Disclaimer: Guess what. I own nothing in the story except for Professor Hollie Bright! Everything else in this story belongs to:
J. K. Rowling, AndrewLloyd Webber/Gaston Leurox, and the person who wrote Les Miserables.
No Author's Note! I'm famous!
My quotes of the day:
"We've past the point of no return" -The Point of No Return, The Phantom of the Opera
"I gave you my music, I made your song take flight, And now, how you repay me, Deny me and betray me." -All I Ask of You Reprise, The Phantom of the Opera
"Down once more to the prison of my dark despair, Down we plunge to the prison of my mind! Down once more into darkness deep as hell! -Down Once More, The POTO
"Remember that name!" - Prologue, Les Miserables,
"Look down! Look down! You're standing in your grave!" -Look Down, Les Miserables
An orange tabby cat crept into Dumbledore's office.
"Yes, Minerva?" said Professor Dumbledore, a little impatiently, not even glancing up from his parchment. He was quite busy at the moment.
All the cat did is meow. "That is you, isn't it?" The cat nodded, or what it would have been like if cats could say yes. "Well, transform and talk to me!" The cat just stared at him.
"Listen, Minerva, I am rather busy at the moment, the Minister is out sick today and he has had all the owls re-routed…" suddenly a thought came to Dumbledore. "Can't you transform?" Professor McGonagall, as a cat, shook her head. "What in the world happened? Do you know?" All the cat professor did was to fix her gaze on him. "Was it him? Is he who I think it is? In other words, Voldemort?" asked Professor Dumbledore. Professor McGonagall nodded. "Well. I am going to - do something. I will see you in the staff room in, well, ten minutes or so?" How could this have happened? thought the professor as she rushed down the stairs out of Professor Dumbledore's office. I was correcting papers, and then, it came, she thought, trying to collect herself.
By the time the tabby cat had gotten to the corridor outside the staff room the rest of the staff was already there. She could here them talking about what Dumbledore would have wanted, wondering why he had made the announcement, why he had called them, what he wanted...
She crept into the staff room. "Oh, hello Minerva. D' you know what's going on?" asked Professor Flitwick curiously. She nodded. "Well, then, transform and tell us what it is!" said Professor Sinistra.
"She can not," said a misty voice from the doorway. The body that the voice belonged to, at first sight, looked like a giant dragonfly, but of course it wasn't. It was Professor Sybil Trelawney. "I have seen this in my crystal ball ten minutes before we speak. She is stuck in this form!"
"Is that true?" asked Hagrid, who had come in time to hear Professor Trelawney. Professor McGonagall nodded. The staff stared at her open mouthed.
Just then Professor Dumbledore strode into the room. "Yes, you all know what's going on?" The silent staff nodded.
"How?" asked Professor Sprout. "What did this? Or, who did this?"
"It was Voldemort." The staff again stared with open mouths. "As you can see, we will be needing a temporary Transfiguration teacher. I have tried many different spells and am in the middle of a complicated potion, but it will not be ready for two months," said Dumbledore. "Professor Snape, would you mind writing an ad for the Daily Prophet?"
"Certainly, Headmaster." "I must go." With that, Dumbledore swept away. The staff began to drift away, also. All except for Professor McGonagall. Suddenly, when all but the cat had gone, there was a loud crash coming from the wardrobe.
"HAH!" Peeves jumped out, writhing with laughter. "Hahahahahaha! Hey, Professor, cat got your tongue?" said Peeves, beginning a new spasm of laughter.
"Peeves!"
Peeves resumed his maniacal laughter. "I guess I let the cat out of the bag!" said Peeves between snorts.
"I'm glad to see you are finding this so funny," said Professor McGonagall tartly.
"Oh, I must go tell the rest of the school about you!" shouted Peeves as he left the room. "You wouldn't-" snapped Professor McGonagall, running after the poltergeist.
"Don't even try pouncing, Mrs. Norris did it last week, nasty cut she has."
"Peeves!"
"See you later, Professor Cat!" Professor McGonagall stared after him furiously. She could hear him telling everyone and everything. Just what I need, thought "Professor Cat".
"Is it true?" A first year Hufflepuff ran up to the disgruntled cat, followed by a mass of people. Professor McGonagall sighed, then nodded slightly, and the boy shouted, "It's true! It's true!" The whole corridor was in an uproar. The crowd, which by now had filled the hall, even after someone had bewitched it to make it wider, parted as Professor Dumbledore came through.
"Ah, yes, Minerva, I need to speak to you." Dumbledore practically had to shout, for he could only get halfway into the hallway and the noise had nearly turned into a riot.
With the grace and agility only a cat has, the cat professor leaped from the banister to the area where Dumbledore was standing and landed near his feet. She followed Dumbledore through the crowd to his office. "Professor Cat?" "That's what I heard, and You-Know Who did it." The rumors could be heard all the way from Dumbledore's office.
"Yes, well, the potion. The Transmogrification Potion. I daresay you have heard of it?" asked Professor Dumbledore, peering at the cat on his desk through his half moon spectacles.
The cat-on-the-desk nodded. "You know the risks?" asked the human professor. Professor McGonagall stared at him, then shook her head. Professor Dumbledore pulled a thick book from the shelf. He waved his wand, and the book disappeared.
"This should, well, keep you informed. The book will be in your office. Oh, and I suggest you do not go in the Charms corridor. Rather crowded, if you know what I mean."
The orange tabby cat nodded, then crept out of Dumbledore's office. ~
Fred and George Weasley burst into the Gryffindor common room, laughing hysterically.
"Well, really!" Hermione called from behind a book labeled Know Your Ancient Runes. "Can't a person study in peace around here?"
"Haven't you heard?" asked Fred, when he had calmed down slightly.
"Heard what?" asked Harry as he came through the portrait hole.
"Heard what?" asked Ron as he came through the portrait hole after Harry.
"Hmmm...I wonder. How haven't you heard it? It's nearly a riot out in the Charms hallway. It's not every day that You-Know-Who visits the school and turns a professor into a cat! " said George.
"What? WHO?" shrieked Hermione. "Oh my gosh!" "Holy crab cakes! Calm down! We're just going to be without our normal Transfiguration teacher for two months!" answered Fred.
"What! This can't be happening! I was going to be able to move up in Transfiguration possibly," started Hermione until Ron interrupted.
"Calm down! It's better to be a cat than dead and class is all you think about?" said Ron
"You're right," said Hermionie sheepishly.
"Besides, Dumbledore's getting a sub since it should be two months if ever if 'Professor Cat' as Peeves is saying is ever human again," started Fred.
"EVER! "
"CALM DOWN!" yelled Harry. ~
The book fell open on the desk in Professor McGonagall's study. To be exact, the book fell open to page 435, labeled The Transmogrification Potion-Possible Dangers. A tabby cat walked into the study, then began reading the section, which read:
The Transmogrification Potion-Possible Dangers This potion, though very helpful in some cases, has certain risks. The following are out comes that have been observed in cases. The chance of this happening is listed.
1.Death- 10 times out of 100
2.Halfway Transformation- 20 out of 150
3.Keeping the animal form- 50 out of 100
The possibility of something going wrong is 50%. This potion should only be used as a last resort.
~
Dumbledore was adding a phoenix feather to a bubbling potion when a barn owl flew in the room. He took the letter from its claws and began to read.
Professor Dumbledore:
I would be happy to volunteer for the Transfiguration teacher job listed in the Evening Prophet. My name is Hollie Bright and I graduated from Ravenclaw twenty years ago.
Sincerely,
Hollie Bright
Professor Dumbledore smiled as he read the letter. He had one less thing to worry about at the moment. ~
"OK. Yes, everything's fine! We have a teacher who has been turned into a cat because the most insane power happy Dark wizard is running around loose!" said Hermione sarcastically.
"Whoa. Calm down. Just calm down," said Harry hurriedly.
"CALM DOWN! A POWER HAPPY DARK WIZARD IS RUNNING AROUND FREE!"
"FOR GOSH SAKES CALM DOWN!" said Ron, slapping her across the face, but only hard enough to get her back in her senses.
"Thank you. I needed that," said Hermione with her usual calmness. ~
A nervous young woman with honey blond hair sat in the chair on one side of Dumbledore's desk. On the other sat a wizened gray wizard that the witch on the other side knew to be Albus Dumbledore, but, unusually, he had an orange tabby cat on his lap.
"So, Ms.-well, now Professor Bright, you can be next Monday to start. Any questions?"
"Well, why does Hogwarts need a new Transfiguration teacher? I thought Professor McGonagall taught the job," said Professor Bright.
"I did."
Hollie Bright looked at the cat. "Excuse me, but did you just, well, speak?"
"Yes, I did just speak."
"Yes, well, Professor McGonagall, well there was an-accident which I would not care to disclose and she is now a cat-this cat," explained Professor Dumbledore.
"Oh, you may as well just tell her, Albus!" said the cat impatiently.
"I'd prefer not to. Well, Hollie, I will see you on Monday!" said Professor Dumbledore. The witch smiled, then hopped nimbly on to her broomstick and flew out of the window. "She doesn't seem right, Albus," said Professor McGonagall. ~
Well, this should be interesting. A new teacher. Maybe I can get extra credit from her, thought Hermione Granger as she looked at the new Transfiguration teacher in front on the class, who looked like she was cracking her knuckles. The Gryffindor/Slytherin class stared at her.
"Well, then, I have been informed that you all are-fourth years?" asked Professor Bright, trying to ignore the cat staring at her from the rafters of the room. For some reason, ever since I got here, that, well, cat, has been mad at me. I wonder why. "Please open your books to page 553," she said, hoping the class wouldn't notice the tremor in her voice. 553! thought Professor McGonagall. For goodness sakes you're holding the paper upside down. The page is 355! Why Dumbledore hired this American nitwit is beyond me! Dean Thomas raised his hand. "Please, are you from the States?" "Well, actually, yes. I was born there. I went to school here, though." "You mean you're a Yank!" Laughter wasn't even tried to be muffled as the class chuckled. "I'd appreciate if you would all stop laughing and open your books!" I'm not sure if I can control them thought Professor Bright.
She can't control them though Professor McGonagall from the rafters. For some reason, she had an urge to laugh, although physically she couldn't. They had always hated each other, ever since their first year at Hogwarts. Some might say it was rivalry, always competing for the head of the class. They knew it wasn't. It was something between them that neither liked to think about.
Professor Dumbledore walked into the room. All the sniggers stopped so quickly you'd think the class had lost the power of speech. In fact, it was stopped so quickly that Dumbledore didn't even notice.
"I'm sorry about the interruption, but may I please see your cat for a minute?"
The cat jumped gracefully out of the rafters and followed the headmaster out of the room.
"Well, could you all please open your books to page- um, what page did I say before?"
Draco Malfoy raised his hand.
"Um, yes is it Dracko Mal-is that a b? Or is it a t or d, Dracko?"
"It's Draco Malfoy, Professor. You said page 284."
"Oh, thank you Draco." The class opened their books to find a picture of a horrible something I will not mention here.
The bell rang.
"Well, everyone, I will see you tomorrow," said the professor with forced cheerfulness.
"Boy, can you get any more clueless?" said Ron, laughing.
"It was her first day!" said Hermione.
"So? She should be able to READ!"
~
There was a very angry cat loose in Hogwarts.
"You did what!" screamed the cat to a retreating figure.
"Minerva, BE QUIET! I don't want anyone to find out."
"Find out! Do you know what this means? Everyone in the whole bloody wizard community is in danger!"
"Minerva, BE QUIET!"
"DO YOU-" The shrieking cat suddenly found she couldn't speak. Damn you, Dumbledore! Do you know what this means! We are all going to die! EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!
"Come to my office." It was the first time Professor McGonagall had ever seen Albus Dumbledore truly angry. Maybe annoyed or something, but never angry.
"Minerva. You must understand. It will turn out fine." No it's not! DO YOU-
"YES, I know what I've done. Will you stop thinking so loud! Just calm down."
When Albus Dumbledore used that voice, you knew to listen.
~
"This is IT! Professor Dumbledore, look at this!" screeched Argus Filch.
"Your cat?"
"LOOK!" Looking more closely, Dumbledore was able to pick out a small, slightly bleeding cut.
"Madam Pomfrey can fix that-"
"I KNOW BUT IT WAS THAT BLOODY CAT WHO SCRATCHED HER!" shrieked Filch, pointing an accusing finger at Minerva McGonagall.
"Minerva?" asked Dumbledore quietly.
Carefully the cat stuck out a paw that was also bleeding, but much harder. "What in the name of Merlin-" The headmaster looked at Mrs. Norris.
A shriek filled the halls. "What in the world?"
Filch, Dumbledore, and McGonagall flew to where they heard the scream from, the Potions classroom.
They found Hollie Bright screaming, and at her feet, lay the body of Severus Snape.
"Is he dead?" asked Dumbledore hurriedly. Not waiting for an answer, the headmaster began to inspect the body.
"Severus is dead," spoke Dumbledore in a strained voice.
Suddenly, a scream came from behind them. Everyone turned to see Filch writhing on the ground, grasping his throat. Dumbledore pulled out his wand, as did Hollie, but it was too late. Filch lay on the ground, thrashing and flailing from the pain. He kept on thrashing until, suddenly, he was still. All was silence until a shriek sliced it life a knife.
"My God, my God!" shrieked Hollie. "We're all going to die!"
"We are not!" answered McGonagall.
"We are! He's already killed two, turned one into an animal! You-Know-Who is coming back!"
"Don't even think such thoughts," said Dumbledore, still looking white as was Hollie and McGonagall's fur had taken on an ashy look.
"Minerva. Go alert the staff. After you have done so, gather up the Gryffindors and bring the to Gryffindor Tower. Hollie, you gather up the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws," said Dumbledore, and both professors could detect the tremor in his voice.