Author's Note: Thank you to my followers who have kept reading and reviewing! This story is a fun little piece I've been working on for the past few months. It's definitely an A/U! A special thank you goes to Sakubato, my new Beta/Alpha. He's been great!
Harry was feeling restless after dinner on a Thursday night of his first year at Hogwarts, so instead of cooping himself up in the dormitory to be hounded by Ron Weasley into playing wizard's chess, he decided to change into his animagus form and explore the castle. He knew his Mum had given him strict instructions on the "proper time and place" for transforming, but he thought she'd be okay with him doing so just this once to get a feel for the castle. He walked a ways down the corridor from the Great Hall and found a secluded spot, closing his eyes and exhaling deeply, just as his Dad and Padfoot had coached him to do. In the blink of an eye, a jet black kitten stood in place of the small boy. He meowed once, then scampered out of his hiding place to explore and smell every nook and cranny of the castle. This wasn't his first time to explore in his form, but his kitten self always found new things to sniff. He made his way through the ground floor, stopping at clusters of students for chin scratches and attention from the female students, in true James Potter fashion. He mewled when the focus shifted from him to the girls gossipping about the latest makeup spells, so he strutted away, tail flicking. He found the library, his true destination. He stretched down, bum in the air, suddenly distracted by a particle of dust floating by in the late evening sunlight. He pawed at it, trying to catch it in his claws. He mewled and hissed, frustrated that he wasn't successful. He pounced again, skidding along the marble floor, his stubby tail waving madly. He slid through the open library doors, meowing steadily. If you listened closely, you'd swear the kitten was laughing! He zoomed through the rows of books, pausing every once in a while to bat at scraps of parchment littering the floor. There was a particular scrap of parchment that caught his eye, so he took off in a zoom, sliding along the slick floor, completely missing the parchment and knocking a stack of thin books over at a table near the back of the room, causing Madam Pince to rise from her desk to see what the commotion was. Hermione was deeply engrossed in the fiftieth edition of Hogwarts, A History, when the noise of books being scattered caught her attention. Being the studious witch she was, she quickly leant down to right the books to avoid being penalised for destroying books. Instead, a black kitten with striking green eyes stared at her almost sheepishly, causing the young witch to melt. The books were quickly forgotten as she cooed at the small animal, scratching its chin softly, eliciting content purrs from the wee cat.
"What is it, Hermione?" a third year Ravenclaw called down towards her in a low voice, having gotten distracted from studying by a humorous sketch of Professor Snape that had been circulating in the library that evening.
"Erm.. it's a kitten!" she called back up. "I think it's lost," she continued, totally unaware that it was Harry in his Animagus form.
Hermione straightened back in her chair, bringing the kitten with her, cuddling it in her arms. "I have a weakness for them," she said sheepishly, nuzzling its face to hers. The ones sat with her awwwed and cooed, fawning over the tiny thing. The same third year reached to take the thing from Hermione, but it hissed at the 'Claw, then scratched its way up Hermione's robes and wrapped itself around her neck like a scarf, trembling.
"Oh now, don't be frightened, little Shadow," she spoke softly, scratching his head gently with her fingers. Animagus Harry, now named Shadow by Hermione, quickly calmed under the familiar touch of his best friend. He nudged his hand further into her palm, now purring loudly.
"Well he's certainly a feisty thing," Luna remarked serenely as she sat glancing through the Quibbler magazine.
"He?" Hermione said, eyebrow raised at the petite blonde's words.
"Yes," she replied confidently. "The kitten's aura is broadcasting loudly, and definitely letting me know it's a he," she replied in the same tone. "He's not someone's familiar, I don't think, but he definitely is coming into your life exactly when you need him," she said, smiling dreamily.
Hermione shrugged,accepting her answer, and gently untangled the kitten to cradle him in one arm, flipping through the fiftieth edition of Hogwarts, A History, occasionally reading snippets to the kitten in her arms. She'd give him head scratches and pets, smiling when he'd purr contentedly. After a while he started to squirm, meowing impatiently at the fuzzy haired witch holding him captive. "You want down, little one?" she asked softly, scratching under his chin.
The kitten squeaked in answer, as if he understood her. She kissed his head and placed him down, watching as he scampered off. Thankfully his dark fur hid his animal blush. He was twelve for Circe's sake!
After leaving the library, he explored down the corridor again, in case he'd missed any new people or scents. He stopped at more clusters of female students for more chin scratches and attention. Dissatisfied still when he was no longer the center of attention, he skittered off, slipping and skidding along the floor, meowing in delight. Animagus-Harry was having so much fun, he was unaware of the polished high heeled Victorian boots he crashed into. He backed up slowly, tail twitching, to get a better look at exactly whose boots he had crashed into.
"Mr Potter!" the stern feminine voice boomed down into his sensitive ears. I'm in deep dragon crap, Animagus-Harry thought. But how does she recognise me?
"Mr Potter, do you realise what time it is? You should be aware by now that curfew is exactly at nine 0'clock and it's well past that," she glared down at him.
His cat eyes widened, and he scooted backwards away from his Head of House, then hauled himself into a side passageway, running as fast as his chubby legs would let him. Unfortunately for him, Professor McGonagall was hot on his heels, having transformed into the familiar tabby cat that had frightened plenty of students in years past, including one James Potter.
Shadow was running down the corridor, still as fast as he could, the now-irate Professor Kitty meowing loudly at him as she chased him. The chase led to a dead end, and Minerva took the opportunity to catch him, clamping her mouth around his neck and picking him up, ignoring the yowls coming from the naughty kitten. She meowed in triumphant annoyance as she escorted him back down the corridor, and into the Entrance Hall. She was yowling and hissing up a storm, berating the pitch black kitten in her mouth, climbing the main staircase towards Gryffindor Tower. Only a few stragglers were privileged to witness the "cat fight", but most importantly, they remembered the red-faced Harry Potter being reamed out by his Mum in the Entrance Hall the next morning while his Dad stood nearby, holding his belly, under a Silencing spell to prevent his laughter from echoing in the Entrance Hall. Those enjoying breakfast in the Great Hall erupted in laughter after the story from the previous night had spread, except one. Poor Professor "Kitty" McGonagall thumped her head on the table and swore to Morgana and Merlin that she'd retire before any of Harry Potter's children graced the halls of Hogwarts. She was too old to be chasing the spawn of James Potter — even in Animagus form.