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Hermione pulled the leg to her chest, letting her chin rest on top of her knee, watching the two men, well the man and the boy, standing in front of the work bench from her soft armchair in the corner. Her husband had put that there when he furnished his workshop, wanting a place for her to read when he worked. When Elliot was too young to accompany his father at the working station, he often sat there, asking endless questions about every little detail.
Severus wore his teaching robes, as he always did when he was in his lab. His hair was pulled back to his neck with a green band. Every time he cast a glance at her, she admired the way this hairstyle accentuated the sharpness of his jaw. Elliot was wearing his own little potioneers uniform his father had got for him for his last birthday with the promise of starting teaching him properly now, so he knew how not to hurt himself or anyone else when in the laboratory. It was a spelled dark blue robe, not much different from Severus’ own but with a muggle zip instead of the buttons and a much less formal look to it. Thrown over that was a dragon hide apron, and she knew his feet were safe in thick boots made from the same material.
She was the one who wove numerous safety spells into his robes after Severus asked her. He was a proud man, but had no problem with admitting that Charms and Transfiguration were much more her strong suit than his. Admittedly, she was struggling to admit the same when it came to combative magic. Her hubris was somewhat of a weakness, not that she would acknowledge that to her husband.
“Why would one use this cauldron for that potion?” The boy’s face scrunched thoroughly as he thought about the question before morphing into a wide, solemn grin accompanied by a twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
“The corrosiveness of the snake venom would destroy everything apart from pure silver,” he exclaimed.
“Exactly,” he said with a proud nod. Hermione knew that he tried to be not too soft when it came to their lessons, not wanting to feed Elliot’s ego too much. An inflated sense of one’s ability could end fatally when it came to potions.
“We already prepared the base with the liquids. Not we have to add the ingredients. How do we need to prepare the first?”
“Slice the roots?” her son answered questioningly. Severus shook his head.
“Try again.” Elliot closed his eyes as he thought about it again. He always did that when he struggled to remember something. Severus took the opportunity to look at his wife, who smiled at him warmly before blowing him a kiss. He rolled his eyes at the overly cheesy sentiment but could not fight the grin on his face or the hint of redness at the highest points of his cheeks. Hermione knew he would never return these gestures, but she enjoyed how much she could make him feel coy.
When it came to his abilities and most other things he was a very self-assured and confident man, but the moment it came to being shown open affection without restraints his deeply ingrained self-doubt came to the surface. Challenging these notions was important to her.
“I don’t know,” the boy admitted. His parents teared their eyes from each other, looking at the boy again, who looked up at his father with a sad expression.
“For this step it is important for the ingredients to mix with the base as fast as possible because the root is supposed to neutralize some of the aggressive acidity.”
“But could you not just throw it in there? When the base is strong, it will dissolve the plant anyway, won’t it?” Elliot looked somewhat confused. He hated not getting things, he was like his mother that way. Patience was not their strength.
“Yes, that would dissolve the root, but then we would need to stir more so that it is mixed in evenly. That would make it react with more oxygen in the air, which would disturb the balance of the potion. What do unbalanced potions tend to do?”
“Explode!”
“Right,” Snape agreed with a grin at the excitement of his answer.
“How would we minimize the needed stirring without changing the properties of an ingredient?”
“Chop it as finely as possible and then sprinkle it over the whole surface, letting it dissolve and then stir.”
“Exactly. When it comes to potions, you need to remember: Never rely on poison to accomplish the task of a blade. It may seem like a more efficient way, but laziness is the death of a careless brewer.” Elliot looked at his father with wide eyes, basically sucking up the new information his father was providing him with.
“Would it be possible without oxygen in the air?” Elliot asked after a moment of silence as he thought about the new information.
“Maybe. The charms that can accomplish that would disturb this particular brew in different ways, so this can’t be tested. But there are some potions that rely on charms that alter the surroundings of the cauldron and the air. A very well thought question, son,” he praised with an approving nod. Elliot clapped his hands in excitement, making him look so much younger than he was, reminding Hermione of the times he had watched Severus entertain him with magical tricks when he was a toddler. Suddenly, she missed his delighted giggles.
“That is why you always say how important it is to care for your supplies and equipment, is it? So that the cauldrons won’t explode.”
“Yes. You remembered that well. A perfectly sharpened knife is the most important thing anyone working with cauldrons and ingredients can have. While this is simmering, I will show you how one cares for a blade properly. Agreed?”
“Please, Dad.” Severus led his hand for the chopping and slicing, not wanting to watch his son slice off his fingertips, but let him do the stirring and throwing in on his own. For a while Hermione watched as the boys worked together but then felt some hunger forming in her stomach.
With quick kisses, on top of the head for her son, on the lips for her husband, she left them to their work to prepare some sandwiches, a veggie platter and a carafe of pumpkin juice. Noticing the beautiful summer day, she decided to grab a blanket and arrange everything outside for a quick picnic.
Half an hour later, the boys resurfaced from the cold room, got rid of the warm working clothes and joined her in their garden. They were surrounded by green grass, high trees that provided comfortable shade, rows of vegetable patches and flowerbed, where they cared for ingredients and food. Hermione sat down on the blanket, leaning into Severus, now only wearing airy linen clothes. He placed his arm around her to pull her into him. Automatically melting into his embrace, she let her head rest against his chest, while she was intently listening to Elliot, who sat on the other side of the tray holding the food.
With the vitality that was reserved for children, he described every single thing they had done and every piece of information he had learned this midmorning, including everything that happened while she was still there. After a few minutes, Severus had started mindlessly stroking her shoulder and upper arm, where his hand rested. Every few words, he paused to take a bite out of the bread or a veggie stick. Hermione was glad he remembered his manners and didn’t speak while chewing which was why he was still going long after his parents had finished eating.
They spent another hour in the garden, sipping on the cold juice, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the light breeze. After Elliot ran out of stories to tell, Severus summoned a deck of cards. The following games were filled with some annoyed exclamations (mostly from Hermione and Elliot), triumphant digs (those came from Severus and Elliot) and lots and lots of laughter from everyone.