Chapter Fourteen – Correct Assumptions
Ginny woke up to the sound of someone saying, "What a cute kitty." Thinking 'What the hell?', she opened her eyes to see her classmate Lavender Brown petting her. When Lavender notice the cat she was petting had woken up she picked her up and began to coddle her.
Knowing that this was the perfect opportunity to communicate her problem to a friend Ginny tried to leap out of Lavender's arms. Her struggles were fruitless. The harder she tried to escape, the tighter she was held.
"Its okay kitty, I'm not going to hurt you." Lavender cooed.
Ginny calmed down enough for the girl to gently put her on the couch she had been found on. After landing on her feet Ginny dashed up the girl's stairs to her dorm only to find the door closed. Getting frustrated Ginny crouched in the shadows and waited till one of her roommates would enter or exist the room.
After a few minutes one of the girls in the dorm left, forgetting to close the door after her. Quietly entering Ginny looked for some way to tell people who she truly was. She couldn't help but listen into the remaining roommates conversation as she searched.
"Do you know what's been up with Ginny? She hasn't returned to the rooms for the whole weekend."
The girl nearest to Ginny said, "I think she has a boyfriend. You don't think she's spending the night, do you?"
"You mean to tell me you think Ginny's sleeping with the guy?" The last girl in the room who hadn't been listening asked, suddenly interested in the conversation.
Hearing her friends talk about her in such a negative attitude made Ginny's hair stand on end. How dare they say she was sleeping around!
"You know, she was getting serious with Harry. At the ball though they had a huge fight in front of everyone. Do you think she had sex with him so he would stay around?"
One of the girls scoffed then replied, "Ginny isn't like that. And it seemed like she didn't want to be with Harry."
Ginny told herself to thank the one who stood up for her and give the others the cold shoulder once she was back in her body.
"Then what else could it be keeping her away?" One said.
"What," one whispered, making the other two lean in closer to hear, "what if something happened to her? She could be hurt."
All three girls looked at each other and pondered the question.
Taking advantage of the pause in conversation Ginny jumped on the bed and meowed. The response she got surprised her. All three girls looked at her then surrounded her. Ginny was worried about what was to come until they all started petting her.
Needing to direct their attention to her fur she began to lick herself. When she was sure they were all looking she jumped onto her own bed and sat next to a picture of her on her bed stand. Her fur and her hair in the picture where identical.
One of the girls seemed to notice this and said to the others, "Look at the fur that cat has. It looks just like Ginny's hair. Crazy, huh!"
"Wait a second," she said, "what if this is…" When she paused her friends told her to go on.
"No, it's a silly idea. I mean, it can't be true."
With some persistence she finally caved in and told her friends what she thought about the mysterious cat.
"Don't make fun of me. Okay?" After all the girls nodded she went on. "Well, doesn't this cat remind you of Ginny? Its fur is like her hair. This could be Ginny!"
"You can't be serious!" One said. "It may look like her but that doesn't mean –"
She was cut off when the other girl said, "Even the eyes look like hers. I think…I think this is Ginny you guys."
Not really believing the tall tale the two other girls let their friend go to Dumbledore's alone. As the girl passed though the common room Ginny alerted Draco that she was leaving.
"Draco, she's figured it out! She thinks I'm who I am and is taking me to Dumbledore."
Hearing the news Draco jumped up to follow but was detained by another student.
"Damn," Draco said. "Once your normal tell them to change me back ASAP."
"You got it!"
And with that Ginny was taken along corridors to the headmaster's room, where the girl and cat entered after a "Come in" from Dumbledore.
"Hello. What can I do for you Miss?" Dumbledore asked.
"Don't think me crazy Sir but I believe this cat is Ginny Weasley."
"That is an interesting accusation. What makes you believe that this cat is her?"
"Well Sir the fur and eyes look just like hers." When she noticed the headmaster wasn't taking her story seriously she continued. "She has been missing this whole weekend. The last time anyone saw her was at the ball with Harry. Since then she seemed to have disappeared."
"With Harry you say." Dumbledore then asked for the red cat to be put on his desk.
"I will perform a simple spell to see if this cat is in its natural form or if it has been forced into this body." Raising his wand he mumbled a spell and pointed towards Ginny.
Ginny's body glowed pink and her body became stiff making her fall over onto her side. It felt as if she had been petrified.
"I believe you are right in your assumption. This cat isn't who its seems. I will take her to the hospital and have her changed back to human form. Thank you for bringing this to my attention."
When the girl remained in the room he kindly said, "You are excused."
And with that the girl left the office, leaving Ginny alone with Dumbledore.
Looking at the cat in front of him he said, "Lets see who you truly are."