'Awkward' didn't even begin to cover it. He knew that she was near to his age in this existence, but last he'd seen her, she'd been a rather put-upon young lady who had done what she thought was best for herself and her family and been quite ridiculed by her former friends for it.
Perhaps the memory of her ridicule made it easier for him to seek her assistance now. Someone who had endured that sort of thing wasn't likely to inflict it on others. Not deliberately in any case.
But he didn't know this adult woman at all. She was very pretty with a friendly, open expression and obvious curiosity evident there. He felt like the errant schoolboy. Especially when she addressed him as 'Professor'.
"I'm not a Professor any more, Mrs Spencer," he corrected. He paused only a beat, reminding himself that rigid formality in this small community just didn't make sense. Adressing everyone by 'Mister' and Missus' and their surname had always been one of his ways of keeping everyone at arm's length which was just silly here. "Severus, please."
He glanced about the shop once more just to be sure they were alone and met her eyes again. It was ridiculous in the extreme, in his opinion, to be seeking help like this at his age, but there was nothing else to be done. One hand reached up to tug a strand of his hair significantly.
"I am seeking professional advice," he admitted, a chagrined little smirk playing about his lips. Several people had told him that if he could learn to laugh at himself, it would be much harder for others to wound him with mockery, but he hadn't quite learned that skill yet, either.