Truths and Trunks and Stuff

Author's Note: Okay, I give in. Harry cat is now classed unfinished as he just will not leave me alone, typical feline. Even my housemates have begun pestering me for more stories and they actually know how much trouble the four-legged crew cause. So here we are, more stories of the fluffy feline variety. Les.

Disclaimer here, no money, no own, no character. Do own Sable, Isis and Squeaky, that bloody cat!

oo0oo

Severus carried Harry Cat back to the dungeons much less precipitously than he had charged out. Although the small cat was still unconscious, he was no longer scaring his nominal owner but instead, he was resting comfortably in the cocoon of his Gryffindor blanket. Entering the suite, Severus paused at the doorway to survey the damage before carefully skirting the worst of the mess and going into the bedroom. Placing the wrapped bundle on his bed, he Accio-ed a couple of pillows to make a safe nest for the small body. That done, he returned to the living room and made a proper, more detailed survey of the wreckage.

The heavy leather of the sofa was shredded in a very particular pattern. Groups of four parallel gouges allowed the brown stuffing to come through the material to lay in clumps on the floor and the seat of the badly used piece of furniture. Severus didn't know any curse that made four parallel gouges like that, but he did know of one instrument that did. And his bloody cat was equipped with four such weapons, one on each foot. Casting Acclaro, Severus was not at all surprised to see a ghost paw appear over each of the scratches, clawing at the furniture to leave the damage behind. Tightening his lip, the Potions Master cast Reparo over the individual claw marks, erasing them from the leather.

Once the sofa was fit to sit on, he turned his attention onto his favourite chair and was most surprised to see it was untouched and whole. The cat basket had suffered the fate of the sofa, being ripped apart down one side, as had the Floo powder cauldron. The potions he kept on the mantle at one end and a bundle of mixed letters, notes and scraps he kept on the other had been knocked down and partially burned too, quite destroying them but the clock, directly in the middle was totally unharmed, not even a paw smudge on the case.

Pondering those things damaged, those things destroyed and those things totally untouched, Severus allowed himself a very small smile. Potter had thrown a bit of a temper tantrum and taken out his ire on anything that was deemed 'not precious'. If an item was classed personal but not important, it was damaged or destroyed but things that had sentimental value such as the clock his mother had left him, his favourite armchair and Harry Cat's special blanket, had not been touched. Perhaps the brat of a cat was learning some temper control after all.

Which didn't explain Mr Mousie, who was lying in a puddle of blood with its stuffing hanging out… or maybe it did. Severus had seen a lot of things in his time as a Death Eater and spy for the Light. He had also read a lot of psychology books in preparation for helping Harry with his slow return to humanity. He knew about projection and how flashbacks were triggered and…

"Oh, Harry!"

Taken objectively, the brown furred toy was perhaps eight inches long and split over the middle with white cotton batting bulging out. The stuffing was tainted by drying blood, a few length of string were mixed in and was pretty innocuous but… Severus wasn't sure which of the real people Harry had projected the sight onto but he guessed it was either Lupin or Mad-Eye, both having been gutted on the battlefield by Bella and her happy band of maniacs. And Lupin did usually favour that tobacco brown colour for his robes. A nasty flashback and no wonder the little creature went into shock. Poor Harry!

Scrubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands tiredly, Severus made his way back into the bedroom and checked on his sleeping charge then changed his trousers for a clean, whole pair, the knees of the current pair needing some rather fancy spell work to repair them. That taken care of, he ordered some afternoon tea and Accio-ed a book; making himself comfortable on the bed.

oo0oo

Harry woke up, stretched mightily and crawled out of his cocoon. Looking around, he trotted over and plunked himself on Severus' book then he remembered what he had done. Before he could slink off again, he was firmly picked up around the chest, finger and thumb on either side of his jaw. Severus' second hand had scooped back legs and tail up, supporting his weight easily. The gentle grip on his jaw forced him to meet the black eyes looking down at him no matter how he tried to avoid them. Caught helpless, Harry meeped pitifully and gave the saddest expression he was capable of, sending out waves of apology and contriteness toward the obsidian gaze.

Severus had tried Legilimency on Harry Cat before with little success but this time he felt the apology flowing out to him and half smiled, enfolding the small body against his chest. Freeing a hand, he stroked the long length of Harry's back and tail then scratched behind his ears. Knowing all was forgiven, Harry began to purr tentatively, prodding Severus' cheek with a soft little paw. It often amazed the Potions Master that he could be so gentle and yet those same paws could sprout diamond hard claws that could rip up bull leather with ease.

"Yes, yes, all is forgiven, you blasted terror," Snape told the cat in amusement. "Just don't do it again or I will not give you any more beef liver treats soaked in tuna oil, do you understand? And you used to complain about the smell of potions ingredients, how ironic!"

Harry purred, a luxuriant stretch making him feel one hundred percent better, but Severus had not stopped speaking yet and he cocked his head to listen. "…something for you from Gringotts. It took me a while to track it down but then I remembered Miss Granger and her quick actions and thoughts. Should have tried her first. So, do you want it now?"

Harry chirruped curiously as Severus reached into the pocket of the robe he had laid over the nearest chair and pulled something out. Hovering the small cube over to the centre of the rug, he cast Engorgio and grinned as Harry trotted to the side of the mattress peering curiously. Suddenly the cat let out a squeak and made a long, graceful leap, landing with a slight flump on the lid of the trunk. He padded around and around in circles, bending to rub his cheek on the lettering inlaid into the lid before leaping back and pouncing on Severus' hand. Wrapping it up in his forepaws, he rolled on his back and subjected the long, thin hand to a series of nibbles and kisses, unable to express his gratitude any more openly in his present form.

Severus chuckled and shook his head. "You don't know where that hand has been," he murmured, making Harry Cat huff and chitter, a mix of purr and miaow which never came out properly but was the most excited noise Harry Cat could make. "Would you like me to open it? Very well, give me my hand back, you idiotic creature. Alohamora! There you are, duly opened for your inspection."

Bouncing to his feet, Harry flipped around and launched forward, landing on the top layer of items. The footing was not secure and the slippery cloth skidded under his weight, dumping the cat in an ungraceful heap against the raised lid. Severus laughed and Harry sent him a glare before beginning to dig his nose into his stuff, making impatient and frustrated little noises. Severus began to uncurl but before he could there was a rush of magic and Harry Halfway was eagerly pawing through the swathes of black robes and school jumpers.

"Maiy trunk, you found maiy trunk, maiy Severus." There was a lot of purr in Harry's voice as his vestigial whiskers quivered and twitched, his stubby hand-paws hooking claws into things to lift them out of the way.

"What are you looking for Harry?" Severus asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and catching a robe that sailed his way.

"Just looking," Harry replied, muffled by his head being buried in the depths. "Maiy photos! I have maiy photo album. Look, Severus, maiy photos!" The small cat-creature waved the large book at Severus triumphantly as he emerged and bounded over to plunk the thing into his favourite person's lap, springing up onto the bed to curl his tail around Severus' waist while he settled on all fours, paws curled under his chest, his chin resting on Severus' hipbone. "Look at the photos naow," he commanded, the distinct rumble of purr in his chest.

Severus glanced at the contented Harry, now about the size of a well-fed leopard, then glanced at the holly and phoenix wand discarded on the floor and shook his head. "Photos it is," he agreed with a wry smile, reaching around to scratch the large ears that perked forward so eagerly.

oo0oo

Sorting through the assorted clothes in the trunk somehow fell to Severus when Harry simply lay on his back on the bed with his photo album clutched to his chest and refused to acknowledge any of his guardian's hints or even direct orders. Severus knew Harry Halfway could hear him perfectly well as the upright ears flicked occasionally and that impudent half whiskered face twitched when he muttered a particularly foul curse at the tangle of goods contained in the trunk. There were more clothes than Severus believed possible to be crammed into such a small trunk, uniforms from first-year size right up to seventh-year size, "or at least a small sixth-year size," the Potions Master grumbled provocatively but the cat did not rise to the bait.

The casual clothes were the biggest puzzle; most hardly fit for rags and built on heroic proportions that would have easily contained three Harry sized boys with room for Quidditch. One or two tee-shirts and jumpers seemed to be of reasonable size and in reasonable condition but that was all.

"The decent uniforms can go into the clothing pool as I do not think you would want to wear them again, do you?" Severus told the cat grumpily.

Harry did not respond beyond a purr and a flicked ear.

"Right, well, the rest can go to the fire, I think, rubbish, the lot!"

"No!" Harry Halfway landed on the pile of discards and began to scrabble through, pulling out four knitted jumpers in ascending sizes, each with a golden 'H' knitted into the fronts. "Not maiy Weasley jumpers, no!"

Severus huffed but sorted out the jumpers, putting them onto the bed before he Banished the rest of the clothing with barely a thought. "Now what are we to do? How do we buy clothing for someone we do not even know the size of?"

Harry looked at Severus, Severus looked at Harry and both of them sighed deeply.

oo0oo

The staffroom was in an uproar as the two teams of teachers fought it out for the crown of The World's Greatest Detective! Severus shook his head and stroked Harry who was curled around his shoulders, his ears flat in protest against the noise. Rolanda Hooch slammed down her card, grabbed the dice and rolled wildly then the women's team roared in triumph as they landed on the finish square.

"We won it! We won it! You guys all suck e-eggs, we won it! We won it!" Agytha Sinistra crowed, jumping up to do a victory dance, Irma Pince joining in with surprising agility.

Bartholomew Rawhitch, the current DADA teacher groaned as Rolanda flicked her card at him with a wild loo-ing call usually heard ringing out over long stretches of desert in the Middle East.

"And they call me a sore winner," Severus remarked to midair as he drew himself a cup of coffee and peered down at the board curiously. He was not a great believer in board games or in team sports so the staffroom fascination with all those things left him cold. The only game he ever played with any relish was Trivial Pursuit and he was banned when they discovered his eidetic memory allowed him to memorise all the questions and answers and gave him a huge edge on the competition.

"Oh, Severus, you must allow us our moment to shine, we are now the official Champions," Minerva told him with a Cheshire Cat sized grin. "Harry, how's my favourite boy?" she remarked, reaching up to stroke his ears.

The long, slim cat flowed down Snape's robes and landed in her lap with a purr, kneading her leg with sheathed claws until he collapsed in a heap as she scratched between his shoulder blades and up the back of his ears.

"Shameless!" Severus sniffed disparagingly but Harry merely rolled over and offered his belly for a rub. "I found his trunk," Severus remarked to Minerva, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the hubbub. "Our resourceful Ms Granger had taken both it and his wand and stored them in his vault at Gringotts."

"You saw Hermione? How is she, how is her pregnancy progressing?" Minerva asked quickly, turning to fix the younger man with a firm eye.

"Very well, she is somewhat emotional but in the peak of condition. I did run a few diagnostics over her, just to be sure, while she was not aware, of course, and she is doing well. The foetus is developing normally and her nutrient potions have been adjusted to suit her current needs. And yes, I sent a new batch along immediately when I noticed her Medi-witch had not compensated for the fact that Ms Granger has not been eating meats for the past few years."

"Hermione has become a vegetarian, whatever for?" Gytha Sinistra demanded in disbelief.

Severus fixed her with a hard eye. "Because once you have experienced the smell of a friend being roasted alive, the smell of cooking meat becomes somewhat nauseating," he said flatly, making the younger witch draw back with a gasp of horror.

"Yes, that would do it. Who?" Minerva asked gently.

"Finnegan and Boot both went out to burns, could be either. I believe Hermione put them out before they roasted to death. Anyway…" Severus drew a deep breath and sighed. "… Harry and I want to know how to order clothing for someone when you are not entirely sure of the size needed?"

"Oh, that's easy," Gytha said hurriedly, trying to make up for her gaff. "You ask Malkin's to send you a catalogue and a measuring parchment. Then you just have to activate the charm on the parchment and it takes the measurements of whomever you touch it against. Then you pick the style of clothing from the catalogue and it is delivered within the week."

"Humm, works well," Filius replied absentmindedly, gathering up the game pieces. "I use the service for my grandchildren, send them a measure and a catalogue and they get exactly what they want without me having to go shopping. Saves loads of time, too."

"Isn't that cheating?" Markum Trevick the Muggle Studies teacher asked scandalised.

While the debate raged around them, Minerva and Snape exchanged knowing looks and both glanced down at the small cat snoozing in the Deputy Headmistress' lap. Cheating or not, it would work.

oo0oo

Severus read the cover letter again and shook his head in disbelief. Malkin's had sent him their catalogue which seemed to consist of two pieces of parchment without any indication of clothing at all. The cover letter told him to fill out the form and the appropriate clothing pictures would appear automatically.

"The things we do for our bloody familiars," Snape huffed, selecting a quill and reading the first question carefully. "Name? Master Snape. Age? Twenty three. Sex? Not that I know of." He hid a smile when Harry Cat hissed at him and wrote 'male' in the space provided.

The parchment on the table shivered and seemed to thicken a little, becoming half a dozen pages. Severus managed not to hex it when it startled him and Harry Cat sniggered as he morphed into Harry Halfway.

"Yes, yes, most amusing. Now what? Oh, Wizarding Formal, wizarding casual, semi-Muggle or completely Muggle? I think we'll try wizarding casual or semi-Muggle might be best in this case. Ah, now I see how they do it. The catalogue is tuned to the answers we write on the parchment. Now to sizing. Humm, it says, 'place this sheet of parchment against the back of the person to be measured and tap it twice with your wand to activate.' Could be awkward if you were trying to measure yourself, don't you think? You know, Harry, I still foresee a problem."

The half human cat figure sat up straight and wrapped his tail around his paws attentively.

"Harry," Severus said gently, stroking the wild tangle of hair off the high forehead. "You are going to have to become wholly human for this exercise, no trace of the cat to be seen."

The young wizard shrank down to a complete cat, no human characteristics to be seen at all. The Abyssinian rose and turned his back, raising his nose haughtily, his tail lashing. Severus rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "Yes, well, some of us do not have the facility to just turn our noses up at anything that happens to challenge us in the slightest way. We have to deal with it, don't we? Unlike certain spoilt little cats!"

Harry hissed, his fur puffing out as he turned back and glared, green eyes spitting sparks at his guardian. He morphed to Halfway then stood up, flowing down onto the floor and glaring up, his tail lashing. A few seconds later he was as human as he was when he went into the shower, perhaps three quarters changed and he squinted at Severus threateningly. Sticking his tongue out, he squinched up his nose and made the final heroic effort straightening to his full human height, no trace of fur or ears or tail to be seen, just human skin and a glare that could melt lead at ten paces. "Happy now?" the young man snapped, his squint becoming even more pointed. "I can't see you!"

"Ah, the glasses. Just hold it for a moment while the blasted parchment does its measuring then I'll see what I can do."

The parchment, once activated, whipped into life and slithered all over Harry, making him wriggle and giggle. His bad mood was forgotten as he tried to jerk and twist away from the relentless piece of paper. Severus settled back into his favourite chair and watched with great enjoyment as the parchment tormented the Boy-Who-Lived-to-Give-Him-a-Bucket-of-Attitude. Shaking his head, the Potions Master grabbed a couple of quills and transfigured them into a pair of glasses which he handed to Harry when the parchment finally left him alone. The young man slid them over his nose then grimaced when they did not help his sight at all.

"Well, of course not," Severus said huffily as he handed his charge a dressing robe. "They are just plain glass at the moment. Now, look at the wall over there. Tell me when it is clear for you. And now… and now… how about… Good. They will do for the moment. So, now we have your sizes, we can pick some clothes for you. Underwear first, I think. You are offered plain boxers or these biker shorts things, which do you prefer? The biker shorts in green or black would be rather fetching, don't you think?"

Harry blushed scarlet as Severus opened the catalogue at underwear and pointed his wand tip at the two styles of underclothing on offer. "You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" the young man complained, writhing in embarrassment.

Severus huffed. "Harry Potter, I shower you every morning and make sure you are clean and dried, surely you do not find choosing pants more embarrassing than being treated like a baby and washed?"

Harry rubbed his cheek on his own shoulder and raised his hand, licking between his fingers thoughtfully. "I… its different then… I… I am a cat and I think like a cat, not like now, now I think human and I remember… in a chain, events, moment-to-moment, stretching backwards. As a cat I know the now, no yesterday, no tomorrow, do you see? I like the now, the freedom of not having to think and plan and remember. I like being a cat, Severus, I like being your cat. You are a good owner and you really care for me. Being a person is hard: I have to remember, take responsibility for being a murderer and doing terrible things; but as a cat I can just lie back and let the world go past one moment at a time, no embarrassment, no responsibility, no accountability."

Sighing, Severus pulled the young man down to sit beside him and wrapped an arm around his back, giving him a comforting hug. "Harry, you are not a murderer in the accepted sense. Voldemort was not alive in the 'accepted sense'. He destroyed himself the very first time he made that first Horcrux in the eyes of the law. You were merely carrying out a lawful execution of a dangerous and deranged killer who would have done even greater damage if you had not dealt with him. I know, I know, words are easy to say but believing them is a whole new game of Exploding Snap. However, I will say this as many times as it takes to get it through that thick Gryffindor skull of yours, you are not a murderer or even a killer, you were a boy with a job to do and you did it magnificently. Now, we are going to choose you some clothes and you are going to enjoy doing it, even if it kills you, do you understand?"

Harry looked at the man who had come to mean safety and security in both his incarnations: snarky, sarcastic and gentle, and he giggled softly, gratitude shining in his eyes. "Or kills you, you mean."

Severus snorted!