A/N : House : Slytherin
Type : Themed
Prompt : Diagon Alley
Word Count : 618
It was just another day for Crookshanks the Kneazle-Cat.
Curled up in his cage, he tried to blot out the squeaking, squawking, jabbering and hissing creatures that surrounded him all day. Sometimes he just wished someone would take him away. However, on the rare occasions that idiotic notion struck him, another customer would walk into the Magical Menagerie, oozing evil, and Crookshanks would press himself up against the back of his cage, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and their untrustworthiness.
If anyone got too close, Crookshanks would just hiss and growl until they got the message and left to look at the jewel-encrusted tortoises or the sleek black rats. Oh, how he hated those rats! His deepest desire was to devour each and every one of the dancing rodents, and thus occupied a great part of his days by fantasising about just how he would go about doing so.
One day, however, as he lazily surveyed the shop, he observed a young witch unlike any other walk in. Instantly, he was struck with her inherent goodness; every inch of her, from her sensible shiny shoes to her bushy brown hair, was simply good.
Crookshanks wanted - nay, needed - to be with this witch. He watched her carefully as she and her two friends made their way up to the counter without so much as glancing up at him. He continued to watch her as one of her friends, whose hair was as ginger as Crookshanks's fur, began to talk to the annoying witch who manned the shop.
However, this friend who didn't seem that bad in himself, then took out a small creature from his pocket - a rat! Crookshanks narrowed his eyes, hissing furiously. It was very clear to him that this was no rat, no mere animal. No, this was a person - a man turned beast, an Animagus.
It just so happened to be one of the worst people Crookshanks had ever laid eyes on. How dare he - an embodiment of untrustworthiness and evil, permit himself to be so close to this perfect little human, this little goddess of all that is good and pure? Crookshanks didn't have an answer, but he wouldn't let the man-rat get away with it.
Furious, he began to paw at the lock on his cage. Alas, it was solid! He loosened it a little, and then with one final push, his cage flew open. Crookshanks wasted no time and immediately flung himself towards the rat. Unfortunately, the height of his cage greatly decreased the accuracy of his landing, and so fell upon the ginger boy's head. However, he was not to be deterred, and quickly pounced on the rodent, who was still sitting upon the counter.
To his great dismay, the rat managed to slip from in between his paws, darting out of the shop. Crookshanks was about to run after it when he vaguely heard the shopkeeper's voice, shouting at him to "Stop!" and to "Come here, right now!". Hissing, he turned around to face her, fully intending to give her a piece of his mind, when he noticed that the bushy haired witch hadn't ran after the rat like her friends had.
Without thinking, he jumped into the girl's arms, entirely unsure of how she would react. For a few seconds, she didn't react at all, she was so surprised. But then, all of a sudden, she held him tightly to her chest, nuzzling his soft orange fur. Purring, Crookshanks nestled himself deeper into her embrace.
As the witch turned to ask the shocked cashier "How much?", Crookshanks the Kneazle-Cat vowed he would never let anyone, especially not that rat, hurt this witch.
His witch.