Holly and Unicorn Hair

Disclaimer: Except for OCs, the characters here and the world they inhabit are the creation and property of JK Rowling.

"So, Mr. Ollivander, your stock of wands has been stolen?" Katherine looked around the shop. The windows had been replaced, and most of the broken boxes and other rubbish were cleaned away. There was still more work to do before the wand shop would be back to normal.

"Not all of them, my dear, and there are a few unfinished ones that I can complete before the new shopping season starts. I've been told that you are just the person to handle this sort of task."

Katherine smiled. "I appreciate the confidence you have in me, Mr. Ollivander."

"You were highly recommended by Signore Bacchetto," he replied.

"I located his missing shop clerk, not his stock of wands, sir. How am I to know whether the wands I find are indeed yours?"

"Ah, my dear, that is the question. It's a bit of wand lore that most people don't notice, but surely you understand? I happen to have a wand that is almost an exact match to yours: Holly, unicorn hair, and just a half inch shorter. Why don't you try it?"

It felt a bit off in her hand, but she was able to stack a pile of boxes that had been swept into a corner of the room. "I see. It's not just different; it doesn't work quite right," she said.

"It's even from the same unicorn and tree. You will recall my saying on the day I sold your wand to you that the wand chooses the wizard or witch. That one does not recognize you, but you are skilled enough to make any wand do what you need done. You see that it takes more of your effort and will never be quite what you are expecting. I imagine you've had some success with your husband's wand?"

She nodded, blushing at the thought of a certain incident during their honeymoon. She and Severus were quite thoroughly caught up in a moment of passion when a sudden squall sent cold raindrops through an open window across the room. Katherine reached with her hand and closed the window with the first wand she touched. The magic went in both directions, closing the window with a bang and sending a jolt through her body that intensified the passion her husband evoked. Her body felt electrified for several indescribable seconds and then she went limp, quivering with the aftereffects of their lovemaking.

After they had dressed again, they spent several enjoyable hours discovering the extent to which their wands worked for each other.

Katherine's attention returned to the shop as Mr. Ollivander continued. "Ebony and dragon heartstring are completely wrong for you. You shouldn't be able to so much as light that wand with the differences in your temperament. Yet the marriage bond has an effect, and the wand will recognize the true consort of its owner. In contrast, you will find that wizards or witches using stolen wands appear to struggle or seem surprised at the effort required. Now, my dear, I want you to look at the very end of the wand in your hand."

Katherine looked at it and discovered a round letter O. She looked up at her host. "Your trademark?"

"Almost," he answered. "I'll take that one back. Now look at your own wand."

Katherine pulled out her wand and looked at the trademark. Superimposed on the O was a strangely shaped E. She rolled it between her fingers. "I see," she said. "It's O-W for Ollivander Wands."

"Just so," he answered. "I tap each box as I sell the wand within, and the W appears. The wood is charmed as I prepare it to make the wand only take my trademark. Although a wand may work for someone in my shop, the ones that are stolen will just have the O and will not work quite right. If you know what to look for, it's fairly easy to spot wands that are not in the hands of the owners they are destined for." He pulled out a ledger. "Now, I can tell you about each of the wands that have been taken, and that will help you find some of them. There is one in particular that should be found..."

Katherine had to admit she was intrigued. Most of the wands were probably in the hands of black market dealers. She already had an idea or two of how to find them. The particular wand Ollivander mentioned was frightening, but any person who successfully wielded it would not stay hidden for long. Severus was right. Just taking a couple of hours to resume business was good for her. She walked into their flat with a bounce in her step and continued down the hall, thinking of ways she would greet her husband when he got in.

She stopped short at the doorway of the dining room. While she was gone, it had been painted shamrock green. The nerve, when he knew that she wanted julep! Katherine's shoulders stiffened as her hands formed fists.

"You're angry." Katherine whirled around and saw that her husband had come behind her. As she glared at him, she pulled her twisted lower lip between her teeth.

"How could you do this? I had plans..."

"Your plans were lovely, but your color just wasn't right. You'll see, this will be better."

"How did you manage to get this done so soon?" Her teeth were still clenched.

"Ah, a quick owl did the trick, and I didn't have as far to travel on my appointment."

"So now I'm supposed to capitulate? Just let you put one over on me?"

"That's a bit rich, coming from the witch who used feminine wiles to get her way on the bathroom fixtures."

"You said you loved them, after all!"

"That was after you showed me how well the bathtub works when you sit on my lap and how mesmerizing you are with the shower jets streaming over you. And you're going to love this color, after all."

"Severus..."

"I've waited all day to dine with you, my dear." He backed her to the table, planting hot kisses on her lips and neck as he did. When she was leaning against the table with her hands caught behind her, he knelt before her. He reached under her robe and unfastened her skirt. After he slid it and her boyshorts down, she learned the menu he had planned. He wouldn't get around her that way, she determined, as she leaned toward him, prepared to meet him equally in this activity, if winning were not an option.

A couple of heady hours later, Katherine was under the table with her chin on her husband's chest, watching the light from the setting sun strike the walls. There was a fascinating glow that mixed with the green of the walls as the daylight faded, the wall sconces came alight, and the reds and purples of the sunset came through the windows.

"The more brilliant shade is better," she admitted. "The other would look washed out and perhaps would even clash with the outdoor light."

"If we go through this for every room, I'm going to be completely used up," he said.

She smiled like a cat and traced the line of his chin with a fingernail. "You could always just agree with everything I want."

"That would hardly be sporting."

They discussed their appointments later in the evening. Katherine described the wands that Ollivander was looking for to her husband. She wanted his advice. "Do you think I should try to find that one first? I thought rather to see if bunches of them were in the hands of black market sellers. I cannot imagine that they're getting very good trade on them if they don't work as well, but they're probably trying. I don't think they have had them very long either, actually. From what I could learn at the other shops in the area, Ollivander's was boarded up by the Ministry right after Mr. Ollivander was abducted, and then someone smashed into the store about four months ago."

"How bad will it be if the right wizard finds that wand?"

"Horrible, but it will be impossible to find, otherwise. I really need to just happen upon it."

"Then you already have your answer. You have to watch for that one wizard to find it before he realizes his full power with it."

"I know, but I can't help feeling that there must be some way for me to look for and find it and avoid the trouble."

"The trouble can be laid at other doors. Don't take the guilt onto yourself. How do you plan to locate black market sellers?"

"That's the easiest part. Uncle Sonny will know."

"Your Uncle Sonny, the one in the Janus Thickey Ward at St. Mungo's?"

"Um-hm. Somehow he knows where to find the people who have things."

"Your Uncle Sonny has those sorts of connections? Really?"

"He always has had a rather, shall we say, flexible conscience. Because of that, he gathered quite a few interesting business contacts over the years. He has maintained a fair number of them even though he is in the hospital. Do you want to come with me tomorrow and meet him?"

He sighed. "I would very much like to meet your Uncle Sonny, but I have an appointment with all of my assistants."

"All?" She looked at him curiously. "Just how many of them are there?"

"Three. They each need to take the Potions N.E.W.T. to continue their chosen professions, and they didn't get a chance to work in that subject last year."

"You can't mean..."

"Yes, somehow your dear friend, the Minister, has talked me into taking on the Golden Trio. I thought if I ignored it long enough or pretended it wasn't happening I could avoid it, but to no avail."

"Doesn't Kingsley realize how you feel about them?"

"My feelings have never counted, and apparently young Potter has decided that I'm to be a sort of surrogate dad since I was so fond of his mother. The word is that he's eager to be my friend now. So tomorrow will be spent meeting with the dunderheads, assessing what we need for the Potions lab, and heading over to the apothecary to obtain it all."

"My poor darling, is there anything I can do to make it better?"

"I was hoping you would ask that..."

Katherine Snape had a good day, although there was some tension at the start. She went early to visit her relative at the hospital and was scolded for half an hour because she hadn't been to see him in months. She was then scolded for twenty minutes because she hadn't informed him, personally, of her marriage. There was an additional ten minutes of heated discussion over the question of whether she would ever see a Healer concerning her health and whether the injuries that caused her infertility could be reversed.

When Katherine was finally able to get a word in edgewise, Uncle Sonny listened attentively to the story of the lost wands. He was interested in the situation and offered several suggestions of places she might wish to search. He mentioned knowing what a certain group of wands might be used for, and gave his young relative some suggestions for how to look into that possibility.

They finished the visit by discussing whether enough time had passed to ask the Ministry to re-open Uncle Sonny's case. Katherine felt that it was finally the correct political climate to ask for a review. He had clearly acted in her defense and that of her mother. He was hardly a friend of the Death Eaters. She suggested talking to Kingsley Shacklebolt about it, herself. Sonny preferred to wait just a bit longer. He had caused the death of two Muggles, vile as the two men were, and for him it had been worth the cost to see her succeed in her career. With a sigh, Katherine acquiesced and hugged her elder relative tightly, kissing his cheek and thanking him for his help with her case.

One of Uncle Sonny's suggestions was a wizard known for standing on a certain corner of Knockturn Alley. Katherine decided to try her luck that afternoon. After hiding across the street and watching the man in action for a while, she saw him attempt to sell a wand. She quickly apprehended him and discovered that the wand in question was from Ollivander's. She also relieved him of four others. He seemed a bit too eager to give her what he thought she wanted and get away at that point, so she took him to the Ministry to allow them to question him further. They found two more wands as they searched him and allowed Katherine to take all seven to Mr. Ollivander.

Katherine walked quickly down Diagon Alley, pleased to have such immediate success in her search. Mr. Ollivander should be quite pleased to have this bundle of wands back. Hopefully it wouldn't raise his expectations unrealistically. She would need to point out how very lucky she had been to find these so quickly. Just after she passed Flourish and Blotts, a hand reached out and grabbed her arm. Before she knew it, she was folded into a firm embrace and a passionate kiss.

When Katherine was released to catch her breath, she found that she was looking over her husband's shoulder into the shocked eyes of a boy who could only be a Weasley. She barely had the time to register what was happening because her husband kissed her again. This time she returned the kiss with fervor. They became aware that they were causing a small scene and once again separated. Katherine saw a brown-haired girl this time, but her husband's eyes captured hers.

"You can't know how I needed that," Severus said.

"Happy to oblige," his wife answered with a breathless laugh.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a quick errand with Ollivander and then I shall be done for the day. You?"

"We are finishing our errands at the Apothecary, the Cauldron Emporium, and Flourish and Blotts. I have to spend a bit more time at the lab," he said with a groan, "and then I should be free for the evening."

"Shall I see you soon, then?"

"One can only hope."

They pulled apart and went their separate ways. Katherine couldn't make out what the girl with her husband said, but heard her husband reply, "If I wanted it to be your business, Miss Granger, I would already have made it so."

She hurried on to her destination. Mr. Ollivander was delighted with such quick progress, and as Katherine had foreseen, he needed some convincing to realize that finding the others would not go so quickly. There were over a hundred other wands to find, and some would be very complicated. He was nevertheless grateful and happy to pay Katherine's fee for the returned items. She proceeded to Madam Malkin's with a sense of a job well done.

Severus Snape's day was a bit more difficult all the way through. The property he would use for his Potions lab was not quite what he wanted, but it would not be difficult to retro-fit the space, and it was sufficient for the first few potions he planned to make. He spent half an hour signing the documents for taking over the shop before his assistants were scheduled to arrive.

The three arrived together just after the agent left. They had grown significantly since the last time their professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts had seen them. Weasley was now as tall as Snape was, while Potter had reached his father's height, which was a bit shorter than his friend, and Granger was a sort of average height for a woman. Their faces were a bit more weathered than before, and he would need to remember that while they were his students, they had earned the accolades they received. They deserved a modicum of respect, and the teacher-student relationship would need to be on a different basis than in the past.

If the three assistants looked at their professor and likewise recognized his heroism during the recent troubles, they didn't give any indication. If they realized the need to treat him with the respect they had previously withheld, they didn't show it. At the minimum, they did not go out of their way to be deliberately insulting. The new poise and maturity they carried improved matters that much, at least.

Snape internally sighed and placed the potion book he carried on a counter, summoning the three to stand around him and read the potion he intended to start with. The stance of these former students told much. One of the boys stood where he could see the professor's face, watching him carefully and paying close attention. The other boy stood with his arms folded. He was here simply because he must be and would not stay a minute longer than required. The girl stood as close to Snape as possible and smiled every time she caught his eye.

She interrupted constantly in an obvious effort to get his attention. She averred, correctly, that the recipe he planned to make that afternoon was not a potion. He pointed out that the same steps to preparing the mixture he planned were common to many potions and that it would be fairly forgiving in the case of mistake, compared to the next potion. Her objection being overruled, they moved on to the next point of conversation.

They discussed a plan for making both potions, making a shopping list in the process. The students were a bit rusty at thinking in terms of what must be done while brewing, but they were not as bad as their teacher had feared. Insofar as Snape's worst fears were not realized, the morning was a success. They went to Diagon Alley and split up, each assistant taking a portion of the list. Snape went into Flourish and Blotts to place an order with the personal shopper and spend a quiet hour in the coffee shop.

Granger and Weasley had just returned, arguing loudly, when Snape saw his wife walking down the cobbled street. He slipped out of the store and past the students, snatching at his wife's arm and turning her into his kiss. She resisted. Perhaps she didn't realize it was him, so he let her up for air. She saw that it was him and softened in his arms as he kissed her again. She melted against him, arching her body to fit his. His hand slid down to the small of her back and pressed her close as he became aroused. He was pondering which of the nearby alleys he could tuck her into when a loud clearing of throats alerted him to the fact that they had attracted too much attention to quietly do what he considered. He let his wife go, but necessarily stood close to her for another moment or two.

She had a glow of success about her, and she was headed to Ollivander's. Potter was back, and they shouldn't tarry on public streets. The sooner they got back to business, the sooner they could get back to... He would consider the possibilities in the intervening hours. They said their farewells and with a look and a motion of his hand, he indicated to his assistants that it was time to continue on their way.

"Was that witch your wife?" asked Hermione, suspiciously.

"If I wanted it to be your business, Miss Granger, I would have already made it so," he declared.

The rest of the afternoon went rather quickly and easily. They seasoned the cauldrons and on the side mixed their first recipe. They chopped additional ingredients to go with the concoction that would be added the next day. Finally, they discussed the plan for the actual potion they would brew at their next meeting. The assistants were given an essay to write about the potion and then finally, blessedly, they left.

Severus set all the cauldrons to cool. The mixtures they made were poured into gallon jugs, and the other ingredients were stored away in impermeable containers. Finally, he locked up and hurried home. If he were not mistaken, he had seen his wife walk past with a Madam Malkin's bag an hour earlier. It was always a pleasure to see what she gotten herself into, just so that he could remove it from her.

A/N: As was the case in The Tower Affair, you will probably notice these characters are a bit OOC. Thank you very much to beta reader Trickie Woo.