Disclaimer: The settings and most of the characters of this story belong tot the very talented Joanna Kathleen Rowling. She is brilliant and should be the queen of England but hey we can only go so far with monarchy and all.
Chapter 6
When the Cat Met The Squirrel.
I was given a small room in Mrs. Figg's home where she claimed the cats would not enter and eat Judas. I looked down at the poor squirrel, who now looked terrified at his new surroundings. His nose is twitching and his small body is shivering as he peers at all from the cats staring at him from around the room.
I walked into the room and laid my small suitcase down on the dusty bed and sighed. Apparently she has not had guests in a long time, if ever. The room was dusty and the window looked as though it hadn't been opened in ages. Well I think I'll keep it that way due to the fact that it's absolutely freezing out side. I placed Judas's cage next to the window and watched him get up and look out it for a second before yawning and returning to his small blanket bed.
"Your right you know. This will be a boring weekend. Especially since this lady seems to have nothing of interest to do," I plopped down on the bed and a large billow of smoke rose up into the air and I coughed several times to clear it from my throat. "Gee, she certainly spent a lot of time preparing this room for us."
I took up the outer blanket and opened the rusty window and shook the blanket out the window to clear it of all the dust and cat hair from when the cats actually did go into this room. I placed the almost clean blanket back on the bed and took out a small book from one of the shelves in the room.
Random books are always fun. I opened up a particularly interesting looking book that had a metal binding and leather cover to it. The books title read "Wondering With Werewolves", by Gilderoy Lockhart. A large photo of a blond man with rather shiny teeth and purple robes was on the cover and…. was he…winking?
The picture was MOVING! I threw the book on the floor and backed up from it to make sure it wasn't alive.
Wait a minute. How can a book be alive you idiot! I must be losing my mind or something. I mean how is the picture on the book moving?
An odd sound coming from Judas's cage made me turn to find him staring at me and giving me a squirrelly grin as he squeaked with laughter. I ignored the rodent and looked back at the odd book.
I walked over to the book again and picked it up slowly as I waited for the person on the cover to talk or reach out and grab me.
It didn't. (Phew)
I leafed through the pages to see if any other surprises could be found within the demonic book. In the book there were many picture of the same man on the cover but in different and disturbing posses. One particular pose, that was especially disturbing, was the man in a, supposed, werewolf skin cape smiling broadly as though he had conquered the world.
What an annoying git!
Despite the disturbing pictures I read the book anyway. I mean I had nothing else to do and this was the only thing in the room that could entertain me for the moment. Plus, the book was about a werewolf. Maybe I can learn something about them while I was here. After all, what better place to learn about werewolves then in an old women's house with three million cats from a book with an odd blond man on the cover?
I flipped through the pages to check the length but stopped suddenly and flipped back. There was an actually photo that didn't contain him in it! But that wasn't the reason I wanted to see the picture. When I reached it I saw that it was a picture of a large gray wolf breathing heavily and baring its large teeth at the reader. The caption read " Some werewolf."
I felt a pang of disgust as the werewolf was not even given his name but instead was named "some werewolf." Just as though he were nothing. I flipped back to the beginning of the book and sat down on the almost not so dusty bed and began to read. The book was filled with Gilderoy's favorite things and how he went to visit his oh so sick aunt in a village far off when he found they had a werewolf problem. So he went out to conquer the werewolf by casting a spell that transformed the man back into a human.
In short, the book was ridiculous. How can a person be transformed back into a human from wolf form when the full moon is still out?
I finished the book within two hours and I heard Mrs. Figg's voice from the hallway calling me down for dinner. I placed the book back onto the bookshelf and gave Judas some more squirrel quibble and some fresh water before heading to the kitchen. I found Mrs. Figg standing at a steaming silver pot on a yellowed stove. She looked at me as I entered and grinned slightly before taking a bowl over to the table full of what appeared to be some kind of brown soup that was supposedly editable. I sat down where the bowl was placed and looked down at it with fear. The brown soup was thick and when the spoon hit and sank in its depts. It took a while to do.
Is that normal?
I mean the soup just quivered!
I took up the spoon and began to drink it down. I was cold and this happened to quite warm. Contrary to the appearance, the soup was really good. It tasted a lot like peanut soup that mum use to make for me during the summer. I gulped down more of the soup then used the steam coming from the soup for heat.
Mrs. Figg sat down with her bowl of soup and spooned her soup down without speaking. I felt nervous to be with a total stranger but Remus said she was a nice lady and very interesting. Well she did have interesting, if not disturbing, books. I couldn't wait to get back to my room to see the rest of the books on the shelf and maybe find some more about werewolves. By a different author of course. This one talked too much about himself and not enough about the werewolves, which the book promised to talk about in the title.
Oh well. Maybe something better will turn up.
A loud crash and a yowl made us both turn in shock. I immediately shot up from my chair to run up to my room to see if Judas was involved in the crash. I dashed up the steep stairs and stopped dead.
My door was wide open and I could see a few cat eyes glowing within the shadows of the room. I ran into the room and clicked on the lights and looked immediately at Judas's cage to find that he had disappeared! The only living creature in the room was a large black cat staring at the open window next to the small pot I had placed on top of Judas's cage to make sure it stayed shut.
I made my way to the window and looked out to see if I could spot any sign of the devil rodent…anything at all. All I saw was the side of my house and the darkened lawns and small trees dotting the neighborhood.
No rodent scampering away. No sign of a furry tail or even a sound of scampering claws on pavement or wood. I turned away from the window and found that a few more cats had come into the room and were sniffing around every corner of the room as though they were searching for the small squirrel.
I yelled at all of them to get out and when I turned back to the window to shut it the large black cat shot out the window before I could stop it. I furiously shut the window after the cat and started to pick up the large chunks of glass from the pot that had fallen over. Mrs. Figg joined me in the cleaning but did not seem to care about her cats scaring off my squirrel. She threw away the last bits of glass then she gestured for me to follow her back to the kitchen to finish dinner.
"No need to fuss over a rodent. They don't make good pets anyway. I suggest a cat or owl, not some small thing that gets lost too easily and has no abilities of use to you," she said as we sat down to the peanut soup again. "It's probably better for the thing to be out on its own. If you want you can have one of my cats. They are very useful creatures really. And intelligent company if humans fail you." She finished, taking a sip of her soup.
"No thank you," I replied looking at one of the cats that stood near the kitchen window flickering its long slim tail expectantly. "I have a dog at home who would probably not enjoy having a cat sharing his home."
"A dog? Well they are good animals too, I guess." She replied standing up and placing her bowl sink then yawned. "I think for now we should get some sleep. It's no use to search for your pet in the dark. Even though I see no reason to go after the rodent he seems to mean something to you. Plus there is nothing else to do tomorrow anyway."
Mrs. Figg left the kitchen and walked slowly up stairs and when I heard her door shut I too followed up the stairs and into bed for the night. She was right there was no use to search for Judas at night. Though I had a lingering feeling that finding him would be impossible even during the daylight. So I turned out the lamplight and fell asleep.
In the morning a large black fur ball woke me up. It yowled at me and began attacking my feet and legs as though it wanted me to get up right away. I turned over and tried to kick my feet out at him but he only returned and attacked my legs again. I got up wearily and glared at the satisfied looking cat and changed into some new clothes for the day. A pair of dark blue jeans and lost and lost of lovely sweaters. I mean honestly it is colder then Canada during the winter for goodness sakes. And trust me Canada can do the most amazing weather tricks I have ever witnessed. It can snow, rain, sleet, and be extremely windy all at the same time. And it really never helps if you r parents decided to bring you on a ferry the same day.
I went into the kitchen, which was relatively warmer then the rest of the house, and sat down at the small table waiting for the older women to notice me. She was facing the stove and it smelled as though she were cooking one of her cats. She turned around and had a steaming pot in her hand full of some kind of sizzling meat with onions, potatoes, carrots, and other vegetables cooked with it. It must be some kind of stew.
She placed the stew and served me some and then herself. She sat down across the table and pushed aside an old newspaper so there was nothing between the two of us.
"So this squirrel of yours, where did you get it?" She questioned as she picked up her spoon and took a bite of stew.
"I found him in our attic actually, he became my pet after the vet told me he would not be able to survive on his own. Though I guess he was wrong since Judas was able to get out of the cage and out the window."
"You mean to tell me you found the squirrel in your attic? Why would a squirrel be in your attic of all places?"
"I guess he was trying to get out of the cold." I said half to myself and to Mrs.Figg.
She only looked at me for a second then looked out the window as though thinking about this statement rather hard. I couldn't see any reason why a squirrel would not go into a house if they have a chance to get out of the cold. I mean I would…not that I am comparing my self to a rodent in all but I would. She turned back to me and then looked down at my plate.
"Well eat up then! If you want to find the squirrel I'd advise you have energy in your body. Plus we very well won't find the squirrel because it looks exactly like all the other squirrels."
"Well actually Judas has a small blue color around his neck…"
"That probably got ripped off by now or will not help much as far as where to start searching for him. I think it's a bloody waste of time but then again we have nothing else to do today so we mines well go into town and look at the shops. Though I doubt we'll find anything of interest." She took another bite of stew and I finally started my own bowl of stew and found that it wasn't actually as bad as it smells. But not something I would eat as a habit of course.
When the meal was finished and the dishes cleared off and pots and pans cleaned we both put on our coats and Mrs. Figg grabbed the large black cat that had chased off Judas in the first place and took him with us.
"Why are you taking a cat with us? Wont' he just scare Judas off?" (I mean honestly lady cats and rodents don't mix you think you would have known that last night if not through the years of owning cats.)
"This is no ordinary house cat. This cat has more talent then any other feline you'll ever meet. She can track down any creature big or small and not attack it unless I ask her too." She said sounding a bit offended by my question. Oh well so she now thinks cats can track down certain squirrels in a large city and neighborhood. As long as I get Judas back then I don't mind the fur ball being with us.
We walked down the street and as we passed by my house I gazed at it and tried to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside.
Dang it the curtains are drawn!
Damn them both and their secret games. Poor Sandman must be suffering without me around and a new person in the house. Well if I don't find Judas then at least he can sleep with me again. He'll like that. Sweet little greyhound who farts a lot and burps in peoples faces. Sigh.
We walked down the rest of the street then into the park and caught a double Decker bus into the city. The black cat seemed to not have bothered anyone and it only sat in Mrs. Figg's lap purring and flickering its tail with content.
The city is particularly busy today due to everyone being on vacation took their money pouches and headed out the door. I know this will make our situation just a tad bit more difficult. Judas was not dumb enough to travel around a city full of after holiday shoppers. The city was chock full of tourist and ladies with high heels that could be used as weapons if not suicidal machines for those who walk in them.
We got off at the stop near the park and Mrs. Figg put down the black cat who flicked its tail and began to sniff the air and search the grounds and trees for any sign of the lost rodent. She mewed at us then dashed off towards the center of the park and we followed her black running figure as fast as we could. She led us to a large oak tree and clambered up its ancient trunk as though it was nothing but some wooden ladder. We both looked up at the cat and saw that she found a blue strap that she carried back down to us and into her owner's hands.
"Well this seems like the collar you had around that squirrels neck and the only thing that makes it different from any other squirrel in the world. I don't think we will find your pet. It seems to me it has enough strength to live on its own. Plus, like I said before, rodents don't make good pets. Especially for people like you and me who like animals that are big and can roam around on their own without getting lost or eaten." She sighed and called the black cat back down from the tree, as it still wanted to search for the squirrel. It reluctantly climbed back down and hopped into her arms.
I think it would be better anyway not to have a squirrel to take care of. But still I wanted to make it attack more people before I had to let it go. I wanted to put him in Lupin's bedroom at night and see what happens. And plus I bought all that stuff. What am I going to do with it now?
I followed the older women and her cat and spent the rest of the day looking at shops and buying some candy that I had never tried before. When the day ended and sun set darkened the city, driving some tourists to hide back in their hotels to rest up for their England adventure, we took the bus back home and I went straight to bed. I lost my squirrel and now laid in the darkness of the room wondering why he had acted so strangely the first night here. Could he have been planning an escape?
But that's impossible!
I mean, a squirrel actually being able to knock over a dish from its cage and unlocking it and getting out a closed window?
The question faded from my mind as I fell asleep under the warm covers and was a bit comforted by the thought of going home tomorrow night and seeing mum again and Sandman. But of course I would be with Remus too, for the rest of my life in that house. Well maybe things won't be as bad as they seem, as long as mum is happy why complain?
I was tired now and oddly stiff as I staggered to my feet. I shook as hard as I could to get rid of the stiffness but I only fell to the hard cold ground again. I could tell I wasn't in the forest or grasslands anymore but instead I was in the middle of the street in front of a what looked like my house.
I got up once more and gingerly walked over to the front lawn of the familiar looking building. It was my house!
Yet it looked oddly different. It was almost as though it were empty. Nothing left but strong memories that haunted it's very being.
I looked over the house a bit closer and found a small silhouette of some tiny creature scampering across the dark lawns towards the only tree near the house. I chased it and caught up to it before it could move any further and to my shock it was gone!
In its place was a larger silhouette. One that turned to me and before I could say anything or turn around and get away its hand glowed bright revealing the creatures face…
It was clear who this man is but his face was still to dark to see his expression at the sight of me. I looked once more at the house then at him but before I could say anything to him he shrunk into a smaller creature and ran away. I called out to catch him but found that he had disappeared. I felt so much anger and sadness at the same time and out of my frustration for the man's escape. I yelled…
"YOU BASTARD I WILL GET YOU!" I woke up and found the words I had just uttered ringing in my ears. I was not next to my house in the cold air but snug in a bed next door. Everything was dark except the moonlight shining through the half shaded window.
I sighed. Another dream that made absolutely no sense. Yet I still found my eyes were puffy as though I had just cried and the feeling of anger was so hot in my blood that it almost felt…. real.
I now felt wide-awake and knew that I would not go back to sleep for a while so I mines well read something worth staying up for. I am returning home tomorrow so maybe I can find one more book on werewolves or something useful before I leave.
I got up from the warm covers and felt as though I was walking out of a door into a cold winters night. I shivered slightly and shook off the cold as I made my way over to the bookcase. I flickered on a small lamplight and looked at the bookshelves for anything interesting. I looked at all the titles printed on the books and found she had quite some range of subjects. There were books on pixies, How to Get a Knome out of Your Garden, What To do When Ghosts Are Haunting You, she even had a book called "A Squib Coping In A Muggles World.
There's that word again. Well I guess there might be a lot more witches and wizards nearby then I thought. But what in the world is a squib? Was Mrs. Figg a witch too? Or was she just someone who happens to not be as blind to the magic around us then I was?
I still haven't seen any magic besides the small occurrences at the wedding and Remus's demonstration to prove he was a wizard. But you know he still hasn't proven he's a werewolf yet. And by the looks of the calendar it seems he will be transforming next weekend.
I continued to skim the books and finally gave up. Everything dealt with either some odd creature infesting your house or coping with muggles or other witches and wizards. I put back the vampire book I had taken down to see the cover of and turned back to the bed. When I began to get back under the covers a loud thud and the sound of pages flipping made me turn back to the bookcase.
To my astonishment one of the books had fallen. It looked as though it was a book I didn't get a good look at. I got back out of bed and knelt down beside the fallen book and looked at the cover.
" Werewolves of England through history."
"Werewolves of England through history?" It was perfect. Just what I was looking for and it just fell off the bookcase on its own! That or she has a serious pixie infestation she needs to look at. The little blue buggers are knocking over books now! (And yes I did look through a few of the books)
I plopped back down on the bed and dusted off the large book over the side so the dust doesn't get in the sheets. I placed the book on my lap and flipped through it to the index.
Introduction
About Werewolves in General
Types of Werewolves And Where To Find Them
How To Recognize A Werewolf.
Government laws Concerning Werewolves (Now Updated from 1200 to 1600!)
Gee is the book old enough for her? I mean who in the world follows laws dated back to the 1200 except for religious laws? Whatever I'll just search the types of werewolf section.
I flipped to the page and at once was met by another moving photo, this time it was a nude man yelling as thick black fur sprouted out of his body. Very...er…lovely?
The book described him as man in the early stages of transformation into a Black Wood werewolf. Black Wood werewolves are normally found in thick woods near lakes and rivers. They are fond of getting wet and enjoy hunting fish and unsuspecting people who enjoy boating in the night.
Yes, because a lot of my closest friends, you know, go off in boats at night and just canoe around in the dark for enjoyment. Ah and I was right. " Not many of these werewolves exist today. The government predicts that they will be extinct by the 1700 or earlier"
Can't really see a werewolf being able to bite people who are sitting in boats while it's swimming in the water. Wouldn't it have to knock the boat over first?
Oh well, next wolf.
The next page showed a picture of a large grayish white wolf (Though not much color can be shown in the book anyway because of its age) that was throwing its head back in a long howl.
This werewolf is called a Gray Moon Werewolf. Mostly enjoys wide range mountain forests and high places to be able to look with its powerful sight for any type of prey. Mostly travels in groups and is able to take down small rodents to large Hippogryphs and centaurs. Beware of Grey Werewolf when camping or hiking at night.
Wow so in other words it has to actually put a warning for humans, separate from the other creatures it can kill, to tell them they would be in danger. Gee, and I thought you would only have to know that it can take down a Hippogryphs to actually think that your in any kind of danger. Just knowing it was in the same forest would tell me to get the hell out of there as fast as possible.
The gray werewolf is the most widely populated wolf besides the Timber Wood Wolf and the Black Ridge Wolf. All pack wolves except for a few cases.
Timber Werewolves are mostly brown furred with a few black patches that wander in forests or cities. It is a fast runner and can reach speeds up to 32 miles per hour. The Black Ridge werewolf is known for its pure black fur running down its spine and tail. The rest of its body is either gray or white. Black Ridges can be found mostly in fields and deep forests. Their most aught prey are muggles who live in forests or nearby. Witches and Wizards tend to stay away from populated wolf dwellings
I flipped through the pages while I wondered if Remus was a Black Ridge or Gray Wolf or one of those wolves that bite the most. He would be transforming in a garage instead of the forest or fields and it rather ruined the image of a pretty wolf galloping through the wild while it hunted a rabbit or some stupid camper who heard the howls of the wolf but only thought it could take down a rabbit and not that oh so often seen Hippogryphs wandering around.
I flipped through the book again to see what else can be seen past the pictures of people's bite marks. A Pure white wolf made me stop flipping. I looked at the picture and to my surprise it actually had color! The Werewolf was pure white and some in the background had bright silver fur or golden brown fur. But each one had blue or green eyes. They were beautiful.
The largest one was described as the alpha male and it was the pure white one with glowing blue eyes. His eyes were mesmerizing and seemed so foreign on a wolf yet he also looked vaguely familiar. It was as though I had seen him before but not in person as much as in a dream.
The book titled the wolves as the Elder Werewolves. Found in isolated areas rarely populated by humans. They usually keep to themselves and only bite when starving or wish to play cruel games. They are able to transform at will and are suspected to be among the first breed of werewolf known to man.
The book said that they were rarely seen and the most dangerous because of their ability to transform at will. I wish they weren't rare. I would actually like to see one in real life. Oh well I'll go to sleep now. It's almost three o'clock in the morning and one of those cats is bound to wake me up at seven. I placed the book on the bedside table and fell asleep.
I woke up to loud meowing and sharp claws attacking my feet. I got up and followed it downstairs where Mrs. Figg was already eating breakfast so I sat down to join.
"I hope you were comfortable while you were here. And don't worry about the rodent you lost at least you know it can escape when it wants to." Said the older women.
I nodded. "So what time am I supposed to go back home?"
"Well I would pack up after breakfast if I were you. You should be heading back around lunchtime. That should give your mum and Remus some time to wake up and dress properly."
I shuddered. Disgusting thoughts. Disgusting thoughts. Disgusting thoughts.
I finished up my breakfast, with difficulty (disgusting thoughts, disgusting thoughts) and went upstairs to put away my clothing and bathroom things and whatever else I decided to bring with me. I put all of Judas's things back in his cage and placed it in the hallway so I wouldn't forget it. I went back to the room to check over it and make sure nothing was left behind. I looked next to the bed and spotted the large book on werewolves. I wanted to bring it with me. I had to learn more about Remus and maybe about my dreams if possible. These wolves had more to them then large furry killing machines as the book so fondly placed them.
The book had been so dusty that it seemed it had not been used in ages. Would Mrs. Figg notice if the book was gone? I gazed at it and looked over at my open bag.
What am I saying? I can't steal her book. Maybe she'll let me borrow it…maybe.
I bolted down the stairs with my things in hand and the book oddly held between my chin and chest. (Talent, yes but my mouth is not big enough to hold it there) I placed my things by the door and walked into the kitchens to ask Mrs.Figg about the book. She turned to me then looked at the book and smiled.
"I see you found my collection of books interesting. So you know Remus is a werewolf and a wizard I suppose?"
"He told mum before they married."
"Well that book in particular is very old and very rare. The laws have changed on werewolves and so have the werewolves themselves tell you the truth. They don't wonder as freely as they use to. The ministry makes sure every werewolf is locked up or in a magic protected forest or else they are fined or put in prison, as you muggles call that place where you lock each other up."
I had to smile at this remark. "So are you a…."
"No." She said cutting me off ", my parents were sorcerers but I unfortunately did not get the genetic as you would call it to become a witch. But I am lucky enough to be able to keep contact with the wizarding world and actually go to the towns and cities where witches and wizards shop and commune. The muggles world is quite boring compared to the wizarding world." She sighed heavily then looked back at me.
"You can take that book with you. I have no more use for it. Well not as much as you will have. Whither you know it or not you now have a connection to what most muggles could only dream of and write down in books or stories. I don't know how often you will be able to go into town but anytime you want to visit here and go to the magic world just ask me and I would gladly like to have some company besides cats." She smiled warmly and it made quite a change to her usually expressionless face. I smiled back and thanked her for the book.
I would actually like to visit towns full of magic. It would be interesting. Maybe this new stepfather came with a better deal then I thought. I hugged the book close to my body and grinned. Now I can learn a bit more about you, Stepfather dearest.
I spent the rest of the morning talking to Mrs. Figg about the magic world and felt more and more exited about a visit. She even explained about her cats and the many talents they had that most cats in the muggle world could never achieve. They apparently are not full-blooded cats but part kneazle. So when it was time to go I had actually grown fond of this lady and promised her and myself that I would visit as much as possible.
After all she was a lot more interesting then everyone else in the neighborhood.
When I returned home I sniffed in the fresh scent of my cat less air and sighed. I found that Sandman had taken refuge in the computer room where mum decided he could stay during their Honeymoon. I sat down next to him to comfort the poor dog after such a traumatizing weekend.
Sandman still looked alive and still sniffed me down for any hidden cats that I may have brought home for him. So he must have stayed sane. I stroked his soft neck and kissed him on the nose before logging on to my Sims game and continuing my Remus torture sessions. Well this time I placed him in some new cloths. How about a hippy costume with big hair? I put hippie Remus in a haunted house and watched him run around trying to get away from the ghosts.
I spent the rest of the day finishing up last minute homework and looking through my new book with Sandman. My father, Aunt Connie, grandpa and grandma were now all gone.
It is hard to believe I had had a stepfather. I could hear his voice through the vent talking to my mum about moving again. He still wanted to move us into his home, which he claimed was safer then Privet Drive. I could hear my mum's response, same as before. Remus would give up soon on this argument. Though tell you the truth, I felt that if the attacks truly were sorcerers, how could we defend ourselves with one wizard, two non-witches, and a dog? And I am pretty sure the Dursley's aren't going to hop over fences to save our lives from any dangers.
Well at least I'll be able to stay nearby to my new friend. Both of my new friends.