Chapter 13: The Misses

The next thing Harry could make out clearly was the black carriages that took everyone but the First year students from the Hogsmeade station to Hogwarts. He was surprised to make out the Thestrals as well, looking terrifying as usual with the black coats covering their skeletons, leaving holes only for the leathery black wings. They reminded him of his frantic ride through the night time sky, when he had tried to save Sirius – but failed. He would have given anything not to see them. Why were they visible? And could the others see them, too? Then he understood: This was Snape's view on things. He had watched his sister die when he was four. Of course he would have been able to see these beasts from the beginning.

The boy took a few steps back at the sight of the beasts, but Lucius pushed him gently onwards, towards one of the carriages.

"Don't worry, they are harmless. But don't talk about them and don't stare at them. Not everyone can see them."

Without another word the blond boy climbed in and his dark-haired shadow followed noiselessly, though throwing a nervous glance to the front of the coach as he entered. Once Narcissa and Avery had joined them Snape opened the folds of his cloak and gently pulled out the kitten he had saved from the alley. He put it in his lap where it curled up comfortably and started purring.

"You were so lucky that my parents didn't catch that … thing", Lucius told him and pointed a long finger at the animal that was just yawning widely and looked at everyone in turn with lazy eyes.

"They can't stand cats."

"And I guess that runs in the family, doesn't it?" Narcissa asked him while blinking at Snape and stroking the cat behind its ears. She obviously thought the "thing" adorable.

"I don't know, for me cats are just … dirty and … false and … and you pulled it out of the rubbish!"

The teenager shuddered, moving as far away from the purring fur ball as possible. Snape seemed unimpressed and totally content with caressing his new pet.

"We are allowed to have cats at Hogwarts and I don't think anyone will ask me where I got her from. Everybody will think she's a gift from my parents. After all", he added thoughtfully, "nobody knows my parents."

He chuckled to himself silently and ignored Lucius' death stare. When the carriage stopped he put the cat back inside his pocket and walked into the Great Hall with the others, bouncing a little bit as he entered the familiar building and found his place at the familiar table. Making sure again that his pet was safely tucked away and sleeping he glanced around at the banners decorating the room, up at the enchanted ceiling that showed the same starry night they had seen outside, over to the teachers' table. The headmaster's eyes met his and he quickly turned away from the twinkling blue, his hands gripping the edge of the table as he apparently tried to suppress anger flooding through him.

The large doors opened once more and Professor McGonagall marched in this year's new students, all of them looking terrified and impressed. There were a lot of them and the Sorting Ceremony seemed endless. Snape's stomach rumbled audibly and he looked ruefully at Crabbe on his right side. The older boy smiled at him and slid a hand into his pocket, pulling out a slightly crushed cookie which he offered to his neighbour. Snape took it gratefully and started nibbling at it while watching yet another boy being sorted into Ravenclaw. That house would be bursting this year.

Inside the boy's pocket the cat had started to purr loudly, attracting the attention of one of the elder Slytherins.

"Are you that hungry or do you have a little dragon in your pocket?" he asked, dark-brown hair hanging into his equally dark eyes. His shoulders were broad and his build rather heavy. He didn't look like someone you wanted to cross and in his voice there hadn't been the slightest hint of amusement. If possible, Snape got even smaller, put a protective hand across his pocket and shook his head hastily.

"Leave him alone, Rastaban", Lucius shot across the table. Judging from the look on his face that boy wasn't one of his favourite house mates.

"You don't need to know everything that's going on here. There are already too many others who consider that to be their job."

The two boys glared at each other for a while and the young Snape was so caught up in that spectacle that he didn't even notice the end of the ceremony and hardly heard the headmaster's welcoming words. Suddenly the tables were laden with food. Delicious aromas drifted through the Great Hall and coaxed the tiny cat out of her owner's shielding cloak. With one short and clumsy jump she was on the table and just busy burying her furry little head in a tureen with mashed potatoes when an amused shriek came from the Gryffindor table.

"Look, how cute! Snivelly has found himself a girlfriend over the holidays!" the unmistakable voice of Sirius Black cut through the noisy chatter and clinking of forks and plates.

"Oi, Snivelly! Was it hard to find an animal as filthy and greasy as you?"

Snape reached across the table gracefully and stopped his pet from playing havoc with the rest of his classmates' supper. He shot the other boy a nasty look that was worthy of Bellatrix Black and then cradled the kitten in his arms, striking the soft fur behind her much too big ears and whispered:

"Don't listen to him. He's an idiot. And you are the cutest and most beautiful cat on the planet."

She seemed content in hearing that or maybe she was just content because he had started feeding her little bits of chicken with one hand while glaring across the table towards the giggling trio of boys who were pointing into his direction and making kissing noises every few seconds. Anyway, she didn't try to conquer the table anymore and fell asleep again on Narcissa's lap who had taken over the purring lump so that Snape could finally eat something as well. Lucius had found a place at the far end of the table, near Crabbe and Goyle. No matter how sweetly Narcissa smiled at him, he wouldn't take a seat beside her for the rest of the Welcoming Feast.

Ron pushed Harry lightly in the back.

"Hey, next time you have to stand up against Malfoy, try holding out a cat in front of you."

He chuckled quietly. Hermione didn't say anything but glanced at Harry from the side with a disapprovingly raised eyebrow.

"What?" he asked her, a little annoyed. She just shook her head.

Somehow he had the feeling she would have liked to comment on his father's and godfather's behaviour and he was glad she had kept her mouth shut. It was enough to hear his own thoughts in his head without getting her self-righteous opinion as well. Probably they were thinking the same anyway.

Christmas had to be near, because inside the bubble snow was covering the Hogwarts grounds and Snape was busy cleaning away the needles of one of the many fir trees Hagrid had dragged into the Great Hall. James Potter, Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were there as well, leaning against one wall and chatting about their latest Potions assignment. Lupin seemed to be uncomfortable watching the smaller boy work all alone for he tried to grab a broom and join the dark-haired Slytherin. His two companions stopped him, though, each resting a hand on his arm and shaking their heads.

Snape finally raised his head and glared at them.

"You know, we all got this detention from McGonagall last term. How come I'm the only one who ever does the bloody tasks Filch gives us?"

James smirked.

"Because you are so darn good at it, Snivelly. Just like at everything else. Apart from flying, isn't? Oh, I still remember the last lesson dearly, you clinging to your bucking broom for dear life and Alice McErlaine falling off hers because she had to laugh so hard."

The boy with the dishevelled shock of dark hair let out a false high pitched laugh while grabbing the broom he was actually supposed to use for cleaning and shaking it violently, pretending to be dragged along behind it.

Snape threw his cleaning rug to the floor and stormed at the other boy, extreme dislike in his dark eyes. He had his wand out before the others could react and was aiming it steadily at the broomstick in James' hand.

"Serpensor …"

He never finished the curse for Filch was coming around the corner just then, howling loudly.

"That stupid, useless beast! It should be killed. Hagrid should be killed!"

He started sobbing, pressing something bloody and mangled against his breast. Without glancing at the shocked boys once he stumbled past them and out into the yard. Four confused pairs of eyes followed him.

"Was that his cat?" whispered Lupin. "What's her name again …Fili…something."

"Filomena" Snape corrected him in an equally hushed voice. "Yes, I think so."

Sirius slowly looked from his friends to his favourite enemy, eyed Snape's still poised wand sceptically and tugged James at the shoulder. When the other boy looked at him he jerked his head towards the staircase leading up to Gryffindor tower and they both retreated quietly. Snape and Lupin were still staring after the crying caretaker and only when James yelled from the top of the stairs "Remus, are you coming?" the last of the three Gryffindors left, shrugging his shoulders at Snape before racing up the stairs to catch up with his friends.

Snape reached for the broom and the cleaning rug again, finished tidying up and then slowly followed the caretaker outside.

He found him near the Quidditch pitch, working frantically with a shovel on the frozen ground. There was still more hair on his head than in Harry's days and he looked in general less ragged. His face was flushed from crying and he was cursing in a way that made even Snape blush. Beside him on the floor lay the stiff body of a dead cat.

"What happened?" the boy asked quietly, kneeling down beside the cold little body and examining it closely. The flesh was torn and blood stained the grey tabby fur. It seemed that its neck had been broken and its throat slashed.

Filch shot round, startled to find a student there, the shovel still in his hand. He blinked a couple of times and then wiped the tears from his face.

"One of Hagrid's stupid dogs got her. Of course he says no, it must have been a fox or a wolf, but I know it was one of his creatures. He just has no control over them. No control!"

He hacked away angrily at the frozen earth until the hole was deep enough to make a decent grave for his pet. Gently he picked its remains up and placed it inside, stroking the crisp and bloody fur with a loving hand.

Inside the memory there was suddenly another memory. Another hole, dug into dark earth. Another hand stroking something that looked like black hair. The hand was smaller, though, and the hair didn't seem to belong to an animal.

The boy inside the bubble shook his head strongly as if to chase away unwanted thoughts. Then he took up the shovel and started covering the hole again with the sobbing caretaker kneeling beside him. The boy didn't look at the older man once but worked steadily on until the spot was even again and indistinguishable from the rest of the field apart from the missing snow. When he turned around Filch was gone.

Slowly Snape walked back towards the castle, his head hanging down, his hands fiddling with the folds of his cloak. He was obviously pondering something very important.

When he was inside again he drew a long breath, sighed heavily and started running towards the Slytherin common room.

"Grindelwald" he yelled at the coat of arms that blocked the entrance and stormed through, nearly knocking Goyle over who was parading up and down in front of the exit, clutching  a familiar looking little parcel and mumbling something under his breath.

"Sorry", Snape panted, not looking back but heading straight towards the fire place where his cat was curled up on a fluffy green rug. He gently picked her up, hid her underneath his cloak and stormed out again, this time knocking Goyle straight into the wall.

"What's up with him?" Narcissa asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at Lucius. The blond teenager shrugged.

"Who cares? As long as he gets the dirty little fur ball out of here."

He wandered over to her, took a seat beside her on the couch and stretched out his long legs comfortably, his heels on the spot the cat had occupied moments earlier.

Snape had finally stopped running, because the rash movements had caused his furry burden to moan and whimper. Now he was steadily walking along a dark corridor, pressing the little animal to his breast and whispering to her.

"It's not that I don't like you, you know? But the common room is not the right place for you. You get pushed around all the time and everybody wants to stroke you and touch you. You don't like that, do you?"

Yellow, slightly bulgy eyes looked into his dark ones. She seemed genuinely interested.

"And he is a nice guy. He likes cats and he knows how to treat you with respect. With him you can go anywhere you like in this school and he will always have time for you. Not like me. I have to leave you alone everyday for classes and stuff. Believe me", he finished, seemingly more to persuade himself than to persuade his animal companion, "you'll like it here."

The couple had reached the door to what appeared to be Filch's office. The boy raised a hesitant hand and threw a doubtful look at the purring cat in his arms. There was a muffled sob from behind the door. He drew up his chin determinedly and knocked.

After a few seconds and some rumbling noises the door creaked open, the caretaker's red eyes peering through the gap.

"What do you want?" he snapped at the boy. "I have no more jobs for you and your idiotic friends this evening. So bugger off!"

He was about to close the door again when Snape unravelled the cat from his coat and held her up wordlessly. The door was opened again, this time all the way, and Filch looked at him with a mixture of hope and despair.

"What's this supposed to mean? Do you want to brag, because your pet is still alive while mine lies buried outside in the cold?"

Tears were welling up in the man's eyes again, but the dark-haired boy stayed calm, putting the cat to the floor. She sniffed the caretaker's leg with dignified curiosity and then lazily wandered into the office, her tail twitching slightly.

The young Snape looked up at Filch.

"No. I just thought you might be lonely and I know how that feels. I guess she is lonely, too" he pointed towards the animal that was just examining a pair of heavy black boots, her head almost completely buried in one of them, "with me being gone all day. Maybe you could take her."

There seemed to be the need for more words, more explanations. However, neither of them had any, so Filch just took a step aside and let the boy step into his office. He closed the door and they both watched the muddy-coloured furry animal occupy the chair closest to the fire, curling up comfortably and gazing at them with wise old cat-eyes.

Filch cleared his throat.

"Cup of tea?" he asked without taking his eyes of his new roommate.

"Yes, that would be nice", Snape answered with a shy smile.

A/N:

Sorry it took so long this time, but I had to invest a little time in my relationship which suffers cruelly from my newfound creativity. Hopefully I'll have more time for myself again in the coming weeks, since I guess he know understands what writing means to me. And showing him your reviews kind of helped, too. *grin*

And don't worry, all of you, that cat was never in danger. I have three of those wonderful animals myself and killing the kittens earlier on nearly hurt as much as killing Susanna. I won't do it again anytime soon – presumably.

For those of you who wonder about what will happen after the "bubble bursts" so to speak – you'll have to be patient a little longer, because I plan on a few more memories involving Hogwarts staff and the Marauders, so it might take a little to get to the part "afterwards". But I will get there eventually and I already have some ideas worked out.

Thanks again for reading and reviewing. Please keep on doing both.

P.S. Lilith11: Yes, I do need English everyday. First of all my husband is Italian and English is our common language. Second I'm a language trainer for German Management Support. *grin*