58. Chapter 58 (1/2)

previously on returning to his roots: chapter 57

theo, with gloria at his heels, rushed to the study. within seconds, esther, conor and declan heard shouts of joy emerge from the study. obviously, the owl was a welcome one.

gloria came back through telling everyone it had been a pleasure to meet them before leaving. she had to get home to make herself presentable enough for tonight's meeting. she might be unemployed, but she was at the forefront of huge things.

/*/

severus and jean had done it. kingsley and the board of governors had been amazed at severus' technology. the governors had not been all that impressed until severus had rung jean on the mobile. after that, each governor had wanted a turn while kingsley sat back beaming. kingsley and the governors had spent the better part of an hour calling each other, leaving messages and simply answering the mobiles. after a few minutes deliberation, the decision had been unanimous. severus snape and jean

adford had their full support. there had been more discussion during which severus invited kingsley and all members to visit snape communications. an invitation that was quickly scheduled for tuesday, 5/11. there were more provisions allocating funds for severus to set up a telecommunications department in the ministry.

severus and jean thanked their ministry benefactors before taking their leave. as soon as they landed at the company building, severus sent out the owls. they had prevailed.

after that, severus had taken his amazing second and welcome lover home to make good on his promise. the world was their's. severus could afford to take an hour or so away from the cele

ation to fulfill a promise.

/

a/n: several mentions of bodily functions in this chapter.

returning to his roots: chapter 58

the sex between them was good, but both severus and jean didn't lie about. he had called a meeting for 7:30. they needed to get back to the shop.

"there's no sense in me sitting here waiting to take a shower. it will be more beneficial if i shower and dress at the cottage." jean called out loudly to severus as she headed for the back door. "there won't be any need for robes tonight. we are creators. we can do as we wish."

severus smiled through the water pouring down his face. he wasn't just smiling over jean's cheek. he was smiling at her words as well. they were the creators. they had discovered the next big thing for the wizarding world. they could do as they wished, as long as they made a success of it all. while soaping himself, severus let his mind wander to how he, jean and the teams would pull this off, especially now that he had been given a department of his own in the ministry. a list of who would do what, or be placed where ran through his head. what would he call his department? what would he name the business? snape communications or telecommunications was too common. he wanted something stronger. it was then severus made a mental note to charge the group with coming up with alternative names. he himself would have to do another set of job postings for staff for both the business and the ministry. he sighed. perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. he'd have to review the boundaries which had been set by kingsley and the board. although, being severus snape/

endan eilson, severus was sure he'd have his way in the end.

"severus snape! are you really still under the shower? the water must be ice cold by now."

severus drolly clapped back. "there's no need to raise your voice. i'm a wizard jean. a fine one at that. i believe i know more than a few spells to warm water. however, i might have overextended my time in the shower. i shall be out directly."

"i didn't raise my voice. i called out vigorously. you know. very similar to your description of the difference between staring and appreciating."

"hmph. my words have come back to haunt me."

"they certainly have." jean replied nonchalantly. "you've called a meeting for 7:30. it is now 6:15. shall we be late for our own meeting, or will you get your arse out of the bathroom now? that was shouting."

leaning over to kiss jean on the forehead, severus sniped at her. "as you can see, i am fully dressed. let's get to our meeting before i have to rope and tie you. accio case. accio wand. if you'll be kind enough to make a note, i believe we should set up floo connections from the house to the business, from the house to the ministry and from the business to the ministry. perhaps we can discuss this on sunday along with mobile numbers and customer lists."

jean used her wand to make notes of what severus had mentioned as well as a few other things. then they were off.

/*/

the building was buzzing when severus and jean arrived, including catcalls and whistles from every corner of every room. severus raised a hand in acknowledgement and the catcalls and whistles became an uproar.

"i think you've made an impression mr. snape." jean snarked quietly. "let's

ing this place to order so you can start your meeting."

"you're my second. you

ing the place to order and call the meeting. a short one in which we'll speak to the entire company then at 7:30 precisely we'll speak to our group. of course you'll give me the obligatory five seconds to stand here and look

illiant."

giving severus a surreptitious nudge, jean called out sonorous and called the entire staff to the meeting leaving severus his obligatory five seconds before she began to speak.

"quietus. i will not hold the floor. therefore, i give you our

illiant owner and inventor severus snape."

the clapping was immediate and loud.

severus raised both hands in a gesture meant to silence the room. he then spoke into the absolute silence. "as you all know, we've done it. now the hard work begins. you all have done excellent work, so, me and my magnanimous second feel as though the lot of you all should spend the next forty eight hours doing what you like. attend parties, have a drink, spend time with your significant other, if you have one, but enjoy yourselves because come monday, none of you may get to go home for weeks."

the room went dead silent.

"what severus means is that come monday we will all be straight out and days off will be few and far between not non-existent. with that in mind, come in monday ready to work on the most exciting discovery since fish and chips."

severus took the moment to comment. "now that my profound second has cleared matters up, i'll release all permanent staff until monday. get everything done you need to get done in the next forty eight hours because on monday, snape telecommunications (for now) will not accept any excuses. goodnight. will my group form in the room behind my office."

as hermione listened to severus and jean speak, she had a

illiant thought. it was a bit late, but it might be possible. stepping back from the crowd, hermione slipped out the door and apparated to walter's flat.

walter stepped back in surprise when he opened the door to find hermione there. "whatever it is, i didn't do it."

hermione laughed but began talking before walter even got the door closed. "first of all, calm down. i'm short on time. i need a favor."

"favor? fine, if i can manage it. what do you need?"

"banners."

"banners?"

"yes walter, banners. i need you to order banners for tomorrow night."

"got you hermione. i've already ordered some lovely banners for the party."

hermione smiled to herself. "you are the best walter, so i have no doubt you have already ordered banners. i need additional banners. if you have pen and paper available, i'll tell you exactly what i want."

walter hurried over to his desk. "alright give me text, size and color, and i'll see what i can do."

hermione made it short and sweet then had walter read it back. everything was on point, but walter voiced his concerns about being able to fulfill her request. "i will try my very best to get this done. however, this is very short notice. i hope i don't disappoint you."

hermione had a quick reply. "except for that one thing with terry, you've never disappointed me. i don't expect you to start now. try your best. you may owl me at home with the results. i'm due at a meeting. thank you."

"you're welcome hermione. i'll see you saturday."

/*/

as he put together hermione's order still marveling over his former boss showing up at his door, walter grumbled about how owners who leave should stay gone. however, he felt better after the agent at willows & bourke told him he would be able to fill the additional request and have them hung with the rest. walter immediately sent an owl advising hermione that the additional banners would be hung with the others.

/*/

by the time hermione returned, the group had already gathered.

draco sighed and frowned when hermione entered the room wondering what she was playing at. they'd just had a conversation about her attitude.

severus must have had the same idea. "nice of you to join us miss granger. it would be even better if you made our priorities your priorities."

hermione felt the blush run up her neck as she tried to defend herself. "my apologies severus, jean and team. i had an extremely urgent matter that couldn't be put off."

severus turned away from hermione and made a statement to the entire group. "when you agreed to become part of this group, there were stipulations. the first being, you would be available when needed. therefore, i'll reiterate. if you can't make yourself available at this crucial point in time, perhaps you should rethink your commitment. with that said, let's get down to business. i'll let jean inform you what comes next while i see to the paperwork which needs to be returned to the ministry."

/*/

seeing the look on draco's face, hermione had no other recourse than to take a seat and pretend not to be embarrassed. internally she was burning. she had taken a few minutes to do something for the shop and received a telling off. the next time, she would keep her good will to herself.

hermione had to chastise herself once again as she glanced up to find everyone staring.

"sorry. i missed what you said."

no one missed jean put a calming hand on severus' arm.

"severus asked if you would be willing to work with elroy and janna to set up a plan which would cover attracting customers, setting up the new accounts, and assigning the mobile numbers which will be generated by draco's team."

"of course." she said, giving elroy and janna a quick wave. "i have a few ideas i believe will work."

elroy and janna smiled in hermione's direction.

"perfect." jean replied. "are you able to make yourself available for sunday? originally, sunday was to be made up of a selected few. however, severus and i will need as many of the group as possible."

"i can absolutely make myself available for sunday. thank you jean."

"no need to thank me hermione. we are now down to hard work."

hermione wanted to glare at jean, but managed to keep her face blank. who did this witch think she was? i'm now allowed to be part of the chosen few. i will have her job if she's not careful. hermione rephrased the thought in her mind. perhaps not her exact job.

/*/

each of the group members ended up with an assignment. since it was his idea, draco, along with theo and gloria were assigned to generate mobile numbers, get them connected to the correct magical towers then make a generic form which hermione would need for her team. jean also suggested each team give some thought to what would be a more inclusive name for their company if severus decided to update the company name. snape communications was in the game, but it was a game for the entire wizarding world. the name should reflect the intent.

the group had commented excitedly to each other about another layer to be explored.

once all assignments were in place, severus and jean released the group with the reminder they should arrive no later than 11:00 am on sunday.

/*/

as soon as they were alone, jean shared some wisdom with severus. "two."

"i know i'm quite the wizard. however, even with all my finely honed skills, i would be hard pressed to recognize two as anything more than the numeral after one. please enlighten me so we might tidy up the loose ends here and get back to the house."

"i'll gladly enlighten you severus since your mind seems to be on things other than this newly formed business. this is the second time there seems to be some sort of issue with miss granger. first, it was her belief you should make better choices when selecting people for your special projects. today, she seemed unable to focus on the matters at hand. we need her to be better or be gone severus."

although severus knew jean was speaking the truth, her words irritated him. he knew hermione was a handful. he'd experienced her bossy, manipulative irritating ways, but she was

illiant, tenacious and widely read. he wanted her on the project.

turning to gaze at jean, severus answered in a less than enthusiastic tone. "i'll speak to hermione."

"you've spoken to her once. how many times will you need to set her straight?"