Chapter 3: A Sirius Intervention
July 1994
Lady Athena was starting to get worried she was getting fat. The last three years of life at the Burrow and the Rookery had been very good to her and her life partner Harry Potter. So good, that she no longer thought of her life as Hermione Granger. That sad, lonely little girl was nothing but a figment of the past, and well forgotten. She had a vague sense that she had not always been a cat, but it was little more than Déjà vu. She was also, somewhere in the back of her mind, aware that Harry Potter has once been a scared little boy, but like her, he never dwelled or thought on the past, either. They had been blessed with this life and each other, and it was all they needed. That said, she still felt that she had been having a few too many mice lately. They were currently snuggled up at the Rookery, enjoying the kind of peace and quiet that was rarely found at the Burrow. She nudged Harry Potter off of her and got up from the cushion they were napping on. He promptly rolled off and fell to the floor, landing on his feet, of course.
[What was that for?] He yawned at Lady Athena. [I was having a good dream; I finally caught that shiny winged thing the redhead boys are always flying after!]
[Mistress Ginny calls it a snitch, and she is much better at catching it. I've seen her out at night.] Lady Athena sniffed. Males were always dismissing the females. [anyway, I think its time we started running around more.]
[Really? Why?]
[To be blunt, we are getting fat.]
[Well, yeah. The fields grow some big mice around here. Plus, our Mistresses are always giving us some of the food from their table. It was bound to happen.]
Lady Athen was a bit shocked. [That doesn't bother you?]
[Nope. It's a sign of a good life and easy living.]. Harry Potter stretched and prepared to jump back up. Before he could, Lady Athena leapt down on top of him, and pinned him to the floor. [Are you crazy?]. He growled at her.
[Listen here, maybe I don't want to sleep with a fatso.]. She was giving him the cutest kitty glare. [We need to start running. Today. Or no more licks on your nose, mister.]. Harry Potter looked up at her with wide eyes. Nose licks were his favorite.
[Okay, okay. Let's go. Maybe the twins will have something for us to chase.]. With that, the two kitties dashed off to the Burrow for a bit of exercise.
Arriving at the Burrow, they found the redheads all missing. Not unusual, Lady Athena decided that they would run back to the Rookery. The two kitties did this for a while, back and forth, until they felt too tired to continue. While doing this, Harry Potter started to notice a new, and very pleasing, sent coming from his life partner. After the third time they ran back to the Rookery, Lady Athena decided it was enough. After a trip to the water dish, they headed for Mistress Luna's room, and their favorite cuddle spot under her bed. Walking behind Lady Athena, Harry Potter again caught that new sent, only much stronger this time. It made him feel funny. A kind of tingling started in his belly, and it felt good. He inhaled deeply, and started to follow the sent, right up until his nose pressed firmly into something extremely pleasant.
Lady Athena did not agree.
With a screeched yowl and a swipe at his nose, she jumped away from him. [What in the world are you doing!] She demanded of him. [Hey, I'm talking to you!]. Harry Potter looked to be in a sort of daze and was still giving her a look that she hadn't seen on him before. She kind of liked it.
[Sorry,]. He said, as with an extreme act of will, he seemed to snap out of it. Harry Potter shook his head, then gave her the best sheepish look a cat can manage. [I, uh, I smelled something that I really liked. I just didn't realize it was you. You've never smelled like that before.]
[Yes, well… that doesn't mean you can just go pressing your nose into personal space like that.]
[You're right, of course, you're always right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you.]. He looked down at the ground and seemed to hunch in on himself. Lady Athena's anger vaporized at his abashed look.
[Oh, my friend, its okay.]. She slunk up to him and gave his nose a lick, then rubbed heads while purring very contentedly. [I just need more warning before you try new things.]
Harry Potter gave her an answering lick, then purred in bliss [but why did you smell like that?]
[We are finally getting older, I think. Things are changing.]
[But what does that mean? I don't want anything between us to change. I…. I don't want to lose you. I couldn't live without you.] Harry Potter and Lady Athena curled up together on their spot, heads firmly nestled together, and paws wrapped around each other, holding just a little tighter than normal.
[Nothing will ever separate us, I promise you, even if thing do change.]. They rubbed noses and gave each other a slow, sweet kitty kiss goodnight, and slowly started to drift off. Lady Athena gave one last contented purr. [I am your forever, my love].
[And I am yours, my heart]. In the deepest part of their hearts and minds, that still cling to the long-forgotten humanity, the two soulmates heard the new terms of endearment and rejoiced.
While the kitties were settled down for their afternoon nap, the Weasley family had arrived at home. As the children went their separate ways to do teenage things, Molly headed to the kitchen to begin supper preparations, and Arthur retired to the living room to read The Prophet. No sooner had he sat down than the fireplace erupted in emerald flames, and the head of Albus Dumbledore appeared.
"Hello, Arthur!" He called out to his old friend, "do you mind if I and a friend come through? He would like to thank your family for a service your rendered him." Even in the flames, you could see the twinkle in the old Mage's eyes.
"Well, of course, Albus, come on through! Any friend of your is a friend of ours." The head disappeared, and a moment later, Albus Dumbledore stepped into the Burrow's living room. A moment later, a second man, tall with long dark hair speckled with early grey stepped through after him. Arthur took a good look at his guests. Albus was dressed as he always was, brightly colored and clashing robes, and half moon glasses, looking every bit the stereotypical muggle image of a wizard. There was a noticeable change in him, though. Arthur had not seen Albus in almost two years. Not since he collected that cursed diary from Ginny. Then, Albus had seemed beaten down by the world. The disappearance of Harry Potter, and the revelation of his living conditions seemed to be destroying the old mage. Albus had always been known for the twinkle in his eyes, but that has seemed to have gone out.
Now, standing in the living room of the Burrow, the twinkle was back. Albus seemed to stand much straighter, and the wizard looked powerful once more. It seemed he had found a purpose once again. His companion was dressed in a rather nice-looking muggle suit, with no tie and the collar of his dress shirt open. He had a wide, friendly, happy, and mischievous smile on his face, though his eyes looked to hold deep sadness and hidden pain. He looked rather familiar to Arthur, and he was sure he knew him from somewhere.
Albus shook Arthur's hand, then gestured to his companion, "Arthur, allow me to reintroduce you to…"
"Sirius Black!" Arthur exclaimed, suddenly recognizing the man. "Come, man, have a sit!" Arthur and Sirius shook hands and Arthur led him to the sofa. Albus conjured himself an easy chair in a rather rancid green color. "So, what brings to important men such as yourselves to my humble home?"
Sirius snorted, "no Importance here, Arthur. Just an old man looking to say thanks."
"Thanks for what?"
"Getting me out of Azkaban." Sirius bluntly stated. "Your family found the rat and turned him in. As I understand it, Molly lived out some of her glory days to take him down." Sirius chuckled. "You two were out of Hogwarts when we started, but stories of her prowess with a wand were legendary. James' father actually took him to Molly's last dueling match." Sirius gave the first smile that really lit up his face and eyes. "I so wish I could have seen her take down the rat. Maybe someday you can show me that memory?"
Arthur chuckled. "I'm sure that can be arranged. As for getting you out of Azkaban, you'd really have to thank our daughter's two cats. They chased that creature out of Ron's room, and looked to be about to make a meal of it. He had to reveal himself to avoid getting disemboweled."
"Pity they didn't."
Albus cleared his throat. "I think, gentlemen, we are getting a bit off track."
"Of course, of course, Albus." Arthur looked at Sirius with a happy smile, "So tell me, what have you been up to for the last two years since your freedom?"
"Healing and hunting." He replied with a straight face. "The years in Azkaban did a lot of damage, then, when I got out and was told that Harry had disappeared, well, I didn't take it well. I spent about a year with St. Mungo's, healing the damage to my body, and then my mind as well. Still not sure how well the last one has taken." He gave a doggish grin. "The last year, I've spent with Albus here hunting down dark artifacts, which I believe we owe the knowledge of once again to your family."
"How is that?"
"The diary that Lucius Malfoy slipped to your daughter." Albus answered the question. "After carefully studying it with the Unspeakables, I was able to determine that it was an extremely evil and dark artifact used by Tom Riddle to cheat death."
Arthur gripped the sofa cushion tight enough to hurt, "And that bastard tried to give it to my Ginny?" Arthur may be known as a happy, quiet, and proud family man, but he was a very powerful wizard in his own right. At that moment, you could feel the power coming off of him. "I think I'll declare a blood feud on his whole family!"
"Now Arthur, there is no need for that. Lucius is in Azkaban, along with the rest of Tom's old followers. Best to let this go. Ginny is safe, and the Malfoy family has lost its influence on the Ministry."
"Using the diary as a focal, the Unspeakables and Albus were able to learn that a number of other similar objects were made by Voldemort. For the last year, with nothing else to do, I've been hunting them down with Albus. Two weeks ago, we found the last of them. Voldemort will never, ever return." Sirius sighed. "Now I'm going to dedicate myself to hunting for Harry."
Arthur nodded rather sadly in understanding. "It's been five years now, as I recall. I do feel that it is time for the lad to return to our world. I know Molly has always worried about the boy, even if she has never met him. Our Ginny used to have quite the little crush on him. She used to make me read those ridiculous stories to her at night." Arthur smiled at the memory.
"Rubbish the lot of them but should give the pup a head start with the ladies at Hogwarts, once I finally get him there." All three men chuckled at that.
Sirius looked back at Arthur, "you mentioned we should thank your daughters' cats. That is actually something I wanted to talk to you about."
"Well, I was really making a joke. You don't really need to thank a couple of cats." Arthur suppressed a chuckle.
Sirius actually looked quite serious. "A couple of weeks ago, I was looking over the transcripts from the rat's interrogation. In it, he kept insisting that the two cats were really a couple of kids hiding as cats. Now, most of the DMLE just dismissed it as the ravings of a man who spent too long as an animal, but it got me thinking. Peter was a lot of things, but he wasn't stupid, not by a longshot. If he thought something was off with those two cats, he may have been on to something." Arthur looked a bit alarmed at this. Having one murderous Animagus hide out in your home tends to put you on your guard. Albus caught the change in atmosphere.
"While I don't think there is any danger, I've found it to be good business to follow Mr. Black's hunches." The old mage said. "Sirius has some rather unique searching techniques that could be quite helpful."
"Oh, and what are those?" Arthur asked.
Sirius stood up and grinned. "This." The man then seemed to blur, and with a faint pop, he disappeared, and in his place stood a very large black dog.
"Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed.
Sirius changed back into himself with another blur and pop. "I learned the same time the rat did, along with James. The three of us did it to help out another friend with this furry little problem he had."
"Professor Lupin? You and your friends learned to become Animagi to help out a werewolf?"
Sirius looked shocked. "Uh, yeah. How did you know?"
"He taught at Hogwarts last year. That bastard Snape sold him out at the end of the year. Ginny was very upset over it. Remus had taken her and Luna under his wing when he found out Luna was being bullied by snape in potions. He started to tutor them in it. At the end of the year, when every student he had taught aced their potions finals, I guess Snape got mad." Arthur fixed Albus with a gaze of steel. "You should know, I'll be joining with a number of other parents to give a petition to the Board of Governors. Snape has been the worst teacher in the history of Hogwarts. Its time for him to go."
Albus sighed deeply. "I fear you may be right, Arthur. I always hoped Severus would overcome his darker feelings, but it may be time to move on." He sighed again. "I will be removing him from Hogwarts before next term. I don't think he would cope well with the Triwizrd Tournament anyway."
"What I would like to do, Arthur, is quite literally sniff around your home as Padfoot." Sirius brought the conversation back to point.
"Padfoot?"
"My Animagus form. Prongs and Moony named me Padfoot." Sirius sat up a bit on the sofa. "I really just want to see if there is anything unusual in the scents of the cats. If there is, I may try to communicate with them. Probably nothing, but for some reason I can't let it go."
Arthur looked thoughtful for a moment. "Albus, what do you think? Could those two cats be more than they seem?"
"I really couldn't say, my dear boy. When I was here two years ago, I really wasn't at my best. So, while I did not notice anything off, I wasn't looking either."
"Ginny says Luna Lovegood can talk to them. I've always just tossed that aside as Luna being Luna. Now however, I'm wondering." He stood up and walked over to the foot of the stairs. "Ginny!" He called up. "Can you come down here for a moment?" A few seconds later, there was the sound of pounding feet, and a rather pretty, red-headed 13-year-old girl came down the stairs.
"Yes, daddy? Oh! Hello Headmaster, and hello sir." Ginny had noticed Albus and Sirius still sitting in the living room.
"Ginny, Headmaster Dumbledore and our friend Mr. Black would like to look at your cats. Are they here or at Lunas?" Arthur questioned his baby girl.
Ginny immediately frowned. "What do you want with our kitties?" she demanded. "I won't let you hurt them!"
"Be calm, Miss Weasley," Albus said, holding out his hands in surrender. "We wish them no harm. Sirius here would just like to talk to them."
"Talk to them? You mean like Luna does?"
"No, little red" Sirius said, standing up, "Like this." He then changed into Padfoot. Ginny gave a yelp and stumbled back.
"How did you do that?" the dog just grinned at her and sniffed at her feet. Ginny looked at her father and headmaster, "How did he do that?"
Albus grinned. "Sirius is an Animagus, my dear. It is in his dog form that he would wish to talk to your cat companions." Padfoot gave out a woof and gave Ginny a big dog grin. She smiled a rather wicked smile at him.
"What a good boy you are" she cooed while scratching behind his ears. Padfoot whined in enjoyment. "but if you scare my Harry Potter and Lady Athena, I'll hex your bits off!" Sirius stopped grinning and changed back.
"Well then, I'll be sure to stay on the good side of you. And your cats." He flashed a smile at her. "Are they here?"
"I don't think so. They like some quiet in the afternoons, so they usually go to Luna's for a lay about. I'll run over to Luna's and see." With that, the lithe young girl ran out the back, grabbed a broom, and zoomed off for her friend's house.
Sirius looked back to Arthur, "If its okay with you then, while she is doing that, I'll get started sniffing." He then changed into Padfoot, put his nose to the ground, and started to sniff. He quickly seemed to pick up on a scent that grabbed his attention. He followed it over to the door, then barked at Albus. Albus promptly waved his wand at the door, opening it. Curious, Arthur followed him out into the yard. Padfoot seemed to walk in many circles before trotting back over to Arthur. In a flash, Sirius was standing before him. "I don't wish to alarm you, but I'm definitely picking up three Animagus trails. One I clearly recognize as the rat, and its quite old. The other two are fresh, but slightly off. The scents are only vaguely recognizable as Animagus. It's almost like they are becoming real cats. The human scent that mixes with the animal scent is fading. It's like the human part of them is disappearing. Also, the female is in heat. I think we need to head over to your daughters' friend's house." He grinned a grin that seemed to melt twenty years off his life. "Before the kittens start to show up!"
Ginny pushed her Nimbus 2000 to the stops as she made her way to the Rookery. The broom had been a surprise gift from her parents. She had tried out for, and won the Gryffindor Seeker position that year, and after she had written home to tell her parents, they had sent her the brand-new broom. Ron had been super jealous. She had yet to miss a snitch on it, and Gryffindor had won the Quidditch cup. Oliver Wood, her team captain, had been so excited he kissed her on the pitch right after the final game. The twins had taken him aside and had a few words. Ginny had been shocked at how much she wished it was Luna doing the kissing. It has started to make her questions some things in her head. Chuckling at the memory, she hopped down and walked over to the garden where she saw her best friend weeding.
"Hey Luna!" she called out. At hearing her name, Luna stood up with a beaming smile, and wrapped her best friend in a rather affectionate hug. Ginny found herself not wanting to let go.
"What brings you over, Ginny? I thought you weren't coming back until tomorrow. Not that I'm not excited to see you!"
"Well, a huge black dog is coming over to talk to our cats." Luna blinked at her.
"Okay." Nothing ever fazed Luna. "Well, they are sleeping right now, so we can just sit out here and wait." With that Ginny and Luna sat down on the grass and talked about nothing of importance. Neither noticed that they were still holding hands.
Meanwhile, upstairs in Luna's room, Harry Potter and Lady Athena were starting to wake up. Lady Athena stretched her for limbs out and felt Harry Potter tighten his front legs around her. [Mmm, don't get up.] He purred. [You are way to comfortable. You smell nice too.] He sniffed as he said this.
[Why thank you!] Lady Athena said happily, [you smell good too!] and with that, she started to vigorously lick his face, while to push hold her tighter.
Harry Potter let out a low groan of satisfaction, licking her face in return. [Can I, uh, well… Can I smell you again? There?] Lady Athena stopped her ministrations and looked her life partner in his emerald eyes, her own brown eyes darkening a bit.
[Yes. I think I would quite like that.] Harry Potter gave out a deep purr and started to move behind her. It was just as he was about to move his nose closer that the door swung open, and a gigantic dog bounced in. He was quickly followed by their two mistresses. The two kitties jumped apart, managing to look quite embarrassed for a couple of cats. The dog just sat there, with his head cocked to the side, and tongue rolling out his mouth as he panted. The intelligence in his gray eyes shining brightly.
[I hope I'm not interrupting.] The two life partners looked around for who said that. When the dog let out a soft bark and whine, Harry Potter and Lady Athena were shocked to discover they had understood him perfectly. [Hello there!] he called out joyfully. [I'm padfoot. What are your names.] The two cats looked at each other, and in the space of seconds, seemed to have quite a conversation with just their eyes.
Blinking at Padfoot, Lady Athena answered him, [I am Lady Athena, and this is my mate, Harry Potter.] At this, Padfoot sat back in surprise, blinking and whining a bit.
[Why do you call yourself that name?], he directed at Harry Potter.
[Mistress Ginny gave me the name some years ago.] He replied. [I think she named me after some hero of hers.] By this point, Padfoot had locked onto Harry Potter's eyes, and could not look away. Lily, he thought. By Merlin, those are Lily's eyes! But how… He shook himself out of his thoughts but didn't take his eyes off Harry Potter's.
[You, uh, you aren't going to try and eat us, are you?] Lady Athena asked. [I ask because you are staring very intently at my mate.] Lady Athena started to get ready to run.
[No, I mean you no harm,] Padfoot said, [it is just that your mate's eyes remind me of a long-lost member of my pack.] Padfoot took a step back and looked at both cats closely again. It seemed almost as if they really were just a couple of ordinary cats. Looking deeper at them, though, and Sirius could just make out the faintest trace of the boy and girl they once were. He was now sure that they were both humans and was also sure that they were on the verge of losing themselves to the animals within, permanently. [I'm going to do something now, and I don't want you to freak out, okay] He took a deep breath. [I'm going to change into my true shape. You see, I'm not always a dog.] With that, he popped back into Sirius.
The two cats freaked out and dashed into Luna's closet. Sirius promptly popped back to Padfoot. [I'm sorry!] He called out. [I didn't mean to frighten you! I just want to talk!]
Lady Athena cautiously stuck her head out around the door frame. [Okay, so talk.]
[Right then,] Padfoot tried to mutter, but as a dog it just came out as a whine. [Can you tell me If you have always been cats.?]
Lady Athena and Harry Potter instantly went on guard. [Of course, we have!] She lied back at him, [what else would we be?]
[People] Padfoot said. The hairs on the cats' tails stood straight out.
[That's crazy.] Harry Potter said, rubbing a paw on the bridge of his nose. [How could we be people? We are very clearly cats.]
The dog looked highly amused. [There are ways. After all, I'm a dog and a man. You could say it takes a bit of magic.]
[Magic isn't real.] Lady Athena growled at Padfoot. [Even if it was, is being a cat so bad?] She sounded very vulnerable for a cat.
[No, its not, but we are who we are meant to be. It isn't good to completely loose ourselves in one form.] Padfoot seemed to speak from experience. He then cocked his head to the side and said [Also, if magic isn't real, how did I do what I just did?] Lady Athena just cat glared at him.
Harry Potter sat back on his haunches. He could swear that this dog was familiar to him but couldn't place it. [What does is matter to you if we were once people?]
[Well, that depends on several things, can you tell me why you became cats?] The two cats looked at the ground for a minute, then looked back at each other. This time, it was Harry Potter who answered.
[We had to get away.] He said, [Our lives were not very good. This is better. We don't want to go back.] Lady Athena rubbed her face on his in support.
[We don't want to remember that.] She spoke. [Our life is happy now; can't you just leave it? We don't even like to talk about it.]
The big dog whined in sympathy. [I understand wanting to get away. Still, I think you should talk about this. What if I brought a friend here? She is a cat like you two.] Lady Athena and Harry Potter had another one of those silent conversations.
[Okay,] she finally said. [We will talk to another cat.]
Padfoot grinned in happiness, [Great!] He exclaimed. [I'll go get her.] And with that, he bounded out of the room. As soon as he stepped outside, changing back into Sirius, Luna stepped in front of him.
"So, did you get them to change back to a boy and girl yet?" Sirius was a bit shocked with her bluntness.
"Not yet," he said, "But I'm working on it." With a crack, he apparated back to the Burrow. Albus and Arthur were waiting for him outside, and Molly had joined them along with Ronald Weasley.
"Well," asked Albus, "did you find the cats?"
"No, I didn't…" replied Sirius. "But I did find two children who transformed into cats."
"Merlin's beard," exclaimed Arthur, "Are you sure?"
"Pretty much, but I can't say with 100% clarity."
"How could this have happened? Were they cursed?" Arthur was always greatly concerned when possible harm to children was concerned. "Can it be a simple case of transfiguration?"
"No, I sensed no outside magic being worked on them. Whatever happened, they did to themselves. They also did it several years ago. They've spent all this time in their cat forms, and it is slowly taking them over. In not very much time, they could lose themselves to the cat permanently." Sirius was clearly agitated.
Albus had been slowly stroking his chin, deep in thought. "It's possible this is a case of accidental magic, though it would take a very powerful witch or wizard to do this." He looked up at Sirius. "Did they give you any details?"
Sirius sighed, "No. They would talk to me a little, but they clearly don't trust a dog, let along one who can turn into a person.
"Albus, I need to you bring Minerva McGonagall here. They won't talk to a dog, we need another cat."
