#The latter is a lesser known fact only thanks to Minerva

[snapeaddict]

Snapetober Day 12 - Amphibian

Silliness alert - He Deserved Better AU, Severus is around five

A response to @waningstarlight's prompt

Diagon Alley was particularly busy; perhaps they should have elected to go on another day, but the present weather was lovely, especially in contrast to tomorrow's when heavy showers were forecasted all over England. So be it - they were ready to brave the crowd for the bookshop and toy store.

Severus found three books he was looking forward to reading and a lovely set of play cards, for rainy days. There were, of course, many such days in the Highlands, and the few times they had taken him out to play, he had come down with a cold. Minerva intended on keeping him indoors as much as possible during the worst days of late autumn, but the boy did like the rain.

Now was time for the mandatory ice cream, a tradition instituted since Severus' first visit to Diagon Alley, over a year ago. He asked for vanilla and coffee, Minerva picked a scoop of pistachio, and Albus, of course, requested a huge cone with chocolate, lemon and raspberry scoops decorated by a garish amount of sprinkles and chocolate sauce. The seller even added a cherry on top of it all, evidently quite pleased with the ridiculous amount of money Minerva ended up paying him. 

The deputy headmistress attempted to make her way back to Severus and Albus without bumping into anyone. They were waiting for her on the other side of the street, in the shade. It was a complex balancing act deserving of the utmost praise, and she was about to comment on it when she caught sight of Severus - in the middle of the street.

They had put the boy in a child harness, for obvious reasons. While they were frowned upon on the continent, English and Scottish people took a more practical approach to things when it came to child safety. But half that leash was now in the middle of the road, and a mule carrying stacks of books was approaching dangerously. The boy was looking in the other direction - Albus was absorbed in the contemplation of a shop display - no one was paying attention -

"ALBUS!" Minerva screamed, stopping most people around her in their tracks. 

Her cry was visceral: she could not breathe properly, and the "s" died in her throat.

The headmaster turned around. His eyes landed on Severus and he immediately waved his wand; the collision was narrowly avoided. People let the furious transfiguration teacher come through, cowering on both sides of the street.

It did not matter how many ice cream cones she was holding: she looked absolutely terrifying. 

"My dear", Albus began contritely, "I have cast all sorts of spells on him - he's absolutely fine - he would have bounced into the air -"

"It does not matter if you know he is safe, Albus Dumbledore", she interrupted him. "What matters is what we teach him. How incredibly stupid can you be? You think it will do him any good, to think he can just wander around because you have cast the right spells?"

The crowds around them, though civilly feigning to look away, glanced at Minerva furtively with a mixture of awe and astonishment. Had the dignified deputy headmistress of Hogwarts just called the most gifted wizard of the century stupid?

Albus lowered his eyes.

"You are right, of course, Minerva. I apologize. This is not about me."

"Indeed", she replied acerbically, her temple vein pulsating.

She turned to Severus, who had been watching them fearfully. Her face relaxed slightly.

"You do not ever go on the street by yourself, is that understood, Severus?" she told him gently, though firmly. 

The boy nodded eagerly. 

"I'm sorry", he replied quietly.

For a second, she thought he was going to cry. She knelt in front of him, determined for their day to not be ruined by Albus' carelessness. 

How the man could be both so brainless and brilliant, she could still not understand...

"It's alright, Severus", she told him softly. "We all make mistakes and we learn from them, mmh? Now you know. Here, take your ice cream."

When she got up, the headmaster was watching them apologetically. She handed him his ice cream, still tight-lipped. 

"May I know what was so interesting to look at?" she told him rather drily, in an undetermined attempt to resume the conversation without letting go of the issue.

Taking the hint, Albus nodded at the shop display in front of them which presented various items of clothing. He was pointing at a specific robe, gold and deep green, with quite refined ornaments and motifs: the triangular sleeves were long and trimmed with delicate emerald lace. Upon closer inspection, though, it had something peculiar...

...The whole thing was covered in slightly lighter motifs of jumping frogs, going from one lily pad to the other. While in the dark they were not very striking, it was all one could see in the sunlight.

"It looks dashing, don't you think, my dear? There's a formal dinner at the ministry next week..."

Minerva closed her eyes, sighed rather loudly, and pulled out a handkerchief from her left pocket. She knelt again and proceeded to clean Severus' face. When she was done, she put it away and simply replied:

"Given your questionable taste in clothing and appalling wardrobe, Albus, this would be absolutely fine at the school. But at a banquet with foreign ministers... think about it..."

"But precisely! I understand green is more suited to the occasion than purple..."

"Didn't you say the French prime minister would be there?"

"I did."

"And you think he is an idiot."

"There are often... gaps in his understanding."

"Then no, Albus, you cannot wear a frog-teamed robe to a meeting with a French official you clearly despise."

The old man looked crushed. 

"And we are here solely to buy Severus a proper raincoat, if I recall. Let's go in."

-

"You seem sceptical, my dear", the headmaster told Minerva as they exited the shop.

He was meticulously folding a green garment, which he then placed in a large paper bag.

"I assure you, Severus is not going to meet any French official, if that is what is troubling you", he added, smiling smugly. 

She rolled her eyes.

-

On their next rainy outing though, she had to confess Severus looked absolutely adorable in that frog-shaped raincoat of his. 

~~~

Severus' coat looks like the combination of these by the way: