Harry Potter’s Morning Light

  Chapter 2661 "London Landmarks" (on)

   In order to prepare for Severus' celebration banquet, Pomona and Severus had a lot of things to do, and this was the case when Naxisha "actively" took on most of the work.

   "Snape!"

   While the two of them were eating breakfast, a young man with long blond curly hair came over and shouted in surprise.

  The "professor" who always had a sullen face in school smiled at this moment, stood up and shook hands with the other party.

   "Long time no see, Cody," Severus said.

   "It's been a long time, what's the wind... No, wait, let me guess, you need me to help you with a 'little favor', right?" Cody said empathetically.

  Severus laughed silently.

   "Where will your celebration party be held?" Cody continued to ask.

   "You already heard?" Severus asked.

   "Haha, the new star in the potions world, how come I haven't heard of it? All the parties are talking about you." Cody said.

   "Overrated." Severus said "modestly".

   "Who is this beautiful lady?" Cody noticed Pomona at this moment.

   "She's a 'friend', here to help," Severus said.

   "Are you planning the party?" Cody asked.

   "No..." Pomona said hastily.

   "It was Mrs. Malfoy, she was so generous that she lent me her family's estate." Severus said.

   "It's Malfoy Manor, right? When?" Cody asked.

   "On the eve of the Quidditch World Cup, and on the day of the World Cup, her tent also needs help, and the Minister of Magic will also be there."

   "I see." Cody winked at Severus "I won't bother you, see you next time."

   "Goodbye," Severus said, before returning to his seat.

  Pomona looked at him in a whole new light.

  He seemed unaware, eating the beans on the plate.

   "Who's 'Cody'?" Pomona asked finally.

   "Former colleague." He said deadpan, as if the chickpeas on the plate had become incomparably charming.

   "Anything else?" Pomona asked.

   "This is our first task. In formal social occasions, it is more appropriate for humans to serve as waiters."

  Pomona understood, this is a human habit. A good house-elf cannot be seen, although in the wizarding world it is not uncommon to see teapots and dishes floating in the air.

   "Cody is a Muggle?" asked Pomona.

   "No, he's a wizard." Severus deadpanned. "It's like there are wizards working in the postal service."

   "Oh, I see, this is our second mission." She smartly asked "Why not use an owl?"

   "Wizard families don't use owls to send invitations." He said in a lecture-like tone. "Except for Hogwarts, there is no Floo network there and outside, so owls are used."

  Pomona felt that what he expressed was another meaning.

   "Narcissa Malfoy wants to use servants of the 'Queen'?" Pomona asked.

   He chewed his beans and glared at her.

  Pomona thought it better not to talk.

   "Sending invitations is for the afternoon, and in the morning we'll make an appointment for a cocktail bartender." Severus said after swallowing the beans, "You're going to the hotel with me."

  Pomona nearly choked on a mushroom in his mouth.

   This caught the attention of people around her, and she quickly took a sip of tea.

   "What's strange?" He said calmly.

  She didn't even know how to start.

   "We have to go in person?" she asked in a desperate state.

   "The weekend is coming, and the bar will be very busy." Severus said, "Especially a good bartender."

   She hesitated.

   "Aren't you worried about my legs?" He said suddenly.

"what?"

   "I was bitten by the three-headed hellhound. I look fine now. Maybe I will be the same as Alastor Moody in the future." He looked at his bitten leg. "It must be amputated and then fitted with a prosthetic leg."

   "Aren't you well...you feel pain again?" Pomona immediately asked nervously.

   "No." He frowned and rubbed his belly. "But I want to thank the restaurant where you bought the pie."

   "Let's go!" She immediately said, "You know that the minced meat is smelly, why do you want to swallow it?"

   "Do you think Potter will learn to swear." He said suddenly, "I remember that Moody likes to swear..."

  Pomona felt that now was not the time to discuss this topic, so she hurriedly checked out and left the cafeteria before he "succumbed".

   "Where are we going next?" Pomona asked from the door of the restaurant.

   "Hotel." He still said calmly.

  Actually, Pomona thought he could go back to the Order's safe house, where there was a restroom.

  But she thought about it again, the people who went to that place were all acquaintances. If they went to the hotel, no one would know them, and of course no one would know what happened inside.

   "Okay." She readily agreed.

   Then they Apparated.

   When they reappeared, they came near Regent's Park, and there were many strangely dressed travelers around them.

   "Going to Baker Street, this way!" a guide shouted with a megaphone, and then a group of adults and children in deerstalkers followed him.

Pomona noticed the map in their hands. Baker Street is in the southwest corner of Regent's Park, and the northeast corner of the park is the London Zoo. Before Harry went to Hogwarts, there was a commotion there. A giant python ran out...

   "What's wrong with you?" She sensed Severus' abnormality.

  He clutched his stomach and remained silent. Pomona immediately became nervous, and planned to help him into the hotel, but he broke free.

"what happened again?"

   "People will think I'm sick, or worse." He said seriously "Then I should go to the hospital, not the hotel."

   "Then what do you want?"

   Then he put his arm around her shoulders, and the two walked into the hotel seemingly embracing each other.

  When the uniformed waiter at the door opened the door for them, her gaze stayed on Pomona's face for a while. She felt her face was so hot that she didn't have the courage to look at it, and walked into the lobby with her head down.

   This is a very old hotel. Judging from the decoration, it may have been a place where celebrities gathered in the early 20th century, but now it is full of strangely dressed tourists.

Instead of going to the overcrowded front desk, they walked into the elevator directly. Severus took out his wand from his sleeve and tapped the button board of the elevator with it. Layer keys. He pressed it without hesitation, and then stood beside her like nothing happened.

   "What's wrong?" He asked innocently as if he didn't know what happened.

  She couldn't help but rolled her eyes. It didn't take long for the elevator to reach the sixth floor. When the elevator door opened, the first thing she saw was a cocktail bar, because it had only been in operation for one night, and the waiters were cleaning it.

   "I want to drink, please go early tonight!" said the waiter who was sweeping the cigarette butts on the floor without looking up.

   "Where's your boss?" Severus asked calmly.

  The waiter raised his head, and after recognizing it for a while, his eyes gradually widened, and then he showed horror as if seeing a ghost, and took a few steps back before stopping.

   "Where's your boss?" Severus asked again.

   "Ah!" The waiter screamed, and then ran away in a hurry.

  Pomona didn't know why, but Severus walked behind the bar by himself like a regular customer, and took a cocktail glass.

   "You know how to mix wine?" Pomona immediately said excitedly.

  He didn't make a sound, took out a piece of ice, used a silent spell to turn it into a smoothie, squeezed a little lemon juice on it, and pushed it in front of Pomona.

   "How old do you think I am?" she said in disbelief.

   Then he added a bit of booze to the smoothie, as if to pay homage to her age.

   "This is what you want." He said "graciously".

  Eating ice in summer is really cool, but she just had breakfast, and she doesn't want to have diarrhea.

   "How do you know about this place?" She asked out of words.

  He was silent for a moment.

  At this moment, a man wearing a hat came out from behind the bar, and beside him was the waiter who ran away screaming.

  They stood in the corner for a while, muttering something in a low voice, and then the man with the hat came over cautiously.

   "Is there anything I can do for you, Mr. Snape?" He looked at Severus warily.

   "There's a party, and I'd like to invite your bartender to the evening." Severus said lightly.

   "Party?" The man in the hat looked at Pomona, looking her up and down.

   "Yes, a party." Severus said calmly, "It happens to be the weekend."

  The man looked at Snape.

   "What kind of party?"

   "The kind that Bellatrix would attend," Severus said.

   "No, no, no." The man in the hat waved his hands again and again, "I have not participated in your affairs."

   "It's not what you think..."

   "Do you know how hard it took me to prove that I have nothing to do with 'Death Eaters'?" The man in the hat lowered his voice and growled, "I don't want to do it again."

   "I can attest that this party has nothing to do with the 'Death Eaters'." Pomona said loudly, "You don't need to worry about getting yourself into trouble."

   "Who are you?" The man in the hat looked at Pomona.

   "You don't need to know who I am, you just need to know that I'm working for Dumbledore." Pomona said pretending to be mysterious.

   "Why do you work for Dumbledore and go to a party of ex-Death Eaters?" The man in the hat.

   "I need to get in there and find out what they're talking about," Pomona said casually. "Especially when they're drunk."

  The man in the hat stares into Pomona's eyes.

   "How do I know if what you say is true?" he asked.

   "You can go to Hogwarts and ask Albus face to face," said Pomona.

   "Are you from the Order of the Phoenix?" the escaped attendant asked.

  Pomona looked at Severus, who remained motionless, dignified and indifferent, as he always did in school.

   "Yes," Pomona said, "but I don't have the papers to prove it."

   "No, I do," said the man in the hat.

   "Boss." The waiter said nervously.

   "She's not like those people." The man in the hat said "Why don't you eat smoothies?"

   "Why should I eat it?" Pomona asked strangely.

  The boss laughed.

   "She's a kind girl." The boss said, looking at Severus again. "You have a good eye."

  Severus curled his mouth and remained silent.

   "To celebrate your potion winning a prize?" the boss asked.

   "Not winning, just being nominated." Severus replied.

   "Maybe I can find a bartender, right before the finals?" the boss asked.

   "Yes." Severus hissed.

   "Congratulations, young man," said the boss. "This time you are on the right track with the right person."

  Severus didn't seem to want to talk to him, turned around and left, and even grabbed her arm when passing by Pomona, as if something was chasing after her.

   "Don't forget! Malfoy Manor!" Pomona shouted back.

  The boss laughed and waved to her.

   "I will never forget."

  Severus pressed the elevator, and the elevator arrived quickly, and they walked in.

   As she stood in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close, the boss was watching her thoughtfully, but soon, their view was blocked by Severus' arm.

  He squeezed her into the corner of the elevator, making a very intimate look until the elevator door closed.

  The only sound in the narrow space was the sound of his heavy breathing, which reminded her of the last time she was in the potion warehouse, when it was raining outside, and gusts of wind blew up from the soles of their feet, making people feel the heat of summer.

  He reached out and pressed down on the first floor, and the elevator slowly descended, and she felt a sense of weightlessness.

   Or rather, they're falling, falling, just not as free-falling out of control...

  (end of this chapter)