And then came Oz...

After I was rescued by Memphis and Murphy, I was on edge. Scared of my shadow and constantly flinching when something startled me. I kept my house and shop under spell lockdown and compulsively looked behind me. I didn't sleep, and I didn't eat, and all the while I didn't hear from Severus. Not for the days of my imprisonment, and not for a week after.

So when I arrived home one night, and found a man in my living room... I panicked. Instead of handling it, I froze. He was a short man, pudgy all over, but with kind eyes. Though I didn't trust him, I let him speak. He told me he was a gift to me, from Minias. One who was a pet for me to test my magic on. The idea was appalling. How could Minias own living beings? The man, who was named Oswald, said Minias owned his entire family, for generations, because of a deal his ancestor had made. It disturbed me on many levels. Oswald was a shifter, but cursed to only shift into small animals. Rodents. And his previous owner had been a chef. An awful chef, who forced Oswald to create recipes for him, making him rich beyond his greatest desires. I took pity on Oswald, whom I called Ozzy, or Oz, and let him have one of the apartments above the charm shop, furnishing it and paying him for and work he did for me.

Minias sending me Oz was the greatest gift anyone could have given me. He became my best friend, second only to Memphis, with his easy going manner, witty humor, and inappropriate yet funny jokes. I started to depend on him, especially after Severus disappeared. The day Oz came into my life was the day Severus checked out of it, and with the hole Sev gave me, Ozzy filled.

On the night I finally let Severus go, Oz and I went to Vegas, and the poor guy sang karaoke with me. Together, we belted out some hardcore angry or sad songs. Afterward we drank the night away and got a room at Treasure Island, though, of course, nothing happened. But the next morning, Oz had changed. Physically he looked younger, thinner and... hot. After reconstructing the events, I found Minias was behind Oz's transformation, so him and I planned a trip into the Ever After...