Kitten
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I have used some Irish Gaelic in this and I will translate it but as I don't actually speak it I can't vouch for how accurate it is.
Bualadh craicinn cac capaill bastún! Fucking horse shit bastard!
Oíche mhaith Puisín. Good night Kitten.
Anything you recognise is not mine
TRHG
Chapter 3
By the time the first Hogsemeade weekend rolled around, Hermione and her friends were all sick of Ron. He'd spent all his free time up until then stalking Hermione, not only trying to get her to be his girlfriend (or at the very least, to sleep with him) but also trying to find out her secret, having realised that she'd kept something from him for years. Luckily for the group of friends, they had an unsuspected ally in Professor Snape. When Harry had apologised for looking into his pensieve, he'd been shocked but had accepted the apology immediately. The fact that Neville's potions grade had improved also helped to warm the normally dour man to the group. Last time Ron had made an arse of himself, Professor Snape had been the one to catch him and he'd immediately given Ronald a detention on the day of the first Hogsmeade visit, something that the group of friends were glad for as it meant that he wouldn't be following them around so they could actually have fun.
Hermione stood waiting for her friends in the entrance hall, carefully ignoring the attention and stares from the idiotic males of the school. Ever since she'd started to wear the more revealing uniform, guys had been crowding round her and her friends, trying to score a date with at least one of the girls and her casual outfits did nothing to alleviate the situation. As she'd grown older, she found that she had a certain fondness for mini skirts as they showed off her long and toned legs perfectly. Luckily for the young Neko, her friends also started to wear mini skirts or shorts which showed off their legs.
On this particular day, Hermione had chosen to wear a royal blue miniskirt with a black stripe near the top and two pockets on the stripe. With that she'd chosen to wear a white tank top, a royal blue cardigan, a pair of black fishnet stockings and a pair of black lace high heels. Holding her dark curls off her face was a black crystal-embellished hair band. Around her neck was a silver necklace with a tree that showed all four seasons and on her left wrist she had a black leather embellished strand bracelet while on her right was a grey-blue leather wrap bracelet. Her eyes were outlined with her usual black eyeliner and she had black mascara on her eyelashes, making them longer and thicker. A slick of bright red lipstick completed her facial makeup and her nails were painted a bright royal blue. She was carrying a royal blue butterfly tote bag and she was wearing a pair of black sunglasses. Harry and Neville were the first ones to meet up with her, both boys wearing a pair of blue jeans, black Converse trainers and a t-shirt, Harry in green, Neville in brown.
Luna was the next one to arrive, dressed in her normal dotty style. She was wearing a lemon coloured mini skirt, a pair of multicoloured striped .knee high socks, a light dove grey pair of army-style boots and an aqua t-shirt with the words 'If you can read this pick me up and put me back on the barstool Thanks!' written upside down. She also had a bright pink snood around her neck, a set of silver bangles on her right wrist, a set of three lavender silicone bracelets and several chunky brightly coloured bracelets on her left and a pair of earrings that looked like dream catchers in her ears. Her lipstick was a light pink with a slight glitter to it; her eyes had multicoloured eye shadow around them and black mascara on the lashes. At her side was a blue, green and purple striped messenger bag which presumable contained her wand, purse and her Spectospecs which she never went anywhere without.
Ginny was the last one to turn up, mainly because she had lost some of her bracelets. She was wearing a short pair of distressed denim shorts, a light coloured tank top with 'Heart Breaker' written on it, a dark brown cowboy hat and a dark brown pair of high-heeled shearling boots that Hermione had insisted she borrowed. Around her neck was a gold heart locket and she wore a pair of large gold hoops in her ears. She wore numerous gold and wooden bangles on both her wrists, making light tinkling noises whenever the gold moved together. On her eyelashes was black mascara, she had black eyeliner surrounding her eyes and a slick of deep red lipstick. She had a small mid brown handbag at her side containing her wand.
"Sorry I'm late guys! I couldn't find some of my bangles!" She gasped as she reached them.
"Gin, don't worry about it. Let's go down now, we've got the whole day!" Hermione smiled.
The walk down the small Wizarding village was pleasant, the air and sunshine was warm, still with a hint of summer about them. All in all, it made for a very pleasant day and they were loath to go into the Three Broomsticks for their lunch but as none of them had thought to bring a picnic, it was the only place they could eat. About halfway through their meal, they heard a loud commotion from outside and people started screaming. Grabbing their things (although Harry left enough Galleons to cover their food on the table) they rushed outside. Death Eaters were raiding the small village, destroying buildings and cursing ordinary people, although curiously they weren't using anything lethal or too damaging. Order members had apparated in and were fighting the Death Eaters using curses that could kill or seriously maim which sometimes missed and hit civilians instead, a complete contrast to the Dark side. Acting on instinct, Hermione and the others began firing Protegos over the ordinary people and stinging hexes on anyone who was fighting that was getting too close to them.
"Granger, Potter, Weasley, Longbottom and Lovegood! What do you think you're doing? You should be helping us annihilate the Death Eaters, not protecting those who don't bother to protect themselves!" Dumbledore snarled at them as he threw a killing curse at one of the Death Eaters, it missed and hit a young witch, she'd been a Hufflepuff the previous year and graduated that summer. None of the teens had a chance to reply because Dumbledore rushed off to fight, leaving them with just his parting words. It was not long after that, that they were all hit by several stunners each, causing the world to go dark.
TRHG
When they came to, they were on their knees on a cold stone floor with their hands tied behind their backs. Hermione was the first one to look up and she hissed slightly under her breath at the sight of more Death Eaters than she had ever seen, surrounding them. The walls of the large room were made of the same cold stone as the floor and there were Death Eaters pressed up against them. Sat on a large stone throne on a dais in front of them was a young man who looked like he was about 21/22, with dark brown hair and dark burgundy eyes. With a shock, Hermione realised that he was Voldemort, only he looked like an older version of Tom Riddle. He was watching them with a smirk on his face which grew wider when he saw the shock in their expressions.
"Well, what have we here then?" He asked, his voice warm and smooth with a slight hint of an Irish accent, as he tapped a long and pale finger on the arm of his throne. One of the Death Eaters stepped forward.
"We caught them during the raid on Hogsmeade, My Lord. We thought that you would appreciate the opportunity to…enact… some of your plans for them." He replied, bowing to Voldemort.
"Ah, perfect. Why don't we start with little Miss Granger." Voldemort smirked smugly. The Death Eater pulled Hermione up after removing the bindings on her hands and attempting to drag her towards the throne. This had an instant reaction on the witch, she hissed loudly and bit and scratched him, drawing blood using both her teeth and claws. It took two of them to stop her and Voldemort was eyeing her with interest.
"Well, it seems like little Miss Granger is hiding something. Let's remove that Glamour and find out what it is, shall we?" He said, flicking his wand at her.
Before she could even protest, Hermione felt her Glamour melting, revealing her feline features. No one said anything for a long time but eventually Voldemort found his voice.
"Let her go." He said suddenly. The Death Eaters holding Hermione gaped at him and one of them asked why.
"Because, you moron, she's a Neko. On that note, release her friends too." He growled. The Death Eaters hurried to fulfil his wishes. When they were free, Hermione rushed over to her friends and stood in front of them. She narrowed her eyes and hissed at Voldemort, almost daring him to try and harm them.
"I mean neither you nor your friends no harm." He said, holding his hand up to show that he wasn't holding his wand.
"I'll believe that when I see it! What do you want with us?" She hissed, her fangs on display and her ears back.
"First, why don't you tell me what you know of Dumbledore's plans. I probably already know them but it would be nice to know just how much he confides in people so at the centre of his plans." Voldemort said, his voice light and pleasant but Hermione was still wary, going completely against her instincts which said to trust him. Most of them had no real idea of what Dumbledore had planned but Neville looked worried.
"I think I know something he's planning on. I overheard him talking to Ron about how he knows a true route to immortality and that he was going to use Hermione and her powers to defeat you." He said, chewing his lip slightly. The effect on Voldemort was instantaneous.
"Bualadh craicinn cac capaill bastún!" He snarled, standing and pacing.
"What's got into him?" Ginny asked the others who shrugged. This drew Voldemort's attention back to them.
"What has 'got into' me as you so eloquently put it Miss Weasley, is that I know the full extent of Dumbledore's plans. It is possible to steal the powers and the very life from a Neko using an old and obscure ritual, so old that the actual process is thought to have been lost to time while the way to stop such a ritual can still be found. Only someone truly evil would even think of harming a Neko in such a way as, in most Wizarding cultures, Nekos are considered lucky and are often very powerful. It is my belief that Dumbledore was planning to use the lost ritual on Miss Granger, although I do not know how he knows it." He explained before he glanced around at the gathered Death Eaters.
"Leave, now! Snape, the LeStranges and the Malfoys may stay." He snapped, causing every Death Eater except the ones he had mentioned to leave suddenly.
"My Lord, why don't we go somewhere other than this Meeting Room, it might reassure them." Narcissa asked, looking concernedly at the teens.
"Alright, but how many times do I have to tell you to call me 'Tom' Narcissa?" He sighed in reply.
"Sorry, Tom, I always forget; especially after a meeting. Now, lets get these poor things sat down with some tea and cakes. Actually, you should probably have some as well. You're still too skinny Tom, you and Severus both." Narcissa smiled, bustling off to get tea set up for everyone. Tom, as he'd stated for Narcissa to call him, looked rueful but, once everyone was sat down, he accepted a cup of tea and a large slice of Black Forest Gateaux with far more grace than Snape who also had Narcissa trying to feed him up.
"What I want to know is how do you know so much about Nekos? I mean, I am one and I only knew half of what you said." Hermione asked, before taking a large bite of her own slice of Gateaux and closing her eyes as she savoured the flavour. When she opened her eyes, she saw that everyone was looking at her with amusement.
"What? This Gateaux is to die for!" She asked, taking another large bite.
"Indeed, Narcissa always was good at baking. As for how I know so much about your species, when I was at school, they were mentioned briefly in DADA in my 6th year as beings that you shouldn't annoy. I was intrigued so I did some research in the library; at the time there were quite a lot of books about Nekos but I'd imagine now that Dumbledore has removed them." Tom replied absently finishing his slice of Gateaux. Narcissa immediately gave him a slice of what looked like Treacle Tart and gave everyone else a slice too.
"You might be right, in my second year, after I'd found out what I was, I went searching through the library but I couldn't find any books specifically on Nekos, and only a couple where they were briefly mentioned." Hermione nodded.
"He would have removed them. The ones I found were quite detailed and even described a legend about the first Nekos." Tom replied.
"Really? Could you tell us it?" Ginny asked excitedly before she'd even really thought of it.
"A story? Can I listen too Uncle Tom?" A light voice asked from the doorway. Stood there was a young girl of about six or seven, with long blonde curls and the Malfoy silver eyes. She was dressed in a pink skirt that reached her knees and a white short sleeved blouse with a pair of white satin ballet flats with flowers embroidered on them. Around her neck was a silver and diamond necklace in the shape of a star and she had silver and diamond studs in her ears. On her right wrist was a bracelet made of black and pink beads with a white gold band containing pink sapphires while she had a bracelet made of pink opals and diamonds on her left. She was a very pretty little girl and a child that anyone would have been proud to call their own.
"Linnaea, what are you doing here?" Lucius asked sternly.
"But daddy, I was bored! I finished the books I brought with me so I decided to look for you, Mummy and Dray." The little girl said with the most adorable pout.
"Linnaea darling, there's a reason we asked you not to wander round on your own. But I suppose there's no harm done this time." Narcissa sighed, hugging her daughter to her.
"If your parents are happy for you to stay, then I certainly don't mind you hearing the story." Tom smiled fondly at Linnaea. This made Harry realise that Dumbledore didn't, in fact, know everything. Dumbledore had stated that Tom Riddle didn't know how to love, that he was a monster who had never loved anyone, but Harry saw that Tom was surrounded by the love of his own friends. All this Harry saw reflected in the love and fondness that Tom had for that little girl, a girl who was, in everything except blood, his niece.
Linnaea chose to sit next to Hermione, who let her stroke and play with her tail, almost on instinct doing what cats do to keep kittens entertained. Lucius looked like he wanted to tell Linnaea to stop bothering Hermione but when he saw how happy his daughter and the Neko were, he decided to keep quiet.
"The story is supposed to have happened several millennia ago, somewhere in Japan. A Japanese witch was fleeing from a Dark Lord who was intent on stealing her gift of longevity, her gift of being able to live for far longer than the average human. She transformed into her Animagus form, a small black cat, and escaped but not before going through a ward designed to stop Animagus transformations. She was trapped as a cat for a few years before her brother managed to find her and, by then, she thought and acted like a real cat. You see, over time, when a person changes into their Animagus form their thought processes begin to change to those of the animal they've taken the form of. The witch in question had so thoroughly believed that she was a cat, that she had gone through heat and become pregnant with kittens.
"When her brother realised after he'd restored her to her own form and mind, he'd tried to get her to abort the kittens but she was stubborn, possibly more stubborn than Harry." Everyone laughed at the slight joke, even Harry. "But when the kittens were born, they weren't fully feline. They were human in shape, with feline ears, tails, claws, teeth, eyes and whiskers. Those 'kittens' were the first Nekos and every Neko is descended from them, just as every Neko has that witch's gift of a long life. Or at least, that's the story." Tom explained. Everyone was slightly stunned by the story, or at least, the adults were, Linnaea had enjoyed the story immensely and was now looking at Hermione closely.
"You have black whiskers." She said simply with a little giggle. Hermione couldn't help the smile spreading across her face. Quickly she shifted into her cat form, a small black cat with black whiskers, a black nose and black pads. With a soft meow, she climbed up on Linnaea's lap and sat there while the little girl stroked her head softly.
TRHG
It was later, after they had each been given a spacious set of rooms to stay in, that Hermione found out where they were, more or less. From her window, she could see Dublin in the distance which she remembered from a trip to the Irish capital with her parents.
"We're in Ireland?" She muttered to herself.
"At Slytherin Manor." A voice said behind her. She whirled around with a hiss on her lips to see Tom, stood behind her.
"I apologise for startling you but I felt the need to explain some things to you that I've already explained to your friends." He said, moving towards the chairs in front of the fire, making sure to not pose a threat. Hermione sat opposite him, eyeing him warily, she wasn't sure what to make of this polished, witty and urbane Dark Lord.
"You need to understand that I'm not as insane as Dumbledore has made me out, I never have been. He made me out to be an insane murderer to try and stop certain people seeking me out and joining my cause." Tom started.
"What? Your cause to eradicate Muggleborns and Muggles?" She asked snarkily.
"Actually, my cause to take greater precautions to ensure that Muggles never find out about our world, my cause to make sure that no magical child is left with abusive Muggles and to ensure that Muggle parents of Witches and Wizards can not inadvertently expose our world. For years, my aims have been to protect our World and its people. Had I actually reached the Potters' home before Dumbledore, Harry would have grown up with parents and not with those poor excuses for human beings that Dumbledore left him with." Tom replied, slight anger flashing in his eyes.
"What? Dumbledore reached the Potters' before you? But then how…?" She trailed off not really wanting to know t answer to that.
"He had heard a rumour that Lily Potter was adopted, that she was in actual fact part Neko. She wasn't but he'd already killed James and couldn't leave Lily alive to tell the world of what he'd done. By the time I arrived, both adults were dead and Harry had been taken to the Dursleys, he might have still had a good life had I actually arrived moments after Dumbledore left and before Hagrid arrived. He probably would have grown up as Severus' son, I know how much he loved Harry's mother." He replied, looking slightly sad.
"And you didn't look down on her because she was a Muggleborn?" She asked bluntly. He looked slightly surprised by her question but understood what she was really asking.
"Blood never had anything to do with it. What made her beneath him was the fact that she spurned his love because he didn't fit in with her 'perfect' family. If she didn't love, or only thought of him as a friend, that would have been fine. But she refused him because she wanted to be the 'perfect' pureblood's wife." Tom growled, it was clear that he cared about his friends. She paused, not entirely sure what to say to that.
"Professor Snape would have been a good father to Harry. You know, Harry's not of age yet…" She smiled finally, letting him guess what she meant.
"It might not be too late." He said, looking a little stunned.
"No genuine action is too late, the timing just determines what action is taken." She said softly, placing one of her hands on his closest hand to her. She was surprised by how soft his hands were and by a light tingling that started to move across her skin the moment she laid her hand on his.
He seemed slightly surprised too, but he covered it well, carrying on as if she hadn't placed her hand over his.
"I'm hoping, that now that you and your friends are out of Dumbledore's clutches and safe, that he'll panic and make a mistake, leading to his downfall. He must have been counting a lot on his plans for you, so your loss will hit him hard, almost as hard as the loss of Harry." He continued absently, moving his hand so that it was palm-to-palm with hers, almost as if he hadn't really thought about it.
"What do you mean by that?" She asked cautiously.
"Why do you think there's been an incident pretty much every year just before Harry went back to the Dursleys? I was trying to help him but Dumbledore had him convinced that I was trying to kill him. That's never been the case, I've never harmed or killed a child and I never want to. Dumbledore was the one to give Harry that scar and he was the one to force me to have to exist in spirit form for over a decade.
"Then there's you, you're more powerful than most purebloods and Dumbledore would do practically anything to have you on his side. I'm not trying to force you to join my side, I'm just asking that you don't join Dumbledore's and allow me to protect you. The rest of your friends are similarly powerful in their own ways. You're all simply free from his influence and can make your own decisions. All your friends except Harry have decided to remain Neutral and I'm happy to accept that, it's their choice after all. And I will not coerce you into anything either." He explained, sighing softly.
"Thank you, not just for giving me the choice but also for your honesty." She smiled at him, her sweet expression giving him odd sensations in the pit of his stomach.
"I'd best leave you to your rest, it's late and being hit by as many stunners as you and your friends were can cause severe fatigue." He said after a few moments, pulling his hand out from under hers and standing.
"Goodnight Tom." She said softly, using his first name for the first time since they'd met.
"Sleep well Kitten." He smiled back turning to head out of the room.
"By the way, Tom." She said, causing him to turn and look at her.
"Yes Kitten?" He asked, looking curious.
"For the record, the you I've gotten to know today, the real you, I like him." She smiled. Slowly a smile spread over his features.
"Oíche mhaith Puisín." He said softly as he left her to sleep.