The Herbology Assistant

Chapter Thirty Six

The holidays crept up faster than usual as Clarice found herself standing at a muggle shop in London. Severus needed muggle clothes for their trip and he had absolutely nothing of that sort. After a few hours, she apparated to his flat in Spinners End. She wasn't fond of the flat; it was dull and gray and boring, although he had a rather fascinating collection of books. 

"I got you some jeans and sweaters." She told him while plopping the shopping bags down in front of him. 

"Jeans? Sweaters?" 

"Don't worry, they're all neutral colors." She smirked. "Take a look."

Severus dove into the bag and pulled out a dark green sweater and a black sweater along with two pairs of black and dark blue jeans. 

"I figured you could also bring your black dress pants and white button down shirt. In case we go out to dinner or something." She explained. 

"What is this?" He pulled out a muggle device still in the box. 

"A cell phone. Gwen doesn't allow magic in the house. Not to say we don't use it. Just don't let her see you. Her husband is a muggle and has no idea about magic." She told him. 

"Why would she want that life?" He asked. 

"I have no clue. I just feel bad for her kids." Clarice said. 

"Your parents are staying there as well?" He asked. 

"Yeah, you'll get along with them. They're also mad at Gwen for the whole no magic thing, but there's nothing we can do about it. Do you know how to use that?" She pointed to the cell phone he had left unopened. 

"No." He told her. She snatched it and opened it up. "Here so I got one too. I'll just put my number in so all you have to do is flip it open and hold one to call me. Just in case." 

"How are we traveling?" He asked. 

"Well I assumed you would be against flying in a plane, so I arranged us to meet at a portkey in Glasgow. That's going to take us to Salem Massachusetts. Gwen lives in Essex so I'm going to rent us a car and I'll drive us there." She said casually. 

"You're going to drive?" He panicked. 

"Oh my gosh, don't be so dramatic. I have my American license." She said. 

"I wasn't nervous before, but now I am." He chuckled. 

"We're going to have so much fun. I promise." She kissed his cheek. Soon enough, they were standing in a back alley of Salem Massachusetts and Clarice led Severus down into the streets. He couldn't help but look at how people were dressed. It was very odd to see muggles trying to look like witches; he couldn't help but chuckle. 

"What's so funny?" Clarice asked him. 

"They all think they're witches and wizards?" He questioned. 

"Some of them are, but most of them are not. They just like to pretend and that's okay. I missed this place, I haven't been here in years." She told him. 

 "Why did it take you so long to come back?" He asked while she brought him into her favorite coffee shop for a quick bite to eat. She didn't answer his question until they were sitting down picking at their muffins. 

"I guess it was too much. Mom wanted to keep me safe and that meant me staying away from her and the rest of my family. Now things are... not as bad as they were, but I miss them like crazy." She told him. 

"Was Gwen disowned by your grandparents like your mother?" He asked. 

"By grandpa, yeah. Grandma's a very understanding person, but she can't always speak her mind freely. I haven't seen her since I was a little girl. Grandpa passed away a few years ago; old age. Grandma has been around more since then." She said.