She'd already secured half of the needed materials, but she was missing the most important part. That was where Severus Snape and Hyacinth Elixirs came into the place. Snape was, quite possibly, the best brewer that had lived in the last five hundred years. If she wanted the best, she needed him.

The walk to the door of the shop was overgrown, and Pansy made a mental note to have her landscaper stop by and clean the place up. Every good entrepreneur knew that you needed to keep the outside of the building neat if you wanted people to venture inside. Pansy kicked at a stray crab apple that was directly in front of her. Maye he'd prefer not having any customers in his shoppe.

Sighing, realizing he probably made more than enough simply on owl orders, Pansy finally managed to find the door under all the vines and greens. Pushing it in, she had to let her eyes adjust to the din inside the shoppe. She could smell the dust in the air, as well as the mold that would always almost be covering the walls. It reminded her strongly of the dungeons at school. She felt fifteen again. Frowning, remembering what her nose looked like at that age, Pansy stepped around a shelf to see no one at the counter.

She conjured a bell from her lipstick case, hitting it sharply, the sound filling the room.

Growling, wondering who would bring a bell into his shoppe, Severus made his way to the front, a glare firmly in place. His eyes narrowed when he spotted Pansy. "Miss Parkinson. Am I to assume that either Greengrass or Draco told you I was back?"

"Hardly. I was the one who informed Draco," Pansy said with a raised eyebrow.

"So I have you to thank," he said, his voice anything but thankful.

"I suppose." She grabbed an aqua vial from a shelf, reading the ingredients. "Beauty potion?"

Severus rolled his eyes. "It's a blister-relief paste."

Pansy grimaced. "Ah. Yes, we both know how horrible my potions marks were."

"Yes. We do." Severus wasn't one for small talk, especially with previous students. "What can I get for you, Miss Parkinson."

"Well, Professor," she replied, stressing his former title, "I was actually in the mood for a few things. I was told you are the best brewer in England."

"I am, and you knew that. Stop being tiresome." Severus pinched the bridge of his nose. Morgana save me from difficult children.

"I need three potions. One that will cause the recipient to lose their entire head of hair, another that will cause their skin to break out in burning, pussing boils, and the last one to make them want to die because their bowels are on fire and screaming in their body."

Severus looked at her for a long time before speaking. "And who would this 'recipient' be?"

"I don't believe that's any of your business," Pansy said, frowning. She'd been so sure he'd just give her what she'd ask for. "But what is your business is me, buying your potions. Now, can you help me?"

"You know very well that I could help you."

"So, the question becomes now: Will you help me?" Pansy was willing to pay a fortune, if he were to ask for it. It would be worth it.

"Those potions can be very dangerous. Most of the ingredients for them are very expensive. They'd be hard-"

"I'll pay you whatever you ask."

Frowning, Severus shook his head. "Without knowing what you plan to use the potions for, I can not sell you anything. I'd be held liable if I were to let you purchase them then you used them to kill someone."

"Since when did hairlessness and boils equal death," Pansy said, pacing the space as he had done, coming to stand directly in front of him. "I want to make someone hurt like I hurt. I'm sure you can understand my feelings."

Severus looked up sharply at Pansy, a sneer on his face. Damn Potter. Damn that 'tell all' book he let happen. "I'm still not going to sell you the potions."

"I will give you one thousand galleons." At the look on his face, she frowned. "Two thousand."

"Bloody hell, Parkinson, it's not about the money."

"Then why are you giving me such a hard time," she demanded.

"Tell me what happened."

She narrowed her eyes. "No."

"Then you aren't getting any potions."

"That's ridiculous!"

"It is, isn't it?" Severus had never been able to say 'no' to Pansy before, her father was too far up the Death Eater hierarchy to cross. Now, though, her father was dead, and she was nothing more than a previous student and, currently, a disgruntled customer.

"What do you want from me, Snape? You're as bad as Blaise's Hufflepuff. Are you going to want a hug as well?"

"Gods, no," Severus answered with a frown. "I just want to know why you feel the need to punish someone so much."

"I'm not going to tell you." Pansy would not admit this aloud. Not yet. Sighing, she took a step towards him, glaring into his eyes.

Severus did not need an invitation. He understood what she was offering, and how much it cost her to do so. He rose his wand and looked at what she wanted him to see, and nothing more. The last bit was harder than it seemed. There was so much he wanted to know, and it was right there, just past a spiderweb of mental warding.

He did not indulge himself.

Pulling back, Severus watched as Pansy took in a deep breath, shaking her head when he retreated from her mind. He left her in the front of the shoppe, disappearing into the back.

Pansy blinked at where Snape used to be, still reeling a bit from the mental allowance she'd given him. Her father was not as good as Snape was. He could get your thoughts, but he made it hurt to he did so. Snape had just left her with a slight headache and disorientation. She took a deep breath inward, centering herself. She let the breath out slowly through her nose, opening her eyes to watch as Snape returned to the front.

He slid three small glass vials across the counter to her. "One drop on each should be sufficient. Any more than that, and they'll be able to trace it in the blood."

She grabbed the potions, dropping them into her bag. Pansy looked back up at Snape, willing him to say something about what he had seen.

Severus rose an eyebrow. "Did you need anything else?"

She was glad he hadn't said anything, but also a little disappointed that he hadn't. She didn't understand her conflicting emotions. "How much do I owe you?"

"Five galleons."

Pansy snorted. "That doesn't even cover one hundredeth of the price of the ingredients in the potions. That much about potions I do know."

"Then I received my payment," Severus responded, his eyes focused.

She looked at her former professor for a long time, finally nodding her head. The payment was adequate for him, so it was adequate for her. Pansy turned and left, knowing that her business with Snape was quite through. She had plans to finalize.


Summary: Pansy goes to get her 'special potions' from Severus.