The package arrived by owl post one fine fall morning.
Professor Severus Snape looked up from his customary breakfast of cold, runny porridge to see a brown barn owl floating toward his table. A small package, wrapped in brown paper, was held securely in its talons. He put out his hand, and the owl dropped the package in his palm, then swooped away without checking its flight.
The head of Slytherin House glanced at the package just long enough to make out the return address, then pocketed it and returned to his porridge. But if anyone had chanced to see him at that moment, they would have seen the most absurdly cheerful of smiles lighting up, if only for a moment, his normally bitter face.
His rather meagre breakfast finished, Professor Snape made his way to his chambers. It took a real effort of will to keep from breaking into a dead run, but somehow he managed it.
He entered his sombre chambers, his eyes shining, and was immediately greeted by the joyful barks of his pet dog, his companion, the thing that made his life worth living.
"I have a present for you, Fidelis," he said as Fidelis leapt into his arms, licking his face with happy puppy abandon. "Here," he said, setting both small dog and small package on top of the heavy oaken table in the middle of his parlour, "you open it."
Fidelis tore into the thick wrapping paper with all his tiny might, and the tabletop was soon littered with fine strips of brown confetti. Snape brushed away the debris, and a box was revealed. The label on the box lid read:
Fine Custom Goods for the Magical Pet
Since 1683
Fidelis tugged at the string holding shut the box, and managed to remove it. Then, tail wagging, he nudged off the lid with his nose and pulled the box onto its side, spilling its velvet-wrapped contents onto the tabletop with a soft thunk.
Snape's breath hissed between his teeth as he saw the object for the first time. "Oh, Fidelis," he cried, picking it up and holding it to the light, "it's even better than I imagined it would be."
In his hand lay a small, perfectly worked woven-gold dog collar, magically treated to fit comfortably and lightly about the neck. At the clasp, a small golden oval tag read:
Hogwarts Professor
Abuse me at your peril
Fidelis' tail wagged briskly as his master placed the collar about the little dog's neck.
"Is it too heavy, Fidelis?" Snape asked, studying how it fitted. Fidelis shook his furry head in the negative, and jumped about joyfully to show his delight.
"Good," said Professor Snape, a broad smile lighting his thin, sharp face.
Next there was some few minutes' work with Severing Charms, which painlessly removed both the cloth and paper tags placed on Fidelis at the Beanie Baby factory. When Snape was done, he had in front of him a perfect living miniature King Charles spaniel puppy, whose extremely small size was the only remaining visible hint to his inanimate Muggle origins.
Snape had barely finished putting the Ty tags in the collar box when there was a soft tap-tap on his door. He opened it, and a largish screech owl flew in, bearing an envelope. He took the envelope in his long, thin fingers and his broad smile became even broader when he recognized the handwriting thereon.
"This is from my Great-Uncle Sylvanus, the best of all my relations," he said, addressing his pet, who was looking at him with the strictest attention stamped on his tiny features. "He's the white sheep of the family. He went off to seek his fame in the Muggle world as the world's first and greatest consulting detective. He taught me everything I know about potion making, and much else besides. If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be a full-fledged Death Eater -- or dead." He sliced open the envelope with the claw from a kappa, and pulled out the letter inside.
"Ah! My great-uncle is coming to visit, Fidelis. He has to drop off some of his royal jelly longevity preparation with Dumbledore and McGonagall, and he wanted to check up on me." He folded the letter and replaced in the envelope. "It's been a long time since I've seen the old fellow. I can't wait to see his face when he meets you."
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Professor Snape had not long to wait. The potions master had just finished with his morning classes when he encountered Dumbledore and his great-uncle standing outside his office door.
"Great-Uncle!"
"And how is my favorite grand-nephew?" Sylvanus Snape replied, his face shining with delight. He embraced his younger kin heartily as a beaming Dumbledore looked on.
"Let me look at you, my boy," the older Snape said, gripping the potions master by the shoulders and studying him with a keen eye. "Ah, you need to eat a better diet, Severus," he lightly chaffed. "You're altogether too thin."
"So sayeth the man who could double for a hat rack," responded Professor Snape in kind.
And in truth, both men were quite tall and thin. The family resemblance also showed in that they both possessed the largish Snape nose and the high, hollow Snape cheeks, but there were subtle differences between great-uncle and grand-nephew. For one thing, the older man, instead of black eyes, had fine slate-grey ones that glimmered and shone. For another, the lines of his face were far more numerous, and betokened a man who was far more accustomed to cheerfulness than was his younger kinsman. And, of course, Sylvanus Snape's hair was not black and sleek, like his great-nephew's, but a smoky, wavy grey. But then, Sylvanus Snape was one hundred and fifty-one years of age; even his longevity medicine could not totally halt the aging process.
Severus broke free of his great-uncle's strong, friendly grip. He spoke the password, then opened his office door with a flourish. "Come into my inner sanctum, gentlemen," he said grandly.
The elder Mr. Snape took in the room and all its furnishings in one sweeping glance -- and then was stopped in his tracks by the sight of a very small spaniel puppy leaping into his grand-nephew's arms.
"Well, I'm blest!", Sylvanus Snape cried with pleasure. "I always thought you should have a dog, Severus. And such a fine, wee puppy!" He reached out a hand for the tiny puppy to sniff, which Fidelis did happily. Then Sylvanus read the tag on the puppy's collar. "'Fidelis', eh? A good name for a good dog. Thinking of making a tracker out of him, Severus?"
Professor Snape frowned in thought. "I hadn't considered that, Great-Uncle," he said, gently handing Fidelis into Sylvanus Snape's waiting arms. "But he already has shown himself to be a dog of mettle," he continued, quickly relating the story of Barr's visit and Fidelis' spirited defense of his master.
The elder Snape was delighted. "Bit off that blackguard's tongue, did you?" he chortled, scratching Fidelis' neck as the tiny puppy nestled contentedly in his folded arms. "Good dog!" He handed Fidelis back to his grand-nephew. "I've a mind to see how he performs at distinguishing scents. It would be grand if he could be as good at that as was dear old Toby."
Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a voice coming from Snape's fireplace, a voice belonging to Professor McGonagall. "Albus! We have to meet in your office!", she cried.
Dumbledore's face took on a sober cast. "What is it, Minerva?", turning to see her distraught face in the fire.
"Becky Butterworth has been taken away -- kidnapped!", she said, her voice rising. "She was just heading into the Great Hall for luncheon when she disappeared without a trace!"
"I'll be right there, Minerva," Dumbledore said. He pulled out some Floo Powder and was about to throw it into the fireplace -- then stopped.
"Gentlemen," he said, addressing both Snapes, "would you both like to accompany me? This is definitely what used to be your line of country, Sylvanus, before you retired and rejoined the wizarding world lo these many decades ago."
The elder Snape grinned ruefully. "I was just about to ask your permission to do so, Albus," he said. He turned to his grand-nephew. "Bring Fidelis along, Severus. I have a feeling he may turn out to be useful."
========
"...and she disappeared without a trace!" finished Professor McGonagall.
"I see," said Sylvanus Snape, puffing away lightly at his favorite Dunhill. A thin blue tobacco haze filled Dumbledore's office, making the headmaster's eyes water, but he was not about to tell the most famous consulting detective ever born to snuff out his pipe. "Does Miss Butterworth have any known enemies?"
"No," answered McGonagall, coughing slightly. "None whatsoever."
"No fellow Hufflepuffs likely to a pull a prank on her?"
"No."
"Hmmmm," replied the elder Snape abstractedly. At length he pulled his pipe from his mouth and tipped the dottle into an ashtray on Dumbledore's desk. "We shall repair to the scene of the crime and see what evidence remains there. We cannot make bricks without clay."
And with that, the great detective swept towards the door, with everyone else following closely behind.
======
A crowd of students, most of them teary-eyed Hufflepuffs, were at the entrance to the Great Hall when Sylvanus Snape arrived with the professors in tow.
"Ah," he said, surveying the area with a wide sweep of his head, "I feel a strong pull here. Someone, not Miss Butterworth, was using very strong magic indeed. She definitely didn't plan to disappear herself." An intuition struck him. "Severus, if you would hand me your dog, if you please."
The potions master handed Fidelis over to his great-uncle.
"Thank you, Severus. Now, Fidelis," he said, as he held the small dog up high, moving him about in a wide circle, "can you detect anything?"
"Riiffff! Riiiffff! Riiiffff!", Fidelis responded, very agitated.
Then, before the detective could say anything further, Fidelis did something rather odd.
As he sat in Sylvanus Snape's cupped hands, the tiny canine placed a paw to his forehead, then put it down again. He kept repeating the motion, then looked at Dumbledore and Severus Snape to see if they understood.
"The Pensieve," Severus Snape said at last. "He must have seen us using it the other day, Headmaster."
"Indeed he did, Severus," Dumbledore replied, his eyes glinting. "He wants to use the Pensieve to show us what he sees."
Fidelis barked in the affirmative, wagging his tail.
The elder Snape smiled. "I thought this might be the case, gentlemen," he said as he gathered Fidelis to his chest. "Let us do as Fidelis wishes and put his visions into the Pensieve."
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Upon examining Fidelis' visions in the Pensieve, it was found that Miss Butterworth had been kidnapped by some Death Eaters who wanted to bring her as a prize to Voldemort. However, they had not transported her to his presence, so -- thanks to Fidelis' exact pinpointing of their location -- they were apprehended without a fight and promptly packed off to Azkaban. Miss Butterworth was returned, unharmed, to Hogwarts.
"How did you know that Fidelis could find Miss Butterworth, Great-Uncle?", asked Severus Snape, petting his magical puppy. Both Snapes, as well as Professor McGonagall, were with Dumbledore in his office once again, dissecting the affair.
"Ah, it was a bow drawn at a venture, my boy," the detective smiled through wreaths of tobacco smoke as he sat in a leather armchair. "But I recall that spaniels of all sorts tend to be highly sensitive animals. They can spot ghosts and astral creatures, and other magical creatures, with ease. I suspected that a dog as quick as Fidelis would be exquisitely sensitive to magical forces, and it turned out that I was right."
Sylvanus Snape rose from his armchair. "Well, it has truly been a memorable day, but I must be getting back to the Downs. The bees fret without me." He turned to his great-nephew and smiled. "I'm glad to see you're in good hands, Severus," he said, gazing fondly at him and his pet. "Or should I say paws?"
"Riiiiffff!"