Winifred Sanderson floated in the air on her broom, the child who had insulted her writhing in her grasp. On the ground nearby was that cursed Binx boy, Thackery. Unstopping the vial of her precious potion with her teeth, she prepared to force it down the girl's throat.
Three hundred years ago, Winifred and her sisters had been the terror of Salem. They had kidnapped a young girl named Emily Binx, hoping to use her to fuel their spell. With it, they could become immortal and eternally young. They partially achieved their goal, and they would have fully achieved it had Emily's older brother Thackery not intervened. As punishment, she and her sisters had cursed him with the body of a cat, with fur black as the night, and immortal life. No matter how much Thackery wanted to die, to join his family on the other side, he couldn't.
Then, on this very night, 300 years later, Max, the wretched girl's older brother, had lit the Black Candle, bringing them back for one night, just long enough for them to exact their revenge.
And now she had the girl in her grasp. Binx, coming to, saw what Winifred was about to do, and leapt into action. "No Dani!" he cried, trying to stop Winifred.
But it was too late. Winifred had already forced the potion down Dani's throat, and… nothing happened.
"What trickery is this?" cried Winifred, "I should be able to suck the life out of you!" She tried, but nothing happened!
The sun rose. "No! No! No!" cried Winifred, right before she and her sisters exploded into dust. Dani fell to the ground.
"Dani!" cried Binx, finally reaching her. "Dani!" He nudged her, hoping she would wake up, but she did not stir. "Dani!" Binx openly began to weep. "Dani… please… Wake up…" he said, choked up.
Max, Dani's older brother, and Allison, his girlfriend as of a few hours ago, came upon the scene. "Oh no…" said Max in despair as he started to rush towards Dani, but Allison held him back. Max cried on her shoulder.
"Dani… wake up… please…" pleaded Binx, with tears running down his face. "Please… I love you…" He would never have admitted it otherwise, but over the course of events that had taken place the previous night, he had to say it, so that he could never deny it.
Coughing, and now conscious, Dani pushed herself up off the ground. "Did you say something Binx?" she asked.
Binx shook his head. "No Dani," he said, rubbing up to her and purring, happy to see her alive.
As much as it pained him to lie, he knew he had to. If Dani knew his feelings for her, it would destroy their friendship. Never could she look at him as just a friend, to be there when she needed him. He was also not quite sure that she would love him back. Sure, she was nice to him, but she was a kind girl, and he was sure she acted that way towards many people. He couldn't bear it to be heartbroken. Plus, even if she did love him, he was a cat, albeit one with a human soul, but a cat nonetheless. So he forced himself to stay quiet, just happy that she was alive.
*October 30th, 7 years later*
Binx laid upon the bed, curled up and enjoying his nap. After that night seven years ago, Dani and Max had adopted him as their pet, and he had been happy and content. Max had gone off to college, leaving just him and Dani in the house with her parents.
Binx's ears twitched as he heard a car pull up outside. It must be Dani returning home from her date. Getting up, Binx then made his way downstairs and outside to meet her. He saw Dani, who had blossomed into a beautiful girl of fifteen. She got out of the car, as did her date, and he walked her to the door. They hugged, and were about to kiss.
At that point, Binx lost it. To see someone holding Dani, his Dani, that way, drove him over the edge. Bounding up to them, he sank his claws into the boy's leg, hissing. "Get off of me!" the boy yelled, shaking him off and heading back towards his car. When Binx saw that he really did intend on leaving, Binx released his grip and padded back towards Dani, purring and rubbing against her leg.
"Binx!" Dani scolded, "You have to stop doing this! Everyone at school is hearing about my psycho cat who attacks my boyfriends!" Binx gave her the kitty cat eyes, which she never could resist. She picked him up and carried him in, Binx purring.
Dani deposited Binx on the bed. "Why do you do this Binx? And tell me the truth this time." She'd asked him this question many times before, but she could tell he had always lied about it. Binx tried those big eyes again, but Dani would not be denied.
"Dani, trust me. It's something you don't want to know about." Binx looked away, hoping she would drop it.
But she didn't. "Binx," she said, "You're my best friend. Nothing will ever change that. Please tell me." She began petting him, causing Binx to purr on instinct. "So, why do you do it?"
"Because…" Binx had to say it. "Because I love you."
Dani stopped petting him, and stared at him in shock.
"I told you Dani. You didn't want to know." He was extremely depressed now, because he knew Dani would not love him back.
Then Dani did something Binx would never have expected. She put her finger under his chin, lifted his face to hers, and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too Binx," she whispered in his ear. "I don't care that you're in a cat's body. You're human to me, and that's all that matters. I only went on all those dates because I thought you would never love me."
Binx was completely caught unawares. He nuzzled up to Dani, licking her face. "I just wish we could be truly together," he said.
"Me too, replied Danny, holding him tight. They stayed that way for the rest of the night, falling asleep with Binx in Dani's arms.
The clock struck midnight, and Dani woke up, her chest in pain. She thrashed about on the bed, accidentally throwing Binx to the floor, causing Binx to wake up. "Dani?" he cried, jumping back up on the bed. "Dani, what's wrong? What's going on?" He could only watch as she thrashed about, her gaping eyes staring into nothingness.
Then a strange light enveloped Dani. Binx recognized it as the light which enveloped the victims of the sisters' spells. "The potion…" he whispered to himself. The potion that Winifred Sanderson had force-fed to Dani seven years ago.
Binx cried to himself as he watched and waited to see what would happen to Dani. And before his eyes, he saw hair begin to sprout all over her body, as her long blonde hair fell out. Binx watched in fascination and horror as patterns formed. Her bones cracked and popped as they moved, her hands forming into paws. Her ears moved from the sides of her head to the top, and Binx heard a rip as he guessed that a tail grew and ripped through her pajamas. Then he watched her body begin to shrink.
When it was over, a cat with amber fur lay in front of Binx, amongst the remains of her pajamas, which she had managed to tear apart in her thrashing. "Dani?" Binx asked, nudging the side of her head. "Dani?"
She began to wake up. "Binx?" she asked, "When did you get so big? And why do I feel so weird?"
Binx smiled. "I didn't get any bigger." He jumped down from the bed, grabbed a small mirror in his teeth, and jumped back up on the bed, the light of the moon illuminating him. "Look for yourself."
Dani saw her reflection. "I'm a cute cat if I do say so myself," she quipped, completely at ease with her situation.
"You're okay with this?" Binx asked.
"Of course I am." She nuzzled Binx's neck. "Now I can truly be with you."
"That you can," replied Binx, "You really are quite an adorable cat Dani. And it would be an honor if you would permit me to spend the rest of my immortal life with you."
"I would love nothing else."
"But how are we going to explain this to your parents? I don't think they would take kindly to having a cat for a daughter."
"Well, Max and Allison will be here early tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can explain everything to them. But it doesn't matter. I'll be with you Binx, no matter what."
Binx's expression lifted, then saddened. "But I'm immortal, and you're not. I don't want to see you die Dani. It would be too much for me."
"What does being immortal feel like?" Dani asked, cocking her head.
"It's a good feeling. You feel happy and content."
"Is it like you've got liquid sunshine in your chest?"
"Yes, how did you know?"
Dani smiled at Binx. "Because that's how I feel right now."
Binx smiled back. "You're immortal as well?"
"I guess I am."
"You know, I used to think being immortal was a curse, but to be with you for all eternity, that has turned my blessing into a curse." Binx curled up with Dani, awaiting the morning, and their new life together.