Silver- mypseudonym
AN: I apologize for how long it has taken me to update. I had a combination of traveling followed immediately by illness that delayed finishing this chapter. We're starting to get into the good part though, so I hope you enjoy. This chapter's short, but its sweet.
Chapter 8
Almost a week later Severus trusted his new pet well enough to take her out on late night patrols with him. She liked to be a little ahead of him, but she would always stay within sight. In some ways, taking Arian made his life easier- she was an expert at rooting out hiding students.
One night they were patrolling the main corridor when Arian suddenly scurried behind his legs and trembled. As Severus began to hear footsteps, Arian began to growl quietly.
"Hush, girl. You're fine." he murmured. She seemed to quiet, but it could have been all in his head. Out of the shadows came the body of Draco Malfoy, his black cloak billowing a bit behind his all black ensemble. With the pale skin and platinum blonde hair of the Malfoys, he couldn't blend in regardless of what he wore.
"Good evening, Draco. What brings you to the school at such a late hour?" Severus said. As much as he didn't trust the older Malfoy, the younger was still a friend of sorts and a useful ally.
"Just a meeting with the Headmaster. I keep him apprised of Father's latest doings. He's getting a little unpredictable. I'm afraid he's nearly unhinged."
"Lucius has been through a lot in service to our esteemed friend. Some amount of mental breakdown is to be expected." Severus replied. He knew that Draco was also a spy for the light, but they still had to be careful what and how they said things in the corridors, even at this late hour. The castle had ears that heard for both sides.
"Well, it started with the animals. I mean- I'm sure you saw with that dog he gave you. It was all I could do to try to give that animal a merciful death. He was convinced that dog was Granger." Draco whispered.
"She's not a dog, and her rehabilitation is nearly complete. She's becoming quite a good pet." Severus replied, chuckling a little at the preposterous idea.
"Not a dog? We are talking about the same animal, correct?" Draco asked.
"The one your family gave me for my birthday? Yes, she's a fox." Severus said. He scooped up the slightly trembling Arian from behind him and held her tightly in his arms. She looked at Draco then him warily. If she were a human, he'd almost think it was questioningly.
"Sweet Merlin, it's alive. I figured you'd kill it and salvage what ingredients you could." Draco gasped.
"Draco, meet Arian, my new pet." Severus said. Draco reached out to pet her. Arian allowed him to stroke her head while the dark man held her, but she whined and tried to burrow into the dark man's garments a bit.
"It appears she remembers me. I was kind to her, but my kindness was nothing in the face of Father's cruelty. I'm glad she's alive and well. I must be going, Professor, but it was pleasant to chat with you for a moment." Draco replied, pulling on his dragonhide gloves. Spring was coming, but night was still quite cold.
"Remember that I am here if you should need my assistance in any way." Severus said, looking the young Malfoy in the eye.
"Thank you. Goodnight, Severus." Draco said before striding toward the large front doors.
After a couple of weeks of successful patrols with no incidents, Severus decided to try taking Arian to a class. He started her off with his NEWT class. As advanced seventh years, they were the least likely to cause a serious accident. It was also a class after lunch, so he could plan things better.
He brought Arian into the empty classroom about twenty minutes before he would allow students into the room. She stuck close to him at first, but then she started exploring her surroundings. Severus watched her walk among the tables and stools. She was just tall enough to rest her front paws on the top of a stool, but not tall enough to jump on one comfortably. She mostly sniffed everything in the room.
Arian was thrilled with this new room. She'd found the source of many of the dark man's odors. She wound around seats and taller furniture drinking in all of the different scents. Her claws made slight clinking sounds against the ground in this room, and she would just slide if she tried to run very quickly. That was a cause for some anxiety.
Just when Arian was starting to get comfortable, several new people came into the room. She could hear the noise outside of this room, but the people who came in were quiet and sat on the stools she had just been exploring. Arian shrunk back to the front of the room, semi-hiding near the dark man's desk. At first no one seemed to notice her, but before long the group gathered- about fifteen young people- noticed her, whispering and nodding.
"Today you will be continuing your work on your Polyjuice potions. I trust that you all know what to do." the dark man said sternly.
"Sir? There is an animal in the room." one Slytherin quietly pointed out, looking directly at Arian.
"I'm well aware of that, Mr. Peabody. I've been training this fox for some time now. She probably will not harm you. Your upcoming NEWT exam, however, may. I suggest you keep your priorities straight, Mr. Peabody and get to work." he barked. Soon the classroom was full of interesting smells as students worked with various ingredients in raw forms, as well as the ingredients already simmering in their cauldrons.
Arian was so overcome with all of the smells that she forgot to be afraid of the people. She walked around the room, constantly sniffing while dodging feet, bags, and assorted student detritus currently littering the floor. Each cauldron smelled similar, though not exactly the same. Arian somehow recognized them all as being correct smells, though she did not know how she recognized them. As she turned the corner near Mr. Peabody though, Arian smelled something very, very wrong. Her fur pricked up as though there were a danger in the room. She growled and barked at the offensive smell, backing to safety under an adjacent table. Everyone in the room's attention was on her at that moment, except for that of the dark man who was hastily removing something from the boy's hand.
"Mr Peabody, what exactly were you doing adding peppermint to your potion!" the dark man asked, shouting.
"I-I-I thought it would make the potion taste better? I heard Polyjuice tastes terrible.," he stammered.
"Well, Mr. Peabody, if it weren't for the fox you might have blown yourself up. You NEVER add unauthorized ingredients to a potion. Only certified Masters have the level of reactionary knowledge to toy with ingredients. Your job as a student is to follow the instructions. Do you understand this, Mr. Peabody?"
"Y-yes sir."
"Good, I suggest you stick to the proven method and cease risking your health and valuable ingredients trying to make something taste better." he growled. He stepped around the table and crouched down to the floor in front of the table where Arian was hiding.
"Well done, Arian," he said, giving her a treat and a pat on the head.
Severus kept his pet in all of his afternoon classes. She handled being around the students very well and acted like the best teaching assistant he'd ever seen. Somehow she knew when someone was using an ingredient that didn't belong or when another student had too much of an ingredient. It was like nothing he'd ever seen or heard of. This animal was clearly more intelligent than he'd given her credit for.
Late that night, when Arian was sleeping in her cage she had a very disturbing dream. She dreamed of a troll, enormous and smelly. It had her trapped in a very large room where every surface was hard, slick, and shiny. She hid from the troll as it tried to smash her with a gigantic club. She was inexplicably terrified.
Severus was awoken in the middle of the night by the strangest of noises. He got up to investigate the sound to find that Arian was emitting this terrified whimpering cry in her sleep. She was curled up tightly and shaking. He'd never seen an animal have what appeared to be a nightmare before, but then again he'd never spent time with an animal that was tortured in captivity before. Very cautiously, he started speaking to her.
"Arian, it's okay. You're safe at Hogwarts. No one is going to hurt you here.," he murmured. He wasn't sure if she understood him, but she woke up. She looked at him pitifully, still shaking like a leaf. Overcome with pity for the animal, he reached in and picked her up carefully, hoping she wouldn't startle and attack him. He held her to his chest, still speaking calmly to her. After a few more minutes, her shaking had almost completely stopped, but she still looked at him sadly. On a whim, Severus carried his pet into his bedroom and put her on his bed.
Arian was concerned. She liked being so close to the dark man. Near him she felt safe and protected. He hadn't harmed her or allowed anyone else to do so. She had relaxed a great deal when he held her, which was odd since she really didn't care for the heights. When he took her into his sleeping cage and placed her on his pillow she was puzzled. It was hard to stand on his pillow because it was so large and so soft that her paws sunk in. She stumbled a bit experimentally.
Severus almost laughed at the somewhat bewildered fox attempting to walk on his bed- he probably would have if it hadn't been the middle of the night when he was so tired. She stumbled strongly, even fell over once when it seemed she tried to turn in a circle. Severus climbed into the bed and waited for a moment for Arian to settle. She fairly quickly curled up at his side with her head resting on his arm.
"Goodnight, Arian." he said. She blinked at him once before closing her eyes.
