dunderheads and idiots who take up space!”

“In other words,” she chuckled, “all of us!”

“Well most.”

The check arrived as Severus was checking the clock, tucked so discreetly on the wall. Abi drained the rest of her glass. “Either way, that was why I was running behind. Rod dropped it just as I was walking out the door. I haven’t really looked at it to see how damaged it is or if I can even repair it.” She sighed. “Just my luck, I won’t be able to do anything with it and who knows what the owner will do to us. It could put us out of business.”

Severus was lightly drumming his fingertips on the table. Truth was, he did not wish to see the evening end. Her social skills were tolerable, she was intelligent, there was a bite to her humor. She did not kow-tow. She wasn’t ghastly company. She was of the Magical World, therefore he wouldn’t be hiding anything from her...

“Abigail.”

She looked up, smiling, yet in her eyes...

Her eyes belied that he was ending their evening. Well, so much for girlish daydreams...

“Abigail, it is too late to go the Opera or the Symphony.”

“The reviews have been wretched, anyway, Severus.” She put up a hand as if to ward him off. “It’s okay.”

Severus steepled his fingers together, resting his chin on thumbs. “Please do not interrupt!” Her eyebrows shot up. “I would like see this... artwork of yours.” He leaned back in the chair, sensing her desire. “Of course, if you would prefer to end the evening, I totally understand.”

Abigail was shocked to the tips of her shoes. The last thing she thought was that this Wizard would EVER consider spending time with her. That his reputation was a little... unsavory... only added fuel to her long neglected hormonal desires. She had thought that once he figured out who she was, that would be the end of it. But that he seemed... reluctant was not the word she was looking for, but it seemed that in his own way, he wanted the evening to continue.

“You are more than welcome to come to the museum with me. I would be more than happy to show you what we... offer.”

Within minutes, they were up and bundled and standing at the door.

“Exactly how does one get from place to place in this noisy city?” Severus’ nose was wrinkled from the smell of exhaust and city smells belching from passing vehicles.

Abigail smiled wickedly and pointed at the double decker bus approaching. “We get around in THAT!”

Over the horns, the sounds of traffic, people talking, Abigail heard him gasp for breath. “You came in that thing?” He looked down at her in admiration. “You are braver than I thought!” The bus pulled up and both stepped backwards to keep from being splashed by muddied slush. “Ravenclaw, eh? Are you sure you weren’t a Gryffindor?”

“No, no. Not me!” She dug into her purse and extracted two tokens. “This trip is on me!” Quickly, the two pulled up through the doorway, Snape drinking in this new experience. He focused in on the stairwell to the top of the bus. An evil smirk lit his craggy features.

“Top or bottom... Wait! Let me guess...”

Abigail let out a deep, appreciative laugh. “You are so bad!” She playfully punched him on the arm, well padded through the thickness of his greatcoat and led him towards the back of the conveyance. “Usually, I prefer the top, however with the weather, I suggest we stay put.” She took in how Severus looked around, those black, glittering eyes missing nothing. Afraid that he would stick out like a sore thumb due to his penchant for dressing one hundred years before his time, he looked almost... elegant in his Edwardian coat and his greatcoat. And those buttons...

For the longest time, she had dreamt of undoing each and every one of them.

Fat chance. But he did wish to see the artwork. Ah well.

In almost no time, they were out of the smelly bus and standing in front of the darkened museum. It was located in an old Victorian Mansion in an older, but slowly revitalizing neighborhood. After looking around to see no one was watching, Abi pulled out her wand and with quick \"Lumos\", lit the small alcove. An \'Alohamora\' later, they were standing inside the museum.

tbc