Severus looked towards the door when it opened to reveal his wife carrying a tray of tea and scones. He knew she must be full of questions but he was grateful she was willing to wait and did not bombard him with questions then. He himself had been very surprised seeing the familiar faces from his past. First Lionel, and now, them. Two too many surprises in one day, he told himself. Just when he thought he had run away from his past, his past caught up with him today. It was a small town he was now living in, a very small town away from the big city. Even Hermione's Muggle town was far away from here. He wondered how Lionel and Minerva had found him. He had not used his magic, so it would be difficult to trace his whereabouts. Ah, it is magic after all, he thought. Minerva had slapped him and he knew he deserved it. The woman had always thought of him as a son despite their differences. During his short stay at St Mungo's Hospital to recuperate before he decided to flee, Minerva was always there, taking care of his needs just as a mother would. And the golden trio, well, Harry must have intimated to them what he saw in his memories. The Weasley boy was always scared of him, and the Granger girl had always treated him coldly, and the Potter boy, the son of the former love of his life he almost died protecting, had spent a good number of his school years hating him too. Now they just had a look of admiration and newfound respect on their faces for him. He felt genuine happiness radiating from them as they hugged him earlier. Meredith had shot him a confused look. Meredith. He should have told her about his past, but would she have understood? She would tell her soon. He would tell his guests about his new life but for now, their wedding picture in the room was enough to tell his guests who the woman serving them just now was.
It had been an awkward moment with them in the room and he had prayed Meredith would show up quickly. It was as if his once cold nature as the frowned-upon Professor Snape had returned. The new Snape was not like that at all. If the people who knew him in the past saw his behavior and mannerism now, they would never have believed that was the always-cranky-and-moody Severus Snape known to the wizarding world. He could crack a joke now and together with Bruce, would pull clever pranks on Meredith, Soledad and Catalina. But now... his coldness had returned seeing the people from his past. He did not want to appear like that but... he just could not help changing into his old self, a cold Snape.
The golden trio was frantically speaking, as if excited to see him, telling him about their lives which seemed boring to his ears. Minerva just kept quiet for a reason Snape knew why; she was still overwhelmed by emotion and it would be evident that she was crying if she talked.
"Who would like tea and scones?" Meredith asked while successfully masking her uneasiness with a huge, genuine smile on her face. "I made the jam and the cream myself."
She set the tray on the table and poured tea for everyone, as she politely asked everyone to help them with the scones. The Ron boy who flirted with her was the first to help himself. Though she felt uneasy with the awkwardness around her, Ron's amusing behavior entertained her and made her feel at ease. This boy's officially my favourite stepson, if he is indeed my stepson, she thought.
"It's delicious, Meredith!" Ron announced his praise with his mouth full. "I mean... Mrs Snape," he corrected himself in a timid tone, when he met his former professor's cold stare at the mention of his wife's first name.
"Meredith is fine, Ron," she told him, and he smiled in return.
"Thank you, Meredith," the old woman said accepted the cup of tea from her hand. She took a sip and put her cup down on the table. "I sincerely apologise for what had happened outside. Oh, where are my manners? We haven't been properly introduced. I am Minerva McGonagall, Severus's former colleague."
"Meredith Snape," Meredith said as she shook her hand. A former colleague? She must be like M in James Bond. She looks old enough to be M, even her last name starts with M. What a coincidence, she thought.
"And I'm Hermione. Hermione Granger," the girl introduced herself as she extended her hand.
"Nice meeting you, Hermione," she said as she accepted her hand. A different surname, she noted mentally.
"I'm sorry about my behavior outside. I was just pissed at Ron. I'm sorry I called you old," Hermione explained.
"Not as old as my husband," she cheekily said, winking at Hermione as she did so. Snape choked on his tea as the trio and Minerva erupted in laughter. Suddenly, Hermione and her two friends stopped laughing when they realised Snape was glaring at them. Minerva tried to stop laughing by sipping her tea, although she still found it utterly hilarious and at the same time unbelievable, how anyone had the guts to insult the once much-feared Professor Snape openly.
Meredith went to sit next to her husband and pinched his nose as she teasingly said, "Sorry, don't be cranky... or you'll look much, much older." The others once again roared into laughter as Snape shot his wife a look of disbelief, rolling his eyes. She knew he was not angry at being a laughing stock when he took her hand in his, rubbing her soft hand with his thumb lovingly, as his left arm extended to rest on the top of the couch, his palm fell on her left shoulder. Opposite her sat a handsome boy wearing a pair of spectacles, sipping his tea. She smiled at him. He smiled back shyly. As if realizing it was his cue to introduce himself, he stood up to extend his hand to her but Meredith said it was alright and that he should continue enjoying his tea, so, he held his cup in his hand.
"I'm Harry. Harry Potter."
"Nice to meet you, Harry Potter," Meredith said. Another different surname, she noted again. Everybody then turned to look at Ron who was still enjoying his scones with a lot of cream. Meredith was glad she brought a lot of them.
"What?" Ron asked his two friends, earning a smile from Meredith and Minerva while Snape looked annoyed still. "We've already been introduced outside," he added as he took a big bite of his scone.
"Ron!" Hermione and Harry bellowed.
Ron rolled his eyes in annoyance and then looked at Meredith, "I'm Wonald Weezey," he said with his mouth full, again, but smiling at the same time.
"Ron! That's uncouth!" Hermione smacked him on his arm again.
Meredith laughed. "Ronald Weasley," her husband whispered, his nose brushing against her ear. "Eat slowly, Weasley, we've got plenty of those at the back," he told the still-munching boy, in his usual cold tone.
"So... hmm... how are you related to Severus? I know Minerva's a former colleague, what about the three of you?"
"Professor Snape taught us at Hogwarts since we started schooling there. He was one of the best," Harry proudly informed her, as he finally helped himself to a scone before Ron finished them.
"Professor?" Meredith turned to look at her husband. "But you told me you were a..."
"I was," Snape interrupted. He shifted a little, feeling uneasy. "It was an undercover kind of thing." The others in the room seemed confused.
"Owh... What did you teach?"
"Po..." Hermione wanted to answer.
"Chemistry," Snape interrupted her just in time. Minerva and his ex-students turned to look at him, then they sipped their tea quietly. His wife eyed him a suspicious look.
"This is a nice reunion, isn't it?" she broke the brief silence in the room.
"Very nice, indeed! Thanks for your tea and scones, Meredith," Ron gratefully said with a beaming smile on his face.
"Where are you guys staying?" Meredith asked.
"We haven't planned anything. We had just arrived when we came into the shop," Minerva explained.
"Stay with us for the night," she suggested with genuine excitement in her voice. The others looked at Snape who appeared like he wanted to object to the suggestion.
"If... Professor Snape's OK with it..." Harry timidly said.
"He is!" Meredith interrupted, a beam of excitement still glistening in her eyes.
"That's very kind of you, dear, but..." Minerva tried to decline the invitation, knowing how the Snape she knew was uncomfortable being around people.
"You haven't met each other for at least three or four years. And it's nice for me to meet all of you and although my husband sometimes appears very serious, I know he will appreciate your staying to catch up on years gone by," she looked smilingly at her husband and he gave her a look of surrender, which made her squeal a little. "I'm not going to take no for an answer, Minerva. You're new to the town, so we'll take you out. You're all staying with us tonight. I'll prepare a nice dinner for us. OK, change of plan, Severus will show you around town. I'm going home now to prepare your rooms. Don't worry, we've got 2 extra rooms. And when you come back in the evening after your sightseeing, dinner will be ready," she laid out her plan, leaving no space for interruptions.
"I have to say, Severus, you've found yourself an incredible wife," Minerva said. "We accept your invitation, Meredith. Thank you."
Meredith stood up and announced, "I'll take my leave now. I'll let you all catch up while I'm going shopping for our little party tonight. Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"I count on you to make sure my husband doesn't look at other women when I'm not around," she jokingly said, which made her husband roll his eyes.
"Yes, ma'am!" she said, bringing her fingers to her temple, as if mimicking a law-enforcement officer. However, her face turned serious when she realised her former teacher shooting her a glare.
"She... is truly an angel. You're a lucky man, Severus," Minerva said as the door closed behind Meredith who had left them in the room. For the first time since they met outside the office, Minerva saw a genuine smile formed on her former colleague's lips.
"Professor," Harry called him. "She doesn't know, does she? About you? Who you were?"
Severus shook his head. "She doesn't need to know."
"You mean, she doesn't know at all you were a wizard?" Hermione asked.
"No."
"Ah, and I thought you helped your wife with magic to make these scones so unbelievable delicious, the best I've ever tasted, really. Don't tell my mum, but they're better than hers," Ron said as he shove another half-scone into his mouth.
"So, you lied to her," Harry alleged.
"No, Potter, I didn't lie to her. I just did not tell her the whole truth."
"But you didn't tell her you were a professor."
"No, I told her I was a spy, which I was and I believe you'd agree, and that I served my life to protect someone... YOU, almost dying at the attempt. You owe it to me not to ask too many questions on what I tell and do not tell my wife, Potter," Snape said sternly, looking straight into Harry's eyes.
"I'm sorry," Harry apologized and he could see his former professor's gaze softened at the sincere apology.
"To Meredith, I am just one of the Muggles, a normal person, and I ask all of you to keep my past out of your conversation with her," he instructed. "Please," he pleaded. Everyone nodded their understanding, although there was a look of disbelief in their eyes that the once arrogant professor was pleading with them.
After briefly introducing his Hogwarts friends to Bruce, Katalina, and Soledad, and discreetly telling Bruce he would answer all his questions on their usual boys' night out, Severus left with his former colleague and former students to show them around town, as per his wife's instruction.