Chapter 9
Daphne Blake stood inside her grandmother's bedroom with the rest of Mystery Inc., who she considered to be her best friends in the world, which included Fred Jones, who was the red head's boyfriend and had been so for quite a while; however at the present time, she stood next to the blond teenager, her hands with fear as she waited for her grandmother to tell her about the mysterious creature and about the history of the being as far as her family was concerned.
"Daphne dear, the creature that you and your friends saw was a creature that has been haunting, stalking and trying to destroy members of this family who were witches and warlocks for hundreds of years; thankfully he has failed more times than he succeeded, but on a few occasions he destroyed four or five members of the family during the 1800's, and now I'm afraid that he has returned" Daphne's grandmother explained, although her head hung low during the latter part of the explanation.
"Jeepers!" Daphne exclaimed.
"Man, like that's some story, so what is this creature and why did he want to destroy Daphne's relatives?" Shaggy asked.
"Well, the complete story is on a book here on the shelf in my bedroom; if you will wait a few moments I can retrieve it and show you just what he's like" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Okay, just hurry grandma; that creature's gone for now but who knows when he'll come back" Daphne said.
"I know dear, I know" Daphne's grandmother replied.
For a few minutes the red haired teen's grandmother went over the volumes on the shelf, looking for the exact book that would tell her granddaughter about the creature that was inside the house; finally in the middle of the second shelf, she came upon an ancient looking black leather bound book, in fact as Daphne's grandmother selected the book from the shelf, Velma instantly recognized what it was and what it might contain.
"Jinkies, that's the same book that you used to give Daphne the witch's oath isn't it Mrs. Blake?" the intelligent teen asked.
"Correct Velma, you see not only is this the same book that contains our family's history of witchcraft, in addition to the thousands of spells, incantations and charms used by the Blakes in their magic over the centuries, it also contains some of the family's, shall we say secrets as well as quite a few things that are so unspeakably dark, it would make your hair stand on end, a chill run up your spine and cause goose bumps to appear on your arms, all at the same time" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Zoinks! L-like I don't think I want to hear any more!" Shaggy exclaimed in terror.
"Ri didn't rhear ranything" Scooby replied; the cowardly teen then looked over at the Great Dane and saw that he had earplugs in his ears, which made the green shirted sleuth shake his head in disbelief.
"Like Scooby, you know some times I just don't understand you at all" Shaggy remarked.
"Rhanks Rhaggy" Scooby said before chuckling a little bit.
"Come on you guys knock it off" Velma replied, with an annoyed tone in her voice.
"Velma's right guys, we have to find out what that creature really is, why he's here and what he wants" Fred commented.
"Sorry" Shaggy and Scooby said in unison.
"That's okay fellas, go right ahead and continue grandma" Daphne replied.
"Thank you dear; now as I mentioned before the creature that the five of you saw earlier is one that has plagued each of the members of our family that have practiced witchcraft over the years" Daphne's grandmother remarked.
"But who is this creature, what does he want and why is he here?" Daphne asked.
"You see dear, every one of those questions is answered here in this book, now if you and your friends will come over here, you can see the entire story, and I can tell you more about the creature" Daphne's grandmother replied as she held the ancient book open after motioning for the red head and her friends to join her, which they did.
"Now, the creature that you and your friends encountered Daphne is known as the Karnthurn; as the five if you can see, his picture is displayed here in this book, which is why I wanted to show you this volume, so you know what it looks like" the elderly red head continued.
"Jeepers, that's him all right, and judging by that picture it looks like he's about ready to have a midnight snack" Daphne remarked with a gulp.
"Yes, and it's funny you should mention that dear, because not only has he been plaguing our family for centuries, but he also has several horrible abilities that he can and will use if we and especially you Daphne are not careful" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Like what?" Shaggy asked, knowing full well that he probably wouldn't want to hear what the creature that was skulking around the house was capable of.
"For starters, the creature has the power to drain any magical creature of it's energy and that includes witches and warlocks like us; once the creature drains a magical being of its powers, that creature is then rendered helpless, unable to move, unable to escape the horrible fate about to befall it, and finally once the creature has drained a magical being's powers, the creature then advances on the being and destroys it, easily disposing of the creature's withered body" Daphne's grandmother explained.
After the wealthy sleuth's grandmother told Scooby and friends of what the creature was capable of, Daphne found herself burying her head in Fred's shoulders, not to mention Velma was also doing the same thing, only in Shaggy's shoulders, clearly hearing the frightening description of the creature by Daphne's grandmother had given the two girls the absolute creeps, several times over; now it was up to Fred and Shaggy to calm the two female members of the group down, although considering what the circumstances were, it wasn't going to be easy.
"Oh Freddie, that was the most frightening thing I ever heard, I've never been so scared in all my life" Daphne cried, while her tears seeped into Fred's shirt.
"I have to admit, I've heard some scary things in my life but I don't think anything was as scary as that, right Shaggy?" Velma asked, although her reaction wasn't as emotional as Daphne's but still, she was frightened.
"Like don't worry Velma, he won't hurt us, nothing is going to hurt you while me and Scooby are around; believe me if that creature tries anything more against you, then he'll have to answer to me" Shaggy said as he softly brushed the intelligent teen girl's shoulder.
"That goes double for me Daphne, nothing's going to happen to you while I'm around, and no creature is going to drain your magic either; believe me, I'll be protecting you every step of the way and I doubt that creature would make another move even near you with me here" Fred added as he held up the red head's chin and began brushing the tears away from her face.
"Thanks Freddie, you're really brave to do that," Daphne said.
"And that goes for you too Shaggy, you're awfully brave to protect me against that, that thing that tried to eat us earlier tonight" Velma added.
"Like it was me pleasure Vel" Shaggy said, as he hugged the intelligent teen sleuth.
"Ditto for me Daphne" Fred remarked as he hugged the red haired witch.
"Okay so now that we have that out of the way, grandma what exactly are we going to do about this creature?" Daphne asked.
"That's right, if he pops up all over the place then how are we going to stop him?" Velma added.
"It's quite simple Velma, in addition to what I've already told you, the creature has an excellent sense of smell and can track down witches and warlocks from a thousand miles away; because the creature can smell magic, he can also in a way sense fear, so I would suggest you five be very careful in trying to capture the creature" Daphne's grandmother explained.
"Okay, so we know why he's here, how he got here, what he's up to and what he looks like, so what does that leave us with?" Fred asked.
"Well, for starters we know he's still here somewhere in the house, so all we have to do is find him" Velma added.
"That makes sense, although if he's magical then how do we know he's going to stay in one place for a long period of time?" Daphne asked.
"Well dear, that's where you come in; I have provided you with all you need to know as far as witchcraft goes and what spells to use against the creature in defending yourself, now it's up to you and your friends to defeat the creature once and for all, because until he's captured or destroyed, no one in this family will be safe, including any and all people and dogs in this house, including the two of us Daphne" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Grandma, what do you mean the two of us won't be safe?" Daphne asked.
"What I mean is that if you and your friends do not defeat the creature, then I'm afraid it would only be a matter of time before, well before he drains your magic and then my magic as well" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Jeepers, then we had better get started in trying to catch him" Daphne replied.
"Right Daphne, first Mrs. Blake is there anything else we need to know in order to capture this creature?" Fred asked.
"No Fred, everything that I have told you is everything that I know about the creature" Daphne's grandmother explained.
"Thank you for the help; I just hope that we can catch this thing before we turn into withered husks" Daphne replied.
"Daphne, I know in my heart that you and your friends will capture this creature before he strikes again" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Thanks grandma, I know we will too" Daphne replied.
"Right Daphne, now let's get started" Fred said.
"Fred, do you think we should split up and search for this, thing?" Daphne asked.
"Hmm, I guess that might be a good idea, especially since we don't know where he might show up, so if we split into two groups, there's a better chance of us finding him quicker; now here's what we'll do: Daphne and I will take the upstairs, since he's already shown up in the girls bedroom, there's a good chance he might come back again, while we're upstairs, Velma, you, Shaggy and Scooby search the downstairs, and if he tries to escape the house, come find us and we'll try and capture him" Fred explained.
"Makes sense, but you're forgetting one person in your plan Fred" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Who? Who am I forgetting; I know I mentioned everyone, right?" Fred wondered.
"Yes you did Fred, everyone except for me that is" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Grandma, you can't! It's far too dangerous, what if something happens to you while we're trying to catch the creature, what if, what if the creature drains your powers? Or worse?" Daphne said, trying to reason with her elderly relative, although while Daphne began explaining what could happen to her grandmother, she put up her hands, signifying the red head to stop speaking.
"Daphne, I fully understand what can or could happen if I join you and your friends, however I have experience with witchcraft, much more then you as a matter of fact and I also have experience in dealing with this horrible beast, so I think I should join the five of you in your investigation, besides I think six people, or rather five people and a dog have a little better chance of capturing the creature then four people and a dog" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"I guess you're right grandma, plus I've been wanting to spend a lot of time with you and now I can, and what better way to do that then by taking on some creepy dragon with you" Daphne remarked.
"Daphne, that's certainly an unusual analogy, but I think it does fit in this situation" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"So I guess there's nothing we can do to stop you from joining us huh grandma?" Daphne asked.
"Correct; I intend to help you and your friends Daphne, and that's final" Daphne's grandmother declared as she folded her arms; clearly she looked determined to help the red head and the rest of the gang in their pursuit of the sinister creature, with no other options and knowing that she was going to lose her argument with her relative, she relented and smiled at her grandmother.
"Okay grandma, you can join us in trying to solve this mystery, just make sure and do me one favor" Daphne said.
"What's that dear?" Daphne's grandmother asked.
"Please, please be careful; I don't want anything to happen to you and I don't want you to lose your powers, or lose your life to that creature for that matter" Daphne replied as she folded her hands together, hoping and praying that her grandmother wouldn't perish before her very eyes.
"Don't worry granddaughter, I'll be careful" Daphne's grandmother said as she hugged the younger redhead.
"Thanks grandma" Daphne replied.
"Okay gang, now that we know what we're up against and that the pleasantries are taken care of, let's get started before anything else happens to us or to Daphne, Velma, or her grandmother" Fred explained.
"Right, come on Shaggy and Scooby" Velma said as she and the cowardly duo walked out of the room and into a hallway to start investigating the old Victorian house.
Meanwhile Daphne, Fred and the red head's grandmother headed for the stairs and their investigation of the upper portion of the red haired teen's grandmother's home; as the two sleuths and the elderly red head walked up the staircase, they noticed that it creaked a little and that they could possibly fail at any time, which made Fred a little nervous, so being a good friend and good leader he quickly held onto the red head and the red head's grandmother's arms and helped them up the stairs, just in case the unthinkable might happen to any either of the two red heads.
"Thanks Freddie, that was really nice of you" Daphne said with a smile as the blond teen continued to hold onto her arm.
"It was my pleasure Daphne" Fred replied, smiling back at her.
"I have to agree Fred, that was very nice of you to help my granddaughter and I up the stairs; you know you are quite a gentleman, and I think your parents would be very proud of you" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Thank you Mrs. Blake, you know I think my parents are proud of me too" Fred replied.
After a few minutes the adolescent sleuths arrived at the top of the stairs, however Daphne didn't seem to want to let go of the blond teenager, at least not for quite a while.
"Um Daphne, you can let go of me now" Fred said, trying to get the red head to release his arm.
"But Freddie what if the upstairs aren't safe either? Or what if the creature shows up? I want to be protected" Daphne replied, sounding like a medieval princess as she spoke.
"Daph, you're a witch now, you have magic powers, so I don't think I need to protect you all the time; now, if something does happen, I'm right here and you can come to me if something happens, although if that creature or something else shows up, you can defend yourself, okay?" Fred said, making an attempt to reason with his red haired comrade.
"Oh, right, I keep forgetting that; sorry Freddie" Daphne replied.
"It's perfectly fine Daphne, I mean I understand wanting to cling to me if something unspeakable happens, but after all you are a big girl and you can defend and protect yourself without having to worry about falling into traps or anything like that, so overall I wouldn't worry too much, just remember what your grandma told you and you should be fine" Fred explained.
"Thank you Fred, that was well put, and I don't think I could have added anything to what you just said, now let's get started in looking for this, this creature" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Right grandma" Daphne said.
Daphne, Fred and the red haired teen's grandmother then started looking through the various rooms in the upstairs portion of the red haired teen's grandmother's home; most of the upstairs rooms were either bedrooms, or used for storage space, although the red haired teen figured that her grandmother needed all that storage space, considering all the things that she had probably accumulated during her life; after a few minutes the pair of sleuths and the red haired teen's elderly relative made their way to a rather unassuming room in the middle of the hallway, which of course was locked.
Figuring that this room might have a few clues as to why the sinister dark creature was stalking the gang, Daphne decided to look through her purse and see if something in the purse could help open the door, and after a few moments she found something, specifically one of her credit cards.
Once the red haired teen used her credit card to open the door, she pushed it open and the trio entered the small room; the red haired teen didn't recognize the room much at first, although it had been years since visited her grandmother, so she probably couldn't identify it, although as the group entered the small room, her grandmother was able to identify it rather quickly.
"Ah yes, this is my laboratory, I haven't used it in such a long time" Daphne's grandmother remarked.
Daphne and Fred then looked around the small room and saw numerous beakers, test tubes, bottles, canisters and even a few cauldrons, as well as quite a few books on various subjects, which were standing on a pair of small bookshelves; the pair of sleuths were intrigued by the strange room and began browsing through the items, much to the chagrin of Daphne's grandmother.
"Daphne, why are you and Fred looking through all my things?" Daphne's grandmother asked.
"Well grandma, usually when we look through a room like this we find a clue as to the mystery that we're investigating, so maybe we'll find a clue as to the creature in this room" Daphne replied.
"But dear, this is my laboratory; I only have my old magic potions, cauldrons and spell books in this room, so I doubt there would be a clue in here, although if you call my old potions clues, then I suppose there would be plenty of clues in this room" Daphne's grandmother said.
"I suppose so, but maybe we should take a look through here anyway, okay?" Daphne asked.
"Hmm, I guess it wouldn't hurt; besides, some of these potions are probably forty or fifty years in the first place so they probably wouldn't work anyway" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Cool, thanks grandma" Daphne said as she hugged her grandmother.
"You're welcome dear and it was no problem" Daphne's grandmother replied.
So with that Daphne and Fred began browsing through the literally hundreds of potion bottles, spell books and other magical trinkets that the red head's grandmother had accumulated over the years; the blond unofficial leader of Mystery Inc. searched through one side of the small room, while the red haired teen and her grandmother searched the other side.
After a few minutes of searching the red head and her grandmother realized that finding clues in this room was going to be like finding a needle in a haystack, so they sat down on the floor to rest for a few moments.
"Jeepers, I never knew you had so many things in your house grandma, this is almost like the Northeastern branch of the Smithsonian Institute" Daphne remarked.
"I don't know if I would call it that Daphne, although I do have plenty of items from my career as a sorceress, which is still going, so to speak" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Grandma?" Daphne asked.
"Yes dear?" Daphne's grandmother answered.
"Just how on earth did you accumulate all this stuff anyway?" the red head wondered.
"Well dear, in my younger years I did a lot of traveling and met a lot of interesting people; I also talked to quite a few of my fellow witches and warlocks, as a result of some of those meetings I purchased and was given quite a few potions, spell books and other items of magical origin like for example everything here in this room, although I guess I really should do some cleaning in here" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"That's for sure, although I would take your time; I kind of think all this magic stuff is really cool" Daphne remarked.
"I have to agree with Daphne, all this stuff is really neat," Fred agreed.
After speaking to Daphne and her grandmother about the various magical items in the small room and while the red head and her elderly relative were still talking, Fred spotted a medium sized cabinet off to one side and walked over to see what was inside; the blond teenager opened the cabinet rather easily and began looking through it, inside were several different shelves of what looked to be various old bottles, which piqued Fred's interest a little as he began to look at the various labels; however, Daphne and her grandmother looked over and noticed what Fred was doing and called over to him, telling him to stop looking through the bottles.
"Mr. Jones, please but those bottles down immediately!" Daphne's grandmother declared; although considering she used his last name rather than his first name, it was apparent that he might be in trouble.
"What's wrong Mrs. Blake?" Fred asked, holding a bottle of blue liquid in his right hand.
"What's wrong is that many of those bottles are antiques and are irreplaceable, so I would suggest you put the bottle down right now!" Daphne's grandmother replied with a slightly raised tone of voice.
"Grandma's right Freddie, you don't know what kind of potions or spells those bottles contain, so it might be a good idea to put the bottle back where you found it" Daphne added.
"Oh come on Daphne, I don't see the harm in just looking at it, oops" Fred said, unfortunately for the blond teenager, the potion bottle slipped out of his hands and he dropped the container onto the wooden floor, shattering it into a thousand pieces; however, about a split second before the bottle dropped to the floor, Daphne sensing that she and her grandmother might be in danger from whatever was in the bottle and possibly from the resulting smoke that came from its shattering, raised a hand above her head in a circular motion and cast a magic spell, which surrounded the red head and her grandmother in a protective purple force field.
Meanwhile a strange plume of blue smoke surrounded the blond teenager, however in the span of a few moments and just as soon as it appeared, the smoke disappeared, although there was one thing slightly amiss when the smoke vanished, which Daphne instantly realized: Fred had disappeared as well; once the smoke completely evaporated she ended the spell and walked over to the cabinet, or rather in front of the cabinet to try and locate Fred.
"Freddie, Freddie, where are you?" Daphne called as she began to slightly tear up; however as attempted to dry her eyes, she heard a familiar voice calling to her from somewhere, although she couldn't see where it was coming from at first.
"Daphne, Daphne, where are you?" the voice asked.
The red haired teenager scratched her head at first, but a few moments later she was able to recognize who the voice belonged to: it was Fred, in fact he hadn't disappeared at all, he was in reality somewhere in the room, but where? It was then that the blond teen decided to try calling out to the red head once again.
"Daphne, I'm over here!" Fred yelled.
"Where Freddie?" Daphne asked.
"Over by the cabinet; I'll give you directions" Fred replied.
"Okay" Daphne said.
The red haired sleuth then started walking towards the cabinet, trying to locate her comrade, however Daphne was failing miserably in locating the blond teen; however, Fred didn't give up and began calling her again, this time using hot and cold to guide her to where he was.
"You're getting colder Daphne" Fred said; now the red head walked back towards the cabinet, which Fred was happy about as he continued to direct her to his location.
"You're getting warmer Daph, you're getting warmer" Fred remarked; Daphne continued to walk through the room, before finally standing in front of the cabinet, which Fred was happy about, as finally the red head had located him.
"Good going Daphne, you found me" Fred remarked.
There was one thing that still confused Daphne however; when she stood in front of the cabinet, Fred was still nowhere to be found, although Daphne did see something sitting on the floor which she found interesting; specifically it was a cat with brown fur and blue eyes, being an animal lover Daphne instantly picked up the feline and began petting it.
"Hmm, I didn't see a cat in here when we got in here, oh well; aren't you the cutest little thing, you're so cute, yes you are" Daphne said as she softly stroked the cat's fur while she held it in her arms, however Daphne's grandmother was a little confused as to why this cat had made an appearance just now, considering he was nowhere to be found when the trio entered the room.
"That's funny, I don't have a cat; I guess this fella was just trying to find a hiding place, maybe he got scared" Daphne's grandmother replied as she walked over to join her granddaughter.
However, once again Daphne and her grandmother were beginning to hear things as Fred began speaking to them once again, although they weren't quite sure where his voice was coming from.
"Fred, Fred where are you?" Daphne asked.
"Down here Daphne" Fred replied, as the red head looked towards the floor.
"Not down there, down here!" Fred clarified as Daphne continued to look for her boyfriend; finally Daphne looked down into her hands and saw the small cat she had picked up earlier, which confused her a little bit, as apparently Fred's voice was coming from the body of a feline, so she decided to make sure if this cat was indeed who he said it was.
"Freddie?" Daphne asked with some uncertainty in her voice.
"Yes?" Fred answered.
"Oh Freddie, I didn't know where you were and I thought you diss…" Daphne replied with a smile on her face after finding out that the blond teen was okay, however there was still the matter of Fred's voice coming from a cat's body, which even through cat eyes the young man could see that she had a look of uncertainty and fright on her face.
"Daphne, what's the matter?" Fred asked.
"Freddie, I think you better go take a look in that mirror over there" Daphne said, pointing to a nearby mirror, which was located next to the cabinet.
"Why?" Fred inquired.
"Because I really think you need to see yourself," Daphne replied somewhat cryptically.
"Oh, okay if you insist" Fred replied as the red head put him on the floor; the blond teenager, or rather teenage feline sauntered over to the mirror and looked at himself, although he didn't seem to see anything wrong at first.
"Well Daphne, I'm in front of the mirror like you asked, now what…" Fred said, before reality set in and he got a good look at himself in the mirror; the once blond teenager now had blue eyes that looked feline and brown fur covering his entire body, and it was then that he came to a startling realization.
"I-I'm a c-cat!" Fred declared, although it sounded a bit like he was meowing while he said it.
"I told you so" Daphne replied.
"How, how did this happen? How did I turn into a cat?" Fred asked, somewhat nervously considering he was now a feline.
"Hmm, if I had to guess you probably busted the bottle of my potion that I used to use to transform myself into a cat every so often" Daphne's grandmother explained.
"Jeepers, so Freddie's a cat? But, I thought that you could just turn yourself into a cat or something like that by casting a spell on yourself?" Daphne asked.
"Well, you can Daphne; but when I was your age, the only way for a witch or warlock to turn themselves into an animal was by using a potion, nowadays the way that you transformed yourself into a cat is the most common way for a witch or warlock to turn herself or himself into an animal" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"I guess that makes sense, I mean it is less complicated then using a magic potion," Daphne said.
"Um Daphne, could you please do something for me?" Fred asked, before the red head picked him up.
"Sure Freddie, what is it?" Daphne asked.
"Could you please turn me back before I develop a taste for tuna" Fred replied with a somewhat annoyed tone in his voice.
"Sure Freddie, actually it would be kind of weird to have a boyfriend who's a cat" Daphne remarked.
"I agree Daphne, that would be weird; well to answer your question Freddie, yes there is a way to turn you back to normal, in fact the potion is in that cabinet" Daphne's grandmother pointed out.
"Terrific, hopefully you can find it and get me back to normal" Fred commented.
"Okay Freddie" Daphne replied; she and her grandmother then walked over to the cabinet where the two of them anticipated finding the antidote to the potion, in the span of a few minutes the red head and her elderly relative looked through the cabinet and eventually found the correct concoction; the elderly relative then picked up a bottle of green liquid and walked over to where Fred the cat was, picked him up and held him in her hands.
"Here we are Fred, drink this it and will fix you right up" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Um grandma, if Fred's a cat, he wouldn't have any opposable thumbs, so…" Daphne replied.
"Whoops, my mistake Fred, here I'll pour the potion into your mouth" Daphne's grandmother explained.
"Are you sure that stuff's safe Mrs. Blake?" Fred asked.
"Yes dear, it's safe; actually I think Fred will enjoy it" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"I don't know if he'll enjoy it, but I just hope it works" Daphne remarked.
"Don't worry Daphne, it will" Daphne's grandmother said as she uncorked the small bottle.
"Okay Fred, open wide and say ah" Daphne's grandmother said.
"All right, if you insist, ahh" Fred replied as he opened his feline mouth; the red head's grandmother then poured the strange liquid into the blond teenager's mouth and almost suddenly the room Fred could feel himself shaking a little.
"Daphne, I think you had better incant that force field spell again" Daphne's grandmother remarked said after placing the blond teen and currently feline on the floor.
"Why grandma?" Daphne asked.
"Because if we don't, something might happen to us when Fred changes back to normal" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Okay grandma, if you insist: here goes" Daphne said as she waved a hand above her head once again in a circular motion and once more a purple force field surrounded the two red haired women; suddenly a plume of green smoke enveloped Fred and when it disappeared, the unofficial leader of Mystery Inc. reappeared, apparently safe, sound and most importantly of all: back to normal.
Although on instinct Fred walked over to the mirror to inspect himself, making sure there wasn't a spot or speck of fur, or anything that looked remote feline on his body; after doing this for a few moments, he came to the conclusion that he was back to himself and walked towards the two red heads, smiling all the while.
"It worked, thank you, thank you, thank you Mrs. Blake!" Fred exclaimed as he hugged Daphne's grandmother.
"My my, I'm glad you're back to normal Fred, but could you please put me down" Daphne's grandmother replied.
"Oh, sorry about that Mrs. Blake" Fred remarked.
"That's quite all-right Fred, just please be more careful next time" Daphne's grandmother said.
"Don't worry I will; however, I think I can hug my girlfriend because I'm so happy that she doesn't have to buy catnip for me" Fred said with a glint of affection in his eyes, or rather something more than just mere affection.
The blond teenager then walked over and hugged Daphne like no young man had ever hugged a young woman before, and to top it all off Fred then quickly kissed Daphne on the cheek and then proceeded to nuzzle her nose with his, which surprised Daphne to no end.
"Freddie, I-I had no idea you were so-so affectionate" Daphne said as she looked deep into the blond teen's eyes.
"I guess it's left over from me being a cat" Fred replied as he proceeded to look deep into the red head's blue eyes.
"My goodness, you two certainly are a wonderful couple; I don't think there are two people who are better suited for one another than you two" Daphne's grandmother spoke up.
"Thank you grandma, I think we're a perfect match too," Daphne said.
"I couldn't agree more Daph, I couldn't agree more" Fred replied.
"Well since Fred's back to his human self, why don't we leave my laboratory and look for clues as to the creature's whereabouts in another portion of the house" Daphne's grandmother commented.
"Good thinking Mrs. Blake, we should probably get out of here before I get turned into something else, and next time it might not be as nice as a cat" Fred remarked.
"That's for sure, I would hate to get devoured by you or something like that Freddie" Daphne replied.
"Yeah I bet, come on ladies, let's go" Fred declared; so with that the pair of sleuths left Daphne's grandmother's laboratory behind with the blond young adult's arm around the younger of the two red head's arm; once the redhead's grandmother left the room she closed the door behind them, once she was finished locking up the room the two sleuths and the red head's grandmother walked into the hallway and resumed their search through the house.
Author's Notes: Hopefully I didn't overdo the romance in this chapter, and hopefully everyone enjoyed it; also, hopefully everybody liked Fred getting turned into a cat, it was something I thought of on the spur of the moment and I think it worked well in the story; by the way, I'm planning on making this story 12 chapters long, although I might change it to 10 or 11 chapters, I'm still not sure yet, basically it really depends on what I can think of in terms of the story and what to write, again thanks to everybody for reading and reviewing my stories
