Sorry it's been a while without an update. Vacation time turned into sick time but here's another chapter! I hope you enjoy (:
Cat could hear people talking around her. She couldn't understand what they were saying or why they were in her room, but they sounded familiar.
"Ge oudda hur," she mumbled sleepily.
The voices stopped briefly and were replaced by chuckles. Cat groaned and shifted slightly in an attempt to roll away from the sound. The movement caused a sharp feeling to shoot up her right leg—she gasped in pain and her eyes opened wide. The sudden light blinded her for a moment and when her eyes adjusted she was shocked by more than just the pain. Rather than the crimson and gold she had expected to see from her bedroom, she was surrounded by white walls, white sheets, and—when she turned her head towards the voices—bright red hair.
"What are you two doing here?" Cat wracked her brain to think where she was or why Fred and George would be with her.
"Keeping you company," Fred grinned.
"Didn't mean to wake you."
Cat smiled at the twins but still felt perplexed. "Where am I? How did I get here?"
"You don't remember anything?" George asked. There was a hint of worry in the twins' usually cheerful faces. Cat leaned into her pillow and bit her lip, trying to concentrate on the last thing she could remember.
"I remember I was with Hermione in the girls' room. Ron said something stupid and upset her. We were going to leave for the Great Hall but—" Cat stopped and jumped upright, ignoring the pain; everything came back to her. "The troll! Is Hermione alright? What happened to it? Where's Harry?" She could hardly get out her questions fast enough; her mind was all over the place.
Fred and George laughed, realizing she was alright. "Everyone's fine," George assured her.
"Ron, Hermione, and Harry were all in here earlier. Madame Pomfrey told them they should get some sleep since you were being a terrible host. You've done nothing but sleep since you got here!" Fred nudged her gently.
Cat rolled her eyes and sighed in relief. She was glad everyone was fine, but she was left with another question. "If they left, why did you both stay?" Cat eyed the twins suspiciously.
"Forget already? We told you we were keeping you company." Fred forced a laugh. Cat turned her gaze to George and raised an eyebrow. He tried to avoid looking her in the eye but she didn't let up.
"Oh, alright!" George finally caved. "We saw Harry and the others come into the common room and when we asked where you were, they told us what happened."
"At first we wanted all the details about the troll and how you four could take it down. Then it hit us if you were still in the Hospital Wing, you must have been pretty banged up."
"So we snuck down here to make sure you get a speedy recovery. We also wanted you to have a nice sight when you woke up," George finished with a wink.
Cat giggled at the wink and grabbed each of their hands, giving a little squeeze. "I'm glad I was so rudely awakened by the both of you. If it had been anyone else, they may have gotten a pillow to the face." She smiled, dropping their hands.
"Good, I would really hate—" George was suddenly cut off by a swift smack from Cat's pillow. Fred burst into laughter until he was surprised with the pillow slapping into his face as well.
"Oi! You just said anyone else would have gotten hit, not us!" Fred said as he rubbed his cheek in feigned pain.
"I said anyone else may have gotten hit. The two of you definitely deserved a good smacking!"
"Our dear little Kitten has turned against us," George pouted.
"It looks that way," Fred sighed. "Fortunately, you seem to be feeling better, which means this is fair." He grabbed the pillows from Cat's bed, tossed one to George and they proceeded to beat her with pillows. She squealed in surprise and tried to deflect the blows.
"I see you're feeling better," Madam Pomfrey called from her office. "And you have some new visitors." The twins flushed at being caught in a pillow fight while Cat grinned, enjoying their slight embarrassment. "You should be fine to leave anytime. There may still be some stiffness or pain in the leg, anything more and feel free to come see me."
Cat thanked Madam Pomfrey and struggled to her feet. Stiffness indeed, she thought. Fred and George offered to help but she pushed aside their outstretched hands. She was fine and would manage on her own. Feeling a little weak she decided she just needed some food—she had missed dinner after all. It was still early for breakfast so she made her way up to Gryffindor tower to clean up and change with the twins close behind her, steadying her when she stumbled.
Eventually they made it inside the Common Room and Cat had to assure the twins repeatedly she could make it to her dormitory alone, slapping them both away a few times for good measure. When she made it to her room she saw that the girls were still sleeping, including Hermione. Her dear friend was fine, just like George said. Cat smiled and was about to leap onto her bed but she thought better of it; Hermione needed her rest and leaping on a recovering leg didn't sound like the best choice. So Cat crept quietly to the bathroom.
The girls were stirring when she returned. Hermione was stretching her arms, her eyes still closed from sleep. A wicked grin spread over Cat's face. The warm water from her shower had helped with the stiffness in her leg and she thought Hermione looked a bit too comfortable. She silently made her way near the girl's bed before pouncing upon her drowsy friend. Hermione screamed and began hitting her believed attacker. Cat fell to the floor clutching her sides, laughing so hard tears welled in her eyes.
Hermione sat up in her bed and stared at Cat with her mouth open in disbelief. "You scared me half to death!" Seeing Cat continue to laugh only angered Hermione. "It isn't funny! You should be in the hospital wing!" Hermione's face softened as it hit her that Cat wasn't lying unconscious in a bed. "You-you're alright… You're alright!" Hermione flew off her bed and tackled Cat. "Oh, I'm so glad you're awake and feeling better."
"Of course I'm fine," Cat said as she hugged Hermione tightly. "It'll take a lot more than a troll to take me down."
"It's all my fault, I was too scared to help or run away or do anything. I'm so sorry, Cat. If Harry and Ron hadn't come when they did…" Hermione broke off.
"Stop it. You can't think like that," Cat scolded. "You didn't do anything wrong. Honestly it was mad of me to try to take on a mountain troll by myself! Please don't feel bad, Mione, I'm fine and everything worked out." Cat smiled brightly, wanting to convince Hermione that she shouldn't blame herself. "Hurry up and get ready, I'm starving!" Cat got to her feet and pulled Hermione to hers. Hermione hastily brushed a tear off her cheek, nodded, and rushed to get changed.
Cat fell backwards onto Hermione's bed, already exhausted. Her eyes were closed and she was being tempted into sleep when a tiny meow caught her attention. Sam was on her hind legs trying to climb Hermione's bed. She was still too small to jump onto the beds on her own.
"I didn't forget you, Sammie. You missed me, huh?" Cat scooped up the tiny cat and placed her on the bed beside her. Sam immediately jumped around on the bed and meowed in excitement. The little kitten crawled over to Cat and licked her cheek, causing Cat to giggle. "I know, I know. I won't leave you trapped on the floor again! No more hospital visits for me." Sam meowed loudly, satisfied with the assurance.
By then Hermione was ready to go to breakfast so Cat placed Sam on her own bed before grabbing all of her things. They made their way down the stairs and to the Great Hall. Walking down so many stairs left Cat's leg feeling stiff again but she ignored it. The desire for food was more important than feeling a little uncomfortable. When they made it to the Great Hall the uncomfortable stiffness became mildly painful.
"Cat, are you sure you're alright? You're limping," guilt and worry had returned to Hermione's face.
"I just need something to eat," she replied through gritted teeth. "I can sit down then."
Walking through the entranceway Cat was hit full in the face by the wonderful smell of fresh food. She spotted Fred and George looking at her, about to stand up and help her to a seat. She raised an eyebrow and pushed forward to prove she could manage fine, despite the limp. They shook their heads and laughed. Good, she thought, at least someone's half-convinced I'm okay. She looked up to find Harry and Ron, half-asleep in some porridge. Cat grinned and hobbled quickly to them.
"Harry!" Cat practically fell into the seat beside him. "I didn't get to thank you for last night so, thank you." She smiled and gave him a quick hug before punching him lightly in the shoulder.
"What was that for?" he whined. He wasn't fully awake yet and rubbed his arm absentmindedly.
"For getting us in that mess in the first place and for telling Fred and George! If you hadn't said anything no one else would know anything was wrong." Cat sniffed indignantly.
"Yeah, except for that nice limp you have," Ron mumbled into some toast. "Matches Snape's nicely."
Cat looked at him in confusion. "Snape? Was there another troll running around?"
"More like a certain three-headed dog we know. He was trying to get into that trapdoor, I'm sure." Harry narrowed his eyes at the professor in question. Cat rolled her eyes.
"Come off it, Harry! I've told you, he's not as bad as you think."
"Not as bad to you! He treats everyone but you and his precious Slytherins like rubbish. If it had been me hurt last night he probably would have cursed or poisoned me," Harry fumed. He looked at Cat and his eyes softened. "I don't know what it is about us that makes him hate me so much and not you. Don't get me wrong, the feeling's mutual and I wouldn't want Snape to be a pain to you as well. But you should have seen his face when you fainted, like someone had died. Before McGonagall could figure out what happened he was rushing you off to the Hospital Wing."
"It was really great," chimed Hermione. "We were all worried about you but Professor Snape knew just what to do. Even after Madam Pomfrey assured us all you were fine he was hesitant to go. Professor McGonagall told him you were safe with us though and there was nothing more to do but wait for you to rest. Still, I didn't think you would be up so soon."
"Don't underestimate me," Cat chuckled as she took a bite of eggs. "You don't have to worry about me, I promise."
She looked across the table to see Hermione smiling back. She saw another face looking at her, from across the Great Hall. She could see a little blond head with a furrowed brow staring at her through the crowd of students. She couldn't read the emotion on Draco's face or understand why he was looking at her. He didn't seem annoyed—his usual emotional state—but confused or maybe even concerned. This doesn't make any sense, Cat thought, shouldn't Draco be happy to see the poor Potter girl all banged up?
Just as a head's up, I'll be back at school next weekend so updates will be irregular. Please let me know what you think of the story so far! I keep developing as a writer which means things can only get better and your help will help me
