Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction. Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. This story is purely for entertainment purposes, no money is being made from it.

A/N: Thank you for all kudos, comments and klicks

This story is still without posting schedule, but not forgotten ;)

As always, all the love and thank you to my beta SighNoMore

Another ride in the reeking lift didn't do much to help his mood. The car Draco had was Japanese and small. Severus felt like a character in a story he had read as a child.

What was the name? Gulliver something…

He felt as if he had been stuffed into a matchbox. If nothing, Draco proved to be a much better driver than his father.

Or Longbottom for that matter.

There was life on the streets now, and he focused on that. The cars were different but that much he deduced last night. The city was equally grey the 'just before the storm' sky looked familiar.

Everything else was different.

For one, one of the most glaring differences was the lack of patrolling police officers on the streets. Last time he had to venture into London, the town was crawling with them — so much so that it made his task, given to him by the Dark Lord, difficult at best.

Near the stoplight was a big post for advertising.

Billboards, they are called billboards.

He focused on the picture, not really seeing it or interested in what it was. Suddenly the picture moved, changing and shifting until it was replaced with another. Severus frowned, scanning the surroundings, breathing out when not a single Muggle paid attention. But he couldn't detect any wizards around that actively messed with the Muggle advertising board.

"I thought you said that magic is strictly forbidden in the Muggle world," Severus growled, trying to suppress rising paranoia.

Granger turned to him from her front seat with a baffled expression.

"It is. Using magic can lead to revocation of your political refugee status, and result in extradition," she explained calmly.

"Then, pray tell, how no one is trying to prevent this?" he pointed at the billboard, narrowing his eyes.

The image on that blasted board shifted again, at the same time as the traffic light turned green. Draco continued to drive with a small and ill-conceived chuckle. Severus resisted the need to smack him on the back of the head.

Granger shook her head.

"It is an electronic billboard, something like a wizarding photograph but images are still."

"Unless it is a commercial," Draco injected.

"Well, yes. A commercial is…" Granger began to explain with the patience of a mother.

"I know what the bloody commercial is!" he snapped. "Are you trying to say that it is a Muggle novelty thing?"

"Yes. Technology advanced quickly after the first half of the 2000s, like the phone you saw me… Draco, who has that phone we use to lend to transients?" Granger turned to Draco.

Severus hissed, annoyed, but they paid no attention to him.

"I'll bring him my phone. I just bought an iPhone, so he can have my Android, it is relatively new and has good performances. I think I have an active number I don't use," Draco replied.

The words that Draco used sounded alien. Not that he followed what was going on in the Muggle world more than was necessary. He always preferred the Wizarding world, his stay at his Muggle home was reduced to a minimum. Then again, he came from a small, dying town near Manchester. Venturing to London was nothing more than a task for him.

What he could remember, the last time he was in the city clothing was different. Hair colours in young people too. To Severus, it seemed like a circus occupied the town. Almost everyone held contraptions similar to Granger's, staring at it, tapping on it.

The ride took them seemingly forever.

"Where are we?" Severus asked the part of town looked vaguely familiar.

"Walthamstow Market," Granger replied.

"I refuse to buy my trousers on the street," Severus groused, remembering that one time he ended up in the street cramped with the various merchant stalls. The street reeked of heavy spices. It was full of people that pushed at each other.

"Don't worry, I know just the place for you," Draco turned to him, switching off the engine.

They lead him to the entrance of a big shopping centre, and Severus tried his best not to panic. So many people, many of them looking foreign, parents with screaming brats and women with big bags… All that mass shuffled, rushing somewhere.

Many of them talking to themselves without so much as a glance from others.

Is insanity normal in this future.

The lights and colours, not to mention smells slammed at him like the wall. Granger took his forearm, hooking her hand in his, with a soft smile.

"I am not a child, I will not run off or lose myself. Unhand me at once," Severus growled.

She released him, looking slightly hurt. Severus didn't care, he had no strength to care, feeling exposed without his wand. Both Draco and Granger insisted that he leave it in the flat.

"Here we are," Draco said triumphantly and Granger gave him an odd look, but Draco just winked at her and waved his hand.

What is that all about?

The answer came in the form of prices once they were in the shop. He had heard of the shop, at least the name sounded familiar. The materials, however, were less than satisfactory. He inspected a pair of wool trousers, noticing that Granger changed colour at the price.

They are a bit on the pricey side.

Finally, he allowed shop worker to show him the best price and discount products. Granger stayed in the back while Draco followed him. The more time passed, the more Severus wanted to go back to the flat and just forget about clothing at all.

After an hour, they fraying of his last nerve, and the miraculous survival of Draco Malfoy they settled on one packet of plain black socks, two packs of black cotton briefs, and two pairs of trousers, one navy blue and the other charcoal grey. Draco insisted on two black cotton shirts and one with a blue and green tartan pattern, one decent looking charcoal roll neck jumper, one black cardigan and, much to his protest, a pair of black jeans.

The bill was over 100 pounds and Granger gulped at the till, but Draco took his wallet and gave the woman his card with a huge grin.

"You won't be smiling when the time to pay the lease and other bills come," Granger grumbled. "I'm sorry, Sn...Severus, but…"

"We have spending money, there is at least 200 pounds in the emergency fund," Draco shrugged. "Now we only shoes, Deichmann?"

"My current footwear is quite serviceable, thank you," Severus ground through clenched teeth.

To owe, once more to Malfoy, wasn't an appealing thought. In fact, it was downright dangerous.

It was… Is it still?

Draco nodded, dragging him and Granger to a huge shoe store. Luckily, here he managed to quickly find black slip-on boots, ankle-deep, that resembled wizarding footwear.

With an apologetic frown, Granger dragged them to the nearest food store. Severus felt a headache forming, not so much from the smells and crowds than from the sheer size and multitude of products.

The first things Granger added to their trolley were, indeed, cleaning products. When they came to the food section she headed to the frozen section. He stopped her.

"Where do you think you are going?"

"To buy us lunch and dinner," Granger blinked.

"If I have to wear this garb you call clothing, I refuse to eat — frozen. And before you say anything, I am familiar with it, and the quality of it." Severus folded his arms over his chest, something he found challenging considering the amount of bags in his hands.

"But — " she tried.

"Is the price of the food problematic?" He raised an eyebrow.

She blushed a deep shade of crimson. "Well, no. Not if we choose wisely. But I confess, I'm not the best…"

"If you find yourself incapable of producing a meal, I am," Severus frowned.

"I can cook!" She hissed at him, placing her hands on the hips.

"True, though, swallowing what you made is a challenge on its own," Draco injected, chuckling.

Granger grew a deeper shade of red, biting her lip.

In this grown-up form, she does look… Oh, for the love of… You blithering idiot!

"Just show me where I can find some fresh vegetables and decently priced meat." He managed to sound half decent, and not as angry as he felt.

If his life depended on it, Severus couldn't explain why would he even think that one of his students…

Ex-student, a grown-up women, my age or so… Stop that right now!

His occlumency walls were fading, allowing more inappropriate parts of his personality to sip through. Inappropriate for a teacher, and for the situation he was in. Severus focused on his body, it seemed to him that his muscles were more relaxed. Only his mind still reeled in panic while the rest of him adjusted to the new situation.

Too bloody fast.

Granger stared at him for a few more moments before blinking with a slow nod.

"Right, this way," she murmured, blushing.

Draco grinned at him. The boy was too happy about something or maybe it was the fact that he was with them. With Draco, one could never know. Severus trailed behind them, his eyes slipping, much to his dismay, towards the tight stretch of jeans over Granger's…

Stop that now!

Lucky for him, they reached the green section of the store. That diverted his more inappropriate thoughts to more familiar ground. The green section had a multitude of plain fruits and vegetables, but also some rarer for this part of the world. Ones that were a part of more luxurious potion ingredients.

His eyes darted to the section with various fresh herbs. Of course, the potions made with those were not as potent as the ones with more magical ingredients, but a few simple medicines could be brewed. He wouldn't even need a cauldron, a plain pot would suffice.

A huge hanging sign, a couple racks below said "SPICES" and Severus wondered, what ingredients he could find there. He could have kicked himself for not ever thinking about looking for ingredients in the plain Muggle store or green market. Even the prices were fairly affordable.

Granger and Draco stood a bit further from him, hissing quietly at each other. Severus didn't bother to notify them, he simply walked to the shelves beneath the sign, looking at the rows upon rows of containers with dried spices. Again, he managed to find an abundance of ingredients. Muggles probably didn't pay attention to harvesting time or drying process, so some potency was lost, but they could still provide for his purposes.

"There you are, you gave us quite a scare, you know!" Grangers voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She was standing next to him, tapping her foot like an angry parent.

"As I previously stated- I won't get lost. Now, tell me Miss G-Hermione, is brewing also prohibited?" Severus asked, not sparing her another glance, his fill focus on the spices.

"Ummm not all of it, I mean ingredients are hard to come by, but if you don't make anything that requires magic… In fact, I do have a permit and getting regular supplies for making a Wolfsbane potion. But only Wolfsbane." Granger finished her explanation with a proud note.

"And Lupin is still alive. Astounding!" Severus drawled. "As for ingredients, you have more than you need right here."

"Some, but what to do with only half of the ingredients? Make a soup?" She hissed at him.

"Ignorant as ever. If it isn't in the book you deem it impossible. Every ingredient, almost every ingredient is replaceable in a variety of medicinal potions. It may not save you from a hex or magical malady, but it still can be more effective than that Muggle poison you call medicine," Severus said adopting the tone he used in the classroom, he could hear her huff. "I can see that your education is severely lacking."

"You were one of my teachers." Granger sounded smug.

"Yes, and apparently, you had none after my- departure. If you did you would know what I just told you." Severus finally glanced at her. Mistake of colossal proportions, he deduced. She looked lovely with an angry blush tinting her cheeks.

"What would you need for healing potions? I'll finance it," Draco injected. "I don't want to argue, Hermione. But in the next week we'll have another go at a rescue attempt. Harry can benefit from potions more than medicaments, his injuries will be part magical."

Severus looked at Hermione, her expression changed to thoughtful, she started to nibble on her lower lip.

"Some more exotic spices we can get here," she finally nodded. "But, for more common ones, we could go to a herbal shop, they should have more fresh ones or at least properly dried ones. That wannabe witch, that sells ointments, she has a store just down the street, she also sells ingredients as well."

"You have a witch store here? Apothecary?" Severus gawked at his ex-students now. Didn't they say that all magic was forbidden?

Draco laughed, Granger frowned.

"She's not really a witch, she's a Wiccan. Wiccan's are…" Granger started, but Severus cut her off impatiently.

"Became popular somewhere around the time I was still a teenager. I know what Wicca is. And if someone like that has a shop, a herbal shop, I want to visit it," he turned to walk to the tills.

"Should I take the frozen food then?" Granger called behind him and that stopped him in his stride.

Bollocks, he swore and headed to the Green section again choosing a few vegetables for the meal and a few ingredients for potions. He returned to the Spices and picked a few plastic containers with what he deemed rare.

Merlin knows what really is rare here anymore.

Granger took him to a Meat section and he picked up pork and ordered a pack of chicken legs. Granger's apartment wouldn't smell too nice after he finished cooking them, but they would provide him with the congealed base for most of the potions he already had in mind.

It was relaxing. After everything he'd been through, everything he heard and learned since he got here- he finally felt normal. In control, for a change. Granger paid at the till and Draco asked them to wait while he took what they already bought to the car.

He stood next to Granger in awkward silence. Severus gave his best, scowling at passing crowd, arms folded over his chest, head high. In reality he did feel awkward, insecure — out of place. He was out of place and, more importantly, time. He felt overwhelmed by everything.

No more Dark Lord.

No more Dumbledore.

No more magic, at least not if he didn't want to end up in Azkaban. Something he tried to avoid all his life.

And, most importantly, Severus had no idea if he'd ever return to his time. What would happen to him? Would he be pulled back through time again or not? If he stayed here and now, what then? All his credentials, everything he could do was tied to the Wizarding world. He was sadly incapable of providing for himself in the Muggle world.

His chest constricted painfully. Air was stuck on its way to his lungs. His brain refused to stop thinking.

Fucking hell, what am I going to do if I'm permanently stuck here?

"Just breathe, you are fine, you are safe, it's just a panic attack. It'll pass. Breath." Granger's voice broke through the woosh of blood in his ears.

Suddenly, Severus became painfully aware of Granger's arms around him. She was hugging him or trying to squeeze the life out of him, he wasn't quite sure which. Probably the latter, judging by the strength of the squeeze. He tried to move but she was worse than a Devil's Snare.

"You insufferable chit, remove yourself from me at once," Severus hissed.

The audacity of her, hugging him so publicly. He wasn't the one for hugs even privately, hugging in public was unthinkable. Severus decided not to dwell on the fact that her embrace was unpleasant in a very pleasant way as well.

She murmured one soft sorry, releasing him and stepping back. Her head tilted slightly with a worried expression. Severus frowned, she had no right to touch him without his permission no matter the circumstances. He couldn't fathom why she would hug him in the first place at all. Before she had a chance to say anything Draco emerged from the crowd. Severus had a desire to breathe out a sigh of relief, instead he turned to Draco.

"Tell me, Draco, did you go to the car or all the way to the flat and back?"

Draco gulped, looking very much the boy he once was, caught in doing something forbidden. Granger, however, ignored his mood and glanced at her phone.

"Soon this place will be filled with shoppers, we should hurry if we want to avoid the busiest part of the day," she warned them both, and Severus turned his glare to her.

She lost her mind.

Severus deduced. The street was already crammed with people, he wasn't sure if any more would manage to fit without turning this place into an open-air can of sardines. He nodded and motioned her to lead. Out of the corner of the eye, Severus noticed that Draco visibly relaxed.

They followed Granger through crowded narrow streets to the next corner, where she stopped with a frown. Granger mutely jerked her chin towards the small shop with dusty windows. The shop looked like it was closed and unused for a long time. Behind the layers of at least five years of smog grime Severus could see the shapes of dried herbs inside.

Granger stepped closer and opened the door, accompanied by the sound of wind chimes tinkling. The heavy scent of mixed herbs and spices, scent-sticks, and dust assaulted Severus's nose. He blinked a few times to adjust to the dim light.

"Ah my dear girl, it is always a pleasure to see you!" came a cry from the back.

A female, at least he supposed it was a human and a female from his perspective it looked more like a creature, dressed in what appeared to be a bundle of haphazardly connected scarfs rushed towards them.

Sybill would love that outfit, I'm sure of it.

Draco seemed to be trying to make himself small, doing his best to act inconspicuous and turned towards a large bag of beans, suddenly very interested in them. Severus frowned. Granger greeted the girl with a slightly stiff posture.

"Nice to see you again, Tabatha. I brought my friend," she motioned in his direction. "He is a chemist that studies ancient ritual herbs. He needs a few herbs for his studies, so I brought him here. I remember you once told me that you pay attention to the harvesting times."

Tabatha-creature turned to him with huge sparkling eyes and an even bigger grin. "Yes, yes I do. I follow all the old ways and teachings. You wouldn't believe how many times I was almost arrested for harvesting in the nude."

"And what does your state of undress has to do with harvesting plants, Miss?" Severus raised an eyebrow.

He knew, of course he knew. It was that new-age, modern uptake on magic, for some reason dancing naked, or finding any excuse to get undressed was mixed-up with magical rituals.

Pffft, like real magic demands any rituals or depends on the state of undress.

The Tabatha-creature blinked at him then grinned. "Of course, you are a chemist! Well, you see in the old days…"

"Stop!" Severus huffed annoyed, raising his hand to emphasise his words with a gesture. "If you wish to be a student of the old ways, at least do the courtesy to your dedication to inform yourself properly. And do not allow yourself to indulge in drivel coined by the Church during the Dark Ages. There are other, more correct texts, even in the smaller libraries. Witches, Miss Tabatha, were healers, smart and for that age very educated women, dedicated to the belief of old so-called Pagan deities."

Severus heard a soft giggle behind him. He cleared a throat, he should not lecture the poor addled girl, she was gaping at him like a trout out of water.

"At any rate, my study stipulates that time of harvest does influence the potency of the healing herbs. No need to stress your state of dress or undress. It is irrelevant in the process. The way you handle the plants, however, might be." He finished his speech, the girl looked at him with pure awe.

Just what I needed.