Feline Escapade by Healer Pomfrey
All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.
I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.
Three-year-old Harry Potter was doing his best working in the garden like Aunt Petunia had instructed him earlier in the morning, telling him that he was now three and old enough to earn his keep. However, Harry felt very uncomfortable. It was not only that it was raining cats and dogs, but his skin was very sore from all the bruises and welts that Uncle Vernon had applied to him during the last week and his bum hurt from the nappy that Aunt Petunia had not changed in days. In fact, Harry did not need a nappy anymore, as he knew exactly when he had to use the toilet; however, Aunt Petunia insisted that he needed it, considering that he was usually locked into his cupboard, which unfortunately was not equipped with the luxury of a bathroom.
'I wished I was a cat,' Harry thought, remembering Mrs. Figg's cats whom he had visited during the weekend, when his relatives had travelled to the seaside. 'They don't have to wear nappies that make them sore. And they have someone who cares for them and loves them,' he mused, recalling how gentle Mrs. Figg had cared for the cats. 'They get to eat whenever they're hungry. I really wished I was a cat,' he thought feverishly.
A bout of accidental magic left the child at his strong wish, and before he knew what happened, he found himself in the form of a kitten. All of a sudden, the ground was much nearer, and his vision had greatly improved. Everything seemed much bigger now, and different sounds and smells than before penetrated his mind. 'I'm a cat,' he realised, staring at his four feet that were covered with black fur in disbelief.
'Maybe I can play with Mrs. Figg's cats,' he thought and tried to walk on his four legs. It took a while, before he got used to his new limbs; however, finally, he managed to make his way into the back garden of Mrs. Figg's residence, where he hesitantly joined the other cats.
HP
=Hello there,= one of the older cats addressed him. It was an older, female cat with white and orange fur and yellow eyes, and she had a very gentle voice. =Where do you come from, and what's your name?=
=I don't know,= Harry replied, unsurely.
=Don't you have a home?= the old marmalade cat asked again, giving him a compassionate look.
=No,= Harry told her, shyly beginning to clean his left front paw.
=Look Lina, someone must have mistreated him,= a grey cat spoke up, pointing her paw at Harry's front legs. =His fur doesn't look very well, although he is beautiful with his black fur and emerald eyes.=
=Yes that's true,= the first cat agreed. =Come with me and let me introduce you to Mrs. Figg. She'll surely keep you here, and she might be able to make your wounds go away.=
As far as he could run on his four feet, Harry followed the other cat inside the house and into the living room, where Mrs. Figg was just having tea together with another old lady.
"Oh a new kitten?" Mrs. Figg asked, eyeing Harry with curiosity.
Harry uttered a shy meaow, hoping that the cat lady - how he used to call Mrs. Figg - would not recognise him.
=He doesn't know who he is, he has no home, and we think his fur doesn't look well,= the marmalade cat explained.
To Harry's utmost surprise, Mrs. Figg's visitor translated everything that the marmalade cat had said into human words for the cat lady to comprehend.
"Let's call you Nero," Mrs. Figg said, smiling, before she asked kindly, "Nero, what happened to your fur?"
However, Harry merely shrugged, unsure about what to say without giving himself away.
The two older ladies leaned over the black kitten, closely inspecting his legs.
"Arabella, do you have Murtlap essence?" the other lady queried, gently petting Harry's fur.
'She somehow feels familiar,' Harry thought, unconsciously thinking, 'Granny.'
While Mrs. Figg went to fetch the requested item, Harry carefully climbed up into the other lady's lap. Snuggling deep into her embrace, he began to purr contentedly.
"Nero seems to have taken a liking to you," Mrs. Figg said upon her return, smiling. She handed the other lady a small bowl. "Here Minerva, will you..."
"Yes thank you Arabella," her friend replied to the incomplete question.
The lady proceeded to gently bathe Harry's legs one after the other in a strange liquid that felt very soothing to his sore skin.
"You're such a cutie," the lady whispered into his ear, causing Harry to feel very cared for and happy.
"Minerva, have you ever thought of keeping a cat familiar?" Mrs. Figg asked, as she observed the interactions between her friend and the kitten. "I believe that it would be good for you, and Nero definitely likes you."
"Nero, would you like to come with me and become my familiar?" the kind lady enquired, giving him a sharp look.
=Yes, I'd like that,= Harry replied in a small voice, wondering why the Minerva lady was able to understand cat language.
"Very well then I'll take Nero with me," Minerva said, thoughtfully. "It's time for me to head back to Hogwarts now anyway. Dinner is going to commence in a little while." She cradled the kitten close and warned Nero, "This might be a bit uncomfortable for you, but we're going to take the Floo to my office at Hogwarts. Don't move but just stay in my arm."
An instant later, the world began to turn around, and when the movement finally stopped, the kind lady placed Harry on a very soft ground right in front of the fireplace. "Rest here for a while," she instructed him. "It's the most comfortable spot in my quarters." Knowing that the kitten would surely go to sleep soon, she informed him that she was going for dinner. "I'll be back in a little while," she said, before she left her rooms.
Harry as Nero curiously let his eyes wander around the room. It was a very bright room with large bookshelves covering three sides of the walls. The fourth was to a great extent occupied by a large window that allowed the view onto a lake. 'I like it here,' Harry thought and hesitantly made his way out of the room in order to further explore his surroundings. He discovered a small kitchen that did not smell as if it was used very much, a bathroom and a bedroom. The large four poster bed looked overly inviting to the small cat, and Harry tried his best to jump up onto the bed, knowing that the cats at Mrs. Figg's place always used to jump up onto furniture. It took the kitten a long time, before he finally managed to land on the bed, where he curled up, comfortably.
From his spot on the bed, he took in his surroundings with interest, when all of a sudden his view fell on a photo frame right on the night table. He recognised the photo. It was a photo of the kind lady who had taken him in, in which she was playing ball with a small boy. The boy cast back the ball, happily shouting "Granny."
'That's me,' Harry realised in surprise. 'I'm with Granny Mina at Hogwarts.'
He jumped down back onto the floor and returned to the spot in front of the fireplace that his granny had assigned him earlier. Curling up into a small ball, he fell asleep instantly. Only when Professor McGonagall returned to her quarters with several of her colleagues in tow, did his mind turn back to awareness.
"This is Nero," Minerva introduced her new familiar to her colleagues.
Harry felt himself being picked up and gently cuddled by another woman, who was wearing a broad smile. "Awww, you're really lucky Minnie. He's such a cutie," she blurted out, grinning.
"Put him back here, Rolanda," Minerva instructed her friend, and Harry felt himself being put down again very carefully.
"Nero, these are my friends Poppy, Rolanda and Severus," Minerva introduced her colleagues to Nero. "All four of us are some type of cat Animagi."
Nero gave her a questioning look, having no idea what an Animagus was. Apart from that, he was absolutely exhausted. He barely registered how the four adults transformed into cats, before he drifted off to sleep.
HP
By the time Harry woke up in the morning, the four other cats were all curled up around him, and it was very warm and comfortable.
=Good morning Nero,= the tabby cat greeted him and once again introduced her colleagues in their cat forms. =The marmalade cat is Rolanda Hooch, the white cat with the black socks is Poppy Pomfrey, and the magical lynx is Severus Snape.=
With that each of the cats sent a welcoming meaow in Nero's direction, and the small kitten purred contentedly, comfortably snuggled against the lynx and the tabby cat.
HP
'This is my home now,' he thought, happily. 'I'm not going to return to Aunt Tunia and Uncle Vernon ever again.'
Unbeknownst to the five felines, an alarm suddenly sounded through the Headmaster's office, alerting the old wizard to the fact that the blood wards around Harry Potter's home were coming down. However, when Dumbledore travelled to the Dursleys' residence first thing in the morning, the house was lying peacefully in the quiet neighbourhood of Little Whinging, making the Headmaster believe that Harry Potter was in no danger and merely his device had been faulty.
HP
Harry learned soon that the four teachers spent much time in their feline forms; however, only during the holidays. As soon as school commenced again, only the tabby cat kept him company during the nights, while the other felines only showed up during the weekends.
Harry spent most of the day sleeping in front of the fireplace in order to be awake when Minerva returned from her classes. He then joined her in her office and to the students' amusement, he chose various spots to spend the evening resting on her desk, bookshelf or windowsill.
Often did students pick him up to cuddle with him, accompanied by many "Awww, so cute"; however, Harry did not mind them touch him, as they generally were very careful and would not dare harming him in front of his granny Minerva.
HP
After a few months of sleeping during the day, Harry felt too alert to continue his lazy cat life and began to follow Minerva into her classroom, where he observed her classes with interest. To Minerva's surprise, he was extremely alert and seemed to understand a lot of the facts that she was teaching the students.
'I wished I was able to attend Hogwarts as a student too,' Harry often thought; however, no one knew that he was human, he didn't even know how old he was, and he was afraid that Minerva would throw him out of his home, when she realised that he had betrayed her and was not a real cat.
HP
One evening, Minerva returned to her quarters seemingly upset.
=What happened?= Harry asked in a soft voice, causing Minerva to let out a long sigh and transform into her feline form.
=A student, whom I knew very well when he was a baby, was supposed to come to Hogwarts tonight, however, he didn't show up at all, and I'm worried what happened to him,= Minerva explained.
'I can't understand how someone who is allowed to study here just doesn't come,' Harry thought, sadly. On the one hand, he was very happy and content with his current life as the Deputy Headmistress' cat familiar. However, on the other hand, he'd like very much to be able to transform into his human form and study for a change. 'I don't know how to make Minerva know that I'm Harry Potter though,' he thought, as he drifted off to sleep.
HP
Unbeknownst to Harry, help was going to come soon from a completely unexpected source.
In the morning, Harry followed Minerva into her classroom as usually and attended the third year Gryffindors and Slytherins Transfiguration class. He especially loved this class, since the Weasley twins had turned out to be very funny. However, this class passed as normally as it could, before the twins suddenly approached Minerva as soon as the class was finished.
"Professor..."
"... we heard..."
"... that you were looking for Harry Potter," they addressed her in a funny singsong.
"Yes why Messrs. Weasley?" Minerva queried in complete surprise.
Harry craned his neck in a faint attempt to get a glimpse at a parchment that the twins unfolded and placed on the professor's desk.
"Here..."
"He's here..."
"... together with us in this classroom," the twins informed her, pointing to something on their parchment.
Minerva let out a huge gasp, before she let her eyes wander around the classroom until her view fell onto her own cat familiar. She stared at the brilliant green eyes in disbelief, only now realising where the faint white lines of fur right above his right eye came from.
"Nero?" she voiced with a combination of horror and relief. "You're Harry Potter?"
=Yes,= Harry replied in a small voice. =Thank you so much for giving me such a wonderful home.=
"You're welcome Nero... Harry," Minerva corrected herself, absentmindedly, before she turned back to the twins. "One hundred points each to Gryffindor," she said in apparent confusion.
Once she dismissed the twins, Harry spoke up in a small voice. =I'm sorry.=
"Why are you sorry sweetie?" Minerva queried, shaking her head in disbelief.
=For my feline escapade,= Harry said softly, comfortably purring as Minerva absentmindedly cradled him close.
The End