Everybody Wants To Be A Cat

by Les Dowich

Critically injured during the final battle, Harry Potter chooses a simpler way to live. As a cat, Harry finds love and acceptance but no man can be a cat forever and everyone has to grow up and face the world one day.

10. 10 With Friends Like These

10 – With Friends Like These...

Author's Note: Disclaimer here, no money, no own, no character, 'sept Adamantia. Here's a thing. I note that many readers have put me into their Favourite Story list and for that I really do thank you. Obviously cute cats are dear to many readers' hearts. No doubt many of you have your own cute kitties to tell stories of, so how about you write them down and send them to me? I love cat stories too; the funny, the sad and the just plain silly. I will put in the best of them as Omakies at the end of future Harry Cat episodes. Just a thought.

Regards,

Les

oo0oo

Spotting his prey, Harry slunk along the picture rail and slithered down a fold of curtain, barely a quiver betraying his presence. He slid along the baseboards at the side of the Great Hall until he spotted a gap in the forest of legs at the Slytherin table. Like a silent black shadow, he slipped into the gap and crept under the bench until he found a way to cross and come up on the far side of the Slytherin table between it and the Ravenclaw benches. A space further down allowed him ingress to the centre of the Ravenclaw table where he ghosted down the aisle under the wooden refectory table until he came to the scent of the legs he was hunting. There was a small space on the bench and he flowed into it in a silent, perfectly judged leap.

The girl ignored the intrepid hunter beside her, except to fold in her lips to stop her smile breaking out. She knew this ritual well. Next the small cat would sit perfectly upright, his tail curled about his paws. If she continued to ignore him, one paw would pat her thigh at least three times. If that brought no response, then both front paws would land gently on her leg. If she could manage to still ignore him, then the small cat ears would slowly rise between her and her book until she said...

"Boo!"

Harry knew she would say that; nonetheless he still jumped and Adamantia giggled softly as she stroked the sleek black head. A piece of bacon dipped in egg-yolk was Harry's usual reward and he accepted it with a small miaow of thanks. Adamantia laughed again, continuing to read, stroke the cat, and feed both of them alternate bites of bacon and eggs despite the cheerful ragging from her bench mates who all knew Harrycat very well.

At the teachers' table, Minerva leaned in and elbowed Severus gently under the ribs. "Looks like your cousin stole your cat," she teased softly as the girl seemed to light up the room with her smile.

"Or my cat stole her, one of the two," Severus replied, sipping his tea. "Harry says she is his friend and she smells good. I must admit, she seems happier now that Harry has befriended her than she did when she first came here."

"Oh, indeed. Positively blooming, scholastically and socially," Filius put in from the other side, a cheerful disregard for any privacy the other two heads of house might have wanted. All three turned to watch the girl smile again; a beautiful transformation from what was usually a rather ordinary face.

Another noticed the transformation too and was definitely entranced by it, enough to make a note of the Ravenclaw girl for future reference.

oo0oo

Adamantia and Cecily Brocklehurst hurried down the corridor to the Charms classroom, discussing the use of a glamour charm to make getting ready easier in the morning. It had seemed a rather silly application of magic to Adamantia when she had first arrived at Hogwarts but now, being in her third year, personal grooming had taken on a lot more meaning as she finally begun developing 'womanliness' as her mother so delicately put it.

Since Cecily had befriended her and began to advise on how to do her hair and what to wear, Adamantia finally stepped out of her mother's '1800 virginal pureblood sacrifice' outfits and into 'current day casual' as the mix of wizarding and Muggle clothes her generation wore was called. Of course, she would never let her mother see her in the swingy knee-length skirt and tailored cashmere jumper she now wore under her school robes. Nor would her mother ever get a glimpse of the kitten heel black shoes she was sporting instead of the very proper lace-up young-witch boots her mother always bought her. At first Adamantia had been worried that Cousin Severus might tell tales but he had merely commented that she looked quite nice when he met her in the halls one weekend. An effluvious and extravagant compliment Cecily had muttered to her in shock. To Adamantia it meant he understood why she was spending her own money which she earned with her potions ingredients sales on modern clothes and that her secret was safe with him.

Hitching her bookbag up on her shoulder more securely, both girls nearly walked into a pair of boys blocking the corridor. The girls were about to pull wands when they spotted the Slytherin crests but the two boys had their hands out in full and careful view.

"Good morning, ladies. I am Logan Bottomley, Family Longbottom, and this is Apollonius Ruthwelter, no family, both fourth years," the blond boy on the left said carefully and rather formally. Apollonius sketched a half-bow when he was introduced, going a bright shade of pink. Logan rolled his eyes as he held out a hand for a formal handshake.

"Cecily Brocklehurst, Family Brocklehurst," Cecily replied, taking Logan's hand and dropping a very slight curtsey. "My friend, Adamantia Lucretia Snape, Family Snape," Adamantia made an equally slight curtsey, intrigued by the semi-formal approach of the two Slytherins, one of whom was either a half-blood or a Muggleborn.

"Ladies, my friend and I would be most honoured if you would consent to accompany us to Hogsmeade this weekend," Logan continued, pleased the girls had not just ignored them and pushed past as they were quite entitled to do, both being rather higher ranks than he and Pol.

"You're asking for a Hogsmeade date?" Cecily clarified with a wide smile.

"A double date... for chaperonage," Logan added, seeing Adamantia's rather nervous look.

"Understood. We will give your proposal due consideration," Cecily murmured, also catching Adamantia's nervous look.

"Thank you for your consideration," Logan smiled and backed off as was proper, pulling Pol along with him when the other boy made a puzzled noise. Cecily grabbed Adamantia's arm and dragged her along toward the Charms classroom at a run as they were now late. She would convince her friend to go as soon as they had a break! Both boys were handsome and Logan knew all the forms so he had to be well bred, probably a real catch, and a girl couldn't start planning her future too early, now could she?

oo0oo

Harry rode high on Severus' shoulder as the professor strode down the main street of Hogsmeade toward the apothecary. Harry loved Hogsmeade weekends in the autumn when the leaves were turning gold and red and the permanent snow was beginning to settle in for the winter. Of course, being so high above the slush on the roadway and able to snuggle down into Severus' thick wool robes with warming charms imbued in the fabric had a lot to do with it. Walking four-footed in the cold, slushy street was not fun at all, rather slippery, too. Students from third year raced and yelled, laughing and jostling, the freedom of their first Hogsmeade weekend going to their heads like fine wine. Older students donned more sophisticated masks and strolled, usually in pairs, along the well known streets, bowing and smiling at those they knew.

The Three Broomsticks was doing a roaring trade as usual when Snape strode past, the door opening and one of his young Snakes all but careening into his legs. Catching the boy by the shoulder to steady him, Severus looked down and was surprised to see a flash of terror in the boy's eyes before he straightened and nodded respectfully. "Sir."

"Bottomley," Snape acknowledged, then glanced up, surprised to see his cousin with her hand on Ruthwelter's forearm most properly, her best friend Cecily Brocklehurst in close attendance as was proper. "Cousin."

"Cousin Severus," Adamantia bowed slightly, then smiled at Harry who was staring with wide green eyes.

Harry hissed and turned his back with a flick of his tail.

Snape and Adamantia exchanged faintly puzzled glances before Snape made another formal nod and moved onward toward his destination, leaving the four young people to let out their collectively held breaths. "Close! Very close!" Logan muttered as he continued to lead Cecily toward Honeydukes while Adamantia and Apollonius followed shyly behind.

Harrycat glanced back over his shoulder and hissed to himself once again. How dare his friend come to Hogsmeade without him, and with some strange person, too! Mia was his friend, not that boy's! Adamantia was his property, not that Slytherin's, and it wasn't fair! Harry continued to mutter and growl under his breath constantly for the rest of the day until Severus was thoroughly fed-up with the cat's foul mood and threatened to send Harrycat back to their quarters through the floo by himself. To which remark, Harry paid not a whit of attention but instead slid down Snape's robes and into the overlarge pocket where he wrapped his tail over his nose and closed his eyes to stew in his own misery in peace.

oo0oo

"I think he needs some human diagnostics," Severus said quietly as he laid Harry down on the high bed in the infirmary. "He may have caught something in Hogsmeade on the weekend as he hasn't been the same since we came back to school."

The Mediwitch and the Potions Master studied the listless young cat with twin frowns. "Has he been sneezing? Has he a temperature? What about a cough? Runny eyes?..."

"Honestly, Poppy, if he had a cold, don't you think I might have spotted that on my own?" Snape asked exasperated. "I had Wilhelmina look him over but she couldn't see anything wrong with Harry. Her friend, the Kneazle breeder, was equally baffled so we surmised it is something human that he is sickening for."

Madame Pomfrey shook her head. "Sorry, Severus, just the usual space filler questions that any of us healers ask to buy ourselves thinking time," she murmured drolly as she stroked the usually silky fur and noted it was dulled and felt greasy. "When did he last have a bath? Showered this morning, but reluctantly, hum? And how about when he was in cat form, when did he last lick himself clean? Interesting. How is his manner when he is human, Severus? Cheerful? Upset? Listless?"

Snape opened his mouth, then closed it again, his brows beetling over his hooked nose. "Harry has been extremely listless in human form as well as cat and not interested in anything I suggest. He doesn't even want to morph to Harry-Halfway as he had before, doesn't want to talk or play with the toothpaste or do anything except mope around."

"Did anything unusual happen in Hogsmeade that you remember?"

"Nothing particularly unusual. We went to the apothecary and bought half a pound of housefly wings and ten inches of Hungarian Horntail heart strings. There was a special on catnip mice so I purchased a couple... Harry likes them, usually," he protested when Poppy gave him a fondly approving look. "Then we... Come to think of it, he was not so enthusiastic about the mice, not like usual, hadn't been really cheerful since we..." A memory of Harry's reaction to his cousin and her little friends outside the Three Broomsticks flashed through Severus' mind and he smiled grimly. "The little beast is jealous!" he snorted cryptically, making Poppy cock her head inquiringly. "Oh, you know, cat befriends girl, girl plays with cat, girl grows up and goes on a date, cat has green-eyed conniptions over girl's desertion."

Harry growled angrily then morphed into Harry-Halfway. "Mia is mai friend, not his, mine!" he shouted/hissed before morphing back into small cat form again.

"Harry, Adamantia is a girl. A teen-aged girl, not a possession that you can keep in the cupboard when you don't need her. Besides, it's good for her to have friends. She needs them and is entitled to have as many friends as she likes. You have a lot more than one friend, don't you?" Severus said severely, trying not to get angry with the silly jealous cat.

Harry glared daggers at Snape and promptly turned his back on the man with a huff of disgust. Rolling his eyes, Severus snatched up the small animal and apologised to Poppy for wasting her time before stuffing the cat into his pocket and striding out. "You and I are going to have a long talk when we get home," he promised in a mutter while billowing his way down the corridors toward the dungeons.

oo0oo

Ron drifted amongst the chimney pots on his broom, inspecting his roof. A few leaks had made themselves known in the last thunderstorm, and he had thought to come up and patch them. No biggie. Unfortunately, biggie! The roof had been repaired so many times, there were patches on the patches; so much so, that the whole roof was teetering on the edge of slipping off and crashing down around their ears in small pieces. Oh sure, when he and Hermione had decided to buy the house, they knew the roof was a bit dodgy but he didn't want to move into a family-owned property cottage. He wanted to buy something that was not a hand-me-down. Hermione had understood and had supported him in the purchase but now it looked like they might have bitten off more than they could afford to look after.

Sighing, he made another lap of the slate slopes and shook his head as he recognised that the situation was indeed as bad as he had first thought and no amount of optimism was going to change that. It was grim; serious enough that he was going to have to ask his brothers and father to lend a hand to stabilise the magic holding the roof together. True, he could do a bit himself but the eight wands working together rather guaranteed the whole exercise would not end in disaster. Besides, he had helped out his brothers and parents at one time or another, so he was fairly confident none would mind reciprocating.

Swooping down, Ron dismounted and pushed into the mudroom, placing his broom on the rack. Hermione was standing near the stove, stirring a pot manually as she read from a book held in her free hand. Rose was sitting up in her highchair by the table watching intently as the spoon swirled until she saw her father in the doorway. She immediately clapped her hands and squealed in delight, alerting her mother to his presence. Hermione smiled then frowned when she saw his sombre expression.

"Not good?"

"Pretty bad. Looks like we're going to have to hold a working bee," Ron told her as he made a face for his daughter, chucking her under the chin and laughing as she babbled to him with an earnest look in her eyes. "I think we'll have to pull off all the spells on the roof: weatherproofing, stabilisation, protection, and Muggle-proofing. All that will be left will be the bare slate roofing tiles and the underlying framework."

"A Muggle roof, in other words," Hermione murmured, watching him interact with their daughter. "Humm, maybe we just need to repair the actual structure and leave layering the magical things back on until we can afford them. Muggle roofs work very well, you know?"

Ron looked horrified, then thoughtful, then puzzled. Before he could say anything else, the Floo flared and Snape's head floated in the green flames.

"Auror Weasley, we need to talk."

oo0oo

"Miss Snape, stay after, if you please," Professor Snape said as the class began to pack up their books. Cecily looked a little apprehensive, but was waved on by her friend who didn't seem at all worried.

"Yes, Sir?" Adamantia asked, as she stopped by her cousin's desk.

Severus rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Harry! He has a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud immediately before it becomes too serious."

"Is he alright? He has been ignoring me when he sees me in the corridors," Adamantia confirmed with a hint of growing alarm.

"He is jealous! He saw you and young Ruthwelter in Hogsmeade and immediately took umbrage at what he sees as your desertion."

"Umbrage? At me? But he's your cat, you own him. How can he be upset with me?"

Severus sighed, shaking his head, then smiled a real smile. "Dogs have owners, Miss Snape. Cats have staff." He splayed a long hand over his chest, then pointed to the girl. "And pets."

Adamantia spluttered for a few moments, then laughed. "He thinks I'm his pet? Oh! Oh dear, the joys of owning an Asian breed of cat, especially a magical cat."

"Indeed. Unfortunately we need to convince him of the silliness of his objection before he becomes any deeper mired in depression and obsession. I believe the Muggles call it an 'intervention'..." He waited until the girl stopped giggling, then offered her a note with his school Floo address on it. "If you wouldn't mind attending, I thought about six o'clock for dinner. I have contacted the Weasleys and they too will be in attendance. Let's hope we can straighten that silly cat out again, before I am accused of mistreating the little stinker!"

oo0oo

Snape's rooms were not at all as Ron had expected when he Flooed in ahead of his wife and daughter. From the antique Persian rug on the floor to the heavy leather sofa and wingchairs, it looked as warm and cosy as an upper class gentleman's club. Before Ron could do more than admire the decor, Hermione stepped out of the Floo and automatically Scourgified both their cloaks. Opening the front of her's, she smiled down at her eight month old daughter who was strapped to her chest in her baby pack. Hermione's mother had bought the Muggle contraption for her granddaughter and since Hermione had started using it, the craze had swept the wizarding world. It was so much better than the shawl type sling witches had been using for centuries.

Snape appeared from his office at the first flare of the Floo and bowed slightly to his guests, waving them to seats on the leather lounging furniture. A house elf delivered tea and milk for the young child before the Floo flared again and a small, black-haired girl stepped out and curtsied to the room's occupants.

"Ah, Adamantia, may I present Mr Ronald and Mrs Hermione Weasley and their daughter, Annabelle Rose. This is my cousin, Adamantia Lucretia Snape," Snape introduced in an urbane voice, making Ron's eyebrow rise as he too rose and bowed slightly, the girl obviously quite highly placed in her family. Hermione, not yet used to the nuances of wizarding courtesy, simply smiled at the girl and continued to unpack her daughter who grinned at the newcomer, four dazzlingly white teeth flashing.

Adamantia grinned back at the happy baby and glanced at her cousin for permission before going forward and crouching down to talk to the child who promptly blew a spit bubble and made a kissy-fist at the interesting newcomer, before lunging to try and grab a handful of hair.

"Oh, she is cute!" Adamantia exclaimed, her brown eyes shining as she looked up at Hermione.

"Yes, we think so," Hermione grinned. "Mind your hair, she likes to eat it for some reason."

Pleasantries taken care of, the five moved to the small dining area where a house elf appeared and quickly set the table, a fifth setting for the baby appearing between Ron's and Hermione's seats with a highchair already in position, and a bowl between Severus and Adamantia for Harry.

"And where is Cat-Wonder?" Ron asked glancing around.

"Probably sulking in the bedroom," Severus said harshly before folding his napkin and sighing. "I called you all here for a reason to do with Harry and his cat nature. He has a fixation on Adamantia and feels she is his property, his pet, so to speak. Unfortunately, he is taking his peevishness at her finding more friends to a far greater height than should be permitted. I believe it is time to get him away from Hogwarts and see if we cannot wean him off his cat-self into humanity once again."

"Hang on a moment; I thought you promised to always look after him, even if he was a cat?" Ron questioned truculently while Hermione simply looked thoughtful.

Adamantia cleared her throat. "I thought Harry was a cat that could only become human sometimes," she murmured as the soup was removed and a rather nice ragout of Lamb appeared on the serving table.

"No, dear. Our human friend Harry was spell damaged and as a consequence became a cat rather than trying to overcome his difficulties as a human. Severus was nominated as his carer and I'm still not sure why that was," Hermione added, shooting the Potions Master a piercing look.

"Because I caused Harry the damage in the first place, and I never lied to him about how bad it was going to be. I also listened when he spoke, listened to what he said, not what I wanted to hear from the wondrous Boy-Who-Lived."

"Harrycat is the Boy-Who-Lived?" Adamantia asked in strangled tones. "OMG… But he's just Harrycat!"

"OMG? What is this OMG?" Snape and Ron echoed each other but Hermione merely laughed and continued to spoon carrots and peas into her daughter.

"... Yes, Harry is actually Harry James Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived to become a cat and a pain in the arse," Severus added glumly, when it did not look as if either Weasley was going to elaborate. "I did, indeed promise to look after him for the rest of his days and would never go back upon my word to him. However, this episode indicates that he needs to be forced back into his human shape and made to stay that way. He is physically ready to do it, emotionally ready to start living again, but he is very stubborn and clings to his version of normality, as you both well know. Living as a human is a scary idea so he is resisting it as hard as he can, although his unconscious actions are betraying him. I feel that a complete change of environment would be of inestimable good to his further recovery."

"You want him to come live with us as a human, get him away from the safe zone that is Hogwarts, and out into a more challenging arena," Hermione said thoughtfully. "Sure, not a problem, we can do that."

Ron blinked, any argument he had mustered being killed stone dead by his wife's easy acceptance of the situation.

"You'll have to be quite firm with him," Snape said carefully. "In some ways he is barely six years old and in others he's as old as the hills. On occasion he still has nightmares and often is wilfully naughty, as well as slightly destructive."

"Sounds like Harry to me," Ron said cheerfully. "Nasty temper, far too old one minute and far too young next. Yep, that's Harry."

Adamantia had remained very quiet after the first revelation, then she began to giggle quietly into her hand. Snape raised an eyebrow questioningly and the girl began to laugh openly. "He's the Boy-Who-Lived and he's been hiding here in plain sight ever since the end of the war and no one knew it! Well, I assume the teachers knew it but no one outside Hogwarts, especially not the press."

"Clever girl, but not a word outside this room, if you please."

"Not even if my stupid brother and cousins put on all the airs and graces they have been sporting for the past ten years, or try to lord it over me," she promised when her giggling subsided enough to allow her coherent speech. She realised how puzzled the Weasleys looked and grinned wickedly. "My father and his brothers have been trying to make a case that Cousin Severus is losing his mind and putting a cat above his Family obligations. They are trying to prove he is unfit to be Head of Family so that one of them can be the heir and claim the title. Oh, but I'm going to enjoy the dismay and consternation when the truth finally comes out."

There was no doubting the two Snapes were closely related when they smirked knowingly at each other before both tucked into their meal as if nothing unusual had occurred.

oo0oo

The Weasleys, Adamantia and Severus were sitting around the dining table in Severus' quarters when Harry strolled in and hopped up onto his chair, as usual. Severus offered him a plate of cubed lamb but Harry was heartbroken... well... sulking... and he hadn't taken more than two mouthfuls before he went to hop down again. Hermione distracted him when she piped up and asked if he would like to come home with her and Ron and Annabelle for a short break? Harry was going to say 'no' but as Adamantia looked a little startled and rather put out, he said 'yes,' that might make him feel a bit better.

Before Harry could change his mind, the house elves had packed for him - human clothes, his cat basket and blanket, Mr Mousie and his best collars – all at his own insistence. As soon as dinner was finished, Adamantia said goodbye and went back to the Ravenclaw tower. Severus wasted no time in carrying Harry through the Floo before the dishes were even collected.

Hermione showed him to his room, the one she and Ron had decorated just for him when they first bought the house, which was very nice of them. The walls were painted a soft cream with a Gryffindor banner above the fireplace and a thick red and gold rug on the floor before the maroon tiled hearth. It was a nice room, his own room, the first real room he had ever had entirely to himself, ever. As the bed was soft and comfortable, he turned human and slept on it rather than in his basket, which had been placed on the hearthrug beside the fire.

Harry rose next morning and drifted around the bedsitter, touching the fireside chair upholstered in deep maroon with its own ottoman, picked just for him. There were light oak bookshelves to match the light oak end tables and bed frame, adding the gold that the room needed to set off the deep maroon comforter on the bed. One of the oak doors led to a huge walk-in wardrobe, the other to a compact but full bathroom done in creams with maroon tile edging to match the hearthstones. It was a handsome room, as his Aunt would have called it, a man's room. Good taste and an eye for balance had made it the perfect Gryffindor room without it being gaudy or in the 'cheap bordello' class of reds and golds. As a human, Harry could truly appreciate the care and thought that had been lavished on the space set aside for him alone. He remembered all the good things he, Ron and Hermione had done over their time as friends and Harry wondered how he had ever let them drift away from him, although they had never given up on him. Oh, Harry thought to himself, his cupboard had been his alone and Dudley's second bedroom had served as his sleeping quarters but they were not decorated with love, just for him. This room being very clear evidence of that. Harry knew his friends didn't have a lot of money and yet they had spent their precious resources on him and his comfort. It was... humbling.

oo0oo

Of course, Hermione had laid out a few 'house rules' the morning after his arrival. Due to Harry being human rather than a cat, he was going to have to attend all meals as a human and remain human for at least an hour after the meals so that he could digest the food.

"You aren't growing up, Harry, you are still a seventeen-year-old physically and probably mentally, too. It's not good for you to be taking so many potions all the time and it is better that you eat real food for a while."

"Naw!" Harry had protested, still in his Halfway shape. "Ai laike eating as a cat, laike kippers and fish and eggs," he added, ears drooping as Hermione put on her stern face.

"And what about spinach and carrots and beans?" she demanded flatly. "Don't you be pulling that hissy face on me, Harry James Potter! You are a growing boy and you need proper nutrition, not potions as Severus has been feeding you for years. You will attend meals as a human or..."

He wasn't sure what was going to be said next because Annabelle Rose, who had been silently sitting in her highchair, had suddenly made her presence very definitely felt. As Harry Halfway, Harry's tail was long and prehensile and his temper made his tail lash out quite vigorously. The eight-month-old was not perfectly coordinated but that tail had fascinated her from the very first time she noticed it. A couple of times she had nearly had it but always it had been whisked out of reach of her chubby little fingers at the last moment. But not this time! This time she grabbed two handfuls of silky black fur, held on tight and stuffed it into her mouth so she could taste and chew with her shiny new teeth. Yum!

Harry let out a screech of pain as those four pearly whites proved they were in good working order. He whipped around, claws extended, only to stop in an instant when he realised what had happened. "No, Annabelle, no biting!" he yelped, trying to free himself from her enthusiastic gnawing. Unfortunately, neither of his friends were of any use in his dilemma as Ron snorted tea and fell off his chair laughing. Hermione was a little more dignified but not much but she rose to disentangle her daughter's fingers.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione giggled as he was finally released, minus a few clumps of fur which had to be fished out of the little girl's mouth. "No, don't go cat again, she might take another bite."

"She's a cannibal!" Harry grumped but had to laugh too as he became mostly human. "You are a cannibal, you know that, don't you?" he insisted, as his goddaughter laughed at him, her hands reaching up as if to beg him to pick her up. "May I?"

"Oh, alright, just for a short while. She still has to finish her oatmeal, and so do you. Here, take her spoon and see if you can make her eat a bit more. Be careful... Er, she likes to feed you back, too," Hermione added, biting her lip to stop her laughter escaping.

Harry glanced up and a fist full of oatmeal splattered all over his face, courtesy of the grinning, red haired imp in his lap. He licked off the bits of mush nearest his mouth and said 'oh yummy' so Annabelle clapped her soggy hands and splattered him even more before opening her mouth for another spoonful. She then proceeded to blow bubbles and get that all over him, too. Ron was certainly no help; he just went off into another paroxysm of laughter until Harry thought Ron would completely choke on his toast and eggs.

And that was why Harry attended breakfast as a human from then on. Not because of Hermione's threats and words, oh no, but because it was much easier to get oatmeal out of clothing than his fur!

oo0oo

Harry yowled and stared at the doorhandle. It wouldn't move no matter how big he made himself or what magic he threw at it. Oh, he could have blasted it to smithereens but... Giving a small catty sigh, he stalked over to the bed and leaped up silently to curl up on the down pillow and flip his tail over his nose. He supposed it was his own stubborn fault he was locked in this room, he conceded to himself. If he hadn't been so pigheaded, then Hermione wouldn't have lost her temper with him and, well, she was not as powerful as he was, but she was a girl and his friend and...

He sighed again and gave a small, almost inaudible purr.

Jealousy was Harry's biggest fault and he knew it. Irrational jealousy had put him in this situation in the first place, but really! Adamantia was his pet, not that grubby schoolboy's! Severus just hadn't understood the surge of pure fury Harry had felt when he saw his pet running around with someone else. Of course, none of the humans had understood...

Harry stopped and opened his emerald eyes wide. Oh dear! Perhaps Hermione did have a point after all. He was actually a human, yet maybe he was falling into the oldest animagus trap of all; maybe he was morphing into a real cat, rather than a cat-shaped human. Slowly shifting into his human shape, Harry crossed his hands behind his head and allowed his mind to drift back a few days to the dinner Severus had arranged for everyone. That was where last night's argument had really started, about how he had behaved during the prior dinner. How he couldn't be allowed to remain jealous of the girl because she had finally found a few friends and a boyfriend.

Growling under his breath, Harry had insisted Adamantia was his pet, not some random boy's and Hermione had told Harry bluntly that he was a self-indulgent, spoiled brat and that he should grow up and stop hiding away as a bloody cat! Furious, Harry had told her he was going to be a cat whether she liked it or not and it was no bloody business of hers what he did! Of course, he knew he was in trouble when Hermione got that little gleam in her eyes but he hadn't realised she could charm all the doors to refuse to open unless he was in human form. If he wanted to enter his room or into any other room in the house, he had to put a human hand on the door handle or it just wouldn't budge. Of course, the first thing he had done was slam into his room and shrink down to his smallest cat form... and then he couldn't get out again.

Sighing deeply, he knew Hermione had won as he opened the bathroom door with his human hand and went in to have a shower. It was odd having to take his own shower without Severus to wash him. The thought made him wince as it never did when he was a cat. Having a man, a full grown man - and his Potions professor at that! - wash him like a baby was just... Oh dear! Maybe when he was a cat, he wasn't even remotely human, was he? He didn't think like a human; react like a human or anything like a human. Maybe Hermione was really spot on, after all.

Harry opened the wardrobe door to take out clothes and noticed he had a tail again, and his ears were small black furry triangles lost in his hair. Whoops, he'd have to work on that one. It took a lot of concentration to make the ears become human ears on the side of his head and the tail to completely disappear into his backside so he could get his pants on. As he opened the bedroom door to leave the small suite, he felt his tail trying to reassert itself and realised he still had a lot of work to do if he was to remain completely human for any length of time. Still, he had good motivation as he hated to be locked up anywhere, ever, for any reason, at all!

Taking a deep breath he made his way to the kitchen only to see Hermione sitting at the breakfast table gnawing her lip worriedly.

"I'm sorry," she said as soon as she saw her friend. "I didn't mean to lose my temper with you and..."

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. You're right as usual; I have been sulking and indulging myself for far too long. I should start living as a human again, although I don't particularly want to," he added with a deep, shuddering sigh.

Hermione nodded thoughtfully and poured them both a cup of tea. "So, what do you want to do with the rest of your life?" she asked gently as Harry put way too much milk and sugar into the tea before drinking the almost cold brew.

"Don't know... never really had plans as I didn't think I'd survive past Voldemort." Harry sipped his tea and glanced under his fringe at her. "That's not self-pity, just a fact, by the way."

Hermione giggled once, before sobering again. "I know, Harry, no one thought you would really survive, but you did, and you survived pretty much sane and intact. So, now you just have to learn to live human again, don't you?"

Harry pulled a horrendous face and sighed. "I suppose..."

oo0oo