Chapter Three

AN: Thank you, Lariope! You're still the best beta in the world.

"Mister Smothersmith, are you listening to me?" Severus asked tersely.

"Of course, Mister Snape, I always listen closely to my clients," the smug little wizard replied as they exited yet another property for sale. He turned, re-warded the doors, and pulled a list from his pocket. "Now, if you'll put your hand on my shoulder, we can Apparate to the next house directly from here."

"No."

"It would save us a great deal of time, Mister Snape. I understand some people don't like to do Side-Alongs, but it really is quite safe," Mister Smothersmith advised with a placating smile on his face.

"No."

"Very well," the shorter man said with a world weary sigh. "If you'll meet me back at my office I can..."

"No," was the terse interruption.

"No?" Smothersmith asked in astonishment and then enlightenment dawned. "You're tired and wish to stop looking for today?"

"You're a larger dunderhead than I initially took you for, you imbecile, if you think for one tiny moment that I would entrust my safety to your dubious intellect," Snape growled. "Let me explain it to you in simple words so even you won't misunderstand. I not only wish to stop, I am stopping. Period. I won't be returning to your office. Ever."

Panic graced the features of the other man for a moment, and he almost made the mistake of grabbing Severus' arm, but remembered in time exactly whose arm it was. "But, sir! We can't stop. Mister Malfoy was quite specific in his instructions that I help you find a home."

Severus gazed around the opulent grounds of the current property he was supposed to be considering and barely managed to maintain his temper. Turning his head back toward the estate agent, Severus made sure the older man was looking directly at him when he spoke. "Mister Malfoy might want and be able to purchase this monstrous estate. I do not. Furthermore, my patience with you...and your listings...has come to an end, Mister Smothersmith. It's obvious you either don't have anything that will suit, or you're under the mistaken impression my pockets are as endless as Malfoy's. I'll find what I need on my own."

With a snap of his robes, and a final snarl sent in the direction of the latest dunderhead he was being forced to deal with, Severus turned and left the ignorant sod standing on the seemingly endless green lawn.

"Hermione!" he bellowed as he walked back into the apothecary. Absently, he noted that Ester was sporting a beaming smile and made a mental note to check how much he was actually paying her, as he was of the opinion she looked far too happy to be a proper clerk.

"Here!" Hermione yelled back and stuck her head out of the workroom door. "What's the catastrophe?" she asked while back peddling in order to keep from being run over as Severus strode into the room.

"Idiots! The world is full of idiots! Everywhere you look, everywhere you turn, there's another blooming idiot! Stifle one and three more will spring up in his place," he growled while slamming the workroom door behind him. Stalking over to the coat rack, he pulled off his traveling cloak and flung it on the top peg. Turning around, he glared at his assistant. "How far behind are we on the Clarkson order?"

Hermione's mouth lifted in a small smirk. "We're not. They've already been shipped."

Both of Snape's brows rose, and in a tone of voice that suggested she'd lied, asked, "You've managed to brew and decant all those potions in less than three days?"

"No," Hermione replied and shrugged before explaining further. "From their previous orders, I approximated when and how much they'd be ordering, and when there was time, I brewed them."

Most of Severus' sour mood from dealing with Smothersmith vanished in the light of her foresightedness, but since he wasn't one to bestow accolades unreservedly, he questioned her further. "How close was your approximation?"

"I was off by a case of Wit-Sharpening Potion, but they'd increased their order," Hermione stated calmly.

After glancing toward the door that led to the shop floor, Severus tilted his head and asked, "Why is it that you're doing part of Ester's job?"

Hermione flushed, sat down on a lab stool and fiddled with a stirring rod before she met Severus' eyes. "I... well, she doesn't seem to be keeping up, so rather than have to race to catch-up, I copied the old orders and took them home with me. I worked out a spreadsheet with all the customers so we wouldn't be caught flat-footed again," she said while pulling open a drawer next to her and then frowning. "That's odd, I thought I put it back."

"And you were going to tell me this when?" he inquired with a raised brow.

The stirring rod was carefully laid down on the work bench before she replied. "I wasn't. Ester hates me as it is, so I didn't want to give her any more incentive."

"Is that so?" Severus removed his jacket and hung it up before taking the stool opposite Hermione's. "Why are you under the impression that she dislikes you?"

Hermione barked out a laugh and shook her head. "You've got to be joking. You haven't noticed?"

"If it were obvious, would I be wasting my time by asking?"

"No, I don't suppose you would," Hermione stated and then covered her face with both hands before emitting a small, "Ack!" Her hands were lowered and she slid off the stool. "We're going to need some tea if we're going to address the subject of Ester," she said firmly before moving toward the newly installed kitchenette off the side of the lab. Severus wouldn't allow any food or drink in the lab, and while Hermione fully agreed with this for safety reasons, she had persuaded him to add the convenience when she pointed out how much time they wasted going back and forth to his flat when they needed a break.

She was busy finding his favorite chocolate biscuits when he finally joined her. They kept the kettle going while they were in the lab, so it only took a few moments before there were cups of tea steaming away at their usual places. Hermione sat down, pushed his packet of biscuits toward him, and lifted her cup to sniff before taking a small sip. "Why is it that your tea tastes so much better than mine?"

A corner of Snape's mouth lifted in a smirk before he brushed his finger against the bottom of his nose. "I have better olfactory senses than you, of course. There has to be some compensation for having a nose this large."

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Now if I said something like that, you'd sulk for a week."

"I do not sulk," he stated while poking his chin in the air. "I merely refuse to converse from time to time." His hand reached out and stroked the packet containing one of his secret vices. "I take it this discussion we're about to have about Ester isn't going to go well?"

Hermione squirmed on her seat for a moment and offered a weak smile. "It never hurts to be prepared."

"Out with it," he commanded before taking a sip of tea and sliding a few biscuits out of the box. After eating three, and half emptying his cup, he folded both arms and settled back in the chair. "I'm as ready as I'm likely to be, Hermione. No more stalling. What is the problem between you and Ester?"

Meeting his eyes, Hermione winced and stated, "You are."

"Me?" he asked in genuine astonishment while both of his brows rose. "You're mistaken," he added while shaking his head. "I treat her no differently than before."

"That might be the problem," Hermione said with a frown.

"Why would there be a problem with the status quo?" he asked with a frown of his own. "Make sense, Hermione."

Shooting him an exasperated look, Hermione said, "I was hoping to avoid this, but I guess I'm going to have to spell it out, aren't I?" She sighed, sent him a glare and stated, "She fancies you, Severus."

Keeping his mouth shut when confronted with truths he hadn't before realized had saved Severus' skin on many occasions. His cup of tea was finished while he rolled Hermione's words around in his head, checking them against bits and pieces of his past interactions with Ester. His eyes had narrowed and flicked back and forth between Hermione and the door to the front of the shop before he was ready to make a comment.

"It's possible, I suppose, but why would that influence Ester's feelings toward you?" he asked with a raised brow.

"Good gods, Severus!" Hermione exclaimed while throwing her hands in the air. "I'm the mother of your son, and we spend all day working in the lab together. When we're not working in the lab, half the time we're with Andrew."

Unused to being the top of a love triangle, Severus grudgingly had to admit that Hermione's words made perfect sense. Rather than admit it outright, he rose and headed toward the front of the shop.

Hermione blinked and scrambled to her feet in an effort to follow him. "Severus? Whatever you have in mind, please don't make it worse!"

He turned and sent Hermione a smirk. "I don't intend to make it worse. I'm merely going to remedy the situation." Drawing his face into a emotionless mask, Severus stuck his head out onto the shop and glanced around for Ester. "Ester, I'd like a word with you in my office." Turning back toward Hermione he instructed, "Watch the shop floor for a bit while Ester and I have a chat."

********

He waited, quite patiently, for Ester to return from her visit to the loo and join him in his office. Trying to keep a blank expression was difficult in the face of the overpowering scent of whatever perfume Ester had decided to douse herself with, but Severus managed. After the door was closed and Ester was finally seated across the desk from him, he moved forward and placed both forearms and hands flat on the surface. It was an old trick he'd learned from the ultimate puppet master, Dumbledore. Pretend to be at ease and open with the current subject of your interrogation, and at the very least, it served to make them relax their guard.

Severus hadn't quite known how he wanted to begin their discussion, but he had used the time Ester took to fluff out her skirts and settle one long leg over the other to his advantage. If, as Hermione had stated, Ester fancied him, she wasn't doing anything to disprove the statement. The hastily applied scent, and the elaborate shifting in the chair to expose that long leg to his gaze certainly implied that she was attempting to gain his interest. Almost opening his mouth to ask the woman what she'd actually been doing to earn the wages he paid, Severus noticed an exited gleam in Ester's eyes and held his tongue, merely lifting his eyebrows in anticipation of what she might say.

"I was hoping to get a chance to talk to you in private," she gushed.

"Indeed?"

"Yes, I've so much to tell you that shouldn't be overheard by our customers."

"And what might that be?" he asked in a deceptively quiet tone while tilting his head to the side. If Ester had been an observant witch, she might have noticed the slight narrowing of the eyes he hadn't been able to stop. He opened them fully again and gazed at her in a fashion that he hoped portrayed intense interest.

"It's that section of trinkets and other frippery that Hermione persuaded you to start selling, not to mention moving everything around. All of our most loyal customers think it's a waste of precious space that could be used to display more of your marvelous potions," Ester stated glibly, unaware that Severus knew exactly how much more profit had been brought into the store as a result of people taking time to really look at what was offered instead of grabbing what they needed and leaving. "As it is, I have to restock the shelves twice as often as I did before. Why, Mister Dejanstone complained to no end when he had to wait for a few minutes while I fetched him a bottle of his favorite liver restorative," she added with a pronounced nodding of her head, as if that should be enough for Severus to rethink the profitable line of items he'd started stocking.

"Is that so?" he questioned gently.

"Oh, yes. I really think we should put the stock back where it was so people don't waste time looking around for their favorites and get rid of all those foolish side items," Ester added with a wrinkle of her nose. "I mean, honestly, if people want scented candles or a quick little gift for someone they can find them somewhere else."

"I shall consider it," Severus advised with a small smirk.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," Ester said with a beaming smile as she pulled a folded bit of parchment out of her pocket. Rising from her chair, she unfolded the parchment and spread it out on Severus' desk, turning it around so he could see it. "I've thought up a new way to predict how much our outside orders will be. As you can see, I've color coded them on this little chart so that all you have to do is follow the customer's name to the potion to tell how much and when they ordered the last time, if it increased at all from the previous order, and if the time between was any longer or shorter. It should make it a lot easier to predict how much of each potion you'll need to keep on hand to fill them when the time comes," Ester stated while leaning over and giving Severus ample opportunity to ogle her bountiful bosom on display. "I think it will ensure that Hermione doesn't mess up any more orders like she did the Hawthorne one a few months ago," she said with a heavy sigh. "I can't tell you how many owls I had to send in order to soothe those ruffled feathers."

Keeping his hands flat on the desk when all he wanted to do was strangle the stupid twit in front of him was difficult. Deciding that he deserved an award of some sort for the act he was preparing to deliver, Severus forced the edges of his mouth into a smirk. Picking up the parchment that he knew was Hermione's missing spreadsheet, he remarked, "This must have taken you quite some time to compile. However did you manage to find the time with all that restocking you had to do?"

Ester sent a brilliant smile in his direction after finally straightening up. "I'd do anything it took to make your life easier, Severus."

Enough was enough. Severus stood as well and finally allowed his disgust to show on his face. "Then tell me, dear Ester, why you've stolen this spreadsheet...not merely a chart, mind you...from Miss Granger and attempted to pass it off as your own work?"

Shock and outrage appeared on Ester's face before she shook her head. "She's lying! I worked for hours and hours on that sheetspread!"

Folding and pocketing the parchment, Severus sneered and shook his head. "When I asked you in here I was merely going to take you to task for not fulfilling all of your duties. Your obvious delusions about what is good for business, and the outright theft of another's brilliance and hard work has changed my mind. Your services are no longer required in my apothecary, Miss Spellworthy."

The screech of pain and rage that came out of Ester's mouth made Hermione, who was in the distant part of the shop, jump in surprise. Ultimately, as she was being escorted from the premises by a pair of Aurors, Miss Spellworthy had turned her anger in Hermione's direction. Fortunately, Hermione was quite unable to get the full benefit due to the Muffling Spell one of the Aurors had placed on her former coworker's mouth.

After quiet once again reigned in the shop, Hermione turned her head and found Severus, who was unsuccessfully trying to stop the ringing noise in his head. "There's this old saying about the road to hell being paved with good intentions that I've love to discuss with you some time."

Severus smirked and put his fingers back in both ears before jiggling them around. "I can't hear a damned thing you're saying, Hermione. I think she broke my bloody drums."

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