Through the Looking Glass ~ COMPLETED

Chapter 57 ~ And Now for Something Completely Different

The NEWTs came and went. Hermione did excellently, almost scoring perfect marks. Of course, she was a bit down about that, but she made the highest marks Hogwarts had seen in almost fifty years. She just had to accept that.

Ron and Harry both made a fair showing, Harry qualifying for an Auror position with the Ministry. Ron would have to take one remedial class before he would qualify, but that wasn’t so bad. He believed he was going to fail completely and slumped in relief when he found out he had passed. Unlike Harry, however, he really didn’t want to be an Auror. He said he did, because Harry wanted to be one so badly, but what he really wanted to do was work in Fred and George’s joke shop. It would be much more fun, although not necessarily safer.

Fred and George needed a stable guinea pig to try their jokes out on. Ron had no idea this was what they were hiring him for. More than likely the Ministry would start to look pretty damn good in the coming weeks.

Minerva McGonagall announced that Professor Severus Snape would not be returning to Hogwarts, and cheers filled the Great Hall as students sixth year and under celebrated the changing of the guard. No matter who took over the Potions class, he or she would have to be better than Snape. The dark wizard fixed the students with a final glare, which only made them cheer harder.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were in attendance and were very proud of their little girl as she received extra honors and awards for her excellence. Hermione started getting self-conscious the fourth time she was called to the stage, and blushed horribly. Snape was quite proud of her as well, although all he said publicly was, “A fair showing, Miss Granger” before billowing off, heading for the dungeons to finish closing off his quarters.

Hermione would be spending a month with her parents, during which time she would break the news to them that she had changed her mind about working in the Magical Law Department of the Ministry of Magic. She wasn’t sure how they would react to her business venture with professor Snape, but she didn’t think it would be an issue. They both had their own businesses after all.

While Hermione was in London, Snape was supposed to have the shop built on the location they’d selected. But Snape had come up with a rather interesting idea of his own. He only wanted one shop, but wanted people from all areas of the wizarding world to be able to utilize it. He didn’t tell Hermione anything about his idea. But he had to go to Poland, deep into a very forbidding forest.

So, when school let out, Hermione went her way and Snape went his.

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After fighting his way through carnivorous trees, attacking stones, vines intent on strangling him and a number of very bad-tempered ogres, Snape finally reached his destination. A log cabin set deep in the forest. A palisade made of slender, pointed tree trunks surrounded three sides of it, two human skulls resting on the last posts on either side. A large, hand painted sign on a post driven into the ground read:

NO QUESTIONS ALLOWED!

Snape studied the sign and area for a moment, his wand drawn just in case there were protections. He cautiously walked toward the house. Nothing happened. The door was made of wood as well. It had no knob, just a keyhole.

Snape knocked, but no one answered. He knocked again.

Nothing.

He bent down to look through the keyhole but quickly jerked back when it sprouted teeth and tried to bite his face. Miffed at missing a nice hunk of meat, the keyhole snarled at him.

The dark wizard blinked at it, wondering if an Alohamora would open the door. He pointed his wand at the keyhole and was just about to cast the spell when a thickly accented female voice called out behind him, “Hey, what are you doing to my house?”

Snape spun quickly and looked up to see a young woman of about twenty staring down at him. She was seated in a huge floating mortar with a silver birch broom attached to the back of it. She had both hands clasped around an enormous pestle, apparently using it like a rudder.

”Are you the resident Baba Yaga?” Snape called up to her.

The woman frowned and pointed at the sign.

”Can’t you read? No questions!” she snapped at him, pushing the pestle forward and lowering the mortar to the ground. She stepped out of it and approached Snape.

She was an attractive young woman with silver hair and sparkling green eyes and was dressed in a coarse peasant outfit with a kerchief tied around her head like a gypsy.

“Every time I answer a question, I age a year! So don’t ask me anything. Make all your statements definitive, or else,” she said, her eyes narrowed.

Hm. She must be quite good at avoiding answering questions. All the Baba Yagas Snape had heard about were hags. This one didn’t have anything haggish about her in the least.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Snape said, trying to keep the conversation on an even keel. “I’ve come to make you an offer—for your house.”

”My house?” Baba Yaga replied. “It’s not for sale.”

Snape eyed her.

”I’m sure living in the forest has more to do with your financial situation than your nature. I imagine you’ve wanted to live a better life than this. I can make that possible. I am quite rich.”

Baba Yaga looked at the pale wizard in front of her with more interest now. She did live a lonely life, and a hard one, with no running water, heat, or any luxuries. She lived off the land, and contrary to popular belief, not everyone liked living that way. She rarely had company. Most people were killed off by the flora or ogres before they even reached her house. Then, if they did manage to make it through the forest, they always wanted something and were always asking questions. Maybe it was time to get out and into civilization.

”How much are you offering?” she asked him.

Snape gave her a thin smile.

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Hermione received an owl from Snape saying that the shop was situated. He also informed her he had purchased land in several other commercial locations around the wizarding world. She frowned at this bit of information. How could he enter into such an expensive venture without telling her his plans? It was too soon to think about opening other shops when the first one hadn’t even gotten off the ground. Severus had no business sense at all! Good thing he had her.

Hermione planned to give him a good talking to about this. Hopefully, he could get his money back. He wanted to meet her in Hogsmeade this afternoon.

She’d meet him all right.

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Hermione arrived at the location to see Snape standing in front of a small wooden building. Some changes had been made to it, large windows added to the front and another level on top. Still, it was rather rustic looking for a shop.

”This is what you had built? Severus, it looks like a log cabin,” Hermione said, eyeing the structure. He should have gone for a more modern design.

”Actually, I didn’t build it. I purchased it as is and made some changes to make it more shop-like,” the wizard said, looking very satisfied.

”What? You actually bought this and moved it here?” Hermione demanded. “That had to be costly. Where was it originally?”

”Poland,” Snape replied.

Hermione turned all kinds of colors. That had to cost a fortune to do.

”Severus! How could you waste money like that? We haven’t even opened yet and we’re already in the red! That’s so—so irresponsible of you! I can’t believe you—“

Snape smirked at her then looked at the shop.

”Show her,” he said to it.

Hermione stopped bitching for a moment to say, “Did you just speak to the shop?”

Suddenly there was a rumble and Hermione jumped back as the shop visibly shook, then began to rise.

”What the—oh my gods!” Hermione exclaimed as the shop rose up and stood on two very large and sturdy chicken legs.

She turned on Snape, her eyes round as saucers.

”It has legs,” Hermione said.

Snape nodded.

”Yes, it does. It can move itself. Actually, it’s extremely fast. I didn’t pay a Knut to transfer it here. It ran the entire distance, Disillusioned, of course. I rode along quite comfortably. It can even swim.”

People were gathering, staring in fascination at the shop, which stood proudly before its audience, basking in their interest. It never received any attention in the forest as a log cabin and had never traveled before. It was fiercely loyal to the wizard who liberated it.

”Lower yourself,” Snape ordered.

The legs folded and the shop once again sat on level ground.

”That’s just—just brilliant,” Hermione breathed.

”So you see why I purchased the land in other locations,” Snape said softly, looking down at Hermione who was still staring at the shop. All around them, people were murmuring.

”It wasn’t cheap,” Snape said. “The Baba Yaga who owned it was quite shrewd, but it was well worth the investment. We have a one-of-a-kind establishment.”

Hermione looked up at him.

”You met with a Baba Yaga? They’re supposed to be very dangerous hags that eat children.”

”She wasn’t a hag, but she did ask me to add a plump child or two to sweeten the deal,” Snape replied as Hermione looked at him in horror.

”I didn’t do it,” he added, frowning at her.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief. Severus was a Slytherin after all.

A young wizard walked up to the pair.

”Hey, what kind of place is this?” he asked Hermione.

”It’s going to be an apothecary shop,” Hermione told him proudly. “A one-of-a-kind shop where you’ll be able to purchase quality potions, potion ingredients and equipment—when it’s in town. You’ll be able to pick up a schedule of dates and times in the near future.”

”Cool,” the wizard said with a smile as a renewed murmuring went up from the crowd. This was exciting and new. Everyone planned to visit once it opened. Hermione looked up at Snape.

”You’re a bloody genius,” she said to him softly.

”Nice of you to notice,” he replied silkily, arching an eyebrow at her before looking at the shop again.

Hermione wasn’t the only one with good ideas.

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Hermione had haggled and negotiated with several suppliers during her month with her parents, and shipments of goods began to arrive. She and Snape had plenty of volunteer help putting together shelving, counters and stocking goods. Word about their shop had gotten around and everyone wanted to see it. The best way to do that was to help out.

Snape gave Hermione her own key and she immediately put up a warning sign concerning the vicious keyhole after a heated row with him about how dangerous it was.

”It could take off someone’s hand!” she argued.

”Only if that hand doesn’t have a key, in which case the hand should be nowhere near it,” Snape responded. He considered the keyhole added security and refused to budge on it.

Hermione shrewdly fed the keyhole a hunk of meat each morning, which calmed its biting reflex for the day. But she made sure not to feed it to the point where it wouldn’t react. Severus would have been livid.

Snape had added a second floor flat onto the shop and planned to live there. He’d save money and be able to brew constantly. It was better furnished than his quarters at Hogwarts had been. He had Hermione’s comfort to think about now.

And that wasn’t all.

The shop was almost ready to open for business, and all the rushing and madness to prepare it was done. They could take a moment for themselves now.

A moment that they both had looked forward to for a very long time.

As Hermione placed the last dried lizard on the hanging chain of creatures, Snape walked up behind her, gently encircled her waist with his arms and pulled the witch back against him.

”There’s only one more thing to do, Hermione,” he breathed into her ear. “Celebrate tomorrow’s Grand Opening tonight. Will you have dinner with me in my apartment?” he asked her silkily.

Hermione turned in the wizard’s arms, looking up at him.

”Only dinner?” she asked him.

Snape looked at her, his eyes glittering.

”That will depend on you, Hermione. You are no longer a student, and I am no longer your teacher. We are on equal footing, now,” he said softly. “If you’d like more than dinner, it can and will be arranged.”

”I’ll bring my overnight bag, then,” she said, pulling Snape down and snogging him soundly for several minutes. When she pulled away, Snape licked his lips as if he’d just tasted ambrosia.

”You do that,” he said softly.

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A/N: lol. I couldn’t resist the Baba Yaga bit. I like introducing other magical/mythological entities into stories. They’re fun and interesting. Thanks for reading. ***