Disclaimer: None of these characters belong to me. They are by J. K. Rowling. I am not for profit.
He was Sir Crookshanks Granger, loyal to the Laudable Muggle House of the Grangers, protector of the Honorable Miss Hermione Granger and her venerable parents Sir Wendell and Lady Monica, who affectionately called him Crooks. No matter how many names he had before, or where he had lived, he was a Granger and when his time came, so he presented himself to death.
But he had not always been so fortunate to have a loving family that cared for him and provided for his needs. He was born into a stray litter, the fruit of Florentyna, her pure Persian mother Kneazle and Gaspar, her muggle father Maine Coon, stray since his previous owners had discovered his adventures with a cat, discarding the cats and their litter, no matter what could die of cold or hunger, mercilessly abandoning them in the gloomy streets of London, Florentyna's Kneazle instinct and her distrust of Gaspar's human family, had saved them from ending up drowned in the river as the owners intended, to avoid problems with authorities for abandonment of animals.
Crooks was the last of the litter, his parents had named him Sylvester. His mother had had five kittens. Life was not easy for them, they had to constantly search for food and change their shelter because humans would pick on them because they considered them small, harmless, as if they were stuffed animals. Sometimes they wanted to go after the puppies, but one of their parents was always there to defend them and prevent them from being separated. Humans had some kind of obsession with animal cubs, but they made no attempt to rescue the two adults. His mother, always intuitive, knew that her family would be separated for life and she would never see her cubs again if humans took them away. That was the biggest fear of her.
There were times of great famine, where they had to search through human garbage bins when they couldn't hunt enough to feed them all. Sometimes humans would let them sniff in peace, but most of the time, they would throw objects at them to scare them away, no matter how much harm they might cause them and that an injured animal had little chance of surviving without care. With little food, all were almost malnourished.
At seventeen and just before his death, Crooks could still hear his mother's plaintive cry for not being able to give them a comfortable life, like the one she had had before in the wizarding world, but which she had left behind when she met Gaspar. Florentyna knew that a Muggle cat would never be accepted into her purist house and it was very risky for her to return, because they had so many puppies and no human wanted to have so many cats at home, because there were too many mouths to feed. Gaspar would die when Crooks was seven months old, from a beating that some drunks had given him for fun. He had gone out for food, but did not return home, Florentyna found him a few hours before dawn, when she was able to leave her first-born in the care of the litter. Her body was going cold and the food Gaspar had gotten was scattered carelessly on the sidewalk, trampled and mixed with his blood. Florentyna was devastated, but she had a litter to protect and even if she were alone, she would not let Gaspar's efforts have been in vain. Crooks always admired the character of his mother and tried to be like her, to become a renowned cat, so that his parents, in the Hereafter, would be proud of him.
Some humans took advantage of the fact that their mother was absent to kidnap the kittens and take them to the most detestable place Crooks had ever seen. Some kind of barred animal shelter that smelled of urine and feces. Each cat was put in a cell, waiting to be adopted. Florentyna was also kidnapped when she was returning to the shelter after hunting. His siblings were adopted, just like him. Of all the animals Crooks had talked to, they all agreed that humans preferred having cubs to adult or old animals, because there was a myth that cubs were easier to train and that an old animal would not have the memory to remember all orders. Something completely absurd, a myth, that very few humans contradicted.
A couple with their daughter approached him and pointed a finger at him. Crooks was nine months old at the time, still not too old for anyone to notice him. The shelter keeper opened the door to his cell. That was the first time he was adopted. He was called Tree Smithers. And taken to the shelter three months later, because the Smithers couldn't quell his bravado and he wasn't photogenic in the photos. They wanted a cat to cuddle with, sociable with everyone so they could show off and beautiful, but Crooks would not let them dye his fur colors or constantly hug him. He had his own character.
He went through three more families before he was declared Unsuitable for Adoption. That was dangerous, as he learned from those who stayed in the shelter for a long time, because it was an indication that he would be euthanized. None of his siblings were returned to the shelter, although Bright, the firstborn escaped from her home, they could not find her. Eterna, who was the fourth of the litter, was killed by her owner while she slept because she had too many expenses and a cat tied up anyone's life too much. It was like having a child who would never become independent. Duke and Smoothness, the second and third, were given in international adoptions. Duke to the United States and Smoothness to Spain. Duke ended up in an American shelter because the couple who adopted him separated and neither wanted the cat. Of Smoothness nothing was known, Crooks hoped that she had had a long, calm and happy life.
Florentyna died in the shelter at the age of eighteen. No one ever wanted to adopt her, because she was too old. No one gave her a chance to prove her worth.
Crooks escaped from the shelter after the death of his mother. He had only stayed for her, because She had gotten into a depression when her puppies had been given up for adoption and She had refused to run away in case her little ones returned one day.
He doesn't know how he got to the wizarding world, or how he ended up in the pet shop. But Crooks will always remember the wait. It was a long time before his path crossed Hermione Granger's. At the time, she was thirteen years old and had gone to buy an owl. Looking at her, Crooks knew that she, and only she, was the owner he wanted. He approached her cautiously and brushed her leg.
"Do you know that you have the smartest eyes I've ever seen?" Were the first words she said to him.
So Crooks knew that his choice had been the right one. His mother had always told him to trust his Kneazle instincts. And he did. When he was too old to move without pain, when disease claimed his body, when he knew that his time was drawing near, Crooks approached Hermione, wanting to see his owner, convey his desire to her. He wanted to die with dignity and for her to find comfort in the arms of another pet. He couldn't live forever, but the years he was with her were always good. He regretted not being able to find her sooner. And when in the end, tearfully, heartbroken, Hermione carried Crooks to the vet, he licked her hand, trying to convey how much she had meant to him. The prick of the injection was barely noticeable from the pain Crooks felt in his old age, but he was glad that his owner was there for him right now and that she was the last thing he saw.
His dying wish was for Hermione to adopt another pet. Crooks was able to tell her through a dream. He was gone and he knew it would take a long time for his owner to forget him, but in the meantime there were plenty of animals that needed a home that could help her get over the loss of him. This is how Hermione ended up adopting an eight-year-old mastiff from a shelter, which along with greyhounds and hounds were one of the most neglected and abused breeds. Crooks could now rest easy.
The abandonment of animals is a big problem in the world. With this fic I intend to make people aware of adopting an animal, not buying it. Most people always adopt puppies, they do not give the same opportunities to adult and elderly animals. The older an animal is, the longer it will be in the shelter, it will probably die there without being given a chance.