Blink - Chapter One
Chapter One
3 months after the fire at Hogwarts
Severus.
In her Animagus form of a chocolate brown Labrador, Alicia trotted along the pavement from the newsagents. As she had every morning for the past three weeks, she carried the daily paper in her mouth and, as usual, she wagged her tail when the tall figure of Severus Snape strode into view.
She didn’t know what he called himself now. Didn’t know anything about him except that he worked as a university lecturer; he smelled of toast and Dundee marmalade in the mornings, custard creams in the afternoon and he apparently enjoyed meeting this particular dog on his way to work.
Every morning, dressed in muggle clothes, Alicia travelled to Aberystwyth, bought a paper from the local newsagent, transformed into her Labrador alter ego and then went on her way to intercept Severus as if she were taking a paper home for her master like a particularly well-trained pet.
“Good morning,” Severus greeted her with a nod and a fond smile. Alicia put a bit more emphasis into her tail wag and let the movement wiggle her bum as she crept towards him in ecstatic pleasure.
“Do you have time to stop today?” Severus asked as he crouched down. “I have something for you, if you’ll put your paper down for a moment?”
Alicia pretended to think it over and then dutifully dropped the newspaper before sitting down politely. In return, Severus fished into his jacket pocket and produced two dog biscuits. Alicia was astonished: this was not the cold, acerbic Potions master she thought she knew. In truth, she’d been surprised that he would be inclined to even take notice of a dog on the street, never mind stopping to say hello. The introduction of a treat for a stranger’s dog was astounding. Idly, as she crunched into the first of the biscuits, she wondered how he would have reacted to her in human form.
“Your owners must be very trusting,” Severus remarked as he stroked the top of her head. “No collar and they allow you out every morning. They clearly trust that you won’t run off or that no one will think to abduct you.”
Alicia said nothing of course but wagged her tail with a muffled thump-thump-thump on the pavement and crunched through her second biscuit. The taste was bland and only slightly sweet but the crunch was pleasing.
Giving her shoulders a pat, Severus stood once more and twitched his jacket back into place. “Well, same time tomorrow then.” He said and started on his way.
Alicia stood and watched him go as she licked her muzzle clean of crumbs. This was all well and good but just two minutes a day wasn’t providing enough information. She needed to know how Severus was feeling; if he was enjoying his job; if he had any memories of being a wizard. A car turned into their road, startling a tortoiseshell cat into jumping over a garden fence and Alicia acted before her plan was more than just a vague amorphous idea.
With a loud, excited yip, she abandoned her paper and ran across the road, as if in pursuit of the cat. She timed it perfectly: the car came to an abrupt halt with an alarming squeal of brakes; the cat gave an even more alarmed yowl and Alicia, though not hurt at all, let out a pained yelp and collapsed in the road, in front of the car’s tyres. And all in front of Severus’ horrified eyes.
*~*~*
Richard Smith stood stock still for all of three seconds before he dashed into the middle of the road where the dog was lying. The driver of the car was just getting out, clearly shaken but Richard gave him nothing more than a passing glance.
If he hadn’t stopped the dog, Richard berated himself, if he hadn’t decided to bring her biscuits, then she would probably have been safely home with her master before the car came around the corner.
“I didn’t - I didn’t see it!” the driver was stammering over and over. He flapped his hands uselessly but still Richard ignored him.
Carefully, cautiously, he began to examine the Labrador; wary of causing further pain. She whimpered and licked at his hand but moved nothing more than her head.
“Is it -?” the driver said and halted, swallowing. “Is it dead? Oh god, is it suffering? I’ve got a jack in the boot. Do you think we should put it out of its misery?”
At this, Richard turned cold, dark eyes upon the idiotic little man and glowered.
“She is alive,” he stated, emphasising that he refused to refer to the dog as an ‘it’. “She’s just in shock, I think. I can’t find any obvious injuries.” At that, Richard pulled off his jacket and placed it over her shivering body, thinking furiously all the while.
As far as he could tell - and he’d only been living here for three weeks - the dog collected the daily paper every morning - presumably from the newsagent down the road. Therefore, they must know her and must know who her owner was. However, she wasn’t in any state to be lugged about like a sack of potatoes while he tried to track down her owner’s address.
“My house isn’t far from here,” Richard said then, reaching a decision and interrupting the driver’s traumatised litany. “Will you drive us there and I’ll see about getting in touch with her owner.”
“What?” the man stopped and stared at him with an odd expression, something like relief. “You mean, you’ll take care of it? I-I mean, yeah, sure. Get in!”
Richard scooped the Labrador into his arms, wrapping his jacket around her so that she couldn’t struggle and risk further injury.
“Is there a healer nearby?” Richard asked as he straightened with the dog in his arms. And then, hearing the strange word that just fell out of his mouth, he coughed and asked instead, “I mean, is there a vet nearby?”
“Maybe,” the man replied, eyeing him strangely. “There’s bound to be one in the town centre but I don’t know if there’s one near here. Have a look in Yellow Pages.”
“Yes,” Richard muttered darkly, “of course.”
Settled in the passenger seat with the dog resting comfortably (and strangely trustingly) in his lap, he pulled the car door closed and only just managed to fasten his seat belt before the driver tore off as if all hell was on their tail.
*~*~*
Once he was safely home again with the dog on his sofa, the idiotic driver long since gone in a rush of breathless, slightly desperate relief, Richard made a brief phone call to the university and then finally took a minute to sit down and consider his options.
The dog appeared to be completely unharmed. Certainly, she’d taken no time to make herself comfortable on the sofa - curled up on Richard’s jacket, no less - and Richard could find no sign of any cuts or bruises. In addition, there was no swelling and nothing to make her yelp, whimper or snap in pain.
And so he was at a bit of a loss as to what he should do next. Somewhere, her owner was no doubt getting very anxious because she hadn’t returned and this thought drew an unhappy frown across Richard's face.
Three months ago, when Richard had woken from a head trauma with no memory, no recollection of who he was or what had happened to him, a doctor had posed the same question to him. It was more than a little disconcerting to think that he might have family and loved ones who were wondering where he was. However, to date, no one had come looking.
“Well, I can at least try to find your loved ones on your behalf,” he said to the dog and offered a faint smile. The dog moved only her large brown eyes, gazing at him in apparent adoration as her tail thumped three times on the sofa.
“I’ll leave you here,” Richard went on, absently wondering why he felt it necessary to keep up a running commentary for a dog' she did appear to understand him, though. “Try not to shed any hair on the sofa - I don’t think pets are allowed, according to the lease agreement. However,” and he stood up, “I won’t be too long.”
The dog appeared completely untroubled and closed her eyes for a nap.
*~*~*
Five minutes after the front door closed, Alicia opened her eyes and lifted her head as she listened to be certain that Severus wasn’t coming back. Content, she then shifted into her human form and stretched.
Well, that had been interesting, she thought. Who knew that Severus Snape had such a soft side to him?
She recalled the exquisitely gentle way he’d lifted her, wrapped her in his jacket and held her on his lap as if she were made of glass. With a shake of her head, she considered that you never really knew some people and then went in search of something that might provide a clue to the man’s new life as a muggle.
His post was addressed to Richard Smith, she noted. He appeared to live on a lot of take away food, going by the number of menus in the kitchen drawer. But then she reconsidered that assumption upon opening the fridge-freezer because there was certainly a lot of fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and fish to hand. So perhaps the take away menus were simply a stand by?
A bottle of single malt on the side told her that something of Severus Snape lingered in the man Richard Smith, even if he didn’t remember his past.
Upstairs, she found one bedroom that had the bland, unlived in quality of spare rooms the world over. The other bedroom, however, was full of Snape. Even without canine senses, she could feel him here - not his magical signature, of course, for that had definitely gone. This was an indescribable essence - almost like a scent. There was something about the careful neatness - the clear floor, the perfectly made bed, the absence of any clutter, laundry or general mess - that spoke volumes of the man who had once been Potions Master. This was how the man had kept his beloved Potions classroom and laboratories.
The only object out of place was a book - on closer inspection, a journal - and with just a passing thought for the man’s privacy, Alicia began to read from the most recent page:
‘Last night, I had the same dream as before:
I’m running, searching for someone who should be in my care. Someone who means so much to me - more than a student. Is this an indication of those who are lost to me? Family? Children? However, the feeling in the dream is not so much family but more like... I don’t know. Whoever they are - and they are two, I think - certainly more than one - they have the feeling of being close friends or lovers. But two lovers? Really? Am I an adulterer?
And then there is the undeniable feeling that whoever they may be, they are definitely male.
Am I a gay man?
As ever, the more I try to grasp at the memories of the dreams, the more they evade me.
Perhaps they’re not memories, at all. Perhaps they are simply my subconscious yearning for -
Good grief! Yearning for two male lovers? Really?
Tonight, I am determined to dream of ordinary things... whatever that might mean.’
Alicia raised a delicate eyebrow and flicked a few pages back through the journal, choosing an earlier date at random:
‘There was the strangest feeling in my dream last night. In the middle of all the usual nonsense - the irrational nervousness of my upcoming first day at work and finding I don’t have any notes or plans - I had the feeling that I’m missing something.
Yes, this could be explained by the total void left by the amnesia but it feels specific, whatever it is.
Thank heavens I’m only writing this down for my own future perusal. These pages would read like the ramblings of a mad man to anyone else.’
Alicia sighed and chewed at her bottom lip before flicking back more pages still. She finally started at the beginning of the book:
‘This journal is to record my dreams, my thoughts, the flickers of memory as and when they may come to me. Doctor Harris appears to believe that my memory may yet return - he says that, even though it feels a very long time to me, in terms of amnesia, it is not so long at all.
It is still very curious that my personal memories are gone and yet I have knowledge of advanced chemistry and feel able to teach still. How did I know I was a teacher? And why are there apparently no schools, colleges or universities searching for a missing member of staff?
More disconcerting than curious is the notion that I apparently have neither friends nor family. No one was with me when I was found in Cardiff and it appears that no one has been searching for me. I don’t know what this suggests; that I had no one in my life, that no one knows I’m missing or that whoever was in my life is also missing?’
Alicia turned the next page to an entry dated two weeks later:
‘Dr Harris has forwarded some documents to me. They arrived in the post, addressed to him with instructions enclosed to pass them on to me.
These documents include a passport, a CV, exam certificates and bank details. Frustratingly, there is nothing to identify the sender.
But still, I am no longer John Doe. I am apparently Richard Smith, no middle name. My reflection doesn’t look like a Richard Smith but Dr Harris says that the part of my brain that deals with recognition is as likely to be affected by the trauma as the part that deals with memory.
My home address is - or was - in Newport but when I went, the landlord seemed confused and then became very surly, saying that three months missed rent payments meant that I was evicted and my belongings were sent to charity. THREE MONTHS! It’s only been seven weeks since I was found in Cardiff.
What on earth happened to me?!?’
Alicia frowned, re-reading the details of Severus supposed ex-landlord and silently swore at Albus Dumbledore. Whatever the man’s overall intentions, this was beyond cruel.
If this was what he’d done to Severus, just what had the old man done to Harry and Draco, she wondered.
*~*~*
Richard stared at the lady behind the counter in the newsagents. She stared back with a hint of defiance in her stance.
“A Labrador,” he repeated, slightly emphatically. “About so high,” he demonstrated the dog’s size, “and she collects a paper every morning.”
“Yes, sir,” the lady said shortly, “you said. However, we don’t have any dogs in the shop. Except for Guide Dogs but they don’t come in without their owners. No one has ever sent their dog - of any type, size or ability - to collect a paper, a magazine or even a flipping birthday card.”
Richard exhaled irritably through his nose and frowned, thinking.
“Is there another newsagent near to here?” he asked then.
The lady’s mouth twisted in displeasure, “There’s the Tesco Express up on the main road but they don’t allow dogs either. Well, except for -”
“Guide dogs.” Richard finished and sighed.
“So, do you actually want anything or not?” the lady demanded impatiently. “Only I’ve got new stock out the back that won’t put itself on the shelves.”
Richard drew himself up to his full impressive height, “No. Thank you.” He added as an afterthought and turned on his heel. He pointedly ignored the lady’s muttering from behind him.
Once outside, he took a moment to look up and down the road, thinking furiously. It was possible that the dog might have collected her daily paper from the Tesco Express but the irritating woman in the newsagents had a point: dogs weren’t usually permitted inside shops.
Why hadn’t he thought of that before?
But then, his mind was hardly to be trusted to remember odd little facts and details, was it?
Thinking that he would need to get the dog some food in any case, he started towards the main road and Tesco Express. It wouldn’t hurt to ask while he was there.
*~*~*
By the time Severus - or Richard, she corrected herself - arrived home again, Alicia was once again in her Animagus Labrador shape and was curled on his jacket, on the sofa once more, looking for all intents and purposes as if she’d never budged.
“Well,” Richard began, carrying a shopping bag through to the kitchen. “I don’t know if you’ve been travelling miles and miles for your morning paper, if the woman in the newsagents is an idiot or what’s been going on but no one knows anything about a chocolate Lab collecting papers every morning.” He finished this last as he came back into the living room.
He gave Alicia a long, slightly concerned look and took a breath, “I suppose you might have been thieving the papers each morning...” he mused aloud. “In any case, this doesn’t bring us any closer to finding your owner, young lady.”
Alicia gazed back at him and whined.
“I’ll ask around - maybe put up some pictures of you,” Richard promised. “Right now, I think a cup of coffee, something to eat and some food for you seem to be in order.” And with that, he paced back out to the kitchen.
Silently, Alicia hopped down from the sofa and followed him. A minute later, she made her feelings quite clear about the small plate loaded with Pedigree Chum that he put down in front of her. She took once sniff, nearly gagged and then pointedly turned away from it.
“Hmm... not starving then,” Richard smirked. “Alright, young lady, so you’re not a fan of dog food then. I don’t suppose you’ll turn your nose up at some chicken?”
Alicia turned back just as Richard offered a slice of cold, cooked chicken breast and she delicately accepted it. She chewed, swallowed and licked her muzzle clean before giving him a hopeful look.
“I see,” Richard muttered and quirked a smile as he offered another piece. “I can’t say I blame you - after all, I’d rather have cold roast chicken rather than Pedigree Chum - even if it is full of vitamins and iron for a healthy coat. You’re looking pretty healthy so I’m guessing someone looks after you.”
Alicia gave a thought for the vegetable and pesto lasagne that Sophie and Narcissa had made the previous evening and wagged her tail. Richard shook his head in quiet amazement, “It really is as if you understand my every word.”
Alicia huffed and gave a low, demanding woof as she looked emphatically at the pack of chicken.
“Right,” Richard responded and dropped a handful of shredded slices onto another plate for her. “Well, here you go. You eat this and I guess I’ll have cheese and pickle in my sandwich. What we’ll do later, I don’t know. Assuming you’re staying, I guess I’ll have to rustle up something other than dog food, hmm?”
Nose down in the plate of cold roast chicken, Alicia simply wagged her tail. Inwardly, however, she was calling herself seven kinds of idiot. How could she be so stupid? On a whim, she’d placed herself in Richard’s care with no forethought to what would happen that evening when Narcissa and Sophie would expect her to come home. She could hardly vanish into thin air only to reappear tomorrow morning.
And how would Richard - Professor Richard Smith, she reminded herself - cope with a dog while he was at university all day? Dogs required attention - company, walks, regular meals and comfort breaks to the garden if nothing else (and didn’t that thought fill her with joy!) - and university professors were not known for having ample time on their hands.
It seemed, however, that Richard was thinking along the same lines.
“I don’t know how long you can stay here,” he mused as he sliced cheese into his sandwich and fished the Branston pickle out of the cupboard. “My lease on this house doesn’t include pets - at least, not without prior permission. I can ask but it might be a bit tricky if you’re already here when Alan comes round.”
‘Alan’, Alicia recalled, had been a name on the bottom of one of Richard’s letters so she assumed he was the landlord.
“Work shouldn’t be a problem as you could stay in my office while I’m in lectures and I’ll walk you in between times. If Florence MacIntyre can keep her dratted, noisy Persian cat in her office - with its noxious smells and regurgitated cat treats on everything - I’m damned sure I could keep you.” He gave Alicia a look, tilting his head in query, and she lifted her head to return his gaze. “You won’t bark or howl or anything, will you?” he asked with a trace of uncertainty.
Alicia thought of the notes in this man’s journal; thought of the friends and family who hadn’t come forward to claim him and decided that this man needed a friend - even if it was just a canine friend.
So, in apparent answer to his question, she gave a low, playful woof and decided that she would find some way to stay with Richard Smith.
*~*~*
“So where does he think you are now?” Narcissa asked, trying in vain to stifle her giggles. Beside her, Sophie was looking wide eyed from one woman to the other.
“He let me out into the garden for a... comfort break,” Alicia replied delicately and then swatted at Narcissa when she gave a burst of loud laughter, “and I’ve apparently slipped through a gap under the fence. And that,” she turned a bright smile upon Sophie, “is where you come in, my little love.”
“Me?” Sophie looked up in surprise. “What did I do?”
“You lost your dog. And then you found your dog. And now your dog is going to lead you back to Richard Smith’s house where you’ll ask if he’d mind looking after your dog during the day because you have a new job and you can’t bring me - I mean, your dog.”
“Oh,” Sophie nodded, looking a little bit blank. “Okay. I think.” She frowned a little, looking perplexed. “Is that a normal thing to do?” she asked finally.
“Of course.” Alicia nodded, looking absolutely certain. “In the magical community, if a crup decides he would like an additional care provider - or owner in this instance - then it’s universally recognised that those people will share the responsibility.”
In response, Sophie looked even more dubious but was saved when Narcissa stepped forward and took Alicia’s hand. “You’re assuming the same applies for muggles and their dogs,” she pointed out gently, all laughter done with for now.
“Well, what do muggles do when their dogs choose an additional owner then?” Alicia demanded, sounding a little defensive.
Sophie made a face, “Mostly, they don’t. Apart from strays that have no owner, dogs tend to stick with one person or family. It’s more common for people to choose to get rid of their dogs than the other way around.” At that, she brightened a little as an idea hit her, “I could say that, because I can’t take you to work with me anymore, I’m thinking of sending you to the RSPCA?”
Alicia responded by kissing the young girl on the forehead and then beaming at her.
*~*~*
Having spent five long minutes staring in horror at the hole beneath the fence, searching the garden (in case the dog hadn’t really escaped but was simply hiding) and then calling himself five kinds of idiot, Richard was about to head out the door and search the streets for her when the doorbell rang.
He continued his path to the front door, opened it and was immediately greeted by the dog of all things. And a teenage girl.
“Hello,” said the girl and offered an over-bright smile.
“Hello,” Richard replied a little cautiously. He looked down to watch as the Labrador stepped over the threshold as if this was her home and then sat down beside him. “Is this your dog?” he asked then, feeling a little foolish.
“Lizzy,” the girl nodded, still smiling. “I’m Sophie, by the way.”
“Richard,” Richard introduced himself and then added belatedly, “good afternoon.”
“She’s been missing since this morning,” Sophie announced, “and then, when I finally found her, she led me straight here.”
“Ah,” Richard floundered, wondering if he was about to be accused of dog-napping. “Yes, I was looking after her - there was a bit of an accident - Oh! She’s fine,” he hurried to add when Sophie looked up in shock. “At least, I think she’s fine - no visible injuries and she doesn’t seem to be in any pain. I was trying to find her owner - you - when she escaped out of the garden.”
Sophie nodded, relieved and smiling again, “She does that. She’s very clever, aren’t you, girl?” she added, switching her attention to the dog and adopting strange baby talk. Lizzy wagged her tail in response but then shifted a little closer to Richard.
“She likes you,” Sophie said and didn’t sound the slightest bit upset with this revelation.
“We see each other most mornings,” Richard replied and then recalled the mystery of the morning newspapers. “Would you like to come in? I could make us some tea?”
Sophie gave him a startled look and Richard wondered if he’d said the wrong thing. He supposed, in hindsight, that men of his age probably shouldn't go around inviting young girls in for tea.
“That would be very nice,” Sophie replied then although she continued to study him with something like curiosity. Not suspicion, not fear; just curiosity.
Stepping aside to let her into the hallway, Richard then closed the door behind her and gestured towards the kitchen. Lizzy padded on ahead of them, looking for all the world as if she’d lived here all her life.
“So, yes, I see Lizzy most mornings when I’m on my way to work and she’s on her way home with the morning paper.” Richard began as he began to make tea. “I have to ask - because the lady in the newsagents knew nothing of any dog collection service - but where does she collect the paper from?”
Sat on the floor between them, Lizzy looked from Sophie to Richard and back.
“Um,” Sophie bit her lip and blushed. “It’s not really her fault,” she said quietly, embarrassed.
Richard raised an eyebrow.
“The paper boy - um - likes me. And he’s always got a spare, he says.” Sophie shrugged, “So he lets Lizzy take one for me.”
Well, that answered that query then, Richard thought as he poured milk into the tea.
“Wouldn’t he rather deliver the paper himself, if he likes you?” he asked then.
“He’s shy,” Sophie shrugged and accepted her tea with a faint smile.
“I see,”
“I hope he won’t get into trouble,” Sophie said then, biting her lip again.
Richard leaned against the sink and looked down at Lizzy who promptly looked back at him.
“Only,” Sophie went on, “if mum finds out that Lizzy’s been stealing - kind of - then she’s definitely going to want to get rid of her.”
At this, Richard snapped his head up and stared at her. “She’s thinking of getting rid of your dog?” he demanded.
“Well,” Sophie shrugged, nearly spilling her tea. She took a sip and shrugged again. “The thing is, I’m going to start a new job soon and Lizzy will have to stay at home. She’s no trouble, not when I’m home but she doesn’t like mum and -” She stopped abruptly and Richard was appalled to see her lip wobble with the threat of tears. She swallowed hard, put her mug down on the kitchen counter and crouched to rub Lizzy’s ears.
“Mum said we’d have to send her to the RSPCA.” She mumbled into the dog’s neck. Lizzy whimpered and tried to lick Sophie’s face.
Uncomfortable, Richard drank his tea and kept quiet. When Lizzy lifted her head to regard him with gentle brown eyes, he heard himself say, “I could look after her during the day,” and then shut his mouth with a click.
“What?” Sophie looked up, startled.
Richard chewed on the inside of his cheek, wondering just where that offer had come from. It had been one thing to consider looking after the dog when her owner was an unknown quantity but now...
Except, why not now, he asked himself? There was no reason he couldn’t take a well behaved dog like Lizzy to work with him. His office attached to the chemistry lecture hall and laboratory; he would hear her if she needed anything. And in any case, his classes were spaced well apart, providing ample opportunity for him to keep Lizzy company, walk her, feed her etcetera.
“If you’re serious about her needing a new home, I could look after her for you and you could -”
“Collect her in the evenings.” Sophie finished in delight. “That would be perfect! Are you sure?” she asked, momentarily uncertain.
“I am if you are,” Richard nodded and felt something warm unfurl within his chest. He smiled as Sophie beamed and made an aborted attempt at an effusive hug..
“Um...” Sophie blushed and clearly sought for something to say. “I’ll bring her back in the morning with some food and her biscuits and her blanket - she doesn’t like sleeping on the floor - not even on carpet.” Sophie explained in a rush. “And she doesn’t like tinned dog food but she’ll eat dry food. Mostly, she has chicken and rice, though.”
“Fine,” Richard nodded along and looked on in wonder as the girl and her dog - their dog, he corrected himself - left in a parade of smiles, thanks, wagging tails and a last, pleased woof from Lizzy.
*~*~*