Hey everyone! Sorry for the late reply again. So I'm reaching the end of this fic; only one or two chapters left now. I'm basing this chapter on the scenes in the 2009 Hachiko movie, when time becomes a blur to the old dog. Well, enjoy.
Once again, Sirius walked to the train station. The snow was long gone now. Summer heat wafted through his fur. The straw-dry grass crunched under his pads.
He couldn't remember much anymore. Time seemed to pass with the twitch of a whisker. Time meant nothing to him anymore.
As he passed, he could feel the crunching grow louder. Dark leaves now dappled the ground.
The same routine continued as usual. He reached the train station and saw it was as equally bathed in fallen leaves. He got a snack from the hotdog vendor. Then the familiar tingle shot through his spine. A clock would strike, a bell would blow. It would be time. He'd sit at his place, watch the doors open with an explosion of people, and look for James. And as was normal now, James wouldn't show up. And with a droopy tail between his legs, Sirius would head back the way he had come. So he made his way back, the fresh batch of snow starting to build.
How much time passed? Sirius didn't know. Time doesn't matter to a dog; they can't wear a watch.
But a good bit of time passed. As the seasons changed and changed again, Sirius could feel himself getting slower with the start of each cycle.
People still stroked him, more than they used to. Many left him food, and Hagrid showed up from time to time with a meaty carcass. Many took pictures. Sometimes a familiar-smelling person would curl besides him while talking to another person, while a crowd of people took another round of photos.
By the end of it all, Sirius knew this was coming to an end. Now he moved slower, there were silver streaks in the hair round his feet and mouth. His limbs stiffened, making the daily walk last longer and longer. His vision burred, his hearing soon after. Even his nose wasn't as swift as it had once been.
One day when Sirius went to King's Cross, he froze. There was a new smell—bitter and metallic. Then he saw that someone was sitting at his spot. He ran up to them and started barking, and barked for a great deal before stopping. The thing that had taken his place wasn't alive. He flopped against it, waiting through squinted eyes for his master.
The people who passed through King's Cross smiled at the sight. Sirius was standing under a granite replica of himself. His story had gotten around in newspapers (both wizard and Muggle), magazines, television shows, radio... Folk from all around came to see the simple sight of a dog, now feeble in old age, wait for someone who would never arrive.
When James didn't show up at the end of the day, Sirius tried to stand up, but couldn't. His legs were too weak. He simply curled up between the stature's stone paws and went to sleep. The vendor left him a pile of sauerkraut before he left. Just before he set off, he stared at the old dog and sighed.
Sirius had been waiting for twelve years. The question on everyone's mind though, was how much longer did he have to?
