XVII—Smart Cat

For the following weeks, Harry and Ron acted as if they hardly knew each other and Ron's relationship with Hermione strained more than it ever had in the past. His intense anger had dissipated, replaced by a moping depression. His grades in all of his classes suffered, his relationships with people that he had known for most of his school life were as tense as a cold war. Instead of studying in his spare time, for class exams and eventual preparation for the upcoming academic NEWT's, he stared thoughtfully out onto the cold April grounds.

To Hermione's immense disapproval, he had taken to skipping classes, (mostly Defense Against the Dark Arts) she made a point of voicing her opinion of this matter whenever she felt he was in the mood to hear her. Instead, he wandered as aimlessly as a ghost through the corridors. Often, she found him outside, sitting on a neglected piece of castle wall, in the early spring rain. He would sit there for hours, the gentle water slowly soaking him to the bone.

It was drizzling now, she brought her umbrella and put it over his head, not that it helped any. His hair and robes were already drenched, as if he had taken a swim in the lake. He hardly took any notice of her, just staring off into the distance as if he could see a greatly troubling something in front of them that she could not. His expression usually looked as if he was thinking with all of his might but on occasion he looked at peace.

She would stand there for a while in silence, trying to comfort him with her presence. He would not utter a word and neither would she. After a while she would give up and go back inside leaving the umbrella beside him in case he desired to use it, but he never moved a muscle. It was times like this that made Hermione feel inadequate.

Harry and Ron spoke simply to each other when they awoke in the morning and went to bed at night. Like associates who would recognize faces when their names were spoken but nothing more. Even Neville noticed the change in their friendship. When Ron did show up for class, Harry would treat him with more apathy than any of the other students. In their other classes, he would sit away from the rest of the group and he almost never paid attention.

Harry kept practicing the curse that would put all his fears to rest. While practicing the curse he felt confident and peaceful, like there really was nothing to worry about. He only wished he could pass this feeling onto Ron.

The group of scattered friends was in the common room; Ron had just entered, he was drenched again from sitting outside. He dropped Hermione's umbrella by the fire and took his place next to the window, looking out on the rainy grounds from the tower. Hermione looked up from practicing Human Transfiguration with Harry. She went to Ron and put a blanket around his shoulders and sat across from him for a while. Ginny and Gwen sat by the fire reading text books and writing essays. It was a quiet Saturday afternoon.

Harry sighed, leaning back in his chair and stretching. Ron looked at him for a moment but when they made eye contact, he turned his head back to the rain pelted window. Harry felt pity and sadness for him, but at the same time a feeling that made him shake his head. This is almost unbearable he thought. He piled his books one on top of the other. Ginny was doing the same.

"Hermione, I'm going for a walk, do you and Ron want to join me?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure why he invited Ron, perhaps it was because they were together and he expected them to spend every moment together like they had before. Now it wasn't so much the case.

"I'll go," Hermione answered. She looked to Ron for a reply but he only waved his hand, answering, Go without me.

Hermione shook her head, gave Ron a peck on the cheek, which he didn't seem to notice, and followed Harry through the portrait hole. Ginny wasn't far behind them. Without taking his eyes off the grounds Ron said gently, "Give it a rest, Ginny, he doesn't want you."

"Mind your business, Ron. I wouldn't be worrying about other people when you have your own pathetic relationship to mind," she replied harshly, stepping through the portrait hole.

He snorted as Crookshanks curled up next to him on the window sill, taking Hermione's place. He pet his fur gently, his eyes focused on nothing but his inner mind.

Hours passed. The rainy Quiddich pitch was replaced by his reflection in the window. They hadn't returned from their walk yet.

Suddenly, movement in the window distracted Ron. He noticed a raven as black as the cloudy night trying to find shelter on the sill of the window. It ruffled its feathers and stared directly at the cat, cocking its head to the side. Crookshanks jumped wildly from the window sill.

"Ron, I'm going down to the Great Hall to grab a bite to eat," Gwen said, "do you want me to bring you something back or would you like to join me?"

"What is with that stupid cat?" he asked irritably. It was the longest sentence he had made all week. He looked back to the window but the bird was gone.

Gwen and Ron watched as Crookshanks jogged to the portrait door and mewled. He was staring Ron in the eyes and when he neglected to move; he turned his head to Gwen, who stood immobilized.

"Do you think he wants out?" Gwen asked, confused. She made a step toward the portrait hole. The cat's whining grew agitated.

Ron wondered, "You know, Crookshanks is a smart cat. He knows things…"

"Knows things?" Gwen exclaimed, "He's a cat!"

Mrowr!

"Yes, but he's got this crazy cat sense. In our third year, he knew my rat, Scabbers, wasn't really a rat at all, but Wormtail, sorry, Peter Pettigrew, in disguise," Ron explained.

"Yes, I remember Ginny and Hermione telling me that story."

MROWR!

Ron approached the portrait hole and let Crookshanks into the corridor. He hesitated, glancing back at Gwen, "Should we follow him?"

Gwen raised her eyebrows. Crookshanks sat in the hallway waiting for their decision.

"I feel like a complete idiot following a cat, but I suppose if he's a smart cat…"

AN: ok, I'm just getting out of my writer's block for this story, sorry it's taken so loooong! I feel so bad for putting this story on hiatus! anyway, I think that I'm getting close to the interesting parts ? maybe ? anyway, here's something you might enjoy: www(.)deviantart(.)com(/)deviation(/)33277723 it's a picture I drew of Gwen and Harry on the balcony during the V-Day dance. Sorry for the brackets (just delete them)butFF doesn't let you have URLs in the stories... If you have a deviantART account, leave me a message and tell me what you think! (or you can leave a message here too lol) enjoy!