Chapter 1: Escape from Azkaban
When Renée had hugged Sirius for the last time she changed to her cat form and jumped to the barred windowsill. The face of Black looked up to the window, waiting for her to jump. Looking back to the cell, and the only person she had ever known for the last time, she jumped and landed gracefully on her little cat feet. Changing into a dog she swam across to the main land and fled. She stopped when she had touched solid ground and turned back to look at Azkaban. Silent tears streamed down her face, as she promised herself she would see her teacher again.
The girl reached the road that diverged in two. One way led off towards the far away forest, the other, strait to Hogwarts. But which was which? The girl stood at the crossing looking back between the roads. Renée gathered her composure, chose a road, and began the journey to Hogwarts. Changing her form into a unicorn, she galloped towards the Forbidden Forest that loomed up before her.
* * *
Renée sat quietly at the edge of the forest, after changing back to cat shape, looking towards the school doors. She noted the mean looking man posted there and decided she would have to find another way in as the man would certainly not let her in. She circled the castle, just beyond the boundary of the forest cover. Her cat eyes searched for any possible route into the school. She finally found a window, barred though it was, she could manage to get through.
She crept to the window, which was at the ground level, and looked in. She saw what she assumed to be a classroom, though it reminded her quite a lot of her old cell back in Azkaban. An unbidden shiver rocked her cat spine as she calculated the distance of the jump.
* * *
Snape watched the cat as it rounded the corner. Slowly, as not to be seen, he followed. He watched as the cat sized up the fall and jumped down into his office. , he thought to himself. But he had no more time to ponder it, as he had to get back to his post.
* * *
Renée wandered around the dungeon until she found stairs leading up. She climbed up two and was about to climb another when the stairs began to move under her. Out of shock she jumped to another stairway that was not presently moving. As the stairway went down she went into the door that was at the end. She found a hallway which lead down to each side. She poked her head around the corner and saw an old man with long white hair come towards her. Backing up into the passage she watched the man go past.
"The school years never go as I had planed," he said to himself as he went by.
, she thought to herself, She watched his retreating form until it had gone around the corner. She then changed into a dog, a small one as it was, but a dog nonetheless. Catching the scent of the leaving man she followed it up and down stairways, though doorways and to a gargoyle at which the trail ended. She looked at the gargoyle from all angles but found not trigger or any sort of lever. She looked cautiously down each hallway and changed back to her usual form. She focused on the gargoyle and began to chant a spell while weaving her hands in and out of a pattern. The gargoyle slid to the right and she walked in and up a moving staircase. When she got to the top she stepped onto the platform and walked up to the door. She opened it and poked her head in to see the face of a Phoenix blocking her path.
* * *
Fred Weasly woke up in the night, remembering the stranger that had been able to turn into the cat. He strained to remember more, it had been such a good dream, mysterious as it was. But, the dream slipped away from his mind and he fell into sleep again.
* * *
Renée backed up from the phoenix and bowed, knowing that if the phoenix bowed back, he had accepted her presence. The Phoenix considered this, looking over her, but finally dipped his head. Renée smiled and walked in once the phoenix backed away. She bowed one again and changed to imitate its shape. The phoenix ruffled its feathers slightly at the display, but kept quiet. She asked the phoenix first, his name, and gave hers. The phoenix said his name was Fawkes and they exchanged pleasantries for the moment. Long into the night they questioned one another.
"Is this the Headmaster's office?" Renée asked Fawkes.
"It is." He answered.
"Would you mind terribly if I stay here to wait for morning?" She asked him.
"I couldn't care less." He said, dipping his head in a sort of shrug.
Renée dipped her head and Fawkes did as well. She changed back to her human form and bowed again to him. Turning back into her cat form she curled up on a chair to wait for the headmaster.
* * *
Dumbledore said the password to the gargoyle and it slid out of the way. He walked though the pass and felt the tingle of lingering magic. He rode the stairway up to the platform and walked in cautiously. He looked around for the culprit and he found her.a small ball of fluff curled on one of his chairs. Fawkes ruffled his feathers roughly and the cat sprang up from the chair and landed on Dumbledore's desk, hissing. When she saw that it was Dumbledore she calmed down and sat on the desk facing him.
Her eyes were a lamp like yellow and her coat a shiny tone of raven-wing- black. He watched her and she him. Their eyes contacted and Dumbledore saw the same sharp likeness of his own eyes. The cat simply glared. The message suddenly appeared in Dumbledore's mind and he chuckled at the straightforwardness of the animal.
, it said.
"You're not a true cat." He retorted.
, the new message said,
With a swish of her tail she jumped off the desk, a mere three feet from him. She flicked her tail again and the transformation began. Her form blurred and she grew taller with the passing second. Her form solidified after a while revealing a small girl of ten years old with long golden hair in a battered black robe.
"You are correct, I am no true cat. Nor can I ever be anything true but myself." She bowed to him as she had to Fawkes and came back up.
Dumbledore stood, slightly impressed, and asked his question, "Why are you in my office?"
She looked him over as he did the same to her. He was an old man, wearied by work, but a strong wizard nonetheless. She noticed the kindness in his eyes and had no doubt this was the person Sirius had been talking about.
"I see you get right to the point," she said and continued, "My name is Renée. I was told by a friend that you would know my name." She looked for any change in his appearance, when she found none she continued, "Then you might know my friend's name." she made sure he was listening before she uttered his name, "Sirius." Dumbledore jumped at mention of the old peer's name, "Sirius? Sirius Black?" "One in the same," Renée said, "I was told by him to seek you out when I could. Though you either never knew my name, forgot over the years, or are a very good pretender." She watched as his eyes lost much of their sharpness, and she knew she was getting to him, "I'm ten now." She said, looking for any change in his expression.
Dumbledore sat down in his desk and leaned forward, "Am I getting the impression that you want to be in the school?"
"No," she thought, "not yet anyway. I know I am not yet the required age, but I could help around the school in the time it takes me to get to that age." She points to the door behind her, "As you see, I can do magic that students don't learn until, third year I believe. If that isn't enough, you know I am an animagus already, though different in my own way."
"How do you perceive yourself different?" Dumbledore asked.
"Cat is only one of my forms," she said trailing off.
He waved for her to continue and she went back to cat form and began changing from one form to another: cat, dog, unicorn, and even an older woman of about eighteen years old. When she changed back to her real form she showed no sign of tiredness.
"I can help in anything you need, I am well organized, slink about easily, as you know, and do many other things well." She said, looking for a soft spot.
"Well," he said thinking, "we could use someone to watch the halls at night for roaming students. If you could do that I think I could afford let you stay."
"I could. However, if you ever mention me, think of me as a cat, I will be called Miss Norris." With that, Renée turned into 'Miss Norris', and walked down the hall.
* * *
The next morning the students were not surprised to see one more animal running around. So they were in no way prepared for what Dumbledore said before breakfast.
"We have a new enforcer of the rules. She will be patrolling the halls at night in look of any stray students." He said, then proceeded to tell them what she went by, and what she was.
At the mention of a cat being a patrol, the students looked strangely at him and snickers could be heard from Slytherin, with the occasional "he's crazy," or "he's definitely off his rocker," mixed in between.
The black cat bounded up to jump onto the teacher's table and hissed, looking from one side of the room to the other. The students gasped at her lamp-like eyes of 'Miss Norris'. The students at Slytherin immediately went quiet. The students could feel the power those eyes radiated, and had no desire to get on her bad side.
Dumbledore took his hand and rubbed behind the cat's ears, looking at the students. "I hope, for you, that you have the luck to realize that you should never underestimate a cat without having to come face to face with this one."
* * *
The next half of the year went like any other school year would have. Renée / Miss Norris did her job well, and turned in any student found running around after curfew. Fred and George Weasley were her worst enemies, as was she theirs. Many nights she would find them, sneaking around in the hidden passages. They always tried to get out of trouble, but Miss Norris had a talent, in which no person she found could get out of the trouble, no matter how good they were.
When Renée had hugged Sirius for the last time she changed to her cat form and jumped to the barred windowsill. The face of Black looked up to the window, waiting for her to jump. Looking back to the cell, and the only person she had ever known for the last time, she jumped and landed gracefully on her little cat feet. Changing into a dog she swam across to the main land and fled. She stopped when she had touched solid ground and turned back to look at Azkaban. Silent tears streamed down her face, as she promised herself she would see her teacher again.
The girl reached the road that diverged in two. One way led off towards the far away forest, the other, strait to Hogwarts. But which was which? The girl stood at the crossing looking back between the roads. Renée gathered her composure, chose a road, and began the journey to Hogwarts. Changing her form into a unicorn, she galloped towards the Forbidden Forest that loomed up before her.
* * *
Renée sat quietly at the edge of the forest, after changing back to cat shape, looking towards the school doors. She noted the mean looking man posted there and decided she would have to find another way in as the man would certainly not let her in. She circled the castle, just beyond the boundary of the forest cover. Her cat eyes searched for any possible route into the school. She finally found a window, barred though it was, she could manage to get through.
She crept to the window, which was at the ground level, and looked in. She saw what she assumed to be a classroom, though it reminded her quite a lot of her old cell back in Azkaban. An unbidden shiver rocked her cat spine as she calculated the distance of the jump.
* * *
Snape watched the cat as it rounded the corner. Slowly, as not to be seen, he followed. He watched as the cat sized up the fall and jumped down into his office. , he thought to himself. But he had no more time to ponder it, as he had to get back to his post.
* * *
Renée wandered around the dungeon until she found stairs leading up. She climbed up two and was about to climb another when the stairs began to move under her. Out of shock she jumped to another stairway that was not presently moving. As the stairway went down she went into the door that was at the end. She found a hallway which lead down to each side. She poked her head around the corner and saw an old man with long white hair come towards her. Backing up into the passage she watched the man go past.
"The school years never go as I had planed," he said to himself as he went by.
, she thought to herself, She watched his retreating form until it had gone around the corner. She then changed into a dog, a small one as it was, but a dog nonetheless. Catching the scent of the leaving man she followed it up and down stairways, though doorways and to a gargoyle at which the trail ended. She looked at the gargoyle from all angles but found not trigger or any sort of lever. She looked cautiously down each hallway and changed back to her usual form. She focused on the gargoyle and began to chant a spell while weaving her hands in and out of a pattern. The gargoyle slid to the right and she walked in and up a moving staircase. When she got to the top she stepped onto the platform and walked up to the door. She opened it and poked her head in to see the face of a Phoenix blocking her path.
* * *
Fred Weasly woke up in the night, remembering the stranger that had been able to turn into the cat. He strained to remember more, it had been such a good dream, mysterious as it was. But, the dream slipped away from his mind and he fell into sleep again.
* * *
Renée backed up from the phoenix and bowed, knowing that if the phoenix bowed back, he had accepted her presence. The Phoenix considered this, looking over her, but finally dipped his head. Renée smiled and walked in once the phoenix backed away. She bowed one again and changed to imitate its shape. The phoenix ruffled its feathers slightly at the display, but kept quiet. She asked the phoenix first, his name, and gave hers. The phoenix said his name was Fawkes and they exchanged pleasantries for the moment. Long into the night they questioned one another.
"Is this the Headmaster's office?" Renée asked Fawkes.
"It is." He answered.
"Would you mind terribly if I stay here to wait for morning?" She asked him.
"I couldn't care less." He said, dipping his head in a sort of shrug.
Renée dipped her head and Fawkes did as well. She changed back to her human form and bowed again to him. Turning back into her cat form she curled up on a chair to wait for the headmaster.
* * *
Dumbledore said the password to the gargoyle and it slid out of the way. He walked though the pass and felt the tingle of lingering magic. He rode the stairway up to the platform and walked in cautiously. He looked around for the culprit and he found her.a small ball of fluff curled on one of his chairs. Fawkes ruffled his feathers roughly and the cat sprang up from the chair and landed on Dumbledore's desk, hissing. When she saw that it was Dumbledore she calmed down and sat on the desk facing him.
Her eyes were a lamp like yellow and her coat a shiny tone of raven-wing- black. He watched her and she him. Their eyes contacted and Dumbledore saw the same sharp likeness of his own eyes. The cat simply glared. The message suddenly appeared in Dumbledore's mind and he chuckled at the straightforwardness of the animal.
, it said.
"You're not a true cat." He retorted.
, the new message said,
With a swish of her tail she jumped off the desk, a mere three feet from him. She flicked her tail again and the transformation began. Her form blurred and she grew taller with the passing second. Her form solidified after a while revealing a small girl of ten years old with long golden hair in a battered black robe.
"You are correct, I am no true cat. Nor can I ever be anything true but myself." She bowed to him as she had to Fawkes and came back up.
Dumbledore stood, slightly impressed, and asked his question, "Why are you in my office?"
She looked him over as he did the same to her. He was an old man, wearied by work, but a strong wizard nonetheless. She noticed the kindness in his eyes and had no doubt this was the person Sirius had been talking about.
"I see you get right to the point," she said and continued, "My name is Renée. I was told by a friend that you would know my name." She looked for any change in his appearance, when she found none she continued, "Then you might know my friend's name." she made sure he was listening before she uttered his name, "Sirius." Dumbledore jumped at mention of the old peer's name, "Sirius? Sirius Black?" "One in the same," Renée said, "I was told by him to seek you out when I could. Though you either never knew my name, forgot over the years, or are a very good pretender." She watched as his eyes lost much of their sharpness, and she knew she was getting to him, "I'm ten now." She said, looking for any change in his expression.
Dumbledore sat down in his desk and leaned forward, "Am I getting the impression that you want to be in the school?"
"No," she thought, "not yet anyway. I know I am not yet the required age, but I could help around the school in the time it takes me to get to that age." She points to the door behind her, "As you see, I can do magic that students don't learn until, third year I believe. If that isn't enough, you know I am an animagus already, though different in my own way."
"How do you perceive yourself different?" Dumbledore asked.
"Cat is only one of my forms," she said trailing off.
He waved for her to continue and she went back to cat form and began changing from one form to another: cat, dog, unicorn, and even an older woman of about eighteen years old. When she changed back to her real form she showed no sign of tiredness.
"I can help in anything you need, I am well organized, slink about easily, as you know, and do many other things well." She said, looking for a soft spot.
"Well," he said thinking, "we could use someone to watch the halls at night for roaming students. If you could do that I think I could afford let you stay."
"I could. However, if you ever mention me, think of me as a cat, I will be called Miss Norris." With that, Renée turned into 'Miss Norris', and walked down the hall.
* * *
The next morning the students were not surprised to see one more animal running around. So they were in no way prepared for what Dumbledore said before breakfast.
"We have a new enforcer of the rules. She will be patrolling the halls at night in look of any stray students." He said, then proceeded to tell them what she went by, and what she was.
At the mention of a cat being a patrol, the students looked strangely at him and snickers could be heard from Slytherin, with the occasional "he's crazy," or "he's definitely off his rocker," mixed in between.
The black cat bounded up to jump onto the teacher's table and hissed, looking from one side of the room to the other. The students gasped at her lamp-like eyes of 'Miss Norris'. The students at Slytherin immediately went quiet. The students could feel the power those eyes radiated, and had no desire to get on her bad side.
Dumbledore took his hand and rubbed behind the cat's ears, looking at the students. "I hope, for you, that you have the luck to realize that you should never underestimate a cat without having to come face to face with this one."
* * *
The next half of the year went like any other school year would have. Renée / Miss Norris did her job well, and turned in any student found running around after curfew. Fred and George Weasley were her worst enemies, as was she theirs. Many nights she would find them, sneaking around in the hidden passages. They always tried to get out of trouble, but Miss Norris had a talent, in which no person she found could get out of the trouble, no matter how good they were.