The woman before her jumped at the sound and turned abruptly, throwing her just slightly off balance, so that her knee banged into a nearby shelf. Her breath went out in a tiny whoosh. The bottles on the shelf teetered precariously, but did not fall. Daphne had to look down and pinch the bridge of her nose to hide her smirk. When she was sure she wasn't going to burst out laughing, she straightened up and glared at the unfortunate woman before her.

The woman was short and sort of squat, wearing an old-fashioned tea dress and high boots. She had a ridiculous pink hat on her ridiculous pink head, and she looked especially silly because she was breathing so heavily. Daphne waited silently, allowing the woman to regain some semblance of composure, before addressing her again.

"Can. I. Help you?" she asked again, speaking slowly and over-enunciating the words.

The woman frowned slightly, then nodded, extending a limp left wrist as if to shake hands. "Erm, yes. I'm looking for something medicinal."

Daphne stared at the offending hand for a few moments, as the woman grew increasingly uncomfortable before her. Daphne arched her eyebrows in response. "That's fairly vague, don't you think? If just any old potion with medicinal properties will do, I'd be happy to suggest a few choice ointments and tinctures. Something for your complexion, perhaps? It really is quite unfortunate." She rubbed her chin and pretended to think very hard. "Or perhaps a nice, mild weight-loss draught, Miss...?"

The woman straightened angrily, retracting her hand with a snap, and bit her words off quickly, "Mrs. Velissa Rouge. And I do not need any such thing. I do just fine, thank you."

Daphne feigned surprise. "Oh, quite the woman about town, are you? A contraceptive potion, then?" A thick gasp of shock tweaked a small smile from Daphne, but she reigned it in before the woman noticed. "Well, what then?"

The woman was red with anger, but she pressed on, a politely fierce air about her. "My little Floopsie's been having tummy troubles, and I was hoping -"

Daphne cut her off almost immediately. "Wait. Are you telling me that you came here to get a potion for a poopy puppy?" The woman, frozen with indecision, simply nodded faintly. Daphne sighed in a loud, exaggerated manner. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

Mrs. Rouge's tiny pink mouth dropped open in shock. "What?!"

Severus chortled in the back room. Oh, of all the customers to get Daphne's assistance... Mrs. Rouge had been a regular since his shop opened, as her dog was constantly sick from her pampering. She fed the dog Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans for Merlin's sake. I sincerely hope Angelina will rescue her, though, as Daphne is not one to be patient with idiots.

What the bloody hell was that? Angelina popped her head around the shelf where she was checking potion expiration dates. The outburst hadn't come from Severus or Greengrass but the voice sounded vaguely familiar. Hopefully, a customer hadn't come in; she wasn't sure it was a good idea for either of her co-workers to be interacting with other people.

Moving towards where she thought the commotion had come from, Angelina's hopes were dashed when she found Greengrass glaring at an upset customer. Sighing internally, she moved in to try and rectify the situation.

"May I help you, ma'am?" Angelina asked with the pleasant smile of annoyed salespeople everywhere.

The woman looked between Angelina and Daphne for a moment, torn between fleeing Daphne's scowling face and making her Floopsie better. Deciding that her dog's welfare was worth almost anything, she shifted to concentrate on Angelina.

"My Floopsie is feeling poorly. Tummy troubles again. Mr. Snape has been most kind in providing me with potions for him," Velissa explained with a haughty look in Daphne's direction.

"Oh, then I'm sure we can help you," Angelina assured with a grin and turned to Daphne, "I don't remember what potions she'll need, can you find them?"

Daphne's bottom jaw slid to one side, giving the momentary impression that she was simply going to unhinge it and swallow them both whole. But, after a few tense moments, she shrugged her shoulders and walked away. She returned moments later with two small vials and a bottle of purple dust. She nodded slightly in Velissa's direction, muttering "Come on, then", and headed towards the register.

She tapped out a bit of the purple dust onto a square of brown paper and folded it, sealing it off with a bit of wax, before ringing it up along with the two vials. She wrapped all three items in a larger square of brown paper, and tied it securely with twine. She glowered at the annoying woman. "Two galleons, three knuts." She held out a hand and wiggled her fingers with impatience as the woman fumbled in a small drawstring bag for coins.

As the woman picked coins out one by one and set them on the counter, Daphne gave her precise instructions. "The entire vial of blue liquid goes into the water bowl immediately. The clear liquid is to be administered in three doses, with just a pinch of the purple dust in each dose." She paused, smirking, and produced a small eyedropper. "It is to be administered rectally."

As the woman stood, holding her purchases in silent shock, Daphne sauntered off to resume her inventory.

Angelina had remained close to the customer while Daphne had gotten the potions, chatting. After Mrs. Rouge had been rung up, Angelina cheerfully showed the woman to the door with an explanation for Daphne's behavior, "It's just been a stressful day, my apologies. Please, come back again anytime!"

As soon as the woman was out of sight, Angelina's smile dropped, and she shook her head in exasperation, "Old bat was wearing a tea cozy for a hat."

In the back room, Severus snickered to himself as he heard the poor lady leave his shop. He plastered a scowl on his face and strode out to the front of his shop.

"Ladies," he spoke at last, when neither seemed inclined to notice his presence, causing them both to jump. "I believe it is time we had a staff meeting." He flicked his wand, and the door locked. "Miss Greengrass, it appears you have exaggerated your ability to interact with customers. However, Miss Johnson... Angelina, you have had a bit more trouble with the uses of the potions. I am afraid that I only have the patience for one of you to assist in the front of this shop." He smirked at them, waiting for their reactions.

Daphne rolled her eyes and huffed angrily. Of course I exaggerated my abilities! she thought angrily. As if any student of Salazar could really claim to have people skills. Fucking hell. She crossed her arms and glared at her employer, waiting for him to make his decision. Noting his smirk, she straightened minutely and lost the glare. I don't need this position anyway. I do just fine on my own. I don't need you, and I sure as hell don't need anyone else.

Fuck! Angelina's mind began to race. I need this job, I need this job, I need this job! She knew that Snape would give the job to Daphne, she knew her potions and could actually help customers when she was in the mood. Mentally, Angie started to make a list of places she could stay while she looked for another job--she wasn't going to be able to keep her flat without one.

"Miss...Angelina. I would like you to stay on in the front. You have been getting better every day, although you still need some work on the memorization..." Severus turned to Daphne, whose angry thoughts had been broadcast loud and clear.

She gave a mutinous smile and tilted her head slightly. "Fine. I hope you enjoy your work together. Now, if you don't mind -" She turned to leave, but was stopped short.

Severus had spoken again, "Daphne, would you be more interested in working with the potions... Here in the back? I had imagined it might come to this, and while I would do neither of us the disservice of calling you an apprentice, I would have no qualms of sharing some of my deeper insights, which you might never get otherwise." He smirked as the witch turned back to him. "Of course, if you really must go..." He left the statement hanging, giving the impression of nonchalance, though in reality, he cared very much to have her stay on. It was endless amusement to see these two girls interact.

Daphne stared at him, hard. She tried to give the impression that she was simply considering his offer, but she knew she would take it. Irritated at herself for allowing him to get under her skin, she nodded abruptly and turned away, feigning disinterest.

"I hope I didn't give the impression that the offer was open indefinitely, Miss Greengrass," Snape smirked. Oh yes, I am going to make you say it, Miss Greengrass. "It would be simply terrible if you didn't accept and then found that the offer was closed, now wouldn't it?"

Daphne resisted the urge to scrunch up her nose and mock him blatantly. She'd discovered early on that "authority figures" didn't find mockery quite as amusing as she did. Instead, she smiled sweetly and batted her eyes at him. "Well, then I suppose I ought to accept immediately." Her voice dipped to a light growl. "However will I thank you? I suppose I shall have to come up with something extra special to show my heartfelt appreciation. Biscuits, perhaps. Do you like biscuits... Severus?"

"So long as they're chocolate chip, and contain no suspicious ingredients." Snape smirked at the girl. "I'll have you finish whatever you were doing as far as inventory, and then you can brew some of the potions we're low on." Dismissing the girls with that, he strode to a bubbling cauldron and began to stir, adding ingredients in what looked like a haphazard manner.

Rolling her eyes at Snape's condescending dismissal, Angelina fought a grin as she returned to her work. She got to keep her job! And her flat! She'd been concerned for a moment that she truly would end up on Fred's doorstep; not that Angelina would be against such an arrangement. Humming a song she meant to sing next Saturday, Angelina's elation continued until she remembered that she'd been had.

That bastard!

For an ex-professor, Snape sure was having a time being the trickster. Convincing her and Daphne that one of them was going to be let go was a rather rotten trick, and as a friend of the twins, Angie could not let such a dirty low-down thing pass. Plus, how brilliant would it be if she put one over on the one professor that even Fred and George wouldn't prank?

Plots of a mischievous nature began to take form in her mind. She'd need Greengrass' help, though, which could be problematic. The girl wasn't exactly a 'people person', it could take a bit of doing to convince her to help. On the other hand, what Slytherin wasn't up for a well-placed spot of revenge?

Casually making her way towards her coworker, she tapped the girl on the shoulder to grab her attention, "Sorry, but I was wondering if you could help me with something? It'll only be a tick."

While the words had come out of her mouth, Angelina's hand had been at work scribbling a quick note on a spare bit of parchment she'd brought along: Severus thinks he can get away with those sort of pranks. Help me disillusion him?

Daphne regarded her coworker with suspicion, then noticed the slip of parchment in her hand. Leaning forward carefully to read it, she smiled and nodded her agreement. "Make it quick." Looking around to make sure Snape wasn't near, she grabbed a quill and scribbled, What do you have in mind?

"Is the expiration date for these potions correct? I thought this one had a longer shelf life," Angelina struggled to keep her voice bored and slightly confused but she was practically buzzing with excitement while she wrote back. I'm not sure, yet. Willing to meet to speak about it? Or owl? I swear, Snape can read minds.

Daphne nodded and smoothly grabbed a potion from a nearby shelf. Glancing at it to keep her mind occupied, she fought to keep her voice as lazy as possible. She had a tendency to speak in higher octaves when she was stressed or excited. "Of course it's correct. Do you really think Snape would make such a silly mistake? I assume he uses pure kneazle dander, rather than the half-cat mixture. It's twice as potent, but it cuts the shelf life considerably." She replaced the potion on the shelf, and scribbled a quick note. When and where?

"Oh! Well, that makes sense. Thanks for your...help," Angelina replied and dropped off her last message of their clandestine conversation.

The Leaky Cauldron. Tomorrow. Lunch.

Severus chuckled to himself as he heard the exchange. They are planning something. Dear Merlin, I should be Avada'd for hiring a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. I should have known I'd push them to plotting together... Dumbledore would be so proud that I brought about inter-House unity at last. I only hope it won't end up killing me. And yet, for all that his thoughts were of ways they may be plotting his demise, Severus was stirring with an amused smirk on his face.

{SUMMARY: Severus decides he only needs one shopgirl... His mutinous employees decide to get even.}