It's most DEFINITELY been a while, almost a year, right? Sorry about that, haha. I've been sitting on this chapter for a while, and I guess it's a little short, not to mention relatively unedited, but I figured I'd get it out for anyone who might still be following what updates I may have done at this point : )

Happy reading and hopefully I can update quicker sooner!

CHAPTER 3

Hermione supposed that she only fell for a few seconds, but it felt more like a few minutes. It was like everything was sucked away – no light, no wind, nothing at all. She supposed this felt quite a bit like what she imagined apparating to be like – she had heard of it a few times in passing from upperclassmen, but had obviously never tried it herself, since she was far from the level of mastery required to perform such magic. Hopefully it doesn't feel as long as this, though, she thought to herself as she stared into the void. She realized that maybe she'd never even get the chance to know.

And then suddenly there was a table rapidly approaching her face. Or rather, her face was rapidly approaching the table. She shrieked and twisted in an effort to avoid hitting it, which she did – narrowly. She landed in a wobbly crouch, winded and patting her robes to make sure nothing was lost. After she had caught her breath, she stood up, smoothed out her skirt (which was beginning to look rather dirty at this point), and scanned the room. She was surprised to find it looked… pretty normal, considering everything she had just seen. Aside from the odd oversized object, Hermione thought that it could just as easily have been an ordinary room in an ordinary muggle's house. But despite all this, she could feel a strong and unusual energy crackling in the air. She figured it was magic.

Absorbed in the room, she jumped at a footstep behind her, her arm running into the table. Cursing under her breath, she heard a loud guffaw that clearly didn't come from Munkustrap.

"Sorry darling, don't mean to laugh," someone drawled from over her shoulder. She turned around to see what she only could describe as… a cat Elvis? smirking down at her. He had everything: the rockabilly hair, a spiked collar around his neck, a rhinestone belt, and a leather jacket lined with spotted fur. She decided that he had definitely meant to laugh.

"Who are you?" She scowled, rubbing her arm.

He walked by Hermione (unnecessarily close to her, she might add) and hopped onto the table, eyebrow raised. "You haven't heard of me?"

"I haven't," Hermione replied drily.

"That's alright, you will soon," he said as he waved his hand dismissively. Hermione frowned. "Soooo," Cat Elvis said in a voice that sounded almost uncomfortably like a meow, "What brings you here?" He leaned back on his elbows, looking idly at his nails, which were painted dark shade of grey.

Hermione blinked. She found it rather strange that people of their… condition still had something similar to human nails. She glanced down at her own hand, which she hadn't been paying much attention to these past few hours. The sight of human-like fingernails wasn't entirely normal looking, but it wasn't uncomfortable either. She figured she'd get used to it.

"Well?" Cat Elvis's voice cut through her thoughts, as did his finger (or was it a paw?) tapping her head. "I'm waiting for your answer."

Oh, so he was rude, too. Hermione swatted his hand away and opened her mouth to say something but was stopped by a figure that had appeared in the room.

"…Are you flirting with her?" Munkustrap asked, arms crossed, and nose crinkled.

Cat Elvis looked over to Munkustrap in surprise. "What? Ew, no," he replied, nose crinkled in a way that looked strikingly similar to Munkustrap's expression. "I'm promiscuous, not perverted."

"Good, because if you were, we would have had a very, very, very long and hard talk," Munkustrap said, rubbing his forehead. He turned to Hermione, who had now backed away from the spotted cat. "I see you've met my brother," the leader said, not sounding pleased at all that she had done so.

Hermione's eyebrows – or what could be considered eyebrows, anyway - shot up. "This is your brother?"

He sighed, his mouth flattening out into something of a thin, defeated line. "Yes. He is."

Hermione fought the urge to laugh – the two looked almost nothing alike. Munkustrap was put together and orderly, while his brother – Cat Elvis – looked almost like he had walked out of some kind of mosh pit.

"So, I'm guessing you're the older brother?" she asked Munkustrap.

He nodded. "Surprised you could tell." His tone was dry. Cat Elvis guffawed, a noise which Hermione tried to block out. Munkustrap inhaled sharply, ducking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose – a gesture Hermione knew all too well from trying to keep two preteen boys in line at all hours of the day. "Tugger… don't you have some queens to woo or something? That are of the appropriate age?"

…Tugger? After being surrounded by names like Munkustrap and Mungojerrie, Cat Elvis's name surprised Hermione more that she expected it would. It was still strange, just not as strange.

Tugger let out a loud snort as he strutted over to his brother, his hair (fur?) bouncing up and down with his steps. "For the second time, I was not. Flirting. With her!" He tapped the ring on his brother's collar with a painted nail, just enough that it would let out a tinkling sound. "Loosen up a little, Kuku."

Munkustrap's eyes rolled so far up, Hermione thought they would make a full circle. It was a bit of a surprising motion from the tom, considering how composed he seemed, but then again, she didn't know them all that well. He stilled the ring with his hand. "Please don't call me that. I have told you a thousand times over."

"Ew, so adult of you, big bro," Tugger grimaced before twirling around dramatically. "Later," he called, all but sashaying out the door, making a point of giving Munkustrap a full face of fur from his cowl. Munkustrap hissed as Tugger's tail disappeared into what looked like a mix between a hallway and a long box.

Once he had gone, Munkustrap turned to Hermione. "I'm sorry about him, he's always like this… are you okay?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, yes, I'm fine."

Munkustrap nodded back, then: "And he wasn't flirting with you?"

"Oh, no," Hermione said, shaking her head vigorously. "He was just impertinent was all."

Munkustrap huffed in what seemed to be a sigh of relief. "Good. Then nothing's out of the ordinary." He shook his head to himself. "Sometimes I just don't understand how we're related. Not that I regret it of course, it's just…" he let out a long sigh.

"I understand," Hermione said simply.

After a moment, he looked back up. "Anyways, would you like to rest? It seems likely that you would need it after what it seems like you've gone through."

Hermione considered, then nodded. "I would like that, thank you."

Munkustrap nodded, giving a formal but warm smile. "Alright then. Wait here, if you please."

Hermione nodded as he disappeared down the box hallway. A minute was spent doing nothing, then Hermione pulled her wand out of her cloak out of habit – she was prone to fidgeting when bored. She knew it wasn't practical, considering the potential of accidentally firing some kind of spell, so she often restrained herself. However, right now, it was the last thing on her mind. As she spun it in her fingers, she looked down at it. What if I… she held her wand properly and pointed it at a large bobbin on the table. Wait – I can't be entirely sure if I can go undetected by the Ministry, she thought, lowering her wand again and continuing to spin it in her fingers.

"I'm back," Munkustrap declared as he reentered the room. "There's a spare area in the back, and I hope you wouldn't mind staying there for a while? I tried to make it comfortable, but if there's anything you'd like changed, you can let me know." Hermione smiled at him in gratitude, and he smiled back.

"So, shall I…" Munkustrap made an 'after you' gesture. Hermione nodded and rose to follow him. His bright eyes flickered down to the wand in her hand, but he said nothing. They headed down the hallway (which was much longer than it looked) to a little room at the end. Hermione glanced inside. What could easily be described as a mountain of pillows was piled in the corner, and neatly scattered around the room were other too-large (or too-small) things that could be conveniently used for other purposes. In an opposite corner, there was a lightbulb half Hermione's size that served as a light source.

"I know it's not… a conventional way to make a room," Munkustrap said, "but it's what we have."

"This is quite nice, actually," Hermione said, looking around the room and stepping in.

"I'm glad to hear that," Munkustrap replied. "Well, I'm going to let you get acquainted and rest a little, so I won't be disturbing you for a while. If you need anything, I shouldn't be far away from the case, alright?"

Hermione nodded.

"Oh, and don't touch the lightbulb for too long," the grey cat added. "It'll burn."

Hermione chuckled and nodded as she approached and sat on the pillow pile. "Thank you, very much."

Munkustrap let out a warm noise that sounded like a purr as he smiled, then he turned and was gone. After looking around the room again, Hermione figured she should rest. If she was going to learn about the Junkyard, she would need energy. Besides, she was already tired. She looked at the lightbulb, the glow creating a cozy atmosphere. As her eyes fluttered shut, her hand protectively near the wand in her robes, she allowed herself a sleepy smile.