Okay, I'm back. First off, I've decided on the names of the cats, much thanks to those who suggested them. Thanks to Rosmerta for Fizz, Blanche, and Winston; Mykerinos for Dolly; and Sage and Snape for Raven, and Cirrus. You guys are great! Oh, and check out my new story please! *shameless self-promotion* It's a HG/SS fic called "Perfect Sacrifice." Please Read/review!
"Miss Harper, I really don't want to put a tracing spell on you, so stop wandering off!"
Despite Snape's best efforts, the two of them had ended up in Diagon Alley after all. After spending a good hour and a half wandering around, he had finally given up and gone to the Apothecary, against his better judgment. Poppy is going to have my hide for this one . . . He'd already had to literally drag her away from a display of glass cauldrons, wincing at the thought of what she might manage to do to the fragile-looking things. Now, just as he had predicted, Kerri was throwing longing glances at the Menagerie. Twice now he'd looked up from something and seen her halfway out the door. By the third time, Madame Jiggers, one of the shops owners, nearly dropped a basket of toad legs trying not to laugh.
Finally, she leant over the counter and tapped Snape on the shoulder. "So, Severus, when did you acquire this little tagalong? I don't remember her from the last time."
Snape rolled his eyes and told her the whole grisly story, (edited a tad, of course), ending with, "So, since she's about as accident-prone as a blinded dragon, I didn't want to unleash her on Diagon Alley without supervision."
The tall, scrawny witch chuckled bemusedly, shaking her head. "That's quite the story, Severus. But really, Veritaserum? Quite the project for a girl her age. Should take her the rest of the term at least. I thought you wanted her out of your hair?"
"I would like nothing better, but I am her teacher, and I don't have a choice in this matter. Dumbledore decided that she-" He turned to gesture at Kerri. Or at least the spot where she used to be. Snape blinked. "Ah, hells . . ."
Bloody git. I want to go see one of the few people on God's green earth who will talk to me and he stops me every time. We've already found all the ingredients we need, anyway. Kerri scowled rebelliously, conscious that she was acting like a first year, and not caring a bit. He's talking to a friend of his. Bugger. It's only fair that I should be allowed to do the same.
She carefully inched toward the door, staying as quiet as she could. Not that that had helped the first three times. She thought that she had learnt something about sneaking around while staying with the Aurors, but Snape somehow always managed to catch her. But maybe now, now that he was talking to the shopkeeper. She carefully eased the door open, slipping through as soon as she could. Yes! Once out of the shop, she walked quickly across the street, not noticing the tall blond man watching her.
There it was. The Magical Menagerie. Once her home away from home. She had been wanting to come back here for a while. She hadn't visited much since Neville's parents . . . She gritted her teeth. Now was not the time to think of such things. Think of seeing an old friend again instead. Heartened somewhat by the thought, she headed up to the door.
"Kerri? Little Kerri? Is that you?" A tiny, bespectacled witch looked up from a cage of puffballs at the sound of the door opening. Kerri smiled. The Menagerie one of the few places that she had always felt welcome. When she had been younger, the Longbottoms had often brought her here. This was where she had first found her love for animals, despite the bites and scratches she received from sticking her small arms into the cages. More than once, Mrs. Manders, the owner, had needed to pull out her emergency store of antidotes to keep "little Kerri" from swelling up and dying from the poisonous sting of something or other. But even her brushes with the most dangerous of animals had not dissuaded her from returning again and again.
In fact, this was where she had gotten her very first cat. Well, mostly a cat. Kind of. Willow had been the result if an accident involving a Combining Elixir. Combining Elixirs were potions used mostly by the Ministry of Magic to breed new animals for various purposes. They basically worked by analyzing the DNA of two non-human creatures, and from that, creating an entirely new creature out of thin air. It was extremely high level magic, and you didn't always get what you were expecting. Normally, such potions were kept under lock and key, but one day, Mrs. Manders had just finished brewing some when a particularly mischievous cat had gotten out of its cage. To make a long story short, the Elixir had spilled onto the cat and one of the puffballs, and when the mist cleared, she had discovered a very put-out looking Willow sitting on the cupboard. The next day, when Kerri came wandering in, Willow attached himself to her and refused to let go. A lot of confusion and a little screaming later, Kerri had her first cat, and Willow had a steady supply of food.
"It is you!" the little witch exclaimed happily, "I haven't seen you for months. Where have you been all this time?"
Kerri went over to give the older witch a hand with the puffball she was trying to wrestle into the cage. "The Aurors finally agreed to let me go to Hogwarts. I came to Diagon Alley to get some potion ingredients."
"So you are studying potions, just like you hoped you would. Who's the potions professor at Hogwarts again?" Before Kerri could open her mouth, Mrs. Manders continued, "Severus Snape isn't it? You know, he-"
Feeling neglected, Willow let everyone present know that he would like some attention, please. Mrs. Manders descended upon him like a protective mother, interrupting herself. "And Willow too!" She scooped the tiny cat up. "You know, I have a new recipe for treats that I've been wanting to try out, and I think you're just the cat for the job." She transferred the motherly affection to the girl who was already poking around the cages. "Looking for anything, dear?"
"Mmm . . Nothing specific, actually. I was just wondering . . . that is . . . " She trailed off, hopeful.
Mrs. Manders threw back her head and guffawed. Willow yowled and bristled at the sudden loud noise. Kerri barely resisted the temptation to cover her ears. Many of those who first met Mrs. Manders came away thinking that she was a quiet, proper little witch. However, those who heard her laugh quickly retracted their previous opinion. The tiny witch had a hearty and loud, very loud, laugh, that had a tendency to fill the room.
After a couple moments, she settled down, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Heheheh, I don't know why I even bother to-heheh-ask any more. You're always checking to see if I have any cats that aren't selling. Well now, let me see. . ." She bustled off to the back, motioning for Kerri to follow her. Tapping her wand against the doorknob, Mrs. Manders grinned at Kerri's expectant look and shoved open the door.
Mrs. Manders back room worked a little like wizardly tents; the door opened up into a room she kept somewhere else. Each type of animal she sold had it's own back room. As she had said to Kerri many times, "What, you think I leave them in the cages all the time? Animals don't thrive in cages! Better for them to have a place to romp around."
At the moment, the door opened to what she termed her "cat heaven." No less than two dozen cats lounged about, ranging in age from a kitten barely able to walk, to several fully grown, (and very large) cats. The two witches picked their way through them to one of the corners of the cat-laden room. As they passed, several cats looked up and yowled, asking what time lunch was. Mrs. Manders ignored them, and began to dig underneath a pile of cushions. As Kerri watched from the side, the little witch managed to extricate a short, black tail before it twitched and vanished even further into the pile. With a grimace, Mrs. Manders pulled a pair of leather gloves from her belt and put them on. "Little dickens has really sharp claws, and I don't think she's going to come out on her own." she muttered before diving in again.
After a few very vehement hisses of protest, the cat was finally revealed. Mrs. Manders scooped her up into her arms and stroked her for a while to calm her down before handing her to Kerri. It was a small tortoiseshell cat, barely out of kittenhood, and obviously very agitated, even after the petting. Kerri made soothing noises, wincing when the cat readjusted her position, digging her claws in for a better grip.
"She's too high strung to be a familiar, at least for now." said Mrs. Manders, wiping her brow. "She needs a mothering sort of cat to take care of her, but none of these lazy bums feel like adopting. And so, just the other day, I was thinking, 'Pity I don't have Blanche around, she'd know what to do with her,' and then I remembered that I gave her to you." She gave the girl a sly look, "So, what do you think? Feel like having an eighth cat?"
"Do you have to ask?" Kerri smiled at the little cat, "This is perfect. I thought Willow was going to run off if Blanche tried mothering him one more time. And now she'll have someone to look after who won't try to bite her tail off." She looked over at Mrs. Manders. "Does she have a name?"
"Not yet, that I know of. She refuses to tell me, or any of the other cats." She let out a theatrical sigh. "Maybe you'll have better luck with her."
A little bell set in the wall began to ring, signaling a customer's arrival. "Oh, you'll have to excuse me, dear. Customer in the shop, you know." Mrs. Manders hurried through the door, leaving Kerri to coo over the cat in her arms. A moment later, she stuck her head back through the door, "Kerri, dear, I hate to interrupt, but Severus Snape is out here looking for you, and I don't think he's very happy."
Kerri nearly dropped the cat in shock. "Oh no! I forgot about him!"
Snape crossed his arms and glared at Kerri. "Well?" he demanded. I knew it. I knew this would happen. I turn my back for one minute and she's gone and got herself another cat. He transferred his glare to the small, multicolored cat cowering in her arms. And it's the feline version of her. Wasn't one enough?
Kerri noticed the direction of his glare, "Stop it, you're scaring her!"
Snape sighed. "Miss Harper, it doesn't really matter to me what you do during your spare time, but at the moment, we are working on a school project of yours. If you don't show a little more responsibility, I may have to assign you something else to do. Something that someone of your limited talents can actually handle." He was stretching the truth as to not give away the terms of their bargain, but she caught on readily enough.
She flushed with anger at the insinuation that he might refuse to brew the Veritaserum, but kept her mouth shut. Well, at least she knows when to shut up in public, Snape thought smugly. Out loud he said, "Perhaps you should leave that animal here until you are done obtaining your ingredients. I shudder to think of the amount of damage that the two of you could inflict on the Apothecary."
She bit her lip and stared at her feet. Snape managed to stifle the smirk threatening to bloom on his face. She didn't dare snap at him here and ruin her "sweet and innocent" reputation. She knew it too, and the stress from not launching herself at his throat was getting to her. He could almost hear her teeth grinding together. She took several deep breaths and finally looked him in the eye.
"Of course, Professor. I think that would be for the best." Her voice was relatively calm and controlled. A casual observer would have no idea of her true thoughts at the moment. Snape, on the other hand, had a fairly good idea, due to the glint in her eye that said, quite clearly: 'I'm going to vivisect you, Professor. And I will enjoy it immensely.' She smiled then, an overly polite grin that would have boded poorly for him if she had been anyone else. For instance, anyone with a minimum of physical and/or magical strength. As is, the effect came off as an empty threat. He allowed the smirk to tug at his lips as she turned to hand the cat to Mrs. Manders.
Completely straight faced by the time the two witches were facing him again, he motioned for the girl to follow him back to the Apothecary. She followed him reluctantly, waving to Mrs. Manders as she went.
Once outside, Snape cleared his throat. "Miss Harper, do you think-"
"Well, well. What have we here?" Snape barely kept himself from leaping out of his skin as an arm draped over his shoulders. "A little shopping trip?"
"Hello, Lucius." Snape said between his teeth, "I didn't expect to see you here."
Snape silently went through a list of his favorite curses and answered curtly, "Miss Harper."
"Ah, so this is the girl who mouthed off to my son. Your new student."
"By order of Dumbledore, yes." Snape didn't like the inflection on the word "student," but what could he say? He risked a glance over at the student in question and saw that she had turned a sickly gray-white. He could only hope that she wouldn't give Lucius the same treatment she had given his son. Keep your mouth shut, girl. If you choose one time in your life to go back to your terrified kitten personality, let this be the time.
He wasn't disappointed. While Kerri could stand up to the younger Malfoy, the older one scared her to death. "H-h-h-hello, s-s-sir." she managed.
"It's a pleasure to see that you're learning your place, child. Perhaps that little lesson you had a week back taught you something?" The tall man chuckled as he saw comprehension dawn in her eyes. She flushed in anger and prepared to tell him what she thought of him. Snape, sensing the oncoming personality switch, snagged her arm and shoved her through the Apothecary door, shutting it firmly behind her.
Disaster averted, he turned to Lucius, slipping easily into his Death Eater persona. "Now that she's out of earshot, did you have something to tell me?"
The other man shrugged. "Only to make sure you remembered our little post-Halloween party. I would be so upset if you missed it, Severus. You being one of my old friends and all."
I'm sure. "Don't worry, Lucius, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Lucius smiled, but his eyes remained cold. "I didn't think you would. We're expecting some very important guests, and I expect that they would like to meet you. You have made such a name for yourself lately." Sweeping a short bow, he continued without giving Snape a chance to respond. "I must be on my way now, Severus. Give my regards to Dumbledore, will you?"
Snape stayed rooted to the spot as Lucius swept away. He kept himself still, not allowing any of his boiling emotions to show. Lucius' parties were horrible enough, but he could guess who the "important guests" were, and the thought made him break out in a cold sweat. So Voldemort himself would be there. And he would have to go alone to face him. Lucius' parting remark had been his way of daring Snape to tell Dumbledore of the party, to beg for help. And if he did, they would know for certain of his double-agent status. Dumbledore trusted him to report on Death Eater whereabouts, but in this case it was far too dangerous. He would have to go alone, without telling anyone. It might very well mean his death.
With a heavy heart, he turned to go back into the Apothecary, but was brought up short by the figure in the door. Kerri's face was as white as paper, her eyes overbright and accusing. A spot of blood showed on her lower lip where she had bit it. He didn't know how long she had been listening to the two of them, but it had obviously been long enough to condemn him once more.