by Melissa Jooty (e-mail me at cosmic_quest@yahoo.com)
CHAPTER THREE- A Dog's Tale
Lying in canine form beside Severus and two of his little friends under the shade of a tree, Sirius found himself grudgingly enjoying the company of his childhood enemy. His first reaction had been to despise this kid as much as he had the elder version but the moment that delighted little face had set eyes on 'Snuffles', Sirius felt all his pent-up anger and hatred towards Snape melt away and, to his utter dismay, a bloom of what could only be described as filial affection towards the infant Potions Master blossomed within him.
The Snape he knew and loathed was a cold, harsh man whose darkness had led him to being initiated into the Death Eaters, he was a slimy and disdainful Slytherin who had few redeemable features in the eyes of the steadfast Gryffindor. This child was innocent of everything and Black found he could not condemn him for the sins of Snape. And Dumbledore knew it too...
"Now, now, Sirius," the Headmaster had said, with the composure of a Buddha monk, when Black had tried to pass over playing bodyguard today, "you cannot expect us to follow Severus around, it's far too conspicuous. Snuffles, however, can spend much time with the boy without raising the Muggles' suspicions. See this as an opportunity, a chance to grow closer to Severus. He seems likes you very much and the least you can do is reciprocate his efforts and put the past behind you."
Likes?! It was a given the kid worshipped Snuffles, the big black dog he could play with, nevertheless that adoration did not include Sirius Black the man. And what 'efforts' had Snape made to overlook their childhood transgressions and the animosity that swelled from them? Dumbledore knew as well as Sirius did that baby Snape didn't even remember his own family let alone the boy who tormented him in school. When he was restored to his adult self, no doubt Snape would be back to indulging in his favourite pastime of plotting Black's assassination.
But try explaining these little points to Dumbledore. No, the crafty old coot was taking great pleasure in using this incident as a chance to heal the rift between Sirius and Snape to the point of even bringing Harry into it. Sirius was still surprised at how easily the Headmaster had eventually manipulated him into his stint of the babysitting duties. He had opened his mouth to balk, hoping to show he would be best patrolling the grounds, when Dumbledore had swiftly cut him off before his protests were even voiced.
"I would have thought you would have been more sympathetic to protecting this helpless child," Dumbledore had patiently explained, his blue eyes twinkling, "especially since you are a godfather to a boy just as vulnerable. Severus was always provided for Harry's safety, putting the boy above his prejudices against you and James and often at risk to his own life."
What could Sirius do but meekly give in? So, while the Headmaster and McGonagall spent the day drinking tea and eating biscuits back in the air-conditioned children's centre, Sirius had follow three toddler brats around in the hot, burning sun and play the part of the playful dog whenever one of the them tossed a ball. Okay, he admitted it wasn't complete torture; these children were an interesting insight on the early years he missed with Harry and never in his life would he have imagined a time when he found Severus Snape cherubic...or be so utterly grateful to him as he was at this very moment.
"I don't think Snuffles likes perfume, Allie," Severus said, taking the small bottle of cheap perfume from the girl, who was about to liberally apply it to the Animagus, "he's a boy. Men don't like to smell like flowers."
"How do you know? You're hardly a man, shrimp," Allie pointed out, in her mild Cajun accent. "Anyway, Snuffles could be a girl."
"Snuffles is not a girl and I'm *not* checking, I'll just believe his owners when they say he's a boy dog."
Allie and Chance were apparently Snape's best friends and together the three reminded him much of Harry, Ron and Hermione, as loyal and inseparable as the Gryffindor trio. They were too familiar with the darkness of the world to be anything as carefree and self-centred as the Marauders. Both Allie and Chance were placed in the Centre after being taken by social services from abusive homes and, like Severus, both seven-year-olds behaved like old souls in young bodies. It saddened Sirius; so many children in this world grown before their time.
"D'you have to speak to those people again?" Allie asked, now amusing herself by decorating Snuffles in bright pink ribbons she had hoarded in the bottomless pockets that were part and parcel of every small child's trousers.
"Yeah," grumbled Severus, taking his temper out on the grass, wrenching handfuls out of the ground. "They're really strange, especially that Doctor-Professor Dumbledore man. He's always watching me, like he...I don't know, *knows* me or something."
Sirius had to empathise. Those blue eyes could be very penetrative and he couldn't blame the boy for feeling uncomfortable, it took the older man a good few years to accept Albus Dumbledore had the aura of being all-seeing and all-knowing.
Chance tilted his head thoughtfully. "Ya think he knows about, well, all your 'abracadabra, alakazam' magic psychic stuff"
Straightening up, and at the same time deftly moving away from Allie and her ribbons, Sirius paid close attention to this particular thread of conversation. It sounded like an old topic and it wasn't surprising Severus had told his friends of his magic talents. It was a huge secret for a child, and he remembered divulging every nuance to his own friends in childhood. He did wonder if that Roscoe woman had suspicions of what her special little charge was truly capable of beyond his intellectual prowess.
"I don't think so," Severus said. "Lucius- he said it was a secret. He'd come to take me with him soon 'cause his boss would be able to look after me and protect me from the bad people."
The other two children were wide-eyed at this while Severus bit his lip nervously. Sirius nudged closer to the trio, encouraging them to pet him and alleviating their worries. It was rather disconcerting to see Snape so physically vulnerable; save the nights at the Shirking Shack, he never outwardly displayed his fear to anyone. His tightly suppressed emotions sometimes reminded Sirius of a robot from a Muggle film.
"Bad people?!" repeated Chance. The boy glanced suspiciously around and Sirius would have found it comical if the insinuation of Malfoy portraying *them* as these so-called 'bad people' hadn't been so serious. It was imperative Severus trusted them. "Why would they want you? You're just a little kid."
"I don't know who the bad people are, Lucius said they might come to steal me. He said I was special, like his boss, and we needed to be together."
This confirmed that Lucius Malfoy had learned of Snape's abilities to wield magic without his wand. Wandless magic was not such a fantastic feat among those who delved in the Dark Arts, monsters like Voldemort whose powers were rooted and supplemented by darkness. It was when the intricate ability was found in the rare few untainted, pure witches and wizards that interest was aroused for it was always an indication of great magical power. Albus Dumbledore was one such example, proclaimed by many as the most powerful wizard of the modern age. Sirius suspected Harry could be capable of wandless magic if he were given the proper tutelage to hone the gift, it would certainly explain Voldemort's obsession in him.
And now Severus Snape could evidently be added to the exceedingly short list. As smug and irritating as he found the schoolboy Snape he had known, Sirius had to admit even he was aware of the boy's advanced aptitude in magic, particularly in Potions. But this...this was something else entirely. Dumbledore hadn't been visibly shocked when McGonagall had told of witnessing Snape practise wandless magic, no surprise since the Headmaster seemed to know everything, but the real question was why Snape had kept it a secret in the first place? Sirius would have assumed that, as a Death Eater, Severus would have been proud to gloat of his gift and utilized it for Voldemort's cause.
Only he couldn't forget what that Yank Auror had said of the three groups of the Slytherin House. Could the young Severus have concealed his own prodigious abilities aware that his father and his git friends would have exploited him otherwise? If so, one could say the Potions' Master had been fighting for the Light long before he even attended Hogwarts...Moreover, this meant Sirius would have to seriously re-evaluate how he viewed the adult Snape and he wasn't sure if he was ready for such a step.
Nonetheless, part of him remained a little incensed that six-year-old Severus had entrusted Malfoy with this information after all these years. He forced himself to remember frightened children were skittish, malleable creatures eager to place their faith in anyone they perceived could take care of them. Black could just imagine that bastard Death Eater exploiting the boy's fears and confusion until the man-child had spilled every little inner thought.
"Do you think that maybe you're like a mutant or alien or something?" the little girl asked, studying Severus like one would a laboratory experiment.
For his part, Severus seemed anxious at the suggestion. "Alien?"
"Yeah, I mean, you can do all these neat things and you did just kinda appear in the desert. That always happens in tons of movies on the Sci-Fi Channel so it must be true."
"And maybe Lucius is an alien too," Chance eagerly piped in and Sirius could understand why the boy would think such a possibility. It would explain why Lucius Malfoy was the cretin that he was. "He's like come back for you like ET's ship. That'd be so cool, you'd be like Luke Skywalker!"
"I don't want be like Luke Skywalker," Severus plaintively wailed, blinking back tears. Those deep obsidian black eyes, which were once closed off and emotionally blank, were clear windows to the soul of a very lost, scared little boy.
In that moment, Sirius felt an enormous wave of sympathy for the boy he once considered one of his oldest enemies. No child this young should ever have to experience such doubts about something as significant as their own identity. Unlike most Muggleborn children, their magic abilities did not become truly apparent until they received their letter to attend a wizarding school and thus purchased their wand. Until that day arrived, they did not seem much different than other Muggle children. This was not the case with Severus, who retained all his abilities and knowledge, and was surrounded by all these delusional Muggle theories of beings from outer space for eight months.
No wonder the child was anxious. It might have been many a boy's dream to be a superhero, at least that was what Sirius assumed this 'Luke Skywalker' bloke was, but it was more frightening considering the concept of not even being human.
The sooner they brought the boy back to Hogwarts, the better. It was not just Severus' physical safety that was at risk; there would surely be detrimental consequences to his emotional health if he spent any longer with these ignorant Muggles.
Sirius nudged his snout against Severus in comfort like he had done with an upset Harry many times. A watery smile tugged at the boy's lips and he buried his face in the dog's fur until he regained his composure. To his friends' credit, they realized this was not a conversation to pursue and so the matter was dropped.
"What should we do now?" Chance asked with a heavy sigh. "I'm bored."
"We could play races," Allie suggested. The little demon had finished torturing him with her ribbons and was content to leave the big black dog with ridiculous pink bows hanging around his ears, head, paws and tail.
Severus shook his dark head, wiping a light sheen of sweat from his face. "It's too hot and we've already play that earlier."
Damn straight, kid! Thank Merlin, his Godson was past this hyperactive stage and was perfectly happy to spend their days together playing chess or slumped in the Three Broomsticks talking, activities requiring zero energy.
"How 'bout we play dog racing instead?"
Why did Sirius not like the sound of that game in the least? He was starting to wonder if the girl was some form of She-Devil.
Allie's explanation of her new game certainly confirmed as much. "We'll throw the ball then time how long it takes Snuffles to bring it back and we can have bets on it. My uncle used to go to the dog races all the time so it must be fun."
"Yeah!" agreed the boys, re-energised.
*No!* Sirius inwardly whined, all pity for Severus forgotten.
It would be just like Snape
and his two brat friends to find some discreet way of showing up Sirius and
his 'old' bones. Where was the Muggles' RSCPA when one needed them?
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The disfigured brown rat scurried over the grass hills, his eyes never leaving
the three children and the black mutt he scouted and trailed diligently.
Any unsuspecting soul observing the various wildlife of the area would have
been stunned to learn of the inner thoughts of this particular rat, a deceivingly
innocent animal that was plotting kidnapping and murder in the name of the
madman he followed. Then again, this rat also had a name- Peter Pettigrew-
and he was the loyal servant of the Dark Lord Voldemort.
It wasn't difficult for the Pettigrew to spot his prize out of the tiny
trio; one of the urchins was a girl and the other a blonde boy leaving no
qualms that the raven-haired child was no other than one Severus Snape miniaturised.
There was a few dark-headed young boys in the orphanage Snape had been placed
but he would have known those intense onyx eyes anywhere.
It was quite ridiculous, the vague twinges of envy he felt towards this
boy, but then he had always harboured a jealousy towards Snape. The Dark
Lord made no secret of which of his servants he held in higher favour; his
favouritism to those whose ancestors had strong ties to the Dark Arts, such
as Malfoy and Lestrange, were a given. Then there was Severus Snape.
Snape too came from a formidable family yet he was never quite as vicious
as the other Death Eaters, his distaste for spilling the blood of Muggles
apparent to anyone who looked beyond the surface. There had been growing
doubts of Snape's loyalties to the Cause from the beginning yet Voldemort
never made the move to execute him. Even when Pettigrew sold out the Potters,
he was still treated like a soft Gryffindor coward whilst the traitor Snape
was continually allowed to live despite his betrayal coming to light.
And now Voldemort was all the more determined to possess him, the one he
named his chosen heir.
Well, he was willing to push his jealousies away for now to accommodate
his Master. He couldn't wait to deliver the boy into his Master's hands whether
he had to drag the child battered and bleeding with him; it would be such
a wonderful coup over one of the Dark Lord's favourites Lucius Malfoy. He
knew that Malfoy often sneered at his presence and his Gryffindor background
but he would show them all he could be as efficient as the long-serving Death
Eaters. After all, compared his good work with the adult Snape; who would
have thought the perfect paradigm of the Slytherin House would betray their
Lord to Dumbledore of all people?
Of course, Snape was not alone here. Pettigrew had seen Dumbledore and McGonagall
back at the orphanage building and it seemed he was not the only Animagus
interested in the boy. Seven years at school together, four of them spent
mastering the lessons required to transfigure into animal form, he could easily
recognise the black dog to be his former friend and Marauder Sirius Black.
He wasn't scared of Black. The other man probably harboured many homicidal
urges towards him for betraying those incessant Potters, which consequently
saw Black spending twelve years in Azkaban for wrongly being accused of the
crime, but Pettigrew was not a frail schoolboy any longer. He was a servant
to Lord Voldemort. Double-crossing James and Lily to their deaths had been
surprisingly simple enough, he had no compunction in killing Black if that
was what he had to do to snatch Snape.
Bidding his time for the right moment to pounce, he was pleased when the
children began throwing a ball for Black to retrieve. All he needed was to
grab Severus, Black would never cast a damaging charm on him if the brat
was shielding him. It was quite ironic in a way, Severus Snape protecting
him from Black when two decades ago the other would never have hesitated
in hexing the Slytherin. And most importantly, he would be the one to bring
the chosen heir in without any of Malfoy's pandering, he would be the one
to reap the rewards from their Master.
His chance came when the blond boy hurled the ball, misdirecting it down
into a ditch, Black in mutt form chasing after it and the children were now
unguarded...
He crawled forward until the little girl noticed him. "Look at that ugly
rat!"
"Eww, maybe Snuffles will eat it," giggled the blond brat.
The grins of the little wretches instantly vanished as the legs of Wormtail
the rat elongated, his body distorting until a short, grubby man stood in
its place. The three children were transfixed, their eyes riveted to Pettigrew.
He wasn't interested their awe, he had eyes only for Severus, who was slowly
inching back as if he perceived the threat.
Pettigrew smirked maliciously at the boy. "Hello there, Severus, do you remember
me?"
End of CHAPTER THREE- A Dog's Tale
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