Severus bent his head down to avoid the stooping doorway of the restaurant, his hair slick to his head from the pouring rain outside. He closed his umbrella and put it to the side of the oak wood door. The room was silent, except for the dry rasp of shoes on the expensive plush carpet. The décor was pleasant, in darker hues of nutmeg and black seats with crisp white tablecloths. To the right of the shop, farthest to the door, a row of booths, suitable for one or two people, overlooked the outside street, with the choice of black curtains to close the window view from passing onlookers, for privacy. As he surveyed the room, he could not see a single soul in sight, not even the waiter. The restaurant was empty.

'Good,' he thought. 'I would not be bothered.' He sighed softly, sliding his hands up to his temples, and massaged them to get rid of the impeding headache he was sure to have after that last meeting with Dumbledore. The old fool was getting irate and nervous, the Potter boy had not been found even after 17 years of searching. His caretakers, the Dursleys, had refused to give up the boy and had moved away from number 4 Privet Drive, leaving no t trace and telling none of their whereabouts. His Hogwarts letter had been sent back without an address. 'Probably thought himself higher than the rest of the wizarding community,' Severus thought nastily to no one in particular.

His attention was temporarily diverted from his thoughts to the thin man that had entered the vacant room from a door to the left, and presumably, by the black second grade slacks that matched his unruly black hair, and the rumpled white shirt with a small black apron tired around his small frame, that this was to be the waiter. He eyed this individual warily, and murmured a spell to see if this individual was carrying a wand or possessed a threat. The diagnosis came back negative on both parts, as he expected because this was a muggle establishment.

"Where would you like to sit sir?" The waiter said quietly, his eyes downcast and hidden by his abundance of hair, which seemed to stick every which way. "Farthest to the door, if you will." Severus replied. The waiter flinched, and seemed startled by the deep baritone of his voice, and grabbed a menu off a nearby table and hurried to the farthest booth near the window.

"Would you like the curtains to be drawn sir?" The waiter seemed to ask with hesitance.

"If you will."

The waiter, who did not have a nametag, hastened to draw the curtains, and then hurried off with a small limp in his step back to, presumably, the back room, and emerged with a pitcher of ice water. Severus opened the menu, scanning the entrées with disconnected interest. He closed his eyes. 'The Dark Lord believes that the boy will not show up for the war.' He thought, 'Given the child may not have any training of any sort, it may be better for him to be away from this bloody war.' He softly shuddered at the thought of the Potter boy emerging into the battle with no experience, like a lamb to the slaughter. He still remembered what the Dark Lord had said he would do when he got his hands on the boy.

"What news have you for me, Severus?" The Dark Lord said with a nasally hiss to his voice. Severus tried not to shudder at his scrutinizing gaze, those red eyes peering into his thoughts and memories. He wished to look away from him, if only for a moment. "I have news from the Order. Dumbledore has become rash in his old age and has sent word to Fudge about Potter. They are conducting worldwide searches for the boy in hopes that they will find him somewhere in America or Canada. They have scheduled a raid at Malfoy manor to look for Dark artifacts." He said smoothly, in hopes that the Dark Lord would not look any farther into his memories and see Dumbledore also talking about a raid at Goyle Seniors summer home in Scotland.

"That is satisfying to hear, my faithful servant. The imbecile is panicking because his precious tool for the war has disappeared." He paused for a moment, and then said with a relishing smile that set Severus' teeth on edge, "We will find the boy first. It has come to my attention that you felt a certain, would you say….fondness for his mudblood mother? Perhaps you should show your loyalty by torturing the boy for us." He bared his teeth, "But before you do so, I would wish to break him in a bit, so bring him to my chambers when he is found." Severus' mind recoiled in horror, but all he said was, "As you wish, my Lord." Straightening his back as the meeting was called to an end, he apparated back to Hogwarts to speak to Dumbledore about this new task given to him.

Severus was knocked back into reality as he heard a small gasp, and opened his eyes to the waiter very narrowly grabbing the nearly full glass of water from falling into his lap, and Severus' hand reached out to steady the young man from falling right into his lap. In that moment, he had made eye contact with the waiter, and sucked in a breath. The young man looked away, apologizing quietly and walked to the back room. Severus' eyes were wide as he watched the man's retreating back and his uneven gait. He had sworn that the man had….

He shook his head lightly, and continued to look at the menu. Perhaps it was a trick of the lighting. He was sure that those eyes had died with his only friend.