Before the chapter starts I just want to quickly address a couple of questions raised in the reviews. Thank you for them! Firstly, the cat VS kitten conundrum. I had it in my plan that Tabby would begin referring to herself as a cat when she's in fourth year. My basis of Tabby being a kitten is on human to cat year conversions. Tabby would be a 6/7 month old kitten at the present time. The other question was about McGonagall giving birth to a kitten. Sure it sounds grotesque but kittens are tiny and I'm sure there was magic involved. Onto chapter two! Enjoy! Rx

I woke up the next morning and got ready for the day. My arm barely hurt at all for which I was thankful. I went out into Mom's quarters to find her and Dad sat at the table eating pancakes from a spread set up on the table. I hadn't seen them eat breakfast like that since I was a kitten, permanently. It made me smile. I stood and watched, realising that they hadn't noticed I was there. When they finished eating Dad leaned over and whispered something in Mom's ear. She laughed gently in reply and placed her hand upon his. They looked at one another for a moment before leaning in, in synchronicity to kiss one another gently. It made my heart happy to see the smile on Moms face when she pulled back. I realised it was time to stop spying.

"Morning." I said quietly.

"How are you feeling Tabitha?"Mom turned around in slight surprise to ask me.

"I'm okay." I said hesitantly. I went over to sit at the table with them and pulled a plain pancake onto my plate.

"Your Dad and I talked after your accident and Professor Dumbledore came over. When you talked to your Dad in the hospital wing he said it seemed like you were struggling to get around the castle on your own as a kitten. Before school started it was never really an issue." Mom said.

"It's fine." I said. She frowned at me. "Okay, sometimes I hate that other people carry me between classes. I don't like being a burden." I muttered and took a long drink of pumpkin juice. It wasn't my fault people might stomp on me in the hallway. Sometimes, it was scary being so much smaller than everyone else.

I realised Mom was getting upset but I wasn't sure why.

"Before you turned human for the first time, we had planned for your birthday to introduce you to a tunnel system Dumbledore had created within the castle. It was intended to give you a little more independence. A tunnel from your Mom's quarters to mine and an off shoot to the great hall and our classrooms. But then you came into your abilities and became human. We didn't want to upset you on your birthday by giving you something cat related, so as you know we had a little party but didn't make a fuss over presents." He paused to drink some tea. "The tunnels we created still exist and in light of recent events Dumbledore agreed to extend to tunnel system so that you can get to all of your classes without having to be carried or go though the hallways alone."

"What good is this now though? I could be stuck human for weeks now that Madam Pomfrey said I need to stop forcing the change." I sulked.

"Better to know about it now than when it's too late." Dad snapped.

"Severus." Mom scolded.

"Dumbledore built an antechamber in the centre of the tunnels so that if you change during a class and need to change clothes you don't have to go right back to your dormitory or here to change if your class isn't close. In order to avoid any chance of you getting stuck in there as human there is a key. The door is behind the forest tapestry next to the eagle which leads to Dumbledore's office." Dad finished.

Mom produced a key from her robes. It was silver and new though old in style. A snake wound its way around the shank and its open mouth and pointed teeth created a round hook at the top. It was threaded onto a silver chain.

"It's pretty." I said quietly. I took the key on the necklace and fastened it around my neck.

"We hope it'll make things a bit easier." Mom said.

"Thank you." I replied. I got up and hugged her.

"Now the part you may hate me for if you don't hate me already." Dad said ominously.

"I don't hate you Dad." I replied and went to hug him too.

"It's been deemed that flying lessons are too dangerous for you. You're banned from them. Maybe when you're older and feel it's safer we can teach you to fly." He said gently.

"That's okay. Flying isn't any fun." I muttered. I wasn't happy to be missing out but it made sense.

"No astronomy either. I don't think you should be going to class in the middle of the night considering how much you sleep already." Dad enforced.

"Hrmph." I sulked. "Can I go to the common room before you make up more rules? It's hard enough abiding by the ones already in place and remembering manners and trying to understand everything." I moaned.

"So long as you do your homework." Mom answered.

"I've done it already." I replied. It was true. Our year took Slytherin ambition to the next level, we'd already gone through half of the first year books and we'd only been in classes for four weeks. Technically it was my fault. Well, mine and Draco's. In an effort to hang out and make sure I stayed caught up, we studied every night when I was free, though if I was a kitten I would just listen whilst someone read aloud. The other first years had began to join us after a couple of weeks. First Blaise and then the girls and then the boys. Even Crabbe and Goyle would listen between joking around. It made me wonder if they maybe did have brain cells after all. "Um, bye." I said getting up from my seat.

When I arrived at the common room I saw the spot by Draco filled by Pansy and everyone else sat around leaving no room for me.

"Hey Tabby. Come sit over here." Blaise said from a table across the room. I glanced over to Draco who hadn't even looked up yet. Maybe he didn't want me to sit with him anymore.

"What's going on?" I said quietly to Blaise. He motioned for me to sit down opposite him.

"Pansy was claiming to be all heroic, saving you from falling. I called bull and Draco decided to stick up for her. I really don't know why, he's normally glued to you as though he's charmed." Blaise suggested. I sat opposite him and curled my legs up under me.

"It would be great if his actions made any sense." I mused. "For the record, she didn't save me from falling. Me breaking my arm is what woke her up in the first place."

"I figured as much." He replied. I looked over at the rest of the first year Slytherins gathered together studying. I had to admit to myself that I was a little jealous. Normally I sat where Pansy was beside Draco. I guessed I could go over and ask people to move around or even sit someplace else but what if they rejected me? Draco hadn't even look at me when I walked in. I really wanted to sink my kitten fangs into him.

"I'm going to go study someplace else." I said quietly and went to get my books from the dormitory. I ignored everyone on the way out of the common room and preceded up towards the seventh floor to try out the key to the tunnel antechamber. Maybe there would be enough room to study there.

On the landing of the fifth floor I came across Mrs Norris. To everyone else she would run off and fetch Filch and unless the student got far enough away in time they'd end up with detention. With me however, things were different. As a kitten I'd always liked Mrs Norris. Mostly I think because she was always a cat but also because she wasn't horrible like most people thought. She was incredibly loyal to Filch and she wasn't a very pretty cat which made her seem like the enemy.

I dropped my bag next to me and sat down on the floor. With my back against the castle wall. Mrs Norris looked around to make sure no one was about before settling onto my lap and allowing me to pet her. She purred quietly.

"If you turned human sometimes too, I bet you'd know what to do when boys who are meant to be your friend won't even look at you. I thought he liked me." I mused to the purring cat.

I heard footsteps on the stairs below and Mrs Norris quickly got up from my lap. I got up too and picked up my bag. Filch rounded the corner.

"I'll get you Weasle.." He shouted but paused when he saw me. "Oh, Tabitha." He said altering his temperament.

"I was just going to study." I replied not sure what to say.

"Well off you go, I have some Weasley twins to catch." He muttered scurried back down the stairs in a hurry.

"Tell him thanks for not giving me detention." I said to Mrs Norris. She winked at me before hurtling off down the stairs in pursuit of her master.

I continued up to the seventh floor and to the forest painting next to the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office.

I was really struggling in potions class. We were supposed to be finishing off the forgetfulness potion and nothing made sense anymore. It wasn't the right colour, I used the wrong measure to add the standard ingredient and how could I add four mistletoe berries when they were all different sizes?

"Tabby it doesn't matter what size they are, it just says to add four." Blaise insisted.

"It's already wrong so it doesn't matter anyway." I sulked. I walked over to where Dad stood behind the desk at the front. He looked up at me.

"Tabitha." He said with a mock scowl. Or maybe it was a real scowl, last time he tried to pick me up when I was a kitten I bit him. Really it wasn't personal, I bit a lot of people for picking me up nowadays. I was much happier running in the tunnels than being carried and moaned about.

"So, I used the wrong measure to add the standard ingredient but even if I add the extra to make it right the potion still won't be perfect. But, I have a dumb question and I don't want you to yell at me for asking." I said coyly.

"If I yell at you Tabitha it's to keep up the pretence that I don't favour you in any way." He said quietly. "What is your question?"

"How can I add four mistletoe berries to the potion when they're all different sizes? There's no standard, whatever I do it'll be wrong." I said hoping to not get my head bitten off.

"Bring me your potions book, I'll show you how." He demanded. I went back to my desk feeling ominous. I grabbed the book and took it back to Dad. "Turn to page six hundred and seventeen." He said. I flipped through the pages until I was almost at the back. It was the odd page that was full of riddles.

"Riddles aren't helpful." I said sourly.

"You'd be surprised Tabitha." He rubbed the top of the page between his fingers to reveal that it was actually two pages stuck together. He slid his hand between them and to the spine of the book before giving a sharp tug. The top page was attached to a second at the outer edge and opened at the inside. He laid it open and motioned me to look. It was covered in standardised measurements.

"It goes by weight?" I asked curiously. "It'll take ages to find the perfect weighted berries." I sighed.

"Here is where you learn that riddles are often helpful." He folded the page back over. "The fourth one down the page." I read it intensely.

"What you see is not all you have. What do you need?" I read aloud. "You know that's completely confusing?" I moaned.

"It's not Tabitha, you're intelligent enough to understand this, even if you don't agree." He took a mistletoe berry from the jar at the front of his desk and crushed it between his fingers. I watched curiously.

"It doesn't specify that the berries have to be whole." I muttered. "And the standard measurement is two grams. So as long as I add eight grams of berry it'll be right?" I asked.

"Just wash your hands afterwards, they're poisonous." He nodded.

"Thanks." I smiled and went back to my desk where Blaise was waiting impatiently.

"I fixed the standard ingredient measurement. The difference was only fifteen grams." Blaise said.

"And I have a resolution to my berry problem." I ginned coyly. I knew he was fed up of my determination to question everything that didn't completely make sense. He didn't like that sometimes I was right.

"Sure." He replied as I grabbed a small handful of berries and crushed them with my knife. I chopped a little to break them up and scooped it into my scale. I took a little out until the dial read eight grams and added it to the potion. Blaise had an odd look on his face like he didn't believe what I was doing. I stirred the potion five times anti-clockwise. The potion turned from a putrid blue colour to a rich green.

"Is that the right colour?" I asked.

"It looks perfect. Just like you." He answered.

"Good." I ignored his additional comment.

Dad went around all of the cauldrons inspecting potions and throwing out snide condescending comments as he usually did.

"How is it that only Miss McGonagall and Mister Zabini managed to create a potion that even resembles what a forgetfulness potion should look like? It's a good job that I won't be making anyone test their own potions today or Miss Parkinson and Mister Malfoy would be dead and Crabbe and Goyle would be in the hospital wing for the foreseeable future. I could go on. Everyone will write a foot of parchment on how exactly their potion went wrong by next class. You may leave." He finished.

I set to clearing away our things whilst Blaise washed out the cauldron. By the time I was finished tidying Blaise had already rushed off to lunch and I was one of the last people to leave. I glanced to Dad who was busy writing on a piece of parchment before I headed for lunch too.

In the staircase up from the dungeons Draco stepped out from an alcove to confront me.

"How is it that you always manage to get the best results? You don't even study with us anymore." He snarled.

"Oh grow up Draco." I muttered and tried to get past him, he held his arm out to stop me.

"Do you cheat from Zambini and take the credit? Is that it?" He accused. I scowled at him. How did he have a right to even think I cheat from someone. I worked harder than anyone, especially seeing as half the time I wasn't even human.

"You should not have said that." I commented. If I was feline, I'd retaliate by sinking my claws into him, leaving long blood oozing lines. But I wasn't feline and for the last four weeks I'd been abiding by the rule to not force or fight the change.

"You're such a spoilt brat." I balled my hand into a fist. "Everyone just feels sorry for you." He yelled hypocritically. "And I feel that way too." I pulled my fist back and slammed it into his face, hitting him square between the eyes. He fell back onto the staircase and smacked his head against the edge of a stone step. His eyes were shut and blood began to trickle down the stairs. I looked around in panic. What did I do?

I ran back down the stairs into the potions classroom. Dad was sat behind the desk calmly scrawling on the parchment.

"Dad. Dad." I yelled. He looked up and rushed over to me.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Draco isn't moving." I said and ran from the room up to the stairs where I hit him. Dad rushed up behind me and took out his wand. He began murmuring quietly. After a moment his murmuring ceased.

"What happened?" He asked scooping Draco up in his arms. The bleeding had stopped.

"He yelled at me so I punched him." I admitted.

"Do you ever think before you act Tabitha? You act like a feral." He shouted and rushed up the stairs with Draco in his arms.

Tears began trickling down my cheeks. It wasn't my fault Draco ambushed me on the stairs. I slowly trudged up the stairs and turned into the girls bathroom. Maybe I could hide here until I stopped crying. I was astounded to see Hermione Granger already in the bathroom crying. I walked up to the stall she was sat in.

"Are you crying because of a boy?" I asked wondering if we were in the same situation.

"Ronald said I'm a nightmare." She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. I thought hard.

"Do you want to go hide somewhere nicer? I have a stash of chocolate frogs." I asked. She looked at me through her teary eyes.

"Okay." She said getting up and emerging from the stall. "What did you do to your hand?" She asked. I looked at it. It certainly looked a mess. I'd been avoiding looking at it to help block out how much it hurt. I couldn't move my thumb at all.

"It's fine, don't worry." I hid my hand behind my back. "Come on, let's go." I said and made for the door. Hermione followed me with occasional sniffles until we reached the forest tapestry.

"What are we doing here?" She asked. I tried to take off my necklace but couldn't manage with my painful hand.

"Let me help." She said and took my necklace off for me. I took it from her and fumbled the key in the lock behind the tapestry until the door opened.

"Thanks." I said and ducked around the tapestry and through the door. Hermione followed me through.

"What is this place?" She asked looking around. There were drawers with clothes inside, shelves of books, a door leading to the bathroom and a comfy futon with lots of pillows.

"It's supposed to be so that I can get changed quickly if I change from kitten to person, in a class that isn't close to my room. It connects to tunnels so that I can get between classes without getting stomped on too." I pointed to the cat flaps around the room. "Mostly though, I just use it to hide out here." I admitted. I put my bag down next to the futon and grabbed two chocolate frogs from the cupboard beside the drawers. I passed one to Hermione.

"Thanks." She said. "I can probably heal your hand if you want."

"Can you heal broken bones? I think I broke my thumb." I looked at my bloodied hand.

"I think so, I've been reading a book on healing." She answered. "How did you do it?" She asked, motioning for us both to sit and taking my hand in hers.

"Draco ambushed me on the stairs and started yelling at me." I replied. She analysed my hand and performed a spell to clean up the blood so she could examine the damage better. "I punched him in the face." She performed a second spell and I felt my thumb snap back into place.

"It was dislocated. Maybe I can find a book on how to punch someone without hurting yourself this much." She suggested.

"I think I'll be in enough trouble from this punch without trying it out again. Draco fell back onto the stairs and hit his head on the edge. I think it knocked him out."I admitted to her. She re-examined my hand.

"You should get this bandaged for a few days but it's okay otherwise." I looked at my hand, even the cuts on my knuckles were healed. "I really don't think you should punch people Tabby, even if they deserve it. Maybe if you knew how to though in case it does happen again, you won't get hurt so bad yourself." She opened her chocolate frog and read out her card about Merlin before eating her frog. I opened mine and got Dumbledore. I must have had him twice already so I set the card on the cupboard and dug into my chocolate frog.

"Do you want to stay here and study? I have some reading to do and essays to write." I asked Hermione.

"That'd be great. I don't want to so much as see a boy all day." She stated, I laughed.

"Okay." I smiled and pulled my books from my bag.

The door swung open.

"Tabitha." Mom called. She entered into the small room where Hermione and I were sat on the futon surrounded by books. Mom looked almost frantic.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously. She looked over to Hermione and seemed relieved.

"There's a troll loose in the castle and the two of you were nowhere to be found." She scolded. I frowned.

"We've been here studying since lunch time, it's not a big deal." I retorted.

"Ignoring that you skipped classes and went missing, you still knocked Draco Malfoy unconscious Tabitha." Mom insisted.

"If someone ambushed you on a staircase and started screaming at you, I think you'd want to knock them out too Mom." I snarled.

"Don't take that tone with me Tabitha. This violence is going to stop. Scratching, biting, punching and yelling. It's not okay Tabitha. Ten points from Slytherin." She demanded.

"Take some more while you're at it, it'll piss off Draco no end." I mused trying not to show that I was upset.

"Tabitha." Mom scalded. "Watch you're language."

"Fine." I sulked.

"Go to my quarters and wait for me. I need to talk to Miss Granger." Mom insisted. I looked at her defiantly but realised she was deadly serious. I shoved my books into my bag and stormed out of the antechamber.

I huffed and puffed and hissed the whole way to Moms quarters and arrived to find the door open. I went into the living room to find dad sat in a chair holding a towel against his leg.

"Dad, what happened?" I asked closing the door behind me. He looked up in surprise.

"I got bitten before I killed the troll." He mused. "Can you grab another towel?" He asked.

"Mom's going to be mad about her towels being bloody." I yelled whilst fetching one.

"When she gets back from looking for you, she can help heal me and I won't need to bleed on towels." He said angrily.

"I'm going to my room." I snarled, throwing the towel at him.

I stomped through to my room and threw my bag down by the door. I couldn't understand why everyone was so mad at me all the time. I felt pain shooting through my core and yelled out in anguish. Almost before I knew what was happening my hands turned to paws and the room felt much bigger. I hissed in anger and jumped off the bed. I looked around before grabbing my favourite mousie and sinking my teeth into it. I clawed at it with all my paws and set my anger on tearing it to pieces.

Please review if you'd like to read more or if you have any questions. Thanks! Rx