Paradise Found

"I saw Mr. Hooperstein arguing with Mr. Grumpy this morning," Simon commented after inhaling half his sandwich in three bites.

Ursula offered Severus the bowl of peaches. "Mr. Hooperstein owns the grocery down the block."

He nodded. "He was willing to acquire a jar of Marmite for me, he was very cordial." If not a little nosy, Severus thought, but he obviously feels protective of his neighborhood and anyone who lives in it. I can respect that. "And Mr. Grumpy?"

Ursula blushed. "That's the man who has the pushcart with the fresh fruit and vegetables. He's... contentious, particularly with Mr. Hooperstein and the news vendor next door."

Severus nodded at Ursula, then shifted his attention as Simon, who had been practically fidgeting out of his seat during the exchange, burst forth with the rest of the story.

"So Mr. Grumpy had some signs and wanted Mr. Hooperstein to put one in his window."

"Signs? What did they say, did you see?" Ursula asked, now curious.

"Pa-well waj-waj...waj-sick?" Simon furrowed his brow.

"Pawell Wójcik," Ursula corrected, then turned to Severus. "He sells antiques and unique imports – furniture, mostly. His shop is around the corner, next to the rear entrance of the shopping center that borders that side of the neighborhood, but he lives in the apartments over and behind this store."

"Pa-vel Voy-chick," Simon said, carefully. "Oh yeah! Pawel! Is that his whole name, Mom? Where is that name from?" Simon's volume rose with his curiosity. After a pointed look from his mother, Simon continued, quietly, "...for city council representative."

Ursula finished chewing her bite of sandwich before speaking. "Poland, Simon. Pawel came here from Poland with his parents when he was your age." She looked thoughtful. "He's running for council? I'm glad – he's a good man. But what does Mr. Grump... er, Mr. Grummand have to do with it?"

Simon shrugged. "I guess he's running the campaign, at least that's what he told Mr. Hooperstein. That's what they were arguing about."

"Mr. Hooperstein is friends with Pawel... did he refuse to take a sign?" Ursula looked concerned.

"No, he took one," Simon continued, between gulps of his lemonade, "And I don't know what Mr. Grumpy said before I got close enough to hear, but Mr. Hooperstein waved his hands in the air and shouted," Simon screwed up his face as he tried to mimic the grocer's nasally voice, "'You can't run his campaign, you pear-pushing half-wit! You couldn't successfully run a bath with written instructions!'" Simon grinned.

Ursula covered her mouth and looked away as she tried not to laugh. "Well, I expect things will be rather uncomfortable on that corner for a while, eh?"

Severus had watched the conversation with interest. Gaining an understanding of the neighborhood dynamics without having to ask questions himself was, after all, comfortingly Slytherin. And Simon was an enthusiastic storyteller with a fine memory and a talent for mimicry – clearly a friendship of sorts with the boy had benefits beyond knowing one child in the neighborhood who wouldn't be carrying a spitball shooter loaded for bear and aimed in his direction.

Then there was his mother, and the bookstore, and the lemonade. He had been able to spirit away all of his personal goods, lab equipment, and books from Hogwarts (with the loyal help of his favorite house-elf, Bitsy), but it was too dangerous a proposition to retrieve his favorite Muggle tomes from Spinner's End. And up to this point, the most contact he'd had with a real person since he'd moved into his small flat consisted of the lengthy conversation with the grocer on whether he took special orders for imported food. And Ursula didn't over-sweeten the lemonade.

Thank you, Simon, he thought as he took a last sip of (refreshingly, perfectly sour) lemonade and wiped the cup's condensation from his fingers with a paper napkin before bringing them up to steeple in front of his face as he prepared to speak.

"I fear, in the excitement of the tuna salad," Severus smirked as Ursula blushed, "I nearly forgot my purpose in asking Simon to deliver me to your doorstep. I felt that you should know that..."

A gasp interrupted him as Ursula turned, wild-eyed, to Simon and frantically hissed under her breath. "What did you do?!"

Although intensely curious about Ursula's sudden change in demeanor, Severus stopped any further questioning of the panicked-looking boy with a smooth gesture of his hand.

"Simon is to be commended. I have had unfortunate experiences with the children who play in the park since I moved here, all but your son. Today he approached me in an attempt to convince the little cretins that I am not, in fact, the boogey-man." Severus decided to leave out the bit about the dare; he didn't want to inflame whatever was lurking behind Ursula's odd reaction. "I doubt his bravery will save me from further irritations during my regular walks, but I appreciated the attempt. And then I appreciated the very polite conversation that followed. I have been informed that you, madam, are 'smarter than anyone'."

Ursula's mouth opened and closed, searching for a response, as her cheeks reddened. "Well, that's quite a claim, one I don't think I can live up to, but thank you for letting me know." She looked at her son, relief and warmth crossing her features, in turn. "He is a polite boy."

Severus looked at Simon and agreed, "Yes, he is."

Simon grinned at Severus, then at his mother before asking, "Can I be done, Mom?"

Ursula turned to Severus and asked, "Would you care for anything else?" In response to a brisk shake of his head, she stood. "Yes, Simon, go ahead." The boy began collecting the dirty dishes as his mother returned the tuna salad to the refrigerator.

As Severus pulled his long legs from under the small table and carefully unfolded himself, Ursula approached him. She stared at his face appraisingly before quietly commenting, "Thank you, Severus. Thank you for telling me of Simon's heroics – you didn't have to go out of your way to be friendly and kind to a small boy, and I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

Thoughtful? When was the last time anyone called me thoughtful? Severus inclined his head as he replied, "Not at all. I don't recall when I last had such pleasant," he looked Ursula in the eye before flicking his gaze to Simon, busy behind her, "and entertaining company. While the unfolding of this morning's events was a surprise, I must admit it was not an unwelcome one. But you have a bookstore to manage, do you not, Ursula?"

"And I'm sure you have important ways to occupy your time, as well," she responded.

Severus nodded. "Yes. Although I appreciate your generosity in fortifying me for the afternoon, I do need to buy groceries and attend to other errands."

Ursula gave him another of her shy smiles before offering her hand. "It was lovely to meet you, and we enjoyed having company for lunch. I hope we'll see you again."

Severus understood the question behind her statement and nodded solemnly. "But of course, madam, your son is my knight and champion against the trials and tribulations of the park miscreants, and this is a bookstore." He straightened to his full height and looked down his nose imperiously, but without his customary look of icy disdain. "I assure you, when it comes to books, rabid manticores couldn't keep me away."

If he was surprised that he had grown comfortable enough with these Muggles to carelessly allow a euphemism from Magizoology slip, he was astounded when Ursula's small smile expanded to a wicked grin. "My, you are a devoted reader!" She chuckled. "Well, then, I look forward to your next successful thwarting of our local manticore population, rabid or not."

"Bye, Severus!" Simon smiled widely and waved before turning back to his chore.

Severus offered a formal bow, then made his way through the bookcases. As he approached the front door of the bookstore, his eyes crinkled briefly when he heard Simon's voice carry from the back room. "Hey Mom, what's Marmite?" He closed the door quietly behind him and took a deep breath before striding purposefully down the sidewalk towards Hooperstein's.