Fest 2019: Brushing Away the Mouldering Past (Harry/Snape)

[hp_drizzlemod]

Title: Brushing Away the Mouldering Past
Author/Artist: goddess47
Prompt: # 24
Pairing(s): Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Word Count: ~3000
Rating: PG
Warning(s): None
Disclaimer:Harry Potter characters are the property of J.K. Rowling and Bloomsbury/Scholastic. No profit is being made, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Notes: Many thanks to patient mods!
Summary: Unprecedented amounts of rain in the London area leaves Severus in a predicament.

(ao3 link)

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Splot!

Severus swore. He wanted to throw something. But between the stirrer in one hand and the next ingredient — or what should have been next ingredient — in his other hand, he didn't have a free hand to throw anything.

He looked up at the ceiling, seeing the spreading water stain. The Impervious charm must have weakened and allowed the rain to seep through.

And now the seepage has ruined the potion. At least it was only the base for the potion since he had not yet incorporated the more expensive ingredients. Small mercy.

He sighed, set down the ingredient in his hand and turned off the burner. He did keep stirring the half-made potion so it would both cool and not totally harden in the cauldron and be impossible to clean.

Once the potion was cool enough to handle, he moved the pewter cauldron to the sink to allow him to clean the potion from the cauldron properly.

Another splot fell on his workbench as he was cleaning.

Blast! He'd have to work on that leak tonight, to make sure nothing leaked into his ingredients or storage areas. Or his bedroom.

It was late — well, early morning — before the building was secure to his satisfaction. The problem was he knew it wouldn't last more than a few days.

He tucked away the frustration and went off to bed.

Morning did not help. The day was grey and overcast, promising even more rain. It had been increasingly wet this Spring, there were predictions of record amounts of rainfall before it was over.

Having a cuppa and toast, Severus knew he would need to get some help. He put the few dishes in the sink and went to his Floo.

"Minerva McGonagall!" he called into the Floo. It was a Saturday morning, so he knew she would likely be in her office.

It was a moment before she answered.

"Severus! How are you?" she asked with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

"I'm in need of some advice," he admitted.

"Well, come through then," she invited with a small wave. "No sense in doing this on the floor."

"Thank you," Severus replied. "One moment."

Severus stood and took another pinch of Floo powder and threw it into the fire. "Hogwarts Headmistress office!" He stepped into the emerald flames, and then out into her office.

"Good to see you!" Minerva said as Severus removed the soot from himself. She gave him a brief but warm hug before encouraging him to sit. She had arranged a small sitting area in the Head's office so that she needn't 'loom over the desk' when she was having most conversations.

"Good to see you, also," Severus replied, taking a seat in a comfortable tartan covered armchair.

"Can I offer you tea?" she asked. "Mimsy can bring some if you'd like."

"No thank you," he demurred. "I just had breakfast."

"You don't come by often enough! What can I do for you?" she asked, curiosity in her eyes.

"I'm wondering if you can give me the names of any of the workers you had helping with rebuilding Hogwarts," he said. "I find myself in the embarrassing position of needing some major repairs to my home, and, well, I don't know where to start."

"I know you live in a semi-Muggle area, have you tried any Muggle firms?" Minerva asked.

Severus gave a wry grin. "With all the rain we've been having in London, any reputable firm is most likely inundated with more work than they can handle. And, well, I'm not in a position to pay what I know the work would cost right now. I'm doing relatively well, but the premium it would cost to have it done immediately is outside what I can reasonably afford."

He fought to keep that admission somewhat offhand, but he knew from Minerva's look that she knew he wasn't really doing that well.

After the war, Severus was amazed to even be alive. He was lucky he had a bezoar and a blood replenishing potion on him when he was attacked by Nagini. But the delay in getting real help had taken a toll on his magic. He had used most of this magic to stay alive and the fractures on his core had never really healed.

As a result, while Severus had sufficient magic to brew potions and perform many daily spells, his ability to perform any magic that required serious power was limited. Which is why he was unable to cast strong enough spells to keep his home safe from the incessant rain for any length of time.

While Potter had gone to great lengths to make sure that he was exonerated of any charges in the War, Severus was not necessarily welcome in 'polite' Wizarding society. He really didn't care about that socially, but it played havoc with his ability to earn a living. Making potions for Hogwarts, — and he was thankful to Minerva for paying full price — St. Mungo's, and for a small mail-order business was the best he could currently do. It was a reasonable living, but putting more than small amounts aside for the future wasn't going to be possible.

"Do you need the roof replaced the Muggle way or will some stronger spells suffice?" Minerva asked, ever practical. Bless her!

"Spells will certainly be sufficient for now," Severus replied. "Knowing the work needs to be done, I can save up for that and get it done when the weather has calmed."

"Do you have a ward stone?" Minerva asked.

Severus shook his head. "I never planned to stay at Spinners End this long," he admitted. He had never planned to return at all. "So I never went to the trouble to install one in the house." And left unsaid, installing a ward stone was beyond his capability.

"Too bad, since a ward stone would make the spells last longer," she said. "Which means you'll need the spells reinforced every six to eight weeks."

"I anticipated that," Severus said. "I do have funds to pay for the work, and I can offer some potions in trade, if that would be of interest to whomever you can help me find. If it can be done in the next few days, then perhaps once more in six weeks and hopefully this blasted rain should have stopped and I can get a Muggle firm to do the physical work."

"Hmm… I did have someone asking about some tutoring in potions just recently," Minerva's eyes lit up. "Perhaps you would be willing to trade some spells for some tutoring."

Severus sighed. "You know perfectly well I was a horrid instructor," he pointed out.

"This is an… older person, already out of Hogwarts," Minerva replied. "Someone who is interested in learning more about potions for a potential position. Tutoring one young adult will be easier than teaching groups of children."

"True," Severus reluctantly agreed.

"And I know they have the power to help you out with the spells you need to repair your home," Minerva said. "They may even be willing to trade tutoring for spell work, so it won't cost you any money, just some time."

"That… that may be acceptable," Severus reluctantly agreed. "How much tutoring does this person require?"

"They're looking at becoming a healer and will admit they didn't pay as much attention to potions as they should have," Minerva said. "But beyond that, I don't know. You will have to work that out directly."

"I would be willing to discuss it," Severus allowed.

"So, what else have you been doing?" Minerva asked.

Severus found himself led into general discussion and ended up having lunch with her. He had to admit it was nice to spend time with another human being, something he did not get to do too often.

"I'll contact the person making the inquiry and have them reach out to you?" Minerva asked.

"While the house is on the Floo network, I keep it locked down to… shall we say, discourage random visitors," Severus admitted. "Owl would be best."

"That would be fine," she agreed. "In fact, I can use a favour. I'd appreciate it if you'd be my escort to the upcoming Hogwarts Spring Gala. The other teachers would like to see you and you'll be among friends."

"I'd be delighted," Severus said. He did not do well in crowds and he knew Minerva would let him leave quietly if he needed to. "Send me the details."

Severus went back to his — blessedly dry! — home and found himself wondering how soon Minerva's student would be contacting him.

It was late the next afternoon when a tawny owl flew in and settled on the back of a chair after Severus removed the note from his leg. Severus offered a biscuit and water before he opened the note.

Severus looked at the familiar scrawl in some dismay.

Professor Snape—

I'm going to guess Professor McGonagall did not tell you who she was asking about tutoring in potions for. She thinks she's being sneaky, but you're too much of a Slytherin to not guess.

I'd appreciate a chance to talk, if that's agreeable to you. I'll stop by tomorrow about 2 pm. If that is convenient, let me know. Regina will bring a note back to me.

—Harry Potter

Severus sighed. Potter was correct, Minerva was being sneaky and he was glad that Potter contacted him openly.

Severus scrawled Tomorrow at 2 will be acceptable. -SS and returned the note to the owl. Regina hooted softly and left.

Trusting to his work managing the leakage, Severus went back to the potion he had been working on. He needed to get that done for an owl order that should have gone out this morning but now would not go out until early evening.

The next morning, Severus worked on less complicated potions that he knew Poppy could always use in the Hogwarts infirmary. He cleaned up the lab and sat down for a small lunch so he would be ready at 2 pm.

A polite knock at the front door alerted Severus to his company. He opened the door to see Ha— Potter, now a young man. Potter was dressed in Muggle clothes that looked stylish but also fitted him well. It was a good look for him. He carried a Muggle umbrella, since it was raining. Again.

"Mr. Potter," Severus greeted him.

"Professor," Potter replied with a small nod.

"Come in," Severus instructed. "Would you like some tea?"

"That would be nice," Potter agreed, following Severus into the kitchen.

"Make yourself comfortable," Severus waved a hand at the kitchen table. "This will take only a moment."

"Anything I can do to help?" Potter asked.

"Not really all that much to do, but thank you," Severus replied. "Please, have a seat."

Potter sat at the table, watching as Severus placed mugs on the table and prepared tea.

The silence was not as uncomfortable as it could have been. Severus puttered at the kettle as Potter looked about the room.

"Cream? Sugar?" Severus asked.

"Just sugar," Potter replied easily.

Severus fussed for a few minutes, then poured tea. He placed a small plate of biscuits on the table between them.

"Tell me what you are looking for," Severus said, deciding to be forthright.

Potter shot him a small grin. "I've decided that I'd like to do something just for me, and becoming a Healer would be both a challenge and personally satisfying. I've talked to the staff at St. Mungo's and I have most of the skills they require of trainees, but, well, I wasn't the best potions student and a Healer needs to understand about potions in order to prescribe them properly. So I need to improve my brewing skills and learn a whole list of potions before they'll consider me for training."

"Do you have the list?" Severus asked.

"Yes," Potter replied. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a scroll. "This is what they gave me."

The list was slightly tattered and had notations in Potter's scrawl in several places. Some of the simpler potions had check marks, likely indicating that Potter felt he could manage those. Many others had notes referring to books or just question marks.

"I've done a lot of research on my own," Potter went on. "But reading only gets me so far and I know I need to know how to make all of those before I go back."

"How long did they give you?" Severus asked, reviewing the list.

Potter shrugged. "They wouldn't give me a firm deadline, but in asking around, a month is the usual time allowed."

"Being Harry Potter has its advantages," Severus said calmly.

Potter grimaced. "I don't want special favours and if I'm going to do this properly, I need to be treated like they would anyone else. It would be dangerous to go through training and not have the proper background."

"I don't have the ingredients for a number of these potions," Severus admitted.

"I have them," Potter replied. "I wouldn't expect you to provide any of this, that would be my responsibility. I've purchased a good potions kit and can bring that with me."

"A month means you'll need to work at this every day," Severus said. "A couple of these potions require two or three weeks of brewing time."

"I estimated that much through the research I've done, so good to know I got that much right," Potter nodded. "I've read some potions books about all of these, but there are conflicting sets of instructions and a couple have parts I simply don't understand. I don't know if I'm missing something or if the instructions I have are incomplete."

"Probably incomplete," Severus replied. "A couple of these potions are actually proprietary to their creators, so the full set of instructions is only available to those who have a Mastery in potions."

Potter gave a wry grin. "Ha! I suspected there were some tricks in there."

Severus nodded. "There's one potion that does require Mastery to make properly. I'm going to assume that's on the list to ensure that anyone applying to become a Healer does their research properly."

"That makes sense," Potter agreed. "What do you need done around here?" He waved a hand to indicate the house.

"The roof leaks, badly," Severus said. "My magic isn't able to power the spells needed to keep the blasted rain out. I'm saving up to have the roof replaced properly, but that won't happen for several months at this point. I need to stay dry so I can brew safely."

Potter looked about the kitchen. "Minerva said you don't have a ward stone, so any spells will need to be reinforced in about six or eight weeks."

"That is correct," Severus replied.

"As an option, I have a couple of House Elves that could simply fix your roof for you," Potter suggested. "I'm finding it work to keep them busy, and this would be a god-send to me and them."

Severus was startled. Multiple House Elves?

"Oh!" Potter looked down at his hands for a moment. "I haven't told a lot of people, but the Goblins essentially dragged me into the bank for an inheritance test. I took on the Potter Lordship, because that's all I thought there was, and that forced the Black and Gryffindor Lordships on me. All of that came with more property than I can shake a stick at. And a flock of House Elves with it."

"The proper term is actually an Yard of House Elves," Severus corrected automatically.

"I didn't know there was a term for that!" Potter exclaimed.

"There's a term for everything," Severus said.

Potter laughed. Severus couldn't tear his eyes away as the lightness made Potter look even younger than his years. Severus knew Potter was handsome, but the happiness made him look beautiful.

"Umm… look, I don't mean this to be…" Potter blushed, then took a deep breath. "How attached are you to this place?"

Severus sat back. "What do you mean? This is where I live!"

"Well, I have quite a number of properties that are sitting empty," Potter said softly. "If you were willing to move, I can… you can move into almost any one of them."

Severus stopped himself from saying anything for a moment. He took his own deep breath. "Why would I do that?"

"I don't know?" Potter admitted. "But, well, I'm living in Potter Manor and it's huge and has lots of empty space. There's a great space that I've been using as a Potions lab, the House Elves would love to have someone to take care of and, well, I could use some company."

"What about your friends?" Severus asked pointedly. "You could invite them to live with you." He didn't want to say Anyone besides me.

Potter squirmed a bit. "I've already given most of them houses, actually. They have their own place, or they've left Britain for other places."

"Why didn't you leave?" Severus asked. "You could go anywhere."

Another shrug. "Did some traveling, and I'll do more. But, doing nothing is hard, which is why I was looking to be a Healer. Once I finish training, I can do more traveling or other things on my own schedule. Honestly? Having a goal is good for me."

Severus understood a part of that. Having nothing to do and, in his case, little money to live on, was hard. Which is why he dove back into brewing potions as soon as he could.

Severus drummed his fingers on the table, trying to decide.

Potter sat quietly, unlike the impetuous young man Severus had first met so long ago.

"I would appreciate if your Elves could fix the roof, and whatever they find in need of repair," Severus announced. "While they are working here, I find I will need to live elsewhere." He looked around the shabby house. "I suspect it would take them about a month to fix everything up properly. When they are done, I will think about my options."

Harry's smile was brilliant.