Title: Animagus Problems

Author: Arawna

Disclaimer: Anything relating to the world of HP does not belong to me.

Summary: Harry's out after curfew when he's caught in a compromising position. No, not that kind of compromising position, you perv…

Defending Cats:

And here Pansy and Blaise were always saying that nothing but trouble would come from my midnight strolls around the castle. Shows what they know. I mean, I can see where they come from, with my shock of platinum hair, it'd be easy to notice me in the pitch-black of night. In fact, I'm kinda surprised that I even noticed the black-as-midnight cat trotting down the corridor, his tail in the air and acting as if he didn't have a care in the world. He was just so cute, being all black, with the strangest marking on his forehead and vibrant green eyes. If I didn't know better, I'd say he looked like Potter, but he's too much of a goody-two-shoes Gryffindor to go around as an unregistered animagus. His likeness to the famous wizard may be the only reason I picked up the poor creature; something in me must have wanted to possess those dark features no matter where they came from. Merlin, that makes me sound something like a whore.

Mother and father never let me have an animal before. Not a toad, not a cat, not an owl, not even a snake. They thought that owning an animal would instantly cause me to act more plebian; yeah, 'cause that happens all the time. Between his likeness and my lack of pets when I was a child, I guess it's not that much of a surprise that I plucked the little creature from the floor. Hell, he didn't even make that much of a protest.

Merlin, by the way my Housemates are staring at my new pet, you'd think they'd never seen a cat before. They just kept staring at the poor thing and bombarding me with questions.

"Where'd you find him?"

"In an empty corridor."

"Who does he belong to?"

"Hell if I know."

"Are you gonna keep him?"

"Yeah, why not? I'll make him my pet."

At this, the cat seemed to tense. Aw, the little thing was afraid of the big, scary Slytherins. Oh, Merlin, I did not just say that… Scratching the cat's chin, I continued my conversations.

"Maybe we could use the little beast as target practice?" Pansy suggested.

Oh no she di'n't. Again, the little cat seemed to tense at her words.

"This is my cat now, and there's no way in Heaven, Earth, or Hell that I am about to let you touch him, let alone cast potentially harmful spells at him! One can only think of what kind of horrible curses and hexes you'd use on this poor, helpless creature!"

The scratching of the cat's chin continued as the question flow barreled forward, unheeded.

"So, whatcha gonna call him?"

I guess I do have to name the little cutie. "Harry."

"Why the fuck would you name him after Potter?"

Oh shit. I said it, so I now have to give them a half decent explanation. "Well…erm. So that I can claim that I own Harry Potter and that I have him in the palm of my hand?"

Well, fuck, what's the use of being in Slytherin if you can't lie to your 'friends'?

"Draco," Pansy cooed. "We all know that's not the reason."

By the faces of my Housemates, I'd say they all agreed with her.

Okay, I hope I'm not crazy. Do cats chuckle? Merlin, I hope I don't need to visit St. Mungo's.

"Hey, we can relieve you of the stress of naming him and just use him as the target practice Parkinson suggested."

I swear I will AK whoever even attempts to suggest using my Harry as target practice. Oh, Merlin, that made me sound like I'd try to kill the Dark Lord for using the real Harry for target practice. Gods know that he's done it enough times.

Yawn Ugh, it's too early to be tired; it's only quarter to one. Whatever, I might as well go to bed if I'm just gonna be pestered by these idiots.

"Where're you going, Draco?"

"To bed."

"You're taking Harry you?"

"Well, yeah. It's either that, or leave him here with you, which I am not doing. He's safer in my room."

"Night, Draco," the whole common room chorused in sickly sweet voices.

The door slammed behind me and the cat jumped from my arms. I let him scratch at the door while I dressed for bed. If I didn't know better, I'd think that the cat was pointedly avoiding looking in my direction as I shed the school robes. Aw, it's so cute. As soon as I was clad in silk pajamas, I scooped my new cat up in my arms and padded off toward the bed.

TBC…