"Robert! Robert! Are you deaf?"
His hearing was perfectly fine. He had just kept walking because he liked to make the other man run after him. It gave his life a sense of purpose. Seeing Deputy Headmaster Shackleton clutching his sides, gasping for breath made him feel all tingly on the inside.
"Robert, I need you to look into something. That muggle-born that was in your House, McGonagall, apparently in his haste to leave he left his cat behind. The parents sent a letter, they want the cat back. Do you know what happened to it?"
"Oh, of course I know what happened to it. Why it's in my pocket right now! Would you like to see it, or is my word good enough for you?"
Of all the ludicrous things, as if he would know what became of some cat left here over a month ago. He fought back a smile at Shackleton's frown.
"Robert, just look into it. That's an order."
Watching Shackleton's retreating form, Binns mimicked the other man.
"Robert, just look into it. That's an order."
Oh yes, tracking down some wayward cat ranked very highly on his list of things to do. Certainly he would look into it. He would look into it just as soon as…just as soon as…well he couldn't think of anything unlikely enough to be adequate, but suffice to say he had absolutely no intention of looking into the matter.
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The kitten laid before the fire the whole morning. Her eyes were fixed upon the door. If a kitten were able to scowl he was sure that was what the expression on her face was. As the morning hours ticked by she didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't play with any of her toys. Her attention never wavered from the door.
During the extended break between classes for lunch, when the door finally opened and Tom Riddle returned, the way she spent all her time waiting for the young man's return, he would have expected her to run right to him. Instead, when the young man approached she turned her head away from him. When a hand reached out to caress her, she avoided the hand and moved to lay on the bed. If she were a little girl right now, the expression on her face would surely be a pout.
This same scene had been playing out every day for some time now. The little kitten was not at all pleased with the current arrangement of staying in the empty rooms while the young man attended classes.
"Kitten, would you like to come with me to lunch?"
A sigh could be heard in the room as with a haughty look, the kitten again turned her head away in response. Even dangling a piece of string before her would not get her to look at him.
"My classes are boring. You are fortunate to get to stay here and chase your mouse while I am gone."
The young man used his wand to enchant a toy mouse to scurry around the room. The kitten just rested her head on her paws dejectedly and refused to play.
With a frown the young man gave up trying to appease the kitten and headed to the door alone. She picked up her head. The young man smiled when she ran to the door after him.
"Changed your mind about coming to lunch, I see."
When the young man bent down to pick her up, the kitten revealed she had not after all changed her mind. The young man scowled back at the kitten as the blood slowly trickled from the wounds she had provided him with. Still by the door, she sat on her haunches, piercing the young man with her gaze as she waited fearlessly for his response.
Up in a frame over the fireplace, he had long since come to the conclusion he would never understand the relationship between the two. Had anyone else dared to stand up to the young man in that way, or in any way for that matter, he was confident that the young man would not have delayed a moment before mercilessly crushing them.
"Fine. You can come to classes with me, but you had better behave. I hope you slept a lot this morning because we have History of Magic this afternoon. I can't allow you to fall asleep in classes."
When the young man reached down again to scoop up the little kitten, it was perhaps not as gently as he ordinarily would have, but it was by no means roughly. The kitten holding her head aloft appeared pleased to, as always, get her way.
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'For many hundreds of years, muggles have sought to purge the world of magic. By burning, hanging, drowning, quartering, and other means, they have tried to rid their world of our very existence. It is not enough for them to segregate and outlaw us, they will stop at nothing short of our complete annihilation.'
"Or so said Araminta Meliflua in her speech before the Ministry attempting to get Muggle-hunting legalized."
Robert Binns cleared his throat before continuing.
"This is not retribution for some great crime we have committed against them, but rather it is the natural response to their fear of us. When you are frightened, there are but two paths to choose - you can flee before that which frightens you, or you can stand and fight it."
Throughout the ages, this reaction has not been limited to muggles alone. Wizards too have been frightened and worked tirelessly to rid the world of those different from themselves. Often this conduct has extended not only to muggles, but to other magical beings as well.
Recently we discussed the actions of goblins, trolls, and giants, but we have not yet touched upon the travesties wizards have visited upon other wizards.
The world of wizardry was not always as you see it now. Once, long before your grandfather's fathers, the magic of wizards was very different and more diverse than what it is today. Oh, there have always been wanded wizards for as far back as our written histories can tell us, but long ago there were other kinds of magic.
There once existed Seers with Vision so accurate that those they aligned themselves with knew no fear. Perhaps those of you taking Divination have heard stories of Grimsby. The Ministry of Magic still possesses volumes of predictions made by him. They are stored in some of the highest security vaults, though it has been millenniums since anyone has been able to even read the language in which they were written.
In exchange for a comfortable, but modest living and what protections there were to be offered, Grimsby allied himself with a young lord from the province where he was born. The young lord grew to great wealth and power following the sage words of his Seer. No financial, political, or personal decision was made without consulting him. Even the selection of a consort was left to his discretion. And in all these matters the lord's trust was well placed for eventually the lord rose to be a King…"
That Riddle boy, now there was a devoted student. Granted the boy wasn't taking notes, but he was awake. And not only that, he was keeping his familiar awake as well. Each time the small kitten's head would droop, Riddle would shake his head and tell the kitten she wasn't allowed to fall asleep. If only all his students showed such devotion to History!
"…The King's rivals began to converse amongst themselves. 'T'was not right,' they said. 'T'was not just!' For one man to hold all the answers, all the power. Why if it were one of them who possessed such a gift, such a talent, would not they share it amongst the others? But of course, they agreed. It was selfish of the King to keep it from them. And so, for the greater good, they decided their course of action…"
That kitten, wasn't that the one Shackleton had been talking about? It certainly looked like the same gray and black kitten. No, impossible. He had seen that kitten over a month ago. This kitten didn't look to be much more than a month old. One of the student's familiars must have had kittens recently.
Perhaps there were more left. Perhaps he should look into acquiring a new familiar. He had the worst luck with them. Oh, they were nice enough in the beginning, but they just never seemed to last long, always dying or running off. Of course he wasn't all that good about remembering to feed them so maybe that had something to do with it. No, perhaps getting a new familiar wasn't such a good idea.
"…'So long as you will offer me your protection, I will offer you mine,' had said Grimsby. 'No harm shall befall you or your kingdom so long as you do not betray me.'
Though the castle was surrounded, the walls remained unbreached. Through the years, enough provisions had been stored by Grimsby's counsel to last many winters. However, the King still held doubts.
It was the sheer enormity of their combined armies that made the King doubt his most trusted servant. His kingdom so prosperous, so happy, yet so much smaller. Why if you counted every man, woman, and child in it, it would not equal half of the army before him.
In exchange for assurances that they would leave the rest of his Kingdom unharmed, the King turned Grimsby over to his enemies. Division sprang up then over what was to be done with him. Too many offered to take him in, manage his upkeep, and allow the others full access to him and his Visions. Not one trusted the other to keep their word.
So in the end, it was decided to divide him equally amongst all present. Something of the powers of unicorns can be transferred through the drinking of their blood so why could not the powers of other creatures be shared similarly. And so they decided…"
Well, so much for love of History. Once Riddle and his familiar had succumbed the whole class was asleep. He picked up a Defense Against the Dark Arts book from one of the student's desks. While the thunderous noise of it thumping against the floor didn't actually cause anyone to wake up, it did at least cause some of the class to stir in their slumber.
"…It is said that all true Seers to this very day are descended from those who drank the blood of Grimsby. However unlike vampires and werewolves, who can only reproduce asexually by biting or scratching an already existing person, they can only reproduce sexually. For this and other reasons they do not fully meet the criteria set out by the Ministry and are not as such technically classified as one of the damned races.
The Themis are, or rather were, classified as a damned race based on their soullessness despite their being able to reproduce sexually. They are actually the only of the damned races said to ever be capable of both sexual and asexual propagation based on the ability of a particular type of the Themis, which is no longer here nor there as the Themis are now officially classified by the Ministry as extinct. And as we all know, the Ministry is never wrong in these things.
Seers on the other hand are not classified as a damned race but, it is said the reason Seers Visions are often distorted and their warnings go unheeded is a kind of retribution, an eternal torment to punish them for the acts of their ancestors long ago."
As he looked up from his podium at the empty classroom before him, Binns frowned. He hadn't noticed the bell ringing and everyone leaving. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed it had happened some time ago. Perhaps he should pay a little more attention to the things going on around him.
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Albus Dumbledore continued reading the essay before him as the NEWT level class filtered into the room. Glancing up as he affixed a mark to the top of the essay, he noticed everyone had arrived.
"Copy down the notes on the board. When you are done, if you think you fully understand them you may begin. Those of you who have brought your familiars with you can practice today's transfiguration exercise on them."
Before he leaned down to reach into the bottom drawer of his desk, Albus noticed a strained expression on Tom Riddle's face. After he retrieved the box of buttons from the drawer, he continued speaking.
"Everyone else take a button from the box on my desk, transfigure it into a beetle, and go on from there."
Riddle's face was flushed. Albus shifted trying for a better view, but he couldn't see what it was Tom was hastily struggling to put into his satchel. By the time Tom made it to the front of his desk to get a button the young man had regained his composure.
As Tom returned to his seat, Dumbledore began reading the next essay in his stack. He knew he would easily be able to get through the few remaining first year essays before anyone finished copying the notes on the board.
At the end of the lesson after Tom returned his borrowed button, Albus watched the careful way he picked up his book satchel. Albus raised an eyebrow when a small gray claw darted out to scratch the young man. He sighed at the words he could overhear as Tom walked out the door.
"I had to put you in there. You don't know the kinds of things he wanted me to do to you."
He shook his head in wonder. Surely in seven years Tom had realized no lasting effects were to be had from the very brief transfigurations he required in his classes. Next class he would be sure to make it clear that those bringing familiars were by no means required to use them in their transfigurations.
He hadn't expected Tom Riddle of all people to be a cat person. Still, it was almost sweet that Tom wanted to protect his cat. Given Tom's usual attitude, it was reassuring to see evidence that such a tender, caring side existed.
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Potion Master Pomfrey exploded right after Tom Riddle's cauldron did.
"Come on people! You aren't first years, this is NEWT level work! Riddle, either you are an imbecile or you did that on purpose. Which is it?"
Tom glowered at the young professor staring down at him.
"I don't know what happened, sir. I followed your directions to the letter."
Pomfrey pointed to the hand writing on the board.
"Enlighten me, Mr. Riddle. Where exactly in my directions is the step instructing you to make your cauldron detonate?"
He watched Tom for a moment, waiting to see if the boy would respond. Riddle's familiar had dived under the table when the explosion started. As he turned to walk to the front of his classroom, he noticed it climb back onto the table to inspect the cauldron of one of Riddle's neighbors. Just before he reached his desk, he whirled around in anger as the neighbor's cauldron exploded.
"A week's worth of detention for both of you!"
Just because it was his first year teaching didn't mean he was going to let the students walk all over him. He knew the students had to be doing it on purpose. The potion they were supposed to be brewing today never would have reacted that way with just the ingredients they were supposed to be using.
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A/N Thank you for reviewing Star, Redwoman06, Tabby Girl, Static-Filled Star, pixi_stix, LinZE, CEA, Margo Wulfric.
I know chapter 25 was extremely short, but it was also extremely important. Consider anything that short posted by itself to be red flagged - read, reread, reread once more and remember for later. I'm not completely heartless though. I promise to only post one at the same time as a longer chapter either before or after it.
The portrait in Tom's room isn't anyone from the novels. He is just a random portrait of a man sitting in a chair next to a table with a bowl of fruit on it. A common enough portrait image from the time period he was painted in.
It hasn't been explicated stated how Kitten got to the McGongalls but little hints have been given.
In Chapter 19(FF labeled 20) Moody claims to have sent Grindelwald's daughter's kitten off to see if it was poisonous after it bit him.
In Chapter 4 Moody quoted Loki from a scene never shown. "Oh, don't worry Alastor. I'll take the kitten over to the Disposal of Magical Creatures Department and get her checked out to see if she in venomous. Let me borrow your cloak to throw over her, so she doesn't bite me too." Loki explained he choose to leave the decision of who Kitten ended up with to the fates.
Add in Thomas McGonagall's comments of his parents adopting her at an animal shelter in Chapter 22.…
Don't be too hard on Loki, he meant well. And wait till you see what her other options were.
You will find I seldom tell you things straight out. The closest you will ever get to a straight answer from me is when Harry asked Dumbledore if Peeves was McGonagall's poltergeist.
Usually I prefer to tell you things in a far more roundabout way. I have one chapter where a character is eating cereal and Snape asks, "What in the name of Merlin is that." He is told about the pink hearts, yellow moons, green clovers, purple horse shoes, and told they are, "Magically delicious." However at no point is Snape actually told it is Lucky Charms cereal. I'm betting Lucky Charms probably never made it back to England and I will need to cut that scene though.
There are all kinds of things that you might pick up on if you read carefully that won't hurt you terribly if you miss. Tons of foreshadowing and quite a few little jokes, like the name of Dippet's toad being Keys in relation to the title Hagrid used to introduced himself to Harry in the first novel.
His hearing was perfectly fine. He had just kept walking because he liked to make the other man run after him. It gave his life a sense of purpose. Seeing Deputy Headmaster Shackleton clutching his sides, gasping for breath made him feel all tingly on the inside.
"Robert, I need you to look into something. That muggle-born that was in your House, McGonagall, apparently in his haste to leave he left his cat behind. The parents sent a letter, they want the cat back. Do you know what happened to it?"
"Oh, of course I know what happened to it. Why it's in my pocket right now! Would you like to see it, or is my word good enough for you?"
Of all the ludicrous things, as if he would know what became of some cat left here over a month ago. He fought back a smile at Shackleton's frown.
"Robert, just look into it. That's an order."
Watching Shackleton's retreating form, Binns mimicked the other man.
"Robert, just look into it. That's an order."
Oh yes, tracking down some wayward cat ranked very highly on his list of things to do. Certainly he would look into it. He would look into it just as soon as…just as soon as…well he couldn't think of anything unlikely enough to be adequate, but suffice to say he had absolutely no intention of looking into the matter.
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The kitten laid before the fire the whole morning. Her eyes were fixed upon the door. If a kitten were able to scowl he was sure that was what the expression on her face was. As the morning hours ticked by she didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't drink, didn't play with any of her toys. Her attention never wavered from the door.
During the extended break between classes for lunch, when the door finally opened and Tom Riddle returned, the way she spent all her time waiting for the young man's return, he would have expected her to run right to him. Instead, when the young man approached she turned her head away from him. When a hand reached out to caress her, she avoided the hand and moved to lay on the bed. If she were a little girl right now, the expression on her face would surely be a pout.
This same scene had been playing out every day for some time now. The little kitten was not at all pleased with the current arrangement of staying in the empty rooms while the young man attended classes.
"Kitten, would you like to come with me to lunch?"
A sigh could be heard in the room as with a haughty look, the kitten again turned her head away in response. Even dangling a piece of string before her would not get her to look at him.
"My classes are boring. You are fortunate to get to stay here and chase your mouse while I am gone."
The young man used his wand to enchant a toy mouse to scurry around the room. The kitten just rested her head on her paws dejectedly and refused to play.
With a frown the young man gave up trying to appease the kitten and headed to the door alone. She picked up her head. The young man smiled when she ran to the door after him.
"Changed your mind about coming to lunch, I see."
When the young man bent down to pick her up, the kitten revealed she had not after all changed her mind. The young man scowled back at the kitten as the blood slowly trickled from the wounds she had provided him with. Still by the door, she sat on her haunches, piercing the young man with her gaze as she waited fearlessly for his response.
Up in a frame over the fireplace, he had long since come to the conclusion he would never understand the relationship between the two. Had anyone else dared to stand up to the young man in that way, or in any way for that matter, he was confident that the young man would not have delayed a moment before mercilessly crushing them.
"Fine. You can come to classes with me, but you had better behave. I hope you slept a lot this morning because we have History of Magic this afternoon. I can't allow you to fall asleep in classes."
When the young man reached down again to scoop up the little kitten, it was perhaps not as gently as he ordinarily would have, but it was by no means roughly. The kitten holding her head aloft appeared pleased to, as always, get her way.
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'For many hundreds of years, muggles have sought to purge the world of magic. By burning, hanging, drowning, quartering, and other means, they have tried to rid their world of our very existence. It is not enough for them to segregate and outlaw us, they will stop at nothing short of our complete annihilation.'
"Or so said Araminta Meliflua in her speech before the Ministry attempting to get Muggle-hunting legalized."
Robert Binns cleared his throat before continuing.
"This is not retribution for some great crime we have committed against them, but rather it is the natural response to their fear of us. When you are frightened, there are but two paths to choose - you can flee before that which frightens you, or you can stand and fight it."
Throughout the ages, this reaction has not been limited to muggles alone. Wizards too have been frightened and worked tirelessly to rid the world of those different from themselves. Often this conduct has extended not only to muggles, but to other magical beings as well.
Recently we discussed the actions of goblins, trolls, and giants, but we have not yet touched upon the travesties wizards have visited upon other wizards.
The world of wizardry was not always as you see it now. Once, long before your grandfather's fathers, the magic of wizards was very different and more diverse than what it is today. Oh, there have always been wanded wizards for as far back as our written histories can tell us, but long ago there were other kinds of magic.
There once existed Seers with Vision so accurate that those they aligned themselves with knew no fear. Perhaps those of you taking Divination have heard stories of Grimsby. The Ministry of Magic still possesses volumes of predictions made by him. They are stored in some of the highest security vaults, though it has been millenniums since anyone has been able to even read the language in which they were written.
In exchange for a comfortable, but modest living and what protections there were to be offered, Grimsby allied himself with a young lord from the province where he was born. The young lord grew to great wealth and power following the sage words of his Seer. No financial, political, or personal decision was made without consulting him. Even the selection of a consort was left to his discretion. And in all these matters the lord's trust was well placed for eventually the lord rose to be a King…"
That Riddle boy, now there was a devoted student. Granted the boy wasn't taking notes, but he was awake. And not only that, he was keeping his familiar awake as well. Each time the small kitten's head would droop, Riddle would shake his head and tell the kitten she wasn't allowed to fall asleep. If only all his students showed such devotion to History!
"…The King's rivals began to converse amongst themselves. 'T'was not right,' they said. 'T'was not just!' For one man to hold all the answers, all the power. Why if it were one of them who possessed such a gift, such a talent, would not they share it amongst the others? But of course, they agreed. It was selfish of the King to keep it from them. And so, for the greater good, they decided their course of action…"
That kitten, wasn't that the one Shackleton had been talking about? It certainly looked like the same gray and black kitten. No, impossible. He had seen that kitten over a month ago. This kitten didn't look to be much more than a month old. One of the student's familiars must have had kittens recently.
Perhaps there were more left. Perhaps he should look into acquiring a new familiar. He had the worst luck with them. Oh, they were nice enough in the beginning, but they just never seemed to last long, always dying or running off. Of course he wasn't all that good about remembering to feed them so maybe that had something to do with it. No, perhaps getting a new familiar wasn't such a good idea.
"…'So long as you will offer me your protection, I will offer you mine,' had said Grimsby. 'No harm shall befall you or your kingdom so long as you do not betray me.'
Though the castle was surrounded, the walls remained unbreached. Through the years, enough provisions had been stored by Grimsby's counsel to last many winters. However, the King still held doubts.
It was the sheer enormity of their combined armies that made the King doubt his most trusted servant. His kingdom so prosperous, so happy, yet so much smaller. Why if you counted every man, woman, and child in it, it would not equal half of the army before him.
In exchange for assurances that they would leave the rest of his Kingdom unharmed, the King turned Grimsby over to his enemies. Division sprang up then over what was to be done with him. Too many offered to take him in, manage his upkeep, and allow the others full access to him and his Visions. Not one trusted the other to keep their word.
So in the end, it was decided to divide him equally amongst all present. Something of the powers of unicorns can be transferred through the drinking of their blood so why could not the powers of other creatures be shared similarly. And so they decided…"
Well, so much for love of History. Once Riddle and his familiar had succumbed the whole class was asleep. He picked up a Defense Against the Dark Arts book from one of the student's desks. While the thunderous noise of it thumping against the floor didn't actually cause anyone to wake up, it did at least cause some of the class to stir in their slumber.
"…It is said that all true Seers to this very day are descended from those who drank the blood of Grimsby. However unlike vampires and werewolves, who can only reproduce asexually by biting or scratching an already existing person, they can only reproduce sexually. For this and other reasons they do not fully meet the criteria set out by the Ministry and are not as such technically classified as one of the damned races.
The Themis are, or rather were, classified as a damned race based on their soullessness despite their being able to reproduce sexually. They are actually the only of the damned races said to ever be capable of both sexual and asexual propagation based on the ability of a particular type of the Themis, which is no longer here nor there as the Themis are now officially classified by the Ministry as extinct. And as we all know, the Ministry is never wrong in these things.
Seers on the other hand are not classified as a damned race but, it is said the reason Seers Visions are often distorted and their warnings go unheeded is a kind of retribution, an eternal torment to punish them for the acts of their ancestors long ago."
As he looked up from his podium at the empty classroom before him, Binns frowned. He hadn't noticed the bell ringing and everyone leaving. A glance at the clock on the wall revealed it had happened some time ago. Perhaps he should pay a little more attention to the things going on around him.
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Albus Dumbledore continued reading the essay before him as the NEWT level class filtered into the room. Glancing up as he affixed a mark to the top of the essay, he noticed everyone had arrived.
"Copy down the notes on the board. When you are done, if you think you fully understand them you may begin. Those of you who have brought your familiars with you can practice today's transfiguration exercise on them."
Before he leaned down to reach into the bottom drawer of his desk, Albus noticed a strained expression on Tom Riddle's face. After he retrieved the box of buttons from the drawer, he continued speaking.
"Everyone else take a button from the box on my desk, transfigure it into a beetle, and go on from there."
Riddle's face was flushed. Albus shifted trying for a better view, but he couldn't see what it was Tom was hastily struggling to put into his satchel. By the time Tom made it to the front of his desk to get a button the young man had regained his composure.
As Tom returned to his seat, Dumbledore began reading the next essay in his stack. He knew he would easily be able to get through the few remaining first year essays before anyone finished copying the notes on the board.
At the end of the lesson after Tom returned his borrowed button, Albus watched the careful way he picked up his book satchel. Albus raised an eyebrow when a small gray claw darted out to scratch the young man. He sighed at the words he could overhear as Tom walked out the door.
"I had to put you in there. You don't know the kinds of things he wanted me to do to you."
He shook his head in wonder. Surely in seven years Tom had realized no lasting effects were to be had from the very brief transfigurations he required in his classes. Next class he would be sure to make it clear that those bringing familiars were by no means required to use them in their transfigurations.
He hadn't expected Tom Riddle of all people to be a cat person. Still, it was almost sweet that Tom wanted to protect his cat. Given Tom's usual attitude, it was reassuring to see evidence that such a tender, caring side existed.
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Potion Master Pomfrey exploded right after Tom Riddle's cauldron did.
"Come on people! You aren't first years, this is NEWT level work! Riddle, either you are an imbecile or you did that on purpose. Which is it?"
Tom glowered at the young professor staring down at him.
"I don't know what happened, sir. I followed your directions to the letter."
Pomfrey pointed to the hand writing on the board.
"Enlighten me, Mr. Riddle. Where exactly in my directions is the step instructing you to make your cauldron detonate?"
He watched Tom for a moment, waiting to see if the boy would respond. Riddle's familiar had dived under the table when the explosion started. As he turned to walk to the front of his classroom, he noticed it climb back onto the table to inspect the cauldron of one of Riddle's neighbors. Just before he reached his desk, he whirled around in anger as the neighbor's cauldron exploded.
"A week's worth of detention for both of you!"
Just because it was his first year teaching didn't mean he was going to let the students walk all over him. He knew the students had to be doing it on purpose. The potion they were supposed to be brewing today never would have reacted that way with just the ingredients they were supposed to be using.
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A/N Thank you for reviewing Star, Redwoman06, Tabby Girl, Static-Filled Star, pixi_stix, LinZE, CEA, Margo Wulfric.
I know chapter 25 was extremely short, but it was also extremely important. Consider anything that short posted by itself to be red flagged - read, reread, reread once more and remember for later. I'm not completely heartless though. I promise to only post one at the same time as a longer chapter either before or after it.
The portrait in Tom's room isn't anyone from the novels. He is just a random portrait of a man sitting in a chair next to a table with a bowl of fruit on it. A common enough portrait image from the time period he was painted in.
It hasn't been explicated stated how Kitten got to the McGongalls but little hints have been given.
In Chapter 19(FF labeled 20) Moody claims to have sent Grindelwald's daughter's kitten off to see if it was poisonous after it bit him.
In Chapter 4 Moody quoted Loki from a scene never shown. "Oh, don't worry Alastor. I'll take the kitten over to the Disposal of Magical Creatures Department and get her checked out to see if she in venomous. Let me borrow your cloak to throw over her, so she doesn't bite me too." Loki explained he choose to leave the decision of who Kitten ended up with to the fates.
Add in Thomas McGonagall's comments of his parents adopting her at an animal shelter in Chapter 22.…
Don't be too hard on Loki, he meant well. And wait till you see what her other options were.
You will find I seldom tell you things straight out. The closest you will ever get to a straight answer from me is when Harry asked Dumbledore if Peeves was McGonagall's poltergeist.
Usually I prefer to tell you things in a far more roundabout way. I have one chapter where a character is eating cereal and Snape asks, "What in the name of Merlin is that." He is told about the pink hearts, yellow moons, green clovers, purple horse shoes, and told they are, "Magically delicious." However at no point is Snape actually told it is Lucky Charms cereal. I'm betting Lucky Charms probably never made it back to England and I will need to cut that scene though.
There are all kinds of things that you might pick up on if you read carefully that won't hurt you terribly if you miss. Tons of foreshadowing and quite a few little jokes, like the name of Dippet's toad being Keys in relation to the title Hagrid used to introduced himself to Harry in the first novel.