A/N: Characters and world property of JK Rowling. No copyright infringement intended.
Of Blacks and Boarhounds
"Nonsense, woman. Just follow me and I'll show you to your room."
She huffed at him, but did as he bade. Lulabelle stopped him at the foot of the stairs, however. "Sin has to be first on the stairs. He'll knock ya clean over tryin' to win the race if ya don't," she said apologetically.
Severus snorted and the gestured towards the stairs. "After you, Sinaka." The large dog bounded up the narrow staircase, three steps at a time. "I see what you mean," he smirked to Lulabelle as he turned to ascend the stairs.
"No manners at all when it comes to bein' first," she sighed, rolled her eyes, and followed Severus up the staircase.
Chapter Four
June 27, 1992
Severus showed Lulabelle to the first door on the right. "This is it, I'm afraid. My room is the next one down, and there's a bathroom across the hall."
Glancing around the small but meticulously clean room and taking in the single bed with it's faded quilt, the old but sturdy dresser, and the small, overflowing bookcase, she gushed, "Oh Lou, it's perfect!"
Startled, he said, "Right. Well, it's a room in any case." He placed her bag on the bed and readjusted the mattress in his arms, asking, "Where shall your beast sleep?"
"Oh, just anywhere his bed'll fit will be fine."
Severus laid the mattress down under the window, next to the bookcase, and said awkwardly, "There are towels in the cupboard in the bathroom, should you have need for them. It's a muggle house so everything should be as you're used to as far as electricity and hot water…" He trailed off at the end, unsure what to say next.
Lulabelle placed her hand on his arm. "Lou, it's wonderful. Thank ya so much. I really do 'preciate all you're doin' for Sin and me," she said softly, sensing his reticence at the situation.
He scoffed lightly. "Madam, you are offering me the knowledge of my future. The chance to correct mistakes before they happen… the mere idea of that is priceless. I should be offering you more than a dingy bedroom in a two-up, two-down in Spinner's End."
"Lou," she said, her eyes filling with tears as she wrapped her arms around his waist. "We'll fix it. We'll fix it all, I promise."
Slowly, fumblingly, he raised stiff arms to embrace her in turn. His head lowered, seemingly of its own accord, until his cheek rested on her black and purple curls. He felt the tenseness leave his body for the first time in longer than he could remember, melting away at her touch and her easily given support. Severus marveled at how much this tiny woman was affecting him. His arms tightened around her unconsciously as his mind drifted to the few times he thought he'd seen attraction in her eyes directed his way. He stepped away from her before his thoughts could delve further into that type of dangerous territory.
"Right. Er, thank you. It's just gone seven o'clock, would you like to get supper?" he asked.
"Oh! Sure thing. I love to cook; would ya like me to make somethin'?"
The corner of Severus' mouth quirked up. "I haven't made it to the shops since being home. I'm afraid it's takeaway for tonight's menu."
"Takeaway? Oh, like carry-out. Gotcha. Well, what's good 'round here?" Lulabelle asked.
"Fancy a curry?"
"I've never had it before, but I'm up for most anything. The only real food rule I have is that I don't like eatin' things that'll eat people. Except for pigs. Bacon is the candy of meat, ya know."
Severus blinked at her. "You won't eat things that eat… Wait. Pigs will eat people?"
"Oh yeah. Pig farms are a great way to get rid of bodies. They'll eat the bones and everythin'. I named one of my pigs Killer 'cause of that," she said matter-of-factly.
"One of your pigs?"
"Yeah, I have two back home. It's kinda a long story, but their names are Killer and Richard. My daddy says I have a weird sense of humor."
"I am missing the punchline," he said.
Lulabelle answered, "Killer, 'cause pigs'll eat people, and Richard, 'cause ya can't go wrong with a big fat dick."
Severus stared at her, then burst out laughing. The rich sound washed over Lulabelle, warming her from the inside out. She grinned toothily at him, giggling as well.
"Ya really have the best laugh, Lou. Ya need to do it more often."
"I may have to keep you around, then. You seem to bring it out in me," he replied. "I'll let you get settled while I go pick us up some food. Feel free to set out the beast's things in the kitchen whilst I'm gone."
"Sure thing. We'll be right here when ya get back," Lulabelle replied. Severus left the room, thankful for the distance as he walked down the stairs and out of the house. He needed the space to collect himself, to think through his reaction to her embrace. How long had it been since someone had willing touched him in such a manner? For her to offer such freely given comfort… Severus shook his head. 'Must be an American thing. Or a southern thing. She can't actually be attracted to me,' he thought as he apparated to the alley behind the restaurant. Ruminating over the times he thought he'd seen attraction in her eyes, the way she mumbled something at his use of wandless magic, her whispered 'Damn,' whenshe realized he hadn't meant to kiss her, her breathless tone when she asked him to repeat his lecture; he entered the restaurant, paused, and realized he had no idea what to order for her.
Lulabelle looked around the room again after Severus had left. "Well Sin, I guess this is home for now," she said, rubbing the ears of the dog who was currently leaned against her side. She kissed his nose and pushed him off, heading towards the door Severus had left through. "Let's get ya set up in the kitchen, buddy." The dog dutifully followed his mistress out of the room, then, seeing the stairs, rushed past her to leap down the staircase at top speed. Lulabelle was still laughing at his antics when she met up with him sitting next to the bag of dog food in the front hall.
"You've got a one-track mind, buddy. Come on. We'll put your things away and I'll get your dinner set up."
She hefted the large bag over her shoulder, and picked up the blue IKEA bag as well. In the kitchen, she glanced around for a place to store the food, settling on the pantry. After dropping her burden there, she turned and walked to the table, placing the bag on top. She pulled out a box of treats and two large stainless steel bowls from the depths of the bag, and moved to place the bag and the box of treats in the pantry as well. Lulabelle tossed one of the dog biscuits over her shoulder at Sinaka, who lept into the air to catch it, while saying, "Now. Where should I put your bowls?"
Deciding on two of the chairs at the table, she pulled them against a blank space on the wall near the cabinets. She filled one of the bowls with water from the sink and placed it on the chair, followed soon by the other, full of dog food, once she'd filled the bowl. "Dinner's served, buddy."
Once the Dane had finished his meal, Lulabelle retrieved his brush from the IKEA bag. "Let's go out front and brush ya down. I don't want ya sheddin' all over Lou's house anymore than ya have to," she told the dog.
They were just finishing up and were sitting on his porch together as Severus returned from the curry house. He stood watching her carefully brush the short coat of the massive dog for a moment before clearing his throat. Lulabelle looked up at him with a sweet smile on her face, and he said, "He really is a magnificent beast."
She laughed. "That he is, but keep it down. Don't want him gettin' too big for his britches."
"Too big for his… britches?" Severus queried, mind flashing through all possible connotations of the phrase, and deciding that dogs in short trousers had to be horribly wrong.
Lulabelle cocked her head to the side. "Means conceited? Not somethin' y'all say, I'm guessin'."
"Ah. No. One wouldn't want him to get a big head."
At that aside, Lulabelle laughed outright. Looking at the dog in question, she stated, "Surely not. His head's plenty big already," and placed her small hands on either side of Sinaka's face to emphasize its size.
Severus chuckled. "Quite," he said, then lifted the numerous white bags he was carrying. "I come bearing food. Shall we go inside and eat?"
Lulabelle stood and opened the front door. "Yeah, just lemme put Sin out back so he doesn't graze at the table," she said, rolling her eyes. Severus smirked at the dog. Apparently this was a common occurrence, one he could well see given the size of the beast. She stopped in the living room to take the ham bone out of her purse, unwrapping it on her way to the back door before tossing it outside for the dog.
"Good Lord, Lou! That's a lot of food!" Lulabelle said a few minutes later as Severus was removing box after box of aluminum containers from the bags and placing them on the table in the kitchen.
"Yes, well, I wasn't sure what you would like, so I got a bit of everything," he mumbled sheepishly.
After retrieving plates and silverware from the cabinets, Severus told her what the dishes were called as he removed the lids from each container.
"This is tikka masala, probably the most common curry dish in England. This one is madras, it's rather hot, so be warned if you do not care for spicy food. This green one is saag gosht and contains lamb. The vindaloo is also spicy, but the korma is rather mild. Then we also have rice and garlic naan. I stopped and got us a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine as well, as I was not aware of your preference," he explained, as he moved to gather two wine glasses from the side cupboard.
Wide eyes taking in the feast laid out on the table before her, Lulabelle said, "It all looks just wonderful, Lou. Thank ya for gettin' it for us."
As they settled into their seats and began filling their plates, Severus cleared his throat. "I thought, perhaps, while we ate, you could tell me about yourself. I feel at a bit of a loss, seeing as how you know all about me, and all I know about you is that have a dog and two pigs, and are from Oklahoma."
"Ya know I'm from thirty years in the future, too," she returned, pointing her fork at him.
"Yes, and I know you're from thirty years in the future, too." He quirked a smile at her from across the table.
"Well, what do ya wanna know? Or should I just tell ya my life story?"
"Perhaps you could start with the events leading to your arrival in this time? Then we could build from there…" Severus led.
"Hmm. Alright. Well, I'd planned to go to the lake for a week. I live in a small town outside of Tulsa, but my family has some land up at Grand Lake. I'd spent the weekend workin' at home, but had plans with my folks to spend the week at the cabin with 'em. I slept in this mornin' and just kinda piddled around all day, not doin' much of anything, then got packed and loaded up. Sin and I finally left just after dinner to head to the lake. It's about an hour and a half away from where we live. It started stormin' somethin' fierce when we got close, and the roads up near our land are pretty treacherous. One side goes straight up the hill, one side goes straight down. Sin's scared of storms, too, by the way. So it's dark, I'm drivin' in the rain, tryin' to calm down 220 pounds of shakin' dog, when a whitetail jumps out in front of me. I swerved, which was the total wrong thing to do, and we went over the edge of the road. We were crashing through the underbrush, hittin' crap left and right, 'til a giant tree was just right in front of us. I don't rightly remember hittin' it, but I must've 'cause everything went black, but then I was in the parkin' lot of the Dog. I was fine, Sin was fine, it wasn't dark out anymore, and there wasn't a scratch on the Jeep at all. So ya see, I'm obviously in a coma. Ya don't go through all that without gettin' real bad hurt," she finished.
"I have some ideas on that, to be honest," he said. "First, though, tell me more about yourself. You spent the weekend working from home?" Severus prompted.
"Yeah, doin' up another grant proposal for my foundation. We help abused kids with animal therapy. Get 'em ridin horses, takin' care of different types of animals, sometimes pairin' 'em with therapy dogs, too. Some of the animals are from similar situations, as well. We rescue abused animals, do as much as we can for 'em, and they in turn help with the kids. Well, the ones that pass trainin' do, at least," she replied.
"Very commendable. Is this where Killer and Richard came from?"
Lulabelle laughed. "No, I've had them for years. My daddy wouldn't let me join the FFA 'cause he said I'd end up with pets instead of profit. Then I dated a boy who was in the FFA, and ended up with with his profits as pets anyway." At Severus' questioning look, she added, "The FFA is the Future Farmers of America. One of the things they do is raise farm animals for show. I kept the pigs, but not the boy. Daddy says it was a fair trade."
Severus snorted and Lulabelle grinned at him. "So you ride as well?" he asked.
"Daddy's had me on horseback since before I could walk. He's in oil, but horses are his true love. I used to show 'em when I was younger, but after I started the foundation, there just isn't enough time in the day to do everything I wanna do," Lulabelle sighed. "I still get to work with 'em most every day, so I can't complain too much."
"You sound very busy."
"Like a one-legged man in an ass kickin' contest most days, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. It's why I was takin' a week off, truth be told. Mama says I'm runnin' myself ragged. Honestly though, I think she's just put out that I won't go on any more of the dates she sets up for me." Lulabelle dramatically thrust the back of her hand to her forehead and cried, "But sugar, how're ya ever gonna find a nice boy to settle down with if ya don't get yourself out there and look?" She lowered her hand. "I don't particularly wanna settle, and she just can't understand it. I want someone who wants me for me, not someone who wants me for my family's money. And those are the kinds of boys she finds for me to date. They're all real pretty, I'll give her that, but I want a man who can hold an intelligent conversation longer than five minutes without bringing up the oil business," Lulabelle finished her rant with a roll of her eyes.
Severus decided to take a chance. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I know nothing about the oil business. I can guarantee I won't bring it up in conversation, unless you wish me to do so."
Lulabelle smiled around her bite of chicken tikka and pointed at him with her fork as she swallowed. "Ya know, I've been half in love with ya ever since I finished reading the last book when I was 14. Or more the idea of ya, I guess I should say, since ya were just a character in a story," she said thoughtfully. "If I ever wake up from this coma, I'm gonna tell Mama it's all your fault I can't find a man. Ain't nobody in the world could ever match up to Severus Snape." She reached across the table to scoop up some more food from one of the containers, missing the gobsmacked look on his face. "This is really good, Lou," she continued, as if she hadn't just completely shocked the man. "I like this spicy one the best, I think. What was it called again?"
Severus quickly schooled his features before she could look up at him. "Er, that one…" he stopped to clear his suddenly dry throat. "That one is the madras. It's a hot curry."
"Well, it's wonderful. I like 'em all, really. I don't get to Tulsa very often, but I'm bettin' they have an Indian restaurant or two. I'll have to check it out. My lil' town has a pretty good Mexican place for when I'm cravin' somethin' spicy, though," she informed him.
Still trying to recover from her revelation, Severus managed to get out, "I don't believe I've ever had Mexican food before."
Lulabelle dropped her fork. "No! Really?" She exclaimed.
Severus managed a smile. "You forget, madam. You are now on the other side of the Atlantic. I am nearly as far from Mexico as you are from India."
"We'll just hafta fix that, then. If ya let me use your kitchen, I'll make ya enchiladas," she said decisively, adding, "and some good southern cookin', too, if ya want. Ya said ya needed to go food shoppin' anyway."
"That would be… most appreciated, actually." Lulabelle beamed at his response and Severus sipped at his glass of white wine. "We can either save the red for your enchiladas, or I can pick up another bottle of white while we're at the store if that doesn't pair well."
"Oh. Oh no. Lou. Ya don't drink wine with enchiladas. Ya drink tequila. Margaritas are a must with Mexican food," she shook her head in exaggerated exasperation. "Don't ya worry your pretty little head about it," she said, patting his hand. "I'll get ya fixed up right."
Severus chuckled at her cheek. "I am yours to enlighten, my lady."
"Speakin' of enlightenment, Lou, can I ask you some questions too? Like about magic?"
"Of course."
"Well, I was wonderin'... I mean, if it wouldn't be too much of an imposition… could I, maybe… canItouchyourwand?" she finished all in a rush.
He blinked at her. She blushed.
"Can I touch your wand?" she repeated, slowly this time. "It's just that, that's a real magic wand, Lou. I mean, I know I can't use it, obviously it won't work for a muggle, but can I just hold it for a second? Maybe pretend like I could cast a spell? I've just always wanted, my whole life… Nevermind. Shut up. It's stupid." Lulabelle flushed brighter and looked down at her lap.
Severus softly cleared his throat and she looked up at him, only to see him holding his wand out to her, balanced across his palm.
Lulabelle's silver eyes brightened. "Really? Ya mean it?" she asked longingly, reaching her hand out slowly before waiting for his answer.
"Of course, madam," he replied quietly. He watched as she reverently took his wand from his hand with her own small one. He watched as she ran her fingers up and down its length, inspecting the carved handle thoroughly. He watched as she grasped said handle firmly, and he watched as a sense of wonder lit up her heart-shaped face.
"It's warm!" she whispered, excitement warring with reverence in her voice. Severus quirked a smile at her tone.
Lulabelle held the ebony colored wand and pointed it across the room. "Lumos!" she cried, then shrugged sheepishly as nothing happened. She moved to hand it back to Severus. "I wasn't really expectin' it to work…" she trailed off a bit sadly.
Severus snorted at her. "It wouldn't work for anyone like that. Your wand movement is atrocious. Here, like this," he said, taking the wand from her and moving it in the correct pattern. "Lumos." The tip of the wand lit up with a warm blue light. After cancelling the charm, he repeated the movement slowly for her several times, before handing the wand back to her.
Taking the wand once more, Lulabelle repeated the movement he'd shown her, asking, "Like this?"
"Yes. Try it again, now," he commanded, having slipped into his teaching voice without noticing.
She waved his wand in the correct movement, and repeated, "Lumos!"
The wand lit up.