AN: I have to admit that my Death was based on the character Death from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books! I'm just a big fan, so here's my disclaimer: I own nothing (with the exception of this plotbunny) be it from Harry Potter OR Discworld.

- Curiosity Killed the Cat -

I always thought of my job as an admirable one. You could compare it to Muggle police officers or keepers of the peace. I prowled around, if you will, sniffing out misdeeds and their perpetrators. I was good at it too. And I enjoyed it, probably because I was so good at it.

I'll admit the hours were less than desirable. It was mostly night work, but to compensate I could sleep all day to catch up on my beauty sleep. After all, even at my age a girl still wants to look her best. But the upside to my line of work was that I was able to sate my inherently curious nature. Oh, I realize only too well that I wasn't well loved among the general public. I had hexes thrown at me once in a while, or even a random object or a badly aimed, but not for lack of trying, kick. But I didn't care much about that.

Of course they rarely managed to actually hit me anyway. I was very fast and nimble for my respectable age. But they hated me because seeing me meant trouble for them. Luckily most of those miscreants were too scared of my Owner to actually hurt me so I only had to dart around a corner to safety about once a month. The simple fact that they were scared of me was something I was very proud of, to be honest.

I reveled in the feeling of my velvet paws moving silently across the stone cobbles, my ears practically standing at attention. I had something of a special sense for mischief, a sense that never failed. And catching those sneaky little bastards at whatever they were up to was what I enjoyed most, mostly because of the shocked look of impending damnation that would grace their faces.

The only thing that could thoroughly ruing a good night's work was the endless cesspit of clichéd exit-lines the students would come up with during their attempted escapes. What bothered me most was when they took a saying and then used it literally. I always cherished the sadistic hope that someone would someday call out "we've got to split!" only to end up failing in Disapparating and Splinching themselves in the process. But seeing as how Apparition is impossible within the grounds I'm sorry to say I'll never see that happening.

But, I accepted contentedly, I was the only pet known to man who had such an effect on so many people and I would not let a few hormonal teens spoil my evenings. Especially not when I could curl up comfortably on the sofa afterwards with my stomach full of food and my Owner's hand scratching behind my ears. This really was the life.

Which brings me to my current predicament.

Because when I say "this was the life", it really was the life. At this very second I find myself looking down at my own rigid form lying on the cold stone floor only a few feet away from me. It took me a minute to realize what had happened, what had actually occurred, but the brilliant flash of green light was easy to remember. Or should I say hard to forget. Whichever you prefer, it was a spell that packed a punch.

But what really is utterly unbearable this very moment is that, this time, I had to admit that certain sayings could actually be taken literally as, in my case, curiosity had in fact killed the cat. And judging by the curiously calm look on this student's face he's not too bothered with the fact that he had just ended a life, and a precious one at that, let's not forget that it was mine.

I wanted to move forward, to take a look at myself and to look closer at the scene I had walked in on. Up till now the dark classroom had been rather quiet. The boy had only now started to eye the door nervously, afraid Filch would barge in, no doubt. I was pleased to realize my death finally had at least some impact on him. And the girl he was with edged closer to me, the rigid version that is, to see if I had really and truly "kicked the bucket", as she so eloquently put it.

No one had even noticed me yet, even though I was close enough. But as I lifted my now grey and see-through front paw to move closer to everything, something held me back. It was the realization that someone was looking at me. I sat down again, my tail curled around my paws, and looked to my right. Had I still been alive I would probably have been scared, but now I felt nothing but serene curiosity.

"I hadn't thought you'd show up for someone like me," I said.

"Someone like you?" he asked, his voice distant yet deep, sounding a lot like an echo of sorts.

"A cat, an animal," I explained as I tried to locate his eyes underneath his dark hood.

"I like cats. I made an exception."

I started to purr proudly. "No scythe?"

"Not necessary. Mostly for show," his deep voice intoned.

I looked back at the scene around my corpse. They had fled already, hoping to escape unseen. And without me able to warn my Owner, they'd probably get away with it too, I realized angrily. The fact that I could pick him out of a line-up if needs be seemed irrelevant now that I was dead.

"What happens now?" I asked finally as the tall, anthropomorphic personification next to me remained silent, staring at my body with what it probably thought was a sympathetic yet suitably grim expression.

"Well…" he said slowly, "you could come with me."

"Oh."

"It's quite nice, you know. Lots of cushy sofa's and saucers of milk or so I'm told," he tried with a shrug of his shoulders.

I looked back at my body again. Those students would actually get away with murder now I couldn't tell Filch. It was just too unfair.

"But…"

"But what?" For the second time that night my ears stood at attention.

"Well, you could always choose to stay here and…haunt."

I looked at him indignantly, trying to see if he was actually serious. "Haunt? Like that ridiculous Peeves and the Abominable Baron? It's hardly-"

But once more I caught my eyes darting to my lifeless form ahead, cutting my own arguments short. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea at all.

"…Would it mean I could still walk around at night, catching those sneaks in action? Without ever getting hurt again?" I asked, now beginning to see what world of possibilities was opening up for me.

Death nodded, though he seemed slightly taken aback by the sudden vicious glare of pleasure in my eyes. I felt a smile grow underneath my whiskers, very much like the Cheshire grin my kind was famed for, as my eyes turned to slits. I raised a paw to my nose, gave it a lick and absentmindedly washed behind my ear.

"You know…that sounds just about purrfect."

With a final rub behind my ear I got to my paws again and raised my tail high up in the air so that it looked like a giant question mark as I started walking. Behind me, I could see Death almost shaking his head.

"Oh well, Such a life, such a death I suppose," I could hear him echo as he faded into nothing.

But just this once I would let a literal saying slide. Because if I had the rest of my afterlife to haunt this castle I might as well start where I had left off. And, breaking into a trot, I realized happily that I knew just the boy to kick off with.

The End