There was something about being confronted with people who were exactly as she remembered them over 20 years ago that made Marietta quite uncomfortable in the village. Sometimes she forgot her own age, and felt as though she was a young woman again, but it never lasted for long, and when it passed, she felt older than ever, just comparing herself to those around her. Marietta had never been good at growing old gracefully, particularly after she started trying - unsuccessfully - for a child, but it was worse in the village, somehow. She knew she needed to train herself to be a bit more age-blind, in respect of the ages she felt people ought to be, but it was difficult. Seeing her old Potions professor exactly as he always was felt a little like looking at a photograph. She didn't think she would ever get over the strangeness of it.
"My apologies, Severus," she replied, the name sounding strange on her own tongue. "Please also call me Marietta. Being addressed by my married name seems even stranger than before, with my husband not being here."
She watched hum curiously. Whatever he wished to speak about, he was determined not to be overheard. For a second even after he spoke she did not know what he meant, and it was not until she connected the words with his action of tugging his hair that the truth dawned on her.
"Oh, I see!" she said, with perhaps a little too much relief. Marietta didn't know what she thought he might say, but she didn't expect anything so easy. She could see, though, why it was so difficult for him - if he had suffered for many years, it was bound to be difficult to broach the topic. "There is no need to be embarrassed," she reassured him, hoping to put him at ease. "Take a seat," she said, gesturing to a black chair and seating herself opposite on a pouffe. "What do you think the problem is?" It was easy enough to see, but it was rude to wade right in and tell a customer what they needed.