Freddie stepped out of the fireplace into the noisy atmosphere of the Leaky Cauldron. It was a Saturday night so the bar was full of witches and wizards milling about, eating and drinking. Snape bumped into her as he stepped out of the hearth behind her.
"Sorry," she said, quickly stepping aside. He grunted in acknowledgment and led the way to the back room of the bar. The archway to Diagon Alley was already open as a young couple came through into the bar.
It was raining in the alley and Snape pulled out his wand, casting a nonverbal spell to deflect the rain. The spell kept the rain off both of them as they stepped out of the bar. Freddie shivered slightly in the cool night air. She pulled her cloak around the hand that held the kitten.
"Lead the way," Snape said, linking his arm with her free one.
The streets were more or less deserted as they walked down the sidewalk. The few people that were out and about were darting quickly into shops, trying to avoid the downpour. Rain sloshed around their feet and soaked Freddie's boots clear through to her socks, but she didn't care. Her only focus was on keeping the kitten warm and dry.
The lanterns on posts that lined the street sprang magically to life as the sky darkened. As they approached Magical Menagerie, Freddie quickened her pace. When they reached the door her heart stopped. There was a Closed sign hanging in the window.
"Nooo," she cried, dismayed. "What do we do now? He's gonna die!"
"Remain calm, Winifred," Snape said smoothly, checking his watch. "It's only 6:08. The shop closed at 6. More than likely your friend is still here."
"Oh!" she said and began to pound loudly on the door with her free hand. "Hello? Matt? It's an emergency!"
She kept knocking until the lock clicked and the door swung open.
"Well well. Nice to see you again. You looking for a place to hide again?" Matt asked, grinning at her. Snape arched an eyebrow at her and she shook her head.
"No, Matt, I need your help. It's an emergency," she said, revealing the small kitten.
"Oh my," he murmured. "Come in, come in. Quickly. I'll get the fire going again and we'll warm this little one up. I'm glad you caught me, I was just about to head home for the night," he said, using his wand to light the fireplace and candles as they entered the shop. "Where on Earth did you find him?"
"Well you know I'm still at school, my last year – actually this is Professor Snape, my Head of House and Potions Master," she quickly introduced.
"Nice to meet you. Matthew Booth, everyone calls me Matt."
Snape acknowledged him with a nod.
"Anyway, the groundskeeper Hagrid brought the kneazle to me. He thought we could give him a Strengthening Solution or something. But I didn't want to give him anything without checking with you first, I thought you might have an idea of what to do."
"I know Hagrid. He's a good man. Comes into my shop from time to time," he said, pulling a blanket out of a drawer and unfolding it on the counter top. "Bring him over here, let's have a look."
Freddie brought the kitten over and placed him gently on the fuzzy blue blanket. He didn't move. If it wasn't for the barely-perceptive rise and fall of his chest she might've thought he was dead.
Matt did a physical examination of the kitten, palpating him with his fingers, then checking him out with his wand.
"When was the last time he ate?"
"Yesterday, according to Hagrid," she said, biting her lower lip anxiously.
"Do you know what he was feeding him?"
"Cows milk."
"That's no good," Matt said, clicking his tongue. "Come on, I've got some supplies in the back room."
He scooped the kitten up in the blanket and Freddie followed him through a door into the back room. Snape, who had been looking at a green snake in a tank, turned and followed them as well. There was already a fire going in the fireplace and the room was warm. There were a few cages lining the walls that contained various sleeping animals.
Matt placed the kitten on a table and Freddie stood next to it, stroking the kitten's small furry head while Matt moved around the room gathering items.
"He's small, even for a newborn," he said as he worked. "The mother probably rejected him because he's a runt. Sometimes with runts their lungs or brains are underdeveloped but physically this little guy is just fine. He just needs a little extra TLC."
He opened an icebox and removed 2 bottles, one smaller than the other. He placed them on the table next to the kitten. Freddie could see the larger of the two bottles was milk. The other contained a shimmering silver liquid.
"What potion is that?" Freddie asked curiously. "I don't recognize it."
"That's not a potion," Snape said softly, joining them at the table. "Is that what I think it is, Mr Booth?"
"Unicorn milk," Matt confirmed with a nod. "It is extremely rare. It's almost impossible to get near a mother unicorn but I have an herbalist friend, Angela, who is able to get it for me on occasion. The unicorns trust her. She lives in a small cottage in the woods and she plants special grass for them to graze on."
He uncorked the bottle and used a dropper to draw up a few drops.
"A kitten should eat about 8 milliliters per ounce of body weight a day. This little guy weighs a little under 2 oz, so he needs 16mL a day. If you feed him every 4 hours, that's 6 feedings a day so...he needs between 2-3 mL every feeding to start with. Here," he said, handing Freddie the dropped. "I'll let you do the honors, since you're the one he'll be bonded to."
Freddie bit her lower lip as she held the dropper out in front of the kitten. He didn't move. She stroked his head with one finger and put the tip of the dropper in his mouth. He stirred a bit but then he was still again.
"He's not eating," she said sadly.
"Never fear, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve," Matt said hurrying over to open a cabinet above the sink.
"What if he won't eat?" Freddie murmured, looking up at Snape. He said nothing but put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. She felt comforted by the warmth of his hand that seemed to almost burn her skin, even though her layers of clothes. She leaned into his touch but he dropped his hand and stepped away from her as Matt came back over with a jar.
"Let's see, a bit of honey on the tip might be just the encouragement he needs," Matt said, opening the jar. He dipped his finger in the jar, smeared some honey on the dropper, then handed it back to Freddie.
"Try it again," he encouraged.
Freddie took a steadying breath and placed the dropper in the kitten's mouth again. For a minute she thought it wouldn't work...then the kitten began to suck on the dropper and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Well done, Miss Gray," Snape said softly.
"Well done indeed!" Matt said, beaming.
"Thank you," she said, unable to suppress a grin. She watched, fascinated, as the baby slowly drank the milk from the dropper.
"You'll want to give him the unicorn milk for the first few days. I can give you 2 ounces, just put a Cooling Charm on it to keep it from spoiling. After that start him on goats milk," he said, indicating the larger bottle. "Not cows milk, that's really bad for cats and kneazles. They don't digest it well. You can add a drop of Strengthening Solution to the goats milk, just make sure its diluted. Be sure you weigh him every few days and adjust his feedings accordingly. You can use this when he gets a little bigger." He placed a bottle on the counter, like a small baby bottle.
"When will he open his eyes?" she asked curiously, watching as the kitten drained the last of the milk from the dropper.
"A week, give or take a few days."
"Well hello there little one," Freddie murmured as the kitten began to move around the blanket. She stroked him with one finger and he let out the tiniest of mews that melted her heart. "Oh my goodness, look at you. Sweet baby... He looks stronger already!"
"That's the unicorn milk," Matt said with a nod, smiling. "It has amazing restorative properties, as well as vitamins and nutrients that are hard to come by."
"Is it safe for him to consume?" Snape spoke up. "I've never heard of anyone drinking unicorn milk."
"Oh absolutely, Professor. I've done quite a bit of research on the subject. It isn't anything like drinking the blood. The creature isn't harmed when the milk is obtained, it is given in a particular circumstance that requires a deep level of trust."
Snape nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll bag these up for you," Matt said, getting a brown paper bag from under the counter. He put the bottles into it, then took the dropped to the sink and rinsed it out before adding it to the bag. "Oh, and one more thing you might find useful. I'll be right back."
Matt disappeared into the front room. Snape walked back over to the counter where Freddie was watching the kitten snuggle into the blanket.
"Isn't he just precious?" she crooned, smiling up at Snape.
"Mm. I did not think you were the type of girl who fawned over small animals," he replied with a faint smirk.
"But just look at him! Besides, he's a kneazle. You know I have a thing for kneazles."
"Of course," he said. "Have you chosen a name for him yet?"
"No, I need to think about it for a bit. I just want to make sure he's going to be alright."
"He will be," Snape said confidently. "He has you."
Freddie flushed with pleasure and grinned up at him, wishing she could hug him. Snape's dark eyes met hers for a brief moment, then he glanced away.
"He seems better already," he said, looking at the kitten. He had curled up on the blanket and was sleeping.
"Here we are," Matt said, coming back through the door. "This might be useful – it's a bag, lined with rabbit fur. You can wear it around your neck and use it to carry him while he's small. It'll help keep him warm and it's good to keep him close to you. The mothers rarely leave their kits side for the first two weeks. This will help you bond with him."
"Oh wow, thank you," Freddie said, putting the back around her neck. "Thank you so much."
She opened it then carefully picked up the kitten. He squirmed slightly and let out a soft mew.
"It's okay, little one," she murmured, placing him gently in the bag. "You'll be perfectly safe and warm in here."
The kitten squirmed for a minute then settled down.
"Thank you so much, Matt. I can't thank you enough. How much do I owe you?"
"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm happy to help out a fellow animal lover," he said with a wave of his hand.
"I have to give you something," she insisted, pulling out her money pouch. "The unicorn milk alone must be worth a fortune."
"It's fine. I get it for free in exchange for taking care of Angela's animals."
"Take this," she said, pressing several gold coins into his hand. "I really appreciate your help and everything you do here."
"Anytime," he said, pocketing the coins. "If you have any other questions you can drop by any time, or send me an owl."
"Thank you," Freddie said, shaking his hand. Snape picked up the bag of supplies, nodded to Matt, then the two of them left the shop with the kitten sleeping peacefully in the bag against Freddie's chest.
