Disclaimers: I don't own Harry Potter.
-
-
-
Emerald
Chapter 1
He sat quietly in the depth of the dark alley that led to his unsettled nest built with old newspapers and discarded cardboard boxes. He would bite anyone that dared to mock his dearly nest – he himself had had to looked for every shred paper and cardboard in order to build his own home. In reality, this hellhole full of rats and rags eventually become heaven for a stray cat, because the two-legged ones never walked in here and all other carnivores followed their two-legged masters.
Let's say again, for those whose brain cells had fallen beyond repair: he was an ageless cat. Don't ask him the reason of it, he wouldn't even know, his common senses were too poorly constructed.
Cats had an absolutely different aging system compared to the two-legged. After every three hundred and sixty five sunsets, a two-legged got older one more 'year'. Cats were not that lucky. The lifespan of a cat was much shorter; while those creatures celebrated their birthday with big, soft-looking eatable colored thing with candles that formed a number that was usually greater than twenty, many of his friends were greeted by Saint Pierre somewhere beyond the blue sky. It was more or less a perfect dream of cats whose masters were Catholic.
He was not Catholic. He did not believe in the ghastly white statues that could possess unnatural powers. His fur had been turning black times ago; the black spots slowly beat the white ones. One day, his next-door neighbor had his eyes as round as those of a cornered rat and stated with disbelief that he had become a creature of darkness. He hunched his shoulders – not only the two-legged could do that – and told him not to read too much Greek myths, while his deep emerald eyes, speckled with silver, gazed through the grey ones of his neighbor.
Starting from that moment, the cat knew that something was missed. About two years later – two-legged speaking – his neighbor died in an extremely bloody battle with the most infamous rat of the whole alley. Times floated away without traces; it wasn't long before he became the only cat alive within three thousands cat footings, his nest centered. The rats wouldn't touch him. His growing seemed to stop. He still recognized tiredness and numb, but only after long rats-chasing – one thing old cats never dared imitate. He wasn't really old – he had only been living a couple of years in two-legged counting, which meant sixty-seventy years in cat counting. If he was old then… but when compared to other species, he was nothing more than a wailing baby. At least, his outer appearance.
He has been living, with abnormality running in his veins, as a part of a past so far away that he couldn't reach…
-
During the time before his neighbor died, said cat usually gazed into his forehead, through the short midnight-colored fur, and kept asking the same question: 'Where did that scar come from?'
At first, he answered: 'What scar? I didn't have any accident to even get a scar'
'You do have a scar. Right in the middle of your forehead. Lighting bolt-shaped'
His eyes narrowed. He recalled having seen that shape somewhere. He let out a small meow of protest – he had seen the lighting bold shape in a tattered newspaper. The monotone picture moved non-stop – he didn't notice the abnormality, knowing himself too clearly. It was a baby, two-legged race, with a cute mop of raven hair and bright eyes widely open. The baby was crying. Its scar, the same shape as his, had blood dripping out on his forehead.
'So?' he replied, feeling no need to inform his neighbor of the newspaper. The other cat shook his head.
'Well, it really is not my business. But I'll have you know that a lighting bolt-shaped scar on the forehead of a cat is extremely out of place'
That night, he suddenly felt the need of sleep. Cats never slept at nights – he said to himself. He remained awake for a little while and then indulged sleep. Eyelids becoming heavy, he drifted off to sleep, mentally reminded himself that he wasn't worth as a creature of darkness.
'Lily! Take Harry and run! I'll hold him!'
'Avada Kedavra!'
'James!'
'Step aside, worthless Mudblood. Step aside and I may spare your pitiful life. Step aside!'
'No! Never!'
'Too bad, you have just made your choice then, Mudblood. A very difficult choice indeed. Avada Kedavra'
The woman fell lifelessly onto the floor. Through her burning red bangs, her emerald eyes now dulled and inanimate, her arms clutched the black-haired baby, who was completely silent.
'Just you and me now. Harry James Potter and Lord Voldemort. You shall no doubt become a powerful wizard, but I shan't let that happen. Goodbye, Harry Potter'
The Killing Curse spoken so softly, the sickly green light beam towards the baby at blurring speed…
His eyes jerked open; he yelped loudly, startled his neighbor in the process, who glances askance at the smaller cat: 'What happened?'
'Nothing. Just a nightmare' he spoke between gasps.
'Serves you right for sleeping so soon' the other cat grunted 'Now either stay awake or go back to sleep, but keep quiet'
-
After many years living in the darkest hell of the alley, he was confident enough to conclude: Snakes was the most aggreeable creatures in the world. Of course he did exclude his neighbor.
Snakes had everything that cats lacked to become real hunters. Snakes could slither everywhere without legs, or snakes weren't color-blind – any color was the same to a snake. There were times he wished to become a snake, even if just to respond to his curiosity of an abnormal cat.
True to the name 'Snakepit' of the alley, the number of snakes living here was great. There were even several races that he had never seen before except in the rectangular box that had flash of pictures. Snakes reunited here for only one reason: the rats. Local rats were fat and so numerous, especially when the two-legged brought bags of junk food here and left. Of course, he would never eat those junks. But rats, after being skinned from their filthy outer layer, were delicious.
He also had another close friend, a snake called Luce. Luce was a King cobra, whose poison could kill twenty mice in one bite. Luce had come to this alley solely for food – really, even a snakepit wasn't fit enough for a King cobra - but when they meet each other, Luce had decided to stay and befriend him. He didn't have a name, even his neighbor only called him 'cat', so Luce named him Lucas – Lucifer's most dangerous henchman. He didn't know the origin of this name, but still contently accepted. Besides, Lucas was a great name, and it went with Luce.
Lucas appreciated his talks with Luce in his poorly built cardboard nest. The cat had had to drag more papers to enlarge his heaven for a snake that was as seven times longer than him, but Lucas didn't care. Rats and other snakes usually sneaked away in Luce's presence, especially when Lucas was wrapping himself warmly in his King cobra's embrace – a pretty terrific sight. And Luce was a living library. The snake knew everything – from hunting secrets to 'that thing' of the two-legged.
'Lucas, have you ever heard of Harry Potter?'
'Who is Harry Potter?'
'Guess I have to narrate from the beginning. What do you know about Magic?'
-
Luce stayed awaked for the whole night and explained everything about Magic to the cat, including Harry Potter's stories. Lucas felt turned in his stomach. All of this – he felt so familiar, even if he had never heard of Harry Potter nor the word 'magic'.
What did he hear?
'Worthless freak'
Lucas buried himself deeper into his guardian's scaly skin…
-
'Son, are you alright? Open your eyes, son'
Annoyed by the foreign string of unfamiliar language, he stretched himself and gave a long yawn. He suddenly felt strange – his nest didn't seem to fit. Upon opening his eyes, he almost fainted. In place of the silky black fur was a layer of smooth and ghastly pale two-legged kind of skin. His foots were no longer cat-liked, but likely two-legged-liked, with short and rectangular claws and long toes. He reached to touch his own face.
In short, he looked nothing different that the two-legged that was standing in front of him and that was currently staring at him with a complicated facial expression.
'Son, why are you laying here? That snake is really dangerous, you know'
He turned to Luce, who stirred and awakened. The snake was irritated. Two slits yellow pupils switched between Lucas and the two-legged. Finally, Luce said: 'Is that you, Lucas?'
Lucas answered and startled at the long hiss he made: 'I'm alright. What happened?'
Luce didn't reply; she hissed angrily and wrapped herself around Lucas' new thin frame to protect him. The two-legged backed off with a clearly distressed expression on his wrinkled face and shouted out loud the same foreign language. Luce hissed in his ears: 'Say something, anything. The two-legged will run away'
Lucas let out a long inaudible hiss. To Luce and him, it was just 'creatures like you aren't welcomed here. Get lost' but the two-legged's eyes were widely open. He turned back to the exit of the alley and ran with full speed.
Lucas turned back to the snake, which seemed thoughtful for a minute. Then Luce said calmly: 'I know what you truly are'
'What? What do you mean?' Lucas didn't understand. His stomach turned again.
'You are not a cat. You are a human, a two-legged, just like that creature. You are also a wizard. And you are…'
-
-
-
Reviews are appreciated.