Flooing to the Leaky Cauldron, Remus pulled a heavy bag of gold galleons from his pocket, asking Harry where he wanted to go first. Harry flushed when he saw the bag, that warm feeling coming back again as he realized Snape had made sure that they would have enough to go wherever and do whatever he wanted. It was more than anyone in his life had ever done for him.

Harry was curious to explore muggle London, as he'd never had the opportunity to do so before. They decided to exchange some of the gold at Gringotts for the thin paper money that Harry remembered from his days with the Dursleys. Harry had also made sure to pull some of his own money out of his vault, in case he saw something that he wanted but didn't necessarily need.

After walking down Charring Cross Road for a while, exploring the many second-hand and specialty shops, they decided it was probably time to start shopping. Remus pointed out a casual, straightforward store that neither of them had ever heard of before, a place called the Gap. Harry thought looked simple enough for them to tackle. But the inside of the store proved harder to navigate than it had from the outside. He looked to Remus for help, who turned out to be almost as clueless as Harry since he didn't exactly have the best wardrobe, either.

It was at that point when a nicely-dressed girl only a few years older than Harry approached them, a nametag reading "April" pinned to her sweater. "You look a little lost," she said kindly to the both of them. "Can I be of any assistance?"

Two hours later they walked out with ten shirts (some long-sleeved, some short); three pairs of pants (khaki, denim, and trousers); two pairs of shorts (khaki and army green); four vests for when the weather turned a little colder; some pullovers in case he needed them; twelve pairs of thick socks; three packages of boxers (finally he had underwear that fit!); two pairs of sneakers; and a thick jacket that would keep him warm under his cloak on those snowy Christmas trips to Hogsmeade.

Harry had asked April if he could wear one of the outfits out of the store, to which the girl had smiled and handed him the khaki shorts and a simple gray t-shirt. Harry had also snuck a pair of the perfectly-sized boxers into the changing room, unable to resist. He'd made sure that the borrowed garb got into one of the bags so he could give it back to Snape later.

"How is it possible for one person to need so much?" Harry asked as he hefted a few bags over his shoulder a short time later, feeling like jolly old St. Nick. "I mean, I know I needed, well, everything. But this is ridiculous!"

"You're definitely set for all of your out of class," said Remus breathlessly as he helped carry the other bags. "Now to get back to Diagon Ally so we can get you all stocked up on school robes."

Harry groaned out loud. "Why do girls like doing this so much? It's exhausting!"

Remus smiled indulgently. "Would you like to stop for something to eat before we head back?" he asked, ducking into an alley and shrinking the bags so that they were no bigger than a handful of marbles, then slipping him into his pocket.

"Sure! Where should we go?"

Remus pulled the muggle money out of his pocket and flipped through it, counting. "We have almost £50 left – that's enough for just about anything around here, I would think."

Harry's eyes scanned both sides of the street, settling on a large red brick building about a block down by the underground station. He could just make out a small restaurant on the bottom floor next to the street called "Wok to Walk". Although it was obviously a diminutive place, Harry decided that it must be good since there was a queue outside.

"How about there?" he asked Remus, pointing.

"Asian noodles. The meal of kings," he laughed. "Good choice, Harry."

Seeing as how there wasn't many places to sit inside the tiny restaurant, they decided to take their cartons of noodles, meat, and veggies to go, and simply meandered down the street enjoying catching up with each other.

"You seem happy, Remus," Harry noted with a smile, using a pair of chopsticks to clumsily shove noodles into his mouth.

The man laughed at Harry before answering quietly, "I am. Tonks and I..."

Harry raised his eyebrows as he beamed at his old professor. "You and Tonks, huh? Yeah… I can see that. You guys are good together."

"Well, it's still new. We've only been out a couple of times. But she makes me laugh…" He looked off into the distance with a small smile, before looking back at Harry and asking, "And what about you?"

"What about me?"

Remus looked down at him, his eyebrows raised meaningfully. "Snape…"

Harry laughed outright. "Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, isn't it?"

"Yes. Very. And yet…" He paused, considering, "here we are, making sure that we buy you a wardrobe befitting of The Chosen One," he rustled Harry's hair in teasing manner. But he sobered rather quickly. "All because Snape wanted to make sure you were properly taken care of…"

Harry looked at him and smiled almost shyly, not quite sure what to say.

"Are you happy there, Harry?"

Harry nodded and quietly replied, "Yeah. I am."

"Do you mind telling me how it happened?" Remus pressed, and Harry couldn't blame him. If the roles were reversed and Ron or Hermione had unexpectedly ended up in his position, he'd be asking the same questions.

"I… uh… had a fight with my relatives. Snape took me away before it could get really bad." Remus nodded in understanding. He knew how bad Harry's relatives could be from when he was still his professor.

Harry suddenly felt extremely grateful for the calm, patient, tolerant man beside him. He knew that when the time came, others might not be so accepting when they heard of Harry's arrangements.

"I'm always here if you need me, Harry. Remember that."

.:HP::SS:HP::SS:.

Snape felt about as comfortable as a centaur playing Quidditch as he walked slowly next to Lily. What exactly was he doing here? And headed to a Farmer's Market,no less… It was ridiculous.

Hell has really and truly frozen over, he thought bitterly.

"So… How are you today?" Lily suddenly asked.

"Fine," he growled.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Yes. That's the thing, isn't it?" She paused meaningfully, expecting an explanation from him.

"If there's something you want to know, just ask," he said in irritation.

"Fine," she said, turning to face him. "How did you get better so quickly?"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Snape replied in a cold tone.

"Yes you do. Don't play dumb with me, I'm not an idiot," she said irritably. He just stared at her, so she continued, "You were near collapse when I met you yesterday. Normally an injury that substantial takes weeks of rest before a person shows any signs of improvement. And yet…" she held a hand out, motioning up and down his body, "Here you are."

"I've always been a remarkably fast healer."

She stood there staring at him for a long, silent moment before a somewhat annoyed, amused-looking smile spread across her lips. The wind picked up her hair, and she impatiently brushed it back.

"You're not going to tell me, are you?"

Snape just cocked a brow.

As they started walking again, and Snape heard her murmur, "Stubborn mule…" He couldn't help chuckling under his breath.

Arriving at their destination, Snape glared at the swarming crowd as he crossed his arms protectively across his chest. There goes that poor centaur, falling off his broom from one-hundred feet up after being bashed in the skull with a bludger.

He backed up a pace. "I'm going to go."

But Lily's head snapped up from where she had been gazing down at some ripe strawberries and raspberries.

"What? Oh no, you don't!" Snatching the fabric of his shirt, she dragged him back to the fruit, muttering, "You're not going to make my life easy, then I'm not giving you an easy time of it, either. Fergus!" she called out to the stallholder, "May we try your strawberries? They look divine."

"Ah, Lily m'dear!" The elder man had a ruddy face that obviously saw lots of sun. It was crisscrossed with lines and wrinkles, which grew deeper as he smiled at the lady. "O' course, help yerselves. How have you been, dah-lin?"

Picking up a shiny red strawberry, she smiled at the man at she responded, "Very well, thanks! Oh, and thank you for that recommendation on those rhubarbs last week – you were right, they made an excellent pie. I would have brought you a slice, but Jilly ate it all."

The man laughed. "And where is little Jilly this mornin'?"

"She slept over at a friend's house," she said, biting into the juicy berry and giving a little moan of delight. "Oh, these are good."

"And who's your date then, lass?" The man's eyes landed on Snape, and Snape met his gaze with a glowering glare. This is NOT a date, you old muggle fool! The man only chuckled at his dark look. "Ye got yerself a spitfire there, Lily." He wiped his earthy hands on his apron, leaning over the fruit to extend his hand. "Fergus, Fergus MacDonald."

It took Snape perhaps a little longer than was polite before he shook the other man's hand. "Ah, nice firm handshake," Fergus said with a smile. "That's important. Says a lot about a man. Mr…?"

"Professor. Snape."

"Och, a professor, no less! Professor Snape, a pleasure." He leaned around Snape and addressed Lily, "I think ye've got yerself a keeper here, lass." And he winked.

"I'll keep that in mind," Lily replied with a smile as she glanced sideways at Snape's mortified expression. She completed the humiliation by shoving a strawberry into his hand. He almost threw it at her, but held himself back. Just barely.

He hated to admit it, but the strawberry was rather good.

It went like that at almost every stall. Did the infernal woman insist on knowing everyone within a five mile radius? By the time they were done he knew more about these damnable muggles than he ever wanted to. And he decided that the next person who called this little outing between them a date was going to be hexed into next century.

Lily had a bag slung over her arm that was filled with fruits and vegetables every color of the rainbow, and she tasted things from almost every stall. She intrinsically seemed to know what to do with each item, and spoke freely about what she was planning to cook with what ingredients.

He appreciated the fact that she didn't seem to expect him to say much.

As Snape watched her bring a large heirloom tomato to her nose, her eyes closing in appreciation and then narrowing in thought, he couldn't help but wonder how she would do at potions. After all, brewing potions wasn't much different than following a recipe….

Together as they turned down the next aisle, Lily made a beeline for the second stall on the left. "Hi Bonnie!" She called. "Any avocados this week?"

"I'm sorry, Lily. I wasn't able to get my hands on any," the woman said regretfully.

"That's alright, I'll try back next week," Lily responded with a disappointed shrug.

But as she turned around, the other woman called out, "Oh… Wait! Lily, come back! I found some!" Snape noticed that the older woman looked extremely confused, and heard her murmur to herself, "Where did these come from…?"

"Oh, Bonnie… Bless you!" Lily said with excitement, not noticing the other woman's bewilderment. A prickle ran up Snape's spine as he stood there. Odd… The other woman seemed very certain that she'd not had any of the fruit, and her brows were still knitted together in confusion.

But Snape's thoughts were interrupted as Lily turned to him excitedly and asked, "Have you ever had an avocado?"

Snape shook his head, gazing down into the crate at the small, dark green ovals covered in shiny, hard, bumpy skin. Lily reached gleefully inside, saying, "You want to feel for ones that have a little give when you squeeze them."

Picking one up, he handing it to her with his eyebrows raised in question.

"No," she answered, "too soft."

He placed it gently back in the crate, and they searched side by side for a few moments, their arms brushing against one another.

"How about this one?" he asked, holding it out to her.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. Turning to the stall owner she asked, "Do you mind cutting that for me, Bonnie? And do you happen to have a spoon? I'm going to eat it now." She continued searching through the crate, gathering five more before paying. Bonnie the stall owner seemed to shake herself, then smiled at Snape as she handed him a plate with the two halves of the avocado, a plastic spoon beside them.

"Thanks, Bonnie. I'll definitely be back next week, sniffing around for more of these babies," Lily laughed, holding up her bag filled to the brim with avocados. The other woman waved them goodbye, but the perplexed look had still not left her face.

Lily ambled over to a café table along the outskirts of the market, sitting down with a happy sigh. "These are my absolute favorite. Would you like some?"

"No. But I am curious about something."

She took a bite of the lime green flesh, moaning in ecstasy.

"Are you eating it or making love to it?" He snapped.

"Oh, I'd definitely do that if I could," Lily laughed unabashedly. "You have to try some."

"I said, no. But I'd like you to answer something for me."

She moaned again – purposefully – knowing now that it made him uneasy and enjoying watching him squirm. "I'll tell you what, Severus. We'll make a trade: a bite of this spectacular, orgasm-inducing avocado for an answer to your question." He glared daggers at her, and he could tell she was trying very hard not to laugh. "Do we have a deal?"

Snape glared at her. "I don't like to negotiate."

"Well, I'm not one of your students," she challenged. "You don't scare me. That's my offer, Snape. Take it or leave it."

Snape glowered at her. I should just leave, he simmered. She is an absolute menace. But his burning curiosity got the better of him, and he sighed in resignation. "Fine. Give me the damn thing." He snatched it from her outstretched fingers, and she only laughed harder.

"So what's your question?"

"What were your parent's names?"

Her smile instantly became more subdued, and she looked off into the distance. With a sigh, she finally answered, "Phillip and Marjorie Prewett. They died in a car accident when I was seven… A drunk driver hit us head-on. They were killed instantly, but I survived. I don't really remember much."

Prewett… Where have I heard that name before? "I'm sorry…" He was always at a loss for what to say during situations like this, so he left it at that. After a moment he asked, "Did you have any other family that you can remember?"

"Oh no," Lily said, some of the pluck returning to her tone as she looked at him again. "Bite first. That was our deal."

He stabbed the spoon into the flesh with a growl, removing a chunk and shoving it into his mouth. But a moment later his eyebrows rose in astonishment. It was actually rather creamy and delicious.

Her smile was back full-force as she watched his expression change. "It's good, right?"

"It is." He savored it a moment longer, then looked back at her. "Did you seem to have good luck as a child? Well…"

"With the exception of my parents, you mean?" She considered for a moment. "Yes, actually. With little things. I could always find things that were lost, even if they didn't belong to me. All the other kids at the orphanage always used to come to me when they were looking for things, because when we'd do it together we'd usually find things pretty quickly." She chuckled at the memory. "I think it was just the extra pair of eyes. And I was unnaturally good for my age at treating other people's injuries. They all used to call me 'the little mother hen'. It's actually why I became a nurse. And that's two bites, please."

"What?"

"You asked me two questions."

Huffing in irritation but not really meaning it, Snape took another bite of the velvety avocado. It really was quite good.

"I had some second or third cousins that the authorities tried to reach after the accident. I'd never met them, so I don't really remember. I think their last name was Weatherby…?" She bit her lip, trying to recall the details. "I have all this information on some old paperwork back home."

He nodded, taking another bite and trying to identify where he'd heard the name Prewett before. A student? God knows there's been enough of them throughout the years… He sighed to himself, chewing thoughtfully. Maybe I'm wrong, he considered, because he couldn't quite seem to pinpoint it.

"Oh!" Lily suddenly cried. "I remember! The Weasleys!"