Hey everyone!! I just wanted to thank you all for the wonderful support you gave me on the first chappie of my first EVER HP story. It means the world to me, you guys rock my BEiNG!!
B. R. Wells : Heh, you would think so. Just keep reading and you'll find out shortly! Thankies for the review!!
Auntartic : Ah, to each his own. Are you a R/Hr shipper or a D/Hr shipper? Glad you read anyways and thanks for the support!
SesamE ChIckEN : Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed it so much. Hope you like the update!!
Lady Lampshade : Hehe, thankies! That was one of my favorite parts, too. Hope you're still reading!
Quist : YOU ROCK! Hehe, thankies for following me to a different fandom, you have no idea how much that means to me! And I'm glad it made you laugh ;) I hope you like the next chappie. O, in case you're curious, I'm thinking I'll update Paradise next Tuesday. Thankies again!!
thesimspokehamtarofan : Haha, thank you very, very much! Here's your update, hope you're still with me!
Mrpadget : heh heh heh. Harry's asking the same question right about now. Read on to find out! Thankies for the review!!
Nightwing 509 : Good, I'm glad I made you laugh! Here's your update! Hope it lives up to your expectations!!
MamaSaid : Thankies! I'm happy that you thought it was funny, that means a lot! Thankies again for the nice review
Hermione Graner Potter : Thankies! Yayeh for us H/Hr shippers, buddy. We gotta stick together!!
Rukato86 : He did kinda deserve it, didn't he? Your wish is my command! Hope you like it!
Cara : Awww, thankies! I'm glad you liked it that much!
Me222 : The boy is a bit accident-prone, isn't he? Heh, glad you found it funny and thanks for the review!
azulrealms : Yesh! I love my ship! I'm glad you appreciate it as well. Thankies for the review and here's your update!
Space Dementia : Thanks! I'm glad you thought so! Here's the next installment!
whaaa : haha, I know I'm slightly evil with the cliffies. But I'm glad you wanna read more. Thanks!
pottersweetie : Aww, thanks!! hands you a tissue I really appreciate the support!!
artemisgirl : Hehe, I'm glad you like the plotline. To be frank, I wasn't quite sure how it would go over, but I'm glad you found it interesting. Thanks!!
Monkeystarz: YOU ROCK!! Hehe, thankies so much for following me from RK to HP. I appreciate the read time so very, very much. And thanks for the nice, encouraging reviews, as always ;)
Rikainiel : Glad you found it amusing! Hope the next part lives up to the first part. Thankies!!
Sofia: Thanks! I hope you're still reading
Tim Chs : HAH! Right on, friend, right on. That'll have to be Hermione's catch phrase from now on. Thanks for the nice review!
Alora : Why thanks! And thank you so much for your support in advance, it means a lot!!
lluna21 : Glad you enjoyed it! And here's your update. Thankies for the review!
l-to-dah-izzie : It's good to hear that you liked it! And your update has arrived. Thanks!
Mudblood128 : Here's your chapter update. Hope you like it!!
Title: 9 Lives for Harry Potter
Rating: PG-13 due to occasional strong/suggestive language, only when appropriate
Disclaimer: All characters affiliated with the Harry Potter series are property of J.K. Rowling and Scholastic Press
Summary: Harry has a problem… a furry problem… Somehow, he ends up in the body of Hermione's favorite cat, Crookshanks! But no magic is going to save him this time! H/Hr, R&R please!
"Well, come on, Crookshanks!" Hermione sounded a bit agitated now as she chided her 'cat'. "Better hurry or we'll wake the whole dorm up!"
Suddenly, a pillow came flying in Hermione's general direction and smacked her square in the back of the head. "Mm….Too late for that…" someone mumbled behind her. Harry turned his furry little head to see a disgruntled Lavender rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and looking quite put out with Hermione.
"Good God, Hermione. It's Saturday. D'you ever sleep in?" Parvarti propped herself up with one arm and parted the curtains around her bed.
"Er…" Hermione was having a bit of trouble producing words. All of her attention was focused on her ginger cat clawing her leg to pieces. "Crookshanks!" She chided through clenched teeth.
"Where'r you going anyway?" Lavender slurred her speech together as she tried to steady herself on the stone floor.
Hermione sighed. "J-just down to the common room…"
Parvarti's eyes were fully opened now. "To do what?" She said, almost too eagerly.
"Just some homework…" She fidgeted. This third degree happened too often when one lived with Parvarti and Lavender.
"Really?" Lavender sauntered towards her. "This early? Come, come now, Hermione, even you're not that eager…"
"W-why else would I be going down there?" Hermione made a bee line for the door, her hand outstretched to the knob-
"Oh, I don't know… Maybe you're trying to catch an early morning glimpse of a certain-"
Her hand fell back and automatically went to her hips, "Lavender. Drop it. Now."
"A certain Harry James Potter, perhaps?"
Hermione could feel her face getting hotter and hotter. She tugged at her bathrobe collar. At the mention of Harry, Crookshanks had jumped up attentively on Lavender's bed and was now receiving a relaxing back rub from her.
"Crookshanks, You traitor! Get DOWN here!" Hermione roared.
"Just a wild guess, Hermione. No reason to get so flustered…" Lavender turned towards Parvarti then and whispered shrilly, "I always said she could never contain her emotions properly…"
"I…This…this has nothing to do with him! I'm just going down to do some homework, if that's ok with you, Princess Lavender."
"Oh, come off it, Hermione. You think we don't hear you mumbling his name at night?" At this point, Parvarti threw herself back on the bed and pretended to be a sleeping, tossing, turning, gasping Hermione. "Harry, Harry! NO, HARRY! Don't go! Harry-Remember-Padfoot-!"
Lavender bent double laughing. "I-aha-I swear, Parvarti, that's good! Sounds just like her, all that incoherent drabble!"
Hermione's hands were fisted at her sides. Crookshanks let out something between a hiss and a moan at the mention of Padfoot. "Will You Just Shut UP! Both of you! You don't know anything! Leave Harry OUT OF THIS!"
Parvarti and Lavender went silent.
Good. She had finally won.
Just then, Lavender clasped her hand to her mouth. The corners of her lips turned up in a smile. "Hn…hn hn….ha ha ha….ha Ha HA! HAHAHAHAHA!!!" The two girls were in hysterics again. Hermione, terribly frustrated, headed towards the door as Crookshanks jumped up on her shoulder.
In a few seconds, she would have peace in the Common Room…
She flung the door open…
Took a definite step outside, and-
Lavender's voice reached her ears again. Hermione silently cursed as she spun around to see Lavender crouched down on the left side of her bed, staring at something on the floor. "Oooh! Hermione! What's this?"
It was a pile of liquid…no…cloth….beautiful silver cloth….
For the second time that day, Hermione's fists balled up as it clicked in her head. Harry's Invisibility Cloak. In her room. What in the name of Dumbledore was it doing in HERE?!
Lavender was about to pick the cloak up when Hermione stalked over, eyebrows knotted, and threw out a hand towards her. "Give it."
"Well, that's a funny way of asking for something. You know, Hermione, this is quite pretty. What is it?"
"Give it!"
"A gift from Harry Potter, perhaps?"
Lavender had just cut the thread that Hermione's sanity had been hanging by. Before Lavender knew it, she was confronted with the blunt end of Hermione's wand.
"Lavender! I am very, very angry right now, and I really need to release some of this pent-up energy. So, either you give it to me, or I'll switch your brain with Mrs. Norris's and we'll see how much you like eating rats as opposed to being one!"
Lavender contemplated the situation for a moment, and then reluctantly handed over Harry's Invisibility Cloak. Hermione snatched it from her and bundled it under her arms.
"Hermione…what is it?" Parvarti asked very cautiously from the other side of the room while using a pillow as a shield.
"It's…my new dress robes."
"Bought to impress Harry, no doubt!" Lavender countered.
"Bugger off!!" And with that, Hermione slammed the door behind her.
Parvarti and Lavender passed a few seconds of silence staring at the reverberating door. "Obsessed. She's utterly obsessed." Lavender stated.
"I fully agree." Parvarti shook her head solemnly as she plopped down on her pillow and fell immediately asleep.
Harry let out a meow of joy.
She talked about him. In her sleep! She cared enough to actually dream about him! Maybe the situation between them wasn't hopeless… could she…love him?
Well, it didn't look too promising right this minute.
Harry could feel Hermione's whole body shaking from her shoulder as she walked down the stairs. She was gripping the Invisibility Cloak with such… ferocity…Harry had never seen her this angry before.
"I'll kill him…" she was mumbling. "I will kill him, sever his limbs, and bury them in different locations so NO ONE will be able to find enough of him to mourn!" The kitty hairs on Harry's back bristled. "Ugh!" Hermione grabbed 'Crookshanks' off her shoulder and sent him flying through the air. To Harry's surprise, he landed perfectly on his feet at the bottom of the staircase. He shook his head and twitched his ears a bit, batting the end of his tail back and forth and staring up at Hermione.
At once, her expression softened and she hurried down the length of the staircase, stopping and peering down in 'Crookshanks' face. "Oh…I'm sorry…" She scooped the cat up again and held him like a baby in her arms. He let out a contented purr. 'That's strange,' she thought, 'usually he hates to be cuddled…'
Hermione absently stroked 'Crookshanks' as she plopped down on one of the worn Common Room sofas. "It's not your fault, I know." Harry snickered at this, but she didn't seem to notice. "I'm just…so angry." Her stroking became more of a beating at this point. 'Crookshanks' winced under the pressure.
"ImeanhonestlyHowDAREheSneakingintoMYroominthemiddleofthenightIbethewasgoingtoplayatrickonme,orsomethingelseequallyhorribleIt'sjustasIalwaysthought,theboyhasNOrespectforme!I'mjustapushovertohim!"
At this point, 'Crookshanks' wrestled himself free from Hermione's grip. He jumped to the floor and let out a long hiss.
"What's you're problem this morning?" Hermione chided, and then went on talking to herself. "I swear, when I see him, I will fricassee him…..It won't be pretty." She jumped up and started pacing the room. "I'll feed him to a hungry dragon…or maybe my wand will 'malfunction' and turn him into a pincushion or something…"
Harry was beginning to think it was a very good thing that he was stuck in the body of a cat. A pincushion? How mad could she be?
'Great, Harry Potter,' he thought, 'the girl you love Absobloodylutely hates you now…' Maybe he could lay low in this furry body for a while until she calmed down enough for him to relay a message to her….
Harry stole a peek at her. She had stopped pacing and was now sitting on a windowsill across the room from him. The sun was just beginning to rise and her hair looked like a golden halo infused with the sunlight that was filtering through the window. Harry managed a small cat sigh before Hermione turned towards him and began talking again.
"But you know what will happen, don't you Crookshanks? I'll be furious at him for the first five minutes I see him, then he'll ruffle his hair or fidget for his wand in his pockets…or look at me, well, you know….the way he looks at me sometimes… and I'll find it's harder to stay mad at him than to give in…"
If Harry could have yelled, or jumped up and down, or even laughed, he would have. Unfortunately, in his present state, all he could do was loudly purr and jump into Hermione's lap.
"But right now…" She mumbled, "I still want him dead."
Suddenly, Harry's sensitive ears picked up footsteps coming from the boy's staircase. He sunk his claws into Hermione's lap.
"Ouch!" She stood up quickly, once again sending Harry falling towards the floor.
Someone spoke from the shadows of the staircase. Someone…slightly agitated.
"O-oy, Hermione…" Ron stifled a yawn. "'S Saturday…D'you have to keep screaming down here? I was having a perfectly lovely dream about beating the knickers off the Slytherin Quidditch team, and all of a sudden-" He rubbed his eyes and stretched, "Lee starts shouting in your voice about how he wants to turn Harry into a…needle, was it?"
"Pincushion."
"Ah…" Ron tried to rub the sleep out of his eyes. "'S right. Slipped my mind."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "Is that all you came down here for?"
"…Someone's in a chord today. And no, that wasn't," Ron put his hands on his hips in a weak imitation of Hermione, "all I came down here for. Dean and Neville want you to shove it. There's so much noise they can't even…dream straight!"
"What, no word from the fearless invisible boy?" She spat, her anger bubbling up to the surface again.
"What're you going on about now?"
"As if you don't know, Ron Weasley! Here!" Hermione lobbed the Invisibility Cloak at Ron's forehead. "Give this to Mr. Harry Potter and tell him to shove it so far up his a-"
"Hermione, what are you doing with this?" Ron spread the cloak between his two hands.
"You can march right up to your dorm room and ask that inconsiderate, disrespectful best friend of yours where the he-"
"If you're talking about Harry, he's not up there. I came down here because I thought he was with you."
"-ll he gets off- wait, what? What d'you mean he's not up there?"
"I mean that Harry is…not…up…there. What else would I mean?!" Crookshanks jumped up on Ron's shoulder unexpectedly and almost toppled the poor red-head over. "Crazy cat!" He exclaimed while trying to pry Crookshanks' claws from his bathrobe.
The color drained from Hermione's face. "Ron…" Ron was now entangled in a fight with Crookshanks…and losing. "Ron?" Crookshanks had advanced to boxing Ron's ears. "RON!"
"WHAT?! Bloody What, Hermione?"
"Lavender found the Invisibility Cloak beside my bed this morning. No sign of Harry. At first…at first I thought…." She blushed and stared at the floor. "I thought he might have been spying on me and left the cloak by accident. But, you don't think-"
"-That he was in some kind of trouble, so he came to you for help, and you slept on while something horrible happened to him?"
Hermione's usually collected expression morphed into one of horror.
"Er…..no…..no, not at all…" Ron tried to recover and Hermione's eyes welled up with tears. "Oh, come on Hermione, buck up. He's got to be somewhere. People just don't disappear! You search the libray, the owlery, and the dungeons, and I'll search the great hall and the grounds. Ok?"
"I…I think we should tell Professor McGonagall…"
"You'd say that if Harry got a splinter in his wand hand!"
Hermione huffed, visibly offended. "Would not! I just don't think it's very smart for us to be running around Hogwarts alone if Harry is missing."
"But Harry is not missing! And what're you going to say to McGonagall, anyway? 'We didn't know where Harry was, so we immediately jumped to the conclusion that You-Know-Who has eaten him and we've come to alert you'? That sounds really mature of us…"
"………."
"….Look….Hermione…If we don't find him, I'll go to McGonagall with you, ok?"
Hermione scowled, not wanting to admit defeat to Ron, and clutching her bathrobe tight around her, ran off in the direction of the owlery with Crookshanks attached to her shoulder and meowing loudly.
"Bloody cat." Ron mumbled as he made his way towards the Great Hall. "Strange, though… Seems more annoying than usual…"
larachan