Routine, not a rut. [OTA]
Life was-- dare one say it, when one speaks of Severus Snape?-- good.
No, truly.
No one had dropped dead or vanished recently.
Draco seemed to be adjusting to both disease and the loss of his family well enough -- though he had his suspicions; the boy was a Malfoy and Slytherin both, and that make suspicion of him second nature, really. He was too cunning to not try and wheedle his way out of everything from cancer to-- well, anything else unpleasant, really.
And then there was Lily.
Lily, who was now his aide in the classroom. He'd never admit it, but even his snappish nature was dulled a bit with her presence; he truly tried to be better under her eye, even at forty and so set in his ways. It was strange what a woman could make a man do, even twenty years later, if he loved her. Oh, it was no less selfish then it had been -- but he was getting better, trying to bury those feelings and simply accept that this was the village's small gift -- or distraction -- for now; she was here and his friend still.. She was here, alive, active in his life and James bloody Potter wasn't here to spoil it.
Life was good. He didn't hum happily through his work, he didn't smile quickly or easily, but the crackling tension he brought to a room was less a thunderhead and more a static charge; something that could grow with added friction but wasn't immediately overwhelming. He was still sallow and greasy, but his eyes were not so flinty and while his tongue was sharp, it was less readily applied... but it was still applied where he thought needed, as his students found out often enough.
Today, he was free of the school and restocking the shelves of the apothecary. He still prefered this space to teaching, but the rest was what he knew and they benefited from his and Lily's knowledge. This was a safe space, though; no student demands, just the occasional shopper who could be guided -- or dismissed if need be -- and tallied away for the future.
No, truly.
No one had dropped dead or vanished recently.
Draco seemed to be adjusting to both disease and the loss of his family well enough -- though he had his suspicions; the boy was a Malfoy and Slytherin both, and that make suspicion of him second nature, really. He was too cunning to not try and wheedle his way out of everything from cancer to-- well, anything else unpleasant, really.
And then there was Lily.
Lily, who was now his aide in the classroom. He'd never admit it, but even his snappish nature was dulled a bit with her presence; he truly tried to be better under her eye, even at forty and so set in his ways. It was strange what a woman could make a man do, even twenty years later, if he loved her. Oh, it was no less selfish then it had been -- but he was getting better, trying to bury those feelings and simply accept that this was the village's small gift -- or distraction -- for now; she was here and his friend still.. She was here, alive, active in his life and James bloody Potter wasn't here to spoil it.
Life was good. He didn't hum happily through his work, he didn't smile quickly or easily, but the crackling tension he brought to a room was less a thunderhead and more a static charge; something that could grow with added friction but wasn't immediately overwhelming. He was still sallow and greasy, but his eyes were not so flinty and while his tongue was sharp, it was less readily applied... but it was still applied where he thought needed, as his students found out often enough.
Today, he was free of the school and restocking the shelves of the apothecary. He still prefered this space to teaching, but the rest was what he knew and they benefited from his and Lily's knowledge. This was a safe space, though; no student demands, just the occasional shopper who could be guided -- or dismissed if need be -- and tallied away for the future.