FIC: The Alley Cat (PG)
Title: The Alley Cat
Type: Fic
Age-Range Category: Four
Character(s)/Pairing(s): Severus Snape, original characters
Author: teryarel
Rating: PG
Click to View [Warning(s)]Mentions of prostitution.
Summary: Severus meets an alley cat that somehow changes his life.
Severus walked down the narrow alley behind the pub. He didn't like to visit the pub. It reminded him too much of Tobias. In fact, he never went there except on the third Sunday of the month. While he despised the people who went there to get drunk, he had to admit that the pub's Sunday roast was delicious. So, he phoned in and ordered a portion, which allowed him to get in and out quickly without having to interact with the patrons too much. The alley he was in was a shortcut that would allow him to reach home quicker than if he had walked around the block.
As he came by the back entrance of the pub, Severus heard a sound coming from beneath the dustbins. He tensed and turned to inspect the shadowy space. It took him a moment to realise where the sound had come from. In the gap between the wall and the dustbins a small bedraggled creature made a pitiful sound. It took him astonishingly long to realise that the dirty, haggard thing was in fact a cat.
Its fur was matted and sticky. Its colour was a mixture of different browns and a strange speckle of yellow. The cat's eyes were pale green. A strange, chirping sound, that no one would ever call a meow, emanated from the little thing. Obviously, life on the streets hadn't taught the cat any sense, because as soon as Severus stopped, the cat darted out of hiding and started to weave between his legs. The sounds it made first turned into chattering and then into drawn out yowls. Severus looked around, hoping that the ruckus wouldn't attract attention from people in the nearby buildings.
"Hush," Severus tried to quieten the creature. "What do you want?"
As if the cat had understood his words it stretched its thin body against his leg and tried to angle for the bag of food with a tiny paw.
Severus tensed and opened his mouth in preparation for shaking the thing off, both verbally and bodily, when suddenly his angry features smoothed in recognition. No, he didn't recognise this cat. He was sure that he hadn't taken notice of any cat after he had left Hogwarts. What he did recognise was a fellow survivor. "I see."
Again, it seemed as if the cat understood his words and intentions. It quieted and took a step back towards its hiding place. It waited patiently as Severus opened the food container and fished out a few tiny morsels of hot roast. Severus put a napkin on the ground before the cat and placed the meat on top of it.
"There," he said and without a backward glance continued on his way home.
~ * ~
It would be a lie to say that Severus thought of the cat in the following days. But as he walked by the back entrance of the pub four weeks later, he slowed his steps and stopped at the first sound of rustling.
Soon the same pitiful creature tried to climb his leg, asking for food with a mixture of chattering and yowling. At the first sign of Severus complying, the cat stepped back and waited.
"Hm," Severus raised an eyebrow, "what a curious thing you are."
* ~ *
Severus walked down a narrow alley. The lights were low here, but he knew that the street would open up at its end into a small courtyard and a door which was flanked by two brightly lit lights that seemed inviting in this otherwise dreary place. The door was nondescript and there was only a small sign next to the door.
Upon Severus' knocking, the door was opened by a tall middle-aged man. He looked at Severus, and once he recognised him invited him inside with a nod and a small smile. "Welcome, sir."
Inside, the place appeared comfortable and inviting but Severus didn't care about its appearance. He walked up to a desk at the back of the room where a woman was receiving the guests.
She greeted him as he approached. "Ah, Mr. DeCoy. You're here for your appointment. You're a bit early, so would you take a seat, please, in the waiting room?"
With a nod Severus turned to the left and entered through the door the receptionist had indicated. It was a smaller room than the great reception area with enough seating for a handful of people. No one else was there. Severus picked a seat and waited.
A few minutes later the door opened and the receptionist called him. "Mr. DeCoy, please."
He made his way upstairs to the usual room. He knocked and the door was immediately opened by a woman who smiled as she saw him.
"Mr. DeCoy, come in! It's been a while."
"Yes, I was indisposed last month and had to cancel our session."
"I'm glad that you're feeling better today. Have a seat. Would you like a cup of tea?"
Severus accepted both offers. While he poured tea into a nice bone china cup the woman sat down on his opposite side.
"So, Mr. DeCoy, how have you been since our last meeting?"
Severus took a sip of tea and after a moment of hesitation started talking.
* ~ *
Severus walked down the narrow alley. He had increased his visits to the pub, first from coming every second week to every week. He had to admit that the roast was delicious. That was the only reason to his frequent visits, of course. As had become his habit, when Severus passed the back entrance of the pub, he slowed his steps.
Over time the cat had become less noisy when it tried to get its share of food. It seemed that the cat now knew it would get some food from Severus, without having to cry and beg. It did weave between his legs in what Severus interpreted as thanks.
As usual, Severus laid out a few pieces of roast on a napkin, watched the cat pick up the first bite. Usually he would have left now, but this time he bent down and scratched the cat's head which elicited loud purring. After a moment though, the lure of food was too strong and the cat began eating. Severus continued home.
~ * ~
This little ritual might have continued forever like this, if it hadn't been for the cat-less Sunday.
Severus approached the usual spot, stood and waited. He heard nothing, nothing moved. He waited a bit longer but the cat didn't appear. With a frown Severus continued home. This was the first day that the cat stayed in his thoughts.
After a night full of murky thoughts and nightmares Severus returned to the alley the next day. He called for the cat and rustled with the bag that held some left-over roast, in order to lure it out of its hiding place. Then he stood still and listened for any sound, the smallest meow to tell him where to look.
He searched beneath and behind the dustbins where he had first seen it, but without success. He continued searching up and down the alley and even in the streets surrounding the pub. After hours of walking and calling he gave up and returned home.
In the next days he continued his search, returning to the dustbins and branching out from there, further and further away.
He drew up some of those pamphlets he had seen other people put on walls and lamp posts when they searched for a missing pet. He glared at anyone who came close as he fixed the notes to prominent places. But most stayed clear of him. No one wanted to approach the curmudgeon. Except for a little child. It was far from Severus' usual haunts, so it probably hadn't ever heard of the bitter man living at Spinner's End who ate pups and kittens for breakfast and had at least three dozen skeletons buried in his backyard.
"That's a nice picture," it said.
Severus lifted an eyebrow and continued sticking spellotape on the paper to fix it to the telephone post.
"Did you draw that? I like to draw too! But my rabbits always look like cows. That's what Ellen says."
Severus growled. "It's a cat. Not a rabbit. Nor a cow."
"Aha," the child answered without batting an eye. "Did you lose it? We lost Popper one time, that's Ellen's hamster. She was very sad and I was also sad. But he had hidden in the sofa. Mum said that he was lucky he hadn't gotten vacuumed and Ellen cried. Are you sad you lost your cat? What's it called? I'll help you look for the cat if you want."
Severely stared at the babbling child. "No."
"No?" The child looked confused. "No what?"
"It's not my cat. I haven't lost it. It vanished."
"Oh. That's sad. I'll help you search, and when you have your cat back you won't be sad anymore!" The child jumped up and down while talking and rushed off before Severus could correct its false assumptions.
"I'm not sad!" he called after the child who didn't seem to hear him and added quietly, "It's just a cat."
* ~ *
Severus walked down the narrow alley. He hurried to the door, knocked and waited impatiently for it to open. When it did, he pushed inside without waiting to be invited. He marched to the receptionist who smiled at him, even though it was evident that she was surprised to see him.
"Mr. DeCoy, it's a pleasure to see you. Do you have an appointment with--"
He interrupted her with a sneer. "Madame, you know as well as I that I do not in fact have an appointment."
She smiled again. "Would you like to--"
He interrupted her. "Yes. Now."
"Now? I'm afraid that's not possible, Mr. DeCoy. She has another client."
"Of course. I'll wait then."
"You want to wait?"
"Yes!" He hissed and the 'you daft woman' was strongly implied in his abrupt silence. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to smile at her lest she deny him the meeting. The smile turned into a grimace that the receptionist answered with a wince.
"I see," she opened the big book in front of her, pulled her finger down over the page and scrunched her eyes. Then she looked back up to Severus. "As this is obviously an emergency I think we can squeeze you in. We will have to shuffle some other appointments around but, knowing the generous person you are, I'm sure we'll be able to smooth the inconvenience for the other parties involved. Right, Mr. DeCoy?"
Severus nodded and pushed an envelope towards her that he had pulled out of his pocket.
"As always you are well prepared, Mr. DeCoy." She took the envelope and put it into a drawer without opening it. "You will have to wait, though, so we can prepare everything. I'll bring you some tea and something to read while you're waiting."
Severus answered with a nod and went to the waiting room.
~ * ~
Sometime later Severus was called. He ascended the stairs to the usual room and knocked on the door.
"Mr. DeCoy!" The woman smiled at him and although she had known he was there, some surprise still lingered in her expression. "Please, come in and have a seat."
Without a word Severus passed by her and sat down. He folded his hands in his lap and looked down. His hands were opening and closing as if they were trying to grasp something.
"Tea?"
Severus shook his head. "No. I--" his voice broke and he stopped.
She looked at him and sat down beside him. "What happened?"
Severus looked up as she sat, uncomfortable and hesitant. He opened his mouth to speak but only a strange sound came out. It took him some time to understand that the low, wailing sound had come from him. He took a deep breath. "I don't understand." He turned towards her. "I'm not a pleasant man. I'm heartless and without conscience."
She interrupted him. "Who said that?"
He looked at her in surprise. "What? I don't know. But it's the truth."
"Is it?"
"Yes!"
"What is this about, Mr. DeCoy?"
He swallowed, then a cackling laugh broke out of him. "A cat. All of this for some stupid, worthless alley cat! It doesn't even have a name! And it just vanished. It's gone. It's gone."
She leaned forward and carefully wrapped her arms around him as he broke down crying.
~ * ~
After Severus had left, the woman walked downstairs to speak with the receptionist. "Thank you for your quick thinking, Martha. He really needed this meeting tonight."
Martha nodded. "I still don't understand why you take him on, Eve. He's not like any other patron we have. I mean--"
"I know what you mean. But you know that he never sought anything sexual to begin with. That's why he came to us, that's why you sent him to me. No?"
"Yes, that's what we do." Martha's eyes gleamed with pride. Her establishment was widely known for its specialties. "You never said what it is you two get up to in your sessions."
She laughed. "That's because there's nothing to tell. We sit and... talk."
"You talk?"
Eve nodded.
"But why? I mean I'd also have no problem taking such money for having a chitchat. But you, I don't know. You seem to like him. You even threw Momsey out, even though he pays much more than DeCoy."
"You're right. But while Momsey pays a lot to have some time with a good courtesan, I'm still just a posh prostitute to him. To Mr. DeCoy I've never been 'just another alley cat'. I hope that in some way I have managed to become his confidante. And maybe, one day, I'll also become his friend." Eve smiled sadly. "He doesn't have many of those. But I know he would cherish each person he considers to be his friend, like a man dying of thirst would cherish a glass of water. That makes him a good man in my eyes. And I hope that there are others out there who can see behind his sharp and bitter outside to find the man I know he hides inside."
* ~ *
Severus walked down a narrow alley when he heard a man calling.
"Here kitty, come here! Yes, that's it. Come here."
Cautiously he approached and saw a man crouching down to scratch a dirty, haggard cat. Its fur was matted and sticky. Its colour was a mixture of grey-white and black. Severus sagged when he saw it was a different cat.
The man must have heard him approach and turned around. After a moment of silence, the other stood up astonished, the cat suddenly forgotten. "Professor."
Severus hesitated, debating whether to obliviate the green-eyed man or simply apparate away, when the black and white cat began weaving between his legs, in a move so reminiscent of his alley cat that it rooted him to the spot.
Severus swallowed and looked from the cat to the man. After a moment he inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Mr. Potter."