The Houses Competition

Ravenclaw

Charms

Drabble

[Creature] Five-headed cat

Extra Prompt: [Sound] The ticking of a clock

1000 Words

"Fluffy! Here, Fluffy!" Hagrid's voice boomed out across the deserted hallways of Hogwarts in summer. The three-headed dog was known for getting into mischief in the Forbidden Forest, but recently, Fluffy had started sneaking into the castle.

"What is going on here, Rubeus?" Minerva McGonagall's voice was a whisper when compared to the larger man, but the authority behind it was undeniable.

"Eh, well now…" Hagrid rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"I am quite certain that I did not hear you call for that three-headed menace you keep as a pet. There are innocent creatures in this school, and we both know how incredibly dangerous Cerberi can be, right?"

"Oi, I won't be 'earing you slander Fluffy like that. 'E's the sweetest boy around and just needs a firm hand, is all."

The deputy headmistress looked like she wanted to argue, but before she could speak, Argus Filch came calling for Mrs Norris.

"She went missing last night. Your dog better not've…" Filch shook his hand angrily, but everyone could see how distraught he was.

McGonagall stepped in before a fight could start. "I'm afraid Fluffy has chosen a bad time to explore the castle, Rubeus, as some of the house-elves have reported sightings of kittens playing in the walls. While he may seem gentle to you, I'd not like to see that gentleness tested by his coming across bite-sized morsels of fluff. I propose we work together to find all the creatures. Hogwarts' clocks chime every quarter hour, and we'll meet back here at four. Deal?"

Hagrid eyed the two. He respected both the other adults, but it stung that they were making out like Fluffy was just some beast. Regardless, he understood Argus' pain and wanted to help if he could. All three nodded in agreeance to the plan.

Minerva knew that it was just her imagination, but the clocks seemed almost to tick louder as she bounded down the halls in her Animagus form. Things would be so much easier if she could just use a Point-Me spell, but every attempt had failed, something she resolutely refused to think about too closely. Sure, Cerberi were impervious to most spells, but cats shouldn't be.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, a flash of orange could be seen. My! The rumours of a kitten were true after all! In a little hole in a wall, too small for her to have ever fit inside regardless of form, poked a little orange fluffball whose head (the only visible part) seemed to be all eyes and fur.

Carefully, she lowered herself to the ground and began to rumble soothingly, hoping to coax the kitten closer. Its little nose sniffed the air like she was curious, but the kitten ultimately retreated only to be replaced by a black counterpart.

Minerva purred more loudly but was rebuffed again. Suddenly, a little blond kitten mewed from further down the hall, the head predictably poking out of the wall.

Before Minerva could come up with a new plan, her ears picked up a barking sound that could only have come from Hagrid's dog, and the kittens stopped peeking out at all. Deciding that they should be relatively safe, Minerva headed towards where the sound had come from. Once the predator was dealt with, there would be no need to rush to find the other animals.

Hogwarts' clocks chimed 3:30, but they went ignored.

Finding Mrs Norris safe and sound was all Argus cared about. Sure, he felt bad for the kittens, but in all likelihood, they'd already fallen to Hagrid's beast. Mrs Norris was much too smart to risk herself like that; at least, that is what Argus kept telling himself.

Mew!

Argus looked up, his eyebrows raised high at seeing a kitten that might as well have been his own Mrs Norris when she was young.

Maybe he'd been too hasty.

"Well, hello there," he whispered, moving his hand towards the little head poking out from beside a painting of apples. If he could just get a hold of the kitten's scruff, he should be able to pull her free and check for any injuries.

He was almost there when the little one disappeared.

Mew!

Mew! Mew!

Mew! Mew! Mew!

Goodness, how many siblings did the kitten have? They seemed to like syncing with Hogwarts' clocks, each mew coming at a different second and all of them mewing when the chime went off. Deciding that he had technically agreed to help Minerva look for the little critters, Argus put his worries for Mrs Norris temporarily to rest and followed the little mews as they led him all about the school.

Hagrid was the only one of the trio who was at peace. Mrs Norris had found him twenty minutes ago and led him to Fluffy who had been a bit… occupied. He'd been about to call his colleagues, but the old cat hissed whenever he tried.

A bit ago, some of Minerva's missing kittens had shown up, and he had a feeling Minerva and Argus would come along soon enough.

Sure enough, they burst in the door just as the chimes went off, awakening the kittens from their slumbers in Fluffy's thick coat.

"What? But how?"

Hagrid stood from where he'd been sat beside his dog.

"I told you Fluffy'd not hurt anyone." Indeed, two of Fluffy's heads slept peacefully as the third carefully lifted a paw to catch one of the multi-headed kittens who had taken a tumble off their shoulder.

The kitten walked over to Mrs Norris and headbutted her with each of its five heads before calling to its siblings that each had between three and seven heads of its own.

Fluffy's other heads woke up and yawned, making the other two humans in the room nervous.

Hagrid sighed. "Come along, Fluffy. Looks like you're done babysitting for the moment."

The two left the hidden alcove, the ticking of the clocks the only sound behind them.