Severus started to say that he would simply enlarge that doorway when he got to it, but he decided not to. It was a silly hypothetical anyway, and besides, he soon became distracted. Mercy looked, well, confused when he'd said he formerly thought nothing could be more interesting than reading. Was he being too subtle? He supposed, in hindsight, that 'talking to a beautiful woman' comment might not have gone amiss, but unfortunately, the moment had now passed. Pity.
"I've seen him," he answered, when she mentioned that Dug was a golden retriever. "It simply never occurred to me to introduce myself to him, in case he might talk." And, of course, if Dug was as friendly as she made him out to be, he would likely jump on him and leave yellow hairs all over his robes. Severus tried not to pull a face at the very thought.
He chuckled at the 'cows or goats or pigs, oh my', and added, "Well, we should probably count ourselves lucky that there aren't lions and tigers and bears." Though even as he'd said it, he wondered if their captors might be listening. Well, naturally they were listening, but he hoped he hadn't given them any more ideas. But they likely didn't need any help from him.
Severus hesitated for a moment, licking his lips, and then swallowed, screwing up his nerve. "There was one other thing I did this week, but seeing as it was dreadfully unsuccessful, I wasn't sure I ought to mention it." He gave a slight shrug before continuing. "I thought I'd try my hand at the good kind of stalking, but given that the lady wasn't in at the time, the attempt rather fell flat."