I finally got around to typing this up. I had been working on this story three months ago when I lost the second half of my story and I had to re-create that section. I also had hinted of another HP story and here's chapter one.

Chapter One- The Gift

It was a warm summer's day at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The sunlight shone through the open windows and landed on the worn stone floors and on suits of armor which gleamed in the light. It made the empty classrooms warm and inviting.

Of course, warmth and sunshine were at ground level and above. Below the surface, it was cooler and darker. Torches lit the staircases and corridors. These were the dungeons which housed the Slytherin Common Room as well as the Potions classroom and Professor Snape's office.

Snape was in his office, grading fourth-year papers from Ravenclaw students. Grading papers from Ravenclaws were almost a pleasure as grading Slytherin papers. As a rule, heads of house shouldn't play favorites, but he showed favoritism toward Slytherins, anyway.

As he graded, he wondered about his upcoming N.E.W.T. students. Surely, his favorite student Draco Malfoy, would be in it. He hoped that Harry Potter wouldn't be though. Surely, Potter didn't score high enough to make it, although he had heard that Potter wanted to be an Auror. A very noteworthy career, indeed. Still, he didn't want Potter in his N.E.W.T. class.

As he scratched an E on a paper, a knock sounded at his door. Frowning at the interruption, he nevertheless, said, "Come in." The door opened to reveal Minerva McGonagall with a box in her hands.

"Good afternoon, Severus," the witch greeted.

"Hello Minerva. What are you doing here?"

"A gift came for you from one of the students."

"Leave it on the bed and I'll look at it later."

"Hopefully not too much later," she remarked, setting it down and leaving.

Snape looked at his bed as the door closed. Laying next to his robes, was a box with holes in it. Clearly, his gift was something alive. He got up and approached it. He saw a tag attached to the box. It said:

To: Professor Snape

From: Harry Potter

'Potter!' he thought. 'Why would he send me a present?' Scowling, he grabbed one end of the green ribbon and yanked it. The ribbon fell away and the thing inside head butted the top off.

Inside the box, looking up at him was a black kitten with large golden eyes. Sitting on the right side of its forehead was a gray patch of fur in the shape of a lightning bolt. "Mew," it said.

Snape picked it up, looked under the tail, and put it on the bed. He returned to his des and said to the kitten, "Stay, boy."

The kitten didn't seem inclined to listen. Instead, he jumped down and wound himself around the man's legs. Snape grabbed him and practically threw him on the bed. "I said stay," he snapped. This time, he listened.

Snape blinked. He had first thought, it was just an ordinary cat. But clearly he had a high degree of intelligence. Still, it was Potter who gave him the cat. Nothing good could come from anything Potter gave him.

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Hours later, Snape got up and stretched. It was dinnertime and Dumbledore wanted the staff at the table to discuss the upcoming year. Snape glanced in the corner of the room where he had conjured a bed and a bowl of milk, but no kitten. This didn't concern him. He had to be somewhere in the office. Snape grabbed his robes, put them on, and headed upstairs toward the Great Hall. He failed to notice a furry head sticking out of one of his robes' front pockets.

&&&&

Dumbledore looked up as Snape entered the room. He noticed something sticking out of a pocket and smiled. "Hello, Severus. I see you've brought a friend to dinner."

Snape paused and blinked at the headmaster's words. A friend? There was no one with him. Then, he saw that Dumbledore was looking down. He glanced down and saw the kitten poking out of a front pocket. He scowled as the kitten said, "Meow."

As Snape took his seat, he replied, "He was a gift from Potter."

Dumbledore lifted him from the pocket and held him up. "My, he is cute. Have you chosen a name?" The ancient wizard placed the black kitten on the table and stroked the head.

"No. I don't intend to name anything Potter gives me."

"Come now, Severus. All living things deserve a name."

"Fine. But I don't know what to call him, aside from Pest."

The kitten tossed him what could be called a resentful look. This human expression further convinced him that this animal was intelligent.

McGonagall smiled at the kitten before saying, "Why don't you call him Evans? After Lily?"

"I'll think about it," Snape said before settling down to dinner.

On a side note, my sister had a baby girl earlier this month. So, between visiting my new niece and re-creating this story, it's no wonder I hadn't posted this until now.