Summary: One often hears of damsels in distress, but what if you have a professional thief under enchantment? Instead of a knight in shining armor, you have a bookworm witch. Will a true love's kiss give them a happy ending?
A/N: Name of the character and his profession is borrowed from the movie, The Returner, which of course stars Takeshi Kaneshiro. Please enjoy!
The Witch and Her Cat
Hermione was in her last year in Hogwarts when Crookshanks died. After moving into her own cottage, she felt lonesome even though her friends would sometimes visit her. Thus, she decided to get another pet.
Miyamoto was paid a handsome amount of money for this job, with the promise of more if he succeeds. All he needed to do is to get a piece of cabbage from the old crone's garden. He thought the whole thing was crazy but with the "down payment" alone, he could stay afloat without working for years.
She did not go to Diagon Alley, instead she went to Hilde, an elderly witch who kept tons of cat in her sizeable property. The woman also grew rare plants, enhanced by what seemed to be centuries of breeding within Hilde's family and many are thought to long be extinct or non-existent by the Muggle world.
He only saw a flash of light when it happened. His long limbs started getting shorter and he grew what seemed to be fur all over his body. After what seemed to be a lifetime, when it had only been a matter of minutes, Miyamoto meowed.
The cat seemed to be bullied by the other cats in the elderly witch's cottage. It looked skinny and dirty. Hermione observed the cats longer and she realized that the cat was purposely being driven off from its meals by the others, leaving the poor creature to only eat what little remains. Her mind was made up.
It took a while for Miyamoto to acclimatize himself in his new body and after a while learned to appreciate the agility and physical prowess of the domestic feline. But even in this world, might is right, the other cats knows that he does not belong with them somehow.
After the cat struggled to be put in the container she brought with her, Hermione managed to bring the oddly marked cat home. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were a metamorphmagus." She said as she gave the cat some cat food she brought earlier from the grocery. The cat glared at her and turned its nose up from the cat food. Hermione sighed. She decided to share the tuna casserole she made.
Even if he took on a cat's body and probably would never return to his previous state. Miyamoto still would not lick himself, especially in his private areas, which was why he was immensely grateful when his new "owner" had taken to giving him warm baths. The food she shared with him was also delicious. He always knew he liked girls who could cook well.
Slowly, Hermione and the Cat (who did not like any of the names she tried giving it and seem to have nodded when she asked if she could just call it Cat) grew closer. It would look at her as if it understood the words she said whenever she read out loud to it. A strange phenomenon is its fascination with basketball, and its complaints when she tried changing channels after she accidentally tuned it in. She decided to turn on the TV for the Cat whenever she leaves the house. (It's not as if she's paying much in terms of electric bill as she still uses warming charms inside her home for cold seasons and cooling charms on summers.) Sometimes, the Cat would even follow her to work, so she'd pick it up and floo to her office where she would place it on a comfortable armchair where it would either sleep or listen attentively as she discussed her work. She could almost swear that the Cat looked fascinated when she first brought it out with her to the ministry and later in Diagon Alley.
He realized he didn't like the cat bed just on the first night. At first he'd taken to sleeping on the sofa, but when Hermione found him shivering in the middle of the night, she tucked him in with her in her bed. Truth be told, it was the first time Miyamoto had ever been with a girl on the same bed without having sex with her.
The Cat seemed awkward whenever Hermione kissed it, which is why she did so every chance she got. She had been especially happy since Ron was coming home from his year-long Auror training. She wants to surprise him in their headquarters. But she was the one who was surprised as she saw Ron kissing a girl from whose uniform she can deduce to also be an Auror. Harry looked sheepishly from the side as she rushed and slapped Ron who was trying to come up with words to excuse himself. Before anyone could stop it, the Cat lunged at Ron and started scratching and biting him with all that he had. Hermione called up to it and on cue it stopped its attack and followed Hermione.
How can you not fall in love with the nicest girl you've ever met? Hermione is such a compassionate, loving and caring girl; she didn't deserve being cheated on. If he was Ron, as he heard Hermione curse the guy's name, he'd be worshipping the ground Hermione walks on. So he did the only thing he could in this situation, rub himself against Hermione in attempt to comfort her. She gently took him in her arms and cried her heart out as she hugged him.
It was months before Hermione could recover and with the urging of her friends (especially Ginny who pummeled her brother for what he did), started dating again. The Cat, however, hated each and every one of the men she went out with. Hermione tried to leave it at home when she goes on dates but it insisted on following her, scratching and biting men as it went along. Hermione tried telling it that not all men are like Ron and not every man would hurt her. It only looked at her as if she was trying to convince it that the earth is flat.
Miyamoto had never been a jealous man. He'd never been jealous of any of his girlfriends whenever they'd flirt with other men or even sleep with other men. But, then again, many of them are call girls and it comes with the territory. But his Hermione is different; she is sweet and loving, so innocent and pure. She once even asked him if Ron's cheating had been her fault for not sleeping with him because she had not been ready to have sex yet. After he'd attacked the eighth of her so-called dates, he realized why he'd been doing it. He is in love with Hermione, deeply and passionately in love with her. Sadly, he knows this love would never be returned, at least not in this body. He realized that sooner or later, he'd have to let her go.
Hermione had been teasing the Cat again over some female cat she was trying to interest him with. She leant forward and kissed him, only to see a very naked handsome man in his place a few seconds later.
Years later, Hilde would be shedding tears at their wedding, which she offered to be held in her magical garden.