The train left King's Cross and followed the gleaming railways out through London and into the country. Sirius remained unnoticed and undisturbed tucked beneath the luggage rack between a paisley suitcase and a child's backpack that smelled of crayons and peanut butter. It was nearly fifty miles outside of the city when the pigtailed child came to claim her pack, and squealed with joy to see a doggie secreted away.
Very soon afterwards the conductor cautiously removed him from the train, leaving him standing on a platform out in the countryside amongst willowy birch trees and sweeping pains of grass that swayed above his head.
He decided against waiting on the platform, there were no crowds of people he could sneak through to board another train. He sat, peering out at the country side and what remained of a rundown industrial town, smelling the air as quickly as he could with deep rumbling breaths.
Someone was cooking goose.
He was off the platform, wagging happily and following his growling stomach down a narrow cobbled road until he came upon a string of homes. They were all low brick dwellings, nothing of note from one to another except the faint smell of poultry that wafted to him as he padded contently down each driveway searching for the source.
He turned down a small side street called Spinners End that jutted up against an old field housing a crumbling mill along a lazy river and a lone house. A small, well tended herb garden stood between himself and the open side door and he could only assume it had been left open so as to welcome in hungry stray dogs. He trod carefully through the neat rows of grasses and roots, wanting to make a good impression and not upset the foliage and then sat firmly on the stoop and waited to be noticed. He could see into the humble kitchen and noted that the place had an air of neglect, as though it was not usually inhabited. Bookshelves lined the walls, piled high in old tomes bound in black or brown leather and sat in tidy stacks on the table and counters, they even were strewn over the stove top, most gingerly decorated in a thin layer of dust.
Sirius noted these only somewhere in the back of his mind, because the brunt of his concentration was on the stone hearth in which was turning a scrawny goose, just waiting for him. His tail was pounding loudly against the ground when the home's owner came to check on their dinner and it was only when Sirius saw the spidery thin man that he fully realized that the meal had been turning and basting itself.
This was not a muggle home.
And it was no muggle that turned to eye him suspiciously where he sat.
Nor was it even a strange, but kind looking wizard.
Sirius would have run, tearing through the small garden, but his long limbs were frozen in shock, his bushy tail quivering in midair.
Snape came closer, a hand already on his wand as he looked at his uninvited guest. He sneered when he realized that he knew the black beast watching him, wrinkling his hooked nose. "How the devil did Malfoy's dog get here?" He spoke to himself as he reached to close the door. "If he thinks I'm taking care of you for him, he …" Snape's black eyes peered down unfeeling at Sirius, "well, are you coming in or not, you smelly thing?"
Wearily Sirius crossed the threshold, not knowing why other than perhaps his stomach was thinking for him in that moment and food was more important than who might be the one to feed him.
Snape continued to mumble to himself as he moved about the kitchen, combining two stacks of books to free up a corner of the table where he set a plate for himself alongside a chipped goblet.
It was a small feast that the man set out for himself without any help from a house elf or a second glance at the black dog who sat beside his fireplace. It was only when Severus toasted himself with cheep beer that had been poured into the old crystal glass that Sirius even began to realize that perhaps it was a meal of note. The man was celebrating, so much so that he tossed a bit of goose to Sirius and smiled openly when the dog caught it mid air.
"I don't know why you're here, you big mutt, but you may as well celebrate with me." Some beer was poured into a bowl and more meat plus a small helping of canned beans and mash were shoveled onto a plate and placed on the floor.
At first Sirius was cautious of the food, but again his stomach won and he wolfed down the meal as if he hadn't eaten in days. He did not know what it was that they were celebrating, but for the time being he was just glad to have a full belly and be in out of the chill evening air. The goose was gamier than it looked and he had the suspicion that it had once been a wild bird that met an untimely end around the time Snape decided he wanted it for his feast. After the second helping of cold beans, Sirius was done and he lowered himself down before the fire and just tried to relax and pretend that he wasn't in Snivilous' home.
He did not realize that he had even fallen asleep until bright morning light touched his nose. He sat up, yawning deeply and looked around the almost empty kitchen.
Snape's greasy figure was huddled over a bowl of porridge. Somehow knowing that Sirius had stirred, Snape raised his dark eyes and smiled softly. "I'm going back to Hogwarts today, but Malfoy should be by to fetch you… or one of his servants will." He set the mostly empty bowl on the floor for Sirius and stood.
If the candid smiles weren't enough to turn him off the thought of food, the prospect of actually eating out of Snape's own bowl was. He lay back down on the hearth, even though the fire was out and the heat had long since left.
Though he had left the room, the oily man returned and looked at Sirius one last time. "You're not hungry?" He knelt down beside the dog and gently tousled his long ears. "You miss your Draco, don't you?"
Sirius looked up at the man in dismay. Did he really expect an answer?
"I was going to put you outside to wait, but it's raining." He reached back and retrieved the bowl of cold mush and placed it closer to Sirius. "I sent another note to Malfoy that you're going to be inside and you will be back with your boy by tonight." He stood, smoothing his long fingered hands over his slightly wrinkled robes. "And if you break anything in my house, I will skin you when I get back from school."
Snape apparated away and Sirius barked with joy, hardly able to believe his luck. Lucius would not come for him, and the man had enough need for Snape that he would not anger him by calling the Ministry down to his house. Sirius was alone in a book crammed shack, but he was alone, and would be until Snape returned at the end of term in the summer. It only gave him a few months to relax, but he planned to make the most of it.
an: a new chapter? so soon? I have no idea what I'm doing right now, other than not homework. It's a good life.
And if I can find a way? moar kissing next chapter. This story doesn't have enough kissing.