Chapter 5: A Small Spark

Disclaimer: While I am borrowing many of the characters created by J.K. Rowling, all rights to those characters remain solely with her. I am neither receiving nor soliciting any monetary recompense for this story.

This time when Severus woke he kept his eyes closed for a few minutes, taking stock of how he felt. He realized, gratefully, that his headache was finally gone. Moving his limbs a bit, he realized he was still a little stiff but he put that down to being in bed for so long. Really, the only lingering ache was in his chest, courtesy of his broken ribs. Putting a hand under the blanket, Severus reached down, gently running his hand over the cloth that was supporting his ribs. Carefully opening his eyes and hoping the headache wouldn't return, Severus noted it was early morning, just after dawning. The room was slightly gray but when he turned his head towards the window, he could see the first faint rays of sunlight peeking in through the bottom of the blind covering the window. All of a sudden, Severus was aware of the mouth watering aroma that began permeating the room and he realized he was starving.

Taking a fortifying breath and closing his eyes again, Severus, slowly, leveraged himself up in the bed, sitting up as best he could without undue pressure on his ribs. Predictably, he was hit with a wave of dizziness at sitting up for the first time in days and he continued to breathe until the dizziness passed, and he opened his eyes, to see Sara standing in the doorway with a smile on her face.

"Good morning. Glad to see you are obviously feeling better," she said, as she moved into the room, setting some clothes down on the chair that sat a few feet away from the bed. "Micah will be here in a few minutes to help you up. Doc said a shower would probably feel like heaven right about now and that getting out of this room for a while would do you a world of good. He was pretty clear, however, that other than sitting, you weren't to do anything more strenuous until those ribs are on the mend." Gesturing to the clothes, Sara went on. "We cleaned the clothes you were wearing but they are much too heavy for around here. These should fit and will be much more comfortable for the heat."

Seeing the clothes reminded Severus of something. "Did you find anything in my clothing to help find out who I am?" Severus asked.

Glancing at him Sara hesitated, which gave Severus his answer.

"Obviously not," he said.

"I'm sorry," Sara said gently. "There was nothing there, but, I guess it is possible something may have fallen out of that internal pocket. I'm going to take a ride back out to where we found you and look around a bit. I did find this however," she said, as she pulled out a length of polished wood. Handing it to Severus, she asked," do you recognize it?"

Taking it in his hand, Severus felt a hint of something, but it was quickly gone. Still, he had a feeling this was something important, somehow.

"Afraid not," Severus said, lifting his head from the object in his hand as a shadow fell across the door. A tall man stood in the door, a weathered and deeply tanned face giving evidence of long hours in the sun, his age about 65 or so. Severus guessed this was the ever present, but until this moment unseen, Micah.

"Mornin' lad. I have to say you look a heap better then when I first saw you three days ago," the man said, as he walked into the room.

Turning to Severus Sara confirmed his suspicion.

"This is Micah, my foreman and general manager of the ranch." she winked at Severus before saying affectionately. "He is also a royal pain in the backside and thinks he can tell everyone what to do."

"Watch yourself lass," Micah growled, "or I'll show you the true meaning of a pain in the backside, again."

Sara flushed and Micah laughed as she stomped out of the room.

Turning back to Severus, Micah went on. "I've been foreman here for a little over 30 years, first for Sara's daddy, then her brother, and now Sara herself. She was a little slip of a thing when I first arrived, only 5 years old and fill of vinegar. She ain't afraid of nothing and that gets her into trouble, frequently," Micah said with affection. "Her daddy had me keep an eye on her and gave me leave to do whatever was necessary to keep her safe, which included the occasional trip over my knee," he chuckled.

"She does seem rather, confident," Severus remarked.

"Aye, she is. Her daddy made sure both of his children understood the day-to-day workings of the ranch. They both had the best schooling possible, tutors if necessary, and they both were responsible for learning every job on this ranch. Even though she doesn't do that type of work anymore, Sara could dig a post hole and put in a fence if she had to as well as shoot her way out of a problem if it became necessary; she ain't no fainting flower. The only time I ever saw her nearly defeated is when she lost her parents, and then James, her brother. They were a very close family and the deaths hit her hard. There isn't a person on this ranch who wouldn't do anything for her; she is well protected."

Severus heard the warning tone and recognized the words for what they were. He had just been told, and in no uncertain terms, that any action against Sara would not bode well for his ongoing health. Micah was still looking at him and Severus felt compelled to answer.

"I've no intention of doing anything to harm her," Severus said. "I have a debt to her for helping me; harming her would never enter my mind."

"Well now," Micah said carefully. "You say that but you don't know who you are now do you. It might be when your memory returns, you may find yourself thinking differently. We've been having problems with poachers around here the past few years. James, Sara's brother, was killed last year when he was ambushed by a bunch of poachers. They were on him before he could react, he didn't have a chance. We pretty much know what they all look like and for sure, you don't meet any of the descriptions, but we also know the poachers are changed out occasionally," here Micah stopped, studying Severus. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt until you show me differently," Micah said, his voice a little less stern, "something tells me you aren't a threat. Now, enough jabbering. Let's get you cleaned up," Micah paused and chuckled as Severus' stomach loudly protested its empty state "and then out to the kitchen for breakfast. My Carmen is the cook here and she'll fix you up right."

An hour later, Severus was sitting in a comfortable chair on the front porch of the house. The morning temperatures were mild with a slight breeze, but, Severus could feel the growing heat. He glanced up as Carmen came out of the house, a large tray in her hand.

"Here you go," she said with a smile, "we haven't exactly been introduced as yet but I am Carmen. I cook for everyone here, keep the house and do general first aid if it is necesary. Been here nigh on 30 years now. Got hired on as cook and then married Micah. Now I now you are probably hungry but given that you haven't had anything solid for a few days, I figured you wouldn't want a heavy breakfast. Just some toast and fruit here, start easy. I can always make more in a bit if you are still hungry, but, it is better to start out slow," she said, as she set the tray on a table in front of him. "Afraid we don't have a lot of tea on hand, I'll have to have Micah run out later. Still, I have never had complaints about the coffee."

"Coffee is fine, than you," Severus said, almost groaning at the "light" breakfast in front of him. There had to be a half a loaf of bread toasted on the plate, along with enough fruit to feed a dozen people..light indeed.

"You eat up and call me if you want anything. Best to take it easy today. Heat is gonna' be high and we have a storm coming in later today. Hands are going to be busy getting the place battened down. These end of summer storms tend to hit pretty hard, which reminds me, I'd best check the emergency supplies," she muttered, as she made her way back into the house.

It was forty minutes later and Severus had barely managed to eat about half of what Carmen had put in front of him, his inability to finish partly due to the sheer amount of food and the fact that as Carmen had said, he hadn't had anything solid for a few days. His stomach had protested a little, making him feel slightly nauseous. Carmen had been sympathetic when she took the tray away, making sure Severus was comfortable and supplied with a cold pitcher of water before she went back into the house. Micah had been right. Though tired after the ordeal of showering, dressing and eating, the fresh air felt good even though the humidity was quickly rising.

Taking in the yard, Severus was impressed. On the far right was a huge barn that went out of sight beyond the end of the house. The barn was surrounded by huge fenced paddocks where several horses grazed in the warming morning air. Several foals danced about, playing with each other under the watchful eyes of their dams. In front of him and to his left, there were several areas of gardens interspersed amongst the expanse of grassy area. Full of flowers and bushes, each garden was meticulously groomed, the larger center garden sporting a running fountain surrounded by a small pool. Beyond the grassy area, there was a well maintained dirt area where Severus could see several posts, presumably posts used to tie up the horses when needed, and this was also the area where the hands prepared their mounts for whatever work they were to perform that day. For the most part, the other hands had just glanced at Severus, curiosity in their eyes but otherwise not paying much attention.

Taking stock of his strength, Severus stood up and walked a few short steps to the porch railing, placing his hands on it for a minute before deciding he was steady enough for a short walk. Fortunately, the porch was level with a walkway so Severus didn't have to navigate any steps as he headed over to the paddock where the foals were playing. Coming up to the fence, a few of the more curious foals came up to him, stretching their noses out to check out the newcomer. Severus gently ran his hand down their soft noses and chuckled as they nibbled gently at his hand. "Sorry little ones, " Severus said gently, "no food; maybe later." Realizing they weren't going to get anything, the foal's attention turned back to their play and Severus turned his back to the fence and just stood still for a moment. Remembering Carmen's warning of an approaching storm, Severus glanced up at the sky. Right now, there were a few fluffy white clouds dotting the expanse of blue, but off in the distance, Severus could see the gathering storm clouds.

Just as Severus started to make his way back to the porch, Micah and Sara came around the side of the barn, deep in conversation. Sara was leading what looked like the largest and most beautiful horse of all the horses on the property. The horse's coat was a deep, shiny black and matched the equally as black, long and flowing, mane and tail. Severus smiled as the large animal gently lipped at the long pony tail flowing down Sara's back. It was Severus' chuckle at the big horse's action that caused Sara to look up and Severus was greeted with a huge smile.

"Well hello there," Sara said brightly. "Glad to see you made it outside. Good thing to. Storms are coming up; we might be stuck inside for a couple of days. How are you doing?"

"Much better, thank you," Severus replied.

"Carmen look after you?" Micah asked.

"Yes, she did. She stuffed me like a goose ready for the table," Severus said with a wry grin.

Micah and Sara both laughed.

"That's Carmen," Sara said. "One thing no one ever has to worry about around here is going hungry."

Micah spoke to Sara.

"Storm will be here late this afternoon. You make sure you and that grain eating monstrosity you call a horse are back here early," Micah said sternly.

Sara just rolled her eyes. "Yes dad," she said cheekily, dodging an affectionate cuff to the back of her head. "No worries actually, you know how Dutch hates to get wet. He'll make sure he has a warm, dry barn between him and the rain."

Chuckling, Micah nodded to Severus and then walked over to the other hands that were still getting ready; Sara turned to Severus.

"I am heading out to the area where we found you in the hopes that some identification may have been left behind and then checking some of the outer areas before this storm hits. I shouldn't be gone more than a few hours. Dutch here is better than a barometer," she said with affection as she patted the large horse. "He'll make sure we get back ahead of the storm. In the meantime, you'd best get yourself back to the porch. If Carmen catches you out and about like this after Doc told you to stay in bed, you'll never hear the end of it. Not to mention, Carmen is a tattletale. She tells Doc you were out of bed and walking around the yard no less, and you'll get a lecture from him you wouldn't want in your worst nightmares."

Severus chuckled at her expression. "I take it you've been on the receiving end of that lecture before?"

"More than I care to admit," Sara said with a grin, as she turned and stepping up on the wood platform Severus hadn't realized was there, she mounted the horse gracefully and smiled down at Severus.

"Back soon. Carmen and Micah will be here if you need anything; don't hesitate to ask."

For some strange reason, Severus felt the need to call after Sara as she rode off. "Be careful," he called to her, smiling as she waved a hand at him to acknowledge she had heard him.

Severus watched a little longer until she was out of sight, then he went back inside the house to see if Carmen needed any help.