kingphilipswench - Gravity Keeper

Severus downed his drink and scowled at the empty glass.

Longbottom. He shuddered.

At least the potion won't be too difficult to brew, assuming I can clear out a space at Spinner's End that hasn't been taken over by doxies. Hogwarts did have its benefits.

Motioning to Tom for another drink, he rubbed his face in frustration.

I think I'm actually sore from smiling. Who gets sore from smiling?

Molly Weasley entered the Leaky on her way into Diagon Alley; Severus slouched down further in his chair and tried to make himself invisible.

I've used up my daily allowance of pleasantness. Possibly my annual reserves as well.

The fates, as usual, were against him.

'Severus!' She bustled over to him as he scowled again at his empty glass. Tom caught his eye and brought the bottle over.

'Hello, Mrs. Weasley.'

'It's a bit early for that, isn't it?'

'I had tea with Neville Longbottom today and sent him into shock. I view it as a medicinal necessity.'

She plopped down in the chair opposite without waiting for an invite.

Realizing he would, in fact, now have to make conversation, he sighed and rolled his eyes.

'And what brings you to the Leaky Cauldron, Mrs. Weasley?'

'You can call me Molly, you know. We've only known each other for over twenty years.'

'Fine. Molly. What brings you to the Leaky Cauldron?'

'Supply run into Diagon Alley. The repairs we did following the Death Eater attack were rather slapdash, I'm afraid. Things are falling apart at the Burrow again. I'm out of Spellotape, among other things.'

Snape squeezed his eyes shut.

'You're not attempting to repair your domicile with Spellotape, are you?'

'Of course not. Not the structural parts, anyway. I just need Spellotape for the smaller items. It's all I can work on right now, anyway. I'm several men short for repairs: Ron and George have been busy at the shop, and Charlie can't get away from Romania. Bill helps Arthur in the evenings and on weekends.'

'What about Percy?'

Molly gave Severus a wry look. 'Percy is... less than helpful when it comes to manual labour.'

Severus felt the hands of fate prickle the hairs on the back of his neck.

'I'll be there at ten tomorrow.'

'What? That wasn't a request for you to come do it, Severus. I was just explaining why I need Spellotape.'

'But you need help. And I am available. I will be there at ten tomorrow.'

Molly frowned. She really hadn't meant to guilt Severus into helping them rebuild the Burrow.

'Well... if you insist.'

'I do.'

^^^

Severus arrived at ten, exactly, dressed in Muggle jeans and a thick work shirt. Molly gave him a tour of the house: broken beams, holes knocked through walls, leaking thatched roof... and he wasn't sure if the foundation of it was stable at all. It had always been a bit dodgy, as far as he could recall, living space stacked upon living space haphazardly as it had been added as needed, usually in a rush.

'We did a number on this place, didn't we?'

'You didn't do it personally, Severus.'

'Perhaps. But I'm just as responsible. Molly, I don't think the foundation is stable. Let me see if I can find an engineer to come take a look before we start disturbing anything that is going to fall in on you.'

'Really, Severus, it's not necessary for you to go to all this trouble...'

The look he gave her cut her off and she fell silent. He stalked off into the yard and Apparated away.

^^^

'Mistress Hermione? Master Snape is here to see you,' Kreacher informed her. She was surprised; she'd not been expecting Severus to stop by. Closing the tome she'd been reading, she found Severus waiting for her in the sitting room. Her eyes widened at his attire: jeans, a work shirt – black, of course – and boots.

'Hello, Mr. Snape. This is a pleasant surprise. What brings you to Grimmauld?'

'I was at the Burrow to help Molly with repairs, and I don't think the foundation of the structure is safe. Do you know any Wizarding engineers who could come take a look?'

Hermione thought for a moment and then smiled.

'Terry Boot is an engineer. And it so happens, he owes me a favor. I'll Floo him and see if he's free.'

'I don't want you to have to use up your favor with Mr. Boot on my account.'

'I don't mind, Mr. Snape. Really. If it makes you feel more balanced, though, you can owe me in turn. You can, in fact, do the same thing for me that I did for Terry.'

A raised eyebrow was her response. She giggled.

'You can go to a family function with me next weekend to keep my relatives at bay.'

'Your relatives at bay?'

'Do you have a boyfriend? When are you getting married? You're going to die an old maid...' Hermione mimicked in a high-pitched voice.

'Ah. And you did that for Mr. Boot?'

'Yes, his parents think he should get married quickly, and he's obsessed with helping making sure everything is put to rights from the war. Let me Floo him and see what he says.'

She ducked into the sitting room Floo and came out a few minutes later.

'He'll be here in five minutes. I think he needed a break from Percy mismanaging him at the Ministry.'

A few minutes later, Terry Boot tumbled out of the Floo. Dusting himself off, his eyes widened when he saw Severus.

'Snape!'

'Yes.'

'Sorry, sir, you startled me.'

'Terry, Mr. Snape needs you to look at the foundation of the Burrow and see if it's structurally sound.'

He looked surprised, but recovered himself quickly.

'Lead the way, Mr. Snape.'

^^^

Severus was impressed with Terry's efficiency and professionalism. He went through the Burrow and made lists of everything that needed to be done to the foundation. After about two hours, he turned to Severus.

'Mr. Snape, this is going to take some work. I've made a list of things that need to be done, but there's manual labor as well. I'm going to go get Justin and Blaise and see if they can join us.'

Severus was taken aback; Terry simply jumped in with no thought about the fact that it wasn't even his project or responsibility.

'So... more hands would be optimum?'

'Yes, in addition to the wand work, you're going to need some people to physically move stuff while we work.'

'I'll see what I can do. Shall we meet back here in an hour?'

'That sounds fine, I'm sure Justin and Blaise will want to escape from whatever monotonous thing they're working on.'

^^^

Back at Grimmauld, Severus pondered who to ask help him while explaining the situation to Hermione.

'I'll come, of course. What about Gregory? Or Adrian?'

'I'll come, too. I'm ashamed to admit that I hadn't even thought that the Burrow might be still in a state of destruction,' Harry chimed in.

'Right. So I'll Floo Gregory and Adrian, and then we'll all meet at the Burrow in an hour?'

'Agreed.'

Severus sneered. It was bloody annoying that two-thirds of the Golden Trio still answered in unison.

^^^

Molly was cautiously pleased when a mob of people, including Adrian Pucey, Blaise Zabini, and Gregory Goyle, who'd brought his girlfriend Millicent, arrived at her house to put the Burrow to rights. Terry Boot took charge of the project, and everyone fell into line, recognizing his brilliance with magical structures. Severus handled the assignments for the physical labor based on Terry's recommendations, and Hermione and Harry, for once, did what he said.

As Hermione and Severus fitted a wall into place, Hermione snuck glances at him. He was surprisingly strong; while she'd never thought that Severus was a weakling, his thin build didn't lend itself to being synonymous with brute strength. On the other hand, people probably also thought the same of her.

'The Herbal dei should be ready tomorrow. But I've hit a snag,' he said suddenly.

'What's that?'

'My lab at Spinner's End is in quite a state of disuse. I'm afraid that my years of having access to the finest lab Hogwarts could supply rather spoiled me.'

'Easily remedied. There's an adequate lab at Grimmauld.'

'And you'll allow me to use it?'

Hermione rolled her eyes.

'No, Mr. Snape, I just mentioned it in a moment of gloating.'

He stared.

'Yes, idiot man, you may use my lab. You may even steal supplies out of my storeroom, should you be so inclined.'

A chuckle escaped him, and he almost smiled.

'You should smile more.'

'I can't, I'm already sore from dealing with Mr. Longbottom yesterday.'

'Then you should practice so you don't get sore anymore.'

'They'll just cart me off to St. Mungo's. I will bring the Herbal dei tomorrow.'

'Cool.'

'Did you just use slang with me?'

'Yes.'

'Hmpf.'

^^^

By the time everything was said and done, it was evening. Arthur, Percy, Ron, and George had arrived home and been flabbergasted to find that not only had a large group of people invaded the Burrow (a fairly standard occurrence) but almost all of the repairs had been finished. Molly fixed a late supper, and things took on a party atmosphere. Severus gazed around him, taking in the sight of Justin Finch-Fletchly passing a turret of gravy to Millicent Bulstrode and Blaise laughing at a joke Ron had just told. Terry, Percy, Adrian, and Hermione were talking amiably, but that was to be expected; they were all brilliant.

What an odd turn of events.

Keeping with the party atmosphere, Arthur put some Muggle music on. It came out of a box that he called a sea-dee player. He'd apparently charmed it to work without 'ekletricty.' Everyone moved into the expanded living area and continued chatting as if they hadn't been at each other's throats in a past life.

'Severus, could you get some more white wine out of the cellar?'

'Certainly, Molly.'

I knew the day couldn't be this good forever.

'Argh! This is worse than that time I caught Draco and Marietta Edgecombe in the Prefect's bathroom. Gregory! Millicent! Put on your clothes. Just because the Weasleys breed like rabbits doesn't mean you have to follow their lead.'

Retrieving two bottles of sauvignon blanc, he bolted back upstairs and poured himself a glass, trying to wash away the sight that had greeted him when he opened the cellar door. He felt someone touch his elbow.

'You do realize that this is a very good thing you've caused today, don't you?'

He raised an eyebrow at Hermione.

'Yes, peace, love, and happiness, thy name is Severus. Now, perhaps you could give me the details about this date we're supposed to go on next weekend.'

Smugly pleased when Ron started choking on his drink, he smiled and found his face wasn't sore, after all.

A/N: Words used: storeroom, Prefect's bathroom, Spellotape. Um...author's notes... author's notes... author's notes... First I want thank Pan the Goat God for making it all possible. Next, me mum and dad for teaching me how to read and write. Finally, I want to thank Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for... you know... running England and stuff. Of course thanks to the team for giving this a read through... um... GO TEAM MARS!