Disclaimer: Harry Potter and Company belong to JK Rowling. No copyright infringement is meant.
Summary: Set late in the summer of 1993, Severus sets out to complete a task given to him by Grant and finds out that some things are a bit more difficult than they sound.
Warnings: Appliance abuse
Slip Slidin’ Away
Grant stood in his laundry room and looked down at the several piles of clothing that he'd sorted out that morning before he needed to leave for the office. Now that Severus was staying with them instead of at the bed and breakfast in town, it seemed that the laundry loads had tripled.
The small man heard a noise in the kitchen and wondered who was up that early, it shouldn't be Damon, the man had not gotten in until after three that morning. He poked his head out the door and spied a sleepy Severus standing at the counter with a cup of strong black coffee in his hand.
"Good morning Severus, did you sleep well?" Grant asked as he walked over to him and poured himself another cup.
Severus grunted. The caffeine had yet to penetrate the fog around his mind and he and Damon had stayed out at the bar the older man had owned until well after closing. He had watched the Muggle and Wizards mingling together once again with a sense of wonder and disbelief; it was nothing like Scotland.
"Why are you up so early?" he mumbled then moved over to the table and pushed out a chair for the little man as well.
"Unlike some, I do have to go to work early," Grant chuckled as he bypassed the chair and began to make his lunch to take with him. He set his coffee mug down and looked at Severus with an appraising eye for a moment.
"Do you think you could do something for me today?" he asked as he packed his sandwich and a banana. He thought the young man wouldn't mind helping him out with the laundry since he was staying there rent-free.
Severus raised an eyebrow. "I will not go and wake Damon. I do value the sad excuse for my life although not much."
Grant shook his head laughing. "No, no, I don't need the bear pulled from his den this morning," he said as he finally sat down in the chair. "Do you think you could do up some of the laundry for me? You don't have to do all of it, just a load of whites and possibly one of jeans? Everything is sorted already, you just need to add the soap and bleach to the whites, if you wouldn't mind?" He looked up at the clock and swore under his breath.
"I've got to go. Thank you Severus, it's a huge help. I'll be home this evening to make supper," he said, standing and setting his mug in the sink, leaving the house without waiting for a reply or acknowledgement from the other man.
Severus watched Grant leave in a whirl and shook his head. "Laundry? Merlin, I have been reduced to a house elf." He would do what the other man had asked just because Grant had put up with him. He sat his coffee mug down and ventured into the laundry room.
He wrinkled his nose at the smell of the dirty clothing and shook his head. Why hadn't Grant just charmed the damn things? He was tempted to just flick his wand and be done with it. But charms couldn't clean everything and he loved the feel and smell of his clothing after Grant had laundered the new jeans and things he had purchased.
Severus lifted the lid in the large white machine and peered into it. He turned and lifted the pile of white laundry and stuffed it all into the machine. It looked like an awfully large amount but Grant had said the clothing was all separated. He looked around for the soap Grant had mention and spied three large plastic bottles on the dryer. He opened the first one called fabric softener and smelled it. It smelled of lavender and vanilla and was a vibrant lilac colour. This was the smell he remembered as the warm clothes had been handed to him yesterday. He measured out a capful and poured it on the clothing then added a second wanting the scent to linger.
After closing that bottle he grabbed the bleach and nearly dropped it as the caustic scent of the piss yellow liquid hit his nose. Merlin not even some of his potions smelled this bad. He poured out a capful of this as well knowing exactly why the cap was so much smaller on this bottle than the fabric softener.
He finally lifted the last bottle, deducing this was the soap Grant had mentioned and he hoped it smelled a hell of a lot better than the bleach had. He carefully opened the top and sniffed then looked down at the label and rolled his eyes. Rain Fresh? Merlin who were these people kidding? Rain never smelled like that but he had to admit it was pleasant so he added two capfuls of that as well then closed the lid. "Now wash!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Grant went through his morning and at lunch was pleasantly surprised when his receptionist told him that his schedule had been cleared for the afternoon if he'd like to go home and start his weekend early.
Whistling, he drove home after stopping off at the market to pick up something for supper. The idea of the afternoon off was a pleasant one; hopefully he'd catch Damon just waking up and be able to spend some time with the man. He walked into the house and looked into the laundry room, noticing that the several loads of whites were no longer on the floor. He raised the lid of the washing machine to take a quick peek and saw what he thought was the last load ready to go. He could smell the bleach so he just shut the lid and pulled out the knob to start the cycle, not giving it a second thought.
He walked through the living room after putting the few groceries away, smiling at where Severus lay sprawled out on the sofa with one foot on the floor. He looked so peaceful now when he slept, no longer like he was fighting demons. The little man hurried upstairs where he found his husband still stretched out in their bed.
Grant slipped out of his clothes and under the sheet, closing his eyes for a nap, drifting off quickly.
The most gods awful clanging and banging noise began in the laundry room as the washing machine began to protest.
Severus jumped up from the sofa, drawing his wand at the same time. He ran into the laundry room wondering how the damn machine had started in the first place. He had yelled at it, kicked it, hit it, tried to spell it and had opened and closed the lid numerous times trying to decipher how the damn thing worked then finally gave up and took a nap.
"Stop!" He yelled at the thing and edged closer to the bouncing machine. He levelled and aimed his wand at the machine. "Stupefy!"
The spell hit the machine and it stopped for a moment then it bounced one more time. The lid of the Maytag flew open and water, bubbles and clothing belched from the washer covering Severus and the floor. "Help!" he bellowed as he went down in the flood of sudsy water and laundry.
Grant opened his eyes, bolting from the bed as the younger man yelled. "Damon! Get up something is wrong!" he exclaimed as he ran out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the where he thought he'd heard the yell. "Severus! What's wrong?"
Damon flung the blankets back and stumbled out of bed following his husband down the stairs. "What the hell is going on?"
"Grant! Damon!" Severus screamed again as he sat in the floor, damp and covered with dirty soapy water and clothes. "In here!" He cringed as the washing machine belched once more then quit. He sighed and then began to back away from the Maytag as smoke began to rise from the machine and a high-pitched wail came from the machine.
Grant skidded to a halt in the kitchen as he spotted the soapy water that was coming out of the laundry room. Immediately, he crossed the room to the pantry and the breaker box where he cut the power to the small room off of the kitchen.
"Severus, are you alright?" Grant asked as he hurried over wearing nothing but boxers and a concerned look on his face. His eyes widened, as he looked at the catastrophe in speechless wonder and then down at where Severus was trying to put his wand back in its pocket. "What in the hell happened in here?" His voice was barely over a whisper as he looked at the smoking appliance.
Damon came to a stop just behind Grant and looked into the laundry room. "I didn't do it this time."
Severus looked up at him and shook his head. "I don't bloody know. That damned thing just started on its own. I tried for half an hour this morning to get it to wash and nothing worked. Not spells, commands or even kicking the fucking thing. Then I heard it knocking and I came in here to stun it and it... exploded."
"You hexed my washing machine?" Grant asked incredulously and then looked at Damon. "He hexed my washing machine." He turned back to Severus as he was getting up from the floor. "You shoved all the white clothes in one load?"
He moved forward slowly and put a compassionate hand on the once white but now scorch marked Maytag. "You killed it."
"You said to wash the whites and the load of jeans however once I got all the whites into the machine nothing more looked like it would fit." Severus sniffed and flung his hands away from his body, slinging water across the room then shuffled over to the small man. "It died an honourable death. As you can see it fought back valiantly."
Damon covered his mouth and began to laugh, his whole body shaking with the effort to keep quiet.
Grant stood there speechless, staring at the broken machine and then at the other two men. After a few moments, he'd said nothing but shook his head as he picked up the laundry baskets in the corner. He could not believe someone Severus' age had no clue on how to do a simple load of laundry. After he had scooped up most of the clothing he looked up at Damon. "By the way, my weekend started early," he said with a disgusted sigh and slipped past them both to get dressed so he could go to the Laundromat in town.
Damon lost his battle with his control and bent at the waist cackling like mad at the two men.
Severus looked at the older man and shook his head then began to make his way after the small man. "You do know that this is why we have house elves at Hogwarts."
Damon laughed even harder at that.
"House elves are illegal in the States Severus," Grant called back over his shoulder. "That's why some get married, so they can have a psuedo house elf to look after things." He climbed the stairs and disappeared to get dressed. He came back downstairs dressed in shorts and a tee shirt.
"Damon, could you please take those and put them in the trunk of my car?" he asked as he stepped around them and collected all of his laundry supplies.
Damon stood and wiped his face. "Pet, I'll replace it... well Severus will purchase it but it will be fixed. Put those things down and give me and Sev a moment to dress then we'll go and get you a new machine." He walked over to his husband and kissed him gently. "I don't think of you as my house elf."
Severus rolled his eyes at the older couple. "A trip to Gringotts will be in order so I may retrieve the funds to purchase a new machine for you. Which ever kind you like."
Grant looked up into Damon's face. "A new one? Why not just get a second hand one, it'll be fine and a lot cheaper," he said and then smiled. "It's okay, I don't mind being your house elf."
He looked to Severus and shook his head. "Save your money, there's some cash in the cookie tin." He pointed up on the shelf where he put his daily lunch money.
Damon grinned. "Pet it's been fifteen years since I bought the last one. I think a new one is in order." He kissed his husband again and moved him out of the way. "Come on Severus. Sears beckons."
Severus looked away from the brightly coloured tin and back at the two men. "Are we burning something now as well?"
Grant looked up at Severus. "What are you talking about, burning something? I hope not, no one has told me anything." He grabbed a chair and dragged it to the cupboard where he climbed up and got the tin down. "Use this."
Damon chuckled again and shook his head, leaving the two men to fight it out.
Severus pointed at Damon as he left the kitchen. "He said 'sears'. I don't need your money to replace a Muggle machine. Keep it for something else."
"Sears is a store Severus," Grant said as he shrugged and put the tin back on the shelf. "Suit yourself, but the things are expensive." He got back down and looked at the watery mess on his floor while he pulled his wand out of his back pocket and waved it to banish the water and soapsuds.
He heard the truck door slam and poked his head out the back door. "I want a white one," he called to his husband as he waved to the man.
Damon stuck his head out the truck window. "Grab Sev and get your asses out here. We'll go together and you can pick out your own damn washing machine."
Severus nodded and quickly spelled his clothing dry. He looked at the smaller man and shook his head, "That's alright Grant. As long you don't ask me to launder anymore clothing we'll be just fine." He held the kitchen door open for the smaller man.
"Oh no, you will learn to wash clothes right Sev, I may be Damon's house elf, but I'm not yours," Grant laughed as he walked out ahead of the other man and climbed into the truck. "After all, if Damon can learn it, I have every faith you can as well."