Disclaimer: See chapter one, Sparky.
Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed! It really makes my day. Whee! Much more of my favorite HP character, Snape! ^__^.
If Cats Could Talk
The Slytherin student looked hopelessly up at the closed door before her. Somehow in all her haste to make it to her head of house's office, she hadn't thought about what she was going to do to open the door. Sure, she knew some cats had learned to open doors by themselves, but she wasn't among them. Heck, she'd only been a cat for two days now. Learning how to operate the legs was work enough!
She sat just out of the door and looked up at it. She figured if she waited long enough, and wanted it to open hard enough, it would do so.
And surely enough, the door quickly opened and the school's potions master looked out at the hallway, as he had heard someone knock. Confused, he stepped back into the room and she darted between his feet.
-Behold, the power of cat,- she snickered to herself. In two long leaps she was across the room and with one more she was on his desk before he was halfway across the room.
"Mrrrow!" -Wait a second... I thought someone cast a spell so all the cats could talk...- She mentally smacked herself. -Of course! I'm not really a cat! Well, with any luck he'll put it together. Or maybe he hasn't heard the news, yet. Oh man, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. All to be booted out, too. This sucks.-
"How did you get in here?" Snape demanded. At a loss for how to answer, she just stared at him. "Get out. I don't know what student you belong to, but he'll get detention for allowing you to roam free." He strode over and picked her up, then tucked her under his arm and headed for the door.
"Row! Rrrow-ow!" she protested. -No! Don't throw me out! Please!- With a desperate wriggle she sprung out of his grasp and bounded away.
"Come back here you blasted cat!" Snape snapped.
-No, I can't be thrown out yet!- She darted away and crawled under his desk.
"All right, you asked for this, cat," Snape muttered. The Slytherin student cowered as far back into the desk's recesses as she could and waited. She didn't have to wait long. She saw the professor's face appear and a hand clutching his wand pointing at her.
-Oh sh-!-
"Imobularis!" She tore out from under the desk and darted between his feet as the spell struck the desk and dissipated harmlessly. He fired another spell and she barely got out of the way. One of the creepy, slimy things in the jars around the room wasn't so lucky. Snape swore at her and cast another, less cat-friendly spell and successfully destroyed a very old book on a bookshelf. With growing fury, Snape continued to try and use the poor trapped Animagus as target practice, while she found out exactly how dexterous a cat body was.
When Snape finally quit trying to roast the cat to catch his breath, the room was a disaster. Breathing heavy, the cat tucked down into a crevice by the fireplace.
-Just for the record, I SO did not do this!-
***
Dumbledore paused before Severus's office door. He could swear he could a bunch of crashes a second ago and a general destructive ruckus within. It was especially curious because he knew that the potions professor was inside, and seemed to having a hissy fit over something. The elderly wizard rapped on the old wooden door. "Severus? Are you all right?"
The door opened, revealing a very flustered Severus Snape. "Headmaster... I was just..."
"Renovating?" Albus suggested, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. Severus pursed his lips, clearly not amused by this at all. "I've just come down to tell you the news, since you're the only staff member who hasn't come to see me about the commotion earlier."
"That? I simply assumed it was Longbottom or one of his friends destroying something as usual," he replied. He idly brushed back his long black hair to try and restore a modicum of order. The room was beyond repair. He would summon a couple of house elves to clean it up later. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"Oh no. Nothing was destroyed... yet... it was simply a misfired spell. However, I feel I must warn you that now all the cats on Hogwarts grounds can speak. No need to worry, I'm sure, it will only last a week," Dumbledore said. He smiled reassuringly.
"Is that all?" Snape sighed. "Most of the Slytherin students don't even have cats. Most of my students have snakes or toads or owls."
"Severus, have you ever had a cat?"
"No."
Dumbledore nodded. "I thought so. Well, I'm sure you'll soon find out why I deemed it necessary to warn you." He turned as if to go, then paused. "Ah, Severus... May I ask what the problem is?"
"Problem, Headmaster?" Professor Snape inquired innocently.
Dumbledore lifted a single eyebrow and waved a hand at the room behind the other. Snape glanced back.
"Nothing..." he replied. "It was nothing." Dumbledore nodded, and started to leave.
"Well, good day Severus," he called.
***
Professor Snape slowly closed the door and turned his eyes to the crevice in which the Slytherin student crouched. He put his hands behind his back and took a single step forward. Then another. And another. Until he was only three feet from her hiding place. He smiled down at her, not at all in a friendly manner.
"Well well well. I suppose you and I have a bit of a conversation before us, kitty cat," he said in a smooth, silky voice.
-That's what YOU think...- She pushed herself further back into the niche.
"Well? Are you going to talk? Or am I going to hex you out of that little corner?" he asked sweetly, expression clearly stating that he would be more than happy to do it. With a heavy feline sigh she skulked out of the corner and jumped up onto the desk.
-I hope he doesn't hex me anyway...-
Snape grudgingly put up his wand and sat opposite of the black-furred cat and looked into her green gaze. "Who are you and who do you belong to?"
"Mow."
"Don't play stupid with me, cat. You heard Albus. I know you can talk."
"Rrrowwr. Myow."
Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Apparently this was going to be a long afternoon, and he had a class soon. "Fine. Be stubborn. I'll leave you here while I go to class and maybe you'll be more willing to talk later."
-It's not a willingness, Mr. Monochromatic, it's an ability! Or lack there of!-
But Snape was not a telepath, and he had shortly left, locking her in the room. She shook her head. He was extremely lucky she wasn't a true cat, for any real cat would have taken advantage of his rookie experience and the situation would turn ugly. As it was, she curled up in his leather chair to wait.
~*~*~*~
Notes: Thanks to all who reviewed! It really makes my day. Whee! Much more of my favorite HP character, Snape! ^__^.
If Cats Could Talk
The Slytherin student looked hopelessly up at the closed door before her. Somehow in all her haste to make it to her head of house's office, she hadn't thought about what she was going to do to open the door. Sure, she knew some cats had learned to open doors by themselves, but she wasn't among them. Heck, she'd only been a cat for two days now. Learning how to operate the legs was work enough!
She sat just out of the door and looked up at it. She figured if she waited long enough, and wanted it to open hard enough, it would do so.
And surely enough, the door quickly opened and the school's potions master looked out at the hallway, as he had heard someone knock. Confused, he stepped back into the room and she darted between his feet.
-Behold, the power of cat,- she snickered to herself. In two long leaps she was across the room and with one more she was on his desk before he was halfway across the room.
"Mrrrow!" -Wait a second... I thought someone cast a spell so all the cats could talk...- She mentally smacked herself. -Of course! I'm not really a cat! Well, with any luck he'll put it together. Or maybe he hasn't heard the news, yet. Oh man, this is a lot harder than I thought it would be. All to be booted out, too. This sucks.-
"How did you get in here?" Snape demanded. At a loss for how to answer, she just stared at him. "Get out. I don't know what student you belong to, but he'll get detention for allowing you to roam free." He strode over and picked her up, then tucked her under his arm and headed for the door.
"Row! Rrrow-ow!" she protested. -No! Don't throw me out! Please!- With a desperate wriggle she sprung out of his grasp and bounded away.
"Come back here you blasted cat!" Snape snapped.
-No, I can't be thrown out yet!- She darted away and crawled under his desk.
"All right, you asked for this, cat," Snape muttered. The Slytherin student cowered as far back into the desk's recesses as she could and waited. She didn't have to wait long. She saw the professor's face appear and a hand clutching his wand pointing at her.
-Oh sh-!-
"Imobularis!" She tore out from under the desk and darted between his feet as the spell struck the desk and dissipated harmlessly. He fired another spell and she barely got out of the way. One of the creepy, slimy things in the jars around the room wasn't so lucky. Snape swore at her and cast another, less cat-friendly spell and successfully destroyed a very old book on a bookshelf. With growing fury, Snape continued to try and use the poor trapped Animagus as target practice, while she found out exactly how dexterous a cat body was.
When Snape finally quit trying to roast the cat to catch his breath, the room was a disaster. Breathing heavy, the cat tucked down into a crevice by the fireplace.
-Just for the record, I SO did not do this!-
***
Dumbledore paused before Severus's office door. He could swear he could a bunch of crashes a second ago and a general destructive ruckus within. It was especially curious because he knew that the potions professor was inside, and seemed to having a hissy fit over something. The elderly wizard rapped on the old wooden door. "Severus? Are you all right?"
The door opened, revealing a very flustered Severus Snape. "Headmaster... I was just..."
"Renovating?" Albus suggested, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement. Severus pursed his lips, clearly not amused by this at all. "I've just come down to tell you the news, since you're the only staff member who hasn't come to see me about the commotion earlier."
"That? I simply assumed it was Longbottom or one of his friends destroying something as usual," he replied. He idly brushed back his long black hair to try and restore a modicum of order. The room was beyond repair. He would summon a couple of house elves to clean it up later. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled.
"Oh no. Nothing was destroyed... yet... it was simply a misfired spell. However, I feel I must warn you that now all the cats on Hogwarts grounds can speak. No need to worry, I'm sure, it will only last a week," Dumbledore said. He smiled reassuringly.
"Is that all?" Snape sighed. "Most of the Slytherin students don't even have cats. Most of my students have snakes or toads or owls."
"Severus, have you ever had a cat?"
"No."
Dumbledore nodded. "I thought so. Well, I'm sure you'll soon find out why I deemed it necessary to warn you." He turned as if to go, then paused. "Ah, Severus... May I ask what the problem is?"
"Problem, Headmaster?" Professor Snape inquired innocently.
Dumbledore lifted a single eyebrow and waved a hand at the room behind the other. Snape glanced back.
"Nothing..." he replied. "It was nothing." Dumbledore nodded, and started to leave.
"Well, good day Severus," he called.
***
Professor Snape slowly closed the door and turned his eyes to the crevice in which the Slytherin student crouched. He put his hands behind his back and took a single step forward. Then another. And another. Until he was only three feet from her hiding place. He smiled down at her, not at all in a friendly manner.
"Well well well. I suppose you and I have a bit of a conversation before us, kitty cat," he said in a smooth, silky voice.
-That's what YOU think...- She pushed herself further back into the niche.
"Well? Are you going to talk? Or am I going to hex you out of that little corner?" he asked sweetly, expression clearly stating that he would be more than happy to do it. With a heavy feline sigh she skulked out of the corner and jumped up onto the desk.
-I hope he doesn't hex me anyway...-
Snape grudgingly put up his wand and sat opposite of the black-furred cat and looked into her green gaze. "Who are you and who do you belong to?"
"Mow."
"Don't play stupid with me, cat. You heard Albus. I know you can talk."
"Rrrowwr. Myow."
Snape sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Apparently this was going to be a long afternoon, and he had a class soon. "Fine. Be stubborn. I'll leave you here while I go to class and maybe you'll be more willing to talk later."
-It's not a willingness, Mr. Monochromatic, it's an ability! Or lack there of!-
But Snape was not a telepath, and he had shortly left, locking her in the room. She shook her head. He was extremely lucky she wasn't a true cat, for any real cat would have taken advantage of his rookie experience and the situation would turn ugly. As it was, she curled up in his leather chair to wait.
~*~*~*~