Chapter Nine

"Sirius?" Minerva called from the front hall, laden with a heavy brown satchel, and was immediately startled by a furious cacophony of yells. Her lips thinned in frustration. I cannot believe I forgot about the Portrait Hall of Doom and Deafness, as Sirius put it in sixth year. A CRACK sounded from directly behind her and she spun.

"The blood-traitor and the brain-addled brat he dragged here with him are in the Master's bedroom." Kreacher bowed and smiled, showing several sharp teeth. "If you would please follow me."

Minerva counted to twenty-seven in Gobbledegook and proceeded to mount the stairs after Kreacher. It is rude to Silence somebody else's house-elf, it is rude to Silence somebody else's house-elf...

"Their visitor is to please be careful of the clock." Kreacher looked back with a thin smile which was even nastier than his toothy one. "It has taken many lives."

"Minerva?" Sirius' voice came from the fifth door on the left. "Is that you?"

Minerva created a solid barrier around the clock and stepped into the hall. "I'm here." She hurried into the room. Elen was curled up beside Sirius, wrapped in a thick eiderdown. His breath caught when he saw Minerva, and he slid down the bed and retreated under it, trying to pull Sirius with him. Minerva closed her eyes for a moment. I guess Severus calling me to help free him didn't work. He still doesn't trust me. She placed the satchel down by the door and turned to leave.

"Minerva, wait." Sirius reached out to her with his free hand, half-under the bed, trying to keep Elen wrapped at least. "Change into the cat and come here. Please just try..."

Minerva didn't even think. She shifted form and came slowly over. Elen smiled slightly and reached out to her, touching her left ear with his forefinger.

"Don't change back," Sirius whispered as he gathered Elen back out from under the bed. Minerva leapt up onto the sheets and shook her head decidedly. I have no intention to wreck this, Sirius. He's letting me near him. He even touched me. Now all we need to do is to get him to give me as a human the trust he gives me as a cat. Sirius lay Elen on the bed next to Minerva and gently detached himself, but Elen seized his shoulder and a handful of hair and wouldn't let go. Sirius winced.

"Elen. You see the satchel by the door? I'm going to get it and then I'm coming straight back. Stay on the bed with Minerva." He smiled, pure mischief. "She likes to have her ears rubbed." He detached Elen again and crossed the room in three quick strides, scooping up the satchel and turning back to find Minerva curling up glaring daggers at him, Elen slowly starting to scratch her ears. Sirius smiled. He really does like cats, doesn't he? Hmmm... He returned to the bed and rummaged through the satchel, digging out six bottles and putting the thick sheaf of parchment back. Red for physical, all others to be drunk. He quickly read the descriptions, poured out a dose of the first one and raised it to Elen's mouth, but Elen twisted away and made a distressed noise, shielding his face with his arms. Minerva increased the volume of her purr and rubbed against him.

Sirius looked blankly at Elen. Why won't he take it? He trusts me. He gently pulled Elen's arm down and tried again, only to have Elen hit out at the goblet and roll into a frightened ball around Minerva, shielding his face not only with his arms but his legs as well. Sirius was barely able to save the potion from spilling all over the bed. Minerva squeezed free with a winded squeak and looked back at Elen, who hadn't noticed her leaving. She sighed and walked over to Sirius, deliberately raising her paw and putting it on the red bottle, looking at Sirius pointedly. This one first.

Sirius shook his head. "No. If I can only get him to take one, it has to be this one." He indicated the goblet. "We can't let that Healing go to waste, and if it doesn't set..."

Minerva drew herself up and patted the red bottle again, looking Sirius straight in the eyes. If I ever wanted telepathy, it's right now... Black, this one does something to help him that he can see!

Sirius shook his head again, cast a spell on the goblet and moved behind Elen, pinning his arms to his chest and grasping his jaw with his other hand. "Come on, Elen. Drink it. Please. For me." Elen tucked his chin down by his neck as the hovering goblet pressed against his tightly-closed mouth, struggling, then twisted his head free with painful force and bit Sirius. Minerva leapt off the bed and streaked into the hall, taking her own form as soon as she was outside. "Expecto patronum."

The silver cat flowed into the room and hovered directly in front of Sirius' face. Elen's eyes went wide in wonder, but he startled away when it spoke.

"Sirius Orion Black, use the red potion this instant and stop frightening Elen. Let him see it Healing him." The Patronus dissolved and Minerva the cat ran back in, jumping back on the bed and putting her paw firmly on the red bottle.

Sirius threw up his hands, dramatically giving in. "Yes ma'am." He smeared the red potion over the palm of his hand and reached out. Elen dodged his grip and retreated under the bed yet again, curling up protectively. "Get away!"

Sirius sighed and followed him. "You don't have to drink this one." He grasped the raw place on Elen's left wrist and instantly let go as Elen twisted desperately away from him, leaving a glutinous smear. "Actually, please don't drink it. Look at your arm, Elen."

Wary eyes glared at him, terrified and angry. "You took me there. You let them hurt me – why should I trust you? Get OUT!"

Sirius closed his eyes. So, the shock's faded and he's realised. I wish he could have realised fifteen minutes later, or never, but looking at it from his point of view I have just betrayed him and turned him over, bound and helpless, to be tortured again. "Elen, it was the only way to get your magic under your control so that it wouldn't attack anyone else like it did Minerva..." He withdrew, letting Elen have the entire space under the bed. "I didn't realise what they'd have to do, or that it was going to be quite that bad."

"You knew they'd hurt me!" Elen spat. "You knew." He bowed his head and curled up tightly, shaking. "Leave me alone."

Sirius shook his head emphatically. "I knew that they would Heal you. I did not realise that they'd have to hurt you to get you Healed until we were already there, and for the sake of you being able to control your magic... Elen, it was worth it. I promise." Elen gave him a profoundly sceptical sidelong look, and Sirius looked back at him, straight in the eyes. "Elen, if I'd asked you beforehand, would you have willingly gone through that to ensure that you never, ever accidentally hurt anyone again?"

A long, long pause. Minerva lay down against Elen and purred as loudly as she could; Elen's fingers stole to her side and began to stroke her. "Yes," Elen whispered finally. "I would have, if that's what they did. Why didn't you ask?"

Sirius let out his breath all at once. "I didn't ask you because I was an absolute and utter moron." I could have asked. I could have told him that there was a way for him to be Healed but that I would need to do magic on him first. I could have got his consent. Then I could have left it for a week or so, and hit him with it while he slept. "Because I made a mistake. I should have asked, and I didn't. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." A pause. "And of course they Healed you. What else would a Healer ever do?"

Elen uncurled slightly, still wary. "Never attack me again. Promise me!"

"I promise," Sirius said quietly. "But Elen, you really do need to take the potions. Look at your arm if you don't believe me."

Elen looked at his wrist and gasped. New skin had formed where the potion had touched, covering the scraped, red soreness and lightening the bruises. He touched it gently, then stared at Sirius, disbelieving.

Sirius tipped some more potion into his hand. "Can I come under there? I want to do your other wrist." Elen nodded and held it out cautiously, and Sirius smeared the potion over it. The wounds immediately began to heal over.

"There, you see? Elen, this potion Heals the outside wounds, like your wrists. The others Heal the inside wounds, and they're even more important. So you have to drink them. Please. They'll make you better." He gently helped Elen out from under the bed yet again and got him under the eiderdown, rubbing potion into his ankles.

Elen shook his head. "NO. The woman said that about the last one, and I believed her, and it hurt. I'm not swallowing anything unless I know what it does." He laughed incredulously, half-frightened and totally confused. "I believed her. How on earth could I be stupid enough to believe her?"

I know the answer to that, now I've had a chance to think about it – the potion they got you to breathe the fumes of was distant cousin to the Imperius Curse, although much weaker, and you had no hope of fighting it while you were sedated by my Calming Charm – but I don't think I'll tell you that. "Let me get your ankles." He rubbed the potion in. "The one in the goblet is to stop the hurt they had to inflict to make you better from degenerating over time and shredding your mind..." He smeared more potion on Elen's wrists and the bruising faded to yellow, talking all the while, explaining exactly what each potion did. Minerva leapt up on the bed again, purring as hard as she could. Sirius smeared more potion on Elen's ankles and picked up the goblet again. "Please, Elen. Drink it. It will help Heal you." He held it out.

Elen looked at his almost-healed wrists, then back at Sirius. "Promise?"

"I promise."

Elen tried to take the goblet, and Sirius caught it as his grip faltered and it tilted. "Here, let me help you." He helped Elen raise the goblet to his mouth and took it back after Elen had swallowed. "Four more..."

After the fifth potion had been taken and Elen had fallen asleep curled around a hot-water-bottle, Minerva leapt off the bed again and transformed back mid-jump. Sirius looked at her sheepishly. "Thank you. You were right."

"You're doing the best you can. Just try to take advice next time your methods don't work, all right?" She clasped Sirius' hand as he nodded. "I have to get back. I have a lot of work to do. I never expected to be Headmistress with no notice at all. Take care, Sirius. If you get sick from neglecting yourself I'll tie you to the bed and take care of Elen myself, even if I have to be feline and get my points across through mime." Seeing a wicked grin forming on Sirius' face and his eyes starting to dance, she drew herself up. "That was not a challenge, Black."

"I wouldn't dream of such a thing. Take care, Minerva." And now to act on that brainwave. Or, truth be told, get Moony to act on that brainwave for me. I can't leave him.

If he likes cats so much, a Kneazle-cross would be perfect. And it'll give him something else to think about.

Remus had also thought that Sirius' idea was a brainwave. Finding a suitable Kneazle-cross was proving more difficult. He'd been to three shops so far and in two shops the Kneazle-crosses had growled at him, even after he'd said it was for a gift. Just being intelligent and loyal to their chosen humans didn't necessarily make them nice to anybody else, and he really, really needed one that was willing to bond. In the third shop, the cat offered had been stunningly beautiful and very expensive, as well as friendly, but if it was a Kneazle-cross Remus would have eaten his best robes, patches and all. It had fallen asleep during the simple test of aptitude that all crosses could perform with ease. The shopkeeper had been livid and Remus had been glad to escape.

Remus pushed open the door of the final shop. If there's nothing here I'm going to Arabella Figg. She has contacts with breeders, what with that menagerie of hers. The saleswitch smiled at him.

"What can we do for you?"

Remus smiled wryly. "I've been all over the place looking for a Kneazle-cross that would be suitable as a therapy cat. That means, calm and willing to bond... preferably not a kitten."

A fluffy ginger tomcat with a slightly-squashed face and large orange eyes leapt up onto the counter and looked enquiringly at him. The saleswitch laughed and stroked him. "Crookshanks here is half-Kneazle. He's six years old and he's been passed over because... well, you can see he's not the most handsome cat." Crookshanks gave her a disgusted look and stalked off towards Remus. "But as you can see, he's very intelligent – he understands practically everything you say. Are you looking for yourself, or for someone else?"

"Someone else," Remus replied guardedly, attracting Crookshanks' intense interest. "He's been very ill, and he's so anxious that he rarely leaves the house, but he apparently likes cats. One of the few people he trusts asked me to find a Kneazle-cross for him, so here I am."

Crookshanks purred and flicked his tail, looking regal, then patted his left front paw twice on the counter and stood up on his hind legs. Remus blinked.

"I've never seen them do the test by themselves..."

"Crookshanks is special. Even for a Kneazle-cross. I'd have him myself if he'd let me, but he won't have a bar of it. But it looks like he's decided to give your friend a try."

Remus laughed. "Looks like it. How much is he?"

"Three Galleons." Remus' eyebrows lifted. Half-Kneazle, unusually intelligent, fairly young, and that cheap? The saleswitch raised her eyebrows back at him. "I told you. Most people look at the surface and nothing more, so nobody wanted him, so his price went down."

Remus smiled. "Starling won't care about his looks." He handed over three of the Galleons that Sirius had sent, and then turned to Crookshanks. "Do you have anything you particularly like to play with in here? I definitely have enough money to buy it." Crookshanks leapt off the counter and returned a moment later, a jingling red-and-white fluffy ball clamped firmly in his mouth. The saleswitch laughed.

"You can have that one for free. He's loved it ever since he was a kitten, and we don't even sell them anymore. A Reparo every three months or so keeps it going." She smiled. "Look... if he and Starling don't hit it off, you can bring him back. We'll find someone worthy of him, never fear."

Halfway up the stairs with the basket he'd just claimed from Remus at the front door, the tie came loose and an enormous cat streaked up the stairs and into the room ahead of him. Sirius reached the door just in time to see the cat leap up onto the bed and start purring, and Elen reach out towards it.

"Sorry." Sirius slowed to a walk. "Remus just brought him over. His name's Crookshanks. Do you like him?"

"He's beautiful." Elen gathered the cat into his arms. "Is he yours?"

"No, Elen," Sirius said softly as Crookshanks twisted around and began to lick Elen's nose, making him laugh. "He's yours."

Author's Note: The reason Hermione decided on Crookshanks in Rowling's original story was because he got her attention by chasing Scabbers. In this story, Pettigrew was captured before Hermione ever got back from France. Therefore, Crookshanks never chased Scabbers. There was no real impetus for Crookshanks to draw attention to himself, no desperation that he HAD to be chosen because there was DANGER PRESENT. So Hermione got her owl, and Crookshanks remained at the shop... for a short time.

Besides, I really like the idea of Elen having a half-Kneazle for a therapy cat, and who better than Crookshanks?