Tiana awoke with a start to hear her father shouting at her. "Tiana, get out here now!" She glanced at her clock and saw it was 10:30. She hadn't slept in that late. "What is it?" she called. "Just get out here!" her father answered, panic rising in his voice. She jumped out of bed, hurriedly pulled on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top and rushed out into the hallway. Not seeing her father, she ran to his room. He wasn't there either. Just then Tiana heard her father yell "Stupify" and then a loud 'crash'. Tiana raced to the living room. The lamp that normally sat on the table by the fireplace now lay shattered all over the carpet. "Tiana, stay back," her father ordered her. "What's going on?" Tiana asked confused. Just then Tiana saw what the spell had been aimed at. A jet-black panther stood in the middle of the living room, its sharp green eyes locked onto her father's.
"Stupify!" Snape yelled again, the spell shot out from the tip his wand aiming at the panther's chest. Just as the spell was about to hit it, the panther disappeared. The spell hit the table by the fireplace, creating a crack down the center and then the panther reappeared. "Dad�is that thing real?" Tiana asked shakily. "Yes Tiana it is," her father responded. "She trained him well," he muttered to himself. "She?" Tiana said. "Lexi," Snape answered. "Y-y-you mean that is the panther that tried to kill you at Christmas," Tiana shouted. "Yes it is," he said back. "Are you sure?" Tiana mumbled in fear. "Yes, that's Zachary all right," Snape answered her calmly. "M-m-maybe if you put your wand away, it will leave," Tiana suggested. Snape put his wand back in his pocket. Zachary lay down on the carpet, eyes still locked onto Snape's. He blinked and Zachary looked away.
Later, Severus and Tiana sat eating lunch at the kitchen table, Zachary lying under it. "Why is it, I mean he, here?" Tiana asked. "It probably has something to do with Lexi," her father responded. "Oh," Tiana said, looking down at the giant creature at her feet. "He's kind of cute," she said. "Yes, but dangerous also," Snape reminded her. Just then Zachary stood up and placed his paw on Snape's leg. "Get down," Snape said pushing the panther's paw off his leg. Where the animal's paw had been moments before, a folded piece of parchment now lay. Snape picked it up and unfolded it. It read:
He's yours to keep. He is loyal and will protect you. Lexi Walker.
"So what are we going to do with him?" Tiana asked, after her father had read the note aloud. "I guess we have to keep him," Snape answered her. 'Why would she send her panther for me to keep?' he thought to himself. "Well, he seems well trained," Tiana remarked. "Do you suppose he hunts?" she added. "There's only one way to find out," Snape said getting up. "How's that?" Tiana asked, getting up as well. "We ask Lexi's mother and stepfather," he said matter-of-factly.
Within minutes, the two stood outside of Lexi's house. As Tiana rang the doorbell, Severus began to feel uneasy, as if coming to her house was wrong. Lexi's mother opened the door, a tired expression on her face. "Yes? What can I do�" she began, suddenly realizing who it was. "May we have a moment of your time?" Snape inquired. "W-what is it?" Karen asked. "Does Zachary hunt on his own or do we have to feed him ourselves," Tiana said, breaking the silence. "H-h-he hunts," Karen stammered. "Thank you. Have a nice day," Snape said. He and Tiana vanished. Karen shut the door, a shocked look on her face.
When Snape and Tiana returned home, Zachary was standing in the hallway, waiting for them. "Well, I guess we will have to keep you," Tiana murmured into the panther's ear. "Yes I believe we will," her father said. For the rest of the afternoon, Tiana sat in the living room, petting Zachary and doing her Transfiguration homework that Professor McGonagall had given them for the summer break. At 11:30, Tiana climbed into bed. "Oh, get up here you big fur ball," Tiana said playfully. Zachary glanced up at her from where he lay on the floor. He stood up, stretched and then vanished. 'He'll be back,' she thought to herself. Severus rolled over in bed and nearly hit the ceiling when he met the eyes of the newest member of the family. Seeing that the other member of the household was safely in bed, Zachary vanished again. 'He better be back in the morning,' Snape thought to himself. And so, the Snape household had a permanent guest.